He calmly stood up as he walked towards Ayn and placed the chocolate in front of her.

"Go ahead, eat it. A special treat for a special day from this demon," he told Ayn. "Eat. Who knows when you'll get to eat something like this again. Because the future is going to be very hard for you here."

​​

He turned back and walked to his chair.

"What special day?" Ayn asked, frowning.

"It's my birthday. Today this demon came to this world," Lucifer replied as he chuckled. "To cleanse it from people like Varant."

It was his real birthday today, not the fake one that Grandpa Chi had created. But he wasn't going to celebrate it in any special manner.

"Enjoy the treat today," he told Ayn as he sat on his chair.

"By the way, you are so slow at eating; you know that? Were you a turtle in your previous life or something?" He further asked, noticing that she still had a long time left before finishing the food.

"Why are you doing this?" Ayn asked Lucifer, ignoring his words.

"Why am I doing what? Giving you chocolate?" Lucifer asked, smiling.

"Not that. I asked why you're doing this—attacking us, kidnapping me, killing people, and everything else that you did? Why do you even stay here? Why didn't you run away? Do you not want to live your life in peace? Is revenge so important to you?" Ayn asked.

"Living life in peace?" Lucifer asked as he started laughing. "Maybe after I get what I want, I will."

"What do you want from me?" Ayn inquired.

"As I told you, eat first. We'll talk later," Lucifer told her before he started ignoring her.

He stood up and left the room. He didn't forget to take his laptop with him. Leaving the room, he also locked the door.

He went downstairs to notice Cassius and Veracity having lunch together. The maid was also standing beside them, serving food.

"Come, join us," Cassius told Lucifer, inviting him. He turned to the maid as he said, "Serve a plate for him too."

"It's fine. I finished already. Even Ayn is up. She is eating too," Lucifer told Cassius as he took a chair and sat nearby.

"That's good. Did she tell you anything yet?" Cassius asked.

"Not yet. I didn't interrogate her yet. I'll do that in the presence of Veracity. Without her, it'll be a waste since I won't know even if she lies," Lucifer responded, shaking his head.

....

While Lucifer left the room, Ayn stopped eating and ran to the door, only to realize that it was locked from outside. She could try to break it, but it was going to make too much noise. Everyone was going to be alert.

"There must be a way out of here. I need to somehow get this information to Varant. I'm helpless at the moment without my abilities. Only the team can help by coming here."

She started looking around the room to find a way to exit but the only way out of the room seemed to be through the door.

She walked towards the bathroom to see if there was an opening there, only to be disappointed. There didn't seem to be any openings either. At least not big enough for her to leave.

'This is annoying. I'm a prisoner here now and no way to leave,' she thought as she sighed while stepping out of the bathroom.

"If only I could find a phone or something... That's right. There must be one here," she said as she started the search again.

From the shelves to the wardrobe, she searched everywhere. She even searched under the bed. Unfortunately, no matter how much she tried, she couldn't find it.

Frustrated, she sat back on the bed, realizing that she had no way out. She could only leave with the help of keys.

"That's right. In the night, he slept here. I'm sure of that. If he was inside, the keys must be with him too. All I need is to get the keys when he is sleeping, and I'll be done," She muttered, clenching her fist. She had a plan of escape now.

"I need to act normal until then," she said as she sat back on the bed and started eating again.

...

"So, what are we going to do after getting information from Ayn? Are we going to attack the APF?" Cassius asked Lucifer at the dinner table.

"No. That's for the future. What we'll do is go to Variant Uprising," Lucifer replied without much reaction.

"You did say that those guys helped you. Are you going to take their help in this fight?" Cassius asked, frowning.

Lucifer shook his head.

" It's true they helped me. And I also know that they didn't do it out of the goodness of their heart. I didn't think about it too deeply before, but I see it now. Back at the facility, when Xander had attacked me, that attack hit the kids."

"If they really cared about kids, they would have tried to save them instead of saving themselves. I should have seen the hole in their words right then. I was too stupid," Lucifer replied, shaking his head.

"They do things that help them not because they care about other Variants more than themselves. So I can't trust their words," he further said. "But then again, it doesn't change the fact that they did help me."

"So, what are you going to do there?" Cassius inquired.

"It's simple. I'll ask them a simple question. Did they have a hand in the death of my father? If they did, I'll wipe the ones involved and take over the rest of Variant Uprising." Lucifer replied.

"If they didn't?" Cassius asked.

"If they weren't involved, I'd still take over them, but I'll let them live to work under me," Lucifer responded.

"Will they accept?" Cassius asked, frowning. "I don't think they will."

"Didn't they say they don't want power and that they only want the rule of Variants? They'll accept if that was true. If that wasn't true, then again, I'll force them to follow me," Lucifer answered as he picked a glass of water that was on the table.

After taking a sip, he placed it back on the table.

"Are you sure you are strong enough to force them?" Cassius asked.

"I have faith in myself," Lucifer calmly replied. "But still, I want to get stronger before I get there. I need to learn something."

"Anyway, Veracity," he said, looking at Veracity. "Finish eating, then come to my room. I want to start the interrogation."