Demonic power

The angel after fully ignoring Zach's tale seemed to have an idea on how to defeat all the dangerous demons overrunning the Philadelphia church ruins:

- I've been thinking. Who, being human, could defeat a demon? After that I realized, an exorcist. If one of you could exorcise the demons, we would defeat them with a little water and a simple touch.

- And what is needed to be an exorcist?

- Well, first you need to be able to see them, something you both can after going to Heaven. Then you would need to be able to feel the Holy Spirit flowing through you and know the Word of God. Finally, you'll have to water the devil with holy water and, with a cross in your hand, say the right words to take it back to Hell.

- Um, feel the Holy Spirit flowing ... Esther is one of the witnesses, and she was supposed to receive a gift from God, I think she is the right one for this. But wait, Holy Spirit, what's that exactly?

- Hold on, are you not Christian? Do you not believe in Jesus Christ?

- Jesus? Is that the prophesized boy who was born on 25th of December?

- Exactly.

- That is kind of one of biggest setbacks in my own faith. How the birth of the supposed son of God made the act of spreading our truth that much more difficult.

- I think I'm starting to understand the reason behind your actions. Let's wait for her to wake up, then I'll catch you up on things.

Half an hour later while they were sitting, a doctor appeared, informing Zach of various information about the condition of his friend. Not understanding a single word, he just nodded and later asked for a translated version from Dane, who appeared to have a worried expression:

- We're in trouble.

- What did the doctor say?

- He came here to warn that your friend will need plenty of rest and can only wake up in two days.

- You are kidding?

- No, I'm serious. Apparently you'll have to be the exorcist.

Zach didn't want to go against his beloved. Even though the idea of being the savior of this situation wasn't too pleasing, he decided to accept the duty.

- What do I have to do?

- First I will make you memorize what you have to say, but I think the most important thing is to feel the power of the Holy Spirit and knowing the Word. – She noticed the boy's anxiety, and decided to explain further. - The Word is essentially the Bible. – The boy only seemed more confused, to which she asked. – Do you have any scriptures, or holy texts in your religion?

- Like the Tora account?

- Wait, you're Jewish? I think that's half the struggle. You know most of the Old Testament, so I will summarize the New for you.

Dane succinctly explained the teachings of Jesus, giving special attention to the commandments of love, the rebirth of Jesus, the Last Supper and especially the Apocalypse. What surprised Zacharias was the last part, making him get a little scared for the future of the world. However, this only served to elevate his mood to overcome, even if by little, the situation that he could face. Also, due to never having done it before, Dane baptized Zacharias. She put some of that room's tap water and threw it at his forehead, uttering the right words.

After a day of teaching and attempts to memorize the words to say to the demons, the boy was exhausted. He tried to sleep on the sofa where they were located, one of the most comfortable surfaces which he had laid on in his whole life, but Dane did not let him. She continually insisted that he needs to learn it before Esther woke up, without letting him rest. It was then that another problem appeared. Zach was hungry. Not that he was not used to be a day without eating, but he was beginning to worry about where he would get a food source. The angel advised him to use serum that they gave the friend, but for fear of affecting her, he rejected the idea. So, since they didn't have money and Dane refused to hunt for seagulls (Zach's idea), he decided to wait a little longer. Maybe a miracle would solve his problem.

Continuing, now that he had learned the Word of God, Zacharias needed now to feel the Holy Spirit within him. But how? That was exactly what the young man asked:

- Dame, I don't feel like rushing you, but how?

- I do not know Zach. In such a short time it will be difficult.

- How does a person become an exorcist normally?

- Well, the priests are usually the only ones capable of such a feat, and even then its because they do not feel any desire to sin, or even go against what is allowed. They never feel any attraction for any woman, devoted always to God, helping others when they could, etc.

- That would take forever. Plus, there's no way I wouldn't feel attracted to you. Maybe I could make some sacrifice like Abraham when he almost killed his son. Maybe less tragic, though.

- Good thinking, but I just had an idea that has nothing to do with it.

- I do not know why I give suggestions sometimes...

- I could do a satanic ritual and summon a demon to possess you. If you can drive the demon inside you away, you can do the same with any other.

- This looks like it might go awry. If I fail, what happens?

- In this situation, you will be completely enclosed by it, and thou shalt become like the others you have seen in the church. If this happen to you, I eliminate you and wait until Esther wakes up to make her an exorcist.

