1 Year ago…

Shen staggered through the battlefield. His hands were bloodied, his white shirt dyed red. He wasn’t sure whose blood he had on his face and body anymore. He flinched as he walked, a wound on his arm and abdomen hindered him greatly. 

He had never seen anything like this before, the entire district was enclosed by a barrier. They couldn’t let any of the malevolent spirits escape, and that meant they had no choice but to exorcise them all. 

“Shen-Sensei! Help me! Ple-” A student’s cries were cut short when a large burly monster, slammed down on the student’s head, crushing it completely. The monster was an amalgamation of different animals. It had the feet of an elephant, the skin of a rhinoceros, the arms of a gorilla and the head of a sabretooth tiger. The grey beast huffed and puffed as it lifted its hooves up, the blood and mashed pieces of bones stuck to its feet. 

“No….” Shen stood there as he watched the beast trample over his student. The monster’s eyes glowed as he smiled at Shen, raising his fist toward him. 

Shen’s scarred left eye started to throb. 

Shen brought his hand up to cover his scarred left eye.

I won’t use it… 

The beast continued grinning as a large amount of spiritual energy gathered at his fist. A large ball of purple energy manifested at the fist of the beast, who was aiming it directly at Shen.

This… this is it… 

Shen clutched onto his beads.

But before the beast could unleash its attack, the sound of metal cutting flesh rang in the air, and the beast’s head rolled onto the floor.

The beast’s heavy body slammed into the ground, revealing a man carrying a scythe, standing behind it.

“Tony…” Shen muttered.

“Not looking so good pal.” Tony smirked as he swung his scythe down, splattering the spirit’s blood onto the floor, cleaning his blade. Tony was a young-looking guy with jet black hair in a crew cut. 

“Not looking… too good yourself…” Shen remarked. 

Tony’s suit had also been soaked in blood, his arm sleeves had been ripped off, revealing cuts along both his arms. His face showed signs of clear exhaustion. 

Tony let go of his scythe, causing it to disappear, leaving behind a sort of black smoky residue.

“Well, no way I’m letting you die before me buddy,” Tony spoke as he went over to support Shen. 

“There’s a stronghold at the Eastern part, we cleared most of the spirits there, it's where the other exorcists are receiving medical attention,” Tony said as he started using his spiritual energy to heal Shen.

“Spiritual energy can only do so much…” Tony lamented.

“Stop… save your energy… I can handle it…” Shen swiped Tony’s hand away from his wound, applying his own, withered energy. 

“You’re clearly running dry… hold on, we aren’t that far…” Tony said as they continued walking East. 

The screams and sounds of battle could be heard continuously. 

“WheRe Are YOu Going!??” A distorted voice peeked from around the corner. 

A spirit crawled out from the corner. It was humanoid, but its back had large spikes protruding from it. It was completely hairless, revealing its pale olive skin. Its eyes were bulging out of its head and its mouth was dripping with blood. It looked very much like a goblin from fantasy movies. 

“Fuck…” Tony let go of Shen, dashing towards the spirit. 

“[Death Margin]” Tony chanted as his scythe rematerialised in his hands.

Tony dashed forward with superhuman speed, in an instant he was directly in front of the goblin-like spirit. 

Tony swung his scythe using his entire body, the blade swerving towards the goblin at an inconceivable speed. 

But the goblin reacted, twisting its body so that the spikes faced Tony. 

Tony’s scythe hit the back of the goblin and ricocheted back. 

The goblin turned to look back at Tony and grinned smugly, before extending the spikes on his back.

Tony jumped back, avoiding the spikes, which were coming at him relatively slowly. 

Tony didn’t give the goblin time to react, he changed course and dashed towards the goblin from another angle, this time aiming for the head. 

The goblin, as if sensing that his life was in danger, began crying out, shrieking. 

Then, arms began emerging from the ground, grabbing onto Tony’s legs, causing him to trip. 

More goblins began to emerge from the ground, crawling towards Tony. None of them had the spiky back of the one who summoned them.

“Tony!” Shen called out, stepping forward. 

“Stay right there! Shen, you know how Death Margin works don’t you? Don’t come any closer… I got this…” Tony swung his scythe towards his feet, cutting off the arms that were holding him down. 

