Rotting in a Sinful World: Chapter 1 - Small Light

Chapter 1 – Small Light

After the first sin, the world began to darken and rot. Those who sin lose the skin on their bodies as well as their soul since sin lessens the image of God on humans. Confession to God and penance allows oneself to keep their skin, but there are confessions and acts of penance that God does not accept, which are done to preserve themselves rather than as an honest apology to God. Since most people want their view of reality to be true, they find other ways to keep the skin on their bodies or only confess some of their sins and even less do penance. There are relatively few who confess as they should, one of which is a young boy who is near to death’s door.

He follows a star to a small broken down village where the star seems to be hovering over unbeknownst to its inhabitants except for the children of the village who reach out and cry to it before they are silenced by their blind parents who hardly have any skin on their bodies. Some of these people even prey upon the children and those who are still innocent to take their innocence and skin for themselves to satisfy their empty souls. These same people eye at the passing boy with some wondering who he is. He wonders who they are as well and why the star led him here, so he goes up to the least suspicious looking man to ask him a few questions.

“Excuse me. Do you know if there’s a place to rest around here?” the young boy asks.

“You can rest wherever you like as long as you don’t forget to move someplace else before you cause trouble,” the man answers back.

“What do you mean?”

“I know your wandering type. You’re looking for a way to keep the skin on your bones. No one else wanders the world by themselves for any other reason.”

“You got me there. It’s why I’m following that star in the sky.”

“What star? There are hardly any. In fact, I think there were more stars in the sky when I was born.”

“A voice told me to follow it. Anyways, do you know where I might find a person from the tribe who struggled with God? I’m sorry I can’t be specific about what tribe, but I forgot their name.”

“You must be madder than I thought. First, you say that you’re following a star. Second, you tell me you’re doing it because a voice told you, and third, you’re telling me that you’re looking for the tribe that struggled with God.”

“I know how crazy it sounds, but can you please help me?”

“I can tell you that the tribe is spread among the nations and has prostituted themselves to their masters. You’ll be hard pressed to find any of them who are still faithful to their God if they aren’t pretending to so you can give them your possessions and praise. Their God did allow their enemies to kick them out of their land after all.”

“Still, I must find them or at least wherever the star wants me to go to do penance for my sins and regain my skin. My life and soul are at stake.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it if I were you. You’re healthier than most. Besides, why would you want to do penance to that God any way that cursed us with this affliction?”

“It’s what right.”

“What is right, and who gets to decide it? I’ve decided what’s right for me and you should do the same. It looks like you already have.”

“I didn’t decide that this was the right thing to do.”

“You did say that a voice told you. Was it your own or was it someone else?”

“It was someone else’s I’m sure of it!”

“You wouldn’t sound so anxious if you’re sure. Whatever the case is, that’s all I got for you. Leave me alone to rot here unless you want to do the same.”

The boy does as the man says as both slowly lose more of their flesh. Time is running short, so the boy looks to the sky to see that the star appears to have moved. Going in its direction, the boy is stopped by the sight of warriors clothed in the skin of their victims who have entered the village. They have swords, spears, and daggers in their skin-made-sheathes along with pictures of the boy in their hands.

“Have you seen this boy? The king wants his son back. We offer rewards that include skin to all who help us,” one of them says to a village resident.

Looking back up at the star, the boy feels its pull as if it’s telling him to quickly move., however, he thinks it better to get these people off his back first before moving on so they don’t bother him later.

“There you are, prince. You should be going back home,” one of them says.

The boy takes his rusty sword out and decapitates this one before taking a defensive stance then saying, “Leave and forgot that you saw me if you want to live.”

“You still have the same skills your family taught you, and yet, you ran away to chase a star we hear? What devil or god has gotten into you?”

“The truth has. If you repent now, you can save your skin, your life, and your soul.”

“We don’t need your god of truth to save us. We have our own god that has made our lands prosperous.”

“Your god has made you murderers, thieves, and slavers.”

“And you were a prince among us.”

“I was, but no longer am.”

“Enough of this. Come back or else we’ll have to skin you right here. Your parents did say that we could bring you back dead or alive.”

“Just try doing that.”

Thanks to the young prince’s knowledge and skills in fighting, he can dispatch his hunters despite being outnumbered three to one. His battle-hardened instincts also let him hear someone creep up from behind him. He dodges it and cuts the hand off the one who tried to stab him. It's a peasant man with hardly any skin on him. Behind him is his family plus some more armed villagers who are hungry for skin and rewards.

“Get him!” the villagers say.

“Let’s make those tyrants pay us for a change!” one says.

“No, they’ll be paying me!” another argues.

“No, me!”

“I need it more!”

“I just want his skin! I hardly have any left!”

