Chapter 9 - Biblical strike at the hospital
"Cursed bastard!" The Duke of the Abyss bit out. He was originally on his way to find, as Samael had put it, 'a suitable location for the next training session'. And so, burdened by yet another frivolous task from the clown, he spent the last two days in search of a proper battleground, analyzing the terrain and attributes of the Academy's various training areas. "If I have to suffer this insult and play a teacher for those exorcist brats, then I will make sure to use every single advantage and give them hell without it looking too intentional. After all, the terrain itself could often take care of many unpleasant accidents and mortals are just so fragile…" his lips curled into a wicked smile.
It was then, while passing the training area No. 7, a rather small, green piece of property surrounded by a thick forest, when he spotted her. The source of his most recent humiliation. The demon kept his distance and made sure that his presence was well cloaked behind a barrier. Oh, he had learned from the last encounter with the puny, meddling wench; and he was not one to make the same mistake twice. "This one… this insect, can somehow detect the presence of demons, as well as their powers and spells." His eyes narrowed and he gritted his teeth at the memory. Anger and thirst for revenge boiled inside of him, threatening to burst out, but he willed them to subside. "Tsk, how could she have ever broken one of my precious vortexes?! Just look at her… sitting there, completely oblivious, weak! Probably hurt as well, judging from the smell of blood. Pathetic! Maybe I should just punish her for her insolence right now and put an end to her pitiful existence!" his hands twitched, the claws on his fingers unsheathing, then retracting again.
A pulsing golden light interrupted his train of thoughts - the human was using her powers for some reason. "Don't tell me that she has detected my presence?!" The demon felt a strange mix of panic and anger rising inside, while swiftly checking the condition of his barrier. It was intact. Suddenly, that bastard Samael showed up and knelt right in front of the wench! Knelt! The duke almost lost his temper. "That pathetic excuse of a demon! What is he thinking, kneeling in front of vermin! Unacceptable! Putting all of our kind into shame!" Abaddon clenched his hands into fists, crimson color slowly entering the white of his eyes. The series of events that played out in front of him were even more shocking. "Just what exactly have you been doing while on Assiah?!" Crimson eyes widened in disbelief as Abaddon saw his current 'master' displaying such a deplorable behavior towards the human. Oh, demons did often play with their prey, but he knew that Samael ate neither their souls, nor their flesh. "He is already too powerful to benefit from such measures…" the duke admitted grudgingly.
"She is merely a human wench with some healing powers... As far as I know, there is nothing particularly special about that skill - some of these mortals have it, too. All right, so she can detect the presence of demons. That makes her about as special as a dandelion among weeds. So, why does Samael seem to be so interested in her? He is a schemer, a trickster. Surely there must be something to gain from that wench! After all, those pathetic, filthy creatures are only good as a fodder!" The red-headed demon shook his head when a thought suddenly occurred to him. Some demons preferred more… subtle ways to corrupt a human soul. Or maybe it was just their perverted inclination to copulate with mortals instead of one of their kin. One could never tell, especially with succubi. Not that he would ever consider such behavior. Humans, those weak creatures with a lifespan shorter than a tree more than repulsed him. "However, many members of the aristocracy like to keep humans as servants, as their contacts in Assiah, or simply as playthings. Satan was no exception, either... Yes, that would fit Samael just perfectly. Fucking some of his oh-so-precious humans! Tsk." his face contorted in a grimace of disgust. "Well… if there is even a speck of truth in that…" his lips widened into a wicked grin. "Then I should be able to use this information to my benefit. Maybe I will put the wench to a test and see for myself what she is really made of… After all, my high and mighty 'master' never specified that the 'suitable training location' must be found on the Academy grounds… Oh yes. Don't think even for a second that I, Abaddon, the Duke of the Abyss, will be serving under this… this disgrace to the demon race! I shall have my freedom and the reign over my territories back!" the demon clenched his fists, resolved.
OoO
"So, does that mean that you can cure people from cancer?" Izumo asked, completely astonished, as she was watching Thea's hand gently resting on the chest of one of the patients in the oncology section of the Tokyo University hospital. "God, no!" Thea just shook her head, and if she hadn't been wearing a mask at the moment, a regretful expression would have been visible on her face. "I mean, I wish I could, but no. At least, not yet…" the way how her new classmate finished the sentence had a very determined edge to it - as if she actually intended to attempt such a feat.
