Chapter 2: 2. A Reaper’s Prayer – Red Eyed Reaper Arc

 

2. A Reaper's Prayer - Red-Eyed Reaper Arc.

For a moment, it was like Saewynn was being pulled out of a dream at first, or skipped parts of a movie, she groaned as she remembered before and after but the scary parts had been glitched out or missing.

Taking note of her surroundings, the room was a faint brown, and small cracks of sunlight spilled through the curtains of the nearby window. The rest of the walls were adorned with murals and artwork of the living world.

Saewynn always considered the local doctor quite the strange man, he’d often paint strange cities with white buildings that stretched so high into the sky made out of the weirdest glass and weird carriages that weren’t pulled by horses with people inside them. Sounds like a Klipah now that I think about it.

     She gritted her teeth in a wince, clutching her forehead as a blanket of heat crept across her forehead, her vision blurry from the water welling up in her eyes. That’s right the Klipah… Last night, my… my family.

A few familiar voices came within her earshot from just beyond the small, plain oak door as she wiped the tears with her wrist.

“Did you hear about last night?” The voice of the local town physician spoke.

“Yeah, I heard the news. Poor church folks, they didn’t deserve it honestly.”

“So the demon-possessed Aiza?” A third voice joined in. “They say she killed Father Ivan and little Noam and ate the little girl whole. The only thing left of ‘er was a finger.”

“That Reaper sure is something ain’t he? Coming in here and killing that thing within a night where our men couldn’t even find it in weeks.”

“If I’m being honest, I’d have believed he was the monster. The way that thing was ripped apart, kinda feel sorry for the thing as crazy as that may sound.”

“Yeah, it’s the Red-Eyed Reaper we’re talking about after all? What happened to him anyways?”

“He was here for the past three nights, waiting for the girl to wake up. The Earl wanted to talk with him.” The doctor said in an uneasy tone. “There’s something strange about the Earl...”

Did he wait here for me? I… Saewynn wondered, filtering the conversation as she shot up out of the bed before wincing again, her hands grazing over the smooth cloth wrapped around her head, the pulsating throb of her wounds still hadn’t completely healed. I need to find him.

Saewynn hopped out of the bed, pulling the curtain and getting to work on the sashes, sliding the windows upwards and leaping out of the window. She was sure she couldn’t live in this village anymore.

It’s usually the victims of a Klipah’s attacks that have it worst in the aftermath. She remembered Sister Aiza telling her when they were in the middle of the town square and noticed a victim of an attack. Their remaining twin children soon disappeared in the aftermath. I have to find him.

*

Serafim stood in front of the large crowd of onlookers, his black hood over his head. Seated in front of him in a beautiful oak chair was the Earl of Baciennes, dressed in a black waistcoat with a pocket watch spilling out on either side of the buttoned center. His wife and daughter, both mirrors of an older and younger self were garbed in lavish orange bell-shaped skirts with floral wreaths and pomegranate flowers adorning them.

“We appreciate what you’ve done for us.” The Earl said, his voice was cordial, hidden beneath a veneer of arrogance that made Serafim wonder why he was even doing this in the first place. Even though he had his suspicions “I didn’t think you’d get the job done so quickly, the rumors of you exorcists getting the job done quickly must be true then. If we’d waited a night or so our town would’ve been finished.”

“So that’s an exorcist.” Serafim heard one of the people in the crowd murmur to another.

“A Red-Eyed Priest.”

“That’s not just any exorcist, that’s the Red-Eyed Reaper.”

“I believe this is the price we agreed on.” The Earl continued as a servant placed a bag of chinking coins on the table between them.

“I told you I don’t want it,” Serafim said, narrowing his gaze on the Earl, the tingle followed by a prickly sensation in his eye told him all he needed to know. His hand fell on his scythe, realizing the Earl wanted to trap him by having him accept the money.

In an instant, there was a loud whoosh sound followed by a spray of blood. The Earl’s head flew off his body and splattered against the wall through sheer force, plastered as a pile of flesh and blood.

A chorus of gasps overtook the room, followed by screams and the sound of the people’s footsteps thundering against the ground, the crowd scampering from the scene. The semi-transformed iron-plated spidery Klipah body of the Earl slumped to the ground.

“Let’s see, that’s one down,” Serafim said, his gaze darting around the room, pinpointing the location of each one of his targets.

