Chapter 220
Chapter 220
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 220
Chapter Title: Maya (1)
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Back when she was young and vibrant.
Before the war broke out, Maya had met two men.
The mere fact that she knew of them meant she had risen to a certain position. And to actually meet them? That was proof she had escaped the shadow of her famous hardline politician father and secured her own standing as an exceptional politician.
Even up until she received the address, Maya had suspected their existence might just be an urban legend.
She wondered if everyone was deliberately trying to fool her.
Only after getting the address did it feel real.
When she set foot in the strictly controlled zone where they lived, the tension was overwhelming.
The innermost sanctum, where only the top elites gathered.
The slightly chilly air. A space with few furnishings.
Emerging from the long, dark corridor revealed a modern lounge. People whose names she couldn't possibly not know sat scattered in Italian leather chairs. The clear clink of ice against transparent glasses rang out.
At the center sat two men on a deep green sofa.
White hair and black hair.
Gleaming golden eyes.
The moment she saw the two men sitting side by side, Maya drew in a sharp breath.
They dominated the space simply by sitting there.
'We gave them intuitive nicknames.'
Standing rooted to the spot, Maya recalled what her political mentor had told her.
'Black and white hair. Lucifer and Michael. The black hair is Lucifer, the white is Michael.'
'Such corny nicknames.'
'I thought so too. But they suit them perfectly. You'll understand once you see them yourself.'
She got it now.
The beings lounging casually on the sofa, receiving greetings from high-ranking human officials with waist-length hair draped messily—they exuded a charisma that seized the eyes.
It wasn't from their refined features.
Nor just from their piercing, radiant eyes.
It stemmed from the hardships they'd overcome, the victories they'd seized, the authority they'd maintained.
Their unique etiquette probably added to the elegance.
'You know this, Maya.'
Still unable to muster the resolve to approach, she remembered her mentor's warning.
'They're dangerous.'
'I know. My own father drilled that into me endlessly.'
'Most people fear Lucifer more. He's got more personality—more arrogant, more aggressive.'
It seemed that way.
Curly black hair cascaded over the sofa and his white shirt.
He suited monochrome perfectly. Pale skin, upturned eyes. A bored gaze.
A being that instinctively triggered wariness in humans. Even a criminal would tense up standing before him.
"Allow me to offer a drink."
Just like the man now approaching him, hands trembling as he offered the brandy.
The black-haired one pierced him with his gaze, lazily curling his lips.
"Go ahead."
He lifted his empty crystal glass without rising.
Every motion oozed confidence and pride. A glimpse of his possessiveness over what he held.
She doubted she could act composed before him.
Politicians facing the black-haired one stiffened far more than those dealing with the white-haired.
'But remember this.'
Shifting her gaze to the white-haired one, she revisited her mentor's words.
'Michael is the more dangerous one.'
White hair.
Layered, straight white hair. A relaxed, gentle aura contrasting the black-haired one's arrogant boredom. The man reclining leisurely on the sofa smiled as he heard the general's introduction.
His tanned skin contrasted beautifully with the white hair.
'Don't be fooled by his refreshing smile and kind demeanor. He has eyes that see reality straight on.'
'No arrogance, so that makes sense.'
'It's the opposite. He sees reality clearly, so he can't afford arrogance.'
'Sounds like a good guy.'
'He loves his own kind.'
Her mentor said it gravely.
'Living beings turn aggressive to protect what's theirs. Remember that, Maya.'
Maya walked toward the two beings.
Carrying the arrogance of a young politician, hatred for her father, a sense of duty as a human, and personal curiosity.
Hoping at least they'd remember her face, even if not her name, she stepped toward Kyle and Hildebert.
That would be her first and last meeting with the Titan leaders.
Her first and last with Kyle.
***
Less than a year later.
Maya met the man she thought she'd never see again—in her own home.
He was hiding in the attic.
Snapping back to her senses, she crawled out to find the edge of the rug soaked in blood. At first, she thought it was hers. Her father had beaten her viciously just hours before.
But soon she realized the rug was too red for it to be hers.
Oh no.
She also realized her father was slumped on the sofa as a corpse.
"Michael."
She muttered at the back of the man standing before the corpse, wiping his knife.
The man slowly turned his head.
"Ah."
Gloved in black, he held a white napkin, indifferently wiping the blood from the blade.
Hildebert turned his gaze back to the knife.
"That refers to me too."
He showed no sign of fleeing.
Nor any intent to hide the murder from her. Dressed in a black suit that absorbed even light, he smoothly cleaned the blade in the study lit only by a nightlight.
Draped, brilliant white hair.
Once the blade reflected the nightlight cleanly, the man sheathed the dagger.
