Crimson and Furs 2

Chapter Four: Demon

After Daniel got an answer from Crimson Moon concerning the Museum screening out entities that weren't members of the Curious Mythologists, he couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief. He felt that would mean that Bloody Mary had been kicked out. This was because although she had shown the zeal to join the Curious Mythologists, she wasn't a full fledged member yet.

He was about to rejoice when he heard a very familiar voice in his head, "Crimson Moon already made me a member."

"..."

Daniel was rendered speechless and he couldn't help but turn to look at Crimson Moon who was combing his red hair with his right hand, his fists clenching angrily. But of course he couldn't say anything, not when Bloody Mary was still possessing him. So he chose to keep quiet.

Finally Crimson Moon Orpheus opened his mouth to talk, "I've discovered sightings of a supernatural creature which doesn't seem to match with any known Cursed type. Of course we might not have accurate information about the Cursed types and their various Cursed paths. So the supernatural creature should belong to one of the Cursed types."

After saying this a large holographic screen was projected in the air. No matter where one sat, he would be able to see the corresponding image on the screen.

On the screen was a footage of a figure dashing through the shadows. It moved so fast and blended with the shadows that one would have easily neglected it if the footage hadn't been slowed down at that point. Finally, it was paused so that everyone could see the figure clearly.

The figure wore a hooded black robe and was very taller. Under the hood was a pair of eyes which seemed to be burning. The Curious Mythologists members couldn't tell if it was a problem with the footage or their eyes.

"Who's that?" Crimson Moon was the first to ask. "I've watched the footage several times but I still don't know who that figure is. Originally I thought it was a normal human being till it was caught in another footage."

The footage on the holographic screen suddenly changed, revealing another footage. It was a figure leaping off the roof of a burning building. There was a pair of horns on its head, its eyes literally filled with burning flames. Its skin was red as if it had just come out of the flames, a long tail with a viper's head baring its fangs.

When the Curious Mythologists members saw this, all of them except Unknown and Bloody Mary who was still possessing Daniel gasped. As Horrors they were never afraid of anything. To them the figure looked like a normal human being.

"That is?" Unknown opened her mouth and asked. She was usually introverted and almost never talked. But the figure in the footage was something new to her. Even when traversing the spirit world, she had never seen something like that figure.

"My first guess is that it's a Cursed from the Lycanthrope Cursed type," Orpheus said. "There is a rumour that at Path three, Lycanthropes can transform into different kinds of creatures. But this has been ruled out. This seems more like a demonic creature and I don't think any Path three Cursed can transform into it."

When he made the last statement he turned to look at Daniel who obviously knew more about the Lycanthrope Cursed type because he was a Path two, Wolfman. Daniel immediately cleared his throat and said, "Path four, Alpha cannot also transform into demonic monsters. At least my deceased Alpha never showed such ability."

Daniel's express fell when he made the last statement but he soon recovered, "I don't know if Path five and Path six of the Lycanthrope Cursed type can achieve something like that. But then I don't think Lycanthropes can transform into something as horrifying as that."

"Then we would have to eliminate the Lycanthrope Cursed type," Crimson Moon said. "The next is the Horror Cursed type—"

"Horrors do not have such appearance," a horrifying voice sounded. When everyone turned to look, they saw Bloody Mary seated beside Daniel. It was unknown when she had appeared and when her corresponding seat had materialized.

"Uh..." Daniel's facial muscles twitched. "We almost forgot our newest member, Bloody Mary."

The other Curious Mythologists turned to greet her with slightly fearful expressions. Only Crying God was carefree and even smiled while shouting, "Hello!"

Daniel's facial muscles twitched immediately and he resisted the urge to pound Crying God in the face. God, I just wonder what my Curious Mythologists is turning to...

Soon Crimson Moon steered the topic back to the track, "Since that figure doesn't seem to be a Cursed from the Lycanthrope and Horror Cursed types, what is it?"

Evil Buddha who had been silent all this while flashed a smile as he said, "Of course it might not be a Cursed but a supernatural existence such like the normal ghosts and zombies around. Still we cannot rule out the fact that it's a Cursed."

"Can you just go straight to the point..." Daniel muttered to himself. He was in a very sour mood today and his behavior was quite snappy because of that.

"I've browsed through the books at the Church and there are texts which describe the figure in the footage," Evil Buddha said. "The texts actually describe them as..."

There was a long pause after that as if he was trying to make everyone guess what the creature was. He then said, "...demons."

"Demons?" Sexy Peacock was the one to ask this time. "I thought they reside in the depths of hell."

"They actually do," Evil Buddha said. "But according to the texts it's said demons can appear in the physical world due to the evil desires of humans. With a collection of many evil desires, the gates of hell are opened and demons flood out to pester the world."

"So you suspect that figure is a demon?" Crying God asked, entering into a deep thought. He was no longer carefree and became very serious.

"I don't suspect he's a demon," Evil Buddha was no longer smiling and turned to look at Crying God. "I know he's a demon."