Izumo and Shiemi planned to pick Thea up, then meet up with the boys and head for their Saturday cram lesson at the Academy together. And pry out some details about their newest oldest classmate on the way, of course. The slender girl with blonde locks was getting really interesting and Izumo couldn't help but wonder. "We have been studying together for about two weeks now, and yet I still know close to nothing about her. Well, good thing I have suggested this whole meetup. So far, we know just that our new classmate has a sweet tooth, because she only agreed to come as soon as I mentioned that we would all grab some popsicles on the way…" she grinned inwardly. When Izumo had called Thea in the morning, the blonde had asked them to come directly to the hospital instead of the dorms, saying that she still had had some things to finish there. Then, she had also added "Oh, you wanted to know a little more about my powers, right? Well, I might as well show you when you come…" However, Izumo certainly hadn't expected to end up here, dressed in some protective coat and wearing a mask. She was now looking at the patient, a young boy around ten, who was enveloped in hues of golden light. "The whole room suddenly feels so… peaceful. So calm. So right." she unknowingly clutched a hand to her chest and closed her eyes for a second, just to savor it.
"Then, what exactly are you doing, Thea?" Shiemi asked, interrupting the strange moment of peace. "Ah, how do I explain this… I am healing the boy - in a way. Maybe more like helping him to heal himself, really. The thing is, I can only heal what I understand. Just as a doctor. Imagine you cut your hand on a piece of glass. Now, I know how to heal that cut on your hand, because I understand what your body does when it tries to close this injury. In such a case, I can use my powers to control this process - to start it, to speed it up. Or to slow down other, unwanted processes. I just pour my energy into the other person in a very specific way." Izumo inclined her head. "Is that how you saved me that time? When I collapsed after the 'vortexes' sucked out all of my energy?" The blonde nodded. "Yes, I changed my energy to whatever your body needed at that time. The rest was up to you, though." "So, what are you trying to do now?" Izumo pointed at the boy.
The blonde exhaled. "Basics only, I am afraid. Haku - the boy - is after successful chemotherapy. You see, the process can save your life, but is far from pleasant and leaves your body very weak and vulnerable. Your immune system is practically non-existent after the treatment. Right now, he could very well die from a cold. That's why you are wearing that delightful, fashionable attire." Her classmates chuckled and she continued. "What I am trying to do now is boosting the creation of white blood cells in his body, so that he could regain the immune system and recover faster. There are some other things I could take care of for him, but I find this one issue the most pressing. Besides, I also need to reserve the energy for… well, for myself… I certainly won't be of help to anybody if I drain myself completely. Once I go behind that certain point and deplete my energy, it takes much longer for me to recover it back…" The blonde explained, giving her friends some time to process all the information. "And what would that certain point be? I mean, how many of these patients can you heal?" Izumo inquired. "Hmmm, good question. It is actually very individual and depends on the patient's condition. For people like Haku here - let me see... This hospital section usually treats around fifteen such demanding patients, and I can only help about two or three people daily with my powers. So, you see, the 'regular' doctors are definitely still needed. Ah, but I guess that's already out of topic… sorry guys." Thea laughed nervously.
"No, it's fine. It's actually very interesting." Shiemi waved her hands. "And I am quite happy that someone like you is now in our team now." "Me too." Izumo nodded, her mind racing. "She certainly is no fighter, but I can already imagine the ways how she could boost our overall performance. I wonder if she could send that energy over without the need to directly touch the individual… Yes, that would be useful for sure." "That's… very kind of you. Thank you. I am really happy that I can study at the Academy with you, as well." the blonde said and released the flow of her energy. "Now, I think that would be enough for today. Come, you can drop those clothes outside in the changing room." And so, the three of them left the room, changed, and then Thea went to fetch her bag somewhere on the opposite side of the long floor. She also wanted to thank Dr. Kim for allowing the group to visit 'their sick friend'. Finding excuses to visit patients she intended to heal were a piece of cake to her now. And the simplest ones usually worked the best - nobody would think about a visit as suspicious, and unless the individual had any spiritual powers, they wouldn't even notice anything out of the ordinary. She was just visiting a patient, holding his or her hand or checking the pulse.
