Desires

"Don't go! Don't go!" The old man from before shouted at the top of his breath but Damian couldn't care less, he just continued running.

Upon getting to the 4-way intersection[1], Damian stopped and looked left to right, trying to figure out where Mark went.

"Ahhhhhh!!!"

He heard a loud wail that sounded like Mark from the street on the left and progressed.

This street was filled with at least 2-story houses with a front lawn but now almost everything was in ruins.

Damian calmed his steps as he realized that the armoured demons weren't there.

…This should be where his daughter lives? Damian saw Mark in front of a particular house that was about 5 times more ruined than the rest of the houses.

The flames in the house were almost a bare minimum since there was nothing to burn anymore.

"Ahhhhhh!" Mark cried out to the sky as tears rolled down his face. He held a purple teddy bear –that had half of it burnt and its foam sticking out– with his two hands.

Damian looked upon in silence, then started surveying the area. He 'felt' a gaze on him.

The house was already burnt down and in rubles. Mark was kneeling somewhere that was supposed to be the sitting room but he could see the sky.

Amidst Mark's lament, he started hearing a soft voice that almost sounded like it whispered,

'Take back what they took from you.'

Veins started popping on Mark's neck.

'They took your chance to save your daughter, now deprive them of the chance…

'to save their breath.'

Boom… Boom… Boom…

Mark flung the teddy bear away and started hitting his head on the hard floor filled with several rubbles.

Damian noticed Mark's abnormality and tried to approach him.

'It is all Damian Cross's fault.'

"No!" He said, as he tried his best to not give in.

Unbeknownst to Mark, he just used his 'command' over lower-ranked creatures and due to that, Damian was stopped in his tracks and wasn't able to move an inch. The 'command' was more fierce than ever before.

'If he just didn't follow... you would have been here hours ago if he didn't want to wait till dawn.'

His eyes slowly started turning full black.

'Enact all your hatred on him.'

"Urrgghh! Stop it!" Mark slammed his hands on the ground in his attempt to curb these raging thoughts and emotions.

Two black tiny horns started to slowly protrude out of his bloody head.

'Make him suffer.'

"Nnngh…" He grovelled in pain coming from all over his head.

'...Make him pay.'

Mark was still struggling. He then heard the voice of a little girl say in a serene tone, "Does daddy not love me?"

The voice helped Mark calm down a little. He looked up and saw a hazy and blurry little girl with long curly black hair and a tan skin tone.

Apparently, he was hallucinating due to the heavy injury he inflicted on himself and the constant blood loss from his head, which all threw his brain into a confused state.

Mark tried to lean forward to touch the girl in light blue pyjamas with a sky and stars pattern design, "Daddy loves you, sweety---"

Before Mark could finish speaking, she lifted the purple teddy bear –that she held with her left hand– to her chest and shook her head, "Lies! Mommy said you left because there were things that are more important to you than us!" She said.

"No, I…" Mark was at a loss for words as his feeling of despair welled up the more.

"How long will ya' black a*s still think like a monkey?" The jest came from a man with a southern American accent.

A man wearing the typical navy blue uniform of the NYPD[2] with a silver shield badge walked out of the void.

"...Curtis?" Mark blurted out.

Damian was still grounded at where he was, unable to move.

"Ya' really think ya' can kill me and get away with it?"

"I-I don't know what came over me, I'm sorry…"

"Apologizing ain't gonna do nothin' now…

"But don't you worry about it alright? I'm just gonna keep taking everything you've ever loved…"

Curtis grabbed the neck of the girl holding the teddy from behind, to the extent her head was above his.

Mark instinctively wanted to react but he couldn't. It was like the power he possessed wasn't enough for him to save his daughter. He remained glued to the spot.

Curtis's face was plastered with a disgusting smile, while the girl was grimacing in pain.

Crack… Crack… Crack… Every sound that came from her neck shattered Mark's resolve.

"Noooo… Stop it…" Mark tried his best, but could only raise one knee.

"Da…ddy…" Tears rolled down his daughter's face and her pitiful contorted expression only served to craze Mark the more.

Crack!

At that moment, all forms of life ceased from the eyes of Mark's daughter, but her face was left in the condition of despair and helplessness.

Upon hearing that last crack and seeing her face, the last dam holding the water… broke!

Mark let the darkness seep in and the whole area shook violently.

Curtis laughed crazily, "Yes! Yes! Yes! That's what I'm talking about. Officer Mark, the saint that preaches ideals gave in to his desires."

Mark charged at Curtis with a fist. He burst through Curtis's chest and appeared at the other side.

Curtis smiled and laughed deviously, "Haha… you're no different from trash like me now… Haha!"

His face changed into Mark's ex-wife, grimacing with pain, "Why… did you hurt me this much?"

Her body faded away like it was just dust, and it was the same with his daughter.

Damian was finally free but he was finding it a little bit hard to breathe.

...He must've gone a rank higher. This is gonna be though… Damian started brainstorming on what to do, because at this point… Mark was a lost cause.

Mark's horns were some centimetres longer and veins popped up on his face and neck like he was about to explode. His black eyes were so dark that one could fall into the abyss just from staring into it too much.

Mark stood up straight, then slowly turned his head to look at Damian.

...Those armoured ones will come to check what that massive energy fluctuation was and [Demotion] won't work… Damian decided to leave Mark and come back one day he would be strong enough to suppress him.

Damian turned around to run away but soon realized he couldn't take a single step.

...Dammit, I guess I'm done for…

Mark slowly walked up to Damian and stared into the eyes of the frail human with useless special powers.

Then suddenly, his horns started receding and his black eyes slowly cleared up and became normal, and that oppressive force that held Damian down slowly reduced.

Mark smirked, "...I got you, didn't I?"

Thud!

He fell hard on the ground and fainted.

Damian didn't wallow in his surprise for too long and quickly lifted the well-built man lying on the ground.

He wanted to quickly run away from those armoured demons he suspected would be coming this way, not minding the gaze he felt on him.

...

[1] I forgot to mention in the last chapter that: that's a type of road intersection for those that didn't know. Imagine a cross-shaped junction.

[2] New York Police Department