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17th September, 1507
Seren and Mila stepped into the hotel room, bathed in the soft glow of crimson lights that cast seductive rays over the space. A lavish, king-sized bed adorned with plush pillows and silky sheets lay before them. The air was perfumed with a delicate scent, wrapping them in a cocoon of sensuality that heightened the intimacy of the moment.
Mila stood frozen to her spot, looking down at her feet, not saying anything while Seren scanned the room with a deliberate gaze. Both of them didn’t move for a few seconds, standing at the doorfront with the bed and the fragrance in the air making the atmosphere even more intense.
"I-I will go wash up first," Mila blurted out, quickly making her way over to the bathroom on the right. Her movements were jerky from nervousness.
Seren watched silently as Mila closed the bathroom door. He then walked over to the bed and looked under it but found nothing. He moved to a closet and opened it, but it was empty as well. For the next five minutes, he continued to inspect the room until he had a good understanding of all the objects in it.
After he was done inspecting, he sat on the bed.
'Other than the artifacts used for the crimson light and the artifact that produces that scent, there are no other suspicious items in the room. It will be quite troublesome for me if someone gets a hold of the Ravens' information along with mine as well. There’s a chance the Ravens might know I’m trying to dig up information on them'
He then took off his mask and set it aside. The crimson light from the artifact hanging from the ceiling gave Seren an otherworldly look with his long white hair and deep red eyes. Seren then reached into his concealed pocket and touched the storage artifact. He then pulled out an object he had found on the street before going on the date. He stared at the object for a few seconds before putting it behind his shirt.
...
Sitting in the bathtub filled with warm water, hugging her knees, Mila sighed to herself.
'Mila, don’t get scared now. You have made it this far and besides... he’s been treating you well so far...'
Every time Mila thought of Seren, she couldn't help but get her emotions riled up.
As she got out of the tub, droplets of water cascaded down her glistening skin. She wrapped herself in a plush, white towel. Her slender figure exuded an effortless grace, accentuated by the soft curves that traced her silhouette. Long, black hair cascaded down her back like a veil of midnight, the ends grazing the curve of her hips, adding to her allure.
Mila's heart raced as she slapped both her hands on her face, the cool touch of her palms doing little to quell the heat rising in her face. She took a deep breath, wrapped in a plush, white towel that clung to her curves all the way up to her blossom, she padded across the cool tile floor to the bathroom door.
Her fingers trembled slightly as she reached for the door handle, its cool metal a stark contrast to her warm skin as she twisted it halfway. Mila hesitated for a moment, then pushed the door open, stepping out into the dimly lit room beyond.
The cooler air rushed to meet her, raising goosebumps on her exposed skin that made her stop in her tracks.
But it wasn't the temperature change that made Mila's body instantly freeze. Her eyes widened, breath catching in her throat as they landed on the person standing just a few feet away. The bathroom door behind her closed shut with a soft thud by itself. The silence that followed was deafening, broken only by the rapid beating of Mila's heart.
There, bathed in the soft glow of the crimson relic, stood Seren. His white shirt hung open, the fabric framing a torso that seemed sculpted from marble. Well-defined muscles rippled beneath smooth, alabaster skin. Mila's gaze was drawn inexorably upward, past the elegant column of his throat to a face that took her breath away.
Seren wasn't wearing his mask.
Seren's features were striking, almost otherworldly in their perfection. High cheekbones, a strong jaw, and lips that hinted at both sensuality and cruelty. But it was his eyes that truly captivated her – twin pools of deep crimson that seemed to glow with an inner fire. They roamed over Mila's towel-clad form, their intensity making her feel more exposed than if she'd been completely naked.
'...This is Seren?'
Mila's mind reeled, trying to reconcile this vision before her with the masked figure she had known. She had expected someone average, perhaps even unremarkable behind the mask. How wrong she had been. Every aspect of Seren exuded an irresistible allure, from his refined features to his imposing physique. He was tall, his height accentuating the perfect balance of his muscular form.
