Exorcist Servant: Demon Hunter

Caleb's foot stepped through the puddle and his sneakers were instantly soaked.He didn't care where he went, he just sprinted out of the house path and up the cobbled street—

A harsh horn sounded, and he saw the shadow of a car appearing in the corner of his vision at the same time.Subconsciously, he jumped up——

Leap over cars with ease, like a runner over a fence.

He landed on the opposite pavement, staggering a few steps more out of surprise than anything else.Someone is honking the car horn, and for a split second he wonders if he should stop...

"No. Run."

He ran.Or they started running, and he was no longer so persistent in distinguishing.Every foot strike on the pavement vibrates with clarity like never before, with muscles singing and blood pumping.The cool winter air filled his lungs and brought him the smell of a whole city: exhaust fumes, fried shrimp, garbage, and the salty rot of swamps and ocean.

He took the trail through the narrow streets, avoiding the sea and the tourists.The houses here are built in two rows on the side of the road, facing each other across the long and narrow backyard.He was never a sports person.But now for the first time, he felt perfectly attuned to his own body, every nerve alive like never before.He jumped up a high garden wall, jumped up a second-story balcony, and climbed up to the roof without stopping.

Roof tiles creaked under his shoes as he ran across the roof.There was more than fifteen feet of separation between the two roofs, but he didn't slow down, didn't hesitate, and the adrenaline and ecstasy rushed to his head as he leaped across the gap with ease.

"that's it."

He didn't think about how far they'd run, just leaped from rooftop to rooftop, as nimble and determined as some kind of jungle cat.No one, he thought, could have seen them except to catch a glimpse of a vague figure disappearing into the darkening twilight.

Eventually they came to a church, its buff stone bricks glowing in the sunset.Its spire was the highest point in the district, and they marched towards it, climbing the great clock, into the vaulted space where the chimes once hung, but now contained nothing but dust and spiders.

Caleb looked out from above, across the block that separated the church from the sea.The mist cleared, and the setting sun shone in the west through the broken clouds, its rich colors reflected in the churning waves of the ocean, tinting them a strange hue that was neither pink nor bronze, but something in between.The damp wind smelled of salt and rot, as if the Atlantic had reached out and caressed his face.From a distance, Caleb could just make out Fort Sumter, a dark blot against the heaving waves.Up close, a pod of dolphins splashes in the shallows.

He shouldn't be able to see things in the distance so clearly, but he doesn't care.This is beautiful.It was all beautiful, the spectacular sunset, the lights of the city below, the rushing sea, his heart beating in his chest like a hummingbird.So many tiny things he had always taken for granted that he had never seen life in them, never tasted their simple pleasures.

"Is this your ability?" he asked gently, because he had to know.

Ash was with him, like a second self, so close yet so different.That's... well, not a demon.vampire?The vampire's joy mixed with his emotions like colors in watercolor. "It's... different from what I've experienced before. Those feelings, emotions. I've never been aware of it."

Caleb's mouth twisted into a reluctant smile. "It's also different from how I used to feel. I never realized it."

"How is this possible?"

"You changed me." He whispered these words, although to Ash, speaking, being silent, or screaming made no difference. "Everything is so sharp and clear. Running, jumping, it feels so natural and comfortable."

"Yes. But those colors. Those tastes. That's your own ability."

God.Accepting the fact that you are possessed, can anything good happen?Or was it Faust's last thought before turning into a monster?

"Would that be the devil's last thought?" Ash replied.

"You really don't know?"

"How would I know? I...I've never done this." Reluctance, mixed with shame. "Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe there's more to this world than hunting and eating."

Ha, he knew Ash was changing him.Is it possible that he is also changing the ash?

The wind direction changed slightly, and the sea breeze became stronger, carrying a smell like carrion and corruption.

Caleb's stomach convulsed in response, though it took him a while to figure out why, not disgust, but hunger.

