Chapter 7
A few days later, Rosette and Chrono went to Sister Kate's office to get some information regarding Joshua's whereabouts. Rosette was dying to know what clues they have found in regards to him. "Good morning Sister Kate!" Rosette said politely as she opened the door and they both walked into her office room. "Good morning Sister Rosette. What brings you and your assistant here at this hour?" Sister Kate asked curiously while Father Remington was looking out of the window. "Well, we were just wondering that considering you have now found some clues in regards to Joshua's whereabouts, would it be possible if we can start to get a move on in getting him back?" Rosette asked with hope. "I am sorry Rosette, but you know that as exorcists we can't just take off without knowing the full picture of the situation. Besides, considering how dangerous the situation is, it would be foolish to take off without coming up with a proper plan. With that being said, until we get more information on the matter, you and Chrono will continue to stay here under our order." Sister Kate explained. "What! Why won't you take action on this immediately? You've found some clues right? So what are we waiting for?" Rosette asked desperately. "I know that this is a difficult situation for you Rosette. I also understand that you are the witness of the Seventh Bell incident." Sister Kate said. "That is why we need to get a move on with this! Joshua is my little brother damn it!" Rosette said emotionally. "Enough! Right now you are too emotional. All the investigators had vanished. Not to mention what happened at Grand Central Station the other day. All what we know is that something is occurring! Until we get more clues, we exorcists will not make a move!" Sister Kate agitatedly said as she pointed her finger at Rosette's nose. "As you should know, we are an organization. As an organization, we cannot ignore the rules under any circumstances! So in the meantime, I'll be placing you two on common duty! That will give you enough time to calm that impulsive behavior of yours!" Sister Kate said sternly as she wiped her finger with a handkerchief. Rosette however was extremely disappointed in that she wasn't able to convince Sister Kate about continuing forward in finding Joshua. "Come on Rosette, say something to her." Chrono whispered to Rosette as he encouraged her. "Yes but what should I say?" Rosette whispered back as she didn't know what to say to Sister Kate. "Speak up! If there is something you want to say, just say it!" Sister Kate said impatiently. "You ugly whore!" Rosette said to Sister Kate as she pointed out her finger towards her. Everyone present in the room was shocked at what they had just heard Rosette say. "Rosette!" Sister Kate yelled angrily and Chrono along with Rosette ran their way out of Sister Kate's office. "You moron! What were you thinking?" Chrono asked Rosette sternly. "I'm sorry Chrono! I didn't know what to say." Rosette said apologetically. "You could have thought up of something more professional to say." Chrono crossly reminded her. As they came outside of the building, they stumbled upon Azmaria who was standing by the entrance and was holding a red choir song book. "Rosette!" Azmaria said excitedly as she ran towards them. Rosette all of a sudden stopped abruptly and Chrono bumped into her. She then turned her head around and looked angry which frightened Azmaria a bit. "Oh, good morning, Azmaria! Sorry for scaring you like that!" Rosette said cheerfully as she realized who was there and began to laugh at herself. Azmaria was relieved that Rosette wasn't angry with her as what her initial reaction led her to believe. The trio all sat down on a stone ledge, enjoying the nice sunny weather. "So, what was all the running about, Rosette?" Azmaria asked curiously. "Nothing, Chrono and I tried to convince Sister Kate to further our search for my brother Joshua but unfortunately we were unable to convince her." Rosette explained. "Not to mention what you just called her." Chrono commented while cringing. "Anyways Azmaria, how is the choir going?" Rosette asked trying to change the subject. "I am really enjoying it! What's even more fun is that I'll be having a solo on our next recital!" Azmaria said excitedly as she showed them her choir song book. "I am glad to see that you are smiling now Azmaria? You've had the two of us worried for a bit." Rosette said gladly. "Well, everything is changing for the better!" Azmaria said optimistically. "Speaking of change, I've changed a lot as well ever since I came to this Order and I have learned a lot of different things. I've grown up a lot, and to think that this convent has been like a school to me!" Rosette said nostalgically as she realized how much she changed in the last four years. "But now there is nothing left for me to learn here in this Order! It's time, time!" Rosette said overly enthusiastic. "What are you talking about Rosette?" Chrono asked confused. "Isn't it obvious? If Sister Kate won't let us move any time soon then I might as well leave this holier than thou place!" Rosette explained exaggeratedly. "I don't think that's such a good idea Rosette!" Chrono nervously protested. "There's no use trying to stop me! I am going to find Joshua on my own!" Rosette concluded as she began to laugh sinisterly and fell from the ledge. "Are you okay Rosette?" Chrono asked and Rosette successfully got herself up from the ground. "Chrono, we're leaving this place!" Rosette declared sternly. "What, right now?" Chrono asked nervously. "Of course, right now! There is no time like the present when there is a job to be done. So I am planning on getting out of here as fast as I can!" Rosette said wildly.
