Lucinda held her breath as she listened for Greyson's footsteps. The sound of his shoes clanging against the metal floors became softer and softer, until it eventually faded into the distance. Internally, she sighed in relief. She still worried about him getting caught in the fight above, and it made her stomach twist. But for now, she just hoped that he would be safe.

With a deep breath, she released the expression she was holding. Now that he was gone, dealing with the man in front of her would be easier.

"A coworker of mine told me something earlier," she began as she met Deimos' sharp silver eyes. "When they were leaving the Portia Times's office, he noticed a car following after them."

She took a step forward, though Deimos still didn't move. His expression didn't change, either--his lips were still drawn into a thin line, and his eyes simply stared at her. He was as difficult to read as he had been all those years ago, with his face never matching his tone or words. The only thing she could tell was that it was intentional.

"He thought it was a coincidence," she continued, "but the car seemed to be trailing after him, even after taking all those unnecessary turns. He also mentioned that what the cops reported about last night was similar to the situation right now."

Lucinda stopped when she was just a few paces away, her eyes never leaving Deimos's own. When he still didn't say a word, she scowled and clenched her clean hand into a fist.

"Say, Silveria, answer this for me. You were the one that killed Dayanna Linn last night, weren't you?"

Deimos closed his eyes and sighed. When he opened them again, he shot her a glare. "A subordinate killed her. My hands may not be clean from blood, but I've never taken a life. Unlike you."

"You're such a saint." Lucinda narrowed her eyes a little and scowled. "First, you ordered someone to kill a friend of mine. Then, you had the audacity to hurt my son. You left my side, now here you are. I knew you were the stupid decision maker type, but I didn't think you'd sink to Underworld level."

"Don't pretend like you're not the reason my life is full of mistakes."

"Would you call me a mistake, then?"

Deimos furrowed his brows and looked down. Without waiting for another second, Lucinda threw her left arm to the side and ran towards him. Once she clenched her hands into a fist, the blood on her arms crawled up to her fingers, before creating strings and turning into a blade. As soon as she was a step away, she slashed the knife towards Deimos's head.

But just as she was about to hit him, he caught her wrist with his hand.

Lucinda's eyes slightly widened, and she tugged her hand away from Deimos's grip. Unfortunately, he only tightened his hold. "This was better in my head."

Deimos hummed. It was hard to tell if it was from amusement or annoyance. "What are you doing here, Luce?"

"I work here. If anything, I should be asking you that question."

"That's not what I meant and you know it." He tightened his hold again, making Lucinda hiss--both from his grip and the fact that he was squeezing a fresh wound that she made. "I know you, Lucinda. You're not a fighter. That wielding of yours isn't suited for combat. And in all honesty, I don't want to fight you, either."

Lucinda lowered her head. Heavy breaths left her lips, and she could feel her head aching. She opened the hand he was holding, making the blade disappear into a puff of red smoke, before clenching her right hand. Her nails dug deep in her skin, enough for them to draw blood.

"Guess you've become different after all these years, huh?" She bit back a whine when she felt blood dripping down her palm. "What happened to you, Deimos? You used to be so persistent and hard headed. What the hell did they do to you?!"

Just like what she did with her other hand, Lucinda let the strings of her blood crystalize into a blade before slashing it to Deimos again. And just like earlier, he still managed to catch it with ease. Mentally, she cursed herself for not having physical strength, and she cursed her wielding for draining all of her energy already.

"Tupang ina," she muttered.

Deimos pulled her face closer to him and whispered, "You're an old friend, Luce, and I really don't want to fight you. But if you're so insistent, then be. My. Guest."

Before Lucinda could react, she felt the air being knocked from her lungs. A gasp left her lips, and the next thing she felt was her back hitting the floor below. With a groan, she pushed herself up and turned her head to Deimos.

A smile formed on her face as she tossed her hair behind her and wiped her cheek. "That's more like it."

Deimos scoffed before charging at her. Lucinda only had a moment as she placed her hand in front, then clenched it into a fist. Red strings of her blood circled her wrist as they crystalized into another blade in her hands. Just as he was about to throw a punch at her, Lucinda dodged his fist and lunged for his chest. Deimos was able to dodge once again, and he grabbed her wrist.

