novelraw Chapter 102: To The Office
Chapter 102: To The Office
Sandra couldn’t believe what was happening. She even shook her head twice, just to see if this was some dream—or some new level of hallucination she had never experienced before. But after her little test, there was no doubt left. Everything transpiring was real, right down to the footsteps echoing through the corridor.
For years, elves had butchered demonkind like they were turkeys, killing them during different tribal activities as a way of displaying their strength. Elves were the strongest beings after all, and that was one of the ways they made sure all the lesser kinds never forgot it.
And now Sandra, a descendant of that same tribe, had ended up in the stronghold of the demons—and to make matters worse, she had been called to the office of the commander of the demons. Someone with unstoppable power and authority. Someone with a rumored hard-to-please attitude, and Sandra already knew whatever conversation was waiting for her inside was going to slap her right in the face.
The assistant leading her to the commander’s office finally stopped in front of a large vintage door, then turned around to address Sandra, who had also come to a halt.
"We’ve arrived at her office. Knock before you enter. I wish you the best of luck."
Then just like that, she walked back into the corridor, returning to whatever hole she might’ve crawled out of.
Sandra felt completely thrown off. You wouldn’t expect someone to wish you luck when you were about to meet a stranger. This wasn’t like an interview or something that called for all the luck in the world. That choice of words alone sent chills crawling up her spine as she stood silently in front of the door, waiting for some kind of signal that never came.
She really had to enter the office. She really did. But every time she lifted her foot, hesitation dragged it right back down to the ground—to the same starting point of zero movement. It happened a few times, over and over again like some cursed cycle, until suddenly—
"You know I’m waiting for you to come in, right?!"
The commander’s voice shot out from inside the office. Even though the door muffled it, Sandra heard it clearly. It wasn’t too loud, but not too low either. Just enough to leave no room for pretending she hadn’t heard it.
Sandra was startled instantly, her heart jumping all the way up to her throat before slowly settling back into a somewhat normal rhythm. There was no use staying outside any longer, so she knocked first like the assistant had instructed, then entered the office, bracing herself for whatever might come her way.
....
The illumination inside the office slapped her right in the face with concentrated light.
The walls had a greenish tint, with maps of ASTRO splattered across them and marked with different red crosses.
On the right side of the room was a large hand-drawn picture of the commander herself, standing heroically on a giant stone while wearing her battle costume—a white jacket with stripes all over it. Though from what Sandra knew, she didn’t actually wear the jacket properly. She usually just threw it over the white shirt she had underneath.
Next to it was a slightly smaller picture of Lieutenant Damion scratching his head, wearing wide glasses and holding a pen in his mouth. A board stood in front of him, and on it was an equation that looked difficult enough to be giving him hell.
And as if the weirdness wasn’t ending there, there was also a hand-drawn picture of Jamie.
But instead of being in some pose that foreshadowed his might as the second Demon Lord, the picture showed the commander carrying Jamie while he hung in her arms like a dangling cat with a terrified face as they floated through the sky. A depiction of what happened the day he was extracted from Midworld.
"The people said you’re cute. I didn’t know you were this cute."
Commander Stella started the conversation with a compliment, and judging by how Sandra’s face immediately flushed pink, it was working.
"I might consider taking you as my concubine."
The compliment took a dark turn in an instant.
Whatever tiny bit of morale had started forming in Sandra’s gut vanished immediately. Her face turned pale, and wrinkles formed on her forehead as worry came swarming right back.
"If someone had told the old me that an elf would come to ASTRO, I wouldn’t have believed them. Or worse, I might’ve beaten them up. But here you are. A full-blood elf in ASTRO."
Sandra’s eyes shifted around the room, searching for something—anything—to focus on, but found nothing.
This is bad. I knew she was going to hate me. I need to find a way to make her like me. And when you really think about it, Jamie was the one who convinced me, not the other way around.
She thought that, but the truth was clear as day. There was no other way but to face her head-on. So she took a deep breath, preparing herself to deliver the speech she had thought through so carefully.
"I know my kind has treated your kind badly, and honestly... I was one of them. But Jamie showed me the truth, and after that, I finally realized we were the ones in the wrong. If it were ever possible for me to carry that burden by myself, trust me, I would choose that option without hesitation."
She finished, taking slow deep breaths while trying her best to keep them under control so Commander Stella wouldn’t notice how hard she was breathing.
The room went quiet in an instant, like the air itself had just dropped to the floor.
The commander’s face remained neutral, giving Sandra no clue whether she was impressed or enraged by her words. She shifted her posture a few times, and then at last, she finally spoke, her tone hard.
"Do you think I’m impressed by your stupid speech? You think you can carry the blood your kind has spilled on your back like some sort of hero? The blood of demons is so light and worthless that you could carry it all by yourself?"
"No, that’s not what I meant—"
Sandra gestured quickly, crossing her arms in denial.
"It’s what you meant. What else could you have meant?"
The commander began walking slowly toward Sandra as she spoke, and soon she was only a few footsteps away.
"You’re changing my words."
"Ooh, so now that I’ve shown you the truth, you think I’m conspiring against you?"
She now stood face to face with Sandra. Sandra could even feel the commander’s warm, angry breath hitting her face.
"No... you’re just changing my words to... to change my words. You’re missing the point here."
Sandra replied, raising her voice until it matched the commander’s in the confrontation. They were battling each other after all. She needed to seem confident if she wanted even the slightest chance of standing her ground against someone as experienced as Commander Stella.
But instead of replying like before, the commander suddenly leaned in, tilting her face toward Sandra’s ear before whispering something into it.
She said it so quietly that only the two of them knew what had been spoken. Not even the walls of the room seemed allowed to hear a piece of it.
Sandra’s eyes widened. Her eyebrows rose higher with every word whispered into her ear. Her heartbeat seemed to stop on the spot, like her body had gone into shock.
And when the commander finally pulled away—
Sandra remained frozen.
Still.
Like a mannequin inside a shop.
Completely lifeless.
Whatever had just been said...
It wasn’t something good.
...
In the Forest District, Fiona walked alone through the trees, and from her expression alone, it was obvious she wasn’t happy.
Mainly because she had a lollipop in her mouth.
Its design and color aesthetics were exactly like one of Cool Joe’s lollipops.
"I’ve arrived at a far spot."
A jammed voice, like a radio running out of signal, rang inside Fiona’s mind. It wasn’t clear, and only with proper concentration could she piece the words together.
"Me too. I think I found a perfect spot. But talk louder—I can’t hear you properly."
"Don’t blame me. I told you to take a used lollipop. If you had done that, the voice would be way clearer."
"I wouldn’t put your saliva-covered lollipop inside my mouth. Not even in hell."
"OUCH. That hurts."
Cool Joe’s lollipops allowed anyone who had one in their mouth to talk to each other wirelessly, just like a phone. If Cool Joe had already put his saliva on the lollipop and someone used it after him, the signal would become much clearer.
"Done."
Fiona planted her device into the ground, its length increasing as it drilled itself deeper.
"The same."
Cool Joe uttered.
The two devices blinked for a few seconds until another device connected. Their faces brightened immediately—the devices had started linking up. And when they checked according to protocol, it was Cuddles’ device that had gone live.
So according to their calculations, only one device was left.
That meant all they had to do now was wait.
So they did.
For one hour.
And no other device connected.
That could only mean one thing.
"That fucker got himself captured."