DemiDemonDarla

Chapter 15: Demons in Celestia

>>>>> The city of Celestia had never felt so heavy with dread. It wasn't just the dark clouds that loomed over the horizon or the biting cold that seemed to creep into every corner of the streets—it was the fear that hung in the air, palpable and suffocating. Crime had always been part of life in Celestia, but lately, it had taken a darker turn.

Darla sat at her desk in the precinct, scrolling through the latest crime reports. A sinking feeling weighed heavily in her chest as she read each file. The headlines were grim: "Missing Children Epidemic: More Street Kids Vanish Without a Trace", "Gang Wars Erupt in Broad Daylight," and "Politician Found Dead—A Hero of Celestia Falls." Each report was like another piece of a puzzle she didn't want to see completed.

She pushed aside a report on a recent string of disappearances and glanced over at Zion, who was equally engrossed in the deluge of crime files. His brow furrowed as he muttered under his breath, flipping through pages of escalating violence and chaos.

"The city's falling apart," Darla whispered, her voice tense. "It's not just humans anymore, is it?"

Zion shook his head. "No. These aren't ordinary crimes. They're calculated. Strategic." His voice was tight, his usual calm demeanor strained under the weight of what he knew. "Belphonia's forces are moving quickly. These lowlife demons are planting chaos, softening the city for something bigger."

Darla nodded in agreement. She could feel it too. The air was thick with the malevolent energy of demons hiding in plain sight, taking human form and spreading discord like wildfire. It wasn't just random violence—this was the first phase of Belphonia's rebellion.

The disappearances of street children had been the first clue. At first, it seemed like an unfortunate but routine rise in kidnappings, but now, with so many cases unsolved, Darla knew it wasn't random. The children had been taken by demons—likely for reasons too horrific to dwell on.

Then there was the spike in gang violence. Not just turf wars, but full-blown riots erupting in the middle of the day, bodies piling up in the streets. Demons were stirring up these gangs, manipulating their bloodlust to destabilize the city. Darla had seen it in the eyes of the arrested gang members—something unnatural flickered beneath the surface, a hunger for chaos that wasn't entirely their own.

Worst of all, though, were the murders. The cold-blooded killings of politicians who had been working for change. Men and women who had championed reforms to better the city, found dead in their homes or on the streets, their bodies brutalized. Darla knew these weren't just political assassinations—Belphonia's demons were eliminating anyone who might stand in their way when the full-scale invasion began.

But the most disturbing trend by far was the rise in sexual assaults, each case ending in the victim's death. The violence in these cases was monstrous, the kind that human hands alone couldn't inflict. Darla's heart sank each time she read the details, knowing that these atrocities were the work of demons taking human form. These weren't just random acts of violence; they were deliberate, calculated acts of terror designed to rip apart the fabric of Celestia's society.

Zion rubbed the back of his neck, clearly frustrated. "We can't keep up with this. The crimes are out of control. Captain Garcia's going to address the whole team soon, but..." He hesitated, casting a glance around the bustling precinct. "Darla, if the rebel demons have already infiltrated the city, they could be anywhere. Even in here."

Darla's stomach twisted at the thought. The idea that demons might be hiding within the police force itself, pretending to be human, was terrifying. She had grown to trust the officers here, but now she wasn't sure who could be trusted anymore.