Chapter 44: Thirteen
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A/N: Ayo!! Sup yall?
^♡^
T/W: mentions of blood. And a possible.... ... .. possession?¿
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The cloaked figure descended the rail of stairs. Footsteps, neither heavy nor light but cautious and careful at the same time.
The dark hood covered half of the figure's face, leaving only the lips and chin to be seen. The raven tufts of the robe, slithered unambiguously on the floor, serving its sole intention of hiding away its wearer.
Although, shielded by the dark fabric, the figure huddled within it, could be found visibly grimacing on the first hear of the tune that danced in air, like a cursed rhythm full of irony.
Teeth in a grit, the figure pushed open the door, the hinges creaking as it did and the cloaked figure stepped in, the stench of blood and metal oozing into the enclosure.
The hums grew louder and the chains hung over the poles, clinked against each other to resemble a haunting chime drifting down a cursed mountain, ominously. The source of light was scarce and to top it off, they all flickered from a damaged fuse. The golden-orange haze emitting from them, moved dazedly in an unordered manner as if being split into thousand pieces all at once. The moths drawn to the brightness, buzzed and slammed themselves against the blazing hotness of the bulbs, where few had already either fallen or burned themselves to their deaths on the impact.
The cloaked figure cast a pair of gloomy eyes onto the visible hunched spine, hidden behind a couple of misty curtains. The only characteristic feature that greeted the figure's eyes, was the individual's inky black hair. The man behind the curtains, as expected didn't pay any attention to the newcomer. Hands busy, the hunched man, continued with his work, metal scraping with a few faint slosh of flesh and blood.
The cloaked figure, listened to the agonizing sounds until it finally itched the ears to a point, where the frown on the figure's face deepened drastically, teetering between anger and disgust.
"Well well... look who's here" A sneer slipped into the air, and the cloaked figure slowly turned to the direction of the voice.
"..." the cloaked figure remained silent, not replying to the darkness.
"I thought you said, you didn't want to walk anywhere near me, what brings you here today, esteemed Silver Angel?" The Demon chuckled mockingly, stepping out of the dark.
The said Silver Angel, hidden within the folds of dark robes looked up, irises glowing golden.
"I don't appreciate your methods. Killing mortals was never a part of the deal." The Angel spoke, tone sharp and deep, cutting through the atmosphere like a knife against flesh.
The Demon snorted, shrugging nonchalantly, he walked past the Angel and leaned against the wooden table, smiling evily. "I told you not to question my methods... if you want me to carry out the job."
"Then explain it to me. Why?" The Angel asked, jaw clenched and irises sparking a shade brighter.
The Demon instinctively shrunk back.
"Ah! Ahhh ha- don't get too hostile now" the Demon chuckled nervously, hands propped up "we are in the same boat. Ha ha. Same. Boat. Remember that."
"Cut your act off." The Silver Angel steeled in. "Silver Gates is cautious now. The fact that they haven't acted, doesn't mean that they aren't aware."
The cloaked Angel stood still, with fingers curled into a fist and teeth clenched with a force almost enough to shatter the jaw.
Cold sweat dripped down the cloaked figure's back, for the Angel knew that the Eldest had seen through the traces of the evidence that had been erased.
It was only a matter of time, before Namjoon would pull off the cloak completely.
The Silver Angel remained stiff, refraining from revealing the events to the crafty mangly thing knowing better, than hanging a piece of meat infront of a starving dog who wouldn't walk away if something were to pose as an advantage to him.
The Demon didnt notice the hidden implication and let out an obnoxious loud sigh. He turned his head and threw a lazy glance at the mortal behind the misty curtains who was busy working on the corpse laid on the cold metal table.
"Dear esteemed guest... we are not catching some fish in cold waters..." the Demon shook his head, irises flickering faint red with anticipation when he looked back at the cloaked figure.
"we are catching the Devil of infinite hells." The Demon paused "if we are not prepared well, then we are all as good as dead."
The Silver Angel didn't budge, face withholding no emotion but continuing to silently watch the Demon, as he went on with his way of words. The scent of blood worsened into the air, growing heavy and thick.
The Demon continued, eyes distant, still glowering red with a hint of anger that he didn't care enough to conceal "I have done everything to please my Lord... to have him accept me. To have him notice me... to just... acknowledge me...."
"But he's always looking at that stupid... dog." The Demon let out a snort, gnashing his teeth together and hand pressed onto his chest, he cried out "it should have been me! I should have been the one who won that conquest.... but Jimin that disgusting worthless cheating maggot...."
HyunHo fumed, face red with festering patches of flesh and blood. The Demon then exhaled, the blood lust in the air lessening that had taken over the calm and bitingly cold air.
