"Everyone! Gather together! There is the Prophet of Sheol!"
Several people ran to the center of the town, where they observed a man with a straw hat fishing in the middle of a bridge, they all at each end of the bridge.
"Prophet?" The man murmured, turning slightly to look at a small child. "That title shouldn't be mine; I'm just a simple guide of souls. My brother is the one who deserves that title."
The boy smiled at the gentle gaze of the man, the 'prophet.'
"But you are the one risking traveling to Yomi to search for our lost children!"
Suddenly, the man stood up from the small wooden bucket he was sitting on, and then left the fishing rod anchored beside him.
"That is my duty…" Then, he unbuttoned the hanfu at the chest, and some tentacles emerged from it. "There's a reason I'm the son of darkness and light."
"Thank you for your hard work, please rest here...YumikoEnver!"
_
A small town on the coast at the end of Anarxie.
Fishing and agriculture thrived, as did abundant minerals and few sightings of evil spirits.
However, there was a problem in this town.
It had no name.
And besides that, it was the place where the portal to hell was located, which the inhabitants of that town knew as 'Sheol'.
Nobody knew what was inside.
After the world 'reset' happened, that portal resurfaced from the earth, causing many ghosts and malevolent spirits to escape. However, it is also common for tormented souls to flee, and harmless ghosts who just want to visit their family one more time.
And to prevent that, there was a clan of exorcists in that town; The YamiClan. At the head of the clan is the elderly master exorcist Yami, and his twenty other sons and thirty more recruits.
The old man was known in the village for his many adventures with beautiful girls in his youth, and without realizing it, he had more than ten children throughout the village.
However, that was better for him, because thanks to that, he can now teach everything he knows about exorcism to all his children along with his disciples.
But what stood out most about the clan were two things: their regular excursions to Sheol, and two of his twenty children.
Lahn, and Enver.
The eldest son, Lahn, and Enver, the middle son.
Lahn was expressionless, difficult to know what he was thinking, even for his father, and that made him a perfect exorcist who was unmoved by any presence of an evil ghost.
And then there was Enver, who was more charismatic, despite being cursed from birth and being born half-demon. But at the same time, he was the best support exorcist.
And that clan, in the future, became the protector clan of the village.
Everyone greeted the disciples of the Yami clan with sweetness and kindness, especially after they had returned from an excursion to hell.
Everything was peace and love.
Everything was perfect.
"Enver," While he was chopping wood, a voice called him from behind; it was Lahn, his brother. "Father wants you to stop chopping wood and come have dinner with everyone."
Enver smiled, leaving the axe in the log and smiling.
"Sorry, sorry! But I'm a great woodcutter! Besides, my exorcist weapons are top quality, aren't they?"
"Yes, but we have to go to dinner. Now."
"Don't you like my fishing rods?"
"Are you trying to change the subject?"
They both remained silent, and then Enver burst out laughing.
It was something they both used to do.
Arguing pointlessly for hours, just to avoid going to dinner.
"You're funny if you want to be," Then he bent down, picked up his hanfu and put it on. "Come with me to the mountain peak, I want to show you something."
And soon, Lahn followed behind, thanks to his agility, easily overtaking his brother Enver and getting ahead to climb to the mountain peak.
The clouds dissipated, revealing a dull red sky, and a moon with a missing piece.
"You're very fast..." Enver said, panting, as he tried to reach his brother, but failed.
"I'm an exorcist who specializes in hunting, what did you expect?"
Enver sighed, then lay down in the middle of the place, observing the sky. "I have something to tell you."
Soon, Lahn did the same as Enver, lying down next to him.
"Tell me your worries, child."
"I'm being serious, please stop using that terrifying sarcasm of yours…" Then he sighed. "I had a dream."
"A dream?"
Enver nodded.
"One where I completely transformed into a demon."
Lahn suddenly fell silent.
"I also had a similar dream."
"Really?"
