“Man, fuck cultists…” Drifter sighed to himself as he left the cathedral. “Why the hell are these guys so active all of a sudden? They couldn’t have been around for longer than a few months… and all that debating over ideology and morality is just soul draining… it’s all a bunch of bullshit anyway. They can worship demons all they want, but it won’t save them.”

Drifter suddenly spotted a woman, wearing a familiar beanie, exiting the off-licence, smoking a cigarette, looking like she just crawled out of bed.

“Those things will kill you, you know.” Drifter commented.

“Fuck off.” The woman replied, before freezing in place at the sight of Drifter.

“Fuck you, too.”

Catherine was taken aback, she never expected to run into Drifter again so soon.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

Drifter took note of the poor state she was in. Her clothes were dirty, her jacket was practically sagging off her and her eyes were baggy.

“You crawl out of a meth lab?”

“Funny.”

“In a detached sort of way, yeah. Where the hell have you been?”

“Why do you care? Is this about Locke?”

“It wasn’t, but sure. Tell me about Locke.”

“I’ve been hiding out in the demon world, but I followed Locke back here to stock up on food.”

“And cigarettes?”

“Yeah, well, I’m not used to living in the demon world. It’s hard to relax when you don’t have a bed, or shelter, or anything but the cold dirt to sleep on.

You try living in the depressing silence of a dead world, especially when that silence is broken and you’re suddenly thrown into a battle for your life against some monster. I was only there for a day and I’m already a wreck! I can’t even change my clothes!”

“Do demons even need clothes?”

“Not every demon has a freaky exoskeleton, stupid!”

“Alright! No need to fucking shout!”

Catherine glared with Drifter glaring back.

“This is your fault, you know!” She accused.

Drifter was flabbergasted, unsure of what she meant.

“If you hadn’t shown up, I’d still be living a normal human life! I’d still have a home… and food… and family…”

“I don’t… remember hurting your family…”

“Of course not. That’s what’s so annoying! You’re not even aware of the damage you cause! You just run away from it!”

“Hold the fuck up! You’re the one who ran away!”

“Because you’d kill me! Is that why you’re here!? To finish the job!?”

“Not really…”

“Were my grandparents not enough!?”

“I didn’t touch your damn grandparents! I’m still not sure if they even existed!”

“Locke told me everything! None of this would have happened if you hadn’t shown up!”

“I didn’t kill your grandparents, retard!”

“You’re the fucking retard! You’re responsible for their deaths and you don't even know it!”

Drifter wasn’t sure what to think. Catherine’s anger seemed genuine, but there was still a chance she was faking it. He needed to test her. Reaching into his wallet he pulled out the photo from the house.

“Here.” He tossed the folded picture to Catherine, landing at her feet. She examined the photo, puzzled.

“Why do you have this?”

“I can see a bandage poking out of your hat in that photo. Why? If it was taken after the car crash, then your grandparents shouldn't be in it, right?”

“Why are you asking? This is getting creepy.”

“I’ve never seen a demon go to such lengths to pretend to be human before. Not unless they had some ulterior motive.”

“It’s none of your business.” Catherine refused to elaborate any further.

“Fine.” Drifter conceded, changing subjects. “So, about Locke. Is he in town?”

“Obviously, but he got distracted by that stupid cult. Honestly, how is he supposed to free Alexander if he’s wasting time here?”

“Wait, who?”

“Who cares? As long as you’re around, we won’t make any progress anyway… just get lost…” She turned her back and left, taking her photo with her.

"And for the record." She corrected. "The bandages were for covering my horns."

The photo seemed to calm Catherine down, clutching it tightly as she left. At this point, Drifter was starting to believe she was telling the truth, but that begged the question: How did Catherine end up here in the first place? Who was she? At the very least, there was one thing Drifter was certain of.

“She's such a punk.”

Drifter popped into the off-licence.

“Why’s this place even open, anyway?”

He took a quick look around, only to be met with the clicking of a gun’s trigger as the barrel poked into his side. “Hold it right there.”

“Great, I walked into another fucking robbery…”

“I’m no criminal, you idiot.”

“The ginger twat? Why are you here?”

