Codename: DEMON || ONC2022 Longlister

Chapter 12: Hell

Compared to the floors below, the upper portion of the lab was an even bigger mess. Somehow, the ceiling had collapsed, making rubble pile in the corners. Glass shards littered the ground, and small cracks made water leak down the lower floors. The moment Viktor reached it, it didn't take long for him to be completely drenched. A frown formed on his face, and he regretted wearing a sweater. It was heavy now that it was wet, and it clung tighter than his normal clothes.

He brushed his wet hair back and continued walking. The sight of the ruined laboratory made him chuckle bitterly.

Lucinda was right. This place was worse than he remembered, too.

But she wasn't here in the beginning. She wasn't here twenty years ago when the lab was still working. She wasn't there when scientists still walked around, conducting experiments on anyone they could get their hands on just so they could prove it was possible to pass a wielder's abilities to a non-wielder.

She didn't see what he saw. She didn't feel what he felt.

He stopped in his tracks and picked up one of the glass shards on the ground. At first, the glass only showed his hand. When he flipped it over, he wiped the water and dirt that gathered on it to see his face better. Drops of rain harshly fell down his face, removing the light makeup he had hoped wouldn't be washed off. Before it could completely disappear, he tossed the glass on the ground and clenched his hands into fists.

He always told his subordinates that people in the DUO, especially the Investigation Squad, had two choices when at crossroads: to follow orders or to abort the missions.

But Viktor wasn't a person in the DUO. He wasn't even sure if he should call himself a person. He could wear this mask all he wanted, put up a façade and play pretend for the rest of his life if he wished, but he had been too tainted in the past to be considered as a person.

He never had a choice on what he should do.

He shook his head and pushed the thought away. No, he wasn't going to stall more time by hiding. If he would stall, Lucinda would get her way. And he already wasted an hour or two by pretending to be investigating.

He was already at the top floor; there was no turning back now.

After a while of walking, Viktor reached a room that he would have called familiar if it weren't for its disastrous state. There was no ceiling, and most of the walls had fallen down. He would have had a view of the forest if the fog from the rain didn't blur it.

Near the end, Zeus stood with a stick of vape on her hand. She removed it from her lips and paused, then slowly exhaled the smoke out. When she lifted her head, her bright blue eyes glowed. Instinctively, Viktor reached for his face and took a step back.

Zeus hummed in amusement, but no emotion reached her face. "Hello, Demon."

Viktor stood tall once again and mirrored her expression. "Hello, Mother."

"Did you enjoy your freedom, Viktor?" she asked. "Did you have fun with the extra time I gave you? You even brandished yourself a new name. Tell me, did Hades give you that?"

"Get to the point, Zeus," he spat. "If you were looking for me, you wouldn't have made one of your Furies kill an innocent journalist, raid the DUO, and nearly kill my coworkers. And I'm sure you didn't have to use a twelve year old when there's a handful of people in the Intelligence Database who can wield the same ability as him. I'm sure you know that they're more useful."

"Take it as a punishment for the two of you," she replied as she waved a hand in the air. "I do have to thank that journalist for letting me know where you are. It's quite a shame that I didn't get the chance to see what reaction Silveria's blank face would make when he finds out that the boy he would have tortured was his own son. And I'm sure I would have enjoyed seeing your expression after I returned him. I think it's fitting."