Author’s Note: Hello and welcome to
chapter two of The Monster Exorcist Two. I
hope that you enjoy it. I hope to try and release at least five or six chapters
over the coming months, but it can be difficult to find time to edit everything
while working full time. Feel free to read the previous chapter if you hadn’t
already, and also don’t hesitate to tell me what you think.
Chapter Two
Akito called everyone into the
living room of headquarters (or what was left of it) for a meeting. There was a
giant hole in the wall, the windows were broken, and the wooden floor was burnt
in several places. There wasn’t much furniture to begin with, but the coffee
table had been split into two, and blank charm paper and encyclopedia pages
were scattered around the room like graffiti. I even spotted signs of my
handwritten raccoon assignment scattered amongst the debris.
Akito
looked dead serious and commanded my friends to bring in a whiteboard, and set
up chairs from the storage room in three rows facing the front. He stood with
his back towards us anxiously staring at the whiteboard and marker, like he was
still contemplating the best way to convince the other exorcists not to kill
me. I still refused to trust him, but part of me hoped he’d changed his mind
and was going to act like my teacher again.
The old
guy’s two minions were too stingy to untie me. They carried my chair to the
front of the room, before sitting on either side of me like prison guards. The
old man was seated two places to my left, and he would occasionally glare at me
like I might try to escape. I could sense Isaac lurking at the back of the room
behind me, but it was a relief to find that most of my friends were still alive
and well. Tyson was holding an ice pack to his head. He was anxiously tapping
his foot nervously while staring at his beaten up phone. Tyson was a third year
high school student, and the oldest teenager amongst us. He was kind of like a
leader, but the guy had a strange phone obsession so I could see that he was
suffering. My friend Laurence also looked a little beaten up and bruised, but
he was still his usual cheerful and lively self.
“Hey,
Michael! What’s up with the ropes? ” Whispered Laurence from the seat behind
me.
“I don’t
know,” I sulked. My situation was already bad enough and I did not feel like
talking about it. “Maybe they're into some weird S and M stuff.”
“S and M?” Questioned Laurence. “Is that
some sort of candy, like M and Ms?”
I heard
Kurt suddenly burst out laughing at the back. Kurt had been outside patrolling
the perimeter when the fox monster attacked, so luckily he’d missed out on the
action and didn’t have a scratch. Kurt was the biggest kid at school and liked
to use it to his advantage. He and I were also buddies at first until we had a
falling out over his lazy attitude. He was also pretty mean towards Laurence.
“Hey, where
were you when the fox monster attacked?” I heard Isaac hiss at Kurt from behind
me.
“I was out
patrolling the perimeter,” said Kurt.
“Liar, you
were probably hiding in the bushes!” Said Isaac.
“Like you
did any better,” Kurt retorted. “At least I didn’t scream like a girl when the
fox monster threw me outside.”
“At least I
didn’t just stand there and watch as a monster began attacking my friends!”
Said Isaac.
“Hey! Hey!”
Yelled Akito as he banged his fist on the whiteboard to get our attention. He
was trying to bring the meeting to order, but everyone was already too busy
talking with each other.
“Just look
at this,” said Tyson as he showed Laurence his damaged phone. “I had a year
left on this contract and now look at it, it still works, but now there are
cracks all over the screen. What am I supposed to do if the hospital calls
about my sister?”
“I think
there are cracks in my elbow,” replied Laurence sadly.
“Can we all
just be quiet for one moment,” said Akito. He seemed stressed and moodier than
usual. “I’ve gathered you all here to discuss the fox attack and debrief you
all on the events of tonight.”
“Who’s the
old dude up the front?” Asked Kurt.
“Old dude?”
Said the minion with the glasses as he sprang to his feet. “How dare you refer
to your superior, the great Commander Sebastian Williams that way. You kids
should already know that he's the most successful exorcist of his time. This
amazing man has slain countless monsters, and is the most effective exorcist in
our organization by far!”
The old man
beamed, and waved at his minion to sit down. “Now, now, there’s no need to go
that far. I may have been the best exorcist of my generation, but there’s no
need to brag about it to everyone.”
