The Mark

Chapter 56

Chapter 56

"I’m sorry for showing this to you, but APF’s action has something to do with this video. We had this video for a long time, but we kept it a secret since we didn’t want it to come to the government’s attention because they would shift that scientist to a much more secure place." Vega said, breaking the silence which had followed after the screen was turned off.

"However, I think APF has already shown this video to the government. If they hadn’t, we could have gone according to our old plan since we would have enough time. Unfortunately, the APF intervened. So now, we can only act faster before it’s too late."

Lucifer stepped forward, closing in on Vega as he asked, "And what was your old plan?"

"Our old plan was to train you for a little while so that you can gain some fighting experience and understand further how to use your powers better."

"The next two days were reserved for that. As for the rest, it was simple... Attacking that facility and letting you get your revenge," Vega responded with a casual smile.

"Now we need to skip the training, which I don’t think will affect you much since most of the APF will be handled by us. As for the people in the facility, you can kill each one of them a thousand times without needing any training anyway," he further said as he walked back to his seat, picking up a file that was placed there.

He opened the file to reveal a map of Elisium.

"This is Erygas, the place where you were captured by the APF. And this here is the facility. Honestly, you were pretty far away from the actual place last time," he said, pointing his finger at several spots on the map.

"I’m ready. Let’s leave. I can’t let them escape again," Lucifer accepted the proposal without any more questions.

A satisfied smile appeared on Vega’s face.

It seemed that they had taken one more step forward in reaching out to Lucifer. And even though slowly, a bit of connection was developing between the two.

After they helped him, it was going to be the final nail in the coffin.

"That’s good. We’ll leave in an hour. Come, let me give you your battle gear."

Vega started walking towards the door.

The others also stood up, following him. The noise of sliding chairs filled the room for a moment which again returned to silence after everyone left the room.

They had also taken Lucifer with them, who was wondering what this battle gear was.

As everyone passed through the long corridors, Isona slowly slid closer to Lucifer.

Watching her step closer, Lucifer started stepping farther from her. Too much closeness was something he didn’t want.

"Little brother, are you still worried that I’ll eat you up? Why are you moving away? Treat me like family as well," Isona told Lucifer while grinning mischievously.

"Anyway, I think you’re curious about this battle gear, aren’t you?" She asked, trying to engage him in a conversation.

Lucifer glanced in Isona’s direction. She was right. He simply nodded his head as a response to her question.

- : Battle Gear

- : Battle Gear

- : Battle Gear

"See? Now we’re making some progress. Actually, this battle gear is nothing special. It’s just a specialized gear that is created for all of us by our specialized equipment team to be used in case of battles with enemies. They design everything according to each of us individually," she informed Lucifer.

"Most of us already have our battle gear. Only you don’t have it yet since you just recently came here. But fortunately, we knew all about you. So we had prepared your battle gear as well. It’s time for you to get that. Treat it as your initiation ceremony to our family," she further explained with her elated voice.

"We’re here," Vega said as he stopped before a metallic door.

He placed his palm over the sensor on the door. With a beeping sound, the door was opened.

No matter how many times Lucifer saw these scannings, he would always feel frustrated since he couldn’t ever do such things. He couldn’t touch anything without there being an obstruction between his hand and the surface as long as he didn’t wish to destroy that thing.

It was a great power but it was an even greater curse according to him. He wondered if he was ever going to feel different about this power.

It had been a long time since his awakening but he still wasn’t fully adjusted to his power.

The metallic door opened after a beeping sound, revealing a big lap on the other side of the room. Many machines could be seen placed all around the room.

A couple of men in black lab coats could be seen talking amongst themselves. All of them looked at the door as soon as it opened.

"Ah, Master Vega, welcome. Are you here for the young one’s battle gear? We just finished the final adjustments on it."

One of the men approached Vega with a wide smile on his face.

The man had beautiful long black hair cascading down to his waist. His skin seemed so smooth that he often gets mistaken for a girl. If he didn’t have a beard on his face, Lucifer would have thought that he was actually a girl.

"I guess we’re on the right time then. Show us what you made." Vega nodded as he entered the lab. Dion, Isona, Caen, and Lucifer also stepped inside.

