Dami walked down the corridor of the hotel building. Her nose was assaulted by the most horrible smell known to man. No, it wasn’t the dingy hotel smells of smoke and dirty laundry. But rather, it was the smell of decaying flesh. Insects were already flying around in the humid air, making Dami more annoyed by the second.

“Detective, the body is in here. But be warned, the sight isn’t pretty.” a police officer warns with a frown on his face.

“Homicide is rarely pretty, officer.” Dami doesn’t hesitate to open the door despite the warning, but she wishes she had taken a few more breaths of air when she was outside the hotel.

True to the officer's words, the sight is disturbing to say the least. The body is so mangled and twisted in ways the human body should never be. It was a woman, that much was obvious. And she was hung from the ceiling fan with her limbs in every direction. The gashes looked like an animal was tearing the woman apart. There also appears to be a strange abrasion on parts of her body. However, a closer inspection is needed to tell for certain.

“CSI already on it?” Dami questions as she covers and nose. The officer stepped up to be next to her and nodded.

“We wanted to leave the body for you to see first before we take it down. CSI already checked everything else though. All of the relevant objects except what is on the victim has been sent back to the academy for your investigation.”

“What about the victim herself?”

“Unknown. The face is too destroyed for a computer program to even analyze. And everything else on her is...torn up.”

Without another word, Dami removes her glove and places her hand on the bed sheets below the ceiling fan. Interestingly, there was no blood dripping from the body and the sheets were devoid of any blood as well.

Visions flash in the detective’s brain. Red eyes. Bathrobe. Man. Several men. Claws.

Dami withdrew her hand and walked out of the dingy hotel. She took a deep breath when she was far enough from the crime scene. A nearby officer handed her a disinfectant wipe for her hands.

As she wiped her hand from the dirty bed, Dami addressed everyone in the vicinity, “Most probably a demon attack. But check the CCTV in the area for suspicious men. I will have a more definitive lead when I check her possessions. Have them sent to the academy by the end of today.”

Dami strode over to a luxury sedan waiting for her. The driver opened the door for her and closed it behind her.

--

The moment Dami stepped into the academy grounds, she was called by the principal. Heaving a sigh, she begins the trek over to the highest tower. She passes by a combat class in session and stops momentarily when she spots a familiar face. Handong is in the middle of disarming another student, with a sort of deadly art form that Dami has never seen before. The chinese girl moves gracefully, as if she were dancing on water and her strikes are fast. Even if Dami has never fought a physical battle in her entire life, she could tell that Handong was at another level.

Their first encounter at the art shop the other day was nothing but a passing thought to Dami but now, Dami was paying more attention. It isn’t until Handong slams her opponent to the ground that Dami remembers she has a place to be. The principal will not be amused if she tells him that she was watching a combat class for 10 minutes.

Speaking of the principal, he urges the detective into the seat in front of his desk. “Dami, there has been a report of another case like the one you’ve gone to see today. It’s 10 miles out into another rural area.”

Dami does not show any outward emotion to that except the rise of a single eyebrow. “Already? I haven’t even seen all of the evidence for this one.”

“What have you been able to deduce so far?”

“Demon attack. Most likely. Though there are several things that do not add up.” Dami reports, thinking of the strange marks on the woman’s body and the missing blood. The principal sighs and folds his hands on his desk. Dami doesn’t say anything but she knows. The principal is probably being pressured by the government to solve this case asap, considering the fact that Dami attends the academy. The deaths are of unusual circumstances so this falls to her to figure out all the details with her powers.

“Well I need something to show to the police force, as well as the Association to quell their fears.” the detective nods and stands to leave. Before she does, she turns around, staring at the black folder on the desk.

“I want to investigate that.” She says, pointing at the folder. The principal follows her finger to the folder and shakes his head. He even goes as far as taking the folder and locking it up into his drawer.

“No, this case is of low priority. Focus on this one for now.” Dami tilts her head. She can see the gears turning in his head. He knows that she has seen tibits of what that folder is, since she sat on the chair that rank 4 Kim Yoohyeon sat on. He wonders what she saw and if she knows that he does not plan on ever opening the investigation.

Usually, Dami was cool-headed and followed orders well. But today, she decided that she wanted to deviate from the norm. Starting from when she watched Handong until now. “An exchange then. I’ll give you something concrete to tell the higher-ups and you let me investigate that case.”

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