Chapter 94 – The Exorcism of Melissa Colan

The next morning, Alexander found himself staring blankly at the mostly empty tray in front of him, placed on the picnic table near the high school main building of the Promethean Academy.

He was tired, very tired, because he had returned home much later than he would have liked and hadn't managed to get nearly enough sleep before having to wake up for school, but that wasn't the real reason he felt exhausted.

The adrenaline and excitement of the previous night were gone, and with it came the realisation of just how close he had come to dying.

Alexander had already experienced a few dangerous situations in his life, some way before he received the memories of his other self and the YGO System, even the occasional situation where things had gone considerably more wrong than expected, like the Shadow Duel, but last night had been different.

For the first time, Alexander had truly felt powerless because there had been nothing he could do when Daimon had stood in front of him with that golden trident ready to skewer him.

No card. No clever strategy. No escape.

'If Daimon hadn't regained control of himself... I...' Alexander didn't want to think about what would have happened.

He lowered his gaze and thought, 'Having supernatural abilities and being capable of summoning Duel Spirits to come to my aid doesn't mean I am actually prepared to deal with the major threats of this universe.'

That was an uncomfortable realisation.

Then his thought started to wander in another direction, 'I have Ba. I have Spirit Power. I have the YGO System. I have the Duel Spirits. All those are tools at my disposal, but none of that means I'm strong enough yet. I need to get even stronger. That much is obvious, and there is only one reliable way I know to accomplish that... Duel Monsters. The more successful the game becomes, the more DP and DE I can obtain. The more cards and upgrades I can acquire. The more powerful the Duel Spirits at my disposal can become and eventually, perhaps, I too will become strong enough to protect myself, my family, my friends, and maybe even other people who happened to get caught in situations like the one I experienced last night.'

"Alexander?"

Suddenly, a familiar voice snapped him out of his thoughts, making him look up and see that Ginny was staring at him.

Then she observed in a veiled, worried tone, "You've been staring at the same spot for about five minutes."

Alexander blinked and asked, "Have I?"

Chuck leaned over and confirmed, "Yep."

He looked at Alexander suspiciously before he observed, "You're either contemplating the mysteries of the universe, or you finally discovered that our school's chef has been replaced with one who has no idea how to cook up something edible."

Ginny snorted and said, "He's been complaining about that for weeks."

"I have not."

"You absolutely have."

Alexander couldn't help smiling as the two of them continued their usual banter.

Neither asked what had happened; however, Alexander suspected they had noticed that something was wrong, but instead of forcing him to explain, they simply stayed beside him.

That helped, more than he wanted to admit, and by the end of the school day, Alexander felt considerably better.

As they prepared to leave, he looked toward them and sincerely said, "Thanks."

Ginny blinked and asked, "For what?"

"For... today."

Chuck grinned and said, "Anytime, Lex."

Alexander smiled, "See you tomorrow."

The rest of the afternoon followed his usual routine.

Chuck drove off to pick up Julia and spend the afternoon with his girlfriend while Alexander drove Ginny home before heading toward Industrial Illusion.

Roland was waiting for him, and the meeting itself was relatively uneventful.

There were no major crises, no unexpected developments, just the usual updates concerning Industrial Illusion and the current state of the game and their products.

Alexander listened, asked a few questions and dealt with the matters that required his attention; it was almost refreshing.

After leaving Industrial Illusion, Alexander changed his appearance and headed toward a random hobby store near Blade and Hannibal's agency.

His farming session went exactly as expected.

Having a few duels, interacting with the players, gather Duel Points and Duel Energy.

Nothing particularly exciting, and honestly, that was exactly what he wanted, as the familiar grind helped steady his mental state even more.

Once he was finished, Alexander left the store and headed toward BorderLine Investigative Services where the others were waiting for him.

Daimon looked almost completely different.

Gone was the wild-haired, half-naked demonic figure Alexander had fought the previous night; instead, he was dressed exactly as one might expect from a respectable university professor.

Neatly combed red hair. Practical clothes. A calm expression.

Alexander still found it a bit strange, as he had seen what was hiding underneath that appearance and also had a glimpse of how much power he wielded.

"Good to see you again," Alexander said as he stepped inside, nodding first to Daimon, then to Blade and Hannibal.

His gaze lingered on Daimon for a moment.

There was something else he needed to say.

"About last night..." Alexander began. "We were wrong to attack you like that. We misunderstood the situation, but that doesn't make what we did fair. I'm sorry."

Daimon regarded him for a moment before giving a small, understanding nod.

"Apology accepted," he said simply. "Considering the circumstances, I can't exactly blame you for being cautious."

Alexander nodded, relieved that there was no resentment in Daimon's voice.

Daimon looked at the two men and one teen before him and said, "Before we leave, there's something I want to give you."

