32. Chapter 32

Author notes: Hey gang! Hero here. Sorry for the delay in this update. I've been focusing on my own fanfic, Power Chord, a superhero AU story centered on Luna and Sam, part of my Heroverse. And now that I got the plug out of the way, you can enjoy the new chapter!

Lincoln had faced many terrible things in his life.

He'd walked into Lori's room wearing nothing but his underwear while she was in the middle of a video call with her friends, and had thus faced her older sister's wrath. He'd eaten the last pudding in the fridge without knowing it belonged to Lola, and had thus endured the little princess' merciless retribution. He'd spilled coke into Lisa's laptop while she was in the middle of an investigation, and had thus… Well, actually, he didn't really know what Lisa did to him., but one day he woke up in her room and noticed a scar on the side of his abdomen, and was too scared to ask.

Regardless of all the horrors and bloodcurdling scenarios he had found himself in before, including his recent experiences in the battlefield against hordes of Soulless, he'd never felt a more tangible, irrational, chilling fear than he did right then facing the possessed, demonic form of Sid Chang.

Part of it had to do with the mere visuals, of course. He enjoyed scary movies and never thought of himself as someone particularly susceptible to body horror. But there was clearly something much eerier about watching a friend in real life grow bat wings, an extra pair of eyes, scythe-like claws, a forked tongue, red skin, and now that he paid more attention, a devil's tail, too.

Above everything else, however, the mere presence of that supernatural being created an atmosphere of pure, unbridled terror that shook him to his core. He'd seen powerful entities before in the form of especially strong Archetypes, like the one time he looked up in the sky to see two Kaiju Archetypes fighting each other. It made him feel small, insignificant, helpless.

The devil in front of him didn't have a single inch over him, and yet he'd never felt as small as he did right then.

"Ah, an Assassin Archetype," the creature said with a double voice, one belonging to Sid, the other a much deeper, ancient one. "Not as strong as yours, but this form shall suffice until I get a hold of you."

Lincoln tried to speak, but he found that his body didn't seem to answer his commands. He had to will himself to stop shaking and found courage from deep within to ask a simple question.

"Who are you?"

"I am entropy," the figure said, spreading its wings and batting them to rise a few feet in the air, filling the room with gusts of wind. "I am death. I am Diablo, Lord of Terror."

Lincoln had paid enough attention in Spanish class to know what diablo meant. He clenched his fists, and if it weren't for the oddly comforting presence of Charlie, who kept manifesting a shield of blue air in front of him, he believed he might have gone insane.

"You're the devil?" He asked with a weak voice.

Diablo giggled and seemed to blush. "Oh, stop it, you. No, no, I'm not the Devil with a capital D. That's too metaphysical and not a conversation your mortal mind can comprehend. I'm much more concrete. Just like your Archetypes are the manifestation of a set of universal categories and symbols that mankind has absorbed into its collective subconscious, I am the incarnation of Terror. The embodiment of the primordial sentiment of fear to the unknown, the eeriness that precedes the horror, the trigger to the survival instinct of the individual. I am everything mankind fears."

"Like anglerfish," Lincoln sputtered without meaning to do so.

Diablo squinted his eyes at him. "What?"

"Anglerfish. You know, anglerfish," he repeated, turning to look at Charlie for support, but the ethereal orb of light seemed to shake from side to side like he had no idea what Lincoln was onto. "They're big fish that live in the dark bottom of the ocean. They have, like, a lantern on the forehead to attract smaller fish, and then they eat them in a second. Lisa showed us a documentary when it was her turn to pick a movie. They're super scary."

"Oh, but anglerfish have nothing on me," Diablo said with a toothy grin. "For starters, they can't steal your soul. Me? I'm going to take control of your pathetic mortal body and use your Archetype to fulfill the prophecies of ancient lore."

He began to laugh, and as he did so, the lights in the room seemed to dim, like it wasn't allowed to exist in the same room as such a creature. And once again, Lincoln felt the air around him go colder, oppressing him like he was a thousand miles deep into the ocean, constricted by the weight of the water around him. He was the small prey in front of the anglerfish.

