Calm Wanderer
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(AKJ) Chapter 18 - The penthouse attack(Part 1)
🕑 Added 2023-11-11 20:16:03 +0000 UTCDamovotsk, Molkovia, Earth.
Demian's P.O.V.
[“...There are some new developments concerning the terrorist attack on the People's City Hall in Molvograd a few days ago. Our great leaders from the Crimson Circle Party organized a massive investigation in order to find the culprit behind the bombing. Although the responsible party has yet to be found officially, the Molvograd Police Department Representative declared having discovered a few leads during a press conference today. Due to official regulation, however, no detail was officially shared with the press and our journalists could only glean some non-verified information from anonymous sources inside the MPD... Strong suspicion of... Western Supes using their powers... Representatives from the Crimson Circle demanded an explanation from Vulpes International, the latter being the Freedom League representatives... The Supe female killer seems to be still prowling... Massacred an entire family in Molvograd... Disappeared afterward... Still not identified...”]
As the anchorwomen kept delivering dire news after dire news, a slight frown appeared on all their faces. Letting out a slight sigh, Seraphine asked. “I think the previous channel was better. This one is just annoying.” Scratching his cheek with the hand not buried between the young redhead’s soft but covered breasts, he replied. “You know why. The match is about to start and it’s on this channel, so we don’t have a choice. Unless the two of you don’t want to watch it?” The two shook their heads with Sera commenting wryly. “I’m just bitching. Don’t pay attention to what I say.” A few chuckles escaped his lips at her admission, prompting him to state playfully. “As long as you’re aware.” Pausing for a brief moment to admire her cute pouting expression, he then turned his head toward his Aunt to remark. “Actually, I’m pretty curious about that bombing. Do you girls think that it’s really got to do with Western Supes?”
While sporting a thoughtful look, Adeliya responded. “I doubt it.” Cocking his brow, he questioned. “Why do you think so?” Turning her gaze in his direction, she answered. “It’s just an educated guess... First, there’s no real meaning to that bombing. If it was really Supes coming from the West, it’d be much smarter to aim at business infrastructures. The damage would be much worse then. Instead, only some useless figureheads sitting in the People’s City Hall got injured.” Nodding his head, he replied. “That makes sense. It’s probably from some internal group, then?” With a nod, she specified. “That or it might even be from the Molkovian Government itself.” Feeling confused at her reasoning, he was about to ask her for an explanation but was interrupted by her following words. “Think of it as a way to create external enemies to divert the people’s attention from what’s wrong in this country. It’s something they do all the time. Trust me on this, what’s behind the curtain is worse than most people tend to think.”
‘I guess it’s the same everywhere. Give some people power over others and they will most likely abuse it. I really don’t understand how humans have the capabilities of being so extremely evil and so extremely good at the same time...’ He pondered, his attention, however, was quickly grabbed by Adeliya’s next words. “What worries me is not the Government’s manipulation, but instead the big increase in Supes lately...” Cocking his brow, he questioned. “Are you worried about our safety?” While looking into his eyes, she replied hesitantly. “A little, yeah... I mean, in the past, Supes were relatively rare so the Freedom League and the Crimson Patriots were more or less capable of managing them. But if that trend continues...” She did not finish her sentence, but Demian immediately understood what she implied, prompting him to reassure her. “Even if there are more Supes, their numbers are still low. So, unless we’re really unlucky, we won’t need to worry about having to deal with them.”
Despite saying those words, he understood that leaving their safety to chance was the worst thing they could do, and from his Aunt’s furrowed brows, he could tell she shared the same sentiments. Actually, she was not the only one as he felt Sera’s grip tighten slightly on his arm before she remarked. “We need to find a way to deal with Supes in case we’re confronted with one. I know Bryn is strong, but her strength is not enough.” Despite not adding anything else, he knew what she meant behind her words, prompting him to let out a sigh and comment. “I can do it, but it’ll take time for me to grow more powerful. Although from how quickly I grew so far, it shouldn’t take THAT long.” His words had the intended effect, making the tension in the two women’s bodies visibly disappear.
