It was the night of August 28th.
After leaving the Carissa Residences, I immediately looked for the gangsters, fraternities, and syndicates that are stationed closer to our neighborhood. And since I got the informations from the guy I stripped naked in a park's public toilet, I thought at that time, why not start and practice the new cultivation method with those guys.
For this reason, I first invaded one of the gathering place of that gang. There, I found that they sell drugs, and also forces woman in selling their bodies. They apparently own a small bar where the customers there could bed any women they like as long as they pay an appropriate amount of money. From what I found out, most women there came from the countryside who came here in the capital to try their lucks. Unfortunately they got scammed and their innocence was used against them. In the end, they were forced to become prostitutes and was forced to be playthings of men.
Of course, some of them tried to escape. But those women had suffered a miserable ends, so those who were left behind gritted their teeth and silently waited for a miracle. That's when I arrived and made their dreams come true. After that, all members of the gang was taken by me, and was used to become my test subjects.
Since I have numerous lab rats I could use, I didn't hesitate and did many tests to satisfy my curiosity.
First, I tried the power of Greed and started reading their memories.
I started reading a couple hours of their memories, and even though some of them became crazy, or broke because I was inexperienced, after a couple more tries I managed to read their memories without breaking their minds. After that first breakthrough, everything went more easier. From a couple hours, I managed to read an entire day worth of memories, as I continued practicing, by the end of the testing, I could finally read a little bit more than ten days worth of memories. My improvements didn't just go from that. Because of my strengthened mental capacity, the way I used Greed became more easy the more I tried. And the more I tried the faster my processing became. But those aren't what triggered me.
It was because of the memories of the few of them, which involves a little girl I met before I left my house, it was about Jenny.
The way I read minds is kinda weird and really vague. So even though I found Jenny in some of their memories, I don't know what they were really planning. I had some vague informations, but I thought it would be better to get informations through their mouths. After a couple hours of torture, those people gave in and told me what they know. They even gave names that I need to know about.
Of course I didn't believe them completely, and searched their memories again with the clues of the names given. With names as clues, I searched their memories and got more informations. After a couple questions, answers, and scanning their memories--- the cycle halted because their minds got fried and some of them ended dead.
Since I got the informations I want, I then continued my experiment.
The second experiment is to test the power of Gluttony.
I had a thought that kept bugging me after I received my new cultivation. Specially after learning this Gluttony.
What would happen if I take someone's blood and life essence while they're alive? Would the results differ compared on taking their essences when they're dead? The differences of the essences of the dead and alive, I wanted to see the results.
From the informations I got, this cultivation method didn't include some of the important aspects. For example, the power of Gluttony states that one could become strong by absorbing other people's essences, but it never mentioned if the target needed to be alive or just dead. So, I wanted to try if there are differences. While at it, I wanted to know if their state of mind affects the quality and quantity of the essences in their bodies.
After a while, the tests ended, and I was fascinated by the results.
I found out that if I wanted more and higher quality essences, I need my targets to be alive while taking it. If my targets are dead, I would still be able to absorb their essences, but the quality and its quantity are way too low compared on taking it while they're alive.
As for the state of their minds, the topic was very inconclusive. There are times it will, and there are times, it wont. So in the end, I concluded that, it might not really matter if they're crazy or not, as long as I absorb the target's essences while they're alive, the results should still be amazing.
After that, I tested a lot more things, and when the sunrise was about come, the whole place where I tortured the gang already had the image of hell. Bloods are everywhere, walls, the floor, and even some of it reached the ceiling. Some parts of their bodies are gone, some of them have numerous holes in their bodies, while others wouldn't be considered human anymore. Looking at that place was really disturbing.
-------
Even I, the reason for all of that, found the whole place really disgusting.
To be fair, even though I don't pity them or even feel slightly bit remorseful, the feeling of cutting their bodies apart was really disturbing. That might sound hypocritical coming from the one who killed them, but one has to know that just a month ago, I was just a normal person. And like any normal person, I can also feel disgust. Its like seeing thousands of thousands of insects compressing each other and coming near me, then squashing them using my own hands. The sounds of their bodies as they get squashed, the feeling of their bodies in my hands, and their very appearance--- yes, very disgusting.
Actually before I took this cultivation method, the Devil's Seven Armament, I was hesitating if I really need to resort to killing people just to become stronger. After all, even though I already discovered that I don't feel anything when I kill, that doesn't mean I wanted kill anyone.
