Vincent Cross stepped out of the shadows like he owned the damn place.
That shit-eating grin was plastered across his face like he just won the lottery by screwing over orphans.
"... Well shit. Should've seen this coming from a mile away."
Haru spat on the ground.
His saliva hit the concrete with a wet splat that somehow sounded disappointed.
"Yeah, no kidding. Guy screamed 'backstabbing asshole' from day one… But damn, I thought that shit only happened in movies and trashy plot lines."
Kaito shook his head in disbelief.
Like, who actually does this crap in real life?
"I guess, we're still too young and innocent as people would say, huh."
Haru's voice carried genuine disappointment at himself for being naive for falling for this.
I mean, the trio along with Nero and Aurelia expected that this guy would betray them at some point.
But what they didn't expect was the fact that he would have all of the survivors of the Camp on the palm of his hands… and that he would have an overpowered dark magic girl as an ally.
They expected this bastard to move while Nero and Aurelia were dispatched on this urgent mission, but not at this grand scale of things though…
"No, it's not your fault Haru… I mean who expects that someone would be actually so low to betray everyone in the apocalypse just for some money and pussy? It makes you shocked how there are still people even dumber than me!"
Kaito shouted his shit directly for everyone to hear.
But the bastard didn't mind, instead, Vincent's expensive shoes clicked against the concrete as he approached them.
Each step sounded like nails on a chalkboard mixed with pure smugness.
His suit was still pristine despite all the chaos.
Still looking like he stepped out of some corporate magazine for "How to Be a Douchebag Weekly."
… Which was a fucking joke in their opinion.
"Ah, the little heroes have some bite left in them. How adorable."
Vincent chuckled, straightening his tie like he was about to give a TED talk on betrayal.
"Just wait until Nero and Aurelia get back. They're gonna kick your ass so hard you'll be shitting teeth for a week."
Kaito's voice turned dangerous.
The kind of dangerous that made smart people start running.
Vincent's smirk faltered for just a second.
Like a crack in his perfect asshole facade.
"Oh please. Sure, that scrawny loser might have gained some meat on his body lately, but so what? Look around you… All these people here, all this power I command. What's he gonna do, bore us all to death with his comedic face?"
He gestured broadly at the mind-controlled survivors surrounding them.
His voice dripped with the kind of arrogance that made you want to feed him his own teeth.
"Well, that 'scrawny loser' is a hundred times the man you'll ever be, you piece of shit, and Ms. Aurelia wouldn't even waste spit looking at a pathetic playboy like you."
Kaito stepped forward with a grin despite the spectral chains.
His words hit like a sledgehammer to Vincent's balls.
From day one, the guy tried everything to get Aurelia's attention.
The classic Mr. Nice Guy routine.
Offering her the best quarters in the camp, and ensuring an exquisite lifestyle anyone who's living in this apocalypse shit would be more than happy to sell their souls to.
Bringing her expensive gifts he scavenged from the ruins.
Using flirty lines, his looks and even inviting her to a friendly drink.
He even tried impressing her with displays of his leadership and power over the other survivors.
But every single attempt had been met with polite rejection or complete indifference from the angel.
"Thank you for the offer, Mr. Cross, but I am content with my current arrangements."
"I appreciate your generosity, but such luxuries are unnecessary."
"Your leadership skills are noted, though I serve only Lord Nero."
The rejections had been delivered with the same emotionless tone she used when discussing the weather.
… Like he was some random NPC trying to get her attention in a video game.
And lately? She'd started straight up ignoring him.
Walking past him like he was invisible furniture.
Looking right through him when he spoke.
The worst part was when that scrawny loser Nero was around, the bastard would somehow always appear at exactly the wrong moment.
Always interrupting Vincent's carefully crafted plans with some bullshit reasons or excuses that completely derailed the conversation.
"Aurelia, want to check out this new monster track I found?"
"Hey, think you could help me practice that basic sword technique? I think I need you to check out my form."
"Mind if we grab some food? I'm starving."
Every. Fucking. Time.
For a man who'd never met a woman he couldn't charm, seduce, or buy, Aurelia's complete indifference was like having his balls kicked to the point of being an eunuch.
And that virgin bastard and his knowing smirk was always cock-blocking him as if telling, "You mad bro?".
Vincent wanted Aurelia.
No…
His whole being desires Aurelia.
She was a perfection incarnate.
A literal goddess walking among mortals.
She's more beautiful than every supermodel, actress, and socialite he'd ever bedded combined.
Her silver hair that glimmers under the radiant light.
Her golden eyes that held depths that could drown a man's soul.
And those wings... Christ, those wings were like something out of the most expensive wet dreams money couldn't even buy.
And that wimpy bastard doesn't deserve her.
Only a man like HIM deserves that angel…
And yet,
"..."
That same angel he wanted so bad treated him like he didn't exist!
"... You little fuck."
Vincent lost his shit at this point.
His anger burst like a damn, as his usual business-like smile finally cracked and revealed his demon face.
His fist connected with Kaito's jaw with a loud "thud!"
Then another… and another.
But Kaito just grinned completely unharmed.
"That's all you got, princess? My little sister hits harder than you."
Vincent's red face turned purple faster than any anger emoji could change.
His hands shook as he kept throwing punches that barely left marks on Kaito's enhanced body.
Needless to say, with a strong body like Kaito, who's enhanced with his physical abilities from the apocalypse, it made every part of his body as strong as a solid wall.
Vincent might as well have been punching concrete at this point.
"Having trouble there, tough guy? Maybe try hitting the gym instead of hitting on women who want nothing to do with you."
Kaito laughed at the tickle he was receiving.
And that laughter was like scratching nails on Vincent's already wounded pride.
"..."
And that's when Vincent's eyes started glowing with that twisted symbol.
The same one burned into the mind-controlled survivors.
His pupils dilated like he was high on power and sadism.
"David. Teach him a lesson."
Vincent's voice turned colder than his black heart.
"No, David, don't!"
Yui screamed as the guard's eyes lit up with that hypnotized glow.
Her voice cracked with desperation.
But David's fist was already moving.
David is a strong vanguard fighter who has a similar if not stronger physique than Kaito.
Needless to say, the situation turned bad immediately.
*CRACK!*
The sound of breaking ribs echoed through the camp.
Like someone snapping dry branches over their knee.
"STOP! PLEASE STOP!"
Tears streamed down Yui's face as David kept pummeling Kaito with mechanical precision.
*PAK! PAK! PAK!*
Each punch landed with the efficiency of a meat tenderizer.
Haru bit his lip so hard he tasted copper.
His lightning magic was useless with these damn chains suppressing everything.
*THUD! CRACK! SPLAT!*
Those hits sounded like a sledgehammer against raw meat.
Kaito's grin finally disappeared as consciousness started slipping away.
Blood pooled beneath his broken body like spilled paint.
"That's enough. I can't have my bargaining chips dying on me."
Vincent straightened his suit again like nothing happened.
It's like he hadn't just ordered the brutal beating of a teenager.
"You sick bastard. When Nero finds out what you did..."
Haru's voice fiercely burned with pure hatred.
"Oh, I'm counting on it. See, you three are going to be my little insurance policy. Nero comes running to save his precious friends, and boom. Trap sprung."
Vincent's smirk returned in full force.
Like a shark smelling blood in the water.
"You still can't beat Aurelia. Even with all this bullshit, she'll turn you into paste."
Haru forced a mocking laugh despite everything.
His voice carried the weight of absolute certainty.
"You're absolutely right. I can't beat my soon-to-be angel in a straight fight… But I don't need to… because that's what partners are for."
Vincent's smile turned absolutely terrifying as he looked toward Vex'ahlia with genuine respect.
Like a student praising his master.
The temperature in the camp dropped 20 degrees in an instant.
Vex'ahlia raised one pale hand, and frost started spreading across the ground like spilled paint.
The air itself seemed to crystallize.
Haru and Yui didn't even have time to gasp before the cold knocked them out colder than yesterday's coffee.
They dropped like marionettes with cut strings.
After that, the mind-enslaved survivors immediately picked the unconscious trio with a gesture from Vincent.
"Was all that dramatic posturing really necessary? Or are you just that stupid?"
Vex'ahlia's voice could freeze hell itself.
Each word felt like ice shards in the air.
"Come on, where's your sense of theater? I couldn't help myself. Did you see the look in their eyes when hope died? It's fucking priceless."
Vincent chuckled, rubbing his hands together.
His amusement was sicker than a stage four cancer.
"Your amateur psychology is showing. Focus on the mission."
She examined her fingernails like they were more interesting than human suffering.
Which, knowing her, they probably were.
"Right, right… Speaking of which, I wonder if our friends have found my little surprise yet."
Vincent pulled out a small communication device.
The device crackled with static like it was trying to cough up information.
"What exactly did you leave them?"
Vex'ahlia asked without much interest.
Like discussing the weather instead of mass murder.
"Let's just say they might be suspicious of one traitor among their group… But two? Now that changes everything, doesn't it?"
Vincent's grin turned predatory, like a shark that smelled blood in the water.
His eyes gleamed with the kind of malice that belonged in horror movies.
"Clever… Stupid, but clever."
They stood in comfortable silence for a moment.
Watching the unconscious trio and their mind-controlled friends like it was entertainment.
Vincent's expression slowly changed as his thoughts drifted to a certain silver-haired angel.
His face went from smug to absolutely unhinged.
"You know, I've been with a lot of women. Models, actresses, heiresses, politicians' daughters… Women who could buy and sell countries with their looks alone. But Aurelia..."
His voice turned dreamy, almost worshipful.
Like he was talking about a religious experience.
"She's not just beautiful. She's divine. Literally fucking divine. Like someone took every fantasy I've ever had and molded them into perfection. That face could launch a thousand ships and burn down empires. Those eyes hold more depth than the ocean, and those wings... God, those perfect, pristine wings that look softer than silk and more radiant than starlight."
Vincent suddenly got poetic, as his breathing also got heavier; his obsession at this point poured out like a broken dam.
His pants were getting tighter by the second.
"Every other woman I've known looks like a cheap knockoff compared to her. She's a goddess walking among mortals, and I'm the only man here worthy of claiming her. Not that pathetic bastard who got lucky with a summoning spell."
"When this is all over, I'm gonna make her mine. I'm going to show her what a real man can do… and make her scream my name until her voice gives out."
The disgusting expression on his face made Vex'ahlia frown in disgust.
"I will break that noble and expressionless face with my own rod."
His eyes rolled back slightly like he was already imagining it.
"Ah, is that so? And what makes you think she'd choose you over her precious… Lord Nero?"
She tilted her head with a mocking curiosity.
It's like a cat playing with a particularly stupid mouse.
"Please, once she sees what I can really offer, that comedian of a bastard won't even be a memory."
Vincent adjusted himself shamelessly.
His bulge was obvious and absolutely revolting.
Vex'ahlia smiled for the first time since arriving.
But it wasn't the kind of smile that promised good things.
It was the kind that guarantees bad shit will happen.
"Well then. I suppose we'd better get moving. Your 'surprise' won't distract them forever."
She began walking towards a certain direction inside the Camp.
Her footsteps sounded like death approaching.
"Where are we going?"
Vincent hurried after her, probably still thinking about Aurelia's legs.
His mind was probably generating the most disgusting fantasies imaginable.
"To set up the real trap. After all, if you want that angel so badly..."
Her smile widened, showing teeth sharp as broken glass.
The dying light caught her eyes, turning them silver as winter frost.
"We'll just have to make sure she complies by taking advantage of her weakness."
***
Meanwhile,
"..."
Lisa Chen, the daughter of Robert Chen, shivered in fear as she watched her father along with the rest of the people she knew do the bidding of the "Boss" as people would call Vincent.
She watched as the brothers and sister who treated her nicely got subdued unconscious, and how everyone and even her best friend Wendy is acting weird.
But what made Lisa tremble in fear is not Vincent or the weird acting people… but rather, the dark robed woman beside him.
Lisa could see a suffocating dark aura radiate from her.
Even with the B-tier cloak her father gave to her as a present that mildly cloaks her presence, she still almost got caught when she stared directly in the dark-robed woman's direction for long.
"… I-I have to tell Mr. Nero and Ms. A-Angel."
Lisa wiped her falling tears as she made her silent escape while remembering her Hero Nero's words.
"If you find anything suspicious or something bad happened, just hold and say your thoughts to this feather, okay?"
Lisa brought out a feather… a white angel feather to be exact, as she closed her eyes and concentrated…
With the desperate pleas on her mind, she let her thoughts and intention be known to the little thing on her hand.
***
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