“The… exorcist … h-he killed the Earl!” One of the servants cried out.

“Murderer!”

The Earl’s wife’s eyes and mouth widened, hands covering her mouth, and tears flooded her eyes. “My lo-“
Serafim vanished and materialized on the side of her head, the curve of his scythe at her neck. “I’m unimpressed by your performance, demon.

With one quick pull, he sent her head flying across the room and out the window accompanied by a bloody mess of a horrid amalgamation of insectoid and alien limbs. That’s two.”

“This exorcist has gone insane!” One of the servants said as he began to run for his life but Serafim blocked his path.

“Three,” Serafim said, dashing past him in a blur, leaving only the sound of leaves rustling. Dust clouds blew upwards and a pile of blood in his wake, his victim split apart from his slice.

The shed husks of human forms slapped against the cobblestone, spilling a thick, yellow viscous substance in a pool around them like a bleeding wound.

“It’s quite the operation the Earl was running, I had my suspicions when I first got here. I do have one question, why didn’t you reveal yourselves the moment you saw me knowing I’m your enemy?” Serafim asked. His question was not even considered instead, one of the Klipah charged at him.

It had the upper body of one of the servants, grey cadaveric and hollowed-out skin that was segmented at the waist. Its membrane-filled wings flapped with such force, Serafim had to plant his feet on the ground to avoid being thrown by the winds.

Its drooping cord-like, sharpened tendrils shot out at Serafim at blinding speeds, as Serafim jumped back to get some distance, he gritted his teeth as its barrage cut him in several places. “Foolish exorcist

“Damn!” Serafim said with gritted teeth, scraping his knee on the stone whilst trying to take a hard roll on the cobblestone.

Weren’t they two of ‘em? His question was immediately answered when the ground beneath him shook and cracked. Serafim flipped back and rolled out of harm’s way, the ground beneath him exploded, and a colossal mouth shot out from the ground where he once stood.

Some sort of worm or centipede-like creature with sinewy, stretched-out yellow-gray flesh gliding on its rear pair of spindly legs that vaguely resembled human hands. Multiple smaller sickle-like tendrils sprouted from its body although he could swear those were mouths of some sort.

Serafim rushed forward, dodging a nightmarish whirlwind of multiple tendril attacks to his best ability. He winced, scarlet liquid flew past his line of sight.

He caught one of them in his hands, underestimating its strength, and a splotch of blood filled his line of sight. A hot pain erupted in his cheek and emerged from the other.

With his little remaining strength, he cut the Klipah down in a flurry of slashes in a flash, leaving the Klipah in bloody bits. It slowly began to dissolve into a thin cloud of white ash.

He dropped to one knee, the sight of his cuts seeping blood mixed in with his sweat.

His eyebrows raised as he leaped out of the way, his foot getting caught in the explosion, the centipede-like Klipah emerged from the ground once more with an ear-shattering screech.

Serafim leaped into the air and hopped onto its body, sharp jabs of pain made him clench his teeth, and its sharp hide pierced his skin. He could barely tell it was his flesh from all the blood.

He brought his scythe down in one fell swoop aiming for a quick decapitation, the sound of a crunch only made his mouth hang and heart rate accelerate.

No, no, no! There’s no way! Serafim said as he continued forcing the blade down against its hide, one arm continuously began pricking against its sharp hide as he struggled to keep his grip.

Veins began to pop on the surface of his fair skin as his grunts mixed in with the monster’s howls, the blade digging deeper until a loud crack sound filled his surroundings, the shimmering reflection of his blade and the creature’s head both airborne as he collapsed on the ground.

Every breath burning in his throat, he was sure his wounds were far worse than he thought.

Each breath felt like he was taking in pure carbon monoxide. His ironclad grip on the handle of his now broken scythe didn’t cease.

His temples began pulsing, getting hotter and hotter by the second. His vision got darker at the edges, creeping in like a kidnapper closing in on his target, getting darker and darker until the world looked like it tilted on its side. The handle of his blade slipped out of his hand.

I…I-Is that a top hat? Serafim asked, noticing the reflection of a man in a black waistcoat, the top hat they wore shadowed out his face but Serafim could make out a recognizable mischievous smile. Son of a bitch.

 

**

 

It was like being pulled out of a dream, his eyes fluttering open as he groaned, rising up from the ground.

