episode_0044
by fnovelpiaA day has passed.
I was trying to calm my anxious mind and carefully examining the relics I had brought yesterday.
The holy relics that the priest Peter brought directly from the Holy Land, the censer of Saint Jerome and the bell of Teresa. Each and every one of them was a precious relic without exception.
I had heard about it in the Bible or through rumors, but this was my first time seeing it in person.
This was quite a surprising gain, and at the same time, it was good news to us, for if it had not been a holy object, we would have had to request a holy relic from the Holy Land, and it would have taken at least a week for the holy relic to arrive here from the Holy Land.
That was when I carefully placed the relics into the wooden box.
Bam! Bam!
Suddenly, Deacon Sophia burst into the professor’s office with a huge commotion. I stared at her, breathing heavily.
“Deacon Sophia. What’s going on?”
“Head Priest! Wow, you’re here!”
What Deacon Sophia handed me, out of breath, was none other than a letter.
Finally, the time has come.
I calmly accepted the letter handed to me by Deacon Sophia. When I opened the envelope, an official document with the parish priest’s seal was revealed.
“Exorcist Permit… .”
It was a permit for exorcism from the cathedral of the institution. Contrary to my expectations that it would arrive within two days, the cathedral processed the matter much faster than I expected.
Indeed, because the situation has unfolded so unpredictably, the parish priest in charge of the parish must also be feeling a bit frustrated.
If this matter was not resolved quickly, from the perspective of the institutional diocese, the next pope’s candidacy would be as good as gone down the drain.
“Where is the item I asked for?”
“Here.”
Deacon Sophia handed me a box with a handle. I slowly opened it.
“Um… .”
Inside the box were items useful for the exorcism: three vials of holy water with the words “Water of the Samadan River” written on them, holy oil, a couple of charcoal pieces of consecrated olive wood, consecrated candles, a bowl and a sprinkling jar of holy water, a hand mirror, a crucifix as big as a forearm, large iron tongs, consecrated incense, and an extra reed.
The iron tongs were probably sent in case the master ran wild, and the sling could be used to tie up the master’s arms and legs. I nodded as I closed the box.
I am satisfied with the fact that he was much more thoroughly prepared than I had expected. After all, it seems that the parish priest of the system prefers to handle things with certainty.
And it was the same for me too. This time I will definitely pull out the roots.
“Very good. Do you have salt ready?”
“Yes. Ugh… Tea! Here it is!”
Deacon Sophia held up a heavy sack of salt. It didn’t seem like they would need that much, but Deacon Sophia added that she had brought plenty because no one knows what the future holds.
“… Excellent.”
“Ehehehe… .”
Deacon Sophia, who had been laughing and scratching her head, flinched as if something had occurred to her.
“Oh! By the way, there’s one more thing I have to tell you.”
I looked away from the box containing the exorcism tools and looked at Deacon Sophia. Deacon Sophia opened her mouth with a stern expression.
“We have found the whereabouts of Father Peter and Father Camilla. They were both found unconscious in Father Camilla’s dormitory room.”
“Where did those two go?”
“Professor Esther, Chloe, and Laura happened to be passing by the faculty dormitory. With their help, I was able to carry Father Peter to his room.”
“Well done.”
The smell of rotting meat from Malodor must have been strong, but it was quite surprising that they had endured it and moved Father Peter. I stood up, thinking that I should separately thank the three who helped Deacon Sophia.
After putting the exorcism permit in my bosom, I picked up the wooden box containing the relics and the box next to it. I was ready, wearing my sash and rosary around my neck.
“Let’s go. To beat up the devil.”
“Ugh… ! Yes!”
We left the professor’s office.
And the end of that destination was, of course, the faculty dormitory.
* * * * *
It’s damp. It’s still. It’s dry.
And, it’s dreary.
These were all the thoughts that came to mind as I stood in the hallway on the 7th floor of the Chaldea Imperial Academy’s faculty dormitory. I slowly took a step forward.
“It’s starting to get dark now… .”
Deacon Sophia muttered as she looked out the window. Perhaps because it was getting closer to summer, the sun was leaving its mark in a terrible way. The evening hours of late spring were a time when sunlight still had an effect.
However, it will soon be night. If the day when the sun is up is the time when all life begins to grow, then the night is the time when the byproducts of darkness approach.
That means it’s the perfect time for them to show up.
I stopped walking and stared blankly out the window in the hallway. As I stopped walking, Deacon Sophia, who was walking next to me, also stopped walking.
“Why are you like that?”
“… crow.”
“Yes?”
– Caw! Caw! Caw!
Dozens of crows spread their wings and flew into the sky at the same time. The number of them flying in a flock was so great that it threatened to cover up the faint light in the sky.
I felt as if I had locked eyes with the crow that was leading the flock at the very front among them.
It was a crimson-red eye. It was an eye that could be called the bead of all evil.
“What, what is it? Suddenly a flock of crows… .”
“They are watching us. Through the eyes of beasts.”
I stared at the place where the flock of crows had passed for a long time. They had already disappeared. The vast sky still had not erased the traces left by the sun.
“You’re using shallow numbers.”
It must have been their final warning. Their desperate warning to not set foot in there any more. I snorted softly.
It was a pity. I had no intention of leaving the demons hiding in the Academy alone. I took another step.
