This evil was, without a doubt, the handiwork of a possessed.
Taking a deep sigh, Eddy remained silent, almost as though he was grieving for the dead. The officer stood still, confused as to why the exorcist he had called was taking no action to solve the case.
Finally mustering up some courage, the officer stepped forward to Eddy.
"So? What are you waiting for? Whatever did this is still out there."
"Who were they? The victims."
Astounded by the seemingly useless question, the officer opened his mouth to yell some sense into Eddy but halted immediately. At this point, the best he could do was respect Eddy and let him handle the situation as effectively as possible, so he played along.
"They had guns and tattoos linking them to the Virgil gang. So it's safe to assume they were gangsters."
"Hmmm." Eddy replied, his eyes following the bloody footprints that exited the scene. Sighing softly, he exited the alley, following the trail.
"Let's go." he added.
As they progressed, they continued their stroll, following the footprints which would most definitely lead them to the dreadful possessed. Eddy advanced, observing the scenery as he moved in search of clues.
The young officer behind him, on the other hand, was completely pale, almost shivering in fear. He had never expected to be on a possessed hunt. He knew that in a battle with a possessed, he would be more of a hindrance than a help. If anything, he was dead weight and would likely be dead by the end of this.
"Err... it's getting kinda late. I should get going."
Eddy paused and turned to the officer, looking down at him with slight confusion.
"It's noon."
"Yeah, but... with the parade and all, I really have a lot on my hands, so I should probably leave this to—"
"It's okay. You can go."
The officer, stunned by Eddy's acquiescence, stood still for a moment, gazing at Eddy. Eddy's calm black eyes were locked on the officer, who remained motionless.
"Err... are you—"
"Go. Do your job. I'll take care of everything else." Eddy added before he walked away, following the bloodied footprints.
Proceeding down the alley, Eddy's hunt ended abruptly at a walled dead end. The footprints also ended a few steps before the dead end.
There were no other footprints apart from the ones walking into the dead end. Eddy, however, noticed something else- a wide portion of the wall was bloodied with words, forming a message boldly written for anyone who wished to read it. The message read:
"Rejoice, peasants, for you are alive to witness the greatest game of the century- the Thanksgiving massacre."
Eddy read the message, uninterested and unperturbed. Inspecting the scene, he sighed softly while scratching his head.
"Thanksgiving massacre?"
At last, the long-awaited Thanksgiving parade began. The commencement of all four parades echoed throughout Maddenport.
The rhythmic beating of drums, synchronized with the marching of participants and the floats in the sky, created the intended Thanksgiving aura. Floats of various cartoon and anime characters were pulled past the audience, drawing smiles as they gazed at the spectacle. While some watched the parade, others recorded the ongoing events in all four locations.
It was a jovial sight to witness. That was the beauty of Thanksgiving, not just the parade, but the holiday as a whole. It brought people together, irrespective of race or color, to perform one act: to be thankful for all they had. The Thanksgiving parade was one of the major milestones in Maddenport, a pleasant and marvelous sight to watch.
In one of the three parades, occurring in Terns district, everything was just as intended. The stores conducting their parades were advertising their brands while pleasing the masses, who were hypnotized by the seldom annual event before them.
The joy of a few spectators, however, was abruptly paused by the spine-crippling sound of a loud coo. The coo repeated itself, echoing across the entire block louder than any trombone or trumpet.
As loud as it was, it seemed to be nothing more than a harmless bird. Ignoring the coos, the spectators continued their cheers as they watched the parade.
However, the parade, consisting of all participants and spectators, was brought to an abrupt end as a lightning-speed light beam, faster than anyone could see, flew into a skyscraper, slicing it in half as though it were a dry tree branch. On impact, the skyscraper released a hunk of rubble that fell down and thudded on the parade, instantly crushing most of the civilians who couldn't escape its monstrous collapse.
BOOM!!
A few blocks from the attacked parade scene, the second parade, occurring at shodi Avenue at Maddenport, and its cheers halted as thunderous thuds echoed for a few moments before dying down.
Accompanied by murmurs from the spectators, the same bright beam of light blasted from the heavens, cutting through and roasting the people hit as though they were made of sandpaper. The beam continued, slashing buildings in half and sending them crashing down on the survivors of its initial blast, instantly killing them.
BOOM!!
The beam thundered as it sliced through every being and thing which stood in it's way as though it was a dry twig which could easily be broken in half.
The third parade, which took place in Rogerville district, also received the thunderous blast, which, like the others, cut through a float and nearby buildings, sending them crashing down and killing the civilians on sight. Moments later, grotesque wails and cries echoed through all three parade locations.
BOOM!!
Lastly, the fourth parade as well, occurring at the other side of Darvin Avenue- the some location Eddy was at, got hit as well by the thunderous beam, which in an instance, shattered all the buildings as well with all the civilians in it, murdering hundreds of innocent civilians in a jiff.
BOOM!!!
The once well-built city and its infrastructure had crumbled, leaving nothing but grotesque red stains on the ground. The survivors were few. While some cried aloud, mourning their lost ones, others, now lifeless corpses, were buried under the cruel weight of the rubble.
Less than a minute after the buildings collapsed, the scene worsened. The synchronous screeches of a familiar terrifying beast echoed throughout Maddenport.
In an instance, the wails ceased as the citizens were gripped by fear. Inspecting their surroundings in search of the source of the screeches, they peered through the blinding dust caused by the fallen buildings. At that moment, it began.
Tens, if not hundreds, of possessed charged out of the blinding dust, screeching as they attacked the civilians in all four locations. The civilians fearfully fled for their lives, abandoning the others who had been stuck under the rubbles in an attempt to save themselves , but the bloodthirsty possesseds pursued them, screeching deafeningly as they apprehended a huge sum of the escaping civilians. The massacre was far from reaching its crest or terminal point.
In just an instant, the joyous Thanksgiving parade had turned into a grotesque massacre. These events marked the commencement of a war that would go down in both Maddenport and exorcism history, dubbed the Thanksgiving Massacre.