The guard led Vittorio out into a bare hallway with more doors like his. There didn't seem to be many rooms, just three on each side, with a larger guardroom at one end. They passed through it, up a set of stairs, and emerged into one of the meeting room hallways on the ground floor of the guild hall. The guard showed him to the first door on the right and opened it for him.

Vittorio wasn't sure what he'd been expecting of the [Exorcist]. A [Priest] of some sort perhaps, especially as they'd arrived from the Sacred States. What he absolutely had not expected was for them to be a couatl, one of the winged serpents of the east. The figure rested on the dark brown table, their head on top of their coiled-up body. They had a mane of crimson and green feathers behind their neck and matching wings, while their scales were blue and white in a rippling pattern. It was hard to tell from their position but they seemed to be somewhere between one-and-a-half and two meters long, though the head was far larger than a snake of the same girth would have had. Their bright yellow eyes met his.

"Well? Step in. Sit. I don't have all day." Their voice was neither deep nor high, and though their words were clipped, they spoke in a melodious accent. Vittorio obeyed, taking a chair before the table.

"I am [Exorcist] Metztona. You will call me [Exorcist]. I am here to examine you and investigate your claims of possession on the 33rd of last month. You will consent to my use of any skill necessary, follow my instructions carefully, and answer my questions truthfully and succinctly. If you refuse any of this I cannot perform my function, and that will be the end of our meeting. Do you agree?"

"Yes."

"Good. I have read your accounting of the events. I will summarize them to you, and you will stop me if I say something wrong. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

The [Exorcist] locked eyes with Vittorio, and he found it strangely difficult to look away. "The event took place during the daytime. You were alone in a room with two others, with whom you had a history of being the recipient of physical and verbal abuse."

"I wouldn't call it abuse."

"Did they hurt you physically and denigrate you verbally?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"It was abuse. You were experiencing strong emotions and had been for some time. These emotions were brought on by meeting said individuals. They proceeded to verbally abuse you, further intensifying your emotions. At the point where one individual assaulted you physically, you experienced a disassociative event." Seeing Vittorios confusion, they clarified: "You felt a distance between your self and your body." Vittorio nodded.

The coatl continued. "You felt your arm moving against your will and heard a voice whisper in your ear 'Fear not, thy liberation is at hand'."

"No. It didn't whisper in my ear, it was like the voice was all around me. Inside my body maybe."

"I see. Your arm moved, grasping a weapon and striking first the individual who assaulted you and then the second person. Both strikes were lethal, one immediately so, the other within a brief period of time. During and after these actions your body was otherwise largely immobile. Once they were done you remained standing without taking action. You felt a sense of satisfaction."

"No! I didn't feel anything."

"I should clarify: You felt a sense of satisfaction from outside yourself."

"No, no I didn't feel anything."

"I see. The door opened and you spoke two phrases: 'Thus always to tyrants', and, turning towards the door, 'Rejoice, thy oath is fulfilled'. At this point, you once more felt in control of your body and promptly vomited. Is this accurate?"

"Well, I stumbled after I got in control again too."

"I see." They broke eye contact. " We will move one. Place your hand on the desk." Vittorio did. "Palm up." He turned it over. The coatl partially uncoiled, the tip of their tail reaching out to touch the middle of his palm. Vittorio felt a small point of heat at that spot, which then began to move. It traveled down his arm, into his chest, and then exploded into hundreds of little points, all racing out throughout his body. It was deeply unpleasant, but not painful. The [Exorcist], meanwhile, seemed to be tracing his outline with their eyes, inspecting the air around him. All at once the points of heat turned and rushed back to his chest, joining into a single point, and returned to his palm where it left his body.

"Hmm", the coatl said. They leaned forward and their tongue flicked out, almost touching Vittorio. They 'hmm'ed again. Vittorio skin turned stiff and almost felt brittle, once more starting at the tip of the [Exorcists] tail. It passed, and the coatl paused for a few moments, seemingly considering something.

"This will look frightening but will not hurt. Keep your eyes open or I will have to do it again." A wand levitated up off of the desk and approached Vittorios eye. Its tip was incredibly small, looking more like a needle than anything else. As it drifted closer he got increasingly nervous. "Look at the tip", the [Exorcist] said. "It will not touch you." Vittorio gritted his teeth, stared at the tip, and refused to blink.

As they'd said, it never touched him, yet was so close he felt like his heartbeat should be enough to close the gap. The wand withdrew, turned over, and approached the serpentine eyes behind it. Again it stopped just short of touching. It hovered there for a long moment before flying off and returning to the desk.