"What do you mean?" He asked, taking a new step back, hitting the wall behind him. "What prophecies?"

"The ones that were foretold eons ago. I shall rain fire on the lands, and under my command, the armies of Hell will end the Age of Twitter."

"Wait, what?"

"Yes. It is written in stone that I'll bring an end to humanity, and with it, I shall eradicate pointless drama, shipping wars, and people comparing every single new cartoon to Gravity Falls. I'll establish a new world order where users are only allowed to talk about comic book characters after reading seventy-plus years of serialized stories that are almost always contradicting each other and rebooting its canon. I'll keep normies from enjoying movies and games they didn't grow up with, and that they've only discovered once it became mainstream and cool to like them."

"You can't do that!" Lincoln screamed. "That's gatekeeping! Everyone's allowed to enjoy what they want without needing to prove their worth to you!"

"Everyone should prove their worth to me! I'm the Lord of Terror, and I liked Invincible before it was cool to do so! I shall keep the fake fans and the clout chasers away, reminding them that their pathetic lives are worthless and miserable. I just need to destroy western civilization and all of its institutions. And all that I need for that is the right Archetype," he added, licking his lips while looking at Lincoln with his four, glowing eyes.

The young boy felt a chill run down his spine.

"Me? Why would you need my Archetype? It doesn't… It doesn't make any sense."

Diablo snickered.

"I've seen your soul and the Archetype you carry within, from the moment you touched my prison. You don't understand its true power, you haven't even scratched the surface of what it can do. But don't worry, once our essences are united, I will bring out your full potential, and we'll become the scourge that will purge the land of the living and reign supreme."

Lincoln gulped, his dry throat hurting in the process like he'd swallowed a scratchy Dorito. While it was true that he didn't understand his Archetype, the idea that a primordial evil would consider it the key to conquering the world sounded ludicrous. He'd been able to fight some Soulless, sure, but almost any combat Archetype could do that. And he hadn't even used his own powers, he'd always stolen some from his sisters, or Sam. He had no truly outstanding feat of his own.

It seemed however that the demon in front of him thought otherwise, and as much as he'd toot his own horn as the Master of Convincing, he wasn't confident in his chances of changing Diablo's mind.

He tried to think logically to find a way out of his situation. The small room they were in offered him little in terms of maneuverability and cover. Not to mention he didn't even know the extent of what he was facing, or how powerful the creature was. What could he do, though? His silver bullets had proven to be useless against it when it was but a shadow, and even if it worked now, he wouldn't dare shoot at Sid.

Sid. Oh, he had screwed up so badly. Was she still awake there, conscious but unable to act? Was she even still alive? He didn't even want to think about it, but he knew he needed to fix it. He needed to save her.

"I know that look," Diablo said with a smile. "I've seen many a hero with that look, trying to think their way out of my grasp. Fear not, little one. Death does not await you. Once we become one, we'll live forever."

"Why would I join you?" He asked, if anything, just to buy some time for him to think of a plan.

"You may have misunderstood me, boy; your cooperation is not required."

Like a mouse facing the eyes of a snake, Lincoln sensed mortal, inevitable danger. With no time to come up with the perfect plan, he quickly threw his trenchcoat open and grabbed a vial of Holy Water.

Before he could open it or even throw it at the creature in front of him, Diablo traced two runes in the air with his long, crooked fingers.

"Mal, Tir," he whispered, and with a simple hand motion, Lincoln's exorcist form dissipated with an invisible wind, leaving him in his regular clothes. "Did you really think you could just throw some Holy Water at me? You lack prudence, Lincoln Loud."

"What?!" He yelled, touching his clothes and trying to will himself back to his Exorcist mode, but alas he remained his regular self.

"You may have tapped into the essence of an Exorcist, but you failed to make a proper connection. You merely borrowed your concept of what an Exorcist should be. As it stands, it was but a mere illusion. You're helpless. You pose no threat to me. You're on your own, no sisters to lend you their power, and so you shall fall in my—"

A book catapulted itself from the nearest shelf, hitting Diablo right in one of its four eyes. The creature let out a small shriek of pain, rubbing its forehead before looking dumbfounded at Charlie.

