Tao Tie began to walk towards Vince and Hannah, the sound of his hooves stomping on the floor reverberated in the air.

“Um… Hannah? Did he just say he wants to get rid of us?” Vince nudged Hannah, who was still trying to regain her composure.

“Mai… did she lose control?” Hannah asked, her eyes showing concern.

“Well, that definitely doesn’t seem like Mai… Either way… we need to get out… There’s no way we can survive a Fiend.” Vince said as he began making his way to the exit.

Vince began knocking the door they took to enter. “Hey! Umm… Khan sir? Mind helping us out?”

No reply.

“Are these people serious?” Vince asked, turning his back on the door.

“They’re not interfering? Even after all that?” Hannah was puzzled.

What on Earth was their objective here? Hannah thought as she analysed the situation.

And then she realised it.

“Those pieces of shit…” Hannah spat.

“Huh?” Vince questioned.

“This test has two parts… The first was to test us…The second part was to test her.” Hannah nodded over to Tao Tie.

“Fuck.” Vince muttered as he watched the figure of the beast in front of them get larger as he approached.

…

Daiyu watched intensely, her hand on her chin, as Tao Tie slowly made his way across the white room.

“What…What did you mean by what you said? The test has just begun?” Mark asked.

Daiyu glanced at Mark and smirked. Her devilish smile emphasised by her red lipstick.

“You see… Mai is a vessel for Tao Tie. The Legendary Fiend of Greed….”

Mark cocked his head.

Daiyu paused for a moment, thinking of how to phrase her explanation.

“Okay… let’s take you as an example. You probably don’t know this fully yet, but you’ve formed a contract with a spirit. Do you know what that entails?”

Mark could vaguely recall the moment he made a contract with Ruby.

“I wanted to help her… to help Ruby leave this world properly…” Mark spoke, more pieces of information surfacing as he tried harder to recall.

“Yes, your contract was formed on the basis of helping Ruby untangle the threads connecting her to this world. In exchange, you’re able to now borrow Ruby’s spiritual abilities. But in the first place, not everyone can form a contract with any random spirit. As I’ve mentioned, only certain people possess the ability to interact with spirits. The conditions are even stricter for those that want to form contracts with spirits. Someone who can see and interact with spirits may not be able to successfully form a contract with them. When a contract formation fails, two things can happen. Either nothing happens, or a rebound occurs. Rebounds can exist in various forms, but the most common would be Possession.” Daiyu explains, her hand still nonchalantly on her chin.

“Possession? Like a ghost taking control of a human?” Mark asked.

“Exactly. When you form a contract, both parties have to agree with the terms and once the terms are settled, nothing can break it. However, if during the formation of the contract, if the human’s soul wavers or if he or she doesn’t have the spiritual aptitude, then the spirit can completely dictate the terms and force them upon the human. The result of such a failed contract is Total Possession, where the human’s soul is controlled by the spirit.” Daiyu says as she eyed Mark.

“So… what does this have to do with the test…and Mai?”

“Well, like you, Mai formed a contract. But unlike you, she didn’t do it with any spirit. She formed a contract with a Deity, Tao Tie, the Fiend of Greed. The spiritual level is completely different. When Deities offer contracts, they tend to do so with multiple people. Simply because it’s just too difficult for a single human to contain that much spiritual energy, the chances of rebound is much higher. However, Mai managed to do so. For whatever reason, Mai managed to contain the Fiend of Greed. Usually, evidence of a physical mark, such as Mai’s silver hair is evidence that the binding was successful. However, there can still be a rebound or cases where powerful Deities manage to consume and take over their host even after a binding. This test is to confirm once and for all whether Mai is capable of standing her ground in the contract.” Daiyu spoke, her smile growing wider.

“And if she’s not in control? If it turns out Tao Tie has the final say…. What happens?” Mark asked, but he already knew.

“I’m sure you’ve heard me say it. We’d have to exorcise her. And well, we might just lose two very talented future exorcists…” Daiyu said, turning back to the screen, where Vince and Hannah were now taking fighting stances.

…

“Mai! Um… We get it! You win! You’ve got a really sweet contract man! Super impressive!” Vince yelled, trying his best to see if Mai was still there somewhere. He got his two karambit knives out ready, in case he had to fight, something which he did not want to do in this case.

“Should… should I bind him down?” Hannah asked, not wanting to directly confront Tao Tie, but her pen was already out.

“No, not yet… for some reason… Tao Tie isn’t moving forward anymore?”

Tao Tie was standing there staring at the two young exorcists.

“What a shame… A true shame…” Tao Tie’s voice echoed. His high pitched tone was still jarring to everyone in the room.

“It would seem like my…time… is… up….” Tao Tie’s voice started to fade away as his body started to fade as well. Revealing Mai, shirt ruffled and hair messed up but otherwise untouched. Mai’s silver hair flowed in the air as she stood there, dazed.

“Umm wha…?” Mai’s knees felt weak and she soon buckled under her weight, kneeling down on the floor.

