In the dark room

  Two medical Angels gathered around Tin and were casting healing spells while monitoring his vital signs.

  “How is his condition?” Chan asked in a concerned tone.

  “His situation is now under control, but far from safe. He is in no condition to endure more trauma.”

  The room’s door sprung open, and someone walked in. Chan turned around and was surprised to see Roger.

  “Master Roger, what brought you here? Oh, what happen to your head?”

  A bandage was untidily wrapped around Roger’s head, with edges cut unevenly. He seemed even more perplexed than Chan. “Oh, I accidentally cut myself, no worries. I have already applied medicine.”

  “I see. I thought you are supposed to be doing the purification ritual on Zun. How’s the situation?”

  “Done. Everything has gone according to plan.” Roger stressed his voice and waved his hand unmannerly as he looked around at the Angels and the wounded Tin, confused.

  “That’s quicker than expected. Thank you. Please, can you hand me her energy since you are here? Captain is not here right now.”

  “What do you mean? Oh, of course I have sucked all her energy out.”

  “Yes, can you please give it to me?” Chan looked at him, confused.

  “Why do you want her energy?”

  “I thought we have talked about that. Captain has already told you himself, right?”

  “I don’t recall. Mind repeating?”

  A look of horror ran across Chan’s face. “What do you mean you don’t recall? Then how are we going to refill Captain’s imbalance energy now?!! Do you know how serious this is? Did the injury in your head cause you to lose memory or what?" Chan was trying his best to hold back anger, but the urgency of his own situation was causing him to lose patience.

  Roger was silent. He clenched his fist tightly while staring intensely at the floor. “Oh wow, I wonder how that works? Isn’t her energy impure due to the possession?”

  “Roger, now is not the time to be drunk. Wake up!” Chan dropped the honorific. He clapped his hands in front of Roger’s face restlessly. “Stop drinking all the time during work! Oh, Lord! Everyone here knows that is not real. It was made up for external reporting purposes to cover up our investigation here and to help replenish energy for the Captain. We are currently dealing with a very dangerous demon. Do you understand?!!! It managed to suck away a lot of Captain’s energy, preventing him from casting a stronger holy spell. Captain needs external energy to quickly regain his energy balance, and his daughter is the perfect match since they are family!!!”

  “Oh, RIGHTTT!! My head, as you can see, is confusing me. I totally misheard your question earlier. Hahaha, Of course I have done it. Stop saying I am DRUNK ALL THE TIME. I just left the extracted energy in my room.” Roger looked at Chan and laughed exaggeratedly. His eyes were fixed on him with a pressure that was almost pinning Chan down. There was a tone of aggression in his laugh.

  “Huh, are you sure? There’s no need to… you know.” Roger’s intense reaction was causing Chan to stutter. It was the first time Chan saw Roger reacting like this. “Anyway, I must be tired too. Sorry for the outburst. We will let this young boy rest for a good 15 minutes before continuing the investigation. I need some fresh air.”

  “What kind of investigation?” Roger looked across the room and stared at Tin. With the same magnifying glance, it looked as if Roger was out of his mind.

  “Are you joking? Roger, get yourself together. You know the type of man Captain Koi is, right? Hahahha”, Chan couldn’t help but laugh at how Roger was making him uncomfortable and nervous. This drunk man.

  “Yeah, I mean, as expected.”

  “...”, Chan looked at Roger. He started to notice something was not right. “Are you ok?”

  “I am not. To be honest, I think the ritual is making me very exhausted. I’m sorry if I come across weird.” Roger's tone changed quickly.

  “Roger, you are hiding something.” Chan was observing the nervous gaze of Roger.

  “Damn, when did you become so interested in me?”

  “It’s not the time for a joke!”, Chan exclaimed.

  “Ok ok, I get it. Let me explain myself. That girl is not cooperative, making the job incredibly difficult for me. I got injured in the process, as you can see, so I decided to come out for a rest and check the situation here.”

  “Haaaa…”, Chan let out a long sigh. “Please don’t put this headache on me. You don’t need to pretend like you don’t know the instructions to hide your responsibility. We are drinking buddies! You can be honest with me.” Chan patted Roger on the back. “Just make sure you get her energy by today, or both of us can prepare for Captain’s wrath.” Roger nodded half-heartedly. With that depressing note, Chan left the room, looking defeated.

  Roger shrugged his shoulders and looked at the other Angels in the room. “Interested in giving me a hand? I’m no expert in dealing with difficult people.”

  “You are a disgrace!” One of the Angels replied and left the room. The other Angels followed, leaving behind the only two medical Angels.

  “Yeah, yeah whatever”, Roger immediately turned to Tin. He leaned forward, but got stopped by the medical Angel.

  “Please refrain from touching him and learn to read the atmosphere here.”

  “Fine, everyone’s going to start treating me like a pest.”

  “The child needs some quiet time.”

  “Is it? Then why is he even here in the very first place with fresh wounds? What kind of hell investigation are you guys doing here?”

