44 Cat and Mouse 1

When 373 regained consciousness, she found her body moving through the debris of Elisium's operating theater while dodging a series of attacks that flew her way. It was a bizarre sensation. It was almost like she had no control over her body. But at the same time, she could regain control over her muscles if she wanted to.

That wasn't the only peculiar thing happening to her body. For some reason, even though the sight of blood was making her sick, a part of her was reveling at the shades of red splattered on the floor. Amid the disgusting carnage unfolding in front of her, she was having fun.

Fun.

That wasn't exactly something she should be feeling right now, was it?

A smooth male voice echoed in her head as her body ducked behind the debris of a wall that had collapsed. 'I see you've awoken, pueri.'

373 blinked. "Astaroth?"

'You do not have to speak so loudly child. Your thoughts and emotions are mine as my thoughts and emotions are yours,' Astaroth replied. 'You simply have to think it and this Duke of Hell will naturally understand your intent.'

The girl felt the control of her body returning to her as she pressed her back on the dilapidated wall and listened to the crashing and cackling of the battlefield that lay behind her. Her shadow seemed to dance beneath her feet as a man's perfectly chiseled form appeared right before her.

Black wings extended behind the male's shoulders which had obsidian shoulder plates that secured a cape that fluttered soundlessly behind him. The shoulder plates were lined with fine golden lines that wove a delicate pattern on the black piece of armor. The demon's chest was still bare just like how she remembered it to be, but the rest of his form was decorated in golden ornaments which made the girl wonder if he was dressing as a Duke or as a King.

'Are you infatuated with my body, child?' Astaroth's voice chimed in her head with a humorous lilt. There was an innuendo hidden behind his words. Unfortunately, 373 missed the flirtatious undertone of his words and grimaced.

'No,' she thought back to the demon. She was much more curious about what had happened to his real body and whether or not the seal had managed to dissolve completely.

The demon's laughter rang in her head. He answered the question that she had been thinking of. 'The seal should have been broken. But my body…has long been transferred out of the hidden chamber and into a vehicle that shall head towards one of the laboratories belonging to the blue haired tramp.'

Her eyebrows rose up ever slightly. "Blue haired tramp?"

'Asha Claire,' Astaroth answered. His body flickered in front of 373 only to reappear right beside her. 'However, … Are your sure that you should concern yourself with inconsequential details such as this?'

373 hummed. The female took a peek at the operating theater and tried to track Leon's energy signature amid the flashing spells. The overpowering scent of burning flesh twisted the muscles in her stomach. Bile rose up to her throat and her world turned unsteady.

Yet the sensation was gone in a split second. In its stead was a heated excitement that made the hairs of her skin stand on end. Her vision steadied at the sudden change and the girl could feel her senses grow sharp. Before she could ask the demon what had happened, his voice rang in her head once more.

'This unique bond allows a contractor to borrow the attributes and feelings of a demon.' The smile on the Duke of Hell's face was both devilish and enchanting. 'But at the same time, this unique bond a demon and contractor… may have been the reason Shadow Users have lost their sanity to bloodlust time and time again.'

The child felt something was off with Astaroth's explanation. However, she didn't have time to put her finger on the issue. A loud explosion grabbed the young girl's attention. 373 instinctively lunged and rolled aside just as an invisible force glowed on the place she had been and reduced her cover to a clump of ashes that fluttered down like black snow.

A group of men in garish gray suits ran inside the burning operating theater. The small female couldn't even catch even her breath. Five men with big bodies had broken off from the assault team and started heading towards her. The man who had set off the explosion below her feet was also part of the five-man group. 373 ran head first into the fray and tried to shake off the Spellcasters in the blistering inferno and her eyes managed to meet a bright orange gaze that was bubbling with rage.

It was the same pair of orange eyes that she had seen in Michael Caelum's memories. Those orbs belonged to a man named Silas Fidi.

A Magno Deorum.

Astaroth sighed. 'This is not the time to be reminiscing, child.'

