First Contact(1)

Two men can be seen traveling in a car on the streets of the second district. The tar-black sky is pouring heavily. As the raindrops hit the car's window, they drown almost every sound coming from the outside. The street lights are lit but they have no one they could guide and even in the dark, one could not miss the countless posters on the poles saying

Don't go out after the sun is down

In the second industrial block of the second district, the car stops in front of what appears to be a food processing facility. The two men get out and head for the facility's entrance a few meters away. They're wearing raincoats to shield themselves, and have the nation's flag pinned on their hearts. A man holding an umbrella rushes for them as soon as they get out.

"I am Mason from the Department of Defense. Were you the one who called the helpline?" He questions the man under the umbrella.

"Yes. I am-" he gets cut off by Mason, "Run the whole scenario for me. I don't have time for introductions" Mason replies as he starts walking into the facility. The door to lead them in is 20 meters away from the main gates and the umbrella-holding man trembles at the thought of going back there.

"As part of the routine, someone checks the cold storage right before the facility is closed and makes sure everything's in place," he said.

"Where exactly did the demon appear? Were any people there nearby?" Mason questions him.

"I saw it while I was checking the storage with a coworker... it had a lizard-like body, ten feet tall! A-and... horrible yellow eyes with razor-sharp edges! It's like I was living a nightmare!" He describes the monster's appearance less in an attempt to help and more out of being unable to keep it in. He stops a few meters before the door refusing to go in.

"My friend got caught by the demon. Please save him," he said as he bowed.

Mason addresses his companion, the only person who had remained silent throughout.

"You stay here with him, Kyle. Make sure this person isn't caught in the fight," Mason said as he moved into the facility.

Right beyond the door is a large hall. Various pathways are marked for the convenience of the workers. Mason follows the path for reaching the 'cold storage' and after a minute of navigating ends up arriving there. He could see blood and chunks of meat. The pieces of a human body lay around the cold storage. A wrist tore apart and pieces of what could only be the deceased's intestines.

He closes his eyes and tries to sense the presence of the demon. It is not on this floor but directly above him. He takes the stairs, moving stealthily making no sound and hiding his Kai. At the top of the stairs, flickering light and a faint sound is coming from a small distance away.

Two grotesque creatures are tearing apart a human body fighting among themselves for the bigger piece of their food. Much of the body save the legs has already been devoured. There is no point in trying to save the dead.

He takes his position and launches himself toward the demons hiding his Kai, the acquired technique of harnessing energy from the soul. The first strike had to be a surprise, so he could not allow the demons to sense his energy. Even then one of the demons sees him coming and moves out of the way. The other one is punched hard and is sent a good distance away. The one who dodged Mason's first strike now moves in to grab him using its sharp claws but Mason surpasses its speed while using Kai to enhance his body and boost his strength. He grabs the demon by its wrist and with great momentum smashes the body into the wall. Immediately after, he punches the demon so hard that the wall is painted with its blood and brains.

He looks at the demon who he punched far away, coming toward him while roaring. There is no point in dragging this fight, Mason charges up again and with no expression on his face moves at a speed far beyond the limit the demon could react to. Before even a fraction of a second had passed, Mason covered a distance of a good 10 to 15 meters and put a hole through the monster's gut. It falls to the ground lifeless. The bodies of the two demons slowly crumble and disappear into nothing within a few moments.

He takes out his phone and contacts the control room to let them know the demons here have been dealt with.

"The demons here have been neutralized. How's the situation in district five?" Mason asks the operator.

"The police are handling the situation. It is only a demon of the second tier so they are fine," The operator replies and hangs up.

Mason goes outside and sees the factory worker waiting for him.

He extends his arm towards him, holding something in it. The worker reaches for it with an expression realizing what it meant.

"I am sorry for your loss," Mason says to him. The worker holds the picture Mason gave him of his friend, the only thing he could retrieve from the scene.

"How was it?" Kyle asks him.

"Two demons of the third tier. It was good we got here when we did."

"The demon sightings have been increasing recently, haven't they?" Kyle asks him.

Mason nodded. To Kyle, this seemed as if his mind had been somewhere else.

"You okay, sir?" He asks but gets no reply.

"Is it about his friend he lost, sir?" He asks again. Mason silently nods.

"Anything you'd like to talk about?" Asks Kyle.

"That reminded me of someone I lost during the demon surge," Mason finally says.

"I was too young to notice that on a big scale and mostly shielded it from it until recently. Is it true? Those numbers, I mean," Kyle asks Mason with an intent to confirm.

Mason had been a witness to the demon surge, and he wasn't the type to lie about things like this. According to Kyle, he was an honest officer.

"Twenty-five million people killed in a single day. That is true," Mason said and continued a moment later as all color in his eyes left, "on that day, there were either cries or there was absolute silence. Demons painted our world with death, and to this day you will find pieces of it, given you look."

"God forbid it. But if that happens again, are we prepared, sir?" Kyle asks him.

"Our preparations measure up to a tin shed under a hurricane, a demon surge isn't a scenario that can be dealt with so easily. The world is much more prepared than ever before, but it's not enough," Mason says.

"How do we handle the people that feel unsafe sir?" Kyle asks

"People will live in fear as long as they don't feel safe. To them, demons are the most dangerous enemy," Mason says, "but the world has changed."

"Fearsome than the demons?"

"You still belong to the fourth tier, Kyle. Even if I told you, you wouldn't be able to digest it, and we have other problems anyways, so this is a topic for another time." Mason said.

The sounds of the car's engine are drowned in the rain as it speeds away.

* * *