---

Amari Residence

Sister Maria gave Derald an unimpressed look at his attempt at flattery, before replying, almost sarcastically, "Using a magecraft on civilians is a bad thing, a 'very bad thing', one might say. The Holy Church may have an agreement with the Department of Mystics regarding magi, but we are allowed to do our duties to execute heretics if they harm civilians...I would say that would make you such a case, and so, as for me doing my job, as you put it, as an Executor, that would be killing heretical magi. However, given the circumstances, I shall let it be...be sure not to do so again."

Turning to Selene, then, she sighed, "Firstly, as I said, I do not use magecraft; I use sacraments—"

Sacraments were mystical abilities used by members of the Holy Church that drew from the most stable Foundation, that of Christianity. While the Church insisted on calling them sacraments, magi had always merely considered them a form of magecraft, and it was obvious to all the magi there that what Sister Maria was doing was essentially magecraft, only by another name.

"—but that is neither here nor there at the moment...Apologies. However, in the case of a possible demon possession, it was a dire enough situation that warranted such things. As an Executor of the Holy Church, this was the only way things could have gone the moment you texted me regarding a possible demonic possession—"

It was at that moment that Fatma cut Maria as she turned angrily to the group from the Sidereal Agency, slapping away Richard's hand from her shoulders, "YOU called her here!? I told you I don't want a member of the Holy Church! What have you done!? I won't let her kill Evan—"

"I am not here to kill him," Maria said, turning to Fatma.

"You...won't?"

Maria's face turned sombre as she replied, "...This is concerning your son, so I will not lie to you. The first order of business is to determine whether he truly is a daemoniac. My sacrament would not be as accurate as specialists in exorcism, but there is a way."

"A-And if you determined that he is possessed...?"

The Sister lowered her head before finally answering, her tone sorrowful, "...Then I will have to kill him."

The moment the word 'kill' left Maria's mouth, Fatma charged at the Sister hysterically, "I won't let you! Even if he is possessed, he's—"

Maria wordlessly produced a piece of paper from her pocket, where some sort of illustration of what appeared to be an abstract painting. Those who looked at it would suddenly find themselves feeling drowsy, not enough to fall asleep, but just enough for everyone to realise that it was some sort of magecraft, but it was directed at them.

Rather, it was directed at Fatma, to whom Maria was showing the paper.

The moment Fatma laid her eyes on the paper, she fell down, with Maria promptly catching her, and gently laying her down on a sofa.

"I've put her to sleep, now then, you said you want to talk?" Maria said to MiMi, she then turned to Derald, or specifically, the phone in his hand, "Also, you were speaking to someone, right? Who is it?"

Leonardo's sigh came from the phone, "...Please accept my apologies on behalf of my employee, Sister. I...will talk to them on this matter later."

"Hmph. Leonardo Animusphere Fidano? You're involved in this, too? Fine then, tell me all the details," Maria said. She then turned to Selene, "Selene, and..." her eyes to Richard. Although not a practitioner of a martial art herself, Maria met some Executors who did, and the way Richard walked, the 'proper way of walking and breathing' reminded her of them.

"...and the martial artist there, please go to the boy and ensure nothing happens, while the rest..." she gestured to MiMi and Derald, "...will fill me in. Would that be acceptable?"

MiMi TucknShine
“It is a pleasure to meet a sister of the church. I must admit, I don’t often have the opportunity to cross paths with your kind in such close quarters.

Here, I am Dr. MiMi, Evan’s child psychologist. And yes, I can confirm there is something unusual something strange and mystical surrounding the boy. The only supernatural phenomenon I can verify with certainty is mind reading.

During my evaluation, I was perfectly safe. Nothing unexpected occurred. But the child’s mental state… well, it is fragile, to say the least. I believe it would be best to move his mother away for now. He should not have to see her in such a state.

And Sister, darling… your choice of words could use a softer touch. There is no need to stir the mother’s nerves any further. Not right now.”

Selene walked over and knocked on the kid's door. This was purely a matter of politeness for her, she was serious about what she said.

Selene truly rarely interests location with the intention of killing, so on the radar anything she doesn't, she tries to be polite.

But as a professional, he could not risk the child leaving or the demon taking over, so the full expectation of the demon is currently reading her mind and understands the teeth being polite. She simply opens the door and walks in.

