Demons could not be annihilated. Rather, when exorcised, they disintegrate into dark particles that collect themselves in the atmosphere. These particles could then settle on a potential host and begin to morph into a first-stage manifestation by feeding on his/her negative emotions.
The demon that stood before us was in the second stage. And it had unleashed its full power.
At least, that was what I believed.
Father Azrael flashed a smile as he stepped out from the portal. The ends of his jacket danced as he moved, with a cross held in his right, and his left hand tucked in his pocket.
A rosary dangled from his wrists, which swayed with each second. His hair fluttered slightly whilst his sneakers touched the ground.
"Seems you're in a pinch, Joshua."
Perfect timing.
I don't know what circumstance or series of events it was that led him to this place. But I was grateful for his appearance. Since he was a Warden, things should definitely turn out to be a lot easier.
Right?
"I am," I admitted.
Father Azrael chuckled as the portal closed behind him. His gaze drifted towards Daniel, and they locked eyes for a while.
"Thanks for coming," Daniel said.
"You've got an injured leg," he commented. "Why don't you head back to get that treated?"
But Daniel shrugged it off. "I'll be fine."
"Cool."
Father Azrael sighed. Then, he pointed towards us.
"Both of you should retreat. That thing is third-stage."
"...."
"...."
There was a vivid display of shock on Daniel's face. However, I wasn't too surprised—I also had my doubts.
"That can't be right." He retorted, flashing a look of disbelief at Father Azrael. "It doesn't have the capabilities of a third-stage manifestation!"
He believed that if it was really of that rank, then he would have been defeated a long time ago. On that note, I partially agreed with him.
I didn't really know how dangerous demons of that class were. But, what I did know was that there was a massive power gap between each stage. Father Azrael told me once.
"It does." My teacher explained. "You're simply looking at it in the wrong way."
He took a step forward. "What makes one demon more dangerous than the other isn't tied to a fixed factor. You shouldn't assume a correlation to speed, or strength, or even its demonic traits."
He slowly lifted his cross, and it gradually gained illumination in a blue, radiant hue.
"Demons are spontaneous."
"They are beings that rejected God—who brought order from chaos and enforces order through his very being. They are creatures that rebelled against good and were swept away into sin and into damnation."
The light from his cross had gotten so bright that it was impossible to see his face. Nevertheless, Father Azrael kept speaking whilst he steadily approached us.
"Everything. Every form of order we enforced on their nature were simply suggestions made for our understanding. Ultimately, these vile beings are erratic ... so never judge one by strict logic."
Daniel raised a brow. "So what you're saying is…"
Father Azrael didn't respond. In his grasp, the overwhelming light subsided. And a spear formed of divine energy was revealed. What seemed like blueish fiery dust blazed from the pointed tip of the triangular spearhead and the dull end of the spear.
Both I and Daniel didn't say a word when we parted to opposite sides, giving way for him to launch his attack. I couldn't tell how he felt, but I was…slightly anticipating.
Was he going to hurl the spear at the demon?
Would it hit?
Would it dodge?
Would it pierce it?
But to my shock, I saw him do no such thing.
The spear just…disappeared from his grip.
"....!"
BAM!
"KIIIEEEEE!!!"
The demon suddenly screamed with such intensity as never before. Equally stupefied, we both turned to look, and we froze in shock.
A spear was lodged right on the left side of its face. The right side had previously exploded…and now the left did.
What on earth…!
The Owl screamed in agony—its formerly blank stare being eroded of all sense of normalcy. Firstly, blood leaked through its eyesockets. And then, both eyeballs burst into a red mist.
The moment that happened, every other part of its body, the torso, its legs, and every one of its limbs began to swell up abnormally. They expanded outwards as if forcibly inflated by air, each portion of its body stretching to the limits.
And when it overcame that limit, the demon broke open and blew apart.
Whoosh!
A large gust of wind swept over the field as a large amount of dark particles moved in different directions. They took the form of a flame—a dying flame, each particle slowly rising into the atmosphere.
