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He didn’t usually abstain on divine judgment.
He had to be quick in his work after all. The quicker he purified the demons meant the sooner he could pray to God to grant Nadia a miracle and keep her alive once again.
Tonight was a little different.
This house had a second-story window with a perfect view of the street where he could watch people pass by without attracting attention. He waited a long time in that room, watching out of the corner until he caught sight of golden hair and pulled himself away, back against the wall.
“Haah..” he exhaled, steadying his breathing, paying no attention to the cries and weeping from the demon strapped to the chair that had been with him this whole time.
He’d sent Ceres on that errand to give Mathis his homework, that part had been genuine. He didn’t want to see the poor boy wither away in his room. But the task also had a second reason, which was giving Ceres a predictable route she would come back from while he was here.
He still didn’t feel quite ready. He felt lightheaded, his heart beat rapidly in his chest with a giddy nervousness to his hands that now clasped the cold heavy halberd. It was unbefitting of an executioner.
…He was doing this because he needed to throw suspicion off him again, he reminded himself.
It took only one swing. The shriek of terror abruptly cut off as the window splattered with blood, staining it with a screen of red, and he unceremoniously kicked the top half of the remains through the window to crash down below. Dropping the halberd he leapt outside and landed on his feet with the grace of a cat.
He couldn’t see in his peripheral with his hood up, but he heard the sweet gasp of his angel. She was surely alarmed by his sudden appearance, but his angel didn’t have to worry about him hurting her. What would his angel think, knowing the same man exorcising demons was also her teacher? The same man that had been grading papers with her the night before? He had to hide his smile and slid a lock of hair back from under his hood, his nervous habit betraying him.
“Bourreau…?!”
Lucas’s thoughts screeched to a halt. He didn’t expect a second voice. Frowning he turned to fully stare at them from under the darkness of his hood. He hadn’t anticipated Mathis following her back. The shy boy was cowering just a few steps from Ceres. He always seemed to find a way to squirm into situations when Bourreau was involved.
Lucas pouted, feeling some of his anticipation fizzle out.
…No matter. He was here to fulfill the purification ritual first.
Lucas pushed his gloved hand into the body cavity with sickening ease, the flesh parting more like dense liquid than solid matter, and pulled the heart out in one smooth movement that only came from experience. He’d long stopped caring when blood splattered his clothes and hardly noticed it drench the others. Why would it matter, when relievers weren’t truly people to begin with? It wasn’t human blood.
His own heart filled with glee as he put the organ away and thrust the dagger in the empty hole. Lucas clasped his hands together in prayer at his offering up to the heavens, praying to God Nadia would continue to survive, as his devotion granted her a miracle. Another demon purified meant another morning for her to wake up to. Another day they could be together until his death.
The smile on his face grew unusually wide tonight feeling his heart flutter knowing his angel was watching him complete the ritual for the first time. Even as she screamed in terror, all he could feel was elation.
He wanted her to witness him. It was a selfish desire. He never wanted Ceres to fully know the truth, but he’d found the temptation harder and harder to resist to give her a glimpse behind the curtain. A small part of him that she wouldn’t otherwise know. That he had more sides than just her teacher. He wanted her to know Bourreau wouldn’t hurt his angel. Never her.
He wanted to convey that, but Mathis’s pale terrified eyes halted him. Having a second witness made things more difficult with how far he could risk exposing himself, and he hesitated. If Mathis found out who he was, he wouldn’t let him get away and Lucas could only see it ending with them fighting. Mathis wasn’t a reliever after all, and he didn’t want to end up harming a human.
Caution won out and he paused too long, by the time he took a step forward his angel had already got her wits about her and grabbed Mathis by the arm as she led them down an alley.
Lucas stood there, his feelings sinking down in disappointment as he put a hand to his neck. He shouldn’t be, not really, when things had gone as expected.
Capucine had agreed to set up a double to throw off suspicion of him again. He felt it would be necessary, since the killings would naturally be where he and Ceres were traveling at the time. Lucas frowned deeper, Capucine wouldn’t be gracious enough to set this up a third time. His chance was gone, and any wish he might have secretly harbored vanished with it.
Why did it disappoint him so much, that Ceres should only know the image of her teacher?
He had no time to puzzle it over, he had a second part to do.
Changing his appearance quickly was a skill he’d mastered to keep his identity secret, but he was still lucky to make it in time to save them. Ceres and Mathis were frozen in the alleyway as ‘Bourreau’ blocked their way.
The fake Bourreau was doing a good job of mimicking him, but he could tell the halberd was deliberately slow to strike. Lucas reassured himself the fake was just scaring them, but the fear this person may just injure his angel sent a flash of fear through him. With his earlier chance failing it made him more determined to fulfill his role to protect her as her teacher now.
Rushing past the other two he struck out to push the attacker back. Lucas kicked the fake, and immediately knew he’d broken a rib. The strength of the blow knocked the imposter back into the wall and to Lucas’s surprise cracked it on impact.
Their teacher looked back to his students with concern. “Are you alright!?” He hid his nervousness behind the rush of his words, he’d been clumsy again. He certainly hadn’t intended to destroy the wall.
“Why are you-“ Ceres looked confused at his sudden appearance, and he took advantage of it.
“I’ll explain later. First, we need to escape and-”
The other Bourreau groaned from the pain, and Lucas feigned a nervous look as they got back on their feet. It was a standoff now, and Lucas stood calm and resolute in the face of danger.
“I may not be much of a threat, but if you dare harm them, I will fight with all my might.” He subtly shifted his body to the side as he readied himself.
The fake didn’t move, and he could hear Ceres and Mathis stop breathing as they waited frozen in fear. They must be terrified seeing their teacher stand up to who they thought was Bourreau, because even trained fighters like Adolphe and Yves hadn’t stood a match for him, so why should Lucas?
The fake moved in, and Lucas almost wondered if they’d really attempt to try and attack him when the wall behind them crumbled. They stopped, seeming to second guess their actions, and quickly retreated into the darkness.
Whatever strength was holding Ceres and Mathis up left them and they dropped to their knees.
He softly sighed in relief. Things had gone according to plan. Now he could just take care of his students. They’d done so well.
Lucas smiled above them softly. “You did well to protect each other.” He praised kindly, “You’ve done…No…you must have been scared.” he corrected himself. He gently knelt down with them and embraced them together. They were bloodied, shaking, and terrified, and his hands gently rested on their shoulders with gentle reassurance.
“But it’s all right now.”
They were safe, no one knew the truth, that was all that mattered. It was a necessary evil. He’d be sure to make it up to them as much as he could.
He locked away those dangerous feelings that could have gotten him exposed, and he wondered why he’d craved it so much in the first place. As he hugged them tighter he could still faintly smell the lingering scent of blood on his skin. An angel didn’t need to know the sins staining his hands.