Death Margin was Tony’s ability from his spirit contract. Every time he summoned his scythe, a fixed ‘battle area’ would form. Within the boundaries of the area, Tony receives superhuman levels of strength, reflexes and increased general physical ability. However, if he moves outside the boundaries of the zone, Tony is weakened significantly, to the point where even basic attacks could be fatal. 

Death Margin comes with an additional catch: If anyone outside the zone enters, they become significantly weakened. This discourages outside enemies from coming to aid their ally, making this ability perfect for one-on-one encounters. But it means friendly allies can’t enter the zone to help.

“Fuck off mate!” Tony yelled as the goblins began latching onto his back. Tony grabbed the arms of one of the goblins holding onto him and crushed it with just one hand. Tossing the goblin aside, he focused his attention on the spiky goblin. 

Tony spun around, slicing through some of the goblins around him cleanly with his scythe. 

He dashed forward once more, this time, spinning his scythe around him skillfully. The blade of the scythe blurred as it helicoptered around his body, slicing through any goblins standing in his way. 

Tony quickly reached his target, seemingly aiming for the spiked goblin’s head. The goblin once again twisted his body so his back faced Tony, but this time Tony reacted faster. Tony spun and leapt into the air, the trajectory of his blade unpredictable as he swerved and somersaulted. He was like a beyblade, slicing through the air. The goblin was fazed, unsure of where Tony would attack from. 

Tony swung his scythe low, his body still in the air, upside down, momentum keeping him there. 

In a sweeping motion, the scythe grazed the ground and sliced the spiked goblin’s limbs clean off. 

The goblin remained frozen, taking a second to fully realised his legs and arms had been chopped off. It fell on its chest, screaming in pain. Tony finally put it out of its misery by chopping off its head with a swift cut. 

“[Return to your rightful place of rest.]” Tony chanted, holding out his hand in front of his face in a prayer position. The goblin’s body disintegrated, along with that of its summons. 

Shen’s left eye started to throb again. His hands went up to hold it, feeling the scar on his eye.

He could feel something ominous approaching. 

“Shen? Wha-” Tony cut his words short when he too felt a presence behind him. It was like a piercing feeling, Tony didn’t need spiritual energy to know this feeling. It was based on his instinct as an exorcist, that his life was in imminent danger. 

“Tony! Get out of there!” Shen yelled, his left eye burning up. 

Tony shifted his stance, but it was too late. 

Tony turned to see that his hand holding his scythe had been cleanly sliced off. His arm lay there on the floor in a puddle of his blood. 

“AARRGHH!!” Tony agonised as he grabbed onto his right shoulder, blood leaking out at an alarming rate. 

The monster that manifested behind him was a larger goblin, this time instead of spikes, there were large long tentacles with hooks on the end protruding from its back.

“Myyy BAbieSSS!! How DARE YOU!!” The monster screamed as it grabbed onto Tony with its tentacles. 

Shen felt like his left eye was calling to be freed, he had trouble keeping it closed. He knew he shouldn’t do it, not now, not at this time…

But he gave way for a millisecond. Images sprang into his mind, fuzzy and distorted but Shen could make out what they were.

“Tony!” Shen sprang forward, he needed to do something. 

“Stop right there Shen!” Tony yelled, holding up his remaining arm, around it was his prayer beads, tied into a bracelet. Tony’s face was consumed with pain as he then brought the beads to his face.

All the while, Tony was still suspended in the air, the tentacles wrapped tightly around his body, squeezing him.

“You saw… didn’t you? You know what happens next right? Your ability… Truly a curse and a blessing. What you see and believe to be true, inevitably becomes the truth… Spiritual Reinforcement sure can be a pain huh….” Tony said as he bit into his prayer beads.

“No! Tony! We can still change it!” Shen pleaded, desperation filling his voice. 

“I know why they give us these beads now… I’m so full of fear and hatred that I mght really turn into a vengeful spirit…'' Tony spoke, tears began to stream down his face.

“Don’t lie to me Shen, we can’t change this… After all, In your eyes, I’m already dead.” Tony bit and pulled his prayer beads apart, just before one of the tentacle hooks sliced his head off.

