The facility, once brimming with people, was now desolate and empty. As the sunlight drifted away, dark clouds crept over the sky, casting a shadow over the land. The field was vast, yet not a single person could be seen utilising it. All lights in the field were turned off, and you would think it had been deserted for years.
The mental facility was empty. It was surrounded—in its entirety by forests of trees that wound together. A building could be seen beyond the field, but it looked just as lonely as everything else. To the right was a basketball court, and a race track ran around the edges of the clearing.
No one played. And no one ran.
Then suddenly, at the centre of the open field, a blue light shone. It tore out from space itself, bathing the depressing atmosphere in soothing radiance.
The beam took the shape of a large round door, and later, it subsided, revealing a circular opening in space.
A portal had been opened.
"Well, well, well…"
A person walked out of the portal, his boots pressing firmly on the concrete. He wore a flowing black cassock—long enough to graze the ground. There was a fascia fitted to his waist and a pellegrina hugging his shoulders.
"It's quite a mess. Isn't it?"
It was another person who spoke.
A lady emerged from the portal shortly after he did. She wore a black habit that swayed as she moved, a coif that covered her forehead and a black veil over her head that reached down to her shoulders.
The blonde man with the American accent turned towards the woman, resting his eyes on her. "You followed me?"
She smiled. "Father Thomas warned me to watch you closely."
"Tch!" The man hissed. "Doubting Thomas."
Liam had a straight, slightly pointed nose, blue irises and a sharp jawline. He also had a quite long neck that matched well with his athletic physique.
"By the way, Azrael told me something interesting.."
The lady didn't seem interested.
Walking past him, the woman in a nun's attire approached the building. A rosary was coiled around her fingers, and her palms clenched it tightly. Her gaze was calm—as still as a lake, and her eyes held nightly black irises that seemed to peer deep into the darkness. The habit she wore covered both of her legs, sweeping the ground whilst she moved.
Liam tagged along, and after a few seconds of walking, they arrived at the entrance of the building.
The woman turned back. "Shouldn't you have opened the portal at the other side?"
"Err…" He scratched his head, looking away from her. "There was less disturbance here. I figured it would be safer."
The woman's gaze lingered, her eyes hidden in the shadow of her veil.
"Fine."
She looked from side to side, examining her surroundings before raising her chin.
Her voice was soft and tranquil. "You can see it, can't you?"
Liam traced her gaze. And then his face sank.
"This is….."
He exclaimed in frustration, exhaling sharply. "This is going to be long!"
From every opening, every empty window frame, every chimney, and every open—or rather broken door, a dark mass oozed.
It looked like shadows but heavier. Like gas but alive. The dark particles flowed out like a stream. However, they appeared so still that they almost seemed stagnant.
Yet, they moved. And 'they' were alive.
Liam bit his lip, running his hand through his hair. "There are at least hundreds of them." He protested. "This is a lot more than a legion!"
The woman glanced at him. "Calm down."
But Liam quickly grew impatient. "Calm down? This is a lot greater than the threat level I was told!"
"And that's why I followed you, no?"
He tried retorting, but his words were stuck in his throat. His complaints vanished, quickly replaced by curiosity.
"How many are really there?" He asked, his voice sounding a lot quieter.
The lady seemed surprised. She tilted her head, her eyes fixed on him. Unfortunately, the male Crusader couldn't read her expression as it was inhibited by the nightly blackness that slowly overshadowed their positions.
"Just about 3." She responded. "The remaining are just a lot of low-level demons."
"Ah.." The man slapped his forehead in defeat, feeling embarrassed. "My senses are really bad, aren't they?"
"It's terrible."
She didn't even try sugarcoating the truth.
"....."
"There are indeed hundreds." She continued. "But only three are worth some level of concern."
Hearing that, Liam wanted to defend himself. But he was intercepted before he could even speak.
"The 'hundreds' are all first-stage manifestations."
At that moment, Liam felt all his arguments disappear like fleeting wind. His attempt at justifying himself was broken asunder before he could even present them.
Seeing his defeated expression, Vivian broke into a light laugh. "Wait..did you think there were hundreds of second-stage manifestations?"
Liam looked away. "Well…"
"Pfft!"
Her jeering intensified, and she covered her mouth with her palm, retreating slightly into the distance as if to prevent him from knowing. But Liam could easily tell that she was amused.
And he knew why.
"Sheesh!" He exclaimed. "Why does it matter? There are still hundreds anyway!"
