Soon after the arrival of the militants,
Christopher, as well as the corpse of the other culprit of the recent massacre, were taken away by medics.
Officers guided Ernst and the soldier away from the scene. At some point,t the two were separated, with Ernst being taken to a nearby police station for questioning. On the other hand, Ernst could only imagine that the other survivors went to report directly to higher-ranking officers.
Ernst recalled the events at the plaza to an officer. From his entrance into the plaza to witnessing Christopher to the stranger coming to help, Ernst provided everything in as much detail as possible.
By the end of the intake, the captain of the police station merely told Ernst to forget about the events that day. The officers remained fairly emotionless throughout the process, showing little empathy for the slightly traumatized young man.
Finally, Ernst was let out, now standing in front of a station.
That's it…? I know what I saw…that was no man…
A monster?... No…a demon…that is what I saw…
No matter how you put it, what happened today was not normal…the officers seemed to be relatively unconcerned with the matter too…do they know something?
Ernst thought to himself deeply while awaiting a motor taxi to pass by.
So many hours had passed since he initially left his home. So much so, to the point that night had already fallen. The crescent moon shone in the sky. Although it was a cloudless evening, the light pollution from the city around him hid the stars.
Emilia must be worried … I need to get home…
Eventually, a motor taxi had finally arrived, waving it over, Ernst provided the driver with his address and began to head home.
The drive itself was not too long, only waiting for about 10 minutes.
With the bakery in sight, he saw that the store lights were still on.
She must've been waiting…
Ernst paid the driver and watched as the vehicle left tin he other direction.
Through the glass windows, he saw his sister reading at one of the tables closest to the entrance. A cup of coffee on the table, her face seemed fairly calm to the young man.
Just as he was about to knock on the door, his sister turned to see her brother, who was waiting to be let in.
Although inaudible from outside, Ernst saw Emilia visibly looking annoyed. With an expression that was no longer emotionless, she walked over to the front and unlocked the door, letting the exhausted young man into their home.
"Where have you been?" Those words alone struck like daggers to him.
He had no idea how to explain what he had experienced throughout the day. Although he was sure not to tell Emilia about the old Christopher, he needed to think of an excuse.
"Ah…they held me up at work today. As soon as I accepted the job, they began showing me around, then training me."
Emilia's worried look slowly faded.
"Ah, okay… "
"It must have been exhausting. Was the job what you were expecting?"
Ernst felt a bit of weight added to his insides.
"Yeah, it's definitely secretary work, but it's a lot more demanding than I'd imagined. There's lots of memorizing that needs to be done."
Adding more context to a story made one's lie more believable. Ernst had learned this fact early on in his life, saving him on numerous occasions. However, he remained truthful a majority of the time; very few times would he falsify events, especially to his family and friends.
Emilia smiled wryly at her brother's statement.
"You must be hungry too. I'll grab some dinner from the back. Just wait there."
With his sister leaving to fetch his dinner, the young man let out a short sigh.
How could I tell her…
But… I can't let her worry…
After spending less than a few minutes in the kitchen, Emilia was seen carrying a bowl of soup as well as a few pieces of the bakery's bread in her arms. Placing the food on the table, she handed her brother some utensils, then sat across from him.
"I was only worried because of what I heard today."
Ernst began to drink his soup, following each gulp with a bite of bread. Chewing his food, he can feel some energy return to him, as he had not eaten the entirety of the day.
"Oh yeah? What happened? He spoke frivolously while focusing on his meal.
"Word got around that some people went crazy in the plaza, and that they needed to evacuate everyone. I was worried that you went through there on the way to your job." Emilia spoke, her worry shown through her tone.
Her brother nearly coughed on his food. However, he was miraculously able to hold back his surprise, only showing a small twitch.
"Oh my… luckily the motor taxi took a different route before I entered the area…I'm glad it took a detour, otherwise I might've gotten caught up in the danger…" Ernst added to his protective lie while stirring his soup.
Emilia, satisfied with her brother's answer, let out another sigh.
"Well, I'm glad you're awake…I just hope that old man is okay…"
Ernst's mouth curved downward, with his face looking toward the bowl; his sister was unable to see his reaction to her statement.
"I'm sure he will be okay though…"
He bit his tongue after speaking.
To his luck, the conversation took a turn for the better, focusing on lighter topics. Ernst prompted more questions about Emilia's day while saying little about his own. Should he add more lies, he feared that she would eventually be able to uncover the truth.
Eventually, his bowl of soup was now empty, with only a few crumbs of bread left on his plate. Encouraging her brother to head off to bed and rest up for the next day, she took the liberty of cleaning up after him.
Slowly, Ernst lugged his way to his room and dressed in more comfortable lounge wear.
Collapsing onto his bed, he saw a ceiling he thought he would never see again.
I left the knife back at the plaza… at least it came in handy…
Ernst thought to himself with morbid humour.
He recalled the scenes he had witnessed only half a day earlier. The blood and dismembered corpses he saw left a stain on his mind. His heart could not help but ache at this mere recollection. Although he had seen similar scenes in his childhood, he had already devoted his life to avoiding such a thing from the moment the Adlers accepted him.
This isn't going away any time soon… looks like it'll be on my mind for a while ... sigh…
I don't even think reading will help…
The young man felt powerless, cowering at his own past and present traumas, as each of them overlapped with the others.