“Geez, I need a long nap…” Mai mumbled as she rubbed her eyes.

Vince and Hannah stood there, their tired, serious faces started to break into relieved smiles.

“Mai!! I’ve never been so glad to see someone that I’ve only met recently!” Vince smiled and hollered as he ran towards Mai.

However, he slammed face first into an invisible wall.

“Yowch! A barrier?” Vince massaged his face, slightly disoriented.

“Of course… You didn’t think we’d let you kids just hang around a Fiend right? You guys are nowhere near that level yet.” Khan spoke as he emerged from the door behind them.

“You're welcome by the way…” Another voice emerged, it belonged to a bald-headed man wearing a maroon button up shirt and shades. The man snapped his fingers, removing the barrier.

“This is Rohan. He’s our barrier expert. The reason why no one could see or sense the barrier in the room keeping you safe was thanks to him. We had to do that so we could properly test Mai.” Khan explained as he walked over to Mai. Vince went over as well, helping her to her feet.

“You good there? We got you. That was an insane display of spiritual energy…” Vince complimented Mai as he and Khan supported her and carefully walked her out of the room. Mai was still in a daze and was already half asleep and so was unable to respond to Vince's comment.

“Hey… don’t know if this is the right time to ask this… but did we pass?” Vince asked.

“Well, to be honest, we weren’t planning on rejecting anyone. We just wanted to see your abilities…” Khan laughed, giving a sheepish smile.

“Sweeet…” Vince casually replied.

Hannah watched as Vince and Khan supported Mai out of the room. She couldn't help but feel a vague sense of excitement and yearning.

So these are the people I’ll be learning from… Space users, barrier users, and even freaks like them who managed to contract demons and Fiends?

Hannah smiled as she thought about the potential of her newfound comrades. Her desire to grow stronger burned brighter than ever.

…

Daiyu stood up and smiled.

“Does that mean…” Mark started to ask but was cut off immediately.

“YES! Yes it does! We have a vessel! Mai actually managed to contract a Fiend!” Daiyu was grinning from ear to ear, she did a few fist bumps in the air before returning to her usual composed self.

“Now… it’s time for your test… hopefully you understand how to exorcise a spirit now… based on that wonderful display.” Daiyu returned her attention to Mark.

“Umm, I don’t really know how to do all this…” Mark confessed.

“Well, I'm sure Ozai will be able to help you out… “ Daiyu looked at the blindfolded boy next to Mark.

“Anyways.. Let’s take a small walk shall we?” Daiyu walked to the exit and opened the door, she picked up her hand bag from a rack nearby and pulled out a pair of stylish shades, putting them on.

…

Daiyu led Mark and Ozai out of the building, and into a black sedan car. The sun was coming out, the rays of the rising sun were almost blinding.

Mark stared at Ozai, the blindfolded and bandana-wearing individual and wondered how he was able to see. It didn't seem like he had any difficulty walking.

An elderly man helmed the driver’s seat while Daiyu strolled into the front seat. “Get in boys..”

Mark and Ozai hopped into the vehicle, Mark was still on guard about the whole thing. Mark turned to Ozai, and he wanted to believe Ozai was nervous too, but it was hard to tell.

Ozai turned to Mark, as if he sensed that Mark was staring at him. Ozai closed his fist to a ball and thumped his chest twice before pointing to Mark.

For some reason, Mark’s nervousness increased.

“We’re on our way to an exorcism sight. The truth is, we don’t really keep that many spirits around that can be so easily released just for training purposes. The only reason to keep a spirit and store or seal it away is because no one can exorcise it or doing so would just result in worse consequences. Anyways… we found a little area that would be perfect to test you guys.” Daiyu says as she hands Mark a folder.

Inside the folder contained various pictures. These pictures were of different people, mostly highschoolers and young adults. They were all posing at the same location, in front of a large tree.

“Hey… Isn’t this the place people go to to confess?” Mark recognised the tree in the background. It was a popular place for highschoolers to confess to each other. It was also one of the oldest and largest trees in the neighbourhood, the shade covering a significant area.

“You’re correct. We’ve been receiving reports of a spirit lurking in that area. The people in these photos have reported a strange figure appearing in their photos or a heavy sensation on their shoulders as they stood there.“ Daiyu said, her eyes gazing out of the car window, admiring the orange glow of the sun behind her shades.

Mark focused on the images looking for something, and sure enough, he began to notice a figure sitting on the shoulders of some of the people in the photos.

“You should have been able to notice by now… As your eyes adjust to the spiritual residue left in the photos. That figure you see, that’s the spirit you’ll be exorcising today.”

“And how am I supposed to do that?” Mark asked, getting increasingly nervous as he noticed they were approaching the destination.

“Weren’t you listening earlier? Either you destroy the spirit’s body, or you resolve the causes for manifestation. This spirit was likely born out of the various strong emotions that arise out of failed confessions. Imagine all the heartbreak and rejections that have occurred under that tree. These negative emotions created that manifestation. Now, it would be rather hard to go to everyone who’s been rejected or heartbroken and ask them to resolve their feelings. So…that leaves you with only one option left…”

The car came to a stop before Daiyu could complete her sentence. They had arrived.

