Whenever Gods congregate, a devil is sure to be born.
Cape Town, South Africa.
A warship, bearing the words “El Verdugo,” was anchored on a solitary dock with no other ships or boats in sight. Near the ship was a group dressed in tactical clothing, headed by a middle-aged man.
“To a father, there’s nothing more glorious than meeting his children after a long time.”
A smirk crawled on the man’s, Gustav Fernandez, face as he looked down on the soldiers kneeling before him.
“Even if he plans to lead them into hell.”
His tanned skin glistened under the rays of the hot summer sun as the sea breeze moved his tall gray hair into his face. He moved the hair away while the soldiers’ faces reflected in his shades.
“Now, a question to my troops. Are you all willing to go to hell for me?”
“Do you even need to ask, Gus?”
The female soldier at the front stood up. She pulled her tiger-fangs-themed mask under her chin and grinned.
“You rescued us from war zones as children, fed us, clothed us, and made sure we were given the best education possible. The lives we’ve lived, the families we’ve built, everything we have, we owe it all to you.”
She placed her hand over her heart.
“You are our lord, our king, our father. Our lives are yours.”
The soldiers behind her stood in unison.
“Hail the General!”
“Hail the General!”
Gustav took off his shades. His emerald green eyes were watery as he wiped them with his fingers.
“Looks like I didn’t waste my time picking up random brats all these years.”
He burst out laughing while the soldiers wore grins behind their masks.
“I thought you’d all learn some common sense after being away from me, but it looks like I polluted your brains too much.”
“You certainly polluted our lungs with all that smoking you used to do around us.”
The soldiers laughed.
Gustav pointed at the female soldier.
“Roxanne, I’ll appreciate it if you didn’t dirty my good name.”
He took a seat on the railing of the pier. He lifted a communicator in front of them.
“Anyway, I declared a Code Black and called you all here for one purpose.”
He coughed awkwardly while looking away.
“My daughter Melissa is getting married.”
“Oh, congratulations.”
The soldiers started clapping.
“Thank you, thank you.”
Gustav stood there as they clapped, even when the applause ended he did nothing but look at them.
“And?”
Roxanne spoke with wrinkled brows.
“And?”
Gustav repeated what she said back at her with confusion in his voice.
“And what else?”
Roxanne asked again.
“What do you mean, what else? That’s what I wanted to say.”
“…Huh? You’re kidding, right? You didn’t call us for any other reason?”
“Nope.”
“…….”
The soldiers looked at each other puzzled. Soon, a fire started burning in their eyes.
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“Don’t fuck with me, you senile old man!”
Roxanne was the first to roar.
“I broke up with my girlfriend to be here!”
“I had to quit my job! I just got a promotion!”
“I sold my car to get a ticket for the fastest plane here!”
“Oh my god! I dropped out of my dream college!”
The soldiers cried out one after the other.
“Why would you guys do all that?”
Yet, Gustav only looked at them with bewilderment.
Roxanne walked up to him and pulled him by the collar.
“You declared a Code Black. A Code Black normally means to prepare for a battle to the death. Its protocol for us to cut all ties so it will be easier for your organization to make us disappear in case we die. This is all so our deaths won’t be traced back to you. And yet…”
She lifted Gustav and slammed him on the ground.
“You used it to gather us here just to tell us that your daughter is getting married!”
She put him in a headlock.
“Drop dead, Old man!”
“Ow ow ow! Didn’t you all just call me your king?! This is mutiny! Ahh, I’m starting to get lightheaded! Raphael, save me!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
A dark-skinned man with black curly hair walked onto the pier, also dressed in tactical clothing.
“Calm down, everyone.”
He touched Roxanne’s shoulder.
“You’re gonna kill the old man.”
“He deserves death after what he did.”
Roxanne increased the pressure on Gustav’s neck while the rest of the soldiers cheered.
“If you wait a few months, you’ll get your wish.”
Roxanne paused to look at Raphael before releasing Gustav and standing up.
“What do you mean?”
Raphael pointed at the heavily breathing Gustav on the ground.
“He’s dying from a terminal illness. According to his doctors, he won’t live past 3 months, even if he’s lucky.”
The soldiers looked at each other in confusion as the blood drained from their faces.
“How can this be?”
This included Roxanne.
“Apparently, this bastard has been hiding the fact he was exposed to deadly chemicals in that incident in Istanbul.”
