The Ghost of Vermil-Chapter 50: Apple XV

Similar to his brother, thick tendrils of holy energy surged out of Lucas's body. But strangely, they seemed to dance erratically, as though he could not perfectly control them. With Lucas groaning and straining, the tendrils injected themselves onto the brick-covered ground which suddenly rose up to form a poorly stacked up wall in front of him, hiding him from view. A barrage of attacks pulverized his brick defence but another layer simply formed behind them, albeit with clumsiness.

"Control your powers, we might accidentally hurt Lord Vermilon."

Gold tendrils appeared behind the brick wall, growing like a giant stalk, twirling towards the centre of the Morning Garden where the Guardian knelt in peace.

The captain of the soldiers prepared an enchantment, mouthing, "HERALD OF DAWN!" A spectre of a woman's head appeared above him, long flowy hair dancing to a non-existent wind. It opened its mouth, emitting a loud ululating melody that blasted sand and dirt as it advanced, destroying Lucas's wall in one strike.

Apple glimpsed him standing already on his two feet, the wound on his chest miraculously absent.

Letting out thin tendrils of holy energy, he hurriedly repaired his defence.

The soldier's attacks were cut short when they heard a loud creaking. Like stones grinding on each other. They watched as the looming figure of the Guardian fix its eyeless gaze upon them. Then it began to rise. It could not rival the Tribunal at its largest, but the stone Guardian of Demach could easily reach above the spire of the Bibliotheca and topple it.

It lumbered over the Morning Garden, trampling plots of flowers and hedges.

The soldier with the ball of flame shot one towards the Guardian, achieving nothing but burning moss and orchids off its body.

"Attack the caster! Immobilize him!" They prepared another round of attacks. A wave of freezing gale whistled towards Lucas who had barely finished fixing his wall of bricks.

A shadow loomed over them. An enormous stone hand descended, blocking the gale. The white-clad officers retreated as the foot of the Guardian threatened to squash them.

The Guardian gently picked up Lucas off the ground and cupped him towards its chest. Creakingly, it trudged towards the walls of the Academy.

The holy soldiers continued their assault but to no avail. Infused with an abundance of holy energy, the Guardian had become sturdier than it already was. They had no choice but to retreat.

Apple spotted Marco lying on the ground. He used to give off an overwhelming smell but now it seemed subtly lesser, as though he had used up a huge chunk of his reserve at once. Meanwhile, Lucas had been emitting a dense jumble of scents of holy energy. It smelled like Marco and the Tribunal. She could also sniff a faint hint of Diana's.

"How did he?" Marco muttered weakly.

"Were you not aware of his abilities?"

"Not this one, no. The professor said he could siphon demonic energy. Turns out he could also steal mine as well." He chuckled but not out of pride nor amusement. He winced as he propped himself up, glancing at the back of the Guardian as it staggered towards the gate.

He's clueless about his brother too. Lucas does not trust anyone, not even his own flesh and blood. Somehow, it made her feel better.

Students and professors had started spilling out of the Coliseum, gawking at the figure of the Academy's Guardian that had suddenly come to life, as if out of a myth.

"We should follow him." Apple sniffed. She could identify their scents, familiar ones. Dried blood. Old sacks. Robes of linen. Pinewood and paint. They are here. They have come to exterminate him. But he's not the devil they suspected him to be.

She helped Marco to his feet. "Your brother said he's escaping to some place. Do you have a clue?"

He straightened himself and breathed deeply, as if to regain his strength. "I honestly do not know. He does not tell me much. We should hurry." He trod on forward. In order to catch up to the Guardian's huge steps, they burst into a sprint.

Even from afar, Apple could discern their silhouettes. They stood like unmoving sentinels perched atop the walls of the Academy. By the shape of their hats, the long flowing robes, and the enormous baggage on their backs — there was no mistaking who they were. They numbered to seven, all with a sack on their back except for one. Father. 

When the Guardian was nearly two strides from the wall, a lady's voice pealed through the dark, "SONG OF DESTRUCTION!"

With the sound of bells and trumpets, sharp flakes of golden light emanated from the exorcist at the centre, floating behind her like a still orchestra. With a whisk of her hand, she sent the shimmering shards down to the legs of the advancing Guardian. In the impact, its legs burst into rubble. It caught itself by one arm as it dropped, devoutly protecting Lucas on its cupped hand.

Another Gabrielic exorcist chanted from atop the wall, "VIRTUE OF FIDELITY!" A halo formed above the Guardian. Then another one over it. Then three more over them. "BIND!" All five of the haloes whirled as they descended and constricted the Guardian on five places to bring it down to the ground, face-first.

