~Demon of Envy: Leviathan~

Morning, on the next day, Allen assembled some newly hired bodyguards that Alex requested.

“Okay, team, welcome to SBG (Scott’s Bodyguard) Team (All members of SBG are highly trained personnel). Calvin will be handing you some documents written the rules you should strictly follow, your job, information of the VIPs, mansion layout, and more. Read it; your job depends on it. Your mission is to protect those VIPs indicated in there no matter what it cost, even if it’s your life is at stake. VIPs that I mentioned will be arriving soon, and you will be added to the other team we deployed yesterday. We also include under those sheets you’re holding your job contracts and job information, including your basic salaries. Any questions in your mind, please feel free to ask. For now, you will be on standby and will be deployed immediately when the VIPs arrive. That’s all and good day.” Allen deliberately briefed the newly hired bodyguards for Drake’s group.

“Excuse me, sir!” Calvin called the attention of Allen.

“Yes? What is it, Calv?” Allen replied.

“I received a new applicant this morning, and he’s here right now, and he already heard your briefing earlier. I’ve read his information, sir, and I think you’ll like it.” Calvin handed the applicant's resume to Allen.

“Hmmm. This is quite an interesting resume indeed. Wow! Could you call him for me, Calv?” Allen requested.

“Absolutely, sir.” Calvin obliged and went to fetch the applicant.

“Good day, sir! Ethan Mckenzy at your service.” the applicant greeted and handshake with Allen.

“Good day Ethan. You’ve handed us an impressive resume here. A member of an Elite Navy SEAL Team. So how many years have you been in the Navy?” Allen starts to investigate.

“Joined in at age 18, sir, and been on service for more than ten years,” Ethan replied.

“And you’ve been in many combats with that more than ten years, you’ve said?” Allen asked.

“Yes, sir! Mostly search and rescue operations.” Ethan answered.

“And if I may ask, what is your team called? Allen thoroughly investigates.

“Our team was called Phantom SEAL, sir,” Ethan replied.

“‘The’ Phantom SEAL Team? The one famous for their stealth operations, especially in search and rescue operations?” Allen cannot believe what Ethan just said.

“That’s the one, sir,” Ethan confirms.

“Wow! I could not believe I could meet the only remaining member of that elite team. Well, please wait here as I check and verify the information you gave me. In the meantime, you can ask Calvin for any assistance.” Allen said as he went to the Tech room for verification.

Later on, Allen came back to give Ethan the news.

“Ethan, congratulations,” Allen said as they both gave their congratulatory handshake.

“Wow, that fast?” Ethan commented on having results in verification even to confidential matters like him.

“Yeah! With Scotts, nothing’s impossible, Ethan.” Allen stated.

“Welcome to SBG Team. I could never have thought to see the authentic ‘Ghost Blade’, leader of the Phantom SEAL himself. I wish I could hear stories from you, especially what everyone most wondered about; the sudden disappearance of your team. But that could wait. Calvin said you already heard my briefing earlier?” Allen added as Ethan nodded to agree.

“Well, that’s good. I don’t have to repeat my speech to you. In the meantime, you’ll be on standby and soon be deployed upon the arrival of the VIPs. Do your best, comrade.” Allen’s soothing words.

“Thank you, sir,” Ethan replied.

“Head Chief! VIPs have arrived.” Calvin reported.

“Good. Inform the head butlers for their arrival.” Allen commanded.

“Yes, sir!” Calvin obliged.

Drake arrived on his bike together with Lez, and a car with two bodyguards went in after the gate had opened and halted for a moment to talk with Allen.

“Hello, Allen! How’s your day?” Drake greeted their Head Chief Security as he and Lez, get down from his bike and removed their helmet off.

Ethan was mesmerized by Lez's beauty as he could not take his eyes away from her even if she were wearing a jacket that Drake handed her for the trip.

“Everything is fine, and good day to you also, sir, ma’am.” Allen greeted back to Drake and Lez.

“By the way, we already bumped with the first four bodyguards last night, and they’re with us right now, and I’ve already memorized their names, Nicole, Jefferson, Feng, and Jin. They're quite commendable and trustworthy too. I really appreciate your hard work, Al.” Drake praised their head chief as he gave him a pat on his back.

