Ch 7- Trapped exorcist

Diablo was extremely injured; even standing up required an extreme test of his will. Suddenly, a voice echoed inside the trench, "Hello there, fella. Would you care to die for me?"

As the voice echoed, a strange paper-shaped doll flew through the air and approached Diablo. Diablo felt extreme adrenaline coursing through his body. His body instinctively adopted a fight-or-flight response. Though Diablo tried to avoid the paper doll, his injured state left him unable to move. The strange doll attached itself to Diablo, and before he could react further, he lost consciousness.

*Sound of faint breathing and heartbeat, then silence.*

Diablo woke up. He felt pain and dizziness spreading across his body. He wanted nothing more than to rest, even if for just a few seconds, but Diablo remembered the situation he was in. He forced himself to awaken from the dizziness.

"Oh, you woke up fast," a voice echoed once again. Diablo's muscles contracted as if ready for a fight, but he was far from being in any condition to fight anyone at that moment. He noticed his surroundings and realized he was no longer in the trench but on a large, stretching plain filled with greenery. He felt a strange feeling arise in his heart as he looked around him as if he had returned to his mother's embrace, the safest place in the world. However, feeling this strange thought made Diablo even more cautious.

"Aren't you a strange one? Are you really a demon?" the voice once again resounded.

"Who are you?... Oh, Lord," Diablo asked in a quivering voice due to the pain radiating inside his body. Although he half-expected not to get any answer, he just spoke so the voice wouldn't kill him immediately.

"Ha ha ha ha, you are a smart one as well," the voice spoke once again. "Come here," the voice said.

Diablo felt a strange attraction toward the voice. Even though he wanted to stop, his feet refused to obey, as if they were no longer his own. With every step he took, plants grew under his feet, and with every step further, the plants withered back.

"Life with one step and death with the other," the voice thought. Soon, Diablo reached the front of a courtyard. A man was sitting on a chair, with multiple black chains binding him. The man smiled at Diablo. "For the first time in Hell, I have seen another human other than myself."

"Human? Which human? He was clearly a demon," Diablo thought.

"How did you come to Hell and disguise yourself as a demon?" the person bound to the chair asked.

Diablo was extremely vigilant of the person. He didn't know if the person was tricking him or genuinely saying this. Without answering the question, Diablo replied politely, "Who are you, and what is this place?"

"Oh, where are my manners? It's just that I was so excited to see another human after such a long time."

Diablo was confused. Why did this person continue to refer to him as human, even though he was a demon?

"Sit here," the man said. Suddenly, a strange chair, similar to the man's chair, manifested in front of Diablo. Diablo quietly sat on the chair.

"For your first question, who am I? Although I can't give you my name, as it will alert the sleeping powers in the world, you can call me Exorcist. As for what this place is, it's called the Mind Place, specifically your Mind Place."

"My Mind Place?" Diablo asked in confusion.

"Well, you don't have to worry about it. It's just a safety measure against demons. If you were really a demon, you would be dead as soon as I entered your Mind Place."

"What?" Diablo was extremely surprised by the revelation. Was he really not a demon?

"I know, I know it's a lot to take in, but you don't have to worry about it. Here, drink some water," the Exorcist said. Suddenly, a mug of water manifested on the table. Diablo unconsciously took the mug, and when he turned to drink it, he was surprised by what he saw next. He saw his own reflection in the mug of water, and it was nothing like a demon. He didn't have horns or red skin, and his features resembled those of his mother. He looked exactly like a human.

Diablo, without showing anything on his face, quickly drank all the water. "Water tastes good," Diablo commented, still maintaining a smile on his face.

"Don't give unnecessary flattery," although the Exorcist said that, his face was full of smiles. "All right, I have talked a lot about myself. Now, tell me about you. Who are you, and what are you doing in Hell?"

This was now Diablo's turn to act, an act on which his life depended. Diablo took a deep breath. "Sir, you have come to know my real identity, and I am sure you are a person who has saved humans multiple times. Although I trust you, just like how you can't speak your name, I can't give you any answer regarding why I am in Hell. I sincerely apologize. As for who I am, I go by the name Diablo in Hell. I can't say anything more than this."

The entire time, Diablo's voice was extremely sincere, and he didn't show the slightest frown while speaking the lie. Even Diablo himself didn't know he could lie so well.

"Well, all right, I can understand," the Exorcist said with a sigh.

To change the topic, Diablo asked another question. "Sir, who was the person who bound you to this place? If you want, I can go and investigate their current whereabouts," Diablo said, though he thought he would never, ever undertake such a suicidal mission. The person who could bind the Exorcist could kill him like an ant.

"Hahahaha," the Exorcist started to laugh hysterically. After laughing enough, he spoke, "Nobody in this entire universe has the power to bind me," he spoke with ego radiating in his tone. "It was me who bound this place." Diablo was confused by the sudden revelation. Why would anyone ever do such a thing?

Noticing Diablo's confusion, the Exorcist spoke, "Enough about this topic. Since we have known each other and introduced ourselves, let's get to another topic. Although I don't need anything, I think you need something."

Diablo was confused. What did he need?

Suddenly, as the Exorcist spoke, a small vial manifested in front of him. "This is the healing elixir. Although I don't know how you got injured, your body outside the mind space will die soon if you don't do anything."

Diablo reached out toward the healing elixir vial, but before he could take it, the elixir vanished. Noticing this, Diablo looked in confusion toward the Exorcist. The Exorcist smiled slightly and said, "Don't you know? Nothing in this world comes for free. Give with one hand and take with the other."

Diablo was confused again (ah, so much confusion). What could a small child like him give to the Exorcist? He didn't have a single cent of money on him.

"Haha, don't worry. I know perfectly well what I want from you."

"What?" Diablo asked cautiously. "Does he want my soul in exchange or to form a contract with him?"

"You are really a strange one," the Exorcist smiled. "I don't want anything valuable from you."

What? How did he know I was thinking about something valuable?

"Hahahahaha, it's your expression," the Exorcist laughed. "I have dealt with people more powerful than you can imagine, and to some extent, I can read emotions."

Diablo was surprised. How could the person who could read his emotions not detect that he was a demon? What Diablo didn't know was that he was truly lucky. In this entire universe, he may be the only demon with a human soul. That's why the Exorcist thought Diablo was on a secret mission with a disguise on his body. If Diablo had told him any other story, the Exorcist would have caught the lie. But Diablo spoke in such a way that the Exorcist thought Diablo was trying to keep his mission secret, so he didn't pry any further.

"All right, what I want is information about the outside world," the Exorcist said.

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