Inside an investigation room

  Zun realised she was in great trouble.

  Her muscles felt torn; even the slightest tremble was an annoying strain. Yet whatever pain she registered became quickly insignificant. Like an alerted prey, her senses were overwhelmed by a harsh yellowish overhead light, casting a suffocating heat into an already stifling room that could rival her attic room. Before her, there were two unmistakable figures dressed in the dark exorcist coat with the yin-yang symbol on their back, silently waiting for her to wake up. Despite her best effort to resist, she couldn’t help stealing a quick glance at one of the men’s faces.

  The day couldn’t get worse than this.

  Captain Koi was leaning against the near edge of a wooden table, fingers tapping impatiently on his folded arm. His face bore the look of a veteran coach, long stripped of youthful features. Dark wrinkles creased the corners of his eyes, adding a permanent aggressive edge. Though his long, dark hair was neatly kept, it seemed to drag his composure down further. Even without uttering a word, his presence already dictated the kind of authority and attitudes he carried.

  That old man’s tapping, Zun discerned, was like a disturbing loud crash in her head.

  His second-in-command, Lieutenant Chan, was seated opposite her, slightly less intimidating. His long face and long nose made him resemble a sculpture carved from straight lines, enhanced by the long dark hair that was tied into a low ponytail at its tip. However, these prominent features aside, he was far from stone-faced. Like water rippling beneath a calm surface, his expression was charged with a subtle undercurrent of tension, just barely hidden beneath his placid exterior.

  The questioning began as soon as they caught her alert eyes.

  Chan took the led and asked, "Tell us what happened?"

  “Erm, yes, officer. I-I was chasing a demonic clown who was trying to kidnap two kids, and suddenly another demon who took the form of a woman came out of nowhere, and the last thing I noticed before I went unconscious was that the little boy’s sister was running towards her and had left the protection seal circle I drew for them. ” Zun looked down, sweat dripping from her temple.

  "Interesting, because Tin—the little boy—has been severely wounded by a spell, and he recounts that you were the one who attacked him."

  Zun was dumbfounded by his words. She quickly responded, “There has to be a mistake. I totally blacked out. How could I possibly attack him, logically speaking?”

  However, his rather stubborn face told her he wasn’t interested in engaging with her excuse.

  “—And if I really want to harm him, why would I protect him in the first place??” Zun continued, locking his gaze with a look of assurance.

  “Because you were possessed by the second demon!" Chan replied, ending the sentence on a high note.

  “Wait, what? I was possessed??”

  Chan cleared his throat and spoke in a sharper tone. “You tried to protect the kids from the clown, but when the second demon came, it possessed you and started attacking the kids. When the demon sensed the presence of other Angels approaching, she ran away, taking the girl with her. The clown also escaped.”

  Zun started shaking her head aggressively, “That’s impossible. If I were possessed, how come I saw the demon in front of me? She was in front of me! I saw it with my own eyes. I am sure someone else attacked Tin using any damned spell after I became unconscious.”

  Chan pulled back his lips and raise his eyebrows as if trying to maintain his patience. “Maybe your account is wrong because you were already possessed by that time. Tin himself is the witness and the victim. Are you telling us he is lying?”

  He paused to steal a quick peep at Koi, and continued, “Just be honest, Zun, you are just afraid that you are not as capable as you thought you were, and maybe you have done the unthinkable.”

  “Lieutenant Chan, please! This is wrong, probably an illusion. Tin probably saw an illusion or—”

  “Maybe you were the one who was under the illusion.”

  “That’s impossible!”

  The back and forth exchange finally snapped Captain Koi out of his stoic stance. “It’s enough, Chan, we can stop this investigation now. We will not get anything out of that dumb head. Let the other Angels in and drag her to the exorcism room. We will confiscate all her weapons. A body that was previously hosted by a demon is very likely to have been marked with tainted energy, making it an easy vessel for other demons. We will have to call the team to perform the purification ritual on her and suck all the energy out to cleanse her aura.”

  Upon hearing this, Zun felt a sudden urge to throw up.

  Chan immediately replied, “Yes, Captain.”

  Zun clenched her fist, feeling the sweat dripping down her chin. She tried her best to recall the event and what she had heard, but everything was so cloudy.

  Did I really get possessed and attacked Tin? Have I caused his sister to be taken away? So I fail? Damn damn!!

  Chan stood up and opened the door, allowing a group of Angels armed with heavy chains to enter the room. They shot their chains at her, but Zun jumped on her feet in time to defend herself. More incoming chains aimed for her hands and legs as the Angels moved evenly across the room to surround her. In haste, Zun ignited a colourful talisman paper and threw it on the ground, erupting a cascade of dazzling fireworks, which deflected all the chains as they exploded. The colours washed the room in vibrant shades of rainbow light, almost likened to the scene of a noisy disco ball.

  “What kind of trick is that?” Chan exclaimed, confused and almost speechless.