"Did you just—?"

The orb gave him no time to react, lifting every object in the living room before throwing it at Diablo. The demon tried to shield himself and managed to tear a few books and portraits with his claws, but soon he was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of projectiles, and he fell to the ground where everything piled upon him.

Lincoln stared at Charlie, wondering exactly how powerful that little, amicable orb was.

"Nef, Lum!" Diablo enchanted, and all the books, chairs, and small objects that were being thrown at him turned into smoke, dissipating when he opened his black wings.

"Enough!" He yelled, his double voice echoing in the small room as he rose in the air, a dark red aura surrounding his body with crackling lightning. "You foul, inferior creature, how dare you stand against the Lord of Terror? You're but the single soul of a spoiled brat, and I will not stand your disresp—"

His speech was left unfinished as the Chang's fridge stampeded from the kitchen, hitting Diablo with the force of a train and sending him through a wall.

Lincoln winced in pain, hoping that the real Sid wasn't hurt by it. He had no time to think more about it, as he suddenly became weightless, and Charlie carried him through an open window and out of the building. Vertigo struck him when he looked down and saw how little the cars looked from there, but he swiftly hovered to the ground, finally regaining his weight when his feet touched the ground.

"Charlie, we gotta go back!" He told the spirit. "We can't leave Sid like that! We need to save her!"

It was hard to read the emotions of an expressionless, ethereal, silent orb, but Lincoln saw its glow faltering, and with the quick motions it did like his head was going from the building to Lincoln, he had a vague idea.

"You're scared, aren't you?" He asked Charlie, and the orb floated down, eye level with Lincoln. "Diablo said you, uh, you were a child. Or are a child. It's okay, I get it. I'm scared too. And I can't ask you to help me. This is my fault, and I was kinda trying to trap you in a Soul Cage. But that Soul Cage is up there, and it's the only thing I have to put Diablo back where he belongs and save Sid. You don't have to fight him, but I need you to get the puppet for me. Can you do that, Charlie?"

The orb hesitated, but soon enough it shone a little bit brighter as if reassuring Lincoln.

"Alright, cool. Then here's my plan. I'm going to get his attention, trying to create a distraction for you to sneak back into the apartment and—"

Windows shattered above, and Lincoln looked up to find the red figure of a possessed Sid flying out of the building. Her wings kept batting in the air, keeping her hovering. The dark glowing eyes looked for Lincoln, and he could feel the exact moment they found him. He felt the presence of the Lord of Terror, crushing him like an insect, making him feel small and pathetic in comparison.

Diablo began to move his hands and draw more runes in the air, and when he spoke, his double-voice cracked the sky like thunder.

"Hel, Ohm, Um, Lo, Cham!"

A red magic circle with a pentagram appeared underneath him. In moments, the light of the Sun began to dim. Lincoln looked up to find that there were no clouds. Instead, it seemed like a layer of dark energy had gathered in the atmosphere surrounding the city, and within moments, the blue of the sky had turned into a shade of scarlet red.

People on the streets stopped what they were doing to look up. While not unheard of, and certainly not as strange as many of the other things most of them had to endure on a somewhat regular basis, the sky changing colors was always an ominous sight to behold.

"Hel, Ko, Lem, Gul!"

With four more runes drawn in the air, he raised his arms. The earth seemed to shake, making Lincoln trip and fall on his butt. Seconds later, the trembles became stronger and stronger. People left their cars and were now looking at the floating figure with terrified expressions. A new red, magical circle appeared under the previous one, with a bigger radius and slowly turning counterclockwise.

The streets kept trembling, and with a loud, terrifying crack, several rifts split open, like giant claws tearing them apart.

"Tal, Thul, Ort, Amn!"

A third and final magic circle, bigger than the previous two, appeared under the floating demon. Lincoln, having recognized the pattern of magic circle = bad, waited for a new horrible change to the urban landscape. However, as the seconds went by, nothing seemed to change. The tremors seemed to stop, and except for the bloodied sky and the shattered streets, things seemed to be returning to normal.

"This can't be a good sign, can it?" Lincoln asked Charlie, standing up. The orb shook and stood protectively in front of the boy.

