Chapter 394 — Another Demon
The moment they turned on the television, the local news station was already broadcasting footage of Officer Hobbes shooting a man in the street.
"What the hell happened?" Frank and Sam both looked stunned.
Hobbes briefly explained everything that had occurred.
"That monster actually showed itself openly…" Sam frowned.
"It forced me to kill an innocent man. Then the media amplified everything on purpose. This was all part of its plan."
"It wants to ruin me completely."
"It wants to drive me to death."
Hobbes's expression darkened.
"My current situation is almost identical to what happened to Officer Milano decades ago."
"What a twisted piece of shit," Frank muttered.
"Did you guys find anything on your side?" Dean asked.
"We found these books in the cabin," Sam said while lifting the dusty volumes onto the table. "And we found a name carved into the wall—'Azazel.'"
"The police officer who killed himself decades ago definitely fought this monster before," Dean continued thoughtfully. "And there's a good chance he already figured out what the creature really was."
"So what is it?" Dean immediately asked.
"If I'm right…" Sam hesitated slightly. "I think this monster might actually be a demon."
"A demon!?"
Dean and Hobbes both focused on him instantly.
"I searched through a lot of material online," Sam explained. "Across religions and mythologies all over the world—Christianity, Native American beliefs, Hinduism, Buddhism, and others—there are all kinds of references to beings like demons."
"They're called different things depending on the culture. Demons, devils, evil spirits, heavenly fiends…"
"But many of the legends share similar traits."
"Possession."
"Manipulating humans."
"Taking over bodies."
Dean crossed his arms.
"So how are we supposed to deal with a demon? Find a priest or something?"
When hunting monsters, the most important step was always identifying exactly what the creature was.
Once you knew the monster's true nature, the investigation was already halfway complete.
The remaining half was figuring out how to kill it.
"I don't know," Sam admitted. "I've never dealt with a demon before either. Dad's journal is with you—see if there's anything in there about killing demons…"
"I know how to deal with demons."
Before Sam could finish speaking, Frank suddenly interrupted.
"Huh?"
All three of them turned toward him at once.
At that moment, Frank finally understood why John Winchester had specifically told Officer Hobbes to contact him.
Normally, supernatural hunting cases had nothing to do with Frank.
He was just an ordinary person—not a hunter.
But unlike Dean and Sam, he actually had experience dealing with demons.
John had probably guessed the truth after listening to Hobbes's voicemail.
He must've realized that the creature involved in this case was likely a demon.
And since Dean and Sam had never encountered one before, they lacked experience.
That was why John had deliberately given Hobbes Frank's number.
Frank already knew one thing for certain:
Demons possessed the ability to inhabit human bodies.
But at first, Frank genuinely hadn't connected this case to demons at all.
After all, how could there possibly be so many demons in this world?
Wasn't Hell supposed to be separated from the human world by an endless abyss? Weren't demons supposedly unable to cross over?
"Demons can't truly be killed," Frank said as he recalled the methods for dealing with them. "They can only be exorcised and sent back to Hell."
Dean immediately pulled out John's journal and started flipping through it carefully, searching for entries related to demons.
"…He's right," Dean muttered after reading several pages, his expression darkening. "You really can't kill them."
"Holy water can hurt demons," Frank continued. "It causes them pain, but it won't kill them."
"And exorcism rituals are incredibly complicated. The incantation is long, and if you mispronounce even a single word, you have to start over from the beginning."
"On top of that, demons can freely possess other people. If one wants to escape, there's basically no way to stop it."
"That's why you need a magic circle to trap the demon first before performing the exorcism."
Everyone listened intently.
"If the demon's true name is included in the exorcism," Frank added, "the ritual becomes far more effective. Not only can it banish the demon, it can actually injure it as well."
He looked at the name they had discovered in the cabin.
"Which means… I'm guessing 'Azazel' is probably the demon's real name."
The old police officer from decades ago truly deserved to be called a hero.
He hadn't been a hunter.
He'd had no experience fighting demons whatsoever.
Yet through pure investigative instinct and years of detective work, he had managed to uncover the truth behind the creature—and had even learned its name.
Unfortunately, he never discovered how to actually fight a demon.
In the end, all he could do was die in despair with a bullet in his head.
"Hearing that name again… what a surprise."
A completely unfamiliar voice suddenly echoed through the room.
The atmosphere froze instantly.
No one had spoken.
Every person in the room turned sharply toward the source of the voice.
Sitting casually on the sofa was a man holding a glass of red wine, calmly watching them.
"Crowley!?" Frank blurted out in shock.
That's right.
The man who had suddenly appeared in the room was none other than the demon Crowley.
"You know him?" Dean asked immediately.
"…Yeah." Frank nodded stiffly. "He's a demon."
"A DEMON!?"
Dean and Sam instantly drew their guns.
"Oh, don't be so tense," Crowley said lazily. "Violence is terribly uncivilized."
He casually snapped his fingers.
The guns flew straight out of Dean and Sam's hands as if yanked away by an invisible force.
The brothers reacted instantly, charging forward anyway as though they intended to overpower Crowley physically.
"So energetic…" Crowley sighed.
With a casual wave of his hand, both brothers were blasted backward.
BOOM!
Their bodies slammed violently against the wall, pinned there by an invisible force that completely immobilized them.
"Is he working with Azazel?" Hobbes asked nervously.
Even though both were demons, Hobbes instinctively felt they were different.
Their presence… their aura… was completely unlike each other.
Still, if they were allies, then everyone in this room might already be dead.
"Relax," Crowley replied casually. "Azazel and I are not associates."
He lazily twirled a finger, and the invisible force vanished, causing Dean and Sam to drop heavily onto the floor.
"How are you here?" Frank asked warily.
"Why, I came to see you, of course." Crowley raised his wrist and tapped the watch on it lightly. "You are my contractor, after all."
"I'm simply here to remind you not to forget the deadline."
"I haven't forgotten," Frank replied.
"Contractor?" Dean frowned. "What does that mean?"
"…It's nothing," Frank answered immediately, clearly unwilling to explain further.
Want faster updates? Send those stones my way—the more, the merrier. Read early at [email protected]/A_divin5