Lucinda yelled when Deimos dragged her downwards. Her stomach and chest burned once more when she felt his knee dig into her stomach. Just as she was about to grab his coat, Deimos grabbed her by her collar and lifted her up. The next thing she heard was a loud clang, followed by her body burning as she hit the wall behind her.

Deimos wrapped his hand around her neck. His other hand reached for a knife in his coat and pointed it to her neck. The cold tip scratched the surface of her skin. She wasn't sure if she should hold her breath to be careful, or if she should keep breathing so she wouldn't pass out.

"Look at that," Deimos said as he inched his face closer, letting her see him sneering. "It wasn't even a fight."

Lucinda coughed, and she returned the expression. "You want to kiss me so bad it makes you look stupid."

Deimos froze in his place. His hands slightly loosened around her neck, letting her sigh in relief.

"I was planning to ask you nicely," he continued, "but I remember that you never played nice. So here's what we're going to do. I'm going to ask you something, and I want you to answer me. And I would prefer if you would answer me without any of your mind games, or else I'll break that pretty neck of yours. Do you understand?"

If it weren't for the fact that her head was spinning right now because of both blood loss and lack of air, Lucinda would have laughed at his threat. She didn't doubt that Deimos would and could kill her right now, but that was if he really wanted to. Besides, she wasn't going to let him. Greyson still needed her, and she wasn't going to let him live the rest of his life without another parent around.

And she was definitely not going to leave him in the DUO's hands.

Still, she met his gaze. If she had the strength, she would punch that blank look on his face. "F- Fine. What do you want?"

"Good. Now tell me, does the DUO use code names for anything?"

"O- Obv--" She bit her tongue when he slid the knife down her neck. It wasn't enough to draw blood, but it would probably leave an obvious mark. It was a warning, and the next one wouldn't be as kind. "We do, but I don't know all of them."

"What do you know about something called 'Demon'?"

Lucinda furrowed her brows as she tried to recall anything. Deimos, fortunately, loosened his hold on her again, letting her think clearer. Unfortunately, he wasn't kind enough to remove the knife.

Demon... it didn't sound familiar. She wasn't even sure if the DUO had something with that name. Unless he meant the cursed artifacts that could kill the person that touched it, but she doubted that the Underworld would want to do anything with those.

After a while, she met his gaze. "I'm going to be honest with you."

"What?"

"I don't know." Before Deimos could increase his grip again, Lucinda grabbed his wrist with both of her hands and stopped it from tightening his hold. "I- I'm dead serious, Deimos. I- I don't know anything about it. Maybe if you tell me what Demon is, I might have an idea."

"None of us were told what it could be. The only thing I know is that it used to belong to the Underworld, and we'll know it once we see it. That's why I was planning to use... the kid and see if he could make my job easier."

Lucinda gritted her teeth. She placed one hand on Deimos's arms and clenched her hands into fists. Some of her blood gathered around her fingertips, but she immediately had to loosen her hold before her body could hurt even more. "Listen. Greyson just turned twelve a few weeks ago. His wielding has limits, and I would rather not have him pushed to them."

Deimos's glare became colder, his silver eyes almost looking like they glowed in the dimly lit room. He dropped the knife in his hand, then wrapped it around her neck. Lucinda gasped for breath. Her fingers gripped for the sleeves of his cloak, but she didn't have enough strength to hold them tightly.

"Since when did you care about people being pushed to their limits? Or cared about anyone at all? Glad to see that you're showing your son the same care you gave to me all those years ago. Tell me, is he your next pawn in your new game?"

"Deimos, I can't- I can't breathe--"

The sound of something hitting the wall reached her ears. She didn't even realize how high Deimos was lifting her until she fell to her knees. Lucinda placed both of her hands on her neck and gasped for air, while she reached for the wall behind her to support herself up.

Her vision was slowly starting to clear. After taking a few more breaths, she lifted head up. She could see Deimos, and it seemed like he was fighting someone whose back was facing her. Though she didn't need to see his face to know who it was--she only knew one person who was dumb enough to stitch a dragon embroidery on his business suit.

