Ardent Exorcist

by Cvicel

Althea (a medicine student or perhaps a spy) enrolls into the True Cross Academy where she finds new friends and turns Mephisto's carefully-planned world upside down. ***Rated M because it contains some mature content, but the focus is on my own story - characters, relationships and fights. The story does have an ending and you have much to look forward to.***

22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22 - Seventy-two hours of this futile search of ours

Thea opened her eyes groggily, her body stiff and aching. Her wrists and ankles especially felt uncomfortable and hurt. She groaned softly and shook her head in hopes to rid her mind of the thick mist which had settled over it. Everything was just so fuzzy… And hot, oh so hot! The foreign feeling was only emphasized by a peculiar smell - a strange combination of something dusty, acidic and… perhaps metallic? Blinking, Thea realized that she was laying on hard, dusty ground in a small, dimly lit room. The light was faint and flickering in hues of dark orange and red, casting stripe-like shadows around her. The moment her sight adjusted, she noticed that the light was coming not from the room, but rather from somewhere outside of it. In fact, the room only had three walls, the last one was more of an assembly of thick bars, just like in… a prison?!

Thea shot up from the ground in alert, as the sudden surge of adrenaline tore through her clouded mind. The moment she moved, though, she stumbled on a long crimson-shining chain which was firmly fastened around her hands and feet and fell back to the ground clumsily. Instinctively, she cast a binding circle around her. At the same time, her right hand reached for the gun on her right hip, while her left hand went right to the little flasks of holy water she carried with her at all times. Her eyes widened in an instant, as she realized that all her weapons and tools were gone. Even her clothes and shoes were replaced! Well, this was no time to get all self-conscious about how exactly she ended up in the shabby-looking, single piece of black rag. Funny how her mind prioritized thinking about the fact that she really disliked wearing black over other, much more critical matters. Such as the fact that her binding circle was nowhere to be found either, and the very attempt of casting it caused her a tremendous deal of pain. She blinked in confusion, then tried to cast it again. And again. Again! Nothing… The only effect (apart from a tear that she would not have admitted to) was the crimson chain pulsing brightly every time she attempted to cast the spell. From the looks of it, the chain was preventing her from using her powers. She gulped, trying to remain calm, then she scrambled through the room and pressed her back to the wall. Her heart was beating like a colibri, fully overpowering the unusual grogginess she felt when she awoke a few seconds ago. "What is this…? The chains, the jail, just where…" she looked around in panic.

Then, as if the strange mist obscuring her mind was suddenly lifted, her senses picked up something terrible. The feeling came crashing down on her like a strong wave, causing her to shiver despite how hot it was in that place. "What a powerful miasma! And demons…" she gasped but didn't dare to make a sound. "So many of them… They are… everywhere…" A drop of sweat ran down her temple, as she felt their auras pulsing all around her. Normally, the presence of demons would never throw her off balance like that. However, it was the lack of any human aura that truly disturbed her. And without her gear and with her powers restrained, she suddenly felt terribly vulnerable. Never in her life has she felt demons in such great numbers. She couldn't make out the individuals. She couldn't even find the words to describe the terrible, hollowing feeling of despair and fright. So dark, so doom-promising, so… evil. Just being there felt unnatural, soul-shaking. The miasma surrounding her was so overwhelming that she had trouble concentrating properly. And it was not just her mind which was in turmoil. Every fiber of her body practically screamed at her to get out of that God-forsaken place that very instant! What was she even doing there, and… how did she get there?

She caught a glimpse of movement in front of her. Reflexively, she cast her binding circle on herself, only to fail yet again. "Oh, verdammt!" she cursed silently, shaking, and pulling at the energy-sucking shackles in a futile effort to free herself. Come to think of it, there was something disturbingly familiar about the demonic aura filling the chains… Before she could ponder about it and finally remember the events which had led her to this situation, the shadow in front of her moved again. Soon, a figure stepped out of the darkness across the hall, revealing a familiar face. "Tomoe!" the blonde exclaimed when she recognized one of her bodyguards, the fox demon, sitting in a small jail across the corridor which divided their prison cells. Mephisto had introduced every member of her security detail to her. Mostly for their safety, to avoid accidental friendly fire in case of their intervention. Thea rushed toward the bars, but couldn't quite reach them, for the annoying crimson chains were firmly attached to the ceiling, preventing her from moving too far.

"Tomoe, are you alright? Are you hurt?" she looked the demon up and down, concern written all over her face. Tomoe's uniform was torn in some places, traces of blood prominent on his white shirt. His hands and legs were also in cuffs. "Meister Heilbrunn, you are awake!" the fox demon looked at her with relief and approached the bars of his cell. "I'm just fine, thank you. But… I'm terribly sorry!" he started bowing apologetically. "We failed the mission… I couldn't protect you… Forgive me." the demon fell to his knees, bowing so deeply that his head was touching the ground. "Calm down, Tomoe…" the blonde said, trying to sound as calming as she could at the moment. She wanted to encourage the demon, to make sure he wouldn't feel responsible for what befell her. Come to think of it… What exactly befell her? Memories filled her mind in an instant. "Ah, right… I was driving to Ayami's weekend house in Asahikawa to celebrate her engagement. Then she texted me to take a different route because there was an accident on the road I was originally supposed to take. I was driving further to the north until I reached a forest clearing where a bunch of demons had been already waiting for me… And they took Ayami!" Thea's heart started beating at the disturbing memory, anger filling her mind. She remembered her poor best friend barely standing on her feet, crying from pain, with her aura weakened to a dangerously low level. Thea remembered her aura spiking in fury, so that it completely tore through her self-imposed barrier. But before she could obliterate all the demons right on the spot, the demons threatened to kill Ayami, so Thea willed her powers to subside and cooperated instead. "They knew… It was all a trap. And I couldn't do anything but comply… Verdammt!" the blonde grit her teeth. "They promised to give Ayami an antidote, so I cooperated and took a flight in a chopper with them, somewhere far to the mountains in the north. Then, they led me to a deep cave labyrinth and…" Thea gulped at the memory of the huge snake, with its terrifying yellow eyes and jaws wide open. Did she remember that part correctly? Did the snake actually swallow her? A shiver ran down her spine despite the unbearable heat in the room.

"Meister Heilbrunn, you are hurt, aren't you?" Tomoe's voice brought her back to the dark prison. "No, it's nothing. I'm fine, I just… I usually have better mornings…" she shook her head, then dismissed the disturbing image and pulled herself together. "In any case, this is not your fault. The enemy was well-prepared and… Tomoe, what happened to Ayami?" she asked almost desperately, concern building up in her, but failing to reach the levels of her fury at the demons who dared to use her friend as a hostage. "I don't know. When you were on your way to your friend's winter cottage, you took a different route than you were supposed to. We followed you, but the moment you got deeper into the forest, we were attacked. It all happened so quickly… My comrades… they…" the fox demon fell silent, then covered his face and shook his head helplessly.

"I'm so sorry, Tomoe…" Thea interrupted the demon with a voice full of compassion and guilt before the demon could blame himself any further. "I know you and your squad-mates risked your lives in order to protect me…" she said softly. She had agreed to having a security detail with her, she knew very well this could happen one day, but that didn't make it any easier or less painful for her to accept that someone else had died just so she could live. "But you didn't fail your mission. After all, I'm still alive." a soft, nervous smile appeared on her lips. "And so are you. That means the demons who kidnapped us still need us for something, right? Besides… I'm sure Mephisto is already searching for us." the blonde nodded to herself with a determined look in her eyes. Now was not the time to feel sad or panicked. She bottled up those unpleasant feelings and fears deep down and concentrated her full attention on the task at hand. "We just need to buy him some time. Come to think of it… What is the time? How long have we been trapped in here?" "I'm not quite sure. I only woke up a few hours ago…" Tomoe scratched his head. Thea tapped a finger on her lip in thought. "Let's see… Normally, I would try and assess the time by the look of any injuries, but that's not a very good method when it comes to me. My healing abilities always speed up the recovery to various degrees. Whatever happened to my skin on the way here, the effects are almost gone. I cannot tell if the wounds were severe or not, since I'm all patched up…" she kept tapping her finger on her lip - it always helped her concentrate, but this time, her lips felt all parched and the fingernail kept digging into it painfully. Suddenly, she perked up. "The fingernails." she realized and quickly brought her hand up in front of her, inspecting her nails. "Let's see… Average human nails grow 0.5 mm a week. I know mine do a bit faster, up to 0.7 mm a week." she smiled, briefly remembering her seminar work on fingers. "I cut them right in the morning before I went to Asahikawa. They are now… around 0.3 mm." the blonde realized with a shock. "Oh snap, we've been here for three days?!" she exclaimed in disbelief, then her hand met her forehead with an audible smack. "Not good, Mephisto's gotta be freaking out… How is that even possible?" she wondered incredulously, looking at her fingers upside down, assuring herself that she got the measurements right. "I'm not sure… But don't worry, Meister Heilbrunn. I will think of something. I will get us out of this realm safely! Somehow…" the demon said encouragingly. "Right! We'll come up with something for sure and… Wait a minute… Did you just say 'this realm'?" Thea eyed him curiously.

Before the fox demon could answer, the door to the corridor opened, admitting a group of three demons. First came two tall warrior-demons who moved with strange, almost predatory grace, and had very alert eyes. Their long red cloaks were flapping as they strode through the corridor, revealing their slightly curved sabers on occasion. One of them was broad-shouldered and muscular. A huge scar was running from his forehead straight through the eye down to his chin. The other demon was rather lean and dark-skinned, and his green eyes were shining in the dark, split by a vertical pupil. One Brute and one Snake, obviously guarding the last member, Thea noted. The third demon was actually a demoness - a very beautiful one, with long black hair framing her oval face. She had cruel, violet eyes, and was clad all in black, the only colorful spot being the white embroidery of a flower on her back. Thea also couldn't miss the fact that all three of them wore red gloves for some reason. They halted in front of Thea's cell, then the demon with the scar recited an incantation and the metallic door unlocked and opened itself. Thea gulped, but stood firmly, facing her captors calmly. She had to approach this with a clear head. Carefully. Patiently. Pragmatically. Her eyes burned with determination - she might be a captor for the moment, but that would change soon. "That's right. I will play this strategically, just as Mephisto drilled me to… Just cooperate and find out what the lot is after. Then, I can try to strike a deal with them. Or I could at least buy Mephisto some time until he finds us. I'm probably just the bait here anyway, and they are waiting for Mephisto to show up… It's fine, he had planned for this scenario." she assured herself. Unfortunately, her level-headedness resolved like a mist the moment the demoness approached and addressed her with a sly, satisfied smirk. "So, Althea Heilbrunn… Welcome to Gehenna~"

The blonde stood motionless after the cooing voice of the demoness had completely torn down any resemblance of the composed negotiator Thea had been practicing. "WHAT?!" the blonde cried out in a high-pitched voice, completely taking her captors aback. And while both warriors instinctively reached for their sabers and stepped in front of the demoness protectively, the chains on Thea's person pulsed violently as her befuddlement reached new levels. But she quickly regained her composure and tried to salvage what she could. "Play it cool, Thea…" she encouraged herself. "Are you really saying what I think you're saying?" the blonde eyed the demons demandingly, but the two demon warriors only returned half-puzzled and half-focused expressions. "Is this HELL?! Well? Answer me!" she kept piercing them with a fierce stare, until finally, Tomoe decided to weigh in from his cell carefully. "Yes, Meister Heilbrunn… This is, well… Hell." he said silently. The blonde blinked twice, and the universe started crumbling around her just like the remnants of her self-imposed, composed demeanor.

