Chapter 4: Hell.

CHAPTER 4

"The man was bewildered by the sentence. 'What!?' he exclaimed with a perplexed expression. 'Your sister!'

Shou hesitated, harbouring doubts, but after what he had seen and felt, he didn't care whether he was right or wrong. 'Yeah... Her name is Nao,' he continued. 'I-I think she's trying to reach out to me somehow.'

'What!? Why the hell would—' The man paused, his face contorting as if he was piecing things together. 'She's dead, right?'

Shou remained silent but eventually answered, 'Yeah, she is. Just a few days ago she—' He couldn't bring himself to continue. 'Died... that's all I can say.'

'Look!' The man interjected, taking a step forward. 'You can see these things, and now you can hear them, too! Do you understand how serious that is!? Unless you're telling me you've had this... "gift" for some time, but after your reaction, that's highly unlikely.'

'What? I don't understand what you're trying to say.'

'*Sigh* I'm saying... YOUR LIFE IS OVER!' Shou's heart raced at that sentence. '... What did you say!?'

'Was I not clear?' The man continued, 'I think your life's in danger... mainly because this is your first time seeing those freaks.'

'...No, I can't... What were they!? And who are you anyway!?'"

"Those are Darian's... corrupted souls."

"Da-ri-ans?" repeated Shou with a fleeting glimmer of understanding.

"Yes... 'I'm glad I came at the right time'," The man slowly walked towards the bench, now covered in dust stains, and cleaned it before he sat down.

"Many cases like this don't end well... but you're lucky... you've probably heard of me... I'm Bowdren... Elias Bowdren."

Clueless blinking filled the atmosphere. "Who?" Asked Shou with a grim stare.

"... Elias Bowdren," he repeated with more emphasis. "I'm the most prominent Exorcist in the whole Sapporo prefecture!"

"Exorcist?" Said Shou."I understand your confusion, but you need one right now, otherwise, it won't end well.

"The night was cold, the dreary silence palpable as Shou pondered. He couldn't react normally; fear welled up in his eyes—the fear of being next to die. (No.) He thought quickly, descending into a flash of memories.

"Here."

Shou's mind snapped back to reality. He was sceptical to see the white card that hung idle in Bowdren's fingers. "What's this?"

"Sigh That's my business card... go home, it's not safe—"Loud, inaudible chatter echoed through the streets outside the park. Shou looked around as headlights beamed across the park fence.

The lights were too bright, and he covered his eyes with his forearm. "W-w-What's going on!?"Many voices called out to him.

"Sir, are you okay?"

"Are you hurt at all!?"

Looking on, he could clearly see the black and white suits they wore. He was sure a search party was sent from home. They hastily guided Shou out of the park, and he couldn't help but look over his shoulder. Bowdren had disappeared; he was out of sight, and the guards didn't even ask. (Where did he go!)

"Was anyone else with you!?" They continued to question Shou and he further ignored their heaps of elaborate questions. Walking along the sidewalk, the havoc was clear.

Three black SUVs blocked the road, and the stares from pedestrians disconcerted Shou even more. Soon, he was almost glad to be pushed into one of the black SUVs.

The vehicles swiftly drove off like scenes from a scheduled movie, and Shou couldn't think anymore. He simply allowed everything to pull through as he dropped his head in despair.

*

The car gently shook side to side,

Its brakes could be felt when it stopped, and his eyes almost cracked open. The electronic gate had opened (this time by a different guard), and his pulse gradually raised as it parked a few metres from the house. Stepping out of the vehicle, his posture stiffened, and the front door burst open.

"Shou!" Martha ran towards her son, tears streaming down her face. "*Huff* Oh *Huff* where did you go—"

"Mom- I- " She lovingly held him tight, her protective aura enveloping them, deterring anyone from intervening. She began to pat his body all over until she came across the bandage hidden under his hoodie. "What happened!? Who did this!?"

"Mom- nobody, I just got hurt in my room—"

"Oh no, why would—" She pulled him closer without warning, unable to contain the pressure of it all. "Don't go, not you too *Huff* not you."

Her sobbing continued, and Shou was silent. He was wounded enough not to say another word, his tears streaming down as well.

*

The cold water hazily fell from the shower, Shou standing still, facing the head as he let the water gently rinse his body. "Damn it all!" he said, turning the knob and stopping the flow.

He later stood by the doorway of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist, and he spaced out at the neatly made king-sized bed. "How in the world am I going to reach that guy... I couldn't get his card quick enough *sigh* this is bad."

Finally, he moved and reached for the closest object to the left of the bathroom door.

Numerous kanji, drawn by famous calligraphers, hung on the grey wall alongside comic panels he had drawn in his free time. However, they were casually hidden in the dark; no one could see them, and the bathroom provided light to only some parts of the room.

*Knock, knock, knock*

"Hold on!" Shou let the knocking continue, but he quickly decided to change into a grey tracksuit and soon walked towards the door, opening it wide.

