[One year after the Unfettered Seer made her debut. 7 years ATAB]
Vamas was currently inside GreenWood church, holding a cup of water as he eyed Teacher Emily, starting to think that something wasn't right about her.
For two years she had been treating his little sister strangely. Asking her very odd things and sometimes even saying some very strange words that sounded like gibberish.
Teacher Fabian was also acting oddly whenever he and his siblings were near. He would look at his sister with what looked like a mix of suspicion and pity and keep asking her particularly difficult questions, making her freeze up and then feel bad about not knowing the answer afterwards.
He asked his big brother Neiro about it, with his elder brother now easily towering over both him and most of the other children, and he told Vamas that maybe they simply want to give Lana more difficult questions because she is so smart.
Vamas didn't feel like that was right but he also didn't know what other reason there could be for their suspicious actions, that is until he found out the shocking truth.
They are jealous of his little sister!
It makes perfect sense, Teacher Emily was jealous of his sister's cuteness and smarts while Teacher Fabian reluctantly took Emily's side, thus explaining the pity in his look!
-'There is also that weird mister that Teacher Emily keeps spending her time with. He starts acting like dad when mom finds his dice whenever he sees us...Don't tell me that he also wants to bully Lana!?'
Vamas was starting to get more and more mad as he thought about the things these mean adults were doing to his cute and kind little sister, and so he decided to do something about it!
By asking his big brother to help him.
Vamas slowly got up and then walked to where Neiro was staying, reading some complicated book that he couldn't understand, then sat down besides him.
-"Hey big bro, what are you reading?"
Neiro was now almost as big as kids more than five years older than them, that coupled with all of the playing with Raymond had made him very strong, which also led to him becoming the boss of the group of children in their first half of mandatory education.
He usually spent most of the breaks between lessons reading some books that he borrowed from the Church library or helping Vamas or Lana with things that they found hard to understand.
-"I am reading about the history of our village. Apparently it was established recently by the grandfather of Lord Daniel, with the forest having been much more massive back then."
Vamas wasn't really interested in the history of his village but he still nodded and put on an interested expression.
-"That's so cool...Hey big bro, do you know why Teacher Emily and Fabian are being so strange? Maybe you could get them to stop bothering Lana. But don't tell her that I am worried about her!"
Neiro nodded and closed the book he was reading, looking at his little brother with a caring look in his half-lidded eyes.
-"Alright, I promise to not tell her. Now, how exactly would you want me to stop them from bothering her?"
Vamas was now unsure of how exactly this should be resolved. His big brother can't exactly just start beating them and then tell them to stop being so mean to Lana, right?
-"Could you give me some time to think about it? I don't want to cause Lana to be in trouble by saying something stupid."
Vamas then slowly got up and started walking away, going to a different part of the Teaching Room of the church. Neiro then opened his book and started reading once more as he leaned against pew that was put against the wall.
-"You can come out now, he went somewhere else."
Just as he said that, Lana jumped from the pews, having hidden herself behind the backrests of the wooden pew when she saw Vamas coming towards her eldest brother.
-"You know, it is very mean of you to break your promise to him."
-"I don't know what you're talking about, Lana. I haven't told you anything, Vamas did."
Lana let out a small sigh as she heard her eldest brother's lame excuse, now knowing that he must have done this to her many times in the past.
-'So that's how mom found out about my secret garden from under her bed...'
"I don't like how Teacher Fabian keeps giving me difficult questions but Teacher Emily just asks me very weird things. What even is a 'Truck-kun' anyway?"
While Lana did indeed feel sad about not being able to answer those difficult questions during story time or during some of the tests, she was comforted by both Neiro and her parents, so she managed to get over it.
Anastasia and Bertholdt both complained about the unjust treatment that she was getting to Teacher Fabian, but he simply said that 'a bright mind must be constantly tested and challenged in order to become a brilliant mind'.
What really bothers her is how Teacher Emily has been treating her. She wasn't downright mean to her or even insulted her, but she keeps asking her very weird things and also talking gibberish.
