Hi everyone :)

Just a quick note before starting this chapter :

Some scenes at the beginning of the chapter contain violence and blood, so that's why I have to give a special warning

Hope you're enjoying the story so far, thank you again to all the people who take the time to read this story and for all the incredible support I've received from some of you :) :) :)

9 - On The Way To Hell

ANTARCTICA, 1955

He put down the pencil he was using and looked up. It was relatively dark in the room, although many candles and other lamps were lit. The old wooden furniture and other scientific equipment were drawing strange, eerie shadows on the walls around him. But he paid no attention to them. Right next to him, among other test tubes, a large round glass vial, placed on an iron tripod, was emitting strange fumes. The dark blue liquid with a silver sheen inside was bubbling dangerously.

The man stood for a long time watching the liquid come to life in its container. But all of a sudden, he reversed the installation with a large movement of the arm and stood up, knocking over the wooden stool on which he was sitting. The chemical vial rolled and spilled blue liquid all over the desk, before falling and exploding into a thousand pieces at his feet.

The alchemist stood there, staring at the debris of what remained of his experiment. He bent over his notebook, which lay on the desk nearby, his large hands on either side. As his eyes roamed over the pages filled with lines of formulas, his hands tightened and clenched on the tiny shards of glass that had scattered everywhere. Soon his own blood mingled with the drops of dark blue liquid. He held back a cry of rage.

Bloody Hell!

It was all there. Everything was written down in minute detail. The fruit of all those centuries of research was condensed here, in his notebook. He had collected the most obscure alchemical formulas, the secrets for the most precious metals, for the elixirs of youth, for the balance of matter... the greatest alchemists of all time had entrusted him with their darkest knowledge.

But there was one element missing from this formula.

He straightened up, hands on his hips.

He had achieved almost all the ultimate powers of the world, the knowledge that every alchemist would dream of having. He possessed all the darkest secrets of the world, but that was nothing compared to what he planned to do and what he could achieve. It was nothing compared to the power and infinity of this element, the supreme essence of the Nephili. And he was all the more enraged that there was not much missing now to access it.

There was only one element missing, a central and indispensable element to the formula. An element that the Nephili had of course kept secret and hidden.

The most powerful element of all

The one everything in the world took its origins into. Something that was now lost somewhere in a remote part of the world. A portal, a means of ascending to the highest power and knowledge.

The original source, the vital life force

Which would make him the most powerful being that ever existed.

But he had no clue as to how to get there, nor did he have any clue as to its precise location. Before being locked up in Kriegler Castle, he had led several expeditions to the East in an attempt to find and locate it. All to no avail. There were a few clues, but no way of knowing exactly where to find it. He was at a dead end.

What's more, he had another mission to complete. A mission that was about to be completed. The forces of darkness were awakening and returning to the world. The Nazis had liberated him, but they had also unknowingly liberated the darker forces. In the shadows, the Nephili waited for their time, still asleep. But perhaps he had found a way to finally bring them back to earth, and access what he had been seeking for so many years.

He turned away from his desk and walked this time to the large bookcase at the back of the room. He grabbed one of the old books, with its badly damaged edges. A grimoire with a worn leather cover, blackened by time. Some of the pages were falling out as he turned them.

He turned the pages of the grimoire a little faster, until he found what he was looking for: a drawing, or more precisely, an engraving. A picture of an army of angels descending to earth. He turned the next pages, and observed the other four engravings of the same kind. In all, the five representations he had once created himself to conceal one of his weapons. Paintings in which he had hidden the Sign of Blood.

But he was no fool. The Lux Veritatis had deprived him of everything during all those years spent locked up in Kriegler Castle, and had gone to great lengths to hide all the weapons he possessed. They had taken care to scatter them all over Europe in secret fortresses. And as for the paintings and the pieces of the Sanglyph, he suspected that the order would not have been content to simply hide them. They couldn't destroy them without his magic, so they had certainly used stratagems to hide their true powers. According to his research, there were copies, engravings, that gave the location of the original paintings. He knew that it would be a long way to find them, and that Lux Veritatis would do everything to stop him. But if he could reconstruct one of the two Sanglyphs, then they would be powerless to do anything against him.

If I can combine the glove with the Sanglyph, then I can multiply my powers. I will be able to finally resurrect them. It will be the long-awaited return of those who fell from the heavens, of the darkness of the world

He knew where to find the first engraving, which contained the first symbol, and thus, the first part of the five that made up the final weapon. And even if it took him years to find the other four, he would do anything to get there.