That...was strange, because…
Exorcists don't dream.
_
"Good morning Mr. Enver," An old man from a fruit stand said, looking at Enver approaching with his usual smile. "We received some very fresh dragon fruit today, would you like to give it your approval?" And with a few simple maneuvers, the man passed a fuchsia fruit to Enver.
Enver caught it, looking at it in his hand, turning it around.
"It looks tastier than the fruit your nephew used to bring you, uncle."
The old man laughed, then nodded.
"I know! He's from Anarxie. He said there's been too much activity in the capital lately, so he says it's probably because of the damage those demonhunters have been causing."
Enver seemed curious about the term 'demon hunters'.
"What are demon hunters?" He asked, curious, since he had never seen a wild demon before.
"I don't know! He said they said they were demons because there have been plagues and the presence of…huh…that small magical creatures!"
"Fairies."
A female voice made them both turn to look at the side.
She was a woman wearing a white hood.
But upon seeing her, they couldn't help but feel...peace.
"Oh! What's the name of that curious thing?" The woman asked, pointing to a dragon fruit. "It looks delicious, but maybe it would taste even better with some rice pudding...oh! Have you ever tried rice pudding? In my clan, they make it incredibly delicious!"
Both men were still confused; the girl was too friendly to be from that place.
But it didn't last long, as Enver broke the silence.
"That fruit is called a dragon fruit..." He took a knife, cut the fruit he was holding, and gave half to the woman. "Try it, you'll like it."
The woman smiled, nodding, then ate it and... "Wow! It's delicious! You're right, sir!" Then, while he was still eating it, he pulled out a sack of gold coins. "Do you have two hundred of them to give me?"
"TWO HUNDRED?!" Both men said, surprised.
The woman simply smiled. "I'm sorry~ But if I arrive at my clan without something they like, they'll want to name my baby..."
Baby?
And soon, they both looked down, noticing the woman holding her belly. She was indeed pregnant.
Everyone around them came closer, surrounding them.
In that town, they hadn't had children for a long time.
Since most men were exorcists and couldn't have children, the birth rate dropped, and seeing a pregnant woman...
"Ma'am, excuse me...where are you from?" Enver said kindly, offering the woman another piece of dragon fruit.
"My name is Ellie," she said, smiling. "I come from La vie en Rose, of the Vulpecula Clan."
Everyone around looked at each other, surprised and…
"Where is that?"
Of course, nobody left the village, nobody knew that other villages like theirs existed…
"It's a town where there are no men! It's in a hidden place in Anarxie!" She explained, pulling a long map from her hood, dragging it on the ground, and then handing it to Enver. "I am a cartographer, I make maps…but I never thought there would be a town very, very, very far from Anarxie."
Enver and the others around him looked at the map, seeing the entire territory of Anarxie finely drawn.
But one part was missing, the part where his town was.
"By the way, what is the name of your town? I haven't seen any citizen say the name of their own town; if it's a secret, I can cross that off!"
Well, nobody knew the name of their own town...
"You'll see..." Enver returned the map to Ellie, who folded it and put it away, then continued eating. "This town doesn't exactly have a name...we only have one place with a name; and it's the portal to the world of the dead, the Sheol."
"So why don't you make that the name of you town?" She asked, causing the others around her to look at her...surprised. It wasn't that nobody had thought of it, but Sheol was the name of the portal where the dead came from, and...wouldn't that be a bad omen for them? "My town is called La vie en Rose, when our goddess hates roses, haha."
"Our case is more...serious..." A woman said. "Sheol is the place where the dead dwell, where tormented souls emerge..."
"So, can I suggest a name?"
Everyone looked at Enver, who simply nodded.
"Sh'ual!" She said, and then explained. "In my language, it means 'fox', it's nicer than Sheol. Furthermore, they share almost the same letters!"
They all looked at each other again, thinking about the strange proposal to name their town.
"But wouldn't it be a bad omen to name our town?"
