The World's Consciousness

Chapter 3

Taylor's report on demons:

The origin of demonic creatures is unknown. Archaeological evidence proves demons existed even about 1000 years ago, and so did the art of Kai. Since history lies tattered, the present society hasn't been able to piece it together.

About two decades ago, demons did not exist in vast numbers so they were a sight for tourists. There is no specific appearance of a demon and a wide diversity has been discovered among them. There are three characteristics found among demons of all kinds namely Kai, decomposition upon death, and hunger for human flesh. These three make demons extremely hard to research and experiment upon.

Following this research, demons have been declared a threat to humankind, and any demon if not being researched shall be executed immediately. Their classification is based on their threat level. Tiers 1 to 8 from weakest to strongest.

12 years ago, in the demon surge, 10 million people on earth died on a single day. The governments took drastic steps to kill them and things have been the same since then. To this day, demon terror and smuggling remain the biggest problems.

Each country has its special forces trained in Kai to combat demons. While a developing nation like Asnad struggles to keep mages in control, some countries are known to show off their strength in sorcery. The methods used to keep mages in control are unknown to the public at this point.

The government has installed demon detectors that sense Kai in form of radiation and raise an alarm if a demon's presence is known. These are better known as Kai Identification Mechanisms.

"That's a fine job, Taylor. While I have heard names like Mason, Jennifer, and Kyle who work at the department of defense, I did not know they were so few. We did not know about demon detectors too," said Ichika, praising his performance.

"This information is useful indeed," added Alex.

The four of us are going to school together. It isn't a regular occurrence. I can tell why Alex was here, he and Taylor are teammates and he wanted to discuss the reports he had given us. But why was Ichika here? I had no explanation for that.

We had our discussion on demons yesterday and I honestly am fine with the progress we have made in such a short time. Getting to know how different nations tackle their demon sightings is crucial to figuring out possible patterns of demon smuggling. To catch a thief, you must think like one.

"Ehehehe," a wide grin appeared on Taylor's face as he scratched the back of his head. Alex took a look at him for a second, I couldn't tell what he was thinking but then, "I don't think this is something you need to be happy about," he said in all seriousness.

"It is good but we still have a long way to go," I said to Taylor in an attempt to correct the sour mood.

"How did you get shot?" Ichika asks me. She seems to be worried about me.

"The police responded faster than expected. No one was on overwatch duty, and I was busy with a demon," I replied.

"That's bad. I mean you might have been caught if you got surrounded," said Taylor.

Every time this thought appears in my head, I try to push it away. I don't need to tell them what was the primary cause of this.

"Colin seems to have his own ideas," said Ichika. To put it mildly, my team leader does not believe in working together. He puts no effort into knowing or planning about the situation when on a mission.

Taylor seems to be wondering about something else, I tried to ask.

"Demons by nature are not intelligent, right?" He asks me, "then how do they even reach the innermost cities and towns?"