His vision was blurry at the edges until it began to focus on the strange man dressed in a black tuxedo, a little blonde haired girl slung over his shoulders like a child would a blanket. The crackling of a nearby fire and rustling of the forest leaves sounded far away but slowly got clearer and clearer as he regained consciousness.

“Ah, looks like you made it out alive.” The man said in his smooth, silky voice with a massive amount of gravitas to it as he tipped his top hat at Serafim, wavy black hair mixed in with dark blue streaks spilled off his shoulders like a lion’s mane.

He watched Serafim with this smile mixed in with this cat-like intensity as he propped the girl he recognized as Saewynn up against a nearby tree. “Thought we lost you there, heh heh.”

“Hmph! what did you take me for Elliott? It was just a few Bestias, nothing to worry about really.” Serafim said, looking away from Elliott’s gaze and crossed his arms, a strange and low buzzing sound echoed in his ears that made him feel like he was submerged in water. “I thought you of all people wouldn’t expect me to do get snuffed out so easily.”

“What I do find interesting is that you’d risk your life for this little girl I found tending to your wounds. Was it because she reminds you of a weaker, younger you that you felt the need to protect her hmm? I never thought of you as the sentimental type.” Elliott said, stroking his chin with a mischievous smile on his face that made Serafim clench his jaw. “Isn’t that the reason you came to Baciennes in the first place? To fix that mistake of yours? Let’s see… ah! I remember the Beast of the Ill-Omen right?”

“Tch! Like I said Elliott.” Serafim said, his voice lowered as he slumped his shoulders. His sorrowful gaze anchored on the nearby fire as if the memories of that night were being reenacted in the flames. “I became an exorcist to find him, but if I have the strength to help those who may end up like me, I’ll do anything to help them avoid that fate, anyone else and that’s no longer my problem.”

Elliott flashed a white card with a symbol of a black downright shaped hand with two thumbs on opposite sides, pointing in opposite directions, with three fingers together in the middle and a large eyed embedded in the middle that received a wide-eyed gape from Serafim.

“An execution order!? Who’s…”
“Barbarus. The Old Order wants you to hunt him down in Edenia.”
“You mean the Holy City?”

“Was I not clear enough? Do you want me to draw you a map with crayons while I bake some cookies and serve you some milk?”
“Spare me the sarcasm and get on with it Elliott.”
“Yes, the Holy City of Edenia, a request from the rebellion leader. Presumed dead but the request was made over a Heavenly Pact, meaning we need to hold up or end of the deal or else…” Elliott explained, intentionally trailing off as Serafim knew that breaking a Heavenly Pact is an indescribably terrifying experience for anyone dealing in the arts of the Abyss. “They sent a request prior for an exorcist on counts that their leader the High Kraslucist is connected to a Klipah, him and his Punishment Clerics have been hunting down heretics for decades. Exorcists included. So the Order sent Barbarus but reports a Klipah resembling the one he made a contract with emerged and here we are.”
“Hmm, guess I’m going in blind huh?”

“I mean you’re already half way there so it doesn’t sound like a problem to me.”
“Hey! That’s not funny!”
“Anyways, this is a covert operation so don’t give yourself away, t’s a good thing you have this girl with you, you can pretend you’re travelers and the Order wouldn’t have to resort to… other methods. To find you a partner.”
“You mean kidnapping orphans?” Serafim said with a certain bluntness to his voice.

“Since when does the Order kidnap orphaned kids?” Elliott brushed his question off with a wave of his hand, and a small laugh. The question lay there, left to the winds, Serafim had heard of the rumors but they came from untrustworthy sources. His gaze turning to Saewynn who slowly began waking up. “We’ll meet again Serafim, if you make out alive. Oh and about your scythe, one of our men will be on his way.”

In an instant he vanished with a faint whoosh of his kefitzat haderech as Saewynn began to stir, rubbing her eyes with her fists. “H-Hey, are you okay? You were in pretty bad shape when I found you in the middle of town, your wounds aren’t acting up are they?”

“I’ll be okay.” Serafim said, propping himself against a nearby tree. His hands reaching inside his shirt, searching for something until his hands were overcome with this metallic feel. “What’re you doing here anyways? Shouldn’t you be healing up from… the previous night?”

Saewynn avoided eye contact, pulling her legs to her chest and wrapping her arms around them, chin resting on her knees. The lack of any response of sorts told him all he needed to know.

