Azazel

Jae-Hyun Kim, the detective, is tormented by his sister's childhood disappearance. As a Korean-American investigator, he is thrown into a terrifying investigation into a string of ritualistic murders. His investigation into the case reveals a covert organization that has been carrying out antiquated, occult rites in his city for many years. With human sacrifices as the price, these rites are intended to preserve the balance of power between the seen and hidden realms. Kim learns that a young boy, Ethan, is at the center of the society's sinister schemes when a little girl named Amaiyah reveals that her brother has vanished. Kim encounters mystical foes like the Mother of Pus and the terrifying Shub-Niggurath while breaking inside the cult to save Ethan. The startling link between Kim's background and the society is made clear in a pivotal encounter: his sister was likewise sacrificed. Kim stops the ceremony in a last-ditch effort before it establishes a portal between realms.

Even though the direct threat is no longer there, Kim senses a shift in the environment, as if the lines separating the occult from reality are starting to blur. There's a Kafkaesque sensation of something always present, unseen, lurking beneath the surface while he, Ethan, and the others go about their regular lives. While the city carries on with its routine, Kim is aware that the threat has merely been postponed. He still feels the weight of society's influence and the pull of the unseen world pulling at reality, raising the disturbing question of when, rather than if, it will strike again.