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The evening sunset passed through the open doorway and shone into the slightly dim living room, where a single, faint candlelight flickered on the dining table in the center, as the room lights were off.
Dark brown liquid slowly pooled on the floor, soaking the wood. A dense, metallic smell of blood rushed out the door, mixed with the stench of ruptured organs.
A silver-haired young man, dressed in a priest's robe, sat at the dining table with his legs crossed, looking down. The candlelight, which flickered due to the draft from the door, illuminated half his face. He seemed to be lost in a daze.
And lying quietly in front of his chair was a corpse.
No, calling it a corpse was an understatement—it should accurately be called... human remains.
Disemboweled, ribs exposed, it was impossible to discern the person's appearance when they were alive. It looked exactly like a rack of pork ribs on display at a butcher's stall.
Completely unprepared for this sight inside, the smile on Asia's face instantly froze when she saw the scene before her.
The joy in the girl's eyes, which had been sparked by seeing an acquaintance again, gradually receded, replaced by unrestrained fear and revulsion.
"Father, this is..."
"Hah?"
As if finally noticing the commotion at the doorway, the young silver-haired priest at the table glanced up, pulled his lips into a grimace, and, jutting his chin, asked in a low tone.
"Hey, Asia, didn't I tell you to set up the Banishment Barrier? Who the hell is this guy?"
He showed absolutely no intention of explaining himself. On the contrary, every word was fraught with menace.
"He is..."
Asia's timid nature clearly left her unable to cope with such an aggressive counter-question, and she instinctively shrank her neck slightly.
Hanakain Reiji stepped into the room, blocking the girl's path.
"Hanakain Reiji, acting head of the Kyoto Hanakain family."
"Hanakain? Hmm~ That name sounds a bit familiar. Where have I heard it? Let me think, let me think?"
The silver-haired priest remained seated at the table with his legs crossed. He twirled a large handgun he'd pulled from somewhere, using the muzzle to scratch his temple with a twisted grin.
Then he lowered the gun, letting out an "Ah!" of sudden realization.
"Ah, I remember now! You're one of those Japanese Onmyōji families! I heard your family had a close relationship with Yōkai four hundred years ago! As far as humans go, you are very unfaithful, aren't you~?"
He purposely drew out the last few words in a long, drawn-out tone, sticking his tongue out and waggling it around, which looked utterly disgusting, making it hard not to question his sanity.
"And who are you?"
Hanakain Reiji continued to step closer, his voice still calm, but the golden spiritual pressure (Reiatsu) rising around him indicated his next course of action.
So... so strong!
The little nun standing at the doorway involuntarily covered her mouth with her hands.
If the power fluctuation she generated when using her healing ability was like a gentle breeze blowing across a spring lake, the fluctuation emanating from Hanakain Reiji right now was like magma slowly flowing from the deepest core of the earth.
Steady and intense.
"Hoh~ As expected of the acting head, you do have some power to you!"
Sensing the power fluctuation, the silver-haired murderous priest could no longer sit calmly.
He broke into a maniacal grin, suddenly pushed off with his legs, and sprang from the chair, performing a backflip to leap back two or three meters. He landed steadily, still holding the handgun in one hand, and with the other, he theatrically produced a sword hilt.
Yes, just a hilt. There was no blade, only the grip and the guard.
Invisible Air?
Hanakain Reiji couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
But he quickly understood what was happening.
As the silver-haired murderous priest tightly gripped the hilt, a dazzling white light began to extend and spread upward from the top of the guard, quickly forming a blade made purely of light.
It looked, at first glance, similar to a Jedi's lightsaber.
"Let me form-ally—introduce myself."
Using an erratic, maniacal cadence, the silver-haired murderous priest, weapon in hand, took a deep, extremely awkward bow, sticking out his tongue and loudly bellowing with a sinister grin.
"I am Freed Sellzen, the ace Exorcist directly under the Vatican's Papal Authority! Oh, my bad... I forgot to mention, I'm already an ex-Exorcist now."
Ex- and current—a single word difference that signified a world of change.
Vatican Exorcists are somewhat similar to Japanese Onmyōji: organizations formed by people with special powers to protect humanity from external intrusion.
A normal Exorcist usually has only two possible outcomes.
They either pursue justice and eliminate demons, serving until their body becomes too old to fight demons, or they suffer irreparable damage in battle that prevents them from continuing high-intensity combat, forcing them to retire.
Or they are simply killed in battle with a demon.
But for someone so young to leave the order, if it wasn't due to insufficient talent confirmed during the assessment phase that prevented them from becoming a combat priest, the only remaining possibility was a major, extremely unstable psychological defect.
Referencing Trevor Phillips, who was screened out of the pilot program in GTA V.
Freed Sellzen, standing before him, clearly belonged to the latter category. And judging by the fact that he was carrying equipment granted by the Church even after leaving the order...
A rogue, lost priest who defected?
Hanakain Reiji quickly formed a conclusion in his mind.
"B-But..."
Just then, Asia's voice sounded again from the doorway.
She looked with trembling eyes at the human remains on the floor, then mustered her courage to shout.
"But even as an ex-Exorcist, if you still believe in God, shouldn't you fight to protect humanity? Not murder people indiscriminately..."
"Shut up, you useless piece of shit nun!!!"
The sudden outburst of profanity instantly cut off Asia's words. Freed violently swung his light sword, his face contorted in rage.
"Even though the Fallen Angel sisters told me not to bully you, I have to say, you truly are useless, you shit-eating nun! You couldn't even manage the simple task of setting up a Banishment Barrier! No wonder the Church kicked you out like trash! I was working hard to exorcise demons in here, you hear me? Every Devil... including anyone associated with a Devil, must be killed by me!!"
"W-Waaah...!"
As if an old wound had been freshly torn open, Asia shielded her chest with her hands, clutching her shoulders. She lowered her head, trembling slightly, and retreated half a step backward.
Associated with a Devil?
Hanakain Reiji then noticed a tiny magic circle drawn with a ballpoint pen next to the candlestick on the table.
He roughly recognized the formation. It was used to summon low-level communication familiars, such as small bat Devils. It could only summon weak, harmless petty Devils from the Underworld, and the summon could only be sustained for a very short time.
It was essentially like the Ouija board games popular in Asia—it was meant as harmless fun.
After all, the total Spiritual Power of an ordinary person would never be enough to summon any powerful creation from the Underworld.
And to brutally murder a person just for that, breaking into their home... truly...
Hoo~
Slowly exhaling, Hanakain Reiji withdrew his gaze and looked up again at the silver-haired murderous priest, whose behavior remained erratic and perverse. The golden spiritual pressure surging around him intensified, growing scorching hot.
"Logically, I should apprehend you as a murderer with special powers and hand you over to the Special Anti-Demon Squad to be locked away in a prison barrier."
"But, as I see it, that won't be necessary anymore."
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