“They did what every town does to the victims didn’t they?” Serafim asked, avoiding saying they threw her out of the town outright although from her gaze refocusing on Serafim he was sure she got what he was saying.

Brother! Give him back please! I’ll do anything please, he’s all I have left! Morgen! Morgen! The memories of that night, when he laid there in the middle of a blood stained ritual circle, trails of smoke rising from where his brother once stood. The faint yet pungent smell of the Abyss from which he came back from was still trapped in his nostrils.

A warm liquid trickled out of the socket where his eye once was, the metallic scent overwhelmed him as he smashed his fist on the ground, knuckles cracked as tears flooded his other eye. Why is this happening!? He promised it would be alright, he promised! Mammon! Where the hell are you!? You promised!

He remembered sitting there the same way Saewynn was, the tears had long dried out as he sat there in the dilapidated room. A group of voices from the townsfolk were still audible in distance.

“Poor Serafim, what’s going to happen to him now?”
“Every member of the house he served was killed and his brother became that monster that brought in those hordes of demons.”

“Poor child, he’s most likely cursed.”

“We can’t keep him here, you’ve heard the rumors of people who survive a Klipah attack, they’re cursed to attract demons wherever they go.”

“Who’s to say he’s not like his brother? He could start killing us off.”
“Hey, I didn’t get your name,” Saewynn said, snapping him out of his mental haze. Placing a hand on the back of her neck as she smiled. “Can’t be calling you Red-Eyed Reaper all the time you know.”

“You can call me Serafim.” He said. “Now that we got the introductions out of the way, after we get past the Holy City I’ll need to find you a place to stay. Can’t have you travelling with me for too long, the path an exorcist walks is a bloodstained one after all.”
“What! You’re gonna leave me in some random town!?”
”Look kid, I don’t want you getting caught up in any of the Old Order’s business. You’ll be another tool that they can replace, better live out your life in a quiet town somewhere. Don’t serve the devil if you can run away from him.”

“But- “

“We leave first thing in the morning.” Serafim said, not even looking into her eyes. He’d let his brother get wrapped up in his business, and he didn’t want anyone else to suffer for his actions anymore. “Not like last time.”
“Huh?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Could you at least tell me something. Please?” Saewynn pleaded, he glanced at her for a moment, noticing the tears begin to form in her eyes. “What exactly are these Klipah? And was Sister Aiza the one who killed my family? Was she possessed or something.”
Serafim’s hardened expression crumbled as he sighed. Should I tell her classified info? Elliott’s gonna give me an earful, either way better she knows before we head to that god awful city.

“Saewynn, think of a Klipah as a shell, once a negative emotion say anger or fear overcomes a person when they die whether as a human entering the afterlife or in the afterlife itself, that shell expands over their soul and overwhelms them.” Serafim explained, even though it sounded less like he was telling but more like he was confessing something. His eyes focusing on the flame, still remembering himself inside that ritual circle on that night. “That shell is the Klipah that traps the true soul within, using it as a battery of sorts for it to produce qlifot or they die so it feeds on more souls to keep it alive. They can take the form of those they’ve consumed so it’s either Sister Aiza was the original soul or was taken in by the Klipah… I’m sorry.”

Saewynn began to tear up and Serafim wasn’t sure if it was out of sympathy or whatever remained of his older brother instincts that he thought were killed and buried with whatever emotions he lost when he attempted that ritual and later became an exorcist.

He wrapped his arms around her as she cried into his shoulder, she continued crying until she couldn’t cry anymore or at least until Serafim thought she was asleep.

I found her tending to your wounds. He dwelled on Elliott’s words for a moment, something he’d never imagine himself doing in forever. I’ve… never had someone care for me like that in a while.

It made him wonder why he had waited three days to meet with the Earl until Saewynn had been able to show signs of waking up.

I never thought of you as the sentimental type. Isn’t that the reason you came to Baciennes in the first place? To fix that mistake of yours? Let’s see… ah! I remember the Beast of the Ill-Omen right?

Serafim reached into his pocket and pulled out one half of a golden pendant with a half of a six pointed star, embellished in blue and a glimmering pattern of white diamonds. “I’ll find you brother and put you out of your misery, I’ll make things right, big brother promises okay?”

Serafim brought the pendant to his forehead and closed his eyes, reinstating his vow to himself, it had taken an almost prayer like role in his life, how ironic seeing as he’d be going to city that every exorcist prayed to be never sent to.

