Lilith Who Lost Her Arm - Chapter 0.1

9:08 PM, November 1st, 36th year of Meiji (1903) / Ijin-kan Street, Kitano, Kobe / Remnants of a Pitiful Demon

Young Maria was in crisis.

Maria huddled under her blanket, trembling with fear. She had to grit her teeth and endure in a room filled with rustling noises of something writhing about, occasionally punctuated by shrill female screams. When she fearfully peeked out from the gap in her blanket, she saw objects like watering cans and vases spinning in mid-air.

This mansion… is haunted.

Four days ago, her father, who was away from their English homeland, had sent a rare gift. According to the attached letter, it seemed he had been unable to resist its strange allure and impulsively purchased it. Upon opening the box, she discovered inside a doll of a white-haired young girl. The moment she picked up the doll and their eyes met, it suddenly burst into laughter, transforming into countless flies that swarmed throughout the room. Then… the most terrifying thing imaginable happened.

…Since then, every night she had been tormented by these bizarre phenomena.

When doing import-export business at foreign ports… the incidents of supernatural creatures from other cultures invading those countries were innumerable.

Maria was the daughter of an arms merchant from the mother country, the Great Empire where the sun never sets, which had extended its reach to the Far East. As such, she understood these issues well.

Currently, the eyes of arms merchants were turned towards Japan, a small nation that could be blown away at any moment.

The main reason was war. The Empire was building a large-scale military concentration in “Vladivostok,” continuously transporting vast amounts of military supplies via the Trans-Siberian Railway. On this side, Japan was raising taxes on its citizens, and purchasing many warships and ammunition from around the world. People like Maria’s father, who brought large quantities of artillery shells from abroad, could negotiate prices with Japanese officials. Because of this, Japanese merchants were reacting very strongly. Just last night, Maria had to fend off robbers who broke into the house. If it weren’t for her father teaching her how to use a gun, she might have been killed.

…Maria was in despair over this situation. And at that moment, a letter arrived.

“To exorcise the demons that have invaded your residence, I will arrive there at 9 PM tomorrow. An exorcist affiliated with the Imperial Army.”

An exorcist! The defense agency against attacks from Western supernatural beings. For Maria, who was on the brink of despair, this was nothing short of a ray of hope.

Knock knock.

A knocking sound came from the doorstep. They’re here! They’ve arrived! Maria sprang out of bed, rushed down the stairs as if tumbling from the second floor, and burst out through the front door. She looked up to see what kind of person this military exorcist was… but there was no one there. While Maria was still bewildered…

“I do apologize, miss. I’m down here.”

The voice came from below. When she looked down, she saw a young boy in an oversized military uniform who looked like he was playing dress-up. Maria became confused. When she heard a military person was coming, she had imagined a tall, robust man. But in reality, the person who arrived was just a youth about 140cm tall.

“I am Major Anokutara Kaina, currently attached to the 7th Brigade, 0th Division of the Imperial Japanese Army.”

Anokutara Kaina- connecting this rare name with the adorable young boy before her, Maria immediately- touched the small left hand encased in a military glove. This boy, three years her junior, lived near her father’s shop. He was very skilled in Eastern magic, able to run on walls or through the air, and was regarded as a hero by the neighborhood children. Maria had often played with him, acting like an older sister. How could such a child become a soldier… and an exorcist!

“It can’t be, Maria…” Kaina seemed to remember her too, his face looking as if he might cry. He must have been overjoyed at this unexpected reunion.

Maria stared at her 13-year-old childhood friend. A high nose bridge unlike Japanese people, large round double-lidded eyes, and a pretty face with clear features. He looked just like a Western doll modeled after a young girl… except for the slightly long male hairstyle. He wore a dark blue Attila jacket with military trousers. His cap with its gold trim and prominent star was noticeable even in the dark. A purple scarf with the exorcist emblem was wrapped around his neck like a muffler, giving him an adorably childish appearance.

“Please excuse my rudeness, miss,” Kaina stood at attention and saluted. It was the face of a soldier. His voice, speaking fluent English, had not yet broken. He was desperately trying to suppress his incredibly cute voice.

“May I have permission to bring in my gun?”

Kaina pulled out a pistol from the holster at his hip. As the daughter of an arms dealer, Maria knew this gun well. It was the newly developed automatic pistol from last year, the “Experimental Nambu” type.

