SCHOOL...
Jojo and Inadu stepped out of the cab and looked up at the old school building.
The evening sun cast long shadows over the cracked walls and iron gates of Santa María Instituto.
It was quiet now—
Eerily quiet.
"____"
Most students had already gone home,
And the empty hallways echoed faintly with the distant creak of pipes and the occasional gust of wind brushing past windows.
"Lead the way,"
Jojo said, his voice steady and low.
Veronica nodded,
Nod~
"____"
Clutching her bag tightly as she pushed open the front doors.
The school smelled of dust, old books, and something else... faintly metallic, like rust—
Or blood.
They walked through the deserted corridors.
Fluorescent lights flickered above, casting long, jittery shadows on the tiled floor.
"This way,"
Veronica murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.
She led them down a narrow staircase at the back of the school—
One students weren't allowed to use.
The concrete steps descended into darkness.
As they reached the bottom, she stopped at a heavy door marked Storage – Restricted.
Jojo looked at her.
"This the place?"
Veronica hesitated, then nodded.
Nod~
"____"
Her hands trembled as she pushed the door open.
The room inside was large, dimly lit by a single flickering bulb.
Stacked chairs, broken desks, old science models—
Everything was covered in dust and cobwebs.
In the center of the room lay the remnants of the ouija ritual: a crudely drawn pentagram in chalk, melted candle stubs.
Inadu entered behind Jojo, her eyes scanning the space with quiet intensity.
"____"
Then she stopped—
Her gaze locked on something near the corner of the room.
A faint shimmer.
A small, dried droplet of blood.
She crouched down, eyes narrowing. Her fingers hovered just above the stain.
"Blood,"
She muttered.
"Fresh when it was spilled. Human. Probably hers,"
She added, glancing back at Veronica.
Veronica flinched.
"I—I didn't notice. I never saw it before..."
Inadu stood up slowly, dusting off her hands.
"It wasn't just a game, Veronica,"
Jojo said, stepping toward the board.
"You guys have messed up the ritual."
Veronica's voice trembled.
"Will you be able to fix it? To stop it… from hurting my siblings?"
Jojo met her eyes—
Serious, unwavering.
"Don't worry... Remember don't mess with supernaturals."
Jojo turned slightly, his boots scraping against the chalk-drawn sigils on the floor.
"Inadu,"
He said, eyes still scanning the shadows clinging to the room's corners.
"What do you think?"
Inadu didn't answer right away.
Her eyes had gone half-lidded, as if she were listening to a whisper that no one else could hear.
Finally, she exhaled—
Sigh~
"____"
Slow and grim.
"They didn't summon the dead,"
She said flatly.
"They summoned something worse. Something that doesn't belong in this world."
Veronica stiffened, her fingers tightening around her sleeve.
"____"
"W-What do you mean… worse?"
Inadu's gaze shifted to her, unreadable and sharp.
She didn't sugarcoat her words.
"You used the wrong symbols. Spoke the wrong time. And then someone—"
She motioned to the bloodstain,
"—bled. That wasn't just an accident. That was a sacrifice."
She took a step forward, now only a breath away from Veronica.
"That drop of blood was your offering,"
She said.
"And it was enough to open a door. You didn't invite a spirit… you invited a demon. One that now thinks you belong to it."
Veronica's face turned pale.
"____"
Her legs weakened beneath her, and she leaned against a desk for support.
"My soul…?"
she whispered.
Inadu nodded.
Nod~
"It's not trying to scare you. It's trying to wear you down—haunt your dreams, isolate you, torment your siblings—until you break. And when you do… it'll either take over your body… or consume your soul."
Jojo finally looked at Veronica, eyes narrowing.
"There's so much sin clinging to you,"
He muttered.
"So much darkness, I almost thought you were the one responsible for all this."
Veronica flinched.
"I-I didn't mean to. I didn't know…"
Jojo walked over slowly, the light above them flickering again as if reacting to his presence.
"I know you didn't,"
He said.
"But intentions don't matter anymore."
He stopped a foot away from her and let the words sink in.
"Whatever you brought here—it thinks you're its door. And it doesn't knock. It breaks in."
Veronica could barely breathe.
"So what do we do…?"
Jojo didn't respond to Veronica's last question.
"____"
His expression had gone still—
Too still.
His eyes, sharp and calculating a moment ago, now carried a heavy weight of memory.
That stench—
It was faint, buried under layers of dust, mildew, and past.
"____"
But it was unmistakable.
Jojo knew it.
'It was him.'
Rex.
The same demon he had hunted years ago.
The same one that was summoned in a blood-drenched chapel outside New Orleans by a cult that was too arrogant to understand what they were inviting into the world.
This demon has given him a quite an headache.
Somehow managed to stay out of his radar or simply left far away from his sense.
He clenched his jaw, his thoughts racing.
'So this is where you've been hiding... you son of a bitch.'
But he said nothing.
Veronica already looked on the verge of collapse—
Sweat clinging to her temples, her breathing shallow.
She didn't need more fear right now.