When Thea returned, Izumo could see that the blonde looked kind of nervous for some reason. She folded her hands and raised one eyebrow questioningly. "Is something the matter?" Thea was looking around, frowning. "I just… I couldn't find Dr. Kim and I didn't meet a single nurse on my way, either. There should definitely be at least one nurse on the rounds." She scratched her head. "I should probably go and check the nurses' room." Izumo frowned at that idea and checked the time again. "Fine, but be quick about it, or we are going to be late for the lesson. I'd better call the guys; they should be waiting outside in the park somewhere…" she finished and pulled out her cell phone. Shiemi inclined her head. "Do you want me to come with you, Thea?" "No, it's fine… I mean, maybe I am just overthinking this and we just missed each oth…" Thea trailed off, looking to her right. "What is it?" Shiemi approached and saw the blonde's brows furrow as she was looking through the huge acrylic-glass wall to her right.
Eight beds were positioned in the spacious room, with tiny nightstands and all the necessary hospital equipment surrounding each one of them. The younger exorcist could see the hangings slowly moving, as a soft breeze gently blew from the half-opened window. The whole room basked in the sunlight. All was calm, peaceful. Just like the patients who were sleeping. "I don't understand. The patients are just sleeping." "That's right." Thea nodded, her voice a little uneasy. "They are sleeping. All of them. At 10 AM." Shiemi gasped. "Are they…?" "No, they are not dead, if that's what you mean." the blonde quickly cut in, putting her hand on the glass. "I can feel their auras, despite how the illnesses reduced their original strength... Perhaps on some kind of special medication? No… Something's not right…" She closed her eyes and tried to get a feel of the hospital section, but was failing miserably, because a strange sound kept disturbing her. Chirping? Buzzing? Her hand suddenly felt ticklish.
"Oh, seriously, all my concentration gone this easily?!" she pouted while she registered the voice of her classmate in the background. "That's right, we are probably going to be late. Deal with it. We'll explain it to Mr. Okumura somehow. And… oh, what the heck is with the noise?!" Izumo growled in irritation, then suddenly gasped. "Locusts?" she almost whispered. Thea's eyes snapped open at that remark and widened in horror, because there was a big locust crawling on her hand. Normally, she would have no problem with insects, but a large part of her recent nightmares had been filled with these exact creatures! Then she felt it. Tremendous demonic presence - deep, twisting like a whirlpool, intent to consume all that was alive. It reminded her of the aura the red-haired demon had had around his person. However, she couldn't really feel him anywhere around. Nevertheless, she quickly warned her friends. "It's a demon attack! I can see a barrier outside, too! It's like a trap!" Shiemi's concerned voice interrupted. "Thea! The patients!" she pointed - the whole room started filling with locusts, jumping all over the poor patients, filling the place with a sickening miasma. The peaceful atmosphere in the room changed in an instant, all sunlight completely gone. Every corner seemed to be darker, every shadow longer. One of the patients started clutching the bedsheet nervously. Jaws clenched and faces contorted in pain, the other patients also seemed to be in pain. It was as if the creatures suddenly decided to suck out the life out of the poor people.
"Change of plans!" Izumo thundered to the phone. "Get your asses over here! We've got a problem! The oncology section, third floor - asap!" she hung up, already preparing the piece of paper with the magic circle. "Mike! Uke!" A drip of her blood, a short incantation, and her familiars, two small demon-foxes, appeared on each side of her. At the same time, Shiemi summoned her own familiar, the greenman Nee. Insects started filling the floor where they stood. The greenman grew larger and positioned itself in front of the girls, covering them from the sudden surge of incoming locusts. "Thank you, Nee! Please, hold them off, while I think of something..." Shiemi cheered her familiar. In the meantime, the two little foxes attacked the swarm, snapping at it and crushing the locusts under their feet. Thea could see that, despite their small and quite cute, harmless appearance, those demons were actually pretty strong. And her suspicion was proven right in the moment Izumo uttered Tamayura no Harai. The foxes jumped forward at such a speed, that they actually created something akin to a small hurricane-like circle, biting at the swarm.
