Chapter 3

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・・・・・

“I’m sorry, Isabel. That place was attacked by demons a week ago, and everyone there was slaughtered. May God’s blessing be with you.”

“Snap out of it, kid! Do you even know what you’re rushing into?”

“Isabel, becoming an exorcist isn’t an easy path. It’s a job where you have to roll in fountains of blood every single day. There’s nothing sacred or honourable about it. Think it over again.”

In the depths of her unconscious mind, Isabel’s memories surged and rippled without any clear order. As she swam through them, she cried out.

“Mother and Father are dead! They were seized by demons and killed. My neighbours, my friends — all of them! O God! Please help me. No, if You cannot help me, then at least place a sword in my hand!”

"O God! Please!"

Isabel screamed and suddenly opened her eyes. What she saw was the shadow of flames flickering across a black ceiling. She stared at it for a moment before slowly sitting up.

The place she was in seemed like a small room carved inside a cave. The walls were made of rough, reddish stone, and the only light in the dim space came from a small torch fixed to the wall. That faint light fell on the room’s only exit. But it was blocked by a door with iron bars.

The place where Isabel had been lying was a soft bed covered with a thin sheet. She retraced her last memories before losing consciousness: the ritual site of the demon worshippers, the black hand that appeared, and the memory of it breaking through the barrier and swallowing her. That was all she remembered.

She instinctively reached for the sword she always carried. It wasn’t there. It seemed to have been lost when she was swallowed by the hand. Isabel then began rummaging through the pockets of her nun’s habit. All she found was a small dagger and a rosary crucifix.

Isabel took the torch and went to the room’s entrance. She tried to shine it through the bars, but no matter how hard she tried, all she could see was an endless, ocean-like darkness. She pushed on the door, but it wouldn’t budge.

Feeling a sense of helplessness, she sat back on the bed. Then she took out her rosary, clasped it tightly with both hands, and began to pray.

“O God, your sword, your servant, your sheep, Isabel, has been captured and cast down into the realm of evil. No matter what cruel tortures await, I will never betray You. I only beg You to watch over the children I rescued and baptised with my own hands…”

“That’s a very touching prayer.”

A man’s voice came from the door. Isabel opened her eyes and looked toward it. Beyond the bars, a man was standing.

“Who are you?”

“One of the demons, Isabel.”

With those words, the door creaked open. The owner of the voice walked into the room.

He called himself a demon, yet his appearance was entirely human. Dressed in a black cloak, black clothes, and black shoes, he possessed a beauty rarely found even among mankind. Tall and slender, with red hair and blue eyes, his pale skin and finely chiselled features gave him the look of a carefully carved statue.

The moment Isabel saw him, she realised he was a high-ranking demon. Lower-ranking demons were large and monstrous in form, but higher-ranking ones resembled humans more closely, their appearance youthful and beautiful.

He approached the bed where Isabel was sitting. Looking up at him, she asked:

“Are you the master of the hand that swallowed me?”

He said nothing. He simply looked down at Isabel, his red lips forming a faint curve. From his silence, Isabel sensed an affirmation.

"Why did you bring me here?"

“There are plenty of reasons to bring you here. Have you forgotten how many demons and our worshippers you’ve slain, and how many of our living offerings you’ve stolen over the five years since you took your vows as a nun?”

“I was just doing my duty.”

“Capturing you was my duty.”

“If capturing clergy is your duty, then you must be one of the high-ranking demons. So, what do you intend to do with me now?”

“Well, what should I do?”

“Torture or whatever — do it if you must. I expected as much when I began this work.”

“You humans often picture demons as creatures who casually torment or torture others, but we are not the sort who take pleasure in such things. If we do it, it is only when necessary.”

“Then what will you do besides torture?”

With a hand clad in black leather gloves, he lifted Isabel’s chin.

“We’ll keep you imprisoned.”

“For how long?”

“Until you promise to work for us.”

“Work for your kind?” 

“Yes.”

“That’s absurd.”

Isabel shook off the hand gripping her chin.