But in reality, Seren didn’t look like this and had used his refraction concept to subtly enhance his appearance. His true form was too young to fully captivate a woman in her early twenties. With careful manipulation, he had matured his features and physique, creating an image designed to appeal to Mila's deepest desires.
With deliberate slowness, Seren took a step forward. A smile began to curve his lips, transforming his expression from enigmatic to darkly alluring. Mila remained rooted to the spot, her mind blank, overwhelmed by Seren's presence.
Before she could gather her thoughts, Seren was already standing mere inches away, close enough that Mila could feel the heat radiating from his body. Mila was slightly shorter than Seren. She gazed up at him, not a thought behind her eyes as she took in Seren’s face.
With gentleness, Seren placed his hands on her bare shoulders. Slowly, inexorably, he leaned in, bringing his face closer to hers. Mila's eyelids fluttered closed, her lips parting slightly in anticipation. The world around them faded away, leaving only the sensation of Seren's warm breath ghosting across her skin as he drew nearer…
BANG!
The deafening sound echoed through the room, followed by a sickening thud as Mila’s body crumpled to the ground. Blood began to seep from the back of her head, staining the pristine white bath towel.
Seren stood motionless beside her, his expression cold as he gazed down at Mila. In his right hand, he clenched a long metal pipe, its surface slick with blood that dripped slowly onto the floor.
‘I hope you don’t resist too much once you wake up’
...
‘Arrrr… it hurts,’
Mila slowly opened her pained eyes as she slowly regained her senses. The dim light of the room pierced through her blurred vision, casting eerie shadows on the walls. The air was thick with the scent of mildew and something metallic, a smell that made her stomach churn.
‘What… happened? Where is this?’
Mila tried to remember what had transpired, but every time she attempted to piece together the fragments of her memory, a sharp, searing pain shot through her head. She winced, trying to clutch her head but then suddenly, she felt a tug on wrists. Panic surged through her as she realized both her hands were bound tightly above her head, secured to the bathroom door handle with a coarse rope that bit into her wrists, leaving angry red marks.
Her mouth and jaw were tightly covered by a rough cloth, muffling any sound she tried to make and locking her jaw in place.
Desperation clawed at her as she looked down and saw blood soaking her thighs and staining the bath towel she was still wearing. The sight of the crimson streaks sent a wave of nausea through her, and she fought to keep her composure.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The sound of footsteps echoed ominously in the hallway outside the room. The hotel door creaked open slowly, and a figure stepped inside, holding a chair and a large mirror. The figure wore a white mask, its blank expression adding to the eerie atmosphere. The mask's eyes were hollow, black voids that seemed to swallow the light.
When Mila saw the figure, her memories clicked into place with a jolt. She remembered losing consciousness right before she was about to embrace Seren. Her heart sank as the figure removed the mask, revealing Seren’s familiar face. A light smile played on his lips as he waved at Mila’s tied-up figure, but there was no warmth in his eyes, only a cold, calculating glint.
Mila’s heart shook in trepidation when she saw Seren’s smile as he walked inside the room. Seren placed the large mirror on the bed, its reflective surface catching the dim light and casting eerie shadows on the walls. He then positioned the chair right in front of Mila and sat down, his demeanor shifting from casual to menacing.
Leaning forward, Seren clasped his hands together, his eyes deep red and his voice calm but grave as he began.
“Let me introduce myself again. The name is Seren, a spy from the Enforcers, and for the time being... your life belongs to me.”
Mila’s eyes were wide open when Seren said he was from the Enforcers. It was well-known throughout Glowhaven that the relationship between the Ravens and Enforcers had always been purely transactional. She was shocked to see Seren’s change in personality from a gentleman to someone unrecognizable. She couldn’t tell why he was doing this to her, but from the sound of his voice, she could tell there was no emotion in the person in front of her.
Seren opened his palm, and a thin metal pipe then materialized in his hand as he played around with it for a few seconds, letting the scared Mila see it and make a judgment for herself. The pipe gleamed ominously in the dim light, a silent threat that sent chills down her spine.