The villagers start fighting among themselves with a few going after the prince. This makes the fight and leaving the village easy for him. He then hides under a rotting apple tree and looks back up at the star before noticing his skin falling off.

“I guess I should’ve listened to the star’s pull,” the prince says to himself. Looking up at the star, he asks, “Why didn’t you tell me more directly like when you first called?”

“You made the right decision. There was no need for my input,” a voice says from the dark of the sky that seems to be coming from the moon.

“I should’ve left. The village wouldn’t turn on each other if I did and I wouldn’t have any more blood on my hands. Oh, why can’t I get out of this habit of mine?”

“That habit saved your life. If you didn’t use it, then those people would’ve kept chasing you until you reached your final destination.”

“How much longer will it be?”

“You’ll see soon enough. Just have some faith.”

“Okay, I trust in you, God of truth. Give me the strength to do what’s right as you did when you helped me escape my family’s castle and country.”

The voice from the dark leaves him as the prince continues following the star in the sky hoping that his destination is truly near as he feels that his death is near.

A collection of the Exorcism of the Hollow series is out!

Kindle ($4.99) - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09QHLVXW6/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Paperback ($9.99) - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09QFFZW7Q?psc=1&smid=A1Y53T3O3Q25L8&ref_=chk_typ_imgToDp

Evil can only prosper if good men refuse to do the right thing.
Alessio is a normal high school student who can see the spiritual and ends up becoming an exorcist. Across this series, he'll learn the consequences of eternity and that the worse enemy is not only from within but also those in our Church and even our family. If we and those around us don't fulfill our responsibilities, then how can we expect the world to change?

My latest book is out today!

Download for free on Smashwords - https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1126461

While bickering with his father-in-law, Triton, Alessio is surprised to find that the home of the exorcists is under attack by demons and hollows who claim to be from his mother's side of the family. These hollows kidnap his children and are stern in their devotion to sin. Now, Alessio must fight the difficult battle of fighting his family who would rather go to Hell than Heaven.

Exorcism of the Hollow: Weeding Out the Family: Chapter 3 – Father-in-Law and Son-in-Law Bonding Experience

Chapter 3 – Father-in-Law and Son-in-Law Bonding Experience

Of all the people to come across…

“If it isn’t the interracial-”

Nope. Don’t have time to entertain punks that like anymore. Triton and I walk a different way while keeping an eye out for trouble.

“Friends of yours?” Triton asks.

“Not at all,” I respond before we see the enemy watching us from the rooftops.

They’re all already in their hollowed forms and seem to be holding something.

“You had your chance, nephew,” one of them says before showing a statue of the Blessed Virgin in his hand and crushing it.

More of them crush similar statues, which allows a seemingly endless horde of demons to come out of thin air to fight us.

“This is a little overkill, don’t you think?” I say aloud.

“You can never be sure with an exorcist who can use an Ombra’s magical abilities.”

“It isn’t magic.”

“Sure it isn’t. This is your last chance to join our side, nephew. My brother, your father, would like it. He told me from the depths of Hell himself.”

“Then that’s all the more reason not to join you.”

“Really? He told me that you two were close. Why would you choose this crusty old royal over your own real family?”

“He is my real family. I’ll admit that even you and everyone here except for the demons are family as well, but you force me to fight you because you chose to be slaves to sin and hollow angels.”

“My nephew and niece share your stubbornness and is more of a weakness than a strength.”

“Give them back to us!”

“How about we bring you to them instead? We’ll bring you to them without your limbs.”

The demons leap at us and my Ombra ability activates allowing me to unleash a barrage of fire to banish most of the demons. A few of them survive the barrage, however, lightning from the sky strikes them.

“That wasn’t me,” I say to Triton.

Looking behind us, we see Magnus approaching us. He then disappears and a few of the hollows disappear in the blink of an eye. One of the hollows then tries to bring in more demon reinforcements by breaking a statue of Mary. Magnus stops them by taking the statue and throwing them into another hollow to take out both.

“Magnus!” I say.

Magnus appears in front of us then says, “This place is more dangerous than you think. Both your father’s side and mother’s side of your family are here.”

“Did you bring any backup?”

“I am the backup,” someone I expected to hear says from behind us as several demons and hollows fly from behind us.

We turn around to see Marina. I knew my wife wouldn’t sit this one out!

“I told you to stay behind, princess. Alessio, your father, and I can handle this,” Magnus says.

“You weren’t watching your back, so it looks like you needed my help. Besides, my children’s lives and souls are at stake. This is a family matter. Should you really be here?”

“He’s a brother to me, so I say that he should be here.”

“Obviously. I was just saying.”

“Anyways, are you ready to do this together? Let’s not keep them waiting,” I say.

Magnus’ moves in a blink of an eye into the battle to fight off the many demons by himself. On the other hand, Marina and her dad charge in to fight the hollows with their swords. I stick back and use my Ombra blessing that allows me to create multiple versions of myself to help everyone at once. Together, we bring down my family as a family.

