The Exorcist's Last Step
An exorcist — in English, an Exorcist.
Exorcising spiritual beings at the request of clients makes up only the smallest fraction of what the profession truly entails.
For there has always been one thing that exorcists of every age, East and West alike, have regarded as their long-cherished wish.
The death of the Demon King.
The Demon King — leader of every existence an exorcist must face. The very architect of humanity's fall into pleasure, and the ultimate goal of every exorcist is to bring about his annihilation.
And now… with only a single step left to completing that task, I had failed.
"……"
My right arm is useless. It was severed long ago.
My left arm… seems broken too, but I might be able to move it somehow.
But this — this is hard to comprehend.
The Demon King's weakness, of all things, was ■■…
"To think a nameless exorcist could push me this far. It's been several hundred years since I've fought such a memorable battle. Speak your name."
"…I'd rather not."
"Kukuku… Your flesh shall become nourishment for me, but your gall — that I will remember for a long time."
Step by steady step.
The Demon King approaches me slowly, but fleeing is no longer an option.
All that remains is… the same path my parents took, I suppose — to accept death with quiet grace…
Just then, in an effort to turn my gaze away from the instinctive dread welling up inside me, I squeeze my eyes shut — and beyond those shut eyelids, a familiar voice reaches me.
A woman's voice. Warm and gentle, yet tinged with a hint of urgency.
'Jun, open your eyes. There is no time.'
"…Guardian Deity?"
'Quickly — the prayer beads….'
When I open my eyes, I can see the prayer beads wrapped around my left wrist, radiating a faint glow.
And the Demon King has already closed the distance considerably, glaring down at me.
I don't know what this is, but if it's the last rope the Guardian Deity has thrown me… then I have to grab hold of it.
I pull the beads taut and grip them tightly in my left hand.
"Isn't it a little late to be running away now?"
With a mocking sneer, the Demon King raises his arm high.
Then purple light flashes from his hand, and that blaze shoots straight toward me.
"…!"
I instinctively squeezed my eyes shut, but the Demon King's attack never touched me.
When I slowly opened my eyes, the purple flash hung suspended in midair, as if an unseen figure had taken the blow in my place.
"Hmm… a Guardian Deity? You commit a foolish act."
'……'
Silence. But the radiance the prayer beads held continued to grow.
So blindingly, brilliantly bright that it swallowed my entire field of vision in light.
"I don't know what you're scheming, but I have no intention of letting you be."
Once again, purple flames rise from the Demon King's hand — but the radiance pouring from the prayer beads is far brighter still.
In that bright light engulfing me, the Demon King, and — invisible, yet unmistakably there beside me — the Guardian Deity herself, a single whisper reaches my ears.
'Once more… grant this faithful soul, one chance.'
And the very next instant, the light went out.
But what filled my vision was not the Demon King's cave where I lay broken — only endless darkness.
It felt as though I were drifting down somewhere, but without the strength to twitch so much as a single finger, all I could do was… flow along.
No — perhaps I was flowing backward.
"Hah… hahk, hah…!"
"……"
"Gu-Guardian Deity…!"
It was like tumbling out of an endless slide and hitting the ground.
Free of the darkness, my vision slowly returned to me.
I was lying face-down, not in the Demon King's cave, but in the courtyard of the shrine — a place far too familiar.
And beside me lay the Guardian Deity, who had taken the Demon King's attack upon her own form mere moments ago.
"…Haah, aah."
"A-Are you all right? Guardian Deity, this is…"
"Li… listen to me carefully, Jun."
"……"
"I can no longer… aid you for some time, Jun… So please, be, act with care… *cough*, *cough*…!"
I could see thick, viscous blood smeared across the Guardian Deity's lips as she forced out cough after labored cough.
Words of concern to spare her voice were something I could hardly bring myself to say.
I listen, instead, as she gazes at me and speaks between ragged breaths.
"In that final moment… I felt the deep curse the Demon King carved into you. The Seed of Corruption… a seed that will bloom once your flesh is soaked in demonic energy — it lies within you, Jun, and within those girls as well…"
"If it's a seed, then…?"
"This must never be spoken of, to anyone… Hasty trust is a poison no different from distrust… Jun, you must find the right path with your own wisdom…"
The Guardian Deity's body is beginning to blur, growing faintly translucent.
Has she lost so much power that she can no longer hold her form in this world…?
"Somewhere on your body, a mark of the curse will remain. Consult the old tomes in the archive… *cough*, *cough*…!"
"I-I understand! Guardian Deity, I'll act carefully, so please, say no more."
"……"
"…Thank you. I will… I will surely repay this debt, Guardian Deity."
The Guardian Deity looks at me, offers a faint smile, and slowly closes her eyes.
Her translucent body grows more and more transparent, scattering around me like drifting motes of glittering dust.
I know she isn't vanishing entirely… but it will likely take a very long time before she recovers her strength in full.
The second chance granted by the Guardian Deity's power — I have no intention of squandering it.
