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This was, by far, the worst case scenario.
All other attempts at peace had failed. One by one, your friends had marched in to save Idia, only to fail at the hands of the phantom bride. You mentally cursed Idia’s luck; of course one of the few times he’d leave the sanctity of his room, he’d be abducted by a star-struck ghost princess. Not that you couldn’t say you understood where she was coming from. Idia wasn’t everyone’s type, but he was certainly yours. And, apparently, Eliza’s as well. But you’d worked too hard getting him to come out of his shell enough to date you for you to let some undead monarch whisk him away from you now.
Until now, Crowley had forbidden you from stepping in. He’d wanted to exhaust every other avenue before sending you in as a last resort.
“With your lack of magic,” he’d said “it’s unlikely that you’d be much help. Especially since you don’t fit the princess’s desired type.”
With an angry huff, you’d flopped down into your seat, crossing your arms and pouting as you watched your comrades fail, one after the other.
Eventually, only a handful of you were left.
Crowley escorted you all nervously to Sam’s to obtain proper attire with which to woo the princess as one last-ditch effort. You, however, had another idea in mind.
“Hey, Sam.” You called the beloved shopkeep over and lowered your voice. “Along with those digs, I’m gonna need a few… extra supplies.”
You listed off the provisions you needed as Ace and Riddle shot you a suspicious look.
Sam gave you a wink before slinking off to the back room. He returned with a small bag in his hand, smiling as he placed it in your palm.
“Here ya’ go, little imp. Just uh,” he leaned in, lowering his voice. “Don’t use it too close to the shop, now. My…’friends’ wouldn’t appreciate it very much.”
“Gotcha. Thanks, Sam.”
Riddle and Ace shot each other confused looks before Riddle approached you cautiously.
“Prefect…? What precisely is in that bag…?” Riddle asked nervously.
“Supplies.” You answered. “Or more specifically, what I like to call ‘the big guns’.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ace cocked an eyebrow.
“It means,” the bag began to glow in your hands as you focused your energy. “That our otherworldly guests are about to regret showing their faces around here.”
Idia was convinced his life was over.
One by one, he’d watched as his classmates tried and failed to save him from certain death. Sure, he’d shit-talked them a little bit, but that didn’t mean he deserved to die, right?!
Regardless, he thought as tears pricked the edges of his eyes, it was all over now. He wasn’t ready to die yet! And DEFINITELY not like this!
Just as Idia resigned himself to his fate, a commotion kicked up outside the cafeteria doors. Panicked voices rang out in the hall as loud bangs and knocks were heard from through the colossal doors.
Then, silence.
The cafeteria’s occupants stared nervously at the door, waiting for some kind of confirmation that the commotion was over. Silence hung heavy in the air as the tension rose.
BANG!
The doors swung open harshly, slamming into the walls behind them as you entered the room, several glowing strips of paper circling around you ominously. Your eyes spoke murder as you strode through the room, power and confidence growing with each step. Slowly, you lifted your arm, pointing at the ghost bride herself.
“Wh-what is the meaning of-”
“Heart be pure.” You chanted.
All but one of the talismans surrounding you flew forth, attaching themselves to the other ghosts in the room. One by one, they each began to glow, before slowly dissipating into an ethereal glowing dust as you exorcised them, sending them onward to the afterlife.
“Evil be erased.”
The last glowing talisman shot forward and attached itself to Eliza’s forehead. She panicked, clawing uselessly at the paper on her head only to find that her fingers found no purchase on their target.
“Mind be purged.” You continued, still striding towards the would-be bride and groom.
“N-no, please!” She shrieked, tears in her eyes. “I-I only wanted to marry my perfect prince!”
At last you reached the two of them, rage burning in your eyes as you reached out to touch the talisman on her forehead.
“Perhaps you should’ve thought about that more carefully before trying to take my man.” You glowered. “World be saved. Go now in peace.”
You finished the incantation and, In an instant, Eliza disappeared in a flash of blue light, gone into the realm beyond and banished from the mortal world.
As she disappeared, so too did the spell she cast on the other students. All at once, they slumped to the floor, free from their ghostly paralysis. You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding before turning quickly and kneeling in front of Idia on the floor.
“Idia!” Your palm shot out to cup his cheek as you began to examine him more closely. “Are you alright? Did they hurt you?!”
His golden eyes stared wide-eyed into yours. “Wh-what did you just do?!”
“Oh, you mean the glowing stuff? Yeah, I was trained as an exorcist in my world.” You replied nonchalantly as you continued to look him over for injuries.
“That was badass!” Idia shouted excitedly, grabbing your shoulders. “But why didn’t you do it sooner?!”
“Wow, ungrateful much?” You teased, elbowing him gently. “But no, seriously, Crowley wouldn’t let me. Kept saying I ‘wouldn’t be of any help’ and that I could only go ‘as a last resort’. I kept telling him I knew what to do, but he wouldn’t listen.”
“That was INSANE!” Idia grinned in much the same way he often did when you made a cool play in a video game.
“Agreed.” Riddle’s voice rang from across the cafeteria, immediately reminding you of everyone else’s presence in the room. “Forgive me, Prefect, but I was under the impression that you were incapable of magic.”
“Anyone can study exorcism.” You replied. “You don’t need magic to be an exorcist.”
“And the ghosts won’t come back this time…?” Epel asked.
“Not if you exorcise them the right way. And I know how to do my job.”
“BIG BRO!” Ortho came flying into the cafeteria, hurtling straight into his brother’s arms. “You’re alright! I’m so relieved! Thank you so much, Prefect, that was incredible!”
You smirked, your chest puffing up a bit at all the praise.
“WAIT wait wait,” Grim marched angrily up to you. “If you could do that the whole time, why didn’t you exorcise the ghosts in the dorm when we first got here?!”
“I didn’t have the supplies, or the money to get them.” You shrugged. “Plus, after a couple of days, they settled down and now they’re harmless. If a spirit isn’t hurting anyone but isn’t ready to move on, I’m not going to force them.”
“Well,” Crowley crooned happily as he strolled into the cafeteria. “It appears I misjudged your capabilities in this instance. I do hope you’ll forgive my mistake. Excellent work in rescuing young Shroud.”
You wrapped an arm around Idia, who instantly turned pink at the public display of affection. “I wasn’t about to let some hopped-up phantom brat take my man to the afterlife.”
“A-ah, (y/n)...” Idia buried his head into your shoulder in embarrassment.
“I know, I know.” You patted his shoulder reassuringly before standing up, pulling him with you. “Let's get you back to your dorm, it’s been a looong day.”
You bid everyone goodnight as you exited the cafeteria, your hand wrapped gently around Idia’s as you walked back to the Hall of Mirrors to return him to Ignihyde.