Frankly, Lana was more worried that perhaps her teacher was starting to develop mental problems due to being constantly around young children.
-"Do you want me to do something about it?"
Neiro's voice was casual but Lana knew that her eldest brother is capable of a lot of things, especially after her training lessons, or as Neiro likes to call it, 'playing with sticks'.
Even Raymond could not even touch him once even though he had already started his apprenticeship one year ago.
She let out yet another small sigh and shook her head, not wanting to get her eldest brother involved in something that wasn't even that important. If the teachers didn't like her for some reason, then she can just endure it until she can start her apprenticeship.
-"No thanks, big bro. I am a big girl already so I can handle my problems!"
She let out a small 'humph', raised her chin and then started walking away, leaving Neiro as he continued to read his book. Just as he was about to start enjoying his break, he heard Stephen's voice besides him.
-"Don't you think that you have already done enough by using Anton? Judging by how those two had already started 'dating', what is about to come will probably make her depressed."
-'Fabian hasn't crossed the line yet but Emily is close. So long as they don't cross it, then I won't make it worse for them.'
Stephen let out a small sigh of his own and then started reading the book in Neiro's hand but stopped once he noticed something off about it.
-"...For how long have you been holding it upside down?"
At that, Neiro let out a small chuckle as he continued to read the book.
-'For a few minutes now, I was waiting to see which among you three will notice it first and it seems that you won. Congratulations, you are more observant than two seven year olds.'
-"Need I remind you that you are also seven years old?"
-'Need I remind you that you have been besides me all this time and yet it took you this long to notice that the book was upside down?'
-"...Touche."
-'I have no idea what that means but you're welcome. Now, do you have the item I purchased from the store?'
-"Hm? Yes I have it, although I have no idea what you are going to use it for, I am sure that you can make something better than this without even trying. And yes, I did 'buy it' today."
-'Thank you Stephen, now let's go back to the circle, break time is almost over.'
[Later that day]
Teacher Anton was inside the library of GreenWood church, looking at himself in the mirror, using a candle lamp for illumination.
The library was completely devoid of light and humidity due to a small artifact that was provided by the cathedral from the capital, with several rows of tall bookshelves being scattered all around the room.
Anton started touching his face, his face looking conflicted. His fingers moved all around, checking his cheekbones, his chin, his temples, his nose, and then stopped when he got to his eyes.
His fingers trembled as they got closer and closer to his grayish-blue eyes before he felt something squirm behind his eyes, causing his hands to freeze.
His mouth slowly opened as his frantic eyes turned calm and half-lidded, words that were not his own coming out of his mouth.
"Do you not like your current face, Anton?"
His voice was calm and detached, his eyes completely calm, his mouth showing no expression, but the rest of his body was shaking in fear.
"I know that I am repeating myself, but I do apologize for changing your eyes. I have come to like these eyes of mine, you know?"
Anton continued to shake but his legs never gave up on him, his posture was straight and his gaze never left the mirror, because it wasn't 'his' gaze anymore... but Neiro's.
"You have my permission to speak, but do keep your voice down, you are in a library after all."
Anton felt that control over his mouth was returned back to him and so he immediately let out a small gasp and then started trying to calm his erratic breathing.
It took him a few moments, but even during all of that, his eyes never wavered or moved, instead they continued to look at the mirror. Continued to look at him.
-"I am doing my best M-Master, I promise that I won't disappoint you so please, do not throw me away."
His control over his own mouth was relinquished once more and his panicked and slightly sycophantic expression turned neutral once more.
-"Mhm, if you say so. You have been doing a good job, these past two years, so I will be more lenient. I hear that Emily's birthday is near, have you prepared a present for her? My wife was overjoyed when I gave her a present on her birthday and she gave me a great gift as well, although my daughter had to make one on the spot since she forgot due to her new toy...
Oh would you look at me ramble on, I must be getting on in age. Now, back to our topic, did you manage to find a good gift for Emily? In case you forgot, you have to get close to her for my plan to work."
Anton regained control of his mouth once more but he did not say anything for many reasons.
