Masks Of False Immortality

Lorenzo entered the laboratory with the girl at his side, the two demigods were still shaken by the news of Tefine's mysterious son. Next to him was Francesca Simoncelli, Corgi's daughter, a young girl with a face colored by olive skin, almost mulatto. Her eyes shone a dark brown that was gentle and kind. Her hair, also a dark brown tone, fell soft and flowing along her shoulders, setting the air around her on fire.

The young demigoddess, with a slightly overweight build, carried a small hammer hanging from her belt. She was nonchalantly wearing a bright red sweatshirt, which seemed to glow like dancing flames, contrasting vividly with her skin. The ripped jeans that hugged her curves helped create an informal look, but at the same time expressed a certain audacity. The girl had been present and had seen the event with her own eyes. She had met the son of Ien at the entrance to the ninth house and had not hesitated twice to accompany him. That event had bonded them in some way.

The blond stretched, "Finally!"

"Here we are, I've been looking for a moment to work on the project since this morning."

Francesca rolled up the sleeves of her rust-colored sweatshirt and crossed her arms.

"Look, is it okay if we finish making the bullets for now?" Lorenzo asked, "I have to go home after, so you can finish the project."

The girl placed the blueprint of a chariot aside. She was preparing it for the end-of-year tournament.

"Are you sure? There are no problems, I do it willingly... you know... to repay you."

"About what?"

"For helping me, without you I don't know if I would have been able to tell everything to Mr. D'Agostini..."

Lorenzo smiled, "Don't even say it! In fact, thank you for the help you're giving me with the bullets."

Francesca looked down, "Oh, well, that's a pleasure... you know I enjoy it."

Lorenzo walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder, Corgi's daughter gasped slightly before giving him a warm smile.

Just then, Marina calmly entered the laboratory looking for her cuffs, then noticed the two and smiled a little, "Hello!"

Lorenzo turned around in surprise, "Oh, Marina!"

"Hey!" Francesca waved to her.

"Do I bother you? I'm going out, no problem."

Ien's son moved away from Francesca and smiled embarrassed, "No no, don't worry, really. We came here to finish the bullet project. I told you about how we want to modernize the park, right?"

Marina made a slightly confused face "I don't think so... and, honestly, I'm offended by this!" She smiled.

"Well, dear half sister, we are making some firearms, for now we limit ourselves to normal guns, but we are aiming bigger."

Marina remained silent and looked at the boy, considering whether or not to ask him when he had obtained approval from Lyceum D'Agostini for that project. In the end, she decided not to, however she suspected that he hadn't mentioned it at all during his visit to the Great Mansion. Her thoughts slowly wandered to Shirei and the mysterious son of Tefine. She should have gone to the divine Aena but she promised herself she would get some useful information before wasting the goddess's time.

Lorenzo noticed her thoughtful expression and took the opportunity to distract her with the sketches of his project, "While you're here, what do you think?"

"Not bad..." Marina shook her head trying to chase away the thoughts and concentrated on the project, "Here, however, it would be better to give it more depth, at least in my opinion."

She pointed to a spot on the sketch and his brother nodded.

"Yes, you're right, that's just the outer shell anyway."

"Ah!" Francesca's eyes lit up, "I should still have the notes to increase efficiency and lightness."

"You mean mine?"

"Yes, you left them when you came to visit me two d-" Corgi's daughter stopped.

Lorenzo suddenly widened his eyes, "Right! When I came to... call you for that assignment, of course!"

In an instant, the entire section of the laboratory dedicated to the seventh house fell into absolute silence. Marina clearly sensed the tense air and was about to burst out laughing, but she decided to hold back and pretend she hadn't heard. She had known for a while that Lorenzo had a crush on Corgi's daughter but she had no idea that it was reciprocated.

"Interesting... have you ever thought about a magnetic charge?" The blonde replied, placing her right hand on her chin, "It's a big project but it could be very useful."

Lorenzo finally came back to breathe, "Mh, not really, until now we had limited ourselves to gunpowder. Shall we get to work?"

Having said those words, he enthusiastically got up to take his aluminum prototype, before everything was ready he wanted to be sure not to cause any unintentional damage.

A good project is one that always works well, he always repeated to himself.

"So, basically, we design weapons to test on people who belong to our world, fantastic!" Marina pointed out with a grimace

Francesca laughed, "You might as well not have put it that way since they should only be used on monsters, but yes, that's the gist of it."

While the demigods enjoyed themselves, Shirei walked past the mess hall towards the laboratory. The boy walked slowly, observing his surroundings, to make sure that Salix wasn't following him. Once he finished his exchange with Corgi's son, he would go to the twelfth house to look for him. He wanted to find out more about his past and would not accept a negative answer.

He stopped once he reached the fork in the path. On the right, a modest but imposing building with a solid structure stood. From its chimneys, thin smoke billowed into the air, an unmistakable sign of the incessant activity taking place within. It must have been the favorite place of the sons of Corgi, where the flames danced to the rhythm of the hammers to forge new weapons. Durable stone walls and a sturdy roof protected the place where the heirs of the fire god were free to shape the glowing metal.

On the left, in contrast to the modesty of the forge, stood a majestic building. Shirei immediately understood that it must be the laboratory wanted by the divine Didreus, lord of science. The structure, imposing and embellished with transparent windows, allowed the last light of the day to filter through the sections, giving brightness to the interior. Dalia had explained to him that it was divided into various sections, each dedicated to the respective houses of the gods.

Inside, there was an underground floor inaccessible to common demigods, reserved exclusively for Didreus' offspring. A laboratory, where science was secretly explored by all the inhabitants of the sixteenth house.

The boy with purple eyes headed towards the forge but, attracted by Marina's voice, he changed direction and approached the entrance. The voices continued to intrigue him, so he entered the fourth door on the left, the only one that was open. Silently, he reached the two demigods, who strangely neither felt his aura nor saw his size, after which he joined the conversation.

"When will they be ready?" He said, glancing at the plans.

Francesca and Marina jumped in unison and turned to look at him after taking a few steps back.

Ien's daughter clutched her chest trying to calm herself, "Gods! You're everywhere! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"That's how ghosts work."

"Are you a ghost?" Francesca asked curiously, "Seriously? Amazing! I've never seen one before!"

"You think?" Marina glared at the violet-eyed demigod, "No, that's the nickname I gave him."

Lorenzo returned with his prototype in his hands, "Everything ok!? I heard you two screaming," then he noticed Shirei, "Hi! Are you here for Marina?"

Cragar's son said nothing and simply looked confused.

"Evidently not. However, it is important that you do not tell Lyceum about this, much less the goddess Aena."

"We're not exactly on good terms," the boy replied.

"Makes sense, by the way…" the blonde's attention shifted to his friend, "Francesca, did I show you the taser I added to it? I managed to complete it."

Corgi's daughter remained silent, too captured by the demigod's mysterious violet eyes. She had never seen such a person, and for some strange reason, his presence began to crush her. Suddenly she was no longer Francesca Simoncelli, daughter of the god of fire, but a simple girl in the presence of someone who seemed terrifying. The aura he gave off was different from his face, which seemed gentle and completely devoid of bad intentions. Suddenly, she wanted to understand where Marina had met such a demigod. Her teeth wobbled, the truth was that she simply wanted to get away from him as soon as possible.

Francesca approached Lorenzo and smiled nervously to look away from Shirei, "No, you absolutely have to show me!"

"Anyway, I have a request for when the bullets are ready," Cragar's son finally clarified, "I would like you to shoot me."