“Caught sight of a break-in and took action. I would have arrested her, until you showed up.”

“Neat. Can I go now?”

“Oh no. I’ve got some questions for you. Know anything about the collapsed car park in Templar Square?”

Officer Richard raised his gun to Drifter’s face hoping to intimidate him, but Drifter simply pushed his finger into the barrel of the gun, crunching it up like an accordion.

“Wha-? How did-?”

“Not much to say.” Drifter answered. “Demon showed up. I killed it. Then I left.”

“What about all those corpses?”

“I told those cultists to piss off, but they wouldn’t listen.”

“Cultists? Crap, so it was them…”

“What? Sad you can’t arrest them in case you offend their religion or something?”

Officer Richard picked up a newspaper from the rack. The frontpage featured Anderson meeting with Mr. Basil, with the headline: ‘Daemonism: Our Last Hope?’

“They’ve been gaining traction recently. Nobody on the force wants to investigate them due to their demonic connections, not that we could…”

“Well, aren’t you guys fucking useless.” Richard looked away in embarrassment. “Still, I didn’t think they were this big.”

“Do you not keep up with the news at all?”

“No.”

“What do you do all day?”

“Sleep… eat… um……”

“Oh, Christ…” Richard was starting to suspect Drifter wasn’t quite the terrifying engine of destruction he initially thought he was. “Hey, where’s the kid?”

“The what now?”

“The little blonde runt that follows you around.”

Drifter shrugged.

“What? I thought you were his guardian or something.”

“Wow, you guys can’t even gather intel properly. I’m not the kid’s guardian, he’s just a little shit I can’t scrape off my shoe.”

“Well, where is he?”

“Investigating that gay cult. I didn’t care, so we went our separate ways.”

Richard was getting suspicious. “That kid is investigating that cult, but not you? What’s your game here? Are you playing dumb?”

“No, it’s genuine.”

“You’re seriously not planning on taking down Anderson’s cult? I thought a demon hunter like you would be the most interested in Daemonism.”

“I’m not a demon hunter… I just fight whatever gets in my way. Taking down a famous cult would draw too much attention. The last thing I want is to have the media on my arse.”

“What if the police took the credit instead? Would you help then?”

"A cop offering me a bribe? How ironic.”

“I’ve always wanted to investigate Daemonism’s shady activities and now I have the perfect opportunity. Help me with this and I’ll make sure the police take full credit and you can disappear into… wherever it is you go.”

“If it gets you off my back then, sure… why not?”

“You don’t sound very enthusiastic.”

“I just hate work.”

The two headed to Richard’s car.

“Alright, get in.” He ordered.

“You’re not taking me down to the precinct, are you?”

“I’m pretty sure you’d blow my car to pieces before I could even attempt that.”

“Smart man.”

They drove through the town, heading straight to the source of the cult’s power.

“Why the hell are you so interested in these pricks anyway?” Drifter asked.

“Demons are driving this country to the brink of destruction. The public despises them. Then Daemonism comes along and suddenly the media tries to convince everyone that the demons are here to save us. All sounds a little fishy to me. To top it off, anyone on the force who tries to investigate them will face termination. I don’t know if it’s corruption or cowardice, but I’m not going to let an opportunity to find the truth pass me by, even if I have to put my job on the line.”

“You think there’s a conspiracy?”

“You’d have to be blind not to be a little suspicious, or been living under a rock, like you.”

“Point taken.”

“I think there are people out there taking advantage of all this chaos for their own gain.”

“I’ll let you handle that shit, Mr. Policeman. So, are we gonna barge into Anderson’s home, guns blazing?”

“No. I’ll just say we got a report of a disturbance and ask to check his home.”

“What if you don’t find anything? Or he gets suspicious? What if he just kills you? Or what if-?”

“Alright! I get it! It’s risky! That’s where you come in. If something bad happens, that’s when you barge in guns blazing, as long as I’m not caught in the crossfire.”

“And if I refuse?”

“Then… I’m fucked.”

Richard’s gung ho attitude resonated with Drifter. A thick headed rookie, looking to prove himself in a world that was trying to suppress him. His plan was clearly stupid, rushed and poorly thought out. The perfect plan for Drifter. He didn’t have to think, just act.