With only one left, I spare him and ask, “Where are my kids?!”

He then surprises me by impaling his own throat on my blade and mocks me by saying, “You’re too late. They’re ours now.”

Bastard. There’s no one else I can ask now since the rest are ash like this one.

“What do we do now?”

“I know where your kids are,” Magnus says.

“You do?” I ask.

“I didn’t come here to blindly look for them. The Ombra are the exorcist’s best after all.”

“It’s also why I came here. Now, come on!” Marina says as she leads the way.

We rush to a nearby inconspicuous house that’s slightly larger than the others, bust our way in, and go into the basement. There we find another set of stairs that leads us to a larger basement with hollows, demons, and my kids who look like they’re about to be sacrificed in a Satanic circle-! Not again. Not like before…Why, God? Memories of seeing my dad and sister come back to me as it whispers despair into my ears. It’s just like before. I couldn’t do anything to save them. I can’t seem to do anything to save my family.

“You bastards! How could you do that?!” Marina says as she charges at the hollows.

Magnus backs her up and the two fight the demons and hollows who sacrificed my kids for their own power. Triton is about to join the fight until he turns around and notices me on my knees. He swings his sword at a demon near me and tries to get me to my feet. What’s he saying? My ears are too preoccupied with the whispers to hear him properly. Turning around, I see the demon that killed my mother, father, and sister. The same one that’s been bothering my entire life that also wears my face.

“He’s mine. He’s always been mine,” it says.

“Away with you demon!” Triton says as he fights it.

“You’ve been mine as well. I’m jealous that my cousin who deals with royals gets to have more time tempting you than I.”

“Get up, Alessio!”

What’s the point? I’m a failure of a son, brother, and now a father. I haven’t gotten stronger or changed at all. Emilio…Luca…I’ve failed you, my beautiful children. Magnus teleports in front of me, but Triton steps in front of him to hit me for him. Meanwhile, the demons and hollows are combining into a singular hollow in the back that Marina is trying to banish.

Triton holds me up and says, “Get up and fight! This isn’t over yet! You still have a family to protect! What happened to that stubborn son-in-law that I knew that would risk his life for his family and what he thought was right? Bring him back!”

He’s right. I won’t fall like I did last time. Not when my family still needs my help.

I push aside Triton then say, “Stop yelling so much, old man. I get enough of it from your daughter.”

The demon is now completely formed. One part of it is male, another female, and the bottom part is a child. Each has horns on its head, but only the male and female parts of it have arms. It seems to be a singular family.

“Back off, Marina! That demon is going to be more trouble than the rest,” Magnus says.

She does as he says then asks, “What is it?”

“It’s one of the six major demons. It tears apart families, preys on the unbaptized, and commands legions of generational demons.”

“I see that I need no introduction,” the demon says in one unified voice, “Bow before me then. I, who has controlled humanity through their sins, since the beginning of their existence.”

“Not a chance,” I say.

“Is the failure who has sent many of his family to Hell one to speak against one such as I?”

“I’m not a failure. I still have my family here with me and together, we’ll put you back into the depths of Hell where you belong!”

With our combined strength, we defeat the demon as if it were another typical demon. After, we don’t celebrate especially since the demon consumed the body of my kids to form itself. The damned thing couldn’t even give us anything to bury, not that there was much to bury because of how my hollowed family cut them up.

“Whelp. We’re done here,” I dismissively say while walking up the stairs.

Marina grabs my hand then says, “Alessio…”

“I…I know. I’m…I’m so sorry, Marina.”

We cry in each other’s arms until we hear Magnus and Triton begin to cry as well. Together, we all morn my kids before leaving. As we leave, I look around the house and a particular picture on a table gets my attention. Most of these pictures are of my family that I never knew. The picture that got my attention is one of my family when my mom was still alive. It’s all of us together when things seem so simple to me. Marina, Magnus, and Triton look at me as if expecting something.

“It’s time to leave the past where it belongs. My side of the family may be completely lost, but I still have one that needs me,” I say.

Heading back home, we go to the mystics to find out the fate of the souls of my kids. We’re pleased to find out that they’re in Purgatory on their way to Heaven. They only request that we say a mass for them so they can be in Heaven once the mass concludes. At least I didn’t completely lose them. The mystics then say that it’s thanks to what Marina, Triton, my family, and I taught them that they were able to resist the temptations of the hollows and the demons and they didn’t want us to be sad that they were gone. Don’t you worry. I’m not sad or I’m trying not to be at least. I’m proud that you are able to make it to Heaven. That’s the ultimate goal of our lives after all.

After, Marina assures me that we can have more kids and I ask her, “Are you being a horny cougar again?”