"Lucas!"

The weight of the Guardian would crush him.

"INVIOLABLE EDICT!" It was not Marco who chanted. Threads connected from the Guardian's clasped hand where Lucas hid onto the ground. A mound of soil rose up to break the Guardian's fall and support it.

A shadow and a small streak of gas lamp dropped from the Guardian's hand safely.

"SONG OF DESTRUCTION!" Apple recognized the voice now, having reached closer. The Lady in Mourning became surrounded with shards of light that reflected and refracted what little light the moon endowed.

"STOP!" Apple yelled.

The exorcist paid him no heed. She motioned to send the shards down into the Guardian.

"SONG OF CREATION!" Apple sang. In this most desperate night, she pulled into recollection the smell and touch of azaleas. They reminded her of the freshness of spring and the vibrancy of summer she spent in a lonely lodge. Father was always away and he did not let her join the missions yet for she was still small then. But the shrubs of this delicate pink blossoms kept her company.

PING. PING. PING. With the sound of windchimes, bushes of pink azaleas grew around her, a touch of liveliness in an otherwise dreary evening. With a push of both of her hands, a storm of pink petals swirled to intercept the shards of destruction. The shards destroyed everything they touched. Her flowers were blown into bits but she had volumes of them to spare.

"APPLE!" His father's voice snapped. "WHAT IN THE NAME OF GABRIEL ARE YOU DOING!"

"He's not a demon!" She replied. "You are mistaken!"

Marco asked beside her, "You know them? Did they come to exorcise him?"

"Aye. We have come to Gallenport to exterminate a demonic threat," she admitted.

"Stand down, daughter of Julius, and the Order will overlook this threat," the Lady of Mourning said. More shards of light remained at her disposal and this time they were not pointed toward the Guardian.

"He can control both demonic and holy energy," Apple announced before them, "He's not a demon."

"An anomaly then. We shall confirm for ourselves," she declared, turning to the bulky silhouette that could only belong to one exorcist.

Uncle Patrick brought his two palms together, about to chant his spell.

"No, I'll handle my daughter."

Father will listen.

"Patrick will talk to her."

Patrick's silhouette slowly blended into the wall, as though he was becoming part of the wall itself. But she could pinpoint his location through the strong holy scent he gave off as he scaled down the wall. Then he grew into existence from the ground right in front of Apple, towering over her.

"Stand down, Apple," his gruff hollow voice sounded from beneath his veil. "One more act out of line and the Lady will deem you a demon's accomplice."

"He's not a demon, I can prove it to you." She glanced towards Lucas who hid under the Guardian's body, clasping his only source of light that faintly illuminated the lower half of his face, his eyes hidden in shadow. She could not tell if he was confused or upset. But if he put his trust in her just once, he could walk out of here scot-free. "Lucas, show them."

He did not move and showed no intention of listening to her.

"Enough now, Apple," Uncle Patrick stated, chanting, "ELEMENTAL WORSHIP!" His body suddenly became veiled in a different smell. He yelled, "EARTH!" His constitution seemed to change as though being stretched, expanding as though to imprison Apple.

"Apple get away!" Marco shouted behind her, suddenly bursting with light and letting loose multiple concentrated balls of holy energy. BAM. BAM. They hit but Patrick's body which turned into earth took no considerable damage even as Marco shot holes through him.

"Stop this, Patrick!" Father's voice demanded. But the giant exorcist who kept increasing in size even now only listened to their leader.

Patrick ballooned in size quickly as earth from the ground fed into him. He then began to encircle Apple and Marco with his arms. She suddenly felt a grip on her wrist. "Step closer to me," Marco said. "INVIOLABLE EDICT!"

Although Lucas had stolen some of his power, Marco's reserve remained vast. The thin threads of light that sprouted from his body reached into the air, stirring it. Then with a whistling sound, the air began to swirl around them until it turned into a literal tornado. And she was in the very centre of it.

The dust together with the darkness obscured her view completely. She was worried they would come after Lucas again when he was out of her sight. She needed them to listen. She needed to make them listen.

The tornado's weeping winds crashed into Uncle Patricks wall-like figure, disintegrating him into dust. If he would not withdraw, he would be scattered through the air with not a trace of his humanity left.

Marco withdrew his control, dissipating the torrent he stirred from thin air. "He retreated."

She spotted Uncle Patrick's figure a few steps away, back into his human form. She thought they would listen at last, when she sniffed pinewood close by. Father! A dozen shadows jumped out of the darkness, their movements accompanied with the clanks and clinks of wood. They came for Lucas and for Marco, and also for her.