The moment the words left the demon's lips, a shockwave traveled on the floor. The sudden tremor made the female lose her footing. Her leg scrapped on the floor and a blood red gash marked her skin. The girl hissed in pain but quickly pushed herself off the ground while summoning a rain of fire and lightning falling towards the men that had surrounded her. A barrier went up around her. But rather than protecting her, 373's protective screen prevented the Spellcasters from going in, but it also prevented her from going out.

373's eyebrows furrowed and sweat traced her small face that was drained of color. She huffed in exhaustion. The group split up into multiple teams that tried to put out the fire and capture the boy who was controlling the flames.

The flames were slowly dying. The boy with the golden mane was about to be cornered. 373 was trapped in the barrier of her own making.

And although Leon's Talent was heaven-defying Talent, it wasn't enough.

A streak of red light arrived in the battlefield. The imposing man with orange upturned eyes glared at the mystical speck that floated inside the operating theater. Silas Fidi's eyes narrowed as he looked at the flying red bird and stretched out a lanky hand towards the small glowing figure. He released a snort.

"Don't tell me Jeorge Marcus Grin can't even take care of a few children?"

373 could only watch as the red bird perched on the Great Apothecary's bony hand. A feeling of apprehension rose in the little girl's chest. Her black orbs were drawn to the ethereal beast. As if feeling her gaze, the red bird twisted its body and looked at her. The bird seemed to wink at her before turning back around and giving out a single high-pitched chirp.

With that sound, the mystical creature glowed a brilliant white light. The originally scattered team of elite Spellcasters quickly jumped towards Silas Fidi to contain the white ball of energy that was on the verge of exploding. By the time they took a step towards the Magno Deorum, it was too late.

An enormous pressure descended upon them as the ball of energy cracked and exploded, sending gusts of wind and smoke that whipped against the Spellcasters's bodies. The white light dimmed and was replaced with a red blazing glow as two gigantic wings unfurled. 373's barrier crumbled. Silas Fidi's guards were sent tumbling along the ground. Their imposing countenances turned wretched as an awe-inspiring energy spread through their bones.

Silas Fidi's form became visible as the fog of smoke subsided with the gusts of wind. A barrier of energy that stemmed from his outstretched hands was wrapped around his body. The Great Apothecary's laboratory coat's sleeves were singed at the ends. Even his palms had slight burn marks. His face turned dark as his upturned eyes turned bloodshot. Silas Fidi grit his teeth. "Jeorge Marcus Grin! When I find you, I'll end your disgusting life!"

A fierce screech echoed and 373's eyes were drawn at the mythical figure that seemed to be made of fire as it flew towards her. The little bird had turned into a phoenix right before her eyes. Dark black eyes met the girl's questioning orbs. The phoenix's orbs seemed to glint in laughter. The dazzling feathers on its tail moved and wrapped around the brown-haired girl's shoulders as the majestic bird lowered its head to 373's ear.

The phoenix breathed on to her face and with it, multiple images rushed into 373's head. Gabriel Fernandez and the class of Aquarius were safe. She saw a set of familiar chains that were now wrapped around a black box and a gigantic cross she had seen multiple times before. Right beside it laid a glass container that was filled with liquid. A young male with amber red hair was suspended inside, his eyes closed as if he was sleeping. A rhythmic beeping that matched the person's heartbeat echoed in her mind.

373's heart thumped inside her chest.

Michael Caelum was alive.

The images the creature showed her didn't end there. The face of a male adult she had never seen before flashed in her head. 373 didn't know why, but the man's clean shaven yet haggard face gave her a sense of familiarity. His laboratory coat fluttered as he setup containers of highly-explosive Aurum Fulminans around the key foundations of Elisium. The man's voice resounded in her thoughts. The adult said eight words. But his words were enough to trigger the gears in 373's head.

'The Talent over memories… is a terrifying thing.'

