As I sit at the police station waiting for the forensic team to get back to us with more detailed information, I get an email from Soma. In the email is everything she could find on demons from common public knowledge to government intelligence that is considered confidential. The more common public knowledge is nothing that I don't already know, but the government information has me raising an eyebrow.
Seems there are a handful of cases that have people acting crazed and doing things that couldn't be explained. That was before quirks came about, then after the discovery of quirks, it was relabeled as crazy villains. However, seems there is a very small team of the government that looks into the supernatural since there are even more recent cases of people doing a one-eighty in personality. Then going around killing people and collecting their body parts, usually hearts, they seem to use this to do a ritual. Though there are no reports of a successful ritual completion.
Most people who are like this get captured or killed, the ones who are captured usually die from either suicide or their body shutting down all of a sudden. The suicidal ones each have always screamed about a monster inside then slowly eating away at them, to end the suffering before committing suicide. So it seems the man I'm hunting is a possessed person and for some reason left his bag of hearts behind, which means he will need to kill many more for this ritual.
"Find something out?" the nicer detective says to me seeing me looking at my phone for the past few minutes. I also learned he is named Soga Shig. His partner the grumpy one is named Naito Iwao.
"Yeah seems the person I'm hunting is collecting hearts for some ritual he wants to do. We have the hearts he originally collected, which means he will be going on a killing spree or murdering more people very soon," I say to them leaving out the demon part. They both look at me surprised and then share a worried look with one another.
"So we got some crazy fucking serial killer on the loose who is collecting hearts for a ritual. Fuck he may have killed some already! Someone get me any missing person reports that have been called in the last two days!" Naito says to one of the policemen working around us, who quickly scrambles to get the information.
While the policemen are gathering all the missing person reports from the last two days, which is assumed when the two men who smuggled him died. Then one of the forensic personnel come over handing me the report on everything they found. Each heart is confirmed human and they could only ID some of the hearts which belonged to some Chinese heroes, the rest are considered civilians most likely. As for the mummified man, it was more like someone aged him rapidly. My guess is the demon sucked his life force out of him. I then hand over the reports to the detectives after I read through them.
'From what I learned it could be a few different types of demons, but my best guess is it is either a succubus or incubus,' I think to myself while looking through the missing person reports for the last two days.
"It seems he most likely has gotten, killed or both captured and killed, several people already. These three each live in the same part of the city and have been last seen at their homes. Which I feel means he is staying in the city until he has enough hearts, he could have a possible hideout near this area," I say to the two detectives who look at the three missing people reports I'm referring to.
"Well since the reports were filled not long ago we haven't made any deep investigations yet," Soga says with a regretful voice since missing person cases are not a high priority compared to other types unless it is a child.
"Then we are going to see their apartments and houses to find anything that can help us," I say to them standing up and gesturing for them to follow.
The three of us get into an unmarked cop car meant for detectives, I sit in the back while we drive to the closest victim. The first missing person or one of the possible victims is your average looking thirty year old man, with a standard office job in the city, single, and living alone in his apartment. Arriving at the apartment complex we go inside and see the owner Soga called while Naito drove us there waiting for us. He brings us upstairs to the man's apartment while telling us he doesn't think any foul play happened there.
The closer we get to the apartment the more of the same energy I felt on the fishing boat is radiating from the apartment. This means the demon was here, after he opens the apartment we three walk inside while the owner waits outside.
"Look for anything of interest," I say while trying to pinpoint the demonic energy I'm sensing. At first look nothing of interest stands out in the living room we first entered.
We each walk around the apartment, and while the two detectives slowly make their way around looking for even the smallest of clues, I follow the demonic energy. It leads me to the bedroom, I see a messy bed and an opened closet, but no smell of blood either. The demonic energy is heavy in this room, but nothing that stands out showing where it is exactly coming from. I look all over the room not seeing anything of interest.
Walking over to the closet I see some of the shirts have been ripped apart and a very rough jagged writing on the wall in the back of the closet. In a language that I instinctually know, the language of angels and demons or better known as Latin here on earth.
'Mox mundus in tenebris consumetur…. Great, ominous as fuck,' I think to myself after seeing the writing and it is what's giving off this demonic energy.