"It was born without a name, perhaps we should keep it that way..."
"Giving something a name is a symbol of affection." The woman said, with a smile. "Sh'ual was the name of my baby whom I love very much, but if I can help you love your town with a name, I'll give it to you."
A name is a symbol of affection…huh?
"Thank you," He suddenly said, Enver. "This village will be called Sh'ual, if you want to come visit with your clan again...you are more than welcome."
Ellie smiled, a bright smile, despite being covered by that hood. His smile was well received by the other villagers, who smiled back at him.
"Mrs. Ellie, would you like to try another typical fruit?"
"Please!"
_
It was another night of sneaking out of dinner and escaping to the mountain peak.
As always, Enver started the conversation.
"A girl from Anarxie arrived," Then he turned to look at Lahn, who was looking at the moon. "She said she was pregnant three years ago..."
Lahn turned to look at him, with a threatening expression...
"That child must be cursed, or maybe he's a demon...did you check her?"
"You react too quickly to detect anything wrong, and yes, I checked her…" Then he crossed his arms. "She said she came from a clan where only women were born; they were punished by the sun, but blessed by the moon. That's why she wore a hood, so she wouldn't burn her skin."
Lahn sighed, then closed his eyes.
"She must be a strange woman..."
Enver remained silent. Lahn was right again...
Perhaps it was due to her pregnancy cravings, but it said a lot about rice pudding combined with wild boar meat...
"Is she still in town?"
Enver nodded.
"She stayed at the Sh'ual Inn, saying she would leave in the early morning; that is, in a few hours."
"Sh'ual?"
Enver then smiled, proudly.
"Oh right, you didn't know that our town now has that name, huh? Hehehe."
Lahn looked at him, giving him an expressionless stare, then closed his eyes again.
"Whatever."
"Is that all you have to say after more than a hundred centuries our town without a name?"
"I really don't care."
Enver snorted, then turned his back on him.
"Embittered…"
Soon, he remembered something else.
"The fruit man also mentioned something…"
"Mm?"
Enver turned to look at him.
"Demons in Anarxie."
Lahn seemed surprised, turning to look at Enver to check if he was lying, but seeing his very serious face and how seriously he took what he said...
"It's impossible, demons have never left Sheol…"
"That's what I thought," He explained. "But there have been plagues, fairies lurking around the city...and more inhuman murders."
Lahn frowned, then added; "Perhaps we should take another trip...maybe they really are escaping from here, or maybe there is another portal to Sheol."
Enver sighed, then nodded.
"Okay, then... I'll tell Father tomorrow."
"Do it now, the old man is bored with his existence."
"Lahn, please respect your father!"
_
Ten members of the Yami Clan went on an excursion to Sheol, the hell.
The path down was filled with skulls, the smell of blood, and decay…several ghosts moving around with nowhere to go, so depressing to see; this was the first level of Sheol—Yomi.
There is no trace of pain, only of abandonment.
It was the only place any human could cross without problems, which explains why children often get lost inside Yomi, but come out unharmed.
However, they would not go there—heading towards the door that marked the end of Yomi and the beginning of the next level; Jigoku.
The place where the souls of the dead were punished, and where demons began to form.
Enver led the expedition, while Lahn had remained outside the village in case any demons escaped.
Enver looked at his companions, and with a signal, the other nine members began to push the door open.
"It's open!"
Inside, a putrid smell could be detected, with screams echoing from the depths.
This is where the real hell began.
"Let's continue straight ahead, make sure you close the door."
Enver gave the order, then went inside first, followed by his men, and then two of them closed the door behind them.
And then the doors closed.
A fog began to form around him, but, paying no attention to it, Enver began to walk forward, guided by the faint light illuminated by torches with red flames.
"Ah!" A man fell to the ground, frightened, drawing the attention of the others, then pointed behind a burnt tree. "There's something there! I saw something move!"