For the record, before I begun this hunt, the number of people I killed only numbered at least a dozen. And most of them died because of me smashing their heads with metal pipes, or me using guns to end their lives. I never touched any of them, and they died far away from me, so the feeling of disgust was not that strong. Of course, there was a case where I punched a guy to death, but at that time my mind was busy thinking of how to survive. With adrenaline pumping and circulating in my body at those time, the sense of panic and urgency--- I didn't have time to care for the people I killed. And I didn't have time to inspect any of them.
But, using this new cultivation method, the Devil's Seven Armament, I would need to kill people close and sometimes slow. So if I wanted to become a proper devil, I would need to get used to killing people like it was normal. I must treat every human or living being around me as nothing but medicines, or some tools that could make me stronger--- and this, is what made me hesitate of buying this cultivation method.
I'm already broken, and even though its not obvious for me and the people around me, I could feel that there's something wrong with how my mentality works. Not feeling anything when killing people, sometimes going overboard and not feeling any guilt about that, and now I must treat everyone like tools?
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Wouldn't I become a monster?
However, at that time when I was inside of a dark and comfortable place, the voice of a man that I find really familiar, spoke to me and addressed all of that.
"Hesitating is the privilege of the strong. And those who are weak can only work hard, grit their teeth and walk forward."
The voice said I'm not one of the strong, so I should do everything to become stronger.
"If you need to kill to become stronger, then do it. As long as your conscience is clear, then its fine."
I was really baffled at that time, how can a person have a clear conscience when they kill people? The voice answered that question even though I didn't state it.
"Then, just don't think of them as people." the voice laughed amused of himself. "Killing people and taking their everything is the way of devils to become strong. But, is that bad? If you read different literatures, you would see that devils punishes the sinners. In a different perspective, devils are nothing but warden and guards of hell. Are they bad? Does killing someone who has raped and killed dozen of people, be considered bad? Would that person still be a person? With that kind of sin, isn't he just a beast in human's clothing? So what's wrong with killing him and taking his everything?"
When I heard that, I was enlightened and thought the voice was right.
"If you're worried of becoming a monster," the voice laughed and continued. "You can calm down, because It wont happen. At least right now, I'm sure it wont."
Since I was in that dark and comfortable place, I couldn't speak or say anything. So even though I was curious what he meant by that, I couldn't. However, after getting out of that place, and finally had a time to think clearly, I immediately found the answer quickly. And it was more simpler than I thought.
Realizing that, I smiled and decided to become a devil.
*******
2:23 AM, August 30, Friday,
While Gabriel is torturing the seven gangsters/human traffickers in a condominium, the old guard is waiting at the backdoor of the Carissa Residences. He received a call from Reyna that she and her cousin, Agnes, are coming back and they needed to open the underground floor. So, Reyna said that he, the old guard, must stay on watch until they arrived.
Hearing the underground floor, the old guard immediately understood what she wanted to say and automatically agreed. Even though he felt conflicted, deep down, after seeing what happens in the underground floor for a couple of times, the old guard is already numb.
It didn't take long for a white van to arrive at the back of the Carissa Residences' building. After it stopped, the old guard saw Reyna and Agnes got out with a relaxed expressions. Looking around, Reyna shifted her gaze to Agnes and asked her using her eyes. Understanding it, Agnes smiled and answered leisurely.
"No one's looking." She said. "It should be fine. Most of them are already sleeping."
Reyna then nodded and walked towards the door of the van.
"Actually, beside the three of us, there's also Mrs. Sanchez and her hubby." Agnes smirked. "And they're having a wild battle on their bed right now."
Reyna didn't bother speaking and acted like she didn't hear her. Instead, she calmly opened the door and tossed out six almost naked men with bruises and injuries all over their bodies. After that, she looked at the guard and asked him to help them carry two of them. The old guard calmly looked at the six men and nodded his head.
The door leading to the underground floor can be found in the same room as the guard room. So except for the guards, no one would know the existence of the underground floor. And all guards would also have a confidentiality agreement about all of this. Well, even if the guards didn't sign any contract, as long as they're smart enough, they would easily know that speaking these things to others would most likely end their lives.
There are two floors underground, one that has many rooms that could become a luxurious place to live in, and the other is a place where the captives are being imprison. That floor is also where the torture and other really disturbing stuffs happens. The latter was where they bought the six men.
After they're done, they leisurely got out while having some small talk. And the old guard is quietly following the two women while staying silent most of the time. As the conversation between the two happen, the old guard couldn't help but frown in confusion.
