I was starting to regret my decision to help Rei. My life used to be relaxed, but Rei was always in a rush. We'd rise with the sun, grab a quick bite, and then head out to hunt spirits. His constant energy was draining just to observe.I, for one, was not accustomed to this routine, but I was dragged along beside him regardless of my fatigue.
We completed exorcism after exorcism, but none were particularly noteworthy. Some spirits were even ready to move on, allowing Rei to grant them a serene departure. It was clear why he dedicated himself to defending these fragile human creatures.
Our next destination was the campus of a nearby university. Rei told me that the third floor of the arts building was supposedly haunted by a 'ghost' and that our task was to exorcize it. It seemed that no place was immune to spiritual presence, and Rei was always ready to answer the call.
Rei warned me that the school would be crowded and to behave myself. Did he really think I was some kind of trouble magnet? I wasn't a child anymore. Okay, so maybe our first meeting involved bread theft, and Lucien showed up the second time... Never mind. The point was, I still wore this annoying bracelet, so what trouble could I even get into?
With the help of some friendly students, we quickly located the arts building. I pulled up my hood and followed Rei, staying alert as we blended in with the crowd. To any observer, we were just another pair of sleep-deprived students trudging to an early class. It struck me that this was my first time ever setting foot on a university campus. Has Rei shared this experience? Was he even a graduate? For that matter, what was his age?
"What?" He looked back at me.
Once again, I was caught staring at Rei and forced myself to look away, focusing on some students setting up a tent and chairs. It was a nice dream to be a carefree human, but far from my reality.
I shook my head, deciding to get rid of useless thoughts. "Nothing… Where is this spirit?"
Rei reacted with only a shrug as we made our way up to the third floor. The halls were eerily empty; perhaps classes had been called off?
"What if we split up and looked?" I suggested, turning to him.
The suggestion earned me a raised eyebrow from Rei. "Seriously? Split up? Is this your strategy?" His scoff hung in the air.
Strategy? Oh… back to that, are we? The atmosphere had shifted in an instant.
"No, I'm being serious. We could split up and look. Contrary to what you think, demons can be honest. Not everything I do is an attempt." My voice was tinged with annoyance at the implication.
The exorcist studied me, then turned as if deciding whether to trust my words.
"Okay, but try anything and I'll send you back to hell, understand? You've got the bracelet on, so I guess there's nothing you can do."
Rei pointed at me, his brow furrowed in concern. Perhaps my week of incident-free assistance had earned me a small measure of his trust. Still, the idea of splitting up plainly made him uneasy.
Rei's apparent trust in the bracelet only piqued my curiosity, but I resisted the urge to test its limits. For now, this was my opportunity to escape constant supervision. A chance to be truly alone, to catch my breath without feeling like a child under a mother's watchful eye. As much as I appreciated his company, the dynamic was reminiscent of my first encounters with Lucien.
"I'll look down this way and let you know what I find."
I nodded, and we parted ways. I swept through the lecture halls and art rooms, but they were barren and devoid of any student presence. Had classes indeed been canceled? The mechanics of school scheduling were unfamiliar to me.
As I walked by a room, something made me pause and reverse direction. Glancing through the door's window, I saw a girl focused on a canvas. The painting, clearly a multi-day effort, depicted a strikingly lovely scene.
Despite their vulnerability, humans proved fascinating. In Hell, we demons lived unrestricted, but many humans here seemed to imprison themselves within their own existence, some toiling to survive while others found tranquility amidst the turmoil. I pitied them, rulerless as they were. I wondered, What would their lives be like under the guidance of a king?
I could never bring myself to harm them.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and as I picked up to check the message—
BAM!
A loud crash from down the hall ripped me from my thoughts, sending a jolt through me. I whipped my head away from the window and stared in the direction of the noise, where Rei was searching. I guess he had found whatever we were looking for.
I rushed towards the noise, expecting to find Rei in control of the situation. However, upon reaching the room, I was barred by a locked door. Rei was well aware that I would come running if he needed backup.
As I went to break the lock, something flew past the view of the window, and I noticed that golden glow anywhere. It was, in fact, Rei, except he was the one being thrown.
Acting on instinct, I kicked the door with all my might, snapping the lock and splintering the wood. I had been advised against causing damage, but I was certain Rei would excuse this one infraction, given the circumstances.
