79 In the Darkness

Ground floor of the building. This place was completely dark, and in the open space where the elevators descended, blood could be seen everywhere. When Derek descended to investigate, instead of what he expected, he found Dwight's lifeless body and blood scattered around.

Derek knew that if he examined the surroundings, he would contaminate the scene, possibly connected to the crime outside, the elevator, and this place that should also be somehow linked.

"Isolate this place and don't let anyone unauthorized enter," Derek ordered the police officers who had come down with him when they saw Dwight's corpse.

Only now did he realize that this murder case had become more brutal. At the same time, after informing his superior, Bowden frowned upon hearing that and silently apologized for distrusting someone who was now dead.

"Can you tell me what your maintenance workers were doing before this?" 

"How did he die?" One of the security guards couldn't help but ask upon hearing that Dwight had died.

Although the two were a bit confused, they still obediently nodded and recounted the connection between them and maintenance worker Dwight, as well as the repair steps mentioned by Dwight and what they were going to do to fix the elevator.

While Bowden listened, his face showed no trace of emotion, and his senses darkened. According to the two security guards, the maintenance supervisor was meticulous throughout the process and checked the maintenance steps step by step; there was basically nothing suspicious until his death.

But if it wasn't related, then why did he die? Bowden couldn't understand it and continued to watch the monitoring screen. The four people still alive in the elevator were very different from each other, each huddled in a corner and protecting themselves.

He knew that if he wanted to continue investigating this murder case, he could only rely on the background checks of those people, which had not yet been sent to the office.

"Detective, um, did Dwight really die?" As Dwight's close friend, the surveillance captain couldn't take care of his friend as a worker and a friend. "Detective, believe me, he has no connection to what's happening. He has been working very hard for these years and never missed a beat."

When the guard said this, he was interrupted by his companion. "Friend, you shouldn't let yourself be swayed by your feelings because you can end up seriously betrayed. What we should do is not interfere with the investigation."

Bowden glanced at them and continued to watch the monitoring screen calmly. "As your companion said, I can't trust your words, but what I can tell you is that Dwight died in the basement while working on fixing the elevator."

As soon as these words came out, the guards, who knew exactly that someone had died, closed their eyes with a bitter feeling. "Just a few minutes ago, he said he was about to check the elevator; it can't be..."

Bowden's eyes were calm. "I know you don't want to believe it, but unfortunately, this is the truth."

While speaking, Bowden looked at the last police officer, who was waiting. "Call in the firefighters."

"Yes, sir!"

The police officer hurried away, and then Derek entered hastily, standing next to Bowden, and said in a cold tone, "The cables were broken."

Bowden nodded, looking at the images on the monitor, and said, "Let's wait for news from the office."

Derek looked at the two security guards beside him, who were still shocked and seemed to have not yet overcome the death of the maintenance worker, but that was normal because it's very shocking news.

However, things were not quiet during this time. After a while, Bowden suddenly noticed that the elevator lights were flickering faster than before.

Due to this sudden change, everyone in the elevator looked at the monitor, looking uncomfortable.

Inside the elevator.

"Will I be smart if I trust you?" the mechanic asked the woman, who was still huddled next to him.

"I would be foolish if I trusted you," said the woman, looking at the man who had started the conversation.

The guard in front of the mechanic asked, "Let me make a suggestion: what if you and I hold hands?"

"For what?"

"Currently, we are suspects. If one of us dies, the other would be the culprit, but if neither of us is guilty, then we could figure out who the real killer is," said the guard, looking at the woman on the floor who had stood up.

Upon hearing this, the mechanic, dressed in civilian clothes, thought about it seriously. He was not the killer, and this approach would also benefit him. If the guard was the killer, this approach would be better because he could better perceive the attacks if the light went out.

"That would be best for everyone."

"Alright then..." The mechanic nodded and extended his hand.

Bowden, who had been watching, saw the actions in the elevator. As an experienced police detective, he understood the meaning of these two people instantly. If there was a killer among these two people and they didn't want to be exposed, that person definitely wouldn't kill again.

If neither of the two most suspicious people is the killer, and if someone else dies, then the remaining person will be suspected of being the killer.

While Bowden thought about this, a police officer came to report. "Detective Bowden, the fire department is here."

Bowden nodded and looked at Derek, who was silent on the side. "How about you take care of this matter? I'll monitor it from here."

"Alright, anyway, the things I'm thinking about aren't suitable for deductive reasoning." Derek left the monitoring office.

After Bowden looked at him, he continued to watch the monitoring screen. The lights flickered faster, and the darkness grew longer. To reassure the people in the elevator, he took the radio and said, "The firefighters are here; you'll be able to get out after a while."

The words echoed in the elevator, and the four people looked at each other and sighed in relief, especially the woman, whose face relaxed a lot. She had originally been crouched in a corner, but now she stood up slowly.

