It's already 7:45 PM. Sebas had taken us on an exorcism. I'm wearing the bloodied school uniform because it's in such bad shape that I won't even mind dirtying it more.

As soon as he opened the door, which wasn't even closed, a horrible stench hit us.

"Ugh... what the fuck...?!" I plugged my nose.

Haruki also plugged his nose.

"Uhh... what's that horrible stench, Father?"

"It's the stench of a dead human body from the inside. In other words, a dead person is there."

"Huh?! A dead person?! Then why are we here?! Shouldn't we call the police, or anything? Oh! I know! My father works in the police! I can call hi-..." I smacked him on the head, preventing him from speaking further.

"Haruki shut the fuck up. Stop acting like a fucking idiot, we know you're better."

"Shoji! I'm just afraid, you know?! Look at my hands! I'm shaking so much! I've never seen a dead body before, but the stench already makes me want to puke!" He stepped back a little.

"Now listen up you two. Before we enter this apartment I give you the last chance to go. What you're about to comprehend isn't anything that you will forget about easily, or with time." Sebas said calmly, taking out two bottles of holy water from his briefcase.

"Shoji... maybe... just maybe we should... uhh... I mean...! Don't you think that all this supernatural crap... is kinda not for us? Look, you've always dreamed of having a nice girlfriend right, from what I remember, you like black-haired girls, right? In my opinion, we should retrieve and forget about everything that happened in the past week." Haruki asked me hopefully

"If you want to go, then go. I want to go in there, I need to go in there, but you don't know one thing Haruki..."

Sebastian is just silently listening to our conversation.

"My dream has changed~," I smirk at him.

"Oh? Now you've also gotten me interested here, Shoji-kun." Sebastian softly chuckles.

"Huh... what do you mean? Your dream has changed? That's not like you. I mean I've always been thinking that you don't change your mind on anything, whether it was hating Arthur in the middle school, or doing something that you've promised to." He grabbed me by the collars of my uniform.

"Oh Haruki... I've known you for so long, deep inside you've always been too soft for things like that. Tho I don't mind, no one ever shows their full true colors."

My smirk widens, "I want to fuck a demoness~!" I said playfully.

Haruki's mouth almost hit the floor, his eyes wide as if he had no eyelids. "Shoji..." He muttered under his nose in defeat.

Sebastian giggled softly, "That's a good dream, Shoji-kun."

"What?" We both said in unison as Haruki let go of the collars of my uniform.

"Okay okay. Anyone, like ANYONE, but I'd never expect you- a goddamn priest to say that my dream is a good one! Isn't it taboo for a priest's apprentice to be in a romantic relationship with a demon?" I asked in utter disbelief and confusion.

"Yeah, yeah! He's right! Father, why do you even say things like that?" Haruki asked curiously.

Sebas closed the door softly.

"There's an insane demon feeding on a family of humans inside of this apartment. I should just exorcise it right now, but I see that you two are more clueless than you look like." He giggled softly again.

"How can we not be clueless when you're not telling us anything, you motherfucker?!" I lashed out at him.

"Just let him speak, Shoji!" Haruki said.

"The Four Main Races: Humans, Angels, Demons, and Yokai are living in peace. We exorcists, do not kill every demon we stumble across. We sometimes even partner up with them, but it's very rare because demons are prideful from nature."

"So you're saying... that there are good demons? Then why do we need to exorcist the one that's in the apartment here?" Haruki asked curiously, pointing at the door.

I slap my face in annoyance, "Haruki, are you fucking stupid or what? The Demon right here killed a human family and is now feeding off their flesh, probably lost its mind a long time ago. You should be asking something like 'What makes this demon different from the other ones?' Or something like that." I rolled my eyes at him.

Haruki just stays silent.

"It's status," Sebastian said softly.

"This is a demon with no master, no money, and no power. It's eating humans to grow in power. That's illegal in all the worlds, and it's why we exorcise beings that do something as disgusting, no matter if it's a Human, Yokai, Dem, on or even an Angel."

"So I will ask one more time. Are you two ready to exorcise a demon?" Sebastian smiled softly yet again and seemed to be excited.

"I've already had a reason to go in... yes Carmilla... I need to know as much as I can to face her tomorrow... but there's another reason I want to go in right now..."

