Chapter 2: The Devil’s Stigma

"Life isn't cheap!" Spring roared in anger and swatted his hand away, "Don't you dare comment on it ever again."

"Did you have breakfast?" Iota nonchalantly changed the topic, seeing Spring nod in response as he asked, "What did you have?"

"Just a chicken drumstick." Spring said sullenly, hearing her stomach grumble, "I couldn't afford anything more."

She then looked at the orphanage, her eyes trembling as a prickling sensation erupted all over her body from the sweat oozing out of her pores, "Are you hiding something from me?"

"Yup!" Iota clapped in joy, "As expected, you're smart, kiddo."

He abruptly stopped speaking, irritating Spring who then urged him to continue. Sighing, Iota spoke, "I've hidden an important piece of information from you."

"W-What is it?" Spring tensed up in response and stared at his face which turned serious all of a sudden, something that never happened even when he killed a human.

"The chicken drumstick you had for breakfast…" Iota wiped a tear that leaked out of his eyes, expressing sorrow, "It came from a chicken that was once alive. It had a family of twenty and aspired to be a grain winner at…"

"Fucker!" Spring slapped him, angered by his antics that played her emotions, "Are you screwing with me?"

"I'm not." Iota raised his hand, not once bothered about the impression of three fingers becoming evident on his cheek over time. Spring hadn't held back on her slap. But despite that, he continued to speak, "A chicken too is alive, you know. Why is it okay to kill it for mere food while killing a human is a no-no?"

"I don't care!" Spring covered her ears and rushed towards the orphanage door, "I'm worried about everyone. I'll see what's happening inside."

Spring twisted the doorknob of the orphanage building and opened the door, entering inside while Iota followed behind, carrying her luggage.

There was a large, somewhat decrepit living room with damaged furniture. The curtains were old and had lost colour from the repeated wash. But overall, the place was just as in her memories, lacking, but one that had sheltered her through childhood.

Spring had been talented academically, and hence, she obtained a scholarship to pursue her higher studies in a far-off junior college. Therefore, she could only visit the orphanage once a year. Though of course, Iota met her once every month to give her a tattoo that he obtained through mysterious means.

"Where's…everyone?" Spring looked around in confusion. At least thirty children were living in the orphanage, so the living room was always lively as the younger kids caused a racket. The orphanage director and his two childless wives usually had a hard time controlling the situation.

But now, there was nothing, not even the faintest of sounds. Spring approached a sofa and traced her index finger over it, finding a faint layer of dust had formed on it, "Did everyone go somewhere recently?"

"You sure you want to know?" Iota tilted her head as he scrutinised her expression, causing her to flinch nervously, wondering what sort of weird bullshit he would spout next.

"This suspense is killing me!" She groaned and grabbed him by the shoulder, staring right into his eyes, "No bullshit, alright? Out with the truth, now!"

"Fine," Iota nudged her nose with his playfully as he spoke, resuming his usual lackadaisical yes-nonsense behaviour, "Continuing what I was saying before, as humans, we are innately averse to the notion of killing humans for our consumption."

"Why the heck are you…" Spring raged when he stopped her from interrupting him, his tone strangely persuasive this time.

Iota grabbed her hand and pulled her with him, kicking the antique wall clock—one that resembled an almirah—in the study room nearby to reveal a flight of stairs leading to a basement.

"We had a basement…?" Spring exclaimed, tracing the rock walls that gave a feeling of being constructed at least 5-6 centuries ago, judging by the style. She pursued architecture, and hence had knowledge regarding the field.

"Do you know that to cannibals, humans are no different from other animals? All are fair game." Iota said, "And along that vein, even plants are living beings. Everyone eats to survive. And,"

Iota pushed open the door at the end of the flight of stairs, causing a pungent stench to waft out, as if dozens of corpses were simultaneously rotting. Spring screamed in shock at the smell and hurriedly covered her nose with the sleeve of her shirt.

Iota led her into the large underground room, one that spanned at least 200 square metres in area, and pointed at the figure of a man nailed to the wall on the farther end, "the Director fed on them all to surpass his human limits and turn into a Devil."

Growl!

The man nailed to the wall seemed to have been awoken by his voice as he let out bloodcurdling growls, lacking any signs of sanity. Patches of his human skin had fallen off, revealing the pale flesh behind.

His body seemed to have lost a lot of weight, skin and bones as he only seemed to be an old man with a foot in the grave from cancer. But, he was neither an old man nor did he have cancer. He was still a healthy adult in his forties.

"D-Director…?" Spring stared at the man and muttered in shock before she focused on the tiny pair of horns that had grown out of his forehead, "He's…a Devil?"

"No, he failed to become one." Iota pointed at the pile of bones beneath the Director, "There lie the remains of everyone in our orphanage, including the Director's two wives."

"To become a Devil, he had been making preparations all this time." Iota approached the Director and knocked one of his horns, commenting on the sound produced, "It feels like hitting an expensive block of wood. How mysterious."

"Wait…just what the heck is happening?" Spring collapsed to the floor, ashen-faced as she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, "This doesn't make sense!"

"You mean…Devils are real?" She clutched her head and screamed.

Iota sighed as he patted her hand and held it, gently massaging the place where he had placed the tattoo, stating calmly, "You've been marked by the Stigma of a Devil yourself. Information regarding anything supernatural has always been covered up. But things like Gods and Devils are absolutely real."

"They are…?" Spring stared at him as her eyes turned sharper, "Right, it makes sense. The curse borne by my family is more than proof enough. Why hadn't I realised it sooner…"

"Kyak!" Suddenly, Spring clutched her head for a couple of seconds before she stared up, her eyes a bit blank before returning to normalcy as she looked at Iota, "What…is happening, Iota?"

"Is that the…Director?"

'Her recent memory has been wiped out once again, huh.' Iota observed her face before he stared at her hand, noticing the skull pattern manifest for a second; its jaws moved up and down as if it was laughing, vanishing soon after.

'This taunting fucker!' Veins popped on his face in irritation as Iota controlled his bloodlust, thinking as he calmed Spring until she fainted from exhaustion, 'It seems she has matured enough to be eligible for a sacrifice. The tattoo I made is unable to suppress her Stigma any longer.'

"Well, it only means that I need to head to the source and kill the cause myself." He turned around to stare at the growling figure of the Director, "Isn't that right,"

"Director?"

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