Aiden immediately woke up, but his lips got sealed right after. Not able to move his tongue like it never existed within his mouth.

 

{hush.....no need to scream, I won't do you any harm…} said a female voice. Her speech, so gentle and seductive which somehow aroused him a bit.

 

Aiden was surprised for a couple of seconds. Feeling her aura, her force, which seemed familiar to him.

 

'….a demon?' he thought.

 

{ooh…..you know about us. how surprising. and here I thought I should give you a warning….}

 

with that confirmation, Aiden stayed still, his eyes gazing all around, with a golden light humming from his iris. he became cautious. ready to take out whatever he had in his storage. 

 

{haaa....typical humans. I already said I wouldn't do anything. if I wanted I could erase you and that girl over with a single thought, so stop….} she said, with a threat of her own.

 

Atlas looked at Emi, who was sound asleep. and sighed in relief, nothing had happened to her, for now.

 

'what do you want…. Demon….?' 

 

the seal around his mouth started to loosen, as he felt his tongue once more. but he didn't speak. knowing the demon could read his thoughts. so he choose to speak with his thoughts.

 

he didn't want to wake up Emi, as she was suffering soul as it is, and adding even more burden on top of that was not that he could do.

 

{I wanted to know how you know about us….but I will leave that for later. what I will say now is that. more trouble is coming for you petty humans. the judgment day is still not finished….heheheh….so I warn you to stay focused and become stronger…} she said.

 

listening to her voice.. he had many questions. Questioning himself if he should believe what a demon would say. from many mythologies and many stories about demons. there was one thing they all had in common.

 

deceiving….but something about her voice made him want to believe that. believe that she was right.

 

'why are saying this to me….?" he asked

 

{….hmmm...because I find you interesting…..nothing more nothing less….hahahaha….} she calmly replied, with a beautiful laugh.

 

'…..what danger…?' he again asked in seriousness.

 

{haaa…..that is up to you to find….if not how can I refresh my boredom…..ok…time's up…}

 

and before he could ask anything else. her aura was now gone. only leaving him confused and many questions on his mind.

 

Tring!!

 

[The Duchess Athena is interested in you... 30 DP gained]

 

"What!!" he shouted in surprise. 

 

'I got DP because a Demon has some interest in me…. I didn't know my system worked like that.' He thought…. 'Well….in games and Novels, you get DP points from missions and my system doesn't have missions. so this must be its own way to reward me….. that's interesting…

 

but…..what's this danger, she was talking about. Should I believe her? well….I will survey around the base…no harm being more cautious.'

 

he looked out the wide and transparent glass. looking down below.

 

'Should I jump from here? I think I can make it...no, I am still human. Damn. I have to remind myself that I am a human being. not a freaking supernatural …..haa…'

 

he walked past Emi, who was still asleep, he wanted to tell her he was going out to check but looking at her snoozing so silently he didn't want to wake her up.

 

Click!....

 

the moment the door was closed, Emi's eyes opened. like she never slept from the beginning. her snores suddenly stopping altogether.

 

'…..he went without me anyways…..baka' 

.

.

Aiden already arrived down below, it didn't take much time as he jumped from the fifth floor, and he couldn't help himself.

 

"well…..that was easy.." he said, rubbing away the dirt, stuck from his explosive landing.

 

he strolled around the building. his steps leading him to a parking side. the moment he came down, he felt something. something which didn't align well with his thoughts.

 

'….something's wrong.' he thought 'but, I don't know what…'

 

he kept walking until he sniffed. realizing what was missing.

 

"the smell….the rotten smell. I can't smell it…"

 

with a hurried pace, he looked around and there were no dead bodies. it was a common sight to see many dead bodies lying around the ground. most of them pressed down from the broken concrete of tall buildings.

 

If not by that, most people would die just from the violent shaking of the earth. the earthquake was so massive that, the natural floor which everyone trusted to walk on, would throw them up to the fifth or sixth floor high, and it didn't just happen once, but so many times that it was laughable, as nature was playing a joke on them. and from that only the lucky among lucky ones could have survived, only leaving dead bodies everywhere they walked but the same bodies were nowhere to be seen.

 

only the dried blood, left behind.

 

"what really happened…?" he said, scratching his golden hair.

 

he walked around, searching for any clues. he was given a warning beforehand and at the same time after the warning, this happened. it wasn't wrong to think something was happening. Something bad. 

 

his eyes were everywhere. searching for a dead body or something that told him what was really happening and within the time he found something.

 

" a trail of blood..?"

 

a trail of blood that looked like it was getting dragged somewhere. there wasn't much blood to follow but his keen eyes were handy and his feats followed according to the trail.

 

and the more he followed the foul smell came back and it was getting stronger and stronger the more he followed. he could see more blood, and with it, his keen ears could hear something. Something crunching. like someone was eating and it got louder as he walked closer and closer until he found the place. his eyes wide in shock as the scene he was seeing was in many ways….horrefying. 

 

'what in the fuck's sake is that…?' he asked. his mouth wide open.

 

the trail of blood led to more blood, so much blood that the floor was painted red, and beyond the crimson pool were the bodies of dead people, not just one, not two. there were countless, stacked upon each other like a small hill. and that wasn't even the scary part. what scary were the monsters?

 

'….did she warned me about those…. monsters….' he thought. Gazing at their irregular-sized sharp teeth. as they bit the skin of the maggot-filled hand.

 

Chewing on the red flesh like it was their snack. Crunching on the bones, red and blackish blood dripped down.

 

Their whole skin, draped in red color, their hands lean but longer than their small legs. There chest consisting a gaping hole the size of his fist. Their ears are long and most importantly their hunger-filled eyes. the same crimson eyes which were now gazing at him. 

 

his whole being reflecting on that red iris. 

 

'Should I run?.....but Emi is near….what should I do…?'

 

the moment those eyes were gazing at him, he felt their killing intent, like a lion looking at his prey. he was far enough to run away but he stood there. his legs shaking a bit.

 

he was scared, yes. he wanted to run away, yes. but there was someone at his back and he didn't want those….monsters to make her their food like all those dead people.

 

'it's coming…..'

 

the one on the top laid there, while four of those ugly imp-like creatures marched towards him. like a group of hyenas. they all started to surround him, marching forward, their steps silent and fast like of cheetahs, and before he could blink, he was surrounded.

 

'this location doesn't look good for me...but, can I….'

 

he gripped his shaking hands, he was afraid, afraid of being totally helpless and getting eaten bit by bit but he knew his strength and burning confidence that he could beat those monsters.

 

'I will have to face 'them' sooner or later, I can't back away now.'

 

he stepped forward, taking out a long hacking knife which he found in a mall. which was mostly used for killing cows or large animals.

 

with that final thought, he ran towards the one coming to his front. his eyes glowing a bit golden.

 

'now or never…'