The beads sprayed onto the ground, every bead landing with a heavy thud. At that moment, Tony’s head and the beads seemed all too similar. They lay splattered, like constellations, with Tony’s maroon blood replacing the backdrop of the black sky. 

Shen retreated, he was in no condition to fight this spirit one-on-one right now.

He ran as fast as his legs could carry him. Even as his heart burned as screamed for him to stop, even as pain shot through his legs and back, he persevered. Tears streamed down his face as Shen yelled in anger. 

He had to live, lest Tony’s sacrifice meant nothing.

…

“Sir? Shen…” Charles called out to Shen from the driver's seat.

Shen was yanked back into the present moment, out of his daydream.

“Sorry, Charles, just thinking about the past…” Shen spoke as he stepped out of the car. 

The group entered the SAIB building, the white and sanitised office look contrasted greatly with the scene they had just been to. In the lobby, 2 trainees were already waiting for them. 

One was a girl, dressed in the same uniform as them, she had long hair dyed a pale orange. Large dangling hoop earrings decorated her ears. 

The boy beside her was also in uniform, he had olive eyes and pale brown hair. His hair was parted in the centre, reaching down to his ears, the middle portion brushed up to avoid covering his eyes. His appearance somewhat resembled Ryu.

Both of them had a sombre and worried look on their faces.

“Shen-sensei… my brother… is it true?” The boy spoke, voice trembling.

“I’m sorry Haru, I confirmed it myself earlier…” Shen replied.

Haru lowered his face, closing his eyes for a moment to fully internalise the fact that his brother had died. 

The girl with the hoops wrapped her arm around the boy, comforting him.

“Sensei… tell us, tell us who did it… We’ll make them pay!” The girl spoke angrily.

“That’s what I’m trying to do, find out who did it… now, I know this is not the best time, but it’s urgent… Haru, Kali, I need to ask both of you some questions. Please, follow me.” Shen gestured for the both of them to follow him to the meeting room. 

“Oh, Mark, Mai and Hannah, you’ll be carrying on with your training. I’ll be handling the case myself. Please wait in the training room, I’ll some someone over shortly.” Shen was no longer his usual smug self. It was all business for him that day.

Mark, Mai and Hannah walked toward the training room. It seemed as though they were the only ones on that floor. The whole hallway was an eerie sort of quiet.

“Um.. Mai, you’ve lived here before we did right? Is it always this quiet?” Mark asked. 

“Hmmm, well, I haven’t been here much longer than you guys, maybe a week before? But yeah, now that you’ve pointed it out, it has always been this quiet! You’d think such a large building would have more people…” Mai replied, rubbing her chin.

“Well.. haven’t you heard? Ever since the Nan Ching District Massacre, the SAIB lost a great deal of manpower that day. Manpower in this industry isn’t exactly easy to come by…” Hannah chimed in with her knowledge. 

“Say, I keep hearing ‘Nan Ching Massacre’ this and that… but I don’t actually know much about it. What exactly happened?” Mai asked Hannah.

There was a slight pause as Hannah began to think and recall. 

“Well, I only heard bits and pieces from family members… but it was a huge event in the exorcist world. It started with a single spirit, and then more and more spirits started manifesting throughout the district. The public was evacuated under the guise of an earthquake, giving time for exorcists to prepare and set up barriers. But once the barrier was set up, it was as if on cue, multiple spirits began manifesting at once. It was too much for those inside to handle….” Hannah spoke as they approached the training room. 

They pushed the door open, revealing a dojo-esque room. They stepped in and were greeted with a blast of fresh air. It was one of Khan’s portal rooms. 

The dojo was on a hill or mountain, overlooking what seems to be the sea. The dojo had sliding Japanese doors that were open, allowing the fresh mountain air to flow in. 

The trio found a nearby wooden bench to sit on while they wait.

“Then… why didn’t they send more exorcists?”  Mark asked, thinking back to how they could freely enter the barrier back then. 

“If the barrier was set up by the SAIB, then couldn’t they just allow more exorcists in to help?” Mark asked.

“That’s the thing… from what I’ve heard… for some reason, after a certain number of exorcists entered, the barrier stopped allowing entry… or escape. It only dissipated once all the spirits inside were exorcised.” Hannah answered. 

