Chapter 8 - Lilliana, The Demon From Above (Part 1)
Jack stared at the girl for a few seconds before he looked away. He didn't need, nor did he want, to talk to her. It was simply not something he wished to do — not after what happened in the past and what she did.
Alex noticed that and exhaled a small breath before he looked at Luna. "You can join us, Luna. We were discussing what we were going to do next."
"Are you planning to escape from school?" she asked as she sat down, facing them.
"Mmmm, are we going to do that, Jack?"
"If I can find an exit, then that will be the goal. Although, the city itself is in a really bad state currently. I don't know if escaping is even the right decision yet."
Jack wanted to see how the government would handle this disaster, and that would take a few hours. While he didn't wish to wait that long before making a move — since the monsters would only keep getting stronger as he left them be —
'I can't, however, escape outside only to realize I'm in deeper trouble.' He bit his nail as he contemplated every move. 'Yeah, waiting for a while is the wiser decision. I'm sure something will unravel sooner or later that will make me decide.'
"We will stay here and wait for a bit. I want to see how the situation will develop before we move."
"Hm, if you say so…" Alex raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I was so excited to get this special ability you're talking about."
"You will get your opportunity, don't worry," Jack replied. "For now, let's be patient."
"What about those guys?" Luna asked as she pointed at the rest of the crowd.
"They will have to move to any shelter the government might establish soon," Jack replied. "I don't know what they want to do, and I don't intend to control that either."
For him, moving alone was far easier than moving in groups. Jack wasn't a leader, and he never wanted to be one in the first place. He simply wanted to survive. Their fate was none of his business, at least for now.
"I see…" Luna replied, seemingly realizing Jack's intentions. However, she didn't comment on that and rather remained silent.
"I want you to keep an eye on the situation in the city in all kinds of directions. We need to be aware of what is happening," Jack said as he stood up. "Tell me if you notice anything odd."
"Roger that!" Alex replied excitedly.
"Mmm, ok," Luna replied quietly.
"Good." Jack nodded his head and walked away. Aside from the initial goal, he also wanted to spend some time with his own thoughts, contemplating what had happened and what would happen in the future.
Staring at the city skyline — the flames, the aircrafts flying in the distance, and all kinds of noises — Jack found himself quickly falling into deep thoughts. The scenery was like the end of the world happening in mere minutes before his eyes.
The things people claimed would never occur, and the ones conspiracy theorists talked about for ages, all came true. Jack was fully aware that humanity would never be the same from that moment on — forever.
'If humanity survives, that is,' he mused. 'I doubt more than a billion people will survive this. It will be a catastrophe unlike anything this world has ever seen. Worse than the meteor that killed the dinosaurs.'
But, for Jack, that didn't matter. "I have the power… If I use it right and make sure I improve it, I will be able to somehow survive. Perhaps even thrive."
But before he could do that, Jack had to ensure certain things.
'I need to find my parents amongst this chaos… if they survived, that is,' he mused. 'I also need to find a relatively safe spot that I can use as a base in the future. And if I can't find one, I will build one.'
Then, the third and most important step was to discover every single thing about this mysterious system — what the Divine Records mean, what or who the 'True Ones' are. These were all key pieces of information he didn't know, and it bothered him greatly that he didn't.
'I will figure it out, one way or another.' He clenched his fists. 'This is such a nice puzzle to solve. I can almost feel it.'
"Hey, Jack…"
At that moment, the boy's thoughts were cut short when he heard a noise behind him. Turning around, he saw Luna, who had just approached him. He felt her presence approaching, but tried to ignore it the entire time. Sadly for him, her intentions were very clear from the start.
The girl stared at him before she pursed her lips. "Can… can I talk to you for a moment?"
Jack blinked before he turned around to stare back into the distance. "What's there to talk about?"
"..."
"..."
"It's… you know," she said. "About that…"
"No." Jack shook his head. "I don't have much else to add. I think I said everything I wanted to say."
"I… I just want to apologize… for everything."
"Apologize?" Jack raised an eyebrow as he turned to look at her. "And why would you do that?"
"Because…" She looked down. "Because I feel deeply gui—"
"Don't give me that nonsense," he cut her off. "I don't believe in guilt. Because you truly wanted that outcome at that very moment. There is no point in apologizing," he said.
Luna's fists clenched subtly as she felt all the frustration and guilt build up in her heart, making her mouth feel extremely bitter.
"Jack, please listen to me—"
"Enough," Jack replied. "Leave me alone."
"..."
Seeing the cold look in his eyes, Luna realized there was simply no way she could really talk to Jack at that moment. He was simply not open to that at all.
"I'm sorry for bothering you…" she said and turned around to leave. Jack shook his head and watched her walk away.
'So annoying.'
As much as he didn't like to have such a conversation now of all times, Jack was aware that he had to set the line clear from the start so she wouldn't bother him anymore later.
He had no interest in Luna or her business; she was simply someone who would tag along for their escape.
"Whatever…" he muttered as he was about to turn around. That was when…
"You're quite wise for your age~"
"!!!"
Jack's eyes widened as he heard a whisper in his ear that shook him to the core. He quickly looked around, left and right. 'What was that? Who whispered in my ear?'
He touched his earlobe — Jack wasn't hallucinating. That was a clear, feminine voice that spoke to him, one so sweet it seemed to talk to his very soul.
"..."
"Awww, your reactions are adorable~"
"!!! Who's there?!" Jack asked as he stepped back, looking left and right. He truly couldn't see anyone around. 'Is this a monster?'
"Monster?~ How cruel… Since when do monsters have sweet voices like this?"
As those words dug deep into his ears, Jack finally saw a glimpse of the source of that voice manifest before his eyes — out of thin air.
It was a small black orb at first, but then that orb quickly expanded, growing large black tentacles as it extended in every direction, engulfing the area in a sense of dread and darkness Jack had never felt before.
It was as if the entire world had turned into night, even though the sun was in the middle of the sky. Then, straight out of that darkness emerged a silhouette so gorgeous it took Jack's breath away.
It was a female — one so perfect, she shouldn't even exist in a world of mortals. Everything about her was so flawless, Jack thought he was staring at a goddess for a few seconds.
She had long, wavy black hair that reached down her back, two pairs of perfect, big red eyes with slits in the middle like those of a snake. Her white, oval-shaped face was perfect and spotless, almost shining under the rays of the sun.
Her perfect, curvy figure was clad in a black dress, wavy and silky as if it were woven out of a piece of the darkest night. She had long black wings behind her back and two horns protruding out of her head.
The woman was gorgeous and seductive beyond reason — someone who could sway the hearts of every man who laid an eye on her.
A being that brought to light the darkest desires out of the purest of hearts.
That same woman — this being — stared directly at Jack. She had a faint smile on her beautiful red lips.
"It is my pleasure to meet you, Jack~" She leaned forward as if she were bowing curtly. "I am Liliana, the Demon of Hope."