“Thank you, sir,” Allen replied as he smiled.

“Also, I heard the additional three members of the group are already on standby. May we meet them?” Drake requested.

“Certainly, sir, and it’s actually four, sir.” Allen obliged as he requested Calvin to gather the team.

“Oh, well, that’s excellent,” Drake commented.

Al and Mike, with her driver/bodyguard Sean with two other bodyguards, came in later in 2 cars. They made a stop where Drake parked his bike and got out of the vehicle immediately. Al looked so stunning as the super-hot model got out wearing a spaghetti strap black tight sheath dress from the car.

“Sir, and ma’am,” Allen gave Alex and Drake the information sheet of the new bodyguards. “Meet Sam Jon Breckenson, Heather Coleman, Antonio Rodriguez, and Ethan Mckenzy. These four are the additional bodyguards on your team, and all information about them is listed on the sheet I gave you. Please feel free to ask if you have something.” The four new bodyguards lined up in front of Drake, Alex, Mike, and Lez beside Allen and Calvin.

The siblings scanned the information sheet of the new bodyguards. They both immediately recognized Ethan’s Info sheet because of the former famous Elite team named Phantom SEAL. For Phantom SEAL is an excellent action movie based on a true story they loved to watch as a kid, especially their eldest brother John who idolized the character named ‘Ghost Blade’.

“Ethan Mckenzy?” Alex called the attention of Ethan as she approached right in front of him.

“Yes, ma’am, that’s me,” Ethan replied.

“’ The’ Phantom SEAL?” Alex clarified.

“Yes, ma’am, that’s correct,” Ethan confirmed.

“Oh my God! Then you are Ghost Blade? The real deal?” Al was amazed, for she never thought of this moment would come to meet in person the actual character in a movie that they idolized since they were just kids.

Ethan nods and smiles back at her in confirmation.

“Oh my God! I love you!” Al slowly hugged Ethan as Ethan softly laughed and hugged her back. Mike got jealous in the corner and had something about to say but couldn’t let it out and just watched them both hug each other as he felt a dying feeling inside.

“Ghost Blade! Haha!” Drake happily hugged Ethan too. “Man, my brother’s mind would be blown away if he hears about this. Haha. Nice to meet you, Ethan, and all of you guys in here. I guess all of you know what your job will be, right?” Drake asked the team as they nodded and replied, “Yes, sir!”

“Well, that’s great. We’ll be out later after lunch, so I hope you are all prepared to start your job. Alright?” Drake clarified as they all nodded and replied, “Yes, sir!”

“Glad to meet you all, and have a good day. See you after lunch.” Drake said as the group left the area and proceeded to the mansion.

Mike said no words to Al for the next passing hours.

The rest of the group took a time out and prepared themselves and some things they might need for their trip; while Drake is at his room reading the book of Lock and Key, trying to find out what Chris has read about the weakness of the Key itself while resting on his bed.

Drake stumbled on a phrase in the book, which was written in Latin, ‘the demon Lucifer managed to obtain the key by revealing its truest despair’ as translated inside Drake’s mind.

“Hm… truest despair? I nearly died, and Lez clearly saw that, but the Key did not reveal itself, so I can’t be her true despair, and neither will be our friends.” Drake said as he talked to himself by witnessing the almost tragic end of his friend and sister’s life by his hand.

Knock on the Door.

“It’s open,” Drake answered to someone who knocked on the door and an indication to proceed inside.

“Hello, you majesty, what are you doing?” Lez asked as she came inside and sat beside her boyfriend in his bed, leaving the door open.

“Just reading this book,” Drake said as she kissed her on her lips.

“Is that the Book of Lock and Key? Found anything?” Lez asked, leans her head to his shoulder.

“Nothing much. I read the part where it says true despair will reveal the Key as the demon Linda told us about. But it keeps me wondering. If I wasn’t your true despair or neither our friends, then there are only two persons left very close to you I can only think about that would fit the description.” Drake worriedly said to Lez as she pulled her head away to look at him thoughtfully.