But… I'm just so tired, right now…
Thump.
For now, I think I need some sleep…
"……"
The clear chirping of birds reaches my ears through a haze.
A plush blanket and a soft pillow… crisp, cool air.
This is… my room at the shrine?
"Ugh… ngh."
As I slowly push myself up, aching muscle soreness blooms across every part of my body, arriving a beat too late.
There isn't a spot on me that doesn't hurt. And yet my right arm — the one the Demon King severed — is unmistakably attached to my body.
It seems certain now: with the Guardian Deity's help, I've truly returned to the past.
But even when I close my eyes, breathe out slowly, and try to focus…
"…Guardian Deity."
"……"
No answer comes.
I can't feel even a trace of spiritual energy.
Until the Guardian Deity recovers, do I have to set aside the use of spiritual energy altogether?
"Jun, you're up?"
"Huh? Oh — yeah!"
"I'm coming in."
The sliding door glides open with a soft rattle, and beyond it I see a familiar face.
One of the three shrine maidens who keep this shrine — Shion.
"What happened yesterday? I heard something in the middle of the night and went out to check, and you were lying face-down in the courtyard, fast asleep."
"Uh… yesterday? That's, well, you see…"
Shion… doesn't seem to remember anything.
The battle with the Demon King. My defeat. The Guardian Deity's sacrifice… Where am I even supposed to begin explaining?
'It must never be spoken of… Hasty trust is a poison… Jun, you must find the right path with your own wisdom…'
"……"
"What's wrong? Hungry?"
"…No. But, um — is it already time for breakfast?"
"It is. It's already nine, you know? Go wash up and come eat."
"Mm-hmm… thanks. I'll be right there."
The sliding door slides shut again.
Right now, even I don't have a complete grasp of my own condition and circumstances.
Thinking back on what the Guardian Deity told me, for the ignorant person I am at this moment to trust everyone blindly would be a dangerous judgment call.
First, I need to find out what that curse she mentioned — and the Seed of Corruption — actually mean.
Until then… don't overtrust, but don't distrust either.
"Phew… wash up, eat breakfast first, and then figure things out."
I tidy the bedding and sit myself upright.
Everything aches a little, but it's not so bad that I can't move.
As I step slowly outside, I sift through the memories still in disarray in my head… but it's all hazy, like a dream — hovering at the edge of recall, impossible to pin down.
Oh, right — if I've gone back in time, then when to? I need to check today's date too.
When does the danger the Guardian Deity spoke of begin? When should I start preparing for the Demon King…
"Jun? Oh, you're up."
"Morning, Rin."
On my way to the bathroom to wash up, I ran into Rin as she swept the courtyard.
Come to think of it, none of them were there at the end, when I faced the Demon King alone.
Were they safe? Were they tied up fighting the other demons?
Or had they… been tainted by the demonic energy…
"Um… Jun, today's a day with no commissions, so — later, when I go down to town for groceries, do you want to come along…?"
"Town? Hmm… sure, sounds good. I've got something to do in the morning, so let's go after lunch, in the afternoon."
Rin nods, beaming with a shy smile.
So… I've seen Shion and Rin. That leaves Yuna.
"Jun!"
Right on cue, Yuna's voice rings out beside me.
I turn around to find Yuna gazing at me, breathing a little hard, as if she'd been sprinting until just now.
Did she come down the stairs behind me? That's not a walking path — it's the trail leading up the mountain.
…Hold on. I think I know what today is.
"Hah… hah, hah…"
"Yuna, what's wrong? Is something the matter?"
"The cave… the boulder blocking the cave entrance… it's shattered…"
"…What?"
"I think you need to see it yourself, Jun… All the talismans are… torn to pieces too…"
The shattered boulder Yuna speaks of had sealed the gate leading to the Demon Realm — the Demon King's home ground.
Caves connected to the Demon Realm like this one exist all across the world, and our shrine serves as the watchman over one of them.
This is exactly how the seal was destroyed once before, I'm certain of it. Have I really come back to the day it all began…?
"Let's eat breakfast first. I'll go check it out sometime this morning."
After breakfast, before heading to the destroyed cave entrance, I went first to the archive, crammed full of ancient tomes.
My memories of the previous timeline are blurred and smeared, so recalling the details isn't easy — but I don't think any major incident followed immediately after the seal broke.
More importantly… checking the curse carved into my own body comes first.
I examined myself from head to toe while washing up, and the only mark that stood out was a single black sigil etched into my wrist.
"I've never seen a shape like this. There has to be a matching illustration in the compendium."
I've performed every manner of exorcism ritual and laid eyes on all sorts of curses from demons and evil spirits, but the Demon King's curse really is something else.
Not this one, not this one either… oh, is it this one?
Curse: Inevitable Defeat
"Even the name sounds vicious."
I open the compendium to the page bearing an illustration identical to the sigil on my wrist, and read.
The description is fairly long, but right from the first paragraph, the commentary is startlingly extreme.
"…I'm sorry, what?"