“Before we begin, let me get some things straight,” Seren began as he then rested his hands on the pipe. “Do not lie to me, do not scream, and do not attempt to resist. You have three chances before I take your life. Alright then, let's begin.” Seren then reached forward and untied the cloth around her mouth.
*Cough Cough
When the cloth came loose, Mila coughed violently for some reason, and unintentionally, bits of her spit fell on Seren’s hand. When she saw this, terror filled her heart as she understood what it would mean for her if she angered her captor.
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“Wait! No, sorry. Cough… I didn’t mean to.”
Mila tried to apologize, but Seren didn’t mind as he casually wiped his hand with a cloth. Instead, he said, “Tell me about yourself.”
Mila was a bit taken aback by the sudden question, but she quickly reeled in her mind as she hurriedly replied, “Mila Thorwood. I’m 20 years old and I work at the Raven’s Relic Shop as a receptionist. I have been living in Glowhaven for the past five years. I-I’m sorry I didn’t mean to cough earlier.” Mila was talking too fast from the anxiety, so she said whatever she could to live.
Seren’s eyes bore into hers, unblinking and cold. “Why did you decide to approach me?” he asked bluntly.
“I-I just thought your voice sounded good back then and... I thought it might be a good time to start looking for a partner,” Mila replied honestly, her voice trembling.
Seren didn’t stop to consider her answers as he continued to question, “Who was the man that caused a ruckus yesterday?”
Mila didn’t know what to say for a few seconds as she quickly ran through her memories of the man Seren was talking about. The room was dead silent as Mila tried to remember, the only sound being her rough breathing and some blood dripping down from her chin, creating small, dark stains on the floor.
After a few seconds of silence, Mila replied, “...I-I don’t know. That was the first time I had seen that man.” Feeling the answer wasn’t good enough, Mila quickly followed up with, “I can ask my co-workers if you want!”
Seren fell silent for a few seconds as he rubbed his chin in thought. Mila gulped down a mouthful of air as she waited silently for Seren, praying that he wouldn’t do anything to her if he didn’t get the answer he wanted. The tension in the room was palpable, the air thick with fear and uncertainty.
On the other hand, Seren wasn’t really thinking about anything. He had asked a series of easy questions to get Mila’s nerves relaxed and get her used to answering him. His eyes flickered with a hint of calculative glint as he watched her squirm.
After pretending to think for a while, Seren asked casually, “Why did the Ravens raise the relic prices for no reason?”
Mila was about to answer, but then the words suddenly got caught in her throat and her heart fell into despair. Her pulse quickened, and a cold sweat broke out on her forehead. She took a few seconds, her mind racing, and said in an apprehensive voice, “...They said it’s because a storehouse containing 20% of the Class 1 relics was accidentally destroyed, so they had to raise the price to make up for the loss of revenue”
“...”
Seren smiled lightly when he heard this and didn’t follow up with anything. Mila relaxed a little, seeing Seren didn’t have a reaction. She sighed in her mind in relief, but her relief was short-lived when she saw Seren raise the metal pipe into the air. Terror gripped her heart, and Mila, out of fear, quickly closed her eyes before the pipe came crashing down.
Crush!
The metal pipe missed Mila’s head but hit her right on her toenail, crushing the bone and the nail into a jumbled mess. The pain instantly contorted Mila’s face as she yanked her whole body forward instinctively.
Thud.
Mila slammed her head on the floor from the pain, but despite the agony, she didn’t scream. She held her breath as she viciously bit down on her bottom lip to stop herself from screaming. Streams of blood poured out of her mouth as her teeth became stained with her blood, and drops of tears formed in her eyes. The metallic taste of blood mixed with the saltiness of her tears, created a nauseating sensation.
“The correct answer is ‘The Ravens are planning something big, so they need the extra funds,’” Seren said to the Mila withering in pain on the floor as he calmly cleaned the bloodied tip of the metal pipe with a white cloth.
*Sob Sob
“I…I’m..sorry,” Mila forced herself to reply through her tears as she lay there on the floor. Her voice was barely audible, choked with pain and fear.