"Like I said... do not question my methods. We both have the same goal here and for this, it's necessary for few mortals to be sacrificed."
"Sacrifice? Why did you never mention it before then?!" The Angel snapped, not buying the Demon's words
"Its a lost art of Demonic practice... ofcourse I wouldn't tell you about its pros and cons." HyunHo snickered, leaning closer with malice dancing in his eyes "Besides, you don't see me asking about your Silver Gates' grand divine weapon that had been forged as a fail-safe measure to kill the King of Hell as its sole and only purpose, if things were to ever lead to a war.." the Demon quickly added before the other could retaliate, drilling out pleasure from the Silver Angel's twisting features of discomfort and frustration
The Demon chuckled some more, before leaning away. The metal clinking in its own calculated precision of time-space in the background.
"Ah drop it. Drop it. I don't wish to fight a Silver Angel here" HyunHo followed up, noticing the death glare.
"You can only choose to trust my methods and allow me to follow your plan... the rest is all up to you. But know this, this is the only method. Only then, we can lure him into a state of paralysis. And only in this timespan of few short minutes, will the omnipotent King be, as weak as a fledgling Demon."
"And then its all up to you... with the power of your divine weapons, the King will finally be put to sleep. This plan has no flaws if we both play our cards right...."
The Silver Angel didn't reply, gaze flickering to the wide wall filled with countless tapestries, pictures, runes, maps whatnot. It was messy and disturbing, but it's meaning could easily be deciphered.
"The missing souls." The Angel muttered. "These are the ones next in row?"
The Demon shrugged, pointing at the figure behind the curtains "yeah... but. I let him choose."
HyunHo smiled wickedly "Mortals are funny like that... pathetic too. But I must say, his skills are pretty good."
"You are pathetic to take advantage of a mortal like that..." the Silver Angel deadpanned, eyes narrowing with a sharp glimmer.
"Dont say it like that now... we are all a little pathetic" the Demon gave a toothy grin, full of malice. "Besides, I tweaked around their minds just a bit. Not much for them to succumb into their deaths, but enough for them to serve and report to me."
The Silver Angel looked at the Demon, eyebrows raised "There are more?"
"Handful." Hyunho replied off handedly, "Just to keep me updated on what my Lord is doing and where he's going." The Demon shuffled around, picking up a red marker from the table and then proceeded to cross off a man's face from the wall.
"Who's that?" The Silver Angel enquired at the action, eyes zipping towards a photograph of another man. This one was a little peculiar from the other ones that were either crossed out or left unmarked, having being simply circled with thick red ink instead.
The Demon didn't respond immidiately, hesitating for a bit, he continued, "ah... somebody I'm keeping an eye out for..."
The Silver Angel slightly narrowed his eyes at HyunHo, but the Demon quickly turned away.
The cloaked figure then turned to look at the photograph of the man. Hair, a deep shade, face grim, skin tanned, with a single monolid and lips colored with an ashened pink. The man didn't necessarily look cheerful or friendly, bearing an odd sense of intimidation.
The silver angel glanced at the Demon's back and then once more turned to look at the photograph pinned to the wall. The Angel didn't mutter anymore, silently registering the mortal's face in his mind.
If there is a mortal, even HyunHo has to keep an eye out for.... it really does prick the curiosity.
The Demon shuffled around for a bit around the tools, scattered on the table. The scent of rust and blood was heavy to a point, where it managed to twist even the heavenly Immortal's guts.
Nose slightly scrunched, the Silver Angel moved around the room, examining the filthy surrounding. The Angel paused and asked "when is it going to happen?"
Although the cloaked figure didn't mention what, the tone and question was quite understandable to the Demon who looked up "soon..." he mumbled "when the time is right ofcourse. I just need some more time and a few more sacrificial mortal souls, to set ever-"
"It needs to be done quickly!" The Angel snapped, irritated "there is not much time. Silver Gates is moving now-"
"And do you think I don't know that?! Ofcourse I do! That's why I need to be more careful because your Silver Gates is what letting the Devil walk so freely on mortal land!" HyunHo snapped back, only to hiss and recoil when a flash of divine white light split into thousand bits in the small enclosure.
"Dont you dare disrespect Silver Gates!" The Angel wanted, eyes blazing golden. "Know that you're alive only at my mercy"
HyunHo didn't reply, averting his gaze with a scowl spread on his features. He then lowered his eyes, hatred glimmering in them "... I'm impatient too.... you have no idea how long I've waited... you have no idea how many centuries I have groveled in the mud..."
"But now they'll realize it.... they'll have to pay for what they did to me. If I can't have my Lord... nobody will."
