The man driving had a frightening face. He was muscular, with short-cropped hair and a cold expression. From the very start, Damian could tell he was a man of few words.
He didn't try to force a conversation, and Damian was fine with that.
But during the ride, the driver explained a few things.
"Each night's a different scene. I'll be the one picking you up and taking you there. The cleaning equipment will always be in the trunk, ready for you," the man said.
"Got it. And will you wait to take me back home too?" Damian asked.
The whole treatment was throwing him off. It wasn't the kind of thing he was used to.
"Yes. It's a dangerous job. I'm here to protect you as well," the driver replied.
Damian fell silent after that, his mind wandering. The idea of a new job — especially one as unusual as this — made him nervous.
Was he really making the right choice?
The only way to know was to try it out and see for himself. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all.
Eventually, they pulled up in front of a house.
Yellow tape cordoned off the area, and several police officers were standing around, keeping people away.
The driver handed Damian a small ID badge.
"This is your identification," he said. "It'll get you past the cops and make them treat you... decently. Go ahead. I'll be waiting here in the car."
Damian took the badge. The photo was the same one he had submitted online when applying for the job.
There were a few official-looking details on it — enough to give him access. His role was clearly listed: Cleaner.
After stepping out of the car, Damian grabbed the cleaning gear.
There were two large, heavy backpacks. Fortunately, he was athletic enough to handle them without issue.
As he approached the house, two police officers moved to block him. Damian set the bags down and pulled out his badge.
They examined it, then stepped aside to let him through.
One of them muttered, "Good luck in there. You're gonna need it."
Damian didn't quite understand what he meant — not until he stepped inside.
It was disgusting.
The living room was drenched in blood, and human body parts were scattered everywhere. A massacre had taken place.
A few Hunters were still inside, analyzing the scene. Among them was Nataly.
"You made it," she said as soon as she saw him. "Disgusting, isn't it?"
"No kidding. What the hell happened here?"
"A B-rank demon showed up, wiped out an entire family, and ran off. We've got a tracker trying to pick up its trail," Nataly explained.
Demons were notoriously hard to find. They could go completely invisible to people without mana, which made the job even more complicated than it already was.
"And what am I supposed to do with the body parts?" Damian asked.
Honestly, he had no idea what the procedure was.
"There are some bags inside your backpacks. Use them and label each one so we know which body part it is. Do that first before you start cleaning up the blood," Nataly said.
With that, she and the other Hunters left. They had to go after the demon that had done this and put an end to it.
Damian was now alone in the house. The police were still outside keeping people away, but inside, it was just him.
He followed her instructions. The bags were right where she said they'd be.
He walked around the living room, collecting what was left of the bodies. They weren't whole. Some pieces had been devoured by the demon. Still, the task was as gruesome as it sounded.
Damian had expected something like this when he applied. That's why the pay was high and so few people were willing to do it.
"It's just the first day," he told himself. "I'll get used to it."
After gathering the body parts, he began cleaning the blood, trying to make the place as presentable as possible. It was slow and exhausting.
He spent around three hours cleaning everything. By the time he finished, it was close to 1 a.m.
He still had his morning shift as a barista, so he was glad he had napped earlier. Those extra hours of sleep made a difference.
The house was quiet. Damian decided to check the rest of it before leaving.
"Just to make sure there aren't any body parts left lying around…"
He checked the ground floor. Everything seemed fine. After that, he went upstairs.
That's when he noticed something strange.
The master bedroom window was open. The wind made the curtains flutter, and the cold breeze brushed against Damian's skin.
"Is that how the demon got in?" he wondered.
He walked toward the window to close it. But before he could, something horrifying came through it.
A creature—grotesque and unnatural—slid into the room.
Its eyes were red. Its skin, gray. Its limbs were long and twisted. Its fingernails were sharp black claws, and its face radiated something far worse than fear—anguish.
"What the hell is that?" Damian cried out, falling back onto the floor in shock.
It was the first time he had ever seen something like that. And he couldn't understand how.
That had to be a demon. But… he wasn't supposed to see it. Only those who had mana could. Unless the demon chose to be seen.
The creature looked down at him, confused.
"How is this guy here? I can't sense any mana from him… and yet he can see me? He must be strong," it thought.
For a moment, it considered running. But then it saw the look on Damian's face—genuine fear and confusion—and decided to stay.
"You're going to die, Hunter," the creature said.
The demon began walking toward him.
Damian raised a hand, trying to stop it. "Wait—don't do this. I'm just here to clean the blood. You don't have to do this."
It was useless. Talking to a demon? Pointless.
But he tried anyway. And the demon stopped.
"Wait… you understood me?" the demon asked.
It froze in place.
"Yes, I understood. Why?" Damian replied.
"Because you weren't supposed to. I didn't even speak your language. Who the hell are you?"
Damian was just as confused.
How could he see demons without having mana?
How could he understand their language?
But Damian wasn't stupid. He had a sharp survival instinct, shaped by everything he had been through with his family. All that suffering had built that into him.
So he quickly noticed an opportunity to turn the situation around. The demon, despite being a purely malevolent creature, could speak—meaning it could possibly be reasoned with. That gave Damian a way to manipulate things in his favor.
"I'm someone you don't want to try to fight," Damian said as he stood up. "You can't even sense my mana. That's the difference between us."
The demon looked startled. "What rank are you, Hunter? SSS?"
"SSS?" Damian repeated with a chuckle. "Sure, sure. What are you doing here?"
The creature became even more frightened. "I saw that this house was abandoned and I wanted to use it as shelter… I didn't know you were already here. So I'll be leaving now."
Damian was relieved to hear that, and he was just about to let the creature go, but something strange happened to him.
[User has made first contact with a demon]
[Demon Extraction System acquired]
[Mission acquired]
[Extract some power from a demon]
That was just bizarre. Damian had no idea what exactly was happening or what those messages meant.
"Wait a second," Damian said. "You're leaving without giving me anything for your life? How about one of your eyes? I think I can make good use of it."
The creature, afraid Damian might kill it, tore out its own eye and handed it to him.
The bloodied red eye was placed right into his hand. "Satisfied? If so, I'm leaving."
"You can go."
[Eye of the demon extracted]
[Mission complete]
[New ability acquired]