Book 1: Chapter 1: A Visit Gone Wrong

Book 1: Chapter 1: A Visit Gone Wrong

Scarlet Asger

The city is full of life today, just like it apparently always is in a Tier 1 city such as this.

A beautiful full moon hanging high in the sky, just towering over the massive skyscrapers that are blocking my view of the rest of the city, despite me already being nearly thirty floors up above the ground. What must be hundreds of magi-tech cars quickly flying through the air-streets between each building, not even mentioning the various magic-less cars driving by on the ground belonging mostly to city visitors. Like me. And dare I mention the lovely shimmer radiating off of each skyscrapers outside windows and walls, acting as a shield in case of a Demonic Assault occurring in the capital?

So much beauty. So much awe.

And yet

Are you listening to me? the lady standing next to the comfortable chair Im sitting on in the middle of the room asks in a rather disgruntled tone. And I so want to respond with no, not really. But I dont. Because that wont help my situation in the slightest.

Yes, I answer while turning my gaze away from the large window to see the lady in all her receptionist glory standing next to me. Shes wearing relatively normal business attire, with a dress shirt and a plaid skirt, and her hair done up in a braid running down one of her shoulders.

I cant help but look up from my seat at her thanks to her annoying high heels. Something no one will ever find me wearing.L1tLagoon witnessed the first publication of this chapter on Ñøv€l--B1n.

Just the thought of it gives me shivers.

You can either sit there and wait for four more hours for the CEO to come back and kick you out, or you can leave now, she says, her voice relatively high pitch as she adjusts her glasses with a sneer sent my way.

I let out a sigh. One that seems to irritate her even further somehow before I turn my back to her to face the window where I see my own reflection in the mirrorlike surface. In it, Im wearing my favorite red and black jacket over a random black shirt that I grabbed from my closet. One with the logo of my old high school on the chest. And to top it off, a pair of black pants and black boots.

A rather nice color scheme if I do say so myself. It even matches my black hair and incredibly grey eyes!

Ive already said this, but Im here because- I begin, only for the rude lady to cut me off.

Yes, youve said it before. She says with a glare that I can see reflected in the window. Youre here because you believe that your old orphanage director- she pauses here to scoff -was the CEO of Silver Works. She scoffs again as if once wasnt enough. Ridiculous.

Yeah, this isnt getting very far. But what can I do?

It does sound rather outlandish when you think about it, even if it is the truth. Not that I know why he was working as an orphanage director despite being the CEO of one of the richest companies in the world.

Nothing I can do but ignore the lady though, since she cant legally call the cops or the security officers in this building unless Im being an actual problem for their office. And since they cant get in touch with Allen until he is done with his meeting, and I proved in some ways that Im at least connected to him thanks to that little badge he gave me, I can sit here for as long as I want.

But I do wish he would get here sooner, because this lady is annoying. Or at least let someone else get here to take her attention away from me.

As if on cue, the phone over at her desk rings, saving me from the hell of sitting here with her constant discriminatory nagging.

Its not my fault Im an orphan from a Tier 3 city. So please take that nasty face youre making at me and shove it in a pot somewhere.

Why a pot? Not sure.

Why not?

Im not done with you! she says, still making that face before turning around and walking back across the empty reception room, past the many empty chairs towards her own desk where she sits down and grabs the phone. Hello? Youve reached the Silver Works upper reception. How may I help you?

I try really hard not to scoff at the obvious difference in treatment.

Before she can respond, I send another message as if as an afterthought.

[Also, stop treating me like a child just because youre three inches taller than me.]

I nod my head to myself, satisfied with my work, only for my mouth to drop open when she responds back to me.

[Im four inches taller, and you know it. So you can go ahead and stop with your little teasing, because Arthur and I are already a thing!]

Theyre what?! How! When?!

I begin to type in response, ready to barrage both her and Arthurs phones with texts, only for a loud cracking sound to echo throughout the city, following which a shattering sound akin to glass comes from the skies. When I look out the window, I find myself staring at a blood red moon, with various cracks in space high above the skyscrapers.

A loud alarm begins blaring throughout the building, following which the power to the lights shuts off, leaving us in the dark with the only light being that of the emergency lights and the red light of the blood moon.

Nonono no no noooooooo!!! I faintly hear the receptionist screaming while dropping the phone and seemingly having a full blown panic attack. This snaps me out of the daze I had entered the moment I saw the blood moon.

I immediately get up from the chair, feeling slightly dizzy from getting up so quickly after being seated for a long time. Or at least, thats what Im guessing it is. Then I rush over to the lady, where I try to shake her as I ask, Do you know where the closest bunker is?

But shes too deep in her panic attack to notice me. All she manages to do is mutter barely audible words, most of which make very little sense in the panic.

So I slap her in the face, snapping her out of it before shouting, Do you know where the bunker is!?!

That gets her attention, and she finally blinks, sanity returning to her, followed closely by anger likely at me slapping her. But fortunately, she has enough sense to drop it and get up, albeit shakily as she answers my question, T-theres one on the other side of the f-floor.

I nod my head in appreciation before standing up straight again, feeling the dizziness growing stronger and stronger in the process.

Strange. Why isnt it going away? Im pretty sure Ive been standing for long enough now

Deciding that it doesnt matter right now, I quickly focus on the receptionist who is still frowning at me.

Are you just going to stand there and frown at me? I ask her rather cynically with a frown of my own, snapping her out of it as she turns away and unlocks a door that was behind her desk and leads me through it to a point where the glowing red arrows are. I dont have to ask where theyre pointing, considering all of the drills weve had back in high school in case a Fracture ever occurred there. Which it didnt.

I glance down at my phone as were walking, noting that my internet connection has been severed before I look up again and massage my temples.

Just whats going on?

The original bout of dizziness is still growing stronger, but with a headache mixed in with it now.

At some point we begin running down the halls, mostly because of the lady rushing off after a loud crash sounds from somewhere nearby. Then, after a few minutes of running, I begin to hear a strange sound. Almost like a bug skittering across the ground.

Miss, do you he- I begin to ask her, only to cut off as a large, one meter long spider suddenly bursts through a door, smashing it in the process before landing on the lady, who is now screaming her head off. Holy shit.

Finding that the demon who Im assuming is probably a Spawn, the weakest amongst all of the demons has already pierced its incisors into the ladys face, killing her and cutting off her pained screams, I perform an about-face and run away as fast as my legs can carry me. But in the process of running so quickly, I only find that my headache and dizziness is growing worse. And to make matters worse, my eyes and the top of my head are beginning to hurt as well.

Shit shit shit, what the ever fliiipping hell is going on!!!!

I glance back to find the original demon that had appeared snacking on the receptionists body while two more of them make their way out of the door before noticing me.

And it just gets worse.