It was quite the energy draining struggle, but I managed to escape. For now at least.
I couldn't risk going to any other social gathering in the division, wary of who I might meet. Everyone in this division just had a really strange vibe to them, and I started doubting that there were any normal people here.
It turned out that I was wrong. Whilst I retreated to my dorm, I met Daniel, standing by my doorsteps.
"Can I help you?"
"I'm Daniel," He greeted. "I was told I'll meet you here."
"How long have you been waiting?"
"That doesn't matter." He brushed it aside. "You are Joshua, correct?"
"Yes."
"Last name?"
"I don't have one."
I realised that he was from the same division as I was. And suddenly…I was happy.
Firstly, I was more than glad to meet someone without massive biceps. Secondly, he didn't seem to be as pushy as everyone else I met.
"Do you want to come in?" I offered.
"No thanks." He declined. "I'll be fine here."
Daniel was a dark-skinned young man—probably the same age as I was, who appeared to be of African descent.
I couldn't deny that he was quite handsome. He had two almond shaped eyes, with nightly black irises that looked like they were filmed in a crystal clear sheet. His nose was neither too flat nor pointed, as if it were carefully put into place by a cautious craftsman. Two ears sprouted from the sides of his white dreadlocks, peeking out like a duo of timid observers.
However his eyes were stern. And his gaze exuded indifference.
"I'm a new member." I felt obligated to explain myself for some reason.
"I see.." his voice was flat. "You're an orphan, yes?"
"Yes."
"The Adjutor sent me to you," he said.
"Adjutor?"
"It's the assistant division leader." He explained. "I was told to have you follow me on my assignment."
"....."
"Urrm..why?"
My eyes subconsciously drifted from his face to his clothes. Wrapped around a slender yet athletic frame was a dark blue cassock.
Unless he was defying academic rules, it implied that he was a Purger—a rank ahead mine.
Anyone could wear cassocks of whatever colour they preferred—but not on the Academy's grounds. It was the reason that I had to forsake my beloved black cassocks for the grey ones we were handed. Since the colours were used for rank-identification.
So why did I have to follow a Purger on his assignment?
"Is this a means for me to gain further field experience?" I inquired.
Daniel raised a brow, his expression breaking away from his usual blank stare. "Further?"
His gaze intensified. "Do you have previous field experience?"
"Yes. With a second stage manifestation."
Daniel nodded in understanding. "Well…" he scratched his hair, " We aren't expecting any demons this time…."
"...Hopefully." he added, his eyes drifting into the depths of the corridors.
He immediately briefed me on the nature of the mission. Apparently, we were simply going to survey a mental facility that was once flagged of demonic activity.
Mental facility…
That just sounds like the perfect place for a demon..
"But don't worry." He encouraged me. "Several Wardens have swept through the area. It came back clean."
So it isn't anything serious after all…
"I'm not scared."
"Well that's the spirit."
His words were motivating, but his tone remained flat. He was like Father James, but rather than appearing like a dead man walking, he sounded like one.
Daniel's eyes scanned me from top to bottom. "Why don't you get dressed up for a start?"
Ah.
I was still shirtless.
"Sorry about that.."
Why did I feel comfortable being shirtless?
It seemed like the 'spirit of division 5' was rubbing off on me.
"It's fine," he said. "Just be quick."
But there was a slight irritation in his tone. Or maybe I was hallucinating, who knows?
...
Not long after, I darted out of my room, fully dressed in my grey uniform. I had also equipped my cross and my rosary, as was practice for Crusaders leaving the Sanctuary. After all, unexpected situations may arise, however lax the primary objective was.
"That was quick." Daniel remarked.
My eyes were drawn to the blue light shining behind him. He had a cross, held tightly in his left hand. And it had a blue glow around its frame.
Behind him was a portal to God-knows-where. But I was obligated to follow.
So I did.
...
"This is…."
Unsurprisingly, it was in fact…a mental facility.
Strangely, everything appeared peaceful—maybe a little too peaceful. But it was probably just me being paranoid.
It wasn't a particularly large infrastructure, and I could guess it was designed to admit 20-30 patients at most. I didn't know much about the outside world, so telling what precise location I was was simply impossible—unless I inquired intel from the Missionaries. But from the trees that surrounded the entire facility, even a baby would figure out that it was most probably a sub-rural/rural settlement.
Daniel stood behind me, his chin raised, and his eyes fixed on the roof of the structure.
He bit his lip. "You know…the difference in technological advancement between this world and ours always amazes me."
