Purple Exorcist
The Tale of Reiji Shiratori
Chapter Three
Plague Bearer
The sound of footsteps echoed back off the cavernous walls of the cram school as Reiji walked to class. He couldn't remember what time it was, or even what class he was going to. Checking his phone, he slipped it back in his pocket. A few steps later, his brow furrowed as he checked it once more. Slipping it back into his pocket, he growled. For some reason the time failed to click with him both times. Shaking his head, he came up to the classroom door and threw it open.
Inside the classroom, a grainy black and white scene played in front of Reiji's eyes as a small lavender haired boy stood crying in front of him.
"Nope." Reiji said bluntly, pulling the door shut with a slam. Taking off at a fast walk, he came to the courtyard exit to the cram school. Throwing it open, he stepped out into a black void.
"Oh what the-" he managed before a brazier to his left erupted into life. Jumping back, he took in the detail of the brazier. A large rectangular plinth supported a marble statue of a woman dressed in a long chiton dress, the bowl of the brazier cradled in her lap as it burned vibrantly. A number of long, spider web like cracks spread across the statue, making it seem old and worn.
Walking past it, light ignited in the distance as three more plinths became illuminated in the darkness. The statues however were vastly different. An eagle with its wings spread wide, an ox laying down, and a lion roaring ferociously. With the one behind him, the four seemed to be
arranged facing one another.
"What the hell is this?" he muttered irritably as he walked in the void. Besides the statues, there was nothing with which to orientate himself, even looking at the floor revealed a gaping blackness that seemed to stretch on into eternity, his feet supported by some invisible barrier to prevent him falling into the abyss. As he neared the intersection where the statues' line of sight crossed, pain surged up his back in a series of stabs that nearly crippled him. Falling to his knees, sweat began to bead on Reiji's forehead as he glanced around him. An oppressive air encroached from all sides, but aside from the statues, there was nothing in the bleak expanse of nothingness to mark the difference. The flaming braziers flickered, and a rumbling voice called out from the darkness.
"Come into my parlour, said the spider to the fly," it chuckled menacingly. A glob of thick, sticky liquid dripped onto Reiji's shoulder, running down his arm as he looked at it in disgust.
"God damn it, what is this crap?" the lavender haired boy complained as he pulled at the gooey secretion. Looking above for where it fell from, his eyes widened to saucers as he attempted to take in the gargantuan form that hung above him.
/
"AAAAAAAHHH!" Reiji awoke with a scream, he shot into a sitting position, sweat drenching his t-shirt and bedclothes.
"Ah, a dream, just, just a dream." he muttered disjointedly. Reaching for the edge of his bed, the wooden frame gave a loud crack as it broke in two. Collapsing beneath him, Reiji fell sideways, landing flat on his front as his bed gave up all structural integrity, becoming a heap of broken supports and splintered wood. Quelling the anger that bubbled in his chest, Reiji rubbed his sore face before turning to look at the ruined bed. Reaching over to touch it, he pushed part of the frame lightly, only for it to give way and fall apart under his prodding.
"Grr, cheap piece of crap." he groaned as he got up to get ready for the day.
/
After normal classes had ended, Reiji made his way to the Cram School. Having some time to spare before the start of class, he walked purposely past the classroom and headed for the small library located within the Cram School.
Separate from the vast library in the main school, the Cram School library contained all the relevant works for exorcists. Histories of the Order compiled by various sources over the centuries, treatise on various forms of exorcism and combat, but these were of no interest to Reiji at the moment, or at all really. Passing by the shelves, he found his way to a section that dealt with the various types of demon and their kin.
"A brief history of time demons by Mephisto Pheles. What? That clown wrote a book?... The compendium of Phlegethonian demons and their metaphysical- Hell no... Damn it, where's the book on Astaroth?!" Reiji snarled as his patience wore thin.
"Oh, Shiratori, I thought that was your voice." Taira smiled at Reiji as he stepped into the aisle.
"Uh, yeah, hi Futamura." Reiji glanced away, trying not to show the anxiety on his face at being discovered.
"Reading up on demons? Anything in particular?" Taira beamed. He was insufferably pleasant for Reiji's liking, but after their encounter with Lord Coke, he figured the least he could do was humour the would-be doctor.
"Uhh, well, I found out the thing possessing me is related to something called Astaroth, don't suppose you know which of these books cover that?" he said shiftily, not trying to look too invested.
