NMHA Ch. 8 - Reason
While it wasn't what she was hoping, and that by its very nature was less conspicuous than taking the Rating Game scene by storm, Lunarunn wasn't opposed to the idea of becoming a Stray Hunter.
What did stick out to her was, however, the method of which she would undertake her 'hunts'.
"Wait, you said 'hunt down and capture' Strays," the brunette spoke, after a long silence on her part filled by Ajuka's explanation for the job he was offering. "So from what I'm getting, I'm going to be your... private bounty hunter?"
"I suppose that would be an accurate way to describe it, yes," Ajuka nodded once as he placed a hand on one of Luna's wings and started examining it more closely, surrounding it with a series of magical arrays. "Those theories I mentioned earlier do require test subjects, and if they don't work... it would be much better to work with beasts that were once Devils rather than Devils not at significant risk of becoming dangerous. It'd save me a lot of paperwork, if nothing else."
"Then why not work with the Old Satan Faction?" she joked, glancing back at the Satan with a jesting smirk, only for it to fall flat when Ajuka stared back at her with a pinched expression.
"Because as... traditionally-minded as they are, the Old Satan Faction are still attempting to work in the best interests of Devilkind as a whole." He shook his head with a rough exhale. "Even if they are strongly opposed to the Reincarnation System as a whole, their voices do still matter. If for no other reason than the clout they still wield."
Her head turned back forward, pursing her lips. "So... if something were to happen, you would take advantage of that?"
"Me?" The green-haired researcher laughed. "No! No, Luna. I've divested myself of politics as much as possible while still bearing the mantle of Satan. At this point I'm not much more influential than a scientific advisor. Sirzechs though? He'll butcher the OSF if they show any openings. It's actually impressive how tightly they run ship on the other side, he's been on their case ever since the schism formed in the first place."
"Damn, I'd love to be there once Sirzechs does get his chance. Sounds like it would be a catharsis party the likes of which the Underworld's never seen. Hell, I'll bring popcorn."
"And I'll bring a camera to immortalize the moment." Luna glanced back at Ajuka after his comment, then shared a laugh as she noticed his grin.
"Back on topic though. So you want me to capture Strays so you don't have to worry about the legal BS you'd have to deal with when getting willing test subjects?"
"Naturally, I would recompense you for the time and money your services would save me," Ajuka agreed.
Luna almost agreed on the spot; it had all the combat that she'd hoped to prove herself in, she was getting paid for it, and Ajuka clearly was in it for the scientific breakthrough rather than the notoriety, which meant she could get the lion's share and use it toward getting to High-Class... and the set of Evil Pieces that came with it.
...Then again, there was that term 'paid in exposure', wasn't there...? Even if she figured Ajuka wouldn't skimp on the pay, she needed to make sure.
"...You'd better include hazard pay," Luna held up a finger as she glanced back. "I'm putting my body on the line not just killing, but capturing Strays for you. Capturing a rabid beast's a lot more dangerous than killing it outright. Whatever you end up paying me in should make up for that."
"Done. Don't worry about the paycheck, I'll make sure it's worth your while." Still, the glimmer of approval in Ajuka's eye as he easily acceded to Luna's request made her feel as though she'd passed another test of sorts. "When do you think you can start?"
"Hmm, well, I've got an appointment going on right about now," she put a finger to her lip and glanced up. She blinked as she felt her wing flare up with pain as though it had been pinched. A pressure point? "But afterward I think I should be free for a little while. Are you suggesting I start job training as soon as possible?"
"You did say you need some combat achievements under your belt soon. Unless you're saying you need some time to put matters in order?"
"I would say no, but..." the bodyjumper frowned, lowering her finger back to her side as her gaze turned forward at the wall once more. "I'm probably going to be gone for a while while on these missions, huh? I should probably let my parents know before I take off without another word."
"That would likely be for the best. They did take you in despite you being a completely different person than before," Ajuka reminded her, pulling back to study the results from his magical circles.
"They did, yeah." She glanced away. "Wouldn't do to up and leave without so much as a 'goodbye', even if it's only for a few days or weeks. Actually, that feels kind of scummy, even if Dad and I have been on the outs more often than not."
Lunarunn's frown deepened. "...I suppose I've gotten used to living here. Moving out's going to be... an experience."
The Maou cleared his throat. "That can be addressed after I leave, however. Back on topic, I look forward to seeing what results you are able to provide me. My expectations are high for your work, I would be disappointed to see you fall short of them."