“Even if I end up trapped here forever, I will never agree."

The man released her and gave a faint smile.

“Good. If you accepted easily, you wouldn’t be Isabel.”

“What could you possibly know about me to say something like that?”

“You have no idea how famous you are in this underworld, do you? Most beings here know your name, how you lived before you became a nun, and why you became one.”

Anger flared in Isabel’s green eyes as she stared at him. His faint smile deepened at the intensity of her gaze.

“I like that look in your eyes.”

He stared at Isabel’s nun’s veil.

“I heard you’re blonde. Is that true?”

“Why does that matter?”

“Well, it doesn’t really matter.”

Even as he said that, a gleam of amusement sparkled in his blue eyes.

“But it seems like there might be some fun in store for me after all.”

Isabel stared at him with a blank expression. Having grown up in the convent’s orphanage and becoming a nun at a young age, she didn’t know men well, but she wasn’t naive enough to miss the subtle flirtation in his demeanour.

Isabel held out the rosary in her hand toward him.

“Whatever you’re thinking, don’t fool yourself into believing I’ll give you any pleasure. I’m married to God, and no matter what temptations you try or what force you use, I’ll resist with everything I have. And if taking a defiant woman is your idea of pleasure, then I’ll be as unyielding as stone.”

He let out a hearty laugh at her words.

“Impressive courage, Isabel. Rest assured, I have no habit of taking what isn’t willingly given.”

Even after saying that, he gave Isabel a lingering, meaningful look.

“I’ll give you some time to think it over.”

“The very idea that I would hesitate shows that you don’t know me at all.”

“There's one thing I'm certain of. The moment you walk out of here, you’ll no longer be able to serve as a member of the clergy. I’ll make sure of it, Isabel.”

Having said that, he left the cell.

・・・・・

Isabel lost track of how many days had passed. She spent most of her time alone, sitting on the bed in the cave-like room. Occasionally, a monstrous guard with grotesque crooked teeth and a bulky frame would bring her meals: a piece of dry bread and a glass of wine. Isabel recognised a familiar taste in the bread. Its coarse, crumbly texture reminded her of the black bread she had eaten every day at the orphanage.

Isabel vividly remembered the day she lost her parents. It was the day the wealthiest girl in the village, an older neighbour, said she knew where wild strawberries grew and led all the village girls into the forest.

She had followed along, carrying her basket, unaware of anything. That was the root of the disaster. When they arrived at the valley said to be full of wild strawberries, what awaited them were devil worshippers.

The pain in her wrists bound by ropes; the mark of sacrifice drawn on her forehead; the fearful breaths of her friends. Everything was as vivid as if it had happened yesterday. Even the voices of the devil worshippers who had guarded her were etched clearly in her memory.

“By now, the village must be a blazing inferno, right?”

“Of course. By now, everyone’s probably been devoured, and chaos has erupted. Only the old and frail would be left. How difficult could it be?”

Isabel felt like she was about to lose her mind when she heard that.

Her mother, her father...

Before she left with the basket, her mother had placed a sun hat on her head and kissed her forehead. Her father had helped her put on her sandals, telling her to go have fun.

The moment she realised they were in danger, Isabel forgot all fear. The instant she saw an opening, she ran, her arms still bound behind her. To save her family.

But she didn’t get far. Isabel stumbled, fell off a cliff, and was swept away by the raging waters. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she was staring death in the face. Fortunately, the turbulent current flung her ashore, and she was found the next day by nearby villagers. Isabel miraculously survived.

However, Isabel was the only one to survive from her village. All the girls who had been kidnapped were turned into sacrifices, the men who set out to find the missing girls were ambushed by the demon worshippers waiting in the forest, and the elderly and vulnerable left in the village were mercilessly slaughtered by demons that crawled up from the ground.

Since then, Isabel had lived alone. Only one thing had ever stayed by her side.

Guilt.

“So, have you given it some thought?”

Isabel didn’t know when he had arrived. A demon in black stood in the doorway of the cell. She set down the bread she had been holding.

“I will never side with you.”

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