Chapter 23: All the Same

As the discussion between the leader of the APF and his informant was taking place in the APF headquarters, in a faraway city, something else was just beginning.

Legion City was peaceful. The chirping of birds could be heard. People were going to their work while some were coming back from their work.

In the same city existed a restaurant, which had a 'closed' board hung on the door.

Because of the board, no one tried entering this place, not that it generally had any traffic anyway.

Inside the restaurant, hordes of bodies could be seen spread everywhere.

It seemed like a slaughter had taken place here only recently. As for the person who had caused the slaughter, he was upstairs.

The bottom floor of this building was the restaurant, whereas the top floor was the residential quarters of the couple who owned the restaurant.

Unfortunately, that same couple was standing with a pale face in front of Lucifer.

It seemed as if someone had sucked the blood off of their faces, but it was clear that this was because of the fear they were experiencing.

They had just talked about informing the police of Lucifer. Not only that, they had even said that it was better for him to be dead. Who was to know that the boy they talked about to brazenly was right outside their door.

If Emilia had known that Lucifer was in front of her, she would have never even dared to talk about such things. Why would she even dare to speak like that about someone who was able to kill so many people like they were toys?

The only reason she came upstairs was to make sure he didn't hear, but it all failed. They were caught.

Seeing Lucifer in front of her, her hand started shivering.

'Did he hear?' she thought while praying that he didn't hear.

Even though she was hoping that Lucifer hadn't heard, she had a feeling that he did. Why else would he scream like that? Why else would he look so emotionless?

It was clear that he had heard.

"Ah, you're here. Sorry, we didn't find the clothes yet. We thought that it was better to call the police and tell them that someone had killed the people downstairs." Weston was in a better state of mind than his wife.

He knew that fear wouldn't solve anything. In any case, they would only die if they didn't handle the situation with care. They had betrayed Lucifer after all.

He couldn't help but curse himself in his head for agreeing with his wife. If only he had stood his ground firmly, none of this would have happened.

In any case, it was already too late now. Worrying about that wasn't going to solve anything. He decided to handle this situation in a different manner.

He knew that Lucifer probably heard all their words. He could only use his mind to muddy the waters and make Lucifer think that he misunderstood.

Even though it was going to be tough, it was his only choice.

"Don't worry; we weren't going to name you. Who would even be suspicious of a kid? But we still need to take care of the bodies. So it's better to inform the police. What do you think about this?" Weston further said, trying to keep his emotions in control.

He knew that he couldn't look scared when he spoke, or his lies would be caught. The best way that makes a lie seem like the truth is by saying it with confidence.

That's what he was doing. Unfortunately, his hands were shivering uncontrollably. To hide their shivering, he placed his hands behind his back as he spoke.

"We would tell the police that a stranger killed the people downstairs and ran away. There are no cameras here in our restaurant. The same is true for the streets. So they have no way to verify the situation. It's a win-win. You'll be safe, and we'll be safe. It's good, right?" he asked Lucifer.

Lucifer didn't answer. In fact, he wasn't even looking at the man who was speaking. His gaze rested on Emilia instead.

What hurt him the most was the betrayal of the woman whom she had thought to be similar to his mother. He couldn't help but curse himself. How dare he compare someone like Emilia to his mother?

Lucifer finally opened his lips as he let out a word, "You..."

He started walking towards Emilia in slow steps. The bloodlust inside him was rising the closer he got to the woman.

"...are..."

He continued speaking, one word at a time, extremely slowly.

Even though he talked slowly, each of his words seemed to contain some magic that was sending chills down the spine of the people who were here.

There were ten steps of the distance between Lucifer and Emilia, which decreased to eight steps as Lucifer kept closing in.

"... all..."

Six steps. Only six steps remained between Emilia and Lucifer.

"...the..."

Four steps... Emilia's heartbeat was thumping like crazy, as if her heart was about to come out of her chest.

It was at that point when she started stepping back in fear. Her hand was holding onto Weston's hand, who also kept walking back with her.

"Wait, listen to us. There's probably a misunderstanding," Weston called out, trying again.

His words seemed to have fallen on deaf ears as Lucifer continued closing in while speaking one word at a time, grimly.

"...the..." Lucifer called out.

Emilia and Weston soon reached the end of the room. There was no space for them to move back as a wall was against their back.

Lucifer stopped two steps away from them as he spoke the final word, "...Same."

... to be continued.