The Gifted Medical Warrior

Meeting The Devil

They dragged me into the villa, the blindfold over my eyes cutting out any chance of seeing where we were going. I didn’t need to see them. My senses filled in the gaps. Every step we took, I could feel the layout shifting beneath my feet. The air would cool suddenly, then warm again—ventilation systems, different zones of the house. And the elevators… they were the tell. Every time we entered one, there was that faint drop in my gut, the barely audible hum of machinery. This place wasn’t just a villa; it was a fortress. A maze.

But I knew who I was here for. Eagle. The man whose name was whispered like a curse in the circles I ran in. Eagle wasn’t just a person you tracked down; he was a ghost in a world of flesh and bone. You didn’t find him unless he wanted to be found. And if he wanted to be found, it meant trouble. He wasn’t just dangerous; he was the kind of man who made death look like a mercy. The devil in human skin, people called him.

The guards flanking me yanked me forward, their grip like iron on my arms. They hadn’t spoken since picking me up, which was smart. They were nervous, though. I could feel it in the way they moved—short, jerky steps, their breathing a little too loud. Maybe it was me. Maybe they’d heard the stories. Or maybe it was because they worked for Eagle, and they knew what he was capable of.

The air changed again, warmer now. I could hear faint voices in the distance, murmurs bouncing off high ceilings. As we were getting close, My heart thumped in my chest.

After what felt like an eternity of navigating the labyrinth, we finally stopped. The air was different here—still but charged. A man with muscles carved from granite rapped his knuckles on what I assumed was a heavy door. The door creaked open, and I heard a female voice asking, “So, this is the guest?”

They took off the blindfold. I blinked as the suddenly light enter my eyes. The first thing I saw was the woman. She looked lean, confident, and wearing denim shorts and a tank top. Her eyes scanned me, sharp and amused, as though she already knew every secret I was trying to keep.

Before I could fully process her, the muscleman shoved me forward. I stumbled but caught myself before falling. My eyes adjusted, and I looked in the room.

It wasn’t what I expected. This was the infamous Villa No. 1 of Cassa del Dragón—the House of the Dragon. Legends called it an opulent. But the room I was in now was understated. Spacious, yes, but filled with wood-paneled walls, the shelves were lined with books, and the room was filled with the faint smell of leather and old paper.

And there he was.

Ethan Blackwood. Code 9412-Eagle-7.

The man who had been a phantom in my mind for months sat calmly at a heavy wooden desk. He looked to be in his fifties, his hair peppered with white at the temples, and a pair of glasses perched on his nose. There was a casualness to him, the way he leaned back slightly, a book in one hand and a glass of something dark and amber in the other.

But his eyes—they weren’t casual. They pinned me in place the moment they locked on me.

I didn’t hesitate. I dropped to one knee and bowed my head low, and spoke.

"Ryder George, captain of the Valkyrie Unit, greets Ethan Blackwood. Code 9412-Eagle-7."

The silence that followed was thick enough to cut. I stood kneeling, my head down. Anticipating.

The scrape of wood against the floor broke the silence as Ethan Blackwood pushed his chair back. His movements were unhurried, deliberate. I kept my head bowed, my heart hammering in my chest, but I didn’t move.

Then, he spoke again, his voice lighter, almost amused.

“So, it’s really you. Ryder George.”

The weight of his words pressed down on me like a vice. I looked up and was met with something I hadn’t expected—genuine joy. His face lit up. His expression was one I couldn’t reconcile with the man I’d built up in my mind.

Ethan Blackwood—Eagle, the devil in human form—looked almost… pleased.

I could hear people murmuring in the room. The woman in shorts and the muscle-bound man exchanged glances at each other, as did the others, who were scattered around the edges of the room. They were shocked. Their master, the man they must have seen crush people with his words and actions, now wore a smile.

“I never thought I’d see the day,” Ethan said as he came forward to me.

He crouched slightly and then placed a hand on my shoulder. “Ryder George,” he repeated.

“After all this time,” he said.

Before I could respond, he gently gripped my arm and pulled me to my feet. His strength was surprising for a man his age—there was no hesitation or wavering. He lifted me as if he's trying to say,"You don’t kneel to me."

While standing, I met his eyes up close. I have heard countless stories about Ethan Eagle. His legacy has been spread in every corner of the world. His name, revered by some and feared by many. Of all the stories about him, there was a one that stood out. It's an audacious mission, which is so impossible. The mission cemented his name in the annals of every mercenary group all over the world.

The operation was called "Iron Fang", and it was a mission no sane man would have accepted. At the peak of his career, Eagle was asked to infiltrate a heavily fortified warlord's compound in Colombia. The warlord was Hector "El Filo" Martinez. He was a tyrant known for his cruelty and always surrounded by ironclad security. He had amassed a fortune through arms dealing and human trafficking, operating with near impunity because of his connections to corrupt officials and private armies.

Martinez had something the world’s governments desperately wanted—a black-market ledger containing names of high-ranking officials involved in his operations. That ledger was proof of an international conspiracy, and it had the potential to bring down entire regimes. Conventional forces had failed to penetrate his defenses; entire teams had been wiped out trying to retrieve it. The job was deemed suicidal.

But Eagle accepted it.

What made the mission legendary wasn’t just its success—it was how the eagle had single-handedly dismantled a fortress guarded by hundreds of fully armed mafias without losing his life or being injured. The contents of the ledger he took reveal the corruption of the most powerful people in the world, which was exposed and led to the arrests of politicians, generals, and corporate magnates across several countries..

Mercenaries feared him, they called him the man who could outthink an army. The governments feared him as they knew he could turn the tide of power with a single mission. And the warlord Martinez? His name became forgotten, while Eagle became the most respected and feared machine.

I couldn’t help but wonder as I stood before Ethan in the room, : Was I standing before a man—or a living myth?