A Bag Of Chips

Gabriel turned to Icarus, his lips trembling in confusion. "What… what the hell is this?" 

Icarus chuckled. "You tell me." 

Gabriel shook his head violently. "I—no. No, I didn't know—" 

"Didn't you?" Icarus drawled. "Your childhood home. Your orphanage. And you never suspected a thing?" 

Gabriel's breath came shallow. 

Icarus hummed. "I killed Minister Amadala the moment I learned she owned the orphanage. Do you know why?" 

Gabriel didn't answer. 

"She was secretly funnelling an absurd amount of funds into it. But why? Surely not out of the kindness of her heart." Icarus stepped closer. "Then I dug deeper and learned she did all this for me... Out of fear of me." 

Gabriel felt his pulse thundered in his ears. 

Icarus leaned in. "So tell me, what exactly are you and your siblings? Huh? Human Bombs? Me repellants? You have to give me something." 

His gaze then fell on Pearl. "Or else she dies." 

Gabriel barely had time to react before Icarus moved, placing his hand on her neck. 

"I– I don't know." 

A sickening snap. 

Pearl crumpled to the floor like her strings were cut off. 

Gabriel's breath hitched, his eyes fading into bleakness. 

"Tell me, Gabriel. You were their most promising lab rat. I mean Amadala recruited you herself." 

Icarus said as he snapped his fingers. Just then the guard that had escorted the children to their bedrooms appeared in whisps of black smoke, holding one of the sleeping children in his armoured arm. 

Dark steel-plated fingers clutching onto Martha's cotton pyjamas. 

Gabriel couldn't breathe. 

'They wouldn't.' 

'They wouldn't dare.' 

Immediately Icarus grabbed the child's throat, violently waking her up. 

"Answer me, Gabriel, what are you and your siblings?" 

Martha was so confused, panic bursting from her eyes as she dangled off Icarus's hand. 

He was quick just like he was with Pearl. Pressing far too quickly for Gabriel to even react. 

"..." 

"You know Gabriel I kept wondering from the very first day I saw you." 

The prince said as he let Martha fall like a rag doll. Then without a second thought proceeded to step on the little girl's head splitting her skull open like a bag of chips. 

Then like nothing even happened he continued talking; "I knew something was wrong. I did my digging and do you know what I found out?" 

Icarus's lips curled. "I found out that— " 

"You didn't even let me–" Gabriel paused. "No. You never really needed my replies. Nothing I said would have stopped you from killing them." 

Icarus's brows rose. "...Well I guess you've ruined the fun. Azazel go kill them all." 

The guard came alive again like an ancient engine. Darkness suddenly spills out of its dark lightless visors. But just then Gabriel suddenly vanished, his body heat, shadow, presence all of it completely vanished, almost like he had never even existed. 

Then the guard's blade suddenly drew sparks as it skidded out of its scabbard. 

The next instant Gabriel was right behind the Hero of Exeges appearing out of thin air with a lengthy long sword barreling towards the young prince's head. 

Gabriel had always been fast. 

Although lacking in mana, and physical prowess. Short bursts of speed had never been out of his reach in fact because of the nature of his skill he had combined these short bursts of speed to swiftly take out enemies before they knew what hit them. 

But this time his dangerous sense hadn't chosen to remain silent like it usually does. 

It felt like doomsday alarms were going off in his head as Icarus's eyes followed his descent. 

Before he could even notice he felt something tap his chest and the next moment a fist had gone right through him.

Icarus had driven his hand right through Gabriel's stomach. 

The pain was instant and all-consuming. 

Gabriel gasped, choking on blood as the blade fell from between his fingers. His vision blurred, the edges darkening. 

Above him, Icarus sighed. "This what she had spent so long constructing just to kill me?" 

He let Gabriel stay on his fist for a bit, before pulling him closer till his lips were almost kissing Gabriel's ears. 

"But it doesn't really matter. No one can kill me." 

With that he let Gabriel fall to the ground. 

Gabriel lay there, blood pooling beneath him, his body shaking. He turned his head, and through the haze, he saw Pearl's lifeless form beside him and Martha's brain matter not too far away. 

Tears welled in his eyes. He tried to cry but he couldn't. He opened his mouth to scream but all that came through were hollow wails. 

Somehow it made the pain hurt more. Not being able to scream in pain. 

It felt like something had gone through his heart like his whole world had gone up in flames. 

Icarus meanwhile had begun to go through the professor's office. Ransacking the desks and cabinets. 

He searched long and hard till worry lines had begun to appear on his forehead. 

His guard meanwhile had left for the children. It wasn't long before the sound of their scream had begun to reach the underground lab. 

And Gabriel wasn't dead yet. 

Like divine punishment for his audacity, Gabriel remained self-aware enough to hear his siblings' wails. The cries were like shrill high-pitched daggers. He could even identify whose scream belonged to who. 

What an awful fate. 

And it was all his fault. If only he left the hall when he did... 

No! He already knew. 

He had been dead set on killing them all the moment he found out... If only they had talked it out. If Icarus actually had a heart they wouldn't have suffered like this. 

I swear by the dead gods I'll sell my soul even if it might be artificial, I'll sell it either way. 

Just help me kill this bastard. I'll do whatever you desire. 

Gabriel never prayed. Which was a strange thing in today's society where gods sent down power to their worshippers. 

Even Icarus had to have had a god he served that chose to favour him with such an insane amount of Grace. 

Yet, Gabriel– right from the moment he had discovered his abilities, had never had a god to beg to retain his power. 

Which was why the concept of prayer was so strange to him. 

He didn't have any other option though, so he begged and begged some more. Surely one of the thousands of gods out there could here him. 

He had read something like that in a novel before. Dying and receiving power from the gods. 

But unfortunately, no god was coming to save him. 

It wasn't long before the guard returned reeking of gasoline. Icarus backed him as he leaned over the professor's table, sheets of tea-stained paper scattered across the wooden desk. 

"Couldn't find it." He said with a defeated sigh. After a few moments of silence, he waved his hand, and his taciturn guard began to move. 

It held a keg of gasoline in his hands, spilling it all over the lab. 

Icarus stood and watched with his hands behind his back, all on his lonesome. 

Did he even feel a bit of regret? 

Gabriel wondered as his sight wavered before going entirely black.

*** 

When he woke up again the lab was already on fire. What was once a neatly preserved facility was now a pile of burning wood and thick black smoke. 

It was then he saw it. Starks of incandescent red light refracted off a pair of round glasses. 

"...Professor?"