"This is Henny. He is our lab chief who is in charge of all the Battle Gear here," Isona told Lucifer, talking about the black-haired man.

"Right away," Henny replied to Vega as he walked over to one of the shelves in the corner which was sealed.

It was as if it was done intentionally to frustrate Lucifer who couldn’t use his hands in such a manner but everything here needed a scan.

Even the shelf door needed a scan of Henny’s palm before it opened.

"Alright. This is the first item. The battle shoes of our new Warlock," Henny declared as he brought a black pair of shoes out of the shelf.

The shoes looked like normal shoes. Lucifer couldn’t find anything special with such shoes. Was this battle gear just that? Items that were resized for him? Is that what Isona meant?

"Tell me the special features in them. How are they made for Lucifer," Vega asked the question which he believed was in Lucifer’s head. He was also asking the same question in his mind.

"From what we know, little Lucifer has many powers. He’s a Penta-Awakened Warlock which has never been seen before. We already knew about his wind control ability."

"So we made the shoes to withstand excess running while also providing less resistance against air. Moreover, these shoes can also resist fire without being ruined."

"But there’s more. From what we heard from Master Caen, Little Lucifer uses his strength to make him jump high. Because he uses his super strength that’s enough to leave a crater on the ground, no normal shoes are able to stay safe after that. But these shoes can."

"These can sufficiently transfer all the momentum and strength to the ground without being damaged."

With that Henny finished the description of the shoes, giving them ideas about the special features of Lucifer’s personalized shoes.

"So you used all those big words just to say that these shoes are more durable," Isona chimed in as a burst of beautiful laughter filled the lab.

"Hahaha, if you want to make it into layman’s terms, then yeah. Miss Isona is right. These shoes are more durable," Henny nodded as he smiled wryly.

He knew that she was simplifying too much but he didn’t argue with her. He knew her teasing personality already. The more he reacted, the more she would feel the taste of victory.

Henny stepped forward and only stopped when he was about five steps away from Lucifer.

Lucifer didn’t take his eyes off of him as he watched Henny bend forward and place the shoes on the ground.

"There, try wearing them. I’m sure they’ll fit but still," Henny told Lucifer before he stepped back.

Slowly Lucifer took a step forward and took off his old shoes. He sat on the ground before he picked up the new left shoe with his hand.

He wore the left shoe first which was followed by the right one.

"They fit," he acknowledged after he stood up.

Without waiting for a response, he raised his right foot a few inches above the ground and smashed down. He wanted to see if that strength transfer theory was right or not.

"Oh god no!" Henny called out as he realized what Lucifer was trying to do but he was too late. Before his second word left his mouth, Lucifer’s foot had already landed on the ground which started shaking from the impact.

Even a crater was created in that place.

"God, little friend. Please don’t do that here. I don’t want the floor to be broken. We aren’t on the ground floor. I don’t want us all to fall down after the floor is broken," Henny told Lucifer exasperatedly, his eyes looking at him helplessly.

Lucifer nodded his head. He didn’t say anything.

"It’s good that each floor is heavily reinforced. So this kind of impact is bearable," Dion also chimed in. "But still, it’s a better idea to not test this so much, especially here."

"Lucifer is new. I’m sure he was excited about getting new shoes. Don’t worry. This will be repaired," Vega said. "Anyway, Lucifer. How are the shoes? You tested with that. Are they as described?"

"They are. I feel no change in them even after that," Lucifer reacted.

- : Biggest Problem Solved

- : Biggest Problem Solved

- : Biggest Problem Solved

"That’s better."

"Now that you tested the shoes, let me tell you about its limitations too. Always remember, these shoes can’t resist your Power of Decay. So never touch them bare-handed."

"I would have made them decay-resistant. Unfortunately, finding the material those gloves are made of is as hard as finding the moonstone," Henny informed Lucifer, sighing helplessly. Then he moved back to the shelf again.

This time, he brought a vest out of the shelf that seemed a lot like a stylish jacket. Also, it was made in accordance with Lucifer’s size.

"This is the next item in your battle gear," Henny declared. "As for its specialty, I think all of you could already tell the main feature of this vest. As usual, it’s made to resist bullets to some extent."