“That’s what it said,” Lars admitted. “It said that while I was thinking about what to say. My intentions were to recount the incident with Victoria, while refraining from mentioning the voice; but it then suggested that. It didn’t force me to reveal it… so I’m confident it was leading me towards something. Probably beneficial for my purposes, as well as its purposes.”

Siegfried fell into deep contemplation, brooding over his thoughts in silence as he hunched over his plate, absentmindedly picking at various pieces of meat and starchy foods. It was as if the continued movement of his hands which laboriously placed food into his mouth were a separate entity from him.

As his expression grew more complicated, resembling a mathematician struggling to solve a highly complicated equation, his hands accelerated in kind; it was like a dog uncontrollably wagging its tail. With his jaw unhinging next, he seemed to forget about all of it as he grabbed hold of large chunks of indiscriminate food-substance and shovelled them in; it was no longer possible to tell what was mashed into it.

The last of the plate was quickly finished. If he were to participate in one of those challenges restaurants sometimes hold, where you were given a large platter of food to eat within a certain time limit, Siegfried would undoubtedly set a record.

It was a miracle that the man remained relatively slim; whatever he did usually, it seemed to burn the same amount of calories somehow. Was this the extent of his abnormalities drawback? Lars found himself wondering how this could only be part of the negative side effects—as he had been told these dietary requirements weren’t the entirety of it.

Siegfried then stood up and said nothing about the turmoil of thoughts he had gone through. He didn’t even spare a grumble or express some of the hardship related, but instead alighted from the kitchen the moment that his plate became empty.

Lars wasn’t particularly bothered about continuing their discussion right this moment, but he still had a concern not yet dealt with. He hurriedly asked, “Hey, what about her…?!”

His chef was standing on the side passively. She wasn’t speaking, only looking around idly; it was as if her mental faculties were severely affected in some way. This was evidently something Siegfried had induced considering how the two of them were speaking so naturally before Lars was noticed.

Siegfried looked back, dismissively waving with a flick of his wrist, “She’ll be fine in a few minutes. Sooner, actually.”

Lars scoffed as he watched the ‘hunter’ depart. Siegfried was difficult to deal with, this man being incredibly anti-social and uncooperative. It was unknown where he would go next, his actions proving to be unpredictable, especially after this incident in the kitchen. However, these weren’t too great an issue.

The experiment had been successful. In his conversation with Siegfried, a lot was accomplished and Lars learnt many things about the weird side of the world. While normally, it was challenging enough to have small talk with him, this time, Lars managed to convince Siegfried to tell him extensive information about himself and other sensitive topics. This was possible entirely because of seduction.

Its use isn’t limited to inciting feelings of lust and affection… Anyone can be affected by it, creating affability in normal conversation. Siegfried would have never told me so much otherwise. Lars was satisfied by the results. He wasn’t too sure about it first, but it proved to be extraordinarily useful. It was likely to help him massively in the future, when he would have to deal with Siegfried again, or in interactions with others.

With his original reason for coming here complete, Lars was about to leave the kitchen too; but before he could, someone exclaimed, “Mr. Wold? What are you doing here?”

Mr. Wold? Lars turned, finding that his chef had regained clarity. ‘Wold’ was his last name and it seemed to be the case here.

The chef had a blank expression on her face, clearly dazed and confused, probably forgetful of Siegfried’s visit. Her eyes wandered to the plate near Lars. Although it had been heavily devoured, remnants remained which painted a picture of what was.

“Were you…?” The chef paused, not saying it outright, but obviously asking if this plate belonged to Lars.

Lars froze, “Uh… No—.”

The chef’s expression looked complicated, seeing an unexpected side of her employer.

“Please, do tell me if I need to increase the portions, Mr. Wold.”

“You don’t… need…” Lars struggled between denying and explaining. But what could he say?

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Lars responded simply, deciding not to bury himself into a coffin, and so he got up from his seat and left the kitchen. He hoped inwardly that his plate wouldn’t be filled too excessively in his future meals.

In the next morning, Lars had risen once again at an early hour to enter his office doors, waiting inside for his assistant, Leonard, who should be arriving soon. He had slowly grown accustomed to this place, as he should, since it was his own space even before he arrived, and found himself comfortable in its confines. The chair behind his desk finally fit him rightly.

He soon heard a couple knocks on his door, before it opened without needing him to get up and invite the guest. Leonard walked in and asked impatiently, “I heard there was the news?”

Lars nodded and beckoned him forth, “The voice spoke again.”

“What was it this time—a few words?” Leonard asked, sitting across and subtly glancing at the leather-bound notebook on the desk.

“I wrote down what was memorable, sustaining the key points.”

“So it was more this time? Otherwise, you wouldn’t need to keep it in writing.”

Lars didn’t reply, choosing to show off the new entry in his notebook, with the sentences spread out. He introduced the ideas already drawn out; which, naturally, mentioned his new abnormality and the power of seduction gained from Victoria.

“You’ve developed an abnormality…” Leonard muttered, bewildered.