-'Her birthday is near? Shit! I forgot! He isn't helping either! Why would I care about your family when I am already busy trying to seduce a member of the Demon Purging Order!?'
"I apologize but I did not have one prepared, I hope you can forgive me for being so incompetent."
-"You don't have to worry, I have just the thing for you. Now do excuse my rough treatment, alright?"
-'What?'
Anton's hand slowly raised until it reached his mouth and then his mouth slowly opened to its limits and then slowly and painfully dislocated itself. He could not even let out a grunt of pain as his voice wasn't currently his own.
His hand slowly went into his mouth and then went deeper, hitting his uvula with his own fingers. Normally, this would've made someone gag and then even make them vomit but Anton could not do even that, with his eyes still as calm as ever.
The hand slowly went deeper and deeper inside until it grabbed a hold of something and then slowly pulled it out, with his hand slowly sliding out until it was right in front of him. Inside his saliva coated hand, there was now a small pouch.
After a few moments, control over his hand and mouth was given back and immediately after he almost started to puke but no matter how hard he tried, he could not do it.
He then got control over his eyes once more, which signaled the end of his meeting with his 'benefactor'.
He met his 'benefactor' around two years ago, a night before he first met Teacher Emily, better known as Inquisitor Emma.
He was a very unattractive man before he met that being, and in exchange for his eyes and doing a favor for it, he could gain whatever he wanted. He was now a relatively average guy when it comes to looks and yet even after changing his appearance so drastically, the other villagers and members of the church did not notice anything different about him.
The favor was to make Emily fall in love with him, for some reason, and then do one final secret thing once that was done. He didn't know what exactly he will have to do, but he hoped that he wouldn't need to hurt Emily, she wasn't like those other bitches from the village.
Sure, he had to endure his meetings with his benefactor and listen to him ramble on about his family from time to time, but so long as he can become a handsome man, he could endure it all.
And so, after a few moments of contemplation, he slowly opened the pouch and was immediately left confused.
Inside the pouch there was a very odd looking flower. It had layered, blood red petals and its stalk was covered in a couple of leaves and thorns. Judging from the small note written within, it was a 'rose'.
Inside the note, besides the name of the strange flower, there was also a set of instructions:
'-Give this flower to Emily on her birthday which is exactly five months from now.
-You don't have to worry about watering or planting it in the ground, it is a very resilient flower.
-If asked about when you got the flower, tell her the following:'Oh I got it five months ago, I have been taking care of it ever since then so I can give it to you today. I hope you like it.'
-Once you give her the flower, make sure to call it a 'rose', and if asked from where you got it, simply say that you got it from a friend.
We are friends, are we not?'
Immediately, Anton let out a scoff but then quickly stopped himself as he didn't know whether his benefactor was still watching him or not, and so he put the rose away and then started going about his day.
[Later on]
Emma was starting to feel like she was missing something important in her investigation. She has been staying at GreenWood village for two years now and she did not manage to gather any clues or prove her theory about Lana Smith being possessed by a Demonic Spirit.
She had also received an important letter from the cathedral which talked about how the Demonic Spirit had managed to gain a peculiar item.
She has not seen Lana with any new items and neither did she manage to find anything by listening in to the conversations that she had with her older brothers, if anything it further proved that she was just a regular child which felt sad about being treated badly by her Teachers.
That made her feel incredibly guilty, and so she started to think that maybe the Demonic Spirit had come to possess someone else, but she could not think of any other child that had exhibited any signs.
She first looked at Lana's brothers but they seemed normal, at most the eldest brother, Neiro, was just more physically gifted but she even caught him reading a book that was upside down, so maybe he was just eccentric?
The younger brother Vamas seemed protective of his sister but he wasn't the sharpest blade in the armory so she wasn't sure about him either. She then went to look at the other child living in the Smith home, Raymond, but she did not find anything there either.
She was starting to feel like she was back to square one, and so now that it was almost evening, she went to a small, secluded area of the village. But there, she found her 'boyfriend', Anton. He was currently looking at himself through a small mirror while holding something in his hands, but she couldn't see what it was exactly.