As a police officer, Richard had access to the addresses of everyone in town, allowing them to find Anderson’s home in no time, parking the car right outside his gate.

“What’s all this computer shit?” Drifter asked, looking at the car’s dashboard.

“Drifter, you had the whole car ride to ask me that, and you’re asking now?”

“Yes.”

“It’s recording equipment, that’s all.”

“Sounds useful.”

“Right, now remember, back me up on this, in case shit goes south.”

“Yeah, yeah…”

Richard headed for the front door, knocked and anxiously waited for an answer. The door opened and standing tall with his robes, Anderson looked down upon Richard, with a judgemental stare.

“What is it?” He sternly answered.

“Oh… excuse me sir, but me and my partner here received a call to check out a disturbance at this address.”

Anderson seemed perplexed. “What partner?”

Richard looked to his side and around the immediate area. Drifter had completely disappeared. “Bastard!”

“What is this disturbance you’re talking about?” Anderson interrupted.

“What? Oh, that’s what I’m here to find out.”

“I see… and who called you?”

“I can’t answer that, I’m afraid. This shouldn’t take long though, it’s just a precautionary search.”

Anderson was immediately skeptical. “Very well.”

He invited Richard inside. On the other side of the house, Drifter was aimlessly snooping around.

“I can sense demonic energy. Like a portal, but it’s coming from inside the house, so fuck that. That’s ginger’s job.”

It didn’t take long for Drifter to grow bored of his investigation as he inattentively lurked around for evidence.

“A credit card?” He exclaimed. “What kind of idiot would lose this out here?”

Drifter threw the card into the bushes, convinced it was of no use.

Richard gave the downstairs of the house a quick once over, while Anderson watched him, diligently. At first glance, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, even checking the closet and garbage revealed nothing, which was a problem. If he searched for longer than he already had, it wouldn’t really be a ‘quick’ search anymore. Still, something seemed off, but he needed to buy more time to figure out what, so he took his search upstairs. At first, nothing looked out of place, but soon enough.

“Are you satisfied now, officer?”

“I suppose so, except for one thing.”

“What is it?”

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

“You missed some blood here.” Richard pointed to a single red spot on the floor, just outside Anderson’s bedroom. Despite making sure he cleaned up the mess Dale made, he clearly didn’t have enough time to do a thorough enough job, before Richard arrived.

“Th-that’s not blood.” Anderson argued.

“Is it paint?”

“Y-yes.”

“What were you painting?”

Anderson stammered to come up with an excuse.

Richard continued. “Yeah, that’s blood. I think I saw something similar near the bins and closet. In fact, I’m going to have to give that closet a more intensive examination.”

Anderson had no choice but to comply, as Richard returned to the closet. Although they were hidden by the darkness, with a flip of a switch, the light revealed the blood splatter on the floor.

“Oh yeah, something’s up here.” Richard noted. “The blood leads into the wall, is there something behind it?”

“Perhaps you should see for yourself.”

With his ominous permission, Richard searched for a way to look behind the wall. Eventually he figured out the back wall could be pushed aside, sliding across to reveal a secret room. Richard was sickened by what he found.

Corpses, torn and rotting, bound by chains. As the wafting smell of decaying flesh assaulted his senses all at once. The bodies appeared human, but they were deformed and contorted. Among the amalgamations of flesh lay Dale, still unconscious, missing his legs.

“What the hell is this…?” Richard muttered, shaken.

“What? This is just a normal closet.”

“What the fuck is so normal about this!?”

“Please don’t get so excited. You found nothing to be concerned about."

“Nothing to…? There are bodies in there! Chained and rotting! What in God’s name have you done!?”

“I don’t think you understand.”

Anderson’s arm stretched around to Richard’s back, as his hand expanded into a massive demonic claw. Richard could feel it, the presence of a large weight pressing down on him, ready to crush him at any given moment. He was left paralysed by fear as the monstrous priest bent down to whisper into the young man’s ear.

“There is nothing to be concerned about. This was just a quick search that warranted no further action. Merely a false alarm. You will be leaving now, lest anyone end up hurt, or worse. Is that clear, officer?”