She grimaced at the wording, before her expression firmed up, and she turned to face Ajuka again with a nod. "Then I will do my damnedest to live up to them."
One more thing stuck out to Luna though.
'Why me over someone more accomplished?'
She wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth though.
"Here, let me at your computer." As Luna stepped aside, Ajuka approached the clunky contraption and started typing rapidly into the system. As credential information filled the screen, the brunette politely looked away.
"Back to the contracts page?" she made a face. "...Again, the point value to warrant promotion would take way too long."
"Only because I keep Stray Hunting missions in a separate section," the Maou countered offhandedly, as he logged in and started navigating through the pages. "Many are too dangerous for the common Devil to handle. Only High-Class Devils and those granted special exemptions are allowed into the Bounty section of the Contracts site. You did notice that there was a lack of bounty missions, right?"
"...I was under the impression that the Contracts site was solely for performing contracts with humans," she admitted, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly as the bodyjumper saw Ajuka open up a spreadsheet of usernames - other users of the site, she presumed.
"Close. Stray Hunting contracts are a relatively new addition. Having a site online to share Stray sightings, appearances, and individuals hunting them down helps reduce a lot of the logistical issues with keeping them pruned."
Luna nodded. That... made sense. Especially since many users were likely High-Class Devils who were doing other various requests.
She looked closer at the list, and scowled. "...Wow, that's an awful lot of Strays. The Evil Pieces need more work than I first thought, huh?"
Ajuka glared at Luna after that comment, a rare expression of anger from the normally level-headed Satan. She must have touched a nerve. "Desperate times called for desperate measures, Lunarunn. Our population count had been so thoroughly blasted, almost half our Pillars went extinct and most of the others were close to the brink. We couldn't wait for a perfected product. Besides, a lot of these Strays are from the first batch, when most Devils still didn't realize that adding someone to a Peerage doesn't mean enslaving them like taking their souls hostage did. Many thought it was a simplified process of the norm."
He smiled, and though it was a satisfied one it wasn't a happy one. "Let's just say even if those Strays are causing problems now I don't regret letting their old masters figure out just how wrong they were the hard way. Serves them right for thinking my work was made with the intent of enslaving others."
Luna's eyes widened as she met his angry stare, blinking more than a couple times when she processed his words and the fact that Ajuka more or less admitted to letting hundreds if not thousands of Devils kill themselves out of stupidity.
Never judge a book by its cover, indeed. Sometimes she forgot just how the Maou got their titles. She shouldn't be surprised by that level of ruthlessness, but at the same time...
"...You wouldn't happen to host Superbia as your Deadly Sin, would you? Sorry about knocking on your creation, by the way."
His glare lessened, though it was still notably frostier than before. Finally, Ajuka turned back to the screen and pulled up Luna's profile. "I'll forgive you in time. But be careful when it comes to criticizing my research and inventions in the future, yes?"
"I will." She meant it. "So I assume my bringing in test subjects to help refine the Id suppression effect is to prevent the Old Satan Faction from pushing through mandates on adding compulsion and slaving enchantments to the Evil Piece matrix?"
"Bastards already got some through after the Lost Batch got themselves killed," The Maou's anger resurfaced, this time with an outright snarl. "Which is why I'm popping open champagne once Sirzechs finally guts those swine."
"You sure you should be saying that sort of stuff around me?"
"You're already under a nondisclosure seal," he responded with his usual nonchalance, temper dropping back beneath the covers. "Check your left wing and channel a little power to the apex of your wingbone. Added it there when you agreed to help out."
"Really?" Luna looked around, before noting a small runic array, tiny even, where he specified. "...One, that's some impressive spellwork to make that as small as it is. Two, you could have mentioned it being a part of signing on as your Stray gofer."
"Would you have contested that point?" Ajuka lifted a brow.
"No? Well, not too much at least. Still, it's a matter of permission!"
He sighed, turning to fully face her. "Lunarunn Bael, will you accept a seal of nondisclosure as part of working under my command?"
"A bit late for that, don't you think?" she pouted, causing Ajuka to shake his head and turn back to the computer, adding a few more clicks to whatever he was doing before turning to Luna once more.
He gestured toward the screen. "Now that matters of consent are handled, I've added you into the list of Devils able to access the Stray Hunter's Logs. You may need to work out arrangements with the others taking requests here, but for the most part it's first-come first-serve."