“ May you please wait here for 5 minutes, so my compatriot can explain the situation at hand to the new party.”

---

"No one did, at least not me." Richard weakly defended itself but it turned out to not be necessary at all.

He quickly caught the sleeping form of Fatma using the moment to take a mind clearing bolus to remove the effects of the paper as she laid the woman down.

"By the way, my name is Richard. he quickly introduced himself before walking away following Selene.

"Don't worry much about me, I'm here to be a guard just don’t do anything I would need to respond to."] he preemptively spoke to the kid and whatever spirit is possessing him.

“Alright, I guess spelling things out is the smarter move. And just so you know, I’m no heretic. Actually, I’m here to lend the church a hand, in my own way…” Derald folded his arms and let out a slow sigh. He watched, unimpressed, as Sister Maria hypnotized Ms. Fatma right before him. Apparently, the rules get blurry when it comes to their magecraft on civilians. From Derald’s perspective, the hypocrisy was hard to miss.

“What you see right here are the two incubus mixed-bloods in all of Millhaven, one being the child. Victims of circumstances due to their cursed family bloodline. Now, our bossman, Leonardo, has a theory that someone is trying to awaken Evan’s genes as a catalyst for summoning the real thing. Most likely a really competent magus who knows the family’s background.” He said.

“Now I don’t think an exorcism is required just yet sister Maria. We just need to find the source of who is trying to awaken the boy’s dormant incubus genes for whatever reason.”

---

Amari Residence

"...It's about her child," Maria said solemnly, replying to MiMi, "I would rather not lie for such things. Besides, it is probably better this way, in case an...extreme action is needed. If she is lied to, she will blame and hate herself for being fooled. At least this way, her hate will be directed at me. The Lord does not look kindly on wrath, one of the Seven Deadly Sins; however, at least this way she would be able to forgive herself by placing the blame on me."

She then turned to look at Richard, who was attempting to use his bolus on Fatma. If Maria was bothered by the fact that the man was trying to undo her magecraft sacrament, she did not show it.

Fatma remained as she was, only lightly stirring in her slumber. It seemed that simple boluses would not be enough to dispel the Sister's magecraft sacrament.

She gave Richard a nod as he introduced himself, "Sister Maria. It is better for Ms Fatma to remain asleep for now. We are in a delicate situation, and her involvement would only make things more complicated."

Then, after Richard and Selene left to head toward Evan's bedroom, she turned her attention back to MiMi and Derald.

"I understand the situation. In short, Evan is a mixed-blood of an incubus descent, and your main theory is that Evan's father is trying to summon said incubus by using Evan as a catalyst," she turned to look at Lucas, who was still under the effect of mental interference magecraft.

Maria sighed, "If that's the case, then Selene should not have said that it was a case of demonic possession. Even if an incubus is summoned, it is not a demonic possession."

From the phone that Derald was holding, came Leonardo's voice, "That's true. A phantasmal species being summoned is still troublesome, but that's a different scenario than a demonic possession, in some regards less concerning too. Well...demons are an esoteric topic. She was in Yumina and not Eulyphis; maybe she simply hasn't dabbled much in Spiritual Evocation. Or maybe she still suspects that a demonic possession is a more likely theory; we haven't really completely confirmed one way or the other."

"There are some VERY obvious holes in your theory of Evan's father being a magus, namely that given how small the population of Millhaven magi are, we would have known of him, and he is an unknown. Although, I understand why you have that suspicion. He does, after all, work for another mixed-blood who is an accomplished magus."

"The President of the Pacific Crest College, yes," Leonardo replied, before continuing, "Also, considering he is caught in some sort of mental interference magecraft, I now doubt that theory even further. A magus who can summon something from the Reverse Side of the World all the way in America, which is a land of low mystery, must be a Pride-ranked magus, at the very least, and I doubt there is anyone in Millhaven who can catch a Pride-ranked magus with mental interference magecraft. What do you say, Derald? Do you think your contact is capable of doing that to a magus with the capability of Pride?"

"Either way, there is an easy way to confirm," Maria added, turning to Lucas, "I do not like the fact magecraft is used unnecessarily on an innocent civilian, but now that it is done, we might as well make use of it. Lucas, are you a magus who is trying to summon your incubus ancestor using Evan as a catalyst?"

