(A/N):
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With a tired sigh,
-Sigh
"...."
Justine pulled into the gas station at the edge of town.
The place was nearly empty—one flickering streetlamp, the hum of the pumps, the smell of fuel heavy in the air.
She stepped out of the car, sliding her card into the machine, trying to steady her nerves.
She didn't get the chance.
A car screeched to a stop beside her.
The door slammed open.
"YOU."
Justine flinched as Archer stepped out—one of the missing kids' fathers.
His face was red, eyes bloodshot, grief and rage tangled together into something sharp and ugly.
"You think this is a game? I will definitely catch you."
He shouted, jabbing a finger toward her.
"My son is gone. GONE. And you're still walking around like nothing happened!"
She closed her eyes briefly, shoulders sagging.
"...."
"Sir… I'm sorry. I really am. But I don't know where your son is."
"LIAR!"
He barked at her in anger.
"You were their teacher. You saw them every day. Don't tell me you don't know something!"
She opened her mouth to respond—
"...."
-Graaaa!!!
Then a scream cut through the air. Not a normal scream. It was raw. Animal. Broken.
Both of them turned. Running toward them from the far end of the station was Principal Marcus Miller.
His arms were raised unnaturally—elbows locked, hands twisted upward like wings mid-flight.
Blood streamed down his forehead, soaking into his eyes, which bulged grotesquely as if something inside his skull was trying to escape.
"Marcus?"
Archer whispered, stunned.
"...."
Marcus didn't answer. He didn't slow down.
With a hoarse, strangled snarl, he lunged.
Justine barely had time to react before his hands slammed around her throat.
The force knocked her backward into the pump, metal clanging loudly.
His grip was inhuman—fingers digging in, crushing, cutting off her air.
She clawed at his wrists, gasping.
-Gasp
"Marcus—stop—!"
She choked looking at him in fear.
His face was inches from hers, eyes glassy and unfocused, veins bulging at his temples.
He wasn't there. Whatever controlled him had hollowed him out.
Archer rushed forward, grabbing Marcus from behind.
"Get off her!"
Marcus reacted instantly—too fast.
He twisted and slammed his elbow into Archer's chest, sending him crashing onto the concrete with a painful grunt.
Without hesitation, Marcus turned back toward Justine, lips pulled back in a silent, furious snarl.
Justine staggered free as his grip loosened for a split second.
She ran. She sprinted for her car, lungs burning, vision blurring.
Her hands shook violently as she yanked the door open and dove inside.
The engine roared to life as she slammed her foot on the accelerator.
-VROOM!!!
The car lurched forward—
And Marcus kept coming.
He chased her down the lot, feet pounding against the asphalt, arms still raised, head twitching unnaturally as blood dripped down his face.
Even as the car gained speed, he didn't slow, didn't tire.
In the rearview mirror,
"...."
She saw Archer scrambling to his feet, shouting Marcus's name, running after him in desperation.
"Marcus! Stop! MARCUS!"
But Marcus didn't hear him. Didn't hear anything.
Justine hit the road hard, tires squealing as she sped away, heart hammering violently in her chest.
In the mirror, she saw Marcus still running—until the darkness swallowed him.
She didn't stop. She didn't look back again.
Just as Marcus's fingers were about to brush the rear bumper of Justine's car—A horn blared.
Headlights flared from the side street.
BOOM.
A dark sedan slammed into Marcus at full speed.
The impact lifted him clean off the ground.
His body spun unnaturally in the air before crashing into the brick wall of the gas station with a sickening crack, collapsing into a heap of broken limbs and blood-smeared concrete.
Everything went silent.
"...."
"...."
"...."
Justine's car screeched to a halt a few meters ahead.
Archer slammed on his brakes behind her, stumbling out in shock, chest heaving.
From the car that had struck Marcus, the driver's door opened calmly.
Jojo stepped out first.
Sunglasses still on. Expression unreadable.
Movements unhurried—almost casual—like he'd just parked a little too hard.
Caroline exited from the passenger side, her vampire senses already flaring.
Her eyes locked onto Marcus's crumpled body, and her jaw tightened as she said.
"Yeah, that tracks."
Justine stumbled out of her car, shaking, barely able to stand.
Archer rushed to her side instinctively, both of them staring at Marcus's body in horror. While Justine gasped.
-Gasp
"He—he was chasing me, Marcus… he wasn't himself."
Jojo finally looked at Marcus.
The sunglasses tilted slightly as he studied the body.
To everyone else, Marcus looked like a dying man.
To Jojo, he reeked.
Sin clung to him like oil. Not just possession—command. Something had hollowed him out and was pulling the strings from far away.
Jojo exhaled slowly and calmly.
"So, that's how she's doing it."
Caroline was already beside Marcus in a blur, crouching near him.
