Chapter Text
Cannibals.
They’re labelled as cruel, apathetic and monsters of society. Some could say they aren’t human, they are demons who ascended this Earth as humans. Some say they are fallen angels who descended the Earth and could not resist having human meat and so they fell and now are Cannibals. Most think it’s contagious, like a pandemic, a plague. It was just a bunch of rumours, but it instilled fear and it made people fear each other.
Cannibals were, unlike the undead zombies or mummies, actually humans. But because cravings drive them mad. It drives them to insanity, to make them aggressive murderers ready to pounce and murder for the sake of quenching their thirst and starvation. But even that is not enough. Something in them stirs, making them hungry for more and driving them to continue and to murder more people even leaving the corpses gnawed and ravaged like an unfinished meal as their thirst to take apart humans came like a starved dog trying to find food. It was easy to find a Cannibal, because their brains eventually corrupted them into having these hard to tame cravings and thirst. Aggressiveness is one way of knowing if someone has become a Cannibal.
Being part of society means that you had to be a normal human, eating proper normal human meals and drinking normal drinks. It meant being a normal human but because there was already a fear being placed in people’s hearts, you could never be too careful. After all, anything could happen if you are not too careful with what you are doing.
Being born into a cruel world means you have to survive. To survive means you have to live with your guard up all the time, or else you’d never survive. That was the cruel world that Fulgur Ovid grew up in, where he had to live with his guard up all the time ever since his parents died to Cannibalists.
He remembered wishing upon the starry night sky that day for his parents to be more understanding after a tiny argument with them. He remembered when he opened the door and saw the bodies of his parents devoured and in shreds. He remembered standing there for a long time before snapping out of it when he heard heavy footsteps, police officers coming in with their flashlights as they helped him up. He remembered holding his parents gnawed hands as he parted with them to follow the police officers. He remembered being unable to speak when the kind police officers asked if he needed anything. He remembered being sent to an orphanage after and he suffered there. He had to live, to survive and ensure he avenges his parents. Fulgur always remembered the day his parents died, and swore to use that day to eradicate the Cannibals for good and to make sure society went back to normal.
Thus, Fulgur joined a company that killed these Cannibals.
“Congratulations on the 80th kill! And investigation went smoothly as usual, Fulgur!” Alban cheered in glee. Alban Knox, Fulgur Ovid’s partner-in-crime as well as best friend ever since he entered this industry of killing off Cannibals. Alban Knox of Team 22, codenamed Phantom Thief, known for this knack of ghost walking so people don’t spot him. Generally, he’s known as a thief due to his terrible background and also his habit of stealing cases one way or another and causing a poor underpaid worker to go hungry that weekend. Terrible habit really , Fulgur would think on a daily basis as he watched his partner in crime sneakily take the yellow file one of the interns had under their arm to read the case study. If he found it interesting he would hand them to Fulgur but if he didn’t, he’d pass it back to another intern while he lay hold of the one they had in turn.
“Thank you Albanyan.” Fulgur gave his partner a smile in return, but it soon turned to a serious look on his face, “Unfortunately trying to sweet talk me into letting you slack off will not work. I know you’re gay and single but get digging before this goes into your neck.” Fulgur gave a sinister smile as he took the red handkerchief he had on his hand to clean off his blade before sheathing it back onto his belt.
See, the thing with Cannibals is that as much as they are human they are very offence based, a quick stab wouldn’t take them down so easily as they will try to take you down with them, not only that Cannibals move fast, they are very agile. So using a long blade weapon easily kills them off from a longer distance to keep yourself safe. The company was smart about it from the beginning, developing swords and blades that killed Cannibals from distance to minimise their people getting hurt.
