Chapter 14
"Run! It's the cursed half-blood!"
"He's real! Run or you'll die!"
"Waaaaah! Ruuuuuun!"
"How is this possible? He can't possibly exist!"
There were so much noise and chaos. Screaming and running.
Dawn, slowly opened her eyes.
"Wh-what...is happening?" she mumbled.
She felt all her energy drained as if some malefic force was trying to keep her consciousness shut. Her body felt like it gained a ton and all her senses clogged. With little consciousness, she tried to make sense of the horror around her.
Piles of lying bodies here and there. She wondered if they were all just asleep, but the stillness of their breathing proved otherwise.
'They're dead?' she thought. 'Dead..'
Some were running all around, trying to escape from something. Everyone was scared for some reason. What could be so scary that caused this much fear? She asked herself.
One by one she saw them fall like an orchestrated performance of death. The familiar grotesque and morbid display of horror sprawled before her.
Dawn forcefully closed her eyes again.
'This is just a nightmare, just a nightmare.' she chanted, hoping all the screaming and panic would stay muffled from her hearing.
...
Dawn woke up with a jerk. The first thing she ever noticed was where she currently was. The room was quiet and cozy. Beside her was a wooden bedside table with a plastic platter of food wrapped in plastic. A metallic rod was on the other side of the bed hanging a bag of what it seemed to be water. A gentle breeze of morning air whipped through the room from the open windows. She shivered lightly at the breeze of cold air.
A stung in the head made her groan in pain. It felt as if she just woke up from a crazy Saturday night.
'Where am I?' She asked herself, tracing the intravenous tubes connected from her wrist to the hanging bag of water. She narrowed her eyes in disbelief 'I'm in the hospital?'
As she was about to remove the white blanket covering her lower extremities, she heard the door creaked open.
"She is doing fine Mr. Starr." Dawn heard a lady spoke. "She is recovering well. She might wake up anytime soon."
Dawn saw two figure came in from the door, one she recognized as the nurse and the other a figure she didn't know. But judging from his appearance, he seemed to be someone important.
"Oh she's awake already!" the nurse clasped her hands. "I'll inform the doctor." and the nurse was off from the room.
She was now alone with a spiky blond guy whose age seemed to be around mid 20's. He was wearing a blue blazer with three golden buttons at the sleeves over a black shirt and navy blue pants.
She wanted to ask him a lot of stuff but her mouth was so parched as if she just swallowed sand.
"No need to fear Ms. Berlitz." The man calmly stated. "You are now perfectly safe."
'Safe? From who? From what?'
"I know you have a lot of questions to ask me but before any of that we'll have to let the doctor see how well you are right now." He ran his fingers through his blond locks and went towards the window and peered outside.
"Good day Ms. Berlitz." A doctor came to her bed. Dawn felt so out of stupor that she didn't even notice him come in. "Just calmly stay put and let me ran some check-ups."
The doctor gently took hold of her finger and clipped a small blue device. "Blood pressure is normal." The doctor then wrote something on his notebook, he then took out a thermometer from his breast pocket and inserted it in Dawn's armpit. Dawn flinched at the cold metallic end of the instrument touching her skin. "Temperature is also normal, let me just write it down real quick."
And after a few more minutes, the doctor concluded his check-up.
"She is now fine Mr. Starr." The doctor told the blond guy over the window. "She might still find it difficult to talk and move but she is recovering well."
And with that, the doctor walked out of the room.
Dawn tried her best to sit up and speak. Sound hardly came out from her, she didn't understand why her mouth was so parched and why her jaws were immovable.
"Wh-wha...at hap..ned...m..me" She tried her best to vocalize her most concern.
"It's okay Ms. Belitz." Mr. Starr assured her, he walked slowly towards her. "You've been in a week-long coma."
'Coma. Week-long.'
The words rang inside her head. And Mr. Starr immediately knew what she wanted to ask next.
"Your school had been attacked by devils. You are among the very few lucky individuals who survived."
And those words were the proof that what she dreamed wasn't a dream at all. It really happened.
...
Will swept a stray of her purple hair behind his ear. He strode along a wide and silent hallway of Netherworld Johto's Drakian Castle. The hallway edge was decorated with miniature stone sculptures of dragons of various figures with jeweled eyes. Hanging around the stone ceiling were glass and golden chandeliers giving just enough light and warmth to guide their path against the dimming sun behind them.
