Exorcists and witches are the beings of this world which are difficult to find.
Witches are cursed humans, born to destroy and cause misfortune.
And in the case of exorcists, they are cursed humans, who are haunted by the misfortune of being able to face…evil.
Before this planet, it was the 'earth' on which we are all accustomed to living. Until, after the extinction of habitats, species, and evil becoming dominant on the planet, it was 'restarted' by the supreme god.
An unknown god, who is known as the 'repeater'.
Thanks to this reboot, the floors opened, and an entrance was opened so that all the beings under the earth who lived imprisoned were freed, and all the evil in this world could end.
This is how the 'red sky' emerged, a sky that, to this day, in this second phase of the Earth, continues to exist.
Just like demons.
Reducing the chances of survival, and as a last resort, resorting to whatever 'magic' and 'faith' this last chance might offer.
The dreaded witches have disappeared. Like the exorcists, only a few have managed to survive this reboot.
And now, they are the most needed and sought after to be able to purify this world again, and live as human life was before.
That was the introduction to my novel.
The goal was to create an impossible world to live in, where the protagonist would have to fend for himself in order to escape and survive, while also playing his role as a hero and helping others.
However, after my arrival, that changed.
«Make sure you find an ending to this story.»
A simple request for me, the author, then; why is it so hard for me to decide on an ending?
One of my characters now knows of my true existence. I don't know exactly how he knew.
Heaven and earth is Randy Bornman, the artificial god of this earth. But at the same time, it's a mystery that will never be revealed; that's how I wrote him.
This is...very difficult...
"Mr. Detective, Why do you keep petting that thing? Aren't you afraid it might kill you?" Liam asked, hiding behind me, while I still looked closely at the name that appeared on the screen of the Identifier.
Frederick Leighton.
But Liam and the readers only know him as 'Frederick L.'
Anyway, he was a main character, but he died in the second volume of the novel at the hands of Elmetron.
It's not like he had a very important role either. He was just the blacksmith in charge of treating Astral when it was dented…
But now, he's an exorcist and I have this demon inside me… "Good! It's time to work!" With a sudden burst of motivation, went towards Anser, with the Identifier in my hand.
I looked up Frederick's Sect member information and was able to obtain his photo; a man with a young but tired face; dark circles under his eyes, gray eyes, and black hair with bangs that slightly covered his left eye.
In the novel, he was almost the same height as Anser—six feet tall.
Frederick was two inches taller than Anser, and I'm about five foot seven...he'll be...big.
But I bet for poor Liam, who is only 5'11", it would be absolutely intimidating to put her next to someone as tall as Frederick.
"Hold him for a moment, Anser, you'll have to let him go soon so he can guide us…" Soon, I brought the device with Frederick's picture closer to the demon's eyes, his long horn released sparks, and then he started moving his nose. "There he is! Now just let him go and he'll lead us to wherever one of his kind has seen Frederick."
"Huh? Really? That easy?" Liam asked, taking the device from my hand, as the rabbit-like demon began to raise his ears and lower them.
I nodded, finally, it was my time to share my knowledge of the demonology of this world; "Yep," I crossed my arms, "Locator demons are like cameras; there are millions of them scattered here in the forest, and they can also communicate with each other using that horn you see there. So, all he has to do is send the image I showed him to his friends, and soon they will tell him where the person we are looking for is."
Liam blinked, then gave a small 'oh' and said: "So it's like asking in your group chat with your friends, right?"
"Yes...it's an easy way to put it..."
Anser looked at both of us, his face full of confusion.
Ah, that's right, he's not from the same era as us, and besides, in this world there are no cameras, nor are there group chats, other than magic signals in the air, that's the closest thing to that…
"I'll explain to you later," I said to Anser, patting him on the arm, "Now, let him go."
"…"
However, contrary to what I said, Anser did not release the demon.
"…"
"…"
A lot of silence.
"…Why?" I asked simply and plainly.
Anser looked to the side, then frowned.
Huh? He was being shy?
Don't tell me that...
I looked at Liam, trying to see if she had the same thought as me, when she nodded, I could understand...
"…" Anser had already become attached to that demon. "He's hungry."
"I see him healthy."
"No, he doesn't."
"He is more important than me?"
"…"
This is a rhetorical question, please don't answer.
"Is there a way to be able to use the demon without him releasing it?" Liam asked, watching the scene with some amusement.
In fact, I think it is possible....
"We can use their ears and head as a guide; they tend to look in the direction they're going to walk."
And soon, we saw the demon, who, as I said, looked to the right, and then moved his nose more frantically.
"Let's follow where he points."
***
At this point, I've lost track of time.
"I'm very tired..." Liam murmured into my back as I carried her. "Are we almost there...?"
I would like to answer you, but I am certainly not sure.
Since we started following the devil, we've been walking for quite a while; we've crossed rivers, almost climbed mountains, and yet...
The devil keeps taking us even further.
"Maybe not…If he went hunting, he must be even further away..."
Yes, that's how hunts worked: looking for demon nests so they could be exterminated directly from there, and usually, those nests were far from the city.
Very far.
Liam collapsed on my back, exhausted from the long walk.