Maya blankly took in the whole process, until Hildebert turned to leave.
She snapped to as he moved.
"Did you kill my father?"
Hilde stopped.
His refined face held none of the smile from their first meeting.
"Yes."
Cold golden eyes met hers.
"If I'd been a bit later, there'd be two corpses. Your father would've beaten you to death."
"You knew I was here and still came in?"
Sudden rage surged.
"Why? Does it not matter if a child abuser's murder is exposed? Because I'd welcome my father's death anyway?"
"You couldn't lock me up anyway."
Hildebert didn't indulge her anger.
Standing there, he said flatly.
"I don't exist socially to begin with. The elites hide us to cover up what they've gained from us. They deploy all those pointless guards because they know they can't capture me."
"Did you kill them all too?"
"No. They're all alive."
"Why are you so brazen?"
She gritted her teeth and shot back.
"How can you stand there so brazenly before me! Murdering a man's father in cold blood just because he threatened your position!"
"Maya Barrett. Don't play innocent."
Hildebert replied coldly.
"You knew your father had chosen the extreme path."
She was startled he knew her name.
Having left politics long ago, she was now an ordinary citizen no one recognized on the street.
Their first meeting had been brief and unremarkable, so she hadn't expected him to remember her name.
But the surprise didn't last.
Complex emotions shook her.
Guilt and relief. Hatred and gratitude.
She didn't want to believe she felt relief and gratitude.
"If you'd bowed properly, your father wouldn't have chosen the extreme."
"The problem is they go around chopping the heads of those who do bow. Starting a fight they can't win, then trying to burn everything when they lose."
"Why did you come in?"
She had to ask this.
"You knew I was inside—why enter then? You could've picked a time when my father was alone."
Hildebert didn't answer.
He simply looked at her steadily, then moved. Immaculate in his suit, not a drop of blood on him. The sheathed dagger perfectly tucked into his inner pocket.
No one would imagine he'd just brutally murdered someone.
The pristine man started down the rosy staircase.
Maya screamed.
"Why did you come in NOW!!"
The man gripping the railing halted.
"Maya."
Hildebert rolled only his eyes to look at her.
"Launder your identity and leave far away."
Maya looked at him, tears streaming down.
"The safe's open—take what's inside and run. Enough money there to start over. Live a new life."
"Don't play the savior."
At her furious words, Hildebert let out a low chuckle.
As if he'd heard something truly amusing. Maya panted raggedly, watching the white long-haired being suppress his laughter.
So different from the smile she'd seen in that pristine place.
Back then, it had suited his nickname Michael perfectly.
Why did this laughter sound so chilling?
Maya realized the man regretted his murder not one bit.
The elegant killer turned back to her, lips still curved in amusement.
"Savior?"
His golden eyes narrowed.
"I'm not that shameless, Maya. I'm your father's enemy. If you can't burn out the hatred, come kill me later."
With that, he turned and descended the stairs.
Leaving behind the sound of his polished shoes.
Maya never forgot Hildebert's final words.
"Not sure if there'll be anything left of Earth by then."
That was their last meeting.
***
War broke out soon after.
Laundering her identity was easy. She lived a second life. Simpler and plainer than the first, but happier for it.
To the point she sometimes forgot his final words.
Until she saw the footage, and it all came rushing back.
From then on, she racked her brains diligently. During breaks at work, she gathered info to cross paths with him. It wasn't hard. In fact, thanks to that live broadcast, she was in a far better position than the explosion of other paparazzi.
She was a Black Badger civilian employee, after all.
Not the Enhanced Body Black Badgers, but a regular staffer writing reports.
How strange fate was.
Finally, days later, she succeeded in bumping into Hilde at the Black Badger HQ cafe.
The rookie Badger sat by the sunlit window, looking tired, chatting with his seniors.
Maya quietly took the seat behind him.
She ordered an Americano and stayed put. Even as the ticked-off green-eyed senior and the ex-cop senior sipping cinnamon latte left to smoke, she remained in Hilde's seat behind.
Thinking she'd slip away quietly once she'd sorted her feelings.
Clutching her untouched, still-warm Americano.
"Did you come to kill me?"
A low voice came, laced with quiet laughter.
Maya—no, Isabel—straightened and whipped her head around.
Meeting those brilliant golden eyes again.
With the man showing a refined smile that suited his childish nickname.
"Long time no see."
"Michael."
Isabel spoke the moment she met Hilde's eyes.
The words she'd wanted to say poured out.
"I'm doing well."
Words she'd longed to say.
"I'm living my second life very well."
Words she'd wanted to say if they met again.
Words she had to convey, no matter the finger-pointing.
Hilde gave a refreshing smile at her words.
A brilliant smile suiting his white hair.