"..." Haruki doesn't say anything.

I pushed his shoulder softly, "Hey bro! Don't be so fucking gloomy! Look at it from another side! You can avenge a whole family, by exorcising that mother fucker!" I said with determination in my voice, surprising even the priest himself.

"Why are you so eager, Shoji? I have never seen that kind of determination in your eyes..."

"...Whatever! Hmph! If you're going then I'm going to! I don't want to be any worse!" He pouted and rolled his eyes.

"Ehh... you two are good friends... it's making the memories from the old times reappear before my eyes." He smiled as a tear left his eyes, a tear which he quickly wiped.

"Okay! We've been talking for too much! It's about time for me to tell you how the two of you will exorcise a demon without my help~!" He smiled as he opened his briefcase.

"Huh?! What do you mean 'Without my help'?!" We both said at the same time in disbelief.

He takes a Revolver out of the briefcase and holds it out to me.

"Here, take it, Shoji. It's a gift from me."

My eyes widen and I look loom at the revolver. After a moment that felt like an eternity, I finally took the Revolver from his hand.

"Thanks..."

I look at it for a longer moment, my hands are shaking and I'm sweating a lot.

When I shake out of it I look over at Haruki who's holding a short white blade in his hand. He seems to be excited as he gives Sebas multiple bows of gratitude.

He looks at me and starts speaking, tho I can't hear him.

"Oh? He's saying something... what are you saying Haruki? Hello? I can't hear him... only the peep sounds in my ears... I feel sick..."

Suddenly Sebastian claps his hands before my eyes.

I jump in surprise as I finally shake out of this weird state.

"Oh, he's back! Don't space out like that, Shoji." Haruki said with relief in his voice.

"Yeah..."

Sebas then grabbed the door handle, opening the door wide.

"Let's go."

The three of us walked into the apartment. The stench got even worse as we got closer and closer to the living room.

I check if there are any bullets in the revolver barrel, and to my surprise, there are no bullets indeed.

"Uhh... Sebas... why did you give me an empty gun? Like... you want me to die you or something?!" I asked in confusion.

Haruki looked down at the blade he was holding, "He's right, Father. Is there any reason why you did it?"

"Oh! I forgot to explain everything!... But who cares! I'm sure you two will figure it out! See ya." He grabbed the two of us and threw us into the living room, closing the door behind us.

"Huh?!"

"Fath-..."

We both end up on the ground. A growling noise echoes throughout the small room. Everything is covered in blood and the insides of what once could be called a family are everywhere around and the stink is even worse than before.

We stood up as soon as we heard the growl, trying to leave the room, but Sebastian was blocking it from the other side.

"Good luck!" Sebas said.

I looked over at Haruki as I swallowed my saliva nervously. "What do we do now, Haruki?! It's there! The demon!"

"I don't know! But we can't run away... we need to face it alone!" Haruki replied, his grip on the weapon tightening.

"Fuck you, Sebas! You motherfucker! I thought that you were here to teach us how to deal with demons, not to hand us on a silver plate!" I screamed, banging on the door.

"Oh... I SMELL HUMANS! MORE FOOD HUEHE~" An ominous and twisted voice came from the other side of the room.

A shiver ran down my spine and I instinctively pulled Haruki onto the ground.

"KA KATR!" The demon screamed and the wall behind us was suddenly cut 3 cm deep on a big radius.

"The hell?!" Haruki screamed in terror.

"THIS POWER! IT'S WONDERFUL! IT FEELS SO AMAZING! OH MY! OH MY! IT IS SO TASTY, IT'S SO COOL! HAHHAHAH! I FEEL LIKE I CAN TAKE ON THE FUCKING LUCIFER!" The demon screamed in pleasure.

The demon walked out of the shadows, its body and face were chaotic, looking like it mutated. Its horns were small compared to Carmilla's.

As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw four torn-apart bodies lying on the ground.

"It's... this family... WHY DID YOU KILL THEM!? I'M SURE THEY HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING WRONG!" I stood up in a rage, looking around the room I saw many family pictures in which the family was happy.

My eyes teared up from the anger and I gripped the revolver even tighter.

Haruki slowly stood up, he was as terrified as me, but also slightly surprised by my anger.