"Finally, it's over. I hope the lights don't go out," muttered the mechanic, but at that moment, he heard an explosion, and everything plunged into absolute darkness. As if no one expected this, when the lights went out suddenly, many screams were heard.

"Ahhh!" "No!"

There was a loud noise in the elevator, but the response on the monitor screen was darkness, and then there was no sound. Bowden frowned and continued pressing the intercom button.

"Everyone must remain calm and stay still. If you are attacked, you can scream for help and cooperate with the people around you."

However, after a few seconds, the elevator lights came back on, returning to normal, except that the situation in the elevator changed again.

"Oh my God!"

Next to the mechanic, the guard, who had regained consciousness, saw the elderly woman hanging next to him. Everyone saw how the old woman had been hanged to death in a very short time, something humanly impossible for them to do, but at the moment, no one said anything.

The mechanic knew the guard was not the culprit because he was beside him, so after seeing how the old woman died, he looked at the only living woman.

"Damn!"

The mechanic looked at the woman and asked in shock, "Are you the murderer?"

The woman, also in shock, collapsed and shouted, "No, it's not me!"

"If it's not you, is it one of us two?" The mechanic clenched his teeth and walked towards Abigail.

"No! It really wasn't me!" The panicked woman shouted.

"It's you! Right! Are you going to kill me next?"

"No!" Instead, the mechanic walked to the old woman, removed the rope hanging from her, and then walked to the woman.

"No! It's not me! It really isn't me!" The woman crouched in a corner, her face full of tears, completely broken.

At the same time, although Bowden couldn't hear the conversation, he saw everyone's behavior, took a deep breath, and pressed the button. "What are you trying to do?"

"I'm not a killer; I won't kill you; I just want to restrict your movements!" While listening to the elevator's voice, the mechanic gritted his teeth, grabbed the collapsed woman, and forced her to lie down.

"No!" The woman collapsed and screamed to resist, but in the end, she couldn't resist the strong man.

"Don't kill me! Please! Please..."

The guard also knew the mechanic was not the culprit, so he also helped the man tie the woman with the tie from his uniform.

Seeing this, Bowden sighed in relief, looked at everything in the elevator, unconsciously frowned, and realized that all the previous inferences had been abruptly cut off again.

"We have information on all of them." Derek's partner entered with the information.

The mattress salesman, whose throat was stabbed, was involved in various financial frauds, many of which resulted in the destruction of families and suicide. The mechanic, who survived, was discharged from the army but was suspected of violating the ban on going to the battlefield. As for the woman, she was a murder suspect but was released due to a lack of evidence. There is no connection between these five people.

Bowden listened to this report with a solemn face and remembered the stories he heard as a child.

Raúl, who was sure that this was the work of the devil, couldn't help but express his opinion. "This is the work of a demon," muttered a guard who was completely terrified by what was happening. Raúl, who heard this, murmured, "The demon is judging those sinners." If there is really something that cannot be logically understood, just apply that explanation to something that doesn't exist, and then all of this will make sense.

"Officer Raúl, what are you talking about? About the devil?"

In comparison to the confused guard, Bowden heard Raúl's whisper and asked him.

"We have evidence..." The guard, who, from the first minute, knew that this was the work of some demon, quickly intervened in the conversation. "Detective, please look at this."

While speaking, under Bowden's gaze, a guard operated the control console and played the residual image he had seen before.

It's a pity that at the moment of playback, the residual image had disappeared.

"Impossible, obviously; I saw it with my own eyes!"

Bowden looked at the guard and asked, "Are you absolutely sure?"

The guard nodded but looked at the playback screen and shook his head. "At that moment, I saw a skull composed of residual images, but I don't know why it wasn't on the screen."

But at that moment, the light went out again, and in just a few seconds, the guard had been decapitated.

"That demon will kill them all except for those who can still be forgiven."

Bowden watched as the guard was killed and knew clearly that it was impossible for the mechanic to have done it because he was at the other end of the elevator.

This directly proved Bowden's internal judgment. When everyone present looked at the screen in confusion, he took the phone decisively and silently dialed Derek's phone number.

"I can call someone; I think we should call him."

...

At the same time, in a completely renovated house, crosses were hung everywhere, and there was a pungent smell of incense. Anton, who had just returned home, was in the basement cleaning the blood from his suit that he had used the night before to eliminate all those mobsters.

He needed to clean his weapons, empty the cartridge magazines, and make sure each of his weapons was in perfect condition. Everything needs maintenance to prevent it from deteriorating, especially something as deadly as a firearm. As soon as he entered the room and opened the secret door, the cellphone in his arms kept vibrating. Anton didn't pay attention to it; he just entered the basement, took the cellphone, and answered.

To his surprise, as soon as the call connected, the mechanical sound in his ear sounded first.

"[Mission in progress... Request: Save people in danger from avenging demons. Class: Expulsion Reward: Black Star...]"