Getting to the Temple in the Land of Snow took a lot longer than planned. They were a whole two days off their original travel estimate. Not that the change mattered significantly, but now the ANBU had less time to spend on surveillance before returning to Konoha. They were on a time limit. The villagers wanted their help, but also didn't want such a heavily armed force from another village spending too much time walking around their lands. They were grateful for assistance, but intimated all the same. It meant less time to figure out if the cult was a danger. To themselves or to the surrounding people. If not, there wouldn't be much to report back, but if things turned sour, the ANBU was going to have a mess on their hands.

The six Hidden Leaf ninja walked along the main road. They could see the wintry Temple peeking overhead, a small but still magnificent sight of white marble and intricate detail. Accented by the frost that shimmered like tiny rainbows under the afternoon sun that just barely peeked through the clouds overhead.

This was the last leg of their mission.

'Should be easy,' Seiri thought. She highly doubted that this new cult was dangerous, but that didn't mean she relaxed. The red head had been trained for years to anticipate and expect something bad to happen at all times. It was what all the Priests were required to do. People might have perceived them as simple religious folk but that didn't mean they were safe. And always, in the end, it gave Seiri the upper hand over her opponents.

She'd put that training to good use here, she would be prepared for anything.

It was past noon. Even in the chill of a place like this, the sun was still warm. That wonderful burning ball in the sky still sent rays of heat down that pushed out the chill of this preemptive winter. To Seiri, it was a piece of Heaven that was glaring down on her.

As they walked closer to the Temple, Seiri whispered a silent prayer for a positive outcome. She could already tell that the other new recruit was itching for action. She understood the feeling but was still appreciative for one of the older ANBU as they turned towards the man and helped urge him to calm down. He did so immediately, having been completely unaware of his anxiousness.

They climbed the steps that led to the Temple doors, which were massive in size and towered over the small group. When pushed open, however, they swung on their hinges easily-which had been greased so that they didn't make any sound. Still surprising, though, as Seiri assumed their immense weight would have made them make even a little bit of creaking noise.

The cavernous, single room inside was completely empty. The ceiling stretched above the ANBU and seemed to go on forever, as the darkness made the perception of depth seem more than it was. There were also numerous pillars on the sides of the hall that spanned from floor to ceiling. The entire interior of the Temple consisted of a bluish-black marble that seemed to glow with life. At the far end of the room was a massive, silver symbol that hung from the wall. No doubt a symbol of the religion these cultists followed. A bowl sat just beneath the symbol, on a counter that was center with the room. Inside the container burned a blue-purple flame. Seiri glared at it fiercely, knowing it to be dark magic.

In the Priests, she had been taught that a blue-purple flame was a sign of witchcraft. Unholy. And when such a fire sat within a Temple, it symbolized the corruption of the holy dwelling. Now a home for a more demonic influence. The only way Seiri knew for a Temple to be exorcised was to have someone pure of heart perform the Right of Tranquility. She doubted there was anyone present to do such a deed, herself included. She had committed too many sins against the heavens to be considered pure, and she knew it. Her past life as a Priest hadmade sure of that.

If only she had noticed the danger she was getting herself into.

Seiri shrugged, there was nothing she could do about it. But as they walked closer to the bowl of flame, the red head felt a heavy weight on her shoulders, as if getting even this close was too much for her. The aura coming from in front of her was strong and evil, it practically suffocated her with its intensity. She imagined the witchcraft must have been here for months to grow this strong. The other ANBU seemed to have no issues with it though. No doubt because they weren't as in tune with their spiritual sides like Seiri was.

As they got closer, Seiri had to stop-though the rest of her group continued on. Once within a hands reach of the bowl, the other new ANBU recruit reached for it against all better judgement.

A part of the flame crawled away from where it burned and wrapped itself onto the man's arm, a flickering, blue-purple worm that didn't burn hot but rather cold. It looked like a snake, wiggling around the ANBU's limb. Then, suddenly, and with such speed, it raced up his body and slipped in between his lips and down his throat. The ANBU panicked, grabbing at his neck where his companions could see the faint glow of the flame that was inside him. It only took a few seconds before the panic died away to complete, serene calmness.

The possessed ANBU turned to look back at his companions and Seiri involuntarily took a step back. One of his eyes was completely white, no pupil, no color. The other eye was completely black. The red head pulled her cloak back with one hand and pulled out a large long sword that she had strapped to her belt. There was etching on the blade in a language she had taught herself in her old Temple. An inscription from a near dead language that she dared not read unless absolutely necessary. The language was only known by a handful of people, and Seiri had broken several rules in the Priests by learning it. She remembered, back when she was a child and her curiosity wasn't as harshly reprimanded, that Shujin had told her it was the language of the Shinigami.

That was partially true.

The tainted ANBU grew deformed as the seconds passed, twisted spikes growing out of his back with a crooked angle. His skin grew pale white and Seiri sighed in deep sadness. This man was already dead, his soul taken and replaced with one of corruption. Seiri gripped her sword with two hands. The rest of her teammates might not like that she was about to kill one of their own, one of the new recruits even, but what they needed to understand was that this man had been overtaken by something demonic.

She needed to kill him whether they wanted her to or not.