Beside Will, Karen walked anxiously. Even though she's been here numerous time, the claustrophobic walls and bewitching statues would always run that familiar creep over her.
She didn't like being here. She never liked it here.
"You are still not over it?" Will asked, not looking at her.
"I'm fine." Karen dismissed the talk immediately. An incident happened to her once and ever since then this place had always been a breeding ground of her nightmares. Everything in the palace was chilling to her.
Especially the person who ruled the palace, and Nether Johto as a region - Prince Lancelot "Hundred Beast" Helbourne. One of the most powerful devil, if not the most powerful, she knew.
Even his name was enough to make her sweat cold.
They just left Upper Sinnoh during the school's annual festival a few days ago. Traveling in between worlds require a special affinity with the portals, which were only present at a few selected parts of the region. Even though she didn't feel like having that affinity for the nether portals, at times like these she's thankful for such ability endowed to her. Travels usually last for a couple of days, a week when not mastered and a few hours at best when fully mastered. At her best, she could travel in between worlds in four days, which she still considered slow.
Prince Lancelot called them for an urgent meet up last week. They both didn't know why and they were here to find out. Karen felt something ominous about the situation, she sensed danger. But then again she always felt it everytime she was ordered to come here. She sighed and tried her best to calm herself as Will pushed open a five feet tall golden brass doors with intricate designs filled with dragons and beasts tearing apart humans and other beasts alike.
The door creaked open with a cringing squeak. Apart from the creaking noise of the opening door, the hallway inside the room was enclosed in dead silence. The silence of the room made the faintest hearbeat sound like a ticking bomb.
"Williams Anima!"
Will and Karen both stopped at their tracks. The hallway inside the room was dark, wide and long. The only source of light were the torches that lined at both sides that looked nothing more than fireflies. At the end of the hallway was a chair designed with spikes, horns and wings. Almost like a beast or a monster. A befitting throne for the ruler of Nether Johto.
Karen pushed up her glasses, she could clearly see someone sitting there. Of course, it was no other than the beast prince himself.
His peculiar strong aroma slowly drafted around them. The prince was on a whole different level compared to them. As a devil, he was of a different kind. His aroma was a proof of it. Only devils of higher species have them. It was their defining trait that shows how superior they are, their royalty and prestige. For Karen, his aroma was enough to turn her knees to jelly.
"Williams Anima!" His thunderous voice rang again in the deserted hallway. "Tsk tsk tsk."
"I am so disappointed in you."
At the sound of his voice, Karen knew that today might be her last day. Prince Lance never tolerated disappointments and failures, though she has yet to know how they disappointed him. She gulped nervously and turned her head towards Williams.
Williams didn't seem to flinch. Even with the mask on his face, she felt him composed and cool. Working with him for more than a decade, she knew him way too well already. Karen could only hypothesize one thing: Williams was expecting this.
'But how?' she whispered to herself as Prince Lance gestured them to come closer.
'This is really bad, really really bad.''
...
"I am Volkner Starr, the GAS Keeper of Sinnoh" The blond guy introduced himself and bowed. "You must have heard my name on the television. Yah?"
Dawn only crooked her head sideway. "You-yo a-are fa-fam-ous?"
Volkner's jaw and shoulders dropped. "Are you sure you haven't seen me yet? Or even heard my name?"
"Do you know what's a television? The box-cube thingy where you can watch things inside?"
Dawn looked at him unamused at his little jest.
"Sorry.." he replied and cleared his throat. "Anyway..." he tried starting all over again.
"I'm the GAS Keeper here in Sinnoh." He gazed at her seriously. "If you are not aware, GAS stands for Grim Angels Society. GAS is a federal agency that specifically works on devil cases. We are in charge of civilian protection from devils and apprehension of devils."
Dawn once remembered the name on tv once when it showed of devil-related cases all throughout the region. She nodded knowingly and urged Volkner to continue.
"As a Keeper, I am assigned to guard and protect all civilians of Sinnoh." He stated it with valor, but then he formed a saddened expression. "But it seemed like I am not doing a good job at it."