Under Father Azrael's eyes were the chaos he had unleashed. However, he was unfazed about it.
The same couldn't be said for two others.
I hid my dumbfoundedness, wary that he might tease me if he found out. Daniel seemed rather calm and collected, looking like he wasn't equally astonished. But somehow, I knew he was only acting.
Not like I'm any better.
The facade might have been pointless. I heard Father Azrael chuckle to himself as if he found something amusing. What else could it be that was so funny?
"That was…pretty cool," I muttered, avoiding his gaze on purpose.
But, his response was surprisingly stoic and empty of the excitement I once sensed.
"I know."
Father Azrael looked carefully at me, then at Daniel. In his hand was his cross, now having just a faint blue glow that encapsulated it.
"If you must define the threat of a demon," he said. "then you should look beyond the obvious and focus on potential."
"Potential?" Daniel was quick to question him.
"Yes." He replied. "In an exorcism, always make your worst assumptions from the observed potential. Unlike you, I made sure to go over the intel given by the missionaries. And then I found out some striking details about the said 'demonic activity.'"
Hm?
"What do you mea-!"
"Too long, bro. I ain't telling all that."
"...."
"The point is..when you find something strange about a demon, pay close attention to it. The threat of a demon isn't defined by superficial things like physical strength. What determines it is the worst thing it's capable of achieving."
Daniel had a thoughtful expression. From the furrowing of his brows, I could tell that he was trying really hard to read between the lines.
He was probably thinking; 'What did I miss?'
But then, Father Azrael smirked. "That demon I exorcised isn't quite dead."
"...."
I was bamboozled.
"Well yeah obviously.." Daniel interjected. "Demons don't die."
However, Father Azrael meant something else. "Oh, you've mistaken my words."
It was at that moment that he realised.
"You mean..?!"
…..
"Yes."
…..
"KIEKEKEEEKEKEKEKEEE!!!!"
A loud cackle boomed from the site of the ascending flames. And from those flames, a large creature—a demon emerged.
8 feet tall. Just as he was at the beginning of the previous fight, It bore claws that looked just as it was earlier, eyes that stared no sharper than they had at the former, and limbs—two pairs, as it once was.
The Owl spoke.
"You are a strong one. I must admit."
But my teacher completely ignored it.
"As I was saying," he continued. "A single ability that a weak demon possesses can make it a greater threat than a demon that runs at sonic speed. At times, this one ability is the thing that makes it a third stage in the first place. So, it's easy to get deceived that the demon is weak simply because it didn't utilize it."
"Can it be more than one?" Daniel asked.
"Of course." He replied. "Demons are spontaneous, remember?"
Then, he looked back at the demon. "This one has…precisely two."
Oh?
"How do you know?" I inquired.
To my displeasure, he flashed a disgustingly familiar grin at me.
"Well, guess who's curious…" he jested.
"Tch!"
I shouldn't have asked.
…..
Father Azrael stopped joking around. His eyes—although brimming with a nearly palpable sense of ease were sternly fixed on the creature.
"I know both of its abilities. Can you guess one?"
"Hmm…" Daniel pondered for a while. Shortly after, his eyes lit up as if a sudden realisation had hit him by accident.
"Does it have some sort of invisibility?" He questioned. "I remember that Joshua couldn't see the owl sitting on his shoulder."
Father Azrael gave a thumbs-up. "100 points. It can temporarily mask its presence. But only to one person."
That would explain why it didn't bother using it when both Daniel and I were fighting it. There was no point since only one of us would be blindfolded.
I see…
Daniel's pretty smart.
I'm pretty sure I saw Daniel sneak a victorious look at me. Or was it a jestful gesture? It was too quick for me to tell.
Father Azrael then turned his chin slightly in my direction, expecting a second answer from me. But his eyes never left the demon.
"Urmm…I don't know."
He sighed.
