January 2, 2022

Great Exaggerations


Previously: Thwack

Before Dominador could share his idea, there was an interruption.

"Excuse me, Ms. Flores, I just needed a moment to --"

Im Hyun-jun stopped dead in his tracks when he laid eyes on Daos.  Daos, in turn, was deeply amused.

"My, my," he murmured.  "I don't think I've ever actually seen that particular look on your face.  Is that surprise I see, Mr. Im?"

The dark-haired demon was clearly caught off guard.  His mouth hung open for several seconds as he no doubt reran the Grey Oracle's prophecy through his mind, along with her timetable.

"Daos...," he began, but was unable to finish.

"Oh, yes," Daos smirked.  "It would appear prophecies of my demise have been greatly exaggerated."

Even Dominador couldn't resist joining the fun.

"So now you get to be the lucky messenger who goes back to all your pals, buddies, minions, and chums to let them know the great and infamous Daos still lives," he snickered.

Hyun-jun turned to Trish, visibly disgusted.  "How can you associate with these people?"  He gave a quick nod towards Daos.  "Don't you know this one will eventually get you killed?"

Trish sighed impatiently.  "What did you need, Mr. Im?"

"Actually, I'm here as a favor to the Mayor," Hyun-jun began, subconscious adjusting his tie.  "He was hoping you wouldn't do a story on the Domarad building until after the work begins."

"If he can get work to begin," Trish snorted.

"Sobena Domarad isn't allowing anyone near that building," Daos calmly informed him.

Hyun-jun blinked rapidly, trying to process this information. "Sobena...Domarad?  The woman who died there years ago?"

"She's become a rusalka," Daos confirmed.  "We believe she's protecting the building from being torn down."

"More specifically," Dominador chortled, "she's your 'water-shaped bullet' who couldn't hit her mark."

"So you see," Trish raised an eyebrow, "my story is the least of the Mayor's problems at this point."

"Whoa...wait a minute," Hyun-jun shook his head.  "Let me get this straight: I left civilization behind to broker a multimillion-dollar deal with a very tight schedule, and now you're telling me that some low-rent, undead home-wrecker is the reason we can't get operations off the ground?"

Daos opened his mouth but the demon broker cut him off.

"Seriously, Daos?" Hyun-jun exclaimed, quite livid at this point.  "I thought you were running a clean city here, but since apparently no one in this town get can shit done, I'm gonna have to care of this my damn self."

He was about to whirl on heels and storm out of Trish's office, but then suddenly remembered his manners.  Coming back to stand before Trish, he lightly touched his chest, bowed his head slightly, and said, "Apologies for my language."

Then he left.

Trish watched him go in awe.  "You know," she murmured, unable to blink, "in another life, if were I actually into guys...."

Dominador too stared after Hyun-jun.  "Woman, don't even think about finishing that sentence."

"You know," Daos raised a brow, "I've never actually seen Hyun-jun take on a water demon before."

There was a brief pause before all three humans hurried after the demon, hopping into Dao's black SUV and following closely behind Hyun-jun's dark blue Benz.  In his haste to reach the Domarad building, the demon broke every speed limit and violated every sign and rule of traffic.

"He's really pissed about this," Dominador blinked.

"At heart, Hyun-jun's always been a hardcore capitalist," Daos explained, flooring the gas pedal just to keep up.  "For an immortal, he's surprisingly attached to his money."

"I knew it!" Trish called from the backseat.  "He seemed waaaay too perfect to be human!"

The high speed car chase came to an abrupt end when Hyun-jun swerved to haphazardly park in front of the Domarad.  When he got out of his car, he was fuming.

"Humans are so typical," he snickered.  "I may be a so-called 'Lower Being', but I still have a sense of decency, and I must say...adultery is one of the lowest and most pathetic of sins.  I have seen men build empires out of rubble and dust - I've helped them, in fact - and then I've watched them lay waste to everything they've accomplished...over a woman."

Brother.

They all heard it.  It was like a whisper, a verbal caress on the wind, but louder than a thought.  The humans instinctively turned towards the Domarad, while Hyun-jun's whole body went deathly still.

Brother, have you come to help me? It was a woman's voice, as gentle and lulling as the sound of dripping water.  Together we can defeat the Daos...my beautiful Hyun-jun....

Hyun-jun visibly shuddered at being addressed so informally.  He became so angry that he couldn't even bother to speak in English.  In fact, he was so furious he reverted to his native Korean.

"Who is this creature calling to me as though I could ever care what it has to say?"  Now he finally turned towards the building.  "How do you even think to speak to me, you who failed in your task?  You think because we both come from Below you can speak to me?  You think because we are of demon-kind that you can dare to say my name?  We are not the same kind.  I am Im Hyun-jun, maker of lords and kings.  I don't even spit on riffraff like you."

And with that, he raised both hands.  When he brought them down, he also brought down the building in a vast, blinding gulf of angry flames, reducing the entire property to ash in an instant.

In the distance, there was a blood-curdling scream.  It seemed to reach out from another world for a second before there was nothing but heavy silence.

Dominador's jaw hit the ground, while Trish struggled with a single syllable.

"W...Wha..."

Daos's jaw tightened, his voice grim.  "Hellfire."

Next: Agimat

10 comments:

  1. Trish knows Hyun? Why is no one shocked at this? lol Dominador is so snarky, I like it. Laughing at Hyun having morals lol, but dang he went ham. His speech was hilarious and so was the apology. Women make the world go round Hyun, get with the program lol. Another great chapter.

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    1. I forgot that. Trish is getting a huge scoop of a story. Is Dominador still in denial about the whole supernatural or is he starting to believe? because I can't wait when he finds out who he is, I expect great panicking and coffee overdose.

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  2. Yeah, Hyun-Jun having morals lol...more like he can't get emotionally or sexually attached. Because he's a demon :p

    Love the story, Hyun-Jun is fast when he wants something, huh!.And how he got pissed at the rusalka was funny.

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  3. It's chapter 2, not chapter 3 ;) I think?

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  4. I wonder if when Hyun-jun did the hellfire hand-raising-hand-dropping thing, he did it like the wrestler Kane? Because I couldn't help imagining it like that.

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    1. Is it my imagination, or do you have a thing for wrestlers?

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    2. It is not your imagination but... I don't recall having talked much about wrestling here.

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    3. *innocent blink* No...but you've talked about it elsewhere.

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