Alban shivered from the threatening smile, regaining his composure, he continued, “You deserve that promotion that Leader Akuma said, you know.” Alban stated as casually as possible while he knelt down beside the Cannibal's corpse and began digging for any form of identification. “...No. I don’t actually.” Fulgur gave a weak smile as he pulled out his own tablet, checking off the case number #9096 and he requested for some helpers to come over to clear the corpse and the scene. It was just regular work as per usual, killing off Cannibals, identifying the corpse and afterwards cleaning up.
As Alban was rummaging through the corpse, Fulgur went ahead to inspect the entire house. The house was relatively messy probably due to the Cannibal actions. As Fulgur walked, he smelt the scent of blood. The smell of metallic and rust that used to make Fulgur nauseous but he soon grew desensitised to it. He stopped and looked at the pictures on pictures littered on the ground, some still hanging on ever so slightly on the wall, like it would fall any second if someone provoked it.
Fulgur continued his journey into the house, stopping in each and every bedroom to check if he had missed out anything, finding valuables and forms of identification as he pocketed them in his suit jacket. Reaching the last bedroom at the far end of the hallway, he first noticed that the door handle was covered with a brown stain, but the smell was familiar despite it being dulled over time. He sighed, knowing what is just behind the door from just the strong metallic smell of blood, as well as the small red puddle leaking out from inside through the small gap of the door. Placing his black gloved hand on the door handle and pushing the door opened, he emptily stared at the room full of blood. The sight of a woman’s body torn to shreds and probably the main cause of the blood spilling out of the room, two children leaning onto each other, holding each other’s hands. Their throats had deep bites on them, their shirts torn halfway and blood was seeping out so it didn’t take a genius to find out what had happened. Fulgur gazed at the mother holding onto her children’s legs, oddly feeling empty.
Ȩ̶̫͙̐̀̾̿̇̆̓̽̊͘̚͘ͅr̵͕̤̉̄̍̄͘̕r̸̼̖͍͓͙̼͎̤͔͖͙͖͒̈̈́̓̈̕̚ỏ̶̝͙͓͛̒̄̈́̓̍̉͂r̸̢̜͈̟̲̗͓̬͕̖̹̃̔̄̈́̅͂͒ͅ
"̶̻̪͊̂M̸̲̖̣̮̓͆́̀̀̋͊͠͠ṳ̷̢̰͕͇̺͂̎͑ͅm̴̞̩͎͒.̸̗́̑̕.̴͓̩̝̪̋̄̂͠.̶̯͖̫̎ ̶̨̛͈̯͖̳͖̣̗̳͂̈́͌̄͒̕̕͠D̴̤̻̺͔͇̩̦͎͊́̐̾͛͘͘a̵͈̥͔̘͇̭͘̕d̶͈̻̲̺̓.̷̡̼̩͐̔̇̾̆̇͠͠͠.̷̨͔͉̥̼̟̺͖̑͐̎̏̃̊͜͝͝.̸̛̫̙͍̞̙̎̂̓̇̈͌̐͝?̴̨͙̘̱͐͌̋͜"̶̱͔́̐̽̾͝
Fulgur shuts his eyes, turning away and walking out of the room, his jaw clenched. Most would think he did not feel anything but really he felt devastation, grief and more importantly anger. These damned Cannibals were the source of all of these emotions running in turmoil, the source of why society fears itself and the reason why he joined the company to kill them off in the first place.
“Fulgur, I’m done. His name is Gerald Porter, 40, married with a wife and 2 children. Once the cleanup crew comes, we can have a full body autopsy on how he turned.” Alban came out of the room, holding onto his tablet. Fulgur turned to look at him and nodded, “Good work Albanyan. Now let’s go. I don’t want to work overtime for nothing.” Fulgur turned on his heels and headed out of the apartment, the brown haired male following him from behind.
…
He really wished upon the night skies to have another moment with his parents.
…
“I’m home.” Fulgur called out to his dog as the large dog ran to the door happily greeting his owner, jumping up and down as he tried to lick his owner’s face. “Down boy! Good doggo!” Fulgur smiled happily as he gave rubs onto his dog, whom he named Doggo. “Today was a hard day, Doggo.” Fulgur walked to the kitchen and grabbed the dog bowl from the dish rack.