"Makes sense, I suppose." Luna peered at the screen, and the list of Stray Devils that seemed to go down quite a bit. "Is there a specific period of time after a hunter takes a mark that the mark opens up again?"
"Two weeks. A competent Devil will usually be able to find a Stray and deal with it by that point, particularly with the way information on the Strays are compiled. Most aren't particularly subtle." Ajuka's hand rose to tap on the screen where the sidebar was. "You are also able to filter and sort Strays based on their criminal ranking, amount of compiled information, 'age', and whether or not they've already been claimed by another hunter. So finding whatever you are looking for should be quite easy."
"Convenient," the brunette agreed. Ajuka certainly thought this through. "Any specific marks you had in mind? Or do you have no compunctions with my bringing in less notable Strays at first to get a feel for the parameters I have to work with?"
"Let's start you off with one of the tougher ones." The green-haired Devil scrolled up, selecting one of the names before pulling up the information stored within. "Uvanys. Stray Rook, wanted for killing his master and Queen in a lover's quarrel. Has a tendency to go after happy couples, restrain one, murder the other in front of them before killing them too, and doesn't differentiate between humans, Devils, or anything in between."
"...That's kinda fucked." Luna's eye and lip started twitching.
The researcher sighed. "That happens to be one of the less gruesome Strays as well."
"Can't say I'm too surprised. Considering they act on the Id that overwhelmed them,." The bodyjumper leaning in to take in some more of the information on the Rook. "I'm taking a wild guess here, but; this Uvanys runs on rampant envy?"
"Invidia, yes."
"Why the 'ye olde' term, by the way? Since Devils seem intent on naming their sins that way."
"The anglification of the Sins weren't taken to very kindly by Devilkind. They prefer the Sins termed the way they have always been."
"In other words, because they're more badass with the pagan terms Devils by and large denied the new terms to describe the Sins they embody."
"Naturally," Was that a smirk on Ajuka's face? It was small, but... yes, there was one. "So, think you can handle this one?"
Luna peered at some of the abilities this Stray was noted to possess. Nothing in particular stood out though aside from the usual notable strength and endurance, which boded well for her.
"I think so. How am I going to handle it though? Draw it out or hunt it down?"
"I'll leave that to you," the green-haired Maou declared, marking the entry for Uvanys as taken. "I've already held your hand enough through all of this, time for you to sink or swim on your own."
'Yeah, not sure how I'd feel about dragging someone into all this. Feels a bit too much like how Raynare lured Issei away and killed him.'
Plus it would be much easier for her if she didn't have to worry about keeping a civilian out of the line of fire.
"Then I'll get everything set up and head to Chile to run this guy down tomorrow."
While the goodbyes for the time being were a little tense considering her father, Luna quickly found that being in the overworld once again was a rather liberating feeling, and the awe of the big city made Chile's capitol, Santiago, quite the sight.
That being said, she did feel a touch lethargic during the day, which she figured was more due to her Devil's body rather than her usual internal clock. Either way, working in the day certainly wasn't her preference, and considering her quarry Lunarunn figured it would be best to work during the night.
It was there that she ran into a problem; Luna hadn't thought to pack a bedroll. The hunter's section of the Contracts Site had mentioned that Uvarys also was more active in the evening, and the fact that she left early in the morning put Luna in a bit of an odd situation. She could hardly return home right after leaving, which meant figuring out a place to stay where she would have... at least some level of security.
The brunette hadn't thought to bring enough money to pay for some of the better hotels either. Not that what she had as an allowance would pay for one of those gleaming tourist resorts, now that she was actually there to see some of those places in person.
She checked the pocket of her jeans, and scowled when she realized she didn't have any of the local currency.
"Well, fuck me I guess," Lunarunn murmured, shaking her head at her lack of foresight as she walked down the street. "No cash means no information gathering, no food, no bedroom."
She'd definitely need to pick some up, and soon, or otherwise chase down the Stray before the brunette had to return home empty-handed.
Then again... Luna had noted before that Uvarys was starting to get quite the bodycount. Perhaps there would be disappearance notices?
The brunette could probably contact the policia about that, but how to go about it..
She glanced over to a furniture store and into the mirror. A warm, flawless-skinned face framed with slightly wavy brown hair, with bright blue eyes and full lips stared back, a beauty among humans to be certain. Likely not unattractive for Devilkind, either.