"Shoji..."

The demon put some flesh in its disfigured disgusting mouth, its eyes were as empty as a black hole.

"WHYYY?! OH YOU LITTLE SILLY HUMAN! ITS SIMPLE! FOR POWER! FOR PLEASURE! AND MOST IMPORTANTLY! FOR MYSELF! I WANT TO BE THE MIGHTIEST DEMON! I WANT TO DEVOUR THE WHOLE WORLD! I WANT TO HAVE IT ALL TO MYSELF AND ONLY MYSELF HAHAHAHAH!" The demon screamed even louder.

We heard Sebas dying out of laughter on the other side of the door.

"You... fucker... have you ever noticed that you've lost your mind?" Haruki mutters under his nose, gripping his blade.

"MIND?! SANITY?! OH, WHO THE FUCK CARES! I ONLY WANT POWER! AND I ONLY WANT TO DEVOUR SUCH SILLY HUMANS LIKE YOUU!"

"I'VE BEEN BORN AS A COMMONER, I HAVE NO MUTATIONS, AND I HAD NO POWER UNTIL I STARTED TO EAT HUMANS AND DEMONS! SO WHY WOULD I STOP JUST BECAUSE I LOST MY SANITY?!"

I stopped shaking from fear and calmed down a little. I looked at Haruki and patted his shoulder to calm him down.

He slapped my hand away.

"I want to kill this piece of shit," Haruki said coldly, but there was a lot of rage in his voice.

"Haruki... you've activated... Vymir enhancement... just like that...?" My eyes widened.

"KA KATR!" The demon screamed again, tho shivers did not run down my spine this time. I closed my eyes, but nothing happened.

"...Fucking moron... you won't be able to use magic here..." Haruki said coldly as he started to walk towards the demon.

"HUH?! WHAT'S GOING ON?! WHY CAN'T I USE IT!? WHAT DID YOU DO YOU STUPID HUMAN?! EXPLAIN IT TO ME!"

"Shoji... I'll fight him... I want to kill that motherfucker... you won't understand how furious I am inside... I want to kill him... KILL HIM!" He screamed and then he charged at the demon so fast that I barely could even see it.

"Haruki... you... you are really..."

I clench my teeth and I tear up in frustration.

"...Gifted..."

"I'm sure you would stand your chance against Carmilla on your own... without using pathetic tricks to even have a slight chance of winning..."

I drop to my knees as I tear up from all this frustration.

"WHY?! WHY CAN'T I BE SO TALENTED LIKE YOU, HARUKI?! WHY?! YOU GET ALL THE GIRLS, BUT YOU NEVER MAKE A MOVE! YOU'VE JUST LEARNED WHAT VYMIR IS, YET YOU'RE ALREADY DOING SUCH THINGS! AND HERE I AM! I CAN'T DO ANYTHING EVEN THO IM IN MORE DANGER THAN YOU! ITS NOT FAIR!" I just stared at the two fighting.

The demon's long claws clashed against Haruki's blade.

Suddenly I felt a hand being placed on my shoulder from behind. I turned around and saw Sebas.

"What are you doing, Shoji?" Sebas dragged me out of the thought realm in no time with those words.

"Haruki will lose if you won't do anything."

I looked at the fight. Even tho I could barely comprehend what is even going on, I could tell that Haruki's aggressive fight style was enough to overwhelm the demon in the sheer clash of strength.

"What do you mean, Sebas? Haruki is winning... he's so fast... and strong..."

"Maybe he is stronger at this moment... but he is also inexperienced, has no real mastery over the weapon... and most important of all... he's completely berserk right now. Besides, did you know that Hilo and Yano's first form is the same thing, just different colors?"

"Huh...? Why did you cha-..."

Suddenly the demon smiles widely and growls loudly.

"KA KATR!"

There was a moment of silence, and then Haruki's left arm was dispatched and fell onto the ground, a pool of blood appearing under it.

"HARUKI!" I scream in terror as I run up to him, trying to help him, tho he's completely oblivious to the fact that his arm was cut off, just as if he was in a trance.