The Holy City of Edenia.

 

For a moment, it was like Saewynn was being pulled out of a dream at first, or skipped parts of a movie, she groaned as she remembered before and after but the scary parts had been glitched out or missing.

You are reading story Nightmare Paradise at novel35.com

Taking note of her surroundings, the room was a faint brown, and small cracks of sunlight spilled through the curtains of the nearby window. The rest of the walls were adorned with murals and artwork of the living world.

Saewynn always considered the local doctor quite the strange man, he’d often paint strange cities with white buildings that stretched so high into the sky made out of the weirdest glass and weird carriages that weren’t pulled by horses with people inside them. Sounds like a Klipah now that I think about it.

She gritted her teeth in a wince, clutching her forehead as a blanket of heat crept across her forehead, her vision blurry from the water welling up in her eyes. That’s right the Klipah… Last night, my… my family.

A few familiar voices came within her earshot from just beyond the small, plain oak door as she wiped the tears with her wrist.

“Did you hear about last night?” The voice of the local town physician spoke.

“Yeah, I heard the news. Poor church folks, they didn’t deserve it honestly.”

“So the demon-possessed Aiza?” A third voice joined in. “They say she killed Father Ivan and little Noam and ate the little girl whole. The only thing left of ‘er was a finger.”

“That Reaper sure is something ain’t he? Coming in here and killing that thing within a night where our men couldn’t even find it in weeks.”

“If I’m being honest, I’d have believed he was the monster. The way that thing was ripped apart, kinda feel sorry for the thing as crazy as that may sound.”

“Yeah, it’s the Red-Eyed Reaper we’re talking about after all? What happened to him anyways?”

“He was here for the past three nights, waiting for the girl to wake up. The Earl wanted to talk with him.” The doctor said in an uneasy tone. “There’s something strange about the Earl...”

Did he wait here for me? I… Saewynn wondered, filtering the conversation as she shot up out of the bed before wincing again, her hands grazing over the smooth cloth wrapped around her head, the pulsating throb of her wounds still hadn’t completely healed. I need to find him.

Saewynn hopped out of the bed, pulling the curtain and getting to work on the sashes, sliding the windows upwards and leaping out of the window. She was sure she couldn’t live in this village anymore.

It’s usually the victims of a Klipah’s attacks that have it worst in the aftermath. She remembered Sister Aiza telling her when they were in the middle of the town square and noticed a victim of an attack. Their remaining twin children soon disappeared in the aftermath. I have to find him.

*

Serafim stood in front of the large crowd of onlookers, his black hood over his head. Seated in front of him in a beautiful oak chair was the Earl of Baciennes, dressed in a black waistcoat with a pocket watch spilling out on either side of the buttoned center. His wife and daughter, both mirrors of an older and younger self were garbed in lavish orange bell-shaped skirts with floral wreaths and pomegranate flowers adorning them.

“We appreciate what you’ve done for us.” The Earl said, his voice was cordial, hidden beneath a veneer of arrogance that made Serafim wonder why he was even doing this in the first place. Even though he had his suspicions “I didn’t think you’d get the job done so quickly, the rumors of you exorcists getting the job done quickly must be true then. If we’d waited a night or so our town would’ve been finished.”

“So that’s an exorcist.” Serafim heard one of the people in the crowd murmur to another.

“A Red-Eyed Priest.”

“That’s not just any exorcist, that’s the Red-Eyed Reaper.”

“I believe this is the price we agreed on.” The Earl continued as a servant placed a bag of chinking coins on the table between them.

“I told you I don’t want it,” Serafim said, narrowing his gaze on the Earl, the tingle followed by a prickly sensation in his eye told him all he needed to know. His hand fell on his scythe, realizing the Earl wanted to trap him by having him accept the money.

In an instant, there was a loud whoosh sound followed by a spray of blood. The Earl’s head flew off his body and splattered against the wall through sheer force, plastered as a pile of flesh and blood.

A chorus of gasps overtook the room, followed by screams and the sound of the people’s footsteps thundering against the ground, the crowd scampering from the scene. The semi-transformed iron-plated spidery Klipah body of the Earl slumped to the ground.

“Let’s see, that’s one down,” Serafim said, his gaze darting around the room, pinpointing the location of each one of his targets.

“The… exorcist … h-he killed the Earl!” One of the servants cried out.

“Murderer!”