“My own theory… is that someone tampered with the barrier charms to give it that property. Doing that means that they either killed all the Barrier Agents who set up the barrier to prevent any suspicion, or they themselves were a Barrier Agent.” Hannah revealed, her face completely serious. 

Mai and Mark were just speechless, not knowing what to say after that revelation.

“Hey… but that’s just a personal theory, no need to take me so seriously…” Hannha shrugged.

“Your family… they were exorcists too?” Mark asked, recalling how Hannah mentioned that she heard about the massacre form them.

“Yeah… hmm, I’m surprised you actually picked up on that… looks like at least one of us seems smart…” Hannah replied.

“Heyyy what does that mean?” Mai chimed in, slightly offended. 

“But yes, my family works in this industry… they’re all private exorcists though, the kind that charges an exorbitant amount of fees just for exorcising small fry.” Hannah continued her story. 

“Unlike the both of you, I made the choice to enter this world. And on top of all that, become a public exorcist as well… even though I know the risks… even though I could have just worked in my father's business…” Hannah spoke as though she was digging up a rough and unresolved part of her psyche. 

Mark decided not to press further. 

“So why work as a public exorcist then? I bet working as a private exorcist would be soo much cushier!” Mai exclaimed.

Mai did not share Mark’s tact. 

Hannah looked a bit bothered at first. 

“Dude…Mai, she was right about only one of us being smart….” Mark remarked, face-palming.

“What?? I’m just asking!” Mai nudged Mark in the ribs.

Hannah’s expression relaxed at the sight of the two bickering and started to giggle. Images of her and her brother bickering when they were younger immediately sprung up in her mind.

“No, it’s fine! You know what, I think I was just stubborn…I had something to prove…” Hannah simply left it at that.

“Good to see my juniors all getting along so well on their first day… though i guess seeing a death scene on your first day can be a bonding experience.”

A voice spoke from behind them. 

It was an older girl that spoke. 

To be more accurate, she was more of a woman than a girl.

The woman that spoke had jet-black, short hair in a bob cut. Her face was slightly tanned, wearing nothing but simple eyeliner and lipstick, allowing her natural beauty to shine through. She was wearing a white button-up shirt with a tie that only accentuated her chest. Her uniform was unique in that it was sleeveless, showing off her arms which had a good amount of definition and muscle. Her broad shoulders and muscular frame could clearly be seen. Her black dress pants hugged her thick strong thighs. She had the figure of an amazonian woman. 

As she walked toward the trio, Mark couldn’t help but notice how tall she was. She stood towering over them, casting a shadow with her wide frame. 

“It’s Wonder Woman…” Mai accidentally let her thoughts slip out.

“Did I take your breath away? I have that effect sometimes but I’m no Wonder Woman! My name’s Cadence from batch 3019! I’m currently doing my final year of training before becoming a full-fledged professional Exorcist.” Cadence smiled warmly as she extended a hand out to her juniors. 

“Nice… nice to meet you!” Mai shook her hand fervently as though she was meeting her favourite star. Mai’s eyes were stuck onto Cadence’s chest the whole time. 

“You guys must be Mai, Mark and Hannah, right? Shen told me to see to your training while he carries out his investigation. Sorry about the wait, we’ve been understaffed lately so most of us have been going around performing exorcisms.” Cadence spoke as she walked around the dojo, accessing the space.

“Well, let’s get to it then! I’m sure you guys got a taste of how to use Physical Enhancement… so how about some sparring? Let’s go three on one, that should make things fair…” Cadence smirked. 

“You sure you’re not underestimating your juniors here?” Hannah quipped back, smiling. She was pumped.

“Oh, in fact, I’m overestimating you guys… Normally I could go against six of my juniors no problem. So prove me right, yeah?” Cadence said smugly as she began to stretch. 

“Let’s do this, Wonder Woman!” Mai brought her hands up, she could use this match to get her mind off the scene she saw this morning.

Mark shrugged and got into a fighting stance, he needed to release some tension anyway. 

But nothing could have prepared them for the strength of a final-year trainee. 

In the meeting room...

“You’re saying there’s a chance this site could be the Tether?” Shen asked Haru, who was sitting in front of him.

“Yes… this place holds strong memories for both me and my brother. It’s also the place where we carry out the cost of our Contract.” Haru replied.