"OHH! YOU SILLY HUMAN! I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU DID EARLIER THAT I COULD USE MAGIC, BUT IT DOES SEEM TO WORK RIGHT NOW! LOOK AT YOU, AND YOUR PATHETIC WEAK FRIEND! I WILL KILL YOU TWO, AND THEN I WILL KILL YOUR FAMILIES AND EAT THEM AS WELL!" The demon screamed in anticipation and satisfaction.

I looked over at the demon and I heard Sebastian's last words before he left the room.

"You need to use the gifts you have to cling to your life."

Haruki suddenly started to laugh, as if he had gone completely insane. He charged at the demon once again, both of them throwing each other around the room and all I could do was just standing here and watching in terror and hopelessness.

Blood splashed around the room, some even ended up on my face. I began shaking in horror, tearing up yet again.

Old memories flashed before my eyes. My childish face, covered in blood... the bloody room... I was sitting in a pool of blood before Kaori who was crying, a Revolver in my small hand, tho my face was unreadable.

The purple string appeared before my eyes yet again. I reached my shaky hand towards it and grabbed it.

Suddenly everything slowed down. I could see their movements so easily and I didn't feel anything at this moment, just as if I'd reached something in between everything else. It's the same feeling I had while I was training with Sebastian, back in the church.

"Think Shoji Nakamura, think! Overanalyze everything you've seen and heard! Find a way to help Haruki, even tho you're too weak to do so right now! Everything that this motherfucking priest said might be crucial..."

I looked down at the revolver.

"There's no way he left me with an empty barely for no reason!"

"Use the gifts I have? What the fuck does that even mean... gifts?... Gifts are given by others... Seraphina told me about placing a 'spark of Hilo' inside of me... and this fucking priest..."

"Yes... he said something like 'Hilo and Yano share the same first form, but just different color'... I remember that Yano creates something..."

"Back in the plebistery... he used this spell... and a small piece of light appeared in his hand... the piece he threatened me with..."

"I understand it! I understand what you mean, you fucking priest!"

"Ka Hilo!" The string appeared before my eyes, but this time it was white.

"That string again!"

I grabbed a small amount of the string and imagined a bullet that could fit into the barrel of the revolver.

I pointed the revolver at the demon who was about to hit Haruki with his huge right arm, but I pulled the trigger, and its arm was blown away from Haruki with a small blast of light, giving him the perfect opening.

"WHAT THE FUCK?! WHY DID MY ARM JUST FLY AWAY?!" The demon growled, trying to comprehend what had just happened, but it was too late.

"DO IT HARUKI! DO IT RIGHT FUCKING NOW!" I screamed at him.

"THANKS FOR THIS OPENING, SHOJI!" He screamed back at me and then he slashed the demon in half horizontally.

The demon fell to the ground, a pool of blood appearing in the gap between its upper and lower body. It's internal organs falling out.

"WHAT THE HELL! HOW COULD I lose... how could..." The anger from the demon's voice faded away as it looked at his right arm which wasn't even damaged, tho I'd shot it.

"I lost... finally..." The demon said in relief, the mutated flesh slowly coming off its body, revealing a normal-looking being that was underneath it.

I walk up to Haruki, shaking him to wake him up from this state.

"Haruki! Wake up!" I slapped him on his cheek.

Haruki blinked a couple of times and then fell on his knees, coughing up blood and holding the flesh in the place where his arm used to be.

"I don't feel it... I don't feel the pain..." Haruki said in worry and terror.

I take his arm which was lying on the ground near us. "Don't worry, Haruki! I'm sure that Sebas will fix it up!" I said, trying to calm his nerves down.

Suddenly the demon speaks up again, its voice is not as deformed as it was before, it seems... normal.

"Thank you... you two..." The demon coughed with some blood.

We both looked at the demon in confusion, whispering to each other.

"Haruki don't you think that he's a little..."

"Yeah... different... Shoji... Should we?"

"We can try..."

Sebas was already here and leaned his back on the wall, watching everything.

"Here you go Haruki." He threw a bottle of holy water to Haruki, which Haruki caught easily.

I put his arm to the place where it should be, and he drank the entire bottle.

His arm slowly reattached to his body and he started to move his fingers.

We walked up to the demon, looking down at it.

"I'm sorry for the arm kiddo, tho you're a really good fighter, you know?" The demon said softly, smiling at us with his eyes closed.