'...Well, I've always wanted to try acting.'
"Excuse me, might I receive some advice?"
The soft tone, plus the flawless Spanish, gave the man passing by some pause, which compounded further when he saw who specifically was talking. A young woman, a tourist given her Caucasian features, was staring at him with a tilted head.
Perhaps it was her being a fluent speaker of his language, or perhaps it was her model-like beauty, but in either case the passerby was willing to hear her out. "Of course, miss. What did you need?"
She smiled, bowing her head in a short nod before continuing. "Thank you, sir. I recently flew into Santiago today, so I was unsure where I should go to explore the country. There is a lot to look at, so I was wondering if you could give me some suggestions where to visit."
An odd question to ask a passerby, but then again some tourists knew that asking the locals is usually the best way to find a good place to explore.
So he decided to humor her. "Well, there's always the Conguillio National Park. Many tourists like to visit there at least once. There is also Valparaiso, if you are looking for a more urban environment. I would also normally recommend Pichilemu as a coastal resort, but given recent events I can't in good faith do so."
"Really? What has changed that has changed your opinion?"
"Well, there has been a string of disappearances around there. The Pichilemu policia are looking into it, but so far they do not seem to be having much luck. It is getting bad enough that most people who watch the news in this region are aware."
"Oh no!" The young woman's eyes widened, and a hand rose to her mouth. "Have they at least figured out any sort of pattern?"
"There are rumors that the people disappearing are all couples, but I cannot confirm anything."
'Yes! Fucking finally!'
Three hours of discreetly asking around, pretending to be a tourist, and it finally bore fruit. She'd just about been ready to give up and go ask the police directly. Thank goodness it didn't come to that, though.
"I see. Then I should be careful that I do not find a boyfriend if I go there," she laughed lightly. "Thank you for your advice, sir."
"Of course. May God bless your stay here in Chile." He smiled, and turned to walk off, conveniently turning away just as Luna's hand rose to her temple.
'Ngh!' Luna winced, rubbing the side of her head. 'That's right, Latin America and South America are pretty largely Catholic regions, huh? I'll need to be a bit more careful with that reaction in the future.'
She shook her head and lowered her hand, turning to go look for some quiet place to cloak herself and take flight. At least she had a heading now, time to close in.
Unfortunately, Lunarunn failed to notice the furrowing brow of someone else who had seen her reaction to that passerby's blessing.
After another period of time looking for an abandoned alleyway, Lunarunn eventually came across one that fit her immediate needs perfectly. There were few to no passersby outside, no shady looking individuals in the corner, nobody shooting up some form of drug...
She probably could have done something to stop the druggie that she had come across, but Luna wasn't going to cause trouble, particularly when she didn't know the circumstances.
It also would have distracted her when right now the bodyjumper was on a clock. A biological one granted, thanks to her being so forgetful as to bring cash or a bedroll or even a snack, but a clock nonetheless.
She was going to definitely beat herself over the head with a loaf of bread when she got back for that shortsightedness. If Thelastia didn't do it first. Hell, she might even help! Ajuka, in the meantime, would probably laugh his ass off in private. Sirzechs would probably do so to her face. Asshole.
Luna stepped further into the alleyway, looking around at the walls on each side, noting the lightly-chipped brickwork and the relative cleanliness of the place.
'Wait. Why is this place as relatively clean as it is?'
It was then that the off feeling she'd gotten from this place, despite it fitting her needs precisely, began to make sense.
...An alleyway, clean like this? Something didn't quite add up, particularly thanks to the fact that this was a pretty isolated locale. Luna at least expected rubbish of some sort laying on the ground, but all that was there was rubble and a few darker spots.
"Halt."
And there's the rub. Luna noted the light filtering in from the side street darken as a body - no, two bodies - moved in to block her off from that form of escape.
It was then that she'd realized that she literally walked herself into an enclosed space where her wings wouldn't do her quite so much good. A glance upward informed the bodyjumper of a faint shimmering in the air, likely a tripwire of some sort.
Or a light-infused cutting wire. That'd be what she would place there to keep an errant Devil from escaping.
"Well, that was stupid of me, huh?" Luna breathed out a laugh. "I just thought to myself that this was a pretty Catholic nation. Why wouldn't there be exorcists in the capital city? And why wouldn't there be a trapped alleyway to corner a Devil and limit their mobility?"