"I have what I need. You may go."

"Really? So... so what do you think?"

The serpent looked at him for a long moment. "Very well, I see no harm in telling you. You have, indeed, been possessed recently. I judge it to have happened more than one week ago but less than one month. I see a number of things pointing to it being during the unfortunate events of the 33rd, and none suggesting otherwise. Furthermore, I am convinced it was a particular spirit which I am familiar with, this being the fifteenth possession carried out by it I have been able to verify. Said spirit is vastly beyond your current potential capabilities, and you were not possessed due to some personal failing or mistake. You happened to attract its attention, and were powerless to resist it as it is very high tier - I have personally examined a tier 5 individual who proved incapable of so much as slowing it. Based on these factors, it is my strong opinion that you are entirely blameless for the events, and indeed a victim. This will be my statement to the court."

The cold, matter-of-fact way the [Exorcist] put it was oddly comforting, in a way. They did not care about him, and did not suggest he was innocent out of friendship or bias, but out of knowledge. Vittorio had no doubt that had he not been possessed, the coatl would have told him so in much the same way. There was one final detail that worried him, however.

Stolen story; please report.

"[Exorcist]", he said, trying to be as formal and polite as possible. "There is one detail I didn't mention in my recounting." The yellow eyes fixed on his once more, staring intently. "I-I gained experience during the... event. By killing them."

"Yes?"

"Well, if I gained experience in my class, doesn't that mean... I mean, it seems like, uh..."

"It is a known phenomenon", the [Exorcist] said. "The most common hypothesis is that the System cannot differentiate whose intent is behind actions when it comes to possessions or mind control. You were assaulted, the System considered you in combat, and your physical body slew two individuals of a higher tier. Thus, you gained experience.

If there is nothing else, I will see you in court."

Vittorio nodded, and the door opened on its own. His guard waited outside to take him back to his cell.

The very next day he was collected again, this time to go to court. His protests that he didn't know what he was supposed to do fell on deaf ears. Two guards with the league emblem manacled his hands and feet and escorted him out. Passing through the guild hall like that was one of the most humiliating, anxiety-inducing things Vittorio had ever done.

The court was further into the inner city in an area Vittorio hadn't visited, past another set of walls. It was a district dedicated to the running of the city, housing the council chambers, a garrison, a residence for visiting dignitaries, a livery stable, and much more. The buildings were uniformly large and made of stone, most of them painted. There was somewhat less greenery than in the rest of the inner city, with no parks that Vittorio could see but plenty of smaller patches of flowers or lone trees among the cobbled streets.

The courthouse was painted white, with the open book of Nedea, God of Command carved above the entrance and painted gold. Vittorio was escorted into the building and down several wood-paneled hallways, passing other guards and functionaries as they went. They entered a room with rows of benches before three seats: One elevated, one in a box, and one by the wall. He was led to the box and made to sit down, placing him with his back to the benches and facing the raised seat. His manacles were threaded through rings fastened to the box. As the guards closed the door to the box, runes shone briefly.

Not long after the doors behind him opened and a number of people seemed to enter - Vittorio found that he couldn't fully turn around. Moving past him were [Investigator] Salvatore and an older woman with grey hair whom he assumed to be the adjudicator.

"It'll be alright, Vee", Gloria whispered from behind him. Despite his nervousness he couldn't help but smile a little.

"Everyone, settle down", the adjudicator said in a loud voice. She waited until they had before continuing: "[Investigator.]"

Salvatore stood up. "We are here to determine guilt in the deaths of Luka Organizer and Franceska Baker. The following is not in dispute: They arrived in Pogna on the morning of the 33rd last spring this year. They spent the morning in the Free Company hall. Around noon, their son Vittorio Merchant arrived at the same building together with Gloria Innkeeper. Luka, Franceska, and Vittorio went into an empty room together. Some minutes later, the door was opened. Luka and Franceska lay dead, Luka by a dagger through the eye and Franceska by a slit throat. Vittorio stood over the bodies with Franceskas blood on him. This concludes the undisputed course of events.

"In speaking with Vittorio he admitted that the two were slain by his hand, but claims he was not in control of his body at the time. Based on interviews with him and two others as well as an examination by an accredited [Healer], it appears to be the case that his parents were abusive to a high degree. I have a testimony by said [Healer] counting no fewer than fourteen scars which they believe to be the result of physical punishment, as well as a bruise from the day of the deaths.