She needed hope.
So he just offered a calm nod and gestured for them to head out.
Nod~
"____"
"____"
"____"
They moved in silence, their footsteps echoing eerily against the stone as they ascended the stairs from the underground chamber.
The exit came into view, the evening light from the cracked school hallway spilling through—
And then it didn't.
A figure stood at the doorway.
Draped in a tattered habit.
Her face pale as moonlight.
A cloth blindfold, once white, now stained with crimson blotches, was tied tightly over her eyes.
Her lips moved in silent prayer.
And the air dropped five degrees.
Inadu froze mid-step, her hand subtly drifting to her charm pouch. Even she wasn't expecting this.
Veronica gasped softly.
"Who…?"
The nun's head tilted.
"____"
Her voice was barely a whisper, but it slithered through the silence.
"You should not have opened that door, child."
Jojo stepped forward slowly, his body shielding the two girls behind him.
"Inadu,"
He said under his breath.
"You sensing what I'm sensing?"
She nodded once.
Nod~
"She's not alive."
Jojo narrowed his eyes.
"Possessed?"
"No,"
Inadu whispered.
"A puppet."
The blind nun took another step forward.
The lights in the hallway popped—
One by one—
until darkness swallowed everything beyond her silhouette.
Then she raised her hand.
A rosary of bones swung from her fingers—still dripping blood.
Jojo exhaled.
His voice dropped into that dangerous calm that came right before everything exploded.
"Get Veronica out. Now."
Inadu didn't argue.
As she grabbed the trembling girl and pulled her back, the nun's head twitched unnaturally, like a marionette with tangled strings.
Her blindfold shifted slightly.
And underneath it…
no eyes. Just black, oozing sockets—crying blood.
She whispered one word.
"Rex."
Jojo's jaw tightened.
"Oh... Its seems someone know me...,"
Kekeke~
He muttered, stepping forward, cracking his knuckles.
Crack~
"Intersting."
Just as Jojo took a step forward—
His body already starting to pulse with the rage of his transformation—
A frail voice called out behind him.
"Stand down, child."
Jojo froze.
Out of the shadows emerged another figure—
A nun, but not like the puppet.
This one was old, her steps slow but certain, her face a mosaic of age and peace.
Her white, clouded eyes showed complete blindness, yet they held a depth that cut through the darkness.
She wore no blindfold.
Only a silver cross, weathered with time, clutched tightly in her wrinkled hands.
The blind nun walked past Jojo without hesitation, as if she could see everything without needing sight.
Her rosary beads rattled like chains of fate, and her lips began to move, murmuring low, sharp verses in Latin.
The puppet nun snarled, twitching unnaturally at the words.
Her body spasmed.
Something within her hissed.
The old nun didn't flinch.
She pulled a small glass vial from her pocket, the liquid inside glistening silver-blue under the flickering emergency light.
Still reciting the verse, she uncorked the vial with one hand and began walking toward the corrupted thing that once might have been a real woman.
"Et liberabit te Dominus ab insidiis daemonum..."
With her voice rising in conviction, she splashed the holy water straight onto the puppet nun's chest.
The effect was instantaneous.
Smoke burst from the puppet nun's mouth as she let out a blood-curdling scream that didn't belong to any living thing.
AHHHHHHHHH!!!
Her back arched, her fingers clawing at the walls, at herself—
Until her head twisted sharply toward Jojo and the others.
The thing inside her growled,
Growl~
"This vessel is weak."
Then—
BOOM.
With a violent rupture,
The puppet nun's body detonated like a bag of blood and bone.
A sickening splatter of organs, red mist, and shredded cloth blasted across the hallway walls.
Veronica screamed and turned away.
Jojo immediately stood in front of her and Inadu, shielding them from the worst of the gore.
The silence that followed was heavy.
All that remained of the puppet nun was a bloodied cross, now half-melted, lying in the puddle of red.
The old nun, unfazed, crossed herself slowly.
Then she turned to Jojo.
The old nun turned her clouded eyes toward Jojo.
"____"
For a moment, her gaze seemed to pierce through flesh and soul.
Then she asked, her voice calm yet firm,
"What are you, exactly?"
Jojo chuckled—
Low and dry.
Chuckle~
"Ah,"
He shrugged with a smirk,
Smirk~
"just your average guy with a hell of a temper."
He tapped his chest once.
"Someone who punishes sinners when no one else will."
The nun raised a brow—
Not out of surprise, but as if she'd already guessed.
"____"
Her attention drifted.
First to Veronica, still shaken but silent.
Then to Inadu, arms crossed, unbothered, her eyes sharp.
Finally, her gaze settled back on Jojo.
Without a word,
She reached into her robes and pulled out a small crumpled pack of cigarettes.
She popped one into her mouth, lit it with a flick of an old match, and took a long, slow drag.
"____"
The ember flared bright in the dim corridor.
After a few puffs, she spoke through the smoke.
"You'll need someone who knows how to deal with Demon… and its kind."
Jojo blinked.
"You know Rex?"