"Are you kidding me? So, let me get this straight… Am I dead? And I have gone to Hell?" Thea threw her hands up wildly, completely mind-blown. How could she be dead? She did remember the huge snake unhinging its jaws and… and swallowing her… and then darkness. But she didn't remember dying, just some discomfort and pressure. She did not feel dead. Would she know if she died? How was she even supposed to react to such a fact? Shouldn't she feel peaceful and kind of elevated? Shouldn't she at least feel nothing in the first place? Then why did she hurt all over? And yet, the huge numbers of demons, the terrible miasma, the unbearable heat, the absence of any other human's aura - it all hinted at… she probably… truly… was in Hell. "But whyyy?" she whined while looking somewhere up. Well, not somewhere. To Heavens. To where she really hoped she would find herself in the first place if she died. And if such a place truly existed. She suddenly remembered her silly promise to Mephisto from one of their first encounters - that should she die, she would become a beautiful angel. Or an angry ghost, so she could haunt him and pester him as much as she wished to. But never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that she would end up here, in Hell, to be punished and tortured by the devils for her wrongdoings. Was she really such a bad person? "I was a doctor, I helped people!" she shouted as if her voice could reach that place two steps from Hell. "I purified curses and exorcized demons! Well, some of them, anyways… So, why? What did I do to end up here? Fine, so I cheated on that one test on anesthesiology in my fourth semester, but that hardly qualifies one for Hell, does it? The new young teacher was nuts and overcompensating! And yes, I completely scammed that stupid incubus out of money, but he deserved it, considering he had been after my soul in the first place. And yes, I did kind of break Mephisto's nose, but he was being a jerk, and I healed it right away and…" before Thea could finish counting out all her transgressions against good morale, her angry and frustrated rant was put to a violent halt. Lights shimmered in front of her eyes, and she suddenly found herself on the ground, her cheek burning and head ringing.

"Shut up, you filth!" came a grating scold and a too swift and too well-aimed kick in the stomach from the demoness. "Learn your place!" she hissed, then chuckled at Thea's surprised, pained expression. "Yes, you are in Gehenna. And no, you are not dead." the demoness said with an amused tone, then added with a malicious smile. "But you'll soon wish you were~" In a moment, the Brute's hands wrapped around Thea's arms and pulled her up easily, so that she faced the demoness. However, no matter how terrible that promise sounded, how bad the situation looked, Thea could feel a huge weight fall off her heart. She was alive! She had never heard that a living human could actually enter Gehenna or survive there. Only demons were known to be capable of such a feat. But it didn't matter. She was there, a living proof that it was possible for a human to travel through the realms and live. She wasn't sure if she was excited or terrified by that prospect, so she just settled for 'fascinated'.

In a split second, her mindset completely rewired, and Thea got back to her original plan - calm, composed, and self-assured negotiations. "You're the one who abducted me, so you are clearly the one with a death wish." the blonde met the demoness' eyes in confrontation, then also eyed each of the guards with an air of importance. "But if you let us go now, I promise I'll put a good word for you when Mephisto finds you. You see, he tends to be a tad overprotective, but he might even let you li…" she started explaining, only to be backhanded by that vicious, short female again. Damn those super-fast demonic movements. Damn the inability to cast binding circles around her! "I told you to learn your place, wench. You will speak only when spoken to." she eyed Thea firmly. Had it not been for the brutish warrior holding her up, she would have definitely toppled to the ground from that smack. The woman was shorter and thinner than Thea, true, but she was still a demon with all that ridiculously strong demon power which came with it.

Suddenly, Thea could feel a gloved hand reaching for her face, squishing her cheeks from both sides firmly. And even though the demoness' eyes were coldly purple, they were burning with a strange mix of anger and satisfaction. "Unfortunately, I have orders to keep you alive. But I promise I'll give you every reason to beg me for death. Just like that filthy friend of yours did~" the demoness intoned sweetly, causing shivers to run down Thea's spine. Her mind froze. An overwhelming feeling of fear settled in her stomach. "Ayami…" the blonde breathed out inaudibly, then faced her captors and gritted out furiously. "What did you do?" The corners of the demoness' lips curled up in satisfaction, as she stood calmly, apparently enjoying the moment. "Answer me! I cooperated… You PROMISED to give her the antidote, to let her go… What did you do to her, you scum?!" Thea demanded, her red chains glowing so strong the light would have blinded her vision had the building-up tears not already taken care of it. Never in her life had she wanted to obliterate demons so much. However, no matter how much raw power she pumped into it, all it did was cause her searing pain.

Surprisingly, no educational slap followed this time. Instead, an evil grin spread on the demoness' lips. "My, oh, my~ You really cannot behave, can you? Since you insist on this insolent tantrum…" Two punches from the Snake later, Thea found herself kneeling on the dusty floor, heaving, and panting. Her left side pulsed with pain while the other blow took her breath away. She clasped her hand to her left side, where she could feel her T9 rib got fractured by that brutish force. Thea groaned in frustration - it was not that cracked rib which irritated her, but rather the fact that she knew very well the warrior held himself back yet was still able to knock her down so easily. The demon was strong, very strong, even for a demon. Irritated as she was, it was actually a good sign - they apparently needed her alive and in an acceptable shape. She started healing the wound immediately, frustrated about how difficult it was for her to even summon enough energy for such a simple task. The chains binding her powers were still firmly wrapped around her hands and feet, pulsing with a crimson light. Thea could feel her powers swirling around the wound, but the healing effect was somewhat slower and weak, but hey - at least something worked.

"Well, what do you know… Looks like the chains can only restrain so much of my power. But it certainly takes much more effort to make this work. Still… it works, and that's what counts. Maybe it depends on the way I use my power? I have to figure it out asap if I'm to get out of here any time soon…" she thought, then shot the two soldiers the most irritated look she could muster and stood up with an air of importance, trying to ignore the partially healed, but still very fractured rib for the moment. The brutish demon with the scar on his face lost some color, his expression startled, while the dark-skinned demon eyed her suspiciously with those snake-like eyes. However, Thea decided to ignore them and turned her attention to the demoness in front of her, letting the hint of warning fill her voice. "I'll ask you again. What did you do to Ayami? And what is this all about? What do you want from Mephisto?" she gritted through her teeth. The expression of her captor grew unreadable. "Be reasonable. It's just a matter of time until Mephisto, The Lord of Time, tracks us down. So, let's all just cooperate, alight? Otherwise, I cannot promise that you will make it out alive." the blonde said, causing the dark-haired woman to pale slightly. Thea could also feel the Brute gripping her more firmly, his heart rates quickening. "Ufff, the perception worked! It would appear that Mephisto was not exaggerating about how terrifying his reputation down in Hell is." Thea thought.

"Foolish girl… You still think you are the one dictating the terms here? That you can strike a deal or perhaps order us around and threaten us with the Lord of Time's arrival? That we only took you to get to him? How very naive and ignorant of you…" a low chuckle escaped her lips as she continued to mock her. "We never planned to negotiate your return. He was never the one we were after. You were the prize, he was the guardian that failed." she emphasized, the chuckle turning into a sweet smile. A way too sweet, disturbing smile. "And now, we have you. We took you right from under his nose. Not even the alleged second most powerful demon of the whole Gehenna was able to stop us." a satisfied, victorious laughter reverberated through the prison while Thea tried to process the unexpected news. "What on Earth… So, they are not after Mephisto? But then… What do they need me for? And did she just say that Mephisto is the second most powerful demon of Hell? I mean, I have always known he is immensely powerful. That he is a lord of some kind, too. But that he is second to the unholy king of hell himself? Just what is going on…" the blonde's mind kept racing, until a firm hand gripped the black piece of cloth on her chest. The little demoness met her eyes menacingly. "No one will find you. Not even him. Not here. Never. So, take a good look around, for this… this is your life now." she spread her hands in a generous gesture. Thea furrowed her eyebrows and pinned the demoness with a furious look - she would not let herself be intimidated! No matter how terrifying the prospect of spending the rest of her life in Hell was. Mephisto would come for her. That is, if she didn't burst herself out on her own before his arrival. After all, she was no damsel in distress. Before she could proceed with further questions and negotiations, though, the demoness suddenly spoke in a commanding voice. Thea couldn't understand a word, but realized it was the warriors the demoness was speaking to. Her skin soon produced goosebumps, so unnerving was the speech and the unpleasant 'feeling' the strange words carried. The sly, slithering voice was full of cold malice, but it slid back to calmer tones once one of the soldiers answered something back.

Then, the demoness spoke to Thea again. "From the dumb look on your face, I assume you are also ignorant of the demon language. That will have to change soon. You see, our master demands that you speak it fluently." she explained, only to be interrupted by the blonde again. "Oh, so you are not the masterfool mind behind this kidnapping?" Thea arched an eyebrow mockingly, causing the demoness to grow all purple in her face. Thea knew she was taunting her, but she was perfectly fine with suffering another of her slaps or strikes for the exchange of the leader's name. Any piece of information would be of great use to Mephisto. "So, who commands this suicide squad?" the blonde taunted, hoping for the demoness to start defending the honor of the leader. One crackling sound later, Thea was sure her fractured rib was now completely shattered along with the T8 rib. She gasped and blinked away the tears, wavering on her weak legs. The warriors made sure to keep her on her feet, though. Thea regained bits of concentration, then shot an angry look at the demon with the scar, as this blow came from him. He looked completely perplexed by that look for some reason.

"Obnoxious little pest." the demoness snorted haughtily. "Don't you worry. You will meet my master soon. But, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, he will address you in the language of Gehenna, and it would be in your best interest to obey. But do not worry, we anticipated this problem. That's where your little foxy 'protector' comes in." she clasped her hands and glanced at Tomoe meaningfully. "Apart from other reasons, he's here to teach you. Actually, you can start right now. Here, I'm sure this phrase will come in handy pretty soon. Just repeat after me." the demoness smiled, then spoke shortly in that disturbing language. Thea arched an eyebrow at her defiantly and snorted. "Tsk, go buy yourself a parrot" she gritted out, masking her caution with a seemingly cocky attitude. "Tsk, as if I would just repeat some unknown phrase in a foreign language. The nerve of that demoness! The words can very well be some kind of a spell. Or a curse! Or some crazy binding oath. No, thank you very much!" she pouted inwardly. The demoness just smiled. A moment later, Thea felt the Brute pull at the chains wrapped around her arms, and stomped on it, bringing her to her knees. The sly-looking one with his tongue spit in two like a snake, went as far as putting a foot on her back, crushing her down to the dusty ground.

"Very well, I have neither time nor patience for you right now. The fox demon will take care of your education - the language part as well as the proper behavior we expect from a worm such as yourself." the demoness said haughtily, looming over the kneeling Thea. Then, she leaned in closer, whispering. "I might not be allowed to end your miserable existence like I could your precious little friend's, but I will make sure to make you beg me for it." And while Thea's eyes widened in horror, the demoness left the room with amused chuckles, the guards following right behind her. The blonde clutched the bars of the cell so tightly that the knuckles on her hands grew all white in a strong contrast to the chains which were pulsing violently red. She was trying to stop the terrible shivers which came over her. How could this happen?! She gulped audibly, then dared a look at the fox demon standing on the other side of the room, in his own prison cell. "T-Tomoe… What… What did that phrase mean?" she asked shakily. The fox demon looked Thea in the eye apologetically. "You said… 'I'm begging you, kill me." he explained. Thea nodded silently, then tears started rolling down her cheeks. "Ayami… No… I'm so sorry… So sorry…"

OoO

"Well?" Samael arched an eyebrow at his secretary while taking a sip from the cup on his desk. It was almost midnight, and various team leaders kept coming and going to report on the progress of the search for Thea. "No traces of Doctor Heilbrunn, my lord." Gin shook his head, then pulled out his tablet and started typing and scrolling through the latest reports. "I've just forwarded you the latest updates from the National Police Agency. Commissioner general Sakamoto confirmed that the searching units combed the whole Asahikawa region, so far no leads. He is now organizing additional search parties, broadening the search to the whole Hokkaido Isle. And as you have probably already noticed, the police have been encouraging the public to keep their eyes open and report anything suspicious. The media are also sharing your lady's description and our contact details." the spy summarized, waiting for his master's reaction. Samael arched his eyebrows. "So, not the whole of Japan? Only the Hokkaido Isle? That is just a standard procedure. Way too standard for what I would expect from Sakamoto, considering the circumstances…" the demon lord said with an air of displeasure. "That's because those were just the standard procedures." the spy intoned importantly, then continued. "Mr. Sakamoto asked me to assure you that he is well aware of the severity of the situation and of his debt to you. He added that he's currently also running several non-standard investigation operations in the whole of Japan, combining all available personnel from the Missing Person Unit, SWAT, and Special Assault Team. He'll be personally sending updates to you about the progress every hour from today onward. Officially, the search is justified to other agencies as 'missing German VIP or diplomat'." Gin supplied. "Now, that is more like it." the demon nodded, then started listing through a folder of reports. "What about out teams, Gin?"