Upon entering, I was met with the alarming sight of Rei pinned beneath an older woman, her hands wrapped around his throat. Rei's gaze met mine, his eyes pleading for assistance as he battled against her supernatural strength.
"E..ve.." He choked out.
I could have turned my back, left Rei to his fate, and possibly gained my freedom, but he was also a human and I couldn't let him die. I lunged, grabbing the woman's collar and flinging her into the paint cans, which toppled along with nearby canvases. I offered Rei a hand up, but he eyed it in seeming surprise. Finally, he accepted my help, standing and brushing himself off.
"Thanks.. The spirit possessed this teacher, which was why I couldn't easily detect it before. This makes things more complicated."
It seemed today would not be a walk in the park like before.
"So? What are you going to do?" I looked over at the twitching teacher.
"First, we need to separate the spirit from its human host." Easier said than done, or Rei would have already managed it. "The problem is, this entity doesn't feel typical, and it possesses unnatural power."
The woman brushed off the art supplies, now speckled with paint from the shattered cans. The sight would have been comical under different circumstances. Her gaze darted from us to the door, which our bodies barred. Escape would require getting past the two of us.
"Give up, you're cornered." Rei's voice lowered into a more serious tone and pointed as she took a couple steps back.
"An exorcist and a demon together? Ha! Has the world come to an end?" Her voice was distorted, as if there were two. Two spirits in one body. For some reason, her words annoyed me.
"Stop deflecting and get out of that body. Now." Rei's hand began to glow once more.
Her gaze flicked back and forth between us and the blocked door. Defeat seemed her only option, especially given her panicked state and the fact that she was outnumbered. Yet her eyes slowly shifted to the window behind her. A potential escape route, except... weren't we currently on the third floor?
I was about to step in when it was suddenly too late. Within moments, she spun around, shattered the window with her body, and tumbled out, the spirit trapped within her as they fell three stories.
"Shit!" I heard Rei curse beside me and run forward to the window.
I looked down, anticipating a fallen form. But there was only a splatter of paint. I followed the teacher as she ran, her actions capturing everyone's attention. Their shock was understandable—witnessing a teacher jump from that height would be jarring. Despite the fall, she appeared uninjured.
Was this the out-of-hand situation that warranted my intervention? It seemed the perfect opportunity—she wouldn't escape far, and I was itching for some real action. A grin spread across my face as I gripped the window frame, barely pausing before launching myself out into the open air. I hit the ground with a roll, springing up immediately. Finally, a chance to do something more than simply observe or clean up messes.
"Eve!?" I could hear Rei above, his voice more surprised by the suddenness of my decision.
I looked up and only pointed at the bracelet on my arm. He mentioned before that he could track me wherever I went, so surely he'd be able to find me quickly.
"….Be careful." I was surprised by his words, but he understood the situation well. "Don't hurt her; wait for me!" He warned and disappeared from the window.
If the possessed teacher retaliated, I couldn't promise she would emerge entirely unharmed, but I had no intention of delivering a fatal blow. Our target was the spirit, not the human it had claimed as a host. I pushed aside any concerns for the moment, focusing instead on the trail of paint leading away from the populated area. The entity likely sought to avoid drawing further attention to itself. With a determined nod, I took off in pursuit, following the colorful path.
Rei would likely catch up soon. Demons outpaced humans, but Rei's determination would drive him to follow us regardless of the terrain. I put him out of my mind and studied the area into which the paint trail led. The trees grew thick here, forming a canopy that filtered the sunlight and cast the area in a mossy gloom.
Scattered throughout the underbrush were small dragon statues, their scales glinting dully, and the occasional talisman hung from a branch, pulsing with a faint, protective energy. I committed the locations to memory, not wanting to trigger any defensive magic in my pursuit.
A sense of foreboding settled in my stomach. The increasing density of talismans and the looming presence of a shrine made me deeply uneasy. This was sacred ground, and I was an unwelcome intruder. I'd need to tread with extreme caution to avoid triggering any defenses. My nerves hummed with tension as I followed the paint trail, my eyes fixed on the stairs now leading up to the shrine.
The spirit's presence pulsed stronger with each step, and I caught glimpses of the teacher's form disappearing upward. I forced myself to move faster, my feet pounding the stone as I sprinted up the stairs. At the top, I paused, taking in the layout of the shrine and searching for any sign of my target.