Among all the noise of a city in the middle of the day, a soft, buzzing sound reached Lincoln's ear. He began to look around, trying to figure out its source, but try as he might, he couldn't see anything. And then he felt a tugging on his polo shirt.

"What is it?" He asked Charlie, but the orb continued to pull him, getting him to take several steps back and away from the closest rift on the ground.

It was only then that he realized the buzzing sound, louder by the second, came from those rifts. It grew in volume, and what at first sounded like a strong current of air, soon became an eerie, horrifying sound, like a thousand wailing voices.

And then the ghosts erupted out of the rifts like a swarm. Ethereal forms that resembled a humanoid torso, with faceless heads and scrawny, thin arms. They twirled and circled the air, howling like they were in pain.

"Uh, Charlie?" Lincoln said, feeling cold sweat on his forehead. "I think there's going to be a little change of plans."

The wave of ghosts kept rising, reaching the top of the buildings, before they scattered, diving down straight towards the Bystanders.

"Run!" Lincoln yelled, turning around and trying to hide from the specters that went after him.

He hoped the Exorcists wouldn't take long to get there.

"And shoot!"

All the apprentices released their grip, shooting arrows towards the dartboards three hundred feet away from them. Many failed to hit the targets. Several more managed to hit somewhere in the intended range. Only one hit a perfect bullseye.

"Well done, Luan," the kannushi said, nodding in approval at Luan's longbow skills.

She accepted the compliment and respectfully bowed at her master. "Thank you, master."

The priestess clicked her tongue. "Uh-uh. You mean sensei domo arigato gozaimasu."

Luan suppressed the urge to wince. She liked her miko practices, but she really wished her sensei wouldn't take the Japanese so seriously. God, she couldn't stand weebs. She thanked her in very Americanized Japanese regardless.

"I don't get it, sensei, when are we ever gonna be in a situation where we need to shoot a ghost three hundred feet away from us?" A boy with curly hair asked.

The kannushi gave Benny a knowing smile.

"Ah, I understand, child-kun. Most of you here in the West think of Exorcists in the Roman Catholic sense of the word. Supernatural entities can come from very different sources, however, and it's important that you learn the way different cultures have fought against them for millennia before us. I know shooting arrows doesn't seem as relevant as learning to smite or create shields of divine power, but our job here at Sanctuary is to lay the ground for all Exorcists and present them with the vast array of options that exist for all of you. So that, in the future, you may choose whatever fits your style better."

"Unless you're Luan-sempai and you're good at everything," Benny said, giving the Loud girl a warm smile, which she reciprocated.

"Even Luan-chan has much to learn," the kannushi replied, although with a knowing grin.

The sound of giant bells ringing from the tallest tower announced the end of the class, and with one final prayer (each student praying for their own religion), the kannushi dismissed them.

Luan sighed, picking her quiver and retrieving the arrows she'd used. Many students came by to congratulate her on yet another great performance. She smiled politely at them. She would have complimented them back if it wasn't for the fact that she knew most of them secretly hated her for outshining them in almost every class. So, as she made her way out of the outer cloister and began to walk the long stairways towards the High Priestess' office, she made sure not to pay attention to the clear whispers behind her back.

It wasn't like she'd chosen to be so good at Exorcist stuff. It just came to her naturally. There clearly was something weird with the Loud genes, with every one of the children in the household being crazy good at their Archetypes, quickly escalating the ladder within their specific guilds.

And then there was Lincoln. Luan couldn't say it had been easy, but she'd eventually come around regarding Lincoln's strange Archetype. At first, she'd been as shocked as anybody with the revelation of such a… peculiar paradigm he incarnated. But she knew her little brother better than any stupid Oracle or Bystander, and she knew there had to be more to it than the name of his Archetype. And thankfully, Lisa had reassured them that there was much they didn't know and understand about it. What they heard from Lori, the videos of Tuxedo Linky (as Leni liked to call him), and the tales Sam shared with them painted a whole new picture.