“Hey, is he
the moody old man that you always complain about Akito?” Asked Tyson. “The one
you said has no real exorcist skills and used to defeat monsters by blowing
everything up?”
“No!” Said
Akito a little too quickly and I could see his face start to turn red. “He’s
my...Deeply respected talented superior, and he was kind enough to come to
assist us with the fox attack.”
“Right you
are Akito!” Said Sebastian. “You children are all lucky to have such a
remarkable man as your teacher. It's a shame that he never quite got to the
same level as Sean Lopez, but Akito's a great man in his own right.”
My teacher
stood there with his mouth open for a moment (Sean Lopez was Akito’s friend who
got promoted over him, and since then Akito had developed some strange complex
about the guy) before clearing his throat and continuing. “The two men behind
him are his subordinates Hugo, and Nina’s older brother.”
“It’s nice
to meet you all,” said the minion with glasses who I assumed was Nina's bro. He
stood up and looked at us all with a huge grin, despite yelling at Tyson a
minute ago. “I’ve heard a great deal about you all from my younger sister. I
hope we can get along well during our time here. If you have any worries,
concerns, or notice anything out of the ordinary, please don’t hesitate to tell
me. I may be your superior, but please think of me as your friend, or your super-friend,” he said with a wink.
“Not this
again,” I heard Nina mutter as she covered her face with her hands.
“Wow Nina,
I didn't know you had an older brother,” said Laurence. “I bet he’s super
awesome like you too, right?”
“He used to
be awesome, but now everyone calls him the super
suck-up,” I heard her whisper back.
Hugo also
stood up to introduce himself. “I’m Hugo, enjoy being young and cheerful while
you have the chance,” he said before quickly sitting down again. I could almost
see a dark aura surrounding the man.
“Hey! Why
didn’t Sean come?” Complained Tyson as he poked one of his bruises and winced.
“Isn’t he one of your best agents? He promised he'd come help out if we were in
trouble.”
“Agent
Lopez is currently engaged with other business,” said Sebastian.
“Aww, but
he promised that he’d show me the secrets of his S-Chop,” said Tyson.
“Don’t be
ridiculous,” said Nina’s brother. “Agent Lopez’s S-chop is classified
information which only certain elite members are allowed to access.”
“But Akito
said that it was just a lightning charm attached to a rubber glo-,” said
Laurence before Akito cut him off.
“This isn’t
the time to talk about Sean!” Exclaimed Akito. “I brought you all here to talk
about what happened tonight, so I would appreciate it if you could all please
shut up and listen,” Akito began to frantically write on the whiteboard with
the marker. I think he may have been attempting to draw us, but all I could see
was badly proportioned stick people. One of them even had cat ears so I assumed
he was trying to draw the fox monster. “At exactly six PM this evening our base
was infiltrated by a fox monster,” he said while anxiously glancing at
Sebastian. “Despite taking the proper precautions and installing a barrier, the
fox monster managed to obliterate all our defences. Her aim, Michael
Matsumoto.”
“Duh, we
already know this,” said Kurt as he began swinging on his chair. “Boring.”
“This
creature?” Questioned Sebastian while glaring at me. “That’s ridiculous. Akito,
even you should know that fox monsters only eat humans.”
“Hey, I am
human!” I protested.
“Yeah! He’s
human,” added Laurence even though I had a feeling he didn’t understand what we
were talking about.
“That’s
what I’m getting to,” said Akito. “As you already know agent Matsumoto perished
to the same fox monster over ten years ago. Somehow the fox monster heard of
another Michael Matsumoto living in this area, and even though they are not
blood related, for some reason she thought he would taste the same. I took
shelter with Michael and Nina in my office, but despite my best efforts she
discovered our location. With no other option left, I used a knife to loosen
the seals on Michael’s back and temporarily unleashed his monster powers.”
Akito began
furiously drawing a giant stick man with claws surrounded by fire on the board,
but everyone just stared at him blankly.
“Wait, did
you just say monster powers?” Asked Tyson.
“Hey, what
are you talking about Akito?” Asked Laurence. “How can Michael have monster
powers?”
“Maybe he
drank too many energy drinks or something,” said Kurt.
