Alexander frowned with anger as he wiped the blood from his hands. They had been sent on a mission to banish a demon in the dead of night. But it seemed there wasn't just one demon—there were two.
"You're not him either." Alex muttered, glaring at the demon still burning in flames. It was almost eradicated from the earth.
He turned to the other demon, who was scrambling in fear to escape. "Come here," Alexander sighed. His neck was already beginning to ache.
"No!" the demon screamed. "Get lost— You insane human! You're the real demon here!"
Suddenly, Alexander was startled by the sight of the demon's neck being severed. He spun around to see Ralph, wearing a mask, staring at him with cold eyes.
"Ralph," Alexander sighed. "I hadn't even smelled it yet." Ralph retrieved his sword from where it had fallen, then looked back at the demon still burning in flames.
"Don't worry," Ralph said, "I don't think it smelled like pine trees." This time, the demon was screaming in agony.
"No, no— It hurts, it hurts!"
And then, the demon was completely gone. Alexander pursed his lips and looked at Ralph. "Pine trees? How did you know?"
Ralph shrugged and sheathed his sword. "Heilin," he said. "You know how he is with his mouth."
Alexander sighed and stepped out of the dilapidated house. "I swear, I need to find better friends," he muttered, hurrying away, leaving Ralph behind.
The sun was nearly rising. Ralph was following him from behind. "Why do you smell every demon you kill, anyway?" he asked. "Besides, maybe that person doesn't smell like pine trees anymore."
"Shut up," Alexander hissed. "At least I won't accidentally kill him."
Ralph tilted his head. "Are you sure he was a demon?" he asked, then turned toward the newborn sun. The wheat around them fluttered in the wind. "I mean... the man who saved you might not have been a demon."
For a brief moment, Alexander considered Ralph's words. He tried to recall the face of the man, whose image was blurred in his memories.
'It's no problem.' The crimson eyes that looked at him glinted kindly. As Alexander brushed up against the man, he rested his head on his neck. He smelled like pine trees. 'I'll take you somewhere with humans.' His voice was like a nightingale's.
Alexander chuckled softly. 'A nightingale's voice.' He thought. 'And the pine tree scent… I really adored it.'
Alexander turned around and pointed at his own eyes. "Bright red eyes," he said stubbornly. "He had cat-like, sharp pupils. His teeth were short compared to others, but they were long for a human."
"Just like a demon."
Ralph glanced at the children running beside them. He pulled out a piece of candy from his pocket and handed it to one of them. Then he patted the child's head, smiling before raising his gaze. "Maybe..." he whispered. As the child walked away, Ralph looked at Alexander. "He's dead."
"Maybe that's why you've never found him after all these years of searching—"
Before Alexander could finish, Ralph couldn't avoid the bottle flying toward his head. The impact sent him to the ground, his head bleeding. As the dizziness passed a few seconds later, he lifted his head and looked at Alexander.
His eyebrows furrowed. He looked visibly upset. He was angry too.
"Shut up!" he growled. He must have been really angry. "He didn't die. I don't believe he's dead. I'm sure he's still alive."
Ralph sighed and wiped the blood from his forehead. "Alex... You don't even know his name. What happened to make you so obsessed with this man?"
Alexander sniffled his nearly running nose. "I'm not obsessed," he defended himself. "I just want to find him…"
When Alexander regained his composure, he reached out his hand to Ralph. "Here... Let me help." He smiled. "And when did you start carrying candy around?"
Ralph rolled his eyes. "Heilin," he replied, grabbing Alexander's hand.
"Help! Help!" A woman screamed in panic inside the church. "Please help my child!"
She looked around frantically and saw Alexander, the priest.
"Priest!" she screamed again. "Please help! My child is dying—"
Alexander calmly took the woman's hand and gently said, "Madam, please calm down. This will not help your child."
He pointed to a marble slab, reminiscent of an altar. "Put your child here," Alexander instructed. Heilin rushed into the room.
"What's going on, Alex?" Heilin asked, his confusion clear. But as soon as he saw the child, his expression became serious. "Madam," Heilin said. "Come with me... This priest will help your child."
As Heilin gently embraced the woman, she cried uncontrollably. Heilin hesitated, glancing at Alexander. He swallowed hard.
Alexander removed his gloves and placed his hand gently over the child's heart. He closed his eyes and began to pray in a voice only he could hear. "Lord, owner of the earth and the heavens."
And as Alexander's hand glowed with the warmth of sunlight, halos of light began to rise from it.
"O glorious Saint Antoine, deliver this servant from illness and pain. Grant him a diligent, holy life."
Finally, Alexander opened his eyes. As the halos of light multiplied, he whispered, "Amen."
