Good Girl Nun

His own faction had taken shape, at least initially. Though Salomon had yet to decide whether to call the organization "Chaldea" or "NERV," and though none of its research results had yet been turned into actual products, the Arcanist finally breathed a small sigh of relief after its establishment. He had gained a little confidence in facing the future.

Salomon had previously cut back on revision time because he was busy with other matters, which had left both Jane Foster and Athena somewhat dissatisfied. So, once he had finished dealing with the City of Immortals, he immediately threw himself back into studying, returning to class and tutoring sessions before his adoptive mother and mentor could get angry. Getting perfect marks did not depend on intelligence, but stubbornness. Salomon knew very well that he had done far too few practice problems; relying solely on his intelligence would still make perfect scores difficult—Athena confidently declared that as long as Salomon gave the exams his all, any score he received would be acceptable.

Salomon did not believe that nonsense at all. Still, with A* grades in every subject, getting into Oxford should not have been much of a problem—Maya Hansen, a Cambridge graduate, patted her chest and swore that there was absolutely no flattery of her boss involved. After all, a boss who refused to buy a coffee machine did not deserve flattery.

The Arcanist truly shifted his attention to studying science. As it happened, Jeanne and Bayonetta had recently accepted a commission from Kamar-Taj’s London Sanctum to head to Northern Europe and hunt Upper Plane Beings that had been appearing ever more frequently along the boundary of the Ether Plane. This allowed Salomon to focus entirely on his books and revision. He even handed off trivial tasks like feeding the cat to the Artificial Human.

He ignored everyone—though in truth, he was only ignoring Nick Fury—and concentrated on studying.

The Cheshire Cat grumbled and cursed for a while, but after Miss Artificial Human rapped it on the head, the fat cat finally settled down and stopped lying on Salomon’s books.

"You really are a student?" Anna Hellstrom looked in surprise at the ink stain on Salomon’s right middle finger, his tired eyes worn out from studying, and the assortment of books clutched in his arms. When she had arranged to meet Salomon, she had never expected to find him like this. "You look like you could fall asleep at any moment," she said. "Should we pick another time? My mother and that demon will only stay in the psychiatric hospital. They aren’t going anywhere."

"I want to resolve this as soon as possible." After taking a large gulp of strong tea, the Arcanist widened his eyes in an attempt to wake himself up. "You should have waited for me in San Francisco rather than coming to the East Coast. But it doesn’t matter. A portal can reach any corner of Earth, as long as you have the coordinates."

"I want to go directly into my mother’s room, not to that psychiatric hospital in Portland. The attending physician won’t let you see her. They… they know there’s something wrong with my mother. My brother works as a consultant at that hospital, and I don’t want to see him." Anna Hellstrom lifted her coffee and took a sip. "I’m curious. Why are you so certain I can help you? Even if I am the child of a demon, my power…"

"I told you, you simply don’t know how to use your power. Let me ask you: can you see the sins others have committed?"

"Yes. But if you’re saying that’s my power, then I can’t help you." She nodded and waited for the Arcanist’s explanation.

"That is a demon’s instinct." Salomon began explaining the process by which demons fished souls out of the River Styx. Demons could see every sin a person had committed just by looking at them. "The souls of sinners hold an irresistible attraction for you," he said. "Otherwise, you would not have hunted those people. Those souls did not go to Hell—they were eaten by you. Although the absorption efficiency is extremely low, you are growing stronger. That may be why your father kidnapped you. Your talent is greater than your brother’s. Or rather, compared with your brother, there is more demon in you. Your father may have carved an inverted pentagram into your brother’s chest in order to sacrifice him and transfer his power to you."

"You know all that?" Satana narrowed her eyes. "Or did someone tell you something?"

"I have my own sources." The Arcanist narrowed his eyes again. He had no intention of revealing too much to her, at least not for now. "In any case, your father wants to use you, and I need to disrupt his plans," Salomon said. "Your father is the maddest demon I have ever seen. Though he is not Satan, he dares call himself Satan. He craves the Seventh Throne, which is why he wants me dead. As for your proposal—opening a portal in your mother’s room—I agree. But I must tell you the risks. If the possessing demon resists too fiercely, your mother may die."

"That isn’t what we agreed on!"

"I never promised that I would not fight back if the demon controlled your mother and attacked me." The Arcanist spoke unhurriedly. "I can only do my best to ensure your mother’s safety. I will resort to force only if there is no other choice. But don’t worry. The reason Marduk can only influence you through possession rather than descending into the material plane himself is that he cannot come to Earth—without a Blood Sacrifice or a ritual, it is very difficult for a demon’s true form to reach the material plane. Through possession, his power is not yet strong enough to be impossible to resist. I am merely informing you of the risks in advance."

"If you think my plan is too risky, you can try it yourself." Salomon seemed not to care at all whether Anna agreed to let him perform the exorcism, because all he needed was Satana’s power—to turn Marduk’s most powerful weapon against Him. If her mother continuing to go mad could make Satana hate Marduk even more, the Arcanist did not mind maintaining the status quo.

"Let me make this clear first," he said. "I do not have much Dark Magic related to Hell. The instinctive magic you gain after awakening your demon blood will be far more powerful than anything I can give you, and it will not require a price."

"Let’s visit the place through normal channels first." Anna did not immediately agree to Salomon’s plan. "I need to discuss this properly with my brother."

"Of course. This is your family matter, and I hope you can come to a clear decision." Salomon nodded. "Also, I am very interested in the nun beside your brother… I looked into her through an acquaintance in the Catholic Church. God, she is practically Jesus’s perfect little good girl. But without divine magic, her devotion is utterly useless. You should move quickly. The nun beside your brother is an unstable factor. The more devout someone is, the less capable they are of independent thought. Once she falls, she may do some very terrible things."

Morlu had seen the consequences of devout people losing their faith more than once. After learning the details, he had specifically urged Salomon to act as soon as possible, paying no attention at all to the fact that the Arcanist was busy revising. If necessary, Father Morlu would have Ghost Rider come over, though that was a last resort and the Catholic Church would not agree to it easily—so Salomon would need to secretly bring Johnny Blaze out, while Father Morlu acted as the insider.

To keep things from getting worse, the nun named Gabby was the real reason Salomon had agreed to meet Anna while busy with revision. The claim that "exorcism might endanger a life" was merely an excuse. Salomon’s real purpose was to reach that nun through Anna. Disguising the primary target as a secondary one was a trick antiques dealers often encountered, and Anna saw through Salomon’s aim at a glance. Though she did not know why the Arcanist wanted to approach that nun, she did not care. All she wanted was an exorcism.

"I understand," she said. "Send me there. Now."

The Hellstorm TV series was such a mess, basically a low-budget web drama, even worse than DC’s "Batwoman"… I needed to add some scenes.