⌈03⌋ Eden
Code Name: Into The INFINITE Abyss
☩ Junhyung's POV ☩
"Well, well," I step out from my favorite car and close the door. I look at the building right in front of me, surrounded by black gate. "When did the last time I come here, eh?"
I head here with my best speed after I gave the document to Sara and Yoseob. I wonder why Doojoon asked me to come without telling the reason first.
Eden.
That one word is carved on the wooden board as the welcoming sign, one that no criminal would love to see though, considering that it's one of the best prisons in the history.
Originally a library, the building was renovated thirty years ago. Within years, the place had been expanded and developed into a very complex yet amazing place.
For an example, no one knows that this is a special prison owned by KNPA. From the outside, public only know this is an old public library. Once in a while there will be some people who come but they get bored easily since the books are not as many as the other libraries.
After all this is all just a disguise. A really smart trick I admit.
When a criminal is caught, he will be brought to the KNPA headquarter. Afterwards, while waiting for the trial, the criminal will be decided whether he or she is going to stay in ordinary prison of KNPA or Eden.
If the person is listed in dangerous level, then he or she will take the punishment in Eden, sent with a car which is decorated as an ordinary car from outside. This is the main reason why KNPA camouflages it as a library instead of letting the world to know it as a prison of dangerous criminals.
Named after The Garden of Eden, the biblical "garden of God". They said the first human lived in the divine garden, in Eden in the east, where the first man and woman, who was later created by God, break God's command about the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
I don't know who chose this name but rumor said that this prison is named as Eden because the criminals who stay here are the same with the first man and woman.
They are ordinary people who act out of the line despite the fact of what laws have forbid them to, just like what happened to the two first human God created.
For some people, Eden is equal to paradise. I can say quite the same but, of course, people who stay here will never think the same.
I walk to the front door and open it calmly, revealing the big but almost empty hall, filled with bookshelves from side to side. I count the bookshelf from right side and stop by the seventh bookshelf.
"One, two, three, four, five, six...," I touch the thick book one by one, starting from the right bottom, "...and seven."
I pull it out and the bookshelf shakes slightly. It moves backward slowly but sure, revealing the staircase to the secret passage.
"This part is always creepy," I turn on the light of my wristwatch to help me with my way. As I walk down the staircase, I can hear the sound of the moving bookshelf, closing the path.
After walking alone for three minutes or so, I turn off the flashlight because I have arrived to the last door which blocks me to the special prison.
There is no key hole. The only way to open the doors here is by using the retinal scan and that's what exactly I will do right now.
I step closer to the door and position my right eyes to match the retina scanner. Within seconds the door is unlocked after the system recognizes my identity.
Just right after the door is opened horizontally to the upside, four persons with the KNPA uniforms rush out. One of them almost bump onto me and he quickly lowers his gun.
"Wow, wow, easy there, young officer," I frown and try to take a good look of his face but he quickly turns aside, telling his friends to hurry up.
"I'm sorry but we need to leave now," he speaks to me with panic tone. "Uriel just told us that Lucifer is probably still hiding not far from here. Please excuse us."
He fastens his pace, following his three friends to the staircase.
"Uriel?" I tilt my head. Something is strange here. Since when did Doojoon give an order to ordinary police officers?
"Gabriel! What the hell are you doing?!"
☩ Doojoon's POV ☩
Hyunseung looks around while following me behind. It's obvious that he is trying to figure out the mystery of how Lucifer disappeard without a trace.
He had been asking me on our way to here, Eden, the special prison where The Seven Princes of Hell stay. The only clue I gave to him is we need to come here as fast as possible to prevent Lucifer from taking the other Princes of Hell.
"Is it... a mole?" Hyunseung mumbles, glancing at me with curiosity. "The security camera... Someone played a trick so the camera showed as if Lucifer was still in his cell but that's when the mole helped him out from there."
I give him a simple nod as he continues telling me his deduction. That's what actually happened behind the maintenance issue. There was no maintenance after all. It's all the trick.