Placing the back of his hand over his eyes, he felt his head beat.
I'll need to apologize to Sonia when I can too…
I hope she'll understand…
Then there's the matter of Christopher…I hope he's doing well…
Accumulating stress, a small stream of liquid rolled down his cheek, out beneath his resting wrist.
Although an arduous challenge, the young man had finally returned home.
…
A dark room filled with expensive furniture.
"How did it go?"
A hooded figure stood in the darker areas of the room as a fireplace crackled at the forefront. In front of the heat was a man dressed in a neat suit. Holding a glass of wine in his hand, he turned to the person who had just arrived.
"It went as expected; however, one failed to turn…"
"It was as if he was fighting the effects of the–"
Before he could carry on his explanation, the handsome man raised his glass, requesting an immediate pause. He brought his drink close to his chest and swirled the fine red liquid. In his other hand, he pinched a few strands of blond hair. The strands did not seem to belong to him, but rather to a young woman.
"No matter… we had one success after all."
The figure tilted his head in curiosity.
"You knew?"
In response, the man let out a hearty laugh, nearly spilling over some of his drink.
"Of course, I know...word gets around fast."
"Also, I have multiple channels to turn to…"
"Nothing interesting can happen in this city without me being at least one of the first to catch wind of it."
The figure stayed silent at his statement, as if he was thinking of something.
After a short pause, he began to speak again.
"I assume you're ready to deal with them?"
"They already sent a few of them… they're already taking precautions…"
The wealthy man sighed and drank.
"I'll have a few men keep tabs for now. However, we should be expecting someone soon…"
The crescent moon appeared in the man's peripheral vision, shining into the room.
In the warm reddish hue of a cackling fireplace, the man sought to refill his now-empty glass.
They're moving quickly… but, perhaps they're too late….
"If that's all, you may leave," the man said, ending their conversation.
Within a few seconds, the door opened, then closed, notifying the owner of the home that the figure had left.
Soon, Bauner….no… Gaudner will be in flames…I will see to it that things go smoothly… His lips curved into a smirk.
For The Empire…
His eyes flickered an ominous red.
…
31112 Atkinson Road
A refined, yet mature woman was spread across her desk with a bored expression.
"I wonder where he is…I'd like to think my offer was pretty good, too," she sulked.
A handsome man was busily sorting through aged documents and texts.
"Perhaps, you scared him off," he said in response to her thinking.
Sonia groaned upon hearing the man's response.
"Please, don't say that, you're going to make me sad…"
Sigh
She then looked at the time. Seeing that it was a bit past noon, she remained hopeful that the young man would show up. However, as time passed, her anticipation waned, eventually giving up on the idea.
During that time, the man and woman, who were the only ones in the room at the time, had not changed their positions over those hours.
"I guess he's not coming…perhaps I should've been more honest…" Sonia childishly grumbled to herself.
The man raised his eyebrows while continuing to trace the words on his paper.
"You didn't tell him anything…?"
Raising her head to say something, she gave up on making a rebuttal to her clumsiness that day.
"I really liked their bakery too…it was cozy…the drinks were good…and the sweets…"
"It would be too awkward to go back…"
She sighed once more, planting her forehead on her desk.
Then, a man dressed in uniform walked in.
The man had an uncleanly shaven appearance, with an apparent stubble on his chin. He walked over to a desk and placed down a pocket knife he had picked up earlier.
"Where have you been?"
"Why are you dressed like that?!"
The man had walked in wearing a dark, long coat with an abundance of pockets, a clear indicator of his affiliation. His clothing seemed to belong to a certain combative force, but it clearly was not that of Bauner's military or police.
Sonia spoke out in surprise.
At that moment, the handsome man could not help but look up from his work, seeing what Sonia was so worked up about.
"Patrolling," the man said, one word without further elaboration.
The handsome man sighed.
"We went over this already…
"You can't be wearing that here. You will need to change into the clothes prepared for us by the minister…"
Sonia, still surprised by the man's appearance, pinched the top of her nose bridge.
"Sigh…Did anyone notice?"
The man sat down while grabbing a typewriter.
"Two people.
"Both men.
"A young man, and a soldier."
The handsome man sitting across the room attempted to prompt his colleague further.
"Any casualties? What were the two like?
"And…what classification…"
The man began to type while recalling the events.
"Two corrupted…eleven casualties. One was fortunate enough tobe onlye affected to the first degree. However…the other had reached the third…making him beyond cleansing…" His statements were both brisk and brief.
Then, the room became silent. Although it was a bright day, the atmosphere between the three individuals became a bit solemn.
"...And the survivors?" his colleague inquired.
The uniformed man continued his explanation.
"One was a soldier…although he did not look too highly ranked, he somehow survived while defending the other survivor---black hair---he looked quite young."
"The other was also a young man…dark hair as well… brown eyes… well dressed… he seemed to be an ordinary citizen of Bauner…he smelled of baked goods…"
"The two were fairly unscathed from the battle…"
While his colleague showed signs of relief, Sonia came to a realization.
"By any chance, did he look like the boy from the bakery?"
The man continued to type.
"I'm not sure. I was sleeping during our time there."
It can't be…The woman turned to her other colleague with a grim look.
"I'll take a visit tomorrow, just in case."
Their supposed boss nodded in agreement.