The flicker of the television danced across the dimly lit room, casting shadows on the walls like silent ghosts. Levi lay sprawled across the couch, his head resting gently on Jaceon's chest. The rhythm of his heartbeat was steady, calm, unaware of the storm quietly brewing beneath the surface.
Jaceon ran his fingers through Levi's hair, his other hand holding the remote loosely, not even aware of what show was on—until a familiar image appeared on screen.
Breaking News: Court Declares Richard Mallon Not Guilty of Murder Charges.
Levi lifted his head slightly to watch, his eyes soft with concern. "Oh my God… I remember this case."
The screen shifted to a man in a neat suit, wiping away staged tears as he stood before a crowd of flashing cameras. His voice cracked as he spoke to reporters.
"I wasn't even home when it happened," the man sobbed. "I came back to find my entire family—gone. My wife… my children…" He broke down in the arms of his lawyer, trembling.
Levi sighed. "This is heartbreaking."
But Jaceon?
He smiled.
A slow, wicked curl of his lips.
There it was—the perfect sin. A murderer who'd taken five innocent lives, standing beneath the sunlight like he deserved mercy. Jaceon's vision sharpened, catching every twitch, every lie. He could smell the deceit. The blood. The rotting souls clinging to the man like a curse.
He had just found his first prey.
Six souls. Five from the murdered family… and one—the liar himself.
"What a day," Jaceon thought darkly, stroking Levi's hair again.
Levi turned to him, blinking in disbelief. "He literally didn't do it… You can tell he's broken."
Jaceon's voice dropped into a low growl. "How would you know?"
Levi blinked. "What?"
"People like him are the reason the innocent never get justice." Jaceon's smile faded, replaced with a quiet intensity. "Crocodile tears… Innocent, my ass."
Levi sat up a bit, surprised by the venom in his tone. "You sound like you know he's lying."
Jaceon forced a small chuckle, masking the truth. "Call it intuition."
Levi tilted his head. "That's not like you."
Jaceon pulled him closer again. "Some monsters don't hide under beds. They wear suits and cry for cameras."
The television continued to echo the man's fake cries, but Jaceon wasn't listening anymore. His mind had already shifted to the nightfall.
Tonight… he would hunt.
Tonight, the first soul would be claimed.
---
Later That Night…
The air was cold. Silent. The city pulsed with life, but the shadows belonged to him.
Jaceon stood across the street from the hotel where Richard Mallon now stayed. He watched through the window as the man laughed over wine, speaking to a journalist—soaked in pity, drunk on attention.
Jaceon's eyes turned black. His demon form shimmered beneath his human skin like a second shadow aching to be released.
"You killed them," he whispered. "And now… I collect."
He stepped into the street, silent as death.
Disguised beneath the cap of a pizza delivery man, Jaceon wore a smirk that didn't quite reach his eyes. The box in his hand was empty, but the intent behind it was heavy. He knocked on the hotel room door twice.
Richard Mallon, dressed in a robe and smug relief after his "innocent" verdict, opened the door.
"Didn't order any pizza," Richard muttered.
"It's complimentary," Jaceon replied with a grin. "From the hotel. For your… freedom."
Tempted by the offer—and the chance to gloat online about it later—Richard stepped outside to take it.
The moment he did, Jaceon grabbed his wrist.
"What the—!?"
Vanish.
The air around them cracked like shattered glass, and they disappeared.
---
They reappeared in an abandoned, shadow-soaked warehouse—cold, quiet, stripped of life. No CCTV. No witnesses. Just judgment.
Jaceon stood before Richard, his expression unreadable. "Do you accept that you, Richard Mallon, murdered your family?"
Richard looked around, panic blooming. "Who the hell are you? You think you're the law? The court couldn't prove it!"
Jaceon chuckled darkly. "I'm not the court. I'm your punishment—for defiling humanity and stealing innocent lives."
"You're insane!" Richard screamed, throwing a punch.
Jaceon caught his hand mid-air, crushing his wrist effortlessly.
"You lied to the court and cried for sympathy. How pathetic."
Richard backed away, but the room itself seemed to close in.
"Your real trial begins now," Jaceon whispered, his tone sharpened by fire.
"I said, do you accept that you murdered your wife and four children?"
"I didn't do it! Who do you think you are—a judge?!" He responded..
Thunder cracked above them, unnatural and angry. Jaceon laughed, the sound echoing like a curse.
"You'll know soon enough. Now… let the show begin."
He beat Richard brutally—fist to flesh, fury to bone—dragging him back to the memory of that night. The very scene of blood and betrayal replayed around them like a haunting illusion.
The cries of his children echoed.
The look on his wife's face as the knife pierced her chest.
The silence afterward.
Now it was Richard on the floor, gasping.
"Tell me again, Richard," Jaceon said, his voice like a death knell. "Did you do it?"
"Leave me alone!" Richard cried. "They found out my secret… I had to! I did what I had to do!"
Jaceon's eyes glowed with darkness. "Normally, I don't draw this out… but my hatred for liars like you?" He smiled. "Makes me want to savor this."
He picked up a knife—the knife.
"This look familiar?" he asked, tilting it in the dim light. "You stabbed each of them five times. Five victims. Do the math."
Richard sobbed, shaking. "Please… I'm sorry…"
"Mercy?" Jaceon's face twisted in disgust. "Did they get mercy? When your own child begged you to stop?"
He stepped forward, knife gleaming.
"What's five times five?" he roared.
"Twenty-five!" Richard screamed.
"Good. At least you know your math." He grinned. "Too bad it won't save you now. I guess your teacher forgot to mention this equation."
And with that… he stabbed.
Once for each stab Richard had dealt to his family. Twenty-five in total.
As the blood drained, Richard's soul tore from his body—dragged screaming into the abyss below.
"Court adjourned," Jaceon said coldly, admiring the blade in his hand.
By the next morning, the news exploded.
"Richard Mallon Found Dead in Brutal, Unexplainable Killing – No Witnesses, No Evidence."
Jaceon sipped his coffee with Levi curled beside him again.
Six souls down.
Forty-four to go.
And the devil's contract… still ticking.
---