However, he knew that he would not be safe as long as the Order was in pursuit. And he was aware he could not do it alone. He would have to proceed methodically, in the greatest secrecy. He had to find a way to reconstitute the Cabal and restore what had once been its laboratory and headquarters. He would also have to find a way to recover the Periapt Shards. Then it would be almost impossible for the Lux Veritatis to stop him. He would be more than happy to hunt them down, torture them and exterminate them one by one. He would make them suffer as they had made him suffer. He would not hesitate to annihilate all those who stood in his way. All that remained was to find the Sleeper and wake him up.

The Zenoath can wait for the moment

Once the Nephili are resurrected, he will finally have access to the missing element, or at least know where to find it.

And my purpose will finally be fulfilled. Eternal life and original power

He closed the grimoire abruptly. The flame of the large candle beside him flickered dangerously.

It is time

A wicked smile came over the alchemist's face. He had wasted enough time as it was, hiding in the shadows. He abruptly turned around and gathered a few things in a bag. He retrieved some of his equipment, and carefully wrapped his notebook around it, before slipping it back into the bag. Then he moved to the back of the room and the large cupboard there. He carefully opened the double doors, and took the object inside out of its velvet case. His fingers caressed the leather and the few metal plates that made it up, before passing it to his arm. Immediately, the glove began to warm and vibrate at the touch of his master. It gradually tightened, almost fusing with the man's skin.

I have waited long enough. It is time to let the forces of Evil loose. Our time has come

He walked to the door and flung it open. The two guards who were there jumped in surprise. Although they quickly realised what was happening and as they ran away to find reinforcements, the man paid them no heed and walked without thinking down the long underground corridor.

The screams of some prisoners locked up and dying nearby accompanied his steps as he left the torture and testing rooms behind. He headed for the checkpoints and the entrance to the base. A group of soldiers met him halfway, assault rifles pointed at him.

"Eckhardt! What are you doing?" a soldier called out to him.

But he did not answer. He continued to advance towards them, his smirk still fixed on his lips. His plan was in motion, they could not stop him.

"HALT!" the young soldier shouted again.

But he did not stop. As the soldier aimed at him and prepared to shoot, the man grabbed the gun and pushed it away violently. The metal began to melt and catch fire, and the soldier let go with a cry of pain, his hands burned by the molten weapon. He grabbed another man by the throat as he raced towards him to stop him. As his colleagues looked on in horror, the young soldier struggled for a moment as the alchemist's hand tightened around his neck and slowly strangled him. With a triumphant gesture, and to make the other soldiers who were arriving as reinforcements back off, Eckhardt lifted him a little more off the ground, and brandished it in front of him, like a shield.

The glove began to vibrate strangely, with an unpleasant crackling sound. A light, at first faint, gradually intensified. A snowy field formed around the alchemist and the soldier he was holding captive. Then suddenly, like lightning falling from the sky, a burst of energy shot through the glove and struck the prisoner in the face.

He began to scream. As if electrified, shaken by some kind of powerful current, the soldier twisted in all directions as the hand clamped around his neck began to make his skin melt. The smell of grilled meat rose into the air. The other soldiers watched helplessly, their guns still pointed at them, but unable to fire.

Blood began to pour from the prisoner's throat in great quantities. He tried to struggle, but the alchemist held him firmly. He could feel his body literally burning from the inside out, and sudden bursts of pain in several places in his body told him that some of his organs had exploded. He could not breathe anymore. He realised that it was only a matter of seconds before the burn from the alchemist's hand separated his head from the rest of his body. But by the time the idea had made its way to his brain, he had no strength to fight it. He felt the skin on his face begin to liquefy, turning black and burning in places. His revolting eyes, focused on their tormentor, popped out of their sockets one by one. He let out a terrible cry of agony, the echo of which was blocked in his throat, of which there was now almost nothing left. In his last few seconds of life, he felt a few flashes of energy run through his body one last time, before he began to shake uncontrollably. After a final gasp and a hoarse death rattle, Eckhardt finally let go of his prey, whose now informed and limp mass collapsed to the ground in a pool of blood.

With a determined step, the alchemist resumed his walk. The other soldiers took aim at him and fired. But it was no use. A shield of energy had formed around the alchemist and protected him. The men, all frightened, moved out of the way. The bullets ricocheted before even hitting their target. Eckhardt ignored them, and pushed back the few foolhardy men who tried to throw themselves at him to stop him. He killed several of them with bolts of energy, which pierced them from all sides.

