Chapter 231: INTERPOL...
[Lyon, France]
The atmosphere was tense. The cold glow of the monitors reflected on the tense faces of the agents as data streamed across the screens like an unrelenting flood of information.
At the center of the room, a woman with black hair and blue eyes maintained a rigid posture, watching another figure seated in front of her.
"Director Natasha..." the woman began, her voice laced with caution. "Gods don’t care about the human world. Don’t waste your time trying to understand why Sun Wukong assassinated the Pope."
The red-haired woman behind the desk, appearing to be in her mid-thirties, closed a folder marked with a large red seal: INTERPOL – CONFIDENTIAL.
"Don’t underestimate my ability to understand the gods, Sheron." Her green eyes gleamed with determination.
Before she could insist further, Natasha sprang to her feet and strode across the room with firm steps, forcing Sheron to rush to keep up.
Sheron sighed. "Here we go again."
"Director! Wait!" Sheron shouted, grabbing a stack of folders her boss had left behind.
"What do we have?" Natasha ignored the protest, her tone sharp as a blade. "The list of the ten most wanted updates every ten minutes. We humans are being pushed further and further to the margins of this world… We can’t afford to lose what little ground we have left."
The wide hallways of the Interpol headquarters felt narrow in the face of the director’s urgency. Several agents stepped aside as she marched forward with purpose.
Upon reaching a conference room, a massive holographic screen activated automatically, displaying a series of dossiers and live footage captured by security cameras and satellites.
A tall, broad-shouldered man dressed in a pristine suit lifted his gaze toward Natasha. His dark skin contrasted with the blue glow of the monitors. He didn’t seem surprised by the director’s sudden arrival.
"Good morning, Director," he greeted her calmly, motioning for her to take a seat.
"Robbis, straight to the point." Natasha demanded, crossing her arms.
"Yes, ma’am." He smirked slightly, already used to her impatient pace.
"Well… We’ve identified two pseudo-gods operating in the mortal world again." With a command, the screen shifted, zooming in on an image captured by a security camera.
"The first one is… an interesting case." He pointed at the woman on the screen, enlarging her face.
A tall woman with black hair and a gaze sculpted by the divine. Her green eyes stared into the camera with a mischievous smile... just before interference cut the feed.
"The Goddess of the Hunt, Artemis," Sheron frowned. "Artemis? What is she doing in the human world?"
Robbis shrugged. "To be honest, we’re not even sure we should still call her that. According to our informants in the underworld, Artemis… is no longer an ordinary goddess."
"What do you mean?" Natasha arched an eyebrow.
"It seems our darling now resides in Hell and goes by the name Selene." He zoomed in further, highlighting the unnatural glow in her eyes. "Artemis is now being classified as a Demon-Goddess."
"Well, that’s new…" Sheron let out a low whistle. Natasha, however, didn’t seem concerned.
"Artemis has never been a problem for us. Leave her be for now. Let’s move on to the real elephant in the room." Natasha pressed, looking at him expectantly.
Robbis hesitated for a second before exhaling tiredly. "You always want to skip straight to the worst…"
He tapped the holographic screen again, and the image shifted to another woman.
This time, it was nightclub footage.
The central figure was dazzling yet dangerous, her eyes shimmering like corrupted stars.
"Archon, Paimon." The name echoed through the room like silent thunder.
Natasha tilted her head, examining the footage.
"Now this is a big fish…" A predatory smile crept across her face. "What do we have on her?"
Robbis took a deep breath before activating a holographic map.
The screen lit up, revealing an eerily detailed view of Los Angeles. The map was covered in red dots, pulsing like a living organism.
"What the hell is this?" Natasha narrowed her eyes.
Robbis pointed at the highlighted areas. "Death zones. All of this is happening silently, inside battle dimensions scattered throughout the city."
Natasha blinked, absorbing the information.
"Wait… Are you telling me that in Los Angeles, in the middle of fucking California, we have a siege involving…" She couldn’t even find the right words.
Robbis raised a finger, calmly counting.
"Demons. Werewolves. Vampires. Fallen Angels. And, of course… a mansion full of Demon Queens." He pointed to a golden marker. "And the new Demon King… who was last seen with Paimon."
The silence that followed was deafening. Natasha took a deep breath… and let out a single, clear, and direct curse.
"FUCKING HELL." She rubbed her temples, trying to process it all.
"This shit turned into an interdimensional war zone, and no one noticed?!" She exhaled sharply, her frustration evident.
"Well… We noticed." Robbis smirked.
"And you think that’s funny, you bastard?! Look at this mess!" Natasha spun on her heels, pointing at Robbis with a fierce glare.