  The room was quickly filled with smoke as the fireworks continued to burst with varying impact. All the Angels started to cough vigorously. Seizing her chance, Zun jumped across the wall to reach for the exit, but in the very next moment a figure emerged from the dense smoke in front of her and kicked her mid-flight with full force, sending her effortlessly to the back of the room.

  “Now tie her down and go and prepare the purification ritual!” Koi ordered with the same stone-cold voice.

  The Angels were almost sure he murmured “useless” at the end of his sentence. Amidst the suffocating air, they fought back tears stinging their eyes and bound Zun’s arms with their remaining chains, looking defeated.

  “Let me go! I’m not going to the exorcism room! I’m not going to face that nasty ritual!” Zun shouted at him as she struggled from their grips. Her body was still aching from the impact of the kick.

  “Oh? Why so scared?”, Koi questioned; his words riding on a taunting note.

  Chan felt his shoulders stiffened as the situation intensified. Zun resisted further and kicked the table, flipping it upside down, but it failed to hit the man she intended to.

  “Give me time to investigate this! Maybe there are some traces from the scene that we have missed. Maybe I wasn't really possessed. You can’t do this to me, FATHER!!”

  The final word invited an uncomfortable silence to envelope the room. For a moment, everyone appeared to be frozen in time, willingly minimising their existence to a point of becoming invisible. Then, the expected consequence followed. Koi moved abruptly toward Zun and hit her across the face vigorously. Chan looked away, unable to maintain a mutual expression. He squinted his eyes as the hit continued, getting louder each time. Zun's face turned red with bruises as she stood stricken by the uninvited aggression.

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  “Stop being so smug. Do you think I am as careless as you? We work with evidence. As the leader of the exorcist branch in the Lotus Town, I must be extra cautious, especially when a fool like you encounter situations you can’t even handle and makes things worse! Think about your worth in the ritual room and don’t call me your father, putting me to shame!” The last remark was especially harsh when Koi uttered those few words with his index finger firmly pointing at her.

  The room went silent again. Chan was still sweating anxiously as if the temperature had peaked from the heat of the argument. He motioned the Angels quickly to pull Zun out before another unexpected violence ruin their day further. As Zun turned her back on Koi, she filled the awkwardness and shame with a laugh.

  “Do you know he is a madman? He would do anything to save his honour, even in exchange for someone’s life. A madman, a madman HAHAHAA!” The laughter engulfed the whole atmosphere in madness.

  The door shut tight and Chan locked it properly as if to prevent the noise from seeping through any small gaps. “Ahem…that was a little intense…” Chan coughed rather pretentiously. “Anyway, Captain, do you think she is convinced?”

  Koi leaned forward and held his stomach tightly with one hand. “Of course, don’t you see she is acting exactly like a suspicious criminal?”

  Chan nodded.

  “How’s Tin’s condition?”, Koi asked.

  “As per your order, we have chained him up. Everything is now ready to channel the clown sealed inside.”

  “Good. Prepare the report that Zun was confirmed to be possessed at the scene, and the purification ritual will take place. It’s time now. Let’s go.” Koi remarked coldly.

  Along a hallway of the Exorcist building

  The hallway stretched long and narrow, brightly lit by a series of white overhead fluorescent lights. Faint echoes drifted down the path with muffled voices of Angels that were either practising spells or chatting about their work and lives. A smell of papers, freshly made coffee, and sweat lingered in the air, as if the building itself was breathing the moments passing by every corner.

  “Mrs. Sunny Yang, I need you to calm down!”, an Angel was repeatedly stressing at a woman. She was in her late twenties, but the dread and trauma marked her winkle so deeply it made her appear a decade older.

  “Please tell me they are fine!! Pleaseeeee!! They are my babies. How’s the investigation going? Do you manage to track Su already? Please, officer!“

  “I know madam, we understand your worries, and we are trying our best, but you need to comply with our investigation to support our search. Have you noticed any suspicious people around your house lately? Have you noticed any unusual friends of your kids? ” The Angel was becoming impatient.

  “It’s useless.” Another Angel arrived. “Can’t you see she is almost losing her mind? She is in no condition to answer any of the questions right now. What do you expect from a mom who let her kids out at night, and where is the dad anyway?”

  “The dad is unfortunately out of town. He has been away for a week now.” The first Angel explained as she glanced at the worried mom, “...that’s what she said.”

  Sunny became desperate as tears welled in her eyes. She wanted to hide her face at that moment and couldn’t bring herself to look into their eyes.

  “Yes…my husband is away on a business trip, but…but even so, there have been no-no suspicious people under my watch. I was oblivious that the kids had gone out. They are both good kids and listen to me all the time. I know they wouldn’t do silly things! Please, at least let me see my son. I want to be beside him. He must be scared.” She insisted.

  “Ma’am, your son is wounded by impurity and is currently being treated. We can’t allow you near him.”

  “Oh.., no, my boy. He is hurt!! He must be in pain. Please make sure he is alright. Please save my children. Tell him mama is here.” She almost collapsed to the ground. Her hysterical cry could be heard along the whole hallway.