The old nun exhaled, smoke curling from her nostrils.
"I know his footprints. I've watched what a demon does to girls like her,"
she nodded at Veronica.
Nod~
"So no offense, sinner hunter... but I'm coming with you."
Before Jojo could respond—
Agree, argue, or ask—
She was already walking away, her worn boots squelching in the blood-slick floor as if it were rainwater.
"____"
"____"
"____"
Jojo looked at Inadu, who gave a shrug.
"Looks like we've got a nun now,"
She muttered.
Veronica remained still, her mind spinning.
Jojo sighed and ran a hand down his face.
Sigh~
"Alright then,"
He muttered to himself, starting after the old woman,
"Team's getting weirder by the day."
As they stepped out of the blood-soaked underground chamber,
After Inadu casted a spell which cleaned the place.
Which left Veronica stunned and her mouth hung wide open.
"____"
Silence hung between them—
Heavy and lingering.
Veronica led the way through the quiet school halls, her steps hurried now.
The sun had dipped lower, casting golden-orange streaks across the old building's stone walls.
They reached the street, where the world still moved on, unaware of what had just transpired beneath their feet.
A short walk later,
They entered a small, cozy café tucked at the corner of a quiet lane.
The bell above the door jingled as they walked in.
Veronica's eyes instantly locked on a booth near the window.
Three pairs of eyes turned at once—
Her two younger sisters and her little brother.
Their faces lit up the moment they saw her.
"Vero!"
The youngest girl cried, scrambling out of the booth.
"Sister!"
Her brother shouted, voice cracking with emotion.
All three of them rushed to her, throwing their arms around her waist.
She staggered slightly under their embrace,
But she smiled—
Tight-lipped and glassy-eyed.
"I'm here,"
She whispered.
"I'm sorry I took so long."
The middle sister looked up at her, voice trembling.
"W-We waited like you said. But it was getting dark, and we got scared..."
Veronica hugged them tighter.
"You did good. You all did really, really good."
Jojo stood a few steps away, arms crossed, observing the reunion quietly.
Inadu, hands in her pockets, simply muttered,
"Family... always the softest spot."
The old nun walked past them, heading toward the café counter as if she owned the place, mumbling,
"Hope they serve black coffee and don't charge extra for holy water."
Veronica wiped her eyes and turned to the group.
"These are my siblings. I didn't want to leave them at home… not after what happened."
Jojo gave her a small nod.
Nod~
"You did the right thing."
Veronica looked between them.
"What now?"
Jojo looked out the window, into the setting sun.
"Now?"
He said, voice steady.
"Let that idiot come out.."
After paying the café bill and gathering Veronica's siblings,
The group made their way down a narrow street, the sun dipping just below the rooftops.
The children clung close to Veronica, still shaken but comforted by her presence.
Her home was just a few crossroads away—
A modest two-story building with cracked walls and a small balcony.
The gate creaked as they pushed it open.
Something felt off.
The main door was already ajar, and the hallway light was on.
Veronica stiffened.
"That's… not right. I always lock it."
Inadu narrowed her eyes, and the old nun simply lit another cigarette like this was her evening walk.
They stepped inside.
"¡¿DÓNDE DIABLOS HAS ESTADO?!"
The sharp voice of Veronica's mother cut through the air like a blade.
She stormed into the hallway, face red with worry—and anger.
She looked like she had just arrived not long ago, her travel bag still sitting by the couch.
"I came home early and you were all GONE!"
She shouted in Spanish, before noticing the strangers standing behind her daughter.
Her words caught in her throat.
"____"
"____"
"____"
Eyes darted to Jojo, then Inadu, then the old nun puffing smoke like a chimney in her living room.
Veronica stepped forward quickly, raising her hands.
"Mamá—mamá, por favor. These people are helping me. There's something happening… something I can't explain. But they know about it. They saved us."
Her mother looked bewildered, mouth slightly open, still processing what she was seeing.
"Helping you with what?"
She asked cautiously, her voice lower now, but sharp.
Veronica hesitated.
"It's… something bad. The thing that's been happening at school. The nightmares. The voices. The… the board. We didn't mean to, but we summoned something. And now it's after me."
Her mother stared at her daughter, confusion turning to fear.
After hearing her explaination.
"You're talking nonsense, niña…"
The old nun stepped forward, looking her dead in the eyes.
"She's not. Your daughter was marked by a demon. And if these two hadn't intervened, she'd already be in the ground."
Jojo added calmly,
"We're not here to scare you, señora. We're here to protect your family. But we need to stay tonight. This house might be next."
Veronica's mother looked between them all again—
Then at her children, who were huddled close and clearly terrified.
Her voice cracked.
"Okay… You can stay. Just… just tell me what to do."
Jojo nodded.
Nod~
"Lock all doors and windows. No one steps out after dark. No prayers, no mirrors, and if you hear knocking tonight—don't answer."
**********************************************************************************************************************************************************
(Author's POV)
(A/N):
Thanks for reading the chapter!
Please give a review and power stone!!!