An expression of mild surprise coloured a smile that was yet to fade. . My fist curled into a ball and I was groped with a nagging desire to punch that face. , I promised myself.

  Tucking all vehement sentiments behind a mask of genial submission I continued. 'You win'

  'As long as you enlighten me about your true objectives I'll come clean about – I'm sure you wish to know.'

  'How did my insignificant self earn this honor' He sneered, leaning further down against the desk.

  Rows of teeth invoulantarily grit behind a painfully amicable expression, 'Cut the crap and get to the point before i change my mind' I snapped.

  lazily gazing off to the side, he drawled 'change your mind?—then why are you still in Mayville?'

  In a sudden flurry of movement my host whipped is head around to stare dead in my direction.'could it be that you have a death wish, or did you think you could slip away unscathed as the big fish struggle for dominance'. Vittore's person exuded a certain radiating chill. One can only guess how many times i have encountered such an aura...upon my victims. Ice may be corrisive to but it must break when struck against iron, such is the law of nature.

  'The Anvil experiment, huhh... Pray tell what that is and how you know of it' he hissed.

  'Pray tell why you were listening in and chose that very moment when I had him cornered to walk in. How does it benefit you to keep azrael alive', I countered 'Wait let me guess, you wanted him to get away in one piece, so that he can inform his superiors of me, so that his superiors come running after me' emphasising each pause i continued. 'Apart from saddistic pleasure, I'm not sure what else yiu coukd gain from it' Now it was my turn to stare daggers.

  Our unrelenting staredown was broken purely due to the other party's one sided effort in abruptly chuckling as he straightened to draw himself up from against the desk. 'I asked first so you have to answer first', unbridled mischief hung at the curved edges of his mouth.

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  Nonetheless i schooled my deadpan face 'Sure. As for your second question, the Anvil experiment is...' I paused briefly. Outside the waning crescent was peeking from behind a veil of clouds, unfortunately its meagre illumination that did manage to seep in through the window could hardly infiltrate this impregnable atmosphere rendered by the room's harsh artificial lighting.

  Turning a blind eye to Vittore's probing glance, I continued 'its a human experiment, performed by psychologically manipulating a young child over the years to graft them into a human weapon. Till date–or atleast up until five years ago— the Axis had only one successful candidate..'

  'The heir?' He cut in

  'So you know about their system, saves me the trouble of explaining' I mused 'Well yes, as far as i know the heir was the subject'.

  'You speak of the heir as if they are another person' he raised an eyebrow

  'Obviously they–' , I had mostly forgotten about the details of my conversation with Azrael 'oh about that, I lied to him ofcourse'

  'Naturally' he said, not so much to me as to himself. A brief look of relief came over him which was soon replaced by nonchalance.

  'So who are you exactly?'

  'You know the answer to that'

  'I only know that you worked for the Axis, nothing more, nothing less'

  'Then what else do you want to know' it was only then that I noticed an empty couch at an arms length from where I was standing. Tarrying doesn't get one anywhere and thus without further ado I promptly made myself comfortable and draping a haughty leg over the the other, i assured, 'Ask away, i'll answer'.

  He dropped his head in a low chuckle before raising it back up and thereby starting the most strenuous Q&A of my life. Rarely have I ever had to explain myself so thoroughly to someone, . Then again, I figure it's only fair to want to sound out your allies while in the cusps of war.

  'When did you leave the Axis'

  'Five years ago'

  'Why'

  'None of your bloody busine–' upon belatedly remembering my disposition I corrected myself 'because i knew too much. The Axis distributes information on a need to know basis, and i knew somethings that my superiors would rather i didn't'

  'How did you escape?'

  'Five years ago, the axis shook with a sort of upheaval. Delenquint escapists were never rare in the axis and they were swiftly caught, but this one was particularly well coordinated' ruminating over those days inevitably brought up a bitter taste in my mouth. five years–no better than five seconds, I could practically see that scene unfold infront of me right this very moment, down to the last intricacy.

  Strewn corpses hanging lifeless from the ceiling beams, crimson blood dripping from their orifices into a garishly white saucer. Laughter and debauchery permeating the stifling atmosphere, all scents of carnage drowned by an oestentious mirage. It was then that the castle built upon sand and grime, revealed the first blotches of its emaciated foundations.

  Drifting back from my reverie I continued, 'a mob of rookies chose a particularly important occasion, the chief's birthday– to throw the place into frenzied chaos. I was managed to sneak out amidst the chaos'

  Vittore frowned 'Its not that easy to breach the Axis's defence, let alone a bunch of rookies even mercenaries would find it difficult to.....'

  'They had help from the upper circle, a member of considersable standing utilised the celebrations to do away with the guards, when the mob rushed out they found the innermost fortifications unguarded, after that it was a test of skill. Many wanted out but even so only a handful actually managed to escape.' Only a handful, yet it was perhaps the greatest mishap in the Axis's history.