She turned around slowly, noting the two men that were blocking the - currently, at least - only feasible way out. While she couldn't quite place her finger on it, the man with brown hair seemed familiar, though the one with long black hair was a different story.
"So before we get to the brass tacks, could I at least know whether or not you're Catholics?"
The two exorcists' eyes shifted to each other, before the brown-haired one spoke, a hint of confusion in his voice. "...Protestant, actually. Why...?"
"Well, I was debating whether or not to make a comment about not having two little Timmys glued to each of your crotches, but since you're not Catholics that doesn't pan out." She put a finger to her lip and glanced up in thought. "Not priests either, not in the typical sense anyway. So I guess that doesn't work regardless, huh?"
The brown-haired man looked affronted at that, as though offended on a personal level, though the black haired one almost smiled before he was able to school his expression.
"You, I like you," she pressed the initiative, pointing to the one who'd taken some level of amusement out of Luna's inappropriate joke. "You've got a nice, black sense of humor. Always nice to meet a fellow terrible person. Or child at heart. Either works, really. Or is it both...? I always forget."
"Enough," The brown-haired exorcist snapped, sending a glare to his likely subordinate before returning it to Lunarunn. "You've already admitted to being a Devil. You've quite a lot of nerve to admit to that in Church territory."
"Wait, this is Church 'territory'?" Luna blinked owlishly, eyes widening as she spoke with a half-dose of sarcasm. "I figured that the exorcists were just here to keep the mundane humans safe from those that would prey on them."
"And our presence isn't proof of that?"
She dropped the pretenses, going straight back into attack mode. "You said it yourself; you're Protestants. Last I checked, things were still frosty between Catholics and Protestants, which means that the Catholics are too busy to handle the Stray racking up a body count the next town over. In other words, they had to call in help for a single High-Class Stray of all things. Doesn't sound like a very stable territory to me."
"The Church has still laid claim to Chile, and sworn to protect its people here," the black-haired exorcist finally spoke up. "That's why we're here, so that this Stray can no longer terrorize the people of Pichilemu."
"Well that's great!" She beamed. "That's exactly why I'm here too. I was just about to take off for Pichilemu and bring that Uvarys creature back to the Underworld."
"And why not just kill the Stray and bring back its head as proof?" the brown-haired exorcist pressed.
Gruesome, but admittedly a good way of confirming a kill.
'I know this guy. I *know* I know this guy. So who is he...?'
Lunarunn rubbed the side of her head. "That way we can make sure that Strays are less likely to happen in the future. Because Big G knows that us Devils with some level, some infinitesimal amount in our cold black hearts, of moral fiber need to clean up the mess the morons - the ones who ended up causing all the current Strays - made."
"Big G?" Again, the older exorcist seemed less than amused.
"Well, I can't exactly call him by his given name or his true name, lest the Divine System decides to bible thump my head like it's a cyst." The bodyjumper scowled at that. "And for the record, I never took the big guy to be so petty as to make an entire species unable to so much as utter his name without retribution."
"Maybe the older generations of Devils took to coming up with creative insults and eventually got one that upset Him enough to impose that rule?" the black-haired one offered, almost hesitantly.
Luna snapped her fingers and made a fingergun at him. "That would probably do it, yeah."
She knew the real reason was that God was dead, so the Angels running the Divine System, Michael if she remembered right, probably did so to prevent the Devils from insulting their dead parent directly - and wasn't that bad form on the Devils' part, that the Angels had to impose such a rule on her biological ancestors?
The brunette shook her head. Right, she was still in a situation that could very easily become hostile. She closed her eyes and lifted her hands up in a gesture of goodwill. "Back to the point though. Look, I get I'm trespassing in the eyes of the Church now, and considering the current political climate that's not exactly good for my life expectancy. I'm pretty sure this territory's considered disputed by the Fallen and Devils though, which is why I was sent out here in the first place to handle the Stray. So... why don't we set aside our differences for the time being and focus on handling the thing that's already proven itself a threat to the common folk?"
A beat passed.
Her eyes reopened at the sound of some sort of energy pulse, to see that the brown-haired Exorcist had approached and drawn his weapon on her.
Luna would have had a fangasm over the fact that she was seeing a lightsaber firsthand were it not for the fact that she was a species weak to lightsabers and that said lightsaber was uncomfortably close to touching that small space between the bottom of her collarbone and the beginning of her cleavage.
She chose to swallow nervously instead and meet his gaze.
