Late that afternoon…
"What does this mean? What happened?" Milk demanded, alarmed as he saw the illuminated one come in.
He slammed the door shut and rushed up the stairs so fast he nearly knocked Milk over.
The young man hurried after him, surprise all over his face. He almost felt hurt by the coldness, and only realized the man was injured when he saw the trail of bloody footprints marking the steps.
It was dark…
And when he fell back onto the mattress in his room, it was as if he sank beneath the weight of exhaustion. His aura flickered weakly, the gravity of his wounds crying out for attention. He was hanging by a thread — each injury, each blow — wrapped in a darkness too deep and relentless to heal, even hours later. It was impossible to heal.
"Talk to me! Did he attack you? That drunken bastard!"
He froze when he saw what was left — he was missing an arm beneath the jacket.
What remained was charred skin, with faint shadows flickering over it.
His hand was mangled, his chest torn open… There was a huge rip in his shirt, and dried blood stained the fabric.
For a moment, a surge of energy pushed back the fatigue — just for a fleeting instant, before it slipped away again.
"The Order… they sent an assassin after me, can you believe it?" he said, turning away with his hands covering his face. The ceiling light fell across his eyes as he sighed, mind still trapped in that moment. "Hideki Tamashiro, the possessed one… nearly ended me, if not for… sheer chance…"
His words hid the presence of a third party. That demon — and it would come at a cost.
"Damn them… and this was because of Gabriel, wasn't it?!" Milk asked, worried, sitting down beside the mattress and grasping what was left of his mentor's arm as he struggled to sit up.
He was restless, fingertips brushing lightly against him, desperate for some reassurance.
"Don't blame him… he probably warned the higher-ups… for what he thinks is right. It's not his fault the rats are running the show," he murmured, closing his eyes. "Anyway… has Rasen arrived yet?" He almost fell back again.
"He has… he came at dawn, with the first light. He was so excited… but that doesn't matter now. Let's focus on the real issue: healing you!"
"He was? Ah… so…"
"Lie down! Please, let me try…" Milk insisted, as his aura flared a deep violet. He placed his hands over Romero's chest. Romero lay back, releasing a heavy sigh. That's when Milk saw it — darkness seeping into his skin like worms.
If he were just an ordinary human, he would have already succumbed to the Darkness Syndrome…
The thought crossed the young man's mind.
"There's no way to heal darkness this deep. What I can do… is live while holding it back," Romero whispered, meeting his eyes and brushing his fingers over his face. "Your eyes… You're uncertain?"
The words died on Milk's lips. It was impossible to hide the truth from his mentor — he'd always been able to read people, especially those he'd known for so long.
"I… I'm just afraid. Now that we're enemies of Aija, of the Order, of the whole world…" he murmured, clinging to his arm for comfort. His aura faded, letting the anger and worry dissolve with it.
"Yes, but I told you, didn't I? That we'd step into an abyss we could never crawl out of unscathed, that we'd walk against the tide…" His words somehow steadied him, like a shepherd guiding his stray sheep. "The rats and the weak will try to stop us, but we're already in too deep, aren't we? You, me… Rasen… we're the ones who'll change the future, the ones who rejected sin. Just… forgive me for not loving you the way you hope I could."
Hearing that, Milk's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
"Romero… you…" he stammered, voice trembling.
A crooked smile appeared.
And in that instant, he understood — everything had been said, without ever needing to be.
"Well, I'm going to rest a bit, alright? If you can, pass on the intel to Rasen about the next three… or try recruiting them yourself… I know what you're capable of," Romero murmured, just before sleep overtook him. His last words drifted off like a lament as he passed out.
He surrendered to exhaustion.
Meanwhile, in the Spiritual Order's headquarters, Kyotaka watched Masaru with concern. The young man sat on a dark leather couch in the leader's apartment. The not-so-secret couple was there too, drawn into the urgency of that moment.