Lucas spoke again, his voice as listless and detached as before, "Ma...gus...? I do not know that term. I am not trying to summon my incubus ancestor using Evan as a catalyst. I do not even believe the stories my parents told me about our family being descended from an incubus. To me, they are nothing more than tall tales."

@Silverstein@PureWitch

---

Amari Residence, Evan's bedroom

The moment Selene and Richard entered Evan's bedroom, Evan was already staring at the two, as if he had already expected them.

"...What's going on? He said that someone who just arrived wanted to kill me?" If Evan was bothered by the idea, it did not show on his face. If anything, he seemed to be resigned, with little emotion on his face nor much inflexion in his voice, just as before when Selene and MiMi interviewed him.

He then added, "Oh, but he also said that the one who wants to kill me will probably be plagued by nightmares if she did. She doesn't want to, but it seems like think it is her duty, so she will do it, even if it'll make her feel extremely guilty."

@Digmata@Thanatos 7

“Huh, this isn’t possible. This mental interference should be lie-proof, and Mr. Lucas here should be in complete subservience with his responses. He should answer any questions truthfully.” Derald crosses his arms, puzzled by the same answer Evan’s dad gave them. His background as a civilian really checks out as the young mafiaoso tries a different approach.

“Maybe we aren’t asking the right questions.” Derald ponders before continuing to interrogate.

“But you know your incubus ancestry, right? Tell me, are there any people in your life that might have a great interest in you and Evan’s bloodline?”

---

Amari Residence

"I know what my parents SAID our lineage is," Lucas said. Although his tone was still monotone, as was expected from someone under a mental interference, his emphasis on the word 'said' made it clear that he thought of the whole thing as nonsense.

He continued, "They thought that a long time ago our ancestor was seduced by an incubus and gave birth to a cursed child who had the power of an incubus and used it to seduce many women, but that’s nonsense. I never believed them, even when I was still a practising Christian. That’s just some old legends. If you want someone who is obsessed with this nonsense, it’s them. Always saying stuff like how Evans should be baptised to prevent our incubus ancestor from claiming him. ”

@Silverstein

You have no reason to be afraid of the sister outside. You have no need to worry about her. I will simply not allow her to kill you. Her heart can not take it.”

Selene, for whatever reason, had absolute confidence that the nun wouldn't be able to kill this child.

“ After all, if anyone's going to do it would probably will be me.”

A memory of a singular second face appeared in her head, but it seemed to be some form of self-hypnolysis, and the second person's face, her head, disappeared.

“.....”

“ I just realized something really simple None of this is actually asking you what the creature is.”

“ So would you be able to tell us who or what it is? The current running theory is a demon or some manifestation of your blood lying relating to the incubus. I personally don't think it's either one of those.”

Selene thinks it leads to psychic abilities yes it's true Abilities are incredibly rare, but frankly, in her head, with all the information, it seems more likely than some demon or bloodline nonsense.

Richard Norton

Richard stared at Selene's words grabbing his pen a little more tightly.

"Please don't even as a joke." Richard replied fully vigilant on a factor he didn't expect to need to consider. He accepts her reply for now though.

"She has a point but to be fair, I think asking the enemy defeats the point of solving the mystery. It remains a valid method though."

He would then look at Evan and ask.

"Go ahead, spill what you can or want now."

---

Amari Residence, Evan's Bedroom

"No, I don't think she's joking. At least he said she meant it," Evan said to Richard in response to Selene's willingness to kill him. He turned to Selene, "You're wrong too, by the way. He said that the Sister can kill me. She will hate herself for doing it, but she will do it."

Then, almost resignedly, he shrugged, "Do you think possessed kids go to heaven?" before finally sighing and shaking his head, "... Never mind. Anyway, about your questions..."

"I don't know what he is. To me, he looks like a figure made of shadows, roughly like one of those angels you see in video games but with horns. He just appeared suddenly and started telling me stuff about what other people think. Only that, though, he never really replied back whenever I tried to talk to him, or add anything other than what other people are thinking, for example..." Evan turned to Selene once more, before continuing, "He said that you think he's some part of my psychic ability. But that's it. He didn't say anything else, like whether that's true or not or whether you're close. What is a psychic, anyway?"