The Earl’s wife’s eyes and mouth widened, hands covering her mouth, and tears flooded her eyes. “My lo-“
Serafim vanished and materialized on the side of her head, the curve of his scythe at her neck. “I’m unimpressed by your performance, demon.

With one quick pull, he sent her head flying across the room and out the window accompanied by a bloody mess of a horrid amalgamation of insectoid and alien limbs. That’s two.”

“This exorcist has gone insane!” One of the servants said as he began to run for his life but Serafim blocked his path.

“Three,” Serafim said, dashing past him in a blur, leaving only the sound of leaves rustling. Dust clouds blew upwards and a pile of blood in his wake, his victim split apart from his slice.

The shed husks of human forms slapped against the cobblestone, spilling a thick, yellow viscous substance in a pool around them like a bleeding wound.

“It’s quite the operation the Earl was running, I had my suspicions when I first got here. I do have one question, why didn’t you reveal yourselves the moment you saw me knowing I’m your enemy?” Serafim asked. His question was not even considered instead, one of the Klipah charged at him.

It had the upper body of one of the servants, grey cadaveric and hollowed-out skin that was segmented at the waist. Its membrane-filled wings flapped with such force, Serafim had to plant his feet on the ground to avoid being thrown by the winds.

Its drooping cord-like, sharpened tendrils shot out at Serafim at blinding speeds, as Serafim jumped back to get some distance, he gritted his teeth as its barrage cut him in several places. “Foolish exorcist

“Damn!” Serafim said with gritted teeth, scraping his knee on the stone whilst trying to take a hard roll on the cobblestone.

Weren’t they two of ‘em? His question was immediately answered when the ground beneath him shook and cracked. Serafim flipped back and rolled out of harm’s way, the ground beneath him exploded, and a colossal mouth shot out from the ground where he once stood.

Some sort of worm or centipede-like creature with sinewy, stretched-out yellow-gray flesh gliding on its rear pair of spindly legs that vaguely resembled human hands. Multiple smaller sickle-like tendrils sprouted from its body although he could swear those were mouths of some sort.

Serafim rushed forward, dodging a nightmarish whirlwind of multiple tendril attacks to his best ability. He winced, scarlet liquid flew past his line of sight.

He caught one of them in his hands, underestimating its strength, and a splotch of blood filled his line of sight. A hot pain erupted in his cheek and emerged from the other.

With his little remaining strength, he cut the Klipah down in a flurry of slashes in a flash, leaving the Klipah in bloody bits. It slowly began to dissolve into a thin cloud of white ash.

He dropped to one knee, the sight of his cuts seeping blood mixed in with his sweat.

His eyebrows raised as he leaped out of the way, his foot getting caught in the explosion, the centipede-like Klipah emerged from the ground once more with an ear-shattering screech.

Serafim leaped into the air and hopped onto its body, sharp jabs of pain made him clench his teeth, and its sharp hide pierced his skin. He could barely tell it was his flesh from all the blood.

He brought his scythe down in one fell swoop aiming for a quick decapitation, the sound of a crunch only made his mouth hang and heart rate accelerate.

No, no, no! There’s no way! Serafim said as he continued forcing the blade down against its hide, one arm continuously began pricking against its sharp hide as he struggled to keep his grip.

Veins began to pop on the surface of his fair skin as his grunts mixed in with the monster’s howls, the blade digging deeper until a loud crack sound filled his surroundings, the shimmering reflection of his blade and the creature’s head both airborne as he collapsed on the ground.

Every breath burning in his throat, he was sure his wounds were far worse than he thought.

Each breath felt like he was taking in pure carbon monoxide. His ironclad grip on the handle of his now broken scythe didn’t cease.

His temples began pulsing, getting hotter and hotter by the second. His vision got darker at the edges, creeping in like a kidnapper closing in on his target, getting darker and darker until the world looked like it tilted on its side. The handle of his blade slipped out of his hand.

I…I-Is that a top hat? Serafim asked, noticing the reflection of a man in a black waistcoat, the top hat they wore shadowed out his face but Serafim could make out a recognizable mischievous smile. Son of a bitch.

 

**

 

It was like being pulled out of a dream, his eyes fluttering open as he groaned, rising up from the ground.

His vision was blurry at the edges until it began to focus on the strange man dressed in a black tuxedo, a little blonde haired girl slung over his shoulders like a child would a blanket. The crackling of a nearby fire and rustling of the forest leaves sounded far away but slowly got clearer and clearer as he regained consciousness.

