Chapter 9

🚨 Warning: This chapter includes depictions of nonconsensual sexual actions. Please remain mindful of this as you read. If you feel uncomfortable, do not hesitate to stop reading. 🚨

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・・・・・

The exorcism ritual continued for several days. The demon held its ground within Cedric’s body with no sign of relenting. Isabel and Father Daniel took turns being drenched in black blood, bombarded with all manner of grotesque curses, and struck by flying books and candlesticks, leaving bruises across their bodies.

Father Daniel was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Every time the demon hurled curses at him, his voice trembled as he read the Bible, and he often stood blankly even when Isabel gave him instructions.

Whenever that happened, she would order Father Daniel to leave the room. After all, as an aide during the exorcism ritual, his only tasks were to read along with Isabel when she read from the Bible, lend her support, and bring the holy water from the box.

And Daniel’s mind was collapsing to the point that he couldn’t even properly handle these small tasks. Right now, he was nothing but a hindrance to the work he was doing.

On the fifth morning, Isabel finished the exorcism alone and stepped out of the room. When she opened the door, she saw Father Daniel crouched beside it. He had been waiting outside, following her earlier order to leave.

When she told him to go and rest, he hung his head dejectedly and mumbled.

"I’m sorry, Sister."

His voice trembled as if he were about to cry.

“I’m no help at all. I foolishly volunteered just because I thought I might be able to see you, Sister Isabel, and now I’m only causing trouble.”

Sister Isabel watched him silently. If this were a battlefield and a subordinate couldn’t keep their wits about them, she would have immediately ordered them back to the Vatican. On a blood-soaked battlefield, one person’s instability could endanger dozens or even hundreds of lives.

But the situation was different now. An exorcism could succeed as long as the presiding cleric kept their mind focused. So there was leeway to soothe Father Daniel’s mind, even if only a little.

"Don’t blame yourself, Father Daniel."

She chose her words carefully.

"That’s just how it is when you fight demons. People call it a sacred duty, but it’s often gruesome and repulsive. If it weren’t for this age swarming with demons, priests could live peacefully like the old clergy: holding Mass, serving the faithful, and doing charity work. But now, honestly, it hardly feels any different from being a soldier."

Father Daniel remained silent.

"But Father Daniel, I have always believed that prayer is the only way for humans to achieve miracles. I want you to focus on prayer to save Cedric."

"Prayer?"

"Yes. While I perform the exorcism, you are to pray in the chapel of this mansion."

Father Daniel stared straight at Isabel.

"So… you’re saying that I shouldn’t come to the ritual site from now on?"

Isabel nodded. In her own way, she was being considerate. She hadn’t scolded him or sent him back to the monastery, effectively sparing him in this terrible situation. Yet Father Daniel’s expression didn’t improve; if anything, it grew even gloomier.

"I… I’ll do my best from now on. I won’t stammer, and I won’t lose focus in the middle. So, please, Sister, let me help you just a little more."

"No, Father Daniel. What you’ve done so far is enough."

Isabel tried to sound as gentle as possible, but to anyone listening, her voice came across as very firm.

"...Am I really that useless?"

"..." 

Isabel wasn't the kind of person who was accustomed to telling white lies.

Daniel was timid and somewhat naive, but he wasn’t entirely oblivious. He lowered his head, as if in agreement with Isabel’s decision.

"I’m sorry for getting in the way until now. Please save young Cedric’s soul."

Father Daniel trudged back to his room just like that.

That night, Isabel entered Cedric’s room alone. She stood before the demon lying on the bed. The demon stared at her with a sinister smile.

"The whore has come to see me again today."

The demon sneered.

"Where’s that idiot who was dripping sweat behind you?"

“He’s not attending today.”

"Ah, is that so? Then it’s just the two of us?"

The demon licked his lips and spoke.

“Did you send him away because you wanted to have sex with me? Hmm? Then, hurry, take off that habit that doesn’t suit you, sit on top of me, and spread your legs. The owner of this body may still be a child, but he’s got something decent down there.”