“A stone spirit… and the cost is to build a shrine for it?” Shen asked. 

“Yes. Every week, Ryu needs to place a stone there and expand the shrine. As long as that shrine is standing, he can use the Contract… Now that he’s dead… the stone spirit could be at the shrine.” Haru replied. 

“Okay…” Shen began writing down the details in his notebook.

“One more thing… What was Ryu doing in the Nan Ching district?” Shen asked.

“That’s the thing that puzzles us too… we don’t know…” Kali answered. 

“You mentioned that Ryu has been acting suspiciously… do you think it has some relation to him being at the Nan Ching District today?” Shen flipped to a new page in his notebook.

“Yes… but we’ve all changed after the Massacre… Ryu, he hasn’t been the same since… after all, those spirits… they killed his girlfriend, Chloe… and Esna… and Dae-Hyun, they’re all gone because of them!” Haru slammed his fist on the table in frustration.

Shen leaned back in his chair and took a deep breath.

“Listen, I know your loss, I personally went to clean up the bodies. I want to get these bastards as much as you do. So tell me, what reason does Ryu have to be hanging around Nan Ching District early in the morning?” Shen leaned forward, his single open eye dead serious. 

“Well, Ryu has been going off on his own more often recently…” Haru mentioned.

“Going off? Where to? Nan Ching District?” Shen probed.

“Maybe… He never told us… He kept saying it was something important.” Haru replied. 

“He also has this notebook he keeps around him at all times… I caught him writing some symbols in it once… he looked at me like I caught him doing something wrong… He told me he’d explain when he was ‘sure of it’.” Kali revealed. 

Shen’s interest was piqued.

“Those symbols… do they look anything like this?” Shen showed the four symbols he had written down in his notebook from the death scene earlier. 

“Yes… yes… it could be… I didn’t get a good look at the ones Ryu wrote… but these do seem familiar…” Kali replied. 

“The notebook, could it still be at his home?” Shen asked, he felt like he was onto something. 

“It could be… But I’ve never seen it around…” Haru replied. 

Shen stood up, he had at least two sites to visit. 

“Haru, send me the locations for your house and for the shrine site… Thank you both for the help… This is definitely a good start.” Shen said, handing Haru his notebook to write in.

“Sensei… let us come with you…we’ve been on exorcisms and investigations before… let us help!” Haru pleaded. 

Shen hesitated for a moment.

“I’m sorry, but this is a rather unique case… Let the professionals handle it… I assure you… Ryu will get a proper passing. I’ll make sure of it.” Shen affirmed Haru and Kali before grabbing his notebook and briefcase and leaving the room. 

The door shut, leaving Haru and Kali alone in the meeting room.

“Hey Kali…” Haru spoke, breaking the silence.

“Yeah?” 

“Those symbols… I’ve seen them somewhere before…” Haru spoke slowly, his mind racing. 

“You have?” Kali raised her eyebrows.

“Yes… don’t you remember… that night…when we found Tony-Sensei…” Haru’s eyes widened as memories from that night came flooding into his mind.

“Shit….” Kali frowned as memories that she had wanted to suppress rose to the surface once again. 

Both of them were thinking of the same instance. 

…

1 year ago…

Haru panted and gasped for air as he supported Kali. Kali’s leg had been broken and a blow to the head caused her to bleed from there, she was in no position to fight anymore. 

Haru pressed on, he had to get her medical attention fast. 

“Stay with me, Kali! We aren’t far from the safe zone…” Haru spoke as he inched forward, Kali leaning on him the whole time, her face pale.

Haru had already witnessed the death of Dae-Hyun and Esna, along with losing track of his brother and Chloe. He was not going to lose Kali too.

As he and Kali stumbled forward, they came across a trail of blood leading towards a body.

Haru didn’t want to look at it, he had seen enough death that day. But when they got closer, Haru couldnt’t avert his eyes, the lifeless face looking up at him was too familiar. It was Tony, their teacher. 

It was a vicious, ugly scene. Haru wanted to puke.

There Tony lay, head decapitated, body mangled and twisted, blood smeared across the ground.

Encircling his body, written in his own blood, were the same four symbols repeating themselves.