He woke to find his hands and feet shackled with iron in a strange place.
He whispered to himself in confusion, "Where am I? What is this place?"
The man he had thought would save him appeared.
"You're awake, then," he said in a calm yet mysterious voice.
Mildo glared at him with anger, his worry rising, his heart racing. "Where am I? What do you want from me?"
The man stepped closer and placed a finger near his lips, calming his movements.
"Shhh… questions are not allowed here."
He screamed, pleading, "Let me go! Let me go! Who are you?"
The man straightened, anger flashing across his face, and struck him. "Stop screaming, boy. Your yelling is annoying!"
The door opened, and another figure entered.
"Still being harsh on the children, Enzo?"
It was a man with an unusual demeanor, his black hair tied neatly at the back, revealing a strangely smiling face.
Enzo turned to him and said, "What do you want, Henry? Don't you see I'm doing my job?"
Henry stepped forward and handed Enzo a file, then looked at Mildo with cold authority.
"We must stay calm, Enzo. We don't want to anger our master."
Enzo took the file, his expression shifting, and then sighed.
"My God …you've ruined my fun."
Henry said, "Let's bring the boy to our master."
They grabbed him by the chains and began to drag him along.
"Where are you taking me?" Mildo shouted, struggling against them.
They arrived at a room filled with the smell of cigarettes.
There, a large, imposing man sat in a chair, one leg crossed over the other, a cigarette in his hand.
"So, this is the new boy?" their master said.
"Yes, sir," Henry replied.
The man lifted his empty hand, and Enzo placed the file in it.
He put the cigarette in his mouth, opened the file, and his eyes widened in shock. He threw the file to the floor.
"What have you done? Why did you bring this boy here?"
Enzo stepped closer and said, "What are you saying, sir? I don't understand."
Their master struck him across the face. "This boy is the son of William De Luca. Do you understand now the disaster you've dragged us into?"
"William De Luca? The leader of the largest gang in Casalini… this boy is his son!" Enzo exclaimed in shock.
The master approached Mildo and asked aggressively, "Where is your dad?"
Mildo did not answer, staring at him with tear-filled eyes.
The master removed the cigarette from his mouth and placed it in Mildo's hand.
Mildo screamed in pain, "You bastard!"
"Where is your dad?" the master repeated angrily, his voice filling the room, the smoke from his breath thick in the air.
"I'll never tell you," Mildo replied, his defiance clear in his eyes despite the tears shimmering there.
Suddenly, someone entered quietly and whispered to Henry. Henry turned quickly to their master, his face a mixture of shock and worry.
"Master Dante… William De Luca is dead."
Master Dante turned to Mildo and smiled wickedly, his eyes glinting with coldness and betrayal.
"That bastard is dead, isn't he?"
Then he laughed ,a long, hysterical, terrifying laugh that echoed through the room as if he had just won a long battle.
Mildo whispered in broken fear, "Dad… Dad…"
Suddenly, Master Dante stopped laughing. He grabbed Mildo's face violently, crushing it in his hands as if pressing every shred of hope from him.
"Your dad is dead, that bastard ، no one will save you. No one."
Mildo spat in his face, and Master Dante struck him hard across the face, sending him sprawling to the floor. Wiping his own face in anger, he shouted, "Take this bastard to Room Seven!"
Blood trickled from Mildo's mouth as Enzo stepped forward and pulled him from the chains.
"Let me go! I won't go!" he yelled, struggling, his voice trembling with a mix of rage and helplessness.
Henry asked Master Dante curiously, "Why Room Seven?"
Sitting coldly in his chair, Master Dante replied harshly, "William's blood runs through his veins. I'm certain he carries some of his talents. We'll make use of them."
When they reached Room Seven, Mildo bit Enzo's hand in pain, pushed him hard, and slammed into the wall.
"Are you a dog or what? What the hell?" he grumbled. Enzo slammed the door shut behind him, leaving echoes of shock and menace in the room.
Mildo sank to his knees, burying his face in his hands.
"Why? Why is this happening, Dad?"
A putrid smell reached his nose. He turned to find a decomposed corpse. Fear made him step back, but then a voice sounded from the dark corner: "He's dead."
Mildo spun toward the sound to find a blonde girl, her blue eyes staring at him coldly.
She stepped closer and said in a cold voice, "He's dead because he defied our master's orders."
Tensely, Mildo asked, "Who are you? And what is this place?"
Her voice remained calm and icy. "We are not allowed to use our real names here, but you may call me Armanda. Also… welcome to Hell, the land of no return."
Another figure stepped forward, an eye patch covering one eye. His voice was calm.
"This is the headquarters of the Black Monsters gang, and we are merely instruments of killing."
"I will not stay here!" Mildo said with defiance.
Armanda responded coldly, "Don't try. We tried before you, and we received the worst punishment."
The boy with the eye patch gestured toward the corpse.
"I know how you feel, but here, your resolve means nothing. My friend died trying to escape too."
Armanda sighed, pointing to her neck and her friend's neck.
"See this metal piece? One press of a button and we'll shock you every time you misbehave."
Mildo touched his neck and felt the collar. His gaze wavered, fear creeping into his eyes.
The man extended his hand to him, his voice reassuring.
"You may call me Logan."
Mildo took his hand, tears streaming down his face as he stood.
Minutes later, Henry and Enzo returned. Henry looked at the corpse and sighed impatiently.
"Get this body out of here, Enzo."
Enzo replied sarcastically, "Disgusting. Let the kids take it out—I won't dirty my hands."
Mildo and the others watched silently. Henry's voice cut through the air, firm and commanding.
"Armanda, Logan, and you—take this corpse and follow me."
Armanda and Logan approached the body, examining its cold features with sadness, while Mildo remained frozen, his eyes fixed on the lifeless figure.
His gaze froze for a moment, as if time had stopped for him.
"This place… it's like another world, a world with no place for humans. They are real monsters," Mildo muttered in his mind.
They carefully lifted the body, their feet trembling on the dark corridors.
Mildo noticed other rooms filled with children, their faces reflecting fear. At that moment, he realized he was in the lair of monsters.
They reached the headquarters' garden, where several graves already existed, like a private cemetery where they buried their victims.
Henry's voice rang out, harsh and cruel.
"Bury it here."
They lowered the body to the ground. The cold air swirled around them as they quietly covered it with soil.
The sound of dirt hitting the corpse was like mournful drums announcing the end.
Logan felt sorrow as he threw soil over his friend's body, his hands shaking with every movement.
Mildo stood frozen, his eyes locked on the scene with cold detachment. To him, it looked like a distorted image shown mercilessly a scene stripped of any human meaning.
Armanda remained silent, staring at the ground with empty eyes, no tear, no shiver as if death no longer shocked her, merely a repeated scene she had grown accustomed to.
When they finished, Henry looked at them coldly and said, "Now, let's go to the yard."
They entered a wide courtyard inside the headquarters, surrounded by gang members with hardened faces.
In the center, scattered wooden weapons lay on the ground.
Enzo smiled wickedly, waving at Mildo.
"Today, your first test begins."