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14 - A Prince of Hell

What looked like mere seconds of stay inside the caretaker's bedroom was actually an unbearable hour of struggle for Marcus; a struggle for supremacy and the battleground was his body.

He found himself in the same black environment, standing in front of a massive boulder where on top it was the demon leech itself, in a confident crouch and grinning at him from ear to ear. It wore a trench coat, in the same color of death. The collar of it was fixed upright making the cotton and its silky black locks seemingly merging into one.

"H, " Marcus bit out, spinning a few dozens ways on how to tackle the parasite out of the imposing black boulder just so he could wipe the clever grin off its face.

"Ahh, you act as if we are acquainted already when in fact this is our first time meeting, " H grounded, looking amused at Marcus — his apparent landlord.

"I know you enough you damn demon, " Marcus spit out acidly. He clenched his fist and stepped a little closer towards the boulder, his booted feet making a depression on the black sand.

The Encyclopedia of Demons or popularly known as the Dictionnaire Infernal is the book Marcus had found in the Vatican Archives that talked about the demon with blue and violet flames. It may not have given a fitting picture of what the hellish entity looked like, but it was able to provide enough information for him to use.

Firstly, the demon is a prince of Hell commonly named as Gaap. Second, as Marcus had experienced first hand, the lecher has the power to intensify love and hatred. And third, it was a transporter demon. The book wasn't able to expound what these meant though, but the data indicated somewhere between the lines of royalty and high-class. Something that Marcus would have a challenge indeed. No wonder it wasn't affected by the holy verses he used to exorcise it.

H lifted a brow. "Hmmm... for an exorcist priest, you do know how to cuss."

"Get out of me!" Marcus immediately demanded, sounding pissed.

"Haha! Oh, I will... I will, " H replied, voice laced with malice. It stood up and jumped on the sand, near enough to closely look at the face of its landlord and far enough that Marcus couldn't wring its neck. "It is time after all. I would want to tour around the Human Realm this evening. I haven't been in that place because of the damned divine electricity. Think about the many souls I get to devour using your body!"

Its duplex-colored eyes sparkled with delight.

"Tsk, " Marcus felt alarmed. "Do that and I will ensure your eternal demise, " he threatened, sounding sure. He did have beef on his words and though the demon doesn't know how Marcus was to go about that, it believed him.

"Oh, I know you will, " it stated and rolled its eyes skyward. "You are a priest after all."

When it stepped closer, Marcus felt something different immediately. The same spasmic feeling he had in the real world in his right arm returned as little pricks of needles starting in his fingers.

"How about a suggestion eh?" H opened smiling like the Joker, "you do your job and I do mine."

"Go to Hell, " said Marcus and that made the demon frown. The spasm continued in his arm but it increased tenfold.

Grunting and dropping quickly to the sand, Marcus was able to position himself enough that wouldn't look pathetic: half kneeling and half nursing his God-damned rebellious arm. He was in pain alright. A pain that was disabling him on going after the neck of the still-grinningbastard.

Amused, H observed Marcus as he battled his way out of the agony. The demon could generate this kind of pain in the priest anytime anywhere with just the flick of its finger, but most of the pain Marcus was feeling now was generally because of his human body refusing to succumb and the demonic energy trying to infuse inside him.

Marcus, in the other hand, fought his way not to show anymore weakness in front of the dark entity. It was a crucial lesson he learned the hard way back in his younger years training with his mentor. Though he would have shot the demon with dagger glares, he chose to curtain himself, pinning his eyes on the ground as the surge of painful spasms drowned him.

"You want answers right?" H suddenly asked after a few minutes of observing. Being inside Marcus' body and knowing all his thoughts, it was aware how desperate the priest was of having answers. It did have what Marcus wanted —a lot —and H was willing to give him a few, just for the sake of seeing his reaction.

"Sure you do!" was the demon's quick reply when Marcus lifted his face. "Then, sit back..." H flicked a finger and then Marcus was shoved back by an invisible force onto the sand, "and relax priest."

Still in his current deprived state, Marcus waited for the lecher to continue. He thought, what better way to know the truth than to find it out directly on the source itself. If there was any good that would come out of him being subjected to pain, that would be it.

"Mhmm... where to start eh?" H stated, doing small paces near the boulder and after what seemed like an eternity of waiting, it continued, "I don't understand why the pathetic Priory of Sion keeps on summoning me and putting me inside a human body."