She pressed two fingers lightly against his neck, then recoiled as she checked him.
"No heartbeat, But he's not dead."
Marcus twitched.
His head snapped sideways with a wet crack, eyes rolling upward until only whites showed. His mouth opened, jaw stretching far wider than humanly possible.
A sound crawled out of him—half whisper, half hiss.
"She… sees you."
Jojo's head tilted slightly. Then he replied mildly.
"Oh? Good. Saves me the trouble of knocking."
Marcus's body convulsed violently.
Blood pooled beneath him as his fingers clawed at the concrete, nails snapping off one by one.
His lips peeled back into a grotesque smile that wasn't his own.
"The children are hers,"
The voice rasped through him.
"The birds answer the branch. The nest is full."
Justine froze. She whispered, dread flooding her face and confusion of what Marcus has mentioned.
"The… branch?"
Jojo turned toward her, finally removing his sunglasses. His eyes—too calm, too knowing—met hers.
"Go home,"
He said gently but firmly.
"Lock your doors. Don't follow any voices. And if anyone you know starts acting like him—"
He nodded toward Marcus.
-Nod
"Run."
Archer swallowed hard looking at the new faces.
-Gulp
"Who—who are you people?"
Caroline straightened, brushing dust from her jacket.
"The kind you're very lucky showed up before tonight got worse."
Marcus suddenly screamed.
-Ahhhh!!!
His body arched backward violently, spine bending at an impossible angle as something pulled from inside him.
Dark veins spread across his neck and face, branching like thorns.
Then—silence.
"...."
"...."
"...."
Marcus collapsed completely, lifeless now.
Whatever had been animating him was gone.
Jojo stared at the body for a long second. Then he spoke softly, almost to himself.
"...."
"Seems like her control over his body is gone since he died now."
The red-and-blue lights arrived in waves.
Two patrol cars. Then another. Floodlights washed over the accident site, turning the night clinical and cold.
Officers moved quickly—taping off the area, radios crackling, boots crunching on broken glass.
Jojo stood near his car, hands relaxed at his sides, posture cooperative.
Caroline leaned against the hood, arms folded, expression bored but alert.
Justine and Archer were seated on the curb, wrapped in emergency blankets, still shaking as they gave their statements—again and again—about Marcus running, about the choking, about the car coming out of nowhere.
The truth sounded insane even to them.
"...."
"...."
"...."
A senior officer finally approached Jojo, notepad in hand.
"Sir, you were the driver of the vehicle that struck the victim."
He said carefully, eyes flicking once toward the bloodstain on the wall, Jojo replied calmly.
"Yes, He ran straight into the cross-road."
The officer studied him.
"Profession?"
Jojo reached into his jacket and produced a simple black card.
DMC — Devil May Cry
Paranormal Investigation & Containment
The officer blinked caught off-guard by the response.
"…Paranormal?"
"Vacation,But met with a bad timing."
Jojo added smoothly with a nod and sighed.
-Sigh
A few of the younger cops snorted under their breath.
The senior officer didn't smile—but he didn't dismiss it either.
He turned the card over, then stepped aside and dialed the number printed at the bottom.
The phone rang once.
-Ring
Then—
"DMC operations,"
Jenny's voice answered crisply on the other end.
"How can I help you?"
The officer straightened almost immediately.
"Yes, ma'am. This is Officer—"
He paused, then glanced at Jojo.
"I'm calling to verify the identity of one Jojo Sataru."
A brief silence after the officer mentioned Jojo's name.
"...."
Then Jenny replied, perfectly composed,
"Yes, officer. Mr. Sataru is registered with us. Active consultant. Cleared for field presence."
Another pause. She added.
"Yes, He's from our organization."
The officer's expression shifted—not fear, not belief—just professional resignation with a sigh.
-Sigh
"Understood, Thank you for your time."
He said, handing the card back to Jojo. The call ended.
He returned Jojo's documents and gestured toward the car.
"Vehicle will be released after forensics clears it. Given the witness statements and footage, this is being ruled as accident and self-defense by circumstance."
Jojo nodded shaking hands with the officer.
"Appreciated."
Nearby, paramedics zipped Marcus's body into a black bag and lifted it onto the gurney.
As they wheeled it toward the ambulance, Justine flinched, turning her face away.
Archer stared after it, jaw clenched. While he muttered.
"That wasn't Marcus anymore, I don't know what that was."
Jojo didn't answer out loud.
'Because if I tell you, you won't sleep again.'
The officers finished collecting signatures—Justine's hands trembling as she signed, Archer's grip tight enough to crease the paper.
After a few final instructions and hollow reassurances, the cops pulled away one by one.
The accident site fell quiet again.
Caroline exhaled slowly and she spoke.
"Well, that went smoother than expected."