Mark and Ozai got out of the car, while Daiyu remained inside. She pulled up her shades and rolled down the windows.

“This is a relatively easy case. I trust both of you will be able to resolve this. I’ll go around the vicinity to set up the barrier to minimise damage and turn away anyone who tries to enter. But don’t worry, I’ll still be watching.” Daiyu winked and put her shades back on.

“One more thing… Mark, I can’t tell you exactly how to activate your ability because everyone has a different way to go about it. But a tip is to remember the basis of how spirits interact with humans. Strong emotions, thoughts, needs and wants, these are things that ‘feed’ your spirit. Of course, there are ‘triggers’ as well. Certain actions or words can bring out your spirit abilities due to the emotions or meanings attached to those actions. Just remember why you entered into the contract in the first place.” With that, Daiyu rolled the window screen up and gave a nod to the elderly man next to her. The car drove away, leaving Mark and Ozai alone.

They were left standing in a park where the tree was located. There was a wide field before them, a single tree in the centre. The tree’s branches and roots were twisted and contorted. Some of its roots jutted out of the ground, curving and traversing the land, like a hand reaching out, leaving a snake-like pattern on the grass. The tree branches were thick and curvy, it almost seemed like the tree was posing in a way.

“So… Ozai… before we do anything… how do I, you know… draw out Ruby… or use her abilities…I know Daiyu told me all that but I honestly don’t really understand…” Mark turned to Ozai, expecting an answer. Ozai pointed to his mouth area, and made an ‘x’ sign with his fingers.

“Oh… you can’t speak? My bad… hmm that makes a lot of sense now… I’m guessing you can’t see too?” Mark pointed out, though he wasn’t sure if Ozai was blind and wanted to hide it or if he couldn’t see because he had a blindfold. Mark realised that the end result was the same either way and didn’t press further.

Ozai pointed to the folder in Mark’s hand.

“The photos? Hmmm… you think the spirit would react to those?” Mark asked.

Ozai nodded and gestured for Mark to follow him. They walked closer to the tree, almost reaching its thick sturdy trunk.

Ozai grabbed some of the photos from Mark and took them out, showing them off to thin air.

Mark stared at him for a few seconds, something about a blindfolded guy doing that seemed off to him but he relented and began doing the same.

Mark suddenly felt a strange aura.

“Was that the spirit? Ozai, you feel that?” Mark asked, startled by what he felt.

Ozai shook his head and gestured to the sky and area around them.

Mark noticed a faint tint in the sky and the area around them. The sky was a darker shade of orange.

Hmmm… the barrier? Seems like it.

Mark was slightly relieved but Ozai became more alert. Ozai tapped Mark on the shoulder and gestured for him to stay still.

“What… you can sense the spirit? Is he near?” Mark asked, but Ozai simply put his finger on his bandana, telling Mark to keep quiet.

Ozai took the folder and tossed it in the air, scattering the photos of couples all over the field, beneath the shade of the old tree.

“WiLL YOu mARRY Me???” A distorted voice echoed through the air.

“All these PHOTOS… so HappY… WhY CoulnD’t I BE HaPPY?!”

The voice soared through the air.

Ozai pointed upwards, towards the sky.

Mark focused his eyes and saw it. A bird-like creature flying above them. The creature landed in front of Ozai and Mark and spread its wings. Its wings were pitch black and the feathers looked more like sharp blades. It looked like a crow, except it had no eyes in its eye sockets and in place of what would be a beak, was a large mouth with sharp teeth.

The crow was grinning, yet tears were flowing down from its eye sockets.

“WHYYY? WHy Won’T yOu AcCePt ME??!” The crow screeched as it flapped its wings once more, the wind generated nearly throwing Mark off the ground.

Oh shit, oh shit…

Mark was panicking inside his head, he was sweating, his legs froze and rooted him to the ground. This was the feeling he felt that night as well. The feeling of absolute fear.

Ozai on the other hand was unaffected by the appearance of the crow. He held out his hand, gesturing for Mark to stay in his place. He once again closed his hand into a fist and bumped his chest twice before pointing to Mark.

I got you.

Mark could almost hear Ozai say that.

Ozai turned to the spirit, which was still flapping his wings, generating wind.

Ozai pulled his bandana down, revealing a terribly scarred mouth. In fact, scarred was an understatement. It looked as if his mouth was burnt and cut in multiple areas, leaving marks and scars that did not heal properly. Ozai clapped his hands together, and formed a sign with it. His index fingers were placed next to each other, each bending in opposite directions, like feelers. The remaining fingers were bent downwards, like in a claw shape or perhaps like the legs of an insect.

Mark could see the spiritual energy gathering near Ozai and braced himself.

Ozai opened his mouth and mouthed the following words: [Come, Giant Centipede, Omukade!]