A little further ahead of him, another group of soldiers appeared. Hiding behind them, however, he recognized the Doktor, and some lab technicians, including a young woman.

"Eckhardt!" he shouted.

But the alchemist continued to advance. Bickenbach was coming towards him in a panic, followed closely by his assistants.

"Unless you all want to end up like the soldier who got in my way, I advise you to let me pass, Bickenbach."

The Doktor shook his head in confusion.

"Master Eckhardt, you can't leave. Not now..."

"Ah, and why is that, tell me?"

"We still have so much research to do, we still need you to understand and find a way to..."

"I don't care about your pitiful research! I don't care about your miserable lives and what you were going to do with that glove... My destiny will be quite different!"

The alchemist's howl of rage suddenly echoed around them and against the walls of the underground fortress. Terrified, some soldiers fell to the ground and covered their ears. The Doktor and the alchemist stared into each other's eyes for a moment. As the Doktor's rage and frustration grew, a halo of energy formed around Eckhardt. A triumphant smile spread across the alchemist's sunken face. In a few moments he would release the energy that had formed around him, destroying everything in its path. He had won, and he knew it.

There was a bang. A wave of light, extremely powerful, swept through space and overwhelmed them, and everything around them turned white. They were all thrown to the ground, face down. The walls began to vibrate. Flashes of energy shot out from all sides. Bickenbach, trapped under two soldiers, suddenly could not see straight anymore. He could hear screams and a few gunshots all around him, but his head was buzzing violently. It took him several minutes to get to his feet.

The base was in chaos. The energy field had spread a wave of fire all around them. Everything was on fire. Soldiers were burning alive and writhing on the ground. The bodies of others and some of the lab technicians, who had all been electrocuted, lay nearby. He was injured in the leg and head. He pulled himself out of the two bodies of soldiers who had protected him from the blast and struggled to his feet.

Eckhardt was no longer there.

He saw groups of armed soldiers running towards him, trying to save those who were still alive. He saw a corporal take his assistant in his arms and run towards the exit to evacuate her. A man approached him in panic.

"Mein Doktor! What shall we do? Should we chase him back?"

But the Doktor did not answer. He was too stunned to realize what was happening. A group of soldiers ran past them. The security alarm had gone off in the base and was blaring in their ears.

"Mein Doktor!" the soldier insisted.

Bickenbach suddenly snapped out of his stupor and slapped the soldier hard.

"He's far too powerful, you idiot!" he shouted.

The soldier stepped back in shock. Bickenbach looked around in fear. If he didn't react quickly, everything would be destroyed.

All those years of research gone to waste

"Take care of the archives and the grimoires instead!" he shouted even louder.

"And the guinea pigs, sir?"

"We'll find others, I don't care. Go to Eckhardt's lab and save whatever you can!"

The soldier nodded and motioned for his colleagues to follow him. The group disappeared further behind the flames that spread through the corridor.

"Take back everything you can!" Bickenbach repeated in hysterics.

He felt a pressure on his arm. Another soldier was accompanying him to the surface. He resisted for a moment, but when he saw the flames again devouring the interior of the bunker, he turned away. He was seething with rage. An uncontrollable rage. Everything he had built was going up in smoke. He could not fail, not this close to the goal.

With or without Eckhardt, he would find a way to keep going.

—

PUERTO DESEADO, PRESENT DAY

Night had fallen for several hours already. The wind was still blowing on the open sea, and the fishing boats moored nearby were clattering gently. Almost invisible in the night and hidden in the light fog, the silhouette of the cargo ship was even more impressive. The mooring ropes creaked as the huge ship rocked to the rhythm of the waves. The men and the captain were busy on deck. The equipment had been loaded since the afternoon, all that remained was to weigh anchor.

The sailor who was keeping watch on the quay took a last look around with his torch, before turning around and climbing onto the gangway. As soon as he was on board, the other sailors went up the ladder. They pulled up the mooring ropes one by one, and the anchor winding system was activated with a thud.

She had only a few minutes left to climb aboard. As expected, the emergency ladder at the front had not been raised, and the men were busy at the other end of the boat. Lara leaned forward slightly, poking her head out of its hiding place to take one last look at the dock. The hull of the boat itself was not very high, and the ladder was within easy reach, so it would be easy to access. But she would have to be quick in any case.