She furiously gestured at the holographic map, where the red dots continued multiplying like a virus spreading out of control. With each passing second, the situation seemed to deteriorate even further.
Your next chapter awaits on NovelBin.Côm
Sheron let out a long sigh, crossing her arms. "Well, at least it won’t be a boring day."
Natasha massaged her temples, already feeling a pounding headache forming. "You know what? If this keeps up, I’m going to need an exorcism because my liver is about to leave my body."
She abruptly stood up, adjusting her blazer while Robbis just grinned, clearly enjoying the rising chaos.
"So… what’s the plan, boss?" he asked, leaning casually against the table.
Natasha shot one last glance at the map before letting out a heavy sigh. "I want the ten most wanted in the supernatural world added to our priority target list. Put bounties on each of these bastards… and place Paimon at the very top."
Without waiting for a response, she turned and walked out of the room with firm steps, leaving behind a tense silence.
[Los Angeles]
"ATCHIM!!!"
The force of Paimon’s sneeze was so powerful that it made the windows shake, leaving Vergil, Sapphire, Stella, and Raphaeline staring at her as though she had just cast a forbidden spell.
Sapphire furrowed her brows and recoiled slightly. "Damn, are you trying to exorcise a demon inside of you, or was that just a sneeze?"
Raphaeline crossed her arms and made a face. "Seriously, Paimon? We’re three years out of a pandemic. If you bring another one, I swear I’ll throw you into an abyss."
Stella grabbed a napkin and threw it in Paimon’s face. "At the very least, cover that mouth, creature!"
Paimon sniffled, blinking her tear-filled eyes. "Shit... someone must be talking about me."
Vergil huffed. "Definitely not anything good."
Stella rested her chin on her hand, deep in thought. "Either they’re insulting you... or betting on how long you’ll last before causing more chaos."
Paimon let out a dramatic sigh, throwing her arms up. "You’re all so insensitive! I just sneezed!"
Sapphire narrowed her eyes. "If one sneeze of yours can be mistaken for an earthquake, I’d rather you don’t sneeze at all."
"Let’s get moving, stop with the nonsense. Let’s talk about the Excalibur fragment in that weird siege. Why hasn’t anyone stolen that damn thing yet?" Vergil asked, crossing his arms.
Paimon grabbed a tablet and swiped the screen to the side, showing a series of data.
"We’re currently identifying all sorts of things going on in that place. Drug trafficking, dimensional weapons, suspicious rituals, a whole lot of shit happening... But the fragment? We know it’s there, but no one can pinpoint exactly where."
She handed the tablet to Vergil, who began analyzing the information.
"Seriously, this is starting to look like a spy movie," he joked, swiping the screen.
Then, a red notification started flashing at the corner of the screen.
"Hey, Paimon..." Vergil narrowed his eyes at the message that appeared on the screen.
[ALERT UPDATE: PAIMON – TOP 1 – INTERPOL]
A brief silence hung in the air.
"... Wait. WHAT?!" Paimon blinked rapidly, trying to read without blinking... She snatched the tablet from Vergil’s hands and stared at the screen, her mouth slowly opening in pure shock. "ARE YOU KIDDING WITH ME?!"
Sapphire leaned in to peek at the screen and let out a suppressed laugh. "Congratulations, you’ve officially surpassed terrorists, mass murderers, and demon cultists."
Stella whistled, impressed. "Paimon, the world’s most wanted criminal. I have to admit, it’s kind of sexy."
Raphaeline sighed. "What mess did you get yourself into this time?"
"I DIDN’T DO SHIT! Well... nothing recent, at least." Paimon started quickly swiping through the screen, looking for more information.
"Great. Now we have Interpol on our tail. As if demons, fallen angels, and gods wanting our heads weren’t enough." Vergil massaged his temples.
Katharina laughed, giving Paimon a pat on the back. "Relax, number one criminal. At least now you’ve got a cool title."
Paimon growled and threw her head back. "I don’t know whether to laugh or throw myself off a building."
"Well, I don’t think Interpol will do anything. After all... we’re demons, right? Not like they can just show up and—"
Before Vergil could finish the sentence, Viviane suddenly entered the room, holding a cup of tea and with a casual expression.
"Hey... there’s some FBI people at the door." Silence.
Vergil blinked a few times. "Oh… the FBI?"
Viviane took a sip of tea and nodded.
"Yep. A bunch of suits looking like they’re about to shit their pants. Oh, and there are two or three exorcists among them. Pretty discreet... if you ignore the crucifixes and bags full of holy shit."
Paimon tossed the tablet in the air and held her head.
"I JUST WOKE UP, DAMN IT! CAN’T YOU GIVE ME A SECOND OF PEACE?!"
What do you think?
Total Responses: 0