Chapter 18: Terrific Blow

Chapter 18: Terrific Blow The sight of all those bodies on the ground—ripped apart—was heartbreaking, terrifying, and, frankly, disgusting. Damian hadn’t expected to witness that when he arrived at the crime scene. He stepped back, afraid that whatever had done it might still be lurking nearby. His driver shouted, "Everyone, go check the scene!" All the hunters moved quickly. They needed to confirm that the demon—because it had to be a demon—was gone. Then the driver pulled her phone from her right pocket and called Nataly. Nataly was on route to the company building, seated in her car, staring thoughtfully out the window. She felt her phone vibrate. When she checked the caller ID... "What’s wrong?" Nataly asked. "Did something happen, Agatha?" "Yes... Something attacked our crime scene. All the hunters who were here are... dead." Silence. Nataly sat frozen. She couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. "I’m heading to your location," she said immediately. She told her driver to change course and return to the crime scene. Meanwhile, Damian’s thoughts were spiraling. The demon that intercepted them on the road wasn’t trying to kill him or Agatha—it had been there to stall them. Agatha was a powerful hunter. If she’d reached the crime scene on time, the demon that killed those hunters wouldn’t have stood a chance. Damian’s mind raced, trying to piece it together. "Why were those hunters killed? Was it just to hurt us—or was there something here they didn’t want us to see?" he thought. Damian wasn’t naive like most hunters. He knew there was more to that attack. Sure, some demon attacks—most of them, actually—were just demons looking for food. Humans were ideal prey. But that attack? It didn’t fit the pattern. The demon intercepting them on the road was far too much of a coincidence. Damian was certain he wasn’t the only one thinking that. Nataly and Agatha were suspicious too. Agatha stayed close to Damian while the rest of the hunters explored the area. She wanted to make sure he wasn’t attacked. Out of everyone there, Damian was the weakest link. Eventually, the hunters returned. "We found no sign of the demon," one said, "but this attack is definitely... strange." "Strange how?" Agatha asked. The hunter looked puzzled. "For some reason, the demon didn’t eat the hunters. It just killed them." Damian heard that, and it only confirmed his suspicion. Demons usually killed to feed. That was common sense. But this time, they’d been murdered for a different reason. As they spoke, another car pulled up near the crime scene. Nataly stepped out. When she saw the bodies, she nearly vomited. She punched a nearby tree so hard that it cracked clean in half. "FUCK!" She was furious. Nataly was determined to find out who did this. It was unthinkable. She pulled out her phone and dialed a high-ranking superior. They needed backup—and fast. Everything they had would be put toward tracking down whoever slaughtered those hunters. "Damian," Nataly said, "search the crime scene. You’ve got sharp eyes." "Understood." Agatha followed Damian around, curiosity written all over her face. "Why is she even letting you see the crime scene?" she asked. "You’re just an ordinary human—a cleaner." Damian could feel her gaze burning into his back as he searched the area. It wasn’t a good feeling. She clearly had it out for him. "Relax," Damian said. "Your friend was just a cleaner too, and you didn’t treat her like this. I’m not your enemy." "You’re nothing compared to her," Agatha replied. "Fine, fine," Damian muttered, rolling his eyes. Despite her attitude, she still stayed close to protect him. Her temperament was rough, but she wasn’t careless. Damian continued his search just as Nataly had asked. The bodies of the dead hunters were scattered across the woods. Near the center of it all, he spotted the remnants of a campfire—and a tent, mostly torn apart. Damian frowned. "Why were we here?" he asked aloud. Agatha didn’t catch the meaning. "To clean the crime scene and investigate?" "Correct. Now tell me—where is the crime scene? I don’t mean the dead hunters we’re dealing with now. I mean the one we were heading to before all this happened." Agatha glanced over the bodies again. All of them belonged to hunters. But the call had reported a man—a camper—killed by a demon while camping. "What the fuck?" Agatha muttered. "Two possibilities," Damian said. "One: there was no real crime scene, and someone set this up to ambush the hunters. Or two: there was a crime scene, but the demon who attacked them took the camper’s body." Those were the most logical options based on what they had so far. There could be something else—but they’d need more clues. "It must be the latter," Agatha said. "The hunters called me again once they arrived, and the camper’s body was here." "Oh?" Damian raised an eyebrow. That changed things. Now he was certain—the demon had made the body disappear for a reason. "Maybe they just ate the camper," Agatha suggested. Damian shook his head. "I doubt it. No demon would risk fighting so many hunters just to eat one camper. There’s something else going on." "You go share this with Nataly," Agatha said. "I’ll look for more clues." Damian shared everything with Nataly. She also found the situation strange. "Do we even know who the camper was?" Damian asked. "I think it was supposed to be a random citizen," Nataly said, frowning. "We don’t know for sure." She then gave him another task. "Collect the bodies of the hunters for me. After that, you’re free to go. There’s nothing else you can assist with." Damian didn’t want to do it—but he nodded and went along with it. Gathering the corpses was hard. Most were torn apart, and he had to make sure he was matching the correct pieces of each body... He placed everything in plastic bags. Nataly had called for a truck to carry the bodies—no regular vehicle would have been enough. The truck transported the corpses back to the hunter HQ, where specialists would examine them for clues. Damian returned home. Nataly had suspended all other assignments, shifting the workload to different hunter companies. She was focused entirely on uncovering who had murdered the hunters. It was a devastating blow to her company—and to the hunter community overall. This felt like the first declaration of war. Inside his apartment, Damian grew restless. He didn’t want to sit there and do nothing. So he left. After searching for a quiet place—he settled on a random abandoned building—he called out to the demon who had been working with him. Maybe the demon had answers.