Suddenly, his attention was drawn to a man standing near the wooden door. His eyes gleamed bright green in the dimly lit corridor.
Taking a step forward, a tall white-haired man with a large scar across his left eye appeared before Michael. His white suit spoke for itself.
"Georgiy, why are you here?" asked Michael.
The stranger squinted, then replied:
"It doesn't matter! That bastard Graves is still alive? The whole organization trembles over him like an idol. He's a murderer, Michael, you know that yourself. If it weren't for the organization's protection, I would've destroyed him long ago. Remember, evil must be destroyed," said Georgiy.
"In that case, Graves bears no guilt. I know what kind of person he is; he would never do something like that. Think again, Georgiy — you wouldn't last in a fight with me, and against Graves, you'd lose even faster," replied Michael.
A grimace of anger appeared on Georgiy's face. He barely held back his emotions, gritting his teeth so hard that the grinding echoed through the corridor.
No answer followed. Georgiy turned and left. His footsteps faded away, leaving behind a faint echo.
Michael glanced once more at Georgiy's back, raised his hand, and knocked on the door a couple of times.
From inside came a muffled:
"Come in."
Michael opened the door. Before him was a large room lined with bookshelves covering the bare brown walls.
Books were scattered chaotically on the floor, and by one of the shelves stood a short elderly man with a white monocle over his right eye.
The first thing that caught the eye was his gray mustache, combed upward. His hair, the same color, was neatly slicked back. The head of the organization almost always went without a jacket — just a tucked-in white shirt and gray trousers.
"Mister Volbus, the demon was successfully eliminated. I arranged a meeting with the company's leader at the port next week," said Michael.
Volbus closed the book, put it back on the shelf, and replied in a quiet, slightly hoarse voice:
"I'm glad everything went as I planned. One more thing — how did your meeting with Lucien Graves go?"
Michael met his eyes, clasped his hands behind his back, and answered:
"The meeting went perfectly. How did you find out about it?"
"I have ears everywhere," the old man smiled.
[Lucien's Apartment]
"Can you tell me about the person who painted these pictures?" Lily asked.
"You're so annoying," Lucien replied, "but your stubbornness and wit help you reach your goals. Fine."
Lucien sat down at the table, and the picture flashed like it did that morning. Leaning forward, his voice grew quieter, and flashes from the past began to surface before his eyes.
"That man's name was Elijah Blackthorn. He loved to paint — even things that seemed ordinary and lifeless, he somehow gave a spark of life. I met him when I was transferred to their group.
That was when I was still studying in the organization — after turning sixteen, you were assigned to one of the groups. Mine had four people: me, Elijah Blackthorn, Ruby Ashbell, and our teacher Alaric Thorn. He was only twenty at the time. They said he was the best young instructor with limitless talent."
[Lucien's Memories]
"Look, Elijah, that's the boy who grew up in the organization. It must be hard to grow up without parents," said the girl, pointing at Lucien walking toward them.
"Quiet, Ruby, he'll hear us. And besides, didn't you hear? He's joining our group. I wonder what kind of person he is," replied Elijah, lowering Ruby's hand.
As Lucien approached them, without breaking his stare and with an emotionless face, he said:
"Hello, I'm your new group member. Nice to meet you, my name is Lucien Graves. And yours?"
"I'm Elijah Blackthorn, nice to meet you," he said, extending his hand first.
Lucien shook it in return.
"And I'm Ruby Ashbell," the girl added, not even looking at them.
Right after those words, their teacher Alaric appeared behind her — a tall young man with long black-and-blue hair slicked back. His eyes shone dark blue, as if reflecting the beauty of the night sky.
"Why are you slacking off?! Quickly, show Lucien where his room is. Unfortunately, the room meant for you, Ruby, had an accident, so you'll sleep with the boys — just for one night," said Alaric.
Ruby exhaled heavily but didn't argue with her teacher — he had helped her many times.
Alaric, in turn, decided to keep quiet about what had really happened in Ruby's room. He had accidentally spilled experimental liquids from his flasks while passing by.
Now there was a horrible stench that couldn't be explained — so strong that even opening the window didn't help.
They stopped in front of the boys' room. Turning and leaning his hand against the door, Alaric said:
"And one more thing… don't increase the number of people," he smirked.
Lucien stood with the same stone expression, not understanding the teacher's remark. Elijah, however, realized it but immediately fell into confusion; his gaze dropped, eyes darting around as thoughts raced through his head:
"Wait, did the teacher mean that?! I hope he meant something else…„
The only one who responded was Ruby, her face bright red as she muttered:
"Teacher…"
"Alright, jokes aside," Alaric said. "Don't fight, behave yourselves. And remember — tomorrow we're going on your first mission. Get some good rest. Good night," he waved and left.
Entering the room, Lucien saw a small space with a bunk bed on the right and a single bed for Ruby.
Elijah immediately jumped onto the lower bunk, saying:
"I'm sleeping here."
"I don't care where I sleep," Lucien said and sat on the chair to the left.
A two-meter rug made of fox fur lay on the floor. The walls were bare, and only one small window added a bit of dim light to the room.
"Alright, now we can eat. But quietly, don't tell anyone," said Ruby, pulling a piece of meat wrapped in newspaper from her bag.
"There's just one problem — I've got nothing to cook it with," Ruby added.
For about twenty minutes, Ruby tried to think of a way to cook the meat. She tried rubbing two small sticks together to start a fire, but it was useless.
Lucien got tired of watching this pathetic scene. He stood up, walked over to Ruby, took the piece of meat, skewered it on a nearby stick, then lit his hand on fire and began roasting it.
"Whoa, that's one of the coolest abilities I've ever seen! How do you do that?" Elijah asked.
"Yeah, unusual ability. But that's not important — soon the food will be ready, and I—" Ruby started, then corrected herself, "no, we can eat, but the bigger portion's mine," she said reproachfully.
Lucien glanced at Elijah, shrugged silently, and continued roasting the meat.
Five minutes later, it was done. The group sat on the floor and began to eat. The pause was long until Lucien broke it first.
"So, do you have parents? And what are your abilities?" he asked.
The two looked at each other and answered at the same time:
"No!"
"My parents sold me for a handful of coins to buy more booze. As long as I can remember, they were always drinking heavily. My father never worked, and my mother sometimes took shifts at a local café. I had five older sisters — but they sold them all. Later I found out the horrible things that were done to them until they died painful deaths.
I was last in line. One day, a short, fat man came for me. I don't remember his face — he was the owner of a house of lust and pleasure.
When he brought me to his room, he started touching me. He didn't even care that I was twelve. Before I blacked out, the last thing I remember was screaming as loud as I could.
Then I woke up in a strange room with colorful flasks — it was Alaric's laboratory. That's where I met Elijah. If I ever get the chance, I'll find that disgusting pig and avenge all my sisters," Ruby said, chewing her meat.
Elijah wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his yellow shirt and said…
Thank you for reading the chapter. I'll be glad for every comment and will gladly answer your questions. You can learn more on the Discord server. I'm really looking forward to seeing each of you there.