I Hate You, Devil!-Chapter 296 Final Arc Part XIV

Slowly, by force of habit, Zaki made himself calm down and sharpen his focus on his surroundings. His heartbeat was pounding wildly in his ears. He could sense trouble – could almost taste it, even. He could detect an ominous and heavy tension that seemed to be coiling in the air and his instincts smoothly took over. How long has it been since he last felt something this extreme? He had almost forgotten the last time that something could actually trigger his inner beast to crawl out of its cave and consume him.

Still and alert like a predator waiting for another predator to come at him, Zaki lifted his cold eyes towards the main entrance. "Come out," Zaki snapped at that direction, his voice sounding cold and murderous.

A chuckle that came across as almost innocent echoed around the living area and a man dressed in all black stepped out from the shadows.

As soon as Zaki saw his face, his entire being froze with utter shock. How could it be him?! That face, especially that seemingly unnatural white hair usually commonly seen on an old person, and definitely not a young-looking man like him was something impossible for Zaki to forget. He could not even forget even if he wanted to despite so many years had passed.

But how can this be? This man was already supposed to be dead!!

"Long time no see, Zero. Remember me?" The handsome white-haired man greeted Zaki with an amiable smile that was reserved for old friends.

This white-haired man's handsomeness was not the wholesome and vigorous kind that would be attractive to most. Instead of a tanned healthy glow, his skin was pale to the point of rivalling the whiteness of paper. And with the contrast to his red lips, it would not be far-fetched to mistake him for a vampire. He possessed the kind of sinister, devil-may-care look, with thin and narrow eyebrows and a pair of long slanted eyes that flashed with cruel intention from time to time. His thin lips currently curled on one corner lent a sexy yet evil aura to his entire mood.

Seeing this person who had literally emerged from his nightmares, Zaki could only utter one word.

"One?!"

Zaki stood there still unbelieving at what – or to be more precise, who – he was looking at. It was rare that he gets shocked to the point of being so taken aback that his mind went blank and did not know how to process what was going on for a few additional seconds. The white-haired man who was still standing casually in the lounge chuckled again. His seemingly innocent laugh echoing in the eerily silent living room.

"Geez. Others would think that you've just seen a ghost, Zero." He sighed heavily, all previous traces of light-hearted laughter wiped out and his face was blank like a mannequin. His ice blue eyes were still as cold and unfeeling, exactly as how Zaki remembered the last time he saw him – simply soulless.

"I am real. Not a dream nor a figment of your overactive imagination. And I'm here to catch up with you after so many years."

"B-but... How? How did you even..." Zaki still could not get himself to believe that the real One was standing right before him.

Maybe he was still not awake? Could this be a continuation of his nightmare? Perhaps this was one of those nightmares that you get a nightmare in your nightmare? This man was supposed to be dead, long ago. There was even 'conclusive' evidence that he had died. Hmph! Conclusive, my ass!! Zaki was starting to get agitated now.

"Hmm..." One fiddled with his bangs as he acted as though he was trying to recall some obscure memory, long buried at the back of his mind. "I'm not sure how...but we were dragged out of the lab before the explosion." Then he shrugged as though what he said was not a big deal.

"We?" Zaki's eyes widened as he caught onto that statement. "You're telling me that you're not the only one..." His heart was hammering away at the thought that more of them had survived. More of these scourges were running around out there. Where his loved ones were.

"Yep." One smiled. And Zaki's blood ran ice-cold in his veins.

"Though not all of us managed to survive all the way until now. Just like you, I still have two of them with me. Seven and Three are here too."

At that moment, the nightmare Zaki just had a while ago flashed in his head and terror filled his eyes. A ferocious aura raged from him, and his eyes glowed dangerously. But the man standing before him did not even react. He only stood there, calmly staring at Zaki, his smile not changing the least.

When Zaki moved to leave, One blocked him. "Ah, ah ah... are you just going to leave like this, Zero? What about our heartfelt reunion? I had purposely made plans and came here just to catch up with you, remember?" His laugh sounded like a mad cackle in Zaki's ears, sending involuntary shivers down his spine.

Zaki gritted his teeth. He could feel the waves of danger rolling off from One. This crazy person knows no boundaries. That word does not exist in his vocabulary.

Also, he knew very well from the past what kind of strength this man possessed. Before Sei took him out of the lab, the scientists in that lab often arranged for the experimental children to be pitted in a fight against each other until they were close to death. Zaki had fought against One not once but thrice, and he had never won against him. Never.

One was the best product among all of the experimental children. The most obedient, the strongest and most importantly – the one who was unbeatable. Zaki could still remember the looks in the scientists' eyes every time they observed One in his fights. One was their ultimate pride and joy, their perfect and absolute product. They could not be prouder of him.

Zaki could never in his life also, ever forget how this white-haired man had gone on and slaughtered countless children and even adult men and women without batting an eye just because he was ordered to do so. True, the experimental children were all considered to be monsters. But One was the ultimate monster among them. He was in a different league, all on his own. His existence has even gone beyond what a monster was. He was the devil incarnate.

"What the hell are you doing in this place?!" Zaki hissed at One, his fighter instincts had long since kicked in, preparing his body and mind for a battle to the death. Though he did not want to fight, he must take this man down at all costs. Because if he cannot achieve it, this monster would end up going around killing everyone he cared about.