As the scorching sun blazed down on the city of Maddenport, a young man named Eddy sat on a bus stop bench. His hair was as black as the night sky, complementing his strikingly handsome face. Despite his slim, average-height frame, his muscles were impressively defined, with knuckles covered in scars and a distinct slit scar beneath his eye. Clad in an all-black uniform with a sword strapped to his back, he sat quietly, savoring his sweetened coffee while gazing at the bustling streets of Maddenport.
He blew gently on his coffee, sipping it slowly to relish the flavor. This wasn't just any coffee; it was a meticulously prepared blend of black coffee with at least four spoons of sugar and a generous amount of milk, which might explain why a seventeen-year-old like Eddy was such a coffee enthusiast.
A man dressed in the same uniform as Eddy, with a sledgehammer strapped to his rear approached and plopped down on the bench. The man, Damian, was at least in his 30s. With his broad shoulders, muscular build, and blond beard, he epitomized masculinity.
"Afternoon, Eddy," Damian greeted.
"Good afternoon," Eddy replied.
"Ahh! It's scorching today. We should have gotten pass the summer heat wave but, it's still a hundred degrees out here," Damian remarked.
Eddy kept his head down, staring at his coffee with his usual docile expression as Damian spoke. Passers-by moved along while a few boarded the buses that stopped in front of them.
"I see..." Eddy replied.
"Huh? Why do you have to be so boring, Eddy? At least try to engage in the conversation. This is why you have no women in your life," Damian chided.
"We've been partners for two years now; you should pick up something from me. I mean, look at me, I'm hunky and I've got the moves. I'm a perfect ten," he added with an arrogant smirk to Eddy.
Eddy, however, was indifferent to what others thought of him. Orphaned at the age of ten, he had been left to care for his younger sister alone, which led him into this line of work as an exorcist. Despite his exceptional skills in the field, he longed for a career where his life wasn't constantly at risk. His determination to survive was fueled by the knowledge that if he were to die, his sister's education would halt, and she would have no one else to depend on.
An exorcist is a warrior who battles the possessed. When one-tenth of the world's population dies, they transform into possessed: mystical, immortal creatures capable of killing any living being. For years, humanity and the possessed had waged a brutal war for survival. In this era, the possessed had evolved, gaining intelligence. Nothing could kill a possessed except a direct hit to their heart. Only exorcists, like Eddy and Damian, with their enhanced strength, skill, speed, and other attributes, could combat these creatures. Yet, even then, the odds of an exorcist surviving a one-on-one battle with a possessed were extremely low, which is why they worked in pairs.
"You should focus more on battles than on women," Eddy replied.
"Idiot, of course I do, but can you blame me? There are so many dreamy girls out there; I just can't help myself," Damian responded, a pervy smile on his face as he looked up at the sky.
"Pervert," Eddy muttered.
Damian turned to him swiftly, almost baffled by Eddy's remark. "Idiot. It's called hormones," he retorted, as he returned his glance at the sky and sighed deeply.
"I sure do wish the days could always be as peaceful as this."
"There was another murder, a couple of blocks away from here," Damian said.
"It was a possessed." He added.
Eddy slowly turned to him, interest piqued.
Atlast, They arrived to the crime scene, which was already swarming with police officers and forensic personnel gathering evidence and taking photographs. Damian covered his nose against the stench of blood, while Eddy looked down grimly.
"Damn possessed." Damian muttered.
A detective, dressed smartly in a suit and a finely sewn pair of Italian shoes, approached them.
"Afternoon, gentlemen. I'm Detective Becker, Maddenport Police Department, MPD. And you are?" Detective Becker said, displaying his badge before swiftly tucking it back into his coat pocket.
"Damian Lawler and Eddy Smith. We're exorcists, as you can see." Damian replied.
"Yeah, I figured. What exactly are you doing here?" Detective Becker inquired.
Eddy ignored him, scrutinizing the blood-soaked crime scene.
"Well, a possessed did this. It's our job to track and eliminate it." Damian explained.
"That's the problem. There's no proof that a possessed is responsible for this, hence it's not your jurisdiction." Becker countered.
"It was a possessed' Eddy declared, crouching to inspect the severed arm of the father.
"As I mentioned, there's no evidence-"
"This man's hand was violently torn off, and his face is unrecognizable. The woman was ripped
apart-if it were a chainsaw, the wounds wouldn't be this savage. Plus, there's no sign of forced entry. So, if it wasn't human or a bear,
what else could it be, Detective...Beser?" Eddy
challenged, standing to face Becker.
Detective Becker was stunned, unable to respond.
"...It's Beck-"
"With that said, this falls within our jurisdiction so if you don't mind showing us to the witness who reported the crime scene, we would really appreciate it." Damian said with a smile.
Detective Becker, somewhat hesitant, replied.