He opened his eyes, looking up at me. Its eyes were ones of a weird color. His iris was black, and his pupils were slit and red.

"And you... you know her, don't you? I can't feel my arm after all, haha... what's your name?" The demon asked softly, clinging onto the remaining minutes of his life.

"My name is Shoji, Nakamura Shoji... but who are you talking about?" I asked curiously.

"Please... take care of her for me... Shoji."

"Why are you so different compared to what you were doing earlier? I don't know if I should be angry or feel pity..." Haruki asked curiously.

"It wasn't me... it was something else... that I cannot explain... I'm sorry... and I won't ask for you two to spare me... I did what I did... it doesn't matter if I wasn't myself... I did it and I should be killed for it."

I just stared at the demon, feeling no pity towards him, unlike Haruki, who gave me the "second chance" look.

"I need to know as much as possible to face Carmilla so I need to ask this demon some questions..."

"What's your name, Demon?" I asked.

Haruki's eyes widened in hope and Sebas clicked his tongue and sighed softly.

"Lucian..."

"Very well then... I want you ask you some questions before you die, Lucian. You will answer, right? After all, it's the only thing you can do to at least slightly redeem yourself before meeting your end." I said coldly.

"Sure..."

Haruki grabbed me by the collars of my uniform, his eyes filled with anger.

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, SHOJI?! DON'T YOU FEEL ANY PITY TOWARD HIM?! JUST LOOK AT HIM! HE WAS JUST BEING CONTROLLED!" He screamed at me.

"This demon... Lucian... or whatever you want to call him..." I looked over at the human flesh that was everywhere in the room.

"Killed a family and ate their flesh... I'm sure it wasn't even the first time he did this... there's no way I could forgive such a being and just let them go!" I pushed him away.

Haruki just looked at me in silence as I turned towards the demon once again.

"My first question is simple. Why do some demons have longer and smaller horns? I don't understand it a bit."

"Heritage... Commoners usually have smaller horns and are too weak to even scratch Noble demons who have longer horns..."

"So you're a commoner, Lucian?" Haruki asked.

The demon asked.

"For how long have you been in this state from earlier? For how long have you killed everyone you stumbled across and got away with it?!"

The demon looked over at the blood-soaked calendar that was on the wall.

"A decade... I've killed and consumed countless people... yet I was defeated by two inexperienced humans... haha... how ironic..." The demon said in self-disappointment.

Haruki gasped in disbelief, looking over at Sebas and screaming at him, "Why did you let him do all that?! What kind of exorcist are you?!"

"Haruki, I was onto this demon for about two years, tho I couldn't find him until today..." He replied softly with relief that the major danger in finally gone.

"I'm not gonna lie to you when you said 'A decade', my urge to kill you intensified to unbelievable levels, but I want to ask the last question..."

"And what is it?" The demon asked, closing its eyes.

"Why? Why the fuck would you do this?! Was it for power?! Was it for authority?! Was it for greed?! Was it for satisfaction?!"

"I JUST WANT TO KNOW WHAT LED SOMEONE TO GO SUCH A MONSTROUS PATH!"

"Shoji..." Haruki said quietly, but before he could even move, Sebastian grabbed his shoulder and shook his head.

"Very well then... I don't have much time left... my Vymir is fading away... but I'll tell you."

I noticed that tears started to form in the demon's eyes.

"It all started fourteen years ago... my wife gave birth to my daughter... I- I don't even remember their names anymore..."

"It was around the time of Vymir fluctuations, huh?" Sebas mutters under his nose.

"Yeah... my wife died while giving birth... but our daughter... despite being a commoner with small horns like us... her Vymir was intense and her Authority Level was high... even when she was just a toddler..."

"I've raised her alone... hiding her from the nobles... buying her cute dresses and everything I could afford for her... I loved her like nothing else... because she was the last thing my wife has left behind... she entrusted me with her."

"I still remember how I played with her and she ran up to me..." The demon slowly starts to cry.

"Telling me that I was the best daddy ever... this feeling that I have felt back then is impossible to describe..."

I felt my heart clench in my chest as I teared up a little. The hand I was holding the revolver in started to shake.

