20 His Hunters Finally Found Him

"Mr. Mask, as what you preferred to be addressed, how did you survive the blast?"

"Ms. Whitaker, let's call it. Luck."

"Five meters away from the blast is not luck. You covered those Afghan children using... your back. According to what I can see on your body, they were burns from a long time ago. Can you explain why don't you have any burns from the blast?"

"Ugarov, as what they called the scientist in my building; burned me to hell as a cover-up. They said it was for Americans to not know my true face. I am a Russian spy, the best of the best. An assassin and a murderer, we... I was injected by some chemicals that made me invulnerable with fire. I think the furnace I lived for years were among their experiment."

"No one can lie in a cloud of smoke, right, Mr. Mask? By the way, my name's Athena Lawson, not Lara Whitaker. Thanks for betraying, Mother Russia."

Athena goes out of the interrogation room with a smiling face. How can she understand that everything was a lie? Needless to say, she knows.

"I think, the smoke is not working well. Let's change our materials, Dawson. Get everything this place has to offer to dig the truth out of his mind," Athena orders the man on the monitor who immediately complied.

A week passes by, still Athena's helpless. She uses injection and water and gas and tied him up and everything she can think of, they can think of. It is better to talk to a dog compared to this burned man. Of course, dogs can fetch things for you without delay: trained dogs; still the same. "Aw! Aw! Aw!" dogs would say when they want to say something to their owner. However, this man can talk but in circles and like William Shakespeare. He's a storyteller and a poet and a very good liar. Why wouldn't they end this man's life? Simple, they can't. They tried to bleed him to death, punched him to death, starved him to death, thirst him to death, but the hell! He's not complying with the humans' basic needs. If only they know he's not a human or just a weak being. For crying out loud, he's a God, a Jadasian! For this humans mercy, why will he tell them that?! They're not worth it and eventually will only lead to panic and their own extinction!

"I told you, I'm full of chemicals," he says looking at Athena with his amber eyes.

"Mr. Mask, let's make this easier for us. I only wanted to know you."

"'Only?' Knowing me is like oceanography. You dive deeper into unknown, into darkness. Also, you are not worth my secret."

"How can I make myself worthy?"

"You are already worthy in your own way. You know, a cup that is full of water will always spill when you put a stone into it. Don't worry too much, you'll just drown yourself."

"I am not worried if I will drown, I know how to swim in an ocean."

"Hahahaha! You are full of wisdom!" His laughter fills the small room. He straightens his back on his metal chair and continues, "A star holds thousands of mystery. A cluster of them can make a secret. They shine so bright and die in darkness, silently or with a loud destructive power. Do you know what I mean?"

"No?"

"You never disappoint me, as expected. If you are given a mission to save the life of a devil in exchange of your life. Will you accept it?"

"Why would I save a devil?"

"Exactly, my point! Why would we save a devil? However, he must, to kill another devil. You know what, I always asked myself if what is good and what is bad, who are the devils and the angels. Someone told me, that what we believe is good is good, what we believe is bad is bad, the reason no intelligent living beings are the same. Angels are better than devils because they are the one whom we believe is good. Therefore, there's no such thing as goodness and evilness as long as we have a reason. I hate philosophy but I love knowing it better."

The whole room is once again silenced. The mask man's ragged panting and Athena's muttering voice are the only sounds that are left.

"There's nothing America can't protect," Athena says, breaking the silence that has been accumulated for about two minutes.

"My enemy is not China or Russia, or even the terrorists. Even I say them to you, you can't understand."

"I'll try to understand."

"My enemy is not in this world."

"Aliens?"

"Can be. How're the children?" he asks, changing the topic.

"They're back in their village. Wait..." Athena says when she heard her colleague speak at the other end of the room. She immediately goes out and left Mr. Mask who already doesn't wear his mask.

"What happened, Dawson?"

"We have been infiltrated!"

"How's the situation?"

Dawson doesn't want to say the facts. He cannot believe it.

"50 men are all dead! That's for 10 seconds only!"

"Are you sure?!"

"Affirmative!"

"Shit! The lights out!" Athena cursed when the whole facility blacked out. Darkness blanketed the room, blacking out most of the surroundings to the naked eye. Both of them wear their night-vision goggles and a green glow replaced the darkness. Deathly silenced crawl into their souls. Their heart rate becomes faster and faster as the unfamiliar howling sound approaches their direction. Metallic noise from some sort of sword that is scraping the walls reverberate. Within seconds, the door creaks as someone opens it. Athena holds her gun and readies to fire.

"Menteria subente rokumpre sentesa riente! Gumbenete shurere! Fruyte!" someone says outside the door. The way he said those words are thick and fast. It is a strange language that is very unfamiliar to them.

"Who are you?! Show yourself!" Athena shouts with all her courage.

"Gurante?!"

The man instantly appears in front of them. He is taller than Dawson by a foot. This man is like a small giant. His face is covered by a black mask. He wields his sword and slashes it towards them. Dawson is sliced without any difficulty. His body is split into two and drops on the cold floor. The black masked slashes his sword again towards Athena.

"Tingggg!"

"RUN!" Instead of heeding to the shout, Athena didn't move. She looks at the black masked and fires her gun towards him. She didn't stop firing her gun until it is out of bullets. The sounds of gunshot retaliate throughout Athena's slender body. She stares aghast at the bullets that are being reflected by the skin of the man in a black masked. Athena witnesses how the bullets penetrated his clothes, however, the bullets are instantly reflected by his metallic skin. She's not sure if this man's skin is really metallic or just powerful enough to resist her weapon.

"Murante sues qeuntar! Frigo monte rada! Dusta murondo rase!" (Your weapon tickles me! How dare you pathetic being! Die with this rebel!) the blacked masked man shouts and slashes his sword. Once again, it is blocked by a silver sword and brings a powerful force that cracks the ground.

Athena doesn't know what to do. This is the first time she witnesses a fight, fought with swords that can pierce through anything. Her mind cannot function well in this kind of situation with all the language she heard and the invincible force she feels around her body. It is scary that she starts to get dizzy and she senses that her stomach experiences numbness and painless struggle with life and death.

"Rega planar beruza clarte!" Mr. Masked utters in his deep baritone voice. Athena doesn't have any idea if how this man appeared in a sudden fashion and rescued her from death. At the moment, she leaves the thought behind when she notices snowflakes form around her. It gives her a warm and soft feeling. The invincible force that battered her slowly vanishes. The snow that touches her skin didn't give her a shiver, rather, a very delicate and natural sensuality that makes her feel safe.

"Stand back five meters away!" Mr. Mask orders her. Without hesitation, Athena complies and hide her self in the corner.

"Hahahaha! Hurunto ques rase. Der susque! Dusta!" (Hahahaha! You really are a rebel! They're right! Die!)

Athena doesn't understand any of those words. She is still staring at the back of Mr. Mask and she surveys his reaction to get a hint of his opponents words. However, she only notices the calm breathing of Mr. Mask who vanishes in his spot and appears behind his opponent and pierces his sword like a lightning bolt. Athena thought it is already the end but the black masked man also vanished and appeared in front of her. Her hair stands on ends and death looms around her. She knows this is her end. Athena closes her eyes ready to die. Today she believes that there are aliens, capable of destroying her home together with everything it has.