She hits me then says, “Shut up. I’m just saying. Anyways, I better get back to work and get an earful from the higher-ups.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to head home and get started on making more children?”

“It’s a tempting thought, but not right now. Maybe later tonight,” she says before kissing me and walking away.

“You did good today, I’ll admit,” Triton says from behind me.

“Wow. Are you complimenting me? This must be a miracle,” I say while crossing myself.

“Don’t let it get to your head.”

“I won’t. I don’t feel like I deserve it anyway.”

“But you do. My grandchildren, your children, are going to be in Heaven soon because of you.”

“And because of their grandfather.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Thank you for your help. I couldn’t have accomplished what we did without you and I probably would’ve been dead.”

“Okay, stop complimenting me. It’s too strange coming from you.”

“I mean it though. I’ll try to be a better man for God and my family. I promise you this, Triton.”

“Stop calling me by my name, son. You can call me your father.”

I hug him and he hugs me back.

“Okay, dad, do you want to go back to sparring to ready ourselves for our next future assignment, or is that a bad idea? I’ve still beaten you more times than you’ve beaten me.”

“That’s going to change. You’ll have more defeats than victories soon enough.”

“You’re on, old man!”

“Again with calling me that…”

I’ve noticed that every big moment in my life has more of a beginning of something than an ending. I began to take the salvation of my soul more seriously, I began to care about the Church, and now I’ve begun to care more about my family. I’ll treat every exorcist, member of the Church, and beyond as if they were family. Today, I will let go of my sinful past and embrace my potentially holy future, and through it all, I’ll give glory and honor to God and not become hollow like the demons and unrepented sinners, but like the hallowed angels and saints.

 

The End

Exorcism of the Hollow: Weeding Out the Family: Chapter 2 – Cleansing a Tainted Bloodline

Chapter 2 – Cleansing a Tainted Bloodline

It’s strange to me seeing the old man in normal clothes. Down in the home of the exorcists, he’s typically in his royal exorcist outfit since the entire place is spiritual and the clothes of an exorcist are a reflection of their soul. Without his king-like mask, I can better see the resemblance between him and Marina. He has a very feminine face and he doesn’t look like he’s aged past his thirties. I guess appearing younger than you are actually runs in the family. Right now, he’s wearing a simple blue dress shirt with gold roses on it and a pair of black dress pants and shoes. Can’t go anywhere without showing off can you, old man?

“You ever been out like this, old man?” I ask him while on the plane to our destination.

“Yes, I have, but only for assignments. Why do you want to know?” he says.

“Just trying to make small talk.”

“Keep it to a minimum and focus on the mission. I don’t want to drag this out.”

“Okay then. Do it for Marina then. She does want us to get along after all.”

“As if you do what she wants.”

“Most of the time I do. I could also say the same for you.”

“You could. I’ll admit that because I’m still her father and still hold some authority over her because of that. You, on the other hand, do not.”

“I’m her husband, so of course I do. Also, don’t forget that it’s because of me charging into the Vatican and knocking some heads in that Marina got to where she was meant to be so that the exorcists could be changed.”

“What are you guys talking about?” some punk asks us.

“Mind your own business,” we say to him.

The old man and I don’t speak again until we leave the airport and head to where the exorcists think most of my family is, which is my hometown known as New Horizon. As I look out over it, I get some nostalgia from some of the good memories that I had here. The nostalgia is then ruined by the fact that most of the good memories here were with my little sister and dad and remembering that I’ll never see them again.

“It’s no wonder you came out the way you were. This place looks worse than the worst parts of the peasant districts,” the old man says.

Ignoring what he said for now since he’s kind of right, we begin our investigation first by going to my old home. I’ve been wanting to come back here ever since I left to go to the home of the exorcists, but I never had time to come back. I immediately go upstairs to the room where I found my sister’s and dad’s dead bodies without really wanting to. The room contains a place where I’ve left their pictures and possessions as a sort of place to honor their memory. I’ve also included my mom’s picture and possessions here so that our family would seem to be complete again. Just looking at it all now makes me wish they were alive so that I would have a second chance to save them.

“I’m surprised that you kept this place despite not coming here anymore. You should just let it go,” the old man says.

“This place is still important to me. I won’t let go of it yet,” I say.

“Why not? I can see that you’re sad when you look at the pictures of your family. You’ll never see them again so it’s best to do what God did and forget about them.”

“I wish I forgot about what happened and I pray every day for it not to bother me, but my failure to save them still haunts me.”

“Let it go then.”

“How am I supposed to be doing that especially now when we’re hunting down the remnants of my family?”

“Concern yourself with only what you have to do. Focus on Marina and my grandchildren. Do you think that we’ll find them here?”

“I thought they might be here because of its importance to my family and…”

“And?”