“I had another… flashback as one would say.” Fulgur took the scoop for dog kibbles and filled the bowl twice before opening the fridge and taking out a jar of bone broth and pouring it into the bowl to hydrate the kibbles.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a flashback but… it really was somewhat like a flashback. Thankfully I steeled myself before I saw anything I didn’t want to see.” Fulgur added a raw egg and peeled the membrane off, tossing it into the bowl and throwing the shell away.
“I guess that’s one way the universe is granting the wish I made to the night sky.” Fulgur grins as he washes his hands at the kitchen sink. Once he was done, he opened the container on the counter that had leftover cooked chicken breasts from last night, shredding it slightly and dropping pieces into the bowl before placing it on the floor for Doggo to start eating. Doggo gave a bark and dug in, wagging his tail happily.
After making sure that Doggo was eating, Fulgur left the kitchen, heading to his bedroom, where he felt safe and alone without having the need to be stressed by his work. As he entered the safe haven of his room, he sighed Closing the door with a soft thud before sliding down onto the ground, cradling his head gently as he tried to silence the crackling and hissing of static in his head.
I̵̢̻̮͇̖̣̘̽̓̀̕͜'̶̜͚̙̹̩̘̹̭̪͖̹̆̾̉̽̽̌̎̊̑̊̎̌̎̕m̵̢̟̞̣̯͔͔̑̓̈͌̕͜ ̵͍̯̘͎̤͈̻͕̹͈̤̈́̋̽̎̉̏̏̿̀̋͂̀͛́̏̈́̚͘͝s̷̨̨̨͙̘͈͕̱̱̍͐̿̑͒͗́̐͝ͅǫ̷̡̢̖̼̖͕̰̫̗̳͎̤̋̌̋r̷̡̛̛͙͚̥͔̠͉̰͓̠̠̜̿̅̌̀̋͂͑͌͆͐̀̾͝r̴͖͇̈̇̆̑̆͒͆͂̈́̃ÿ̷̫́̊́̑̎͌̽̍̍̽̈́́̚͝͝.̸̝͔͉̇̿̓̅̋͗́́͑̓́̒̽͑͘̚̚̕͝.̸̜͇̙̟̘͖̬̝͚̭̻̗͍̫̫́̐̓͐̓̍͐͝.̶̖̙̤̣̦̘̥͇̹̋͌
“Morning Fulgur!” a cheery voice, too cheery for the morning, filled the grey haired man’s head as he just gave a stare that had lament all over. “What’s with the creepy and dull stare?” Alban asks, freezing at his spot from the death glare that he received from the latter. “... I’m just tired.” Fulgur deadpanned as he took a small sip of his coffee, hoping today would not be a long day. “I hope that today won’t be a long day for us then.” Alban gave a cheeky grin as he patted the much taller male’s shoulder.
“Will Fulgur Ovid and Alban Knox kindly report to Level 5, 8th Conference Room to the left of the lift.”
“...” Silence bestowed between the two males, Fulgur spotting a small vein on his neck due to the pure irritation. “What did I tell you before?” “Don’t jinx a day before it starts.” Alban winces when he hears the pure chagrin that laces the older male’s tone. “And what did you do?” “Jinx the day before it started…” Alban slumps in defeat. Both males sighing before walking to the tower’s elevator which thankfully was just a short walk to.
The two men stood in the lift, it was silent between the both of them which made the atmosphere super awkward and tense. “What do you think they are calling us in for?” Alban asks, breaking the silence between the both of them. “I… have no idea.” Fulgur pinches the bridge of his nose, feeling an impounding headache coming through.