Isabel said nothing and approached the demon, holding the vial of holy water. As she was about to open the prayer book again, a thought that had tormented her for days resurfaced. It was the question that had driven her to take opium all this time.

"The man with blue eyes, red hair, and wearing a black cloak. Is he the Lucifer you speak of? Lucifer, the supreme ruler of the Underworld?”

“That’s right.”

"Why did he come to find me personally when I was in prison?"

The demon chuckled.

"Why do you keep asking about him? Is your lower body itching because you can’t forget him?"

"Answer me."

"If you take off your clothes and get on top of me, I’ll tell you... Aaah!”

Isabel splashed the holy water without mercy. The demon screamed and thrashed about. After using nearly an entire vial, Isabel asked again.

“I asked why Lucifer would visit a mere cleric like me every day.”

The demon huffed as it looked at Isabel. Its eyes were blazing with fury. Isabel spoke dryly.

"I learned something from interrogating heretics: if you don’t skimp on the torture, you get answers quickly. If you don’t want to be drenched from head to toe in holy water, speak up now. Why did Lucifer interrogate me personally?"

The demon puffed angrily, then spoke as if growling.

“How should I know, damn it!”

“Then let me rephrase the question. What plan does your king, Lucifer, have? Why does he keep abducting people from the human world? Is it to rule the world? Or is it to challenge God?”

The demon smirked. 

"It's closer to the latter."

“What can you gain by challenging God? Without God, the world itself would fall apart.”

“That’s not bad either. It’s exactly what we want. We will create a world with an end.”

"A world with an end?"

"Yes."

The demon chuckled.

“The Heavenly Realm believes that there is greatness in eternity, and you humans blindly follow those words like livestock. But we think. We know how to recognise contradictions and mistakes. We shared that wisdom with you through the fruit of good and evil, yet even after eating it, you still failed to come to your senses. Stupid creatures.”

Hearing the demon’s words, Isabel suddenly remembered what Lucifer had said to her in prison.

“The Heavenly Realm and the Underworld are merely categories God arranged for His convenience, like black and white stones on a Go board. After death, there is no reward or punishment. Only eternity exists.”

“So, you’re capturing humans to put an end to that eternity?”

“That’s right. We will raise our army, awaken God from His slumber, and demand that He impose finitude upon the world. If He does not comply, we will kill God and bring the world to its end.”

“To drag humans who are merely living the lives bestowed upon them by God into the world of the dead for such a trivial reason. Your king is a cruel and monstrous brute. That's enough. The interrogation is over. Now leave this pitiful young soul’s body at once.”

Isabel opened her prayer book again.

Suddenly, the demon raised its arm high. The cords binding his arms snapped. In an instant, he stood upright on the bed.

Isabel drew the sword she had strapped to her waist.

“What? Are you going to stab me? Then the innocent Cedric will die. Are you fine with that? Even if this body dies, all I have to do is find another one. Go on, kill me. Try to kill me.”

The demon sneered. Isabel simply stood there, sword in hand, facing him. As he said, it was unthinkable to let the innocent body possessed by the demon come to harm.

“I was able to loosen this rope two days ago. But I stayed put. I thought I could have my fun with you when that idiot in the priest’s robes wasn’t around!”

The demon grinned and reached toward the opposite side of the bed. At that moment, the box of holy water on the table flew into his arms.

"No!"

The demon took a vial of holy water from the box and opened it.

“You tortured me with this damn thing, didn’t you? Now it’s your turn!”

He splashed it at Isabel. She instinctively dodged, but it was useless. The holy water hit her right arm and shoulder.

"Ahhh!"

Smoke rose from her arm. Isabel screamed. It felt as if it had been scalded by boiling water.

Clang—!

The sword slipped from her hand and clattered across the floor. Isabel clutched her burning right arm and stared at the demon. The demon leapt into the air and came crashing down on her.

"Aaaagh...! Mmph!"

