"Did you hear? It was such a tragedy with that captain"

"I heard. One of his crew killed half of them in cold blood."

"Half? What happened to the others?"

"They died from some disease."

"It's spreading everywhere. It's terrible."

"Some are saying it isn't a disease."

"What was it then?"

"I heard from a friend, who works with the guards, that the crewmate who killed everyone claimed he was a higher demon once he got caught."

"A demon? That's absurd."

"It's true."

"They found the logbook of the captain. Apparently, they found an island in the Atlantic Ocean that wasn't there before. There was this cave filled with corrupted energy. Some say they opened the gateway to hell."

"An island?"

"Other explorers have tried searching for it, but none of them ever came back alive."

"Sailors dubbed it the Devil's Triangle."

~~~

"Demons escape the Cave of Malice as corrupted energy. It's why they possess bodies. Because they have none of their own."

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"That, and they're also attracted to people whose essence contains a lot of negative energy.

"They call it 'corruption'."

"So, those sailors?"

"I hear they've been stealing treasure from other's ships then leaving them for dead afterwards."

"That's awful! How can we tell if someone's been corrupted?"

"No one suspects it until it's too late. They only know for sure when the physical symptoms start to show. Swellings filled with blood and pus are the most obvious."

"And by then, your essence is already consumed. You're as good as dead."

"Which you technically will be once the malice feeds on your core and consumes it whole."

"What? Why?"

"Your core is found in the middle of your chest, to the right of your heart. Once your core is corrupted, the malice spreads there, then flows through your blood. You really think you can live after that?"

"How scary."

"And you know what's worse? I hear the demons control you even after you die."

"Live cadavers."

~~~

"The Council Leaders held a round table today. Apparently, they formed a group of people who learned how to harness core energy into our weapons. They call them Reapers."

"Took them long enough. It's been 100 years since they found the Cave of Malice. You'd think they'd find a way to defeat those demons without having to hack up the host body and burning it before a full century has passed. Think of those poor families with no bodies left to bury of their loved ones."

~~~

"A protection sigil?"

"It's supposed to protect your house from demons. This way, they won't be able to possess you while you're asleep and your core is vulnerable. It's already imbued with core energy. All you need to do is slap this card right on your door."

"Someone made a purification sigil as well. It's meant for the Reapers to use."

"Only Reapers? How does it work?"

"You have to trace the sigil on the card with your core energy. Then place it on the host body's corrupted core. It'll expel the demon right out."

"And what of the person's essence?"

"If you don't catch it on time, then it'll be completely consumed, their core nearly corrupted. So, you'd still end up dead. But, at least, there's a body left for you to bury this time."

"200 years since then, huh. They really should've left the Devil's Triangle alone."