“You know what it is?”

Lars was surprised. Leonard said it very casually, a lot like how the ‘hunter’, Siegfried, had.

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“I do… but it’s more surprising that you do.”

“I had a chance to talk with Siegfried,” Lars introduced. “He told me about a few things, around the existence of abnormalities—how living creatures can acquire them after experiencing various forms of corruption. Also, I confirmed the efficacy of seduction.”

Leonard froze, tilting his head slightly as if he had heard something strange.

“What?” Lars asked.

Leonard asked in astonishment, “You tested out the seduction?”

“Yes,” Lars said simply.

“This was done on Siegfried?”

“Yes?”

“Really…?”

Lars stopped moving his mouth for a moment, considering why this was so hard to believe. He made the connection a moment later, exclaiming, “Not like that, you dumbass! Its use is more than seducing, it lets you build rapport and affability with another person. You can use it to make someone have a greater impression of you—so they are more likely to do things or ask questions.”

“Oh…” Leonard sighed. “Right! Well… If you do test that area, then, you should make sure to keep it to Vanessa alone. You can’t let it get to your head, forgetting the importance of consent.”

What does he take me for…? Lars thought, aghast. That was something that went without saying.

Lars cleared his throat, “Right… Let’s get back to the voice’s murmurings. Can you see anything I’ve missed, from what I’ve interpreted already?”

Leonard mulled over the contents of the page. He didn’t rush to say anything, taking into consideration everything he had heard so far and what further meanings could be established, before he asked, “Do you know how you stole Victoria’s power?”

Lars answered, “No, not yet.”

“It’s a guess but…” Leonard scrutinised the statements, “I think it’s telling you the condition to taking an abnormality in this: ‘Kill without remorse; eat among humans; befriend, betray; It is your discretion’.”

Lars listened and tried to find the connection. He knew this referred to his own killings in wartime, but mostly talked about Troels, Jensen, and Victoria; although he refrained from mentioning the first two in front of Leonard. It seemed to support treating people as pawns; choosing to be friends or enemies at a whim, killing if he saw it necessary. Where did it imply a condition for his abnormality?

He asked without putting on any airs, “Can you explain?”

Leonard nodded, explained his reasoning, “We know that you’ve taken Victoria’s ability. You experienced it yourself, shortly before killing her. It seems that Carl was also under its influence. But what sets her apart from anyone else so far is that you killed her. The voice made mention of killing here, seemingly randomly. But it might be referring to the method of acquiring powers.”

Lars brooded on this line of logic, adding, “Then… It’s saying there’s two conditions? I have to kill them, or befriend them; and the choice that I make is at my discretion?”

“That’s what I thought,” Leonard agreed. “Although I don’t know to what extent ‘befriend’ is fulfilled. Sadly, I don’t have an abnormality in this sense, so we can’t test it on me. Have you recognised anyone who might have an abnormality?”

“Siegfried has one.”

“Right, that’s fairly obvious. He most likely would have one. But becoming his friend is…”

Lars shook his head, clarifying, “No, I know he has one. I got him to tell me about it.”

“You did?” Leonard’s eyes widened, surprised that Lars could accomplish that. He never took Siegfried as the type of person to show off his abilities, let alone an abnormality; which is when he realised: “Was it during your use of seduction?”

“It was,” Lars said. “He called it, or someone else called it, anyway… Abyss walker. It relates to an abyss apparently… which he indirectly said gives him some demon-affiliated powers.”

“The abyss…” Leonard exclaimed, in deep thought and astonishment.

“Do you know about it?”

“Very little.” Leonard told Lars what he knew. “It’s where the demons come from, their birthplace. Humans can’t go there… so, to walk among the abyss—it must be a metaphor. But no wonder he seems strong, if he’s with an abnormality like that.”

“I got to see a little bit of it by chance.”

“You did…?!”

“Mhm, it was mostly the drawback. He was engorging himself on a massive plate of food. His eyes were crazed and his jaw was greatly unhinged—beyond reason. When he tried to appear threatening, his nails looked as if they were lengthening, becoming claws.”

“Wow… It might have a more literal meaning than I thought, then…” Leonard sighed in exasperation. “Befriending is difficult enough, but killing isn’t impossible. He’s an ally for now too—so not a target we want to make an enemy out of. He has affiliation with the government… which should have us a little more safe… although, only a little.”

Lars agreed, wrapping up the discussion around Siegfried. He then moved onto the next topic, something he wanted Leonard to do for him. “I had an encounter while the voice talked to me. A maidservant of mine, who looked in her mid-twenties, mature countenance, black hair, tried coming onto me while under seduction. Not out of my own will, so you know. Can you investigate the long term effects of seduction through her?”

Leonard nodded, “Sure. I will look into it.”

“Thank you. Alright, then…” Lars paused. “What do you think of this? ‘Unseen by those who see everything’.”

Leonard paused, a troubled look on his face, “That… is what confuses me the most. It’s probably very important, too. As for ideas…”