Their First Encounter

"Where did you get the cigarette?"

The man sat up straight and looked at Seb.

He took out a pack of cigarettes from his trench coat and pulled one out, offering it to Seb.

"Want one?"

"I don't smoke."

"Your loss."

Putting away the pack with a neutral smile, he gave an answer to Sebastian's question.

"It was in my pocket when I accepted the invitation, and it was still there when I woke up."

Sebastian nodded in understanding.

"It looks like all of us came in wearing the same thing as when we accepted the invitations."

The Detective smirked.

"Righto! Maybe you should be the detective instead!"

"Are you… really a detective? Or just dressed like one?"

The man pulled out a badge from inside his coat, flashed it in front of Seb's face, before putting it back inside.

"Believe me now?"

Sebastian looked at the man suspiciously for a moment before sighing and shaking his head.

"Does it even matter anymore? If you are here, you must be a sinner as well."

The man paused abruptly for a second before chuckling mirthlessly.

"I guess that's true. What I consider justice, others consider sin. Only by descending into hell and cleaning it up will I be able to get true redemption."

Seb just looked at the man once again before marking him as extremely dangerous in his mind.

There is no person more dangerous than one who believes in their own skewed sense of justice.

People like them cannot ever be reasoned with and will always do what they think is right.

"It was cake wasn't it?"

"What?"

Sebastian raised an eyebrow at the sudden question.

The man smiled mischievously before replying.

"The white substance on your mouth when you just came in - it was cake. wasn't it?"

"How did you know?"

"I am a detective, after all! Others might have thought it was some type of drug, but I can easily spot the difference."

"… You got it right. It was cake."

The man's eyes gleamed as he nodded in satisfaction.

He put out the cigarette and got up.

He took a few steps in Sebastian's direction before stopping.

"You are different from the others. I can see it in your eyes."

Sebastian narrowed the eyes in question while giving the man a suspicious glare.

What was he up to?

Seb had never forgotten the 5 rules of Purgatory.

The first and foremost being – 'Trust No One'.

The man either failed to notice Sebastian's apprehension, or just pretended not to.

He placed a hand on Sebastian's shoulder, staring deep into Sebastian's eyes with bright smile on his face.

"I can see the flames of justice burning within you. Unlike the rest of these wretched souls, you have a kind and good heart at your core."

The man paused before continuing further.

"You have what it takes to fight against injustice and for what's right! You, my friend, are a good person!"

Before Sebastian could even make head or tales of the strange situation, the man turned around and walked back into his shack.

What the hell?

How was he supposed to be a good person?

The only thing that he was convinced of was that the Detective's perception of right and wrong might be even more skewed than what Seb initially presumed.

Shaking his head in exasperation, Seb turned around to continue his night stroll.

Unlike the bloody red skies in the day, the moonless black night felt extremely peaceful.

.

.

.

He didn't manage to get very far.

He had barely managed to shrug off the solicitation of one lunatic when, once again, he came face to face with another.

This one, however, was someone far, far worse than a misguided detective.

Seb found himself staring into a pair of crimson red eyes as their owner gave him a sweet, captivating smile.

"You know that's all nonsense, right?"

Sebastian was taken aback.

"What... are you talking about?"

The girl twirled her shoulder length black hair before replying.

"You know." She rolled her eyes. "The thing that man just said- about you being a 'good person'."

Seb faltered.

He knew he wasn't really a good person, but it didn't feel nice to be told that outright.

"I know that. Being a good person isn't an option left for me anymore. I already have blood on my hands."

However, no matter how much blood Sebastian had on his hands, at least he wasn't running around in a bloodstained wedding dress like the girl in front of him.

"No, no, no! That's not what I meant!"

She took a breath to calm herself down before continuing.

She seemed to be slightly frustrated as Sebastian not being able to get what she was getting at.

"What I am trying to say is… that you and me... we are the same type of person!"

Sebastian felt flabbergasted!

Just what was it with lunatics trying to find their reflections within him?

He was an extremely normal person, okay?

He was definitely not a good person, but he also wasn't as far gone as the girl in front of him.

Considering the blood that was still fresh on her knife this morning, Sebastian understood that she had gone on a murder spree just before accepting Purgatory's invitation.

Her magical escape from the crime scene was probably all over the news at this very moment.

The girl leaned in close, almost whispering right into his ears.

"Don't deny it. I can see the same craziness in your eyes." She licked her lips. "The lust for blood. The greed for power, control and domination."

Her voice lowered even further. She was sure that her listener was hanging onto every single word she spoke.

"I know you have already experienced it before. The freedom that insanity can bring."

The depraved look in her eyes dragged Sebastian within, like whirpools of the abyss.

"You want to feel it again? Don't you?"

Sebastian held his breath.

"I can help you experience it."

Her voice rose in volume once again as she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"The Madness! The Joy! The Power!"

She twirled around; her dress fluttering about, before coming to a stop right in front of Sebastian.

There wasn't even a centimeter's gap between the two.

She poked her forefinger into his chest.

"Why don't you join me? We will make great partners in crime!"

Sebastian immediately took a few more steps back.

While the detective might have just been looking for a mirror to find himself in, the girl was seeing Sebastian for who he really was.

And that's what made her so much scarier.

Seb swallowed slowly.

Her voice held an enigmatic hold over him, like whispers from the devil.

She smiled mysteriously before giggling.

Sebastian's evasive actions didn't escape her notice.

"I see. You are still running away from your true self. Aren't you?"

Seb stopped retreating.

He had to put a stop to this.

If he just let her had her way, he would get completely swept away in her flow.

Moreover…

"I am not running away from anything. I see reality for what it is."

The girl didn't seem fazed in the slightest.

"Just because you aren't denying your reality does not mean that you have accepted it."

She raised her hand to cover her mouth before giggling again.

"You are… really interesting. I know you won't be able to run forever."

She slowly stepped away from him

"Until the day comes when you finally accept yourself…"

Her voice lowered once again.

"… I will be waiting."

Despite how inaudible her voice was, the quiet night did its job by faithfully delivering the last words to Sebastian.

Sebastian stood in place for a while, even after the girl had left.

Just what did her last words mean?

What will she wait for?

Wait for him to find her?

Or will she be the one finding him?

Why did she want to partner with him?

'Who am I?'

'Where am I?'

'What am I doing?'

The mystical encounter somehow seemed to blow away all the frustration Sebastian had been accumulating from earlier.

Deep in his heart, he knew.

It didn't really matter anymore.

Everyone was crazy here.

But for the time being… while he still wasn't ready to accept that, he decided to go back to his shack and simulate some sleep.

He felt that if he stayed out any longer, he might meet an even more dangerous lunatic, like the hamlet chief, for example.

Seb felt like he had already interacted with his fair share of lunatics for the night.