Concentrate. Everything in this field is your target.

Red reticles illuminated on countless apparitions. Upon his command, a whole swarm of them were effortlessly wiped out, a beautiful bright succession of lines as bullets darted from apparition to apparition.

Lyle sighed. This was pissing him off. There wasn't much time until the SF trial ended and the flood of apparitions were hindering his efficiency. And adding to his already irritable mood, a whistle was heard on his right. When he turned around, Caleb waved at him and Lyle immediately scoffed. Somehow, he ended up running into Caleb and was forced into a situation where teamwork was necessary.

"Wow. No wonder you have no friends. Is the frown on your face permanent?" Caleb asked. "May I humbly suggest a talented surgeon to get that fixed? Oh! I'll also try and persuade them to give a discount."

"Do you ever keep that mouth of yours shut?"

"Now, now. No fighting each other, we're supposed to be exorcising the apparitions," Finn said. "Has anyone seen Amias and (Y/n)?"

Caleb shook his head. "I take my eyes off Miss Support for one second and she causes trouble. But! I believe in her~"

Knowing her, she would throw herself in danger and cause a ruckus. Lyle recalled the moment when you were possessed by the vengeful apparition. Just how reckless can a person get?

Whatever. It wasn't his business.

As Lyle was about to move forward, his feet riveted to the spot when a foreboding chill pricked his skin. Finn and Caleb seemed to have sensed the same thing. Caleb stopped his annoying chatter for once and Finn's friendly eyes sharpened in alert. Behind them. The presence was right behind them and Lyle readied to go on the offensive.

And the moment Lyle turned his head around––static. That was the first thing he saw.

"What the hell..."

Groggily and jarring movements as if the body was confused on how each limb functioned, a breathy groan leaving dried lips, uncomfortable cracks of bones, and eyes filled with static. Lyle believed if he stared for too long, he'd be unable to move and the static would plague his mind, blurring the boundary between reality and his headspace.

You. It was you. That––thing was your body. Another possession? Just what kind of situation did you get into?!

Then, your gaze that was once listlessly on the ground suddenly shot to the three exorcists.

"It's kind of hard to get used to a physical body," you mumbled, cracking your neck. "Can't complain too much, though."

The horrors on Finn and Caleb's face quickly subsided as they remained on guard. Well, subsided on the surface. Caleb looked composed, but judging by how close the two of you were Lyle assumed all sorts of conflict was in the exorcist's head at the moment.

"(Y/n) got possessed?" Finn whispered. "By what apparition, though?"

Realisation dawned upon Lyle. The irregular apparition. He had no idea how you did it, but he recalled in the first phase of the trial you had managed to capture an irregular apparition in what seems to be a book. Could that be the cause?

If she's possessed by an irregular apparition... Lyle didn't want to think about the worse case scenario. (Y/n), why did you capture something so dangerous if you don't know how to control it?!

"Miss Support is pretty resilient towards apparitions, so whatever's possessing her is not ordinary," Caleb said. "Eh, like it matters. I'll bring her back asap! Be right back~"

Lyle scowled, "Do you have a head for nothing? Think of a plan first!"

"Like there's time for it. By the way, you should really fix that frown of yours." Caleb laughed. "You're younger than me and you already have wrinkles."

"You––"

"What are you guys talking about?"

Everyone immediately darted back and created distance. Lyle, on instinct, engraved several target marks onto the irregular apparition possessing your body; as he did so he could feel Caleb's gaze on him.

"Ohh, right." A lazy grin was on the apparition's lips, head tilting to the side at an uncomfortable angle. Lyle thought your neck might snap off. "You were the one that tried to kill her."

He froze. To focus on the SF trial, Lyle had to ignore what he did to you. There were too many conflicting feelings, unsolved issues, too much to deal with at the moment. Upon hearing the apparition's words, the illumination on the targets dimmed for a second.

"Well, whatever. It's not like I care what happens to this body." You laughed, looking at your nails. "Wanna see proof? She has ten fingers for a reason."