The whole Museum fell silent after Evil Buddha made this revelation. This was because none of them had ever come across any demon in the Cursed world. Even the most powerful Cursed such as Bloody Mary and Crying God were entirely clueless about the existence of demons.

"If it's a demon, then what is it after?" Daniel asked.

"There are two things it's after," Evil Buddha said. "One is simple while the other is complicated. Which one do you want to hear?"

"The simple one."

It was as if all the Curious Mythologists members had rehearsed the answer a second after Evil Buddha asked that question. This was because all of them replied at the same time.

Evil Buddha chuckled before continuing, "The simple one is that the demon has detected a very evil desire and is after it."

"But there was no demon when the Abyss Cult were trying to make Abyss descend into the world," Daniel said. "I don't think there's any desire more evil than that."

"That's why it's the simple one," Evil Buddha said. "The complicated one is that the demon is actually trying to open the gates of hell."

"Trying to open the gates of hell?" Sexy Peacock blurted out in shock, forgetting her cold image. It wasn't only her who was shocked. The others had the same reaction.

"Yes," Evil Buddha said. "Demons are actually sealed away in hell and try to find a way to open the gates permanently so that all of them would be free.

"You see, the gates only open temporarily due to the evil desires of men or when a high ranking demon wants to cause havoc. So the demons try as much as possible to find a way to open the gates of hell. And that's the reason demons do not roam about like before."

"They roamed about before?" Unknown asked.

"Yes," Evil Buddha replied. "But then there was a battle between angels and demons, causing them to be sealed away in hell. This should be aeons ago because the Church didn't record the particular date."

Angels fought demons? Daniel's eyes narrowed. Does that mean Angel Michael who is currently possessing my father and Angel Uriel who is currently possessing Jackson participated in the battle? Were they the ones who eventually sealed off the demons? If this is the truth then I'm about to be embroidered in some kind of dangerous shit again...I've not even recovered from the issue with Abyss.

Seeing that everyone had panicked expressions Evil Buddha immediately said, "We shouldn't show fear towards the demons. They don't pose half a threat like Abyss did back then."

"You weren't even facing the real Abyss so you don't know how much threat he poses," Crimson Moon scoffed. "Besides, what if they find a way to open the gates of hell? Can we say they're not much of a threat when that happen?"

"I don't think that's gonna happen," Evil Buddha said. "If they could already find a way to open the gates of hell, they would have done so a long time ago."

"But one has already appeared and caused a fire to that building," Daniel regained his voice. "We can't neglect it because it hasn't found the way to open the gates of hell."

"True," Evil Buddha said. "We should locate it as soon as possible."

Daniel took a deep breathe for some moments before saying, "Since that demon is located in Crimson Springs, there is a way to get it. Perhaps we can force it to tell us its motive."

He then turned to look at Bloody Mary, "I believe you have the means to do so."

"Piece of cake," Bloody Mary maintained a gloomy aura and didn't say anything else.

"So I'm gonna issue a mission to capture that demon," Daniel said. As the leader of the Curious Mythologists he had the right to issue missions and choose those who would participate in the missions. Well, there was also the freedom of members to give missions and allow others to take up the missions.

All the Curious Mythologists immediately sat upright, their ears pricked up as they listened to Daniel.

"I will participate in this mission with Evil Buddha," Daniel finally said. "Although I'm a Wolfman, Bloody Mary actually possesses me most of the time so she can aid me. Evil Buddha is a Path three, Shadow of the Doppelganger Cursed type so there wouldn't be any issues.

"With my strength as a Wolfman and his combat reflexes and expertise plus shadow travelling, we can definitely suppress that demon."

"Just be careful," Crimson Moon said. "It might be stronger than the both of you and Daniel combined."

"There is always a chance to escape," Evil Buddha said. With his shadow travelling he could always escape with Daniel if the demon was more powerful than they had expected."

Daniel nodded before adding, "Crimson Moon, you'll provide backup if we're on a losing end."

"Alright," Crimson Moon nodded.

After some moments the meeting ended and everyone vanished from the Museum, returning it to the former silence that had existed.

~

A figure dressed in a hooded robe walked out of the shadows towards a museum in the dark night. The hood concealed its face but couldn't hide the pair of burning fire in its eyes. It was tall and hefty, something wriggling behind its pants.

As it advanced towards the museum, it was seen by the two guards keeping watch at the museum entrance. One of them immediately yelled, "Hey you! Stop right there and turn about!"

But the figure didn't listen and continued walking forwards. It wasn't even afraid of the guns which the guards were holding.

"Visiting hours are—" the other guard wanted to say something but soon felt all his organs become hot. It was as if someone had started a fire within his body!

Cough! Cough!

He immediately began coughing out his visceral organs. First it was a charred heart followed by a pair of lungs and then his intestines which have been burnt into a crispy state.

It wasn't only him who was affected but the other guard as well. Soon there bodies erupted with flames of fire, transforming them into charred corpses.

Thud!

The corpses of the guards collapsed to the ground and the last thought on their minds was: How?