Hudan Hidden

Ashmodai looks at the imp in front of with a mixture of awe and shock.

'He's not really that dumb, right?' The gambling devil thinks to himself, almost sounding like a hopeful prayer.

"Why are you here, mister gambler?" The shrill voice of Randyl says.

"I should be asking you that question."

"Well, my mistress said that I should go here, and so I did. She says it was of great importance." Randyl says, clearly excited by the fact that he had received a mission from Leilaya.

'From Leilaya? Does it have anything to do with her visions? If so, did she see the invasion? Then why didn't she warn anyone?' Ashmodai begins to suspect the red haired seer.

"I'm not sure, but if your mistress send you, then it might have to do with my task."

"What task is that, mister gambler."

"Call me, Ashmodai."

"Ashmodai?" The imp asks back, confused.

"Yes, that's my name. You do know that I do more than just drink and gamble, right?"

"Of course, just not a lot more than that." Randyl replies, muttering the last part under his breath.

"What was that?" Ashmodai asks, having not heard the last part.

"Of course, you're far more Ashmodai!" Randyl says purposefully in a jovial tone.

"mmmmh" Ashmodai looks towards the imp, noticing that the imp is lying.

"What is your task, Ashmodai?" Randyl quickly asks, feeling the gambling devil's inquisitive eyes upon him.

"I'm looking for the laboratory of Hudan Hakel. I have to check if none of his experiments could prove to be a hindrance."

"Shouldn't you go to the church then?"

"He wouldn't be able to escape Treyah's eyes there. I'm guessing he has his own little projects, that he doesn't want anyone to know about."

"How are you planning to find this place?" Randyl asks, his curiosity peaked.

"I'm rolling a die." Ashmodai replies simply and curtly to Randyl's question as if he said something normal.

"What?" Randyl asks confused.

"Never mind, just follow me." Ashmodai answer, too tired to give a satisfactory explanation.

The two figure continue to move throughout the streets of the abandoned district, following Ashmodai's lead. Another illusion was deemed unnecessary as all inhabitants of this district have moved out to battle.

Randyl seems very fascinated by Ashmodai's trusting his luck tactic. His eyes sparkle every time the die rolls. About 5 more minutes pass by as they roll the die once again.

This time, the die lands on the ground and shatters before the two individuals. Randyl is shocked, whilst Ashmodai looks unfazed.

"I guess we've arrived." Ashmodai says in a calm tone.

"I don't see anything." Randyl replies to Ashmodai's revelation. Spinning around and pointing to the deteriorated houses.

"He wouldn't have a sign. Randyl check these houses in the street with me. Hidden passageways, a cellar or anything else unusual, go and report it to me if you see any." Ashmodai commands as he walks in the house before them.Randyl goes to the other side of the street, spreading out.

'What am I doing here? Searching the abandoned district with that alcoholic. Besides, I don't have any idea how to find this entrance or whatever it is!' Randyl, the imp, complains to himself. Apparently he has already lost quite a lot of faith in this mission.

A shiny thing appears in the corner of his eyes, immediately catching the thieving imp's attention.

'It's not like anyone is going to miss it.' The little thief thinks to himself, justifying his sticky fingers.

Randyl darts towards the small hole underneath this painting.

The painting is also quite the eye catch. It seems to be an abstract interpretation of a blurred figure ripping apart some curtains. The specially abstract part is that every curtain seems to unleash something, these contents than begin to seemingly clash against each other.

Randyl is completely distracted by this shiny thing hidden in a hole underneath the painting, and only looks at this abstract monstrosity for a second. The hole goes far deeper than expected, making it impossible to reach.

Luckily, Randyl is a small impish creature. About the size that he could fit within this hole. Filled with greed, the small imp crawls in the hole and quickly reaches the shiny thing at the end.

At a closer look, it actually looks rather disappointing. The small coin is made of some sort of copper and whilst it is shiny, it also seems dated. Trying to stay optimistic, Randyl takes the coin and crawls back out of the hole.

"I guess it's better than nothing, anyway, le. WAAAAH" The imp screams loudly as he gets pulled into the painting.

Ashmodai on the other side of the street heard this scream and runs over. The house he enters is seemingly abandoned. Not even a loud, annoying imp in sight.

"Randyl?" Ashmodai asks, hoping for a reply.

In his vision quickly enters an old copper coin and an abstract painting that looks strangely translucent.

'He might be in trouble if that stealing little shit left some coin behind.' Ashmodai thins as he reaches out for the old copperlike coin.

His fingertips touch the coin, and he also gets absorbed into the painting. His reaction is far more controlled, having dealt with many surprises throughout his existence.

The gambling devil now stands in an entirely different place than before. It's a large room with dim lighting, the smell it gives off is disgusting even for a devil that has lived in Lucille's Light.

"What the fu…" Ashmodai was about to curse before getting interrupted by a familiar, shrill voice.

"ASHMODAI!" Randyl, the small imp, yells as he sprints towards this familiar face. Immediately hiding himself behind him.

Ashmodai does not respond to the imp's cry of relief. He's too focused on his current surroundings. Looking at the materials and tools spread about, a smile forms on the gambling devil's face.

"It seems you have quite the luck, let's play some cards when we return." Ashmodai says his smile, terrifying the imp that's still attached to the back of his leg.

"Luck?" Randyl asks, still terrified.

"You've found it, you've found Hudan's laboratory." Ashmodai replies, pointing towards the surrounding room.