“Do you mean my parents?” Lez wants to clarify whose Drake is denoting.

“Yes! Hoping I was wrong, but I can’t think of someone else that holds dear to you most rather than your parents.” Drake implied.

“You mean my parents are in danger?” Lez’s tears began to cloud her eyes.

“Hey, wait! Please don’t cry and listen to me first.” Drake held her face with both hands, trying to mend her from crying. “Thankfully, we defeated the demon who knows about it. So they are not in danger for now.” Drake said as Lez quickly hugged him tightly while crying.

“Hey, Drake! Look, I found some information in the book. Oh, hey, sorry… “Mike hastily walked inside the room but went back his way outside as soon as he saw the two having a moment. “I’ll get back to you later,” Mike said.

“Hey, Mike! It’s okay, come back inside. Let us hear what you are about to say.” Drake said as he wiped her girlfriend’s tears from her face.

“Oh, hi Lez.” Mike greeted as he entered the room.

“Let’s have it. What is it?” Drake asked Mike.

“Yo, this is bad news man, take a look at this.” Mike points with his finger the writing in the book of ‘Demons’.

“It clearly stated there that all demons have a shared thought. Anything a demon saw, heard, and everything a demon have known, will be known to every demon existed.” Mike explained what he had read from the book as Lez started to cry again.

“Ey Lez are you cryin’? Is there somethin’ wrong I said?” Mike wondered what suddenly made Lez cry as she quickly walked out of the room.

“Oh shit, yo, I’m sorry, bro, if I said something that made her feel bad. I really am sorry.” Mike apologizes to Drake but doesn’t know why.

“It’s okay, Mike. I’ll go and talk to her. See you later, bro.” Drake said as he left Mike inside the room alone to catch up with Lez.

“Damn!” Mike felt guilty for ruining their wonderful moment as what he thinks of.

“Lez! Lezlie, wait!” Drake called as Lez went down the stairs while on her phone calling for her parents, which rings but no one answered.

“Hey!” Drake reached for her shoulder as she called her parents for the second time but still failed.

“Please calm down for a moment and hear me out.” Drake pleads as Lez lowers her phone down to listen to what he’s going to say while still crying.

“If you can manage to convince your parents to stay here in the mansion, they’ll be more welcome and will be safer here for as long as they should until we figure all of this out. But if they refused, at least we could have them secured inside your home. Please will try everything we can to make sure of their safety.” Drake made a promise to make her feel less worried.

Ring! Lez’s phone suddenly rang as her mother called her back.

She told them everything that was happening and what they thought was about to happen and opened up their suggestions to them, which Drake suggested earlier. Still, they refused the first suggestion, which was to let them stay in the mansion, and instead accepted the second one and deployed security for their safety. Lez promised herself to be with them to protect them at all times, in which Drake agreed and thought for the best and let her go home together with five of the SBGs and another five security guards from the mansion.

Drake handed the book of Lock and Key to Clem and asked him to deliver it to the research team to find a clue about the weakness of the Key.

Later, an hour after noon, the group departed the mansion and went to the location of the gate, the maple tree. Drake leads the group with his bike, followed by Alex’s car with her own bodyguard/driver Sean seated next with Ethan in front and Mike away from her side, then another car with Nicole and Jef inside.

During their travel, Al noticed that Mike was acting weird, and she never heard him talked to her for several hours. He sat on the corner, right behind Ethan, looking at him sharply and thinking of something.

Al took a look at Mike and Ethan back and forth. She can feel the intensity of Mike's stare at Ethan and begins to wonder what’s running inside Mike’s head. She couldn’t figure it out, so she inquisitively asked.

“Mike? Is there something wrong?” Al asked.

Mike just ignores her and continues to stare at Ethan. Ethan, on the other hand, heard Al and started to look Mike in the rearview mirror. He saw Mike’s sour face towards him and wondered why he was looking at him like that. He just ignored him to focus on his job but secretly peeked at Al in the mirror. Mike noticed that, and it made him more irritated towards Ethan, as his mind keeps repeating the scene of Al hugging Ethan and said ‘I love you’ at him while she never said that to Mike, not even once.

