At that moment, it began. Tens, if not hundreds, of possessed charged out of the blinding dust, screeching as they attacked the civilians at all three locations, pouncing and feeding on everyone in sight.
The civilians fled, but the possessed pursued them, screeching deafeningly as they apprehended a large sum of the fleeing citizens, gnawing and chewing up on the innocents without hesitation. The massacre was far from reaching its crest or terminal point.
Regardless of their pace, the possessed easily caught up and pounced on the already petrified humans. Crawling about the vicinity like a hornet's nest, the possessed continued their hunt. While some munched and tore apart the already caught humans, the atmosphere thickened with the painful screams of those being ripped and eaten alive, giving an unbearable aura to those who were in hiding from the possessed.
As the massacre continued, a little girl, about ten years old covered on most part of her body by dusts from the crashed debris, staggered about, sniffling as tears rolled down her cheeks. In between her hands was a beautiful teddy bear, dirtied and slightly ripped, which she hugged tightly as she proceeded down the possessed infested lane.
"Mummy... Daddy... where are you?"
She cried walked forward, opposite the direction of the escaping citizens fleeing from the man-eating beasts behind them.
Muttering to herself, already traumatized by the scene she had just witnessed, her attention was drawn to something unfamiliar but spine-chilling—the sound of tears, growls, and munching from the other side of a pillar. Pausing her steps, she stared at the pillar, trying to recall what it was she was hearing.
"Mom?" she muttered as she turned, advancing toward the pillar.
As she crossed the pillar and peeped around it, she was immediately paralyzed with fear, letting out a soft gasp of fright.
It was a possessed, munching and gnawing on a poor man's corpse with a crooked smile on its already bloodied face. It had acquired the meal it had so desperately needed, and now, was enjoying it without a single organ to share with another of its kind.
RIP!
TEAR!
MUNCH!
MUNCH!
The cycle continued as the beast fed, satisfying its burning hunger with the poor man's insides. However, at that moment, it noticed a presence, similar to the one of the man it was feeding on.
It paused its feeding and raised its head, spotting the little girl who could only shiver in fear, while still stricken with fear.
Rising to its feet, it stared into the girl's eyes, grinning widely to expose its bloodied lips and monstrous teeth.
The little girl, trembling, stared at the hideous man-shaped possessed advancing sluggishly toward her. Unluckily for her, her legs went numb, sending her landing on her knees. Powerless and motionless, all she could do was gaze at the beast, weeping for her life in fear.
Finally, it arrived right in front of her, glancing down at its new, delicious prey. Raising its clawed hands, it swung them swiftly, aiming to decapitate the young girl.
Almost as fast as the possessed swung its hand, a katana swung by, slashing the possessed's hand off.
Stunned by the assault, the possessed stepped back and then it noticed the young girl was gone.
A loud thud sounded behind it, which draws its attention almost immediately. Quickly turning toward the sound, it saw the cause of the assault- Rich, with the little girl on his shoulders, with his back turned to it while he was on one knee and with an already unsheathed sword.
He gently placed the girl on her feet, showing an innocent smile drawn from cheek to cheek.
"Are you hurt?"
Hesitating for a few moments, the girl blinked her eyes in unison, still in shock as her vision slowly formed the image of the boy, her savior, standing before her.
Finally, putting the image in place, she stood still, staring at the innocent-looking boy who had just saved her from an untimely death.
"Are you hurt?" he asked once more.
Hurriedly, she inspected herself, patting all over in search of any pain. Finding none, she raised her head, glancing at her hero, and shook her head.
Taking a soft sigh of relief, Rich glanced once more at the girl, smiling softly.
"Good... I wouldn't be able to sleep well today if I couldn't save a little girl in danger."
"And your parents?"
On hearing this, the girl lowered her head in despair, staring at the ground as a tear ran down her cheek.
"...Mom..." she muttered, sniffling softly.
Rich's smile vanished, his face transforming into one of displeasure and disappointment.
"Oh. I'm sorry. If I had been more active, maybe all these calamities wouldn't even be occurring...."
"...But what's done is done. So all I can say is... I'm sorry."
Turning his head, he glanced at a figure by his side. He saw his colleagues, two armed exorcists, staring down at him.
Rich, spotting the exorcists, spoke while pointing at one.
"You. Get this girl to safety."
The exorcist, without hesitation, rushed over to his superior, Rich.
"What about the possessed Hundreds of them are crawling all around. Going solo is—"
"Don't worry about me, just do as I said." Rich cut in, as he rose to his feet.
"...What about you?"
"Me? Well..." Rich replied, turning to the possessed, whose hand had already regenerated. Glancing at the beast, boiling with rage, he continued.
"I'm gonna exorcise the demon."
***
At this point, the holy exorcist guild had launched a counter to the ongoing crisis. Finalizing the status of the attackers, all available local exorcists were sent to the three attacked neighborhoods as a revolt against the onslaught. However, the biggest mystery was yet to be solved. Remarkable, exceptional, coincidental—no words could describe how obscure the situation was.
For the first time in the thousand year history of the existence of the possessed, they were ubiquitous in only three vicinities simultaneously.
As strange as it was, it was also terrifying and disturbing to assume, even for a moment, that the dreadful, man-eating, unstoppable beasts—the possessed—had evolved.