"Our Exorcists launched search parties under the lead of Mr. Kaoru. He should come and report on the progress soon. My spies are in positions too, my lord. A few of them are also with the police higher-ups, just to be on the safe side. You know, in case the enemy also has a net of eyes and ears among local authorities. But I doubt that the police would withhold any important information from you." "Unlike the Grigori…" Samael stepped in, his voice sour. "It has to be us who find her first, Gin. If the Grigori beat us to it, they will never share that little detail with us. They would take her for themselves and attempt to indoctrinate her to be their tool. However, if they deem she is too 'far gone' according to the Prophecy… they would rather kill her to 'be on the safe side'." Samael's expression went from sour to dark, but Gin had just the news to soften that terrible, doom-promising glare. "That's why I immediately doubled the number of our spies in the Vatican, Sire." the spy added with a satisfied smile. "Doubled?" the demon lord arched his eyebrows, genuinely surprised about the development. "Yes. The Grigori might be careful, considering the current events, but you know how it is around Christmas… They are always short on staff during religious holidays. Slipping in some 'new staff' wasn't that difficult." Gin shrugged. "Why, Gin, that is impressive." Samael praised, but seeing his secretary's enthusiastic expression, he continued swiftly. "Still no vacation for you, though." he raised his finger importantly. "Oh, I wouldn't dream about that. But you see, recently, I stumbled upon a very interesting term… something like a bee-ne-fit?" the spy tapped his finger on his lips in a feigned thoughtfulness. "Hmmm… No, that does not ring a bell. You must have misheard." Samael leaned on the palm of his hand leisurely. "Maybe it's just the pronunciation. How was it again? Be-not-fit?" the spy tried again. "Yes, you really are not fit to ask such nonsense questions at a time like this." the demon lord answered flatly, although amusement was strongly present in his eyes. Gin just chuckled. "What do you want, Gin?" Samael cut right to the chase. "Well, I was thinking, perhaps a few days of compensatory leave? To take care of some affairs of importance in my county. Once this situation is dealt with, of course." the spy offered. "A compensatory leave, you say. Well, of course, Gin!" Samael smirked mischievously, adding. "You can leave right now and compensate for the lack of reliable leads by conducting a proper investigation." the demon lord clasped his hands enthusiastically, causing the secretary to chuckle yet again. "So he's still in high enough spirits to joke around. That's certainly a good sign." Gin thought, relief washing over him.

"Ah, leads! I would have forgotten…" the spy reached into his inside suit pocket, then put a peculiar item on Samael's desk. The demon lord leaned closer, immediately inspecting the small, sleek, golden lamp with intricate demon runes running along its surface. A jinn's lamp. "I assume this one is not from your collection?" Samael inquired "No. This one was found in the Asahikawa region, at the place where Miss Kirigakure directed us with the last lead - where she felt Miss Heilbrunn's powers spike. It must have been dropped in a rush. Or perhaps the enemy just didn't care, as it doesn't tell us much, really. We just learned why the weather forecast went so horribly wrong…" Gin explained, then tapped on the lamp. "The lamp contains a blizzard." "Ah, I see. A snowstorm, not a sandstorm, in this case. I was not aware it was possible for the lamp to hold a freezing tempest. But a tempest is still a tempest, I guess… " Samael nodded to himself thoughtfully, holding the lamp up in front of him. "Exactly, Sir. It is a little unusual, but not impossible. The lamp was fully emptied in order to unleash such a strong blizzard. And before you ask - yes, we also checked the fingerprints, but unfortunately, they do not match with any of the samples from our databases." Gin cleared his throat meaningfully. "So, a contraband or an illegal traveler, I see… It would appear that Assiah's demonic society needs to be reminded of the Code once again.~" the demon lord gritted through his teeth as he cracked his fingers. "But at least we can assume that whoever took Thea is connected to our side of the game." The spy just nodded in agreement. "I have a few capable Arias working on locating the owner with a dowsing pendulum. Unfortunately, we have no results so far, but I will check with Exorcists from other branches, too."

A ring suddenly interrupted the conversation. Samael reached for the buzzing cell phone so fast that Gin didn't even have time to blink. The male voice on the phone started speaking immediately. "I see…" Samael said, his posture slumping ever so slightly, but he swiftly continued in his usual nonchalant tone. "That is wonderful news, Mr. Okumura. Stay sharp and keep me updated." the demon said, then hung up after a short 'Auf Wiederhören~'. Gin had been waiting impatiently for the news from the True Cross Academy hospital where Yukio was currently stationed. After Gin and Samael had rescued Miss Kirigakure and Miss Chidori from the Asahikawa region and brought them to the Academy, Samael had specifically tasked the young teacher with guarding the two women. It was an important precaution in case the enemy learned that the ladies were actually alive and decided to finish the job. Or in case the Grigori decided to drop by and tried to pry out some information from them. "Shura's surgery went well, but she has not woken up yet. Ayami is stabilized, no longer in critical condition. She is still in a coma, though…" Samael supplied, his look a bit troubled. "Wonderful news, indeed, but it also means that we still have to wait with the interrogation." Gin guessed the reason for Samael's concern. "Exactly. The clock is ticking, and the sooner we get some leads on where the enemy is holding Thea, the better." the demon lord nodded.

"Speaking of which - it's already been twenty-eight hours since the kidnapping. Shouldn't the enemy have contacted us by now?" the spy asked the burning question, folding his hands. He soon almost regretted asking it. The Lord of Time returned a smirk, which was a terrifying combination of viciousness, but also self-assurance and excitement. He sat down at the table and entwined his fingers in front of him. "That would be the usual turn of events, yes. But… this is not an ordinary case. I think that they are just trying to test my patience. Can you believe it? They are trying to make me, the Lord of Time, wait." he grinned in a wicked amusement. "Trying to throw me off balance and play for time while they are, in fact, kindly offering me even more time to prepare, to mobilize all of my forces, to put all my chess pieces into the right place…" low chuckles escaped his lips, as he spread the reports and maps in front of him. "Fools! The whole of Japan is up and about, searching for her. I don't really expect the National Police Agency to find her, but I need some pawns out there, so my own Intelligence can have a clear field to do the real job."

"Satan's Flames…" the spy gulped, pulling slightly at his tie. "It's all but a grand, exciting game to him. The whole of Assiah but an entertaining playground. Well, that's Samael for you… " Gin ran his fingers through his hair, befuddled, but surprisingly excited too. He couldn't help but voice his concerns, though. "And what if… What if the kidnappers are taking so long because they are trying to pry some information from Miss Heilbrunn in the meantime? After all, she's already one of our Exorcists. She knows a lot about the Academy's defense system, about our squads, weapons, and tactics. About you, Samael. This situation could get more dangerous than anticipated." the spy counted out carefully. Samael's expression darkened, his jaw set firmly, his posture stiff. He clutched the chess piece tightly in his hand. "We have prepared for the eventuality where she might be… interrogated." the demon lord cleared his throat, then continued. "You said it yourself - she is one of our Exorcists, not just a helpless civilian. And they… Their suffering will create new legends about me to be told for eons should they cause her any harm." his eyes shone, casting a doom-promising glare somewhere to the distance. Gin's eyes widened in surprise and realization. While he tried to warn Samael about possible information leak, the demon lord disregarded the notion and instead concentrated on the fact that the enemy might be torturing his lady to gain some advantage in the negotiations. It wasn't the potential security breach that Samael was so cautious about, but the safety and well-being of the girl.

"So, a game, but not just a game. He really does care for her." the spy thought, but had to ask, nevertheless. "My lord, I meant - Shouldn't we start preparing for potential infiltration, perhaps even an open attack on the Academy? You know, in case your lady will be forced to talk…" "Oh, I assure you that she will talk. Just as we agreed she would." Samael answered, causing the spy's eyes to almost pop out. "Excuse me, you did what?" "In case of forceful interrogation or life-threatening situations, she is to spill all important Academy secrets she knows about." the demon lord recited, looking at the spy pointedly, only to receive a confused look in return. "You know, such as the fact that our defense system mainly consists of my own barrier which usually weakens every fifth day in the evening - my usual time for sleep, causing all my spells to weaken for 4 hours straight. Or that I store the most powerful weapons against demons in the Vault under the Main Hall of Building A. Or that there are multiple secret passages leading to the Academy without the need to tear down my barrier - such as the tunnel situated under the Ferris Wheel in Mephyland. There are many other details, but I am sure you are getting the idea." Samael finished counting out, fully enjoying Ginn's stunned face. An audible exhale escaped the spy's lips, as he shook his head and chuckled. "You never cease to amaze me, Samael." Gin produced a small bow, then continued. "Feeding them false intel, directing them right to the places we want them to be, at a time which suits us. Brilliant." A fond smile appeared on the demon lord's lips. "I am afraid I cannot take the credit this time. It was her idea." "Satan's Flames! With all due respect, Sire, that is one dangerously smart lady you have found yourself…" Gin ran his fingers through his hair with the look of utmost impression. "That she certainly is, my friend."

"But Sir, what if the enemy somehow learns that she is feeding them false intel? Wouldn't that endanger her even more?" Gin couldn't help but ask yet another burning question, instantly turning his master's fond smile into a serious poker face. "Not if we don't give them a reason to doubt her. She thought about that, too." Samael said with an air of seriousness, then counted out. "I did move some weapons into the Vault under the Main Hall of Building A. I arranged a secret tunnel under the Ferris Wheel leading to the Academy. And I will temporarily weaken the barrier every fifth day. Should they strike at us, we will know their most probable routes and targets, and capture them. So, when they fail, it will not be because of bad intel, but because they underestimated our defenses despite the weaknesses." the demon lord explained, and Gin nodded thoughtfully. "I see… So if the enemy tries to use spells or potions to make her talk, even if they bind her to the Circle of the Truth…" the spy thought aloud, and Samael confirmed. "Yes, she should not be suspected, because she would know that what she tells them is technically correct - the best kind of correct."

A knock suddenly sounded on the door to Samael's office. The demon lord's expression instantly returned to its standard nonchalance. "Enter." he called, admitting Mr. Kaoru Tsubaki, accompanied by squad 14. Gin moved to stand next to Samael at his desk, silently observing the group. They all looked exhausted - the sleepless night and a day full of futile search for the missing girl undoubtedly took a huge toll on them. And while the demon lord was listening and sipping calmly from his cup, the teacher was reporting on basically no news. He was apparently trying to assure the headmaster that all necessary actions had been taken in order to find Doctor Heilbrunn. "As I said, everyone who can is joining the search, Sir. In addition, teams 18 and 25 returned from their missions in Okinawa and Chicago just an hour ago, and both have already reported to the investigation team, offering their support." Mr. Tsubaki added. Shortly after that, the bell announcing the midnight sounded, creating a particularly tense, dark atmosphere. "Another day has started, and the most crucial time block of search for any missing or kidnapped person has gone. To think that none of the search parties could secure any leads to follow… Just where on Earth are they keeping her? Damnation… Samael most certainly expected far more promising news from the Exorcist teams." Gin thought, slightly nervous about the development.

"Very well…" the headmaster noted, then crossed out December 17 in the calendar on his desk with a firm stroke, breaking the tip of the pencil in the process. Standing up swiftly, he regarded the squad importantly. "Notify all Exorcists, including those currently on missions or stationed outside of Japan. They are to abort all missions of class A and lower and join the search for Doctor Heilbrunn. In addition, as of today, the True Cross Academy is entering security level 3. Dismissed." he ordered, waving the group off. "Yes, Sir!" the team saluted and rushed out. The demon lord started pacing around the room thoughtfully, his hands clasped behind his back.