She cleared her throat in a deliberately loud manner in order to catch his attention, and as expected, he panicked and then faced her, hiding the item in his hand behind his back.
A small smile bloomed on her face as she slowly walked towards him. Today was her actual birthday, but no one in the village knew that, with her fake birthday still a few months away.
It was currently the tail end of summer and so she was dressed in a flowing light purple dress while her hair was tied into a small bun.
As she walked towards the anxious librarian, who was no doubt flustered at seeing her dressed in such a way after getting used to her priestly robes, she started thinking about her relationship with him.
-'Now that we are dating, I am starting to feel a bit guilty that the person that he fell in love with isn't actually 'me' but simply a persona...
I heard that he once had a lover but she ended up dying, which led to him becoming secluded within the church library. Once the mission is completed, I will try and request for a memory alteration artifact so that he may remember our parting in a more positive light.'
Once a few feet away from him, Emma put on a small and cheeky smile and asked him in a slightly humorous tone.
-"What? Have you never seen a beautiful woman like me before?"
His eyes darted nervously around before finally landing back on her face.
-"N-no it isn't that, I have seen many beautiful women before but I can attest that none could compare, you are enchanting while other are simply beautiful."
-"Oh? And what is the difference between being enchanting and being beautiful?"
She liked it when he was creative with his compliments, it made them feel more unique, more genuine.
-"While normal beauty can be corroded by the passage of time, your enchanting visage will be just as mesmerizing as now even after Death takes us both."
She let out a small giggle which then made him smile as well. She then slowly took a step forward and put her hand on his golden hair, running her fingers through it.
-"And I am sure that your golden hair will be just as beautiful even as you become a wrinkled old fool, with their beauty transcending even the purest golden strings."
Emma slowly brought his long hair to close to her and kissed it, slightly inhaling the faint, floral scent that was deeply embedded within the strands.
Just as she did that, she then expected his hand to come and cup her cheek and then for him to kiss her lightly on the lips, but instead all she got was a light push as she saw his arms twitch behind him.
-"Now you are truly making me curious with whatever you are hiding behind you. Is it a gift for me? While I am flattered, I do not think that there is a special occasion today."
She put on a small, gentle smile as she watched his hands slowly move, her hands drifting off for a short moment.
'Except my birthday of cour-'
-"Happy birthday! As a gift, I have prepared a rare flower just for you."
Emma's entire body froze as she heard the first two words that came out of his mouth, then her face immediately went deathly pale as she saw what Anton's 'gift' was.
-'n-no...No no no no no! T-this has to be a joke right? There's no way that he is...'
She tried her best to not show any emotion but her voice still broke a bit as she asked him a few questions.
"O-oh, you shouldn't have..Could you tell me the name of this r-flower? Maybe when and where you got it as well? I would love to find more so that I may get you one as well..."
Anton immediately noticed the strange way in which Emma was acting, but he decided to blame it on her being emotional about receiving such a beautiful flower. He had to admit that it was extremely beautiful, making him think that his benefactor had great taste in flowers.
-"It is a 'Rose', and I actually managed to get it around five months ago! I had taken good care of it since then just so that I may give it to you as a gift today.
A good friend of mine gave it to me."
Emma's fingers started to twitch as she looked at the flower in her boyfriends hand, her senses trained on each and every word and action of his as he answered her questions.
-'Five months ago...A 'good friend' gave it to him? Wait...how did he even learn of my real birthday? I only told him about my fake one...'
Anton looked on as his girlfriend's hand reached out towards the flower in his hand, but instead of taking it, she instead grabbed his arm and immediately broke his forearm in two, with her free arm shooting out towards his throat and grabbing it tightly.
He tried to let out a loud scream of pain, with tears, snot and a bit of saliva now coming out of his orifices, but instead of a scream, a garbled mix of a cough, a wheeze and a shout came out of his mouth.
He tried to get her hand away from his throat, to scratch, punch, pinch her arm away, but to him, it felt like her arm was made out of solid steel.
