Argo would move through the main area of the cathedral once again, taking note of the lack of spirits in the chapel. He did feel a tinge of pride at this, as at the very least the gloom and dread was relegated to the basement entirely now, rather than the haunting fog and ominous noises or outright ghost attacks right as one walked in the front door. It was a sign of progress, even if it seemed like this damn church would never be free of the accursed ethereal fools that still roamed. Were exorcists even people worth paying, or was their job just to spout some hocus pocus and then claim their payments, acting like they'd done anything at all? Argo's job was simply to eradicate ghosts here, but the process of ensuring that more didn't leak in and replace the old ones, was on the part of the church after the fact. It wasn't his fault that they kept coming back, now was it? No, it was the world that was wrong.
The suited scowler would make his way down into the basement of the cathedral, lagging behind Chloe by a few minutes. He was confident that the priestess could take care of herself, and if she couldn't, she shouldn't have acted so self-assured; a person's greatest folly was often an overestimation of their own abilities, after all. Still, he respected the woman's determination after a handful of words – it was adorable, like a puppy desperately trying to get its master's attention.
Upon reaching the dark basement, Argo immediately felt as if something was off. Looking down, he saw a small puddle of blood, followed by more droplets leading further into the basement and around a corner. It went without saying that ghosts couldn't bleed, and thus there was only one other possibility to account for. A bow appeared in Argo's hands from his pocket dimension ring, and a moment later, so did a set of black leather armor. As he turned the corner, the archer prepared for the worst.
Turning the corner, Argo immediately saw a group of ghoulish spirits surrounding Chloe, who was bleeding from cuts, her armor cracked in places, and yet still holding her blade in hand with resolve. She took swings at the ghosts, crackling lightning trailing off the edges of her sword. It seemed she had been practicing a bit of magic as well; Argo would applaud if not for the fact he was already stepping forward to assist her. Taking aim, he would blast arrow after arrow into the ghosts, felling one with each shot. He got by on muscle memory alone, not even truly remembering where he'd learned to use this bow that Tomoe had allowed him to borrow. He didn't think about it though, instead choosing to dedicate that mental energy to killing the ghosts before him.
Eventually, being taken out so easily with Argo's smug expression staring them down, caused the remaining spirits to start smashing apart the basement and destroying property instead of attacking either of the living opponents before them. They sought to destroy what they could before once more departing from this world, breaking apart crates and delicate belongings in the basement while being killed. At the end of it all, the basement was a wreck, but the ghosts were no more – once again, that is.
Argo and Chloe would once more leave that wretched cathedral. As they were about to depart from the area entirely, Argo stepped in front of the priestess for a moment, his eyes sharp yet still somehow betraying a small warmth underneath. “You did alright today. Passable, I suppose. If we meet here again some time, I expect much better. You could have been killed if I wasn't around.”, he'd say with a dry tone, speaking purely off of results rather than effort. Yet, Chloe couldn't disagree. “Fine. I'll do better for next time, if there is a next time. Happy?”
Argo would nod, and then the two parted ways. The priestess was even more standoffish and verbally short than usual today, and it made the man curious about how much rest she'd been getting lately. Not that it was any of his concern, anyway – Argo cared deeply for nobody in particular, in the end.
Instead of dwelling on anything, risking becoming the subject to another painful bell-ringing headache like earlier, he would collect his money from his employer and vanish. Hours later, Tomoe's Winged Lemur would emerge from the cathedral building as well, laughing as it carried out stolen candles and anything else it could find to pawn off on some random peddler later for extra pocket change.
WC: 2,000/2,000
- EXIT -