"Eh.." Vivian stopped laughing, and her demeanour regained its serenity.
Her gaze turned stern. "If the hundreds were all second stage, even you wouldn't survive."
"...!"
Liam stood…speechless.
The atmosphere descended in silence. It was the quiet, bothersome silence.
Neither of the two spoke. And the forest all around them didn't either. No crickets could be heard, and even the leaves made not a sound as if refusing to rustle.
Then, through the calm and through the still….was a scream.
"SHIIIEEKKK!!!"
The sound was so horrendous that it could make anyone tear off his/her ears. It was one sharp scream that echoed from the highest floor of the building.
However, the two Crusaders were unfazed. Rather than fear or surprise, they were…irritated.
Liam lowered his head, his blonde hair burying his face.
"Let's get this over with." He said in a very low voice. His fists were clenched, and veins bulged on them.
As always, Crusaders tended to harbour unnatural hate for demons.
The sound of one alone made their blood boil and their hearts thump with a drive to eradicate.
"Fine."
Vivian raised her rosary with her right hand, and her left hand pressed on her chest.
"Remember…" she advised. "We aren't exorcising them all. Just the second-stage manifestations."
Liam was already walking up the stairs to the building when he turned around with an irritated expression. "And why is that?"
Vivian sighed. "Calm down."
"...?"
"There's a new batch of Crusaders, remember?"
"...."
"Guess not." Vivian advanced towards him and stood ahead. "That's why you need to calm down."
Then, she turned to look at him with a knowing smile. "Don't kill the lower ones accidentally."
Liam hissed. "Fine."
"I'll set up the Holy Barrier."
Vivian straightened her outstretched arm and shut her eyes.
Her lips moved, and words left her mouth.
"Whoever digs a hole shall fall into it."
Suddenly, a bright beam of blue light broke through the sky.
A pillar of light fell from the clouds, leaving a streak that refused to fade. It descended mightily from heights unimaginable…and fell on Vivian.
At that moment, her body was illuminated in a dazzling light. Her rosary had vanished from her grasp, and it was now floating above her head.
Vivian was surrounded by a round wall of alluring light, wrapped about her like a sheet. In that sheet of blueish white light, several particles danced, shimmering like tiny stars.
".....whoa.."
It wasn't Liam's first time seeing it. But no matter how many times he did, he couldn't grow fond of it.
Each time, it stole his heart and threatened to never return it. Each time he saw her in all that….majesty, he felt like she was a goddess that couldn't be tainted.
Just looking at her made him feel…unworthy.
….
Vivian opened her eyes, her eyelids fluttering for a while due to the light illuminating her surroundings. Around her shoulders, there was a ring of blue light that remained evident despite the greater light that came from above. And the rosary above her shone the brightest—like a star in ecstasy.
Without delay, Vivain completed the prayer.
"Whoever digs a hole shall fall into it." She repeated. "The trouble they cause shall recoil on them."
Then, she clasped her fingers to make a prayerful gesture.
"And their violence shall come down on their own heads."
The moment the prayer was completed, Vivian pushed both of her arms outwards.
"Holy Barrier."
The pillar of light expanded from her position, spreading out from beneath as it stretched in every direction. Not long after, the pillar had expanded into a dome. A large circular dome.
It was a hemisphere that spanned from a fraction of the forests beyond to the ones behind, trapping the entire facility in its midst. The moment it stopped expanding, the light receded, leaving a near-transparent membrane that covered everything in sight.
Vivian let out a satisfied sigh before letting down her hands. Liam still stood before her, gawking like he had seen a miracle.
She smirked at him. "Everything's trapped. You can go wild."
"Hmph!"
Liam beat his chest and took out a cross from the breast pocket hidden beneath his pellegrina. The night had fully unveiled itself, so the darkness prevented anyone except him from seeing the exact characteristics of the cross.
"Alright then. I'll take care of the three." He declared.
Vivian immediately retorted. "Take care of the two above. I'll deal with the one below."
"Whatever."
In that moment, a blue circle appeared around Liam's shoulder.
Liam raised his cross and chanted the Psalms of War.
"He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
He causes me to stand on the heights.
He trains my hands for battle;
My arms can bend a bow of bronze."
Immediately after his prayer, his cross took on a bright glow that became brighter, and brighter till the entire shape was hidden in the light.
In anyone's eyes, it looked like he was holding a ball of white light.
But the light moved.
It stretched out, extending forward from his grasp in an orderly manner before taking a curve. After a few seconds had passed, it had a form.
