Smoke & Screams

"No, detective," Cindy scowled, gripping her phone tightly. "The demon is not moving. Just get the priest—" The call abruptly cut off, and she cursed under her breath.

"Get everyone out of the building!" she barked at the responders, her hands firmly on her waist as she blocked off the office door with Pauline inside, lying unmoving on the floor.

"Where are they?" she demanded, glancing at Bryan, who was on the phone with Quill.

"They just arrived," Bryan replied, hanging up and turning to Cindy. His eyes widened as he saw a figure forming behind her. "Uh... detective..."

"What?!" Cindy snapped, noticing Bryan's horrified expression directed behind her. She turned slowly...

Pauline's joints twisted unnaturally, her movements jittery and stiff. She stood up, head down, shoulders slumped, and hands hanging limply forward.

As Cindy watched in horror, Pauline's head turned slowly, revealing black blood gurgling from her mouth, a twisted grin spreading across her face. Her body convulsed and straightened, now standing upright, arms flailing wildly.

"Shit," Cindy muttered, scrambling out of the room while pushing Bryan with her and closing the glass door behind them.

The screaming started. Office workers who were evacuating bolted in a panic, caught off guard by the demon's sudden movement. Cindy pressed her back against the door, trying to keep it shut as Pauline banged against it from the other side.

"We need backup! 14th floor!" Cindy shouted into her radio, her voice strained. "Now!"

Bryan ran to her side, helping to barricade the door as the responders hurried to evacuate the remaining staff. The hallway filled with chaos as people rushed to the exits.

The banging on the door ceased, and Cindy glanced at it. It stood eerily still.

"What is she doing..." muttered Cindy, inspecting even the slightest movement.

Not a second later, it lowered itself to the floor in a deep squat, head down.

In a flash, the demon leaped like a frog, headfirst into the glass walls—shattering them. The noise was deafening as shards flew everywhere.

"Get down!" Cindy screamed, ducking to avoid the flying glass.

The demon leaped from wall to wall, its movements erratic and unpredictable.

With a guttural growl, the demon pounced on Bryan, its claws raking across his arm. He cried out in pain, trying to fend off the creature as it clawed at him relentlessly.

Cindy grabbed a chair and swung it at the demon, forcing it to release Bryan. The creature hissed, glaring at her, and leaped away.

"You okay?" Cindy asked, rushing to Bryan's side. He nodded, clutching his bleeding arm.

"Where the hell are they?" Cindy muttered, her eyes darting around the chaotic scene. Just then, she received a call from Quill.

"Where the hell are you?" she shouted into the phone.

"The elevator... is broken... small fire... stairs... 12th floor. Demon... where?" Quill said through ragged breaths.

"14th. Doors are closed, it can't get away from this floor..." she turned to see the broken glass, "...or I'm mistaken."

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The three were now on the 15th floor in their white forms. They looked around, following the trails of smoke as panic spread among the evacuating workers. When the small crowd cleared, another wave rushed through from the upper floors.

Smoke slowly filled the corridors, the air becoming thick with burning materials.

Three pairs of eyes darted around.

"The trails are everywhere," noted Crescent.

"Tell the detectives we'll handle the demon. They should focus on evacuating the upper floors," Quill told Crescent. "Arc, come with me."

They both nodded, and Crescent carried on the task, while Arc ran after Quill. They reached the emergency exit door, finding it forcefully broken open.

"It's going up again," Quill observed, sharing a brief look with Arc.

Without hesitation, they bolted up the stairs, their footsteps echoing in the stairwell. They split from the exit, opening doors to the offices, finding its smoke traces all over, yet it was nowhere.

"Where is it..." Arc muttered under his breath, the warmth in his stomach starting to spread.

Then a deafening explosion shook the floors beneath them, prompting them to grasp the walls for support.

"UP!" Arc shouted over the noise, and they dashed up the stairs to the 17th floor.

There, amidst fire and debris of shattered glass and metal, they found the demon in control of Pauline, crouched on all fours. Two women were trapped in the other corner, making Arc shiver in terror.

"I have to—" Arc began, but before he could act, it hissed at them, before jumping toward the women as screams set off.

Quill lunged at the demon, while Arc ran to the women and shielded them.

"GET THEM OUT OF HERE!" Quill shouted as he held the demon's torso tight.

Arc immediately followed and guided them toward the exit, where responders took over.

He turned back to Quill and stopped.

A heartbeat surged with a sudden overpowering thud, radiating throughout his body.

In that instant, his vision dimmed at the edges, a veil of darkness threatened to envelop him. The world around him blurred momentarily, colors fading into shadows.

His form flickered. Time seemed to slow to a sluggish crawl. Steady heavy breaths in his ears. A voice calling his name.

"The deal..." the voice echoed in his mind.

Arc, without hesitation, slapped himself right across his face, gaining hold of reality. His vision cleared, colors and details snapped back into focus. He blinked rapidly, shaking off the brief disorientation.

"ARC!" Quill called to him, struggling to pin the demon down.

A shaky breath escaped him, and he ran to Quill, taking over the task while Quill prepared to seal it.

The wriggling and shrieks paused as he took over. It looked deep into his eyes—the meeting of void and perpetual light.

A momentary silence before it screamed.

Screeches and squeals then got louder and the convulsing of its body intensified. It began to wail. Its cries now had a hint of fear.

A moment of pity caused Arc to loosen his grip, and the demon smashed its head onto his, swiftly leaping from the floor to the ceiling, adeptly evading the burning parts of the room. Smoke began to get thicker, and a group of workers had descended from the stairs, seeing the demon on the loose.

Quill cursed and immediately closed his eyes. Left fist extending and right arm pulling the string of a bow made of light, materialized.

Arc was surprised to see this in action, but turned his focus back to the demon first. He rushed to the stairs to prevent it from getting to the civilians and closed the door behind him.

Quill, whose bow was now pulled, released its tension, and it hit the demon right on its nape. It fell to the burning debris with a loud crash. It squirmed and crawled out as its clothes caught on fire.

"HOLD IT DOWN!" Quill shouted, and Arc slid through the debris, pinning the demon back down. Its neck sizzled as flames slowly ate its flesh.

"Curse... you..." the demon muttered words for the first time.

Quill swiftly rushed to Arc and sealed the demon by putting his palms on its exposed chest, leaving the sealing symbol on it.