Lisa had complicated, scientific, big words for it, but the takeaway for Luan was that Lincoln had the ability to share Archetypes. That's how she understood it, that's how it made sense to her even in retrospect. He'd always been the sharing kind of sibling, always willing to lend a hand to her sisters when they needed it the most, always running after them, admiring their rising popularity and amazing feats they'd accomplished with their Archetypes. He had time for all of them, and he'd never complained. In a way, it made sense that he could ask his sisters to share part of their powers with him.

And they would always do so. She had no doubt that each of her sisters would give it all for Lincoln. If he needed their Archetypes, he'd always be welcomed into taking them and doing what he must. For her part, Luan would go even further: if for some reason she had to give up her Exorcist essence and give it to him permanently, she would do so without hesitation. Anything for her little brother, her spark in the night, her rainbow after the rain. Sometimes she didn't know if she showed it enough, but he loved him on an unrivaled level. She wouldn't think twice about joining his Harem should he ask.

Luan stopped in the middle of the stairs for a second, repeating the last part in her mind. A crimson blush spread on her face. Stupid name. It made it sound weirder than it was. She meant she wouldn't mind sharing her Archetype with him on a regular basis if for some reason he found it useful. She didn't mean it in a romantic way, for crying out loud.

Lincoln would never feel that way for her. For any of them, for that matter. But especially not her. She could probably see him having a… perfectly normal sibling infatuation with Lori or Leni. They were objectively beautiful girls. Nothing wrong with a young, impressionable boy taking his first steps into adolescence developing a tiny little crush on one of them. Maybe even Luna, though undoubtedly prompted by Sam. She definitely had some weird ideas about getting the three of them into honeymoons and whatnot. Luan was an understanding sibling, she could see how the wicked suggestions of the Sharp girl would influence her adorable little brother. She wouldn't blame him if he fell for them. And Lynn? The two had always been almost inseparable, and just like with everything else, Lynn was passionate and energetic about her love for her brother. To be perfectly frank, if she didn't know those two were related, she'd have believed they had a deep, deep crush on each other.

But the whole thing was just a big if. It's not like she'd put any serious thought into it. She didn't go to sleep every night wondering about whether Lincoln would ever feel as close to her as he did with the rest of their siblings, having these crazy theories on whether the romance between siblings could work and if she fit the equation somehow.

Only some nights.

Most nights.

She sighed and shook her head, resuming her walk towards the High Priestess' office. Being single was starting to affect her. She should find herself a boyfriend. Or girlfriend, she was open to anything at that point. She'd just need to meet someone she could love. Someone who would be committed to their relationship. Someone attentive, dedicated, romantic, caring, trustworthy. Someone who would cook her breakfast, give her a massage if she ever felt stressed about something, listen to her when she needed to vent, make her laugh, indulge her with her hobbies, talk to her about his own hobbies, even if they were about lame Japanese cartoons and they involved reading in his underwear…

She groaned again. She couldn't keep allowing herself those mental slips. At some point, they would become weird. Luan liked to draw the line at daydreaming about her future with Lincoln twice and day. She hadn't crossed that line yet, as dangerously closed as it felt.

When she finally reached her destination, she shook her mind and prepared herself for what was coming. She knocked on the door, and after getting permission to enter, she opened it and stepped into the High Priestess' office.

The High Priestess was the headmistress and leader of Sanctuary, the giant monastery located on the outskirts of Royal Woods. The religious complex was the place where the guilds of Exorcists, Religious Leaders, Oracles, and Prophets trained their members. Luan had joined them two years ago after receiving a letter of recommendation from Archetype Academy due to her outstanding grades and control over her Archetype and had almost immediately climbed the ladder to be top of her class. That's how she got so many jobs assigned to her, and how she'd fallen in grace with the High Priestess.

And there she was, sitting behind her desk, looking at red and blue scrolls, filling them in with ancient runes and symbols she wrote with a long, old-fashioned feather. The desk behind her had all sorts of relics and unique items from famous, past Archetypes that had studied in Sanctuary. Trang-Oul's gloves, Guillaume's helm, Griswold's scepter, Mara's amulet.

One day, maybe Luan would have one of her tools hung on the wall behind the High Priestess Akara.

