Chapter Text
We were arrogant, so of course we were caught by surprise.
I held down a young, male sinner with my spear to his throat.
The rest of my squadron stood at the ready to exterminate their individual targets.
We awaited the order to eradicate an entire family.
That’s when the father appeared through a thick cloud of black smoke.
He grabbed our leading officer, Lute.
He held Lute at gunpoint and demanded we drop our weapons. We were told sinners couldn’t harm us, but Lute told us to do what he said.
We complied.
In hindsight, I can see she was toying with him.
No one has ever attempted such a bold resistance and threat against her life.
I think she found it amusing.
Lute disarmed him easily, and the stray bullet he shot grazed my target’s shoulder. The father was shaken as Lute incapacitated him. We surrounded his family and got into formation. He was on his knees as he begged to us,
"Please…I can’t lose my son again.” He looked directly at my target, with such desperation. He pleaded for us to spare his family.
We could do anything to him, he said, but please, please, “For the love of God” spare his family.
I paused when he said that. “For the love of God”.
I recalled being taught to be merciful as an angel, but we were trained to be ruthless as exorcists.
And Lute was Heaven’s most talented exorcist.
“You attack us and then beg for mercy.”
Lute pointed her sword at the father’s neck. He was resigned to accept his death.
“You only have yourself to blame for your suffering now.”
She lifted her sword, and swung it in the direction opposite of the father.
In one swift motion, Lute decapitated my target–the sinner’s son.
The son’s blood spattered all over me and his headless body dropped to the floor. The father screamed so loud, it physically hurt my ears. He wailed and cried, and Lute lifted him by his hair. She pointed her sword to the rest of his family and said,
“Be haunted by the fact that you damned them. You will never see them again.”
She nodded towards us and the rest of my squadron killed their targets.
He cried out, “Kill me, kill me!”
I don’t know what it was exactly, but as I watched this sinner cry out and stroke the hair on the disembodied head of his son, everything felt different.
And I felt… disgusting.
Lute laughed, and my squadron joined in. Their deranged joy echoed through the room and I couldn’t bring myself to join them...It was the first time I felt like an outsider from them.
Lute gave us the order to leave as the sinner continued to wail, “Kill me, kill me.”
And I just couldn’t stand it anymore.
I sent my spear right through his head.
Lute struck me so hard that my helmet came off when I hit the ground.
"Why did you do that?” she demanded as she held her sword at my neck.
I looked straight at her, and failed to hide my anger.
"Isn’t it our job?”
She shoved me back down and made a grunt in disgust at me. She gave us the order to move on and we took off to the sky.
After the clock tower gave us the signal to return to Heaven, we engaged in our usual celebration. The most effective exorcists were awarded our recognition by Adam, our leader.
I was awarded a silver medal, which had been my track record for the past several exterminations.
“Nice going, Vajisaurus.” High praise from Adam.
My sisters cheered me on and I smiled. But my stomach churned. There was something wrong with me. I left the celebration early and just laid in my bunk.
Eventually the rest of my squadron filled their beds and I could hear them snore. They were all knocked out, but I laid awake the entire night.
The sinner’s pleading just replayed in my head over and over again.
“For the love of God.”
After that extermination day, nothing was the same.
My eyes had been opened.