"But everything good will end sooner or later... someone snitched... I believe it was the only noble whom I considered a friend... our children always played together... but he was envious... he was envious because his son had no Vymir at all..."

"And so when my daughter was three years old... the higher-ups have found out about her... and took her away... calling her an anomaly... because she had two Mutations at the same time..."

"Two?! How?!" Sebas screamed in horror.

"I've tried to fight for her... I remember her crying... she had my eyes... and Luna's raven-black hair... every time I looked at my reflection... I remembered her face... how she was crying and screaming when they took her away... but there was also something else... I was frustrated that I couldn't fight them... that I was too weak... I was too weak to protect my treasure!" The demon started crying like a little kid.

No, it's not just the demon... Haruki was crying, my tears rolled down my cheeks and even Sebastian teared up.

"Back then... I remembered how we... demons... were growing in strength... back in the day when Lucifer The First was The King... we've been eating angels... yokai... humans... and even each other... to absorb at least a portion of their power... and so I started doing this... eating weak clueless humans... because I couldn't even compare myself to nobles..."

"Soon enough I've gone insane... to the point where I did it without any reason at all... forgetting my motivation... forgetting their faces... the faces of my loved ones..."

"...Becoming the embodiment of a monster... living in constant pain and insanity just to gain power... and here the two of you come... two newbies who don't know anything defeated me... and all I can say is a thank you... thank you for stopping me... I just want to die... and reunite with my wife..."

Haruki dropped his blade walked over to the demon and hugged his upper body. The demon's blood and organs slowly fell on his knees.

He started to cry as loud as the demon while trying to reassure him. "I'm so sorry for you... I know... I know that I would do the same... I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

Sebas sighed and pointed his index finger at the demon.

The demon wiped Haruki's tears and patted him on the head. "Haruki-kun... was it?"

"...Yes..." Haruki replied.

"I'm sorry for cutting your arm off... but you're a pretty strong kid... grow stronger and protect the ones you love... don't ever turn your back on your family..."

The demon then looked at me.

"And you... Shoji-kun... please find her... and protect her..." He smiled at me.

I wiped my tears, smiling back at him. "Got it, man."

"Why does it always have to be loving parents..." I covered my eyes with my left hand.

Sebas sighed and started chanting. "Ka Hi-..." But it's too late... I've already raised my revolver.

"Ka Hilo., I said softly and then pulled the trigger with a loud thud.

The demon's brain exploded as soon as the Holy Bullet was fired. All the blood added up to Haruki's face.

Sebas gasped and looked over at me in surprise. He's too stunned to speak.

Haruki dropped the body on the ground and ran up to me, grabbing me by the neck.

"SHOJI?! WHY DID YOU DO THAT?! WHY?! I THOUGHT THAT HIS STORY MOVED ALL OF US! I THOUGHT... I THOUGHT..."

"He did the right thing Haruki... just look." Sebas pointed at the corpse from which a light with no color started to rise.

"Huh? What's going on?" Haruki asked in disbelief, releasing my neck.

I took a deep breath. "Is that..."

The light took the form of a man with two small horns on top of his head. He smiled at us and disappeared.

"Isn't this beautiful, you two idiots? This is what we exorcists call 'The Purification'." Sebastian said softly.

"Purification? What does it mean?" Haruki asked curiously.

My vision slowly got unclear and I felt a great nausea.

"Purification is our main objective. We're freeing the lost soul from the cursed body, ending its suffering... but it only works based on who the person was... This demon right here... Lucian... was not lying... that's why he was freed."

I felt a warm sensation in my chest.

"For the first time in my life... I've helped someone for no reason at all... is this what... kindness means? It feels so warm... and so good... haha... I want more of it~!" Due to the overuse of Vymir, I fell to the ground and fainted.

"Shoji!" Haruki ran up to me.

-Somewhere in a place where time and space is not meant to exist, only the white void which was everywhere you looked-

Lucian walked up to a woman who hugged him tightly.

"I've waited for you... for so long... darling..." The woman said, crying into his chest.

"Finally... after so much time... our daughter will be safe... and we can finally rest in peace... Luna." Lucian hugged her back with so much love that the void around them twisted.

The two, husband and wife, father and mother, lovers, walk away into the empty light after waiting for each other for fourteen years.