Maria gladly agreed to let him bring in the gun and led the way for her childhood friend.

“Excuse me,” Kaina bowed his head and opened the doorway.

“…It’s quite dark, isn’t it?” the youth muttered as he walked down the hallway.

Of course, it was; the moon wouldn’t be out tonight. Maria reminded the youth to watch his step.

“Yes, thank you… Eek!?” The young soldier seemed to have tripped on something and let out a yelp.

A scream befitting his age and incredibly cute, causing Maria to laugh involuntarily.

“…[New Moon Night – servant of Lakṣmī running through the night sky – Oṃ mahā-śrīyaye svāhā… Eyes of the Night Owl]” the youth behind her said in Japanese.

When she turned to look, the youth’s eyes were emitting a faint light.

“It’s nothing,” the youth smiled. “I just enhanced my vision with magic.”

They arrived at the reception room, where Maria invited Kaina to sit on the sofa while she sat across from him, separated by a table.

“Th-thank you,” the youth grimaced for some reason and tried to brush off the seat with his hand before sitting down. Could he have a cleanliness disorder? “Well then, could you tell me about what happened?”

Maria recounted everything that had occurred from the beginning until now. In general, she wanted to share her terrible experience with someone. The youth nodded in agreement, making Maria feel relieved. By the time she realized it, she could no longer hear the laughter, and even the supernatural phenomena had stopped.

After the story, she asked him where the demon was hiding.

“It’s currently in this room… Don’t worry, I’ll exorcise it right away.”

Kaina took out a small, long box from his pocket. The writing on the box said “Archangel Bullets.” Having lived in Japan for a long time, Maria could understand its meaning.

The youth skillfully opened the box, revealing a cartridge inside. To the eyes of an arms dealer’s daughter, it was a rimless bottleneck cartridge with an 8mm diameter. On the silver bullet tip was an intricately carved design based on a cross. The youth gripped the cartridge tightly in his left hand.

“[In Your hand]” he extended two fingers of his right hand like a sword and placed them on his forehead.

“[The nation]” the two fingers pointed down to his navel.

“[The power]” towards his left shoulder.

“[The glory]” and touched his right shoulder.

With a soft sound, a white light overflowed from the youth’s left fist.

“[Forever and ever… AMEN]”

The youth opened his left hand, and the Archangel bullet emitted a sparkling light. Although the radiance was beautiful, Maria simultaneously felt unease in her chest.

“From now on, please watch as I exorcise the Evil Spirit nesting in this mansion with this sanctified bullet.”

The youth drew his Nambu automatic pistol. He pulled back the distinctive round bolt carrier, catching the ejected casing with impressive reflexes, then smoothly loaded the Archangel bullet.

These supremely captivating movements made Maria gasp in admiration, but she quickly composed herself, knowing she needed to focus on the Evil Spirit. When Maria asked where exactly the Evil Spirit was hiding, the youth pointed towards her. She frantically turned around but saw nothing.

Maria protested, asking him not to scare her.

“No, the Evil Spirit exists…”

The youth smiled sadly. His hand was gripping the Nambu pistol.

“…right here.”

The 8mm muzzle appeared in Maria’s eyes.

“…Why?” she was about to say.

However, that voice was the shrieking scream that had been tormenting her for the past few days.

At the same time / Same location / Anokutara Kaina – Major attached to the 7th Brigade, 0th Division of the Imperial Japanese Army

The bullet had pierced through the head of the Evil Spirit calling itself Maria.

The body of the self-proclaimed Maria collapsed onto the dusty floor… That thing which had almost reached the realm of “Possession” thanks to high-concentration Ether broke free from the Evil Spirit’s control and gradually transformed into particles of white light.

In the end, all that remained was something resembling a fly emitting a cold white light. In the darkroom without electric lights or candles, the fly, which was also the Ether core of the Evil Spirit, floated in mid-air like a firefly.

At Kaina’s feet was a cockroach several times larger than normal due to absorbing miasma. It was scuttling about, kicking fragments of household items and making rustling noises.

Kaina holstered his Nambu automatic pistol and silently offered a prayer.

“Lilith Who Lost Her Arm” – [The Tale of the Meiji Exorcist] begins here.