Two men looked at Enver, and after receiving the order to search...they went behind that tree, and soon, one of them said: "Boss! It's a yaoguai!"
Yaoguai…a demon.
"Exorcise him," He gave the order immediately, then took a step forward, but another man said;
"But she looks like a little girl."
Enver stopped.
Were there demon children?
He turned towards where the damned demon girl was, then walked towards her; he could see her reddish skin, golden eyes, small horns, a pointed tail and long pink hair.
The girl remained hidden behind the tree, motionless, simply watching them.
Soon, Enver crouched down in front of her.
"What are you doing here? Do you have parents?" He knew she wouldn't understand, however, he was really curious. "Don't be afraid, we just came to explore this place. If you would be so kind as to guide us, it would be a great help."
The girl looked at him, then raised her small hand and placed it on Enver's cheek.
Enver opened his eyes, surprised by the contact; it wasn't like he expected contact with a demon to be, his hand was really like that of a child, and not a monster.
Everyone else let their guard down; they could tell that the girl was just curious, and besides, they were on a level where some demons were harmless. At least on the surface.
However, they soon felt an evil energy appear.
"Ugh…" Enver grabbed his chest, scaring the demon girl, who ran away on all fours, scared. "W-Wait!"
From Enver's chest, a tentacle emerged, "Sir? Are you alright?" One of the men approached, but upon noticing smoke coming from Enver's chest, he stopped.
"WITHDRAWAL!" Gasping in pain, he covered the tentacle as best he could. No one had to know he was half-demon. "Run...fast! Before a yaoguai comes!"
They all looked at each other, then nodded and quickly headed towards the door, but just as they were about to open it, a spear pierced three men.
Enver looked up and noticed that it was a yaoguai, one with blue skin and over two meters tall...a demon in charge of torturing souls.
"NO!" Enver stood up, filled with pain, ignoring the tentacles that were beginning to emerge from his back.
The remaining men turned to look at Enver, and upon noticing the tentacles, they froze, not from fear, but from the venom that suddenly shot out of the tentacles.
"S-Sir…!"
Those were the last words of one of them, before the demon pierced them with his spear.
Enver stopped in his tracks, staring at the demon, then pressed his lip together.
"What the—" He never planned for such a dangerous demon to arrive. Even worse, that it would kill the warrior exorcists so quickly. "Shit…"
He had to do something.
Their death could not be in vain.
The demon turned to look at Enver slowly, then smiled at him and ran towards him, spear in hand. When he was close enough, he buried the spear in one of its tentacles.
"Agh!" Enver stepped back, looking at his injured tentacle. But he soon noticed the green, viscous blood dripping from its tentacle, falling into the demon's hand, and soon—
BOOM!
A huge explosion.
Enver flew away, protected by his tentacles, while observing the green mark of the demon's blood on the ground.
Parts of the demon's body were scattered everywhere.
But what hurt him the most...seeing his people dead.
He never believed that descending would awaken his demonic side.
"Ack…!" And now, its tentacles kept growing. "I must leave before it's too late..."
And soon, he ran to the door, opened it with his tentacles, and ran out.
The door slammed shut behind him, forcing him to leave his men behind, but he wouldn't abandon them; he had to tell Lahn.
He and Lahn could go back and get their bodies; he was sure that if Lahn was there with him, nothing would happen to them.
Soon he could see the light at the end of the tunnel.
He ran faster, falling to his knees, but getting up quickly, and then finally reaching the exit.
"L-Lahn…" He looked around, as its tentacles stuck to his face, the poison eating away at the skin of his right eye. "LAHN!"
He ran and ran, he couldn't see his brother.
"This isn't funny! Lahn!"
No matter how much he begged him to come out and go with him, it was impossible.
He really wasn't there.
Soon, he could see a woman running through the trees, frightened. Immediately, Enver ran towards her, but when she saw him, she screamed, terrified.
"A YAOGUAI!" And with that scream, a beam of light disintegrated his head.