"Oh, in that case you'll want Hans Rudolf's Necronomicon. It covers a lot of Rot demons and has illustrations. It only skims across Astaroth though, so if you want more detail on him, you'll need Francis Barrett's Guide to Baal." Taira pushed in next to Reiji, quickly pulling two heavy tomes off the shelf and hefting them into Reiji's arms.
"Uhh, thanks." Reiji said awkwardly, looking at the two books.
"No problem. If you need a hand studying up on anything, let me know, I've been speed reading most of the library to get ready for exam season." Taira said happily as he made his way out of the stacks. Reiji watched him leave with a perplexed expression. How anyone was that enthusiastic about reading textbooks, he had no idea.
/
"Alright, listen up. Mr. Neuhaus is out sick at the moment, so I'll be going over his introduction to summoning." Mr. Yunokawa said glumly, reading over his notes.
"Anyone interested in Pursuing a Meister in Tamer, this will be the day where you'll find out just how much effort you'll need to put in for it." the teacher continued, picking up a stack of papers from his desk. Reiji looked up from the textbook on his desk. The heavy tome was close to indecipherable, relaying information that was nothing short of cryptic to his uninitiated mind. Raising his hand, Mr. Yunokawa stopped.
"Shiratori, you have a question?"
"Yeah, what's that, Meister Tamer thing?" Reiji asked and a giggle went up from the girls, causing his hair to stand on end.
"Settle down. Sorry, I forgot you didn't get all the materials the others did," Mr. Yunokawa answered as he started his trip around the classroom.
"Meisters are the qualifications earned by exorcists that denote their abilities against demons. There are five basic meisters." he explained as he set a piece of paper in front of Reiji. It was a small square of paper with a pentagram in a circle drawn on it, with little stars around the edges. Next to it, a sewing needle had been placed on the desk. Reiji inspected it quizzically, but no conclusion as to the purpose came to him.
"Knights are exorcists who fight in close combat. Dragoons fight at range. Doctors heal injuries inflicted by demons and Aria chant spells and scriptures to combat demons. Today though, we're looking at Tamer. Those pieces of paper in front of you are basic summoning arrays. By adding a drop of your blood and saying what comes to mind, you should be able to summon a demon. Don't worry if you can't though, its a rare talent to have and most Tamers work hard to earn their qualification." Yunokawa finished as he returned to the front of the class. The students shared some hesitant glances before picking up their paper.
"Come on, Shuri, see if you get something," Taira said brightly, urging his friend on. The two-toned boy pricked his finger and swiped it across the page.
"Come out, appearo, abracadabra?" Shuri said non-committally, shaking the summoning circle like an old Polaroid picture.
Kashino, did you get anything?" voices rose from the gaggle of girls.
"No, what about you Nishiwaki?"
"Nothing,"
"I got something last time I tried,"
"Yeah, but it nearly killed us, best not risk it." Reiji inspected the tiny circle in front of him. It seemed that in their class of six, only two had the potential to become Tamers. He grinned. If he used the paper and called forth a demon, he could laud it over Shuri every time the other boy got in his face about something. Stabbing into his thumb with the needle, Reiji winced before dripping his blood onto the paper.
"Show yourself, get out here if you know what's good for ya." he growled.
Black smoke coiled from the paper, spilling across the floor before rising up into a hunched figure. Within the smoke, bleached bones began to protrude, a long snout, thin fingers and a long, whip-like tail.
"A rat?" Reiji's eye twitched in anger.
"A Rat King," Mr. Yunokawa said with a hint of admiration.
"A low to mid level rot demon, they spread disease. The proliferation of these demons is thought to be the cause of the major pandemics throughout history." Taira said brightly, as if the topic of plagues was somehow interesting.
"Indeed, seems to be quite a strong one too, so that gives us three Tamer candidates." Yunokawa said, making a note. Reiji shrugged. He had suddenly jumped into the deep end of this and was now quite uncertain of what he was supposed to do with it. Stepping towards his Rat King, he reached out his hand toward the creature. Deep in the hollow eye sockets of the demon, a red glow suddenly flared to life. With a snap, the Rat King lashed out.
/
"What the-" the lavender haired boy recoiled as the Rat King snatched the paper from his hand, gulping the bloodied paper down in a single movement as it slammed into Reiji, knocking him to the ground.
"Oh for crying out loud!" Shuri's bo-staff appeared in his hands as if on reflex at this point.
"It ate the paper, it's that smart?" the girls chorused. The body of the Rat King rippled before bursting, multiple skeletal rats scattering around the room, scurrying into corners and under tables in an attempt to hide and spread like they did in the past.
