use weapons, like swords, staffs, daggers, battle-axes, war hammers, and things of that nature. Soon you will see you natural abilities start to increase: speed, strength, reflexes. You’ll be able to do things that normal human beings can only dream of. There are some skills that have not been documented that are still within our abilities. Let your imagination run wild and create your own style. Also, your weapons can’t be seen by ordinary people. So when you pull them out, you’ll just look crazy. Try to keep your battles out of the public view.”
He took a slight pause.
“When? When is very important. When can we exorcise a demon? When they try to manifest or take over a human host. Demons are around everyone all the time whispering in their ears to do this or do that. They’re trying to make bad things seem harmless or normal. They love using people of influence. Actors, actresses, models, bands, artists, and politicians—they help set the normal. So when they take over a human, that is our chance. Until then, there is nothing we can do.”
“Why can’t we destroy them on sight?” some guy in the room shouted out.
“Great question!” the professor said. “The answer is free will. Humans have free will to do whatever they want; but once they are taken over by a demon, they lose their free will and are now being controlled by the demon. This allows us to take action and destroy them. But not until they manifest. And finally, why? Why you, you may ask? Because, He loves to use the least likely or the last picked. He did not pick you at random. He chose you because you are special and you will make an impact in your area or more. And because he chose you, His light will shine the brightest when you achieve success. Now, I know this is a lot to take in. You can go back to you regular lives and give up this gift and you’ll never see anything like this again. But this war is going on whether or not you join the fight. It’s your choice. That’s all I have for you. You are dismissed.”
The doors on both sides of the auditorium started to open and the professor made his way off the stage. People started to get up and make their way out. I exited the auditorium and saw Marth waiting for me outside the doors.
“So Owen, would you like to learn how to be an exorcist?”
I paused for a moment. “Sure, why not.” I shrugged my shoulders. “My mom always says I need to challenge myself. And what’s more challenging than taking on the forces of darkness led by Satan himself?”
Marth and I both smiled.
“When do we start?” I asked.
“Now,” Marth replied.
CHAPTER THREE
Marth and I meandered down the hallways back towards the elevators. We hopped in and Marth pushed the button that should take us to the basement. The giant, metallic doors closed shut and the elevator music began, as did our descent. We arrived in the basement. It looked like an abandoned airplane hangar. It had a dirty concrete floor, and the faded-red support beams were visible. As we walked out of the elevator, Marth turned to the right and there was a control panel. It had a palm scanner, and Marth laid his hand on the screen. The board lit up and it sounded like turbines starting up.
Immediately, the tables and lockers rose from beneath the floor. The lockers formed an L shape with a table and bench seats in the midst of them. The lockers each had a variety of weapons. In each locker, there was a different category of armament. In one locker, there were different kinds of daggers—in another an abundance of arrows and bows. There was a multitude of swords, hammers, axes, and other dangerous tools.
“OK, Owen, today we’re going to be working with weapons,” Marth began. “Pick out the weapon that you will feel the most comfortable with.”
I scanned the room and I felt like a kid in a candy store. I walked up to all of the lockers and examined the weapons that they contained. I especially liked the hammers, so I grabbed the biggest one I could find. I proudly showed Marth my choice. Marth looked back at me with a very surprised and seemingly confused, yet snarky look on his face.
“Pick that up,” Marth commanded.
I tried to pick up the hammer, and by try, I mean failed at trying. The head of the hammer was two feet wide and as tall as me.
Marth noticed my struggle, came over, and picked up the hammer effortlessly. “It’s as light as a feather.” He stifled his laughter. “Your abilities are limited by the human thought process. You thought that it was going to be super heavy, and in turn, it was. It is what you make it. It’s as light as a feather.”
Marth finished his sentence and then proceeded to flip the hammer on his finger, all with ease, not breaking a sweat, even though it looked as if it weighed a ton. Marth tossed the hammer to me.
In my head, I was chanting, Light as a feather, light as a feather, light as a fe— Oh, I caught it.
Marth walked back over to the control panel and began pressing buttons. The screen lit up. “All right,” he said. “Time to test it out.”
Targets began to come down from the ceiling. They hung like chandeliers, but they definitely were meant to be hit. They were shaped like stone pumpkins. I gripped my hammer tightly and began to swing. I was hitting targets, one right after the other. The fragments of each target crumbled when you hit the ground. The hammer was a very interesting weapon to hold. It started to feel a little tiring, so I thought about switching weapons. I walked back over to the lockers.
“Done already?” Marth asked.
“No, I’m just gonna try something else.”
I examined my newly acquired arsenal once again. Then, one of the swords in the cabinets caught my eye. Its style was like a traditional Japanese katana. It had a slightly blue-tinged metal blade and was very sleek. The handle had a very good grip. I slung the sheath over my back and pulled it out. I went back out to the course and began to experiment with it a little. I sliced through targets, right and left. Then, Marth pushed a few more buttons on the control panel. I soon saw much bigger ‘targets’ appear. They were humanoid in shape and looked as if they were made of stone. They looked like bulky stone muscle men. Marth kept pushing more buttons. The ‘targets’ began to come at me and were ready for attack. They marched after me and began to chase me. Expletives were running through my head, all of which were directed towards Marth. I lifted my sword and began to fight.
Cling. I could hear my sword go through the stone. I swung up at an angle to slice one directly in front of me, then spun around and slashed downward to another one coming from the right. I could hear a crash as the pieces of stone fell to the ground with each swing of my sword. I felt like a tornado of destruction. I realized, after fighting the first one, that this wasn’t impossible and that the only limits here were the limits that I placed on myself. As I continued to slice through the sentinels, they would fall before me. All the sentinels were smashed into rubble on the ground all around me. I stood there panting for a second, and then I heard clapping. Marth was clapping, a golf clap, but applause nonetheless. Marth pressed a few more buttons and little robots came out onto the course and started removing the rubble. The remains of the fallen sentinels were quickly wiped away, like the remaining bowling pins at a bowling alley.
I walked back over to Marth.
“Have you chosen your weapon?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“Good. Then it’s yours.” He snidely smiled. “Moving on.” Marth walked over to the control booth, very nonchalantly,