Rosette and Chrono went back inside and they made their way to some kind of training room. Rosette opened the door and cautiously looked inside to see if anyone was there. Convinced that no one was in the room, Rosette then tiptoed her way in. "Are you sure this is such a good idea?" Chrono asked. "Of course it is! I've made my decision and that's that!" Rosette answered aggravated. "What did you decide if I may ask?" Father Remington asked smoothly as he abruptly showed up, much to Rosette's startling surprise. "Minister Remington!" Chrono said in a deeply surprised tone. "I thought you might come here." The minister said. "I am really sorry Minister, but I just want to find my brother Joshua!" Rosette yelled. "In that case, have you considered about joining the Militia?" Father Remington asked. "The Milita? You mean the first class?" Rosette asked in wonder. "Yes, as you should know that class has been granted certain privileges, including the right to do their own investigations. In fact, several Militia members have been doing their own private investigations for quite some time now. That would be a perfect fit for you, wouldn't it?" Father Remington explained as he encouraged her. "But how can I do that?" Rosette curiously asked. "Sister Kate has to be convinced of your own ability to fight at that level." The minister revealed. "I can't wait to show her my abilities!" Rosette said excitedly and confidently while Chrono had a worried look on his face as he knew what would happen if Sister Kate found out. "Well what's your beef?" Rosette asked crossly. "Nothing Rosette, nothing at all!" Chrono answered intimidated. Meanwhile, Azmaria was received by Sister Kate in her office. "Here you go! I added an extra helping of milk and sugar!" Sister Kate said to Azmaria as she handed her a cup of tea. "Thank you!" Azmaria said as she took the cup and began to drink. "This tea is really good!" Azmaria commented. "Isn't it? It's a special blend of black tea leaves that I have received as a gift." Sister Kate revealed cheerfully. "Now then Azmaria, what did you want?" Sister Kate asked. "You won't laugh if I tell you?" Azmaria asked shyly. "Of course not dear, listening to the problems of others is part of our work!" Sister Kate said passionately. "Would you laugh if I said I want to be more like Rosette?" Azmaria asked. Sister Kate, who was drinking her tea, surprised of this request, spitted out her tea. "I want to become a distinguished exorcist like her and to devote the rest of my life helping people in need! Is that strange?" Azmaria revealed as Sister Kate was coughing from the tea. "I am afraid that allowing someone to follow her lead is dangerous. Are you sure that's what you want Azmaria?" Sister Kate said as she wiped her mouth with a cloth and couldn't believe that anyone would want to be like Rosette. "I hated it, this power. I've even hated myself and how I made the people around me unhappy. But Rosette never gave up on anything, even if it all seemed hopeless or impossible. She is so courageous and selfless. That is why I never want to give up again, so I can do things for others just like she does! Is that too much to ask Sister Kate?" Azmaria said in a broken yet determined tone as Sister Kate was surprised by her openness and determination. "No Azmaria, it's not. But following into Rosette's footsteps is quite a risky task to take. You have to understand that you would be risking your life on a daily basis. If you really want to be a nun and exorcist like her, I could certainly help you with that!" Sister Kate explained. She then stood up and led Azmaria out of her office, telling her to follow her. "Where are we going Sister Kate?" Azmaria asked. "I want to show you something you never have seen before." Sister Kate said. Azmaria was following Sister Kate who led her to the same place where Father Remington met Rosette and Chrono. While they were walking through the long foggy corridor, Azmaria began to feel a little cold. "It's cold because the room's temperature is regulated to maintain the spirit energy." Sister Kate explained. After walking through the corridor, they reached a huge metal door. "Here we are Azmaria. I wanted to show you the place where Rosette and the rest of our exorcists have done all of their trainings." Sister Kate revealed. Sister Kate then grabbed one of the silver handles and opened the door. They walked into a huge, sparsely lit chamber. "Oh my, this is where Rosette has done all of her exorcist training, Sister Kate?" Azmaria asked in