Sipping on her flask while reading, Steliana frowned. I can't believe Shrine Maidens actually turned this down. Of the five cases here, only one could MAYBE be passed off as actual mental issues that need mundane help. Even then, it still deserves a check just in case. Then again, the Five Principal Clans, from what little was told about them, are quite stubborn and set in their ways. Especially the older and middle generations. It made perfect sense that Shrine Maidens under their care—or in this case under the Nakiri clan, which held the Yellow Dragon—would deny Protestants who believed in the God of the Bible.
Having a different faith doesn't stop you from dealing with a problem as blatant as this. Placing her flask on the counter to rub at her forehead, she shook her head. The fact that he can even outline visits for other supernatural cases clearly showcases a disgusting level of negligence. That this is even happening is hilariously sad. Because the next generation of the Five Clans, from what was shown, aren't like this for the most part. Didn't the next Himejima clan head secretly keep in contact with Rias and Akeno or something?
It truly was the case of the older generation, the superstitious, and those far too rooted in olden ways, making the world worse. But I don't have the power to fix that. The Five Clans are… surprisingly powerful. One of the inheritors of the Nakiri supposedly didn't even need to use a tenth of his power to fight Tobio in his balance breaker. Obviously, it wasn't the version of Tobio from DxD who went to hell and could act as backup to Sirzechs, but still. It was ridiculously impressive.
While a clan by itself isn't stronger than the Western or Eastern Youkai Factions. Two or three of them? Certainly stronger. Which naturally made them far stronger than what she could deal with at the moment. But Steliana was getting off track, and she knew it. Considering the political and power state of Japan could be saved for later. Even if Japan is strangely powerful for how small the nation is. Which was another thing to contemplate for later. At this point, she had hundreds of those 'think about it laters'.
Let's see. Most of these seem like run-of-the-mill possessions. She had some experience with possession, but it wasn't that big of a deal in her world. Here? It was a bit different. If Youkai are a unique brand of 'physical' spirit fit for Japan, that still leaves most spirits being… well, like this. There were multiple types of possession, but by far the most common type was just the run-of-the-mill malignant spirit. The least common was Demonic Possession. Which was basically when a spirit from Hell got to Earth and possessed someone, and was reportedly just as horrifying as every religious horror movie she'd ever seen.
Luckily, none of these seem like Demonic Possession. Then again, if it were demonic possession, the Church would have had reason to surge back into Kuoh, and the Shrine Maidens under the Nakiri clan wouldn't have dared to ignore it. It was apparently common knowledge on the Devilnet that the original Asmodeus and Beelzebub were Demonic Spirits that Lucifer had made in Devils. Or at least, it was common knowledge in the Kuoh boards, considering it was technically Devil territory.
No one fucked around with that, which made sense. So yeah, just regular possession happening here. Which was fine, because that? She could deal with. Regular Spirits, particularly those who haunted or possessed people, hated light and were ridiculously weak to it. It's why 'Silent Believer' had been so relieved, and honestly, probably a bit desperate to contact her. I'm glad I researched spirits and possession in advance. This would have been too much information to plot and plan for if this problem had just been sprung on my lap without preparation.
Thankfully, she had in fact had the foresight to realize that having light and summoning magic would make her uniquely suited to do such jobs.
Saint Nekopire
If you're available to make introductions, I can begin at the Takada house tomorrow.
Tapping out her message, Steliana only had time to take a single slip from her flask before she got a reply.
Silent Believer
Whatever time, I'll be there.
Sighing at how desperate he was, she just sent a simple response outlining what time she'd be there and flipped her phone so the screen would be pressed against the countertop. Perhaps one day I'll see a world where discrimination doesn't exist. Clearly, DxD or her own world was not going to be that world. At least, they wouldn't be for a long, long time.
Well then, what do I need to prepare? Honestly, considering most Exorcists couldn't even directly call upon Light Magic and ranged from as weak as she had been when coming to this world to somewhere a bit below her? Not much. Still, I shouldn't be too arrogant. That's how surprises happen. And no one liked surprises when it related to possession. At least she didn't. Well, okay. Maybe if one of them is a Ghostbuster-esque ghost, I'll take a small surprise.
Smiling slightly at the idea of a disgusting green spectral blob, she stood and put her flask back in the fridge. So preparation. They're protestant so using religious objects should help relieve their burden and help the possessed fight back. Then again, she was a Youkai/Dhampir hybrid and was a certified mass murderer. Using those objects when they could be influenced by heaven might be a tad bit problematic.
Looking up at her apartment's roof in a joking manner and with upturned lips, Steliana asked. "Hey, dead big guy and Michael, you won't mind too much, right? Last time I even touched a holy object, that god got really pissy."
No.
What. She blinked. No seriously. What? That wasn't fucking possible. She was in a pocket dimension! God's System should have no influence here. What?! Eyes wide and jaw slack, the only thing Steliana could do was stare in complete bafflement at her ceiling as a wheeze left her lungs.
