What is it?

[ACMI: Alchemy]

The fact that a hospital waiting room was being used for an exorcism was kind of strange when Joule thought about it. They'd cleared out the area and it wasn't used much anyway so there wasn't likely to be any problems. Kanzaki was quite used to it so there wasn't much reason to worry.

Joule had been disarmed of anything the spirit might try to use as a weapon, that included her phone and her accessories. It was both so the spirit couldn't threaten them and so the spirit couldn't use Joule herself as a hostage.

Kanzaki had grabbed some wire from somewhere and used it to restrain Joule's arms in front of her. another length of the wire was used to tether her to the floor to stop the spirit from using her body as a weapon or from running away.

While all of this was going on, GV was watching over them. His job in all this was to check it was still Joule during all of this. If the spirit decided to try possessing her, they'd need someone that would be able to recognise something was wrong.

To the back of the room sat Touma (in a wheelchair) and Index. Touma's Imagine Breaker was the in-case of emergency option. Against something unknown, it was best to be careful. Index was a second pair of eyes on the ritual and would be able to tell more about the spirit when it was forced out.

Heaven Canceller was here to oversee treatment, he was not an expert but he was the one with the authority to call the treatment off if something had gone terribly wrong.

At last, everything was set up. Kanzaki drew out a copy of the bible and nodded.

"Joule, are you ready. I'll begin in a moment."

Joule took a breath.

"Go ahead."

[ACMI2: Voice of a Familiar Demon]

As Index had described it, an exorcism was a means to lure the spirit out. First in thought, then in form. The first step was to intentionally get the spirit to speak through Joule, that way they knew it was "Near the surface" so to speak.

Kanzaki nodded.

Flipping open the bible to a page she seemed to have marked earlier, she began to read.

"Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness."

Joule felt something strange as the magic took hold. The saint continued to talk, line by line. Joule had never studied the bible in a meaningful way so she missed a lot of the context but the story still gripped her.

"So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known." Joule felt a tugging and a building headache. But Kanzaki's words helped.

Finally, she finished the... chapter? Joule didn't know how they were split up. It felt a bit short to be the length of a chapter she knew though.

Kanzaki looked at Joule and spoke severly.

"Tell me truthfully. Who are you?"

"Joule." Her voice spoke before Joule had even been fully aware. Kanzaki frowned though.

"Beneath her, that which hides. Who are you?"

...Nothing but silence answered her.

"Speak, liar. You who would hide in a girl?"

Again, nothing came out. Index was looking seriously at it even as Kanzaki pondered. She wouldn't interupt though, not until this was done.

Kanzaki took a breath and advanced.

"I speak for the son, and for those with him. I command you to reveal yourself serpent!"

"Serpent?" Joule asked quietly- no. She didn't. She'd been told to stay silent after it had begun unless compelled.

GV leaned forwards and Index clenched her hand. Kanzaki nodded.

"You, serpent. Reveal yourself. Speak your name!"

Joule felt something catch hold within her. Her mind wavered, lightheadedness overtaking her as she chuckled.

"No."

Kanzaki blinked and Joule felt the pull growing stronger.

"Speak, by the lord I command it!"

"I do not serve your lord, I never have."

Index had pulled out a small pad of paper to write her thoughts in as she referenced her mental vault of books.

But, they'd managed to assure it was here at least, Kanzaki flipped through the bible again as she continued to read.

"The son was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed. But some of them said, "By Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons." Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven."

The tug on Joule's throat grew, a fishing line that had been attached to the spirit inside her.

"The son knew their thoughts and said to them: 'Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall.'"

"You seek to pull me out?" The spirit spoke through Joule's lips with an amused tone "If you wish to see me, then I shall be seen."

Before the spell finished, Joule's eyes warped. It was just like that time before when Joule's vision had doubled for a moment. Index gasped sitting forward. But Joule's attention was dragged away from those in the back to Kanzaki who stumbled slightly at the sight.

"Then let's see Saint, your will against mine. Your power against mine and that which I've gained from this wonderful host."

Joule's mouth opened wide and Kanzaki growled. With a breath, Joule was forced to sing.

[ASG2: Parallel World]

"The full moon goes on fading upside-down and within the morning glow…"

The room twisted and Heaven Canceller raised his hand "Stop this for now-"

But he wasn't fast enough. The world shifted and distorted, the song pulling apart the fabric of the world. At least until Touma ran forward. At his sight running closer, the thing using Joule's body froze long enough for her to grab control back. Her song cut off as Touma's hand broke "Something" in the air.

Everyone stumbled as the breaking wave struck them. While its effects weren't clear, they certainly wouldn't have been nice.

Index stood just as Touma collapsed. Now that the exorcism had been called off, Kanzaki quickly moved to check on Joule before going to help Touma back to his wheelchair.

She didn't look happy, neither did anyone else for that matter.

Joule was looking at her notes.

"Four eyes, singing, rejects the idea that it served the father... hmm."

Before she heard much more though, Joule began to collapse. This had taken a lot out of her too. GV moved in to catch her though.

End of chapter.

Thanks to the various websites that keep copies of the bible for easy copy/pasting of lines. I had no idea what an exorcism would actually look like in Toaru so I just took my best guess.