OoO

Another cry tore through Thea's throat as the burning sensation spread all over her skin. Her whole body felt afire - the doing of the bloody demoness and her bloody experiments in her literally bloody laboratory. "No. Not just a 'demoness'. It's a high-ranking poison maker of the Alsumu clan." Thea reminded herself. She had drilled that title into her memory right on her first day in Gehenna. Tomoe had recognized the nightshade embroidery on the demoness' cloak, marking her as one of the Alsumu clan. And since demons believed that knowing one's name would give you power over that individual, they rarely knew each-others' names. Unless they felt secure enough with their strength, they mostly went by nicknames, and if you were important enough, then by titles. Just like the Poison maker of the Alsumu clan. "Know your enemies. Any piece of information, no matter how unrelated or insignificant it might look, could save your life one day." the blonde repeated one of Mephisto's pieces of advice.

"Mephisto…" she whimpered from the intense pain, her thoughts wandering to her boyfriend again. It has been a week since she had been kidnapped, and he was yet to show up. Or, as far as she knew, he was yet to even find out who had kidnapped her. Or at least contact the enemy. "So why hasn't he yet? Or perhaps he has, but the kidnappers have been raising some ridiculous demands. Or maybe they weren't lying after all, and they really never planned to negotiate my return… But then, what could they possibly want from me?" the blonde wondered, unable to guess the enemy's intentions. "So far, they haven't even interrogated me… Not a single demand, not a single question, and not a single answer for that matter. No matter how much I pry… Are they still waiting for that leader of theirs, perhaps?" she pondered, then another jolt of pain shot through her body, reminding her about her sorry situation.

She breathed heavily, trying to cope with the pain. "So far, it's been nothing but experiments. Or so they said, but it looks to me more like torture through concoctions… Oh God, I don't know how much longer I can take this… What is keeping Mephisto for so long? Is he alright? Or… What if he's harmed? No, stop it right there. Don't even think along those lines! He's fine and he knows what he's doing - he is sure to have a plan, he always does. And I'd better do my part, too." The blonde assured herself, then concentrated. Well, as much as one could concentrate while enduring the sensation which Thea could only compare to a thousand needles finding their way through all the skin layers, straight down to the hypodermis. And that was just the first wave of the whole experience. Her body spasming in pain, Thea strained against the red-glowing chains which bound her to the wall in the 'laboratory' room. The demoness regarded her with a satisfied smile, and for a few minutes, she was just watching Thea writhe in pain. She sat cross-legged on a comfortable chair at her desk, scribbling in her notebook, and swinging her left leg in a soft motion in a disturbingly precise sync with Thea's ragged breaths. The blonde had the feeling that her convulsing body was just a delightful and entertaining spectacle, her cries and shouts a symphony to her captor's ears. "Well, fine by me." the blonde concluded. "As long as it keeps her distracted…"

As soon as the demoness turned her attention back to a book at her desk, Thea lifted her head ever so slightly, so she could run her eyes through the laboratory again. She had to soak in as much as she could. Every little detail, every routine, and every anomaly. Everything. And the seven days she had spent in that place already taught her a lot. For example the fact that her healing powers were not as restrained as she had originally thought. True, she couldn't overpower the annoying red-glowing chains, no matter how much or how often she tried. None of her spells could get past them and affect the demons around her. However, she could still use them inwards, on herself. The process took her much longer than it usually would, and it also required much more energy and mental effort on her side. But it was enough to cure her injuries at night or to dim the terrible pain during the experiments to the point where she could at least think more or less clearly. "Now, let's see…" the blonde thought, looking around, familiarizing herself with the laboratory. Trying to keep herself on her feet, only slightly supported by the chains was tiring, but laying on the stone altar-like table during the experiments didn't offer her much of a vantage point. And she had to collect as many pieces of information as possible while she had the opportunity. True, she had no writing tools or means of taking notes, but one did not get a medical degree without being able to memorize tons of information just by reading or observing. It was all about good memorizing techniques and about regular reviewing of the gained knowledge.

"OK, a swift recap. The poison maker's laboratory room has a hexagonal shape with two doors, each in direct opposite to the other. One leads back to the prison cells where I'm being kept - straight out, one turn to the left, then about twenty steps forward. I have yet to determine where the other door leads to. The Brute and the Snake always stand guard outside of the room during the woman's experiments. The room is surprisingly sanitary - the only mess I see here is my own blood on the floor once she is done with me, and even that gets cleaned before a new experiment is started the next day. The experiments, assuming they are experiments, have an unclear goal and consist of testing various potions on me, all of which make me sick and cause me a great deal of pain. Some of the potions appear to be repeating, but with no clear pattern…" the blonde grimaced sourly, pushing the memories of this week's experiments aside for the moment. "Moving on. Two long tables full of what can be considered lab equipment are positioned at the walls. Test tubes, various flasks, even an alembic, which the demoness seems to never put on the same place. Also mortars and pestles, various crystal apparatuses with candles, jars filled with berries, herbs, and powders." she ran her eyes through the tables, then the shelves, reciting the order in which each of the ingredients was stored. Some of the herbs were hanging from the wall in strange, bulb-like reservoirs. Thea had no idea how anything could grow without sunlight, but she guessed that perhaps the light illuminating the rooms contained a portion of UV light, as it had a touch of purple hues.

What interested her the most, though, were books. Books and the things they described. The demoness possessed two high shelves full of books, undoubtedly describing all the ingredients, potents, and solutions she used. Thea was certain of it because she had glimpsed some of the drawings they contained before. "The most important book is the thick black one with the picture of a nightshade on the cover - the poison maker's notebook. She keeps it in the first drawer, sealed by a protective spell. She only pulls it out during the experiments to take notes. I should try to bring that one with me when I attempt an escape… or try to destroy it if I can." the blonde decided resolutely. She was certain that it was full of priceless information she could use to her advantage. Once she learned to read demonic script, that is. She was still only at the basics, but Tomoe was surprisingly good at teaching, and she had a knack for foreign languages. And so, she used every opportunity to drill any and every symbol she saw in the lab into her mind, then drew it for Tomoe to explain its meaning. Surprisingly, even though the demoness possessed quite many papers and notebooks, Thea only received a strange piece of a thin, crystal board where she could write just by pressing her finger onto its surface. The text glowed in blue hues for a moment, then disappeared after a while, which made the whole learning experience all the more challenging. Her request for a 'normal' notebook to write the vocabulary down was met with a twice as long experiment session as usual, so she decided to keep all the new knowledge in her head for the time being. In any case, she had to memorize all the symbols in the laboratory perfectly. She had to know what exactly it was the poison maker was using that always managed to bring her to new levels of agony, and maybe figure out why.

Just like the peculiar dark-red, almost purple liquid with pieces of silvery leaves which her captor forced down her throat at the beginning of every experiment session. The silvery leaves were, according to Tomoe's translation of the symbol from the jar where they were kept, called 'the silverleaf'. They both smelled and tasted quite metallic. Combined with the red liquid though, the whole mixture smelled of dirt, and the revolting taste was remarkably similar to the one kind of vegetables she hated so much. Thea's mouth contorted in disgust. "Great. Just great. Of all things… Why does it have to taste like beetroot?!" the blonde pouted inwardly. If anything could be of confirmation that Thea truly was in Hell, it was the presence of something that tasted worse than the most disgusting vegetable in the entire universe. And as she couldn't find any writings on the ingredients used for preparation of the horrible juice, Thea had come up with a temporary name - just as she did with every ingredient or thing she couldn't yet name or describe to Tomoe well enough that he could translate it for her. And so, the 'beetroot nightmare' became her everyday reality, along with many other fascinatingly disgusting and incredibly painful herbs, mixtures, or poisons. Oh, the demoness was careful not to kill her after all the trouble they had gone through to capture her. But she was all the more precise, deliberate, and creative when it came to causing pain.

Thea gritted her teeth and dug her nails into the palms of her hands. Normally, the overwhelming miasma of the place, combined with her sealed powers, and the sorry state she found herself in after every experiment session, made her feel terribly tired and numb. Her brain resembled nothing more than a sluggish gray mush. Her body felt pained and exhausted even though the experiments were long over. Her head was spinning, and she had a strong urge to puke. When she drank the 'beetroot nightmare', though, all of the feelings subsided. The strange numbness and vertigo left her body and made way to new levels of pain… Exactly the effect her kidnapper was after with all the other elixirs she had prepared for her. And well, to be honest, it worked too well. Thea could have sworn that she felt that pain on an almost cellular level. She could feel every fiber of her body screaming from whatever torment the demoness unleashed upon her. It meant suffering with every breath. Torture. Agony. And the 'beetroot nightmare' was there to enhance the whole experience…

"Focus, Thea! Focus." the blonde reminded herself. For a moment, she considered shutting out her pain receptors. Just for a while. Her waves could theoretically do that. However, playing with pain receptors could be fatal, so she had to be extra cautious and only dared to use the technique in a case of emergency. And so, she used her healing powers to at least ease some of the pain. "Oh, God… Finally…" she exhaled slightly. Her body was shaking with shivers caused by potion-induced fever, but her mind could work with enhanced clarity, devoid of the full perception of pain. "So, this time, the woman used some leaves from the third jar from the left, second shelf. Three symbols are visible on its surface." peering into the distance, Thea memorized them, so Tomoe could translate them for her later. "The herbs resemble Aloe Vera plants. They have thick red leaves filled with gooey, translucent fluid. The fluid is to be taken orally in a portion of approximately 10 milliliters, mixed with alcohol in 1:10 ratio. A skin irritation develops within approximately 2 minutes after intake. An inflammation of the epidermis follows in the next minute. The pain similar to needles piercing the skin follows, penetrating up to the hypodermis. No other observable effects but fever, the pain, dry mouth and sense of thirst." Thea summarized calmly.

The moments when her brain worked properly came and went for hours after the intake of the 'beetroot nightmare' potion, but never stayed for long, so she decided to use them quickly to further the list of various ingredients. She was surprised to find out that she was, in fact, familiar with almost one quarter of the herbs in the laboratory. The classes on potions and poisons sure had come in handy. Thea could recognize the Devil's Snare, Hobgoblin's Root, Smurf's Amanita and many other herbs or mushrooms from her lessons. "But this is really baffling… I can even recognize some quite normal, earthly specimens. There is Deadly Nightshade, European Yew berries, Mandrake, Satan's bolete, Poison Ivy,... Does she smuggle them to Gehenna somehow? Or perhaps… is this how those poisonous variants got to Assiah in the first place? A mix of both scenarios? Fascinating…" she thought, then moved on with memorizing some further inscriptions from the boxes, jars and flasks laying around the room. That was, until her sensitive eyes picked up a faint sound of the poison maker putting down the charcoal she was using to write.

The demoness stood up and moved to the other table in the room. From what Thea could observe, she prepared the exact same concoction from water and the yellow leaves' goo, but she also added two berries from the European Yew to the mixture. The ratio seemed a bit different, too. "Perhaps 25 milliliters this time? So, it seems like she's trying to see the effect of an increased dosage… I'd better get ready to measure the extent of the effects." Thea thought, surprising herself with how her professional part was able to keep her away from despair by focusing on the medical aspects of her torture. However, she couldn't deny how scared she actually was. Terrified even. Slaps, scratches, punches, and kicks - she could somehow deal with those, because she knew what she was up against. However, the poison maker's torture was more sophisticated. What will the next poison do to her? And what happens when she changes the formula or the dosage of the mixture? How long will the demoness keep experimenting this time? It was the fear of the unknown which almost paralyzed her mind… The blonde gulped. But it was not of much help, as her throat was completely dry by now, her head ached and that stupid light above the table was slightly pulsing, making it even worse. "Damn the annoying light! Pulsing and blinking, even changing color from time to time." Thea pouted - she could not imagine working under such conditions.

Her captor approached silently, with a look of utmost focus but also sinister amusement. Lifting Thea's chin up, she tried to force the liquid down her throat. However, Thea wouldn't let the blasted witch have it her way that easily. And so, she bit into her finger fiercely, causing the demoness to spill the contents on the ground and yelp in a high-pitched voice. Well, she had a good reason to - Thea managed to bite down pretty deeply, severing the dorsal digital expansion tendon of her index finger. Tendons were particularly difficult to heal. Yes, Thea was the one bound to the chains. Thea was the one with sealed powers. Thea was the one being tortured. The one who just got backhanded for the little stunt she had pulled on the demoness. And yet, every time she managed to strike back at her captors brought her at least a small sense of victory, keeping her sane through her ordeal. The enemy wanted her alive, but they would still torture her every day. They would do so, no matter whether she fought back or not. So why not fight?