"This is my revenge... nobody needs a King who can't rule his city. Nobody needs a King who hasn't returned to his throne in centuries... Nobody needs a King who doesn't give a shit about his own people...Nobody needs a King like that."
"He might be strong.... but with the divinty of the Silver Gates... united with the oppression of Hell... he wont be able to stand it." The Demon snickered, eyes gleaming.
"No matter how strong he is.... he'd still be one against hundred millions... even if God would have to side with him, he wouldn't win. Not this time. This time... we will overthrow this tyrant."
The Silver Angel's eyes narrowed at the mention of the heavenly Father whose name was being blatantly tossed under the rug like that, but then the Angel didn't interrupt, instead letting the matter sink into the mental list that had been carved to count the number of offenses the said Demon would commit, before his head would finally be severed.
"Even if I loathe you..." HyunHo scorned looking up at the Angel "I would still continue working alongside you, if it could bring down Jungkook. I don't even care anymore, as long as we both have the same goal..."
The Silver Angel deeply gazed into the Demon's flickering red irises, hoping to find lies but all he could see was truth and sheer ambition.
The Angel exhaled "know this that I'm running out of instances to distract and trick the Warriors... if you get caught-"
"I don't expect you to help me." HyunHo cut in, face grim.
"Correct." The Silver Angel replied, voice devoid of any emotion "when will you commence your next move?"
HyunHo's eyes glimmered with anticipation "Tomorrow night."
"And one of these will be his victims?" The Silver Angel asked, expression sour.
"For the greater good ofcourse... yes." HyunHo replied straightforwardly, fishing out an envelope and tossed it over to the Cloaked figure "My informant provided some pointers, you can look at it if you want to" He paused "Reaper's next target...ward off the Guardians from this person"
The Silver Angel didn't reply and simply caught the sleek white envelope. It felt filthy, to have hands drenched with blood. Pungent and vile, weighing heavy.
"Tomorrow we'll be running a practice for the ritual. You could stop by to see"
The Silver Angel turned away, backtracking to the door "I'll pass."
With that, the cloaked figure sauntered out of the dungeon-like hidden basement. Eyes gleaming golden, lashes lowered at the grassy forest ground. The whistles of the Northwind and the sounds of critters deafened the ears, in an almost hypnotizing tune. The rustling of leaves and the faint gush of the water running down the creak danced in the air. The Silver Angel gently tugged the robe wound around the frame, lips pulled into a taut line as eyes drew down to the white envelope.
Jaw subtly clenched, the Silver Angel ripped the corner of the envelope with a blazing spark of yellow flame. Tilting, the contents from the envelope, it fell into the broad expanse of the palm stretched out.
The Silver Angel looked at the photograph of the woman with an expression that was too vague, neither merciful nor guilty. Parted hair, tied into a tight bun. Eyes small and face petite, with curved pink lips.
Another soul.
The Silver Angel let out a sigh, slowly looking up to the sky. The tall pine-like trees swayed somberly, whispering incoherently as the clouds grayed over.
The cloaked figure, let the envelope slip through the slender fingers and the stepped ahead, walking through and out the barrier that shielded the mirth that had been brewing for over some time. The fabric that hid away the divine wings in the back, flowed like a trail of river on the ground.
The Angel stood silently, eyes gazing into the distance, as the hands maneuvered to pull off the cloak slowly that dropped to the soft ground and with a flash of white, the Silver Angel disappeared into fine sparkling dust.
Another faint whisper broke into the air, swirling and twisting, with a scent of pine, it swooped to the ground, and picked up the discarded envelope, carrying the light-weight photograph that had been left behind by the Silver Angel.
The air swirled faster and faster, propelling away the photograph of the woman in blue collars, who had unfortunately reached the end of the line.
**********
"...and yeah, I need to go back there and pick up some more samples myself. There's weird shit all over and I can't really pinpoint the materials with my limited access and professionals. Really- I appreciate that you all think I'm this capable to run the entire forensics department myself but seriously this is going way too outta hand now. Do you think Lt. Mingyu by any chance, deliberately wants me to become a chronic sleep deprived coffee addict?! I cant-"
"Jin." Taehyung deadpanned, to cut off the rambling specialist mid-way. "Get to the topic"
"Oh right. Yes. Yes. My bad." Jin chuckled awkwardly and exhaled deeply over the line "sheesh- yeah um so, I need to borrow somebody from your unit to take me back to Han's lair. There's something fishy about the whole place and its not the drugs he procured. I just know it."
Taehyung hummed, pressing the smartphone to his ear, eyes lowered as he walked up the familiar grand stairs.