"We sealed everything, right?" Agnes asked.
Reyna silently nodded.
"Right now, their bodies are on the same level as normal humans." She said without changing her expressions. "Actually, they're even weaker than any normal toddler..."
"So it shouldn't be a problem, right?"
Agnes finished her sentence, and Reyna could only nod.
After they got out of the underground floor, Reyna's phone suddenly rang and all of them looked at her. Reyna didn't bother at the others though, and just calmly looked at the caller. The moment she saw the name, her emotionless face twitched a little and her eyebrow frowned.
"Who is it?" Agnes curiously asked.
Reyna stayed quiet for a couple seconds before sighing with irritation.
"It's my dad."
"He still have your number?" Agnes frowned as well. "I thought you cut off your relation with that guy?"
Reyna silently looked at Agnes, then silently sighed. Seeing this, Agnes rolled her eyes for Reyna's stupidity.
"Wait a sec." She said, then walked a little bit away from the two and answered the phone.
Agnes didn't bother with Reyna and walked to the old guard. She then asked if Gabriel is here, and if something happened these past couple days. The old guard answered all her questions, and didn't hide anything. However, as he was telling all of these, the old guard felt a little weird. After all, from what he remembers, Agnes should have known some of these already.
After their date, the old guard clearly remembers that Agnes came back and greeted him. They even talked a little before saying goodbye. Before Agnes walked away though, she turned and asked the old guard to inform her when Gabriel arrived. Since the old guard is already aware of their relationship, the old guard just smiled and said Agnes shouldn't worry.
"... you don't know?" the old guard frowned while looking at Agnes.
"No?" Agnes answered confusedly. "I've been away for almost seven days, and I couldn't really contact Gabriel. So... yeah."
Hearing that, the old guard smiled bitterly.
Did he mistake the reality with the glitches again, he thought. As he was using the glitches as an excuse, he suddenly shuddered as he remembers that something's wrong. He clearly remember that, there was some furnitures and appliances that got delivered the next day Gabriel and Agnes had a date. And from the way Gabriel spoke about it, the old guard is sure that the furnitures and appliances are now in Gabriel's apartment. That means, it was not a glitch, it really happened. And someone received those deliveries.
Then, who received those deliveries?
As the two are talking, Reyna came back with a slight frown on her beautiful face.
Seeing this, Agnes smiled and asked what happened. Even though Agnes can use her senses and her spiritual sense to know if she wanted to, she couldn't do that as it would be rude. Of course, Agnes probably wouldn't care most of the times, but once the topics are sensitive, she at least knows how to give people their own privacies.
"... Something happened with some businesses." Reyna calmly answered.
"Which one?" Agnes smiled even more. "The drug dealings, human traffickings, kidnappings, or about their weapon dealings with some countries or terrorists? That guy is quite capable after all."
Reyna frowned even more after hearing Agnes' sarcastic remark.
"... Doesn't matter." Reyna said with flat and emotionless voice. "I'll be back, clean the apartment for me."
After she said that, Reyna silently walked towards the white van without explaining anything to the frowning Agnes. She didn't even bother to stop or listen to Agnes' shouting voice as she immediately drove away.
As for the old guard, Agnes asked him a few questions before finally saying goodnight and leaving. The old guard said that he wanted to go home and rest, and Agnes stopped him because its already late. But the old guard just smiled and said it was fine. Agnes was worried, but since the old guard said so, she agreed and silently went to Gabriel's apartment. She's planning on staying there.
Alone, the old guard slowly walked in the darkness of the night as he slowly felt that something "is happening". And this "happening" can be describe in a past, present, and future tense. Which is weird.
Unknowingly, the old guard stopped and his eyes started to blur, the look in his eyes changed.
Looking in the sky, with a smile that's refreshing and beautiful to see, the old guard with an expression different from his normal self quietly murmured.
"What are you people gonna do now?"
No one answered.
"We all know prophecy isn't possible." the old guard shook his head slightly. "So stop blaming a prophecy just because you people are lazy to think."
Beside for the howling winds, the world feels eerily silent.
"Besides, can't you see.."
As the old guard sigh, a few cracks in space appeared and the whole world twisted like it was a TV with bad signal. Glitches appeared, and the world started to become complicated. But even so, the old guard stood firmly and watched it until everything slowly became normal again.
"The fabric of reality is changing."
Smiling bitterly, the old guard shook his head and mumbled with small words.
"... And it all started with a missing young girl."