"Viktor." A chuckle left her lips. "Took you long enough."

Viktor turned to her. His red eyes were half lidded, making them look duller. "You know this guy, Saffirus?"

Lucinda placed a hand on her face, stopping her chuckles from leaving. There was no way she could take him seriously, at least not while wearing that stupid façade on his face. Still, she flicked her eyes to Deimos again. His gaze kept switching between her and Viktor, even if his face held his usual blank stare.

"An old friend," she replied. "I would prefer it if you wouldn't hurt him more than needed. That would be my job."

Viktor turned to Deimos once again. "My subordinate seems to care about you. For her sake, I'll let you off for now."

"I'm not done--"

"And." Viktor spun the knife in his hands and tossed it to Deimos. He moved to his left, making the knife hit the wall instead. "To whoever sent you, tell her that what she's looking for isn't here. Now leave. Before I change my mind."

Deimos's frown deepened. Lucinda could see him gritting his teeth and how his hands clenched into fists. He turned his gaze to her once again, though she looked away before she could stare longer than needed. In the corner of her eyes, she could see him walking away. She placed her hands in front of Viktor for a minute and listened to his footsteps. Deimos wasn't an idiot that would play the false footsteps card, but she still wanted to make sure.

Once she was certain that he was gone, she placed her hands in her pockets and hummed. "You can stop that... thing you're doing now. You look ridiculous."

Viktor sighed. He closed his eyes and brushed some of his messy black hair away from his face. When he opened them again and looked at her, the dull red color became vibrant once more as the light reached their surface. He still looked like a confused kid with the body of an adult, but at least she could take him more seriously now.

"Are you alright, Ate Lucinda?" he asked. "Greyson said you were fighting someone, and Doctor Anthea was so caught up fighting someone I didn't manage to get your iron pills."

"I'm feeling better now, at least." She placed her hand on her neck. It still felt like Deimos's hold was on her, though she was glad she was breathing properly now. "You got something on your face. Is that blood?"

"Nothing a little makeup retouch can't fix." Viktor wiped his chin. While some of the bloodstain gathered in his fingers, he wasn't able to wipe out all of them. He even managed to wipe a bit of his makeup. "So, that guy was your ex-boyfriend, huh?"

"And this conversation is over."

"As your superior, it's not. Besides, I can see where Greyson got some of his features from."

Before he could continue walking, Lucinda shook her head. She looked at Viktor once again and said, "Sir Viktor, I do have something I want to ask."

Viktor raised a brow. "Go on?"

"What can you tell me about something called 'Demon'?"

Viktor's brows furrowed down, and a frown formed on his face. He cupped his chin and flicked his eyes downward. Then, he shook his head and looked at her again. "I'm sorry, I don't think there's anything I can say."

Lucinda hummed. "Is that so?"

"Unfortunately." Viktor scoffed, and his eyes darkened for a quick second. "Why do you ask?"

"Deimos," she whispered. "He's working for the Underworld. And whatever Demon is, they're looking for it. But it seems like he's already given up."

Viktor froze for a minute, and he averted his gaze from her. "What on earth does the Underworld want with it?"

"He didn't say, and I doubt he knew."

Before she could say anything else, Lucinda felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. She picked it up and flipped it open, only for her to frown when she saw who it was from. With a sigh, she said to Viktor, "Sedah's summoning the entire Investigation Squad."

"Of course she is." Viktor scratched the back of his head and scoffed. "Come on, let's see what she wants."

Lucinda hummed in agreement. She had a feeling she already knew what Sedah wanted them to do. Sedah had no reason to summon everyone from the Investigation Squad. She probably wasn't pretending to care, but Lucinda knew that Sedah was at least smart enough to know that Azul wouldn't hesitate to punch her in the face if he had the chance.

Still, she nodded. "Let's."

The head of the Investigation Squad is some hobo Sedah picked up on the street. He hasn't washed his hair in ten years, wears clip-on ties because he doesn't know how to tie a tie, and has no idea how he landed his job because he intentionally did bad on his interview. But you can tell he's the head of the Investigation Squad because, while everyone else wears fancy and extra coats, his business suit has dragon embroideries.

I swear Untold took all of the good fashion sense.