"Okay. Let me know how it goes." Taehyung replied, abruptly hanging up on the Specialist without enquiring another word.
This wasn't quite like Taehyung at all, but the Detective had truly been falling in and out as of lately. The circles around his eyes had deepened, his hair ruffled to a point of no-return. His skin was paler than ever, from having skipped too many meals along the time.
But this morning, Taehyung was feeling extra jittery. Palms, sweaty and clammy with random shivers snapping him in and out of reality.
Too many people, back at the Departmemt had stopped by to ask him, if he was alright... only to be replied with a 'I'm fine', but truth be told, Taehyung wasn't.
He had ignored the existence of the famous club for a day. Two days. Three days.
But then Taehyung could no longer ignore it.
No matter what day, he'd always either catch a flicker of some random news about the exquisite club or spot the building itself. There just seemed to be no escape from it whatsoever.
If it weren't for the nightmares that ridiculed Taehyung's sanity or the faint whispers of a man that slithered down his ears like a petite tendril, licking and nipping away at his poor little heart.... no... Taehyung was still caught bone-deep by the clutches of his face-less torturer that never left him even for once.
And it hurt.
This boundless sea of pain was merciless against a mortal like him. Days only seemed to drag into nothingness, leaving the Detective in a state that was neither dead nor fully alive.
His fingers would tremble on memory but Taehyung couldn't erase any of it. Recalling the smooth cool metal sitting snuggly between his hands, it didn't feel any different from being shackled by a treacheorus vine of poison ivy. Bleeding into the skin.
Bleeding together.
Ignorance sure could have been pure bliss... but for Taehyung, ignorance was something he could no longer afford to have.
Morality, sanity, reality... thery were all at war within Taehyung's mere mortal self. A war against himself, where his emotions were clearly losing.
Taehyung's footsteps were brisk and light, almost like fluttering over an icy lake. He walked in through the fancy doorway and onto the grand marble-lain ground, his eyes, as always drew to the huge shimmering crystal chandelier, dangling from the ceiling.
He paused to stare, contemplating on the possible scenarios of his little mission that he had set out to conquer.
Pursing his lips, he turned to look at the figure beside him.
"Jihyo... I'll go up by myself. I'll be quick okay?" Taehyung spoke, his voice quiet but firm, refraining from revealing his intentions out into the open.
The statement drew visible confusion onto the Female officer's features, she opened her mouth and then closed it. Jihyo didn't complain, noticing the subtle tone of order. She remained silent for a bit, a little awkward from having being invited to accompany the Detective to meet the said Detective's ex-partner, but then witnessing the whole set-up being called off in a mere second.
Jihyo frowned a little, her eyes glinting tediously. She lowered her gaze and sighed softly, not knowing how she should even be responding to Taehyung's resolution. She looked back up nonetheless and pulled an effortless gentle smile on her lips, nodding "Mm."
"..I'll be waiting for you by the car."
Taehyung managed to force a faint smile on his lips, that faded just as he turned away from Jihyo, to walk upto the reception desk.
The woman behind the desk, looked up with an expression of familiar surprise and delight.
The receptionist greeted the Detective, her tone soft as she continued "oh yeah, uh, Jimin said you'd drop by- but I have to tell you, Mr.Jeon is not here"
Taehyung pursed his lips at the mention of the name. He then nodded, mumbling a small 'thankyou' and took off, bee-lining to the elevator.
Jungkook wasn't here afterall....Jimin, himself had so, that he was gone.
As did Jungkook.
Goodbye Detective Kim.
Was it really the end of it all?
Was it even supposed to end just like that?
Taehyung didn't know. He didn't know anything.
The doors slid open and the detective stepped into the compact space, the taunting reflections staring back at him, just like it did the last time he rode the elevator. He closed his eyes, recalling how paranoid he was that particular night, as he rushed all the way to the city just from a resolution that could have been considered as delusion, drawn from nothing but a scrap poetry book... but he ended up seeing a face of reality that he wasn't supposed to.
A face, so terrifying than a thousand nightmares... but then nightmares don't bloom buds of ache in the chest, as it did in Taehyung's heart.
There were too many things going all at once, too many questions invading the Detective's mind that left him with absolute no clue whatsoever.
It was tiring, frustrating even.
Parts of him writhed with fear and pain. While the rest, twisted with exhaustion.
Taehyung was on the edge with both the mental and physical strain, running on fumes of his sanity.
The elevator stopped moving and Taehyung snapped back into reality. The doors slid open and the Detective stepped into the cold penthouse.
His footsteps were light, yet it echoed back to his ears in the solitary apartment. He paused to look at the floor beneath, where a wide crater had embedded itself into the ground, with missing chunks of the flooring marble.