Because the stench on the wind smells so good.

It smells like food.

"It's the devil."

***

With the screech of tires, John stepped on the brakes in front of the apartment.Getting out of the car, he drew the ceremonial sword with his left hand, freeing his right in case he needed to use the gun.

By Sehmet, I hope he doesn't need it.

①Sekhmet, an ancient Egyptian goddess, is imaged as a lioness.Starkweather is a disciple of Sekhmet, and the "goddess" who appeared before is also her.

I hope that the enchantment was broken by myself for some stupid reason, not by being forced to break through.Not because John mistakenly believed in Ash, or because the vampire was going next door to drink the neighbor's blood.

The door was slightly ajar, and John pushed it open carefully and walked in, his ceremonial sword at the ready, spell resting between his lips.

The apartment was empty, and he couldn't feel the energy of Hui, which made him understand it all at once.The air smelled of spilled liquor, and fragments of a gin bottle littered the living room floor.The dents in the wall show how it was broken.There wasn't much liquid left around the dent, so there wasn't much left inside when the bottle hit the wall.An empty vodka bottle stood mournfully on the kitchen counter.

Damn, what happened?Had Caleb gotten drunk and decided to run away?But how far can you run?He drank almost two bottles of spirits.

Heck, maybe he'd died of alcoholism, and Ash had happily escaped with his dead body, back to its happy days of catching demons and eating.

Whatever happened, John needs to report to Kania.They might need to launch a manhunt, if things get tough, if Ash attacks someone...well, it's not worth keeping it a secret when something like that goes wrong.

The door opened behind him, and John turned, the blade of his ritual sword glowing blue with psychic power.

He felt a familiar energy, and John relaxed when he saw who was coming behind him.Looking back, it was damn stupid that he shouldn't have trusted someone he'd just met, let alone "two", one of whom wasn't even human.

Caleb -- and that was Caleb, though the energy vortex throbbed in the air around him -- gave him a wicked grin.His ponytail was scattered, and his long hair fluttered down, shaking in the wind disheveledly.His clothes were wet from the rain, but the expression on his face was excited and crazy.The spark from the ritual sword reflected in his eyes, and John thought he saw a spark, as if in response to him, the sight of lightning striking the horizon.

"The demon—the inhuman spirit—call it whatever you want—it's still here!" Caleb said before John could speak.He entered the apartment, closing the door behind him. "We couldn't find it, but we smelled it and it's still in the city."

"Wait a minute." John lowered his ceremonial sword and raised his other hand to stop Caleb. "What the hell is going on here? Why did you leave the apartment?"

Caleb's eyes moved to the broken glass, and he blinked.The energy that was tingling John's nerves was gone, like a snail retracting into its shell. "Sorry for the trouble, I was so depressed. Sad for myself and mad at the world. I started drinking, but it turned out I wasn't getting drunk anymore. Like I didn't need to wear glasses anymore. "

John frowned, "Some non-human spirits can speed up healing, but this usually happens after they take full control of their host's body."

"Well, I guess I just got lucky," Caleb's dark eyebrows twitched in the sulky expression John had grown accustomed to. "Ash is mad at me for drinking, I'm tired of fighting the voices in my head. I need to get out of this damn house, can I? Just want to... get out of here, I feel trapped."

"I understand, really. But you can't just leave like this."

"Because of the enchantment, yes, but I obviously left anyway, so—"

"Can you shut up and listen to me?"

Caleb's mouth snapped shut. "Well, of course, please, Agent Starkweather."

John took a deep breath to calm down and try to think.Caleb didn't believe him, and that probably wasn't a good thing for the situation. "We've already given you an exception, understand? If you run away, if Kania doesn't think you can be trusted, she won't hesitate to take final measures. They'll issue a manhunt and then when they find you, there will be no more Any kind of exorcism with candles and circles tried. Just silver bullets and frag grenades, and I'm not going to save you at all."