At the city center plaza, Eve sat on the edge of the fountain basin.
The fountain had long since stopped, and unidentifiable wreckage floated in the water. Unbothered by the murk, she soaked her bare feet in it, eyes closed as though sensing something.
A monster ran over.
It had once been a demon. Now bat wings had grown from its back, and its hands and feet had become claws, though its face still retained the demon's dark-red skin and horns. It knelt before Eve.
"Did you find him?" Eve did not open her eyes.
"No. Crowley is hiding well." The monster's voice was hoarse. "But we found traces of his hellhound army in the eastern district. They're faint—possibly remnants from a portal."
Eve opened her eyes.
Her pupils were now entirely gold, like molten gold. "Keep looking. He stole my children. He must pay the price."
"Yes." The monster withdrew.
Eve stood and walked to the edge of the plaza, looking down at the streets below.
Several humans were hiding in an alley: a middle-aged couple and a young man who appeared to be their son. They had been in hiding for two full days.
The family had huddled behind freezer cases in a supermarket warehouse, surviving on canned food.
The young son had insisted on coming out to find medicine. His father's heart medication had run out.
Now, three hybrids had trapped them at the end of the alley. The mother was sobbing, while the father shielded his son behind him, clutching a length of rusty iron pipe.
Eve sat on the edge of a rooftop three blocks away, her bare feet gently swinging. She did not even look in that direction. She merely raised her right hand, pointed her index finger at empty air, and made a