- Let's just wait for her to wake up then.

- Look do you know why I'm here? Why I agreed to come with both of you? It was because I was promised that we would take care of this quickly and with ease.

- Fine, you ladies always come up with the most impossible requests. So, what are the odds then of this working?

- Pretty high actually. Unbeknownst to most people, satanic rituals are actually pretty common. People over the ages have done this practice and improved on it, and it was almost always a success. – She said confidently, while thinking to herself "Actually, none of the rituals were ever successful as far as I know, but I can't tell him that."

After being hungry and tired of hearing teachings, Zach decided to throw away his uncertainties, and answered:

- Lets go then.

The two then went to the nearest cemetery. Dane brought five candles, and with the blood collected from a butcher, started drawing a satanic star around the boy's knees. He could feel the morbid and freezing environment of that location. Luckily, no one was around at that time, since if there were, they would probably find it odd to see a boy kneeling with blood emerging around him.

When all that remained was to put the candles in their places, Zacharias asked:

- How do you know how to make a satanic ritual? Is this something that angels learn? Because, if it is, I don't get why.

- No, no. The angels have their own form of rituals, the Sephiroth. We use it when we forgive the sins of anyone or bless them for life,. Usually these come from the soul of the person and not their surroundings. We usually just say two words as Sephira Hesed. But it is very complicated, and usually only the masters, or as we call them "princes" of these arts can use them. Satan, trying to copy God, made his own much simpler version. All you need his a human, blood, candles, and the right words for the ritual, so anyone can do it.

- And where did you learn it?

- The Devil's Bible, another copy of his. Since I can live forever as an angel, I decided to read a bit. Due to my warrior spirit, I've always wanted to know my opponents tricks, so I decided to learn it.

- Okay, I'll trust you. If you see that something is going wrong, stop it.

- We won't know that until its over. Get ready. - She said putting the last candle and began by pronouncing words that, at least for the young, seemed random. -Arap rarnoh the ier od onier sad Savert, et otneserpa Etse oicífircas, et sieredop ralibujer-moc Etse onamuh.

Around Zacharias, a small tornado of darkness appeared. Initially the tornado tried to enter the boy's body, however through effort and keeping his mouth shut, Zach was capable of stopping its advances. That is, until he heard a voice saying "Finally a new body for me to recover on". The young man began to scream, feeling his body robbed from him and, as much as he tried to get it back, he couldn't. An evil presence took hold of him, glad to finally leave the world of the dead. His eyes became red and was surrounded by a bloodthirsty environment.

He looked at Dane and immediately showed its willingness to kill. She stood still, still hoping that he would get rid of that parasite, but she was wrong. The possessed man jumped at a superhuman speed, wanting to take her head. The angel managed to swerve, narrowly escaping his right hand. She was capable of grabbing him and when he tried to punch her with the other fist, he got grabbed by his arms. She asked him to stop attacking her and resist the demon but nothing came of it. He got out of the hold with a powerful headbutt, sending the angel back. In an attempt to escape another attack, she flew above.

She looked at him, now ten meters below, thinking about how to solve the situation. The first idea that came to mind was to fetch, or a cross or holy water to weaken the possessor. However she did not have much time to think. Zacharias, did a jump that seemed impossible, and reached the heels of Dane. He grabbed it and threw her toward the ground. A strong impact was enough to break a tombstone on her back, and the kick she received from his ten meters fall in the belly that followed, made a valiant mark on the ground. She was spitting blood, something unusual for an angel, not normally seen in these types of situations.

She, with great difficulty, got up, watching the young man, with a smile on his face, seemed ready to finish her off. However, before that happened, she asked terrified:

- Who are you? A human possessed can in the worst case, roll their head or vomit acid. How is such a big difference in skills possible?

- Oh, I'm not a normal demon. - He uttered in a tone that seemed to exalt in superiority, more adult than that of Zacharias. - I am Leviathan, the original possessor of all evil coming of envy. I could always for my entire life take other bodies like mine, until Satan took away such an ability, imprisoning it in one of his stupid horns. I've been there so long waiting for the opportunity to leave Hell and realize my revenge against Lucifer, and it was given to me. If I couldn't possess a body in my own means, I would have to wait until a ritual happened. Now tell me, who was conducting the ritual to bring me here? This guy couldn't have done it alone.

- How many people do you see here? Who do you think invoked you?