Thinking that the mole probably used the same trick to release the other Princes of Hell, I know I must prevent it from happening.
That's why the first thing I do is check every cell to make sure that the other six Princes of Hell are still at their places. We've checked three of them and they don't show any suspicious acts.
Of course they won't. They're not the ordinary criminals we have everyday anyway.
We have walked pass four doors when a police officer walks pass us. He bows politely and walk through the door in silence.
"You know, I always think that Eden is not that bad," Hyunseung tucks his hands inside of the pockets. "I mean this place is as complete as a mansion. If only you're not in the seventh layer."
His words make sense. This special prison actually has almost everything.
Religious facility, library, gym, healthcare facility, kitchens, and even a recreational area. However there are some terms and conditions for the prisoners to roam around Eden like how they want to.
Unfortunately at the very time my mind is not paying full attention to Hyunseung. I stop my steps and stare at the door which just closed a second ago, "Why didn't he ask who we are?"
Our identities as Seven Archangels are kept as secrets, even from the officers who work in Eden. We are questioned for multiple times everytime we come here by the police officers because they actually suspect us.
"What the-" Hyunseung's voice gets my attention. He points to the cell which is belonged to Beelzebub and it's empty now. "But how-"
My eyes widen as a realization strikes, "Damn! It's one of the Seven Princes of Hell!"
I turn around and run as fast as possible, getting through door by door. There is only one possibility to stop them.
There is no time for me to think about how he got out now. I have a feeling that Lucifer is still around because of the very same reason.
The last door they need to open before they can get out is not as simple as the doors with retina scanners. The door has a password and it changes every hour.
As for us, the Seven Archangels, and the higher officers in KNPA, we are allowed to use our fingerprints instead of the password. If we enter from outside then it will need our retinas to be checked with the retina scanner.
I feel like I really want to shout as loud as possible when I see Junhyung standing at the door, tilting his head as a man in uniform walks away and disappears in the darkness of the secret passage.
Junhyung apparently has let him escaped.
"Gabriel!" I groan in frustration. "What the hell are you doing?!"
"What?" he turns to me with confusion but I ignore him. I run pass him, not even bothering to turn on my flashlight, trying to catch up with the criminals who are ahead of me.
If they can escape, I swear I will not let Junhyung go anywhere until we can drag The Seven Princes of Hell back to Eden.
☩ Yoseob's POV ☩
I turn the driving wheel sharply, keeping myself in silence as I try to make sure that I will arrive at our destination in time.
"You have a girl here, in case you forget," Sara chuckles, holding tight to assure herself from not falling anywhere. "You really do need Raguel, don't you?"
Even after I explain it in a summary, she still asks me that question? Of course I need him. Hyunseung is probably the only one who remembers about this Kim Sunggyu.
Dongwoon told me that Hyunseung is with Doojoon and they're visiting Eden. I don't know why but I assume that Doojoon has found a clue about Lucifer.
When I see the black gate of Eden, I speed up the because I don't want to waste another minute. However I quickly pump my brake in the very last seconds before my car hits someone in black suit.
Twenty metres from the gate, I spot the person at the right time. He is not alone. In fact he is putting his left foot on a person's back, squatting down while he points a gun to the victim's forehead.
What kind of crazy people is he?
The man in black suit looks up at me but he doesn't move the gun. Looks like he doesn't care if he's caught with this kind of situation.
Both Sara and I get out from the car, making our way to the man. I immediately recognize him right away since I just saw his picture around thirty minutes ago.
"Kim Myungsoo," Sara smirks. "What a surprise. Looks like you have made yourself comfortable with Leviathan."
Before I could say another word, I can sense another presence from the southwest direction. The corner of my eyes find a man, pointing his gun to me, ready to shoot anytime.
"Seven Archangels?" Kim Myungsoo scoffs with sarcasm. "What a joke. You can't even take care of this little friend from Hell."
I have no idea about who this Kim Myungsoo is... yet.
But I'll make sure he will regret his statement just now.
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