After walking for a while, I came across a familiar front door that I had seen before. I stood in front of one of them.
It was the dormitory where Father Camilla was staying. I first planned to tie up Father Camilla so she wouldn’t escape, and then exorcise Father Peter.
Let me explain my plan, Deacon Sophia asked me, tilting her head.
“Can’t we start with exorcisms from Priest Camilla?”
“Deacon Sophia. Now, who is the most likely person to be possessed by the chief demon?”
“Hmm… If what the head priest said is true, then it would be Father Peter.”
“That’s why it is.”
I slowly opened the front door of Fr. Camilla’s dormitory. A less foul smell tickled my nose than the one coming from Fr. Peter’s room, which I had previously been in charge of.
As I entered the room first, Deacon Sophia followed me, covering her nose with her sleeve and frowning. She asked me:
“Ugh… So that’s why?”
“If you exorcise the leader demon, the remaining demons that followed the leader demon will be weakened. This will be a great help in exorcising them.”
Since the number of consecrated items to be used in exorcisms is limited, and the act of exorcism itself causes tremendous fatigue to the exorcist, I need to move with extreme efficiency.
Deacon Sophia nodded after hearing my explanation, but then quickly turned around, feeling nauseous.
“Aha… . More than that, the smell is too… . Ugh… !”
“… It will be over soon.”
I carefully opened the box containing the supplies needed for exorcism and took out four sashes. Since they had all been blessed by the parish priest himself, they would prevent the demon from easily escaping.
“Deacon Sophia. Take the right side.”
“Yes, yes… .”
Deacon Sophia, who had already rolled up a tissue and stuffed it in her nose, nodded her head while making a sniffling sound. While she tied Father Camilla’s right leg and arm to the bedpost, I took charge of the left half of his body.
Even while her limbs were being restrained, Priest Camilla remained motionless and silent. Her even breathing was the only evidence that she was alive.
“Phew… . Now, place the salt in a circle about two steps away from the bed. ”
“Yes… .”
Deacon Sophia began to pour salt sacks on the floor, muttering. I took charcoal out of the box and began drawing lines slightly inside the salt barrier.
When the charcoal made from blessed olive wood was roughly scraped across the floor, it left behind a black mark from the charcoal.
“Substitute Sophia.”
“Ugh… . Yes!”
After all the work was done, we hurriedly left Priest Camilla’s room. We had used that much salt and charcoal, and the bands that bound his limbs were also tightly tied, so he probably wouldn’t be able to escape easily.
Father Peter’s room was right next door, so we had no time to shake off the foul lingering smell of Malodor from Father Camilla, and were left to smell an even worse stench.
As I was about to open the front door of the dormitory where Father Peter was staying, Deacon Sophia frowned. I took something out of my bosom and handed it to her.
“What is this?”
“It’s perfume. Put a little under your nose. It will smell a lot less. ”
Deacon Sophia hesitated for a moment, but when I told her that it would smell much less, she quickly snatched the perfume away. Was it really that painful?
Deacon Sophia took out the tissue she had been holding in her nose and applied some perfume under her nose, looking much more relaxed. I nodded at her.
“Then, I will open it now.”
“Yes… !”
I slowly opened the door. As soon as I opened the door, a putrid smell began to vibrate, and when I opened the door completely, a stench so bad it made my nose numb welcomed me.
“town… .”
This was a bit difficult for me too. I applied the perfume I had given to Deacon Sophia under her nose.
It got a little better after I applied the perfume, but the strong, putrid smell was not something that could be ignored with perfume. I slowly stepped inside the door, along with Deacon Sophia, who was frowning.
When I closed the front door and entered the living room, the room was completely covered in darkness.
Through the dim light streaming through the tightly drawn curtains, it was barely possible to see that Father Peter was lying on the bed.
I calmly turned on the light in the living room. On the bed at one end of the living room, Father Peter was lying neatly as if he were dead.
“Just do the same thing you did in Priest Camilla’s room.”
“Ugh… . Yeah… .”
We did the same thing we had done in the room of the priest Camilla. First, we tied the limbs to the bedposts with a sling, and while Deacon Sophia poured salt, I drew lines with charcoal.
In the meantime, I had become somewhat accustomed to the rotten smell and was now somewhat bearable. I carefully opened the box I had placed on the floor and placed the tools needed for the exorcism on the side table next to the bed.
The box containing the holy relics had not yet been opened. It was to the devil’s advantage not to show us our numbers as much as possible.
“Hoo… .”
Okay, everything is ready.
Deacon Sophia and I took a step away from the salt surrounding the bed. As I made the sign of the cross and clasped my hands, Deacon Sophia, standing next to me, closed her eyes and bowed her head.
I recited a prayer softly.
“Saint Michael the Archangel, please be our protector.”
Protect us in our fight.
If we are led astray by the malice and schemes of Satan, please do not let our eyes be blinded.
Oh, I humbly pray to the Lord in heaven.
Lead your servants.
Forgive us the sins we commit here today, but protect us from evil.
We pray in the name of the Lord, the eternal leader of all living things, and of the archangels and all the saints who shine in heaven.
“… Come, Lord.”
I finished my prayer quietly.
It was the end of what would become the beginning of a long fight.
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