[One year later]
[Nexus Entity, Earth, 2023]
[3rd POV]
"How did this happen?" an icy voice broke the panicked atmosphere among the researchers.
The voice held a mixture of complex emotions, but rage acquired most of it.
The man brought both hands towards his face and brushed his forehead while his disheveled hair fluttered.
The one whose emotions were in disarray was none other than Andreas, the owner of the Nexus Entity.
"How did the UN agencies find this place?" Andreas questioned again as he glared at the researchers.
Andreas looked intently at the screen showing the agents issuing the warning for unlocking the facility.
"How!" Andreas howled as he kicked and shattered the glass table at the center of the room.
"This happened the moment I was so close to achieving my dream!" he shouted, kicking the broken glass pieces towards the screen.
"Hehehe…Why not just use what we have?" Dr. Kyro interjected before Andreas could say anything as he crouched down his humped back to pick up a shard of glass.
"What do you mean, Dr. Kyro?" Andreas growled, his tone filled with frustration and anger.
"What do I mean? Hehe…I mean, let's just open the portal I once suggested. If it works, although you will leave your pawns behind, you will definitely be alive. Hehe…I am also looking forward to that new world. We will also leave a gift for the agents who are breaking in." Dr. Kyro answered in the most exciting voice as he looked at the screen, which showed the agents attaching bombs to blow up the main door of the cave entrance.
"But you said the portal machine isn't complete. How can we go through with that plan?" Andreas asked with a confused demeanor.
"Do you want to die in vain? Hehehe…If the outcome is going to be death, why not go with a bang? We will blow everything up; if the portal works, we will reach our dream, and if it doesn't, it will be a huge blast…Woah!!!" Dr. Kyro excitedly shouted as he imagined the breathtaking scene of everything turning into dust.
"Hahaha…haha…ha." Andreas looked at Dr. Kyro bewildered, and the jolly attitude dumbfounded him, but after a few seconds of contemplation, he held his stomach as his laughter echoed inside the room.
"I will be back after saying goodbye to Cecil and Kaizer. I will miss them so much. Hehehe," Dr. Kyro announced as he started walking toward the facility.
"Come back soon. You can tell them that Amelia and Alicia are still alive if you want. They might be able to get over their guilt of killing them." Andreas reasoned as he reversed back to his usual calm demeanor.
Dr. Kyro didn't respond to Andreas's suggestion but casually glanced around.
The other researchers couldn't help but panic after hearing their calm encounter amidst the rushed images of the agents being depicted on the screen.
A panicked young researcher tried to run towards the exit, only to get killed by Carlos.
After witnessing the scene of the death of the young researcher, the others held their thoughts and huddled together.
Dr. Kyro leisurely walked in a panicked atmosphere, his steps as light as a feather.
After reaching the door, he turned and addressed Andreas excitedly.
"That's a terrible suggestion, Sir Andreas. If they are going to die either way, why not let them all die in despair? I am going to guilt them more… Kaizer, Michael, Cecil, Amelia, and Alicia, I will miss you all. Hehehe." His laughter resounded in the room as he walked out.
An hour later, the entire facility was covered in the blast, and everything crumbled.
Amidst the crumbled remains of the facility, the injured agents moved across through the scattered debris.
"Bruce! Can you hear me? Life signals are available on the scan to 150 meters northeast of your current position. The life signals are diminishing, so reach fast," a female voice resounded in the transmitter.
"Roger that." The agent replied.
The agents walked briskly amidst the broken debris, and their steps were decisive and trained.
"Sera, we have found the bodies of two boys, both of whom look around 11 years old. They have a name tag attached, Michael and Kaizer? We are bringing them in and will need medical attention promptly." Bruce replied swiftly as he picked one of the boys in his arms.
"Roger that, Bruce," Sera replied.
******
[Unknown realm]
[3rd POV]
"Where am I? Did the portal work?" a gruesome voice resounded in the unknown from a bizarre existence.
