As I dealt with the strange mix of emotions, guilt and betrayal, of entering someone else’s house with my shoes on, my father stopped.

“Itsuki, come closer,” he said.

As soon as I approached, a Silveit strand extended from his body, forming a sphere.

“What is this?” I asked.

“It’s a barrier. If a demon tries to enter, it will automatically attack them,” he explained.

“Wow,” I said, astonished at how versatile magic could be.

Watching my father use magic was like a practical lesson in itself. His use of form transformations, unlike the elemental transformations I had learned, was fascinating. Determined not to waste this opportunity, I focused on memorizing his every move.

Inside the barrier, we moved down the hallway, marked with blackened spots. The house’s interior was a typical Japanese home, but under the dim lighting, the white walls gave off an eerie glow.

Entering the living room, my father stopped again.

“Papa, what’s wrong?” I asked.

“Itsuki, take a deep breath,” he instructed.

Following his lead, I took three deep breaths, and a metallic scent hit my nose.

What is this smell?

“Brace yourself before going in,” he said.

“Okay,” I replied, stepping into the living room.

My eyes were met with a wall of red. The TV, sofa, carpet, and wallpaper were all stained a dark, almost black, red. At the center lay a barely recognizable mass of flesh.

“What is this…?” I managed to say, my voice trembling.

I didn’t cry, likely because the shock was too great. The scene before me was too surreal to fully process.

“A Second Rank demon did this. They kill humans in the most brutal ways to consume their magic,” my father explained.

“That’s horrible…”

While I stood there in shock, my father clasped his hands together in prayer. I mimicked his gesture.

The surreal sensation clung to me, making everything feel dreamlike. It was hard to believe this was reality.

“Our job today is to find and exorcise the demon responsible for this. It should still be in the house,” my father said.

“Can you tell?” I asked.

“The police officer who called me is an exorcist as well. Although he’s only a First Rank and can’t exorcise demons, he can set up barriers to trap them.”

“I see…”

Following my father, we checked the kitchen and other rooms on the first floor but found nothing. The only place left was the second floor.

We exchanged a glance and started up the stairs. As we did, I heard a creak and saw Silveit strands extending from the second floor at the same time.

“Papa!” I shouted, instinctively forming a wall with my Silveit to block the attack. It was my first time using a form transformation, but I managed to create a solid barrier.

With a loud crash, the impact reverberated through the house.

“It’s up there!” I yelled.

My father dashed up the stairs, and I followed close behind.

A monster that uses magic… I thought, shaken. I had never encountered such a thing before. This world was far more dangerous than I had imagined. I needed to become much stronger.

Reaching the second floor, we saw a gray figure in a trench coat standing in the hallway. It wasn’t human; it was a monster.

‘So, you’ve arrived…’ it sneered, its voice tinged with panic. Realizing it couldn’t win against an exorcist, it stepped back and noticed me behind my father, grinning wickedly.

‘A child, huh? Perfect target!’ it said, extending its arm to attack me with Silveit strands.

But before it could move, my father struck it with a powerful punch, sending it flying.

“How dare you try to harm my son,” he said coldly, his Silveit strands enhancing his strength.

Two punches were all it took to incapacitate the monster. My father’s strength was overwhelming.

“I’ll kill you for threatening my child,” he said, finishing off the monster with another strike, turning it into a heap of broken flesh.

“Find the remaining victims, and our job is done,” my father said.

“Okay,” I replied, following him. The family that lived here had three members, and one was already dead. We needed to find the other two.

We searched room by room, and in the bedroom, we found a woman lying in a pool of blood. She was dead.

“Are you okay, Itsuki?” my father asked.

“I’m fine,” I replied, feeling surprisingly calm. Perhaps because I had already experienced death myself, the sight of another’s death didn’t affect me as much.

As my father turned to leave, I saw Silveit strands extending from a closet. Reacting quickly, I created a barrier to block the attack and forced the closet open. Inside, another trench-coated monster held a young girl in its arms.

‘Stay back, or I’ll kill her!’ the monster threatened.

“Too late,” I said, using my wind attribute magic combined with a blade form transformation to decapitate the monster in an instant.

The girl fell to the floor, freed from the monster’s grasp.

“Are you okay?” I asked, rushing to her side.

This was how I met Hina, the girl who would later become my sister.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep