Chapter theme: Akira-Kaneda - https://youtu.be/HB6Ch_VAfIk
Terminology:
SDT: SUBTERRANEAN DEMON TRIBE, often used to describe sentient and non-aggressive demons.
USF: UNITED SUBTERRANEAN FRONT, the recognized sovereign citizens of the Ebott. Valley demon association.
NNH: New New Home, the town's name. The only city located in the USF.
Central: Central Government, central city, main human settlement where the Grand Senate is instated.
WG: World Government, The coalition of governments, cities and island states, headed the Grand Senate.
WM: World Military, the standing widespread military for the entire world bar a few states and countries.
OTS: Order Of The Sword, a religious faction mainly situated in the city of fortuna, radical Sparda worshippers.
Disclaimer: Certain aspects of this story are based on a loosely fictional and exaggerated version of reality, of what is possible, of what could be, to understand this is to understand that there is no agenda... Make your own conclusions, what you think is right.
I own nothing.
Sin Trigger
The beauty of wealth was encapsulated here in this tower that stood above all others, stood in the rejection of all man made mythology, rejection of irrationality. A bustling tower standing at the head of Fortuna, almost the embodiment of the name; The Tower of Babel. A city spanning palace where men and women alike could find their dreams, where all could be forgotten, where your race, sex, age, idealogy... It didn't matter where you came from, not as long as you held a flaming motivation to succeed. That you too could be amongst them too, it was this promise that drew people to Fortuna.
And Samuel was the type of guy who had more than a personal motivation.
"Sammy! Dinner's ready!"
BANG.
A throbbing pain echoed throughout his senses, he rolled out from underneath the heavy duty pickup and held his aching head.
"Ah crap, that hurts." Hissing at the touch, Samuel stands to his full height. Average height and with a lean build, his body and face is covered with grime and soot.
He tosses a wrench into a workbench and takes off his goggles, revealing red eyes. "Coming!" Samuel quickly dons his glasses and removes his gloves, he shuts off his alembic and rushes outside of his work station.
"Just needed to finish the last touches." He says as he slides into the living room. "You know how old Barna does when she doesn't get maintenance."
His sister gives him a half-glance before turning back to the stove, the light of the tower above shining through from the ceiling hole with a wooden plank nailed over.
She grumbles, "Whatever Sammy, it's girls night so you better savour dinner. I won't be back for breakfast tomorrow."
"Staying out with your friend again huh Esma?" His face morphs into a mischievous one. "Or maybe... A boy?" The older brother wiggles his eyebrow.
Esma dry heaves in responde, "Ack, no... Every boy my age is a little twerp." Didn't that sound familiar? Samuel chuckled as Esma came with three bowls in hand.
"You're only thirteen, little sis." He accepted his bowl, staring at the soup with bright eyes. "If it makes you feel better, I would beat up any 'twerp' that tries anything."
Esma laughed and rolled her own red eyes, "Don't get too cocky big bro, you were a twerp once too."
"Hey! I was malnourished, there's a difference!"
"So is everyone else, what's your excuse?"
"I've always worked two jobs, you know how much calories that is? Burned, every day."
"With how much you love food? You definitely eat enough!"
Samuel swears after her and shakes his head, laughing to himself as Esma walks towards the living room. The house had two rooms, one for him and one for Esma. The third resident... Well... She made due.
The mechanic dug into his food with vigor, the soup was warm and filling, perfect after a long day of physical labour. He'd earned this. The boys would be coming by later, and Joe next-door would call him if anything was amuck, the girls would be too busy hanging out in Esma's room to stop anyone so it was only precaution.
"Sam! Mom's heating up too much!"
The young adult shot out of his seat, forgetting the warmth of his provision. "Damn! Not again!" Samuel rushed towards the living room with a slightly wetted cloth, kneeling next to his sister.
His mother was sickly looking, her purple eyes hardly open. "S-s-sam?" She croaks, "My precious boy~" She levies a small smile towards Samuel as he diligently tends to her, placing a wet cloth against her forehead.
Esma sniffles beside him, "Mom, ya gotta eat your food, you're sick."
"Listen to your daughter ma, you'll get through this but you have to stay determined." Samuel says with a laboured voice.
She's lost so much weight and color, looking at her now. Samuel cursed his selfishness, he wanted to leave her behind to go hang with his friends? He'd have to cancel and turn to his project, it was finally complete and if it was a success... It could save their family, it could save her.
After his mother finished her meal and promptly fell into slumber, Samuel began to pray over her.
"Whatever God is out there, Sparda, whoever... Please, please see us through..." When they came to this place only a few years ago, they'd expected the riches of Fortuna to be accessible... But it was impossible to simply assimilate so easily.
They were foreigners, and it wasn't easy, being unknown in Fortuna.
Samuel clenched his fists, the steady breathing of his sickly mother, the buzz of the television, the later it gets... The less time there is for him to finish his project, he needs to get to work. The house got strangely dim, his food forgotten.
His eyes hardened, "I have to get us out of this shithole Esma, she won't last without proper medical treatment."
His sister growled, "Don't say that Sam!"
Samuel began digging through his workbench, "It's true, but I'm going to change that." Shuffling through the drawers, he is filled with determination.
Esma leaned against the wall nearby, "How?" She questioned with disbelief. "You aren't a licensed scientist Sammy, your little inventions always explode in your face." It was a statement of fact, but Samuel ignored the fact.
"Not this time." He tore a small device out from his workbench, it blinked a few times. "License be damned, this is our way out."
Esma lowered her guard and came up next to him with a curious gaze, "What's that?" She touched it, it did nothing.
Samuel tore it away, it was a cylinder container with a button and a weird red liquid inside, lightning arced inside the container, the liquid was charged with... Something.
"This... Is what I like to call Argent-X, a chemical brew I cooked up." Hearing the words 'chemical', Esma hightailed it a few meters away. "Hey, don't worry! It's harmless, until you inject it at least... Think of... A performance enhancer! Never seen before!" Samuel chuckled as he marveled at his creation.
Esma was still tentative, "Dammit Sammy, this is what got you expelled back at Central!"
Samuel wagged his finger, "Asinine regulations, I could've made a fortune off of this back then if tampering with demonic blood wasn't taboo." It was his ace in the hole... But it was prohibited, the manipulation of demonic energy.
Esma inched closer, still cautious. "So... it's made of demon blood?"
Sam shook the container a little, "Demon and human blood intermixed and ionized at a certain atomic degree to be specific, pretty freakin cool huh?" The liquid sloshed around and the lightning crackled.
Esma rubbed her arms "... That shouldn't be legal, where the hell did you even get demon blood?"
Samuel laughed and clapped her shoulder, "Welcome to Fortuna sis, no regulations, no limits. And there was a demon attack earlier today, handled by a guy named 'Vergil', just a few blocks away actually."
He then turned his red gaze to the charged liquid sitting in his grip, he had a large ear to ear smile. "And if Royai gets a whiff of this crap, boy I bet I could get right into the top floor!"
Esma shook her head and sat on top of his pickup, "I don't see it bro, what the hell is that... Stuff... That's gonna make Royai want it?" He then jumped up to join her on the side of his truck, pointing at the liquid's electric charge.
He looks at her with excitement, "Mixing demon blood with human blood does nothing by itself, but ionize that crap?" He snickered and held in a full on laugh, "You get this!"
"A drug that can give an ordinary human the strength and regenerative factors of a demon."
"Woah! Sounds scary."
"Woah indeed, imagine what's possible!"
"But doesn't Royai deal mainly in weapons and stuff?" Samuel hmphed.
"Fuck off. But yes."
Leaping down, Samuel rushed towards the door with Esma in tow. "Just think about it, Es, if Royai gets his hands on this... It could change everything."
Esma rolled her eyes as they ascended the stairs to the top level, "Why not just sell it yourself?"
"By myself? Sure I could deal it locally and work my way up, but we don't got that time. Selling to top brass would be a lot quicker, call It high time preference but right now..." He glanced back towards the living room.
"... Right, Mom's getting worse."
Samuel burst into his room and began to search the wads of clothing littered around, Esma recoiling in disgust. "You really should organize your damn room, what if my girls saw this shit?"
"Oh stop crying, I work all day. Do you think I have time to clean?"
He found a business casual suit and tie with slacks, the smell wasn't savoury so he drenched himself with body spray. "Tie please." Despite Esma's groan, she quickly helped her brother while complaining about his uncouth habits.
"Seriously bro, how are you supposed to get a girlfriend when your room's this bad?"
"I'll figure it out, after I'm rich."
'Damn... Another toll? This is the third one.' Pulling up next to the fee collector situated before the entrance to babel, Samuel cursed his luck.
The attendee didn't even look up, "Five gold please." She asks in a bored voice.
Samuel fished through his pockets for any coin. Royai owned the roads all around the superstructure, it was quite genius to request a toll fee. But at the moment, it was a hindrance.
Samuel grunted as he leaned over his seat to fish into the cushions, "One second please!" He had only three coins, needed two more.
"Sir, you're holding up the line." There were hundreds of booths and roads leading up to the superstructure as well as on foot entrances to the tower, and yet he could still hear the honking of horns all around.
'Fortuna busybodies, can't take it slow for a second huh?' Pissed off, Samuel cried out in joy as he finally found the last coin. Slamming it on the toll collectors dashboard and slamming his feet against the gas.
The inventor sighed and relaxed in his skin, what really annoyed him was just how many tolls you have to pay just to drive down the damn road.
'Is five gold even worth it? Slowing down traffic for sure ain't. It limits productivity, the faster one gets to work the less wasted time yeah?' That's what Samuel thought anyway. But it's over now.
The road to Babel wasn't a long one, the city surrounding him however made it seem much larger... This is where everything went down, without the Order of the Sword's Influence...
The city fell to ragtag gangs beneath the tower, scrap dealers looking for any waste to live off of. A tight knit community, but that was the extent of the positives. But that was beneath the tower where Andrei dumped all his junk, the roads used by the Babel residents climbed far over the city below and went directly to either level two or three.
Samuel glanced down on his left, smoke pluming into the air from the factories and barrel fires in the city below Babel. That's where he worked. Good pay, backbreaking labour. The usual, felt good, but didn't feel great.
But with this? Samuel held the object of inquiry in his hand, the red of the substance matching the red of his eyes.
"Everything will change." His lips curl into a smile, confident, determined. He just needed Royai's audience.
"A week?!? No way!"
"I'm sorry sir, but Mr. Royai is hard at work on his own investigation. You can however file a request for a hearing and I'll put it in for our queue."
Samuel pinched his nose shut, "No that's fine... I'll just come back to make an appointment later." His shoulders slump, so much for that. Normally he would've pressed on further for a hearing but in laymans, Royai was out of town or too busy to even come out of his office.
In other words, a complete waste of time.
If anything, Babel was intricate. With its sprawling lights and bronze pipes snaking over every which way you looked, channeling energy from below the Earth and powering every apparatus... It wasn't pretty in a clean way, but rather in a way that you knew everything had a purpose, there was no wasted space whatsoever. Trams and escalators ran all through the building, all leading towards their intended destination.
'And this is only the second level...' Samuel has never been inside the third level himself, not that he's tried... The gated community irks people on the lower levels, but where others see a farce of superiority, Samuel sees a challenge.
Losing his confidence, Samuel deflates. 'But I'll have to wait... Dammit, we don't have that time!' His mom's condition was only getting worse, an unknown virus of some kind that no one would treat... You couldn't trust anyone in this city, not without money as incentive.
The cart lurches at a sudden stop, sending the young boy who was standing next to him crashing against the side of his stomach, interrupting his thoughts. Samuel raises a brow but doesn't relinquish his hold on the safety handle.
"Hey watch it kid!" The young teen glares at him, putting something in his pocket before laughing. Samuel shook his head and tightened his hold around the safety handle.
Wait.
Patting his pockets, twice, and then a third time. Samuel's face turns white before burning red, his red eyes churning just as bright. "Hey you little shit!" The boy is a couple passengers down, whistling as if he didn't hear anything over the bustling commotion around them.
Dozens of passengers packed into a single car, it was easy for a small boy to get through. Not so easy for a fully grown man.
Despite the looks heading his direction, Samuel didn't calm down. "Runt stole my wallet!" There wasn't much time, the doors would be opening soon to let the next batch of people in.
Samuel made a decision.
"Hey! Watch it punk!"
"Bum!"
"Sorry!"
Samuel ignored them all, rushing against the crowd filling in through the doors. Being shoved back and forth, he growled and yelled out to the teen who was escaping rather easily.
"Get your puny ass back here!"
The teen blew the raspberry. Samuel was going to drop kick that little shit. Unfortunately for him, he wouldn't be getting out any time soon... It seemed his day was getting even more chaotic. Who would steal in Fortuna?In Babel?
Leaping over the rail and onto a residential area rooftop, the boy smiled and placed his hands behind his head. "Big bro! I grabbed something from a red soul~"
Silence
He dropped his hands and looked around, frowning."Where are yo- WOAH! AH!" A leg shot out from behind a building, tripping the young teen and almost sending him to his early demise.
"AHHH-" His scream was cut short as a hand wrapped around his backpack, holding him back from the edge and keeping him suspended over the massive drop into the garbage dump below.
Holding him was a much larger man with a shaggy goatee and a long luscious head of dark hair. His eyes burned, burned yellow. "Heya little bro! You fucked up." The teen was crying, breathing sporadically.
"W-what? But I got what you wanted! If y-you wanted something else-!" He yelled with tears running down his face, waving his arms around trying to regain his purchase.
With a sharp tug, the boy went sprawling back over the roof. "John, what did I say? What? Tell me. About red goons I mean." John sniffled and shook his head before looking at his brother, he frowned at him with puffy cheeks.
"Why'd you have to go and do that huh?" The man merely flicked him over and over, laughing as the boy tried to get him to stop. "Knock it out, E-Ethan! Stop!" He didn't stop.
"I told you that reds are usually rich, not that you should steal from them!" Ethan said with a frustrated sigh, "You really are an idiot sometimes, and you want to go to school... Don't make me laugh dude. Still, you've got real talent at stealing." John rubbed his forehead, five or so red welts appearing.
"... I'm smart enough..."
"Whatever you say, but next time don't steal from a fucking red."
"Why not?"
Ethan leaned against a pipe that the housing complex was connected to. Hundreds of houses spanning over and above the lower, less expensive level. "They may have coin, but those... Those types got something about them, so you don't wanna cross a red soul..."
He crouched down and ruffled the younger teen's hair, "I promised pops that I'd protect you, we ain't in Central no more."
John looked away, flushing. "So don't do stupid crap, alright?" Reluctantly, the younger of the two nodded.
The two brothers sat and watched over the city inside a tower, thousands upon thousands of souls living in this superstructure... It was dense, chaotic, but efficient. Ethan draped his legs over the edge, while John kicked his out idly while the silence extended.
...
Ethan put his hands in his pockets, "So, did you even get anything worthwhile?"
"I got a wallet."
Ethan gestured twice, and his brother instantly handed the wallet over. "Better be worthwhile if it's a red. those guys... They aren't human." He said while mulling over the contents.
John bobbed his head back and forth, curiously.
Frowning, "They got more... More drive. Than anyone else... They never let things go, they fight until the end, I could go on and on but like I said... All you need to know is that you don't want to mess with em." Ethan said before groaning and tossing the wallet back.
He shook his head and pointed at the wallet, "But sometimes, they don't got shit! What a loser am I right?" John nodded absently, humming thoughtfully.
"Ethan?"
"Spit."
"Um... I don't think I want to steal anymore. That guy seemed really mad-"
Ethan only rolled his eyes, "Don't really have a choice do you? Pops said we have to fend for ourselves, are you questioning him?"
John glanced back at him worriedly, "N-no-"
"You don't really want to stop stealing then, you just are getting the fright which is normal yo." John felt sick at that, but he couldn't offer a response. Merely tucking his arms into his torso.
The scruffy man poked him, "But don't fuck up next time alright? Or maybe I'll let you drop!" He laughed at his own joke, much to the younger boy's chagrin.
"... That's not funny."
"It's fucking hilarious kid."
John spat, "No!" His yellow eyes burning brightly, he stood up. "This is... This is wrong bro!"
At first, it was exhilarating, it was intoxicating... To get away with it. But afterwards? He always regretted it. Why... Why? He was only fourteen years old. He was short for his age, unassuming, weak, unnoticeable... Perfect for a thief.
But he never wanted to be a thief.
Ethan pointed at him, taller by several inches. "Don't fucking raise your voice you little shit." He recoiled at his aggressive voice, sinking into himself once more and facing away from his older brother.
Suddenly, a bang sounded out as a body crashed against the railing above, "HeyYou two! Give me my wallet back!" They both snap their gaze to the sky to see the man from earlier glaring down at them.
Ethan cursed underneath his breath, "Dammit Johnny you led him right to us with your loud ass bitching! Let's go, run!" They both burst into action and begin leaping over the rooftops.
"What? You were the one yelling!" John responds with indignation.
"Shut the fuck up! Run!"
Cameras track them as they go, vaultting, soaring, and leaping over the rooftops where any wrong move meant death, falling away into the pit yards or the lower levels was suicide. If not by the fall, then by the scum that liked to hang around there at night.
Ethan scans the rooftops for anyone else following them, oddly enough the man from before isn't anywhere to be seen. He can hear John breathing quickly, and a few of the house's residents begin to shout from the beams connecting all throughout the complex.
"Hey I'm tryna sleep down here you stupid kids!"
Ethan flips him off before skidding to a stop, "Alrighty, let's see..." They land and John instantly rolls to the floor, breathing heavily. "That guy isn't a pussy mova, that's for sure!"
John nods in agreement, gasping for breath. "I... Huff... I've never ran that fast in my life... That was easily sixteen miles per hour."
"How the hell do you know?"
"I'm good at math, why do you think I never asked you for help with homework?" The older brother rolled his eyes.
They both scanned the area for a few moments longer, but eventually decided that they were no longer in danger. "Alright Mr. Physics, let's head home. Think you can calculate how long that will take?"
"Erm."
"Rhetorical! Rhetorical!" Waved his arms rapidly.
Staying in Babel at night was not a good idea, that's when the masks came out.
Ethan pulled a hood over his head and gestured to John, "C'mon." The young teen frowned at his older brother before obeying, his fists clenching while they evaded into an alleyway, finally returning to solid ground. They would need to be quick and rush through Babel, evading the masks before night fell...
His brother glanced back towards him, "Keep up, dont-"
The air was charged, the wind flushing against them as-
Crash!
A figure descends from the sky like a lightning bolt, red flourishing around him like macabre blood. The ground cracks and wavers underneath him, a low rumbling laugh reverberating. Steam flows and rises from his skin, and his eyes burn a solid blood red while his hair rises as well. Lines of blood, veins, coiling around his body and bursting out.
Ethan's blood went cold, "Oh shit, is he a psychogeist? Fuck!" This was bad, of all the people... Of the damn people John had to mess with. The teen was hyper-ventilating, dammit.
This was a bad idea from the start.
Unbeknownst to anyone of the three in the alley, a camera was watching them still.
A few minutes earlier.
Samuel was going to drop kick that little shit. He watches them go, the thief and his friend... They run on sight. "They already have a lead over me, and I don't know if I can fight off two guys at once..." Samuel bemoans as he watches them parkour and leap over large gaps.
'I... I'm not going to sit back and watch this!'
He growls and grabs for the vial, his injector. Holding it up to his face, "I'm not going to be seeing Andrei any time soon... And I can always make more, a workable dosage doesn't take much... Thankfully." But another question remained, was he ready? The drug was still experimental, and the last time he used it even with a lower dosage... And in the confines of the scrapyard.
He noticed several things, a lapse in judgement, aggression, and a high body temp... All controllable due to his high tolerance, yet it still was enough for concern.
But Samuel wasn't the type to let things go, oh no. "Those bastards think they can mess with me? Steal from me? I'll show them!" He takes the injector and stabs it into a vein, grunting as blood seeps from the small wound.
By the time he puts the injector back, his wound is already healed. The inventor, the mechanist, the chemist, the man... Had taken in the blood of a demon, mixed with a human... Power of his own creation.
The two burst out of the alleyway and into the walkways of Babel, dozens of working men and women stopping to watch or being shoved aside as Ethan barrels through with John not far behind. In the distance a growling sound is heard and a man possessed bursts out as well, steam coiling around his body like a trail of clear fire.
His smirk is delicious, like a demon soaring into the sky. "This is what it feels like to be unstoppable!" Glee palpable, Samuel revels in his physical prowess, the pain from the higher internal temp ebbing away and becoming numb against his burning determined soul.
Landing on a street lamp, Samuel fumbles for a second before pulling himself up and scanning the area. Cries of 'Psychogeist!' echo throughout the walkway.
"There you are!" His voice distorts, and the street lamp bends underneath the force of his leap. A camera follows his movement through the air, training on the two boys running for their lives with soles steaming and true.
The world slows to a stop and the argent fueled man watches his prey, the older of the two staring back to see a vengeful descent blistering through the sky towards them.
Ethan shoves John out of the way and takes the drop kick.
Crack!
His shoulder dislodges on contact with the red soul's soles, tears build up in the corner of his eyes as he tumbles away and hits a wall. Adrenaline coursing through his veins, Ethan ignored the pain.
"Run John, run like a big ass demon's chasing you!" He cries out against the wall, his little brother looking at him with trembling eyes before running through another alley and sliding into a pipe system.
Ethan smirks, chuckling as he cradles his dislocated shoulder and glares up at the incoming Samuel. "For a fucking wallet dude, seriously?"
"Stealing property is a serious crime up here, boyo."
"In the fabled lawless city, right..." Samuel picks him up by the hem of the shirt, casually lifting him in the air before dangling him by the leg.
Samuel frowns, "Especially in this city. Where's my wallet?" His hands are hot, and walletless.
The younger man sneers, "There was nothing there anyways." Ethan chokes out while reaching underneath his jacket. "Broke ass freak of nature, why don't you kill me?"
Samuel flicks his nose, drawing blood and a gasp of pain. "You think I've gone psycho? Buddy, I'm in full control!" Thieves were the scum of the Earth, parasites of the highest degree.
Ethan smirks again, his yellow eyes flashing. "Control this bitch!" Iron is pressed to his chin and the barrel scrapes against his skin, the shaggy man pulls the trigger.
Sliding through pipes and tubes, John breathes heavily hoping to hear Ethan behind him. Finally, the end comes and the pipe deposits him over a clump of dirty mattresses.
John rolls off the mattresses and looks back towards the shoot, worry marring his features. "Ethan! Big bro!" He yells through the shoot hoping he hears him, all he's met with is silence however.
All sorts of oscillations in the pipes and geothermal machinery whirring block more subtle sound, much to the chagrin of the young teen. Only then he hears the sound of another body sliding, another object, entity. He hopes it's Ethan, he hopes.
What happened? Did Ethan die? Is he alright? Is his injury bad? Was he next? He never should've done this, 'I should've been more adamant against doing any of this.' He swore underneath his breath, clutching his hands so deeply that they bled.
Fortunately the figure was familiar, his brother was alright despite the crimson fluid dripping down his body and onto the floor, almost like macabre.
Ethan huffed and fell to his behind, "I blew his head off, holy shit." His eyes were dilated and shaking, his hands shaking twice as much. "This wasn't worth it over a wallet... It wasn't fucking worth it man..." Ethan stared at his shaking hands, blood was everywhere.
"You never could do anything right, could you? Pathetic excuse of a son."
He was shaking violently now, John came to his side and tried to calm the older man down to no avail. "C-come on big bro, let's get you out of those clothe-" The man pummeled him in response, sending the smaller of the two sprawling with a bloody lip.
"Don't fucking touch me!" Ethan cries, his face churning with disgust only to bury it inside his blood drenched hands.
He could still see the brain matter scattered across the street, hear the screams of the people around him as they pointed and yelled 'Murderer!' 'Murderer!' 'Murderer!' the cold touch of a trigger pull, the flame from the barrel, the bang. It was too fast, his judgement too hasty...
He glanced through his bloody fingers to see John terrified in the corner, looking at him and nursing his wound. Another wound he caused.
Ethan began to crawl over towards his younger brother, "Hey hey hey I'm sorry dude, I'm sorry." He reaches out with blood dripping between his fingers, but the smaller of the two only inches further away.
He tore his hand away, lamenting towards the floor. The older of the two is choking, failing to come to terms with his actions, his impulses.
How pathetic.
A snap, the lights flashed on, whirring coiling machines illuminated by a hard orange light. The two boys rooted as they were could only watch and listen, the flame of two pyres blazing. Footfalls could be heard, a figure shedding through the orange with two piercing red eyes, no mere man.
But the man.
Andrei Royai stepped from the blistering orange light, glancing between the two boys with a glimmering crimson calculation behind each eye. His jaw was razor sharp, visage sculpted like a statue, his glare freezing below zero enough to rend the spirit from any lesser man.
Ethan shakily stood up, frozen to his spot. "It's over." He says, smiling crazily as the tall... Being, comes closer and closer.
His razor sharp cheekbones raised, lips curling into a first rate smirk. "Indeed, although you already knew that, you knew that when you decided to pull the trigger." Each footstep crashed against the young man with the force of a strong blow, he felt sick.
Before he could react, Andrei was directly in front of him, the legend, he towered over Ethan with a lean and terrifyingly gaunt physique. "Did you think you could play around in my city? In my Masterpiece? I worked every day of my life, just to bring this city into existence..."
Ethan replied by raising his pistol to the taller man's forehead, his arm shaking, his face sweating, his eyes trembling.
Andrei merely smiled , "Are you going to kill me, boy?" He was almost insulted by the idea, his smile fading. "No man can kill me, much less a parasite!"
Suddenly, cold iron is pressed against his head. His heart skips a beat as two barrels dig into his skin. The tycoon eyes his men, nodding against the barrel of the gun without so much as a flinch.
Ethan glances gradually to his right, John is being restrained by a masked man dressed in a suite and tie and dark gloves. A Splicer, Andrei's own security force. An elite squad of enforcers that were brutally efficient and loyal to their employer, in other words... He was done for.
His breathing quickens, and in his distraction, Andrei acts.
In a flash of motion, Andrei disarms the younger man and redirects the firearm before Ethan can even react, the cold iron pressing against his forehead shocks him into stasis.
And then he falls back, hearing the muffling sounds of his brother screaming out to him through a gloved hand.
Andrei inspects the firearm, his crimson eyes analyzing with infinite precision. "An old colt, 45 ACP, 19XX. Seven rounds per clip, one in the chamber." He murmurs, tilting his head as he inspects the functionality.
"Common in Central, but not here."
Ethan is pushed towards the ground and restrained by several splicers, still hyperventilating as Andrei finishes his inspection and turns his analytical gaze towards him. He pulls out a cigar, places it into his mouth while one of his men lights it for him.
The owner of Babel approaches, crouching down at eye level with the restrained young man. He blows smoke into his face before grabbing his chin with two gangly fingers.
Staring directly into the dim yellow eyes of the parasite, Andrei speaks. "What is the difference between a man and a parasite?" He asks evenly, curiously.
Ethan merely mutters a weak, "Fuck you..."
Babel's owner chuckles and presses his cigar against Ethan's forehead, the burning cigar searing against his flesh, "A man builds, a parasite asks 'Where's my share?' The younger man screams and tries to pull himself away from Andrei's grip to no avail.
He grinds the cigar in circles, "A man builds, and the parasite complains 'Why do you need so much?' " His flesh was smoking now, the pain nearly sending him into an unconscious state.
Andrei finally released Ethan, letting the young man fall to the ground still being restrained. His brother was attempting to free himself to no avail, crying out for him to stop.
The red eyed man stood to his full height, flicking the cigar away and gesturing to his men to bring him up. Andrei caressed the firearm he acquired from the very man before him, pulling back the slide and pressing it against Ethan's chest.
"But, the greatest difference between a man, and a parasite..." Ethan stared into his eyes, pleading, begging, hoping.
"Please... Please... Don't, wait wait wai-"
Andrei was not deterred, "No one mourns when the parasite is flushed out." He pulls the trigger, the muzzle flash reflecting in the bright yellow eyes of the young teen witnessing the death of his own brother.
There was so much blood, they finally let him go, there was so much blood, he ran towards his brother, so much blood, it was pooling around his body, being coughed out, his jaw was chattering. Ethan was turning white, his face losing color.
John places a hand over his open wound, tears running down his face. "Ethan! Hey man don't go to sleep yet, don't fucking fall asleep bro, don't." He breathes as if every breath is pain.
Ethan's eyes snap towards John, recognition filling them. "I c-can't see you Johnny, it's cold, it's so cold." He knows, feeling the icey skin, clammy fingertips... He holds on.
Breaths sporadic and coarse, "Don't go, please don't go John, I'm scared, I'm scared, please don't leave me here!" His words pierces John's psyche, the teen still trying his best to stop the blood flow.
Andrei tossed the firearm to one of his men, "Humanity is defined by their urge to power, their draw to it. This is unchanging, yet the parasite will go to any lengths to acquire power. Even at the expense of his fellow man."
John then glares at the tycoon, his yellow eyes burning as he continues to hold his brother's hand.
"Those without the determination to make their own path, steal from others, parasites through and through."
He gestured to his temple, "With these red eyes of mine, the only choice was to create my own empire when I faced with this drive."
"And so I flush the parasites out, no longer welcome, no longer human, but something lesser." Andrei finishes as the last hints of life left the teen's older brother, John presses his face into the older man's chest. Weeping for the loss of the only person in the world who cared for him, who stayed with him.
No man is perfect.
"And a parasite who uses his own family? Despicable."
Silence overtook the room, the boy left to weep over his brother's corpse. A purple soul flying into the air before... Moving to the next world.
Leaning down, Andrei picked up the wallet that fell out of the teen's pocket. There was... Nothing in it, except for a single photo of three people... Smiling. Andrei humphed.
It didn't take long for cleanup. People moved quicker when they knew what was at stake, can't anything taint the sight of Babel. Anything.
Andrei glanced towards the sobbing teen, a runt judging by his size... Somebody who'd be a perfect thief. The owner of Babel had known of their endeavours for quite some time, tracking them, calculating, the perfect strike... However it seems that a certain X-factor has been introduced...
A foreigner, not unlike the two boys, one of whom he shot to death. Yet different, with eyes burning red just like his, the mark of a determined soul...
Not to mention, one who'd survived a bullet going through his head. Perhaps another failed Sanctus experiment, Andrei wondered just how it was possible...
Answers he would soon get.
His world had gone dark. Samuel died. Well, he would've died had he not been a revolutionary mind. The very concoction he created to sell to Andrei had saved his life, and what was better, drew the attention of the very man he sought.
Lights flooded his vision as several operators surrounded him on a table, checking his eyes, tongue, their whispers echoing in his absent mind.
"No signs... He's one hundred percent human, not a psychogeist either."
"But there is a faint trace of... Something in his bloodstream, it's an unknown."
"Whatever it is, it allowed him to survive a 45. ACP through the skull."
"Incredible."
He blacked out again.
Seven thousand two hundred and thirty two people lived in the tower of Babel, even more worked there every day, every single soul, every one of them contracted through him. With his own two hands, his own sweat off his brow... Andrei had created a world unheard of, a place where the market was king. And those who excelled had no barring, no restriction by petty morality.
It served as a safe haven for those who rejected the dogma of the Order, for those who rejected the bureaucracy of the World Government, Babel was such a place where man was at his strongest.
Where man was free.
Andrei was a tall man, taller than average, lean yet imposing, his shrewd glare spoke volumes and yet he walked throughout his creation as if he was delighted at whichever sight faced him. For those who knew him, he was a legend, for those who hated him, he was a menace, and yet all stood aside when he came through, all failed to match his burning red gaze without so much as a quiver.
He was a man.
And like all higher men, his objective was clear.
Without so much as a word, Andrei entered the room, not a single word was said, and not a single was raised. He'd paid for this health firm himself, the highest bidding, and yet it seemed his bidding was unnecessary.
"Incredible, it seems our young friend is going to come back to us any moment." One of the doctors speaks up behind a mask.
Andrei nods curtly, checking his watch. "Thankfully I have the time to spare today, I wish to know just how that feat came to be." And so he waits, just outside of the room where the young man is held. The owner of Babel falls into a meditative trance.
It didn't take long for his family, or rather, his sister to arrive and check up on him. In fact, Andrei could hear her yelling obscenities from his seat outside, she didn't even notice him... Definitely a red soul.
Peering through the window looking into the room, Andrei saw the younger of the two flicking her brother on the forehead several times, face burning red.
Her voice oscillates into a screech, "You got shot?"
Covering his ears, Samuel curses at her. "It doesn't matter anyways, my brew saved me, just like I said it would!" He had a prideful look, good. Samuel rubbed his jaw and pointed up, "Right here! Blew my brains out!" Esma screamed and slapped him.
That is when Andrei decided to enter, his presence alerting the doctors from their fright. He raised a single hand to silence them before they could start babbling and turned his gaze towards the siblings.
