Chapter 164
They arrived at their destination just as the sun was nearly up. The moment the car stopped, Ian casually checked his wristwatch.
6:40 a.m.
In the dawn gloom, the sun, half-revealed beyond the horizon, was scattering scarlet light in every direction. Bathed in that light, Cecilia got out of the car and fussed with the boxes she had brought. Ian also got out, a cigarette already pinched between his fingers.
The client—the faithful Catholic parents of the possessed victim—lived in an ordinary villa complex. Naturally, there were plenty of eyes around, so the two parked in an alley and gathered the items for the ritual.
“Exorcism is, in the end, a battle of stamina. The result changes depending on who gives out first.”
“Mm.”
“So if you're still sleepy, shake it off, and if anything feels stiff, loosen it up first. It might get rough once we're inside.”
It was advice he had no reason to refuse. Ian followed her lead, loosening his wrists and shoulders lightly, then lit the cigarette and drew in the smoke. A sweet lemon fragrance filled his nose, and his head felt a little clearer.
It had no addictive properties at all, so he didn't smoke nearly as often as he used to, but he still liked the sensation. Maybe it was because this was a cigarette with no harmful substances whatsoever.
Whatever the reason, it didn't really matter. Ian leaned against the alley wall where the dim light was seeping in and exhaled a long stream of smoke. The ash-gray mist mixed with the crimson light and formed a translucent barrier.
As he did, Cecilia came over, pulling a black priest's robe out of the box. She tilted her head in puzzlement when she caught the lemon-candy scent coming from Ian.
“Did you switch cigarettes? The smell is really... sweet. It doesn't smell like tobacco.”
“I switched to the kind sold at the Clock Tower. As for its effects, calling it tobacco is a bit off. It'd probably be more fitting to call it medicine.”
“...Medicine? To help you quit smoking?”
“I've already quit regular cigarettes for now. More importantly, why did you suddenly bring that?”
Ian glanced down at the black priest's robe in her hand. Cecilia went, “Ah,” and handed it to him.
“You just need to put it on. It's basically a formality.”
“...Then wouldn't it be fine to go in like this? I'm not exactly a clergyman.”
“It doesn't matter, but if you pretend to be a priest, the demon won't try to interfere so actively. It sort of lessens the voice of temptation? Anyway, it should be a little better than just walking in. What do you want to do?”
Cecilia lightly fluttered the priest's vestments in her hand. Ian thought for a moment, then nodded with the cigarette between his lips.
“I'll wear it. Give it here.”
The voice of temptation didn't matter, honestly. He was basically immune to most mental attacks, so there was no chance he'd lose his head over a mere demon's voice. Even if he spent his whole life wrestling with demons, his mind probably wouldn't be eroded by them.
That said, he did want to avoid a situation where it kept talking to him.
It was a pain, after all. Even if you didn't get fooled by a con artist, anyone would hate having one glued to their side whispering away. If the priest's vestments could block that, it was a good deal.
Ian examined the black garment in his hands from various angles and asked Cecilia,
“Do I just wear it like a coat?”
“Yeah. Take off what you're wearing now and throw that over it. I'll handle the rest.”
He did.
Cecilia neatly folded Ian's coat and put it back in the car. A moment later, she spotted the grimoire in the coat's inner pocket and frowned.
“...Is it okay not to bring this?”
“It doesn't matter. I can just summon it. Anyone else who touches it will just die anyway.”
“Oh.”
Cecilia nodded and stepped closer to properly dress Ian in the priest's vestments.
First she fitted the collar around his neck, then fastened the rest of the outfit. There were more buttons than expected, so just doing that took quite a while.
“The Lord is my allotted portion and my cup; you hold the lot of my destiny.”
After fastening the final button, she recited a verse from the Bible. To Ian, who wasn't a clergyman, it looked like nothing more than a formality, but it was actually different. A faint golden light shimmered across the black cloth and faded.
A holy rite only devout clergy, especially those chosen by the Pope, could learn. Unlike magic, it was a spell powered solely by faith, and it wrapped once around Ian's body. Cecilia finished by making the sign of the cross and wore a faint smile.
“May the Lord's protection be with us. Let's go.”
She gave Ian's chest a light tap and turned away. Ian fiddled with the collar brushing against his neck for a moment, then chuckled and followed her.
*
The target of the exorcism lived on the third floor of an ordinary villa. After gathering all the ritual items, the two of them pressed the bell beside the door.
Ding-dong.
Before the short chime had even finished, the door cracked open.
“…….”