Thea was awed by their quick reaction! Unfortunately, unlike her two classmates, she didn't display any talent for summoning familiars during these weeks, no matter how many times she tried, thus proving unfit to pursue the Tamer class. Not that she wanted to, but the skill seemed quite useful. So far, the only demon she had managed to summon successfully and repeatedly, was Rin, when she had called him to join her for pizza. Speaking about Rin, she was no sword master either; and even though she could memorize huge amounts of information quite swiftly, she was still miles away from using incantations the same way as the others. However, she would not be useless and defenseless! She quickly fished the little bottles with holy water out of her bag - Yukio advised the students to always have something 'instant' prepared in case they didn't have the time to cast a spell or summon a familiar immediately. Silently reciting the shortest purifying incantation she had learned, she stormed into the patients' room and threw the sparkling contents over the people to keep them protected. It worked just as she hoped it would - a strong repellent causing the swarms of demon locusts avoid the patients. Despite its effectiveness, Thea felt nervousness rising - other rooms seemed to be getting filled with those buzzing pests too and she feared there wasn't enough holy water for every one of them...
Still, she didn't have time to think of them now, because part of the locust swarm charged her instantly. The blonde expected them to do so and instantly dropped her self-restraint, causing her aura to flare around, creating something akin to a barrier with a meter-wide perimeter. The locusts collided with it and the insects started falling to the ground just like moths after hitting a lamp. "At least now I can let my aura flaunt around as much as I want!" Thea smirked, encouraged. However, that little feat managed to pick up the attention of other groups of swarms which came at her in persistent waves. The locusts were buzzing all around her, completely covering her view. "Gosh, this is disgusting! I have to stay calm. Calm!" She urged herself, as she heard the sickening crunch - crunch - crunch under her feet. Not to mention that the whole room started to smell like old grass, intestines and urine. "Geez, to think that I have just changed from my protective gear... Worst-timing-ever!" Despite standing her ground, the swarm seemed to have no end, they just kept coming. She called out to where she thought her friends were standing, because she couldn't see any of them through the clouds of locusts. "Are you OK, guys?"
In a moment, she heard Shiemi's voice. "Thea! Yes, we are fine. Are you in there? Are you all right?" "Yeah, all good for now." she answered, having to shout, because the buzzing was making too much noise. "Listen, isn't there some kind of plant to ward them off?" "I am working on it! We need to hold the demons off just for a few more minutes, the boys are on their way!" "That's great!" Thea called back with relief. "Guys, listen!" Izumo's voice reached them. "Do not let the red locusts touch you - I think that it will drain your powers. And mind the metasomas!" "The what?!" Thea and Shiemi asked in a sync. "Tails! The tails! - Dammit… Die you disgusting pests! - Don't let them sting you!" "Sting?" Thea looked at the hopping insects more closely. "Dear Lord, what the hell?!" she exclaimed inwardly, just when she heard Shiemi's 'Eeeeek!' in the background. Some of the locusts were absolutely normal. Disgusting, but normal. However, a number of them were kind of reddish with a black scorpion-like tail at their back. Surprisingly, they didn't seem to go after the patients. The rest of the locusts did, though - she could see how they crawled over the bedsheets even for the price of being purified by the holy water she has just sprinkled over them.
"Not on my watch, you wretches!" the blonde cried out, sweeping them off the patients with her 'bare' hands, allowing her aura to act as a neat purifying tool. And then, out of nowhere, she could see some weird green-and-grayish dust sprouting on the walls around her. "Eeeeew, what is that thing?" Izumo shouted. Shiemi's soft voice reached her again. "Girls! Don't get startled, OK? The gray carpet you will see should have some effect on the insects. At least I really hope it will…" "Is it safe for us?" Thea asked. "Yes, it should be perfectly fine for people. Although now that you mention it, I am not sure about breathing in bigger amounts of it…" The blonde thought for a while and an idea came to her. "There should be some respirators in the wardrobe to your right. Just put them on." "I am on it!" Izumo shouted back through the buzzing cloud and started rummaging through the wardrobe. "By the way, Shiemi, what is that 'carpet' of yours?" their new classmate inquired further. "It's a special kind of fungi which kills grasshoppers and locusts... It's a pesticide." "So, is it working or something?" Izumo called back. "It usually takes about one to three weeks to work, but..." "Well that sucks!" Izumo exclaimed. "I-I am sorry, Nee is trying his best to speed it up, but it's growing very slowly for some reason."