Feeling delighted at how much they trusted him, he nonetheless asked doubtfully. “Do you really trust me that much? For all you know, I could be exaggerating or even lying outright.” His comment was followed by the two women’s enchanting giggles before Adeliya replied playfully. “What would be the point of lying? You’d gain nothing out of it.” With a slight nod of her head, Seraphine added. “Mom’s right. Not only that, but we all noticed how much you grew in one month. Well, Mom and Big Sis told me about it since I can’t exactly see anything... Anyway, there’s no reason why you wouldn’t keep growing more powerful very quickly.” Feeling that their reasoning was sound, he said with a wry smile on his face. “I guess I was overthinking...”
‘I don’t know why I’m so guarded against them. I can see that they all really care about me. I feel like I’m being the jerk here.’ He realized from their reactions. Feeling a bit dazed, his train of thought was then disturbed by the soft feeling of Sera’s hand caressing his cheek. With a meaningful smile on her face, she remarked softly. “Yes, you are. We all care a lot about you, you know?” The way she said it, Demian was not sure who she meant with her ‘we’. Nonetheless, he was not one to fuss about the details. Instead, he decided to thoroughly enjoy her gentle ministrations to the point that he even subconsciously leaned into her palm, his head moving ‘dangerously’ closer to her own. Or more specifically, his lips moving ‘dangerously’ close to her own.
However, the two instantly froze when they heard a light cough coming from Demian’s other side. “You’re done?” Adeliya asked in a cold voice, prompting the two to move their body back to their previous position while the two both responded in a contrite tone. “Yes.” Not being brave enough to look in his Aunt’s direction, Demian’s gaze was focused on the TV. While sporting an embarrassed smile on his face, he suggested. “Why don’t we keep watching TV? What do you say?” Nodding repeatedly, Seraphine replied. “Yes. Great idea. Let’s watch TV.” A second later, the two heard a disdainful snort coming from the middle-aged redhead sitting close by. However, none of them made any comment, instead falling silent as their attention was turned toward the news playing on the screen. Although Seraphine still acted a bit mischievous with her hands, it was always out of sight of her mother. The problem was that Demian had to act as if nothing was happening despite feeling her gentle stroke on his naked arm. ‘For God’s Sake! I‘m dying over here. Aren’t guys supposed to be the ones thinking with their lower half? Why is she...?’ He thought, his lips twitching slightly as he vainly tried to stop his blood from flowing to a certain part of his anatomy.
In that quiet atmosphere, minutes went by until Demian noticed the time. “Bryn’s match should be about to start, right?” With a small nod, Adeliya replied. “It’s almost time, yeah. Probably after the ad segment. Don’t change the channel though or we might miss the start of the fight.” Chuckling slightly, he replied playfully. “Don’t worry, Aunty. Although I don’t like ads, I don’t mind enduring the pain if it’s for family.” His joke brought a smile to the two women’s attractive faces before he added. “By the way, do you know why her fight is on Channel One? Are these sorts of fighting matches so popular that the biggest National Channel airs it?” To which his Aunt answered. “More and more, yes. You don’t watch much TV, so you don’t know, but with the growing amount of Supes in the world, a huge number of people have started going to different gyms to learn how to fight.”
Tilting his head slightly, he commented. “You’re right, I didn’t know. I guess it makes sense. Even if normal humans can’t win against Supes, learning how to fight is better than letting yourself hurt doing nothing.” Nodding her head, Adeliya added. “Also, this fight represents the conflict between East and West, so they would not only air it but also advertise it a lot. Especially with the recent bombing.” Despite her explanation, there was still something he did not understand. “I understand your reasoning, but Sis is Molkovian and her opponent is French. Not Russian and American. If they were, that’d make more sense, right?” His question brought a wry smile to her face but before she was able to speak, Seraphine interrupted. “If I’m not wrong, it should be exactly because they're not Russian and American that they were allowed to officially fight.”
“Uh? What do you mean?” The more they explained, the less he understood. His confusion seemed obvious to the two women as Adeliya added. “It’s not that hard to understand. If our fighter wins, we can say that they represent our victory against the West. But if theirs wins, then we can just say that our fighter is not from Russia, our ‘main’ country, making the defeat null and void. In other words, we either win or we say we weren’t really playing.” Feeling enlightened, he exclaimed. “That's surprisingly clever. And so hypocritical at the same time.” Sera snorted cutely and then retorted. “That's politics for you.” Chuckling for a short while, he commented. “I guess I’m not devious enough to understand that kind of scheme easily.” Instantly, he felt the weight of a reproachful gaze falling on him from one side and a soft punch on his shoulder from the other side. “Are you saying we’re devious?” “Who’re you calling devious?” The two women exclaimed at the same time in an irritated tone, making it clear to him that he should have chosen his words more carefully.