I followed his eyes and observed the building. It was about 3 stories tall, and it appeared to be structurally linked to other buildings behind it. In my eyes, it was no different from the buildings in the Sanctuary—except there were a few foreign technologies here and there.
Not like I cared. I became a Crusader to hunt demons, not to observe flashy tech.
The sun was less harsh than it was in the Sanctuary—and if there was anything I was grateful for, that was it.
Daniel turned to look at me. "You don't seem very interested in this world. Didn't you grow up in the Sanctuary?"
Ah yes…the good old story.
I didn't know my parents and just somehow appeared in the Sanctum of Faith. Unlike many Christians who were simply fleeing from persecution in the outside world, I never really knew what this world was like.
I guess it was odd that I didn't care.
"I did. But I haven't really seen anything of interest in this world." I explained.
"Ah." Daniel exclaimed. "You're missing out."
I wish he was just as expressive with his looks as he was with his words. Maybe it would feel more like a conversation.
Daniel chipped into my thoughts. "They have cars, you know?"
Cars. Yeah I've seen those.
I don't really know how those work. But they're quite noisy. I prefer the good old chariots.
It wasn't 'old' to me though—that's what I grew up seeing. It was probably due to the difference in upbringing that I thought of paranormal things like portal making, as 'normal' , and Azrael's rectangular device (he calls it a phone) as abnormal. In fact, it was only recently that I realised that portals are actually 'supernatural phenomenons'. I believed that they were just another means of transport.
"If we meet sooner." Daniel said. "I'll tour you round Earth."
"Thanks."
"Anyways.." He walked two steps forward. "Do you know what happened here?"
"No." But I was curious.
Daniel heaved a sigh. "Intel says that a massive outbreak happened last month. It involved all 32 patients."
"Oh?" I drew closer to him. "What happened to them?"
"They died," he replied. "To be exact, they spontaneously began attacking themselves. Three staff lost their lives whilst trying to mediate."
"....."
"That's…"
"It's terrible, I know." He remarked indifferently. "Some jumped down from heights while others stabbed each other to death."
Stabbed?
How did they get access to knives?
Several questions—which I knew would remain unanswered, began springing up in my mind. However there were more troubling issues—or rather, conclusions that any Exorcist would have made.
First-stage manifestations. Weakest demons ever, but notorious for influencing the emotions of their hosts. If left unchecked, they could drive the host's negative feelings to the extremities—which usually led to suicide.
In other cases, they could retain themselves in their hosts and mature into second stage manifestations by feeding off on the host's soul. However this was a spontaneous occurrence as first-stage manifestations were not fully conscious beings. Complex tasks and feelings were impossible for them, and they were quite monotonous on that.
On the good side, they had no physical forms. So all it took to exorcise them were some bible verses. Father Azrael would usually knock out the host before making short prayers.
In this case, one thing was solid. First-stage manifestations were the culprits here—lots of them.
But…for so many to be concentrated here at once, a second stage manifestation had to be involved. Also the sudden, collective outburst appeared orchestrated to me.
It was planned. Definitely.
I didn't know how long Daniel had been staring at me. But when I glanced back, he looked away.
"I see that you're thinking the same thing as I am…" he remarked.
Probably.
"But remember what I said." He added. "Wardens have searched every nook and cranny, and no demons were found."
"Maybe they escaped?"
"That's impossible." He retorted. Then he pointed at the clouds.
"You can't sense it but, there's a Holy Barrier all around us."
…..
But I did sense it.
I just wasn't sure what it was…
From the moment we stepped out of the portal, I could feel a strong condensation of divine energy—similar to Father Azrael's, but evenly dispersed in the atmosphere.
I was simply less interested in that, and more focused on the mission we were assigned.
"Oh really?" I acted surprised. "So they can't escape?"
Daniel walked two steps further. "Your spiritual attunement was too low. That's why you couldn't sense it."
Then he looked back at me. "Yes, they can't escape. It's a Warden's prayer after all…"
"....Except…" his voice faded.
"Except?"
"It might escape if it's a third-stage manifesta-!"
Suddenly, his words hung in his throat.
I saw an expression on Daniel's face. However, I couldn't discern what it was.
His voice dropped several degrees. "Joshua…."
"....."
"...what?"
Daniel slowly pushed his hands beneath the pellegrina of his cassock, gripping tightly onto his rosary.
What was happening?
"Joshua.." He called again.
"Urm…is there something wro-!"
...
"There's an Owl on your shoulder."