Exorcist Servant: Demon Hunter

"Here we are." The driver—is his name Dave? ——Turning off the engine of the van while talking.

Caleb pushed his glasses higher up his nose, and he looked out the window: they were parked on the street in front of a row of decaying houses—the worst neighborhood in Charleston.The concrete behemoth of I-26 looms nearby, its traffic rumbling in the distance under an overcast sky.

The house had been gorgeous: it had two floors plus an attic, and its side faced the street, so the front porch and upstairs balcony looked out over the faded garden.Now all that remains of the garden is a patch of weedy land, with the balcony half-slumped into the porch.There were holes in the caved-in roof, and only a few flecks of pink paint remained on the weather-beaten walls.

It even looked like a monster's lair.

Caleb's stomach clenched from the lunch he ate hours ago, and he tried to swallow the bitter gall in his mouth.Spitting out in front of the ruins couldn't make it any worse, and even the women around him were more masculine than he was.

"Is it... in there?" he asked.At least his voice didn't tremble.

Melanie sat next to him.Her red-brown curls framed her pale, worried face, and her lips were drawn into a tight line.When she and Ben were first married, she used to be all smiles.

But with Ben dead, the two of them might never smile again.Some kind of creature had killed Caleb's only brother, and the goddamned wands hadn't been able to catch and kill it.This is bad enough.

But coming to the funeral home on the day of the funeral, only to find that the demon not only killed Ben, but got into his body and left with it?

Naturally they couldn't laugh after that.

"Yes," Melanie said, "Leyland said it was here, so it must be here."

Caleb glanced at the others in the car.Judging from their steely calm eyes and confident aura, it is obvious that this is not the first time they have done this kind of thing.Of course he's heard the rumors about secret demon-slaying groups - but those are just crazy conspiracy theories, and lunatics claiming that NASA faked the "Apollo" moon landings, or that "9/11" was a deliberate planting of demons by SPECTR Same.

Melanie said these people were her friends, and Ben's too.They must have something, or Ben would never have gotten involved.

But if they didn't... fuck him, Ben is dead, and his killer has put on his body like a second-hand suit.He didn't give a damn if these people were the mafia if they would help him put Ben to rest.

"Let's do it," said the man in the back seat with shoulders as broad as a football linebacker.Caleb could not recall his name at all.

They climbed out of the van.Charleston was a few degrees warmer than Charlotte, but the wind from the sea made Caleb shiver in his battered coat, forgetting how flat the coast was here.Although it is noon, there are almost no people on the street.An old man in a tattered overcoat sat on the curb near a building advertising fried chicken.Another stumbled out of a tobacco shop across the street, and before long they started passing a paper bag back and forth.

Even without the participation of demons, isn't it miserable enough here?

"This damn house is probably full of ghouls," Dave muttered.

"So we have to worry about these things?" Great, there are other monsters.

"Probably." Dave walked to the back of the van and opened the cargo door, revealing a locker inside.As if worried about someone prying, he quickly glanced around and opened it.

Caleb had never seen such a large array of guns, ammunition, knives, and hatchets.Oh no, they must have done this before.

He swallowed, his throat as dry as the Sahara.God, he's had a few fights in his life, but those were just bar fights.What the hell is he getting involved in this time?

Melanie nudged him with her elbow. "I told you, we'd get rid of that son of a bitch."

"Who are these people?" he asked in a low voice, as the others loaded their weapons with aplomb.

"Good people, they put themselves on the line to save the rest of the world from the hands of monsters." Melanie took a hair tie from her pocket, tied her curly hair back, and took Take out the second one, let Caleb tie his long black hair. "Maybe, after tonight, you will also join our battle."

He looked at "Brother Defender" and the other woman, Karen.She looked as though she could crack a concrete wall with her bare hands.Somehow, he couldn't imagine that they'd invite a weakling like him into their...club?Militia?Underground Demon Slayer Brotherhood?

"I just want to take care of... take care of this," he said, Ben's name stuck in his dry throat.

"Hey, Caleb!" Karen called, gesturing to the weapons cabinet. "What do you want? Take your pick, all the bullets are silver plated, just enough to kill the bastard."