An older, haggard middle-aged face peered through the gap. She stared at Cecilia with bloodshot eyes, then relaxed after confirming the nun's habit Cecilia was wearing.
“...Ah, Sister.”
“Good to meet you, Sister. I'm an exorcist priest dispatched by the Vatican. I've come in response to Miss Park Han-sol's exorcism request.”
Even while shamelessly lying that she was an exorcist priest, her expression didn't change. Apparently that was convincing enough, because the woman opened the door fully and let Ian and Cecilia into the house. Cecilia went in first, and Ian followed behind her.
“…….”
They stepped fully into the entryway.
At the same time, the stench of rotting corpses hit them full in the face.
It was like hundreds of beast carcasses rotting at once, like a whole school of fish going bad and turning to mush together.
No matter how you looked at it, it was not a pleasant smell, but Cecilia kept a calm expression as she took off her shoes and went into the living room. Ian's expression, by contrast, was far from pleasant. Honestly, he wanted to pinch his nose shut on the spot.
He'd seen so many grotesque things that his tolerance for ugly sights had gotten pretty high, but his sense of smell was still sensitive, as expected.
Smell was one of those senses you could hardly ever adapt to. You just endure it.
In a sense, that might count as adapting, but unfortunately it didn't apply to Ian. He clicked his tongue to himself and turned toward the source of the smell.
A tightly shut door. A wooden doorway plastered with things like crosses and salt, hanging there like trash.
It looked nothing like something ordinary, and in fact it wasn't. Ian stared at the door in silence, then turned when he heard the middle-aged couple call out to him.
“Is the sister also an exorcist priest? Or just a trainee...?”
“Ah, I'm also an exorcist priest. I've been assigned to assist the sister.”
“I see. Haha, you're too good-looking to waste on being a priest. If my daughter were still okay, I'd even want to introduce her to you.”
Park Han-sol's parents were just ordinary believers.
People with no special power and no knowledge of the world's hidden side.
They might realize, through this possession, that evil spirits and demons really do exist, but that wasn't much of a problem. Devout believers already tended to think demons and other vile beings existed. In other words, they had a mindset similar to people who ask a shaman to perform a ritual.
Surprisingly, their worldview was closer to reality than the reality ordinary people believe in. Come to think of it, it wasn't really something to dismiss as religious delusion.
“Here, green tea. I'm sorry, but this is all I have to offer.”
After the two of them sat on the sofa, Park Han-sol's father came over with teacups and sat across from them. Cecilia smiled faintly.
“Not at all. We should be grateful for even this much. We'll enjoy it.”
“We'll enjoy it.”
“Haha, thank you.”
Park Han-sol's father laughed and crossed his hands. But his eyes weren't smiling. Only the glassy, vacant pupils of a broken man remained. Ian quietly drank his green tea and observed the couple's mood.
Naturally, the two of them were practically corpses at this point. Their bodies were fine, but their minds were in tatters. Their only daughter had been possessed by a demon and was sickly because of it; there was nothing they could do about that. He understood how hard it must be for parents to endure.
Of course, that was as far as it went. Ian understood their feelings, but he didn't empathize. Cecilia seemed the same; she set her teacup down and asked the two of them for permission.
“Once the exorcism takes place, the whole house may be stained with negative energy. So I would like the two of you to stay outside until I contact you.”
“O-outside? Can't we stay and perform the ritual together?”
“No, you cannot. An exorcism is something even experienced exorcist priests find difficult. If the two of you stay here, the thing we drove out could end up possessing one of you again.”
Cecilia answered in a firm tone. She smiled at the anxious pair as if to reassure them, tightening her grip on the rosary.
“Don't worry. We will surely save your daughter. I swear in the Lord's name.”
“...W-we can trust you, right?”
“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; whom shall I dread?”
“...Ah.”
“The Lord is with us. Please place your trust in us.”
Cecilia took the two of them by the hands and closed her eyes. Then she slowly recited a prayer. Ian stood there awkwardly, mouthing along and doing the bare minimum to match the act.
And so the prayer ended with the word 'Amen.' Park Han-sol's parents left the house after giving Ian and Cecilia a final farewell. Now only the two of them remained.
“Let's go. There's no time to waste.”
Cecilia immediately picked up the box. Ian nodded, downed the rest of the green tea, stood up, grabbed Park Han-sol's door handle, and turned it open.
Creeeak.
The door opened with a chilly creak. The already awful stench grew even worse, and the rats crawling across the floor bolted in alarm at the sudden noise.
“…….”
In the corner of the room was a clotted puddle of dried blood. It was probably the blood of the priest who died on-site, the one Cecilia had mentioned. They must have recovered the body but hadn't managed to clean the blood away.
