Damian, bruised and battered, lay sprawled on the wooden staircase, immobilized by the relentless blows he had taken from the possessed. It was a truly formidable foe, one he couldn't conquer alone, as disappointing as it was to admit. He raised his gaze, only to see an even more disheartening sight- Sky had been struck down, and the possessed was poised to finish her off with a devastating punch while retracting its other hand from her gut.
"Sky... stop!" Damian yelled aloud, his voice cracking with desperation.
In that moment, Sky's mind raced anxiously. She too understood that the possessed's next blow would be fatal, and needed to avoid it, but it was too late. She had recieved too many hits so her efficiency was far reduced. All she could do, was to accept it.
"No... no... no... no.. no... I've been hit. I really thought I had a chance to beat this thing, but now l just... just... l just don't want to die!" she thought frantically as the possessed's fist inched closer, mere centimeters away.
This was checkmate against the exorcists. They had lost the battle.
A blinding string of light, accompanied by a powerful gust of wind, sliced through the
possessed's hand, severing it cleanly.
As the hand fell to the ground, an elbow struck the possessed's face with incredible force, sending it sprawling meters away from Sky. She collapsed to her knees, coughing violently, her hand covering her mouth as blood dripped onto the ground.
"Didn't I tell you..."
She looked up in search of the source of the statement and there she saw her savior, Eddy Lawler.
His chin was bruised, smeared with blood from his mouth, and a large bloodstain marked his shirt from a slash by the possessed.
Gasp
She gasped in amazement, bewildered on how it was that he was still alive.
"How could someone with such an injury still be standing?" she wondered inwardly.
No ordinary human, nor exorcist, should be able to survive a blow like that, yet Eddy stood there, alive.
"...to wait outside?" Eddy said, glaring a hole through her with annoyance.
"..I'm sorry, but l couldn't help it.. I couldn't let myself be useless." she replied, her voice trembling.
"That's stupid. You're dead weight. You'd only get yourself killed," Eddy retorted.
"True, but I'd rather die in battle like a warrior than live as a coward" she shot back. Her expression conveyed her determination to fight and exorcise Jeremy's possessed form
alongside him.
"The possessed is clearly in a different league compared to us, let alone her, and she's aware
of this as well. So is she plain stupid to want to continue to fight, or could this be what makes her the best member in the guild? Her determination...." Eddy pondered while looking down at her.
"Nah... she's stupid. But I'll use it to my advantage." he concluded to himself as he turned to the possessed, which was regenerating as it stood on its feet.
"Your technique could decipher the possessed's method. Thanks to it, we now know that its soul is not attached to its body. Can you determine where exactly its soul is?" he asked Sky.
"I... I think so." she replied, her voice steadier.
"I'll buy you time. Use your technique as soon as you recover enough of your strength." Eddy instructed.
"Yes, sir." she responded.
"How are you still able to move with that wound" she asked, astonished.
"...My technique, God's Beloved, grants me immeasurable speed, strength, reflexes, and mitigates the effects of my injuries. It doesn't heal them, though. I used it in the last second and kept myself going. It will only last for about 112 seconds, so use your ability the moment you can. Understood?" Eddy explained.
"Understood." Sky replied.
With a soft sigh of relief, Eddy walked towards the possessed, which seemed surprised as the rest of them to see him still standing.
The possessed however was unthreatened by his presence, seeing that it had already defeated him once. Therefore, it immediately assums a waki stance and forging Eddy's sword out of thin air once again.
"Here we go. Round two." Eddy muttered to himself as he mirrored the waki stance, his katana at the ready.
They swiftly charged at each other, katanas clashing in a fierce battle.
Sky, who stood as a spectator, was unable to keep up with their lightning-fast movements.
All she could see were sparks of light
accompanied by the deafening sound of metal clashing.
"Amazing" she muttered.
"Sky!" Damian exclaimed as he rushed over to her.
."Are you okay? How badly injured are you?!"
"I'm okay... enough." she replied weakly, clutching her gut.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed?!" he roared.
"I told you not to underestimate that devil. Why don't you ever listen to instructions?!"
"I'm sorry—"
"Don't be sorry, just don't make that mistake again-" he grunted, holding his ribs.
"Mr. Grimes!" Sky exclaimed, grabbing Damian as he knelt on the ground due to the ending pain.
"Mr. Grimes?" He chuckled.
"I'm not old enough to be a 'mister' and there's no need to be formal. You can call me Damian.There's no need to worry, it's just a broken rib. It's nothing compared to the immense pain he's going through right now." Damian added, turning to Eddy, who was still battling the possessed.
"Worry about yourself for now. We need your technique to locate the exact position of its hidden soul. If you can't do it in time, then this might be the end for us all." He added as he returned his glance to Sky.
Sky, realizing the gravity of their situation, takes a short breath as she steps back in preparation to use her technique once again.
"Alright. Thank you for entrusting me with such an important task. I'll assure you, I won't fail you... not again." She said placing her hands together, ready to activate her technique.
Eddy and the possessed continued to clash katanas, causing sparks to fly around the entire room. The possessed increased its attack speed, forcing Eddy onto the defensive.
"It's good." Eddy said to himself.
The possessed threw a heavy slash at Eddy's katana, momentarily distorting his stance. With that distraction, it attempted to behead Eddy in a jiff, swinging its blade successfully, only to find no one in front of it. Eddy had disappeared. He reappeared behind the possessed and in a rapid motion, slashed it to bits.
Without a moment of delay, the possessed's chunks began to recombine, but as it regenerated, Eddy continued to slash it into chunks of meat over and over again.
"I have about 82 seconds left before my technique ends. Even if its soul isn't in its body, for the next 82 seconds, I'll slice and dice it until it's unable to regenerate! No matter what, this will be the end for it." Eddy thought to himself.