A second later, both warriors barged into the room with their swords drawn. They closed the distance between the door and the wall where Thea was bound in a blink, then spoke to the demoness, who was applying pressure on her finger to stop it from bleeding. 'What' and 'danger' was all Thea could understand, as they spoke very quickly, but it was enough for her to draw some conclusion. The poison maker turned the attention from her bleeding finger to Thea, her eyes burning. Thea offered her a smile in response, which seemed to enrage the demoness and baffle the guards. A word she recognized as 'worm' escaped the woman's mouth through her gritted teeth. She was using that swear word quite a lot around Thea. As well as many other curses and indecent words. In fact, the blonde had known most of them before Zahar had the chance to put them to use, because Tomoe had taught her the basics. "When it comes to the basics of any language, swear words are the first on the list." the blonde thought with a silly sense of amusement. She then chose one particularly insulting one and threw it back at the demoness. It was the one which translated roughly as 'lowlife'. Tomoe had described it to her as something used for very low-level demons, at the stage where they don't have their cognitive system developed. Apparently, demons could gain 'consciousness' when their power increased significantly. Until then, they practically remained nothing more than a bundle of dark energy with basic instincts.

The demoness' face grew incredibly red, and the Snake's jaw actually dropped. An unwilling, low chuckle escaped the Brute, no matter how much he tried to cover his mouth. That seemed to infuriate the poison maker even more. Thea knew she would suffer greatly for that one, but she would suffer anyway, so she allowed herself to laugh as well. The demoness shouted again, then pointed at her. Abruptly, the guards grabbed Thea from both sides, pinning her to the wall so strongly that she couldn't even move her head. In the meantime, the woman mixed the dose anew. Confusion entered the blonde's mind. "Strange. The amount of the goo solution seems closer to 50 milliliters rather than the previous 25. And she added some blueish powder or something, too…" Suddenly, Thea could feel the grip of the more snakish guard tighten on her shoulder. He gasped silently, watching the poison maker attentively. "Seems like he knows what she is preparing over there…" the blonde concluded, then braced herself as the demoness approached her, ordering the guards. The brutish guard who dared to chuckle abruptly stood in front of Thea; his hands outstretched towards the demoness as he was saying something hastily. "Is he… Is he trying to protect me or something?" Thea wondered at his actions while the demons kept arguing. "Well, he's not doing it out of his good heart, so I'm guessing he just finds the poison too dangerous. And they need me alive… Oh my, that doesn't look too good for me…" the blonde's heart started pounding like crazy, but she tried to redirect her frantic thoughts to something more useful. "Mental note - The guards are not just ordinary guards. They are deferential to the demoness but dare to talk back to her, even make suggestions. They also seem to have some understanding of her experiments, so they are knowledgeable, not stupid." A few seconds later, the guard lost his fight to the demoness. And so, Thea could feel how they opened her mouth forcefully, holding her so firmly that she couldn't move her jaw at all. Then, Zahar poured the liquid into Thea's mouth again.

She did it so hastily and angrily that she spilled parts of it down her jaw and throat, as well as on the brutish guard's hand. The blonde started coughing, readying herself for the pain to come. She noticed that a few droplets of the solution fell to the ground and some onto the chains tied to her right foot. And while the cold, stone floor remained ungrazed, the chain started searing at one place. Then, a tiny hole appeared in it. The brutish guard hissed suddenly and pulled his hand away. He then proceeded with pulling off his gauntlet, which was searing as if it was met with a strong acid. Thea's eyes widened. "Unbelievable! The liquid goes right through the metal. The stone seems untouched… The fabric under the demon's gauntlet too. So, when applied internally, what would the effect…" before she could even finish the thought, before she could silence her pain receptors slightly, her body was consumed by terrible pain. Beads of sweat started running down her spine, the terrible heat consuming her body and causing her skin to take on a bright red color, as if she had spent hours in the sun without sunscreen. The feeling of burning skin reached all the way to the marrow of her bones, entering her muscles and internal organs. She could have sworn her very bones were on fire. Her eyes burnt the most, though. Tears were streaming down her cheeks and dried out so fast as if they were evaporating right after being shed. She felt deafened by her own screams. Through her blurred vision, she could see the guards leaving the room. And the poison maker's victorious, satisfied expression. Thea tried to get her brain working, to look for further effects of the poison, to assess the damage to her organs. However, the agony made it simply impossible. "Say it." her captor's cold, vicious voice reached her ears as she spoke in demonic language. Thea shook her head in denial vehemently. "Say. It." the demoness demanded again, but Thea almost couldn't hear her through her own cries. She knew what the wretched woman was waiting for. She always did. The poison maker wanted her to beg for her death. And each time, Thea refused to give her that satisfaction. "You will bend eventually~ Enjoy the Dragon's Breath, then." she smiled sweetly, caressing Thea's cheek. Then, she returned to the notebook on her desk and resumed scribbling.

"Dragon's Breath, huh… How very fitting… If I counted the days correctly, this would be my Christmas present…" the blonde observed with what was left of her functioning brain. Familiar words suddenly resurfaced in her mind. 'When tortured, never let the enemy know the real extent of pain they are inflicting on you. Feel the pain, but before you allow it to consume you, assess the damage first. Use a scale to help you rank the sensation. From one to zero, where zero is your normal state and ten is a near-collapse agony like you have never felt before. Assign your perception of pain a specific number. Then, make sure to drive your reaction at least a number or two higher - enough to make the enemy think they have you where they want to, but not too suspicious to make them doubt your condition.' Thea remembered now. Those were Mephisto's words. From the time she had brought up the unpleasant subject of the possibility of her being tortured during an interrogation. She had mentioned it just as a tease, a small talk, but it turned out to be a rather unpleasant, but thrilling lecture. "Well, I get it. It's a useful technique. Very practical. Reasonable… But what do you do, when the pain seems to reach 26 each time you are put through it?" the blonde wept, unable to hold herself up on her feet any longer. "And what if each new experiment somehow manages to push your pain threshold to a completely new level, so the rest seems like it was never a 10 in the first place?" she cried, nearly mad with pain. Cried for so long she wasn't sure how much time had passed. Cried so much that there were no more tears for her to shed. Never in her life has she fainted. In Gehenna, this would be her second time already. Thea's vision blurred, her body shutting down, unable to cope with the pain, as the stupid light above her kept flickering sharply. "Mephisto… Please… Please, hurry up…"

A pleased expression appeared on Zahar's face, as she relished the human's suffering. Then, she turned to the last entry of her notebook.

"Day 8 - The mutagens seem to start working, finally. The strange healing powers of the human subject must be suppressing them, but intense pain seems to sap the energy away, making way for the mutagens, so to speak. How the subject's powers can work despite wearing the energy-draining vortex chains Duke Abaddon had supplied is beyond me and warrants further research."

"The crystal sensitive to energy acquired at the far borders of the 'Death zone' territory was a brilliant idea. It is surprising it reacts to her powers even when she is chained. But why does it keep pulsing? There seems to be no clear pattern and no clear intensity to the pulses, for that matter. Further inquiries into this matter are needed. But before we can get to the really interesting stuff - finally exploring the utility and potential of the subject's power, and whether she could really serve in the capacity the master intends - mundane dependency procedures must be observed…" - drop of blood here, hastily scribbled - …at an accelerated rate."

OoO

Yukio was sitting on a chair next to Shura's bed, looking at the sleeping red-haired woman. It was December 18, two days after the terrible kidnapping incident in Asahikawa, and Shura had yet to wake up after her operation. And while his colleagues had been searching for abducted Thea, he had been assigned by Mephisto himself to stand guard for Shura and Ayami. Together with a group of nine more Exorcists, they were to see to the ladies' safety in case the enemy learned that they made it alive and decided to correct that mistake. Yukio's other hand rested on the holster of his gun habitually. He did not let the demon Hachirotaro Okami take her life, and he would not fail her now either. The young teacher looked around to check the wards placed around the room again. All were intact. He then checked his phone. No new messages or alerts. His colleagues didn't report anything out of the ordinary, either. Nodding to himself, he turned his gaze to the readings on the machine monitoring Shura's vital signs. "Heart rate 64 bpm, blood pressure 101/62, respiration 13… still too low values." he exhaled, but considering the state she had been brought in, the values were a small miracle. Fortunately, the frostbite she had suffered wasn't too bad, and the surgical team put her broken leg together nicely. The cracked ribs were still of concern, though, as they had managed to pierce some tissue and had caused internal bleeding. All in all, Shura's condition was stabilized, but she would need to be watched really carefully from both medical and safety perspectives. "You really did a job on yourself. Always so rough, so reckless… But thanks to you, Ayami lives." he said softly, subconsciously squeezing her hand right tighter.

Suddenly, her hand squeezed back, alerting him. "Hmmm… S-so much snow… someone…" she mumbled, and Yukio waited eagerly. Shura's eyes fluttered open, and she looked around a little disoriented. "Hey there, Shura." the young Exorcist said softly, offering her a warm smile. "Yukio… What are you… Where…" the patient blinked in confusion, taking in her surroundings. Suddenly, her eyes widened, and she shot up to a sitting position, sending the machine monitoring her vital signs to a series of frantic beeps. "Ayami! Where is Ayami? Is she OK? Did she make it? And Thea? Did you find her?" she bombarded Yukio with questions, then pinned him with a concerned, almost pleading look. "Shura, calm down. You are in the hospital wing at the True Cross. You had surgery, so you need to take it easy." Yukio tried to calm her down with a soft, pleasant voice. Shura's face suddenly turned red and the beeps on the monitor intensified again, copying her rising heart rate. "He's been here with me? Waiting for me to wake up? No way… And is that… Is he holding my hand?!" the red-haired teacher thought with rising panic but didn't quite feel like letting go of his hand either. "Shura? Breathe… Easy there…" In the meantime, Shura was leading an internal fight - her cool, kick-ass self was profoundly berating the pathetic, embarrassing fool of a woman who dared to think about the whole situation as even remotely romantic. "Dammit, pull yourself together, Shura! This is not the time to be all swooned and embarrassed."

And so, she retorted to the only defense mechanism she had up her sleeve against such a strong caliber of emotions only Yukio was able to stir inside her. "Yeah, I know I'm at the hospital. I figured as much, genius." she rolled her eyes at him. That's right. Good old mocking had to do the trick. "Now, where are the girls?" she urged further, trying to turn the conversation to what was really important at the moment. "They'd better be alright when I go check on 'em, ya' hear me? Are they awake? Did ya' break Ayami's curse and… ungh…" Shura's left hand shot to her broken ribs. "Shura! You need to be more careful. Listen to me for a moment…" Yukio reached for her swiftly, trying to steady her, then attempted to push her gently back to the soft pillows. "Oh, I'm fine, I'm fine, don't make such a fuss, you four-eyed chicken." she started waving her hand dismissively, refusing to lay down. Yukio had to bite his tongue in order not to return any silly comment at her person as he usually would. After all, she was a patient now. "No, you are not 'fine'. You are merely out of a life-threatening state. You are a Doctor too, so you should know better than to move around like that in your con…" "Oh cut that crap, I'm not a porcelain doll." she jumped right in "It was nothing serious and…"

His heavenly patience with the handful of a woman evaporated like smoke. "Goddammit Shura, I know your medical record very well, I wrote it! I was not at your surgery, but I helped treat your head trauma, and bandaged the broken ribs, too! So, at least once in your lifetime, stop being so goddamn stubborn and do what you are told!" Yukio blurted out in frustration, never letting go of Shura's hand. The red-haired teacher gaped, her mouth opening and closing in astonishment - Yukio rarely got this expressive and intense. Noticing the shock on Shura's face, the young teacher gave himself a mental slap for that uncharacteristic outburst. It was not like him to act so foolishly and harshly, but for some unknown, irrational reason, he always ended up looking and acting like a complete fool around Shura. Well, that would be a lie. After a few talks with Thea during her stay at their dorm, he now knew the reason for his foolish behavior very well - bloody women, driving a poor guy crazy… "S-Shura… I…" Yukio started but thought better of revealing anything unnecessary at the moment. Shura bit her lip, her embarrassment reaching new levels. And the stupid machine just had to notify everyone about her heart skipping a beat! However, the truth was that she actually felt pretty tired after her little outburst. Just sitting there required a lot of energy her body simply did not have. "He's right… Why do I always act like a complete fool around him?! Damn…" Shura thought grumpily, then puffed up her cheeks and eased herself back to the comfy pillow. "Sheesh, fine, I get it… And err… Thanks for… for this." she mumbled, reaching for the bandaged lump on her forehead. "Don't mention it." Yukio said, adjusting his glasses professionally, squeezing Shura's hand back. "At least tell me the girls are OK." she added. Yukio cleared his throat. "I will tell you everything. But first…" he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. "I'm under strict orders to notify Sir Pheles the moment you wake up." he said sheepishly. A pained groan escaped Shura's mouth, then she pushed the button which would call in a nurse. "What's the matter? Are you unwell?" Yukio asked - the machines didn't show anything out of the ordinary, but one could not rely too much on them. "Nah, just ordering some Morphine to suffer through the clown's annoying presence. Want some too?" she eyed him meaningfully, amusement playing in her eyes. Then, they both started to chuckle.