"Ah, of course!" Thea's eyes widened in recognition and she explained her theory quickly. "It's because the hospital has to be perfectly sanitized and sterile. Even the walls. Make it grow on the floor instead - it's already covered by dead insects." "Oh, I see. Thank you, Thea! I am working on it. I am sure that it will only take a few minutes - The fungi just need some time to grow inside their bodies." Shiemi sounded almost enthusiastic and was already instructing Nee about where to position the new bunch of fungi. "Man, that's even more disgusting than those insects!" Izumo exclaimed after hearing about the way this 'pesticide' worked. "Serves them right, though. Ughh… They just keep on coming! What's taking the boys so long?!" Izumo was getting irritated and impatient. She hated insects! Or maybe it had something to do with the fact that she has already been stung…
Thea's view suddenly cleared to the point where she could see more than half a meter in front of her. Part of the reddish creatures were concentrating in one place. "What are they…" Thea couldn't even finish the sentence, as the demons formed into one huge, more substantial mass which strongly resembled… one overgrown locust?! It was about half a meter tall and long. She wasn't sure, because the form was somewhat distorted, but she could recognize the six legs, a head with huge eyes and antennae, and the terrible scorpion-like tail. "Of course, the thing has to have that one as well!" Thea grimaced at the sight and tried to alert her friends immediately. "Guys, we have a problem here! They are getting bigger!"
And indeed, one such creature was now standing in front of Izumo. Shiemi's familiar was covering them both from the attack. "Man, this sucks! Mike! Uke! Mitama Shizume no Harai!" she chanted another incantation and her familiars took on their human forms. "No Izumo… Ah, too late." One of the familiars grimaced, while the other added. "This was not a good idea, Izumo." Miketsu chastised. "What do you mean by that?" she demanded. "Observe." the familiar stated and dashed at the overgrown locusts with his sword with a speed of a hurricane. He managed to land a perfect blow, of course, but the creature only separated at the point of impact, disintegrating into hundreds of usual-sized locusts, then formed back to the huge body again. Izumo's eyes widened. "I cannot be killing the swarm with my arrows, either, Izumo. The targets are too small and too numerous - they will just split. Besides, this technique is too energy-consuming for you, and I am not sure how your body will react to the venom." Ukemochi continued, looking at her already swelling leg. "Let us proceed with the original attack." The girl with dark violet twin-tails nodded reluctantly and the familiars regained their fox appearance, continuing to fight on in the hurricane-like formation. Izumo crouched, sweat running down her skin as a wave of nausea hit her body. Intense pain was throbbing in her foot, just like in her right arm. "Stupid insects! Stupid venom! I will not collapse here like the last time!" she thought with a resolve.
"That's it, Nee! Faster!" Shiemi was urging her familiar. After she managed to remember the existence of the 'grasshopper-killer' fungus, she has been trying to make her familiar understand that the fungus had to grow a lot faster inside the locusts' bodies to take an immediate effect. "I have to make it quick, Izumo's been stung!" Her heart was racing, as she saw her friend crouching next to her, panting. To think that they somehow crawled through the thick barrier of branches and bushes she's covered them in! "Rin, where are you? Guys… We really need you here!" she thought desperately. A scream escaped her mouth as six strong legs pinned her down. Two overgrown crimson locusts appeared in front of her, having broken through her makeshift barrier. "No! Let go of me!" she thrashed around, trying to escape its grasp, but to no avail. Tears started building up in her eyes.
A familiar blue light suddenly filled her view and one of the overgrown locusts was consumed in flames. "Get your disgusting… hand… leg? Ehm… whatever it is off her!" The black-haired half-demon with a katana in his hands shouted. "Shiemi! Izumo! Are you alright? Where's Thea? And why are you wearing respirators?" Rin bombarded them with questions, but his eyes did not leave his other target. "Whoa! What the hell is this?!" Bon's voice thundered as he took in the scene. Konekomaru was at his side, Buddhist beads wrapped around his hand, holding up a barrier for himself and Bon. Shiemi was glad that they had finally arrived, but there was no time for a chit-chat. "Rin! Thank you, guys! I am fine. But we need to help Izumo! She got stung!" "She what? Izumo again? Geez, you have some bad luck..." "Yeah, well, it would not have happened if you had not taken so long!" the girl bit off, clutching her throbbing leg. "Ah, about that - long story short, there was some kind of a barrier. There still is, actually. Never mind, later…" Bon tried to calm her down and focused on the situation at hand. "So, wanna catch us up?"
