Damian was used to visiting crime scenes caused by demons. It was basically his job. But he never expected to find a crime scene in his own building.
That same drunk who was always causing trouble, the one who'd even tried to pick a fight with Damian the other day, was dead. His organs had been ripped out and eaten—a classic sign of a demonic attack.
It had happened that morning, or maybe during the night and only discovered in the morning. Either way, Damian woke up to the commotion in his building.
The police quickly arrived and locked down the place, ensuring no outsiders could enter, only residents. On top of that, they weren't letting anyone leave.
Damian went downstairs, and a cop approached him.
"Sir, I'm afraid everyone has to stay in the building for now. A team of Hunters is on their way to question everyone."
"But why do we need to be questioned? If this was really a murder done by demons…"
"We're not sure yet if it was, and even if it was, it's always best to take extra precautions. Please, stay in your apartment."
In the end, Damian decided to do what the cop said. No point starting a fight over it. Besides, there was always a silver lining.
"At least I've got an excuse to skip work at the café," he thought.
That was good enough for him.
It didn't take long for a team of Hunters to show up. The first person Damian saw was none other than Troy.
"Troy? What are you doing here?" Damian asked.
"We saw this murder case and noticed the address was familiar, so we took it on ourselves. Gotta look out for our own, right?" Troy said, giving Damian a few pats on the back.
"Yeah, thanks."
At least the Hunters investigating the case were people Damian knew, which made things a bit easier. Not that he cared much about the victim. Truth be told, that drunk was a jerk no one in the building liked.
But the real concern wasn't who died—it was the fact that someone had died in their building. That made everyone a potential next target, and that was worrying. Very worrying.
Anyway, Damian waited for his turn to be questioned. Troy handled his interrogation, alongside a cop who was jotting down all the details.
"This guy's clear," Troy said.
"What do you mean?"
The cop looked confused and demanded an explanation.
"He works with us at the department," Troy said. "He's in charge of cleaning up demon-related crime scenes. You can trust him. He was with us until late last night, and I dropped him off here afterward. He probably just went to sleep."
"Alright, if you say so," the cop replied. "But if he's involved in any way, your team's gonna answer for it. Watch yourself."
"No problem," Troy said.
And just like that, Damian was done with the interrogation. It was quick—almost too quick. If he wanted, he could still make it to the café in time for his shift.
Troy knew Damian worked two jobs to make ends meet. "If you don't want to go, it's fine," he said. "With the paperwork we filed for you, you'll still get paid even if you skip work."
"What? Are you serious?"
"Yeah. Demon-related threats are handled differently from regular crimes. You're good."
That was great news. Damian was thrilled to hear it. This way, he had the morning free.
Well, not entirely free. Troy made him an offer.
"You can clean up this crime scene," Troy said. "We'll pay you the usual rate. That's gotta be worth way more than your café gig."
That was true. Cleaning demon-related crime scenes paid a lot better. Damian wished he could get more than one job like this a day—it'd boost his income enough to quit the café for good.
"Since I'm technically off the clock, how about a bonus? What do you think?" Damian asked.
Troy laughed. "Take that up with Nataly later. I'm not the one signing your checks."
Damian grabbed the cleaning tools and solutions from Troy's car and headed to where the man had been killed in his building.
It wasn't inside the main part of the building but down in the communal kitchen. That alone was pretty strange.
"How did the doorman not notice the guy didn't come back from the kitchen or hear anything?" Damian asked Troy.
"He's being questioned, but apparently he was asleep," Troy said. "The front desk has cameras, and we saw he was out cold."
"Does the kitchen have cameras too?"
"Yeah, but they didn't work last night. That's normal. Mana tends to mess with electronics like that."
Not to mention, even if the cameras had worked, the demon would've been invisible. Those creatures only showed themselves if they wanted to.
Damian focused on cleaning the crime scene, which was one of the toughest he'd ever dealt with. Even though he didn't like the guy, he still knew him. That made it harder.
Another thing: the man's body was almost intact. In other scenes Damian had cleaned, the bodies were just scraps—maybe a foot or a hand, like the ones he found in that cabin last time.
Seeing a familiar face, lifeless on the floor, was heavy. Still, he did the job with precision.
This time, he needed help moving the body. Damian bagged it in plastic, and the company he worked for sent a larger vehicle to pick it up. Troy's car was too small for a body, and it wouldn't have been appropriate anyway.
Nataly was there at the scene too, investigating to track down the demon responsible.
"Hey, Nataly," Damian said with a grin, "can we talk about payment?"
She pulled out a stack of bills—$400—and handed it to him.
"Troy told me you were angling for a bonus, so here you go."
That was way more than he made at the café. Damian wished he could clean more crime scenes like this.
"Can't you hire me for both shifts?" he asked.
Nataly shook her head. "Nope. We've got someone else working days, and we don't have enough cases to keep you both busy. You've actually got the better deal—sometimes the day guy doesn't even get called in because there's no work."
"Really? Well, thanks for the answer—and the bonus. Catch you later."
Damian was free to do whatever he wanted now. Unlike the other residents, they'd cleared him to leave the building.
He decided to take a walk around the neighborhood. During that walk, he ran into a demon. A demon that wanted to talk to him.