Chapter 12
The Mass Murder at Dionaea Salon and Spa 7
-:-
The Two Days
Main Ecclesiarchy Cathedral in Vermilion City
Theo often attended mass during Sundays.
While he wasn’t much of a devote, his parents, namely his mother, was a solid believer of god.
The habit she has strictly enforced since Theo’s childhood was hard to resist.
Theo himself understood that there was no way he was going to paradise after his death.
The sins he has done and the sins that he was about to do made sure of that.
His short term goal was to kill the Priestess of Cain. It was the least he could do for those who died in the Black Bible incident.
However, he wasn’t going to rush towards that goal.
He understood more than anyone that he was weak and inexperienced.
He needed to take his time and improve himself before he could confidently break into prison, kill the Priestess and escape without repercussions.
Baby steps
As to the reason why he was attending mass, it was out of habit and to meet Juno.
It was an indisputable fact that Juno’s help saved Theo months of searching for a target. Not to mention hundreds of hours scouting espionage, researching building schematics, security detail, etc.
Juno gave Theo everything that he needed to know about Dionaea Salon and Spa.
And now, he has to pay her back
After attending mass, he went to a café 2 blocks away from the Ecclesiarchy Cathedral.
Waiting for him there was Juno and another one.
“Theo, this is Lily Cafin, a member of the school newspaper. I kind of owe her a favor, so… yeah ” said Juno with a resigned smile.
“Yup! Nice to meet ya Theodore Lorne. Lily Cafin, ace reporter!” said Lily as she forcefuly shook Theo’s hands
Theo could only sigh in response.
He knew who Lily Cafin was.
She was your stereotypical reporter that would do anything for a scoop.
Naturally, she has gotten in loads of trouble because of that.
Personally, Theo wanted nothing to do with her.
He has a fair bit of skeletons in his closet after all.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
However, Juno’s payment for helping Theo was to do an interview with Lily because Juno owed the annoying girl a favor of her own.
“*sigh*…. Let’s just get on with it, okay?” said Theo as took a seat.
Juno sat beside him as if it was natural
“Oh~. What’s this? Are you two dating?” asked Lily
“I’m currently seducing him. Thanks for asking” replied Juno before Theo could get a word in.
“OMG! For realz?! One of the prettiest girl in the school is chasing a guy?! Awesome!”
“Fufufu. It’s a tough castle to breach but his walls will fall after a sustained offensive!”
“HAHAHA! Awesome! Please tell me more!”
Lily and Juno began gossiping like the girls that they were, leaving Theo with nothing to do.
This actually worked in his favor.
Rather than the annoying press digging through his shit, having her focus on the non-existent love between him and Juno was ideal.
For the next 10 minutes, the girls did their thing while Theo went over the floor plans of Dionaea Salon and Spa.
Seeing how complete his information was, he decided that he would make a move on his target ASAP.
Theo ironed out some details of his plan.
What weapons to bring
Where to position the drones
Which entrance to take
Which escape route to use
Which superhero may appear during the operation time.
Theo knew that no matter how much he prepares, things never go according to plan.
The only thing he could do was make large amounts of contingency plans and hope that it was enough to cover all his bases.
“Hey lover boy! Why are you so silent? This is your interview you know? Let’s hear what you have to say!” said Lily
“Anything I say at this point is largely irrelevant. Love affairs are much more interesting than serious stories right?” replied Theo
“Hahahaha. True enough. But I still need to get some words out of you. The media has been fairly frustrated on how illusive you are.”
True enough, Theo has done his best to avoid the spotlight.
“*sigh*… fine. Ask you worthless questions” said Theo
“You don’t like the media very much.” Said Lily
“You cant deny that your kind is annoying as hell, right?” replied Theo
“Touche. Since that’s the case, I’ll ask you only one question. After the Black Bible Incident, you instantly became qualified for the Hero Course. Yet despite that, you refused the opportunity that many would kill for. My question is this: ‘Why and what’s next?’”
Theo reflected for a few seconds
“Hmm… The answer is relatively simple and boring. It’s PTSD and all of the nasty side effects its brings. Every night I watch children popping like tomatoes underneath the falling ruble. I hear the screams of good people being tortured by the Black Bible. Every morning, I wake up feeling like shit for not saving them. So yeah… Until I get past the daily nightmares, I’m not risking a career in the superhero business.”
“Hmm… You’re right. It is simple and boring, but also very reasonable. Superheroes with such mental problems often do something really stupid down the line.” Said Lily as she nodded in agreement.
Theo’s statement wasn’t exactly lie.
Theo truly believed that the constant nightmares made him mentally unfit as a superhero.
The only lie about it was his implication that he had any intention of becoming a superhero.
He has long outgrown the idiotic notion of using the superheroes’ path of making the world a better place.
Sometimes the world needs to have its arms twisted to get it into the right path.
How he’ll do that was still up in the air.
“Are you satisfied with my answer?” asked Theo
“Yup. Since I’m the first and only one to get an interview with you, I can say I’m very satisfied. A bit of typing, a bit of drama and a bit of flowery words will make my article a sure fire hit!”
“Don’t make shit articles okay? I already have enough shit to deal with”
“You wound me! Have I ever made articles that have caused harm in my entire school newspaper career?”
“”Yes”” said Theo and Juno in unison.
“Ugh!”
Lily was well known in the HAA for the wrong reasons.
A few of her articles in the past were very damming, to the point that 3 teachers and 5 students left the school.
If Theo had a choice, he would have spent his entire highschool life without talking to Lily.
“Hahaha! Don’t worry! I’m not a scum that would write a shit piece of someone who’s suffering PSTD.” Said Lily
Lily paid his bills, stood up and slapped Theo a couple of times on the shoulder before heading to the exit.
“Oh! Before you go, can I ask you something?” said Theo
“Sure.” Replied Lily
“Juno owed you one, right? What’s the favor she asked of you?”
“The favor? It was to find any information about a young man named Theodore Lorne” said Lily before exiting the café.
Theo threw a sharp glare at Juno
When their gaze met, Juno responded with…
“~Teehee Pero~”