Taehyung lift his gaze up, stepping over the crater and then walked into the living room. The Detective's eyes then fell onto the huge hole in the wall that had been sitting there for quite some time. He wasn't entirely sure of the reason behind it, but Taehyung could conjure up a faint answer.
He sauntered to the middle of the living room as he ran his gaze over to the empty space, noticing that the broken furniture or the gruesome blood stains from that night, were no were to be seen.
The living room was almost empty, spotless even...
But empty.
Sunlight beamed in through the tall windows that had been shattered, the cool January air slithering in, the white curtains fluttering on response drawing an illusion of a silhouette of a person.
Taehyung stepped back almost instinctively, scared. A faint whisper licked at the shell of his ear and the Detective stumbled back as if burned, falling to the ground below, with no one to catch him this time.
It felt like a deja vu, as he looked up at the fancy ceiling, laying on the hard marble flooring, except for there was neither an illusionary chaos storming up nor were there a pair of burning red irises staring down at him from a face of a man that Taehyung, felt a little too affectionate to than he should ever have had in the first place.
Taehyung opened his eyes, gulping harshly to drown the voice from the memories that resurfaced in his mind. He rose to his feet, dusting away his pants as he did with his thoughts.
The wind continued stirring up the curtains and Taehyung glanced at it suspiciously one last time, before averting his gaze from it.
He walked up the platform, his gaze momentarily landing on the other crater that had been carved into the wall. The bloodstained wall, where Dr.Min's limp body was pinned against, was now spotless white.
Taehyung swallowed a lump in his throat and then moved forward, making his way to the little work station the raventte had.
He pushed the door open, his eyes immidiately landing on the desk where the main mission of his little expedition laid.
The Detective cautiously made his way over to the desk, the light from the window behind the desk shining off the smooth metal, almost precariously. Taehyung pursed his lips, heart thumping as he hesitatingly, raised his fingers.
He paused, fingers curling midway.
Hesitated for a bit more.
And then slowly lowered his hand to pick up the handgun, that had been registered down in his name.
Taehyung let out a soft sigh of relief, seeing nothing was going to pop out to jumpscare him. He was about to turn away, but his eyes caught a glint of something bright from the desk.
He tilt his head, eyebrows crushed with a frown laced on his features as he picked up the small vial that made a clattering sound.
Taehyung squint his eyes at the glass vial.
A toothpick?
Taehyung frowned.
He placed the glass vial back on desk, his eye darting to a couple of stray pages stacked together, with a sticky note stuck to the corner to pose as a book mark.
Caving in to the curiosity of the damned, Taehyung began going through things that unnecessarily, but most definitely would have landed himself with a punishment as grave as death, if he, in any case would have been somebody else.
But it was Taehyung.
And the Devil was no where to be seen.
Taehyung got busy, with his own little investigation. He flipped through the pages almost haphazardly, but couldn't understand anything.
What language is this? He thought to himself.
The brush strokes weren't Hanguk.
They weren't Japanese kanji, definitely not mandarin either.
Confused, Taehyung looked carefully at the words, until one of the characters from the paper sparked up a light bulb in Taehyung's head.
The more carefully he looked, the more he found the characters to resemble the odd runes the Department had confiscated from the Reaper's temporary hidden basement.
Taehyung's eyes widened.
These weren't just resemblance.
It was the exact same.
An incantation to summon hell on earth... or in other words, to rebirth evil and unleash chaos...
Taehyung's face visibly paled.
So... all of that... all of this...
Was indeed the truth?
Taehyung hurriedly flipped through the pages, with his throat running dry.
Rebirth evil?
Unleash Chaos?
What was it even supposed to mean?
What was any of it supposed to mean other than the obvious?
Could it possibly be....
No... it couldn't be pointing at Jungkook, Taehyung steeled the thought in his head. If it truly were referring to him, then Jungkook wouldn't have given away a secret as huge to someone mere as him.
Jungkook wouldn't.
Why would he?
Why would the Devil?
Why would the Devil, himself give a whole instruction book that simply told him to Run Away?
Why would the Devil, bow down to a mere mortal's subjugation of insults and ignorance?
Why would the Devil...
Taehyung's lips quivered
Why would Jungkook still not retaliate when someone, he equally trusted, shot him straight through his chest?
Retaliate... fight back...
No...
He had cried instead.
Taehyung remembered, through his misty eyes of cramped memory.
Jungkook cried.
Jungkook was crying when he bid him goodbye. That wasn't an illusion.
Taehyung gulped harshly, his lashes fluttering as he lowered his gaze to land one more on the glass vial.
I should be the one asking you that Detective Kim. Why have you walked into our lives?
