“The good man though a slave, is free;
the wicked, though he reigns is a slave” – St. Augustine
Chapter 1 – Devil-Possessed
Prisoner
When a person sins, they open
themselves up to demons. The demons use this opportunity to make the sinner sin
more and in harsher ways. In this world, the demons sometimes manifest
themselves through the person. The sinners think that they are given a special
power over them when, in fact, the demons are just using them as their puppet,
and the more a person sins, the more a person loses themselves. The Church’s
division of exorcists is busier than ever because of this as the demons that
use gullible and prideful sinners to commit evil deeds while staying as far away
from them as possible.
There are three levels of demonic possession.
Disruptors are people who experience slight demonic possession, but mostly have
control of themselves and know that they should seek immediate help. Hallucinated
are people who think their abilities are natural or a gift from God that they
are just learning how to control. These kinds of people can recognize that the
condition they have is bad only when they sin in a way they didn’t intend. The
last and most dangerous level is keter. These people are sinners convinced that
they have control over the demons possessing them and use them to do whatever
they want or whatever the demons suggest. Keter level possession wipes a person’s
memory of who they are and restricts them to a barebones moral compass. People
with the keter level possession are actively sought out after by the Church who
go to extreme lengths to capture and contain them.
Currently, there is an escorted prison
carriage carrying a keter level possessed woman to the nearest demon treatment facility.
Her name is Estella and she’s been a high priority target who’s been causing
trouble in the area for months with her prostitution ring. In the carriage with
her is a nun who is constantly mentally praying with her eyes closed to suppress
Estella’s demonic power.
“What’s that red cross on your
head, sister? Does it mark you as someone special?” Estella asks.
“…”
“You must be if so many people
were dedicated to protecting you. What makes you special?”
“…”
“Does it have to do something with
your eyeshadow? I thought nuns weren’t supposed to wear makeup. You look like
one of my girls now that I have a good look at you.”
“…”
Aggravated by the nun’s silence, Estella’s
demon of persuasion manifests from her eye.
“You know all your people died
painfully because of me, my girls, and goons. I made sure you witnessed every
second of it to break you down so if we won, you would be easier to turn into
another willing toy to sell for a man’s pleasure.”
The nun opens her eyes with a disgusted
look on her face. Estella mischievously grins as she eagerly awaits her response
before being stabbed in the eye with a crucifix dagger that makes the demon dematerialize.
“Agh! You! You’re lucky that my eye
heals, and I’m restrained.”
“Silence, whore,” the nun says with
a stern voice that only further aggravates Estella.
“Do you think that my friends will just
let you take me away? I’m too valuable for them to just let go.”
“They can’t save you. Only God can.
You should be thanking us for bringing you to a place where you’re going to be
healed.”
“You don’t think my powers are a gift
from God? They’re a reward for providing an essential service to lonely people
who need to feel a sense of closeness to others.”
“You make people into mindless slaves
of pleasure.”
“Haha, call it what you want. I do
what I’m supposed to.” The prison carriage is abruptly attacked by Estella’s supporters.
“My friends have arrived. Beg for mercy now and I’ll ease you into your new
role.”
The nun goes back to her prayers
and tries to concentrate despite the action and the rocking of the carriage.
“Your prayers won’t help you,
sister! This is God’s will that you become mine!”
The fighting outside shakes the
carriage in a way that makes the nun fall on Estella’s lap. With this opportunity,
Estella’s demon comes out from her eye and a hand materializes from her
stomach. The demon’s hand holds the nun’s throat as the demon speaks through
Estella.
“Submit to me before it’s too late,”
it says before chanting a spell on her.
The nun manages to break free of
the trance and uses her crucifix dagger to stab Estella in the eye again. This dematerializes
the demon’s head and hand.
“Agh! Stop doing that!”
“I’ll stop if you stop being such a
filthy wretch!”
The carriage then flips over and
breaks. Estella and the nun aren’t seriously injured by the crash as both make
it to their feet, however, Estella’s demons make her get on her feet faster so
she can escape. Once she escapes, she finds that both her rescue and the Church’s
escort have been killed to the last man.
“Guess I’ll have to make my own way
back.”
Estella’s demons manifest from her
eye and stomach to try to break her bonds but can’t manage it. Even her
strengthened arms aren’t able to do anything to them. Meanwhile, the nun
manages to sneak up behind her and stab her crucifix dagger into her stomach.
“AAAAH!! You…”
The nun says a prayer while turning
the dagger like a key until the prayer is done. She takes out the dagger and
slowly walks away from Estella. Estella gets up and turns to the nun with a
gentle smile.
“Sister Astra. What’s the matter?”
Estella asks.
“You said that name the first time
we gave you a minor exorcism. How do you know my name?”
“I don’t know. I just somehow
recognize your face, and what do you mean minor exorcism? Can’t you fully exorcise
these demons from me?”
“I don’t have the authority to even
though I’m a Supreme Moderator nun. That’s why we have to hurry before you lose
control again.”
“I won’t lose control again. I promise. I'll do whatever I'm supposed to.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t
keep. Sinners like you typically fall into your filth over and over again without
much or any resistance to it.”
“Why did you have to say that,
Astra? It won’t help me stay in control.”
“Because it’s the truth. You and so
many others have done it before, and you’ll do it again if the demons aren’t
exorcised from you.”
“Okay…I understand.”
“We’ll be blessed if a patrol of exorcists
finds us. It’d be easier to get you to the closest demon treatment facility.
What are you waiting for? Follow me.”
“Ye-yes, Astra.”
“Stop calling me by my first name
and just call me sister.”
“Yes, sister.”
Astra and Estella make their way through
the wreckage of the failed rescue attempt and follow the road in the hopes of it
leading to a nearby town or place to rest. Meanwhile, Estella’s demons that are
sparked by Estella’s annoyance of Astra’s harshness slowly regain their energy
and wait for the right opportunity to strike.
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