Two minutes later, the headmaster of the True Cross Academy was sitting at Shura's left side, showering her with one question after another. His secretary was also there, standing right behind him silently, but attentively. And judging by Shura's annoyed and tired expression, Yukio had no more doubts that she really did need the Morphine. "Look, I told ya' all I can remember, OK?" Shura rubbed her tired eyes, then pinned the headmaster and his secretary with an irritated look. "Urgh, those two would make anyone feel like a criminal with all those persistent questions. I didn't expect the annoying demon to exactly wish me fast recovery, but how about a little thanks for saving Ayami's life? Geez…" the red-haired teacher pouted. Of course she wanted to help. She wanted to go, find Thea, beat the crap out of the scum who dared lay a finger on the girls and her motorcycle, but the only thing she could do in her condition was just lay there and report all she had seen. Over and over again… Didn't the clown say he would not take longer than ten minutes? Perhaps her perception of time had changed, but she could have sworn those two were interrogating her for at least half an hour…

"We understand, Miss Kirigakure. Thank you for…" the secretary started, only to be interrupted by Mephisto. "Think, Shura. Any detail is of great importance for the search, no matter how insignificant or unrelated you might think it is." he urged again, and Shura could see the secretary standing behind Mephisto close his eyes and exhale silently. The woman exhaled, then summed up the events again for the demon. "Look, I arrived at the destination point and erected some wards and barriers as agreed. Was waiting for the girls to arrive at the cottage, but they were late. So, I checked with your team if everything was fine - they confirmed that Ayami was already about 15 minutes away, and Thea was just a little delayed by traffic…" "Do you remember which one of my spies confirmed this information to you?" Mephisto jumped in with another question. "Ah, yeah… It was Tomoe, I think." Shura scratched her head in thought while Mephisto's lips contorted into a thin line, and he nodded to himself without a word. "Anyways, I waited for a bit longer, but then I suddenly felt Thea's aura spike far to the North, which was definitely off, as she had no business being so far away from the cottage." the red-haired teacher explained. "Could you recognize any other aura? Demonic presence? Spells? A miasma perhaps?" the headmaster kept dropping one question after another eagerly, only to be disappointed again by Shura's answers. "Nah, none of that…" she shook her head. "Just her. It felt reeeally overwhelming, I'll tell ya' that. But it disappeared as quickly as it started. The moment I felt it, I jumped on my bike and drove that way. But someone must have fiddled with my motorcycle. The breaks stopped working and I crashed…" the teacher continued through all the events until she and Ayami had been rescued from the frozen piece of hell while the secretary's pen never left his small notebook.

"Now I'll be the one askin' the questions. I know ya' haven't found Thea yet. But you still didn't tell me how Ayami's doin'." Shura demanded, waiting. "Come on! Nobody's tellin' me anything! Yukio here had to wait for you with all the news. The hospital staff don't want to 'upset' me in my current condition. But not knowing is not just upsetting me, it's drivin' me crazy! Well?" Shura crossed her arms in front of her chest demandingly, despite how painful the movement was. "Miss Chidori is still in a coma, I'm afraid." Gin supplied politely, but having seen Shura's concerned face, he rushed to offer some positive details. "But the doctors say that her condition is stabilized now. Our Arias managed to break the curse, so they are now concentrating on the frostbite and the poisoning." "I see…" the teacher exhaled, then eyed Mephisto carefully, curiously. She had never trusted the demon. She always believed that people's emotions, even lives, were all just a game to him. Or a part of some grand scheme of his. For all Shura knew, the demon was just using Thea for some twisted plot. And no matter how much Thea insisted he treated her well, she just couldn't make herself see their 'relationship' the same way. Especially when there was some highly-important-very-secret prophecy about Thea, and the demon knew it. Pretending to 'love' her and spend some time with her was a small price for whatever use she would be to him one day. But now, that thought seemed almost ridiculous to her - seeing Mephisto sitting in front of her, with even more prominent dark circles under his eyes than usual, looking all pale and tense, and his usual nonchalant mask slipping to so uncharacteristically serious at times. "There's no way he has to do anything with Thea's sudden disappearance." Shura concluded. She really wanted to believe that the demon was at least slightly concerned for Thea and not just for some stupid prophecy. Thea deserved at least that much from that pompous freak.

"Now ya' listen to me. I don't care what it takes, you'd better find Thea, and quick!" Shura pointed a warning finger at the demon. "I do not need you to tell me that." Mephisto snorted at her. "Look, all I'm sayin' is that somethin's not right, OK? After two days, you haven't found a trace of her. Not you, not the police, not the Exorcists… Somethin' veeery fishy's goin' on, and I don't like it a bit." she said, toning down her voice. "The whole trip to Asahikawa, the way your squad communicated… To me, it smells like an inside job. So… I guess what I'm tryin' to say is… You'd better watch your back." she intoned importantly. Mephisto raised his eyebrows in surprise, then stood up in a smooth motion. "Why Shura, I'm touched." he put his hand on his chest in a nonchalant gesture. "For you to be so concerned for yours truly…" he grinned mischievously. "Oh, shut up ya' pompous ass! I'm only concerned for Thea." the teacher puffed up her cheeks, which were already completely pink from embarrassment, excitement, and some return of blood pressure. The demon's expression became soft for a moment. "I see… So, it must be the strong medication talking. I should have known better than to get my hopes up." he shook his head lamentably, amusement playing in his eyes.

"Very well, we will be on our way. Mr. Okumura, I trust that Miss Kirigakure and Chidori are in capable hands." he inclined his head towards Yukio, who saluted immediately. "Yes Sir, you can count on me." "Splendid." Mephisto nodded, then turned towards Shura. "Your help is much appreciated, Mrs. Kirigakure. Needless to say - had it not been for you, Mrs. Chidori would not have made it. Moreover, she is so far our main lead to finding out what happened to Thea. You have my sincerest thanks." he inclined his head slightly, his hand on his chest as he produced a small bow, rendering the red-haired teacher speechless. "Ah, before I go…" the headmaster snapped his fingers, producing a present basket and a card. "The Exwires asked me to bring you this as soon as you wake up…" he handed the card to Shura and let the basket fly to the nightstand at her side. Shura inspected the gift curiously, then brought her hand to her face to cover the embarrassment. The card bore the motive of Kuro, Rin's familiar cat, and every student had left a short wish along with a signature and smileys. "Geez… I'm off for a few days and those brats grow soft on me. And they would not even use the opportunity to smuggle a beer in the hospital for me…" she blushed furiously and set the card at her nightstand. "When I'm outta' here, I'm gonna' train their asses off, toughen them up a bit." she bragged, feeling very weird about all that concern for her well-being. "I will make sure to pass them your thanks, I mean threats, then." Mephisto grinned at her, bringing her to chuckles. Unfortunately, her broken ribs protested against any form of laughter, and Shura soon found herself leaning on the nightstand, clutching her side, and grinning like an idiot at the same time. Yukio was at her side in a blink of an eye, helping her back to the pillows. She suddenly grew serious and said to no one in particular. "Damn, but when I get my hands on the lowlife who dared to touch my wheels… They will need wheels for the rest of their sad, short lives! Just ya' wait, I'll find ya' whoever you are…"

OoO

"Ha-ha-ha-achooo!" a loud sneeze echoed through the secret underground dungeons in Gehenna. For a moment, it actually managed to drown out the pained shrieks coming from the poison-makers laboratory. "My, my, Ramil. Someone out there must reeeally hate you, speaking about you behind your back and all." Khan hissed, the snake-like tongue emphasizing the sneery grin. "This ain't funny, Khan." Ramil elbowed the other captain. "It's a warning. Our enemies are plotting against us as we speak. We must stay sharp." Ramil straightened up and looked around attentively, causing his companion to bulge his green eyes. They were glowing in the dimly lit corridor. "By my demon's heart, Ramil. That coming from you?" he shook his head in disbelief, surprised at the uncharacteristic seriousness. "Tsssk, open your eyes, Ramil. You are acting as if we have been assigned some incredibly important role." Khan rolled his eyes, then gestured around. "Look around. This is not a stop on a ladder to a higher rank. On the contrary - this is a degradation! Just look at us… We're standing guard just like common soldiers, assigned to a menial job - babysitting a human and guarding an alchemist. Where is any opportunity to gain more power, to rise up in that?" he snorted grumpily, crossing his hands in front of him.

Ramil just exhaled - he knew very well how Khan hated the assignment. And frankly, he couldn't very well blame him. Khan was always the more sophisticated type, the one who gathered intel and devised strategies. He wasn't used to following orders as Ramil was, despite them being of equal rank - captain. And that was precisely how he had tangled himself up in his previous schemes and unknowingly crossed Duke Abaddon on his way to his own realm. And well, everyone knew how it was with the bloodthirsty demon - you either ended up as locust fodder or bound to him in an unconditional servitude… However, Ramil disagreed when it came to the importance of the current assignment. "I know what you mean." he started. "But this… There's more to it. I can feel it." he said firmly. "What more can there be? Our dear duke fetched himself a human toy to play with - just as Satan did before. Just as half the demonic aristocracy does in hopes to rise up by mimicking their ruler." he shook his head disapprovingly, then lifted his finger importantly. "The only difference is that instead of keeping it up in Assiah as the rest of the demons do, he decided to drag it down here to see if it can survive the conditions despite being a living soul." Khan summarized. "And now we are to guard it…"

"If it's just for playtime, why would he hide it, then? Also, he hasn't visited once since the kidnapping." Ramil pinned the other captain with a questioning look. "Multiple reasons. Mainly because he wants his little pet nicely tamed first." Khan grimaced. The whole situation was just so petty. "So why not do it himself? Why not teach it respect to the one it should be bound to?" came another question. "Oh, come on Ramil. This is the Duke of the Abyss we're talking about. When has he ever dirtied his hands with a real job?" an eye-roll accompanied the answer. "What about the other reasons, then? He must want her for something, right?" Ramil dug further, unwilling to drop the topic. "Satan's Flames…" Khan ran his fingers through his eyes, as if to banish the tiredness. "You are one brutish philosopher, you know it? How can anyone think you are just a big walking mass of muscles, I cannot phantom…" he smirked meaningfully, then started explaining his theory as if it were as bright and clear as the soul of a newborn. "Abaddon cannot show it off as his trophy. It's Lord Samael's plaything, Satan's Flames! That would be a suicide! That's why he had arranged that spectacular theater of a rebellion in his House in the first place - to blame it all on Leraje and escape any suspicion. Frankly, I'm not surprised Lord Samael had bought it." Khan shrugged, then continued, lifting a finger. "Also, Abaddon's hunger for power doesn't have limits. I'm surprised he's not beaten Duke Mammon to the title of the Duke of Greed." he chuckled dryly, and Ramil soon joined.