Shiemi nodded, trying to organize her thoughts into a brief report. "The locusts just appeared out of nowhere. Do not let them touch you, especially the red ones with scorpion-like tails. They can sting you - like Izumo. I am trying to fight the locusts with a special pesticide, and even though it shouldn't be harmful, I don't know for sure, so here..." the girl reached for the white piece of cloth "...put the respirators on, just in case." Izumo continued sourly with the short briefing. "Also, they can somehow fuse into really huge ones. You can probably try and hack at them, but only those which you hit disintegrate. The rest will just fill their place." "Right! Well then, I'll just burn them to the crisp!" Rin's eyes sparked with determination. Shiemi's voice interrupted the wave of flames he started casting, her hand clutching his sleeve. "Rin, wait! You might accidentally hit Thea and the patients." "What? She's out there?" the half-demon exclaimed, receiving a nod from his classmate. "Yes, she is somewhere that way, trying to protect the patients. So, you need to be careful with your flames, alright?" "Gottcha! You guys stay here, I am going after Thea, then." The group nodded in agreement and their half-demon friend disappeared in the buzzing madness raging outside of the makeshift barrier.
Bon put a hand on Konekomaru's shoulder. "Let me take over the barrier. You focus on the fatal verses now, OK?" Konekomaru nodded, ceasing the chanting in his mind. Bon sat on the ground and by performing a series of hand seals while reciting a part of Buddha's mantra of Light, he shielded the whole group. He was surprised how much of an effort it required to keep the barrier from collapsing - one would think that keeping such low-level demons out of the way would be a piece of cake. However, their numbers more than compensating for their lack of strength, Bon was pushing himself hard to keep the barrier stable and large enough to cover all of them. "Konekomaru, do you know if these demons are from any specific demon realm?" he asked and almost dropped the barrier in the process. "Whoa, I can't let my concentration down or we are demon fodder… Looks like Konekomaru would really need to take full care of the Fatal verses. And here I hoped I could pitch in." Konekomaru adjusted his glasses in thought. "Let me see… the scorpion-tails are very distinctive, but apart from the locusts, there is nothing else I can catch on… My first tip would be Beelzebub, but he's usually associated with flies, not locusts… I need to think about this…" his classmate answered, already searching through the long lists of scriptures in his mind.
In the meantime, Shiemi tended to Izumo's sting-wounds with yet another useful plant. "This should slow the spreading down, but it will not cure the venom. You will still need some treatment. I can only reduce the swelling, I am afraid. Sorry." Izumo rolled her eyes and hit her head lightly. "Gee, stop apologizing all the time. You are helping already! See?" she pointed at a group of locusts outside of the barrier. They seemed to move a lot slower, no more hopping or flying around, but dragging themselves on the ground. Shiemi's eyes widened. "It's working!" "Yeah, and I am the one who's on the ground again! Geez, this sucks." she said through her ragged breaths. "You are the ground because you are hurt. And yet Mike and Uke are still fighting! Because of you because you are strong!" Shiemi tried to cheer her up somehow. "Tsk, damn right I am strong! I won't go down that easily!" she smirked under the annoying mask. Despite the swarm obscuring her view, she knew her familiars were out there, still fighting viciously. However, she also knew that they couldn't keep this tempo up much longer, not in her current state. The state of her familiars was also starting to concern her - she could feel Mike tiring. "What if the poison works on demons too?" she suddenly realized with a shock. "That would mean that I might need to call them off sooner than I thought…"
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Disclaimer: Blue Exorcists belongs to Kazue Katō. Please, do not re-post or publish my story without my consent.
Author's note: Hi there and thank you all for the wait! :) Another chapter of Ardent Exorcist is here, probably the first one with a cliff-hanger :D. I feel almost evil for doing this to you, but I believe that Part II will more than compensate for it ^^ Stay tuned! And as always - this is my first FF-writing attempt, so I would really appreciate your feedback :)