“And it looks like someone was here. I don’t remember these flowers being here. They’re real and fresh, unlike the plastic flowers I left here. They must’ve been here recently.”

The sound of someone walking up the stairs gets our attention and the old man and I ready our exorcist blessing. Three people open the door and walk in with flowers.

The woman in the group says, “Excuse us. We were going to bring more flowers for our deceased. We prayed for their intercession for victory and for you to come to us. It seems that our prayers have been answered to their fullest.”

“Where are my kids?!” I say with my sword drawn and pointed at her throat.

“If you want to find them, then strike me down,” she says while walking around me to put the new flowers in with the old ones, “Show your devotion to our family.”

You asked for it. I try to cut her down, but she leaps behind my mom’s possession before my sword touches her. Thankfully, I’m able to stop myself before I strike the picture of my mom. One of the other two then pretend to attack the old man before going behind him and doing the same thing-!

“Careful!” I say as the old man destroys my sister’s stuff.

“You see? This old man doesn’t care about our family. He only cares about his own and he does that just because it’s his duty. You saw that he would kill his own daughter when she broke the exorcist’s laws for you.”

“Shut up! You don’t care about ‘our’ family either since you stole my kids.”

“We’re trying to help them be like your mom. If we wanted you dead, we would’ve had you killed when you got off the plane or even before you became an exorcist. We’ve been protecting you for your entire life. Why do you think the demon that killed your mother didn’t go after you again after she banished it until after you became an exorcist?”

“You knew about that demon? If you care about our family, then why did you let it kill my sister and dad?!”

“Because the demon told us there was a chance they would turn against us and join the exorcists. It was already hard enough trying to get you to join us when you kept banishing every demon in this town. We didn’t want the same thing happening to them.”

“You bastards!”

My exorcist clothes completely transform me as I raise my hand and sword. Along with this, my Ombra blessing activates as I use parts of the wall, ceiling, and floor to stab the three before cutting them down until one remains.

The last one says, “Does your God like allowing our family to die in this room?”

“Shut up!”

“Why fight against us? I already see your potential in your mask that the exorcists think is a penitential practice when it is really a show of your best trait. The pride and anger shown in its grinning black, gold, and red face tells me about your hatred for injustice.”

“Cut her down and stop letting her talk!” the old man says as I realize that she is slowly transforming into her hollow demon-like appearance.

I do as he says just as she transforms, but even as she is cut in two, she says, “The rest of us will come after you and you’ll have no choice but to fight us. You declared war against your own family.”

She then disappears into ash along with the other two. I fall to my knees and transform out of my exorcist appearance and look at the picture of my mom as if nothing happened and silently asking her to comfort me like she used to.

“What’s wrong with you? Get up! We have to get out of here before more of them come,” the old man says.

“I know you have no problem striking down your family when you think it’s the right thing to do, but I don’t,” I say.

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ll bring it up again and since Marina isn’t around here, I can be more honest in my wording. Do you actually care about Marina more than your duty?”

“You don’t let go of that, do you? You’re listening to the hollows too much.”

“Give me an honest answer and I’ll stop asking.”

“Of course, I care about my daughter. Even when she broke our laws, I loved her and thought I was doing the right thing by trying to end her life because at least then she wouldn’t suffer that much in either Purgatory or Hell. I thought that if she continued as she was it would’ve been worse for her.”

“What do you think now?”

“You know what I think. If I think something is wrong, I’ll go to any lengths I have to go to correct it. My thinking has changed since I was humbled and I’m better now than I was before.”

“I hope you’re speaking the truth.”

“I stick to my convictions and only change when needed. I hope you can do the same.”

“I try to. Explain to me how you became how you are so I can believe you.”

“Is that really necessary at a time like this?”

“It is since we’re on this assignment together.”

We begin to walk outside as the old man gives me his life story.

“I was born into royalty and worked day and night to perfect my character through study and prayer,” the old man says before we see that we’re surrounded outside by hollowed people.

“Wait! Let him explain his life. If he’s as selfish as he seems, I may join your side. His life already seems like a cliché.”

Everyone around us looks to one another before one nods. I look at the old man and move my hand in circles to tell him to go on.

“I was at the top of my class and did what I had to make my family and superiors proud. I even cheated in tests and duels to get where I was. My responsibilities meant everything to me since they are the duties I am bound by God to carry out.”

“Was there ever have a time when you went against those responsibilities?”

“I did. When I cheated, the parents of my rivals disowned them and had them walk a path of penance for a year before they could become a royal exorcist. Being a royal means being the best of the best and being an example to those under you. It’s not all riches and luxury. It’s obligation and hard work and when you mess up, you get punished twice, three, or how ever many times as hard depending on how much weight is put on your shoulders. I felt that weight at its heaviest when I lost my friends on my missions as a rookie exorcist and I vowed to them and everyone on earth and in Heaven that’s counting on me to do my job that I would never let them down.”

