Devil's Apocalypse

The crisp sound of shoes hitting a concrete floor could be heard, a long alleyway brightly lit with lights spaced equally along the ceiling, a man in a black suit calmly glanced at the man at his side, urging him to continue.

"Essentially, all of them were wiped out."

"Really? There were no survivors?"

"Only a dozen or so vehicles made it out, each one carrying only one or two people, so compared to the original number among that expedition, everyone was essentially wiped out."

"Hmm, that truly is troublesome. Has there been any progress in studying why this event occurred?" The two arrived in front of a door labeled 'laboratory', then proceeded inside.

"No, the people we have dedicated to this task don't have anything to work with. The most they can do is speculate based on what has happened."

"What a conundrum, though it truly makes one marvel at the insignificance of ourselves."

"Right."

The two walked through the lab, past the various people bent over instruments, each too focused on their work to notice the two who had entered, until one slightly aged man in a lab coat walked up to them in greeting.

"Good evening director, what brings you to my lab?"

"Afternoon professor, I want your men to drop the Farlin project and start researching countermeasures against the mist which appeared. After all, if it spreads here and we had no countermeasures, then we'd all be in a bit of a pickle."

"Director, we are in a pivotal moment right now, stabilising the relic is an intricate process and if we were to stop now then we'd suffer for it."

"Truly? Then what are all the people over there doing?" The man waved his hand in a circular motion, gesturing toward a group of people bent over a cluster of mystic ore, writing observations into notebooks.

"They're documenting reactions between the ore and the residue which is secreted from the relic." The professor replied politely.

"And you can't just take them away from that? Well then what about them?" The director once again waved at a group of people, this time standing around tanks containing human bodies suspended within bubbling liquid.

"Director, with all due respect, I truly can't do anything about being undermanned, but I will try and delegate some of my people within the next few days." The professor replied with a forced smile, clearly having already dealt with these sorts of issues before.

"That's what I like to hear! But don't fret on it. I know you're understaffed and your project is important, so if you can't spare anyone, then I won't force you."

The director turned, walking back the way he came, his aid sending an apologetic glance to the professor who looked as if he was about to blow a fuse.

Entering into the hallway again, the two walked in silence until they arrived at another door, this time labeled 'church'.

The aid gave a slight bow, before continuing to walk down the hallway, and the director opened the door and joined the other 4 people who were sitting in the room, who stood and gave a slight bow to him as he entered, before they all sat together.

The room they were in was large with a dome shaped ceiling. Light came from 4 lamps spaced evenly around the outside of the room and 5 chairs were positioned around a large, carved formation in the center, encompassing one third so if someone was to stand in the middle, they'd be able to see everyone present without having to turn around.

After sitting in silence for 20 minutes, the formation suddenly started to glow, and the visage of a tall man, crowned with two horns and wearing a simple black garment, appeared, and with his arrival, the 5 men stood.

"Greetings your excellency, the Lord of Pride." Welcomed 4 of them, the director staying silent.

"Hello again Amon, long time no see, huh? Killed any demonic gods lately?"

"Blasphemous speech will not be tolerated, director. Even us lords revere the gods."

"Of course~ your lordship. Much in the same way you all revere the system."

"...You play a dangerous game director." Amon passed a glance over the other four who were smartly remaining silent, not understanding where the director got his courage from, but were quite used to it, "Though we have more important things to discuss."

"Of course. What do you wish to do moving forwards, given the recent complication that has arisen."

"It has been decided to start gathering a force, deal with the infestation before it has time to spread. Currently, it isn't too large, thus, should be easily manageable with a large number of mid tier demons."

"Very well, preparations will start shortly."

With that concluding confirmation, the image in the circle faded and the group stood before leaving with no additional chatter in order to oversee their individual tasks.

The director himself went back into the corridor, taking a few turns and arriving before rows of singular rooms with no doors and people working around them.

"Attention diligent workers! I want these anchor points ready by tomorrow, any complications come and talk to me directly." He spoke, his voice easily heard despite the normal volume.

Everyone present turned around and gave a small bow to the director, signifying their understanding of his requirement, before going back to work.

"Ah, I truly love diligent subordinates. It truly makes everything run so much smoother."

The director, once again, turned, walking back into the halls, not paying any mind to the people he passed, all of which gave a slight bow.