It's her fault for getting into trouble. It has nothing to do with me. Lyle just needed to deal with the situation swiftly. I can attempt to exorcise the apparition, but if (Y/n) gets hurt during the process, then so be it.

Unbeknownst to Lyle, thin veils of mist began forming around him when he had that thought. By the time he noticed, it was too late to do anything about it. The last thing he heard was Caleb's distant voice.

"Oh, it's your turn! I know you hate listening to me, so here's some advice I got from Miss Support! Keep a clear mind, keep moving forward, and don't give into any negative thoughts!"

What the hell is he on about?

Before Lyle could question Caleb, mist enveloped his field of vision. Trails of it twisted and turned like crooked branches and unkempt vines. Lyle hated to admit it, but he felt incredibly uneasy at how the world warped around him. Then, it was silence. His breath and his own heart beat was loud against the silence.

"Lyle! What are you doing over here? The operation's starting."

An arm was roughly thrown over his shoulders, an all too familiar feeling; a pestilential feeling that he wanted to tear off his skin. Blue eyes met him, blue eyes that were supposed to belong to a dead man.

"Your parents said they'd treat all the dispatches in this operation as a celebration for their anniversary––"

A frantic impulse screamed at Lyle to shove the arm off him. With great strength, he did just that before walking off without sparing a glance back. Lyle wasn't sure what was going on, but he didn't care to think too deeply. It'd just be a waste of time and effort.

"Keep a clear mind, keep moving forward, and don't give into any negative thoughts?" Lyle scowled. "I don't want to listen to him, but that's the only clue I've got."

"Woah, are you in a bad mood? Oh, I get it! You didn't have your drink today." Footsteps approached behind Lyle. "I'll get it for ya, it's on me."

Don't turn around, just keep walking. Lyle vehemently repeated that in his mind, engraving it into every fibre of his being. Yet, stupidly enough, his body betrayed him. He glanced back. There, Lyle saw a young man with lively blue eyes, a wide grin, poorly dyed blue hair, and wearing the support uniform. The previous support leader. It was plain as day that this was some form of hallucination, it should be easy to ignore it.

But, for some reason, the line between reality and imagination was precarious. Was it due to the environment? Was this some sort of space that reflected his subconsciousness?

"There you are, Lyle," a deep voice said followed by a hearty laughter. "C'mon, you're walking the wrong way."

A large hand abruptly ruffled his hair. Lyle felt sick at the fact that warmth filled his heart for a moment. Hesitantly, he glanced up at the individual's robust build. It was his father, of course it was.

"You three––how long are you going to take? If we're late for an operation you can say goodbye to eating out afterwards."

Another voice, a voice belonging to his mother. As usual, she had a strict attitude and sharp gaze, a sharp gaze that always meant well. Lyle bit down the urge to respond to them. He restrained himself from giving into the hallucinations.

"I don't have time for this," he mumbled. Whatever this mist was doing, he wasn't going to fall for it. "I'm in the SF trial, I'm not forgetting that."

His father showed a concerned look. "Are you having a bad day?"

Before Lyle had a chance to leave, his parents pulled him into a gentle hug. Lyle's eyes widened and he thought his heart stopped for a moment. Desperately, he wanted to close his eyes and melt in their warmth, the warmth of a past he could never get back.

That's right... I'm not going back here.

So, rather than closing his eyes and basking in the embrace or speaking words of appreciation, a spiteful sentence left his lips.

"Get off me."

With a heavy heart, Lyle glanced off to the side and snapped his fingers. A bullet was shot through the hallucinations. Don't feel guilty, they're not your real parents. He dusted his clothes. He wasn't weak, he wouldn't dwell on the past like that. He was going to keep moving forward.

"Ohh, that kind of mirrors the support team, huh?"

What––?

Swiftly, Lyle turned around. With an unsettling smile and a static filled gaze that locked onto him like nails against the wall, you––no. The irregular apparition stood a few metres away from him. Seriously? You were here as well? With a sigh, he made a move to put a bullet through you just like the other hallucinations.