"Commanding the Abyss is not enough. He wants to rise to be a demon lord himself. And ideally bring Lord Samael down. But since he doubts he would best The Lord of Time, he chose to secretly undermine his position instead… Just imagine that - The Lord of Time, the second most powerful demon King of Gehenna, losing his precious human to a bunch of unknown kidnappers. It sounds like a death wish, but if our duke manages to keep the human hidden away long enough…" Khan trailed off. "...Lord Samael would look incompetent. Unable to protect what is his…" Ramil finished, earning himself a nod from his comrade. "Not just incompetent. His very position would be questioned. It already is. He's regarded as an outsider of the demonic society for meddling, even joining his forces with humans. But that's another story." Khan waved his hand dismissively, eager to close the topic.

"But the human… Surely there must be more to her. I mean, that little jab at lord Samael would not be worth the effort Abaddon has put into it. And the way she handles the elixirs… Or the fact she is being fed them in the first place… There is more to it, trust me. I read the report - the human is supposed to be a healer of some kind, and an Exorcist. And I heard she killed an Apocalypse Rider. She even managed to break Duke Abaddon's vortex…" Ramil offered, if somewhat uneasy about the last piece of information. A low chuckle escaped Khan's mouth. "Yeah, right. And she broke Lord Samael's nose in an argument, too, huh? Honestly, I don't know which one sounds more ridiculous - the nose-breaking or the fact a human would dare argue with a demon lord and live. Come on man, don't tell me you honestly believe that nonsense?" the snake demon raised his eyebrows skeptically. "Fine, the whole thing about nose-breaking is definitely a wild fabrication. But dead Apocalypse Riders and Abaddon's dissolved vortex - those are facts. Do you deny them?" Ramil arched his eyebrows back as if it was a competition. "No, I don't. But I also don't think that's how the events truly went down. Think about it. We all know that during both events, none other than The Son of Satan himself was involved. He was probably the one to deal the damage and the human here just happened to deliver the final blow. Or even better - The Son of Satan did all the work, but the Riders blamed it on some strange human with mysterious holy powers rather than admitting they lost against a teenage half-demon with untamed powers he has yet to master… Just imagine that - losing to someone with a lifespan shorter than a friggin' tree. In any case - I hate working and building my theories on mere rumors." Khan concluded.

"I… I don't know, Khan. To me it seems like Duke Abaddon is not telling us the whole truth. The human is… There's something strange about her." the brutish captain refused to drop the subject. "She's been here for how long, two weeks now? Not once has she yielded to the Poison-maker of the Alsumu clan, quite on the contrary actually. She insults the poison-maker, she fights her in any way she can from her pitiful position. Hell, she even struggles against us!" Ramil threw his hands up, and a low chuckle escaped his lips. Khan just grimaced, feeling the heat rise in his cheeks. The snake demon knew very well what his companion was hinting at - the nasty looks she kept shooting them anytime they even touched her, the way she refused to be supported and led to her cell no matter how exhausted she was, the moment when she had headbutted Khan when he had been threatening her a little… "Damnation… You won't drop that one any time soon, huh?" the snake demon pouted. "Not in a hundred years." Ramil grinned, then continued a bit more seriously. "I just didn't expect such bravery from a mortal."

"Bravery?" the snake demon snorted. "You mistake bravery for stupidity. Naivety. Vulnerability." Khan shook his head disapprovingly. "You don't understand. She's not bound to anyone - not even to The Lord of Time. And yet, no matter what the Poison-maker puts her through, she hasn't betrayed anything since the interrogations started this week. Hasn't spilled one secret. Not after the beatings, not after the Dragon's breath poison, not after what the poison-maker has done to her appearance. I… I honestly don't understand." "Oh, shut up. You just like the human because it managed to chip my tooth with that little stunt." the snake demon elbowed the other captain into ribs again. "Maybe~" the brutish warrior chuckled again. Khan just rolled his eyes - Ramil could always appreciate one's fighting spirit. That's probably why he called the human a 'she' and not 'it'.

Suddenly, his senses picked up something strange. Shrieks and cries no longer filled the halls. That could only mean one thing. He bumped into Ramil again, his head nodding towards the door to the laboratory. A second after that, the Poison-maker stepped out, regarding both captains haughtily. "You two - take it back to the cell. Now!" she said, her violet eyes flashing angrily. Khan exhaled - judging by the demoness' expression, she must have been displeased with today's experiments and interrogations. He looked to his left, noticing the slight movement of Ramil's lips. The damned fool actually smirked. "Satan's Flames, he must be loving the fight the little human puts up." he thought disapprovingly. They both strode to the laboratory briskly. The human was bound to the wall by red-glowing chains Duke Abaddon had specifically prepared for his 'little guest'. "Heh, as if it would have the strength to fight us even fully rested and ready." Khan snorted at the thought. It was breathing heavily, barely keeping its head straight. Its body was covered with long scratches, fresh blood still dripping from the fresh wounds. But those eyes… They never wavered. The human greeted them with another of its trademark, challenging looks. It almost felt like it was daring them to approach, like it could jump their throats the second they turned their attention elsewhere. Ridiculous. "Watch out for your teeth. And don't smile, you are giving her a target." Ramil whispered with amusement, then winked as he passed Khan with brisk, energized steps.

OoO

"Great… Not only am I stuck down here, rotting in a damn jail, now I can't even have a decent sleep?!" the fox demon covered his sensitive ears angrily, trying to cut off the noises. "Satan's Flames, just how long is she going to whimper this time?!" Tomoe gritted his teeth at the cries coming from the poison maker's laboratory. He turned to the other side, pulling the old rag of a blanket serving as his sleeping arrangements over his head. It did not help a bit. At first, the pained cries and desperate callings were like a sweet symphony to his ears. Now, a good two weeks later, the filthy human was just purely annoying, her endless shrieking a nuisance. "Tsk, the poison maker must be really trying to keep the wench conscious for as long as possible. Just great…" he pouted. He was so angry. Angry about the shrieks, angry about the terrible place he was staying at, angry about the whole assignment.

Oh, he didn't regret double-crossing the pompous clown, the disgrace to the whole demonic society, the so-called demon king. There was a beautiful pleasure in taking something so precious right from under his nose. It was a shame the spy squad he had been working with had refused to switch sides and betray the idiotic demon lord. He had hoped that at least some of them would see reason, especially when the lapdog Gin had not been present to put an immediate end to any such negotiations. But hey, that was the way demons worked - survival of the fittest. And well, Tomoe was used to being on the winning side of any conflict. He just didn't expect to end up in jail after what he had done for the Duke of the Abyss. However, as much as it irked him, he had to admit that it was a good plan. "You will spend the upcoming days with the human and teach her our language." Duke Abaddon's orders sounded in his head. Apparently, he wanted the human to be tamed before his arrival. Also, she was expected to only speak demonic language in order to not raise suspicion about her origin. A living human soul in Gehenna was unheard of and could give away her identity. But by the time the poison maker was done with her, she should no longer resemble a human. Not after all those mutagens… The language was just a cherry on top. And Tomoe was already looking forward to seeing the results, though he was led to believe the change in her appearance would be much more rapid and prominent.

"Pretend to be a captive together with the wench, gain her trust. And should she try to pull anything suspicious, make sure to step in carefully, inconspicuously. Make sure to report everything to the Poison maker during your 'interrogation'..." Tomoe repeated his assignment internally. Frankly, he both hated and loved it. Rotting in prison, devoid of all luxuries and pleasures was enraging. He wanted to finally be given the county he was promised to rule. He couldn't wait to gain more and more power as soon as Duke Abaddon put his plan into motion. "And all that interrogation that has started this week is but a ruse. Its only purpose is to mess with her mind, make her break. Of course she knows nothing." Tomoe thought with a great deal of amusement. "Samael is a clown, but not as stupid as to actually tell her anything which could endanger or hinder his own agenda. She was just a pastime activity for him, a plaything."

His ears suddenly picked up the beautiful sound of silence. The Poison maker was apparently done for today. Rattling of chains and two sets of boots echoed through the corridor, almost covering the sound of the soft steps of the prisoner they were accompanying to her cell. His demon heart rejoiced at the sorry state she was in, his power growing with every inch of pain emanating from her scarred body, though he was careful not to show it. She was already starting to look a bit different with her eyes and hair turned to silvery white and her slightly pointed ears - the results of the experiments with mutagens. Tomoe shot up from where he was laying and clutched the bars of his cell, shaking them as if he was about to break through. "Miss Heilbrunn! No! What have you done to her; you scum?!"

OoO

"Wait… Another night shift? I didn't even have time to catch up on sleep today after yesterday's all-nighter. And the all-nighter before that." one of the team members of squad 14 said sourly. He was leaning on the balcony overlooking the True Cross Academy gardens, smoking a cigarette during the precious 10-minute break. The other comrades didn't say anything but didn't argue either. It was almost midnight, December 19, and they were all exhausted after the intense search for their missing colleague. Insomniacs - the special pills from the Academy's supply shop - had been rationed to some special squads, allowing them to lead an uninterrupted search without the need of sleep. Such measures were often applied in times of great need of manpower over a short period of time, but there were certain limits. The pills could only be used for no more than three nights in a row, and once this period was over, the individual would need to sleep 24 hours straight to allow their body to catch up with the sleep-deprivation. Also, the marvelous medicine didn't quite cover the crankiness or decreasing attention span…

"I know, Shinji. We are all tired, but you know very well that the first 72 hours are the most important when it comes to searching for a missing person." Mr. Kaoru Tsubaki, the leader of squad 14, lifted his finger importantly, then clapped Shinji on his shoulder. "Come on lads, what's wrong? This doesn't sound like your usual self. You all volunteered to search for Doctor Heilbrunn in the first place. You said you'll do whatever it takes to bring her back." Kaoru eyed the squad questioningly. "And we will." Shinji proclaimed importantly, putting his hand to his chest, then met Kaoru's eyes with unease. "It's just… Something feels off, Kaoru…" he scratched his neck awkwardly. "What do you mean by that?" the leader arched a questioning eyebrow and folded his hands on his chest. "It's the headmaster, sir. We think he's not telling us the whole truth." he lifted his hand, showing its palm towards Kaoru to stop him. "And I know we are to listen to his orders, but it's difficult to lead this search when he's like that. He's been acting strange ever since the kidnapping and…" A chuckle interrupted his explanation. "Shinji, you realize that's the headmaster we are talking about. You sound like you haven't worked for him for the past five years at all. You know just how eccentric and unpredictable he is." Kaoru shook his head, some particularly crazy moments of his own service under the demon flashing in his mind. "Of course I know that. We all do." Shinji said, searching for some support in the group, and was glad to see some teammates nod in agreement.

"But this is different. He's acting disturbingly calm, amused even. True, he's looking into our reports, but he's been sitting in his office, sipping his friggin' tea the whole time, playing with cards!" the Exorcist threw his hands up in annoyance. "Today, when Nana was on her way to grab some quick lunch at the cafeteria, she saw him chat with the cooks about the menu for the upcoming Christmas party. He was making sure it doesn't include anything made of 'fake' strawberry extract, but real strawberries were fine. And then, he banned the kitchen from using beetroot in any of the meals. Then, he requested a huge amount of cookies and sweets to be prepared and brought to his office." he pointed at his colleague Nana importantly, then switched to Han. "And Han here - well, he saw the headmaster entering the Shinju club yesterday in the night." The team member nodded, his cheeks a little red due to the club's reputation, then hastened to explain. "I live in the neighborhood, sir. I was on my way to the Academy when I noticed Sir Pheles. Well, I wasn't sure at first because he was wearing surprisingly normal clothes, but it was definitely him. I hastened towards him to check on the situation with Doctor Heilbrunn, but well, he turned to enter the Shinju club. It was strange, so I kind of… ah, I followed him." Han confirmed, and Shinji jumped in. "Yeah, apparently, he was chatting with some chick who clung all over him the whole time. Look, I know he's our boss, so we should just follow the orders and keep searching. But it's really difficult to keep up the morale and motivation when the headmaster is enjoying himself and merrily plans the details of a Christmas party while we are searching for a woman who is supposed to be his girlfriend." The Exorcist pursed his lips into a thin, frustrated line, waiting for his boss to shed the light on the situation.