The courtyard stretched out before me, deceptively peaceful. A winding path led to the grand shrine at its center, while trees loomed like sentinels around the perimeter. Yet, despite the beauty, a prickle of unease ran down my spine. The possessed teacher was nowhere in sight, as if she had vanished into thin air. I scanned the area, my senses on high alert, but detected no sign of her.
Slowly, I began to make my way down the path, my eyes scanning every nook and cranny. It seemed my task was to locate the spirit and keep it contained until Rei arrived. A simple enough mission... in theory. I just hoped I could manage it in practice.
I was about to turn when a blinding pain exploded in my side. A kick, powerful and precise, sent me flying across the courtyard, gravel skittering as I tumbled through the air. I managed to regain control in mid-roll, landing on my feet in a crouch. Scanning the area, I pinpointed the source of the attack—the teacher now stood where I previously had. Well, at least I'd found my target. I rose to my full height, brushing off the dirt that clung to my skin; the shallow scratches on my arm were already healing.
"Done running?" I asked with a grin. If that was all, then this would be a piece of cake.
"You… How could you work with an exorcist? You're supposed to be on our side." It sneered.
What kind of nonsense was this spirit talking about? Spirits and demons were completely different.
"You're funny. My situation is circumstantial, but you won't have to worry about that once you're exorcized."
I didn't waste another moment, launching myself at the teacher with a flurry of punches. She dodged each blow with an unnatural grace, but I hardly expected a fair fight. Rei's instructions were to spare her life, but he needed to arrive soon. I muttered a hasty apology, even knowing she wouldn't understand, and seized her arm. With a swift motion, I flipped her over my shoulder, and her body hit the ground with a thud. The entity within her let out a pained writhing, and I felt a grim satisfaction. Perfect.
"Give up; once Rei gets here, you'll be out of that body." I grinned, almost mocking it.
My heart lurched as I realized the teacher was no longer moving. Had I inadvertently...? Panic set in, making my voice shake.
"Oi, you're not dead, right? Rei will have my head if..." My words trailed off as her voice, laced with malevolent intent, cut me off.
"Human bodies are fragile; imagine what I could do with a body like yours."
A chill ran down my spine at her words. Before I could react further, a hand clamped around my throat, and I was lifted and slammed into the ground. The teacher—or rather, the entity possessing her—now loomed over me, her form crackling with an otherworldly purple energy that made my skin crawl.
A sense of foreboding settled in my gut, but I had no time to act on it. A foot came out of nowhere, connecting with my side and sending me sprawling. I gasped, the air knocked from my lungs, and tumbled forward, crashing into the nearby dragon statue. A chunk of it crumbled beneath my weight. I struggled to regain my breath as the possessed teacher, her form crackling with a power that felt both potent and oddly familiar, began to stalk towards me.
Had I encountered this entity before? The question swirled in my mind as I scrambled to put some distance between us. I needed to buy time to hold out until Rei arrived. I felt as though I shouldn't continue engaging with it, with whatever was happening. I forced myself on my feet, ready to defend myself.
Just as the entity was about to pounce, the shrine doors burst open and a towering figure emerged, arms crossed over his chest and a scowl etched on his face.
"You there!" he bellowed, a finger pointed in our direction.
Me? I thought, taken aback. Who was he shouting at? In my momentary confusion, I pointed to my own chest. But there was no time for questions—the situation was too dire. The entity was still advancing, Rei was still MIA, and now we had this new, angry individual to contend with.
I glanced towards the spirit, ready for it to attack, but instead it had spun around and was making a break for the treeline.
"Hey!" I shouted, taking off in pursuit, but my chase was short-lived—I was abruptly unable to move. I tried to take a step, but my feet felt rooted to the spot. Literally.
I looked down to see nothing physically keeping my place. A snarl of frustration ripped from my throat as I realized I was trapped, unable to give chase.
"Where do you think you're running off to, you foul being?" The voice cut through the air, full of anger and authority.
I looked up to see the man descending the shrine's stairs, his footsteps echoing through the courtyard. A sense of divine power radiated from him, making my stomach twist with a mix of fear and awe. Was he an exorcist... or something far more powerful? My mind recoiled at the possibility of him being an angel. I struggled against the unseen force rooting me in place as he drew closer, but it was no use.
"You dare come into these sacred grounds and cause destruction? You will be duly punished," he intoned, his voice like judgment.
He halted before me, his gaze piercing. I was trapped, as helpless as a mouse in a snare.