Udo, nine years old, ran blindly through the darkness of the forest, guided only by the faint light of the moon peeking through the dense canopy. The crunch of leaves under his feet and his panting breath were the only sounds cutting through the eerie silence.
Suddenly, a woman's body sailed through the air, crashing into a tree with a sickening thud. Udo skidded to a halt, rushing to her side.
"U-Udo," the woman gasped, each word punctuated by her laboured breathing. "Run...I'm running out of energy."
"But...you'll die," Udo stammered, his eyes wide with fear.
The woman attempted a comforting smile, her face etched with pain. "Don't worry about me...run...run as far as you can. Start a new life, make friends, find a family. Live the life every child deserves...and please...whatever you do...never use your Fiend vibration. It hurts...it manipulates...it steals...it tortures. Udo, please...run."
Tears welled in Udo's eyes. He wanted to argue, to protest, but the desperation in her voice was unmistakable. "But--" he began, his voice breaking.
"Go!" the woman's voice cracked, tears streaming down her cheeks. "For me..."
And so, Udo ran. The woman's screams echoed through the trees as he fled, hot tears blurring his vision.
The memory faded into a starkly different reality. The cold, harsh confines of a Fiend Penitentiary torture chamber.
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Udo, battered and bruised, was suspended from a pole, his wrists bound in unforgiving metal cuffs. Two Dove officers stood before him, their expressions cruel, whips in their hands.
"Ready to start talking yet?" One of the officers sneered, the whip in his hand landing on Udo's skin with a vicious crack.
Udo kept his silence, his eyes squeezed shut against the pain.
"Where the fuck are the other members of The Herd, you demon?" the second officer growled, his whip meeting Udo's flesh in a harsh blow.
"Speak up, you piece of shit!" The first officer's whip came down once more.
Finally, Officer #2 dropped to the floor, exhausted. "For fuck's sake, it's been six hours and he hasn't said a single word yet...are you sure this is the kid we want?"
Officer #1 nodded firmly, "Udo Iche, the last remaining member of the Iche clan, Fiend host.
This is definitely the guy we want."
Grunting, Officer #2 heaved himself back to his feet. "Well, he better start talking 'cause I'm getting freaking tired of this shit! You think we can amp up the torture a bit? Like I mean...he's a Fiend host, doubt a simple whip would do anything to him..."
Officer #1's response was curt, "No, we can't. Until we receive new orders from the higher-ups, we're obliged to continue to carry out the first order, which is whipping him into submission."
With a final, brutal swing, the whip struck Udo's skin once more.
Suddenly, the heavy doors of the chamber swung open, revealing a formidable entourage.
Eight officers fell into formation on either side of the entrance, forming a guard of honour for the two men who strode in.
"Captain Gozen! Sir Holland!" Officer #1's voice echoed in the sterile chamber. Both officers dropped to one knee, heads bowed in deference. "Welcome."
The first man, Toshiko Gozen, had an air of gloomy intensity about him. At 27, his hair was long and dishevelled, his eyes holding a mysterious depth. "How far with the interrogation?" he queried, his voice as calm as a still pond.
Officer #2 responded, "Hasn't been good, Captain; he hasn't said a word since. It seems like the whip has no effect on him."
"Is that so...?" Gozen's voice trailed off, lost in thought.
"Yes, Captain. We were thinking of changing our torture method to a more extreme one, but we thought it would be better to wait for your orders," Officer #2 added.
The second man to enter was a striking figure. Edgar Holland, 39 years old, wore a crisp suit under a trench coat. His high fade hair and full beard were meticulously groomed. With a smirk playing on his lips, he casually grabbed a folding chair, positioned it before Udo, and sat down.
"It's fine. We'll take it from here," Holland declared. The two officers bowed and exited, leaving
Udo alone with Holland and Gozen.
A silence descended over the room, the tension almost palpable. After what seemed like an eternity, Holland broke the quiet. "Oh, apologies. How rude of us not to introduce ourselves.