a shocked tone. "Yes Azmaria, it is. It was invented by the Elder to project an energy formation field, using mock spirit from containment units. In other words, this is our exorcist training area. Our targets are artificial poltergeists. By using this system, we can simulate indoor and outdoor battles with all kinds of monsters under any conditions." Sister Kate explained as they both looked at the huge room surrounded with huge containment blocks. "You mean real monsters?" Azmaria asked somewhat frightened. "Relax Azmaria, the spirit energy is controlled for training purposes. We won't make a beginner go through all that! Now go downstairs and wait, I will give you more detailed instructions from the control room." Sister Kate instructed Azmaria as she headed to the control room. Meanwhile at the control room, Rosette was getting ready for her exorcist testing by putting on her uniform gloves, communication headphone speakers and loading her rifle. "Do you remember when you and I first came here Rosette?" Chrono asked nostalgically. Just then, the minister opened the door and walked into the control room. "Alright Rosette, have you prepared yourself?" Father Remington asked. "Yes sir, I have!" Rosette said with a very determined voice. She always loved a good challenge. "Incidentally, Chrono will be staying here with me." The minister revealed. "What?" Chrono asked surprised. "Don't act so surprised. If you would have gone with her, it wouldn't be much of a test, would it?" Father Remington explained as he justified his reasoning for having Chrono remain in the control room. "Alright, I will need you to take off that seal watch of yours." The minister instructed Rosette. "So, does Sister Kate know anything about this?" Rosette asked as she handed her seal watch to the minister. "She will be informed later." Father Remington revealed. "She will be informed later?" Rosette repeated after him curiously. She had a worried feeling on how Sister Kate would react on Father Remington allowing her to take the Militia test behind her back. "If we get the right results, I'll find a way to explain to her afterwards!" Father Remington reassured her optimistically as he looked at her affectionately which made Rosette blush. Rosette then made her way to a small elevator that led her down to the test area of the chamber. "Are you ready to start Rosette?" The minister asked. "Yes, you can start whenever you want!" Rosette said with great determination. "Level twenty is the one used by the most advanced class." The minister said as he instructed Chrono. "Roger!" Chrono said. "Initiate spirit energy field." Father Remington told Chrono and the lights across the chamber went off. Azmaria, not knowing what's going on, started to become scared. "Release the targets." Father Remington instructed Chrono. "Right!" Chrono answered and turned on a switch which released some kind of gas into the chamber. "Beginning recording, the condition of passing this test is the extermination of all targets in one hour." The minister explained to Rosette. At the same time, Azmaria became even more scared as she saw something in front of her. "Very well then, good luck!" Father Remington wished to Rosette. "Yes sir!" Rosette responded. The elevator doors opened and Rosette then ran her way forward. "I sense something evil Minister." Chrono said as he realized something suspicious. "Oh that? Actually I have released a real monster down there. It was one of the most powerful spirits we had sealed in storage." Father Remington explained. "What! Why would you do that?" Chrono yelled as he was terrified at what might happen to Rosette. "She has to see what she is really up against. If she can't clear her way through a simple problem like this, she'll never be able to convince Sister Kate." Father Remington explained. "What was that you just said?" Sister Kate asked angrily as she walked into the room and overheard what Father Remington just said. Chrono was both shocked and surprised when Sister Kate walked in. Father Remington turned his head over and saw Sister Kate. "Hello!" The minister greeted as he smiled at Sister Kate. "What is going on here? Do you know that Azmaria is down there?" Sister Kate yelled furiously at the minister. "Azmaria? Why is she down there? I thought we were all alone!" Father Remington said confused as he was worried. "There's no time to explain now, we have to tell Rosette and get Azmaria out of there!" Sister Kate ignored his question and took one of the microphones to contact Rosette.