He reached into his coat and produced several small amulets that were shaped like ankhs.

Alexander took one and asked, "What does it do?"

"It offers protection against demonic influence and possession."

Alexander's eyes immediately focused on it.

Meanwhile, Hannibal also took one and asked, "Against demons specifically?"

"Yes." Daimon nodded and added, "It can also provide some protection against other forms of evil, but it's considerably more effective against demonic influence."

Blade took and examined his own amulet before simply observing, "Useful."

"Hopefully unnecessary." Blade added before he attached his to his clothing.

"Let's hope so." Alexander did the same.

Daimon looked toward the others and said, "If the entity we're dealing with is actually demonic, these should give us some additional protection."

Alexander nodded.

That was definitely reassuring, even if only slightly.

After that, the four got into Hannibal's car and drove toward the Colan residence.

On the way there, since everyone was sitting in silence, Alexander decided to break the ice in a funny way and started humming the iconic theme song of the movie The Exorcist.

Suddenly, Daimon burst out, "Oh, hell NO...! Not that song from that damned movie!"

Alexander chuckled and said, "Come on! I thought it fit the occasion perfectly..."

Hannibal also smirked and asked, "What? You don't like horror movies... I personally find them funny... at least compared to what we have to deal with."

Daimon sighed and said, "I have nothing against horror movies in general, but that particular one is a sore spot..."

Feeling everyone's gaze on him, Daimon sighed again and admitted, "That movie took inspiration from the very first exorcism I participated in... and let's just say that the ending wasn't as nice as the movie... Pazuzu was a real, nasty piece of shit!"

Hearing that, Alexander muttered, "Daimon... Damien..." Then he connected the dots and exclaimed, "Holy shit! You're Damien Karras!"

Daimon groaned and explained, "Yeah... After that exorcism, I got drunk and narrated the story to a certain William Peter Blatty, who then converted the story into a novel. And the rest, as they say, is history..."

After that revelation, the group of four eventually reached the Colan residence, but unlike the previous night, they didn't hide, especially since it was early evening and such behaviour was more likely to attract attention, and walked directly to the front door.

Daimon stood at the front, and Alexander had to admit that it made sense because of the four of them; Daimon was by far the most respectable-looking.

Next to him stood Hannibal, who looked exactly like the sort of private investigator someone might hire.

Blade and Alexander remained behind them as they would likely give the wrong first impression.

Hannibal calmly pressed the doorbell, and a few moments later, the door opened.

A middle-aged man appeared.

He was a man somewhere in his late forties, with a sturdy build that suggested years of practical work rather than deliberate exercise. His dark hair had begun to silver at the temples, kept short and slightly untidy, and a few faint lines around his hazel eyes deepened whenever he smiled. A neatly trimmed beard, more salt than pepper, framed a broad jaw.

He was dressed plainly and carried himself with the quiet confidence of someone accustomed to being overlooked.

He was Albert Colan, the client who hired Blade and Hannibal to investigate his suspected unfaithful wife.

His eyes immediately settled on Daimon, and for a moment he looked confused; then he noticed Hannibal and Blade behind him before his expression changed to a nervous, almost panicked one and asked, "What are you doing here?"

His voice had become noticeably more agitated as he added, "If you've discovered something, you can tell me tomorrow at your agency."

Hannibal remained calm as he said, "Good evening, Mr Colan. We have indeed discovered something."

Albert frowned, but before he could say anything, Hannibal added, "We believe what we discovered may put your family in danger, so we hurried and came over."

Then, before Albert could answer, another voice came from inside, "Dear? Who is it?"

Albert froze and slightly turned as his wife approached the door.

His wife was in her mid-forties, with the polished, effortless appearance of a woman who had long since learned how to look put-together without seeming as though she had tried too hard. She had shoulder-length chestnut hair, usually worn loose with a slight wave, and warm brown eyes that gave her an approachable, attentive expression.

Her features were soft but defined, with a straight nose, high cheekbones, and the faintest lines at the corners of her eyes.

She wore a cream-colored blouse tucked into comfortable trousers, paired with simple gold jewellery and neatly painted nails, casual enough for a quiet evening, but unmistakably good quality.

For a moment, Albert looked extremely uncomfortable, and Alexander understood why. After all, he had hired Hannibal and Blade to investigate his own allegedly cheating wife.

Hannibal, fortunately, knew exactly what to do as he politely greeted her, "Good evening, Mrs Colan."

He offered a professional smile, "My name is Hannibal King. This is my partner Eric Brooks."

He gestured toward his partner, Blade, who simply offered a quiet nod before he added, "Your husband hired us to investigate some of the strange events that have been happening in the neighbourhood. He was concerned about the safety of his family."

