章節 23: Revealation.

"Wake up, young one. I brought you something special to eat." The old man entered with breakfast that consisted of fermented vegetables. Jinwoo had long undone his illusion as the old man's imprints would eventually override his.

"Gross, what is that!?" Jinwoo freaked out, the presentation and the overall appearance did not only make it look repulsive but it did not look fresh whatsoever.

"Nonsense, I know you are hungry and need to eat healthy to regain your strength."

The old man insisted, dropping the plate on the lap of Jinwoo.

"Well, it actually smells pretty good!" Jinwoo commented, clearly surprised as he kept sniffing it like a dog but was skeptical, he did not want to take a bite.

"Come one, young one. Take a bite, I am not leaving till you do." The old man insisted, the second sentence hinting at a joke.

Reluctantly, he took a bite with a cringe like the expression on his face but this soon changed to one of absolute ecstasy.

"W-what is this..? It just melts in my mouth! This is the best vegetable I have had in my life!" Jinwoo commented, rushing the meal before him but a sinister grin was soon seen on the face of the elderly man.

"I like you, young one." The old man said, prompting Jinwoo to stop eating and stare at him with a raised brow, awkwardness filled the air.

"Huh?" Asked Jinwoo in response to what the old man had just said.

"I really thought I would not have to do this. At least, not with you." The man said.

"What are you talking about, you are making me uncom…" Jinwoo would pause, noticing his vision had become blurry, and soon, a feeling of vertigo overcame him.

"What did you d-do?" Jinwoo asked, as he tried to get to his feet but fell to the ground almost as soon as he planted his feet on it.

"Nighty Night, young one." The elderly man said and Jinwoo would curse how he let down his guard, as his consciousness slowly faded once more.

"I did say you have a debt to repay." The old man said in a sadomasochist tone and this would be the last thing Jinwoo would hear.

"He is dead?" Hayoon asked herself but of course, this was rhetorical as she got her answer from his pulse, he had none. The runic writings on the chains would vanish to all but confirm this.

"Damn it! I had so many more questions." She cursed, she was careless and that was the only way to explain this.

"Oh! Wait!" She exclaimed, pausing as she remembered she had the other one that she had captured and heaved a sigh of relief. Wiping her bloodied hands on the shirt of the deceased man before her.

She would leave the cell in which the just-deceased Jin-Hyuk was housed and headed to the compartment that contained Chaewon.

"Hey there." She greeted in a casual flat tone but she would not make the same mistake as she did Jin-Hyuk, she never knew he could resist the truth serum, let alone take his life to hide information.

These weren't your average minded Abnormalities. For some reason, they had enhanced fortitude. No, will power would be much more accurate.

"Your pal told me everything, about the gate of Abbadon. So, I am not here to talk as I already know everything. I am simply here to torture you for the fun of it." Hayoon said with an aloof expression and she noticed the visible worry that crept upon the face of Chaewon, although brief, for a moment, she could tell Chaewon was scared.

"A little more." Hayoon thought to herself, she knew that this lady before her lacked the same fortitude as the man in the next room. Rummaging through her pocket, a double blade guillotine was brought.

"Well now, how about we take those pretty fingers," Hayoon said with a malicious scowl. The muffled struggle of Chaewon could be heard, she was trying to say something.

"Oh, right. I guess it is only natural you would have a few last words. I mean…." She paused, equipping a switchblade from her breast pocket, and continued.

"… You won't be needing that either." This was about her tongue.

Taking the gag out, and Chaewon would instantly cough, but it sounded dry.

"You are thirsty?" Hayoon would ask in which Chaewon would nod. Chaewon seemed surprisingly vulnerable, a far cry from her loyal partner.

"Fine, fine. Would you be willing to answer a few questions?" Hayoon asked. She had a hunch Chaewon was stringing her along and was very cautious in her response.

"Y-Yes, I will! P-Please do not hurt me." Chaewon would say, but this raised Hayoon's suspicion to an entirely new level. She did not trust a word Chaewon said but for some reason, she seemed broken psychologically. Was she scared of the dark or did this particular scenario trigger some sort of PTSD?

Hayoon knew she did not have time regardless and needed to round this up as soon as possible.

"That is a good girl. First question, why do you seek to open the gate of Abbadon?" Hayoon asked but she noticed Chaewon hesitated.

"I see, I guess we should gag you up and begin the fun." Hayoon soon said, rolling her eyes as she moved to cover her mouth.

"WAAIITT!" Chaewon shouted, she was unstable, the scar left by Jinwoo remained well within her mind and when the word torture was used, that unbearable pain shot through her body.

"The gate of Abbadon is the gateway to a different realm, one much darker than this plane. The one who will lead us to salvation resides within." Chaewon said, in a shaky voice.

"Huh? What is this salvation you are talking about? It sounds like you are in some radical cult." Hayoon replied, clearly confused as it sounded like gibberish to her. The typical story of brainwashed followers to aid in the fulfillment of an ideal housed by the cult.

"It wears a horn and a halo, a representation of both the righteous and unrighteous. With Its resurrection, the world shall become one." Chaewon would say, sounding more like a fanatic each passing second.

"That is strange. Do you even hear yourself? You sound like a crazy person. If what you are saying is true, why were you after me?" Hayoon finally got to her main question.

"We did not target you specifically. It could have been you or his friends, it did not matter who. you simply bait to draw out the one who possesses one of the 7 keys. The father sees all, the father knows all, the father gives life, and the father takes it." Chaewon said, she had a morbid smile across her face, she was definitely beyond saving, she was too far gone.

"Keys? What is that?" Hayoon asked in a tensed tone, slamming her hand against the wall to strike fear into the heart of Chaewon but she was no longer the vulnerable girl she was a couple of minutes ago.

"These are the catalysts required to create the rift to bring forth our Savior, the one who shall judge the world." Chaewon would say, her eyes lighting up like she was trapped in a euphoric state.

"What is the name of the man who leads you." Hayoon would ask, but immediately she did, a killing intent so immense that it manifested as a demonic face devoid of features, standing behind Chaewon like a guardian would emerge, the pressure was so intense that it shook the entire dungeon but subsided just as quickly.

"W-What was that?" Hayoon asked but the clueless expression of Chaewon made it clear she had no idea of what Hayoon was talking about.

"Why do you look so terrified?" Chaewon would ask, feeling uncomfortable by the way Hayoon stared at her.

"TELL ME WHO LEADS YOU!?" Hayoon shouted, losing her cool and this scared the sh*t out of Chaewon.

"P-Please do not hurt me." Chaewon would cry, prompting Hayoon to calm down as soon as she saw this.

"We will continue tomorrow, get yourself some rest," Hayoon said as she hurriedly exited the cell but not before gagging Chaewon and securing her cell.

"What the hell was that?" She muttered to herself, this was unnerving. She had heard about cults but this was her first encounter with one. The crazy stuff that was coming out of that lady's mouth.

The scary part was that she believed each word she said. She could not write this off as baseless, she needed to investigate further.

"This is not good.." Ki-Tae would be heard saying upon reading the contents in the back-seat of his car as his driver drove.

"This can't be! 'He' cannot be back.." Ki-Tae would mutter as cold sweat dripped down his forehead and with this revelation, the heart of Jin-Hyuk would restart as a smile is seen across his face. One thing was certain, he had been resurrected.