"Last week, devils attacked Hearthome University. One of our investigators reported an attacked and we immediately rushed to the school." Volkner heaved a sigh before continuing. "When we got there we crossed fire with more than a hundred devils, all faculties, staffs and students. We are deeply saddened that we were all too late. We were unaware that a scourging was happening right below our noses." Volkner bit his lips in anguish and regret. He balled his fist so hard that his knuckles turned white.
Dawn only looked at him blankly. She really couldn't remember anything about going to school. After the information Volkner had said, the only thing stuck inside Dawn's head was that they were fighting scourged staff, faculties and students. It didn't take a minute for a gruesome and bone-chilling information to register inside her mind -she'd been going to a school full of devils.
She tried remembering where she last felt her consciousness but she couldn't no matter how hard she tried. The last thing she remembered was studying at Zoey's house.
Zoey.
Zoey McMillan.
The thought of her name struck like lightning, other words and information that Volkner said suddenly didn't matter to her anymore. She only had one question to ask. One question that only mattered to her right now.
"Zo-zo-ee-e Z-o-zo-ee" Dawn tried to voice out her name. She flailed her arms to indicate how urgent she felt to address the question.
Volkner stopped talking and looked at her. "Just slow down and calmly talk." Volkner said. "You cant speak clearly yet because your muscles are yet to get accustomed to moving again."
But Dawn wasn't listening to him. She flailed her arms even more and tears were streaming uncontrollably from her eyes.
"Zo-zo-ee Zo-e."
Volkner guessed that Dawn was trying to say a name and he quickly fished out a small blue notebook from his pocket.
"All names of the victims are in here. You are looking for someone right? Red ink indicates that a person is dead, black means missing and green means alive."
Dawn grabbed the notebook quickly despite the ache in all her muscles and scanned through the pages quickly.
'Please be green, please be green. Be green please.' she prayed.
She got over to the last page and saw the name she was looking for, written in bold red ink.
Zoey McMillan - dead.
...
"You think I didn't know what you are doing?" Lance growled. "You disobeyed me!"
Karen flinched at his voice. She didn't know what the prince was talking about.
"You told me that you'd follow my orders under the prophecy. But look what you're doing?!" Lance stood up angrily. The only light above his head shadowed his body in a nightmarish silhouette. "You are supposed to lay low and wait for my orders!"
"But your highness." Will tried reasoning out. "If we wait for the prophecy we might not have a chance agai-"
"Embicile!" Lance cut him off.
"If I told you to wait, you wait!" Lance angrily sat back. He infuriatingly rubbed the nape of his neck. He sighed. "I am so disappointed in you Williams. To think that you are my most trusted general."
"How dare you stain my name with shame."
Will silently hissed and bit his lips.
Karen felt the need to say something, address anything. But she couldn't. Lance's anger was way beyond the castle's roof. She doubt if there were any words that she could say to make him take back the death sentence he hang over them.
Will only had that hard look on his face.
"But no matter." Lance smirked which later turned into a hysterical fit of laughter. "It doesn't matter."
"I dispose you from your position and power." Lance darkly smiled at them. And before Lance could say anything else, Will cut him off.
"But your highness!" Will tried his best not to make his voice show anger and contempt. "I am irreplaceable! I am your most powerful trustee. There's no one here who is more powerful and capable than I am. You can not just dispose me like this." Will finished with shaking fists.
Karen bit her lips. No matter how much Will tried not to make his voice sound incredulous, Karen could barely ignore his cry for justice. One mistake was all it took for the prince to strip him off of his position. Even she found it unfair. Even she didn't find anything wrong with what Will did. The prophecy didn't mean anything to her as well.
"Irreplaceable?" Lance smirked and crossed his legs. "Now where did you get that idea from?" He amused.
Will opened his whitening fist and tried to relax himself. "I promised my late father that I would give my life in serving you. I dedicated fifteen years under your rule. You cannot simply put me out like this."
"Yeah I can."
How Lance simply replied made Karen bare her fangs.
"I already have someone ready to replace you in your position." Lance stood up and glared at them with his bewitching red orbs. It must have been a long time since Karen seen Lance again, his scent has become stronger since she last saw him, which only indicated one thing - he was getting even more powerful. "In fact, the reason why I called you here is to let you know that." He finished. "You are now free to do whatever you like. You are free to do whatever you want and die on your own." Lance smiled a devilish smile.