Tears were coming out of her eyes as well, but they were those of frustration and sadness which then slowly turned into shock as he something from her eyes.
Instead of his improved appearance that was just Emma's type, his old appearance was now back. His ugly, unpleasant to look at, face and scrawny body.
A look of realization passed through Emma's eyes as she looked at him, and then she whispered:
-"So it was you all along...you were the one possessed by a Demonic Spirit...
That's why you appeared in front of me that day while looking like that.
That's why you looked so sad when you talked about Matthew, it was because you told him to leave!
That's why you knew my real birthday!
Why you never stayed near any of the children, in order to not make me realize that you were the one possessed and not one of them! In order to not show your reactions to my questions and methods to find Demonic Spirits!
That is why you said to not trust unknown ropes! You were playing with me, weren't you!?"
As she spoke, Emma got more and more enraged, with her grip tightening around his throat while he could only think:
-'But he was the one talking then! I only got control of my body when the children arrived!'
But it was all futile. Even if he were to explain his circumstances, his 'benefactor' still fit the criteria of a Demonic Spirit, and if he were to say that he had accepted a deal from it, and that he was also possessed by one, then he might as well just be someone that was possessed by a Demonic Spirit.
He did not even know anything about him besides that he has a wife and son and that he likes his brown eyes!
'W-wait, no that's not right...They were green eyes, or were they red? Why can't I remember!?'
But before he could ask himself any more questions, Teacher Anton passed out due to a lack of oxygen.
And so, this is how the vile Demonic Spirit of GreenWood village was captured by the valiant Inquisitor Emma, who was unfortunately tricked by the vile being, but still managed to triumph over it and bring the foul Demon to justice.
Once she called for a fortified carriage and for other members of the Demon Purging Order to come, she then also went to the center of the village, with the sinner Anton gagged and chained, where she explained to the masses about his evil deeds.
Teacher Fabian was also standing on the raised platform as he was the biggest religious authority of the village.
Emma talked about how he had murdered his former lover after learning that she was having an affair with an unknown man and then how he secluded himself within the church library in order to be seen as grieving man.
Once inside the church, he was tempted by a foul Demonic Spirit which promised him beauty and power, and following his greed, he agreed to sell his soul to the Demon.
He then fooled a Teacher in training called Matthew into leaving the church and when he found out about how a member of the Demon Purging Order had come to the village in disguise, he devised a devious plan to seduce and trick her.
He made her think that one of the innocent children of the village was possessed, with the chief one being the poor Lana Smith.
But he made the crucial mistake of showing an artifact that had the ability to change shape into any small object from within the owner's memory. This artifact then took the shape of a 'Rose', a flower that does not exist on Midor!
After this explanation, given by Inquisitor Emma, the entire village booed the foul man and then started throwing various rotten vegetables or spoiled foods at him. Some even clapped, as they knew that only suffering awaited him.
The Smith family had some mixed reactions.
Anastasia and Bertholdt looked at him in clear disgust and anger for daring to make their dear daughter look like someone possessed by a Demonic Spirit.
Vamas was throwing various things at him in anger, now knowing the reason for why his dear sister was getting treated so badly.
Lana was simply looking on at the various people, at how they cheered for the death and torture of a man that they knew for years, and while she did not pity the man, she also did not quite know what to feel.
Neiro looked at the clearly frustrated and saddened look on Emma's face, at how she was disgusted with herself for managing to get tricked by such a foul being.
He then looked at Anton, whose face was now covered by various rotten foods and some blood due to the stones thrown at his head and face.
He then looked at Fabian, who was devastated and greatly enraged to learn that a Teacher from his own church was tempted by a Demonic Spirit, with a demotion most likely coming for him due to his incompetence.
He saw these three humans suffer and feel great rage and sadness, saw signs of how they will be punished for either their incompetence, for getting tricked or for getting tempted.
And a wide, happy smile appeared on his face...And he started clapping.
He clapped as he saw the end of a very entertaining play, whose actors were now up on stage for all to see.