Meanwhile, Anser continued to guide us.
Until finally, he stopped.
Standing in the middle of the forest, full of trees, and herbs that were perhaps poisonous, soon the demon jumped out of Anser's arms, and ran towards the poisonous plants to eat them.
"…We just came all the way here so he could eat?" Liam said.
We look at Anser, then we look at the demon...
"I'm going to kill him…" Liam muttered, getting off my back and going after the demon, though, stopping a meter away from him. "But not now! It will be later..."
I sighed.
Perhaps she was right; the demon might have been hungry, and brought us here just to eat...
But still, that means at least it brought us close to the person we were looking for. Or so it's supposed to be.
"Never mind that now, Liam." I walked towards her, "You're tired, so you should relax a little while Anser and I-"
As I was about to reach my hand up to pat Liam's back, a bullet went through my hand, knocking it backward.
"AH! What was that?!" She said, falling to the ground on her back, scared and confused.
Anser immediately drew his sword. In a swift movement, he went to Liam, to protect her with his body, and then pulled me in as well.
I look at my hand, as soon as the bullet hit, it started to regenerate. However, not as fast as it normally regenerated.
I looked around, searching for the stray bullet all over the ground, until I was able to find it among branches and leaves; a silver bullet, from which the trace of energy it was imbued with was beginning to disappear.
Quickly, my mind began to work.
And soon, I got a memory; that time where Liam fought with his cousin, the woman with the ability to create steel hands, a bullet like that was the one that hit the steel…
That means that…
"Anser! What are the places where you usually hunt?" I asked, soon, more bullets being fired, all heading towards me, but Anser, managing to block them with his sword.
Anser seemed to hesitate a little, as he looked at me, and then spoke. "Points F9, M17, J5, T13."
Wow, if I knew more about geography, I would be an expert at explaining, but since this is a fictional novel, and I created the demons' spacing points…
In this world, instead of using north, south, east and west, they are based on key points; the first letters of the alphabet indicated cities, the middle ones indicated towns, and the last ones indicated abandoned or unexplored areas. And the numbers indicated the exact location according to the positions of the sun. Even numbers belonged to the north and west side, and the odd numbers belonged to the south and east.
It may be a bit complicated, but over time, it became easier to use those kinds of key points, because that is how the people of this place wanted to interpret it.
"Can you calculate where we are?" I asked him again.
Well, maybe it was because he's the only one who could know about this…
"…J9."
Wow, that means we're not as far away as I imagined.
And that meant we were in hunting grounds.
Then, I looked slightly over Anser's shoulder to try to see who the individual with the bullets was.
Rather, to verify if it was him.
Soon, I fled from Anser's body, while crawling on the ground, going to where the bullets were originating.
Although, being close enough to see his silhouette hidden among the heights of the tree branches, the bullets started shooting only at me; the bullets hit my back, although they regenerated, the slow regeneration didn't help much…
I stayed on the ground for a moment, thinking about how to get closer, while at the same time dodging the bullets that tried to hit my head.
Behind me, Anser charged at me, trying to block the bullets coming at me, but soon he too was shot, having to block bullets from his spot to prevent them from hitting Liam.
There was no way I could get closer.
If I did, he'd blow my brains out.
Although...
If I use the same thing he uses, infusing energy into bullets...
However, I won't be using those same bullets, since they won't hurt him if they still have their energy, so, I'll do it with rocks.
I rolled on the ground, grabbing a small stone and squeezing it in my hand to the point of drawing blood, staining the stone, and then throwing it at him, where he was hidden.
At the same time, he shot at me, I managed to dodge the bullet before it hit my throat, instead, it went through my arm.
Soon, the bullets stopped, apparently after the stone I threw hit him.
Quickly, Anser and I ran to where he was before.
We looked all around; nothing. Then, I looked up into the branches of the trees and, in the distance, noticed a figure holding his left shoulder; It was him.
"Anser, up." I said, then climb a tree, and run between the branches.
Until finally, I reached where he was, however, when he saw me approaching, he took out his pistol, and pointed it directly at me between the eyes.
And soon, he shot.
But the bullet hitting the blade of Anser's sword.
The man's eyes widened in surprise as he looked down at Anser. Distracted, I took advantage of the situation and grabbed his hood, knocking him to the ground.
"Ugh!"
On the ground, I immediately removed the hood that covered his face, so I could see that it was him: Frederick L.
"What the fuck are you doing? Don't touch me, demon!" He said, removing my hand from his hood, then standing up, but before fleeing, Anser stuck a knife into his wounded shoulder. "Damn it!"
He fell to his knees on the floor in pain, while looking at me with hatred, and at Anser with surprise and confusion.
Who would have thought that this guy had already seen us before?
"You're from the Ace Sect, right?" I crossed my arms, as I watched Anser go for his sword. "Sherly said you were a good exorcist, would you mind exorcising the demon that lives inside me?"
Frederick frowned even more.
"Did that old man tell you that?" He snorted, "I know about exorcisms, but in my fucking life I will exorcize you…"
Huh? Why so much hate towards me?
I don't understand, perhaps...
He was in a bad mood, because I throw that stone at him?
Damn.
How resentful.