"Hey kid!" Shou fell backwards, startled to see Bowdren standing proudly by his door, with one hand in his pocket. "Your house is super huge! I almost got lost but-"

"What are you doing here!?" Shou's voice couldn't help but be raised. He was now uncomfortable with Bowdren's presence. "How did you get in my house!?"

"Hey! Would you calm down?" Bowdren understood his hostility but proceeded to be calm. "You didn't get my card so I followed you… You didn't tell me you belonged to the O'Hera family group!"

Shou was perplexed; he stood up slowly. "Who saw you get in here?"

Bowdren looked unsettled, boasting a humble expression and a grin. "See, that's a long story—but don't freak out! Your servants and guards or whatever aren't harmed."

"Harmed!?" Shou stepped back.

"Look, no one saw me come in here. I know it's shocking, but following you might have been worth it…"

"... Look, man, I don't like creeps like you! You only want money, nothing else! I don't know how you got in here. But you gotta get out before I call the police!"

"Hey, hey, hey, relax, there's no need for that. O'Hera— if you'd let me finish, those guys came outta nowhere and I hid so things don't get too weird… I then decided to follow you when you entered that car and graciously drop the card off, but I didn't realise you were somebody important… I was planning to leave, but your house, your house is… it's better I show you."

The silence was demeaning. Shou was utterly confused and hostile, but he didn't want to be wrong about his sister, and deep down he knew this man had the answers… Bowdren, turning away from the door, walked to his left, and when his tanned skin and Hawaiian print T-shirt weren't seen anymore, Shou began to follow.

Bowdren walked through the exotic tapestry of the hallway like he'd been here several times. Shou was irritated seeing him trudge through the hallways like he owned them, and frankly—

"Here!" said Bowdren with a commanding tone, standing by a white door a few seconds away from Shou's room in the same hall. "That's Nao's bedroom," muttered Shou, his eyes wide open in disbelief as to how the man navigated his way here. "How did you—"

Bowdren opened it. "Hey!" Shou imposed, holding Bowdren's shoulder, "That's my sister's room."

Bowdren looked over his shoulder to face Shou. "Hmph, I thought so… let go, kid, there's something I'm trying to get you to understand." Shou hesitated, but he let go, and they both ended up walking in. Bowdren paced about it for some time; Shou didn't get any explanation, only worry and suspicion grew towards his 'guest'. "… I don't like coming in here anymore."

Bowdren continued walking. "Do you just hate everything O'Hera? Why don't you—"

His senses snapped awake. "There!" He then pushed the queen-sized bed to the side as though it were a lightweight barrel.

Shou was unable to process anything else but irritation. "What are you doing!? Are you crazy-"

Shou's heart pounded in his chest as Bowdren pushed aside the queen-sized bed, revealing a sight that froze him in horror. He stood there, rooted to the spot, unable to comprehend what he was seeing. Underneath the bed lay Nao's head, covered in a macabre shroud of cloudy shadows and dried blood. It seemed to emerge from the floorboards, its grotesque size and shape distorting the space around it. Despite the surrealness of the moment, Shou could unmistakably recognize his sister's features, contorted in agony and pain, a sight that sent shivers down his spine.

Time seemed to stand still as Shou's mind struggled to process the horrifying image before him. The air felt heavy, suffocating, as if the weight of the revelation threatened to crush him. His stomach churned, bile rising in his throat, and his legs grew weak beneath him. He wanted to look away, to deny the reality of what lay under the bed, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from the nightmarish scene unfolding before him.

Every detail etched itself into his memory with haunting clarity—the pallor of Nao's skin, the twisted expression of her features, the dried rivulets of blood staining her hair. It was a tableau of horror, a grim reminder of the darkness lurking just beneath the surface of his seemingly ordinary life.

A strangled gasp escaped Shou's lips as he recoiled from the sight, a wave of revulsion washing over him. His hand flew to his mouth, a feeble attempt to suppress the bile rising in his throat. He felt as though he were trapped in a waking nightmare, unable to escape the suffocating grip of fear and disbelief.

"Is that her?" Bowdren's voice cut through the silence, jolting Shou back to reality. But even as he struggled to find his voice, to articulate the horror unfolding before him, he knew deep down that words would never be enough to convey the sheer terror of what lay under the bed.

"Well, that's the thing that forced me in here… it made my skin crawl when I saw it... It might look a bit big to you… but to me, her head's practically covering the whole land this house was built on."

Shou's gaze remained fixed on his sister's demonised head, her vacant eyes seeming to bore into his soul. He wanted to scream, to lash out at the injustice of it all, but all he could manage was a choked whisper, barely audible above the pounding of his own heartbeat.

"SHOU, HELP ME PLEASE, IT'S ME NAO, PLEASE… HELP ME!!!!!"

Nao's voice pierced the silence, her words echoing in the confines of the room like a desperate plea for salvation. But even as Shou's heart ached with the agony of her cry, he knew deep down that there was nothing he could do.

And so, with a heavy heart and tears streaming down his cheeks, Shou turned away from the sight of his sister's severed head, his mind reeling with the enormity of the revelation. In that moment, he clarified that the world he thought he knew was nothing more than a fragile illusion, shattered beyond repair by the horrors that lurked in the shadows...