The woman's expression softened as she looked toward her husband, and there was genuine affection and appreciation in her eyes.

While Albert looked visibly relieved, Hannibal continued, "We've discovered a few clues and came here to report because we believe your family may actually be in danger."

He then gestured toward Daimon and added, "We also brought a specialist who may be able to help."

Daimon nodded politely.

Hearing that, the woman's concern immediately increased before she invited them, "Please, come inside."

As the step into their home, Albert looked toward Alexander and his expression became confused before he asked, "And who's he?"

Alexander smiled and simply said, "I'm a part-timer. They need manpower; I need pocket money to have dates with my girlfriend."

Albert stared at him for a moment, then shrugged and accepted the explanation, "Alright."

Then Alexander followed the others inside.

The group gathered in the living room where Daimon formally introduced himself, "My name is Daimon Hellstrom. I'm a professor of parapsychology at St. Louis College, as well as an occasional occult investigator and exorcist."

Hearing that, Albert's expression became increasingly sceptical as he asked, "An exorcist? And you believe that someone in my family is possessed or something like that?"

Daimon nodded and plainly admitted, "That's our current suspicion. We have reason to believe that your daughter may actually be possessed, and we'd like your permission to try to save her before she can harm others or herself."

His wife looked alarmed as she exclaimed, "I knew something was wrong with Melissa."

Albert looked toward her, genuinely surprised, and asked, "What?"

She shook her head and explained, "She's been acting strangely lately."

She hesitated for a moment before she continued, "At first, I thought it was just teenage rebellion, but it didn't feel like that."

She looked toward Daimon and said, her voice now noticeably quieter, "I felt like something was seriously wrong with her."

Albert remained silent while his wife reached for his hand and declared, "Something is wrong with our daughter."

Albert looked at her, then at Daimon, then at Hannibal and Blade.

Finally, he sighed and said, "Alright."

He nodded and added, "You can try."

Daimon inclined his head, "Thank you."

Mrs Colan stood and announced, "I'll bring her down."

She turned toward the stairs.

As soon as she disappeared from view, Daimon looked toward the others and said, "We need to make sure whatever is inside doesn't escape."

Hannibal nodded while Blade asked, "How?"

"The ankhs. We have to draw them on every entrance; those will keep whatever is inside their daughter trapped in this house."

After saying that, Daimon quickly moved toward the doors and Alexander followed.

They worked together, etching the symbol of the ankh outside the entrances to the house.

It wasn't elaborate, as they didn't have time for anything elaborate, but Daimon was confident it would be enough to trap the supernatural presence inside.

"If it's a demon," he explained quietly, "it won't be able to simply leave the building."

"And if it isn't?" Alexander asked.

"It should still provide some resistance and buy us enough time to hopefully take care of it."

Alexander nodded, and then they returned to the living room.

For several moments, there was nothing to do except wait.

Then footsteps came from upstairs. Mrs Colan appeared, and beside her was her daughter Melissa.

Their daughter was around 16, tall for her age and slender, with long dark-blonde hair that fell untidily around her shoulders. She had her mother's brown eyes, though they seemed darker somehow, especially in the muted light of the house. Her complexion was pale, and there was something unusually composed about the way she carried herself.

She wore an oversized grey sweatshirt, faded jeans, and socks, looking perfectly at home in the comfortable suburban house around her.

Alexander looked at the girl, then froze as his Spiritual Awareness immediately reacted because there wasn't one presence inside her; there were two.

His eyes widened while he thought, 'What the hell...?'

One of them felt familiar, not identical to Daimon but close, very close. It carried the same supernatural quality he'd sensed around Daimon, only this one was different. Darker and more malicious.

Alexander's instincts immediately told him what it was. A demon.

Then Alexander focused, and his expression changed because the second presence was a Duel Spirit, of that he was certain, but something about it was wrong.

It didn't feel malicious. It didn't feel like it was attacking. If anything, it felt like it was struggling as though something was restraining it.

Alexander's attention remained fixed on Melissa.

Then she saw Daimon and everything changed in an instant.

Melissa's expression twisted as her body suddenly began to expand. Her skin darkened. Her facial features became distorted as sharp fangs emerged from her mouth. Her ears grew pointed, and wild green hair erupted around her head.

The transformation happened so quickly that Mrs Colan barely had time to react, "Melissa?!"

Her scream echoed through the room while Daimon stepped forward and shouted, "It's a demon! Get back!"

Melissa's eyes locked onto him before a beast-like snarl escaped her throat, then she lunged.

Daimon barely had time to raise his arms before the creature attacked.

Mrs Colan screamed again while Alexander's heart raced.

The thing inside Melissa wasn't simply a Duel Spirit, and it wasn't simply a demon either. There were two supernatural presences inside that girl, and somehow, they were connected.