With no clue to find the spot he saw in his vision, Zeke closed his eyes and concentrated, hoping there would be a reaction. For the first couple of seconds, there was nothing, but, when he opened his eyes, the map twitched and moved on its own, surprising Sulong.
When he looked at the youth, he saw his eyes let out an ominous black light which pierced a small hole into the map.
Zeke didn’t know how it happened or what it was, but he was that was the place. While pointing at that hole, he asked,
“Here… do you know where it is?”
“E-em the sewers are split into three large regions. This one is the ‘safest’ and has dozens of homeless people living there.”
By now, Sulong already knew that Zeke was quite unusual, even if grouped up with Erys’ students. He no longer questioned the bizarre events or inquired more than he needed to.
After obtaining the ability to wield the mysterious crimson fire, he felt indebted and grateful to Zeke, opting to trust him and follow his steps rather than oppose him and try to better his life through other means. Admittedly, Zeke was young, but he behaved in a mature and responsible way, rarely letting himself get emotional or distracted from the main objective.
“How can we go there unnoticed?”
Instead of responding, Sulong walked to the sleeping Jack on the couch and shook him a few times.
“Whaat? Just five more minu-”
The poor man was slapped on the head, making him sit up in surprise and look around.
“It’s time to work. Get ready!”
Jack, although confused and sleepy, rubbed his eyes and jumped to his feet. He noticed Zeke but didn’t remark, instead, he went to the other room and retrieved the armor he had worn last time and a military knife.
“W-where are we going?”
“The sewers. You know a safe path, right?”
“Yeah.”
The three didn’t waste time talking; Zeke and Jack were the first to leave the office, but Sulong stopped at the doorstep and looked behind.
“Hm?”
He swept his gaze across the whole place but noticed nothing unnatural. He could have sworn he had felt a presence.
“Things are getting weirder and weirder…” He muttered as he closed and locked the door.
…
Special Agent Katrina Vernerg, formally part of the Department of Defense’s Secret Intelligence Team. She was a subordinate of Edward Orland and her loyalty laid with him and him alone.
She specialized in Stealth and Assassination and part of her ability allowed her to turn invisible and soundless. She was practically unrivaled in stealth and, with the artifact Edward had given her prior to her ‘dismissal’ she was able to sneak into Erys without getting detected by neither the Dean or the Principal.
Her sole task now was to tail and protect Zeke Orland, the younger brother of her savior and benefactor.
Surprisingly, since the first day, she started noticing peculiarities within her target. Whether it was his unfathomable abilities, his strange and inscrutable behavior, or his slightly different character.
In fact, Katrina had met him a couple of times in the past, but he had always been cheerful in front of Edward. He never complained or demanded anything, yet the current Zeke was like a totally different person.
This made Katrina conclude that Zeke had been acting in front of Edward as to not make his older brother worried.
It has been but a few days yet she had learned many things. Unfortunately, she didn’t have the time to make a report as Zeke kept moving from one place to another. When he left Erys out of the blue, she had to follow and do her job.
Much to her surprise, he was acquainted and, apparently, friends with a loan shark. What was more surprising was the fact that the loan shark had noticed her presence, even if it was for a split second.
She knew that he wasn’t that strong, which made the matter all the more perplexing and mind-boggling.
With ease, she tailed the trio all the way to the secret entrance of the sewers. It was not from the workplace of Sulong, situated in an inconspicuous and secluded alleyway.
Although disgusted by the stench, Katrina jumped down seconds after them, her feet soundlessly hitting the ground…
****
“Thank you for making Jack wait at the entrance.”
Hearing this, Zeke looked at Sulong and shrugged, “I don’t know what we might face here. It’s better for a non-fighter like him to be on the lookout.”
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Sulong smiled but didn’t say anything.
‘Save him. Save him. Save him!’
The calling returned not long after he entered the narrow sewers. They were guiding Zeke towards the right place, beckoning him with unprecedented urgency.
They warily marched through the dirty and wet sewers, encountering squeaking rats and clusters upon clusters of ripped clothes and scraps.
After fifteen minutes, they arrived at an intersection.
“The left is said to be dangerous and unexplored. The right, on the other hand, is home to the homeless and whatnot.”
“It’s the left.” Muttered Zeke as he unhesitantly kept walking, lightning crackling around his hands.
His disembodied voice was getting louder and more intense and, soon, the two stumbled upon a shocking sight.
“T-this…”
Sulong covered his mouth and barely held himself from vomiting. Zeke’s face was pale as he looked away from the mangled corpses suspended on the walls.
“Clearly, they didn’t die of natural causes.” Remarked the baldy as he steered clear of the corpses and followed the youth.
The more they walked, the more corpses they saw, either suspended in the walls or scattered on the ground.
