John Victor: The Origins

CHAPTER 10

Nick tried to turn the doorknob, but Fred gestured to him not to open the door.

"Who's here?" I whispered.

"SHHHHH... both of you, hide inside the cupboard and stay quiet." Fred whispered back.

We quickly tucked ourselves inside the cupboard, peering through the keyhole to see who was at the door. A peculiar-looking man stood there, tall and slender with bulgy eyes, dressed in a plain blue shirt and matching shorts, and wearing a blue cap. He resembled a postman, and his postbag was quivering for some reason.

"Oh, you startled me, Messi. I thought it was someone else. How did you find out I was here?" Fred asked.

"No one can escape Messi the messenger, not even you." Messi replied with a childish laugh.

"Why are you even here?"

"Oh, just missed you, my old friendo."

"Let's get to the point. What do you want?"

"Don't play innocent. I came for my payment, which is three months overdue."

"Oh, my apologies. I forgot about that. I promise to pay you next month; I don't have enough gold coins right now."

"Excuses, excuses, excuses. I'm tired of your excuses. Pay me now, or I'll expose your location to the ghost association."

"Do it. I don't give a fuck. I've been evading them for years. It's no big deal."

Messi seemed irritated. Then suddenly, he smiled and turned to Fred.

"I see, you're not alone, are you?"

"What do you mean? I've been alone my whole life."

"No, I mean there's someone else in this room, isn't there? Maybe two. I sense two more people here."

"You're imagining things. I'm the only one living here right now."

"My senses don't deceive me like you do, Frederick."

Messi vanished immediately, leaving Fred and us puzzled about his whereabouts. Suddenly, a presence loomed beside us inside the cupboard.

"BOOOO!"

Both of us screamed and tumbled out of the cupboard. Turning around, we found Messi standing there, having magically teleported behind us.

"Gotcha. Why the hell do you have kids in your wardrobe, Fred? You into kidnapping now?" Messi asked, walking towards us.

"Don't you dare lay a finger on them; I'll kill you." Fred warned, his voice firm.

"Wait a minute, these aren't just ordinary kids. Fucking hell, a Victor guy and Richards' kid, aren't they? I thought the demon king wiped out their bloodlines a thousand years ago. Don't tell me you've been secretly safeguarding their family trees all this time." Messi said, clearly astonished.

"Messi, listen, don't tell anyone about this, please. I'm begging you." Fred pleaded.

"Do you have any idea how much gold the demon king will pay me for this piece of information?" Messi asked.

"No wait, I'll give you the due amount. Here, have it. 2000 gold coins." Fred offered, handing Messi a pouch of gold coins.

"I need 15000 gold coins to keep this information a secret. Nothing less." Messi demanded.

"I don't have that much gold right now. I'll pay you the rest next month, trust me." Fred pleaded.

"Hey, knucklehead! Are you trying to blackmail him or what? We won't give you a single piece of gold. Go complain to your demon daddy if you want." Nick shouted boldly.

"What a coincidence! He doesn't have a brain like you, Fred. Kid, you don't know who you're messing with. You better shut up." Messi chuckled, clearly amused.

"All I see is a greedy no-brainer begging for gold. Don't call me a kid; you're the one who's crying for a few bucks here." Nick retorted; his tone full of cold confidence.

"One more word and you're dead, kid." Messi warned.

Nick fearlessly stepped up to him and declared, "I'll squash that round head of yours if you keep calling me a kid."

Fred interjected, "Enough is enough. Messi, I apologize for my grandson's behavior."

"No, I won't leave you that easily. You guys will pay for this." Messi threatened, as he began rummaging through his bag.

"He's probably looking for his brain." Nick mocked.

Messi gave him a piercing glare, then continued searching his bag.

"Keep rolling your bulgy eyes; you might eventually find your brain." Nick taunted again.

Finally, Messi took out a little bird from his backpack.

"No, Messi, don't do it." Fred pleaded.

"Too late. You pissed me off, and you all are gonna pay for it." Messi said, releasing the bird to fly away at lightning speed.

"Bruh, I thought it was a bomb. Too much showoff just for a little bird to fucking fly away." Nick grinned, seemingly unimpressed. However, Fred seemed deeply concerned. Messi must have done something serious.

"You'll see soon. I'm leaving now. Have fun." Messi declared before conjuring a portal that swallowed him, and he vanished from our sight.

"What the hell, Nicholas? You shouldn't have pissed him off like that. Now he exposed our location to the demon king. He's gonna be here any minute." Fred said, his eyes betraying genuine fear. He rummaged through the cupboard, then rushed back to us with a little bag and the hat he had been wearing before.

"John and Nicholas, take these." Fred said, handing me the bag and giving Nick the hat.

"What are these?" I asked.

"The bag contains everything you need to learn magic. Take a look when you're safely back home. And this hat will guide you. Just put it on your head." Fred explained urgently.

The ground beneath us began to tremble, and the loud thuds suggested something massive was approaching.

"Fuck, he's here. Quick, jump inside the hat." Fred urged.

"Inside this?" Nick pointed at the hat, looking puzzled.

"Yeah, it acts like a portal. It will take you to the entrance where you guys parked your bikes. Get away from here as fast as you can and don't look back." Fred instructed.

"But what about you? We can't leave you behind." I said, concerned.

"Just leave. I'll try to stall him for a little bit." Fred replied.

Nick jumped inside the hat first and got sucked into it. As the basement door was kicked open, the whole place was engulfed in flames, and through the smoke, I could see a colossal figure approaching. He seemed to be at least twenty feet tall and extremely bulky. Two large horns protruded from his head, each the size of my legs. The smoke obscured my vision, but I knew he must be the Demon King Fred had mentioned.