Crazy proposition

"What's up?" Luke asked, looking at Wednesday.

"Do you remember what you told me about the thoughts you read from the gorgon, Atlas, before he died?" Wednesday asked, staring at him intently with her dark eyes.

"Yes, that they wanted to steal Crackstone's demonic book. That's why they mounted such a large-scale attack and wanted to continue with the ritual," Luke replied, nodding and also staring back at Wednesday. To an average person, her unwavering gaze might feel uncomfortable, but Luke liked it.

"Exactly. The demonic book…" Wednesday said, her eyes narrowing slightly. Luke could tell where the conversation was heading.

"Do you…?" Luke said, leaving his question unfinished, letting it hang in the silence of the underground room.

"What do you know about demons?" Wednesday asked, without responding to Luke's insinuation.

"Let's see…" Luke said as he lay his head in Wednesday's lap. He was tired after dodging so many arrows and sustaining several cuts.

Wednesday didn't mind that he rested his head on her lap, and she continued to watch him, her expression unchanged.

"They're malevolent beings that only want to cause destruction in our world. They exist in another plane or dimension, which outcasts call the underworld. Through pacts with humans, whether outcasts or normies, they can obtain souls. That's one way. In exchange, they increase the contractor's strength, grant new powers, or extend their life. But the contract has no time limit, and it's not fair. The person who made the pact must kill people to provide souls to the demon," Luke explained, summarizing what Edgar had told him the first time he learned about demons.

"What else?" Wednesday asked, gently stroking Luke's forehead with her hand. She didn't seem surprised by this information.

After killing Atlas, Sabrina, and Sebastian, Luke had gained more knowledge about these beings. Edgar had told him more in-depth information about demons, providing details and being less vague.

It was a long conversation, but Luke learned a lot about these beings, and the situation didn't look very promising for humans, both normies and outcasts.

"Not all demons can make pacts. There are three groups of demons: lesser demons, intermediate demons, and greater demons. Only the intermediate and greater ones have the intelligence to make deals with humans…" Luke began, telling Wednesday everything he knew about demons.

Lesser demons are primal beings that wander between the plane known as the Underworld and the earthly realm (where normies and outcasts live). These demons have a single purpose: to devour souls to satiate their boundless hunger. They are mindless creatures that exist only to seek out souls to consume. If they devour enough souls, lesser demons can evolve into intermediate demons.

Intermediate demons are more powerful and possess intelligence equivalent to that of humans, making them far more dangerous. With this level of reasoning, they can manipulate and seduce humans through pacts, forcing their victims to obtain souls for them. However, their insatiable hunger for souls remains their primary drive, and if they do not feed regularly, they devolve back into lesser demons, losing both their power and intelligence.

Knowing that outcasts might reject their pacts if they are mentally strong, and that this could expose them, demons prefer to avoid such individuals.

Instead, they seek mentally weak victims, like outcasts or normies with trauma who are easy to manipulate. Although this provides them with fewer souls compared to what they need to evolve or maintain their power, it forces them to hunt in the earthly realm to avoid devolving. If they're lucky, they might find a powerful yet unstable contractor whom they can control to obtain more valuable souls.

Lastly, there are the greater demons. Only six of these beings are known to exist in America. This knowledge comes from the six demonic books. One of these six books is the one Crackstone used—the Book of Soyga, supposedly resting in his coffin beside him, which Atlas sought to take to Elliot.

Unlike the lesser and intermediate demons, these six greater demons haven't been seen in the human world for hundreds of years. They don't need to expose themselves to the human world to obtain souls. They use the books to gather souls from afar.

Since these beings aren't seen in the human world, no one knows if they can devolve; to Edgar, they likely no longer have that disadvantage. Nor is it known if they can continue evolving.

The goal of the demon extermination department is to eliminate lesser and intermediate demons before they evolve, turning into an even greater threat. They don't want there to be a seventh book. It's also unknown exactly how many souls an intermediate demon needs to evolve, but it's better not to find out.

The main advantage all demons have is that they can travel between the Underworld and the human world. This puts outcasts in a bind, as they cannot travel to the Underworld to eradicate them.

Fortunately for outcasts, demons are not very numerous. In fact, they are even less common than outcasts themselves, who are already a minority compared to normies.

This difference in numbers keeps the threat from being truly devastating for now, but outcasts live with the constant worry of knowing that six greater demons watch the human plane from the shadows, coveting the souls of its inhabitants and waiting for the right moment to act.

"You know more than I thought," Wednesday said, with a hint of surprise in her tone. She hadn't expected Luke to know so much in such detail.

"The Poes face a family that makes deals with these beings. It's natural that I have my sources," Luke said with a slight smile.

"I'm more surprised that you're not surprised by all this information. It seems like you already knew," Luke added.

"It's natural that I know all this. My father works in the demon extermination department. I learned all this by sneaking into his study," Wednesday said, recalling the nights she had snuck into her father's office in the mansion.

'Gomez belongs to the demon extermination department?' Luke thought, surprised. It wasn't too crazy to think Gomez might work in that department, but it was strange to imagine him doing that kind of work.

"Does he hold a high position?" Luke asked, curious.

"I don't know. I only infiltrated and looked through his personal study here. His security leaves much to be desired," Wednesday replied.

"Why are demons such a taboo topic among outcasts?" Luke asked.