  “You really aren’t smart are you, Master Roger. We are all stressed here, but Captain Koi won’t give up before the clown tells us who the demon that attacked him was.”

  “You mean…the clown right now is hosting Tin?” A look of disbelief ran across Roger’s face. “So not only did you purposely frame Zun as being possessed and attack Tin, you guys also sealed the clown into Tin and are now torturing him to force the clown to talk.” Roger gave out a dry laugh, “What kind of drama script is it? Does your Captain take a drama class to orchestrate all of THIS!!”

  The two medical Angels exchanged glances. They immediately felt something was wrong and pulled Roger by the arms, but he flipped the Angel’s shoulder and slammed him to the ground, before forcefully hurling him to the back of the room. The second medical Angel activated his rope binding spell in a hurry and aimed at Roger, but Roger countered it with a burning talisman, creating sparks upon impact. The Angel was distracted by the spark and failed to catch up with Roger’s next movement. Roger quickly rushed in front of him and hit him in the abdomen, causing him to lose consciousness.

  With all the warnings, I shouldn’t be surprised, should I? Father, you are so pathetic. Roger walked toward Tin. Even if you hate your own child, do you think you have the free pass to hurt someone else’s child like this? Someone who probably pampers and loves their child like it is their whole world.

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  A numbing bitterness lingered in his mouth. The clown inside Tin felt the familiar energy and opened his swollen right eye.

  “You! It’s you! Why are you here?!!”

  “So you recognise me just from my energy, huh. I just got lucky, as all the Angels I met along my way pointed me in this direction.”

  “Nasty girl! I see, you are controlling this man with a strange voodoo spell. Are you sure these kinds of spells are permitted under the rules of this organisation?”

  “Too bad, you have run out of luck. I am not here to answer your question. You should have died already. Let me give you a quick ending!”

  “What are you doing? Hey wait! Are you going to force me out of the body? Are you going to kill me?”

  “Shut up!” Zun started writing spells in the air and placed a red talisman paper under it. The spell burned the tailsman with blue flame, and Zun motioned it toward Tin’s crown.

  But before Zun could pull the clown out of Tin’s body, a quiet, weeping voice cried to her, “Big sister.”

  What? Where does that voice come from? Zun narrowed her brows and squinted her eyes.

  “Big sister, is that you?” He spoke again. Suddenly, Zun noticed it was the other half of Tin’s face that was speaking. The left side with teary red eyes.

  How was that possible? Two consciousnesses speaking through one body, and…how does he know I am ME.

  “Ahem.” Roger coughed, “Yes, Tin, I am here. How do you know it’s me, big sister?” Zun gave an awkward smile, feeling strange to call herself a big sister when they have never introduced themselves before.

  “My eyes are blurry right now, but I remember you, big sister, you have a distinct kind of smell…like the smell of a wood.”

  Ah, I see…it is because of the incense I light in my room everyday. Seemed like it clings to my energy, too. How strange? Zun recomposed herself. “Right, Tin, I know it’s very uncomfortable right now. Just hold on a minute, I will get this solved for you.”

  “Good! Good! That’s the spirit! Kill me already! Don’t be like that dumb Captain. Nothing will come out of any torture! End this madness!” The clown spoke through his right face.

  “Where is my sister?” Tin’s weak, timid voice cracked like a dying sprout struggling to break through the dried soil.

  Zun became more agitated. “Your sister?” She looked at the clown for an answer.

  “Isn’t that obvious? She is dead, long dead! Suck it up! Now pull me out and cut my life supply. I would like a peaceful death! Isn’t this what you call serving justice?”

  “Shut up! That’s a lie, Tin. The exorcists are still finding her.” Zun quickly spoke above the clown’s voice.

  “Really?” Tin coughed a little, but he pressed on, “Because I am not sure if I am in hell right now. I feel pain all over my body. I don’t know why. Something kept on hitting me nonstop. I am scared, but my sister isn’t here and mommy doesn’t come to find me either…Have I done something wrong?”

  “No Tin, of course not. You didn’t do anything wrong.” Zun’s eyes started to follow the lashes wounds on Tin’s body and it became apparent to her that those were caused by a familiar kind of whip she had felt before. “You are going to recover very soon. I am here to help you.”

  “Big sister, if I’m not a good boy, you can punish me all you want, but please help my sister. She doesn’t know anything. That person came with my mother's face, and my sister ran towards her. She didn’t mean to ignore your order. I was scared I couldn’t move. But I know mommy wouldn’t look at us that way. Please save my sister. Please don’t give up on her.”

  Tin started to beg more desperately. “Mommy said Lord Father loves and protects good kids. She said Lord Father will always look after good kids who do their homework. I promise you we have been good kids. We listen to mommy all the time. Please grace us with Lord Father’s protection. Trusting the demon was my mistake, alone. Please don’t give up on my sister!”

