Tero's Tragedy

"Stalking? Who's stalking? I have no idea what you are talking about?" Luka tried his best not to show any nervousness in his voice.

"So you are saying you weren't stalking me?" Tero question.

"Of course, we weren't, right Ana?" Luka turned to Ana for assistance.

"I am sorry, Tero. Luka insisted so..."

'Don't apologize!' Luka glared at Ana. 'Look at her. Trying to be so innocent.'

"I am not angry." Tero switched the bouquet from his right hand to left. "I just want to know why you were stalking me."

"Luka said you are on a date, and he wanted to see your girlfriend."

'Shut up, Ana!'

"Oh?" Tero raised his eyebrows and smiled. "So you want to meet my girlfriend?"

"Sure, I will take you to my girlfriend," Tero added.

"What?" Luka did not expect this answer.

"You don't want to?"

"No, I mean, are you okay with that?"

"What's wrong with that?" Tero patted Luka on his shoulder and said with a gentle expression on his face, "Actually, I want you to meet my girlfriend."

"Is that so?" Luka was even more confused.

"Yeah, so…" Tero then looked at Ana and said, "Captain Ana, you can go home now."

"Wait, she is coming with me."

"I am sorry, but she can't," Tero denied.

"Why?"

"I have my reasons."

'If Ana can't come, then what's the point of me going? I have no interest in seeing someone else's girlfriend.'

"Then I don't want to go with--"

"It's okay, Luka. I will go home" Luka tried to reject Tero's offer, but Ana interrupted him and asked him to go with Tero.

"But--"

"We can go on a date another time."

"Oka...y," Luka reluctantly agreed.

Ana turned around and left as Luka watched her leave.

Tero gave Luka a slight push. "Let's go, Luka,"

"..."

Looking at Luka's dissatisfied face, Tero asked. "Why are you making that face now?"

"That wasn't necessary."

"You mean sending the captain home?"

"..." Luka glared at Tero.

"It was necessary for me."

Tero started walking, and Luka followed him. After walking for about 20 minutes, they both reached a cemetery.

"A cemetery?"

'Why did he bring me here? We are supposed to meet his girlfriend, right?' Luka's eyes widened as he concluded. 'His girlfriend is… dead?'

"She is here," Tero stated.

"..." Luka gulped down and followed Tero.

At the cemetery, there was a small house in the corner.

"I live here," Tero pointed his finger at that house and walked towards it. "Come"

'Live here?' Luka had never imagined Tero to be living in a place like this.

They went into the house and entered the first room. A girl was sleeping on the bed.

"She is my girlfriend."

Luka sighed in relief as it wasn't like he had imagined.

"Is she sleeping?" Luka asked.

"She is in a coma." Tero sat down on his knees and grabbed the girl's hand, and said with a distant smile on his face. "She is a normal human."

"..."

Tero went to the human middle school.

Every year, three exorcist students are enrolled in human school. Let it be middle school or a high school, and Tero was one of the three students who went to a human middle school.

Ever since he was born, he was loved by everyone. His family was wealthy, and his parents were well-known exorcists. But, during the demon apocalypse that happened 18 years ago, his parents died.

He lost his family when he was just two years old. Later, he was adopted by a human couple, and that couple already had a daughter about the same age as Tero. That human couple raised him. They didn't know he was an exorcist, but Tero knew everything about him and his parents.

Tero wanted to go to exorcist school, but it was impossible since his adoptive parents knew nothing about him being an exorcist. But, he wasn't sad, because the girl he loved, the human couple's daughter, was going to the same human school as him.

The exorcist council warned Tero not to involve himself with humans and informed him that they would be in danger, but he ignored every warning.

The exorcist council was already in contact with Tero, and after middle school, he was selected as one of the three students. After graduating from middle school, he was accepted into an exorcist high school.

But, Tero wasn't sure if he should go or not. He didn't want to put the lives of his loved ones in danger. Later, Tero told the girl everything about himself. The girl told him to go to exorcist school.

She didn't tell her parents about it. She told them that they both are going to the same human school. Every morning they went to school together from home but always parted ways halfway.

They both would always meet again and go home together. They did that every day, for one year. They both were in love with each other. Everything was going well until that day...Tero returned from training camp after being away from home for three days, and he found his adoptive parents dead.

The council warned him not to involve himself with humans, but he ignored them, resulting in that.

Demons killed them. Tero searched everywhere for the girl, but he couldn't find her.

He was afraid; what if something happened to her? He was even scared to look for her.

After two days of searching, without eating or drinking anything, without getting a wink of sleep, he found her in the cemetery, but she was severely injured. She couldn't speak; she couldn't move. She had been in a coma since then.

"That happened five months ago," Tero stated.

'So this is why you didn't want Ana to come here?'

Tero looked at Luka. "I am saying this to you because I need your help."

"My help? I can't… help anyone. I am just a… magicless exorcist."

"I need your help." Tero slowly stood up and bowed down. "Please help me."

"What can I do?"

"I want your help to kill the bastard who did this to her and killed her family."

"But they were killed by demons, right? There is no way we can find out who they were"

"It wasn't demons, or impurities, nor any monster."

"Wh...at?"

"It was a devil."

"De..vil." This was Luka's second time hearing the word 'devil'.

Devils are just like humans, but similar to impurities and monsters. They have their own conscience, and they can blend well with humans and exorcists.

"I know who it was," Tero claimed.

"You know who killed them?"

"Yeah, and I need your help with that."

Luka pondered for a while and said with a straight face, "Even if you kill that devil, your… her parents won't come back to life, and your girlfriend won't be cured."

"I know, but there is a way. If we kill him, then I can...I will..."

Luka looked at Tero and saw him clenching his fist and enduring all of his pain. 'He has suffered so much-- even more than me.'

"Will you help me?" Tero asked with a solemn look on his face.

"Leave it to me."