Seren didn’t care as he placed the metal pipe to the side and got up from his chair. He casually walked up to Mila’s figure, crouched down, grabbed the hair on top of her head, and lifted her face up. The roughness of his grip sent sharp pains through her scalp.
He looked at her teary red eyes, his face emotionless as he said in a raspy deep voice, “Look at me, Mila. Do I look like a joke to you?”
Mila, through her bloodied lips replied with a shivering voice, “I-I sorr-”
“I SAID, IS THIS A JOKE TO YOU?!”
Seren yelled in an angry voice as his grip on her hair tightened. He then brought her face closer to his. Her cheeks had marks from tears flowing down her face, and her bottom lip now had teeth marks bulging into them. Mila, in her distressed state, could feel Seren’s warm breath under the soft crimson light as he whispered in a sinister tone, “Listen to me here, when I demand, you deliver, you got it? Or we're gonna have problems next time, you understand?”
“Y-yes, I u-understand,” Mila’s voice shivered as she replied. By this point, her crying had already ceased from the fear that Seren just instilled in her. She didn’t dare to think about lying or disobeying any of his orders.
Seren let go of Mila’s hair, and her head dropped to the floor with a dull thud. He then walked back to his chair and sat down as he looked down at Mila. She lay there motionless for a few seconds before slowly lifting herself up and sitting up straight with her back against the bathroom door. But Seren noticed something odd, for some reason, there was no fear in her eyes anymore as she gazed at him with serene eyes as if lost in thought.
Seren put one leg over the other and said with authority, “Let’s try this again, why did they increase the relic prices?”
“Because the R-Ravens are preparing for war a-and they need the funds,” Mila stammered, her voice trembling.
Seren leaned forward, his eyes narrowing. “Who are they going to war with and why?”
Mila took a deep breath, her eyes darting around the dimly lit room before she began to speak. She explained everything she knew, not leaving a single detail out. Her mind seemed to have completely obeyed Seren, and she couldn’t care less about what would happen to her if the Ravens found out about this.
…
‘So the rumor is that the Ravens intercepted an important consortium that was headed to Chimera Vale, but this is only a rumor right now. The Enforcers are still investigating and don’t have any evidence as of yet. The Ravens are denying any involvement in this…’
Seren summarized the information in his mind as he contemplated the situation. After a few moments, he asked, “If the Ravens are denying the allegations, then why are they preparing for war when they say they are innocent?”
“I’m sorry, this is as much as I know. I had previously talked with one of the guards because I was starting to get worried, and they said it’s to prepare for the worst-case scenario,” Mila replied honestly.
‘True. If I could get the information this easily, then the war would have already started.’
It had been 30 minutes since she woke up and the interrogation began. She had finally stopped stuttering every sentence as the pain in her head and foot slowly subsided. Seren had noticed something had changed in her after he threatened her, and she didn’t seem to fear him any longer.
‘Something is wrong with her, or does she think I won’t kill her if it came to it… Well, whatever, I’m almost done with her anyway.’
Seren then got up and walked up to Mila, to which Mila’s eyes closed again as she waited patiently. Seren didn’t do anything like last time and instead cut the rope that tied her hands.
Mila got a bit startled when she realized her hands had become free again. Seren then placed a hand on her shoulder and said with a light smile on his face, “One last question. How do I join the Ravens?”
Mila was stupefied when she heard this because who in their right mind would want to join an organization that was on the brink of war? But then she remembered Seren saying he was a spy from the Enforcers so it would make sense for him to infiltrate the Ravens.
She took some time to consider her response, and after a while, she said in a deliberate voice, “There are many ways to get into the Ravens. The normal way is to just go to their headquarters and apply for it, but… the success rate is quite low as they run several background checks on the people joining them.”
Seren’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, it sounds to me like you’re saying there’s a better way to join them.”