What the fuck even RESPONDED?! That wasn't Michael's dubbed or subbed voice in the anime! Taking a deep breath, she shook her head, a wry look forming as she did so. Okay. No joking prayers, I guess.
Because apparently God was so absurdly fucking powerful that he could break through the restriction of not only her apartment being in a pocket dimension that shouldn't at all be connected to the Dimensional Gap, but also break through her scrying perk to reach her mind. Or, alternatively, the System is stronger than God ever was.
Which, in a regular world, would be deemed absolutely blasphemous, but strangely made sense here. The human population has boomed since God died, and so have the number of religions and sects that worship him. Perhaps it's not that God was this strong, but it's the System. Maybe even it's only possible because I chose that mission to fix the System?
Perhaps because of that mission, the being that had reincarnated her had added some access? Something to think about when I'm MUCH stronger, and when I'm not on the verge of having a mental breakdown at the absurdity of getting a response.
She was supposed to be the one able to troll people with her interdimensional phone that magically had their numbers damnit, not other people! Shaking her head once more, Steliana grabbed her sword off the wall to do some minor training. It was desperately needed, at least in her opinion, to do an emergency de-stress. She really needed to get her mind off everything that had just happened and the day's events in general. I really need to buy some art supplies, but I can only do that once I'm enrolled at the Academy and am sure I won't have to figure out how to earn an absurd amount of money to get my way in.
But without that, and no garden to busy her hands in? All she had was training for now. So, she hopped out of her apartment and did exactly that. She was just going to ignore the fact that her sword glowed a bright white when she touched it. Yep. Never happened.
.
.
.
Lounging on a tree branch with half-lidded eyes, Steliana watched the movement through the window and carefully sensed the flow of energy within the house. Naturally, she wouldn't arrive at the agreed-upon time, but far before. Although she was nearly 100% sure at this point that this wasn't going to be a trap, it was only nearly 100%. Then again, she'd probably never trust anyone with complete certainty besides him. One scorned, twice shy, fifty-seventh paranoid was the saying. Or something like that.
Plus, some in-cat review before starting was always good. Chuckling at her pun, her tail swayed behind her. Should I get closer? Thinking it over for a few seconds, she shook the thought off. No need. My senses are strong enough. Stretching out on all fours, Steliana let out a yawn as she continued to lazily track all the movement inside the house. People really need to better protect their privacy. Innocent civilian humans in her world needed more curtains in general, but this world seemed to take it up to a thousand.
At least I'll know when there's an evil plotter. They'll have curtains and shades. Snickering to herself, Steliana shifted to settle back in again, only to tilt her head as all of her fur stood up. Oh, hello there. She watched as Akita Takada, a dutiful husband, father, and the reported possessed, froze for thirty seconds before shifting. His smile grew tighter, his eyes tired, and his hands shook. She watched as he 'accidentally' slammed his head on the wall while moving toward a different room, and each step was jerky and jagged.
Yeah, he's possessed. Licking her paw, she tensed when he went to the sleeping toddler's room, but ended up doing nothing as he simply began to draw on the wall with a crayon dipped in the blood dripping from his skull. When she saw what was being written? Steliana had to hold back a cackle. That might be the worst Sumerian I've ever read. Then again, in her world outside of powerful or ancient witches, probably only a few hundred regular humans even read Sumerian. So she could give the spirit a pass.
Clever enough to fake it to seem ancient and powerful. Stupid enough not to do it correctly. In other words, a newborn spirit of the modern era. A mix of smarter and stupider than spirits of old, much like humanity. Strange how spirits take after the trends of the world.
Still, it was clear to her that this spirit wasn't of any real threat to anyone besides, well. Humans. Which the residents of the house were, and they didn't even hold a drop of magical, spiritual, or physical talent. This one should be fast, although this poor man is going to need a long hospital stay with how many injuries he has. Clearly, the spirit had been hoping to drain the household of all its emotions and their souls over a long period of time and was delighting in their suffering.
It was almost artistic in its cruelty, and she could respect any artist. Even if their art sucked donkey balls. Which, really, this spirit had horrendous penmanship and drawing skills, let alone how bad they were at writing with blood. Really, new-age art can be so dull sometimes. It seems like everyone's forgotten all the fun stuff and just wants to go for the splash. Oh no, that smudge is obviously blood! Shock! Gasp! Where's the fun of no one ever even realizing you're using blood and ash mixed with your paints?!
Okay, so maybe that was the side of her that originally came from a family of ancient Vampires but like. Ugh. At least the spirit doesn't seem completely violent. As its 'interesting' writings finished up, Akita slumped for a few seconds before crying out in pain, clutching his head. Which in turn caused the toddler to wake up and cry. Yeah, not physically violent apart from against the host. Just wants to torture spiritually. Interesting. Her ears perked up as she was deep in thought. Oh? Eyes dipping to the ground, she watched as a car pulled in. He's finally here, good.