“So, your life is pretty stereotypical. It’s an age old tale about a prideful man who never learns from his mistakes because he confuses what he thinks his duty is and what his actual duty is. The exorcists need more help than I thought.”

I raise my sword to the sky and the wind begins to pick up. It feels like a tornado is going through the area with how intense it is. The wind then picks up everyone around us and throws them into the sky before dying down.

“You lied to get them off guard?” the old man asks.

“I wouldn’t say so. I said that I might join their side. Don’t you worry, I wasn’t actually going to betray you, and I thank God that my Ombra blessing activated so I could easily get rid of them.”

“Was the point of me telling you more about you then?”

“Because I wanted to actually hear it. I think I understand you a bit better because of it and you know what? I actually believe that you’re trying to be a better person now. Just try to do as you actually say and be the father you’re meant to be. I’ll be counting on it, Triton.”

What’s wrong with me? Why do I want to like Triton more? Maybe it’s because I’m losing more of my family and want to hold onto whatever I have left despite how I feel about him. I didn’t even think about getting rid of those people who surrounded us. I just don’t want to be around wherever they land if I didn’t manage to send them up into space. Triton is looking at me as if he’s surprised. As if some of the tension in his face disappeared.

“What is it?” I ask.

“Nothing. I just didn’t recognize you there for a second. The hotheaded and arrogant boy that I knew was gone. I’d like you to keep it that way if you know what I mean.”

“Oh, I get it. I’ll try not to disappoint you.”

Exorcism of the Hollow: Weeding Out the Family: Chapter 1 – Unwanted Family Visit

Chapter 1 – Unwanted Family Visit

“I’ve got you now, Alessio!” the old man says as he comes at me while swinging his sword.

I’ve fought him multiple times already and against his daughter so his moves are very predictable to me and soon, my sword hits his neck and bounces off as if hitting metal.

“I got you again, old man,” I say to him before picking him up from the floor.

“Can you stop hitting me with your sword? Putting it near my neck is enough to end the duel, and stop calling me, old man. You are to call me by my name, Triton.”

“Sure thing, old man. Why are you so worried about me hitting you with my sword anyway? Our weapons don’t hurt anyone unless God wants them to. Is there some sin that you’re hiding that would make that happen?”

“I’d ask you the same thing because of your tainted family lineage and the fate of their souls.”

“Hey, you’re part of that family now, father-in-law.”

“You may as well call me old man since hearing you call me father-in-law sounds more insulting.”

“So, do you want to lose to me again or are you still warming up?”

“I’ll beat you this time!”

“That’s what you said last time.”

“Shut up!”

We fight for a bit before we hear “Hey!”

“Marina!” I say.

“How was the meeting?” her dad asks.

“Slow as usual.”

“It shouldn’t be. We culled the leadership and beat them down to the point where they should know better than keep business as usual. Maybe we should teach them a lesson. For their own good, of course.”

“No, Alessio. This is just the nature of things,” Marina explains, “We’ve already gotten higher wages and better working conditions for the peasants, an improved relationship between the royals and peasants, the secret division of exorcists being transparent about their goals with the Church and themselves, allowing peasants and royals the opportunity to live somewhere else besides here in the exorcist’s homeland, and more.”

“Is that all?”

“Do you know how difficult it was to convince the royals to let people out of here without forcing them to become exorcists? It takes a ton of resources to covertly get them out from under the Vatican to a place in Italy where they can make a reasonable living.”

“I get it, but it’s just that it feels like nothing is changing over the three years that we’ve been here and I want more to change for the sake of our kids.”

“I know. It’s how I feel too, but we’ve done more in three years than they’ve done in ten so don’t worry, our children will grow up in a better place than we have. I’ll make sure of that.”

“What about us? I did get us here after all.”

“You were just my daughter’s battering ram to get in here and beat down the leadership. It’s best that you don’t do anything else,” the old man suggests as he turns to beat a training dummy.

“Both of you are supposed to be working on your relationship here while being people to look up to both to our family and the other exorcists. What are you two doing out here anyway?”

“Training and working on our relationship like you said,” I say.

“Training for what? I didn’t hear of any assignments that you were going on.”

“I’m just trying to make sure that my skills don’t get rusty. I haven’t even been able to use my Ombra blessings since God hasn’t allowed me to use them. Speaking of Ombra, what’s Magnus doing?”

“He’s been busy as the leader of Ombra and making sure that our home down here is free of demons and trying to gather more Ombra so that they can understand and use their blessings properly. In addition, he’s also been working together with the other exorcists on whatever assignments they’re doing. I’m not sure if he’ll ever have time to be with us again other than possibly Christmas and Easter since he’s so busy.”