She had left the hostel quietly a few hours before, and had walked to the port. She had not bothered to warn Diego, who, she knew, would not have missed to lecture her and would have tried to hold her back. She knew he was worried about her, and she would have been unable to reassure him about what awaited her on the other side of the ocean. She had preferred to avoid any confrontation before leaving. She imagined the look on the old man's face when he discovered that she had left without telling him, but it was better this way. The young woman had left enough collateral victims behind her, she didn't need to add the old man's death to her already full conscience.

She came out of her hiding place slowly, her eyes focused on the captain's cabin, which she could see a little higher up above her. She approached the edge of the dock, and estimated the distance to the ladder, barely above her. She would have no difficulty in reaching the upper deck and then the access to the holds.

She took a few steps backwards. Just as she was about to start running and jump, she felt something grab her arm. Taken by surprise, she drew her weapons and turned around. After a short second of adjustment, her eyes finally met those of a medium-sized man, not so young, who had raised his arms in surrender.

"Diego..."

The old man's dark eyes watched in aberration as the guns were pointed straight at his head. Lara lowered her 9mm and holstered them.

"For God's Sake, what are you doing here?"

"Do you think I'm a beginner or something? Do you really think I didn't see you coming?"

She grabbed him by the arm and dragged him with her to take shelter a little further away. They crouched behind a lift that was parked there.

"You can't come with me," she told him firmly.

"Please, don't give me the 'it's too dangerous' speech..."

"Diego, this is certainly not a place for..."

"... for an old man?"

"I'm very serious. I don't know what's out there, but it's certainly not good stuff. God knows what's out there and what the Svendsen have in mind."

"Do you really think I'm going to let you go without saying anything?"

"There's nothing to discuss, Diego, I can't take you with me."

The long, defeaning sound of the boat's horn suddenly rang out and startled them. They saturated for a moment before the sound faded away completely.

"I have to go, they are about to leave."

Diego pulled a little harder on her arm.

"Lara, this may be the one and only chance to find out what happened to my son..."

The adventuress' hazel eyes got lost in the deep darkness of the old man's. She could feel his emotion, and she could feel him being moved.

"If I don't seize the opportunity now, I will regret it for the few days I have left to live..."

Lara bit her lips at the desperate look the old man gave her.

"And your wife? Think about her, Diego. If anything happens to you, I'll feel guilty for the rest of my life..."

"Who said I was going to die? I intend to come back. I just want to get on that boat."

Lara looked at him in dismay. Her eyes fell on the big travel bag the man was carrying around him. She couldn't hold back a cynical laugh, and shook her head gently.

"You're quite a stubborn one, you must admit."

"A bit like you."

They exchanged a smile. Then, before the adventuress had time to react, Diego had risen and was striding headlong towards the ladder and the hull of the boat. She ran to catch up with him. The Argentinian made a small jump and grabbed the ladder with one hand.

"Wait a minute..."

He gave a surprised look to the young woman, who presented her hands for him to lean on. Then slowly, surprise was replaced by annoyance. As he opened his mouth to protest and undoubtedly to tell her off, Lara interrupted him, pressed for time.

"Don't argue, just go!"

The old Argentinian did not hesitate this time. He put his big shoe in the hollow formed by the two joined hands of the young woman. As he pulled himself up, Lara pushed with all her strength to help him up, and he grabbed the rungs of the ladder. The old man grunted, but held on. The din of the horn once again echoed over their heads. Suddenly the big boat's frame began to vibrate a little more. The water between the boat and the quay began to pitch dangerously, and splashed over the young woman.

The boat was leaving. Lara gave another push, so that Diego could reach the second rung. She waited a few seconds for him to get up the ladder, then she in turn bent her knees slightly to gain momentum and jumped off. They both found themselves hanging from the ladder over the void as the huge boat lifted off the quay and left. Soon they lost sight of the shoreline and the lights of the harbour and the city, which faded away at great speed. They were soon plunged into darkness, barely guided by the ship's main lighthouse which shone a little further on. The sea water, stirred up by the huge engines, formed huge eddies a few metres below them. Lara signalled to Diego to continue climbing. The old man complied and climbed up the ladder as best he could. The adventuress' heartbeat quickened abruptly as she saw Diego disappear and go over the railing without question. She had imagined him,as being quite slow for a man of his size and age, but she could not hide her surprise and redoubled her efforts to reach him as quickly as possible.