Karen didn't have to look at Will to know how angry he was at this injustice. She has always been afraid of Lance, but right now her fear of him didn't seem to matter. She wanted to rip Lance's head off.
"You can't just do-" Karen tried to protest but Will cut her off.
She looked at him incredulously. Her eyes yelling 'how can you take all of this?!". Even with the mask Karen always had no problem reading Will, but this time he was as murky as the shadows around them.
"May I know this person your highness?" Will calmly asked.
Lance took a second to breath, he examined them both for a while before nodding.
"Come." Lance ordered. When Karen thought Lance ordered them, she suddenly heard footsteps. Soon a vague figure came out from the shadows behind Lance. Karen expected someone of a monstrous body size, maybe a couple of meters high packed with muscles and gargantuan arms. But what came out was a boy, a teenager of around seventeen or eighteen.
"Him?!" Will couldn't take it anymore that his voice came out sharp and insulted.
The brunet wore a simple black shirt topped with a green polo unbuttoned and dark navy cargo pants. His mysterious and enchanting viridian eyes shone in the darkness like a feline's.
"A pathetic human?!" Will enraged.
"Human?" Lance amused. "Why would I want a lowly human to replace you?"
"Look more closely Williams." Lance took a seat again as the brunet walked and stood beside his throne. "Look and realize how invaluable you really are."
The brunet closed his eyes and ran his fingers through his spiky hair. Once he opened them the right iris of his eyes glowed red.
Karen's jaw dropped. Even Will lost his composure. Both of them couldn't believe what they were seeing right now. What they longed thought to be just a work of fiction, a tale lost in books, was actually real. And he was standing before them, just as dark and foreboding as Lance was.
The air around them suddenly went chilling. And Karen knew it wasn't just the regular normal chill, it was a chill that freezed her nerves in fear. He might even be more powerful than her or Will.
"Would you like me to dispose them?" His gloomy voice asked. "They would make fine ice sculptures here."
"I like your humor." Lance chuckled. "But I just want them out of my sight."
Karen thought it was only the fear that made her feel cold but she was proven wrong when she could actually see her breath make frosty puffs. The temperature really went down. "How?" Was all she could mutter.
Will suddenly grabbed her hand as they strode away from the throne, the hallway and out into the castle. Both of them were so surprised that they didn't speak anything about what they saw. They just kept on walking until the hysterical laughter of the beast prince faded from their earshot.
When they got outside of the castle both Will and Karen collapsed under the shade of a tree just a few meters from the Drakian Castle. They both panted air.
"What in the hell..." Karen managed to speak first. "Just what in the hell.."
Will wasn't able to process any emotion nor information at the moment. He felt angry, confused and scared. He didn't know which emotion to prioritize right now. He couldn't prioritize any emotion. He didn't know how or what to feel after what he just witnessed.
"They can't be real.." He whispered to himself. "It's impossible.."
Karen gravely looked at him when they saw a particular someone rushing over to them.
"Koga?" Karen pushed up her glasses. Seeing Koga lifted whatever weight Will had in his chest, he didn't lose everything yet. He still had his plan on upper Sinnoh. All was not lost. If he could succeed it might make Lance reconsider him. He could regain his lost position.
He breathe in deeply.
Koga dropped on his knees and panted air in front of them. He was in a frantic and crazed state. "Why are you here? The school?" Karen asked. "How was the ceremony?!"
"Gone." Koga wheezed. "Dead."
Will's face suddenly turned grim. "What do you mean dead? You all lost to McMillan?!" His voice raged and echoed throughout the clearing.
"Mcmillan is dead." Koga straightened his back. "Someone shut down the plan and killed every devil in the school."
"Someone?" It was Karen's turn to raise her voice. "One person? Who could be strong enough to kill half a thousand devils on his own?!"
Koga looked at them gravely. He tried to think of how to explain it without sounding crazy and unreal, but he couldn't. He gathered courage and mustered whatever strength he had left and said it in the most simplest way whether they will believe him or not.
"Cursed halfblood. He is real. He annihilated everyone in the school."
Chapter 14 End: Post Annihilation