(A/N):
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The taxi disappeared into the curtain of rain, its taillights fading into the flooded streets.
For a few moments, none of the three moved.
Jojo stood silently with one hand tucked into the pocket of his long coat, his eyes fixed on the aging apartment complex before them.
Rain poured relentlessly from the dark sky.
Water cascaded from broken drainpipes, overflowing gutters, and cracked rooftops. The entire building looked abandoned, yet lights still flickered behind several windows.
Then...
Leah frowned.
"...You guys seeing this too?"
Lorraine slowly nodded.
"I was hoping I wasn't."
At first glance, the apartment looked completely ordinary.
Old.
Poorly maintained.
Storm damaged.
But once their supernatural senses adjusted...
The illusion shattered.
Encasing the entire apartment complex was an enormous translucent membrane.
It stretched from the foundation all the way to the rooftop, forming a grotesque dome that pulsed slowly like the skin of some gigantic living organism.
The surface wasn't solid.
It rippled.
Breathing.
Expanding and contracting rhythmically.
Dark veins crawled beneath the translucent layer, carrying thick black liquid through the structure like corrupted blood flowing through arteries.
Every few seconds bubbles appeared beneath the membrane before bursting silently.
Each burst released faces.
Human faces.
They emerged for only an instant before melting back into the living barrier.
Some cried.
Some screamed.
Some simply stared outward with hollow expressions.
Leah instinctively took a step back.
"...That's disgusting."
The hairs on the back of her neck stood upright.
As one of Jojo's contractors, Leah had long since received the Devil's Contract.
At first it had only granted her the ability to perceive spirits and hidden supernatural entities.
Over time, as she completed more contracts and eliminated more dangerous sinners under Ghost Rider's judgment, the contract itself had evolved.
The infernal energy inside her had grown stronger.
Now she could see far beyond the normal spiritual spectrum.
Ghosts.
Demons.
Residual curses.
Astral bodies.
Even hidden dimensional fractures.
Nothing escaped her vision anymore.
In battle, the contract granted her something even rarer.
For several minutes, she could merge Ghost Rider's hellfire with her transformed wolf form.
The crimson inferno strengthened every aspect of her body.
Her claws burned with hellfire.
Her bite carried spiritual damage.
Even ordinary demons found those flames unbearable.
The longer Leah hunted the wicked...
The stronger that infernal blessing became.
Beside her, Lorraine quietly removed a pair of specially crafted pistols from beneath her coat.
Unlike Leah, Lorraine had never possessed supernatural blood.
She remained human.
Entirely human.
Yet the Devil's Contract had transformed even an ordinary human into a terrifying hunter.
She could see spirits before too for that she needs to concentrate and there is a high chance she will get affected.
Now she could see them as clearly as any living person.
She could hear whispers from wandering souls.
Communicate with lingering ghosts.
Sense curses before they manifested.
Most importantly...
Every weapon she carried could now be infused with Ghost Rider's hellfire.
Bullets.
Knives.
Swords.
Even ordinary steel became capable of harming creatures that ignored conventional weapons.
The contract had also granted her accelerated regeneration.
Not immortality.
Not invulnerability.
But wounds that would cripple ordinary humans healed within hours instead of weeks.
Broken bones recovered in days.
Deep cuts sealed rapidly beneath infernal energy.
Then there was her favorite ability.
A weakened version of the Penance Stare.
She couldn't burn souls.
She couldn't force criminals to experience the entirety of their sins.
Only Ghost Rider himself possessed that divine judgment.
But if Lorraine focused long enough upon someone...
She could glimpse fragments of their past.
Every murder.
Every betrayal.
Every unforgivable crime.
Those memories alone were enough to invade the target's subconscious.
Many monsters who survived encounters with Lorraine spent weeks screaming through endless nightmares.
The contract couldn't judge them.
But it could ensure they never slept peacefully again.
Jojo remained completely silent.
His eyes never left the grotesque dome.
Finally he spoke.
"...Interesting."
Lorraine looked toward him.
