Click!
Seven locked the door behind him, stealing a second glance at the hallway through the door. No one seemed to have noticed them. Satisfied, he turned and gave Cordis a nod.
Surveying the empty classroom, he smiled softly.
'Are we really pulling this off?' he thought, reflecting on Cordis' meticulous and deliberate preparations.
Clutching the bag she had given him earlier, he ventured further into the dimly lit room, taking deep breaths.
His hands trembled slightly, betraying his inexperience. He had long prepared for a day like this, but practice was a far cry from theory.
Setting the bag aside, he resolved to follow her lead and not act alone.
"What is going on here?!" The teacher's voice boomed, his anger palpable.
"I just wanted to speak with you, Mr. Stefan..." Cordis stepped forward, the atmosphere growing increasingly tense.
"Not interested!" he interrupted, already making his way to the door.
Seven intercepted, "Uh...Sir, it-it's really important..."
"It can wait!" he snapped, shoving Seven aside.
"You can at least have this..." Cordis offered softly, closing the distance between them in a quick step and standing between him and his exit.
Pressing a red apple toward his face, the teacher recoiled, visibly annoyed.
Before he could lash out, however, Cordis placed her hands on his forehead and softly muttered, her voice tinged with urgency...
"The Master commands you, remain still..."
An indescribable peace overwhelmed them, and it took Seven a great amount of willpower to remain self-conscious.
The same couldn't be said for the teacher as his knees buckled. Seven rushed forward and held him up; together, they dragged him to the nearest chair and made him sit.
He was still conscious, but his movements were sluggish. He could barely sit upright, his countenance showing annoyance but too weak and uncoordinated to act.
"Here," Cordis said, handing him a small book. It bore familiar patterns on the cover, and its deep brown color spoke of its survival over time.
"I hope you can read Latin..." she said with a small smile, pulling out a transparent bottle.
Without wasting another second, she closed the windows and circled the classroom three times, emptying the bottle's contents in her wake while saying inaudible prayers.
Finishing the ritual as Seven stood watching, she moved past him toward the door. With precise patterns traced in the air with her index finger, a dome materialized in her path.
It glowed a faint blue, appearing fragile and spiraling in deliberate patterns.
"Ready?" she asked, coming to stand beside him, her heaving chest betraying her nervousness.
"It's my first time..." Seven thought it was important to note.
"Mine too..."
Seven's eyes widened, hoping it was a joke...a very bad joke.
"Alone...what I meant to say is that it's my first time without them, but you're here, right?"
No single person can conduct an exorcism alone; was that why she brought him here? Wasn't it too much of a gamble, given he was a novice? Or was it that simple?
"We don't have much time before the requiem spell wears off... Whatever you do, make sure you don't show fear..."
Seems like they are well-informed, just as he thought. He remembered Zephyr saying something like that in one of their sessions back at home...
"These demons are more afraid of you than you'll ever be of them. Know yourself, know your enemy, and that is how you win. Fear gives them command over you..."
"...and that's something you never want them to have."
"In Nomine Patris et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti..." Cordis' barely whispered voice interrupted his train of thought, and he quickly followed suit.
"Let's see what you truly are..." she mumbled, walking toward the teacher, raising his chin, and lifting a metallic object he hadn't seen in her possession before to his face.
Waving it back and forth above his eyes as if trying to hypnotize him, his gaze slowly lost focus, but a different pupil, more malicious and glowing with anger, resurfaced, following the object instead.
"Who are you?" Cordis whispered, her eyes narrowing as she moved back to stand beside him.
Growl!
A low growl emanated from the teacher as Cordis swiftly flipped through the small book she held.
On instinct, he did too. Stopping simultaneously, their voices harmonized as they chanted, eyes fixed on the book:
"Exorcizamus te, omnis immunde spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica, in nomine et virtute Domini nostri Iesu Christi..."
Seven had never felt such adrenaline in his system as a biting chill overwhelmed him. The pressure in the room intensified, and a chaotic wind whipped around.
The dome shone brighter to absorb the chaos as their voices rose, fighting to be heard against the odds:
"...eradicare et effugare a Dei Ecclesia, ab animabus ad imaginem Dei conditis ac pretioso divini Agni sanguine redemptis."
They were truly invested and didn't stop until the chaos subsided.
Raising his head slowly from the book to look, he wished he hadn't as he saw the man levitating. He wasn't far from the ground, but it was enough to produce a thudding sound when he hit the floor the next second.
Turning to his left, he saw Cordis on her knees...the sound echoed, and he hurriedly helped her up.
Then the cracking came, and the man's body started twisting and contorting at unnatural angles.
Desperately, he looked to Cordis for help, only to be disappointed as she wasn't in the best shape to assist either.
Her eyes were tightly shut as her hands squeezed his upper arm like her life depended on it.
"Cordis..." he called out, his voice trembling at the unpleasant turn of events.
She couldn't respond, biting her lips, her face contorted in pain.
Shriek!
An inhuman sound wave hit him, and he turned to see the man rolling on the floor, his hand outstretched as if seeking help.
His mind raced, and feeling Cordis' grip loosen, he breathed a sigh of relief as she stood upright, albeit facing the door instead of the victim.
"Mr. Stefan, fight it!" she shouted, staggering a few times.
"Seven, continue please..." she requested, still facing away. The strain in her voice was evident, and Seven didn't waste another moment, bringing the book back to his face.
"It's time!" he said, a new emotion washing over him. Creating a space around him devoid of distractions, he continued...his voice stern...
"Your time is up! Such measly tricks fool no one. Begone!" he shouted, earning a glare from whatever had replaced their teacher.
His eyes were now bloodshot, and the outline of an upside-down cross became visible on his forehead.
"Ana z'urā," he muttered, crawling toward Seven. "Ana ḥurbātk. Āšrayāk."
He was sure he was unfamiliar with the language and yet he understood perfectly. Something nascent crawled in his mind, persistent and yet fulfilling. It made him restless like he knew what to do and at the same time didn't.
He stood his ground, however, and on instinct, outstretched his hand, showing his bracelet, the cross pendant reflecting a ghostly light that appeared to threaten the entity.
Affected, he grabbed his hair and lunged at Seven.
"I command you in the name above all names, Jesus..." He persisted, his voice stopping him in his tracks.
"Go to the feet of the cross for your judgment..."
The entity even with his movements slowing down, reached out to grab Cordis in its last attempts.
"Little one!!!" Seven concluded, tapping into that spring that made his soul so restless. He felt an overwhelming peace wash over him and closing his eyes regarding the dangerous situation he was in, he could see it...
An ethereal energy coursing through him. A near-golden color tinged with divinity.
It was only for a second, and snapping his eyes just in time to behold the horrified look on the demon's face as it slipped away into the abyss.
Thud!
The man fell once more into a graceless sprawl, but this time he was free.
Staring at him on the floor he noted a very important date in his mind...
"7th July, 2023. My first Exorcism..."