The elevator stops, what alerted them was the ding the elevator let out and the slow shuffling of the elevator door opening as they stepped out of the closed space, taking their time to the conference room but also briskly walking to the conference room as they did not want to be chastised by their Manager later on. Stopping in front of the 8th Conference room, they looked at each other, the room omitted a strange tension, and it felt like hostility oozing out of the room and creating an atmosphere just outside. Fulgur breathes in as he wraps his prosthetic fingers over the Conference room door.
“Wait wait.” Alban holds onto Fulgur’s sleeve, turning the man around and adjusting his tie real quick before nodding. The older male opens the door and sure enough, the hostility and tension seeped out of the room. Fulgur thinks that anyone could cut the atmosphere with a knife, nevertheless the duo composed themselves and stepped inside.
“Just in time, Fu-chan.” A deep, crisp voice fills the room. There was the devil himself they all feared would lecture them if they were late, Vox Akuma, ironic was it not? His name and the nickname the whole team gives him, but to be fair, he did look like a demon. Black haired with red splashes on some parts of his hair, golden eyes that changed to a slight hue of turquoise at a different angle and the corner outside of his eyes had red circles on them. “Good morning, Manager Akuma. What is it that you called us in for?” Alban asks respectfully. The black haired manager smiled, putting his hands together in front of him on the desk, the atmosphere shifted slightly, it became… more tense if possible.
“Well, you see, today’s discussion here is about you and Mr Ovid’s partnership. We were wondering…” Vox eyed the closed door behind them before returning his gazes to the pair. “As you know, Team 21, which is us, have had the privilege of training Mr Knox from Team 22 here and, well with the limited amount of manpower… Team 21 and Team 22 will be joining each other.” Vox gave a wide smile.
Fulgur sweatdropped, knowing he’s only happy because Team 22’s manager was Ike Eveland. Nevertheless, he clears his throat, “So, who will be joining us from Team 22?” Fulgur questioned with slight curiosity, Vox gave an effervescent smile, an unpremeditated knock came from the door as Vox let out a “Come in.” it was like he knew the knock was coming, like he knew someone was behind the door.
The door slams open, revealing a male with glasses, grey hair with blue tips as he walks in. “Vox Akuma. You started the meeting and made all the decisions without my knowledge?” he asks, glaring at the manager of Team 21 who was giving this love sick look(which Fulgur internally wanted to vomit at) towards the male. “Oh don’t be so upset, Eveland. I barely made any decisions. If anything, HR has permitted Team 21 and 22 to join! After all, yesterday’s meeting already stated that we need to join some teams together.” Vox reasoned, his smile was diaphanous but his eyes showed smugness.
“Ah, Fulgur, Alban. Meet Ike Eveland, manager of Team 22 and Team 22’s members; First, Sonny Brisko.” Vox introduces, leaning back on his office chair, side glancing at the HR members who all jumpily scurry out of the conference room. The first to enter the conference room was a yellow haired male, with lilac coloured eyes. He was a little bit taller than Fulgur, eyes that were hauntingly cold, if looks could freeze, this whole room would be the Antarctic. Fulgur notes that this male might not be cooperative as he seemed like the type to go solo instead of working together with a team.
“Welcome abroad.” Alban respectfully greets with a cheery smile. Fulgur knew facial expression anywhere, Alban was trying to read the man but failing to do so, that expression dripped irritation if you knew him well enough.
“Last but not least, Uki Violeta.”
The first thing Fulgur saw when he stared at the figure that was walking into the conference room was their bright violet purple hair. It was deep violet, and the shine from the light made it brighter. The second thing Fulgur noticed was the ethereal deep purple colour on the individual’s left eye, the next, the bright pink colour on the right eye, it reminded him of the stars and the universe he read in books. The final thing was his entirety. The elegance of the way he holds himself, his eyes were diaphanous and his entire figure was lithe. His figure was demure like he was trying to hide himself deliberately. Oh, but his voice…
His voice was lyrical.
“Pleased to meet your acquaintance, Uki Violeta at your disposal.”