"Here's a hint. Observe the faces on the demon. How many are there?"
"Urmm…Roughly 30?"
Father Azrael nodded. "Now allow me to be weird…"
"How many patients died here?" he asked.
Patients that died..
Hmm…
"....!"
Could it be..?
"Thirty…two.." Daniel's eyes widened as he came to a slow realisation.
"Those..those faces are…?!"
….
"Yes."
….
Daniel seemed to have immediately understood what was going on, but I, on the other hand, only had a rough idea.
One thing was for sure, there was a link.
But the fact that I didn't know what it was made me uneasy.
Daniel tapped my shoulder. "Don't worry. All 32 patients were cremated. It's…something different."
Then what exactly is it?
The Owl cackled loudly.
"I see you've figured it out!" The demon mocked.
No, I haven't!
It slapped one of the faces on its body, smacking it with the back of its palm.
"This one was particularly interesting for me!!"
"…."
"She kept weeping about her family!" The demon yelled. "Even though she knows they are dead!"
It went on to rant like a crazed animal. Sometimes, the Owl would speak; other times, the demon would speak.
Most times, they spoke in unison.
"It was funny. I couldn't stop myself."
"I had to play a little game with her. I got carried away. And she accidentally died."
"Ahhh what a shame!!!"
"KIEKIEKIEKIE!!!"
"Shall I tell you about this old man right here?" He pointed at another face by his chest. "This one was my favourite toy!"
"Ahhh what about this one? Or th-!"
Father Azrael intercepted him.
"We get it." He remarked indifferently. "You're scum."
"...."
"AHHH YOU BET I AM!!!" It cried out loud, giggling like a maniac. The demon continuously smacked the faces of the people on its body, and it seemed to be deriving pleasure from it.
"AHH CAN YOU IMAGINE?!"
"THE ONES THAT HATED ME, ARE NOW PART OF ME!!!"
"KIEKEKEKEKEKEE!!"
"AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA"
…..
I hated those words.
I felt my blood boil more violently than ever.
I didn't even fully understand the words that it spoke. But I couldn't suppress the ever-rising anger in me.
"Father Azrael!" I yelled. "Let's kill this thing!!!"
But just like Daniel, he was perfectly calm.
"Father Azrael?!"
He glanced at me.
"Calm down. It's provoking you on purpose."
"But-!"
"Calm....down."
"...."
Calm down?
This demon had done really vile things to people!
It deserved hell!
Father Azrael took a step closer to the demon. "So I know you were responsible for the mass suicide and you've somehow usurped their lives for yourself."
The demon giggled. "Well, aren't I awesome?"
He stared keenly. "Each of the faces is some sort of battery and with each death, I'm guessing one disappears."
There were currently 31 out of 32 faces on its body. Father Azrael had exorcised it once, so that was his conclusion.
"You're right about everything," It replied, "you're quite a genius.."
Father Azrael paid no heed to its remarks. Instead, he appeared thoughtful for a while.
"Something bugs me." He said.
"If your ability masks your presence to only one person, how could you hide from the several Wardens that visited?"
The demon grinned.
"Oh…that's where you're wrong."
"Who said it was only one person?"
Father Azrael rolled his eyes. "I was observing your battle with these kids. You didn't use it in the fight with the duo, but you did with Daniel alone."
The demon said no further.
...
Wait, he was monitoring us?
How long?
How?
Daniel slapped his forehead and let out a weary sigh. His dreadlocks obscured his face, so I couldn't see his expression, but he seemed to be having similar thoughts as I did.
Father Azrael's gaze deepened, and there seemed to be a psychological battle happening between him and it.
From the look of things, the demon had lied about something.
Father Azrael wore a knowing smile.
"If you can conceal yourself from more than one person, why don't you become invisible and attack us three at once?"
"What's stopping you?"
It remained silent.
"I see…"
My teacher glanced back at me.
"We've got an interesting case." He said.
Its concealment was never an ability.
"A demon with an artefact."