Richard weighed up his options, but with Drifter gone and no way to defend himself, he complied with Anderson’s request. “Right. There’s nothing to report. Sorry for disturbing you so late. I should head home now.”

“That would be wise.”

Drifter put his feet up in the car as he waited. After what seemed like hours, Richard finally returned, slumping into his seat in silence.

“Find anything?” Drifter asked.

There was a pause, before Richard slammed his fist into the dashboard.

“Dammit! I couldn’t do anything!” He slammed his fist again. “I was totally petrified! The truth was right there and I couldn’t do anything about it!”

Drifter laughed. “Shit, what happened?”

Richard immediately directed his fury towards Drifter. “Where the fuck were you!? If you had just been there, we could have done something! You could have stopped him! I nearly died! He chose to let me live because he knows I can’t do anything! And you just sit there laughing, when you could have fucking done something!”

Drifter was slightly stunned by the officer's emotional outburst. He was clearly traumatised. Once he was given a moment to calm down, Drifter finally spoke up.

“Did you record any of it?”

“Record? Of course! The recording equipment! We can take this to the station and-”

“No.” Drifter interrupted. “We’ll keep it to ourselves.”

“Right, they’ll probably just confiscate it anyway and I’d be taken off the case. Tomorrow… tomorrow we’ll confront Anderson and his cult with the evidence and prove what a monster he really is. Then, you’ll have free rein to take him down.”

“Tomorrow sounds good. I’m getting sleepy.” Drifter climbed into the back seat and laid down.

“Are you snoozing in my car?”

“Well, where else am I going to?”

“A hotel?”

“Nah, this is fine.”

“Fucking… alright…”

Drifter soon fell asleep in the back of the car as the hours passed by, with night turning to day. There were no surprise attacks or recurring nightmares, just a peaceful sleep, which was immediately interrupted by a sudden cold splash over Drifter’s face.

“Fucking cunt! What!?” He cried, flailing his arms in protest.

“Get up, Drifter.” Richard ordered, holding an empty cup of water. “It’s time to get to work.”

“Work? No thanks…” Drifter rolled over, ready to return to his dreams, aggravating Richard.

“My car isn’t a bed, you bum! Those cultists will be holding their morning mass soon. We have to get moving.”

“Cult….?” Still half asleep, it took a minute for Drifter to remember what he had been doing the past 24 hours. “Oh… that cult… I’ll wait for the evening mass.”

“After what I saw last night, I refuse to wait around any longer. We’re bringing them down now.”

Drifter lifted himself up, still slightly sleepy. “You really think you can bring them down with just a video recording?” He yawned.

“We can only hope.”

“Ugh…”

“Let’s go.”

“Wait!” Drifter suddenly cried.

“What is it now?”

“Can we get breakfast first?”

“You what? You think we have time for breakfast?”

“There’s always time for breakfast.”

“We don’t have the luxury of lounging around in a restaurant, you stupid sod!”

“Then we’ll order it to go. I’ll eat on the way.”

“God… you’re such a child…”

They drove up to the cathedral and waited for the last of the acolytes to enter, while Drifter finished scarfing down pancakes, ordered from a fast food chain, with Richard calmly sipping his coffee.

“I can’t believe I actually got you to buy me breakfast. You must be real desperate for help.”

“No one cares about these demons until after they’ve already killed. By then, it’s too late. Now we’re being told to just bend over and accept them, like we’ve given up. I want to prove that there are officers out there still willing to fight for the people instead of just pretending to save face. I’m not going to let this chance slip by. I will reveal their hypocrisy to the public.”

“With just a video?”

Richard stepped outside the car. “It’s time. Let’s go, Drifter.”

As they were about to enter the cathedral, they were stopped by a woman calling to them.

“Drifter!”

“Amanda?” He answered. “You look like shit.”

“I… I found something…”

“What? Like a penny?”

“Drifter…” Amanda appeared soulless. A sleepless husk of her former self. “…this can’t go on… you have to stop them…”

“Stop what now?”

“Anderson.”

“You can’t rely on me to solve your problems. I’m not a superhero.”

