The battle had ended about 24 hours ago and Zero was still asleep as the Leeway Family took care of him, taking turns every hour. While Lucia and Cristine attended to Eliza as she, though now cured, was still weak. Her condition was stabilising, and she was recovering at a rapid rate.
Bernette, with the help of Mark's connections, was cured by a high priest and she was as healthy as she could be. The only drawback was that her powers were considerably reduced, but according to her, she will grow up fast as the previous event had given her a few new passive skills that should help her become stronger later on.
Outside of the Leeway castle, few world powers were already in a panic regarding the Parasites and their powers. The tense fight between the Parasite and Reaper was leaked to almost all the world powers creating an uproar, making those who already knew to hurry up and those who got to know later on, placed them in a tough situation.
Watching the Parasite's power made them realise that the enemy wasn't anything to scoff at, and the fact that it was the weakest of their bunch made their fear and anxiety rise to a new level.
As for Reaper, they didn't dare to make any move at all. That was for three reasons. One is Reaper himself. He was f*cking too strong and too mysterious. Was he working alone? Was there anyone behind him? Who was supporting him? What was his power limit?
All those questions consumed their minds and the decision to capture him or to negotiate with him came to a standstill. The other two reasons were Oliver and Mark. Those who knew about Oliver made their stance clear, as they won't be getting involved. They might win against Oliver and get Reaper, but will it be worth the cost and efforts? They did not know the answers to that.
As for Mark, those who knew who Mark was also stayed away for the same reason. Despite things being so stagnant on Zero's end, there were a couple of people who actually moved forward to meet Zero in the near future.
That included Merlin, the overseer of the Rose Family, and the Vampire King. The King of the Laurentz Family left everything to his son, William. It was the obvious choice, but the elder and younger brother of Willam weren't thrilled with William getting all the chances to become the most favoured amongst them, so they started moving on their own towards this mysterious guy called as 'Reaper'
…
[Zero's POV:-]
I woke up and found myself laying on a bed. Turning around, I found two figures chatting with each other in hushed voices and they looked quite serious.
'Mark and Oliver, huh? Looks like the fight was really over. That's two deals taken care of,' I thought as a smile formed on my face. Oliver was the first one to look at me as he spoke.
"You are awake, huh?"
Mark also turned, and a smile bloomed on his face before he moved towards me and checked my pulse. Finding it normal, he relaxed a little before speaking.
"You seem fine."
Oliver, standing beside him, also moved closer and spoke,"Well, I shouldn't be asking questions to a person who has just fought a life and death battle, but since I can't contain my curiosity, I will ask. Was that thing the Parasite you were talking about?"
"Wait… a… sec," I spoke as I used spirit magic to heal myself faster. Looking at me, healing at a rapid speed, Oliver's eyes almost fell out of its sockets and Mark just shook his head in silence.
"Well, he was a hatchling Parasite who went into berserk mode to be exact, but the power levels were equal to a fully transformed Scout Parasite," I spoke as I removed the blanket a little and took a deep yawn as I stretched my arms.
I turned around to find there was William reading a book on the other side and,
"You are here too, huh?"
"I shouldn't be?" He asked and I replied,"nah! At this point, it doesn't matter."
"Hmmm… can you tell me more about them?" Oliver was really immersed into the topic, wasn't he? Well, it makes sense, I suppose. Who wouldn't be anxious and curious after witnessing that, in any case… if he wants to know that then,
"We have 10 years before they strike. That too can change depending upon the circumstances."
3 years before the first Cataclysm, when the other races came out to the surface, another 7 before the second Cataclysm. I guess, if everything goes according to my previous timeline, then we still have 10 years… However, I will prepare as if we only have 5…. reason… I don't know if things will really go down the way they are supposed to.
"10 years is a short time to prepare for an army of SS-Grade. Do we need to depend upon powerful equipment?" Oliver asked again and Mark glared at him as he spoke,"give the kid a break. He-"
"Kid? Look Mark, I don't know what you take him as but please, he is anything but a KID!! He literally took control of the whole fight in a second, made use of everyone present there and pounded the shit out of that deadly creature that could have wiped out countries if not the continent.
You saw that too, right? That creature's regeneration rate, his speed and power? And if this 'kid' was correct, then they can infect others too? Say what you want, but stop taking him as a kid, okay?"
I looked at the quarrel between the adults with a keen interest before speaking,"it is alright Mark. Oliver, as far as I have known, is a worrywart who always doubts things he cannot understand. You, being his friend, should already know that, don't you?"
Oliver turned at me, glared a little before speaking,"and you, Mister Zero, should not know that. There are no files on me and I have secluded myself from the world long before you were even born. It's the first time in 3 decades that I have surfaced and come here, that too, only on Mark's special request."
'Not yet, yeah,' I thought before smiling and speaking again,"but you are glad that you did, right?"
At my question, he just shut up, making me chuckle a little.
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