Edgar always took his time to tell Luke the full story about demons, and Luke knew he still hadn't shared everything he knew. On the other hand, most outcasts have little awareness of demons.

Those who are aware of these beings are the 66 families that belong to the council. There are outcasts like Gia and others Luke has met who have no idea about Crackstone's true nature or the existence of demons.

He didn't understand why there was so much secrecy around the topic; it would be much better if people were more aware of these beings.

"I don't know. Maybe it's to prevent idiots from seeking out these beings to increase their powers for selfish reasons," Wednesday said. It could lead to more people wanting to make demonic deals or create cults to worship these beings, especially the greater demons.

"I suppose…" Luke replied.

"So, what exactly do you want to do with Crackstone's demonic book?" he asked, returning to the original topic of their conversation.

"Recover it, of course. What else?" Wednesday said, her expression unchanging at the statement.

'This girl...' Luke thought, already knowing she would say that.

"It's a book of a greater demon. It's very dangerous. Why do you want it?" Luke asked.

Just being one of the six main demonic books would be enough to mobilize the entire demon extermination department.

"To study it. We need to learn more about these greater demons. They're hiding in their lairs; there must be a way to draw them out and hunt them," Wednesday said, her eyes narrowing.

"Besides, we can learn more about demonic powers. It's essential to face the Spellmans. It's possible they also possess one of the six main demonic books," she added, and Luke couldn't deny that she had a point.

"Mm, you're right, but it'll be dangerous. We need to revive Crackstone, and for that, we have to do what Marylin, Atlas, and the others attempted," Luke said with a thoughtful look.

The most dangerous part would be fighting Crackstone. They'd have to kill him and steal the book, as there's no other way to get into the coffin, which is sealed with a blood lock. They can't take the book without reviving the demonic normie.

In the past, Luke would've been confident about facing Crackstone, as Edgar had said he could defeat him with his three auras, and having Wednesday as a partner would make the fight easier.

However, things changed when he and Edgar learned that Crackstone possessed one of the six main demonic books. His strength could be far greater than they'd initially thought.

Edgar had told Luke he'd need to be at the peak of level four of the yellow aura to take on Crackstone—that is, around ten tons of telekinetic power.

While he wasn't at that level before, he could have managed with his other two auras. But now, the situation was different, as Crackstone's power could be much greater if he had made a pact with a greater demon.

"Will you help me or not? I'm not letting the book stay there, leaving the only way to retrieve it by using the blood of a family member," Wednesday said in response to Luke's silence.

The Spellmans knew the book was there, so they wouldn't sit idly by. Most likely, they would try to steal it again in the future, needing the blood of an Addams to do so. They could target her younger brother, or more distant members of the Addams family, or even herself again.

'My strength has grown a lot since then. Together with Wednesday, we should be able to defeat him, even if he's stronger,' thought Luke, quickly reaching a conclusion.

"Fine, I'll help you. Let's kill that bastard once and for all and get that demonic book back," said Luke, noticing a faint smile form on Wednesday's face, though it disappeared almost immediately.

"For that, we'll need mutilated body parts for the ritual that opens the blood coffin," Wednesday replied, unfazed.

"Great, so now we're turning into serial killers like Marylin?" Luke replied with a mocking grin.

"We won't stoop that low. We'll get the mutilated parts from criminals. New York has a high crime rate. Killing a few scumbags will be doing the normies a favor," said Wednesday, without a hint of doubt in her voice.

The outcasts had a motto they took very seriously: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. If someone attacks them lethally, they have the right to take an arm, a leg, or even tear out their heart.

"I like that better. We'll be like watchmen, though it'll be way too easy," said Luke, smile as he imagined prowling through New York's dark streets, facing criminals.

Luke and Wednesday could kill a normie without anyone noticing, given all the abilities they had. Unlike the Hyde, they weren't out-of-control beasts, and their skills were ideal for killing without being detected.

"Let's make it more exciting. Let's not use our auras. That way, the thrill of killing will be real," suggested Wednesday.

Luke raised an eyebrow. "Sounds good, but… isn't it a bit risky?" he asked, though his enthusiasm grew at Wednesday's suggestion.

"It is," Wednesday replied without hesitation. "But real danger is what makes the hunt thrilling," she added, feeling her excitement build at the thought of hunting down a filthy criminal with her bare hands, without using their auras, making the challenge even greater.

"Let's do it!" Luke said excitedly. The idea of taking justice into his own hands had always crossed his mind—probably from reading too many comics.

"We could even use different names, nicknames. And costumes if possible," Luke rambled, getting lost in his own fantasy.

Wednesday looked at him with a raised eyebrow, no longer following his train of thought. A moment ago, they were on the same page about killing criminals in cold blood, but now they weren't.

"I don't know what you're talking about, and I'm not wearing a ridiculous costume while killing a criminal. We need to get that demonic book before we leave for Ohio. We have to hurry," Wednesday said.

"Right…" Luke said, snapping back to reality. "Do you have the Book of Shadows? We'll need it."

"My mother keeps it. Her study is a bit harder to access, but nothing I can't handle. We'll steal it when my parents go on their date night at the cemetery," Wednesday said, and Luke nodded.

Every Tuesday, Gomez and Morticia had a date night at the Addams cemetery that lasted all night.

---------------------------------------------------

You can read 15 chapters in advance on my patreon.

Link: https://www.p@treon.com/Nathe07