Jojo slid his sunglasses back on and glanced toward the forest beyond the road.
The darkness there felt thicker now—watchful.
"She wanted attention, She got a taste instead."
Justine looked up at him hesitantly.
"Who… who was controlling him?"
Jojo met her eyes, voice steady.
"Someone very old. With age complex."
A distant wind stirred the trees.
Justine swallowed hard.
-Gulp
"Y-you said… a dark witch?"
Her voice cracked despite her effort to sound rational.
"I don't believe in this stuff. I never did. But after tonight—Marcus's eyes, the way he ran—"
Jojo looked at her directly now. Not cold. Not dismissive. Honest. Then he spoke.
"Yes, You're being targeted."
Her face drained of color.
He didn't say the name. Didn't say Gladys. Not yet. Some truths, dropped too early, broke people instead of helping them.
Justine wrapped her arms around herself, shoulders trembling.
"Why me?"
"That part, I'm still figuring out."
Jojo replied quietly he lied,
"I'm still figuring out."
Arthur, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.
"...."
His voice was rough, scraped raw by fear and exhaustion as he broke his silence.
"My son, And the other kids. You think… this witch is the reason they vanished?"
Jojo held his gaze and shook his head. Then, after a beat he added,
"I don't know, But there's a strong chance."
Arthur sucked in a sharp breath. His eyes unfocused for a moment, memories crashing together as he whispered in low voice.
"The way Marcus ran, The way my boy ran that night. Hands up. Like—like they were being pulled by strings."
He lifted his own hands unconsciously, mimicking the motion. His fingers shook.
Jojo nodded once. Firm. Certain.
-Nod
"That's not panic, That's compulsion."
Arthur's jaw clenched thinking some old bitch was controlling his son.
"So it's the same thing."
"There's a high chance, Same source. Same method."
Jojo confirmed telling it there is a high chance.
Silence settled between them, heavy and suffocating.
Justine looked at the dark road, then back at Jojo remembering he said about his job to cops.
"If this witch is real… if she's doing this… can you stop her?"
Jojo didn't answer immediately.
In his mind, images overlapped: a black wooden branch wrapped in hair, hollow-eyed parents at a dinner table, children moving like puppets, and a smiling old woman pretending to be kind as he thought.
'Oh yes, I can stop her.'
Out loud, he said only this.
"We're already here, That means you're not facing this alone anymore."
Arthur let out a shaky breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.
-Sigh
"...."
"...."
"...."
Justine nodded faintly, fear still etched into her face—but now mixed with something else.
-Nod
Justine hesitated, then drew a slow breath—as if deciding there was no point holding anything back anymore. The she decided to tell.
"There's a student, Alex Lilly. He's the only one from my class who didn't disappear."
Jojo's eyes sharpened, his attention locking in completely.
"I followed him,"
Justine continued, voice tight.
"Twice. I know I shouldn't have, but something felt wrong. His house—every window covered with newspaper. And inside…"
She swallowed thinking about how creepy she felt.
-Gulp
"I saw his parents. Sitting in the dark. Not moving. Not talking. Like… dolls."
Arthur's head snapped up. As he barked in shock.
"What?"
"And when I tried talking to Alex,"
She went on with her explanation,
"he warned me. Told me to stop following him. Not scared—angry. Like he was protecting someone."
Her fists clenched still sure there is something wrong in that house.
"That's when I knew. That house isn't normal."
Jojo didn't interrupt. He didn't need to. The picture was already forming.
"...."
Arthur, however, was shaking now—rage bubbling up fast. He growled.
"That house, I know where it is. If my son's in there—if those kids are in there—"
He turned, already half a step away, fury blazing in his eyes.
Jojo moved. He didn't grab Arthur. Didn't raise his voice. He simply placed a firm hand on the man's shoulder.
"Not like this,"
Jojo said calmly with confidence.
"Running in angry is how people die."
Arthur froze, chest heaving.
"...."
Then the anger cracked.
He turned back to Justine, shame flooding his expression. His shoulders slumped. Then he spoke hoarsely.
"I'm sorry, For everything. For yelling at you. For blaming you. For…"
He winced thinking how immaturely he acted.
"For what I wrote on your car. Witch. Bitch. I was out of my mind."
Justine stared at him for a moment finally seeing the culprit. Then she sighed, long and tired.
-Sigh
"I know, You're hurting. Everyone here is."
Arthur nodded, eyes shining.
-Nod
"Still doesn't make it right."
While she interrupting him with a bitter smile.
"It doesn't, But I forgive you."
The words seemed to take some of the weight off him. He wiped his face roughly with his hand, then looked at Jojo.
"So, that kid. Alex. That house. That's where this starts, isn't it?"
Arthur said, voice steadier now,
While Jojo nods and tells him there is a high chance.
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(Author's POV)
(A/N):
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