"And how can I trust that you won't stab us in the back the first chance you get? Why not kill you now, and rid the world of two Devils today?"
Finally it clicked.
'...Shidou. Touji Shidou? Irina's dad?"
Luna couldn't help the uptick of her lips.
'Really is a small world, huh?'
"Because even God's son-" She winced as the Divine System decided that was enough to punish her, "-supped with one who turned on him, and forgave the traitor despite being sold out for thirty silver pieces?"
When Luna noticed that blade of light hadn't run her through, though remained in its position, she continued onward. "...And that the father welcomed the prodigal child with open arms when the son returned with naught but regret, despite despoiling his inheritance?"
She noted that the black-haired one was now looking at Touji askance.
'Hmm. If the brown-haired one was Touji then wouldn't that mean the other one was...the guy who ended up dying because he fell in love with Cleria Belial? Masaomi, right?'
Still, the blade was leveled at her, so the brunette went for one more reason. "Because we're both living, breathing, thinking beings with desires, aspirations, and a desire to make the world around us a better place?"
That one may have been going a bit too far, judging by the way the blade inched closer and the darkening expression on Touji's face. She broke out in a cold sweat.
'Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Oh, shit.'
"And how am I supposed to believe a Devil, an innately sinful creature," the exorcist's voice was slow, meaningful, and quiet, "means anything when they say they want to make the world a better place, except that their vision of a 'better world' is one where they benefit?"
Luna smiled again, but it was much shakier this time. "I-I never claimed to be on the side of saints. I'm a selfish person, I'll freely admit that, but is it so hard to believe that just because I'm looking out for myself I'll drain the good out of the world around me? That I feel like a piece of shit when I'm not able to make things around me better? That I don't feel uncomfortable when people are sad or angry, that I don't get upset when I can't help them?"
The alleyway was silent, save for the background noise of a lively city and its people going about their daily lives, as Luna waited for the verdict.
If worse came to worst, she could probably get away, but the brunette didn't want to risk it until it become promptly necessary, and in doing so alienate a catalyst for events to come.
So she waited, she waited while Touji mulled over her words, and she waited even when Masaomi put a hand on his superior's free shoulder, looking at him with a firmed gaze.
"I believe her, Touji-sensei."
Touji's eyes flicked over to his subordinate, then back to Luna. Quickly, but not quick enough. She could have escaped the light sword in that moment if she chose to. She wanted to. But it was clear that these two weren't just mindless sycophants.
After all, Masaomi would one day come to love one of the very creatures he'd sworn to destroy, so the bodyjumper believed in the voice of reason being victorious in this conflict.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Luna's breaths were shaky, as the exorcist's blade remained in her guard for an increasingly worrying amount of time.
Did she screw up?
Did she push too far?
Was she really going to get skewered and die like a dumbass, having literally walked into a trap and then into a blade?
Luna's luck had never been the greatest, particularly when it came to chance, but when it came to making it through trying situations she'd always managed to get away in one piece.
Hopefully, that same luck would hold up even now.
Finally, almost miraculously, Touji sighed, withdrawing his blade and letting it power down, eliciting a sigh of relief from the Devil he'd held at sword point in turn.
"If you make me regret sparing you I will hunt you down to the ends of the earth, and do what I should have done here today."
She smiled again, a little more assured now that her second life wasn't about to be ended with a single thrust.
"Then I'd best do my damnedest to make sure you don't."
Her stomach then took that opportunity to growl, and quite loudly at that, causing Luna's face to turn red in mortification, even as her smile turned into a grimace.
She let out a sheepish laugh. "...Er... Did I mention I forgot to bring any money, food, or even a bedroll?"
Masaomi started snickering, even as the light brown-haired exorcist groaned and face-palmed, already likely regretting sparing her.
Though she hadn't been turned into a she-shish-kebab yet, so at least there was that.
A/N:
Fun fact I learned from a gaming podcast of all things; apparently a bible thump is when someone takes a heavy book - usually a bible - and slams it on a cyst to cause it to disperse. It didn't usually work, but sometimes it did, so it was pretty popular before medication for that sort of thing became commercially available.
And so Luna starts to spread feelers beyond just the Underworld. I get the feeling that the byplay between her and the two exorcists could be pretty entertaining, so let me know what y'all think!
Bit of a shorter one today, I know. Figured this was a good place to leave off for the next chapter though, so I decided to roll with it.
Tempura Wizard, heading to bed!