When she finally reached the railing and the deck of the boat, she took a brief second to check that there was no one around, and nimbly pulled herself up and slide to the other side. She remained crouched, head down, so as not to enter the fields of light from the lighthouse that pierced the night above her. She felt the stress rise when she found no trace of the Argentinian man. She looked around in panic.

"Lara!" she suddenly heard from somewhere in front of her.

She turned her head in the direction of the voice, and found out, on the other side of the deck, an overturned old inflatable rescue boat, under which Diego had found refuge. He himself was crouching under the boat, waving to her through the thick ropes that held it to the deck. The adventuress ran to him. She found the old man quietly sitting there, as if he was in a middle of a weekend camping trip.

"What do we do now?" he asked in a low voice.

Lara tried to peek through the criss-crossing straps that held the little boat together, but the view was not very clear from where they stood. She could barely see the command post, illuminated by a few faint lights in the deep, dark night. The main deck and the rest of the ship were also in near total darkness.

"We have to wait. I imagine the crew will be arranging to take turns on watch. Too bad I don't know how-"

"Not counting the captain and the petty officer, I counted five sailors."

Lara turned her head towards the old man, unable to contain her surprise once again. He looked at her with large, round eyes.

"What? I told you I wouldn't necessarily be dead weight," he said mischievously.

She nodded silently.

"But there will probably be fewer of them in a few hours, I imagine that some will go to the crew quarters to get some rest."

"That's very likely," confirmed Diego. "If we're going to Antarctica, the captain won't be able to make the trip alone either, he'll have to be relieved at some point... it's likely that the crew won't be complete all the time..."

"Which leaves us a few slots to manoeuvre," Lara concluded.

"For what?"

"I have to go and check what's in the holds."

They exchanged a steady look, full of innuendo.

"Why don't we stay hidden while we can?" Diego asked. "There's little chance of them spotting us if we stay here... Why should we take risks now?"

"I'll have a look around a bit later, in a few hours it should be fine."

Diego nodded slowly. They were lulled for a moment by the deafening sound of the sea and the wind outside. At least they would have some shelter here.

"Are you hungry?" asked the old man, changing the subject.

The Argentinian grabbed the bag next to him and opened it. Under the amused eyes of the aventuress, he took out several plaids, a large coat for the cold, but also a whole bunch of provisions. Out of the corner of her eye she also noticed the shotgun and some ammunition in the bottom of the bag. The old man rummaged around for a moment and finally handed her an apple, which she refused with a wave of her hand.

"You should get some rest. It's going to be a long and hard journey."

She didn't answer, and Diego bit into the apple with a shrug. Lara just sat down completely on the metal floor and took her weapons out of her backpack. She took the time to check them one by one, and to check her ammunition again.

As they had expected, some of the crew left the deck and the control room and went to the holds a few hours later. The huge ship continued to make its way at moderate speed in the dark night, lost in the cold waters of the South Atlantic Ocean. Judging by the sudden drop in outside temperature, it would not be long before they passed the Antarctic Circle, if they had not already done so. Diego had curled up in a thick blanket and his hooded coat, and had been sleeping for a while now. As she was about to slip between the straps to get out into the open, she felt something hold her by the arm. Diego was awake, and judging by the expression on his face, he wasn't very happy.

"Did you seriously think you could just fly away and leave me here?"

"Leave it to me, Diego. I'll be right back."

She saw the old man open his mouth to protest.

"Don't try to negotiate, you must stay hidden."

"There's no way that-"

"If things go wrong, you'll have a much better chance of getting out than I will."

"Will I?"

"They won't hesitate to come after me. Whereas you, you're a local guy. Some people know you, you can make it look like-"

"An accident? Or do you want me to tell them I just got lost, maybe? Are you serious, Lara?"

The young woman let out a loud sigh.

"In any case, one of us has to stay alive to call for help."

The adventuress gave him a very serious look.

"In a better case scenario, I'll need your help. You're the only one of us who knows how to sail and drive a boat. Or at least, I imagine you'll be the one most likely to keep us from sinking."

The Argentinian nodded slowly, but she could clearly sense his reluctance.

"I promise you I'll be discreet."

He gave her a reproachful look.

"As usual, in short..."

A cynical smile appeared on the young woman's face, but it disappeared quite quickly.

"I have to be sure."

"Forgive me, but I hope in my heart that you are wrong..."

He stared at her with his dark eyes in silence and sighed.

"Me too, Diego."

With that, she readjusted her hat and slipped out.