Meanwhile, Azmaria was walking her way in the dark chamber as she didn't know what to do. "Sister Kate, where are you?" Azmaria called out nervously as she was afraid of the darkness that had now swept across the training room. She abruptly turned her head and saw a black cauldron with some kind of green glow which was coming from one of the maze corridors. Seeing that nothing dangerous or scary was happening there, Azmaria just simply kept on walking. Suddenly, Rosette began shooting while she was running across the chamber. This caused Azmaria to become even more frightened as she didn't know that Rosette was doing her Militia test. Azmaria stopped walking and covered her eyes as she sat down in fright, not knowing what to do. Rosette kept running her way across the training room trying to find the monster that the minister released out for her test and began to shoot again. "Too slow, how many times do I have to tell you?" As the bullet came out of her pistol, Rosette remembered the time when one of her instructors scolded her during her exorcist training. Azmaria got up and began to walk forward again but was still petrified with the situation she was in while the cauldron glowed once again. She turned her head when she heard something but she didn't see anything and turned her head away. When she turned her body, the green glow from the cauldron glowed again and something started coming towards her. Azmaria screamed as she realized that there was some kind of monster coming at her from the cauldron. Rosette continued shooting her gun across the training room but stopped briefly as she ran out of air from all the running. She began to remember her first time when she started her exorcist training, how she started out weak and also the time when Chrono wrapped her injured wrist when she got herself injured on her first training lesson. "It's natural to be scared. Your opponents are monsters after all. But the important thing comes after that, taking one step forward no matter how hard." Those were the words that Father Remington had told her while she was still in training and she never forgotten what he said. "Rosette, can you hear me?" Father Remington asked Rosette through the speaker. "Yes Minister, I can!" Rosette said. "There has been an accident. I am sorry, but we have no other choice but to stop the test." The minister explained. "What! Why? Tell me the reason!" Rosette curiously demanded. "Azmaria is down there and we can't contact her." Father Remington revealed. "What, Azmaria?" Rosette asked surprised. "There is also a real demon on the loose down there." Father Remington said. "What? How can this be?" Rosette asked in a shocked tone. "Well, I released it in order to test your strength. But I never thought that there would already be someone down there before you." The minister explained. "What did you just say? You shouldn't have been here in the first place!" Sister Kate scolded the minister as he had an intimidated look on his face. "Oh no, Sister Kate is here!" Rosette said, surprised to hear Sister Kate's voice. "Rosette. Come back right now! We'll take care of the rest. Do you understand me?" Sister Kate demanded. "But what about Azmaria?" Rosette asked fearing for her safety. "She will be alright. We will rescue her right now, so don't worry. Is that understood Rosette?" Sister Kate assured her. "Father Remington please, I'm begging you. Give me permission to go and rescue Azmaria." Rosette asked out of desperation. "Are you out of your mind?" Sister Kate yelled at the speaker. "Please Rosette, we are dealing with a mind eater here. It possesses you, reads your mind and then it impersonates you. This particular one was responsible for over 15 murders during the civil war." Father Remington explained as he pleaded Rosette to stop the test. "This isn't something that you can handle Rosette. Let the Militia take care of this." Sister Kate advised Rosette. Just then, Rosette's speaker began to become fuzzy, much to Sister Kate and Father Remington's worry. "Rosette! Rosette!" Sister Kate called out worryingly. "Answer us Rosette, is something wrong?" The minister asked. "Father Remington?" Rosette called out as she lost all communication contact with them. Suddenly, she heard a mischievous laugh coming towards her and she turned around to see where it was coming from. A black shadow like figure suddenly appeared from behind her and Rosette then turned around but saw nothing. Just then, what appeared to be Azmaria abruptly showed up from behind Rosette which took her by surprise. "Don't scare me like that Azmaria." Rosette told her. Azmaria started laughing at her with a demonic voice. Just then, everyone in the control room saw a huge explosion to where Rosette was at, which made them shocked and worried as they had a bad feeling that Rosette was now in danger. Rosette was lying on the floor all sore due to the explosion that Azmaria had caused. "This body possesses power, incredible power!" Azmaria gloated about her powers in a demonic voice. She walked towards Rosette as little rocks floated around her. The demon had unfortunately already possessed Azmaria and she had a grin on her face that was so creepy and sinister that it would scare even the highest ranking exorcist. She then used the rocks to attack Rosette but she however managed to escape them by running to the nearest corridor maze. Azmaria walked her way forward to find the exorcist but when she saw the nearest maze corridor, she couldn't see where Rosette was. Rosette all of a sudden jumped high from the maze containment and charged towards her while pinning her down to the floor. "Azmaria, get a hold of yourself!" Rosette shouted to her as Azmaria's face was changing from her possessed form to her natural form. Azmaria briefly regained her consciousness but the demon quickly overtook control of her body again and she spitted out some kind of brown fluid from her mouth. Rosette jumped and successfully avoided the disgusting liquid that was directed at her. When the possessed Azmaria charged towards her, Rosette quickly sprinkled some holy water on her and the possessed Azmaria fell down on the ground. Rosette then took out her barrier crucifixes and threw them all around Azmaria. The barrier crucifixes weakened the demon and the possessed Azmaria began screaming. "I got to go help Rosette!" Chrono said out of desperation as he was terribly worried that Rosette might not last longer and tried to run out of the control room. "Wait!" Father Remington called out and Chrono stopped. "Wait for what Minister?" Sister Kate asked. "We can't just stand there and watch the two of them die." Chrono frustratingly said. "This is the moment of truth for Rosette." The minister said. "Do you even know what you're saying Minister? That monster down there is going to eat their hearts and souls." Chrono said as he continued to raise his voice out of frustration. "If you were to save her now, nothing would be gained at all. Under these circumstances, she has only one option left." Father Remington explained as he tried to make a point. "You want Rosette to perform a soul exorcism alone?" Sister Kate asked as she knew how dangerous this was. "You do realize that your little test could cost Rosette dearly?" Sister Kate said to the minister. "Yet, not everything can be solved by pulling the trigger of a gun." Father Remington answered. "But if there is trouble, then I am going in!" Chrono said in a protective tone. "All we can do now is pray, pray that Azmaria's causality won't overtly influence Rosette." Sister Kate said and began to pray silently. "Causality?" Chrono asked himself in wonder.