"Right this way." and walked towards the exit.
Damian followed, but just as Eddy was about to join him, he noticed a forensic technician entering the bathroom with his tools and cotton swabs.
"Yo, Damian, go on ahead. I need to check something first." Eddy said, trailing the forensic
personnel into the room.
"Uhh..sure..." Damian muttered.
Damian continued downstairs with Detective Becker, where the daughter of the victims sat in an ambulance, wrapped in a blanket and
sobbing softly. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, and dark circles underscored her grief. It was clear she had been through an
emotional wringer, having just lost her parents
Around them, the other tenants of the building were being escorted back inside.
"Aren't you supposed to question the neighbor before letting them go?" Damian asked.
"We already did," Detective Becker replied.
"Oh, so what did they say?" Damian inquired.
"They heard arguing and a few screams. That was all most of them could report." Detective
Becker answered.
"They heard screams and didn't call 911? How stupid does that sound?" Damian askedincredulously.
"It's believable. According to the call logs, that family was known for causing a ruckus. They argued day and night. This afternoon seemed
no different to the neighbors, except for the murder," Detective Becker explained.
"There's your victim," he added, gesturing to the girl.
Damian, hesitating for a moment, approaches her in a gradual pace.
"Hey. My name is Damian, I'm from the exorcist department.
Pleased to meet you. What's your name?"
She sniffled heavily while she stammered a reply.
"M...M...M...Maria."
"Maria. That's a beautiful name. I'm deeply sorry for what you're going through. My job is to find who did this to your parents and bring them to justice. Can you help me do that?" Damian asked kindly.
Maria was speechless. She was in the throes of grief, having lost her parents and now facing a
daunting future alone. Yet, amidst her mourning, a desire for revenge flickered. She nodded in response to Damian's question.
"Okay...okay. First, do you know anyone who would want to hurt your parents in any way? Someone they owed money to or had conflicts
with?" Damian asked.
She shook her head, signifying negation.
"No...they were good people. They had their differences, but that's marriage, isn't it? You're bound to argue eventually."
"I see. In that case, pardon me, but I must ask was there a corpse in your home?" Damian asked.
Maria stared at him, astonished. The question was so unexpected and offensive that it left her dumbfounded. After a pause, she spoke.
"...what did you just say?"
"I mean no offense, but based on years of experience, your parents were most likely killed
by a possessed," Damian replied.
"A po...possessed? Isn't that a myth?!" she exclaimed.
"I'm afraid not. I've encountered them several times, and if my intuition is correct, a possessed is responsible for your parents' death. Therefore, I implore you to aid me in finding and slaying it before it harms anyone else," Damian said earnestly.
As she was about to rebuke him, Maria's tongue froze. Her face turned pale with fear, and she shivered. Noticing her reaction, Damian gently touched her hand and asked.
"Calm down. You're safe. What's wrong?"
"Gran gran...Gran gran said she wasn't feeling too well before l left for school today. She had
fever and said she would be okay so we didn't...there's no way she could have-"
"Your grandma is the culprit," Eddy interjected, as he suddenly bumped into the conversation.
"Who're-"
"There were only two bodies, no third person. She died and came back to life as a possessed and murdered your parents." Eddy cut Maria off.
"You son of a-!"
"Don't be stupid. It's obvious. She's the culprit. What other explanation can you give?" Eddy replied coldly, cutting Maria off once again.
Maria stared at him, shocked.
"Hey, how do you know this?" Damian asked.
"Just a hunch." Eddy replied.
"You f**ker...how can you be so cold?!" Detective Becker asked furiously.
"Cold, realistic...it's all the same."
Turning to Detective Becker with his
emotionless eyes, he adds to his statement.
"I'm just trying to do my job."
"If what you're saying is true, then the possessed mustn't have gotten too far away. We should start a 20 meter radius search right away." Damian suggested.
"I never said the possessed had escaped the building." Eddy responded.
"Uhh..the window was broken, she obviously did." Damian pointed out.
"The bathroom still had fresh water droplets on the walls and a tad bit of fresh blood on the shower knob." Eddy stated.
"What are you insinuating?" Damian asked.
"Insinuating? Well.."
Eddy turned to Detective Becker and asked.
"Did you question every tenant in all the apartments?"
"Yeah...well, there is this one room, but there wasn't any response, so we figured they might not be home." Detective Becker truthfully replied.
"Hmm..well, I believe the possessed is still in the building." Eddy said, looking up at the
apartment complex.
"In the building?! That's absurd. If it was intelligent, it would try to escape." Damian argued.
"No one would expect it to still be in the building. It's a stupid move, but if executed perfectly, it's a smart enough to send any exorcist on a goose chase." Eddy replied.
"What makes you think a dead creature could reason out a plan to that extent?" Detective
Becker asked.
Eddy looked at Detective Becker, then back at the apartment building.
