MY THIRTEEN MASK

MTM#XXXIV: WHITE MONARCHY

ZEUS'S POV

"Can we go underground and warm up a bit? It's boring. I can't take it anymore!" Her voice echoed from her room on the second floor down to the lower levels.

"Ah, is this the last page of the book I'm reading? Noooo, I can't live without this!" Demon's screams filled the morning air, disturbing Lux and the others.

"Why the heck is she screaming so early?" Lux asked, clearly annoyed.

"Leave her alone, maybe she's on the last page of that smut book Zeus gave her," Venom remarked.

"I didn't give it to her. She took it from Ripple's room when Ripple wasn't there," I clarified.

"I see, so that's why something's missing from my collection," Ripple muttered before grabbing her food and retreating to her room swiftly. She rarely spent more than thirty minutes outside.

"People here are perverts. We shouldn't linger," Summer remarked, covering herself instinctively.

"Why don't we stay? We're freer to-" Lux started.

"Who said I would allow you to stay?" Demon's voice cut through the air, her intimidating aura palpable. If I didn't know her, my entire body might have gone limp.

"Demon!" Lux and Summer knelt down simultaneously, but Viper remained unperturbed, calmly mixing his tea.

"They talk smack about Demon, but they still respect her a lot," Venom noted.

"What the fuck are you two doing here?" Demon confronted Lux and Summer. "I paid a lot of money for you to stay in the fifth basement. Why are you here?"

Did she forget that her actions had destroyed the entire prison, including the fifth basement?

"Hey! You said you were bored. Why not pay a visit to the White Queen?" Viper interjected casually, not bothering to look up.

Was he insane? It wasn't a good idea for Demon to visit the White Queen's place.

"Why would I do that?" Demon's eyes narrowed.

"You don't seem to know what your boyfriend has done," Viper continued, a hint of irritation when he mentioned the word 'boyfriend.' "But then again, you're too busy flirting with him. Anyway, I'll let you know that he and the entire underground have declared war against us."

"What? Why so sudden?" I wondered aloud.

"Is that so? Isn't that good? That's what we're aiming for," Demon replied casually, seemingly unfazed by Viper's revelation.

We all listened silently to their conversation, a rare moment of calm discussion between them.

"Think twice. We're talking about your boyfriend and his friends here," Viper pressed.

"Could you stop saying 'boyfriend'? It gives me chills," Demon retorted, her irritation showing despite her calm demeanor. "Let's do what needs to be done. Isn't that why we're here?"

"I'm fine with that, but if we retreat-" Viper began

"What the fuck, Viper? Do you want to die? Do what needs to be done and stop this bullshit," Demon interrupted sharply.

"Why so grumpy? I just want to make sure. We're talking about war here. The entire underground is against us, and maybe more. Perhaps all of humanity," Viper explained calmly.

"If all of humanity is against us, then let's kill them," Demon said matter-of-factly.

"Are they just joking?" Summer whispered nervously.