142 Devil's Hour 1

Friday. 3:04 am. In a village south of Alina City. Specifically within a small hut built under the shades of three tall acacia trees.

The singing of cicadas from the outside temporarily stopped as faint sounds of footsteps coming from a single person graced the night. Through the thick grey clouds, the waning moon had hidden itself from the world thus no amount of moonlight peeked through the slightly open window of the only room of the hut.

It was the devil's hour.

In folklore, this time frame was also called the witching hour.

There had been numerous ghost talks and stories rumored to always happen within this span of time, in between 3:00 am to 3:59 am. It was the time of the night associated with supernatural events. In stories, this would be when witches, demons, and ghosts were thought to appear and to be at their most powerful.

Of course, many science believers vetoed this idea and labeled it as some sort of hoax passed down by witch hunters around the year eighteen hundred. It was explained to be a concept invented to further demonize the image of those so-called witches, its connection with ghosts and unseen demons just recently added on the tale.

Truth be told, Gio believed none of this bullshit and the only reason he remembered this random fact was due to hearing this from one of the tattered-clothed, unkempt, and tear-stained-faced women huddling in one corner of the room. He was not actually in that place, but outside of it, hidden behind the huge trunk of an acacia tree, spectating from there. The only reason he could see past the woven bamboo wall was the special eyeglasses he was currently wearing which obviously came from Sofony.

To how he heard the scared exclaim of that disheveled and pitiful looking woman, it was through the bugging device connected wirelessly to his left earpiece which he managed to slip into his girl's dress when she tried to leave the condo unit discreetly an hour ago.

Yes, Sofony was currently inside the hut... for a reason which he guessed was not something she planned all along. And although it dumbfounded her when she first saw it on the 6 pm news yesterday, he knew her motive for appearing here was also not at all related to the death of that acquaintance.

Ever since he 'received' that weird and distant set of memories yesterday afternoon, it became very easy for him to understand and guess most of the matters revolving around Sofony. Right now, if he was not mistaken, what she was doing was a 'mission' issued by this unseen mysterious entity called the 'Immoral System'. He didn't know exactly what she was tasked to do here, but he didn't have to be smart to have an idea or two given that one of the parties inside the house was related to the mafia.

With a guess of what would happen to the men inside the hut, Gio tugged on the collar of his black jacket, his eyes never leaving that place.

His girl did not let his conjectures be mere theory because it didn't take long for something to occur there.

Screams of agony and pain began to reverberate from the room, accompanied by frightened shouts and yells from the women. Through his limited-time-use spyware, he could see the scattered group of men inside the hut. Each of them was dressed in varying clothes and getup, only united in one thing — hidden weapons and firearms. All of them just suddenly started dropping on the ground, either having bouts of violent spasms or rolling around, screaming in pain. A second later, splashes of blood registered in his eyes, spilling and coloring the floor with its dazzling hue.

Without doubt, this sight was what caused the seemingly oppressed and bound women hugging each other in the corner to shout in fear. One of them even fainted on top of the other ladies, most likely due to haemophobia or extreme shock.

The man disinterestedly took back his gaze from them and swept a glance around. He didn't see even a shadow of Sofony's figure which prompted him to remember that day at Cryptos.

'She's invisible...'

'Definitely, it's because she doesn't want people to find out or even have a clue...'

'Even me...'

The man continued watching the raining of blood and bullets that ensued within that place, beholding as those female creatures being saved by his girl started crying and praying to their deities, asking for salvation from the supernatural entity killing their kidnappers and traffickers.

It was such an unbelievable and funny situation. Such a perfect example of how stupid humans could be. Out of all the women molested and about to be made the newest pleasure girls of Dawson's hidden syndicate, only one or two showed relief that something saved them from this grim fate, in which the younger one looked as though she saw a live miracle happening in front of her. Her eyes burning in hope and showing how much she liked the scene before her.

'Is she going to alter her memory after this?' he mused just before his pupils dilated after he heard her say,

"...Kill them."

The tone of her voice was the same. Not with the one he usually heard from her. But with the one from the memories. Cold. Unfeeling. Unnatural. It was so different from what he'd been used to so even though he had taken a glimpse of this in that vision, it still made his eyes narrowed in displeasure. It was not the unfamiliarity which made him dislike it, but something which he couldn't yet explain.

While the man spectating outside reacted like that, the women within the hut quietened down, dumbfounded to hear a voice not belonging to any of them. None of them reacted until the unseen being's voice gently made way into their ears again, sending shivers up their spines.

"...I'm giving you all a chance," it suddenly said, slowly. Each word stressed, which within everyone's imagination had turned into something similar to a devil's whisper; demonic, yet too tempting to ignore. "The pigs and demons who violated and dirtied your bodies are now before your eyes, weaker, and more vulnerable than the weakest of you."

The voice halted for a second before repeating the first two words that it uttered to them. "Kill them..."

"They are people that regularly kidnapped and sold beautiful and youthful women like you to the syndicate... who have no qualms destroying others' lives and future..."

"Kill them..."

"Remember. When some of you fought back before, they did not hesitate to point their guns at those poor souls, forever depriving them of their lives which did not even come from them. More than anyone in this world, they are the ones who do anything in the name of pleasure and money, even if it means pushing innocent and weak people to death and hell... Including all of you..."

"Kill them..."

"I have already freed everyone from all your chains and cuffs... But to completely get away from this hut which has only served as your hellhole for more than a week, you'll have to grab anything sharp and deadly....anything that will be able to put an end both to your nightmares and captivity..."

"Anything that will help you kill them..."

From the outside, Gio beheld as the tear-stained faces of the women inside changed into that of amazement as they found their arms and feet freed from anything restricting them. And with the mass hypnosis taking effect, it did not take long for the joy in their faces to turn into madness which later on became a crazed thirst for revenge and freedom...

"Sir," from his right earpiece, George's voice suddenly rang. "Reporting. Our men have already confirmed. My apologies, but the girl from that hall was indeed Miss Sofony's acquaintance..."

Gio did not immediately respond, still watching as horror enveloped the expression of the awake, but unmoving men on the floor. It was when one of the girls brainwashed by the devil's urging voice began to laugh crazily, trembling as she picked up the low table nearby and held it up while slowly creeping towards the nearest mafia man.

He seemed to hear that injured, incapacitated man madly shouting for that crazy girl to go away, his agitated voice cracking due to that heavy piece of furniture which loomed above him.

"Sir. Old Gil repeatedly checked," the assistant could not help but add after being made anxious by Gio's quietness. It was when the Albarez' heir was watching the fast and impactful descent of the table, specifically its main body, on the face of that goon. Each time that he blinked, he could see that wooden furniture rising in the air, turning bloodier and bloodier.

George's voice made way into his ear again, "Sir, without a mistake, she was really the only person inside that room last Wednesday... from beginning to the end... From when you ordered Old Gil to monitor the call until our people finished the operation... that girl was the only one there."

Disturbed not by the gory sight from the distance which continued to escalate and ensue, but by George's statement, Gio finally looked away from the carnage that Sofony had started. Recalling the odd bits of information about the news report earlier which did not match his memories, he knitted his brows and replied, "So you're saying that time, the one I spoke with is really that Clea Luizon?"

From the other line, his assistant went silent for a while, most likely triple-checking his resources again as to not give false information. Five or so seconds after, with no hesitation in his voice, George answered,

"Young master, according to the records... It is really the case. That woman is really Ms. Luizon, one of the contestants who signed up for the piano competition. We triple-checked. But that coordinates you have forwarded to Old Gil... it is the room the organizers assigned to that girl."

...

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