“Please!” She grabbed at Drifter’s arm, suddenly springing to life. “You can't let anyone suffer like Abby did! No one deserves that! Please, stop that monster!”

“Alright… we were gonna do that anyway.”

“Thank you…” Amanda walked away.

“Where are you going?” Drifter asked.

“To get Abby…”

With Amanda gone, Drifter looked over to Richard who was ready to head in as soon as he was. With a hard kick, Drifter booted the doors wide open, interrupting Anderson’s sermon and disturbing the acolytes in the room.

“Apologies for the interruption.” Richard announced. “But, we’re here on official police business.”

Richard marched down the aisle, with Drifter casually strolling behind.

“And what could the police possibly want with us?” Anderson questioned. “What department are you from? Who are you?”

“I don’t have to reveal that information.”

“Very well. If you wish to throw away your entire career with false accusations, then be my guest.”

“Those threats won’t work on me.”

“Time-out!” Drifter called. “Dale, what the fuck are you doing up there?”

Beside Anderson, toward the back of the stage, were two demons, holding up a tired, legless boy by his arms, no longer able to stand of his own free will.

“Did you lose your legs?” Drifter chuckled. “Guess that’s one way to stop yourself from blindly running into fights.”

“Drifter!” Dale yelled. “Will you kill this cunt already! The guy’s a sociopath! And I want my legs back!”

“Of course he’s a sociopath! He’s running a fucking cult!”

“What the hell Anderson!?” Richard objected. “Why’d you bring the kid here!?”

Anderson was adamant with his response. “To serve as an example to those who go against the wishes of the demons! He’s lucky he’s still alive after I rescued him!”

“Fuck you!” Dale retorted. “You’re the one who did this to me!”

“Do not cast the blame onto me, when it was your own folly that led to your crippled state.”

“Don’t listen to him! Anderson’s the one who attacked me! He had freaky huge demon arms! He’s not human!”

“You see, my children. This boy has been consumed by his own arrogance and can no longer accept the reality he lives in, instead choosing to create lies to better fit the narrative he wishes to create. Do not be fooled. He has no proof. Do not believe the lies of one who has already committed murder upon demonkind.”

The people in the church rallied behind Anderson’s words.

“He’s the one who killed our comrades!”

“He was with that White Heathen!”

“He’s a traitor to humanity!”

“Dale, you paraplegic plonker!” Drifter yelled over the crowd. “How are we supposed to prove anything with them screeching at us!?”

“We have to quiet them down somehow!” Richard explained.

“Just fire your gun into the air! Assert your authority as an officer of the law!”

“I can’t, you stupid sod!”

“Why!? Oh… oops…”

A gunshot rang out in the cathedral, startling the crowd into silence. Beside the stage stood Amanda, gun pointed to the sky, with all eyes on her.

“You want proof!?” She announced. “I’ll show you proof! A dose of harsh reality for you blind, boot lickers!”

Amanda stepped aside to reveal the creature crawling on the floor behind her. There, sprawled out like a lumpy rug, struggling to maintain its connection to the living world was a creature neither human nor demon, just a contorted mess of what was once a sentient being.

“Remember the girl chosen for Anderson’s ascension scam?” Amanda elaborated. “She was my sister, Abby and this is what he did to her. Take a good, long look, because I can barely stand to anymore…”

The acolytes were horrified into silence by what they saw. No creature could possibly be born into such a painful existence. They questioned if this was their eventual fates as well.

“Do not listen to her.” Anderson retorted. “She could have found that pitiful creature anywhere.”

“…Ammy…” The creature wheezed.

“She still knows my name. I saw Abby transform with my own eyes, but what I want to know is why? Why did you do this!? Why did you destroy my sister!?”

“That creature is irrelevant.”

“WHAT!?” Amanda was frozen by her own fury. Anderson was dead set on deflecting any and all accusations being thrown at him.

“If you need more evidence of Anderson’s cruelty,” Richard explained. “I have plenty of footage recorded from my visit to his home last night.”

“You did what!?” The priest cried.

“I wonder how your people would react to your private dungeon? I guess Ammy wasn’t your first victim.”

“You’re bluffing. How could you have recorded anything?”