“I did only see him a handful of times over the past three years. I’m sure he’ll want to see our kids again. He still has to teach me how to be a Weapon of God-type Ombra like he is.”

“I’ve never heard of someone who was an exorcist and Weapon of God at the same time. Being an Ombra and exorcist is rare enough already, aren’t you satisfied with that?”

“He should be and he should also humble his craving for power,” the old man chimes in.

“I’ll be using it for God’s purposes only. It’s not like I can even use my Ombra blessing without His say so after all.”

“You still have much to learn about being an exorcist, boy.”

“As if I have any left to learn from you, old man.”

“Let’s see if I can’t teach you anything in our next fight,” the old man says while approaching me.

“Come on then. I’m ready.”

Our swords cross again, but Marina separates us with her two greatswords that she takes out of her head and chest.

“Stop needlessly fighting, both of you. Father, my husband is your son-in-law and you’re supposed to teach him how to be humble and control his temper. Alessio, my father is your father-in-law and you are to respect him and only correct him when he is truly wrong. Got it?”

“Yes, ma’am,” I say to her before holding my hand out as she fakes out a hit.

She then smiles at me and I smile back.

“You better. Play nice you two.”

We watch Marina leave before we go back to fighting.

“You better watch out, old man. Your daughter gave me permission to ‘correct’ you when you step out of line.”

“You won’t be doing that often. You’re the one who has to worry.”

“I didn’t forget that you disowned her and what that did to her.”

“I did my penance and was humbled. You need to do the same.”

“For what?”

The old man manages to put his sword to my neck.

“For being reckless and prideful. I know the demon that tempts you. Marina told me all about it in an attempt to make me sympathetic to you.” He hits me with his sword in the back of the neck. “If you really want to be worthy of being called my daughter’s husband, then you have to be the man she deserves. Your exorcist mask still tells of the same sin you’ve been struggling with ever since we first met.”

“Your mask looks the same and Marina tells me that it hasn’t changed at all. Don’t you worry, old man. I’m working on being as perfect as I can be for her.”

We continue to fight until we feel something shake the ground.

“Oh, no,” the old man says before running out of the dueling arena.

“What was that?” I ask while following him.

“The same thing happened when you invaded here so that must mean more unwanted trouble must’ve made their way into-”

Demons with hollowed chests and faces appear in front of us with blades and sharp claws.

“It looks like Magnus isn’t doing a good job about keeping this place demon-free.”

“Shut up and banish them!”

The old man and I banish the demons together. I’m pretty sure that this is the only time that we actually worked together besides working together to not get on Marina’s nerves when she says so. Seeing as how the other exorcists and peasants in the city have a handle on this situation, I decide that we should go to the school where my kids are, and the old man agrees to go. We’re surprised to find the highest concentration of demons in this area since this isn’t an important place in comparison to the other factories and royal center that isn’t too far away. Nevertheless, we fight through the demons to find the school in ruins. I then see what looks to be two demons leap out of the building while another three leap and land on the ground right in front of us. On closer inspection, these demons have human faces with eyes similar to mine for some reason. One is snake-like with many claws and a hollow chest, another has various tendrils on her body, and the third seems lizard-like with half their face looking like one along with what looks to be a sharp tail.

“It’s good that you came to us. It saves us the trouble of coming after you,” one of them says.

“Get out of my way!” I say while charging at them only to get beaten back. “Why didn’t you help?!” I say to the old man.

“Nothing teaches you to manage your temper than a humbling defeat,” he answers back with a smile.

“That’s true, but you didn’t help because you wanted to see me get beaten up.”

“You’re not wrong.”

“We heard that you married into royalty, Alessio. Are you still trying to fix the broken ways of the exorcist and the Church?” one of them says.

“Who are you people and why do you care about me?”

“It’s natural for family to care about one another even though we were adopted into your family.”

“You’re what?”

“We’re family, Alessio. The mother’s side of your family saved us from the oppressive traditions and rules of the exorcists and the Church,” another says.

“It goes beyond power and the freedom to do what we believe to be right,” yet another says, “We’re no longer involved in the political mess of the exorcists and the scandals of the Church. For example, I was a peasant exorcist sent on a deniable ops mission. The mission was neither approved by the Church nor the head exorcists and was a vanity mission that nearly cost me my life. I was left for dead, but your mother’s sister saved me and freed my soul from the chains of being a slave to an uncaring God.”

“My aunt? I never knew her. I didn’t even know she existed.”

“If you want to know more, then you should join us. I’ll tell you everything I know including the dirty secrets that they don’t even keep in the most secret of records down here.”

“What’s your goal? Why attack this place and specifically here?”

“We’re going to destroy the exorcists and we’re starting by freeing our own from this damned city such as the ones that have been our spies and adopted brothers and sister. We’re also prioritizing blood relatives like you and your children. Your wife and the royal side of your family are secondary.”