Enver backed away, hiding in some bushes, trying to see who did it; his first thought was that it was some demon, perhaps the demons of Anarxie had arrived and…
No.
His eyes opened in surprise.
It wasn't a demon, it was a human, a human of flesh and blood, wearing a white coat.
The same robe that the woman had worn the day before; Ellie.
But it was impossible... why?
It wasn't even nighttime; she supposedly said they couldn't use magic during the day, so what happened?!
Her senses sharpened, and she quickly ran towards her home; towards her clan, she had to check that everyone was alright, that everyone...
Everyone…
"…L-Lahn?"
…Were all dead.
Enver frowned, running through the rubble; everything had been destroyed, the bodies of his brothers, and his father's disciples were dead, and his father...
His father was cut in half, on the ground, with such cruelty that it made him nauseous at the scene.
"Dad…" he murmured, then ran towards him, hoping to feel his vital signs, but there was nothing.
He was already dead; he had arrived too late.
This was serious...
"LAHN!" Soon, he quickly ran towards the mountain peak where they always met.
The place where they both always talked, their hiding place.
His brother couldn't die...
No…
And soon, he reached the top of the mountain.
And with the smell of blood reaching his nose, he fell to his knees.
"No…"
At the top of the mountain, his brother was crucified on a wooden cross, with some letters written on the tip of the cross, difficult to decipher, since it was the Anarxie language, and not their own.
"Lahn…" He felt like he was fainting, like he was dying too. Who did this? "I didn't arrive in time to save you..."
He went to him on his knees, his tentacles moving towards the wood, wearing it down, and soon the cross disintegrated.
Lahn's body fell to the ground, and Enver noticed tears of blood on his cheeks. He truly didn't know what had happened…
But, if those people who wore a hood similar to Ellie's, that woman.
That meant one thing.
She was involved in that.
"Damn…you…" His entire people had been exterminated, his entire family, all of Sh'ual...now is dead.
Tears fell from his eyes; of all of them, only he survived, and that was what hurt him the most.
He was the last exorcist.
And this...
"ELLIE!"
This wouldn't end here.
***
A bitter…morning.
I got out of bed and looked out the window, I opened the curtains; the red morning sky reminded me that no, it wasn't a nightmare, I really am living in my novel.
This would have been great if only the context of my novel wasn't so bad.
Yesterday I experienced my first death of one of the main characters; Sherly. He died yesterday at the hands of a man named Hyung.
According to our research, Gene and Liam concluded that they were magicians, and this was confirmed by what happened, especially with the girl who possessed Constellations magic.
Even so, we don't know exactly what their objective is; we only know that they want Raum. But even so...apart from the Neutralization magic girl's attempt to kidnap me, they haven't come near me.
Perhaps it's because I'm under Anser's protection, but now...
Anser is so depressed that I even suspect he hasn't woken up.
I left my room, noticing the metal bracelet on my right hand; it was a mana regulator. If my mana increased, which would happen if Raum took over my body again, it would cause an electric current to burn me to death. Anser didn't even say anything when Mandeleine put the device on me; no one had any choice but to trust Hyung's words.
「Once you realize that the boy who has Raum inside him is the real enemy…you will abandon him faster than you think.」
Everyone knows the power of a demon, and if no one can control that power...including me.
They had to exterminate him.
"Morning, Ji Noo."
A voice made me turn around; it was Gene.
She was dressed in black, in mourning for Sherly's death.
I was still in my pajamas, so I felt a little embarrassed to see her so early and so well dressed...
"Morning…" Then, I turned to look at Anser's bedroom door. "Has he woken up yet?" I asked.
Gene looked at me and shook his head.
"When he arrived home from the funeral..." she began to explain to me. "He went straight to his room. He didn't even eat dinner."
Shit, again...?
"…"
I should go do something, but what? I was never good at this.
But the loss of someone he considered his father...must have hurt him more than he's showing, right?