  Tin started to cry harder, begging like praying to Zun, hoping to have his pleading answered. That sight of desperation was haunting. Zun struggled to console as she watched the crying Tin’s prayer went unanswered before her eyes. The naivety of a child who took for granted every word of his mother stood vividly pure against the background of this dark, cruel room. Even when tempted by the cruel reality of life, the faith of a child in the words of his mother held enough strength to keep hope alive. Zun recognised this feeling. It was what made a broken child feel love and kept her warm in a bed alone at night. Zun reacted with a distorted smile, unwilling to face her emotions. You will probably rebuke me right now, dear ghost.

  Zun leaned forward and petted Tin’s head. “Tin…you are right. Lord Father loves and protects good children. He always looks after good kids like you and your sister, so don’t worry, I will definitely find your sister!”

  “Really?”

  Zun gave him a wide, silly smug, “Yeah! I kill demon’s ass for breakfast, you know? Your sister will be back in no time.”

  Tin chuckled weakly at the joke. There was a sign of relief in his expression. “I always believe in you, big sister.”

  It hit her right in her heart. Why? Nobody has ever said that to me. With a trembling voice, she responded, “Tin, thank you.”

  “That’s our promise then.” With this, Tin slipped back into his unconscious state like he had not woken.

  “As an amateur exorcist, your faith in me is a testament to my strength.” Zun whispered as she subconsciously moved her hand to press on her own chest lightly, which was where Zun’s necklace would be hanging on her own body.

  “Wow, what a show? Shouldn’t you snap back already?” The clown tried to provoke Zun.

  Zun took a deep breath and looked at Tin’s right face. “Tell me where’s Tin's sister and who is the demon behind all of this?”

  “Wanna play hero now? What makes you think I will tell you? Your Captain has been begging me all this time.” the clown laughed. “Any more torture and questions are useless at this point. Just kill me. You will get nothing out of me.”

  “You won’t spit the secret even if it means death. Seems like whoever the demon is, it has managed to scare you beyond death?” Zun glared down at the clown and continued. “Your soul must have been cursed.”

  The clown began to sweat. “Isn’t…isn’t that obvious, only a slow Angel will not pick it? There’s no need to say it to my face like that.” He hissed at her.

  A wide smile ran across Roger’s face. “Lucky you, because I know just the right spell to break a soul curse.”

  The clown tilted his head back slightly and pressed his lip slantly before questioning her bold claim. “A junior Angel like you? Your captain was already wounded by the demon, and here you are claiming you can break the curse.”

  “Do you really think an organisation like the Exorcist, which has been killing demons for decades, don’t know how to break soul curses? You are a young demon. Still, you are expecting something, aren’t you? That’s why you are allowing all the Angels to drag time. Let me tell you, these kinds of spells are highly rated and only taught to spell experts like me. Don’t you see how I am controlling this man? I know more than a hundred spells, and I have written a few spells of my own, too!”

  “Then why won’t the captain say anything about it even when he was so desperate to get the answer out of meeeeeee?!!”

  Zun eyes moved as she noticed his doubt was shaking. She continued confidently, “OF COURSE HE WON’T. That captain has no interest in freeing a demon who is already doomed! Spells like this also require a lot of energy, which he is obviously lacking. With an iron pride like his, he just wants you to cleverly give in to him and answer his question. If you don’t believe me, then just go and die with the curse!”

  “WAIT!! I will tell you! I will tell you everything! You must set me free.”

  “Now that’s what we call cooperation.”

  “Ok, ok I am actually working for…King Cobra.” His voice started shivering, and he stopped to clear his throat before continuing as if he was scared to be heard. “He is one of the few elite demons, infamous for eating humans and cannibalising other demons to increase his strength, all for the goal of gaining immortality. A lot of demons are his slaves, chained by his curse to serve him to death.”

  Zun was stunned. Her heart began to race, “So what does the kids have to do with him?!!” His agitation was infecting the already gloomy atmosphere in the room and Zun was starting to lose her composure. Her breathing became shallow and uneven as if there were chains trying to choke air out of her lungs.

  “There is a sorrowful soul rumoured to have reincarnated countless numbers of times within a loop of an impenetrable karmic cycle, accumulating a painful level of vengeance.”

  What? How can such a phenomenon be possible? A soul that couldn’t break free from its karma and accumulated vengeance. Lines of anguish became visible between her tensed brows.

  The clown continued, “King Cobra was craving that soul for immortality. He is not the only one, but apart from killing people, he specifically targets kids, the younger the better, because they have a higher chance of remembering their past lives as they have just reincarnated. Eating them will help him collect many memories from the past, which will aid him in identifying who the soul has reincarnated as this time. I was tasked with bringing as many kids as possible to him. I was dragged!!!”

  Zun dug her fingers into her palms. “So… Tin’s sister is… no more?”

  “OF COURSE! Do you think a demon would hesitate to spare any life? This won’t end. He is targeting more and more kids every day. Now that I have told you everything I know, it’s your turn to fulfil your side of the promise. Please help me! Please, please, please! I was dragged. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone!! Help me release my curse! I am a young demon! I want to live a happy, free life!!”

  But when he met the cold stare of Zun, things didn’t feel right.