บท 43: Demons
Luke arrived at his bedroom. Xavier was not there. He was most likely still eating with Ajax's family. This was better for Luke, as he had to have a conversation with Edgar.
"Tell me about the demons," Luke said, sitting on his bed. He had been waiting for this moment for a long time, but Edgar didn't want to answer.
"Mm... Where to start," said Edgar, scratching his head.
"So far it is known of the existence of two planes. The earthly and the underworld. The earthly is where we live. The underworld plane is separate from the earthly one. What we know of this place is almost nonexistent. We only know that in that plane there are powerful and malevolent supernatural beings. They only want to cause destruction and are pure evil. We call them demons," Edgar explained after a few minutes.
"Is the bible real? Are there angels and an all-powerful God out there too?" asked Luke with a raised eyebrow.
"No. So far there are no records of benevolent beings towards humans. At least according to the knowledge I have and it is quite a lot. This information is known to only a few people in the world," Edgar replied, shaking his head.
"The names they were given may be influenced by the bible, but it has nothing to do with it. You just have to keep in mind that they are powerful and evil beings living in a different dimension than ours," added Edgar.
"How evil?" asked Luke.
"They just want to murder humans. The more, the better. They don't discriminate between normies and outcasts. For that reason even the most outlandish and ghoulish families of outcasts would never associate with demons," replied Edgar.
"I see... If they are from a different dimension, how can they get to kill humans?" asked Luke.
"Through satanic dealings. A contract between a human and a demon. Even normies can make these deals if they know how to make them. Why would a person make a deal with a being that irrationally hates humans and only wants to murder them? By power. In the case of outcasts when completing the deal they get a strengthening of their aura in the case of psychics or immortality. It depends on how powerful the demon is" Edgar replied.
"Whoa, you know a lot..." said Luke, processing all the information.
"Of course, I hunted demons or rather the bastards who made deals with demons," said Edgar, puffing out his chest proudly.
'Demon hunter...?' thought Luke with a strange expression on his face.
"Mm, all to increase power or gain immortality like the hag. I guess the odds of going insane aren't there, but there must be some downside, right?" said Luke.
Not everything was rosy in the world. For such an increase in power, you should pay a high price. It was common sense.
"Exactly. The outcast will have a great increase in power, even a psychic could get a new aura, but this is not free. All the contracts the demons make ask for only one thing." said Edgar, making a dramatic silence.
"What?" asked Luke impatiently.
"Souls. People who make deals with demons must provide them with the souls they crave. Until the end of time. The contract has no time limit and is not egalitarian. As you think, to get souls you must murder people, and the demons are not content with just one soul. They want hundreds of thousands. The hunger of these beings knows no bounds," Edgar said in a serious tone.
"That's why they are the enemies of all outcasts," nodded Luke. The demons only wanted to cause chaos and destruction. The more humans they killed, the better.
"Yes. Even extremists who hate normies dare not make deals with demons. Few are the bold ones who dare to make them, and if caught they will be hunted down by the elite outcast families," said Edgar.
"So why are the Spellmans still alive and kicking?" asked Luke. If Edgar was a demon hunter when he was alive he just had to tell the world that the Spellmans made deals with demons and would become the enemy of the world.
"Old outcast families like the Spellmans have a great reputation. Usually, those who make deals with demons are not those kinds of old, established families. However, the Spellmans did it, and the Poe family found out about it, but we couldn't produce the evidence in time to validate that they made deals with demons. Those bastards are very good at hiding everything," Edgar replied.
"How did the Poe family realize the Spellmans made deals with demons?" asked Luke, curious.
"My wife Virginia died in 1847," said Poe with a sad expression, "A year later my relationship with Elmira Spellman improved. We knew each other from before we were co-workers..." he added with a nostalgic look.
...
[Flashback]
Maryland - Baltimore – USA
On a narrow cobblestone street stood an old red brick house. The front of the house showed signs of the passage of time, with wooden windows framed by worn moldings and a carved wooden front door with ornate, though now somewhat faded, detailing.
Inside the house was a modest space, cleanliness was nonexistent. At a simple wooden table sat two people staring at each other. A man and a woman.
"Would you like some tea or something?" the man asked in a tired tone. His hair was tousled black. He had a mustache and his eyes were devoid of life.