“Don’t you
get it!” Yelled Isaac from behind me. He jumped up and angrily pointed in my
direction. “He’s not really human! He’s a monster, and has been all along.
We’ve all been lied to!”
“Is that
true Michael?” Asked Laurence.
“No! This
is ridiculous, there's no way that I can possibly be a monster!” I protested.
“Come on guys,” I said while desperately looking at
Kurt, Laurence, Tyson, and Nina. “You all know me, you should know that there’s
no way that I could be a monster.”
Tyson also
stood up to protest. “Michael’s right, this has to be a mistake!”
“Tyson,” I
was honored that my friend was standing up for me.
“I mean,
look at him guys,” said Tyson. “He clearly has the spiritual power of a
termite!”
“But I saw
it,” said Nina. “Michael was like a wild, uncontrollable animal with powers far
beyond our own.”
“That’s
impossible!” Said Kurt. "The only thing wild and uncontrollable about
Michael is when he let one off during school assembly."
Akito
coughed. “I haven’t finished yet, so if you could kindly sit down Isaac, and
I'll continue.”
Isaac’s mouth
opened like he was about to launch another angry tidal wave of accusations
against me, but one glare from Akito was enough to silence him and he quickly
sat down fuming. If Isaac’s eyes had the power to set things on fire, I would
have been burnt to a crisp already.
Akito
turned back to the board and continued. “I took Michael on as my student
because he showed high spiritual potential and a willingness to learn. I didn’t
realize that there was anything out of the
ordinary until I received the belongings of the late Able Matsumoto. Inside
were notes and research all dedicated towards controlling and domesticating
monsters. As you may know, the Matsumoto clan once attempted to control and
utilize monsters over a century ago, but every attempt failed and the research
was cast aside. From his belongings, it appears that Able Matsumoto devoted the
remaining years of his life working on that project. I studied the materials
and thought nothing of it, until I discovered abnormal marks on Michael’s back
which resembled the research. I took
pictures of the marks and compared the two, and there was no denying that there is a connection.”
“Tyson! The
projector please,” he commanded.
Tyson
hobbled away and came back with a projector from the kitchen. He plugged it into
the wall and handed the cord to Akito before returning to his seat.
“What I’m
about to show you,” said Akito while plugging the cord into a small digital
camera and glancing nervously at Sebastian. “Is the undeniable evidence that
Michael is the result of Able Matsumoto’s monster research.”
I could
feel my heart beat wildly in my chest as I stared at the screen, and everyone
in the room was silent as Akito fumbled with the camera buttons. At last the
camera beeped, and loaded to show us all a picture of
a shirtless Tyson taking a picture of himself.
“Whoops,”
said Tyson. His face turned red and he
slowly slouched in his chair. “Don’t know how that got there,” he muttered.
“Is this a
joke Akito?” Asked Sebastian.
“Are you trying to waste my time?”
“No please,
if you could just wait a moment,” said Akito as he frantically scrolled through
the pictures on the digital camera. Photos of Tyson and Kurt having a water
fight flashed up on the screen. There were also a few shots of Katie training,
and a video of Tyson trying to ride a bicycle while standing on the seat.
“My phone
battery was flat,” muttered Tyson. "I didn't have a choice."
“Here!
Here! Here it is!” Cried Akito when
he found the photo of my back. “It may look
like scars,” he said while pointing to my old wounds. “But it’s actually
carefully planned seals and exorcist charms which have been placed under his
skin. There are at least seven charms in all which suppress all monster
functions such as spiritual power, memories, growth, metamorphose, and give Michael
the appearance of an ordinary teenage boy growing at a steady rate. Look here,”
he said while pointing to a jagged scar near my shoulder. This scar controls
spiritual power. Tonight I temporarily broke the seal with a knife, and
although he did not revert back into a monster, Michael did change into a
monster like state and attacked the fox monster, as well as the window, the
wall, and my pot plants,” he said.
“Akito, are
you certain that this boy is what you say he is?” Asked Sebastian.
“Yes,” nodded
Akito. “Without a doubt.”
“By god,” whispered Nina as she covered her mouth with
her hand.
I was also
in shock as I gazed at the photo on the screen. The evidence was undeniable.