“Mike?!?” Al called his attention in a higher tone of voice, but Mike just looked at her once then turned his head towards Ethan again.

“Is there something wrong?” Al put her right hand on Mike’s lap and slowly moved closer and closer to him.

She looked directly into Mike’s face while smiling just to get his attention. She knew that Mike could never resist her charms as he looked at her with a smile. Al quickly hugged him and had a quick kiss, then rested her head onto his shoulder as Mike wrapped around his arms into her waist. Mike slowly turned his head back straight, looking at Ethan where he caught him again, having a peek. Something is deeply bothering him.

When they arrived at the area, the guards quickly went out of their cars, scattered the area to clear the perimeter before they escorted the group towards the tree.

Alex carried a book written ‘Inferni Porta’ in it which was given to her by Hattie, the leader of the research team, to open the gate while Drake held the book ‘Demons’.

“So what are we gonna do now, Al?” Drake asked Alex what’s the first step to do on closing the gate.

“Okay, Hattie told me that the answer lies on this book, and they already marked the pages on how to close the gate,” Al replied as she began to open the book.

“The research team said that we need to invoke these words… it’s written in Latin. I don’t know how to read this.” Al commented.

“Okay, let me have that, have this book instead,” Drake said as they exchanged the books they were holding.

Drake read the page first before saying the words and noticed something.

“But Al, it says here opening the gate, not closing the gate,” Drake stated.

“Yes, the research team said that the way to close the gate is the same way to close the gate, and that is invoking those words. But closing the gate requires a demon sigil to lock it down.” Alex implied.

“Are they sure about that? Coz there is no going back after I read these words.” Drake wanted to get sure before he began.

“Yes! They’re pretty sure about it. So go on.” Alex confirmed and suggested that he proceed.

“Okay, here goes nothin’! Aperi Portam Inferorum!” Drake shouted as the gate appeared in front of them.

All the guards got panicked, except for Sean, who had worked longer for Alex, for they never understood what just happened. They were never informed about something paranormal or anything not normal about their job.

“Wooh! All of you stay back!” Ethan said as he, Jef, and Nicole quickly drew their handgun and pointed it on the portal as they freaked out.

“Hey, Hey, Hey! Guys, relax.” Drake tried to calm the guards down.

“What is that? Can someone care to explain?” Nicole confusedly asked for it was their first time to see something weird like that.

Their eyes got bulged in confusion as soon as they saw the portal.

“Hey! I did not sign up for this.” Jef said as he and Ethan quickly moved around the portal to check.

“I know it’s good to be true as I’ve seen the salary in our contract, but this is way beyond my expectations,” Ethan added.

Mike walked around the portal to check its surroundings.

“Are you sure this is safe? That no demon would just walk out from that portal?” Mike commented.

“Okay! Okay! Please calm down for a minute and lower your guns. I know you're freaking out right now because we didn’t fully inform you about your job, but would you believe us if we would say that you will have to deal with paranormal events or have to fight against a demon if ever?” Alex told them as the others lowered their weapons.

“But at least you could have told us so that we can prepare,” Nicole commented.

“Okay, now that you know, anyone who wants to back out is free to go right now, and for those who want to continue can stay.” Drake waited for seconds for their reactions, but none walked away.

“So I guess no one wants to back out, right?” Drake asked as every guard nodded to agree.

“Everyone, just be on guard, but please stay calm.” Al reminds everyone.

“So, what now? Mike inserted, asking.

“Drake?” Al called as they altogether looked at him.

Drake continued to read and spoke,

“Daemonium Sigil Revelare.” Drake loudly said as a circle appeared on the tree trunk with a symbol of an inverted pentagram surrounded by seven signs in a circle.

“Wooh, hey guys, check it out, something appeared on the tree. Al, could you hand me the book you’re holding?” Mike requested as soon as he noticed the symbol's appearance and started to read information about it.

“What do these symbols mean?” Al commented and started to read a text in the middle of the inverted pentagram. “LEVI.” She uttered. “Who’s LEVI?” she asked the group.

“There’s only one Levi I know, and he’s an anime,” Mike commented as Drake and Al looked at him very seriously.

“Just sayin’,” Mike added.

