~In a building named "Reeves Detective Agency" in District 3~
A dark-haired man wearing a black, open blazer and suit pants walked around the office, picking up various pieces of trash and throwing it away. Darren Reeves, 29 years old
"I'm about to close the office…" The man spoke with a slightly low, slurred voice.
Across the office sat a brunette woman with her head down, sleeping. Khara Bennett, 23 years old. Her hair was tied back in a long ponytail and she wore a gray suit and glasses. She also had on a golden necklace with a small gold box on it.
"Come on… time to wake up." Darren walked over to Khara and shook her a few times. On the table she lay on, he noticed an open journal with the words, "Serial Kidnappings? Potentially Supernatural?", written on the top of the page.
"Still at it with this stuff, huh…"
Khara sat up slowly, yawning and rubbing her eyes. "Oh sorry. I fell asleep…"
"It's fine. I'm about to close up."
"Ah, alright. I'll pack up my things." Khara said, picking up her notebook and putting it into her bag.
"You still haven't given up on this devil stuff, huh…"
"Of course not. I can't. Especially when I know they're out there. Yes, I know it's a crazy thing to try and prove but I can't just give up on it."
"Why are you so adamant on this anyway…? You aren't some crazy occultist, are you?"
Khara deeply inhaled and exhaled. "Do you remember how I told you that my dad died?"
"Yeah…"
"I never told you what actually happened, did I? The police wrote it off as suicide when in reality… he was murdered. In fact, I saw it happen."
"If you were a witness, how did it get written off as a suicide…?"
"There was no proof of a murder or anyone else being around him when he died. There was even a knife planted on him with no fingerprints but his own. I know for certain he was not killed with that knife though. Here, look at this." Khara reached into her bag and pulled out the same notebook. She flipped a number of pages to a drawing of a very distinct figure.
"See this? This is who I saw in front of my dads body when I got home that night."
"Hmm…"
The drawing showed a tall, dark figure holding a long blade. They were draped in black but the most notable thing was their black crow mask.
"So what makes you think this has something to do with devils?"
"They disappeared right in front of me. A glowing red circle. There were strange glyphs on it as well. Once they saw me, the circle appeared and they vanished with it. I did some research into these circles and I came across a forum. Some conspiracy theorists were making a big deal out of this book called, "The Hollow Crown" and how it wasn't just a story. I got curious so I read it and the way they described the devils in that story was incredibly similar to what I saw. This is the only potential explanation I have for what that was."
"And now you're connecting anything and everything to these… devils?"
"Don't you think it's especially strange? In this case I mean." Khara flipped back to the page that was open earlier.
"The missing people?"
"Ten missing person reports. Eight of them were civilians and the other two were two police officers. The weirdest part about these disappearances is the fact that these people disappeared in the exact same place. At a park, not even fifteen minutes from here. Doesn't that not sit right with you? This has to be a case of kidnapping and what other thing could this be than something supernatural?"
"That is quite the theory… Anyways, I have to get home so here's the spare keys. Make sure you lock up when you leave." Darren dropped the keys to the office door on the table and began walking off.
"I'm going to go investigate the scene myself."
"What?!"
Darren walked back over to Khara. "This is something beyond us. Disregarding the devil stuff, that park has been closed off. Don't do something stupid and just leave this to the police."
"The police we're leaving it to are a part of the group missing now."
"Listen Khara, I'm telling you this is a bad idea… Let's say you're right and there are kidnappings happening there. Even two police officers went missing so what would change if you were to go in and potentially get yourself kidnapped as well? Besides, the areas are blocked off. You'd have to get past the police to even get close."
"…I know that face. You're not going to listen to me at all, are you…" Darren let out a long sigh. "Fine, I'm going with you."
"Really??"
"Yeah, I can't let you just go there alone. Besides, there's no way they'll just let you into a closed-off zone. There's someone on the force who owes me a few favors so they should let us get near the park, at least."
"Great! Thanks Darren! We'll go tomorrow night, okay? Be sure to rest up!"
"Yeah yeah… Anyways, don't forget to close up, alright? Good night…"
"Good night, Darren! Say hi to little Dalia for me!" Khara waved as Darren left the office.
"Alright, it's time I head home, but first..." Khara pulled out her phone and scrolled through her contacts before stopping on Lucen's name. She pressed the call button and the phone immediately went to voicemail.
"Still nothing… They said he never returned home last night either and each call automatically goes to voicemail. Is his phone off? Maybe I should file a missing person report- Wait, don't tell me…! No no, there hasn't been any new reports of anyone going missing at that park. Ughh, just please be okay, wherever you are…"
~Meanwhile in the Depths of District 8~
Lucen and the Azaroth sisters walked through District 8, remaining cautious of anything in their way. Homeless and groups of thugs gave them glances but they were never approached. The group walked around heaps of trash piles and through all types of broken structures, the smell getting worse with each step they took.
"Wait, stop for a second." Lia halted everyone and stood still for a bit. "They're close."
"How can you tell?"
"Do you feel it? That faint trace of demonic energy in the distance?"
