Jonathan felt a little safer for the moment.
Rafael, due to his low sensitivity to malicious energy, still had his guard up, listening carefully and inspecting his surroundings. When he felt certain everything was safe and all the lights had returned, Jonathan went back toward the room that had collapsed and walked to where the Book of Death was.
"One of the three volumes. I understand that we already have one in our possession, so with this one it would make two," Jonathan said while his hand, which was still bleeding, rested on the cover of the book.
When Jonathan's blood came into contact with the black book, as if by magic and sensing the danger, it completely closed.
"It's sealed. Take away every object that might contain recordings and burn the rest."
Rafael nodded and began giving orders to the people who had come to clean up the area.
Jonathan, on the other hand, left the room, and at that moment he saw a girl trying to run into the room.
"No, let me go, my mom and my brother are inside the house!"
"They are dead," Jonathan said, looking at the girl who was crying.
Beth, who was sitting on the ground, stood up and tried to slap Jonathan, but at that moment an agent grabbed her firmly by the hand and asked, "What do you think you're doing?"
"What do you think you're doing? I ask you the same question. Why would you say that to a child?" Beth, through tears, looked at Jonathan with hatred because of how cold he had been toward just a child.
Jonathan looked at the woman who wanted to hit him and said, "She has to know the truth. Don't lie to her face because she's not a stupid child."
"But there are ways to say it…" Beth loosened the strength with which she wanted to hit Jonathan, and the agent released her but did not step away.
Jonathan, on the other hand, kept walking. His face full of hardness showed no emotion for all the deaths that had occurred in that building.
Beth, still not satisfied, asked, "Don't you have feelings? What makes you different from us if you're also human?"
When Jonathan heard these words, he stopped and said, "I'm an exorcist. We are not the same at all. The moment a person becomes an exorcist, an agent of light, or someone who fights the supernatural, their life in your world ends and they live in mine."
"We'd be lucky if we even get a burial. Everything is false… We don't have funerals. Few people cry for our deaths or congratulate us for our work. You consider this a misfortune from God, and we simply see it as another job. We have stepped on more corpses than soil on this earth, and we have seen more companions die than the number of friends you will have in this life."
Jonathan turned around and, looking Beth in the eyes, said, "If I start crying over every death, every failure… my tears would have dried up a long time ago. A harsh truth is better than a vile lie. You are her family, so give her comfort. You have lived long enough in a colorful paradise, so it is also your duty as a human to understand our world of darkness and pain."
When Jonathan decided not to say another word, he walked over to an agent and said, "Classify the survivors, count the dead, and make a list of the agents who fell in battle."
"Understood, Guardian Archbishop!"
All the survivors who heard Jonathan's words, including the agents of light, fell silent as they processed the hidden pain in the words they had just heard.
How harsh must the life of a person be who eliminates these kinds of demonic entities?
What right do they have to feel depression when there are people who die day after day so that they can have a normal life?
All those complaints, worries, or pain disappeared once everything was over.
Jonathan walked among the ruins of the building.
After avoiding several collapsed walls and passing through piles of rubble, he stopped when he felt that someone was following him.
"Did you come to blame me for not being able to save your family? Well, I'm sorry…" Jonathan kept walking after saying these words.
Even so, the figure following him continued moving forward, and Jonathan, who sensed no malice, turned around in annoyance.
"Then what do you want?"
But at that moment, Jonathan faced something unexpected.
A hug.
Martha, who had been rescued by some peace agents along with another girl, hugged Jonathan and said, "I know none of this is your fault, so you shouldn't apologize. In fact, I want to thank you because you saved my mom and my brother…"
Jonathan lowered his gaze and did not know how to react. This was the first time he had found himself in a situation like this, so he simply stood still.
"The darkness is gone now, so don't be afraid. You should go back to the agents because they will help you recover. Remember, value life more from now on, because no one can imagine what their life will be like tomorrow."
Martha stepped away from Jonathan. She looked him in the eyes and nodded.
"Thank you for helping us. We are all grateful."
"I know…" Jonathan smiled slightly beneath his mask, but after remembering how many deaths there had been today, that smile disappeared from his face.
In simple words, this is a failure…
A great tragedy…
"May all those souls rest in peace…" Jonathan murmured as he left the building.