According to her, she was here to help out a couple of trapped people, whose distress call she received a few days ago. Honestly, it was hard to believe but since she was really adamant about it; I decided to entertain her thoughts for sometime.
The reason she survived here despite there being a bunch of parasites was because she had an ability to mask her presence completely, which she later on showed to me. It really was a very convenient ability, to be honest. Despite knowing that she was standing in front of me, I couldn't even see her properly unless I really concentrated.
She then took me towards the place where she received the signal from. It was behind the marketplace where there was one particular gate that looked somewhat different from the others. Curiously and cautiously observing that gate, we moved closer to it trying to see if there were any traps installed nearby. Though before we could move a bit closer
-Click
The gate opened and a young man with black spots on his face opened the door. He had a crossbow in his hand which looked rusty yet deadly. He observed me with a deep look before looking at the girl as he spoke.
"What's your name?"
"Nina Grey," she said as she took out a couple of food items and herbs and he examined them, nodding before pointing his crossbow towards me as he spoke,"who is he? Didn't we demand you to come alone?"
His glare irked me and I spoke up before Nina could speak,"If you have any problems with me…" and then I vanished before appearing right behind him as I spoke,"Speak directly to me."
There was a threat in my voice and he immediately reacted as he tried to turn his crossbow at me to shoot but before he could do so, I grabbed his wrist and twisted it a little, making him fall on his knees. He still didn't scream but looked at Nina angrily as she was making a slightly anxious expression.
"What is the meaning of this?" That man inquired and Nina looked at him before speaking,"well.. I just met this guy in the market as he saved me by killing those parasites… his name is Reaper."
"Reaper?" That man looked at me before speaking,"too many crazy psychopaths these days… so? What do you want, Mr. Reaper?"
Though his words were respectful, he wasn't respectful even one bit. I twisted his wrists a little more, making him glare at me even more fiercely and I sighed before leaving him all together. It was getting nowhere… the best way to find out what was going on inside this door was to check it out myself.
"Hey! Where are you going? STOP RIGHT NOW!!!" that man shouted with both fury and horror in his eyes as he pointed his crossbow at me once again. I saw the reddened wrists of his which looked really painful, but there was not even a glint of pain on his face.
-Shoot
He shot that crossbow releasing 4 arrows at once and I saw them slowly moving towards me as I spoke,"Shadow magic: Unlit Aegis," and a transparent veil came in front of me. The arrows touched the veil before immediately burning out completely.
I just smirked at him before moving inside that room, or more like inside that alleyway. The door was connected to an alley in which I walked slowly as I observed the walls and other things for traps and stuff, but fortunately there was nothing of sorts.
Nina and that man followed me with that man threatening me at every step, but for some reason, he did not attack me again. Instead, he kept asking about me from Nina and the more she told him about me and what I have been doing for the past year…
The hostility in his eyes vanished slightly and respect for me soared from 0 to 50 or perhaps more, however, he was still cursing me every now and then. Wonder what is going on in his mind right now?
At the end of the alley, there was another door and two men were sitting there with an assault rifle each in their hands.
Looking at me coming at them, they got alarmed and without any warning they started shooting at me. Though, dealing with them was equal to dealing with a bunch of kids, as I simply just moved past them and knocked them unconscious.
"That's one way of welcoming guests, I suppose?" I spoke as I looked at that man, making him glare at me once again. It kinda made me grin a little as he glared at me, which made him even more furious.
"What's behind the gate?" I directly asked him because I felt like it would be better that way, rather than barging in and he looked at me with a spiteful look before answering,"innocents and survivors. Since you are already at this point, can I ask you a question?"
His spiteful look and polite words weren't matching one bit, though benevolent as I was, I let this go as I spoke,"sure, go ahead."
He then sighed before looking at me with a slightly complex look and questioned,"what is your purpose here? What do you want?" and I kinda made an odd expression before speaking,"sightseeing…..?"
My words made him and the already quiet Nina even more silent as they looked at me dumbfoundedly before I spoke again,"I just found it curious, so I thought I should check it out. That is all."
He looked at me again with a complicated look before asking,"it might sound a bit odd but… Mr. Reaper… have you heard about the Black Blood Disease?" and I looked at him with a keen gaze before asking,
"What's that?"
At this point, he and Nina looked at me, as if I were an alien or something. Well, that man looked at my face and analysed me carefully before speaking,"you really… I don't know, huh? I suppose I could… All right, come in. It would be better if I showed you everything to make the explanation easier.
That man, Zial, took me and Nina, leaving those unconscious men behind. Inside, I found a massive cavern, in which many camps were set up with people living in them. There were about 40 to 50 people in that cavern, and I couldn't help but be astonished at that because it was rare for such a massive group to be together within the wasteland.
Zial told me about the area and how it functions, along with the details of the black blood disease.
Basically, it was a disease that some cave workmen developed, which turned their blood black and also made their health deteriorate over time, consequently resulting in premature death. There was a single doctor working on this disease as he too suffered with the same illness and almost everyone was pinning their hopes on him.
He told me a few things about the doctor and other people here before getting to the main point.
"That Black Blood… can attract parasites. It makes them crazy for some reason… and us.. Who are suffering are labelled as bait to catch parasite hives…" He had a dark look on his face as he spoke that and I too turned silent, as he just stayed there for a few moments before giving out a deep sigh and then speaking,
"Now that you know about the situation, what are you going to do about it, Mr. Reaper?" he spoke as he looked at me with a gaze, then sent slight chills down my spine. It was the gaze of a man who isn't afraid to die… in fact, he is ready to die at the very moment.
Turning at the people at this place…. They too… had the very same determinant look in their eyes.
'Would rather die than be treated as an item, huh?' I thought before looking at him and then speaking,"can I meet that doctor of yours?"
He looked at me for a few moments before nodding as he started walking and spoke,"come with me."
I kind of followed him along with Nina, and we kept walking for a few moments before we reached a camp on the other side of the cavern. It was a fairly big camp and there were some people sitting and talking around that camp.
When I reached that camp, they looked at me with a curious but keen look. I saw them gripping their weapons even tighter than before, while I ignored them as I entered the camp.
Zial then called out loud,"Doctor Pere, you there?"
Not moments later, a man in his late 40s came out from the curtains as I looked at him. White hair and an exhausted look on his clean shaved yet tired face. His red eyes looked at me with an analysing look before he smiled at me as he spoke,"And who might you be?"
Though the only thought that came to my mind was…
'He is a Vampire.'
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