“All officers wear a recording device in their pocket, in case they run into trouble. I’ve got the footage in the car if you all want to see it?”

There was a loud crash from outside, as one of the demons burst through the doors, revealing the wrecked police car from outside.

“Oh my.” Anderson snickered. “How unfortunate.”

“Ah, shit. Why did I open my big mouth?”

“Well, officer, how do you intend to prove anything now?”

“I think the fact you just destroyed the evidence is proof enough.”

“I did no such thing. My servant merely acted on his own.”

“Crap, now what?”

“Now nothing.” Anderson asserted. “Your carelessness has only proven your incompetence. Please stop wasting our time and get out.”

“Hold it!” Drifter called. “You forgot about me.”

“As if I care about the opinion of the White Heathen.”

“That’s okay, I’m more interested in your lackeys, up there.” Drifter directed his attention to the demons keeping Dale captive. “Why are demons taking orders from a human?”

The guards looked confused as Drifter continued. “Demons look down on humans. We’re nothing to you. So, why? What’s the interest in the old fart?”

The demons kept quiet. Not out of stubborn refusal, but what looked like fear. Anderson answered for them. “They recognise the potential of our organisation and simply wish to help. Nothing more.”

“Or maybe, you’re a demon too.”

“I’m growing tired of these wild accusations. Do I look like a demon?”

“No, but neither do I.” Drifter’s white aura flared up. “But, I’ve got plenty of demonic power at my disposal. Same goes for stumpy up there.”

Desperately trying to ignore the insult, Dale revealed his arm-blade.

“So, it’s entirely possible you’re hiding demonic powers too.”

“The burden of proof lies on the accuser. If I am truly a demon, then prove it!”

Drifter smirked. “Okay.”

From his wallet, he pulled out a vial of black substance. Anderson froze on the spot, upon witnessing it.

“Impossible.” He exclaimed.

“You recognise this? It had me stumped for a while. What is this black goop and why was it in one of your churches? After seeing that sad abomination, I think I’ve figured it out.”

“That vial is worthless!”

“Oh, I think it’s worth a lot, especially to you. A vial of otherworldly substance. I don’t know if it’s blood, rotted flesh or demonic diarrhea, but whatever it is, you need it.”

“What would I possibly need that for?”

“Demonic substances have strange effects on the human body. Depending on the person, it can either grant them powers, or disfigure them horribly. Anderson. You need this substance. It’s what gives you your power over demons, your own source of demonic energy.

I can sense the demonic power inside you and you tried to pass that power on to others. That’s the purpose of the Daemonism cult. You want to create an army of hybrids. Am I right?”

“This is nothing but conjecture! That evidence means nothing!”

“No, he’s right!” Amanda cried, holding up a similar vial. “I found this in Abby’s coffin! It’s the same vial Drifter’s holding!”

“That evidence was planted!”

“You poisoned my sister with demon juice to turn her into a monster!”

The acolytes were losing faith. They felt used, betrayed. They were not loyal followers, but pawns being prepped into becoming an army. They were taught that the demons would one day destroy the non believers, they didn’t think they would become those very demons.

Anderson however, still denied everything. “That vial means nothing!”

“Oh, okay.” Drifter dropped the vial, as it fell to the ground, shattering to pieces.

“What have you done!?”

“Broke it.”

“Imbecile!”

“What? I thought it meant nothing to you?”

“Not to me, it’s for my followers! For their protection! How are they supposed to ascend without that demonic essence!?”

Drifter pointed to Abby’s mangled form. “You call that an ascension?”

“That monster is nothing but a worthless failure!”

There was a sudden gunshot. A bullet pierced through Anderson’s head as he collapsed onto his podium.

“She’s… not a monster!” Amanda yelled, tears in her eyes, having finally broken under the emotional pressure.

The room fell silent again, as everyone attempted to process what had just happened, but soon Anderson raised himself from the stand, blood still spewing from either side of his skull, but he was far from dead.

“There’s your proof.” Amanda declared.

“Should have done that in the first place.” Dale commented.