Mila quickly replied, “Yes, it’s to get in through a recommendation. If someone who has served the Ravens for five years as a Captain recommends another person, then they can join the Ravens without doing any tests or background checks. I have a co-worker whose brother works for a Captain, I can ask them to recommend you.” Mila said with a sincere voice as she looked at Seren without any fear.
Seren’s expression became dark at this news as he silently looked at Mila’s delicate figure still wrapped in a thin bath towel.
“...Why are you telling me this? I didn’t even ask you to help me join them, so why?” There was some undercurrent to Seren’s voice as Mila’s next response might decide her fate.
Sensing the threat under Seren’s voice, Mila didn’t get scared this time. Instead, she had a different expression that even left Seren a bit baffled at the situation. She was acting nervous and a bit shy as she said, “I-I hope you can do something for me?”
Seren, not knowing what to make of the situation, asked, “What is it?”
“Can… can you… please…” Mila was clearly hesitating much more than the previous responses as she fidgeted non-stop. She averted her gaze from Seren’s piercing glare and looked to the side, feeling anxious.
“Can you please… Can you please become my boyfriend!”
“...”
“I can explain!” Mila said with some desperation in her voice and looked to be breathing roughly for some reason as she looked at Seren’s emotionless cold face.
Seren stared at Mila, his crimson eyes fixed on her flushed face as she stumbled through her explanation. His expression remained impassive, betraying nothing of his inner thoughts. 'A fetish?' he mused, not having expect such a situation.
With fluid, deliberate movements, Seren rose up and raised a hand, efficiently silencing Mila mid-sentence.
"I don't care for the reason," he stated matter-of-factly. "If you can get me inside, I will happily comply."
Mila's face brightened instantly, her eyes widening with a mix of relief and excitement. She scrambled to her feet, as she thanked Seren repeatedly.
Seren, his mind focused on the tasks ahead, dismissed Mila with a curt nod. She seemed a bit disappointed before complying and quickly getting dressed.
"Goodbye," Mila said, with a smile as she headed for the door. Seren watched her go, noticing how she seemed to have completely forgotten about her toe that was completely smashed in.
The door closed with a resounding clank, leaving Seren alone in the room, surrounded by the weight of his thoughts. The sudden silence was almost deafening, broken only by the faint ticking of an old clock on the wall. He rubbed his forehead, before letting out a heavy sigh. With slow steps, he walked over to the bed, the floorboards creaking softly beneath his feet.
Seren slumped onto the bed. His eyes fixed on the ceiling, tracing the faint outlines of colourful designs. The dim light from the street lamp outside cast long shadows across the room, creating an atmosphere of unease.
'...I don't like this,' he thought with a frown, 'The fight between the Ravens and the Enforcers could start at any minute, and if I miss my chance to join before that, then it will be very difficult for me to build a reputation quickly.'
Seren pondered the risks, his mind wandering through potential outcomes. If he joined during the war, they would likely put him in a disposable position, and there, he would sooner or later get himself killed. This would make it very tricky for Seren to present himself in a good light to his superiors.
As he lay there in contemplative silence, Seren turned his head to the side. His eyes fell on the large mirror he had brought with him, lying beside him on the bed.
'It's a good thing she didn't put up much resistance,' he thought, with fatigue. 'It would have turned into a long night if I had to use this mirror.'
Reflecting on Mila's strange request to be her boyfriend. The room seemed to grow colder as he mulled over the situation. 'She started acting strange after I reprimanded her. Looking at her behavior, she likely has a fetish for this kind of thing,' he concluded. 'Well, it doesn't matter. The important point is she won't report me to the Ravens since I pretended to be an Enforcer. She likely can tell if she does, then the Enforcers will come after her.'
A small smile of relief crossed his face. 'By agreeing to be her boyfriend, at least she will have an incentive to help me to the best of her abilities till I join the Ravens. Hopefully, the war doesn’t start by then…’
After pondering over the situation for a while, he decided there was no point in dwelling on it, turning his focus to the next day's agenda.
'Tomorrow I have to execute my plan with Elise,' he reminded himself with a sigh, weariness evident in his expression. 'It's likely going to take the whole day.'
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