“You mean the one when we help eradicate that terrorist group who tried to overthrow the Turkish government? Or the one where Gustav was kidnapped by those Romanians who hid him in the Basilica Cistern?”
“The latter.”
Raphael kicked Gustav.
“This idiot didn’t tell us the cistern was filled with poisonous water when he was down there. We came in after he escaped and was having a shoot-out in the middle of the street.”
Roxanne kicked him too. The other soldier walked over and started kicking him too.
“Hey, hey! Didn’t you hear?! I’m sick! You’re bullying a dying old man!”
The soldiers ignored him as Raphael and Roxanne continued their conversation.
“The reason we’re gathered is to find a way to cure the illness.”
Raphael said.
“So are you the one who called a Code Black? This guy doesn’t care about living that much, so I don’t see him calling us for help.”
“No, he really called a Code Black to tell you about Melissa’s engagement. He wanted us to kidnap her fiancé and test if he’s worthy of her.”
“This freaking geezer…”
Roxanne gritted her teeth ready to kick Gustav again.
“I allowed him to do it because there’s a different mission we all need to risk our lives for.”
Roxanne halted her kick.
“What is it?”
“We need to find a cure for Melissa who was also kidnapped with him in Istanbul and was exposed to the poisonous waters.”
All the soldiers stopped kicking Gustav and allowed him to get up. He dusted off himself and spoke.
“When Melissa and I got back from Istanbul, I had all my best doctors run every test imaginable on her. They didn’t find anything but it looks like we got exposed to a slowly acting toxic substance. I always made sure to invest millions in her health, so that’s why she isn’t sick now, but according to my doctor she won’t live more than 5 years after I’m gone.”
Gustav clenched his fists.
“I can’t allow that! My Melissa deserves to grow old and play with her grandchildren! She shouldn’t die before reaching her 30s! I don’t care about my life, but she must continue to live on!”
All soldiers wore solemn expressions. Roxanne patted his shoulder.
“We all feel the same way, Father. Melissa is a sister to us all. Just tell us how and we’ll give our lives to make sure she gets to play with her great-grandchildren.”
Gustav looked at his children with a warm smile and nodded before tapping his watch. It projected a hologram of a news report.
“Breaking news! Reports are coming from all over the world that an island the size of New York suddenly emerged from the Pacific Ocean! It was picked up by various state own satellites and many countries are preparing to send their personnel to investigate.”
He swiped to the right and a different footage started playing.
“The United Nations have declared the mysterious island that appeared in the Pacific Ocean 3 years ago off limits to all countries. This comes after thousands of soldiers and drones have entered the island to never be heard from again. A strange fog surrounding the island also prevents satellite images from investigating the island thoroughly. Since the danger levels are too high, the island will remain closed off from the world.”
The video stopped.
“Wait, don’t tell me you want us to go to Gehenna?”
Gustav nodded at Roxanne.
“Fuck. You’re really sending us to literal hell.”
“I asked you guys in the beginning. No takebacks.”
Gustav smiled. A soldier lifted his hand and stepped forward. He was an Asian man with his hair groomed in a ponytail.
“Yes, Chul.”
“Why are you certain that Gehenna has a cure? While I have no problem dying for you or Melissa, I have a problem with my death being meaningless.”
“Good question.”
Gustav grinned.
“Alright, Chul. Shoot me.”
“Ok.”
Chul took out a gun and shot Gustav in the head. His head was flung back with blood spraying. Everyone looked at Chul in shock.
“What? I thought he wanted me to put him out of his misery. It’s an honour to put a bullet in his head.”
“Damn, no hesitation huh?”
Gustav brought his head back to the front. He smiled with a hole in his head.
“Just like I thought.”
“Ahh, zombie!”
Raphael stopped Roxanne from drawing her gun. The skin on Gustav’s face started regenerating. The bullet in his head was forced out by muscle tissue and fell to the ground.
“No way.”
Gustav burst out laughing at their shocked expressions.
“Did none of you stop to think how a terminally ill person can be so energetic and show no signs of weakening?!”
“Well, it’s you, so no. I mean, I’m sure your corpse would dance at your own funeral.”
The soldiers nodded in agreement to Chul.
“With his negligence of physical health, Gustav should’ve died years ago when he got poisoned. The only reason he’s alive is because he ate something he shouldn’t have.”
“….What?”
Gustav showed a peace sign with the biggest grin.
“I paid 20 million for a strange fish that was caught off the coast of Gehenna
and ate it! After that, I somehow evolved into a superhuman!”