[Arthur's POV]
I stood at the edge of a rooftop with a pair of binoculars, holding them close to my eyes as I watched the nearby church empty at night, the gigantic clock striking 10 PM. The last service of the day was done.
"Arthur, keep an eye out for anything. The 'priest' has been taking bribes to allow counterfeit drugs to be sold under the church's roof. So it's defiled now, free game for everyone."
The elderly man beside me grunted. He was wearing the same uniform as I, a brown top hat, black coat, leather shoes, and a revolver on his hip.
But, wow, this surprised me. Even priests can't escape the good old curse of greed, huh? Well, I hope something happens quickly so we can just fix it up and go back home. The prefect might stumble into the dormitory any moment now and find me missing from my bed.
A few moments passed in silence with no activity occurring, but just then I noticed something: the lock of the church door had begun to open on its own.
"That's our cue, Sir John."
John nodded, slowly standing up, the old man's bones creaking as he casually jumped off the roof, landing on the ground with a quiet thud, gesturing me to do the same.
'Sorry, good sir, not in this lifetime. The man who invented stairs would be rather mad at me, and of course, I'm a mortal child... Not whatever you are.'
I descended the very dimly lit stairs at a turtle's pace. I was dreading this already. This was my first case, and I was partnered up with a veteran of Supernatural Investigation, and it was suspected to be an Imp.
I'VE BARELY EVEN READ A VERSE OF THE BIBLE. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO DEAL WITH AN ACTUAL LOW DEMON?!
As I finally reached Sir John, the man had a lighted cigarette in his hands as he took in the sight of the open door of the church, which had the sound of mocking hymns inside. There it was. Our target.
"Alright, Arthur. You said you had a resistance to Blasphemous Incantations by Demonic Beings. Go ahead and scout the situation."
Sir John took a puff out of his cigarette, looking very nonchalant. The opposite of me. I had bluffed my way into the GID. God forgive me for lying on the entrance exam.
Not only was the GID the frontier of both investigation and deterrence of Supernatural beings... They were gullible enough to have believed me.
"Very well, Sir John. I shall go ahead and do so."
Slowly, I managed to get my feet to approach the church, the sounds only getting louder, the best way to describe them would be distorted hymns in satanic voices that echoed through my soul to test my will itself.
As soon as I took the first step inside the church, crossing the threshold, I felt as if my chest had caved in, the air getting pushed out of me, my heart refusing to beat properly.
There were crude, demonic symbols etched into the walls to try and mock the sanctuary's sanctity, and half-dried filth all over the floors and benches; the sound of unholy music and blasphemous words was overwhelming my senses.
'I have to push through; this is nothing.'
I took one final deep breath, taking a few more steps forward, trying not to fall or go unconscious. I could hear Sir John's footsteps approaching as well, so I wasn't alone in this mission.
Suddenly, I was pushed forward, almost slipping into the filth, but I managed to catch myself by holding onto something, but... Why did it feel like a human?
My eyes flickered up to see that I had held onto a woman's shoulder, as she immediately slapped and kicked me away. Was this an actual woman or the Imp playing tricks on me?
I managed to catch myself and prevent myself from falling on the filthy floor as the woman yelled and shouted at me, her face twisted up in a snarl.
"How dare you touch a woman like me, you filthy boy!"
Should I explain myself? Should I fight back? What if this was an actual victim of the Imp it brought here? I couldn't decide, so I froze, not knowing what to do.
Suddenly, the sound of a revolver going off escaped, Sir John having shot at the woman with the GID's silver, holy bullets. And the 'woman'? It sprawled away into the shadows, shrieking and yelling.
"Thank you. Sir. That was the Imp, I suppose."
Sir John simply nodded. He was somewhat impressed that I had managed to make it this far, but that was my luck; I didn't have any resistance to Blasphemy like I had stated.
"It's fine, Arthur, but this little trickster isn't completely animalistic; it's more like a child."
I straightened myself up, my hand on the revolver as I tried to remember anything that could be used against the Imp, but just then, the music and hymns stopped completely.
"Oi, listen here, humans! I'm trying to make a living here, and you're angering me!"
I furrowed my brows. The voice came from all directions, echoed like we were in a valley, and it was twisted as well, like someone had a bad sore throat and was speaking through molten lava.
"There are jobs in Hell as well, demon? I suspect you're a prostitute if that's the case."
Sir John replied with a completely even, calm tone while I was trying my best to contain my fear. That was the basics of the GID, calm even if you're against a trickster.
"You absolute shoe-full of cow dung! I'll pluck your eyes out and make your wife and children juggle them while I make your soul renounce holiness!"
There. I managed to figure out where the voice was, pointing my revolver straight at the glass pane where a picture of the distorted Saint was, and I shot at it.
"Good thing Sir John is celibate."
The glass plane broke as something shadowy and small jumped out, chuckling, almost like it was superior to us, hiding its face within its red cloak, singed at the edges.
"Amazing. I was warned about the humans who hunted rogue beings like me, but I didn't expect them to enlist someone so yo-"
I cut it off instantly with another gunshot, this time straight at the heart. I forgot Imps can see through humans, and it was a breath away from ruining me on the first case.
The bullet tore through the flesh of the Imp, causing it to shriek in pain as it revealed its half-human, half-demonic face. It was preparing another trick, which is why it was stalling. Wait a moment, was that the right side of my face?
"Good instinct, Arthur, that Imp was trying to mimic your face and do some tomfoolery."
I looked at the Imp on the ground, shrieking and flailing around in pain as it held onto the wound I gave it. This was the first time it had experienced pain like this.
"You divine cheaters! How dare you use blessed bullets?! I'm reporting you for fair-play!"
Sir John sighed deeply, walking towards the imp as he took out a small, golden, engraved bottle holding a red liquid and opened the cork.
"Goodbye. I'll be waiting for the threat you gave me to be fulfilled."
Before the Imp could reply, the investigator splashed some of the liquid onto the demon as it lit up in roaring white flames, turning to ash within a few moments.
"Did you just... Kill the Demon, Sir?"
I asked, my voice filled with a bit of awe and fear, but John simply shook his head, turning around to walk out of the church as I followed.
"Demons... Can't be killed, the white flames you saw were Hell itself dragging the Imp back to its depths. This liquid is what we call 'Blood of Saints', it's holy red wine brought in from years of getting blessed by generations of different priests. The GID will give you a bottle when you rise in the ranks. It can send weakened demons to Hell."
May the GID Saints have mercy on my soul, for I think my heart will collapse from excitement.
I wanted-no. Required that 'Blood of Saints' be immediately handed over to me. I couldn't wait, I could just hear and see the White Flames that roared so loudly like a lion reclaiming its possession.
"Very well. Goodbye for now, Sir, the Purification crew shall deal with the defecation and defiling of the church, I assume?"
Sir John nodded as he walked away. That man wasn't much of a chatterer, but. That was a good thing, fewer chances of me slipping up because I'm the polar opposite of him.
I took in a deep breath of the fresh air outside. I felt like the darkness was getting washed away from me, but just on the tip of the horizon, the disc of the sun was rising. I was late, and I needed to get back to Ever-rising Boarding School immediately. The prefect would be checking the dormitories.
I took off my top hat and coat, running towards the boarding school as fast as my legs could carry me, hiding my revolver inside my school jacket, which I had rolled up inside my trousers' pockets.
But, my mind wasn't on the fact that the prefect's wrath would be unleashed upon me if I was found missing; instead, I was more focused on the fact that I was now swimming in the crimson waters that was the GID's Casebooks.
But God help me, I wanted to swim in deeper and drag the others out so I could be the sole man in the dark depths.