Cain watches from a distance as the exorcist screams.
Contrary to what he originally believed upon coming across the man these screams are not of fear, instead the man's voices is besieged by sorrow and regret. It seems that the man, at this point, accepts what death entails but still carries regrets. Maybe he has family, friends, a lover? Cain, having never experienced bonds like these, is not sure he understands.
Narrowing his eyes Cain glances around the town square, which is conveniently abandoned save for himself and the exorcist. Nearby he can hear the ominous clanking and screeching of machinery as the veritable fleet of akuma that were following the man draw closer.
For now it seems as though he has time so Cain drops gracefully from his perch upon a nearby stone gargoyle and clears the distance between himself and the man in a few bounds. He crouches, balancing himself on the balls of his feet and resting his elbows on his knees. Once comfortable in his position he cocks his head to the side in a manner reminiscent of a bird, and simply observes.
Perspiration traces the lines and inconsistencies of the man's face and his grey speckled black hair clings to his pale skin. All in all the man presents a sickly vodagr and even as Cain watches the pentagrams on the exorcist's skin become darker and clearer. Seeing the symbols up close for the first time Cain Is unable to deny the foreboding appearance of the symbols etched into the man's skin.
"W-who..." The man stutters, feebly reaching up an arm so as to grasp at Cain's face, his fingers caressing the boys cheek. Suddenly, a brief clarity descends upon the man as his other hand rises to clutch at Cain's wrist in a concrete grip, "You n-need to r-run! Get away from he- ," The man's voice fades even as he tries to say more, tries, desperate,to force the boy to run away and escape. In tuth all the man wants is to save one final life before his own is so cruelly snatched from him.
Cain straightens his head, lowering his eyes directly to the exorcist's and allows the contact to his face and wrist for a minute more - ever mindful of the approaching danger.
However, Cain's mind itself is elsewhere and he is distracted by a singular detail, in the deep and dark recesses of his subconscious the itch returns. It becomes more vindictive as the seconds pass, clawing and spitting at the prolonged exposure to the exorcist and making his stomach churn with a mixture of abject horror and despair.
'So this is it,' he muses internally, levelling an even gaze upon the exhausted flickering of the green cross that is set, innocuous, within a leather bracelet on the man's wrist.
Innocence.
It feels vile and disgusting, as though maggots and worms are burrowing into his skin and twisting in a nauseating parody of a parade.
Easily slipping his wrist from the man's trembling grip he raises his own hand to the weapon of God, only to flinch away as the lightest of contact burns him. The so called holy weapon swells and bulges as though in protest of his presence and he gives a wordless snarl. He is the one who has to deal with the itch! Still, he glances at the dying man and is strangely unwilling to press an attack. It doesn't seem worth it.
He does not try to touch the cross again.
Cain rises, glancing absent-minded at his palm where the faint imprint of a cross remains, quickly fading, but there nonetheless.
The exorcist is trying to stand now, clutching at the concrete beneath his fingers in a desperate attempt to find leverage. His eyes when they meet Cain's are tinged with both betrayal and confusion; it is almost as though the man cannot understand why Cain is not trying to help him.
Behind the two there is a crunch and an ominous groan as the akuma finally arrive and Cain turns abruptly, as though to greet the abominations. They stare back at him with soulless eyes and it is then that he makes his decision.
He does not need secrecy or any manner of trick this time, he can see it clearly.
He then proceeds to walk calmly past the akuma, uncaring in the face of their artillery and, as he predicted, not a single one attacks him.
The innocence is their priority.
He pauses as he reaches the end of the square and cannot deny the satisfaction brought to him by the sight of an akuma holding the innocence with a grip of derision and throwing it carelessly through a portal of black.
He knows, somehow, that the material will be destroyed and the thought brings to him a spark of unfamiliar joy.
( At 18 Cain walks forward, leaving bloodthirsty monsters and a broken shell of a man behind him without a second thought )