The old lady, wearing many rings, necklaces, earrings, and a purple veil, smiled at her protegé and put the feather and scrolls away, and pointed at the chair on the other side of her desk, inviting the teenager to sit.

"Good to see you, Luan," Akara said. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Hi," she said, taking a seat in front of the High Priestess. "Sorry to bother you, but, uh, there's something I need to talk to you about, ma'am."

"Very well. Speak then, child."

"It's… kind of a long story."

Akara smiled at her. "I have to deal with the elder Deckard Cain on a regular basis, Luan. I'm more than happy to stay awhile and listen."

And so, taking a big breath and mentally recapping the speech she'd prepared like it was her most important routine, she told her everything. How she liked being able to help people, but her Archetype didn't make her happy. How her true passion had always been related to comedy, something that seemed so distanced and even in contraposition to what being an Exorcist entailed. She told her about her recurrent feeling of inadequacy, like every step she took in the direction her Archetype had set her in drove her further away from her dreams. And how she now had an opportunity to pursue her career in comedy, but it would require her to take it easier on Exorcist jobs, and the tough situation that put her in.

"I don't want to just stop being an Exorcist," she finally said, leaning forward and cupping her head with her hands, elbows on the desk. "I can help people with my powers, I can save them when they're scared or even threatened by something evil. I was even there when we stopped the Apocalypse last year, even if no one ever found out about it. I know that what I do is super important, but… But it's like I'm not as happy as I should be about it."

Akara listened to her entire story without interrupting even once. Her long fingers caressed the jewels on her rings, and her serene expression gave Luan no insight on what the High Priestess thought of her revelations, and that made her anxious.

Sensing that Luan had said everything that was on her mind, Akara finally spoke.

"As the High Priestess of Sanctuary, this news troubles me," she solemnly admitted. "It is not every day that one of our top students and most promising Exorcists talks about needing less involvement in our activities. My position demands me to try my best to ask you to reconsider, doing whatever's in my power to make you feel more comfortable with our sacred mission."

Luan nodded and lowered her eyes, having expected this kind of response from the leader of her guild. What she didn't expect, however, was for Akara to stand up, walk around the desk, and put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"But I'm also a person, and you're more than just your Archetype," she said. "I can tell you've already made up your mind on the path you'd like to pursue. And your request isn't exactly unreasonable. We've been providing you with many job opportunities to help you pay for your tuition at Archetype Academy and Sanctuary, but if you believe you could make that money somewhere else, it's very much in your right to choose so. It's not something I'll interfere with. Your happiness is just as important as your commitment to the cause."

Luan stared at her in disbelief. Akara had always been somewhat of a motherly figure to everyone at Sanctuary, but Luan hadn't entered the headmistress' office expecting such a kind response to her selfish request. "Oh, hi, listen, I know you guys have a bunch of expectations on me and whatnot, but honestly I'd rather tell jokes than cleanse haunted mansions." She expected more of a… resistance to her wish of cutting down her exorcist time.

"But you already knew it's always been up to you to take fewer Exorcist jobs," Akara continued. "You know it's something we offer but that's not at all mandatory for students. So this isn't what troubles you. I may be assuming much, but I sense that what truly troubles you is that you're afraid of disappointing. But whom? Us? Yourself?"

Luan… hadn't really thought about it in those terms. In fact, she actively avoided thinking about it. The answer was clear in her heart, but she didn't dare to admit it. To say it out loud. But under Akara's kind eyes, she realized she needed to accept it, and own up to her fears.

"I just… I don't want to disappoint my brother," she admitted.

"Your brother? Why would you disappoint him?"

"Because he's such a kind person," she said, closing her eyes and picturing a lifetime of polaroid pictures in her mind. Small, warm instances and moments of Lincoln being his regular self. Luan's own hero. "He's always wanted to be a hero, to help people. He helps everyone in my family, sometimes even at his own expense. And he admires all of our sisters with how much work they get, and how many Bystanders they save."

"So you're afraid he won't admire you if you follow your dreams?"

"He told me he just wants me to be happy. But of course he'd say that. He's just that kind, he'd never tell me he's disappointed in me. But I just… I can't stand the idea of disappointing him."