"That's fine," the apparition said. "But, you realised that I'm not a hallucination, right?"

Lyle faltered, but didn't believe your words. With a snap of his fingers, bullets were directed to your limbs. Before they hit you, Lyle's heart dropped at the split second your lips stretched into a grin. Lyle heard no pained grunts, just the sharp impact of his abilities onto your already fragile body.

"You're actually..."

The apparition spread your arms out, theatrically displaying the wound Lyle inflicted. "See? Just don't mess her up too much, I still want to have some fun."

"What..." He suppressed the onslaught of guilt that weighed him down. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"No clue. (Y/n) probably knows how this all works, but I think she'd be too dead to explain after this." It gestured to behind Lyle. "Plus, you should probably focus on that."

A struggling and bruised hand outstretched and a languid visage; a familiar individual with blue hair was beneath Lyle trapped under the rubble. As if someone had shackled chains onto Lyle's body as a cruel substitution for strings and used it to puppeteer him, his limbs moved on his own and approached the fallen body.

Lyle remembered what happened here and a certain memory was forcefully replayed in his head.

"I'll save them, don't worry!" The support leader showed a confident smile. "I may not look strong, but I need to try, right?"

"All that talk, and you ended up here..." Lyle scowled. "And after all the effort my parents did to try and save your sorry ass as well."

A few seconds later, a figure rushed right past Lyle. Upon recognising who it was, Lyle glowered.

"You've got to be kidding me," he muttered, distaste in every syllable.

The figure who rushed Lyle? It was him. Well, more specifically, it was him before his parents passed away––it was a hallucination of him from the past.

"Hold on! I'll get you out of there. Give me a moment."

Hearing his voice filled with such amiability and seeing his red eyes reflect such naivety made Lyle nauseous. Always ready to lend a helping hand, always ready to put others before himself, and always ready to help out the weak no matter the cost. A naive boy who wasn't aware that the person he was saving played a role in his parents' death––a naive boy who had yet to discover his parents' corpse on their anniversary.

Lyle gritted his teeth and walked right past the scene. He already knew what happened next. A civilian also hurt was close by, the support leader pleaded for Lyle to save him over the civilian, and Lyle chose to abandon the support leader.

I chose to abandon my closest friend.

Lyle paused. "What the hell am I thinking?"

Why the fuck does a part of him still consider the previous support leader as his friend?

Because of the support leader's reckless nature and desire to play hero, Lyle's parents went to save him, risking their lives and leaving their son behind. Then, the support leader had the audacity to show such a hopeless face and ask for Lyle to leave an innocent to die so that he could save him––completely going against the AEI's purpose.

"Woah, that's a hefty past. You were super nice back then, huh? My guess is that you were projecting onto (Y/n)."

Ah, right. 'You' were still here trapped in the mist with Lyle.

"Her support team mirrored the support you had, her reckless nature mirrored your best friend, and her willingness to help mirrored the you from the past. Pft, talk about being human."

Lyle narrowed his eyes at the irregular apparition and it threw your arms up in defence.

"Hey, I'm doing you a favour by giving you a wake up call. Don't look at me like that." It shrugged. "Okay, fun's over. Let's compare strengths. Unlike the other guys, you won't hesitate to hurt her, right?"

Giving no chance for a response, the irregular apparition dashed towards lyle. The moment it lifted your foot off the ground, the mist disappeared as if a large gust of wind had rushed by and dispersed it. Well, there was no time to think about the logistics of how the mist worked, Lyle was glad to finally leave the past behind. Finally, he could see buildings and other apparitions populating the space.

A streak of yellow flashed in front of Lyle and he recognised the ability in an instant; Amias. At the sight of him, the irregular apparition backed off.

For the first time, Amias's friendly gold eyes narrowed in hostility. "Was that true? Did you try to kill her?"

Oh, the hostility was directed towards Lyle. Considering how Amias followed you around like a lovesick puppy, he wasn't surprised at the reaction. Though, he hadn't realised that Amias heard the apparition's words as well.

