A faint mist of blood sprayed into the air, the body of the perverted stranger crumpling to the ground.
"Come with me." Behind the stranger, was a familiar face. Droplets of blood shone on a pair of dark glasses.
The blood that had landed on the man's bone white face and hair slowly disappeared, as if it was being absorbed into him.
It was the empty eyed man from earlier.
He no longer had the warm polite expression on his face, instead, his face was completely serious.
David and Cherie looked at each other for a moment, the man walking away, not even turning to check if they followed.
David obediently followed, he wasn't about to argue with the person who had killed a yellow core in the blink of an eye.
"If he wanted to hurt us, he would've done it earlier." David whispered to Cherie.
"Right." Cherie swallowed her fear.
The crowded streets cleared ahead of the man, his polished shoes clicking on the cobblestones.
"So, do you know-"
"Later." The man cut Cherie off mid question.
They continued down a series of twisting and turning streets, the buildings on either side growing closer and closer.
Multicolored smoke twisted and curled through the air, and the sound of roaring laughter and drunken singing came from the dimly lit windows around them.
Finally, they turned into a narrow alleyway and at its end, was a heavy metal door.
The man raised one gloved hand, and as he was about to knock, a small slot at eye level slid open in the door.
"You're here." A voice hissed out, and there was the sound of bolts being slid open and chains rattling.
The door opened to reveal a dimly lit space, filled to the brim round tables.
At some tables, dice were being rolled, at others cards were being dealt and played.
Smoke hung in the air, obscuring the faces of the players at the tables. David look in amazement at a table where two armies of tiny armored humans were charging at each other.
The person who had opened the door, a tanned woman wearing an white button up shirt, that was half open, was staring angrily at David.
As David's gaze travelled down, he saw the the thick serpent body that was where the woman's legs should've been. She was a Lamia.
"My eyes. Are up here." A hissing sound cut through the air, and David looked up into a pair of large yellow eyes, with slitted pupils, like an enormous serpent.
David blushed, the way she had said things made it sound like he was staring down her open shirt, but he had been looking at her snakelike lower body.
'I guess that's still staring.' David sighed, following Cherie and the mysterious man deeper into the dim room.
Clang
The metal door slammed shut behind them with a sense of finality.
Without pausing, the man wove easily through the cramped room, leading them to a narrow wooden stair case.
At the top of the stairs, was a long hallway. Looking down it, David started to feel sick, it seemed to continue endlessly.
They stopped at the third door, and the man gave the door three quick knocks.
"Enter." The voice was quiet, but it felt as though the words came from within David's body.
David's cheeks started to feel warm, and his heart started to beat faster.
[User, I am detecting an unusual physiological response. I believe you are being impacted by some external force.]
[I will try to counteract this.]
The system's voice repeated over and over, its voice growing quieter each time, before it fell completely silent.
The white haired man turned the door knob, a gentle reddish glow growing brighter and brighter from the opening.
The room within could only be described with one word. Luxurious.
Thick colorful rugs, embroidered with gold and sparkling jewels were layered all over the floor.
The soft red light washed over polished wooden furniture, floor to ceiling bookcases on every wall, except for directly in front of them.
Straight ahead of them, was a tall desk, that almost took up the entire width of the room. On top of the desk, were neat stacks of documents, and mysterious contraptions.
One contraption caught David's eye for a moment, at its center was a white glowing crystal, and around it, spun countless wheels of a shining blue metal.
But his vision quickly moved to the figure seated behind the desk.
Sitting there, was the most beautiful thing David had ever seen. A pair of blood red eyes glowed from above a pair of half moon spectacles.
Her dark hair was styled up into a tall bun, a net of silver studded with tiny rubies draped over her hair.
Rising up towards the ceiling, were a pair of shiny black horns, their tips razor sharp.
"Ah, so nice to finally meet you. My dear." Cherie and David had walked to stand in front of the desk, as if hypnotized.
There was a pause, as the woman lazily lifted a hand to her mouth, taking a deep inhale from a cigarette that was held in a carved black cigarette holder.
In a stark contrast with her pale skin, she wore deep black clothing. A sleeveless one piece dress which extended up onto her neck, as well as long elbow length gloves of the same material.
"And who might this be?" Her red eyes looked to David, and he could feel his mouth growing dry. The black lips curled up into a seductive smile, revealing long pointed canines.
"He's my friend. Who are you?" Cherie blurted out, and for the briefest moment, the woman's eyes widened in surprise.
"Well, dear. I am Selene Schwarz. Lady Selene Schwarz if you would like to be proper." Lady Schwarz leaned back into her leather chair.
"And I, I am, shall we say, an associate of your father." She continued, blowing a cloud of smoke into the air.
"Now. Let me see this friend of yours." Her voice grew serious, and she lifted a hand, raising a single finger.
David looked at the finger in confusion, his mind had started to feel hazy, and his heart felt like it would beat out of his chest.
David looked at Lady Schwarz's eyes, it felt to him like she was staring right into his soul.
'Wow. I could gaze into her eyes for ever.' David thought, and there was the faintest stab of pain from the system in his head.
"Come." She said, beckoning with her finger.
David looked in amazement, Lady Schwarz eye's grew larger and larger in his vision, and a her started to smile. It was as though he could fall into them.
Then, as the deep red eyes filled his vision, it felt as though he really was falling, his vision turned red, and all he could hear was the rapid thumping of his own heart.
Cherie was about to burst out laughing, who did this woman think she was? David was one of the most stubborn people she knew, did she really think that he would just walk over to her.
Then, she saw a slight movement out of the corner of her eye.
Eyes glazed over, David was was slowing walking toward the woman, each foot awkwardly slamming into the ground.
It was though he had become a puppet, his face flushed red, while his arms hung loosely at his sides.
"David!" There a hint of concern in Cherie's voice, she wanted to run over to him, but she couldn't seem to manage to move her feet from the ground.
"Closer." Lady Schwarz let out a faint whisper, and immediately David started to walk faster, almost tripping over his own feet.
"Closer." David's chest bumped into the side of the desk, and his arms reached up as he prepared to climb the desk.
Babumpbabumbabumpbabump
Now, David's heart was beating so loud that Cherie could hear it, and his face had grown so red it seemed it might burst.
"NO!" A panicked scream came from Cherie, she noticed the trickled of blood that had started to come from his nose and mouth.
"You really are your father's daughter." Lady Schwarz paused for a moment, a hint of approval in her glowing red eyes.
"To think, you could resist this much, at your age." The room was silent, and the sound of David's heart faded away, a heavy silence filling the room.
Lady Schwarz flicked her hand at David.
Thud
David fell back onto a fine rug, he lay there, still on his back. A blank stare looked up towards the ceiling.
"You! You demon, you killed my best friend!" A strangled scream came from Cherie, as she started to sob.
All she could think about was how she had brought David all this way, and now he was dead, because of her.
"Well, you're correct my dear. I am indeed a demon. Just like you." Lady Schwarz gave Cherie a dangerous smile, as she chuckled and took another lazy puff from her cigarette.