Taehyung picked up the vial, examining it once more with trembling fingers.
If it weren't for you, none of this would have happened. Its all because of you that everything's going wrong. The prophecy, the revolt, the chaos. It's all because you summoned him!
Taehyung blinked rapidly, mouth hanging open as the words from the pink haired male's lips voyaged back to his mind.
You can't blame and ask us why we're here, when you're the one who summoned the Devil, Detective Kim.
A feathered breath left the Detective's lips, noticing a little brown discolouration on the tip of the wooden tooth pick.
Taehyung let out a puff of air, filled with disbelief. He didn't want to be that person, the one making crazy assumptions... but if he were to, then this would be the wooden pick he had pricked his finger onto, the very first day he met Jungkook.
He had indeed summoned the Devil with nothing but a sandwich and a bloody finger.
That was all it took.
Taehyung placed the glass vial back on the desk, thoughts racing in his mind.
Taehyung had busied himself with some extra-curricular private research on things that was probably the major reason why he looked so agonizingly drained. Plagued with horrific images and texts of ancient history and supernatural forces, Taehyung wasn't really doing any better. He hadn't found the answers to the questions he was asking, but he did get traumatized enough to sleep with all of the lights switched on for the very first time in his life.
Taehyung chewed his bottom lip, anxious.
If he did indeed summon the Devil...
Does that mean- just how the countless texts conveyed....
He had signed a contract with Jungkook?
A contract to... to give up his soul in exchange for something?
Taehyung's eyebrows crushed together.
But he was alive.
No... if Jungkook truly stuck to his side, just for his soul, he could have taken it the very day of the Geomjeongbaem incident.
But Jungkook saved him instead.
He was still alive.
Even after shooting the Devil himself.
He was still very much alive.
Taehyung exhaled, his eyes stung as a series of unbounded guilt gushed straight through his heart, like waves against a shore.
It was only then he could understand the pain and frustration etched onto Jimin's features that night.
Taehyung opened his eyes and placed the vial on the desk and set the papers back in an order, turning away on his heels, he walked out of the office.
His footsteps traced back to his ears as he walked, his gaze flickering to the white curtains that moved.
Taehyung didn't idle any longer, with his skin tingling from an odd sensation crawling down his back, he quickly made his way to the elevator, as the curtains continued fluttering haphazardly in response to the wind.
The doors to the elevator slid close with the Detective disappearing behind them, as the swirls of wind continued seeping into the deathly cold abandoned penthouse.
The White curtains moved, fluttering violently, as if gasping underwater until a sharp gash ran through the fabric, resulting for it to burst into smithereens.
And a trail of Silver dust flowed in, shining ominously against the black marble.
***********
Taehyung walked up the pavement, his eyes lowered.
The sun had long set behind the horizon, spewing shades of deep red and purple into the sky that darkened to point black, faster than it should have.
The winds were harsh and mysterious, howling deathly tunes, the leaves rustled almost ominously, spurring up the Detective's guts who stopped to stare up at the sky.
Taehyung didn't know what was exactly ticking him off, but he could feel something was about to go down.
A hand landed on his shoulder and the Detective stiffened on spot.
"Taehyung?" Jihyo's voice invaded his ears. He lowered his head to look at the woman ahead of him.
Her pliant lips tugged down, eyebrows crushed into confusion "You okay?"
Taehyung drew a breath and nodded with his teeth in a grit, he walked up the stairs of the Police Department, ignoring the dark mirth that stirred in the sky.
Taehyung and Jihyo stepped into the Department together. Although it wasn't as much chaotic as other days, the place did seem pretty busy even when it was past the clock for the most.
The times were tough with the rise in crime rate and most of the units were put on overtime.
Not that Taehyung really minded, even if exhaustion wore him out... he had come to hate his lonely apartment that for many reasons now spooked him.
Working with two or three was a much better option, hearing living people speak than being alone in a room with faint whispers invading his senses.
Jihyo ceased at her feet and turned around to look Taehyung. She smiled, doing a silly wave with her fingers "I'll see you later!"
Taehyung snorted a little at the action and smiled back, parting ways with Jihyo.
He trailed his way to his desk, only to spot Hoseok and another junior officer standing together, few feet apart. The Junior officer soon walked away and Detective Jung finally turned to look in Taehyung's direction.
Hoseok flashed a smile, waving his hand but as he walked closer, his smile gradually disappeared.
Before Taehyung could respond or question to the sudden change in the face, Hoseok suddenly stuck his hand out and lift Taehyung's chin up.
"Taehyung." Hoseok spoke monotonous, eyes wide "are you alright?"