It stopped and stood in front of Marcus.

"They have done it quite a few times you know, again and again for a number of millennia. Experimenting with poor, unsuspecting men to see if they can withstand my possession. God, you don't know how much the same summon and failure bore me to death!"

Marcus didn't know if it was a pitiful excuse for a joke, but it did send his nerve endings chilling. The brotherhood was sick. How could they sacrifice innocent men just for the sake of their vile plans?!

"The men they used to control me in this Realm seems too weak to house my demonic aura, " H paused, looking as if he was saddened by the statement, but then an evil grin appeared on his face when he continued, "I just had to devour their soul for good."

Marcus couldn't take it and though he was still immersed in pain, he managed to give the demon a scowl.

"Oh, why do you look at me like that?" H complained. "It gets better you know? It was fun making fools out of those old Sion men!"

It started pacing again, the same way it did awhile back.

"Hmmm... but still they were unrelenting. They kept on sacrificing healthy men of different stature in order to control me. That had me wondering...why?"

"Wh-y..?" was Marcus hoarse reply. He had to know too. He felt as if the information was too important to pass out.

"Why?" H echoed and then grinned. "Because of your woman, priest."

Marcus released a rough breath. He had no idea who the demon was pertaining to, but he had a suspicion that it was the Rogratiatto maiden who had been recently clouding his thoughts.

"Ysa--belle?" he uttered.

"Exactly." The demon nodded and then hunched down to meet Marcus in the eye. "What I found out shocked me of course. Never have I thought that Sion would protect an immortal woman."

"Wha—t... What do you— mean? Ysa-belle is an im-mortal?" Marcus clarified still in rugged breaths. He had to adjust himself to focus more on the unexpected revelation than the spasm in his arm.

"B.I.N.G.O." the demon playfully replied, "she is and one that is very holy. That is why the brotherhood protects her exactly just like how they would protect their penises from a threat of castration from their wives."

Beads of sweat ran down Marcus' temple and forehead. He reminisced all there was about Ysabelle and his memories with her to date. They were normal ones, and she, all the while, acted normal. Except for the family members of course, especially Alfon, Regina and André.

So this was the secret they had been hiding all this time.

"Interesting right?" H hauled him out of his thoughts. "Typical greedy men. They wanted me to take her immortality out and transport it to some mediocre object wherein they can use conveniently to satisfy their hunger for life."

Marcus cringed with the words. "That's si-ck, " he said, disgusted.

"You think?" H stopped once again and folded its arms in the chest. "Anyway, I care not of their wicked plans. I am a demon after all. I deserve to have fun too. Hell, I even made a pact with them and cheered for a future success, if they found the right human for the job."

Its diabolic smile returned as it cupped Marcus' tense chin. The latter gritted his teeth, eyed the demon sharply and deliberated on spitting its pale face for good measure.

"And now here were are..." H whispered, releasing a cold hush as it examined Marcus from head to foot. "I guess my silent cheers gave fruit to you."

"Wh-at do you- mean?" Marcus questioned.

"Oh, don't fuck with me, priest. You know exactly what I mean."

The bastard stood up and adjusted its trench coat, staring down at Marcus as if it had just found a chest of treasure.

"I may not know what is so special about you, but your body is strong enough to house me, " it explained, then went to look at the dull sky after taking a deep, sharp breath. "Huh! Imagine that — an exorcist priest, a servant of God, holy of men — is my redemption. You came along hoping to exorcise me not knowing I was waiting for someone as strong willed as you so that I can do my business. I hated that André Rogratiatto failed to prove himself worthy you know. He was supposed to be the brotherhood's best candidate. I am glad you came along to take his place."

Now that was a nicely-laid trap.

"Do- you- think th-at I will per-mit you to use my body to exercise yo-ur wick-edne-ss?!" Marcus shouted in anger. He tried to stand up but a pulling force brought him down on the sand again.

"I don't need your permission, priest, " H announced, self-assured. "Huh! Look at you! You are under my control already. I can do anything I want without you bothering me."

They exchanged cold glares and while Marcus was still struggling with the spasms in his arm, he felt a sense of trepidation when the demon licked its mouth with its long tongue and its expression changed to that of a lustful man.

"That reminds me, " it started, "You are driven mad by that woman."

"I am- not, " was Marcus strong reply, knowing immediately who it meant.

