Chapter 82: Hades ( III )
Though intangible, that murderous intent bore down on him.
"A demon!" His terror-filled mind could only conclude.
"I asked a question." Alaric’s words fell like a whisper, hushed yet cracked with rage.
He, like most Navy SEALs, could keep his cool under almost any situation, no matter how dire.
He calculated before acting, his emotions only to be observed, never acted upon.
But stress isn’t something that can be completely ignored. Most had an outlet for all the accumulated emotions they controlled in every situation.
Some played games, most smoked, a few had hobbies. Others found solace in family and friends.
Alaric had none of that.
He let out all the bottled-up pressure on those he called scum, their torment the only release his perfect mind allowed.
In times of interrogation or punishment, there was no need to hide anything. He laid every emotion bare, every ounce of rage, contempt, and hatred he had buried beneath years of discipline.
And currently, he felt nothing but unrestrained rage.
"..."
Crow’s body quivered as Alaric’s voice sounded like a siren’s screech.
"Who is this?" His mind raced, trying to figure out if perhaps the Vulcans had a dark elf capable of illusions here. It was unfathomable for a child to possess such raw malice.
"Red eyes, blue hair..." He recognized the traits.
"The cursed child of Vulcan?" He blinked, confused.
What was the boy doing here, in Hades of all places?
"I guess you don’t want to talk." His silence, though barely a minute long, felt like rebellion in Alaric’s eyes.
Wisps of steam, like white flames, danced above his palm.
"White flames!" the entity commented from the side, its head tilting forward as it looked closer. "No... it’s water." It massaged its chin in thought, observing the strange boy’s actions.
"Induced drowning can help loosen your lips."
Alaric maneuvered the steam into Crow’s nostrils and mouth.
"What is he..." Crow tried to resist with his black flames, but he barely had the energy to maintain what he already had.
The burning moisture made its way into his trachea, a sharp pain assaulting him. His trachea clamped shut, his body instinctively trying to repel the moisture, unconsciously letting out painful coughs to force the steam back out.
But the steam, under Alaric’s control, persisted.
He convulsed, his coughs overshadowing the horrid screams of the monster beneath the lavafall.
He fell face-first, twisting and thrashing, his eyes rolling into the back of his head, yet Alaric persisted.
Just when he thought all was lost, his wish for death fulfilled, Alaric pulled the steam from his lungs.
"You can’t die yet."
Alaric crouched down. His misty gas mask, coupled with his crimson eyes, filled the middle-aged man’s spirit with dread.
He had never experienced such torture, not even under Raika and the entity.
They inflicted physical pain, something he wished would end but which wasn’t enough to break his resolve. For some reason, they didn’t want to kill him, always sparing his vital organs. But this guy seemed different.
It felt as if he controlled death itself, bringing Crow to the very edge of death, then bringing him back.
" I... asked... a ...question."
Alaric’s voice came in waves, deliberate, such that each syllable had its own weight.
The pain was unbearable. Though the steam had left his lungs, a place where water shouldn’t be, even after it left, it left lingering agony.
But that wasn’t the main issue, but Alaric’s gaze, his way of speaking, and the bloodlust that was even greater than his own.
" I... Jont ... No... "
He barely made it out through pained gasps.
" ... "
Alaric didn’t move, his eerie red eyes staring into the cloudy, barely opened eyes of Crow.
"He got him to talk."
Raika was taken aback.
Crow had proved stubborn, protecting himself with his black flames, which had absorbed most of the impact.
Though Raika’s lightning was powerful, it always made him faint before he could say anything, leaving Raika with nothing.
And the entity, she had only stood by, arms folded all the while.
It didn’t really interest her, but she was the warden and had to watch the interrogation. But now she was impressed.
Most of the time, to get the truth from others, potions or artifacts were used. Torture had always been ineffective. Well, not for the Raijin Clan, as their methods of torture got the work done, Raika not being that adept at it.
" Your son is truly something else."
The entity nodded in acknowledgment.
" Where is your base, your place of operations?"
