Luna caught a whiff of the rotten smell and quickly covered Emma's mouth to muffle any reaction.
The footsteps ceased.
A loud crash set off, and Luna peered over the edge of their hiding spot and confirmed her suspicion—the demon was nowhere inside the basement.
"Stay here," she whispered to Emma before cautiously moving toward the noise. She peered through the broken trapdoor and saw the shattered glass table. Behind it was Kin, bleeding and unconscious in a corner.
The demon spotted her at a glance. Luna gasped and tried to retreat, but the demon leaped, grabbed her hair where it gathered, and yanked her back.
"We've got a peeper," it sneered.
Holding on to it to ease the tension, she clawed and punched at its hand, but its grip remained unyielding.
The demon dragged her out, throwing her beside Kin. She hit the tiled floor hard, pain radiating through her body.
She coiled from the pain and instantly felt something trigger in her stomach.
"Ugh…" She clutched her stomach, feeling a nauseating heat build up inside.
"Do you want to end up like him?" the demon taunted, crouching beside her. "You're no fun."
A child's cry suddenly echoed through the house, and her eyes widened.
The demon's eyebrows raised, and it smirked as it heard it. "Although children are pointless… I'm sure they can't be left alone, right?" He turned away. "Harvest time."
"No… Emma…." She instantly grabbed the edge of its pants and grunted her way to haul herself upright. She leaped onto its back, desperate to stop it.
"Oh… You want some fun after all."
The demon laughed, easily gripping her shirt and flinging her across the room. She landed hard, her torso exposed as her shirt tore away. The burning sensation in her stomach intensified even more.
Desperate, she grabbed a shard of glass and tried to stab the demon's hand. It caught her wrist effortlessly, black blood dripping from where the glass nicked it. Luna let go of the shard, and the demon shook her off, amused by its own wound.
The demon was far stronger, and Luna knew she couldn't win in a direct fight. She needed a weapon, anything to protect herself until help arrived. She crawled toward the kitchen, but the demon grabbed her leg, dragging her back across the floor. Glass shards cut into her skin, inside the edges of her nails, each one a new agony.
Her stomach felt like it was on fire, and she struggled to suppress the urge to vomit. The demon released her leg, and she immediately focused on the largest shard embedded in her arm. She pulled it out, wincing, and brushed off the smaller bits clinging to her clothing.
The demon crouched, leveling its gaze with hers. "Now that I see it, you have scary eyes," it said with a grin. "That's more like it."
Luna's mind raced. She had to buy time, to keep the demon occupied until she could think of a plan. Summoning all her courage, she locked eyes with the creature, ready for whatever came next.
Not a second later, it crawled towards her like a panther. She attempted to scramble backward as fast as she could but failed to outrun his pace. She prevented it from coming closer by kicking her feet aggressively in the air.
"Get away from me!"
Her plan failed. The demon's grip tightened, dragging her closer. She screamed in pain as glass pushed further into her skin.
Its hands then clamped down on the sides of her head, pinning it to the floor. It yanked her hair, lifting her head up, and she strained her arms to ease the pressure.
"I wonder what reward I will have for a soul like yours?" it said close to her ear, gritting its teeth, making her shiver.
The demon slammed her head back down, pressing hard. She heard a pop from her ears, followed by a high-pitched ringing.
Glass shards embedded in her hair dug deeper into her scalp. Her vision blurred, and her right cheek and temple throbbed as if her head were splitting apart.
Her eyes seemed to give in before her.
The burning sensation in her stomach grew fiercer as her surroundings dissolved into a whirl of colors and light, then nothing.
──────────
Luna's chest jerked up, and she gasped for air, awake. Coughing out what she noticed was blood, she realized the demon had released her head. Grabbing the demon's hand that had hurt her, she heard it screech as she pulled herself up.
It was strange. Luna couldn't feel the pain in her bleeding arm, and the searing in her stomach was still present, but her vision was oddly clear. Was it an adrenaline rush? Little did she know, it was the beginning of her ability to tap into her soul. Her hair turned luminescent white, and every cut on her body glowed ever so faintly.
She stood up without feeling any pain. As puzzled as she was, she only stared at the demon flailing its arm and screaming in agony.
"YOU!" it shouted, leaping at her on all fours. It caught her arms, pinning her to the floor.
Summoning all her strength, she toppled it over, landing it on its back. Luna jumped on top, trying to keep it still.
She cursed, realizing she had nothing to tie it with. The demon struggled, its screams deafening, as black blood poured from its mouth. She noticed its wrists were searing as if on a hot grill.
"YOU BITCH, I'LL GET YOU! I'LL HAUNT YOU FOREVER! AGGHHH!!!!"
Luna had no idea why it was reacting this way. Though it seemed advantageous, the demon's shrieks were unsettling. She resolved to hold it down as long as she could.
Minutes later, the main door burst open. A woman with long, straight hair in a low ponytail and a black leather jacket scanned the room, then ran to Luna, holding out an ID. She looked at it carefully, as sirens set off from a distance. The ID indicated the woman was a priest.
"I'll handle it," the woman said, putting her ID back inside her jacket. "You can let him go now." She smiled at her, causing Luna to relax, and without thinking, she let it go. Luna, feeling reassured, crawled beside Kin and leaned against the wall.
The demon twisted its arm but was no match for the woman. As she held it down, a wave of hot air spread through the room. Luna felt this and thought she might be dreaming. Yet the pain in her body sharpened, indicating otherwise, as her luminescent hair faded back to dark without her noticing the whole process.
Everything was sore. She thought the adrenaline had worn off now that help had arrived.
"What… in the world…" Luna muttered, watching.
The woman's hair turned white as she untied it.
A beam of light shone brightly, and Luna closed her eyes momentarily. When she opened them, the demon was unconscious, and the woman was tying her dark hair back into a low ponytail, as if nothing had happened.
"This is definitely a dream…" Luna said. The woman spoke on her phone, and people rushed in.
"Is this what priests do? Did you kill him?" Luna asked, her voice barely audible and her throat dry.
The woman glanced at her. "Are you alright?"
Luna nodded weakly. "I think…"
She saw the rescue team take Kin on a stretcher. Pointing to the basement, she watched the woman nod and instruct the team to check every room.
Luna's body relaxed as the heat dissipated from her stomach. As people rushed to her, she slowly gave in to her heavy eyelids, letting the exhaustion take over.