- That's what I feared. Revived by an angel ... How far have I fallen? – He asked himself, embarrassed by his own current weakness. - What do you want with me? Why did you bring me here?

- You should have asked that straight away. - Dane rose with great difficulty. – Why would attacking me be the first thing you did? And how the hell are you so strong? I never heard of strength and superhuman reflexes after a possession.

- I attacked you by force of habit. If I see an angel I have the reflex to give him a good beating. And you're right about the boy. He never in his life could be so strong alone. Eh eh eh, I can usually even distort the possessed body to my own liking, but as you see, the boy has not changed appearance. It's weird. It is as if the spirit of the man is still trying to reject me.

"He must be trying to resist him. Keep it up, you should get him out. "- Dane thought, then said. - I see that I had a great deal of misfortune… or is it luck?

- Luck?

- Well, we have the same enemy, Lucifer. What if you helped me to weaken him and ruin his plans? I'm sure you'd love that.

- Look, you may have stupidly invoked me, but that does not mean I owe you my loyalty.

- You owe me something, at least. - Leviathan began to get angry.

- Tell you what. To make up for all the harm I caused you I will grant you a favor. I won't hit you anymore.

- Oh! That does not count. Come on, help me go against the Devil.

- It is me who decides what I owe you or not.

- You know well that in your current state you cannot face him alone. I'm offering you help, allies with whom to fight. Don't think I want your company, I simply have no other option.

Leviathan appeared to ignore it, moving away slowly. Dane was growing impatient:

- Do you really think you'll be able to face him without help?

- You were right before. In my current state, I couldn't inflict a single scratch on him, so I will be looking for more power. I won the title of prince of envy for my merit and effort. I have lost everything, but once I've consumed this body in its entirety, I will have a chance to win, no matter how tiny it is.

- Then I will change my request. Do not consume Zach completely.

- You're overreacting angel. First you ask me to confront Lucifer and then to leave the boy alone? How do you think I can face the devil without a possessed body? It was too much sympathy from me even suggest giving you a favor. I'm going out now ... Ahh! - Leviathan felt in his head a protruding pain.

- What was it? Is the boy too strong for you?

- This is only a brief inconvenience. This can be resolved rapidly.

- Are you sure? Don't you see how this young boy's soul is abnormal? He spent his life in a tribe dedicated to God, and yet he doesn't seem to care about religion when doing his good deeds. He doesn't need God to be his guiding force to do good. So tell me, does he overwhelm you? Can you not withstand him?

- Shut up! Grrgh! – Leviathan screamed, complaining right after from the horrible pain in his head.

- Come on, let him take over for a bit. If I need your help, I'll be sure to call you.

- You think I'm weak enough to be overthrown by a single soul like this? Why would I concede to your request? – Leviathan's anger only increased.

- I mean, you owe me a favor.

Leviathan's headache kept getting worse, reaching an intolerable extent.

- Okay, stupid angel, you win for now. But the moment you take your eyes off of him, if you were ever to leave him on Earth to travel to Heaven, I will take full control of him, and then the guy you know will no longer exist.

Leviathan gave control back to the boy. He fell forward, and the angel hurried to catch before he fell on the ground. Now resting in the arms of his beloved, the young man came out of a nightmare into a dream. With his still blurred vision he looked at the angel with a smile on his face, only to then realize her condition. With bruises all over her body, and blood dripping from each hole in the face. He stepped back alarmed, and asked,

- What happened to you? Why are you all bathered?

- Leviathan was the demon that possessed you. - Zacharias was about to apologize, but she interrupted him. - Do not worry, I do not blame you. Leviathan is one of the infernal princes, one of the owners of the power of sin. You had bad luck, but at least if we are having power struggles in the future, we have someone to call.

- He decided to join us?

- Yes. He has a deep hatred of the Devil, so I convinced him.

- Yeah, I think that your charm can attract anyone. By the way, let me help you in healing. You must be very hurt. My t-shirt has healing properties given by God. Let me put it around you.

- Just give me the shirt, I do this alone.

Zacharias removed the shirt and handed it to Dane, questioning one last time:

- Just one more question. Am I an exorcist after this ritual, or was it all for nothing?

- Leviathan said that you were able to endure him well. That's impressive, an infernal prince would normally fully control a person, whether they are a priest or a sinner. I'm assuming you should just be able to exorcise any demon inferior to him. We just need a lot of water to wet them, but I already know how to take care of that.