"Oh, fucking hell! Why do you pretend it?" A brief glow of red emerged from its unnatural eyes when it flung its hand in the air. "I can feel your desire for her Marcus. It is so potent. So solid. Is it because you are a priest that you do not acknowledge it?"

Lovely Ysabelle... Maybe... just maybe... if Marcus was a normal man, he would have given to the demands of his heart. He was slowly falling for her, he cannot deny that anymore, but it wasn't a simple subject matter to talk about, especially when he ain't just a normal man.

"I ta-ke my vows se-riously, " was his simple reply, although there was pain weaved together with it.

"Oh?" H quirked a brow. "Then maybe it's time for you to experience letting go."

By that, Marcus shot the demon a deadly look. "Do-n't you dare touch her!"

He darted up, successfully blocking almost all of the spasmic pain away by sheer determination, but it was too late. H was quick to bring him down with a forceful elbow blow to the head. Marcus fell on the ground, sprawled with his face pressed on the sand.

H tsk'd while looking at the unconscious Marcus.

"Ahh, but Marcus, I won't. You will."

After that heated conversation, what quickly took over Marcus' consciousness was the demon inside him - "H".

The possessed human, Mr. MacMillan, was still crouching at the ceiling when H now stood with a haughty grin and heterochromatic glowing eyes in the guise of Marcus. His arms, both left and right, were filled with blue and violet flame tattoos but of course, it wasn't visible as the cassock's sleeve was covering it. His body emitted a violet haze though, clear enough for the demon to see.

The possessed human was bathed in clotted blood down to every garment. His skin looked different and his head had taken the shape of an elongated alien with spiky corns jutting out. It was a transformation any low-class demon could do once they devour their victim's soul.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, " H disapproved at the sight before him, "you know what Galera, you just made me hungry."

The demon tilted its head like a puzzled puppy, eyes rounded and sharp teeth bared halfway. "My prince..." it rasped, surprised to find the development. Though what it saw was a different face, it knew exactly who the royal entity was based on the scent it whiffed inside the room.

"I am just born out of this body, you know, and I need nou-rish-ment, " H drawled, whipping his fingers in liquid motions.

"Of—of course, Prince Haien, " the demon gulped hard before falling cleanly on the floor with its mutated scaly feet. Damn, no wonder the room smelled of ammonia. The low-class demon actually resides in a sewer-like river of Hell. "I can always give you the soul of this man."

H lazily closed his eyes and basked on the aroma of the fresh blood around him. "How about both? That would be better."

While lifting his hand higher, he opened his eyes and a rush of color changed the heterochromatic ones to solid, glowing red.

Galera shrieked like a trapped money when it felt an invisible chain tightening its still-human neck. "Pr---nce! Ack!" it rasped again, but it didn't take long at all when its life force along with the caretaker's soul lifted in mid air like balls of light: one colored greenish-red and the other yellow.

Just as the lifeless body dropped on the floor, so did the balls disappeared in front of H when he ingested it.

"Hmmm... fuck, so good, but not enough, " was his only remark.

He turned towards the door and knocked on it thrice, intending to act just like a priest who had supposedly finished his exorcism rite.

"Father Marcus!" shouted the man who was still holding the gun.

"Take Mr. MacMillan to the hospital now!" H shouted with vigor, sounding exactly just like a worried priest would. "Though the demon is exorcised, your employer is far from safe! He had lost a lot of blood!"

Mr. Grann, having pieced together what he meant, raced inside the bedroom together with his two employees. Not aware that Mr. MacMillan was already dead, they lifted him up and took him quickly to the basement parking lot where an emergency van was parked.

The man who was holding the crucifix earlier was left alone with the impersonating priest. H saw him holding his stomach, face contorted in pain and disgust.

"I—I think I should go home, Father. I can't stand staying in the castle anymore."

H felt a shiver of fear run down the man's spine. "Are you saying you are resigning in your job here?" He made it sound as if he was sorry.

"I think, I—think I will, " answered the man, not at all hesitant.

H hid a grin. "I believe you should."

'Opportunity. Lovely, tasty opportunity, ' he commented in his mind whilst looking at the man's robust life force.

The man nodded and as he made his way out of the receiving room in slow strides, the demon's smile broke out widely.

"Now, for the main dessert, " he said, thinking of the one woman in Marcus' thoughts.

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