A month ago, Laurie was a loser.
In a place like Gotham, people like him were a dime a dozen. In his thirties, unemployed, with no particular skills, he had recently tried to get involved in the criminal underworld. But things hadn't gone well: the first gang he joined got into a turf war and he got hacked up; the second leader choked on a fishbone and died on the spot; and the third one got thrown in jail by the newly emerged Batman.
From then on, Laurie got himself a bit of a reputation in the local underworld. They called him "The Boss Killer." No gang dared take him in after that.
So he ended up unemployed from the criminal scene as well.
Drowning in debt, evicted for unpaid rent, he was on the brink of homelessness. But just when all seemed lost, fate threw him a bone. One night, rummaging through a dumpster for scraps, he ran into a ghostly figure claiming to be a demon from another world—who just so happened to be looking for a lackey to help infiltrate this dimension.
With nothing left to lose, Laurie didn't hesitate and signed a contract with the demon.
That's how he met his master: the great Belial.
Lately, Belial had been raising the bar for his expectations, which was starting to wear Laurie out. The frequency of his "activities" had increased so much that even in a city like Gotham, the spike in missing persons was attracting unwanted attention.
Others weren't too much of a worry. It was that Batman that made him uneasy. The guy had a freakishly good nose for this sort of thing. Even with demonic magic helping cover his tracks, Laurie was starting to feel the heat.
So tonight, he decided to pause operations and lay low in a run-down, abandoned building to wait things out.
He never expected a bunch of reckless teens to wander in on their own.
Laurie was overjoyed. Like someone offering you a pillow when you're dozing off—prey walking right into his mouth.
He retreated into the dark room, drew a scarlet ritual circle on the floor, arranged candles in a specific pattern around it, and lit them one by one.
The dim candlelight barely illuminated the corner of the room, also casting a pallor over Laurie's pale face. The blood-drawn circle twisted into strange, arcane geometry. Within the formation were mysterious symbols, ancient runes, and bizarre markings.
Laurie began chanting:
"Oh monsters from the other world, heed my call! In the name of the great demon Belial, descend upon this realm! Let scarlet blood be the tribute to our mighty lord!
Appear now, devils from the depths of Hell!"
Each line in the circle began to glow a vivid crimson, lighting up the entire room. A surge of immense energy pulsed out. The candles snuffed out at once, and in the center of the circle appeared a twisted, grotesque demon—something that shouldn't exist in this world.
But it was... snoring.
Laurie froze mid-chant.
After a beat, he took a deep breath and repeated more loudly, "In the name of the great demon Belial, let scarlet blood be the tribute to our mighty lord!"
The formation flared red again. The demon stirred—
—And turned over in its sleep.
Laurie: "…"
Yep. That's the demon his great master sent to help him out. This wasn't their first job together, so Laurie had grown used to its... unique behavior.
It was the laziest demon he'd ever seen. Laurie still didn't understand why the master saddled him with this slacker. No motivation, no drive. The guy was basically the shame of all demons.
Laurie coughed and said flatly, "Dinner time."
The demon's eyes snapped open and it sat straight up. "What's on the menu?"
"Some thrill-seeking kids—your favorite age group. They went up to the third floor, left side of the hallway," Laurie replied. "Same rules: souls are for the master. Do what you want with the rest. But make it clean. We're being watched. Don't leave a trace."
"No problem." The demon grinned confidently. "I'm a pro. Give me three minutes—it'll be done."
With that, he morphed into a shadow and slipped out the door.
Seconds later, he sheepishly slid back in.
"Hey... was it the left or right side of the hallway again?"
Laurie: "…"
"Alright, this is the critical phase," said Chris.
On the third floor, in a dusty, empty room, Chris stood with his two sidekicks.
"You," he pointed at Sidekick #1, "go over the plan again."
Sidekick #1 raised the cheap-looking Halloween costume in his hands. "I put on this demon suit, sneak up and scare the girls. When you come in, I pretend to be terrified and run away."
Sidekick #2 raised his hand. "I'm on lookout and signaling duty!"
"Excellent." Chris nodded with satisfaction. "If I can win over that transfer student tonight, both of you will be rewarded. Got it?"
"Got it, boss!"
"Then what are you waiting for? Get changed!"
Sidekick #1 scurried off with his costume.
Chris smirked to himself, already fantasizing about his heroic rescue scene and the beauty falling into his arms afterward.
Yes, he admitted it—he was a scumbag. He wanted her body.
But at least he was honest about it.
Just then, a shadow silently rose behind him.
A humanoid shape, skinny and grotesque, with skin black as ink and reeking of rot. Its eyes were long and narrow, its pupils bottomless and sinister. Pale lips pulled back into a mouth full of jagged fangs, and its rancid breath stank of decay. Sharp horns jutted from its head like wicked blades.
"What's that smell?" Chris muttered, pulled out of his daydream. He turned around—
—and met the demon's terrifying gaze.
"ROAAARR!!"
The demon bared its claws and teeth in a horrifying display, eagerly waiting for the human to collapse in terror and scream his lungs out.
That was always the best part—watching the prey drown in fear.
But instead, Chris just blinked, looking… intrigued?
"Huh? This costume's sick!"
Beaming, Chris reached out and started touching the demon all over.
"This design, the texture—amazing. Are those eyes glowing? And this horn? What's it made of? So realistic!"
He started squeezing the demon's horns.
The demon: "???"
For the first time ever, it froze. Dumbfounded.
What was up with this human? He wasn't even scared?
Chris was beyond pleased. He hadn't expected his sidekick—usually a bit of an idiot—to be this on point tonight. The costume work alone was enough to make him feel halfway to success.
Then a voice called from behind:
"Boss? You called me?"
Chris turned to see Sidekick #1 halfway into his cheap, oversized demon costume, his head still sticking out, peering around the door.
Wait a sec.
Chris frowned. Something wasn't right.
If Sidekick #1 was over there and hadn't even finished changing...
Then what the hell was he groping just now?
He turned back slowly.
Met eyes with the real, horrifying, and equally confused demon.
Chris's pupils shrank.
From deep in his throat came an uncontrollable scream—
"GHOSTTTTT!!!"