To describe the screams emitting from the room as inhuman was literally an understatement.

Every glass in the bungalow had been shattered to pieces. Furniture was being thrown left and right. Lights were flickering on and off, not just in the bungalow but every street lamp down the street as neighbours stood in their front yards watching the affected house with horrified curiosity. And all these had been going on for fifteen minutes without signs of stopping as Xiaoye and Roderick waited outside the front gate of the bungalow.

“And here I thought that 1973 film was the scariest horror movie in the world…” Roderick commented to Xiaoye, who was wearing ear plugs to avoid the damage from being near an exorcism where scriptures were being chanted as weapons against demons.

“Welcome to your first exorcism. We got lucky the boy’s head didn’t birl a full three-sixty or Father Sergei would be exorcising a corpse.”

“Yeah, but a one-eighty is still going to hurt like hell.”

“Nothing modern medical advances and healing magic can’t handle.”

“How did that kid even get possessed?”

“That book we removed from his house? Don’t know how he got his hands on it, but that belonged to a warlock. The spells inside were meant to summon a Goetic demon like my pa. Since the boy doesn’t have any power, he ended up calling forth a lesser demon who then possessed him.”

“Noticed you stopped calling your father ‘old man’,” Roderick said, to which Xiaoye chuckled.

“He started to complain to me in my dreams, so fine, I’ll call him pa from now on. Still an old man to me, though. He’s like, millennia’s old? He can’t even remember how many half-siblings I have.”

“You have half-siblings?”

“My ma wasn’t the only one he slept with. So far, I’ve got one American half-brother currently working for Chicago Fire, another one from Spain who got KIA-ed during World War Three, third half-brother’s a prosecutor from Egypt and one Dutch half-sister who’s a maritime search-and-rescue operator.”

“Wow, that’s quite a few.”

“Aye, and apparently there’s six others out there who he doesn’t even know if they’re still alive,” Xiaoye replied as another scream is heard from the bungalow right before something came flying out the window and landing in front of them.

Quick as a flash, Xiaoye lunged forward and grabbed the ‘thing’, and with his shoulder-mounted flashlight shining against it, Roderick could see a twisted creature of both flesh and black smoke struggling to break free from Xiaoye’s grip: Sharp ears, red eyes, an unhinged jaw and a face so rotten that even a mother won’t love.

“UoY! ꓷǝǝɿd-ʇlɒH ИwɒqƧ ᖷO ƧɒʜqlɒM! UoY Ǝɿɒꓷ HɔυoT ƎM!” the lesser demon snarled at Xiaoye.

“You will address my pa as President Malphas, lesser demon, and your lord, Marquis Marchosias, seeks to know why you have entered the realm of mortals without his approval,” Xiaoye replied.

“I ⅃liW ToИ ꓘɒǝqƧ OT A YʜɈliᖷ ꓷǝǝɿd-ʇlɒH!”

“Ah, whatever. Go boil your head back in Hell, you scrote-faced cunt. Father Sergei!”

A Caucasian priest with a receding hairline came running out the bungalow, running over to Xiaoye and pressing a crucifix against the lesser demon’s forehead, causing it to scream and pain but also making Xiaoye hiss in a sinister manner as she appeared to be struggling to control herself.

“Sergeant Di, maybe you should back off. The exorcism will hurt you too.”

“Just do it, Father Sergei! This bloke’s a bit tougher than the ones we’re used to dealing with. I release my grip just a little and he’ll jump right back into that boy’s body.”

The priest nodded, steeled himself and began reciting verses from the Bible, ending each verse with a stern and determined demand that the lesser demon be banished back to Hell. By now, both the lesser demon and Xiaoye were howling in pain until, finally, the lesser demon seemed to explode into a dust cloud In Xiaoye’s hands, at which point the cambion collapsed as well.

“Sergeant Di! Are you all right?” the priest asked as he caught her before she hits the ground while Roderick rushed over to check on his partner.

“Woah, that’s quite a doozy! I feel like I just got Glasgow kissed but, aye, I think I’m fine.”

“Fine, my ass! You’re bleeding from all your facial orifices!” Roderick exclaimed, shocked at the sight of all the blood on Xiaoye’s face.

“I’ve already stopped bleeding, just get me a cloth so I can clean my face… Father Sergei, the boy, is he okay?”

“Apart from neck pains and the bruises caused by the lesser demon possessing him, yes, he’s fine. Mentally, however, I cannot give a straight answer.”

True enough, the cries of a young boy could be heard coming from the upper floor of the bungalow as a Chinese man in his forties emerged from the front door.

“My God! Oh, my God! You saved him, you saved my son, Father Sergei! You saved him! Thank you so much!”

“I had help from my old friend here, Mr Chua,” Father Sergei replied as he gestured to Xiaoye, who was cleaning up the blood on her face with a cloth Roderick had brought to her.

Immediately, Roderick noticed the man, Mr Chua, giving Xiaoye a suspicious look, a smile of joy and relief having disappeared.

“She’s.. .She’s a half-demon, right?” he asked, at which point Father Sergei’s placid expression was replaced by a wary one.

“Yes, she is. I hope you’re not trying to imply something here, Mr Chua,” he said, at which point Mr Chua quickly lightened up.

“Oh, no, no, I don’t mean any disrespect. I’m sorry, it’s just, after what happened to my boy-”

“Relax, Mr Chua, my kin on my pa’s side don’t exactly have the best reputations. Your suspicions are justified,” Xiaoye replied, although Roderick was not happy about it.

“Mr Chua, go tend to your boy and bring him to a hospital. The damage caused by a demonic possession does not end when the exorcism is successful. He has to be checked for any physical or mental damage.”

“Yes, Father Sergei, right away. Thank you all, really, I- I don’t really know what else I should do to show my gratitude.”

“Just update us on your son’s condition. That’s all we want as payment,” Xiaoye replied.

“I will. Thank you all once more. I’ll go to my son now.”

“He’s got a lot of ‘thank yous’ to give, eh?” Roderick commented.

“I think I’ll head home with my assistants. Let me know if you ever need my help again. God bless you both, especially you, Sergeant Di, for despite your origins, you are far kinder than some humans that I know of,” Father Sergei said as his assistants exited the bungalow with their equipment.

“Aw, that’s sweet of you, Father Sergei,” Xiaoye teased, to which the priest gave a short laugh before leaving in his assistants’ car.

“Report’s going to be a nightmare to write,” Roderick commented as he and Xiaoye got into their patrol car.

“Aye, but don’t you worry, I’ll handle it,” the cambion replied when their radio came to life.

“Any available Sierras, urgent request for assistance at Yishun Dam. Body found with wounds described as ‘ritual carvings’. I repeat, any available Sierras-”

“Sierra-3-10 responding, over. ETA five minutes.”

“Wait, we’re going now?” Roderick asked as Xiaoye put down the radio.

“Well, it’s not far from here, is it, mate? Step on it already.”