She truly couldn't. She pictured a dinner, five, ten years down the road. Maybe for Thanksgiving, or Archetype's Day. Lincoln, as always, would want to know about what everyone had been up to. He'd listen to Lori talking about saving the world from a meteor, Leni and her marvelous adventures, Luna and her new multi-platinum album.

And then, he'd turn with a big smile to her, and Luan would talk about a gig she had at a bar and the new puns she'd come up with. And his smile would still be there, but the glowing excitement in his eyes would be gone. He'd compliment her, and then quickly move on to Lynn, wanting to know more about the thousand bad guys she'd beaten in the previous week, the glint of pride back on his gaze.

She felt a patting on her shoulder, and she was brought back to the present, with the High Priestess smiling down at her.

"I think you need time to sort out your feelings, Luan," she said. "And most importantly, you need a heart-to-heart talk with your brother. You clearly have some unresolved issues. Let me ask you, though: do you trust him?"

"Yes," she replied within a second, not even having to think about it.

"Then why wouldn't you believe him when he says he just wants you to be happy?"

That was a very good question. One Luan would have loved to reflect upon and consider.

She would have, if at that moment she hadn't felt a sudden pang of pain inside her mind, like a psychic needle piercing her brain. She opened her eyes wide, knowing that sensation very well, and with the way Akara flinched, she knew she'd sensed it as well.

"No way!" Luan said.

"How could it be?" Akara murmured, running towards the closest window. Luan followed suit, her heart pounding stronger by the second, wishing against all hope that they were wrong.

But the moment they looked outside to find the sky tainted with a shade of red, they knew what was going on.

"That's impossible! We trapped him in a Soul Cage!" Luan cried out in horror.

"He must have found a way to escape," Akara said with a look of determination on her face. "The how doesn't matter right now. We need to prepare a party of heroes immediately before it's too late."

"I'm in!" She hurried to say. Akara nodded.

Before they could do anything, the earth began to shake, and in the middle of the outer cloister, the ground split open, with giant rifts appearing from nowhere. Shortly after, a swarm of ghosts escaped like a geyser of souls.

Akara moved a hand to her mouth and spoke directly to the Stone of Jordan —who Luan was pretty sure had been the mother of one of Lincoln's classmates, the one that played a sick prank on Stella—, and as she spoke, Luan and everyone else in the ground could hear the message in their minds.

"Sanctuary is threatened! The forces of Hell have been unleashed! All available Exorcists, protect those that can't defend themselves! Man your battle stations!"

She then proceeded to calmly walk towards a waypoint in the corner of her office, a stony circle with some runes carved into it and two magical blue flames flickering harmlessly on copper plates.

"Care to join me, Luan?" She asked.

The young Exorcist picked up her quiver and cedar bow, rushing to the waypoint with determination in her eyes. Once they were both standing there, Akara made a hand motion, and the whole room exploded in a flash of light.

In an instant, it was over, and Luan found herself standing in the middle of the cloister, on top of a different but similarly-looking waypoint. Ghosts were rummaging the air around her, moving almost mindlessly in search of students, priests, and other Archetypes caught off guard.

Luan wasted no time. She placed a hand in front of her and conjured a golden, glowing magical circle underneath her and Akara. A cylinder of light emerged from its perimeter, and each time a ghost tried to cross it, they burned away into a pile of ashes.

Akara calmly raised both hands in the air, and her eyes went blank for a second. Clouds gathered in the sky above Sanctuary, and soon a blizzard of holy ice began to fall on the cloister, harmlessly phasing through the students but obliterating any evil they touched. Luan looked around, noticing how devastating that area attack was, and realizing she needed to learn how to do it. The High Priestess held power beyond her comprehension.

The hordes of Hell were relentless, however, and for each spirit that was vanquished, two more emerged from the rifts. Exorcists of all ages showed up to try to contain the invasion, fighting to the best of their abilities with their preferred skills.

Luan felt a particular sense of responsibility, so she wouldn't be outdone by anyone. She stepped out of the magic, protective circle she'd conjured for the headmistress, and secured her bow on her back. With both hands-free once again, she held them in a Christian prayer gesture. She then extended her arms in a T pose and threw her head back.

