"Hey Fin, I'm Kenji, the blonde's Casey, the dude falling off of Casey's lap is Jacob, and the boy who was just getting crushed is Lucca. You know who's keeper and demon probably," Kenji told him and Fintan greeted them with a warm smile before they had to step out of the car to walk into the airport. Immediately after the Keeper stepped out of the passenger side, Vergil darted out of his palm and snapped into his human form, his form rippling like water for a moment. Fintan gestured for the demon to come along as he grabbed his suitcase and followed the crowd inside, answering Lucca's question.
"Oh, my power is fire. But truthfully, Iâm not very good at it. I have a lot of practicing to do,â he replied, letting out a nervous and slightly ashamed laugh. They didnât exchange many pleasantries after that as they all rushed to the plane and trudged through security. Fintan grew quieter and quieter on the plane as the time for him to use his powers grew closer and he began to doubt his skill and ability to even use his power.
âHey man, chill out, everythingâs gonna be just peachy,â Vergil promised, slipping his large green headphones off of his ears and around his neck after a painfully long silence between the two of them.
âI donât know if I can do this. I feel really sick,â Fintan confessed and he visibly paled as he said this. Vergil shoved his shoulder lightly towards the window, convinced that his Keeper was being dramatic.
âSeriously, Finny, how bad could it be?â he pressed, his tone meant to be encouraging if anything. Fintan let out a loud scoff.
âJudging on how little I actually know about my power or how talented I am at it, Iâd say thereâs a wide range of awful that could happen,â he replied in a disheartening tone. Vergil glared at Fintan with a disapproving frown.
âListen, you sure as hell arenât gonne be able to use your power if you act like such a downer. So perk up or youâre gonna embarrass me in front of the Guild Master,â he teased, a serious note in the undertone of his words. Fintan nodded slowly upon hearing this.
âYeah, youâre right, youâre absolutely right. Besides thatâs why Iâm here, isnât it? To get better at this and be able to control it right?â he brooded, bringing himself up with every word. Vergil broke out into a huge grin and moved to put his headphones back on.
âRight! So sit back and enjoy the rest of the plane ride! Weâre going back to America!â
Fintan immediately loved The Pine Barrens. It was so damp and felt like it had just been filled with rain and looked like a forest out of a fairy tale book. Minus the fact that most of the trees were starting to wilt from the hellhounds and Green Sprites infecting the area. Somehow, he manage to overlook the decay and the dead branches that littered the ground. Cathal had already explained the mission in a little more detail while they walked through the woods and was surprisingly comforting about Fintanâs lack of knowledge which was incredibly appreciated by both Fintan and Vergil who didnât have to hear Finny bitch about it later. However, at this moment, Cathal was about to demonstrate a fight for Fintan. The two students stood off to the side, utterly amazed with rapt expressions on their faces as the tiny demon Yukine formed into a long sword, standing confrontationally across from the massive hell hound with ravenous red eyes locked on the Guild Master.
âYou guys can turn into weapons?!â Fintan hissed to Vergil with wide eyes. Vergil shrugged, shaking his head from side to side.
âApparently,â he admitted weakly. No sooner had Vergil replied that the Hell Hound tore towards Cathal with vicious speed. Fintan was convinced the man was going to slice the dog in half, but instead he merely held his palm out like a policeman conducting traffic. Fintan squinted his eyes to see if any visible changes were taking place when the houndâs head sudden encased itself in ice that glittered like diamonds and you could practically hear the sound of the skull splitting as its head shattered. As Cathal approached the carcass of the animal, Vergil bumped Fintan with his sharp hip.
âHey, buddy, pick your jaw up off of the floor and get ready; weâre next,â the demon pointed out smartly, removing his giant headphones to place them around his neck once more. Fintan nodded and stepped closer to the open area, revealing himself confidently, clenching his fists so tight, his knuckles were snow white.
âRelax,â Vergil sang soothingly as he rubbed Fintanâs tense shoulders, treating him like a wrestler before a stressful fight, âIâm gonna be here the whole time. Weâre a tag team, kay? You just- you just tag me and badaboom Iâm there,â Vergil hissed encouragingly, hyping himself up as well as Fintan who started to bounce with nerves. It was only a minute before they hear similar shuffling in the trees to their right. Suddenly, the hellhound came racing out of the trees, straight for Fintan. The Keeper tensed up and froze like he was frozen in ice.
âFintan, go,â Vergil warned, his voice hard and serious, but the words simply rolled off of Fintan. He wasnât even sure if he was breathing.
âFinny,â the demon pressed, practically growling until the hellhound was close enough that you could see the ombre of red in its jet black coat.
âFINNY!â Vergil shouted, shoving his Keeper out of the way and facing the hound on head first. Vergil clasped his hands together before tearing them apart, an explosion of light resembling a supernova grew out of his palms, startling the hound and forcing the dog to scamper a few feet away as its eyes adjusted to the light.
âFintan, I swear to God if you donât jump in right now and fight this thing, Iâll hate you forever,â the demon
threatened darkly, deadly serious. His sky blue eyes were locked on the houndâs actions while Fintan scrambled to his feet, trembling with both fear and excitement. He shook his fists by his sides and they grew visibly hotter and hotter as the flesh grew a blazing red like metal in a blacksmithâs furnace until they burst into flames altogether, the skin crawling like ember-filled logs in a bonfire.
âI know you can do this, so show your teacher that you arenât helpless,â Vergil continued, his voice still cold and dead as stone. Fintan slowly and shakily passed by Vergilâs ball of growing light, nearly tripping over a tree root before taking a deep inhale, his nerves leaving him.
âHAAH!â Fintan bellowed as he pushed his hands forward with as much force as he could, mimicking someone who would be shoving another aside. The ground sparked a moment before blazing into flames that skittered across the forest floor, rushing faster and faster, higher and higher towards the hound until it was swept up in the hot fabric of wild flames. The dog let out a blood chilling howl of agony that reminded Fintan how terrified he was and he immediately started to shiver again, retreating behind Vergil who condensed the light until it was nothing once more.
âHow did I do?â Fintan inquired carefully to Cathal, searching for his approval. How was the Keeper even supposed to guess if he did well? He had never really utilized his power as an intentional weapon beforehand. Fintan simply accepted Vergilâs comforting hand on his left shoulder as he watched Cathal.