The demon pinned the fallen Isabel down and covered her screaming mouth. Foul breath spewed from his mouth onto her face. He looked down at her with yellow eyes and grinned.

“I was very curious about what kind of body you have. What kind of body could have stirred Lord Lucifer, who has lain with no one for thousands of years?”

The demon lifted Isabel’s veil and stroked her blonde hair. Isabel struggled, but without any weapon, she could not resist the demon’s power. The demon licked her ear and blew cold breath onto her.

“A blonde nun, huh. I wonder what kind of special taste you have.”

The demon began rubbing himself between Isabel’s legs. Isabel struggled and even swung her fists, trying to escape the demon pressing down on her.

The demon roughly slapped Isabel’s cheek, then grabbed her nun’s habit and tore it. Isabel’s clothes came off far too easily. She was soon completely naked. He spread her legs and positioned himself between them.

"Cedric will be grateful. After all, I’ll be the one to take his virginity for him."

"Mm, mmph!"

The demon pressed himself against her. As the cold, hard tip touched her intimate place, Isabel’s struggles grew more frantic.

‘No! No!’

Isabel squeezed her eyes shut.

Bang!

In an instant, the weight pressing down on Isabel vanished. At the same time, a dull thud echoed through the room. Isabel opened her eyes. The demon that had been on top of her just moments ago was gone.

When she sat up, Isabel saw the demon slamming against the opposite wall. She hurriedly tried to fix her clothes, but they were completely torn, barely covering her body with scraps of fabric. After roughly arranging the tattered remnants to cover herself, she looked around.

"Ah!"

Isabel’s gaze froze on the window, and she let out a scream like a death cry. A man was standing on the terrace railing.

He stood there, staring at Isabel. In the flickering glow of the candles inside the room, she could see his eyes, shining, blazing like blue flames. She recognised him instantly.

"You broke your promise, Isabel."

The man stepped down from the railing onto the terrace floor. His landing was soft, as if he were gliding through the air. He walked steadily toward Isabel and stopped in front of her.

“I didn’t erase your memory, but have you completely forgotten the promise to quit the clergy?”

He walked past Isabel and approached the demon. The demon was sprawled on the floor, pinned against the wall. Lucifer grabbed him by the collar and effortlessly lifted him into the air. The demon squealed and thrashed violently.

“Lo-Lord Lucifer, please… have mercy…” 

“I clearly told my subjects not to lay a hand on that woman. What mercy could there be for you, who disobeyed your king’s command?”

“Bu… but Lord Lucifer… she’s nothing more than a mere human wench…”

He raised his hand and placed it on the demon’s face, as if there was nothing more he needed to hear.

“Ah… aaah, no!”

The demon thrashed and squawked as if having a seizure. Soon, light emanated from his hands, and the demon’s agonised cries echoed through the air.

“Aaaaargh!”

Whoosh—

A sound like something being drawn out of the demon’s face spread through the room. The screams soon faded, and the thrashing body settled into stillness. With a flick of his wrist, he cast the boy’s limp form onto the bed as if discarding a piece of clothing.

Isabel hurried to the child’s side and lifted his eyelids. His eyes had returned to their normal colour. The facial muscles that had been grotesquely twisted were now calm, restoring the gentle, innocent features of the young boy.

Isabel checked the child’s pulse and temperature, confirming that he was unharmed. He was in a deep sleep. She let out a sigh of relief.

Once her mind was at ease, Isabel finally had the room to register Lucifer’s presence. She turned her head toward him. He was staring straight at her — at Isabel, barely covering her body with a tattered nun's habit and letting her hair, which reached down to her waist, fall loose.

Isabel covered her body, unaware that it only provoked the man further. He approached her step by step. Then he grabbed her shoulders and pulled her up from the bed where she was sitting.

“Why the hell didn’t you keep your promise?”

He gritted his teeth and muttered.

“Most of the demons know that you and I slept together. That means you’ve become a target for them. Sleeping with a demon should end with me alone. Do you want to be violated by another demon?”

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