“Why go after my kids? They’re just three years old!”

“They’re family and need to be taught from a young age what’s truly right and wrong, otherwise, they’ll group up to be ignorant. I’m sure you’ll agree. Besides, you don’t need to worry about them. They’re already in our safe care.”

“You took them already?!”

“Yes, you just missed them when you arrived here. Don’t worry. We won’t hurt them even if they refuse our help.”

“You…”

“Don’t be mad at us. You know the corruption that permeates every part of the Church all too well. It’s why your mother left and why your father and sister were left to die.”

My Ombra blessing finally activates through the grace of God as bits of the concrete rise from beneath us and form into spears and daggers.

“Don’t you dare bring them up! You should know that the demons are what killed them, who took advantage of the weakness in their souls, and made them go to Hell!”

“They chose Hell through their actions. I pray that you make the same choice.”

My spears and daggers made of concrete fly at my so-called adopted relatives, and for some reason, a group of demons jump in front of them and sacrifice themselves for them. This has to be a trick. Demons wouldn’t allow themselves to be banished without a good reason.

“We may not hurt your children, but we will hurt you if we have to,” one of them says before they leap into action.

Two of them fight the old man while the lizard-like one fights me. The tail makes this fight annoying so I cut it off and am about to cut off the ugly thing’s head, but its face reminds me of my mom’s and I hesitate.

“What’s wrong, Alessio? You didn’t have trouble attempting to murder your spiritual family,” it says.

“What are you talking about?”

“The Church, the exorcists. I heard how many people you struck with your sword hoping that God would let you kill them, especially your father-in-law. You wanted him dead after he disowned your wife.”

How much do these people really know? Well, they don’t know everything about me. I slash one of their arms away then put my blade to their throat.

“I want you dead after what you’ve done! Tell me where my kids are!” I demand.

“I’m not telling you anything because they didn’t tell me.” Their tail then regenerates and we go back to fighting. “You may as well kill me, but we know that you care more about your family more than anything, so what are you going to do?”

“Even if you are part of my family, you’re just adopted.”

“Does that make me less part of your family? You know that it doesn’t. Everyone who was adopted into our family changed our faces so that we would look similar to one another. Look at me. Look into your heart and tell me that we aren’t relate-”

I cut the hollow’s head off to make it shut up.

“We aren’t related.”

Its face still seems to be alive even as its body fades into ash.

It then smiles before saying, “But we are. I’ll tell your mother, sister, and father that you were the one who killed me.”

I then crush its head with my foot and it explodes into ash. It was lying. It had to be. Demons have pretended to be members of my family before to get to me. This has to be another of their attempts because they know it gets to me. Turning my attention to see how the old man is doing since Marina would kill me if he was severely hurt, I find that he took out the other two hollows by himself.

“And you thought I was the one who needed more practice. You didn’t believe what those hollowed people said, did you?” he asks.

“No, of course not,” I say.

I don’t know what happened. When the hollow died, I felt a similar feeling that I felt when I saw my mom die except not as extreme. There’s no such thing as a particular feeling when seeing a family member die, what am I thinking? The old man and I help the rest of the exorcists clean up the few remaining demons. Thankfully, we were able to capture a few of the traitors here and they essentially repeat what the other hollows said. They were here to attack our home as a show of their power, take their own, and members of my family out of here while considering themselves adopted sons and daughters. All the exorcists at the meeting where this information is divulged look at me strangely as if I knew anything about this.

I say that I don’t and say that, “I don’t care if they really are a part of my family that I never knew about. All I care about is getting my kids back from them before anything else happens to them.”

“We still must treat hunting down your family of yours as a priority on our list. Their hollowed curse that allowed them to get in here cannot be ignored,” our boss says.

“What are your orders?” Marina asks.

“You will stay here and speak for your family and help us with our plan to find the rest. Alessio and Sir Triton will go to where the highest concentration of the traitors are said to be and do penance for their family by eliminating them.”

“Your excellency, must I-”

“Speak no further. You must. I allowed you to keep your title of Sir, even after your defeat at the hands of your daughter and after you cowardly tried to snatch her victory away from her, because of our friendship. If you are truly the man I think you are, you must do penance for your family.”

“Y-yes, sir. I won’t let you down.”

The old man looks at me as if he hates me, hates what he has to do, or just blames me for it. It’s probably all the above. I don’t blame him for how I feel, but this is worse for me. Those really were adopted members of my mom’s side of the family, and now, I’ll have to execute more. There’s hardly a chance that those three that we faced are in Heaven now and there’s even less of a chance that the rest are any different. Please, God, have mercy on their souls and help me change their hearts so that they may make a confession pleasing to you so that they may be with you in Heaven. Please, protect my kids, and please also give me the strength to make it through this. You just had to give me my toughest battle yet.