The damage done to the house, Grandpa’s monster research, Nina’s testimony, and
Akito’s explanation.
The
evidence was overwhelming and there was only one conclusion.
Grandpa had
obviously transformed me into a super exorcist.
It made
perfect sense. Way more sense than Akito’s stupid theory about me being a
monster. What monster would want to endure exams and homework? Grandpa had
obviously enhanced me with amazing spiritual powers and named me after his dead son because he knew that the fox
monster would come hunting for my heart. When the time came, I could use those super powers and he could get his revenge.
Akito had just unwillingly followed Grandpa’s plan.
Akito obviously had no idea what he was doing, and stabbing the seal had just released too much of my mega awesome exorcist
powers at once.
I knew I was right, so I told my theory to everyone despite Nina’s
brother telling me to shut up and sit down
every time I paused for breath.
“Wow,
that’s amazing,” said Laurence once I was finished.
“Hey, is that true Akito? Can you really turn someone into a super exorcist?” Asked
Nina.
“There’s no
such thing as a super exorcist,” said Nina’s brother.
“That’s
because I’m obviously the first one,” I said.
“I think
you might be in denial Michael,” said Akito. “I know that this is a very
difficult time for you-"
“You just
can’t handle the fact that I’m a super exorcist!” I said. Sebastian and his minions didn’t believe me, but some of my friends
were beginning to come over to my side.
“Wow,” said
Laurence while gazing at me in awe. “It’s the first time I’ve met a super
exorcist.”
“You have
to be kidding,” said Isaac. “Don’t tell me you actually believe this idiot.
He’s clearly a monster. No one can transform like that and still be human. You
saw it too, right Nina?”
“But it was
dark Isaac,” said Nina. “And everything happened so fast, I only saw him for a moment. Maybe Michael is right.”
“I don’t
know what’s up with you Isaac, but Michael’s theory makes more sense than him
being a monster,” said Tyson.
“Yeah,
Michael’s my friend!” Added Laurence. “And I don’t make friends with monsters!”
“That’s
because he’s clearly trying to trick you,” Isaac protested.
“Stop your
bickering!” Yelled Sebastian. “The boy is a monster and that’s the end of it!”
“I’m not a
monster, I’m a super exorcist!” I yelled back.
“Monster!”
He roared.
“Super
exorcist!”
“Monster!”
“Super
exorcist!”
“Monster!”
“Super
super super exorcist!” I yelled back.
“He’s a monster Akito,” said Sebastian. “And he has an attitude
problem, he needs to be destroyed!”
“By all
means sir,” said Nina’s brother. “Let me
do it. I would be more than happy to send this terrible monster
back to the merciless hell that he came from."
“Please
don’t splatter me with innards again,” said Hugo.
“You must reconsider,” said Akito. “He’s the perfect result of the monster
pet project, destroying him would destroy any chance of recreating these
results in the future. Just think about how many monsters
you could destroy if you capture and train other monsters to do it for you.
It’s like killing two monsters with one charm.”
“You’re not
seriously going to kill him are you?” Asked Nina to her brother. “I never
thought that you would stoop so low.”
“Stop it,” hissed Nina’s brother under his breath. “You’re making me look bad in front of
Sebastian.”
“Please
don’t kill Michael!” Said Laurence. “He’s my buddy!”
“And, like,
wouldn’t it be embarrassing if you found out later that he wasn’t really a
monster?” Added Nina.
“Yeah, what
they said!” I yelled. “And I’m a super
exorcist!”
I put on my
best sad face, and so did Laurence, Nina, and Tyson behind me. Kurt sat there staring into space until
Tyson elbowed him in the stomach. He then crossed
his arms and pretended to look angry. I think I caught sight of Isaac dragging
his finger across his throat as a hint to kill me.
Unlike
Akito, their puppy faces didn’t seem to phase Sebastian, and he glared at me
sceptically like he was trying to determine my worth.
“He might
also be useful for….. Making things explode?” Added Akito.
Sebastian’s
face remained dead serious but I could see his eyes light up after that last
comment, and his mouth began to twitch like he was trying to suppress a smile.
“Fine,” he said. “If what you say about utilizing this monster is really
possible, then the creature lives, for now.”
###############
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