Taehyung frowned at the action and smacked away the hand. "what do you mean? Yes ofcourse I am." Taehyung lied.
Hoseok pursed his lips shut, eyes not moving away from Taehyung's neck.
Taehyung, who noticed the line of gaze, moved his chin lower on impulse and only then did the other Detective drop his gaze, sighing.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to creep you out." Hoseok muttered, eyes still lowered. He looked back up, a little worried "did you have lunch?"
Taehyung exhaled, giving a light nod like a child being reprimanded from his mother "yes. Just a bit."
"Just a bit? Taehyung you nee-"
"Yeah yeah I know. I know. Okay? I'll have a proper meal for dinner tonight. Why don't you come along with me, to see if I truly eat or not..hm?" Taehyung cut in with an awkward chuckle, trying hard to push away the obvious topic.
Hoseok simply sighed tiredly at the proposal "you worry me sometimes Taehyung... you look pale and all of that discolouration, what even are y-"
"Discolouration? Where?" Taehyung snorted, cutting in as he began examining his hands and tugging at his collar where Hoseok couldn't remove his gaze off of earlier.
Detective Jung eyes subtly widened, lashes fluttering but he didn't reply, standing still with his lips pursed close.
Taehyung continued rummaging, trying to prove Hoseok his faults until Johnny walked over, clutching some papers in his hand.
Oh Thank God you're both here!" He exclaimed on sight, panting hard to catch his breath.
He handed over the clipped sheet of papers, letting Taehyung examine them. Hoseok leaned in over the shoulder to look at the information.
"So.. yeah- remember this crazy idea when you told us to run a check through every damned hospital's patient list, to find some correlation between the Reaper's victims? Guess what.. look at this" Johnny shook his head, his tongue rolling between his molars with his hands propped on his waist.
Taehyung's eyes ran down the list, in a flurry to spot out the higglighted names printed onto it.
Amy Lee
"A blood donation campaign... a fucking blood donation campaign set 8 months ago... this motherfucker..." Johnny continued.
Do KyungSoo
"Who would have even thought... all of them. Same place. Same day-"
Lee Saerin
"...Can you believe this shit?! All the three had gathered on the same day 8 months ago-"
Taehyung's eyes drifted down to the other names on the list.
Park Liumin
Kim Jaein
Bo Kihyun
P-
A shrill scream broke into air and Taehyung's head snapped up, eyes wide, just as the other who looked at each other.
The three rushed towards the source of the sound, just like two more officers ahead of them who heard the scream.
Taehyung's face paled when they came closer to the Forensics department. Pushing his way in through the small crowd assembled, he stepped closer to the doorway, his heart thumping in his chest at the sight.
Jihyo was lying on the ground, with her back held by another female officer who was trying her best to calm the agitated officer. But Jihyo's fear stricken glossy eyes, with a tinge of pink hidden in them, remained wide open with a continuous trail of tears running down her rosy cheeks.
Her lips quivered, her fingers trembling as if having seen something unexplainable. She inched further away, wanting to crawl with a desperate need to step out of the room.
Seulgi, who had her hold on Jihyo, handled her gently, with hands clamped around her shoulder in efforts to soothe her panic attack down.
"Medic! Quick!!" She turned around and yelled, to which someone among the gathered replied "its on the way."
Taehyung turned his attention to the lab where a single tubelight flickered.
He stepped into the room, his eyes narrowing to see through.
And the smell of heavy blood invaded his nostrils.
Taehyung immidiately paused at his feet, stiffening on spot as if being pulled by an anchor.
His eyes widened, gaze falling onto the familiar figure in the chair with head resting against the desk and a limp hand hanging below with blood trailing down the specialist's fair petite fingers.
Taehyung's throat ran dry he strode towards the man in the chair, whosd face was bloodied, turning red and purple.
"J-Jin?! Jin! JIN!" Taehyung called out frantically, heart racing in his chest with fear pooling in his veins "KIM SEOKJIN!"
Taehyung quickly picked up the limp arm and then pressed his fingers below the Specialist's nostrils, to feel a faint exhale.
The Detective then pressed his fingers to the man's bloodied wrist, to find a steady rhythm. It was low, but steady, showing SeokJin had simply passed out.
Taehyung sighed out of relief and pushed the Specialist's limp body back into the chair, so that the male wasn't pressing his face against the desk.
Taehyung gulped harshly, returning his gaze to the prior white desk that was now stained with SeokJin's blood.
Did... did he forecfully smack his head?
Taehyung didn't know... but he couldn't imagine the Seokjin doing something like that. It was purely absurd.
The crowd murmured and parted, letting the emergency care professionals step in and carry away both, Seokjin and an equally traumatized Jihyo who had probably walked in to see this freakshow.