Richard stepped in to put their argument to rest. “Surviving a fatal injury like that is decisive proof you’re no longer human. You’ve been collecting demon essence to transform yourself, and your followers into hybrids. All under the guise of creating a new world! You corrupted an innocent girl, mutilated a hostage and used lies and murder to hide the truth. You're not a saviour, Anderson, you’re just a psychopath!”

“Not yet…”

A black tar substance crawled onto the stage from the floor. Drifter looked at his feet, the shattered glass was still there, but the essence had vanished.

“It’s alive?” He thought. “But, I didn’t sense anything.”

The black tar slivered up Anderson’s body, entering his being through the bullet hole in his head. “I will… ascend!”

Anderson could feel his body changing, his powers growing. All his fears finally melted away as he no longer needed to pretend to be human. He could now fully embrace his demonic side. His mind became dominated by a single thought, a single purpose: Death.

Although he felt liberated on the inside, to everyone else, Anderson’s body stretched and convulsed erratically. His eyeballs consumed by darkness, leaving empty crevices in his face, spewing black tar. He had become a hunched, slender horror, leaking mist from every orifice, his humanity completely lost.

The first action he took in this new form was to open his gaping maw, gather black energy directly into his mouth and fire a shot, directly down the aisle. Richard dove out of the way, while Drifter stood steadfast, tanking the full brunt of the blast.

At this point, the acolytes fled the cathedral, fearing for their lives. Even the demons Anderson had under his wing fled after witnessing his gruesome transformation. Whatever Anderson had become, not even a demon could bear to witness it. The smoke cleared, but Drifter hardly budged from his spot. The power of his aura whisked the smoke away.

The priest's twisted new form revolted Drifter. He didn’t even try to hide his utter contempt for what Anderson had become.

“You threw your humanity away for this? What a fucking waste.”

Anderson leapt off the stage, as if reacting to Drifter’s disrespect.

“That make you mad? Did I hurt your feelings?”

Anderson lumbered over to Drifter, but he did not answer, as he was incapable of speaking.

“No. You can’t even think anymore. Just a mindless, impulsive monster. A pathetic creature, once known as Anderson.”

The creature reacted to Drifter’s remarks with a powerful swing of its elongated arm, sending him clear across the room and sliding across the floor. However, Drifter immediately jumped back onto his feet, unharmed.

“That’s it?” Drifter chastised. “I’d thought sacrificing your humanity would give you more power than that.”

Anderson’s gaping mouth drew in energy once again. This time, he charged longer, making sure his next attack killed. A black beam burst forth, a beam of pure concentrated hatred.

“I’ll show you real power.”

Drifter’s aura flared up intensely as he dashed towards the monster in the blink of an eye, tearing through the beam of black energy, like a torpedo through water, lodging his fist deep into Anderson's melted chest.

The black energy dissipated. Beams of white light shimmered from the hole in Anderson’s chest, until a burst of bright energy tore through his back and shot through the ceiling above. The beam of light expanded, ripping Anderson apart from the inside. His body began to break apart, until the beam suddenly expanded, consuming him. His whole being was disintegrated by the wave of energy released from Drifter’s palm until nothing of the monster remained.

His grotesque form was completely erased from the world, without any of the catharsis or grandiosity of a big explosion. He simply faded from existence, as Drifter’s energy petered out.

"Didn't even put up a fight.” Drifter complained.

“Is it over?” Richard asked, still in shock from Drifter’s light show.

“No.”

Drifter headed over to Amanda and her unfortunate sister.

“Wait! Please!” She begged. “There’s a way to save her, right?”

Drifter examined what was left of Abby, but it was far too late.

“She’s barely sentient.”

“Then, what do we do?”

“I know what I’d do, but she’s not my sister, so I’ll leave you to decide.”

“You mean…?”

“Just… do what you think is right.”

Drifter hopped onto the stage and grabbed Dale, carrying him under his arm like he were firewood. Along with Richard, the three left the cathedral to give Amanda space.

“So, what are we going to do?” Dale asked. “Find a way to reverse the effects? Like an antidote?”

“No.” Drifter answered.

“What? But, we can’t just-”

A single gunshot echoed inside the cathedral. Soon, Amanda exited through the large doors, with her jacket covered in blood splatter, with a dead, empty look in her eyes.

“It’s done.”