Everything happened in a single breath. When she looked up, the legendary creature flapped its wings. Suddenly, it swooped towards her. Someone was yelling inside the room. Multiple figures darted towards her. 373 remained standing as the creature rammed itself on her small chest. There was no pain – only a soothing warmth that penetrated even her bones. The phoenix transformed into wisps of energy that seeped into her skin. Her cheeks felt warm. The fatigue she had felt earlier disappeared. All the energy she had expended seemed to have returned to her at twice the amount.

"Good! Very good!"

A raspy male voice boomed in the room. 373 turned at the source and found that the man with orange eyes was glued to her small form. A leer was on the man's sallow and bony face. His sunken cheeks and angled facial structure accentuated the shadows on his face that grew darker as his anger rose. The Magno Deorum released a throaty laugh that made 373 unconsciously take a step back.

"My laboratory has been destroyed and it seems like Jeorge Marcus Grin is intending to get in my way," Silas Fidi roared, his voice dripping with poison. "Brandish!"

A single man who exuded a bloodthirsty aura appeared right beside the Great Apothecary and knelt before him. "Sir!"

"Capture Salamander and the little container. I want them alive," Silas Fidi began. The man's gaze sharpened and never left 373's face. A dangerous glint flashed in the man's tangerine-colored orbs. His thin dry lips twisted into a blood curdling smile.

"… But they don't have to be in one piece."

373 froze when she heard the words leave the Magno Deorum's mouth. The elite guards in silver clothing lunged towards her, each sending unrelenting attack spells. The girl braced herself for the incoming attacks. The words the Phoenix had left her were swirling in her head. And as she stared at the group of men that were moving towards her, she remembered the day she had accidentally allowed Leon to feel her feelings, how she had broken into Michael Caelum's memories to pry out his secrets, and how she had spoken to Zain Amina during her final moments in the crisscrossing cobblestone lanes that were laced with bright red blooms.

An idea formed in her head. With a single thought, the female child relinquished her control over her Talent.

The little girl had learned to control her Talent – to change the thousand voices in her head that raged like a waterfall into a silent trickle of water from a small tap. Once she released the dam holding back her Talent, the silence in her head was quickly replaced with a flood of emotions and thoughts that were not her own. But the small female didn't stop moving. 373 dodged the attacks aimed at her and wove through the men that were trying to capture her. She maneuvered through the men until she was standing roughly in the middle. The moment her feet hit the ground, the girl with obsidian eyes felt time stop.

She recalled the faces of the children of Elisium that had met their end in the wide hall she now stood in. The pain and torture that the children her age had gone through, the unspeakable and inhumane torment the researchers had subject each youth that had visited these halls – 373 had seen it all and had even tasted it herself in the last two days she had stayed in Elisium's cells.

373's skin tingled as she recalled each sensation. With a sigh, she closed her eyes.

Her world turned quiet. No sound remained.

But something inside her had clicked into place.

All the images, sensations – each ounce of pain and torture, flowed out of her body and into the raging waters of her Talent until they overflowed and formed a flood that threated to drown all the people within the area of her Talent. 373's once quiet world became filled with screams of pain and horror. But those voices no longer belonged to the children of Elisium.

Around her, the adult men clutched at their ears and slowly fell to their knees one by one. The once proud team of men were reduced to nothing but a disorganized lump of worms that were writhing in pain on the floor. Their mouths foamed. Their armored bodies convulsed.

Among the adults in the room only Silas Fidi remained standing, his mouth hanging open while the rest of his face was contorted in shock. His turned his head to the small girl with brown hair. His complexion turned a few shades darker.

"What… did you just do?"

The girl slowly opened her eyes and tucked her hair behind her ear in a graceful movement. Her demeanor had changed – like she had turned into a completely different person. Black orbs studied the bodies calmly that were lying limply on the floor, almost like she had expected this outcome. But as soon as she blinked, the calm in her eyes was replaced with surprise.

373 stared at the scene before her, unsure about what had just transpired.

What did she just do?