Marco deftly evaded them while Lucas chanted the same spell to take command of the debris to put up a wall around him again for protection.

The ones that leapt towards Apple smelled familiar. They were faces she painted, locks she combed passionately. She was the one who chose their clothes. "SONG OF CREAT—" She was a second too late. Clankingly, one shadow darted from behind and grabbed her chest. Another held and tugged down on her arm. His father's creations were agile and quick. She was wrong to try to counterattack when she should have defended. "Let go of me!" The puppets stared at her with lifeless eyes, ears deaf, lips mute. They were mere pieces of wood but Apple could not help feeling betrayed.

"Apple!" Despite Marco's cries of concern, he was too preoccupied fending off twenty puppets at once to spare any effort to free her. "Lucas!"

The Lady in Mourning had her shards of destruction at the ready, flickering behind her in broken fractals that showered her ominous form with rainbow shades. One move and she could bury Lucas under stones.

"Stand down now, my daughter. The job shall be finished. The demon doesn't seem too strong," her father said.

"If you kill him, you would have failed the mission! He's not a demon. Let him show you. He can use holy power."

"And demonic energy. I think that is enough proof," grumbled Patrick.

"In the name of Gabriel, I banish you from this holy land," the Lady pronounced. Then she

Marco dashed, having miraculously cut down the puppets around him. "NOOO!" He screamed. "DIVINE PROVIDENCE!"

Thin shards of light crashed into the barrier that formed. To Apple's horror, it could not hold. Anything those fragments touched, they broke and crumbled. Breaking through Marco's barrier, the shards bombarded the back of the amputated Guardian, making its entire body crumble.

Stone fragments buried Lucas right where he stood.

Marco fell to his knees. Even as his brother had stolen power from him, he sought to keep him alive, to bring him to the proper justice he thought he deserved.

But in the rubble as the dust cleared, Apple could sniff the familiar smell.

"He's still alive!" She whispered. He's releasing energy. Lots of it.

"He's preparing a spell!" Uncle Patrick also caught on.

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"JUDGMENT OF GABRIEL!" It took five exorcists to chant it and gather enough holy energy to successfully activate.

A thick pole made of holy energy fell out of the sky, barrelling straight down onto on the Guardian's remains. BOOM! Anyone under it would have been squashed to a pulp. Even a true demon would not come out unscathed.

Marco huffed, his breaths coming in laboured, as he clutched at his chest. He was pale with shock, his face as white as the moon above.

"He's escaped," she said to Marco who could suddenly breath again. But she could still sense Lucas, though considerably much fainter. Another smell pervaded the air, much thicker than the holy energy Lucas gave off. Blood.

There were traces of it on the ground. Pieces of a broken lamp lay next to the Guardian's rubble. She could sniff the gas that spilled onto the soil. Whatever spell Lucas had used was not one that instantly transported him elsewhere, for she could smell traces of him that pointed towards the gate. With the amount of energy he used, he must have nearly expended whatever holy energy he stole.

"I'll use all my puppets to find him. I believe he has not reached far. Similar to his escape from the Coliseum earlier, he must have used the same spell, yet he did not go so far."

The Lady in Mourning grunted, "Then use all of them. Even your most powerful one." She turned to Apple. Although her face was veiled, Apple felt the heat of her ire towards her.

Father jumped down and walked to where Apple was kneeling as more than five puppets kept her pinned down. He was clad in the same flowing robe and the tall hat with a veil to cover his face.

"You caused us the failure of this attempt. But the night is young. I need your help, Apple," he pleaded.

She loved him that's why she replied, "But we are mistaken. You've witnessed him use holy power. He's not a demon."

"Patrick attests that he held demonic power in the Delta. He is a menace. One that we should not let roam freely. I need your power to do that."

"I can't, Father. He deserves to be judged but not by us. He has killed, yes, but it is not in our authority to mete out his punishment. Let him face the King's Judgment."

"Then, you leave me no choice."

Suddenly, her father's scent became strange to her. It was as though she was looking at an exorcist, not her family, not her father who used to toil away in his atelier and call her sweet names. He smelled of terror more than fondness.

From beneath his veil, he whispered, "Dream for now, my daughter. MIRACULOUS SONG."

A humming much like a mother's lullaby sounded inside her ears. She was not sure though. It could be right behind her head. But it was a sweet soft music. And with each note, her world became darker as though sending her to sleep. The moonlight was snuffed out, the flames from the cressets that lined Demach's walls dimmed until every speck of light blurred and disappeared from her vision. It was as though she was being thrown into a sea of smokes that smelled like nothing but emptiness, isolation and sadness. Only her father's voice remained, "I'll wake you up soon, then you'll forget about this."