His name was Edgar Allan Poe. A powerful psychic who was very famous in the outcast community. In the normie community, he had made a name for himself with his tales of terror, but as yet he had not achieved worldwide fame.
The woman with pale blonde hair and gray eyes watched the man in front of her. She couldn't recognize the powerful psychic with the depressing man in front of her.
"It's been almost a year since you disappeared. When do you plan to return?" the woman asked. Her name was Elmira Spellman.
"I'm not going back to Boston. My brother already tried to convince me. I won't," Edgar said. His mood would depress a normal person just looking at him.
"I got information that there is a crazy cannibal outcast in Texas. He defeated and almost killed two members of the order. His increase in power may be due to demons," said Elmira.
"I was asked to help. Will you come with me?" she added, looking hopefully at Edgar. She couldn't bear to see him like this.
"No, I'm tired of fighting those bastards. It's most likely some idiot who did dark magic," Edgar refused.
"You need to get over Virginia's death. Your family depends on you," said Elmira with concern.
"My brother is more than capable of running the Poe family. He has heirs to spare with all the wives he has. If you'll excuse me, I have things to do," Edgar said with a frown. At the sound of Virginia's name, he felt a stabbing pain in his chest.
Elmira had no choice but to say goodbye to Edgar. She had a mission, but once it was over she would return. She would not let Edgar rot in a depressive pit. She had known him for over twenty years and loved him too much to see him like this.
Ten days later, Elmira returned. Any free time she had was spent at Edgar's house keeping him company. She cleaned the house, cooked so Edgar would stop eating junk food, and talked as much as possible.
In this way a year passed.
'Is she still not coming?' thought Edgar, looking at the door of his house. It had already been a week since Elmira went on a mission given for the order. Most likely to look for clues from demons that usually led to nothing.
They were crazy outcasts performing dark magic and killing normies by their own choice.
Edgar's appearance was different from a year ago. His hair was combed and tidy. His eyes had regained sparkle, and he no longer had a depressive aura about him.
All this thanks to one woman, Elmira.
His ears picked up footsteps approaching his door. He quickly got up and opened the door. A smile formed on his face as he saw that it was Elmira who was about to knock.
"Edgar, don't scare me like that!" said Elmira, putting a hand on her chest.
"I'm sorry. Come in, come in," said Edgar with a slight smile, taking the woman by the hand.
"What a gentleman. A year ago you barely opened the door for me and you were always looking at me with an annoyed face," Elmira said with a smile.
"I'm sorry for showing you that part of me," said Edgar, embarrassed.
"I'm just kidding, it's nothing," said Elmira with a chuckle and sat back in the chair.
"What happened to your shoulder?" asked Edgar, concerned. He could see that Elmira's shoulder was completely bandaged.
"A little mishap. You know in our work we always put ourselves in danger. It's normal..." said Elmira without further explanation.
Edgar nodded and asked, "A tea?"
"Yes, please," Elmira replied. She was happy that Edgar had slowly been able to leave his depressed state.
"How is your story going?" asked Elmira after Edgar had poured her tea.
"Better than ever. I'll have it finished in no time. It will be a great success. I can feel it," said Edgar confidently.
"I'm glad to hear that," said Elmira with a smile.
"How long will you be staying? There are many new activities we can do in Baltimore-" said Edgar enthusiastically.
"Only three days..." replied Elmira reluctantly.
'So little...? Well, work is work,' thought Edgar. He gave up everything and lived on the Poe family's money. His stories and tales were not very profitable these days.
"Would you like me to join you?" asked Edgar. He wouldn't mind resuming his demon-hunting activities if he could be with Elmira.
"No need. You have to write your story. You can't get distracted," said Elmira, refusing with a smile.
Over the next three days, Elmira and Edgar did many activities together and spent their time happily until Elmira left for her mission.
Fifteen days passed, and there was no sign of Elmira. Edgar was getting more and more impatient. Usually, missions take at most ten days, and if it takes that long Elmira sends him a letter.
But so far, he has not received any letter. When he was about to go out to look for her, he received a letter from her. He thought she would tell him that she was delayed for something and it would arrive in a few days, but it wasn't so.
In the letter, there was only an address. He recognized Elmira's handwriting. He knew this was not good.
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