“We don’t know who that Levi is, but his name is written in the middle of the inverted pentagram, which I conclude, is bad news. Terrible news for sure.” Drake firmly had a bad feeling about the name.

“Hey, I think I know these symbols around the pentagram. Al, hand me the book.” Mike suddenly said as AL gave him the book of Demons.

“Here! See? Same symbols.” Mike commented as he showed them the symbols in the book are just the same symbols in the tree.

“So it’s the symbols of each demon of the seven deadly sins. Al, the sigil! Where is it?” Drake said as he quickly asked Al for the sigil that they obtained from defeating Asmodea.

“It’s in my bag at the car. Ethan, could you please hand me my bag inside the car.” Alex directed Ethan as the bodyguard quickly ran into their car to grab her bag.

“Ethan!!!” a voice was suddenly heard by Ethan as he was about to grab the bag from the car.

“Who’s there?!?” Ethan shouted as he drew his gun and pointed it anywhere as he searched for someone who called his name.

Ethan got flustered as he heard the voice, for he didn’t know what it was or where it came from. And especially, he doesn’t know what they’re dealing with yet.

“What’s taking him so long? Ethan, what’s wrong?” Al shouted, for they noticed Ethan suddenly acted so weird.

“Nothing!” Ethan replied as he quickly grabbed the bag and ran back at the group to hand it over to Al.

Al searched for something inside her bag and pulled out a small box that contained the demon sigil of lust. She quickly inserted the sigil on the circle with the same symbol as it quickly latched into the tree and suddenly stopped glowing.

The group waited for a noticeable result, but nothing happened.

“So, I guess this means we have to collect six more sigils before we can close this gate.” Al deeply sighed as she commented.

“Six more demons to defeat? Oh, hell no! We had a hard struggle on the first one alone. Now we have to fight six more? How do we know they will not gang up on us on the next fight? We are so screwed if that happens.” Mike worriedly stated.

“Hey, guys, look,” Drake called the others as she noticed something on the tree.

“What is it, Drake?” Alex asked.

“Look! We immediately noticed the glowing circle earlier, which symbolizes the demon of lust but look at the other circles. This one here is different from the remaining others, and its circle is deep enough to insert a sigil like the other one we inserted earlier, but the other circles are not.” Drake stated what he noticed.

They looked at each other and began to worry more.

“Then that means….” Al starts to say.

“That we had another demon on the loose.” Drake finished Al’s sentence.

Ethan secretly got more worried, for he encountered an unexplainable event earlier.

“Oh, man. Can’t we have a break? We just got stabbed, got broken bones, got wounds and bruises, and almost died yesterday. Can’t we get some time out, even just for a week?” Mike loudly said as all the guards looked at him.

“Can’t we just post someone here or guard this area to prevent demons from coming out instead,” Mike added.

“Mike? If I say you are fuckin’ Rambo and I command you to guard this area, would you do it or not?” Al sarcastically asked.

“Of course I won’t. Even fuckin’ Rambo won’t last long against those demons, and he’ll just become their first meal when they got out.” Mike answered that makes the guards more anxious about their job as Drake just shook his head.

“Okay, guys, listen (as all the guards gathered closely). I know many of you now are doubting if this job is real or maybe it is just a prank, but I’m telling you this, it is 100% real. And the threat is also real. From what you’ve seen like this portal and what we said about demons, they are all real. I know that you accepted this job knowing that you risk your life just to protect what you have to, but lo let you know, the risk here is much higher than you ever anticipated. You’re not going to face a normal enemy that will shoot you with guns or use a knife to slit your throat, no! You are going to face demons in human form or an actual demon itself. They have abilities beyond normal comprehension that you can only see in movies, read in storybooks, or hear in horror stories, but it’s all real. I’m not going to lie about it. The fact is, I don’t want you to face it head-on; instead, inform us if you see one so that either we fight it or avoid it for certainty. I could not assure you of your safety nor assurance to survive whatever the event may come, but I can assure you that we can help defeat these demons if we work together. That’s why I will not hold anyone who decides to leave the group, and I do understand the reason if you do. But one thing I can assure you the most, if you do survive this whole event, you will receive a big fat bonus if you decide to continue with the team. And even if you don’t survive, we will give it to your family, which you have written in your info. But if you don’t want to continue, I guess this is goodbye, and thank you for your service. You will still receive the hours of payment from us.” Drake told them very honestly to gain their trust.