Alaric asked, the scorching mist invading Crow’s lungs once again.
Once again, Crow’s soul left his body in the most painful way imaginable, his lungs trying to expel the little droplets of water, only to create greater pain.
He coughed, coughed, his body, which had gone numb and paralyzed by Raika, regaining mobility just to try and stay alive.
He grabbed at his own throat, arms pressing violently against his chest, bloodshot eyes dripping with tears.
Just as he almost lost consciousness, Alaric redrew the scorching mist.
" Where is your base of operations?" he inquired.
Crow lay sprawled on the liquid fire, his chest heaving up and down.
" Plish qill mi."
" I will,"
Alaric’s voice changed, his tone that of a caring mother.
" But only after you answer my questions."
" ... We... Ash.. "
With barely coherent words, he spilled all of his secrets.
He didn’t even have the will to fight.
He always believed his Amaterasu made him almighty, but today, he had not only lost to one but two people, and the latter he was sure was a demon wearing the skin of a man.
...
About twenty minutes later, Alaric walked away from Crow, the latter still alive.
He didn’t grant him the death he desired, not because of pity, but because...
" Mother, I believe you have some questions to ask him."
" Yea... Yes."
Startled, Raika stammered.
She was surprised, impressed, and something else, a feeling she couldn’t put her finger on.
She didn’t know the feeling, but whatever it was, it brought goosebumps to her skin.
" ... "
Slowly, she walked past him, her gaze never leaving him, her thoughts seized.
"Is that my son?" she thought, recalling the years they had spent together. Never once had he shown such cruelty.
This went beyond him being the son of the Thunder Princess and Hellflame.
He was something else.
" I like you, wanna work here, little boy?" the entity said to Alaric.
" I can’t work with someone I don’t know!" Alaric stated matter-of-factly.
When he first arrived, he was interested in only Crow, but after finishing with him, his curiosity was drawn to this entity.
He was sure she was human. Though faceless, her mannerisms were that of a human, not to mention he heard Raika calling her family.
" Hahahaha!"
The cave boomed with laughter.
" I like you, you ain’t as spineless as your father."
She leaned closer. Like snow falling off a cliff, the lava, which was once her body, fell away, revealing a strikingly beautiful middle-aged woman, adorned in flickering black trousers and a simple yellow blouse.
She had a high-low lob cut, her hair dark crimson, with thick, softly angled brows.
An oval face.
She looked beautiful, even for a middle-aged woman, the most beautiful woman Alaric had ever seen.
" Fire?"
Alaric didn’t care for her beauty. Entranced by her outfit, he looked curiously at her attire, the flickering colors and cinders mesmerizing him.
" She created clothes out of flames."
Alaric bobbed his head as he scrutinized her attire.
" I am Seraphina Vulcan, the Warden of Hades."
She bowed with etiquette, Alaric raising an eyebrow.
Though he had been distracted by Crow, he still heard their conversation.
She sounded as hot-headed as Raika but was behaving with etiquette now.
" I am Alaric Vulcan, the son of the Thunder Princess and Hellflame."
Alaric introduced himself.
" It’s good you didn’t take your mother’s brutish nature."
She laughed heartily.
" Ok, she is polite but boisterous."
Alaric made a mental note.
It seemed she followed etiquette when needed, but otherwise she was as hot-headed as Raika.
" So what do you think of my offer? You are cursed, but the fact that you can survive the heat of this place means you are truly a Vulcan."
Seraphina praised.
" ... "
Alaric looked around, the lava below, cages lining the walls. It was a perfect place to let out some steam, but a Navy SEAL shouldn’t always give in to his nature.
" Thank you for the offer, but I will have to decline. I have someone I need to protect."
Alaric bowed in respect.
" Then what about being a part-timer? I like your techniques. You are a natural, especially that aura of yours, an anomaly."
Her eyes glowed as she scrutinized every aspect of the boy.
To her, he looked like a violent fire enveloping, seemingly protecting the raging sea of water within.
And there was something else, a strange force keeping both energies in check.
" Elio would be elated to meet you."
She grinned.