After all...you're our long-awaited guest of honour..."
Sir Holland rose from his chair, slinging an arm around Gozen's shoulders. "This is Captain Gozen.
My right-hand man. Occasionally gives me a piece of his wisdom but most importantly, keeps me in check...just in case I get a little bit...unhinged..." Holland's hand squeezed Gozen's shoulder, his smirk never wavering. "Seriously though...I'm very grateful for your work."
Gozen offered Holland an unamused look, retorting with a dismissive "' Kay, weirdo..."
Ignoring Gozen's indifference, Holland continued. "As for me...I'm Sir Holland, the head, the commander, the chief of the Dove Corporation. Basically, I run this whole shit, but I'm sure you knew that already..."
Holland claimed his seat again, his gaze fixed on Udo, the room once again plunging into silence.
"Now then...your turn," Holland began, his gaze fixed intently on Udo. But Udo remained silent, his eyes stubbornly shut.
"Oh, that's what we're doing, yeah?" Holland jeered, an incredulous laugh escaping his lips.
"You're just going to hang there all day and play the silent game like a little fucking mute, aye?
Well, great! 'Cause I have a lot of shit I want to get off my chest, and I want you to listen to every second of it."
With that, Holland rose from his chair, his leather shoes echoing on the concrete floor as he began to pace.
"See, I was just a little 5-year-old kid when I first learned about the greatness of the Dove. First discovered in 1970 by the current Man of God, Joseph Abrams, the man single-handedly responsible for people still being able to live and breathe on this planet. Then your family...your bloodline, the Iche clan...came along with their agenda and tried to turn everyone against him. See, that's one thing I never got with you people...what on earth persuaded you scum into turning on the one man who saved us all in the first place? And not only that, no, no, no...but you aligned yourselves with a Fiend, the literal root of our problems, acquired this weird new all-powerful vibration, and decided to join them in creating a new world reigned by Abaddon and his Fiends.
Holland stopped, standing before Udo, his expression tightening into a grimace. "Of course, I wasn't just going to sit there and watch you lot burn everything I grew up believing...but neither was Joseph, who sealed every single living member of that bloodline for the cost of his Dove...but unfortunately, the damage had already been done. That little revolt executed by your disgusting family inspired future generations to follow suit...leading to organisations like The Herd today...which leads me to you."
Holland sauntered back to his chair, lowering himself onto it with a sense of finality. He reached out, taking hold of Udo's chin, forcing him to face him.
"I know you're behind it, you little shit. I know you've been the one pulling the strings." A self-satisfied smirk curled his lips. "But I guess now there's nothing to worry about. Without the Shepherd, finding the sheep will be quite an easy ride. I promise you. I'll take down each and every one of your sheep, for all the families you tossers have hurt over the years..." His voice dropped to a whisper, his words a cold threat breathed into Udo's ear. "Including mine."
With that, Holland released his grip on Udo, standing up from his seat. His eyes held a cold fire, a promise of a relentless pursuit that was yet to come.
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In the steady hum of activity that filled the police station, a distressed Bevan found himself seated across two policemen. As he recounted his tale, their pens flew across their notepads, recording every detail.
"Um, so I'm having a little chat with him on a bench in front of the Arene D'Eveil-" Bevan began.
"What time is this taking place?" asked one of the policemen, a tall figure with graying hair.
"Uhh about 10 pm..."
The policeman jotted it down. "Ten... p..m, yup."
"I then head inside, but he stays...and I haven't seen him since..."
The second officer, a younger man with a sharp gaze, interjected. "Did he...indicate any sign of if he was thinking of heading anywhere during the conversation?"
"Um, as far as I can remember, he didn't."
"Alright, that's fine...and you said you had two missing cases?" The second officer's eyes were sharp, assessing.
"Yes, officer."
"Were you aware of the second victim's location during the period you were having the conversation with the first?"
"Um, yes actually. To my knowledge, he was inside with his friends."