Kaoru ran his fingers through his carefully combed hair and exhaled, a soft smile appearing on his lips. "Excellent observation skills, squad. Especially considering the pressure you are under." the squad leader praised, taking everyone aback. "However, you still have much work to do when it comes to drawing the right conclusions." He lifted his finger importantly, and a serious expression appeared on his face. "Before we resume our duty, there are some corrections that need to be made clear - we are first and foremost searching for a woman who is our colleague and comrade, not just the headmaster's supposed girlfriend." he said, looking everyone in the eye. "As for the rest - the Shinju club is in fact a hub for Yakuza, and Sir Pheles is probably employing that network to his search as well. Also, use your nose, not just your eyes - it is coffee he's been drinking, not his usual favorite mint tea with honey. And it's almost strong enough to cover up the similarly bitter, earthy smell of Insomniacs… As for the kitchen, well… we all handle stress differently I suppose. Also, even though he's organizing the biggest missing person search of the century, he still has the whole Academy to run, kitchens included… Now, the break is over, move it."

OoO

"Ooooh, yeah… Assiah, here I come! Merry Christmas to me~" Kei Tanabe stretched himself, letting his joints pop pleasantly. Traveling between Gehenna and Assiah via the Bawaaba snakes always left him all stiff and sore. Not to mention that letting himself be eaten by those terrible creatures went against any demon's instincts. He still remembered his first time, when the snake had swallowed him and then, once on the other side, they had butchered him out of the Bawaaba's belly. "What a shame they need to kill the snake after re-summoning it. Makes it a damn too expensive way to travel… They could at least deduct the price of clothes the stupid snake's digestion damages beyond repair." the incubus grumbled. Over the years, he had gotten the hang of keeping his aura in check when inside the snake, so 'only' his clothes suffered the damage from the acidic saliva now. However, it didn't matter that badly - he would get a package with spare clothes soon, along with other necessities. For now, he had to make do with the silly cowboy-like jeans and a checked shirt which had been left for him until his contact would arrive to pick him up. It's already been three days since his arrival to Assiah, so the pick-up party should show up any time now. The incubus breathed in the hot, dry air. As Duke Mammon's residence was somewhere in Texas, the famous Devil's Sinkhole cavern became the place connecting the two realms. The humans, in their vast obliviousness, somehow managed to come up with the perfect name for the place. It made for an ideal smuggling post, for the 'newcomers' could exit the caves in relative discretion by blending in with the curious tourists.

A few moments later, a man in his mid-fifties approached Kei. "Howdy." he tapped his hat in greeting, then gestured towards his jeep. "Oh, boy…" Kei muttered, recognizing his pick-up ride. It was the same individual who had come to pick him up the last time, too. Perhaps he was too harsh in judging the whole eaten-by-a-snake-experience, for the guy's driving skills were more than comparable, only he would actually prefer the snake. "Hey there, Bob." the incubus greeted, but was swiftly offered a hand to shake, then received a friendly clap on his shoulder. "O'Kei Tanabe! Boy, welcome back. T'was a helluva ride, wat'nit?" he grinned, ushering him to the monstrosity of a car, completely ignoring the newcomer's confused expression. "Wait, Bob. Before we go, can you just, you know, speak English? No accent, OK? You know I mostly just speak Japanese…" "Yessir, the language of 'em Yankees it is, then, eh?" the man cracked another grin, and it took all of Kei's willpower to not facepalm himself.

One thing was a language barrier, another thing was the way the man behaved. He had blended into human society so well that no one could possibly phantom that Bob - the sympathetic, cheerful guy with a bushy mustache, cowboy hat, nice, checked shirt, perfectly polished boots, and the obligatory colt fastened at his belt - was actually one of the demonkind. "Yeah, that's 'Bob the Vampire' for you, all right…" Kei shook his head. It sounded absolutely ridiculous, but he would never want to go against that monster of a vampire who was strong enough to promenade himself outside in the open during the day in Texas. Not against a demon with his years of experience and all the bats from the Devil's Sinkhole cavern at his command. Many decades ago, when the vampire could be considered still young and foolish, he had broken the Code by going all berserk, terrorizing the people of Texas by robbing banks and killing people with his comrades. He had been banned back to Gehenna by Lord Samael's watchdogs. When Bob had returned to Assiah again, this time by not so legal means, he too had had to keep a low profile. So there he was - the former Terror of Texas, now presenting himself as the cheerful Bob, employee of the year in one of the Texan blood banks, where a few blood units would need to be disposed of from time to time.

The ride on his 'shotgun' seat through the hot Texan bush to the airport went just as he imagined. Bob blasted the radio to painful volumes and wouldn't stop chatting all the way through it. Kei had to admit that it was quite useful to catch up on the news and important events, though - much better than his goblin counterpart on the Gehenna side. Or at least any scrap of information he was able to catch through all that country guitar noise called music. "...just make sure you keep a low profile, boy. There's still this aristocratic piddlee'o thang with…" "Bob, come on! Language, man." Kei said in frustration, unable to keep up with the accent, let alone the vocabulary. "Right, right. Just sayin', times were pretty dire around here. Our dear Duke Mammon had to put up a 'travel ban' for some time, you see. Some aristocratic thang. You wouldn't believe it! Some idiotic dimwit tryna' suck the soul of Lord Samael's cute missy or sumpin', and then..." Bob the Vampire continued his enthusiastic explanation while Kei felt his stomach make saults. And it was not from the crazy ride, although it might have significantly contributed… "Oh, by my Demon's Heart, everyone knows!" the incubus freaked out again, but willed himself to calm down. He always wanted his place in legends, but definitely not this way. "Cool it, man! It's fine. No one knows who did it. Besides… no one will ever see that haughty witch again. She's gone. As gone as one can be. Me here, her there - I'm as safe as one can be." he assured himself, then made a few jokes and funny comments on the unknown moron with brains of a Cyclops and brushed the topic off.

The bumpy ride continued for a few minutes of idle chit-chat, then Bob arched an eyebrow at Kei skeptically, as if concerned. "...but I don't know, boy. Ya' sure you want to get back to Japan?" "Sure. I like that country. Lots of entertainment, great food, not to mention all the beauties.~" the incubus pumped his eyebrows up twice suggestively, then returned a question. "Why? "'cuz that's where Lord Samael resides, obviously. And to be frank, I wouldn't step foot into that country." the vampire explained, grimacing as if a shiver just ran down his spine. "I'm sure I can handle it, Bob. I've lived there before, I'll just keep a low profile as you said, take some extra precautions." Kei shrugged, unconcerned. "I know ya' can handle yourself, pal. It's just… Ya' know Lord Samael, he's just, he can be…" Bob shook his head, then changed the wording. "The whole country is in turmoil, now, searchin' for that girl I was talkin' about and all. The demon lord is furious…"

Having heard those words, Kei almost lost it. "So he's not the one who sent her there? Someone actually took that tiger of a girl from under his nose? Impossible! And why would he even be searching for her? She's just a human wench… Well, at least I think she's a human. I really thought he sent her to Gehenna himself! So, if it wasn't him… Who could have possibly done something so stupid?! Satan's Flames…" his silent panic started reaching new heights. He dared a question. "W-What do you mean? He's… He's really expending so much effort to find one particular human female?" he gawked with disbelief, his mind racing. "Damn right, he is. Couldn't believe it myself! I think I'm fixin' to believe that there was somethin' more to that mortal." he scratched his chin thoughtfully. "But I thought she was just his plaything." Kei tried to reason. "Nah, I didn't mean that. I think she's just different, has some useful powers, gives him an advantage over somethin'... Ya' know Lord Samael - always has a plan, never does nothin' for no reason, that he does not… And well, he seems purteee determined to find her. Turnin' over every stone in Assiah now that he's looked under every rock in Japan. Offered a helluva pile of money for any piece of information about her, too." "What? He offered a reward, too?!" Kei's eyes shone instantly. He did have some very information about her whereabouts, and some money for the new start would be nice, too. "No! Stop that right now! I can't just pop in right on Lord Samael and hope to escape alive after what I did to the wench, let alone ask for the reward…" he shook his head swiftly, instantly dropping the crazy idea and the whole topic.

Kei was biting his tongue nervously during the rest of the ride. In the light of the new events, he considered turning back. Multiple times. But the longing to finally enjoy his life and fulfill all his desires was stronger than the fear of meeting his doom by the hand of The Lord of Time. "Besides… He's searching for that witch, not for me specifically. It's not like I have anything to do with her disappearance, anyway. I'll just blend in, and make sure to stick to his Code for once." he thought somewhat grudgingly, saliva already gathering in his mouth at the thought of getting a taste of all the beauties' souls. Once the duo arrived at the airport, Bob handed him the fully packed travel bag with all the necessities he would need to start his new life in Japan. "So, there ya' go… All the basic thangs - here's your passport, and you'll find a folder with some other documents for the authorities and institutions in the backpack." he pointed at the luggage. The incubus nodded thankfully and opened the bag to scan through the contents quickly. "Just stay clear of Lord Samael, OK, boy?" the vampire looked at him meaningfully. "I know that's where all the 'fun' is, but no need to stay right in Tokyo, under Lord Samael's nose. Go visit the countryside or sumpin'. Just not the Asahikawa region!" he added hastily, earning himself an eye-roll. "Satan's Flames, Bob. I can handle myself. You speak as if I would just waltz right to Samael's office with the warmest greetings from Gehenna… Come on man, how stupid do you think I am? I've learnt my lesson, so can you just drop it already?" the incubus groaned with annoyance.

"Fine, fine. Oh, and remember, as soon as ya' find a job…" the vampire started, lifting his finger importantly, but was interrupted by a dismissive hand-wave. "Yeah, yeah, I'll start sending Duke Mammon the tithes, all right." Kei made a displeased grimace - not only had he paid a little fortune up-front for the way up to Assiah, now he had to start paying Mammon for the 'expenses connected to his stay', such as forging his personal documents. Not to mention the rest of the 'transportation fees' with interests, which amounted to half of whatever he would earn for a century or two. And as Duke Mammon liked to keep things biblical, he demanded a 'humble tithe' for his services. Except the tithe was to be paid five times between each salary… "Tsk, as if taxes weren't enough. Damnation! Well, that's the Duke of Greed for you…" came a resigned sigh from the incubus, then he turned his attention back to the bag, rummaging through some spare clothes and counting the start-up cash Duke Mammon had so graciously supplied - with a friendly 80% interest rate. Thankful for Satan's Mercy, Kei noticed that at least his new cell phone was not too different from his last one. The last time he had managed to secure enough payment and come to Assiah, he had had to do a lot of catching up - years had passed on Assiah, so humanity had somehow gone all the way from simple button cell phones to touch-screens with tons of applications, which had annoyed the hell out of him for some reason. "Damn, it's so annoying that time moves at different paces here and there!" Kei rumbled internally. He swiftly went online, logging into his email and all other essential websites. "Oh man, this is gonna' be a busy day…" the incubus sighed as he noticed the number of emails and messages. "Hold on… Someone hacked my Tinder account?!" Kei exclaimed, but tried to keep it cool, concentrating on the positive facts. "Oh yeaaah, another season of Brooklyn 99 is out!" the incubus grinned from ear to ear, eager to start watching it during the upcoming flight. However, his great spirits were crushed, as another terrible news hit him. "Wait, what?! My Netflix account has been suspended?! Nooooo!"

OoO

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Disclaimer: Blue Exorcists belongs to Kazue Katō. Please, do not re-post or publish my story without my consent.

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Author's note: Hello everyone! Thank you all for your patience and sorry for the long wait. I sure took my sweet time with this chapter of Ardent Exorcist. I must admit that I struggled with this particular chapter tremendously - ever since the beginning of the story, I planned to put Thea through Hell but when the time came to actually write the part, I just couldn't bring myself to do this to her. Please, have mercy on this poor writer and her brutal character development ideas :D.

Still, I hope you liked this part and I also hope that you will cheer Thea on as her story progresses :) The next episode is already 2/3 finished, as it originally was part of this chapter but it turned out to be too long, so I decided to split it. I would like to release the next chapter before the end of the year. Fingers crossed!

As always, your feedback is much welcome and greatly appreciated! :) I couldn't improve without your comments, notes, or personal messages, so thank you for sending these and for following my story! ^^