With the magical sound of church bells, a ring of divine energy spread from her, quickly expanding until it covered almost the entirety of Sanctuary, dealing with all the ghosts that were close enough to the ground and, hopefully, saving a few people from being captured, possessed, or having their souls stolen. Whatever those spirits were up to.

"Ko, Vex, Pul, Thul!" Akara shouted behind her, drawing four powerful runes in the air.

An ethereal, amber-colored sphere appeared over her head, like a miniature Sun. It pulsed, and right away, Luan felt her energies increasing, her faith being restored, her fears pushed aside. She felt more powerful than ever, and she would take advantage of it.

She grabbed her bow, nocked an arrow on it, and casually shot it to the first ghost that tried to approach her. As soon as the arrow left her bow, an immense halo of energy surrounded it, shooting like a cannon and disintegrating all evil in a straight tunnel of light.

"Press the attack! Sanctuary will not fall!" Akara yelled.

And for the next couple of minutes, Luan fought relentlessly.

She'd never been in a war, not exactly, but the Perilous Siege of Sanctuary —as the battle would later be baptized— became as close to it as she'd ever get to experience. Absolute chaos surrounded her, as countless, almost endless amounts of spirits rushed at them from all angles.

She was forced to use her entire arsenal of skills to defend herself and those around her. Divine shields, spiritual prayers, hallowed arrows, sacred scrolls, holy water, even covering her own hands with radiant energy to smite some foolish ghosts. She kept battling, supported by the mighty runewords the High Priestess conjured to lay waste on the forces of evil and empower all Exorcists and Paladins that bravely fought together. And yet, something was missing, and it unnerved Luan.

"High Priestess!" She yelled in the middle of the fray. "This doesn't make any sense! Diablo's not showing up!"

Akara squinted her eyes. Luan had a point. It wasn't particularly surprising that the Lord of Terror, having somehow resurrected, decided to launch a full-on attack on Sanctuary. Knowing him, however, he would have been there to lead the battle. The fact that there was no Prime Evil on sight was abnormal, and although no one could truly ever make sense of the wicked plans of a creature like Diablo, it presaged no good.

"Ral, Tir, Tal, Sol!"

Akara's eyes glowed with blueish light.

"Diablo isn't here," she told Luan, receiving supernatural insight. "He's possessed a body far away from here."

"Where?" She asked, shooting a new arrow that saved Benny's soul from being stolen.

"It's… It's that place with the poltergeist," Akara said, the glow in her eyes disappearing. "The one we assigned to you a couple of days ago."

Luan's heart skipped a beat. Several beats. She turned to the High Priestess, not caring that any number of ghosts could have attacked her if it wasn't for the rest of her colleagues covering her back. She couldn't have cared less about her own safety right then, for she had just put two and two together.

"My brother's in there!" She yelled, desperately running towards Akara.

"What?"

"He's in danger! He's fighting Diablo!"

Her breathing was ragged, and not from exhaustion. She was picturing her little brother, helpless against one of the greatest demons the world had ever heard of. She didn't know how, or why, but it couldn't be a coincidence. Diablo was trapped in Mr. Coconuts, which belonged to her, and now he'd been released in the same place she'd sent Lincoln on a mission.

She needed to get there as soon as possible.

Whether because she understood her predicament, or because she was a wise, experienced leader that wasted no time during a crisis, Akara acted quickly.

"I must defend Sanctuary," she said, looking Luan straight in the eye. "You go. I'll send help as soon as I can."

She then grabbed Luan's miko robes, and with the tip of a finger, she drew three runes on her chest.

"Jah, Ith, Ber."

The runes shone with a bright blue light, and Luan could feel the power of the runeword surging through her.

"Go!" Akara told her.

She didn't need to be told twice. She began to run, feeling lighter and faster than ever before. The spirits around her couldn't catch up as she ducked and dove and pushed and shoved. She ran straight towards the exterior walls of the outer cloister, gaining speed and momentum as the grey surfaces of stone got closer and closer to her. When she was two feet away from them, she jumped up high, heading straight into a collision.

Only to teleport herself to the exterior of Sanctuary.