"Vittorio Merchant stated that it was his mother, Franceska Baker, who carried out such punishments. An official at the Free Company who Identified the two deceased asserts that she was a tier 3 [Brawler]. This is notable for two things, as Vittorio Merchant is tier 0: First, he was effectively powerless against her assault. Second, with no training in small blades, no magical equipment, and no relevant skills he should have been all but incapable of harming her. Luka Organiser, at tier 4, should also have been virtually immune to his attacks. With that, I ask for our first testimony: [Exorcist] Metztona."

Vittorio could hear some gasps and muttering behind him before the coatl began to speak. "I am [Exorcist] Metztona, tier 6. I have two first degrees from Haven University and I am an accredited teacher in supernatural studies at Haven and the Midnight Monolith. I have previously served as an advisor to the king of Sunhang, the emperor of Carpapalpia, and Meromernax. I am currently employeed to do research on behalf of the priesthood of the Sacred States. I have interviewed and examined Vittorio Merchant, and it is my firm belief that he is blameless for this event."

They gave largely the same testimony as they'd told him they would, though in more detail. Most interesting to Vittorio was the [Exorcist] revealing that when recounting what he'd told the [Investigator], they'd added four things, two that should be false and two that should be true. Vittorio had objected to the false but not reacted to the true, thus passing that test. Another interesting detail was about the different types of possessions:

"There are three categories", the [Exorcist] said. "The suggestive, the amnestic, and the disassociative, in increasing rarity. The suggestive consists of what is often described as 'a voice in one's head' suggesting things, giving instructions and so on. The possessor is not capable of taking control, only asserting undue influence.

"The amnestic results in lost time, where the possessor takes full control of the body and leaves the host with no memories of what occurred. The possessor is capable of complete control of the host. This form is the one most often recognized as a possession.

"The disassociative separates the self from the physical form but maintains the senses, making the host see and feel the acts performed by the possessor. The possessor is thus not only capable of complete control of the host's body but of interacting directly with their mind and the mental-physical connection. This is what I believe happened to Victorio Merchant. His recounting of events was accurate in detail, his mind bears wounds caused by possession, and in my estimation, his emotional response appears to be true and accurate."

And finally, the question of how Vittorio was capable of harming his Mother:

"By my examination of Vittorio Merchant, I am confident I have identified the offending spirit. It is known to be attracted to strong emotions, in particular fear, anger, and a sense of unfairness, and act with extreme violence against whoever caused those emotions. The possession itself is a magical effect, which in practice elevates the attacks to the tier of the spirit. This is the fifteenth possession by this spirit I have investigated, and those have resulted in forty-eight deaths, including a tier 6 [Duelist]. I have yet to encounter a survivor."

Following the [Exorcist] were a series of testimonies in Vittorios defense, speaking to his character. Gloria, of course, but also her mother Celeste who'd made the journey. Pachakutek, Nuno, Vanessa, and Ulberto all spoke, and Tarcisio included that he had sensed anger and loathing in his parents when they saw him. Ermes and Ochi both spoke on his hard work, how he'd reacted to the death of the boy at the orchard, and how he should have been unable to do it.

"I get the picture", the adjudicator said. "Is there anyone with actual facts, or else unrelated people who have something to say?"

There were three [Priests] who wished to speak: One of Casyn, God of Liberty, one of Nedea, God of Command, and one of Zylene, God of Predation.

"The killing of oppressors is no crime!", the Liberation [Priest] said. "Possession or not does not matter: This young man killed those who had visited cruelty on him, and for that he should be proud!"

"Murder is murder", said the [Priest] of command. "I agree that possession does not matter: The hand that held the blade is responsible. Two people lie dead, murdered. A punishment must be given."

"I fail to see the issue", the predator [Priest] said. "He was attacked and responded. This is the nature of the world - his mother should not have struck him if she was not prepared to fight to the death."

"I've heard enough", the adjudicator said, finally. "I thank you all for your time and your testimonies, and you for your work [Investigator] Salvatore. I find no reason to gainsay the testimony of [Exorcist] Metztona, and plenty of supporting reasons to believe it. [Exorcist], I do have one question: What is the likelihood of Vittorio Merchant being possessed again?"

There were murmurs in the crowd. "I know of no cases where an individual who has been possessed by this spirit has been possessed again, by any spirit."

"Good enough for me. While I thank the [Priest] of Command for their time, I see no reason to hold Vittorio Merchant accountable for these actions. He is free to go."