"Do you think we have time for that kind of conversation right now?"

"It's an easy question!" Amias shouted, taking a step closer to Lyle. "What did you do to her?"

"It's a damned long story, okay? We have bigger things to deal with here!"

"If you think about hurting (Y/n) to get rid of the possession––"

"And so what if I do?! What else is there, Amias? Are you that stupidly naive to think there can be a pacifist route for everything?"

You had strange abilities, you worked with apparitions, you handled things in dangerous ways, and you spouted confident sentences that actually managed to get through to him to a degree.

"Living means encountering struggles and sometimes reality is harsh and people end up dying. That's just how it is. It's life, we can't avoid it. And I accept that. So, don't go around defining my experiences and don't go telling me what to do."

Lyle admitted, your words made sense. He realised his fault in forcing his ideals onto you. Going out of his way to kill you because he deemed you as 'weak' was stupid excuse to hide the fact that he focused on you because you reminded him of his past.

But that didn't mean he had changed his values in its entirety. If someone was jeopardising everyone else's safety, he saw no reason to hesitate in getting rid of the threat. You couldn't handle the possession, that was it. And he was going to deal with you accordingly. If he doesn't everyone else will be affected.

"(Y/n)'s not the type to give up, maybe she'll come back as an apparition and you can say your final goodbye there."

The words left Lyle before he could even process them.

Amias was silent for a moment, an indecipherable look in his eyes. Then, he chuckled. It sounded sweet, but Lyle knew it was more bitter than anything.

"That's cruel to say." Amias shook his head. "What did you even join the AEI for?"

What... did I join the AEI for?

"I hope you consider the feelings of others a little more."

Looks like everyone wanted to lecture him today. "Don't tell me what to do."

Lyle brushed past Amias, approaching the irregular apparition.

"Finally done talking? Or do you need more time?"

Lyle scowled. "Do you ever shut––"

A hand grabbed Lyle's arm and, with incredible strength, forced him to drive his arm straight forward. And he felt a nauseating warmth engulf his hand and copper filling his senses. Fast––too fast. It went by so fast. Lyle needed a few seconds for his mind to piece together the series of events.

Oh.

Oh, fuck.

His hand had impaled your stomach.

The irregular apparition grinned, blood dribbling from its lips––lips that belonged to your body.

"Thought I might help you there." The static from your eyes was faltering. "Without a host, exorcising me is easier, right?"

The more it talked, the more crimson spilled from your mouth. Almost Lyle slapped his hand over your lips to stop the apparition from talking.

I... if I remove my hand, the blood will––How did I let my guard down? How did I... What should I do?

Your hand suddenly grabbed Lyle's arm, and his breath hitched. God, for a severely injured body the apparition managed to secure impressive strength. If it forces Lyle to pull his hand out, you would really die. He doubted the apparition would just step to the side and let Lyle stop the bleeding.

"Don't you dare," he spat. "You––"

When Lyle looked away from his arm to meet your face, he was surprised to see that your eyes that were once filled with static had reverted to normal, only this time your eyes were a familiar red. It was the same red he encountered during the first phase of the SF trial, though a lot fainter than last time. But since Lyle's face was at a close proximity to yours, he was able to recognise it clearly.

The vengeful apparition?

"If you're not going to help," you said. Your voice nonchalant, yet your eyes were glaring at Lyle with great disdain. "Then let me do my thing."

You ripped Lyle's hand out of your stomach and stumbled back. Amias rushed to your side, but with a wave of your hand a terrifyingly strong gust of wind knocked him back.

"Don't interrupt me, I'm trying to work here. Hah...This is not easy..." You crouched down, hands clutching your stomach. With a sharp inhale, you mumbled, "(Y/n), after all the effort I'm putting in to keep you alive you better make it."







A/n: Alastor mvp

Also, dropping in a small hint about Lyle's past. There is some unreliable narration on his part, so keep that in mind!