"I don't know how to shoot." Who the hell thought he would?

The big woman snorted contemptuously with her nose, and spat on the ground disdainfully.But Dave just grinned, "He's still new. Don't worry, after tonight, you'll be one of us."

Great, doesn't sound sinister at all.The idea just got worse the more I thought about it. "I just want Ben to rest in peace."

"Of course," Dave reassured him with a nod, as if he understood. "Here, take a knife and a hatchet, the blades are silver-plated."

He took them, hoping secretly that he wouldn't be so clumsy as to hurt himself, that the demon would be less dangerous than he was.The weight of the weapon felt strange and awkward in his hand, and his stomach clenched again.

Did Ben do any of this?He'd fought in Afghanistan -- what hope did a good-for-nothing artist like Caleb have if the demons that waited for them in this abandoned house killed a soldier like him?

Melanie must have sensed his uneasiness, and she put a hand on his shoulder. "Ben needs us."

She was right.Ben basically raised Caleb with the help of their aunt after their parents passed away.Then Aunt Louise died, leaving the brothers with nothing but each other, at least until Melanie entered their lives.

But even Melanie doesn't know Caleb's secret.Ben had sworn never to tell another person, and he had never lied to Caleb in his life.Ben has done everything he can to protect his brother.Shouldn't it be Caleb's turn to protect him now?

"Right," Caleb tried to reposition his glasses, but he didn't have a free hand. "Let's get this over with."

Dave held up a hand. "We need to say the prayers first."

certainly.All right.Why not let divine spells help?Caleb had little interest in organizing religion, but the old stories might be true, and prayers might indeed have the power to defeat demons.He'll take all the help he can get right now.

"God on high, creator of heaven and hell, bless our work today," read Dave, his voice low and eager. "We are your emissaries here, and through us you strike against the forces of evil. Give us strength to face the demon that took our brother, and drive him back to the hell you created for him and all who rebel against your favor. the name of Jesus Christ."

"Monsters don't live," Melanie said, her voice hoarse with suppressed emotion.

"Monsters are not allowed to live." The others repeated.

Not knowing how, Caleb didn't show any expression.Ben would never have anything to do with an anti-paranormal organization.Those bastards hated all people with supernatural abilities, thinking they were servants of the devil, in company with the same devil that took Ben's body.I wouldn't have tolerated this kind of person, after all...

After all, his own brother is an unregistered supernatural ability user.

Melanie didn't know about Caleb's stupid ability, which, despite its uselessness, would still enable him to be tracked by SPECTR for the rest of his life, with his name and address listed on a website, like some damn sex offender.

He needs to get out of here.What if he did something and they found out?He couldn't think of what he might do, but...

But if he leaves now, he's dumping Ben's body and letting what killed him continue to desecrate it.

Caleb tightened his grip on his hatchet. "Have you finished your prayers?" he asked, hoping they would think his voice was trembling because he was afraid of the demon. "We don't have much time, it's going to be dark soon."

"Brother Guard" glared at him, but Dave smiled at him reassuringly, "Of course. Melanie?"

She gave a brief nod and strode down the cracked sidewalk beside the old road.Karen and "Brother Guard" followed her.Dave trailed behind, walking beside Caleb.

"This is the last chance to turn back," he said.

Caleb took a deep breath and looked up at the house.Its structure is like that of a corpse: decay crumbles into dust, its blackened wooden "skeleton" slightly exposed.And Ben's body was somewhere deep within it.

His every instinct told him he should turn and run, get as far away from these people, this place, and the stuff in this house as possible.

"I join you," he said, and followed the others into the courtyard.

***

His eyes opened.There's a demon around here.

He lay in the building he had chosen as his daytime shelter.Ghouls were residents of the building when he entered it in the early hours of the morning.But he has eaten them.Besides, it's not the smell of a ghoul, but the smell of a bigger meal.

The house creaked, and a door with a distorted frame was slammed open.There are also humans here.

Humans are not food and therefore have nothing to do with him.Annoying, yes, especially when they were trying to stop him from hunting.The memories in the body he inhabits made him wonder about them again.

But none of that matters.His prey was near, he had to hunt, he was made to hunt.

Other than that, nothing else.