“Wait! Sir, you mean that these demons that you’ve said are highly dangerous that even we professionals are going to look like chicken feed for them, right? Ethan asked as Drake just nodded in reply.

“So, how did you managed to defeat one, not to offend you, but we look tougher than you are, sir?” Ethan wants to know the reason for the demon’s unthinkable defeat.

Drake thinks that they need to see what they are capable of. So a demonstration would fit to convince them from their queries. But it requires powers that are more visible to their naked eyes.

Drake had a look at Alex and thought about it longer.

“Nope! Not you. Your powers are evident to anyone, but only in their mind, so I’ll care of this myself.” Drake said inside his mind.

“Okay. I’ll demonstrate some of my capabilities to ease your mind. So everyone, please pay attention to your surroundings.” Drake said that made the guards confused, but they still followed his orders.

“Everyone ready?” Drake said as he prepared himself to speed up.

“Ready when you are, sir,” Ethan replied.

“And.... done,” Drake said.

The guards got even more confused about what Drake said, and they thought it was just a prank.

“Done in what, sir?” Nicole asked.

“Done, from taking all of these from you.” Drake snatched all of their guns in front of them without being noticed.

“What the!” the guards reacted as they checked for their guns in their sides, but it’s all gone.

“No way! You must have taken our guns earlier without us noticing it.” Jef said.

“No! He could not do that to me. I always know if someone is sneaking behind of me, let alone sneak and pulled out my gun without me noticing it.” Ethan said.

“Yeah! Legendary Ghost Blade remember?” Al commented as everyone agreed to what she said.

“But hey, if you’re in doubt, I’ll show it for the second time, and here, please take all your guns, and Jef, kindly proceed to our cars and secure your gun if it’s beside you when you get there,” Drake ordered as he prepared to demonstrate his ability for the second time.

“Yes, sir!” Jef took his gun and ran towards their cars.

“Shout ready if you are ready and your side secures your gun,” Drake shouted.

“Ready, sir!” Jef shouted back as a signal that he was ready.

“And, done. You can come back now, Jef.” Drake shouted while showing them Jef’s gun in his hand.

The guards were amazed at what Drake demonstrated to them.

“Wooh. That was amazing, sir. I was watching all the time to my handgun as it quickly vanishes from my sight.” Jef commented as soon as he came back to the group.

“That was incredible speed, sir. You were like my favorite character, the Quicksilver.” Ethan commented.

“Hey, hey, The Flash, bro! It’s the Flash, and the Flash is way better than Quicksilver.” Mike debated.

“Yeah, you’re like a superhero, sir! And we would love to serve superheroes like you.” Nicole inserted as she smiled and saluted to the group.

“We’re at your service, sir!” Jef said as salutes at them also.

“If I could have known people like you existed in this world, I could have recruited you on my team. Glad to be at your service, sir.” Ethan said as he saluted to the group.

“Ah… I would love to.” Al said and was about to hug Ethan but stopped and pulled back by Mike while saying, “Hey!”

“Superheroes. That’s a big word for us. But I appreciate your generosity and trust in helping us achieve our goal. It may not be simple and easy, but we can work it out. Thank you for your commitment and service.” Drake salutes back at them.

“By the way, hopefully, we understand each other that none of this shall be on public, okay. I hope you can keep it to yourselves whatever you know, hear, or witnessed in the process and keep its confidentiality. Thank you, guys.” Drake said as all the guards’ replied,

“Yes, sir!” as they salute again with a smile.

“For now. All we need to know is how this portal operates, and we need to know when does a demon got out from this portal and what kind of demon are we going to face this time.” Drake said to the group.

“Yep! I know you’re going to ask that one, and I know the answer. And the demon we are going to face is the Demon of Envy, Leviathan.” Mike said that made everyone think so deeply and took a picture of the circle in the maple tree using his phone.

END OF CHAPTER 14