You ran to the entrance and saw Rin kneeling on the ground, engulfed in blue flames. Shiratori—no, Astaroth, was in front of him, hand outstretched.

"Get away from him!" You yelled. Astaroth turned in your direction, frowning.

"You better leave, human," he warned lowly, "Before I kill you!" You reached behind you and unclipped the small latch. You pulled out your sword from the cloth sheath. The fabric hung loosely from your back and you held the sheathed sword in front of you.

"I want to see you try," you challenged, eyes narrowing. With a loud growl, he ran towards you.

"STOP!" Rin cried. He charged towards you swiftly. He jabbed at you with his hand, but you dodged and jammed the butt-end of your weapon into his stomach. He went flying away from you, tumbling on the ground.

"Y/n..." Rin called quietly, "What's going on?!" You didn't answer him. Not because you didn't have an answer, but because it wasn't your place to.

"Evils are in their hearts..."
You turned at that voice, seeing Shiro walking towards you.

"O Lord... give them according to their works, and according to the wickedness of their inventions. According to the works of their hands give thou to them: render to them their reward. Thou shalt destroy them, and shalt not build them up..."
You stood up and slid your sword into its cloth sheath.

"Curses..." Astaroth growled from the ground, "Are you an exorcist!?" Shiro smirked, his glasses gleaming.

"Blessed be the Lord!"

"I'll rip that mouth of yours apart, so you can never again utter such spells!" He took off from the ground, running at Shiro.

"For He hath heard the voice of my supplication."
You jumped out of the way.

"The Lord is my helper..." Shiro leaned out of the way when Astaroth swiped his arm out. Shiro grabbed his arm and twisted it, flipping him to the ground. "... and my protector. Thou shalt perish where thou standeth!" He pointed his two fingers at him. A black mist burst from his mouth with a scream. He went limp soon after.

"Are you all right?" Shiro asked Rin, whose flames are now out. He didn't need to ask you because he knew you were fine.

"Wait..." Rin trailed off, "Never mind me, is that guy gonna be all right?"

"I exorcised the demon who had possessed him," Shiro explained, letting go of his arm. "I'm sure he'll come to in a moment."

"Demon?" Rin repeated.

"You can see them, can't you?" You asked, walking closer to Shiro. You swatted a small demon away from you and he blew one away.

"That's one, too?" Rin asked, brushing them away.

"It's a Coal Tar, which possesses fungi," Shiro explained, "They're attracted to dark, dank places, as well as introverted humans." You rolled your eyes.

'Of course.' You thought, shooing another one away. You paused, all senses honing in on a burst of energy. A familiar one. You looked behind yourself to see the shadows cast across different surfaces begin to elongate and distort. The other two didn't seem to notice it.

'Lilith.' You thought, frowning.

"Y/n."
You snapped around to face Shiro who was holding Rin under the arm.

"Are you ready?" He asked. You nodded, Lilith forgotten in your mind. You grabbed Rin's hand and pulled him behind you. Shiro was running side by side with you.

"I don't understand!" Rin yelled, "What's going on?!"

"We have to get you out of here and somewhere remotely safe," you replied, "You... will know soon." You squeezed his hand. The three of you ran down the road, those Coal Tar following close behind and swarming you. A demon made of those small fiends towered over you three. You pulled out your sword and jammed the sheath into its body. The whole thing was blown away with a quick shriek.
Rin look at you in wonder. You always carried that sword with you, but you've never drawn it. He's asked multiple times to see it, but that's the only thing you won't share with him.

The three of you ran atop of a high-crosswalk over a highway. More Coal Tars appeared, in greater numbers. Shiro was the one who exorcised them with fatal verses. You re-sheathed your sword.

"The road is unmarked for those without faith. The hand of God will cause them to fall from Jacob's ladder!"
The large body of demons was blown away. Taller figures appeared in front of you. The both of you let go of Rin and jumped over the railing, running across a roof.

"Let's go!" You yelled, easily keeping up with Shiro. Rin fell behind you two.

"Seriously?!" Rin gasped. You and Shiro jumped over the gap between buildings easily. Rin also landed, but his weight was pushed back. Before he could fall to his death, you grabbed his hand and pulled him back up. He landed on the roof in a squat. You looked up and saw ghouls inhabiting the bodies of dogs and other animals.

"Stray dogs?" Rin asked, "Ugh, they stink!"

"Ghouls," you corrected, "Demons who possess the dead."

"Ghoul?" Rin repeated.

"Lucky for you," Shiro said, "If this weren't Japan, we'd be beset by ghouls in human form!"

"There's nothing lucky about this!"
Shiro reached into his pockets and pulled out a small, round object.

"Woah—! Is that a bomb?!" Rin exclaimed. Shiro pressed a button and wound it up.

"Not to worry!" He threw it at them where it exploded on impact. Mist hovered over the ground and the ghouls were incapacitated. You grabbed Rin's arm and ran with him past them.

"It's holy water," you explained, opening the door and allowing the two men to enter before you slammed it shut and locked it. Shiro sighed and rested against the door.

"It's not exactly easy to babysit at my age, you know," he said.

"Who're you calling a baby?!"

"Let's go home while we can," you said, walking down the flight of steps.

"Are you saying it's not over yet?" Rin asked, following close behind you.

"Didn't I tell you?" Shiro asked, pausing on the steps. "Demons of all species will be coming after you for every kind of reason."

"It'll get dark soon," you spoke, "That's when demons will become active." You and him locked eyes.

"We have to get you home, unharmed."

Ja ne!

{Ruby Red}