He stood at a towering height, his skeletal frame draped in tattered, obsidian-hued robes that seemed to move with their own life as if stirred by an unseen, sinister wind.
His elongated limbs are adorned with razor-sharp, ebony claws that gleam with an otherworldly sheen.
The creature's skin, if it can be called that, was a shifting canvas of swirling shadows and pulsating veins, casting an eerie glow that illuminated its grotesque form.
Hollow, blood-red eyes peer out from deep-set sockets, their malevolence capable of sending shivers down the bravest spine.
The face was a nightmarish amalgamation of contorted features - a twisted mockery of the human form. A mouth filled with serrated fangs stretches impossibly wide, revealing a bottomless abyss within.
The voice, a guttural symphony of tortured wails and demonic whispers, resonates in the minds of those unlucky enough to hear it, inducing a sense of profound dread.
Wings of ebony tendrils unfurl from his back, each sinuous appendage ending in a barbed tip drips with an otherworldly ichor. These wings move with an unsettling grace, allowing the existence to glide through the shadows with an unholy elegance.
"Hehehe…I guess it worked, and it didn't at the same time. But you look cool as hell in that form…Hehehe…How do I look?" another creature with a similar appearance responded.
"Dr. Kyro?" The first creature asked in confusion as he scrutinized the bipedal creature before him.
"I guess we don't have a problem with your intelligence, Sir Andreas." Dr. Kyro chuckled in his gruesome voice.
"What do you mean?" Andreas questioned in confusion as he stared at his body.
The gruesome, disfigured appearance of his body was bizarre to his eyes. The wings protruding from his back were foreign.
"Well, hehe…I guess the portal worked but only on our souls, and our souls got transmigrated and combined with this existing existence we are currently seeing. Hehehe…The level of intelligence also affected the soul's emergence. So, in hindsight, we have some who are mere animals driven by their desire for destruction and evil. Look at that; he has lost his mind and appears to be a mere beast. Hehehe…the original monster overwrote his soul. But many of them made out with a great sense of intellect." Dr. Kyro proclaimed as he pointed at the creatures around him.
The creatures varied from each other distinctively. Some had horns, some were bipedal, some with wings, and many distinctive figures.
Andreas watched in confusion as he realized the reality.
After what seemed like an eternity, he finally fell to his knees.
"Hehehe…Are you disappointed? I guess most people would be disappointed in this situation rather than get adaptive. But don't worry because-." A hysterical laughter interjected before Dr. Kyro could continue his words.
"Hahahaha….hahahahaha…haha….hahahahaha…This is too funny…I never thought I would get to live my fantasy…Hahaha…Kyro…I guess you will be my retainer in the new kingdom I will build." Andreas announced as every creature was crushed under the majestic demonic aura released from his body.
The creatures were frozen in awe and submission under his power. The eyes of the original mindless beast were filled with demonic intelligence.
The other researchers and workers of the facility who also evolved into the creatures could retain their intelligence. They could withstand the force somewhat and understand their fate after realizing the gravity of the situation.
Dr. Kyro stood frozen as he heard his words and the powerful aura that crawled his skin.
The fact that he accepted this situation calmly sent shivers down his spine.
Among the creatures present, he was the only one able to withstand the aura to the most extent.
"This will be a new beginning." Dr. Kyro replied as he prostrated in front of Andreas in reverence and loyalty.
This was the beginning of the race that would be feared forever throughout the cosmos as the one who led the war of conquest across all planets.
A group of humans under a demonic skin, the rulers of the sinister underworld, the wicked demonic race.
******
[A/N: I apologize for the lack of chapters recently. I promise the novel will pick up the pace from the next chapter. I am still unsure how many people are interested in the book, so I wondered if there is even a point in writing further. But I will continue because I have reached a point where I have the story in my head, and I would like to share it with others. I also want to thank every reader and fellow authors for their support. Please look forward to the frequent uploads.]