"Like I said, it's just a hunch."
It was a huge hunch, with extremely low odds.
Eddy didn't seem to take the possessed lightly. Possessed creatures typically displayed just
enough intelligence to dodge strikes or attack their prey's neck. Outsmarting humans was not
their forte. However, rare cases reported by fellow exorcists hinted at attempts to outwit them-myths to many, but apparently not to Eddy.
Eddy stared at the building for a few seconds before returning his glance to Detective Becker.
"Would you mind taking me to the room without a response?" he asked.
"..sure," Detective Becker replied.
Detective Becker walked towards the building, with Eddy following. As Damian was about to join, Eddy stopped him by stretching out his hand to him, gesturing to Damian to stay put.
"No, you stay here. Just in case things go bad, someone has to protect her." Eddy said, gesturing towards Maria.
"We both know the police won't be a formidable help against a possessed."
"You dumbass. Think of yourself first. What if things go bad and you don't make it out? I'm coming with y-"
"Yes, things might go bad, but do you really believe I won't make it out in one piece?" Eddy asked, staring into Damian's eyes.
Damian saw determination in Eddy's gaze, along with it was a belief and confidence that he
was not going to die. His instincts screamed at him to go with Eddy. If the possessed was as intelligent as Eddy claimed, it would be a
formidable opponent for three highly skilled exorcists. Damian knew Eddy was aware of this too and aware that the possessed might try to escape and kill anyone who hindered it, with the girl potentially ending up as collateral damage. He wasn't sure what drove Eddy-confidence? Stupidity? Pride? Whatever it was, Eddy had made up his mind to no alone.
Sigh
Damian sighed lightly, turning his gaze away from Eddy.
"You better not die....Maggie is expecting you."
Maggie was Eddy's younger sister, the person who gave him the drive to keep fighting. She
was all he had left, and he would rather kill every single one of his enemies than die and abandon her, like their parents had.
Eddy turned and followed Detective Becker. "I'll see you in five." he said as he walked away.
So, Eddy and Detective Becker climbed to the third floor. Detective Becker led them to the room
with no response. On reaching the room, He knocked several times, but as before, there was no answer.
He sighed, and gradually turned around to Eddy. "No response. Like I said, they're probably not home. We've sent word to court for a warrant. When we get it, we can-"
Unexpectedly, Eddy kicked the door down as if were made of paper mache, gaining entrance into the room.
Detective Becker, astonished and angered from Eddy's rash actions screams aloud to Eddy.
"What the hell are you doing! We need a warrant to enter the premises. You don't just go around kicking doors down!"
"That's your jurisdiction as a police officer, not mine." Eddy replied, as he casually walked into the apartment with his hands in his pockets.
"I'm a detective!"
Eddy entered the apartment, scanning the well-furnished and properly decorated living
room. Portraits of a family of five-a man, a woman, and three boys-adorned the walls.
So, with a slight hesitation in his movements, Detective Becker entered the room.
"You see, there's no-"
Eddy raised a finger, signaling Becker to stop talking. He diligently observed every structure in the room. A drop of what seemed like water landed on his shoulder. He touched it with his index finger-it was drool.
He swiftly raising his gaze up to see a translucent figure on the ceiling, which wastes no time to pounce towards him, but he dodged by a hair's breadth as he tilts away, leaving its claws digging into the floor.
It pounced again, but once again Eddy rolled
away from its slash, which tore the wall open.
"Can you speak?" Eddy asked the possessed.
The possessed, which was Maria's grandmother, turned over to Eddy, displaying its monstrous canines with its joyful smile, creepily clicking softly as it approached Eddy at a slow pace.
"Could you tell me, why did you kill that innocent couple? I understand that you were able to, but what motivated you?" Eddy questioned.
Suddenly, the creature lunges at Eddy, attempting to claw his face with rapid, vicious swipes. Eddy deftly dodges, the beast's movements almost too swift for Detective Becker to follow.
In a surprising counterattack, Eddy lands a single powerful punch, sending the creature hurtling through the wall and into the next room.
He examines his hand, momentarily astonished by his own strength, then turns his gaze back to the creature. It struggles to its feet, emerging from the shadows, clutching the broken wall for support as it drags itself back into the room.
"You know, I had high hopes for you." Eddy remarked, his tone filled with disappointment.
"I genuinely believed that, given your intelligence —comparable to that of a human with at least a slightly above-average IQ —I might only need to break your arms and legs. I thought then we could have a civil conversation about why beings like you delight in harming innocent people."
The possessed creature clicks menacingly once more as it edges closer to him. Eddy lets out a weary sigh.
"But it seems I was mistaken." he added with a note of finality.
"Well, in that case, by the power vested in me as an exorcist, I will now...exorcise you."
With that, Eddy unsheathes his katana, ready to confront the malevolent entity.