@Digmata@Thanatos 7

MiMi TucknShine

Sister there still seem to be answers we are missing. I belive our best course of action would be to determine if Evan and his father has inherited the trait of the incubus. I do think that would be in your line as a church sister? perhaps a baptism could do?

Richard Norton

---

"Ever read books kid, basically people with special powers that is beyond the conventional frameworks." Richard spoke as he thought about examples physic powers he encountered in his life, taking advantage of the 'gift'.

"I don't think there's a passage on the bible about possession so if heaven did exist, there's still a chance." he added trying to provide his honest answer to Evan.

“ Psychic abilities is a catch-off phrase for an abnormal ability to make common sense, or perception of reality typically connected, but ultimately different from magecraft.”

“It is a form of natural interference that to the Psychic comes as naturally as breathing. ”

“ The most common and well known are known as Mystic Eyes think medusa from Greek mythology.”

“ There are typically things you are fundamentally born with, but in highly rare situations, people have been shown to be able to develop them naturally, so if you went through a life-changing incident or near-death experience, that might play a part in it. But the current most likely theory is that it's interacting with your incubus blood.”

“In the simplest way to put it, you might just be a natural mind reader, which leads to an entirely different issue. You have to find a way to not permanently read everyone's mind, but I am unsuited and unqualified for that.”

“ The simplest and safest option for you is simply to wait here until the sister performs whatever magecrafts she is going to perform on you for whatever confirmation she is looking for.”

“ So, if you don't particularly mind, I shall accompany you until then. As a mage, I have an academic curiosity about your condition. As a grave keeper it is my duty to watch if your life would come to an end.
And as A Lady of the cloth I will not let her kill you, for it is my blood's duty to bear the sins of execution.”

---

Amari Residence

"Well, yes," Maria replied to MiMi, "That was my intention."

She then produced a medallion from her pocket.



If one were familiar with the hit classic horror movie, The Exorcist, they would recognise the medal to be somewhat similar to the one Maria was holding in her hand.

"The Baptismal rite is a sacramental miracle meant to ward off spiritual entities. As you may know, however, it was meant more for general use, so to speak. Against powerful spiritual entities on the level of a Ghost Liner, it would be ineffectual. This, however, is the Benedictine Medal, which has a long tradition of being used in the rites of exorcism against demons. Thus, with this, even though I am not an exorcist myself, I should be able to elicit a reaction from the host if he truly is a daemoniac."

She then stopped, before adding, somewhat hesitantly, "Of course, if it DOES elicit some reaction, then Evan would need to be killed in that instant. Exorcists are few in number, especially in the States, so we cannot wait for the luxury of calling one."

"Well, yes, at that point, if you are deploying anti-demon magecraft—" Leonardo started saying, before being interrupted by Maria's cough, "Ehem. I believe you mean sacraments."

Rolling his eyes, Leonardo continued, "...anti-demon sacrament, that's like poking the hornet's nest. Don't you have a less 'invasive' procedure?"

"We do," Maria said with a sigh, "Unfortunately, like exorcists, they are very rare. There are Charismatics—"

"Meaning psychics," Leonardo clarified.

"—that are able to detect demons. But as I said, they are quite rare. I believe there is only one in the entire state of Oregon," Maria continued, seemingly ignoring Leonardo's interruption."

"And considering that if this is a true demonic possession of an entity capable of mind reading, we don't have the luxury of calling for one, because the moment we decide to do so, the demon might know of it and act?" Leonardo asked.

Maria nodded, "Quite. IF this is a case of true demonic possession with the ability of mind reading, there is only a small window of opportunity from when we decide to do something that would expose the demon before it acts."

@Silverstein@PureWitch

---

Amari Residence, Evan's bedroom

Evan simply looked blankly at Selene's explanation, '...I don't really get it, but..." turning to Richard, he said, "...Basically, it's something like the X-Men? Like Jean Grey?"

Evan sighed, "...Maybe that'd be better, I don't know," he then added to Richard, "He said you're not being honest, by the way. But yeah, I dunno if there are passages on the bible about demon possesed people going to heaven, but Jesus and the Apostles did exorcise tons of demons, and the demon-possessed were never depicted to be the one at fault most of the time. Maybe if Heaven exists, if the Sister killed me, I'll go to Heaven. That's...not too bad."

@Digmata@Thanatos 7