“Ah, looks like you made it out alive.” The man said in his smooth, silky voice with a massive amount of gravitas to it as he tipped his top hat at Serafim, wavy black hair mixed in with dark blue streaks spilled off his shoulders like a lion’s mane.

He watched Serafim with this smile mixed in with this cat-like intensity as he propped the girl he recognized as Saewynn up against a nearby tree. “Thought we lost you there, heh heh.”

“Hmph! what did you take me for Elliott? It was just a few Bestias, nothing to worry about really.” Serafim said, looking away from Elliott’s gaze and crossed his arms, a strange and low buzzing sound echoed in his ears that made him feel like he was submerged in water. “I thought you of all people wouldn’t expect me to do get snuffed out so easily.”

“What I do find interesting is that you’d risk your life for this little girl I found tending to your wounds. Was it because she reminds you of a weaker, younger you that you felt the need to protect her hmm? I never thought of you as the sentimental type.” Elliott said, stroking his chin with a mischievous smile on his face that made Serafim clench his jaw. “Isn’t that the reason you came to Baciennes in the first place? To fix that mistake of yours? Let’s see… ah! I remember the Beast of the Ill-Omen right?”

“Tch! Like I said Elliott.” Serafim said, his voice lowered as he slumped his shoulders. His sorrowful gaze anchored on the nearby fire as if the memories of that night were being reenacted in the flames. “I became an exorcist to find him, but if I have the strength to help those who may end up like me, I’ll do anything to help them avoid that fate, anyone else and that’s no longer my problem.”

Elliott flashed a white card with a symbol of a black downright shaped hand with two thumbs on opposite sides, pointing in opposite directions, with three fingers together in the middle and a large eyed embedded in the middle that received a wide-eyed gape from Serafim.

“An execution order!? Who’s…”
“Barbarus. The Old Order wants you to hunt him down in Edenia.”
“You mean the Holy City?”

“Was I not clear enough? Do you want me to draw you a map with crayons while I bake some cookies and serve you some milk?”
“Spare me the sarcasm and get on with it Elliott.”
“Yes, the Holy City of Edenia, a request from the rebellion leader. Presumed dead but the request was made over a Heavenly Pact, meaning we need to hold up or end of the deal or else…” Elliott explained, intentionally trailing off as Serafim knew that breaking a Heavenly Pact is an indescribably terrifying experience for anyone dealing in the arts of the Abyss. “They sent a request prior for an exorcist on counts that their leader the High Kraslucist is connected to a Klipah, him and his Punishment Clerics have been hunting down heretics for decades. Exorcists included. So the Order sent Barbarus but reports a Klipah resembling the one he made a contract with emerged and here we are.”
“Hmm, guess I’m going in blind huh?”

“I mean you’re already half way there so it doesn’t sound like a problem to me.”
“Hey! That’s not funny!”
“Anyways, this is a covert operation so don’t give yourself away, t’s a good thing you have this girl with you, you can pretend you’re travelers and the Order wouldn’t have to resort to… other methods. To find you a partner.”
“You mean kidnapping orphans?” Serafim said with a certain bluntness to his voice.

“Since when does the Order kidnap orphaned kids?” Elliott brushed his question off with a wave of his hand, and a small laugh. The question lay there, left to the winds, Serafim had heard of the rumors but they came from untrustworthy sources. His gaze turning to Saewynn who slowly began waking up. “We’ll meet again Serafim, if you make out alive. Oh and about your scythe, one of our men will be on his way.”

In an instant he vanished with a faint whoosh of his kefitzat haderech as Saewynn began to stir, rubbing her eyes with her fists. “H-Hey, are you okay? You were in pretty bad shape when I found you in the middle of town, your wounds aren’t acting up are they?”

“I’ll be okay.” Serafim said, propping himself against a nearby tree. His hands reaching inside his shirt, searching for something until his hands were overcome with this metallic feel. “What’re you doing here anyways? Shouldn’t you be healing up from… the previous night?”

Saewynn avoided eye contact, pulling her legs to her chest and wrapping her arms around them, chin resting on her knees. The lack of any response of sorts told him all he needed to know.

“They did what every town does to the victims didn’t they?” Serafim asked, avoiding saying they threw her out of the town outright although from her gaze refocusing on Serafim he was sure she got what he was saying.