  “Yes, madam. Please don’t worry. In that case, I think you will have to leave for now. We will contact you once there is an update.” The first Angel paused for a while before continuing, “Take care. Everything will be ok. Please excuse us.”

  “But can’t I at least see my son, even from behind the door? Maybe it will make him feel better. Just a glimpse, please. I know how scared he must be right now.”

  “Please respect our work and learn to keep a distance!”, the second Angel responded almost immediately before he turned and left.

  Sunny was devastated. The Angels were cold and uncompassionate.

  Inside a dark room

  The square room is heavily sealed with many spells written on the walls. There were no windows, and the only sources of light were the spell lamps hanging from the ceiling. Captain Koi was there with Lieutenant Chan and a few other Angels, standing in front of Tin. The little boy was strapped to a chair and positioned at the centre of the room in the middle of a big spell symbol drawn like overlapping sigil signs across the floor. He gagged out many fluids as blood continued to leak from his chest.

  “This won’t do. We need to force that damned clown to communicate through Tin!!”, Koi yelled.

  The Angels beside him started panicking. “The Clown is very wounded. Maybe…maybe he is still unconscious inside the boy’s body.”

  “Are you a fool?! That’s the very reason why I sealed him inside that child! With Tin’s blood and energy, he can heal himself as long as the kid is not dead. This is the perfect chance to grind him down and get the information we need. He has been inside the body for a fair amount of time already. He’s just trying to hide.”

  Koi started to cough rather harshly and was almost out of breath. A few spots of blood stained his shirt.

  “Captain, are you ok?”

  “Enough with the chit-chat. Better than you.”

  Koi took out his holy sword and wrote a spell with his blood. “Useless bunch of people. My energy is already out of balance, and here I can’t even depend on any of you. Let me show you how to handle this kind of case!”

  Koi stabbed through Tin’s arm at least a few centimetres deep. The child screamed with a dreadful cry so raw and piercing. Koi smiled in response to that active response. He recited a few lines of spell, which activated the sword and sent several shockwaves down the body. Chan felt tense witnessing this; his body trembled as he watched speechless. Tin, who was acting like a child a moment ago, began to scream with double-screeching voices. He lifted his face towards the ceiling; his left eye was still crying while the right eye enlarged and started rotating until it locked its gaze with Koi’s.

  With a voice as sharp as the sound of a clashing blade, the clown spoke, “You stupid Angel. You stupid man!!”

  “Took you long enough. Are you having a blood spa?” Koi responded.

  “Why do you trap me here?!! Just kill me already!”

  Koi narrowed his eyes. “Why so eager to die? Or are you just scared?”

  The demon groaned and started struggling to free himself from the chair. His breathing paced more rapidly.

  “Let me get straight to the point why are you targeting the kids?” Koi asked calmly.

  “Are you really a captain? Why? You don’t know?” The clown laughed uncomfortably.

  “Go on”

  “Of course, I wanna eat them. I met the boy in his house basement and I was able to get his attention with a candy. Lucky me, he later introduced me to his sister secretly without letting their mother know. What a dumb child?! They would be a fabulous meal, hadn’t you destroyed it!!!”

  “Dirty demon”, Chan murmured.

  “That’s all?” Koi was still looking at him calmly. His eyes had not left him for a minute.

  The clown felt his gaze like a deadweight, “W-what?”

  “Who is the other demon that came later and took the little girl? Her power is on a different level, and we failed to stop her from escaping. We are trying to trace that demon now." Chan asked to support his boss with the investigation.

  “You are never gonna get her back. Forget it! That little girl is definitely dead! You won’t even be able to collect her bones.”, the clown yelled.

  Koi narrowed his eyes. “Who is that demon?” He moved his hand to press on his stomach, where he sustained his heavy injury.

  “Huh? Seems like it has devoured some of your energy. Captain not looking good hahaha.”

  “Who is it?!!! Tell me who that damned demon is!!!!” Koi’s patience was running thin.

  The clown felt the heat in those words but clenched his teeth and remained silent.

  “Not gonna tell me, aren’t you?”

  “Just kill me, isn’t it better!!” The clown gave a pretentious laugh. “You all are just cowards who need to depend on a demon for your investigation. If I were you, I would quit of shameeee”, dragging the last word, the clown turned to all the Angels in the room.

  Nobody seemed to be bothered, not when the tension was stronger with someone else’s presence here.

  “Very well. You leave me with no choice.” Koi took out a long, rough cloth covered in multiple sigil signs. The surface of the cloth was breathing with countless tiny spikes. As he walked towards the back of Tin, the clown felt every footstep knock on his host’s heart like a hostile reflex.

  It’s torture time. The whipping started and with every slash, the pain stripped away all bits of strength. As the blood hit the floor, the traumatising experience became more audible.

  The sound of the whip brought back disturbing memories. It took away with every strike, the dream of a wounded child who learned to grow up with blood on her face.