"Okay, both your sons you said?" The older officer's voice held a note of sympathy.
"Yes, officer...well one's adopted."
The two officers shared a curious glance.
"Adopted you say..." The younger officer's pen was flying across his notepad again.
"Yeah...anything wrong?"
"No...no, everything's fine. You're doing well. Just one last question and we'll start our investigation..." The older officer's tone was soothing, but the exchange between the two had made Bevan a little uneasy.
"Great, hit me."
"Could you tell us the ethnicity of this adopted kid?"
"Um, African American."
The younger officer jotted it down, and then leaned over to whisper something in his partner's ear. Bevan watched them, his anxiety increasing.
"Whoa um...ok..." the younger officer was saying, "...I don't know about you but, the similarities between this 'case' and the kid who was caught yesterday are a bit frightening."
The older officer whispered back, his voice low enough to prevent Bevan from hearing. After a moment, he stood up.
"Mr Wilson, from the details you've given us, this eerily ties to the incident that occurred last night."
"Incident...?" Bevan repeated, a feeling of dread washing over him.
Suddenly, the door to the room swung open, and another officer rushed in.
"Sir Holland is making an announcement!" he exclaimed, panting from his run.
Bevan and the two policemen hurriedly walked into the next room, where they found numerous other officers crowded in front of a mounted TV. Activities around the kingdom halted as everyone turned their attention to the broadcast. From people at home to shopping customers to commoners on the streets watching on billboards, everyone watched on...
In the secure confines of his office, Sir Holland sat behind a large mahogany desk, his face beamed across every screen in Kingdom Evangelio. He began his address with a level of informality that was both disarming and authoritative.
"Greetings, people of Kingdom Evangelio. Doubt I still need to introduce myself at this point, so how about I just cut to the chase instead?" He paused for effect before continuing, his words heavy with gravitas. "For those who haven't caught wind of the incident that occurred last night...a Fiend host was caught...but not any kind of Fiend host...one that is directly related to the Iche bloodline."
Gasps of shock and disbelief rippled across the kingdom. Sir Holland's announcement echoed from every TV screen, billboard, and portable device. The news was as startling as it was sensational.
"Yes, you heard me right...remember the infamous Oba Iche?" He paused again, letting his words sink in. "The man who led the worldwide revolt against Dovanity, taking countless innocent lives in the process? Ladies and gentlemen, we believe we caught his direct son and one of the last remaining members of the Iche clan...Udo Iche."
Meanwhile, in the bustling confines of the police station, Bevan stared at the television screen, his mind grappling with the shocking revelation. The name echoed in his mind, his face paling considerably.
"U-do...?" He mouthed the name silently, the reality of the situation only beginning to dawn on him.
Back in Sir Holland's office, the commander continued. "He was found ruthlessly murdering a middle-aged man while a teenage boy was spotted lying in a pool of blood nearby. The kid's body then suddenly disappeared. We believe Udo is currently the one behind the rapidly rising terrorist group, The Herd, intending on carrying on his father's legacy. But fear not, as what I'm about to announce will act as a sign of a step forward towards the peaceful era we all dream to live in. In three days...Udo Iche will be executed."
Shock waves surged through the audience as the harsh sentence was pronounced.
"Let this be a warning to any Fiend host. With your leader in the bag, there's nowhere to run.
We'll eventually find you...and we'll send you to hell."
With that, the broadcast cut, leaving the audience in stunned silence. Yet, as the reality of the announcement set in, applause erupted throughout the kingdom, the viewers embracing the promise of a safer future.
Back at the police station, Bevan was left stunned amidst the jubilant policemen, their cheers ringing in his ears. One officer came over to him, hand outstretched for a high-five. "Gimme five!"
But Bevan, still grappling with the news, could only clench his fist, his mind a whirlwind of confusion and disbelief.
"I need answers..." he muttered before storming out of the room, leaving the policeman standing in the midst of his celebration, hand still held high.