Brother! Give him back please! I’ll do anything please, he’s all I have left! Morgen! Morgen! The memories of that night, when he laid there in the middle of a blood stained ritual circle, trails of smoke rising from where his brother once stood. The faint yet pungent smell of the Abyss from which he came back from was still trapped in his nostrils.

A warm liquid trickled out of the socket where his eye once was, the metallic scent overwhelmed him as he smashed his fist on the ground, knuckles cracked as tears flooded his other eye. Why is this happening!? He promised it would be alright, he promised! Mammon! Where the hell are you!? You promised!

He remembered sitting there the same way Saewynn was, the tears had long dried out as he sat there in the dilapidated room. A group of voices from the townsfolk were still audible in distance.

“Poor Serafim, what’s going to happen to him now?”
“Every member of the house he served was killed and his brother became that monster that brought in those hordes of demons.”

“Poor child, he’s most likely cursed.”

“We can’t keep him here, you’ve heard the rumors of people who survive a Klipah attack, they’re cursed to attract demons wherever they go.”

“Who’s to say he’s not like his brother? He could start killing us off.”
“Hey, I didn’t get your name,” Saewynn said, snapping him out of his mental haze. Placing a hand on the back of her neck as she smiled. “Can’t be calling you Red-Eyed Reaper all the time you know.”

“You can call me Serafim.” He said. “Now that we got the introductions out of the way, after we get past the Holy City I’ll need to find you a place to stay. Can’t have you travelling with me for too long, the path an exorcist walks is a bloodstained one after all.”
“What! You’re gonna leave me in some random town!?”
”Look kid, I don’t want you getting caught up in any of the Old Order’s business. You’ll be another tool that they can replace, better live out your life in a quiet town somewhere. Don’t serve the devil if you can run away from him.”

“But- “

“We leave first thing in the morning.” Serafim said, not even looking into her eyes. He’d let his brother get wrapped up in his business, and he didn’t want anyone else to suffer for his actions anymore. “Not like last time.”
“Huh?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Could you at least tell me something. Please?” Saewynn pleaded, he glanced at her for a moment, noticing the tears begin to form in her eyes. “What exactly are these Klipah? And was Sister Aiza the one who killed my family? Was she possessed or something.”
Serafim’s hardened expression crumbled as he sighed. Should I tell her classified info? Elliott’s gonna give me an earful, either way better she knows before we head to that god awful city.

“Saewynn, think of a Klipah as a shell, once a negative emotion say anger or fear overcomes a person when they die whether as a human entering the afterlife or in the afterlife itself, that shell expands over their soul and overwhelms them.” Serafim explained, even though it sounded less like he was telling but more like he was confessing something. His eyes focusing on the flame, still remembering himself inside that ritual circle on that night. “That shell is the Klipah that traps the true soul within, using it as a battery of sorts for it to produce qlifot or they die so it feeds on more souls to keep it alive. They can take the form of those they’ve consumed so it’s either Sister Aiza was the original soul or was taken in by the Klipah… I’m sorry.”

Saewynn began to tear up and Serafim wasn’t sure if it was out of sympathy or whatever remained of his older brother instincts that he thought were killed and buried with whatever emotions he lost when he attempted that ritual and later became an exorcist.

He wrapped his arms around her as she cried into his shoulder, she continued crying until she couldn’t cry anymore or at least until Serafim thought she was asleep.

I found her tending to your wounds. He dwelled on Elliott’s words for a moment, something he’d never imagine himself doing in forever. I’ve… never had someone care for me like that in a while.

It made him wonder why he had waited three days to meet with the Earl until Saewynn had been able to show signs of waking up.

I never thought of you as the sentimental type. Isn’t that the reason you came to Baciennes in the first place? To fix that mistake of yours? Let’s see… ah! I remember the Beast of the Ill-Omen right?

Serafim reached into his pocket and pulled out one half of a golden pendant with a half of a six pointed star, embellished in blue and a glimmering pattern of white diamonds. “I’ll find you brother and put you out of your misery, I’ll make things right, big brother promises okay?”

Serafim brought the pendant to his forehead and closed his eyes, reinstating his vow to himself, it had taken an almost prayer like role in his life, how ironic seeing as he’d be going to city that every exorcist prayed to be never sent to.

The Holy City of Edenia.

 

 

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