After coughing once, he explained softly with an apologetic smile. “I never said you were devious. I meant those people are devious for doing that kind of stuff. But you two are actually very smart for understanding those people’s thoughts.” His words were met with what seemed to be angry silence until Adeliya’s genuine laughter broke the tense atmosphere, followed immediately by Sera’s own on the other side. Seeing those two laughing at his expense, he remarked with some irritation. “Ha. Ha. Ha. Very funny. Here I am worried that I hurt your feelings and you two make fun of me.” His words were met with amused grins as Adeliya replied. “You should have seen how scared you looked. So adorable.” Rolling his eyes at her comment, he claimed. “It should be handsome. Not adorable. I’m not a kid anymore.” While sporting an amused grin, Seraphine said playfully. “But I also find you adorable. The way you were trying to explain yourself...” Immediately, she burst out laughing again, prompting him to give up. ‘There are some battles a man can never win.’ He realized while letting out a resigned sigh. He then decided to redirect the conversation to a ‘safer’ subject.
Turning toward Adeliya, Demian remarked. “By the way, since this is her last match, the cash prize should be pretty big, right?” Regaining her seriousness, the older woman replied. “Yes. At least ten million, but it may be more depending on the ratings.” Finding it reasonable he was about to add something when his ears caught the anchor’s words. [”Good evening, ladies and gentlemen in attendance and FWL fans watching from all around the world! Welcome everyone to one of the greatest fights in the Fighting World League's history! Tonight we're live from Molvograd, the great country of Molkovia’s Capital City!”]
The anchor then introduced the judges, the referee, and the sponsors before turning toward the two women waiting on each side of the ring. [”And now this is the moment you've all been waiting for! There'll be five rounds for this Main Match pitting the two strongest female heavyweight fighters in the world! Out of the red corner, the Molkovian Blazing Valkyrie, Brynhild Mikhailov...”] After he introduced Demian's older cousin, the anchor switched to the other woman. [”And out of the blue corner, the French She-Wolf, Jeanne Le Loup...”] Once he finished introducing the two powerful women, the anchorman continued. [”And now, the fighters are moving to the center of the ring. They just touched gloves and now stand ready. The referee is about to start the match... And it begins!”] As soon as the man wearing black clothes lowered his hand, the fight began with the two women starting to feel out each other by throwing light punches. As the trio’s attention was completely taken by the fight playing out on the big screen, Demian’s ears caught a noise coming from behind him. Intrigued, he turned his head back to see where it came from but found nothing. Frowning slightly, he asked. “Did you hear something?”
“No, why?” The mature redhead responded, while her daughter replied. “You need to be more accurate, Dem.” Realizing that the way he phrased his question was pretty vague, he reformulated it. “Like a door closing or something similar... It was a very small noise, so I'm not really sure I heard right.” Nodding her head, the youngest redhead answered. “Yes, I did. But I thought it came from the TV...” As she was talking, Demian heard a few muffled voices coming from beyond their entrance door, raising the alarm in his head. ‘No one is supposed to be able to access the corridor... Could it be...?’ He analyzed briefly, thinking that the worst scenario he thought of previously might be happening right at this moment. ‘No time to waste.’ He decided before leaving Seraphine’s embrace, standing up and instructing the two solemnly. “You girls lay down on the ground right now. Do not move and don't make any noise.”
The two understood the danger and thus did not protest but instead laid down on the ground with the sofa shielding their bodies from the door. “I may be overreacting, but just in ca...” His words were suddenly cut off by a beeping sound resounding in the room. Unfortunately, Demian knew what was that sound, a sound that signified the opening of the security door. Having his guess confirmed, the young man swiftly grabbed the gun lying on the table, loaded it with one of the magazines, and aimed it at the door with his finger on the handgun’s safety while subconsciously kneeling on one knee to better hide his body from any potential gunman. It was not the best cover, but he had to make do with what he had.
With his body in position, his mind finally registered how much faster his heart was beating, covering almost all other noises in the room, with the sound coming from the TV barely reaching his ears. At that moment, his senses felt much sharper than usual while his mind was laser-focused on the door opening slowly inward, bringing the tension progressively higher.