Hopping down from the tree, freshly groomed red-furred paws silently landed on the ground. As she padded across the grass, a middle-aged man, likely somewhere in his forties, stepped out of the car. He was clearly of more Western descent and was dressed in a simple dress shirt and pants combination. He wasn't too handsome, but that wasn't to say he was ugly either.
Overall, he just screamed 'regular person', and if it weren't for the remnant of magic somewhat similar to the light element and a very weak divine blessing that clung to him, she probably would have dismissed him as such.
As it was, though? Steliana immediately clocked him as her contact, 'Silent Believer'. She shifted, bones cracking and fur receding. His eyes darted to her, and she watched as shock turned to realization as she went from a tiny red house cat to well. A tiny person. "Hello! You must be Silent Believer, I'm Saint Nekopire! You can just call me Steliana, though." He blinked, clearly still shocked, so she held out a hand, which he almost robotically took to shake. Clearly, another sign of his Western nature that she clocked.
A moment passed before he cleared his throat. "Right, sorry. I didn't realize Nekomata could actually transform into cats?" Oh, right. There was something about that mentioned at one point in the story, but then a Nekomata Daiyoukai showed up as a cat and… well, it was confusing.
She shrugged, a grin tugging at her lips. "I can! So, I've been watching the house, and this one should be a pretty simple case."
A frown tugged at his lips as he responded with doubt clear. "Really? This seemed like the most problematic one, considering how ancient this spirit is."
Steliana's nose twitched from holding back her laugh, but her grin turned into a smile nonetheless. "Aah! I'm afraid you're wrong about that. It would seem like that at first sight, but the script that the spirit is writing in is hilariously flawed. It could really only fool someone just looking at pictures of Sumerian script."
The man blinked before seemingly nodding in reluctance. "Well, I suppose your post did say you were good at forgotten languages." Silly men, or adults in general. Can't handle the 'child' knowing what they don't. Still, Steliana didn't judge him. She looked like a thirteen-year-old after all. Even if she could have told him it was fake when she was actually thirteen…
Shrugging it off, she tilted her head toward the door. "Shall we? And oh, you never said your name!"
"Right! Sorry about that, my name is Noah Kasejima. It's a pleasure to meet you." He bowed a little bit, and she returned it with a smile still on her face.
"Nice to meet you too, now let's go free your friend." Interesting, did he take his wife's name? Surprisingly progressive if s—wait. Kasejima. She blinked. Isn't that the last name of the current Administrator for Kuoh's All Girls Academy? Oh, well. That made a surprising amount of sense, especially since the Gremory and possibly Sitri family, within a few years, would be buying it.
Having a supernaturally aware family in charge already made a whole lot of things line up. Especially with it having a reputation for being full of foreigners, and a rich private school before it 'opened up' because of the two Devil Heiresses.
Sometimes, even Steliana was baffled by her own sheer stupid luck. Now if only it could stop ping-ponging from good to bad, and just stay on good. Shaking her head, she silently followed behind the older man as he walked up to the door and knocked.
This should be fast. Hopefully, we can do them all in one day.
.
.
.
Okay, so maybe Steliana had slightly overestimated how stubborn spirits could be. "Just… stop. Please." Staring at the spirit-possessed spread out on the corner of the ceiling like a spider, she sighed.
"Never!!"
"Okay, seriously. Stop the echoing double voice. It's not fooling anyone. At this point, you're just embarrassing yourself." He fucking hissed at her. She rubbed her forehead. This is going to be a long day. Looking over at the caricature of a housewife in the doorway, staring at her and him with concern, Steliana just continued rubbing her forehead. Looking back at the spirit, she just sighed.
"I know you're probably born from severe daddy issues, which trust me." She glanced back over at the wife, who was flushed slightly. Yeah, thought so. Hello, Daddy Issues Spirit Maker. "But, this is just kind of pathetic. At least like, try to attack me or telekinetically throw a lamp."
"I DON'T HAVE DADDY ISSUES!" His face contorted, limbs twisting unnaturally as his eyes bulged. Clearly, you totally don't.
"That's why you keep messing with the toddler's room, but never harming it. Or why you try to avoid this man's wife, who's a mom? And why you're only physically harming him, the dad that you're possessing but not too much? Because clearly this isn't a twisted re-enactment of old trauma that should have been dealt with ages ago by therapy?" The possessed man froze. The wife whimpered, and Noah made a sound of confusion.
She glanced over at the wife, who was paler than the literal ghost in the room. Of course, my first possession case is turning into a therapy hour. I should have just blasted him. Sadly, she actually wanted to help the people being possessed, and not have to just come back later on. "Alright, just… come down and we'll talk this out, deal with your problems so you can go free to the afterlife. Or whatever happens to spirits whose obsession disappears." Instead of dropping to the ground like a proper adult, he hissed at her again.
You piece of fu—