"Hey guys, come in here! I need someone to take a photo!" I say to the two detectives since I already know what it says, but more evidence never hurts.
"What'd you find?" Naito asks me as the two quickly walk inside the bedroom. I just gesture to the wall inside the closest.
"What language is this?" Soga says while they both look at it and Naito takes a picture of it with his phone.
"Latin, it says 'Soon the world will be consumed in darkness,'" I say translating it for them.
"Latin? Guess our serial killer likes the classics," Naito says with a sarcastic voice and snorts at the end.
"What kinda message is that? Who the hell is it for?" Soga says while thinking about what the killer is trying to say.
"Who the fuck knows, he's just a batshit crazy killer who probably enjoys torturing his victims before taking out their hearts," Naito says in disgust while we leave the apartment but call forensics to come to sweep the place for any fingerprints or anything else we might have missed.
Once forensics arrives, we three go to the next closest possible victim's apartment. The next one is another average single man but this time in his forties. Arriving just as the last we have the owner take us to the person's apartment and just like the last it gives off demonic energy.
Entering the apartment we walk around looking for clues, just as last time I follow the demonic energy. This time it brings me to the bathroom, I see a torn-apart shower curtain with more Latin scratched into the shower wall.
"There is more writing in here!" I say getting the two to come into the bathroom to see the wall.
"It says, 'Tenebrae veritatem huic mundo afferent,' which translates to 'The darkness will bring the truth to this world,'" I say to them as they take a picture of this writing too.
"Great this crazy fuck is probably writing us a story at each victim's house," Naito says with utter annoyance in his voice.
"Well, he may have not killed them yet since we see no signs of struggle or blood. That could mean he needs fresh hearts for the ritual and that could give us time to hunt him down," Soga says contemplating the situation.
"Either way we need to go to the next place," I say while they both nod and call the forensic team to head here next. A pair of policemen show up to secure the scene for the forensic team, while we move to the next location.
This time we head to a woman's condo nearby, she was a widow but her husband passed recently about several months beforehand. Her husband died in a car accident leaving her alone early in life, as she is in her mid-thirties but appears to be average in all other aspects of her life. Arriving at the condo, Soga picks the lock and we enter the place. Just like the last two places this place holds demonic energy, I follow it while the other two search around.
The energy leads me to a small office room she has in her condo, which has a desk with a computer and a small bookcase with only a handful of books. As I look around, I notice the writing this time is on the desk carved into the wood.
"More writing!" I say while reading it to myself. The two come in again take a picture and look at me for the translation.
"Still Latin, 'Veritas ad genua hominum adducet.' It means, 'The truth will bring humans to their knees,'" I say to them while trying to think what the demon is really saying.
'Does it plan on opening a portal to hell on earth or something else?' Think to myself as the other two also contemplate what we've learned so far.
"So the crazy fuck is a cultist or something? Is this ritual one that will bring the end of the world?" Naito says while rubbing his forehead in frustration.
"Would make sense, Latin was used by many cults in the past since it is considered 'holy' or spiritual by many," Soga says agreeing with Naito who just sighs tiredly.
"Then we need to look up similar rituals and see the possible amount he might need to complete it and find what kind of people he needs if there are any connections to the victims at all," I say and they nod while once again calling the forensic team to come here next, while we wait for more police to show to secure the scene so we can head back to the office.
"I'm gonna ask my contacts to look into it too," I say to them while walking out of earshot to call Soma, they both just nod before discussing theories with each other.
"Hey Soma, it's me again. I may need your help again and more in the coming future soon. Do you want to just join me on this mission from the HQ?" I ask Soma after she answers the phone.
"Sure, I was bored anyway and from what you had me do earlier this should be interesting," Soma says to me.
"Great thanks, when you get to the office can you look up everything on cult rituals or demonic rituals and send it to me? I'll have them send over the mission details to you to catch you up on what's going on so far," I say to her with a somewhat tired voice as this seems to be getting more and more difficult.
"Sure and this keeps getting more interesting," Soma says with some excitement in her voice before I hang up and call the director to send Soma the mission details as she will be working with me from now on. He agrees since she is my operator and works for the underground hero agency.
The same pair from the last victim's place arrive here since the forensic team showed up at the last location. I and the two detectives then head back to the office to try to do some research of our own.