"Shame on you, Masaru! You were always so capable — what were you thinking? Don't you care about the mess you've caused? Cracking jokes while people die because of you! Don't you find that unforgivable?" asked the leader of leaders, disappointment written all over his face, his fists clenched like a father scolding a disobedient son. "And you, Gabriel? You've always been such a responsible young man, an excellent exorcist and politician. What happened? How did you let it come to this?" When he looked at him, the Celestial could barely meet his eyes, staring at the floor instead, consumed by shame.
"I'm sorry, Master… I should've stopped him — no, I should've made sure this never happened," Gabriel murmured, guilt trembling in his voice.
If there was one man he respected and trusted, it was this one — the oldest of the living, the exorcist and human who had lived longer than any other…
"Oh, come on, Tachibana! Masaru's always been like this. He's always been a reckless brat who does whatever he wants…" Elizabeth cut in, placing her hands firmly on the shoulders of the devil they called a boy. Her touch was steady. "I know Gabriel was arrogant to think he could fix him, but honestly, you, of all people, share the blame for letting him graduate from the academy in the first place…" Her words made the superior lose his composure, while she seemed the calmest of them all, eyes glittering with a mix of defiance and certainty.
She always craved the chaos to come — she loathed the comfort of monotony, in her own eloquent way.
"Miss, I know. And that's why the Order will have to answer for all of this. Tonight we'll have a general assembly, and tomorrow, a meeting with the governor…" He sat on the couch across from them, scratching his gray beard with an expression of deep reflection as he studied the silent young man.
"Finally…"
Poor old man — now he had to deal with the very monsters he'd created.
"I'll do something too. A public statement and a meeting with the governor as soon as possible!" Gabriel added, moving to sit beside Masaru, tension obvious in his stiff shoulders. "Aren't you going to say anything?" he asked, raising his voice. Everyone looked at him, waiting eagerly for an answer.
"Me? Huh… What can I do? I mean, I appreciate you keeping things under wraps, but honestly, there's nothing I can really do, right?" Masaru said, wearing that half-indifferent smile, his gaze drifting around the luxurious room. "Besides, I hope these meetings don't drag on forever…"
Everyone turned to the leader. He let out a soft, tired chuckle, laced with wisdom.
"Well, it's something, I suppose," Elizabeth commented, crossing her arms and leaning forward slightly, a sarcastic glint in her eyes.
"Hmmm… True, there's not much we can do now. Just damage control. Since the last supernatural disaster, the world has been drifting away from the Order. For most people, living comfortably in a house infested with parasites is better than fighting for paradise… and I can't blame them. That boy, Romero, he's not wrong. The social engineering pushed by the Empire and the other kingdoms only reinforces it. There's no change when those who need it most let themselves be lulled by comfort and despair," the old sage declared, his words carrying the weight of conviction.
Then he stood up abruptly, adjusting his dark suit. The three of them watched him with admiration and respect, each lost in thoughts of their own failures and the difficult path ahead.
Well… two of them.
For one, none of it meant anything.
Not out of coldness, but from a kind of disconnection — as if the real world were just a poorly staged play before his eyes. He kept that smile on his lips, the same as always, like everything around him was just another tedious sermon.
The elephant in the room? To him, just another circus animal — too big to bother with, too small to fear.
While the others carried guilt, promises… hope — he simply existed.
"Anyway…"
"So… what about the assignments? We Celestial exorcists still have priority, right? Or do we have to register as pairs now too?" Gabriel asked, cutting off his secret lover before she could gather her words.
"That worries you?" the leader asked, giving them a sidelong glance. "Well, my orders range from level one to five. You're free to act however you see fit, alright?" And after receiving their silent nods of confirmation, he walked to the door. "Later… I have more matters to discuss with you Celestial exorcists. There's an elephant in the room that's been bothering the council for months. We'll talk about it then. This meeting's over. May Elum bless you!"
The door closed behind him.
The boy shouted.
The two looked at each other.
And life went on…