The child's expression relaxed as he calmed. Alexander smiled and gently stroked the child's hair. The child's eyes fluttered open.
"Hello, child," Alexander said, his voice laced with a teasing edge. "Welcome back to the world of the living."
"What's your name?"
The child slowly tried to sit up, smiling. "Joseph," he answered.
Alexander smiled and stroked Joseph's hair. "Let's go see your mother, Joseph."
He picked up Joseph and walked away from the altar. He saw the woman sitting in the pews of the church, praying with a rosary in hand.
Heilin was smiling as he circled his hand around the woman's shoulder. He noticed Alexander enter. "Alex," Heilin said with a wide grin. "I see you've healed the dear child."
Joseph, squirming in Alexander's arms, said, "I want to go down, Priest Uncle."
Alexander sighed. 'Uncle…?' he thought with a grunt. 'I'm not even that old, you little brat.'
When the child was lowered, he grinned widely and shouted, "Mom!" His mother turned around and ran toward him, her eyes filled with tears. "Joseph!"
She embraced her child, pulling him close and burying her face in his hair. "Oh my God… Joseph! You scared me so much—"
The woman, looking at the priest, smiled. "Thank you so much," she said, tears still streaming down her face.
"I'm glad he's doing better," Alexander said, smiling as he placed a hand on the woman's shoulder. "Let's go, Heilin. Let the mother and child have some time alone."
Step by step, they left together. The sun was nearly at its zenith. Heilin grinned slyly, flashing a mischievous smile. "So?" he teased. "Did you find your one true love?"
Alexander sighed. "He's not my one true love, Heilin," he groaned, massaging his neck. "But no, I didn't find him."
"I want a cigarette," Alexander said, still massaging his neck. "Can I have a cigarette?"
Heilin sighed and tilted his head. "No," he replied in a tone that sounded like a mother's. "Cigarettes are bad for you. Besides, you're a priest, get yourself together."
"Okay, 'Mom'. "
And together, they watched the landscape.
"Priest Alexander!"
Joseph was running with a flower crown in his hands. He was almost about to trip and fall. "Ahh!"
Alexander managed to catch Joseph before he could fall. "What were we doing, Joseph? We weren't running, were we?"
Joseph pouted and composed himself. "You're scolding me just like my mom." Then he extended the flower crown in his hands toward Alexander. "Here, this is for you!"
"Hm~ What is this?" asked Alexander. "Did you make me a crown? That's so sweet of you, Joseph." He tilted his head and allowed Joseph to place the crown on him.
But just at that moment, the large daisy at the front of the crown fell to the ground.
"Ah!" Joseph screamed. He was on the verge of crying. "Wait here, okay?" he said, looking at Alexander. "I'll go get a daisy! Don't move, priest!"
"Joseph-"
Alexander looked after Joseph as he went. Then he let out a deep sigh. He found himself smiling as he touched the crown on his head.
'I look so handsome.' Alexander thought. But then someone started pulling at his priest's uniform. When he looked down, it was Joseph. He was crying, tears in his eyes.
"What's wrong?" asked Alexander, bending down to wipe Joseph's tears. But Joseph, swallowing, grabbed Alexander's wrist. "Priest uncle… There's someone over there." Joseph said. "They look scary, but they also seem sick! Their eyes are red!"
Alexander wiped Joseph's tears as he looked at him. 'Red?' he thought. 'A demon… In the church? How did it get in here?'
"Calm down, Joseph. Why don't you go to Priest Heilin's side?" he asked. "I'm sure he'll be happy to make you some hot chocolate."
Joseph shook his head and quickly ran through the church hallways. 'This place is not as big, but it's still a cathedral.' Alexander thought. 'A demon… It wouldn't come in here unless it wanted to die.'
Alexander made his way toward the place where Joseph had gone to get the daisy.
"Looks like Joseph saw something wrong—" When he said that, he saw a figure sitting on a bench. The face was hidden in darkness, but he was wearing a nearly torn robe. He looked worn out.
"You…" Alexander whispered, standing directly in front of the strange figure. He removed his glove and showed the holy symbol in front of the demon.
"Why are you here demon?" Alexander growled. "Don't do anything stupid, because I could kill you immediately—"
But when the demon lifted its head, Alexander saw its red eyes. And for a moment, his mind drifted to his memories from when he was seven years old.
The gentle red eyes of the man. 'Ah, this looks bad.' His fingers fidgeted as if he didn't know what to do. 'Are you still alive, kid?'
Then the demon suddenly looked directly into Alexander's eyes. "I'm not here to fight," it said in a soft voice.
Alexander almost laughed sarcastically, "Oh really—"
"Please, kill me."
Alexander's lips parted slightly.
"…What?"