"Everybody, on guard, don't let them bite you." Mr. Yunokawa warned, drawing a pistol.
"I'll summon mine!" Omoto called raising her hand only for the other girls to wrestle the pin from her grip.
"Do you wanna make it worse?!" Kashino yelled at her. Across the room, a golden light popped into existence as Taira's familiar, the bowl, appeared.
"Chawan, a barrier please." The puny familiar raised his chopsticks and created a wall of light around Taira. Shuri took a different approach, using his staff to swat any of the undead rats that came near, but as he smashed the bones of one, its remaining parts would scatter, becoming several more as the black smoke made up for their missing limbs.
"Damn it, these things just keep multiplying." he complained, kicking another rat across the room.
"Shiratori, can you get a handle on this?" the teacher asked, helping Reiji to his feet.
"Hell if I know, I thought it was just supposed to listen to me,"
"Right, nobody attack any more of them. What we need to do is focus on finding the one with the summoning circle and destroying that." Yunokawa explained, glancing between the rats as they continued to scurry around the room.
/
Drawing a pistol, the teacher aimed between the skeletal rodents, trying to glimpse Reiji's summoning circle inside.
"There! It's that one!" Reiji yelled as one of the rats scurried into view. It's hollow eyes rounded on him, the scrap of paper poking out from between its ribs as it exhaled a noxious breath of black smoke. Yunokawa fired, but the rat dodged under a table. As one, the mass of demons reacted, each one following the teacher with their bleached sockets before charging him.
"What?! GAH!" Yunokawa yelled as the Rat King's myriad parts scuttled over him, biting and scratching. Almost immediately, the bearded man's skin broke into rashes and welts as he swatted at his attackers. A collective cry went up from the students as he collapsed, his pistol sliding across the floor, and bumping against Reiji's shoe. Instinctively, Reiji grabbed the weapon and took aim at the squeaking mass of bones enveloping his teacher. It wouldn't matter where he shot, he was bound to hit some part of the demons, but he'd probably kill Mr. Yunokawa in the process, no, the only solution was to find the central rat once more and take it out.
"Alright, this is what we're gonna do, so listen up! Girls, sweep the class from left to right, Todo, Futamura, right to left, if you spot the lil' bastard, call it out and I'll take the shot. Do it now, quick!" Reiji ordered, running to the front of the class and clambering onto the teacher's desk. It was only a matter of time before the swarm either killed their teacher, or got bored of him and attacked the others, they had to find the main one, or else...
/
The students began sweeping the classroom, each tentatively prodding bags or shifting chairs, waiting to see if the Rat King would appear. Sweat beaded on Reiji's brow as he watched them, eyes darting from student to student, waiting to see which one would uncover their target.
"EEK!" Nishiwaki squealed as a rat rushed out from under the desk next to her. Reiji took aim, but the creature skittered faster than he could follow, losing track of it in the maze of table legs, just as hope seemed lost, Shuri dived across the room, sweeping his bo-staff as he fell. Hitting the floor, his staff caught something and a black mass shot into the air over the class. Reiji blinked for a moment. The Rat King, in its attempt to hide from the girls, had been caught and sent skyward by Shuri's quick reaction, gritting his teeth, Reiji growled at himself as he steadied the gun in his hands. So much for lauding this over him, he thought as he pulled the trigger.
The gun let out a crack, Reiji's elbows buckling at the unexpected recoil as the shot shattered the Rat King's body. Inside, the summoning paper had been nailed by the bullet, cutting a hole through the pentagram and part of the circle. A sound like rushing wind filled the room as the mass of dead rats evaporated, returning to wherever it was Reiji had summoned them from. Taira and Kashino rushed to his side, applying what first-aid they knew as Reiji placed the gun down on the desk with shaking hands.
"Phew, glad that's over with," he muttered as the others collected themselves. With the help of Shuri, the others managed to pull Mr. Yunokawa to his feet, the teacher was conscious, but shaky.
"Good work, you guys. Shiratori," Reiji looked up, now he was bound to get it for all the trouble he had caused.
"I don't think Tamer is quite for you, but that shooting wasn't bad, maybe you should aim for Dragoon?" the teacher smiled at him.
"I, guess so?" Reiji's face faltered for a moment. Shaking his head, he moved to take Taira's place under one of Yunokawa's arms.
"Come on then, let's get 'im to a doctor," he muttered, embarrassed as the other students gave him quizzical looks.