The form of a bow. A white bow.
Liam's other hand gripped the bowstring, his fingers holding onto the length like an expert's. Then suddenly, more light emanated from the bowstring, materialising an arrow that came from….nowhere.
Liam's eyes turned serious as he aimed the bow at a certain window on the highest floor. His brows were closely knit, and not a muscle moved on his face.
His fingers slowly stretched back, pulling the bowstring as they went. And with outstanding precision, he released it.
It went in a fine white streak, tearing through the skies silently—but swiftly.
In a fraction of a second, the arrow of light—small as it was, fell through the window he had aimed at.
...
"...."
Nothing happened.
Yet Liam lowered his bow, and the light subsided till it completely vanished. Without saying a word, he slipped his cross back under his pellegrina and turned to look at Vivian.
"It's your turn now." He said.
"Oh, I'm already done," Vivian answered.
"Huh? When?" Liam inquired.
But she didn't respond. Instead, she just smiled mysteriously and shut her eyes. Her rosary, which once floated above her head, fell into her palm. And she held it for a prayer.
"Let's confirm the exorcism before we leave." She told Liam, squeezing her rosary.
"You mean you've actually—!"
She bowed her head.
"O Lord of Light, open our eyes so that we may see what hides in the shadows.
If darkness yet lingers, reveal it.
If peace has come, let it rest upon us.
Let the eyes of our spirit bear witness that no foul thing remains,
And only Your presence fills this place.
By Your breath, grant us sight;
By Your Spirit, confirm the cleansing.
Amen."
"Amen." Liam echoed.
…
Her eyes were closed, but she could see.
Vivian was no longer just standing outside with Liam.
Her body was, but 'she' wasn't.
Her consciousness drifted, taking the transparent appearance of a ghost. She floated too, and she passed through doors and walls.
Vivian's spirit moved about, searching the building for any sign of a second-stage manifestation. Darkness was all about her but she was unfazed.
She didn't care about weaklings.
After several minutes, her spirit withdrew to her flesh, rejoining with her body away from Liam's knowing.
Vivian opened her eyes.
"I saw your arrowhead stuck in a demon, while the tail was in another."
Liam smiled. "Two birds with one stone."
"Is that why they didn't make a sound?" She asked. "Because you ended them too quickly?"
"It's just my style." He answered. "But hey…I didn't even know when you handled yours."
Vivian's eyes wandered away. "That's a secret."
"Tch!" Liam pouted in dissatisfaction. Ignoring it, she turned her back on him and walked away.
Her voice trailed off as she left. "Come do your portal thingy!"
Grudgingly, Liam followed her, mumbling words to himself while he went.
The two Crusaders had completed the mission assigned to them. However they made sure to leave the Holy Barrier in place, in order to prevent the hundreds of first-stage demons from escaping the facility.
The task of purging the remnant filth would later be assigned to the up and coming Crusaders.
Joshua was one of such Crusaders.
"Hey wait up!" Liam protested.
In a matter of seconds, he reunited with Vivian. And in minutes, he had created a portal.
Shortly after, the once vacant facility returned to its solitude.
….
Everything was still. And aside from the raging demons in the building, nothing really moved.
Except…..
Sitting on a branch in the thickness of the forest beyond, a brown owl watched patiently. It had two unnaturally wide crimson eyes, and a pair of deformed nostrils that were definitely larger than normal.
It had observed the intruders from the very beginning. However they had not noticed it, or caught the slightest whiff of its presence.
And the 'owl' that watched, did something an owl should never be able to do.
As it bobbed its head abnormally, blood-red eyes fixated on the Holy Barrier, the owl….spoke.
No beak moved, but words were uttered.
In a disturbing voice.
"So..."
The bobbing stopped, and the owl lowered its head. It sat silently, staying in place like it had been petrified.
Then it blinked.
Immediately, it started pecking at its own flesh.
It tore through its own feathers, mutilating itself beyond recognition. Its beak dug through its skin, and the owl began to chew away at its insides.
Only when it was satisfied, did it raise its head again, resettling its eyeballs on the barrier.
"I guess I'm trapped."
There was an audible screeching that seemed to echo through each word it spoke. And with each pause, no matter how short, those words would reverberate, burying themselves in the depths of the forest.
The demon laughed.
"I…am trapped."
Blood dripped off its beak in a rhythmic yet eerie pattern. While its back was relatively unharmed, one couldn't say the same for its torso.
The demon laughed again.
"Kiekekekeke!!!"