"Now, that's no way to treat a patient." His voice is clear, hardly commanding but just enough to gain their attention.
Samuel's eyes widen into saucers. "Holy s-shit, Mr-Mr-Mr Royai!" Starstruck, how cute.
The man nodded and placed a hand over his heart, "That's me yes, and you're Samuel Hayden." He said, raising a number of fingers.
"Known to be an out of line experimenter and labrat, who got expelled from Central University only in his freshman year, who has broken at least five Central crimes, oh, and you tend to daydream during your factory shifts." Samuel's eyes only widened as the man continued, listing crimes he committed and his history with volatile substances.
What if Andrei turned him over? It was a possibility, although Central has no jurisdiction here in Fortuna, they would love to get their hands on Samuel... Andrei knew everything that went on in this city, so he knew of his origins...
Andrei placed his hands together, "If you were in any other place besides here, you'd be arrested by the Central authority..."
"Which makes you perfect."
Esma sputtered.
Samuel raised a single brow, avoiding eye contact. "What does that mean?"
"I heard about your concoction, a chemical brew that allowed you enhanced physical strength and regenerative ability, I was watching you through the city cameras as you chased those two boys-"
Samuel sat up and adopted a furrowed disposition, "The boys! What happened?" All he could remember was the taller of the two shooting him, the rest was dark.
A dark look crossed his face, "Taken care of." Was all Andrei allowed him, ending the questions prematurely. "But what is more important, is you and your creation."
Samuel laughed and shook his head, "You flatter me, how about we cut to the chase though?" The doctors around the business tycoon gasped, yet the man at the center of attention merely laughed.
Taking something out of his pocket, "Perfect, I like you already! So I'll cut this short." He tossed a business card through the air in a straight line, Samuel caught it between his fingers. "I want you on my team, I saw what your brew was capable of... With something like that, self-defense against demon attacks would be a thing of the past. With your methods, we could secure a brighter future through our capital genius." Andrei leaned against the wall, awaiting his answer.
Samuel matched Andrei's gaze, the truth was... His creation was undoubtedly dangerous, giving anyone the power of a demon could be catastrophic... But this was no worrying matter for him, Samuel rejected the common good as justification for his existence.
And so he met the eyes of Andrei without hesitation.
"What do you say?"
Fortunately, Samuel wasn't one to sit on a choice. "I accept, on one condition." He smirked.
Andrei piped back instantly, "Name it."
"Mom is sick, can you help her?"
Andrei felt like laughing, he pulled out Samuel's wallet, "Boy, remember who I am?" He tossed the wallet towards its owner.
A smirk displaying every last bit of arrogance, "I am Andrei Royai, there's nothing that a man like me can't do." He pulled the young man out of bed, "And do we shall, you have a talent, a fellow determined soul like I... Your talent cannot be wasted working away with the lower classmen!"
A doctor tapped him on the shoulder and gave him a moderately stern look, "I don't think our patient here is ready-" Andrei merely flicked him on the nose, drawing a giggle from Esma.
"Our patient is fine, he's strong. So do your job, and leave the rest to me."
As Samuel followed the man out, he couldn't put a stop to the ear to ear smile that grew both night and day across his face. This was a new beginning, a new chapter of their lives. It was an opportunity he would not squander.
Less his name isn't Samuel Hayden.
Days later...
Phone attached to his ear, the man scarfs down a few pretzels as he waits for the voice on the other end to stop talking. He swallows, "God these pretzels suck, anyways... Yes, I found the boy for you." He listened further and span on his chair, kicking off towards the garbage can and tossing the rest of his snack into the trash.
Red eyes widening, a double take. "He is? That must be why you need him, well, no matter." He calms and shakes his head.
After a few more pleasantries, the conversation ends. "I expect my payment tomorrow, no sooner and no later."
"Of course."
He slams the phone shut, turning to his computer with a curious look. The screen displays a family of three matched against a lone man, the differences are few and the semblance alone is enough to confirm any suspicion....
He propped his head up, "Hm, disappeared a few years back... Reappeared under a new surname, interesting... Does Sanctus want another subject? The old coot." Shaking his head, the man leans back on his chair and sees the future of possibility. The corruption of the order was not something he could destroy in only a day, but with this?
The man held a vial of red electric liquid.
He smirked, "This, will change, everything."
A/N: I like to Imagine Fortuna as a mix between ancient Italy, 1920s America, and for Babel, more steampunk. Also trust me this storyline is relevant for what I have planned, trust me! It all will make more sense eventually, this isn't just going to be a mindless rehash of canon or a crossover for the sake of it, it is going to be a long long long story combining elements from DMC and Undertale and some minor elements from other media, a story I've always wanted to write, just using the locale, world, characters of DMC and Undertale with my own flair on it. And...
Argent-X...? Samuel Hayden? Well, call me Inspired.