"I still don't even know what demonic energy is…"
"Just try to sense anything unusual that isn't close to you. You should be able to feel it now as you've recently awakened to it. Try and focus."
"Ok…" Lucen stood still, trying to sense anything unusual in the air and his surroundings. There, he picked up 3 different signs. Not even through his senses, but through his eyes. He picked up red, green, and purple energy being emitted right next to him.
"It's there… I've noticed all of yours."
"Okay good, now try to pick up the energy that's far in the distance."
Looking past the three, he immediately picked up a small sign of demonic energy being emitted about a kilometer away.
"I see a bit of red…"
"That's it. Remember that you can do that now, it's important."
"Ok… Now will you tell me what demonic energy is exactly?"
"I'll explain as we walk. Let's go."
Lucen and the group continued forward in the direction of the sign of demonic energy.
"To put this simply, demonic energy is the life force of devils. Nearly every devil is born with demonic energy."
"The life force of devils…? Only devils or…"
"Only devils. At least, that's how it should be. There exists… anomalies. Beings that aren't devils possessing demonic energy."
"And that would be me…"
"Yes. A human isn't born with it nor should they be able to wield it. At some point though, that changed. No one knows how it happened."
"And so you can't tell me why I have this thing only meant for devils… Strange. So are there others out there like me?"
"No… Not anymore."
"(There's something about the way she answered that. I'll put it to the side though.)"
"Anyways, there are 6 types of demonic energy. Red, Blue, Green, Purple/Pink, White, and Black.
"Each type holds specific types of elements matching its color.
For example, the fire element is typically exclusive to red demonic energy. Red demonic energy is also the most common demonic energy type.
The water element is exclusive to blue demonic energy.
The earth element is exclusive to green demonic energy.
The gravity element is exclusive to purple demonic energy.
The light element is exclusive to white demonic energy and the shadow element is exclusive to black demonic energy. White and Black demonic energy are incredibly rare. Not many devils wield them.
I've only listed the basic elements of each type but there are multiple different elements in each color. Knowing this, you can see why your demonic energy color is supposed to be red, as it is fire. Nor should you be able to wield it as a human."
"And yet, it was blue…"
"Hey look!" Sana called out and pointed over to something in the distance.
"What in the creepy mother of…"
Pooled in front of the entrance of an abandoned storehouse were small, ugly-looking red creatures. The group were clambering about, making strange noises, and playing around like a bunch of monkeys. Hairless, rigid skinned, and winged monkeys. Some of them were hopping on the floor and others were flying around. To better picture them, you could imagine goblins, but instead of being green, they're red.
"What the hell is that?!"
"Feral devils. They're the lowest form of devils. Unlike us, these things can't think for themselves. They're driven by instinct and will attack anything that isn't its own. They typically flock to any source of demonic energy which, in District 8, would be a stray devil. "
"How come I didn't pick up any demonic energy signs from them?"
"They don't have any. Nearly every devil wields demonic energy and these are the exception. Don't let that fool you though. They're weak but they can be quite annoying and crafty. Be careful, Lucen. Stay behind us while we take care of them."
Despite still being half a football field away, the feral devils immediately turned their attention towards them and charged at the group.
"Let me at it!" Sana said, sprinting ahead. Green energy coated her right arm and suddenly, a large gauntlet with 5 long claws materialized on it. The gauntlet was mostly black with various gray, ancient-looking symbols. On the gauntlet though, was a gray, unrecognizable face of a seemingly otherworldly creature. It had two horns on top of its head and three green eyes.
"RAHHH", Sana ran through the crowd of feral devils with intense speed, clawing each one that stood in her way. Each feral devil she clawed would leave a lingering green sparkle that would fly back to her claw.
"Such a show off that one. I reckon she just wanted to impress our new friend here.", Vonica said, chuckling.
"Where the hell did that weapon come from…"
Another wave of feral devils suddenly arrived from the side, charging at Lucen, Vonica, and Lia.
"Leave these to me.", Vonica said, stepping forward. She reached out both of her hands and purple energy gathered around them. Suddenly, two purple flintlock pistols materialized in her hands. The pistols had a silver outline with the letter V engraved on both in black.
Vonica shot the pistols and a bright, purple energy beam fired out of it, instantly vaporizing the head of the feral devil it shot. As more feral devils surrounded her, she began to display her graceful athletic ability, jumping and dodging attacks in a flamboyant manner while shooting the feral devils. "You two go ahead! We will handle these nuisances!"
"Alright. Let's go, Lucen. Stay close."
"This is insane…"
The two walked through all the chaos caused by Sana, Vonica, and the feral devils into the abandoned storehouse.
"Move slowly. The stray is hiding somewhere."
Lia and Lucen remained careful of every step they took.
REEEEEEEEEEE
"Huh?!"
Suddenly, in a blur, a dark figure, brandishing a dagger, flew down from the ceiling and striked at Lucen. Lucen barely moved out of the way in time causing the attack to slide past. The figure, using the knife to slide on the ground, slowed his momentum.
"If it isn't the Crescent Reaper, Lia Azaroth! I knew they'd send you after me! This will be a fun little dance!"