“Isn’t this…”
Zeke suddenly halted his steps and stared at one particular corpse, a deep frown on his face. Sulong followed his gaze only to let out a gasp. He quickly calmed himself down and gritted his teeth.
“It’s Jimmy.”
“I thought his body was taken by the authorities.”
“Yes.” Solemnly responded Sulong, crouching down and closing his deceased friend’s eyes.
“Which means whatever happened here has something to do with the local authorities. They wouldn’t dispose of the bodies in here, and it’s far-fetched to think corpses crawled here by themselves.”
Zeke paused for half a beat then added, “We will take him back when we return. Again, my condolences.”
“Take him with us? What if they throw him back here?” Sulong shook his head and used his crimson flames to burn Jimmy’s body. The fire consumed everything, causing a vomit-inducing stench as black smoke filled the cramped place.
After a brief prayer for his departed friend, Sulong was ready to continue.
…
It took the duo another thirty minutes of walking to finally arrive at the exact spot shown in Zeke’s vision.
It was a dead end, in a place that noticeably lacked corpses. The voice inside Zeke’s head came to a sudden stop once he laid eyes on the man curled on the ground. He was still ripping his ears and whispering to himself, not even noticing the two arrivals.
Zeke approached him and tried to help but the man shoved his hand away and let out an inhumane and ear-piercing screech.
His horrifying face and squirming red eyes locked onto Zeke.
“Careful!”
Sulong pulled Zeke just in time, saving him from the man who leapt at them like a beast.
However, when he was going to use his crimson fire to retaliate, Zeke stopped him.
“We have to subdue him.”
Zeke shot two lightning bolts at the man but he missed. Meanwhile, Sulong charged forward like a bull, successfully bear-hugging the man then slamming him against the wall.
Alas, the man wasn’t in the right mental state, still yelling crazily and moving around like a slavering maddenest beast.
He howled deafeningly as black slimy tentacles burst from his abdomen, wriggling about disgustingly.
Sulong was terrified but he didn’t run away, he instinctively raised his hands to defend, thus conjuring a thin wall of fire. Sadly, the ‘barrier’ shattered instantly and the man’s tentacles pierced Sulong’s arm before flinging him to the side.
It was then that Zeke appeared behind the man, accurately hitting the tentacles with three consecutive ‘Voltage Zap’ then following up with ‘Spark’.
The man unknowingly touched the lightning orb, causing a rain of lightning to befall the cramped area.
The sewers were covered in the luminous light of the rain of lightning before it returned to its usual and gradual darkness.
The man fell on the ground, blood gushing out his stomach and chest. His howls turned into sobs as he clenched his fists and tried to rip his ears out.
Zeke intervened and bound his arms while pressing his knees against the back. He touched the man with his left hand, which activated the Rune of Death.
An in flux of foul energy invaded Zeke’s body, making it shake violently. He bore through the agony and sucked as much energy as possible.
Eventually, after seven seconds, he pulled his hand and backed away. His breathing was heavy and his face was deathly pale. As for the man, his facial complexion was much better and his wounds healed almost instantly.
“Zeke! You good?”
Sulong, who slightly recovered, went to support the trembling Zeke.
[Detection Blood Infusion]
[Converting into Life Aether: 80% Energy absorbed]
[+5 Aether]
[+1 Fortitude]
[+7 EXP]
[+2 PE]
Right after the System notification appeared, Zeke leaned forward and vomited a mouthful of sticky black blood. After that, the trembling stopped and his mind was momentarily serene.
“I-I’m fine.”
With the help of Sulong, Zeke checked on the unconscious man but found no traces of that seemingly evil aura infested within him.
As soon as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he heard his voice again, repeating the same words.
While blocking his ears, Zeke frantically looked around and spotted a small hole behind the spot in which the man was curled on. With unsteady steps, Zeke hastily walked there and crouched.
“Waaah! Waaah!”
Much to his absolute surprise, he saw a baby wrapped in a blue and thin blanket.
Zeke suspended his disbelief and extended his arms toward the baby. The ‘room’ beyond the small hole was made of an organic matter moving around as if it was alive.
Zeke, who safely retrieved the baby, felt an unprecedented dread that made him immobilized. The voice in his head turned into silence and the baby’s cries lessened, yet Zeke was locked in place.
[Blood Heart Path Unlocked]
Fortunately, Sulong pulled him back just in time. The suffocating pressure binding Zeke disappeared, but, at the last second, he took a peek inside the ‘room’ and saw it being slashed open by something.
“By the gods! A baby… here?”
“It doesn’t matter. Let’s leave!”
With the baby in his arms and the man on Sulong’s shoulder, they swiftly retraced their steps, unwilling to remain an extra second in this god-forsaken place.
…