Why

As they drove to the restaurant, Lucia's mind raced with questions. She gazed out the window, her eyes tracing the passing streets as she tried to piece together the puzzle of her life.

The streetlights cast a golden glow on the pavement, but her eyes saw only darkness, a reflection of the uncertainty that shrouded her past.The city lights blurred into a kaleidoscope of color, a stark contrast to the darkness that had shrouded her past.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, Mark led her to a cozy booth in the corner, the scent of sizzling food and freshly brewed coffee enveloping them like a comforting embrace.

Over plates of steaming food, Lucia pressed him for answers. "Who are you, Mark? Why do you do what you do?"

Mark's eyes locked onto hers, his gaze intense. "I am a demon hunter, Lucia. Tasked with the sacred role of cleansing the earth of their evil presence."

Lucia's eyes widened in disbelief. "A demon hunter? But...how? Why?"

Mark's expression turned solemn. "I was chosen, Lucia. Chosen to wield the power of death against the forces of darkness."

She shook her head, trying to process this revelation. "But what about me, Mark? What do I have to do with all this?"

Mark's smile was enigmatic. "I don't know yet."

Lucia's eyes narrowed. "And what about the island? Were all the demons there bad and deserving of death?"

Mark's gaze faltered for a moment before he replied, "The island was a training ground, for all sorts of demons. No demon is innocent. Their souls were pulled out of the underworld by the Devils for a reason. I also have my own reasons for fighting the demons, Lucia."

Lucia's mind reeled as she tried to absorb this information. She thought back to her time on the island, the strange nightmares and eerie feeling of being watched. "Are you sure that every demon is evil, Mark?"

Mark's expression turned cold, his eyes glinting with intensity. "Yes, Lucia. Demons are creatures of darkness, driven by a hunger for destruction. They must be stopped."

Lucia felt a shiver run down her spine as she gazed into Mark's eyes. Was he telling the truth? Or was there more to the story? She couldn't shake the feeling that there was still so much he wasn't telling her.

As they spoke, the restaurant around them faded into the background, the clinking of dishes and murmur of conversations receding into the shadows.

Lucia's world had shrunk to this booth, this moment, this revelation that threatened to upend her entire existence. She felt like a pawn in a game she didn't understand, with Mark holding all the pieces.

After their meal, Mark's phone rang, breaking the silence. He answered, his expression serious. "I have to go," he said, his eyes locked on Lucia's. "I have an investigation to conduct."

Lucia's curiosity piqued, she asked, "What are you talking about?"

Mark's reply was cryptic. "I wish we could talk all day but I got a job to do, so you have come with me.I don't mean to rush you but we have to leave now."

He led her to his car, and they drove away, the silence between them thick with anticipation. They arrived in a small town, the streets lined with police cars.

Mark parked and turned to Lucia. "Stay here," he instructed, his eyes serious.

He got out of the car and entered the house, leaving Lucia to wonder what was happening.

Inside, Mark met Alex, the head of police, a fellow Crusader. Alex showed Mark the crime scene, a chilling sight. A dead man lay on the floor, his body drained of blood, tiny bite marks covering his skin. The air was heavy with the scent of death.

Mark's eyes scanned the room, his mind working overtime. "I'll find out what did this," he promised Alex.With a nod, Mark left the house, his expression grim.

Mark's eyes widened in surprise as he realized his car was gone. He took a deep breath, feeling a mix of frustration and admiration for Lucia's quick thinking. He had underestimated her resourcefulness, and now she had escaped.

"I should have seen that coming," he muttered to himself, shaking his head. He had been so focused on the investigation that he had let his guard down.

Mark sighed, acknowledging that he couldn't blame Lucia for making a run for it. He had been vague about his intentions, and she had every right to be wary. He still hadn't decided what to do with her, and his mind was preoccupied with the mystery of the demons' interest in her.

"Well, Lucia, it seems you've got a head start," Mark said aloud, a hint of a smile on his face.

Mark's eyes gleamed with amusement as he tracked the car's location on his phone. "Ah, Lucia, Lucia, Lucia...you shouldn't have tried to outsmart me," he chuckled to himself.

He had installed a tracking device on his car incase someone was ever dumb enough to steal it. Now, he could see that she was heading out of town, likely thinking she had gotten away.

Mark shook his head, a smile still plastered on his face. "You're not getting away that easily," he said, already planning his next move.

A while before all this happened,Lucia had been waiting with a bated breath for Mark's return, her mind was filled with a maelstrom of questions and fears that swirled like a vortex, threatening to consume her.

Despite her valiant efforts to stay awake, the warmth of the car and the engine's soothing hum conspired against her, lulling her into a state of drowsiness that beckoned like a siren's call.

Her eyelids grew heavy, her breathing slowing as she succumbed to exhaustion's sweet embrace.As her eyelids drooped, the silence of the car became a clear thing, broken only by the soft whisper of her snores, a gentle cadence that seemed to lull the world into a peaceful slumber. Lucia was oblivious to a sinister force lurking and waiting to strike with the ferocity of a viper.

Her rest was short-lived, as a dark presence invaded her dreams like a thief in the night, stealing her peace and replacing it with a terror that gripped her heart like a vice.

The sinister voice whispered in her ear, its words dripping with malice, "Lucia!!!, come to us."

Paralyzed and unable to move, Lucia's mind raced with terror, her thoughts trapped in a maze of fear from which there seemed no escape.

Visions of a boutique's name and location flashed before her eyes, etched in her mind like a memory flashback.

Her body, seemingly possessed by an external force, stirred to life, her hands grasping the steering wheel with a life of their own.

The car lurched forward, driving her towards the mysterious boutique with an otherworldly power that seemed to defy the laws of nature.

As the car glided through the streets, Lucia's mind screamed in silence, trapped in a prison of her own body, her vision fixed on the road ahead as the boutique drew nearer, its presence looming like a specter of doom.

The voice in her head cackled with glee, its presence suffocating her, making her heart race with fear, her mind trapped in a living nightmare from which she couldn't awaken.