The Real Test

"Exorcist Daniel. Welcome, the Council awaits you." A guard stepped aside and gestured, followed by the other one who moved a moment later. Mentor Dan nodded at them and continued forward, unimpeded by their intimidating demeanors. Ren, however, was very intimidated. These guards stood well over six feet tall, with their bodies large and bulky. With gleaming silver armor, and flashing red eyes, anyone would feel intimidated.

"Come, Ren." Mentor Dan noticed Ren's hesitation and placed a firm hand on his shoulder before stirring him forward. He did not blame Ren for hesitating. In fact, he felt that Ren had held his own quite well. Anyone else in his shoes would have frozen completely or lost their composure entirely.

The reason for this was because the guards and the armor they wore were not simple in the least. The guards were specially groomed warriors that had been trained by the Church. They were called Despair Paladins, meant to stand firm in the face of the deepest and darkest depths of despair. They possessed special powers that resembled that of the demons and evil spirits that were fought on a daily basis by the Church. Before this terrifying power, it was normal for anyone to be frozen by fear or completely break down.

The Despair Paladins were also surprised by Ren's resilience. They had half expected Ren to outright collapse, but nothing of the sort had happened.

"Hmm, as expected of someone personally guided by Exorcist Daniel." The Despair Paladin that had spoken earlier nodded again. He watched as the two entered the spacious circular hall that served as the meeting ground of the Council of Elders.

As Ren followed Mentor Dan, the hallway that they walked through opened up into a large circular hall. There was nothing in the center of the circular hall, with high walls that led up to a high ceiling. At around five feet up from the ground on the walls, there were torches spread out, lit with a blue flame that burned silently, illuminating the dark hall.

Ren was confused. Where were the Elders?

It was only after walking a few more steps into the hall that Ren finally understood the layout of the hall. There were twelve pillars that ran along the circumference of the circular hall. It was on each of these pillars that the torches burned. However, the pillars did not reach the ceiling of the hall. Instead, they stopped at around three times Mentor Dan's height, holding a seat that various people were currently seated on. There were twelve of them.

"Exorcist Daniel greets the Council." Mentor Dan bowed his head slightly in greeting and Ren followed his gesture without saying anything. He had already gone over this with his mentor before they journeyed here.

"I bring my disciple before you as you have asked. I hope he is able to live up to the expectations you have set for him." Mentor Dan continued as he raised his head and gazed at the pillars. The tops of the pillars that held the seats were partially covered in shadows from the angle of the lighting, which made it difficult to see what the Elders looked like.

As soon as Mentor Dan finished speaking, one of the Elders cleared her throat and spoke up, "Exorcist Daniel. You have done well, raising a disciple. I almost believed that you would never complete this task and redeem yourself."

Ren looked up at his Mentor with confusion. Redeem himself? Raising a disciple was a task to redeem himself? What had his mentor done that would warrant a special redemption mission?

"..." Mentor Dan remained quiet and kept his gaze straight. He did not respond or show any outward reaction to those words.

"Your position as High Exorcist of the Church of Sol shall be restored as of this moment. When you leave this room, you may redeem your badge." The woman spoke up again.

A short silence ensued before a different Elder spoke, this time directing the words at Ren.

"Young Apprentice Exorcist. You have gone through the training set up by High Exorcist Daniel. We heard you have passed the standard test for every Apprentice Exorcist that wishes to gain the status of a proper Exorcist. However, as the mentee of a High Exorcist, we cannot use the normal standard to evaluate you. You must pass a test set by us, the Council of Elders."

Ren's back was straighter than a rod as he listened to the Elder. He did not know who was speaking because the voices echoed around the entire hall, and it added even more pressure on his shoulders.

"You have fought a Specter, a low ranking evil spirit. That is the minimum requirement for any Exorcist. Here though, you shall fight against a Possessed." The first Elder spoke again, her voice hard and grainy.

Ren's eyes widened as he heard those words. He was fighting against a Possessed?

In this world, there were many supernatural phenomena. In the realm of exorcism, the presence of various types of spiritual beings was something that the Exorcists had battled for centuries already. There were extensive studies and analyses of each type of supernatural being that had been come across in the many centuries that the Church had existed for.

At the lowest ranks were the Specters. The type of creature Ren had fought. However, the one he fought was not among the weak ones. It was fairly strong despite not having a host. But in the rare cases where Specters had hosts, these Hosts were called possessed. It was the typical case of an evil spirit possessing a common person who did not know better.

The fact that he was fighting a Possessed was the reason Ren was shocked. Should the possessed not be given help so the evil spirit possessing him could be exorcised?

But before Ren could question it further, the sound of a pair of doors opening on the opposite side of the large hall rang out. The stone wall suddenly morphed, turning into a paid of doors that swung open and allowed a being wreathed in shadows to stumble out.