"And Liam?"
"It's printing photos."
I turned to look at her, "Photos?"
Gene nodded. "Before he died, Sherly sent her photos through his Identifier," He said, then walked towards the stairs. "Apparently, these are photos of Anser Ciro as a baby."
"Oh…"
Wow, why did that make me feel guilty?
It seems that even at the last moment, Sherly kept her word to give all his baby Anser photos to Liam.
But doesn't that mean Sherly was cornered?
If he was in his office, sending his photos to Liam...
He might have noticed something suspicious, he might have had time to escape, but why didn't he flee? Did he want to protect the other members?
According to Karmen's research, while recreating the crime, the members of Ace's Sect were the first to be wiped out. And since Sherly was alone at the base, Hyung went directly to kill him.
But if Sherly didn't know...or only found out at the end of his life...why didn't he run away?
I don't understand it, maybe he did it to stop him right there, but he was alone against him, nobody knew until his signal for help arrived, but too late.
"Anser…"
Perhaps that's why everyone feels so guilty.
For not arriving on time when called.
But he's the one who should feel the most guilty, right?
I made my way to Anser's room, stood behind the door, and knocked. "Anser? Are you awake?" I didn't get an answer, but I already knew he was inside; I could hear his footsteps in the room, however, he didn't come out. "Are you…okay?"
No, I know very well that he isn't. And I know it's the stupidest question you can ask someone who's depressed.
So I just opened the door; it had been open all this time, so he really wanted someone to come and see him.
I looked around, and soon I saw him sitting on the corner of his bed, tightly holding the curtains shut, not letting any light into the room.
"…"
He said nothing.
But I could see the scratches on his back.
A habit of mine that he reflects in himself, something I used to do every time I cried, to stop doing it.
"I'm sorry…" I walked toward him, then placed my hand on his back. The scratches were deep, deeper than I had thought.
Anser moved his hand, grabbing my wrist and removing my hand; when we saw him, our eyes met.
"Who told you that you could come in?" His voice sounded annoyed, but he definitely felt broken as he spoke. "Get out."
And soon, he let go of my wrist, lowering his gaze again.
"…"
Many times, I misunderstood depressed people; if they wanted help, why did they deny it? I never understood it, and yet, I had the descent to misinterpret it in the early chapters of my novel as satire.
But when I became depressed, I understood that.
Feeling so bad that you don't feel deserving of kindness or help, the ultimate point of simply wanting to die…
But not everyone wants that.
Nobody wants to see the people they love like that.
And yet, if I want to learn to love my novel, for a worthy ending, why can't I be able to help him?
I want to love him.
I don't want him to die.
Perhaps it's because he reminds me so much of myself, and that's why I want to hit him every time he gets depressed, or hug him every time he pays me...
But this time, seeing it this way, I don't want anything in return.
I just want him to live, even though Randy wants his end, I want to give Anser an ending; not him.
"…" I know Anser mustn't know that I'm in the antagonist's body. I'm sure that if he knew I wrote all this, he would kill me and become even more depressed. And I don't want that. I would give my life to change everything; in fact, that's what I plan to do. "Anser," And I know he'll never know what I'm thinking right now, but still, Anser, please don't die, I want to save you. "Stay with me."
I don't want you to leave, I don't want you to die.
"…What?"
I would change the whole world if that meant I could save you.
I'm sorry I gave you this experience.
I regret giving you this life.
I deeply regret creating you, so please let me love you, even if it means your end comes sooner than I expected.
I knelt down in front of him and hugged him.
And now, for real. I'm not just speaking metaphorically.
I'm hugging him, I really am.
Even if he doesn't know how to react, it doesn't matter, I want to stay with him. I want to stay with him until he learns that loving himself a little is okay, until he knows that bad things exist, and that the only good thing is to value the little he has with him now.
Before this chaos ends.
Before the real end arrives.
I want to love you, please don't die before that.