In the meantime, Rosette quickly reached for the 'diving machine' and placed it over Azmaria by first loosening her clothes and then connecting the machine around her body. The 'diving machine' allows an exorcist to dive into a person's soul with the intention of driving the demon out of it and for other purposes as well. "I'm not really good at soul diving, but here it goes!" Rosette said to herself as she put on some protective gear around her eyes and activated the machine to dive into Azmaria's soul. A few moments later, Rosette's ghostly nude projection appeared in a grave yard. She saw what appeared to be Azmaria, holding a black tattered umbrella and staring at some white crosses as if she was under mind control. "Azmaria, look over here! If you don't fight back, your soul will be taken over!" Rosette called out to her. At the same time, the possessed Azmaria appeared abruptly before Rosette. "It's no use!" The possessed Azmaria said to Rosette. "You're the mind eater, aren't you?" Rosette asked. "That girl will never move again. Do you see those graves right there? Those are her mother and father's graves and the orchestra members that cared for her. Her powers were the cause for all of their deaths. God has entrusted her with a great power! Yet her heart fears the use of it." The mind eater explained with a sinister voice. "I can hear her, if only I didn't have this power!" The mind eater mockingly imitated Azmaria. Rosette then remembered the horns on Joshua's head and how it ruined him mentally. "Loneliness, fear, anxiety and more than anything else, power! Quite a comfortable place, isn't it?" The mind eater said sinisterly as she was taunting Rosette. "Shut up you fiend! I came here to rescue Azmaria, not listen to you!" Rosette yelled at the mind eater and Azmaria all of a sudden got back to reality. Seeing that Azmaria was no longer under mind control, the mind eater summoned a bunch of possessed looking Azmaria clones which started coming out of the ground around Rosette. They trapped her body in order to prevent her from driving the monster out of Azmaria's soul. "Azmaria can you hear me? There is nothing wrong with being afraid, but keeping those fears to yourself won't solve anything." Rosette said as she tried to reach Azmaria while the demonic Azmaria clones kept pulling her down the ground as she was holding onto one of the metal bars. "Keep your mouth shut you nasty girl!" One of the clones said to her as she was pinned to the ground. "Listen to me Azmaria! You don't have to be afraid of your powers. You have to fight back! You're not alone in this world! I am here for you, Chrono is too! We will be by your side!" Rosette yelled out. She tried to reach into Azmaria's conscience, hoping that she can still hear her. A tear began to drop on Azmaria's face as she appeared to be moved to what she said and she turned around and saw Rosette being trapped. "Shut up!" One of the Azmaria clones said as they continued restraining Rosette. "The important thing is that even when you're scared, you should be taking the next step forward." Rosette continued to yell out and one of the clones then bit her on the shoulder. Rosette yelled out of pain from the bite. "Rosette!" Chrono yelled out as he realized that Rosette was screaming from pain. "Nooooooo! Please don't take Rosette away!" Azmaria yelled at the doppelgangers and she let go of her umbrella. A strong bright light appeared from her body while wings appeared on her back. Once Azmaria flew towards Rosette and grabbed her hand, the spirit of the Virgin Mary appeared. The demonic Azmaria clones blew away like dust and the mind eater forcefully came out of Azmaria's body. Suddenly everything went still. Several minutes later, Chrono took off the diving gear around Rosette's closed eyes to check if she was okay. "Rosette, wake up! Are you alright?" Chrono asked curiously. "Chrono, is that you?" Rosette said as she weakly opened her eyes and saw him. "Thank God you're okay! I can't believe that you have actually fought with causality." Chrono said as he was relieved to see that Rosette was alright. Chrono slowly got Rosette up as she was too weak to stand up on her own. "Where is Azmaria, Chrono?" Rosette asked. Rosette and Chrono then turned around and saw Azmaria floating majestically with her angel wings. "Azmaria!" Rosette said smiling as they were looking at her with her eyes closed. Azmaria then opened her eyes and looked at them with gratitude. "Thank you Rosette! Thank you so much!" Azmaria said gratefully and flew happily towards Rosette and Chrono. "Rosette, I saw something." Azmaria stated as she hugged Rosette affectionately. "Yeah, I saw it too!" Rosette said and hugged her back as they were both referencing the fact that they have witnessed the appearance of the Virgin Mary's soul.