Rebirth From Ordinary Person To The Strongest Chapter 17: Exorcism

As I dealt with the strange mix of emotions, guilt and betrayal, of entering soone else's house with my shoes on, my father stopped.

"Itsuki, co closer," he said.

As soon as I approached, a Silveit strand extended from his body, forming a sphere.

"What is this?" I asked.

"It's a barrier. If a demon tries to enter, it will automatically attack them," he explained.

"Wow," I said, astonished at how versatile magic could be.

Watching my father use magic was like a practical lesson in itself. His use of form transformations, unlike the elental transformations I had learned, was fascinating. Determined not to waste this opportunity, I focused on morizing his every move.

Inside the barrier, we moved down the hallway, marked with blackened spots. The house's interior was a typical Japanese ho, but under the dim lighting, the white walls gave off an eerie glow.

Entering the living room, my father stopped again.

"Papa, what's wrong?" I asked.

"Itsuki, take a deep breath," he instructed.

Following his lead, I took three deep breaths, and a tallic scent hit my nose.

What is this sll?

"Brace yourself before going in," he said.

"Okay," I replied, stepping into the living room.

My eyes were t with a wall of red. The TV, sofa, carpet, and wallpaper were all stained a dark, almost black, red. At the center lay a barely recognizable mass of flesh.

"What is this...?" I managed to say, my voice trembling.

I didn't cry, likely because the shock was too great. The scene before was too surreal to fully process.

"A Second Rank demon did this. They kill humans in the most brutal ways to consu their magic," my father explained.

"That's horrible..."

While I stood there in shock, my father clasped his hands together in prayer. I mimicked his gesture.

The surreal sensation clung to , making everything feel dreamlike. It was hard to believe this was reality.

"Our job today is to find and exorcise the demon responsible for this. It should still be in the house," my father said.

"Can you tell?" I asked.

"The police officer who called is an exorcist as well. Although he's only a First Rank and can't exorcise demons, he can set up barriers to trap them."

"I see..."

Following my father, we checked the kitchen and other rooms on the first floor but found nothing. The only place left was the second floor.

We exchanged a glance and started up the stairs. As we did, I heard a creak and saw Silveit strands extending from the second floor at the sa ti.

"Papa!" I shouted, instinctively forming a wall with my Silveit to block the attack. It was my first ti using a form transformation, but I managed to create a solid barrier.

With a loud crash, the impact reverberated through the house.

"It's up there!" I yelled.

My father dashed up the stairs, and I followed close behind.

A monster that uses magic... I thought, shaken. I had never encountered such a thing before. This world was far more dangerous than I had imagined. I needed to beco much stronger.

Reaching the second floor, we saw a gray figure in a trench coat standing in the hallway. It wasn't human; it was a monster.

'So, you've arrived...' it sneered, its voice tinged with panic. Realizing it couldn't win against an exorcist, it stepped back and noticed behind my father, grinning wickedly.

'A child, huh? Perfect target!' it said, extending its arm to attack with Silveit strands.

But before it could move, my father struck it with a powerful punch, sending it flying.

"How dare you try to harm my son," he said coldly, his Silveit strands enhancing his strength.

Two punches were all it took to incapacitate the monster. My father's strength was overwhelming.

"I'll kill you for threatening my child," he said, finishing off the monster with another strike, turning it into a heap of broken flesh.

"Find the remaining victims, and our job is done," my father said.

"Okay," I replied, following him. The family that lived here had three mbers, and one was already dead. We needed to find the other two.

We searched room by room, and in the bedroom, we found a woman lying in a pool of blood. She was dead.

"Are you okay, Itsuki?" my father asked.

"I'm fine," I replied, feeling surprisingly calm. Perhaps because I had already experienced death myself, the sight of another's death didn't affect as much.

As my father turned to leave, I saw Silveit strands extending from a closet. Reacting quickly, I created a barrier to block the attack and forced the closet open. Inside, another trench-coated monster held a young girl in its arms.

'Stay back, or I'll kill her!' the monster threatened.

"Too late," I said, using my wind attribute magic combined with a blade form transformation to decapitate the monster in an instant.

The girl fell to the floor, freed from the monster's grasp.

"Are you okay?" I asked, rushing to her side.

This was how I t Hina, the girl who would later beco my sister.