"What is it?"
Instead of answering, Jojo slowly removed his sunglasses.
The moment his eyes opened fully...
Everything changed.
His pupils glowed faintly.
Then the world itself transformed.
His X-Ray Vision activated.
Instantly his vision shifted into a negative spectrum.
Concrete became transparent.
Steel beams faded.
Walls disappeared.
The apartment unfolded layer after layer before his eyes.
He saw every room.
Every corridor.
Every pipe.
Every electrical wire hidden inside the walls.
Then...
He looked beyond the physical structure.
The membrane surrounding the building suddenly became infinitely more horrifying.
It wasn't merely covering the apartment.
It had rooted itself into it.
Thousands of parasite-like tendrils had burrowed through the concrete.
Each apartment had become connected.
Each room resembled an organ.
The entire building had become one gigantic living nest.
Deep within the upper floors...
Something enormous pulsed slowly.
Like a heart.
Jojo narrowed his eyes.
"...Found you."
Lorraine looked at him immediately.
"What is it?"
She had been hunting evil entities long before joining the DMC.
She had encountered haunted mansions.
Ancient curses.
Even lesser demons.
But this...
This felt different.
Her expression gradually became serious.
"This isn't a ghost."
Leah nodded.
"No."
Lorraine slowly exhaled.
"I don't think this is even a normal evil spirit."
Her eyes remained fixed upon the pulsating membrane.
"...This feels like the avatar of something much larger."
She tightened her grip around her pistols.
"A demon trying to establish an anchor inside the human world."
Jojo gave a slow nod.
"I came to the same conclusion."
The atmosphere immediately became heavier.
If Lorraine's theory proved correct...
They weren't dealing with a possession.
They were dealing with an invasion.
A foothold.
Something attempting to open the door from the other side.
Without another word, the three walked toward the apartment entrance.
Curiously...
No one else seemed to notice the building.
Cars drove past normally.
Pedestrians crossed the opposite sidewalk without even glancing toward it.
A delivery cyclist rode directly past the entrance.
He never once looked at the apartment.
It was as though the entire building had been removed from everyone's awareness.
A supernatural blind spot.
The membrane wasn't merely hiding the entity.
It was convincing ordinary minds that nothing existed there at all.
Jojo stepped through first.
The instant his body crossed the translucent barrier...
The membrane rippled violently.
Like a stone dropped into still water.
Dark energy spread outward through the entire dome.
Inside Apartment 803...
Ellie suddenly stopped laughing.
The grotesque smile vanished.
Her head snapped sharply toward the apartment door.
Confusion appeared across her distorted face.
Then—
Pain.
Her body convulsed violently against the iron restraints.
The chains rattled so hard they nearly tore free from the walls.
"What...?"
The voice no longer sounded confident.
It sounded frightened.
Something had entered.
Not prey. Not another victim.
An equal.
No...
Something worse.
The parasite could feel it instinctively.
Another supernatural presence had stepped inside its territory.
A presence carrying authority.
Judgment.
Fire.
The entire apartment trembled.
Ellie's body arched unnaturally as the thing inside her struggled violently.
Its black veins pulsed faster.
The walls surrounding the room began bleeding thick black fluid.
The floor itself quivered like living flesh.
The entity understood immediately.
Someone had found its nest.
Someone capable of threatening it.
Its thoughts raced.
'No... Not yet... The gate isn't complete... I need more vessels...'
'More blood... More souls...'
Its gaze slowly shifted toward Beth...
Then toward Kassie...
Danny...
And finally little Bridget.
Its smile returned.
Only this time...
There was desperation behind it.
If the intruders reached this room before the ritual was complete...
Everything would be lost.
Then there was only one choice.
Kill them.
Infect them.
Spread through their blood.
Expand the nest before the hunters arrived.
The iron chains groaned loudly.
One link finally snapped.
Then another.
And somewhere below...
Three footsteps echoed through the silent apartment building.
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(Author's POV)
(A/N):
Check my new Fan fic: Karuppan: King of Openings
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