It was just few seconds in after the two had been safely carried out, to be tended to, did Lt. Mingyu walk in hurriedly.
His eyes were furious when he stormed in. Lt. Mingyu had a dinner meeting sort out with a couple of ministers but with the first hear of the news of what had gone down in the Forensics Department, he had immidiately rushed out, leaving behind the guests.
"Somebody tell me- what in the name of good heavens is going on in here! Hm?!" He demanded, turning to look at everyone present in the corridor.
"We're not really sure sir- when we came rushing, Officer Park Jihyo was on the floor, screaming without any coherent words and Dr. Kim was on his desk.. he... he wasn't responding..." Seulgi replied, pursing her lips together.
Lt. Mingyu pinched the bridge of his nose and then looked at the female officer "let her recuperate, she must have been shocked seeing Dr.Kim in a pool of blood- and as of for Dr.Kim, keep me updated of his condition, I want to personally ask what crazy experiment he was conducting this time-" the Lieutenant clicked his tongue. "And I want to look at the camera footage of th-"
"Already on it Lieutenant!" Johnny cut in, standing tall and firm.
Lt. Mingyu gave a curt nod to the Officer "and the file you sent me-"
"Ah yes! That's the report of patient list from the Blood Donation campaign conducted 8 months ago. All the three victims had showed up that day. It could be a mere assumption that the Reaper's targets could be taken from this list..." Johnny continued and Taehyung looked down at the paper clenched between his fingers.
He straightened the sheet of paper and looked at it once more, an odd feeling crawling up his spine.
He paused.
His eyes traced back up to the list and then, he began counting.
... nine.. ten... Eleven.. twelve
Thirteen.
13. Amy Lee.
Taehyung frowned, his heart rate escalating as he traced his finger alongside the names, in an order.
26. Do KyungSoo
39. Lee SaeRin
"...doesn't matter, we don't have a strong lead to the Reaper and his pattern, ring up every person on this list to check their whereabouts-" Lt. Mingyu instructed
52. Park Liumin
65. Ella Hong
78. Bo Kihyun
91. Park JiHoon
104. Chung SooYoung
117. Kai Uchida
130. ....
Taehyung's fingers curled around the paper, frozen to his feet.
Hoseok, who noticed the figure beside him, ice up into a statue-like state. Irises constricted and chest no longer moving, with the Detective holding his breath in.
"Taehyung?" Hoseok called out cautiously, drawing attention from the rest around them who turned to look at the two.
Taehyung's head snapped up, still clenching onto the white sheet of paper.
"Has anyone seen Jennie lately?!" Taehyung shot out, face filled with dread.
"Jennie? Uh.. no she didn't come to work yesterday-" Seulgi mumbled.
The color from Taehyung's face drained completely.
Oh no.
No. No. No-
Lieutenant Mingyu who suddenly seemed to gain telepathic powers, immediately looked down at the picture in his phone sent by Johnny.
His eyes subtly widened and then he shot up, straight away barking out the orders "Unit6! Unit5! I need a report on whereabouts of Officer Kim. Call in all emergency, we are going to take down this bastard. Meeting is in 15 minutes-"
And so the officers bustled, rushing around to their appropriate stances without wasting another second, calling up every agency and looking through every street cameras.
The sirens blared through all night, flashing red and blue along the street, in contrast to the dark stirring skies, when a single camera popped up a blurry image with no mistake and a location tracker beamed bright on the screen.
Suited up with protective gear and hope for once in a very long time, the units stepped onto the vehicle, like cold fearless soldiers in sturdy armor, ready to face a battalion driven by an unknown force.
Fearless.
For this time, they could see the glimmer of hope in their victory.
For this time, it was not just another civilian.
Rather, it was one of their very own.
130. Kim Jennie
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Author's Note:
God I don't know whether its good or bad that writing this chapter itself spiked up my anxiousness.
There's so much happening in this single chapter like ugh- it took me several days to complete this.... there are hints all along to know what exactly is happening, so don't ignore them haha even if my dear MC's are currently ignoring it in here... anyway-
The next chapter- well... the next chapter is gonna be the peak of the reveal arc of this book, so prepare yourselves...
And yes... to all of those wondering if I'd let you catch a glimpse of JK's face... he'll be there for the next chapter, so its a treat for yall, even if shit will be going down😀🤲
This book is really going from horny-flirting to horror-scapes and guess what, yall gotta strive through all of that... so forgive me for the sexy clickbait💀💀💀
Lemme know if yall got any theories. I love reading yalls thoughts haha 😩😂💜
Thankyou for all the love and patience.
Take care and stay safe♡
Love,
J