Clatter.
Cecilia gave the bloodstain a sidelong look, set the box down on the floor, and took out the holy water from inside.
Holy water made right in the Vatican.
In other words, it was salt water, but holy water strengthened by sacred rites was on a completely different level from the holy water mages used. Its effectiveness was several times stronger, so it was perfect for the ritual.
Without hesitation, Cecilia dipped her finger into the holy water and made the sign of the cross. Then she handed the bottle to Ian as well.
“You put some on too.”
“…….”
Ian didn't argue. He quietly took the bottle and made the sign of the cross the same way she did. As he did, he stared at the ordinary-looking girl lying on the bed.
She looked no older than an elementary school student.
She didn't have fingernails or toenails. Blood crusts filled their place. Her body, having gone days without proper food, was withered thin as well. A low kick would probably break her in half.
Honestly, it would be a lie to say he wasn't curious, but given the atmosphere, he didn't even joke about it. Instead, he set the holy water down on the table and took the bell, cross, censer, lantern, and other items out of the box, placing them in a corner. Cecilia tightly tied Park Han-sol's arms and legs with restraints.
That was when it happened.
“So another one bearing the Lord's radiance has crawled in. No, is it two?”
Park Han-sol, who had been in a coma, suddenly opened her mouth. But the voice that came out was a deep adult male voice.
If they had been ordinary priests, they might have flinched, but unfortunately the people here were an inquisitor raised in the Vatican from birth and a mage favored by the Outer Gods. Both were the kind of talent who could shrug off a demon's sudden appearance without batting an eye.
Cecilia pulled out a Bible, and Ian snorted as he summoned his grimoire.
“You can crawl in with as many more of you as you like. Rather than groaning over when I'll be made to serve the master of the Lemegeton, I'd rather make this brat's body mine—!”
“You talk too much. Shut up for a bit.”
Whack!
Cecilia swung the Bible and smacked Park Han-sol on the head. The demon, muttering with its eyes rolled back so only the whites showed, blinked in confusion at the sudden change.
“Ah?”
“Do you think I've only seen trash like you once or twice? Little thing crawled out of the pit. There is no place for you under the Lord's heavens, so return to where you came from. If you can't do that, fine. I am also one who judges heresy. I shall test your existence.”
Cecilia cut the demon off casually and drew a deep line across her palm with the cross-shaped dagger she'd brought. Hot blood flowed down and dripped onto the face of the thing bound in restraints.
Blood from a believer blessed by God. It was far too much for a demon that hadn't even managed a proper possession yet to endure, and the thing shrieked and convulsed.
“Aaaaaagh!”
“Filth that feeds on evil. From this moment on, I will judge you. I command you as the Vatican's inquisitor and the 24th Purger: reveal your name.”
Plunk.
Cecilia dipped the branding iron she'd brought into the holy water and, without hesitation, pressed it against Park Han-sol's forehead.
“Kyaaaaaah!”
The demon screamed. The windows rattled, and something like sweet-smelling smoke faintly billowed from her body.
Ian stood quietly, staring at it without much thought.
No matter how great a demon it was, if it couldn't even manifest properly and hadn't fully completed the possession, all it could do was struggle in vain. Even if that smoke had some kind of spirit-manipulating power, Ian and Cecilia could just scoff and brush it off.
So Ian just casually waved his hand and brushed away the smoke blocking his view.
At that moment, a warmth spread through his whole body.
“Urk?!”
Not physical heat, but warmth boiling up from within.
In other words, desire. Or, to put it more crudely, lust.
“……!”
Cecilia seemed to feel something similar, because her cheeks flushed and she kept squeezing her thighs together.
'Was it a demon tied to lust...!'
A power that didn't cause anything magical, but simply stirred up emotions and desire. It wasn't dangerous, but it was more than enough to leave them flustered.
Surprisingly, there were more demons than expected that could meddle with love, lust, and the like. A few Great Demons could wield similar powers too.
Thanks to that, they could at least narrow the demon count by elimination, but with such an unexpected situation, the two exchanged a look and immediately fled the room. Fortunately, perhaps because the crosses and salt on the threshold did their job, the smoke couldn't get out of the room.
“Hoo...! Haa.”
“...Ugh.”
Ian sat on the floor, catching his breath, while Cecilia rubbed her thighs and covered her face with both hands. Ian stared at her blankly for a moment, then roughly ran a hand through his hair and asked without much thought,
“Do I need to change my underwear?”
Whack!
The flying Bible slammed into his stomach.