Chapter 72: Accidental Meeting.

Crule woke up in the morning early. They already prepared everything for the trip back the day before the drake attacked. He went to the cockpit and started the ship. They had to leave before anyone stops them. Some surviving spectator may pester them since they might have saw them take down the drake.

Crule doesn’t need this publicity right now.

Just as he was about to leave, he heard a knock on the ship door.

Who in the world would knock on a ship’s door when it’s about to take off?

Crule opened the monitor and there was a kid on the screen.

[Crule]: This…I don’t know whether its pure coincidence but our luck is great so far.

He stopped the engine and opened the door quietly as to not wake everyone up. The suns was barely up and the purple hue dawned upon the horizon.

[Crule]: I honestly didn’t expect you to come to us. I thought we had to go searching for you.

[Kid]: Let’s just say I was just in the area. Honestly now, you people should really consider how annoying you make my job before you fight things.

[Crule]: Ha-ha, I know, I know, reaping isn’t an easy job when there’s several thousands of souls at once.

[Kid]: So you do understand! SO WHY THE HELL YOU LET IT KILL SO MANY?! With this many poor bastards dead, it would take me MONTHS to get back on track.

[Crule]: Honestly, it was to lure you.

[Kid]: You little…

[Crule]: Hahahaha, I see that it worked.

[Kid]: Humph, fine. What do you want?

[Crule]: It’s about your disciple.

[Kid]: Ah that kid? I knew my old disciple gave him half his power but still, it was against my wishes.

[Crule]: Hey, he isn’t half bad.

[Kid]: True, true, but several times I wanted to take it back.

[Crule]: Just let him redeem himself.

[Kid]: Eh, he did a good enough job handling the drake. I would say he earned his right. To be able to match up to Maximus and the direct disciple of the white rider while having half the power of a normal disciple…quite a feat to behold.

[Crule]: So you were watching…

[Kid]: Well yea, when that many souls were snuffed out in such a short time, of course it catches my attention.

[Crule]: I see…Anyways, let me go wake him up.

______

Shin woke up to knocking on the door.

[Shin]: Come in, it’s not locked.

Kate was still sleeping like a log beside him. Shin carefully got up without disturbing her and went to the door. He opened it and saw Crule and a kid standing there.

[Crule]: Took you long enough.

[Shin]: Can’t say I’m not tired after such a fight.

[Crule]: Well, it’s rude to make your master wait so long.

[Shin]: What are you talking about? Who’s my master?

[Kid]: I am you little twat.

[Shin]: Who is this rude kid?

[Crule]: This, this “kid” is the black rider.

[Kid]: Name’s Morty. Nice to finally talk to you.

[Shin]: This kid…are you sure you’re not playing a practical joke on me?

[Crule]: I don’t joke.

He said it in a deadpan serious tone.

[Shin]: …Right…

[Morty]: Anyways, time to make you my official disciple.

[Shin]: Wait right now? At least let me put on a shirt!

[Morty]: Too bad, we gave you enough time.

The kid lifted his hand and directly slapped it on Shin’s chest.

[Shin]: Ohmf. Shit that hurts.

[Morty]: Hold still maggot.

A black stream of energy slowly crawled up Morty’s arm like a pack of spiders. It crawled from his arm onto Shin’s chest. The spiders then started to bite and borough into his skin.

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[Shin]: Wait, out, shit, this hurts like !@#$%, God dammit.

The spiders all dig deep into his skin and dissipated back into energy. Shin’s body eagerly absorb the energy like a dry sponge.

[Morty]: There, that wasn’t so bad was it?

[Shin]: That was nightmare inducing…I swear I’m going to have nightmares about spiders crawling under my skin now…

[Morty]: Man up you weakling.

[Shin]: So is there any side effects?

[Morty]: None at all. Your energy reserves should have improved greatly, about doubled. You should now feel tired less often. One major problem is you may accidentally release a deathly aura which makes people feel melancholy and suicidal, but you can control it quite easily if you aren’t a useless pig.

[Shin]: That kind of language coming from a kid like you is…unsettling.

[Morty]: Can’t help it. I chose the most "easy to trust" form. Better to reap souls with. People tend to let children approach easier than a skeleton in a black bathrobe.

[Shin]: That’s true…

[Crule]: I just realized, we have been whispering the whole time, let’s go to the cockpit so we can actually talk like normal.

[Morty]: Ah, I whisper when I talk most of the time anyways.

They walked to the cockpit after Shin hastily put on a shirt.

[Morty]: So anyways, about your job.

[Shin]: Wait job?

[Morty]: Yea job, this is a binding contract you know?

[Shin]: …What do I have to do?

[Morty]: Nothing for now, but when you die, whenever you die, you get to work for me as a reaper.

[Shin]: So…I become an apprentice reaper?

[Morty]: Sort of. I mean it makes my job A LOT easier. Can you IMAGINE reaping hundreds of thousands of souls a day by myself?! That’s child abuse!

[Crule]: I thought you weren’t a kid…

[Morty]: Shut up!

[Crule]: Just saying…

[Morty]: Anyways, your dad is currently doing the job.

[Shin]: Wait, my dad is still alive?

[Morty]: Didn’t you just hear what I said? AFTER YOU DIED! Meaning your dad can’t interact with the mortal realm like I can. He’s kind of a ghost right now.

[Shin]: …Can I see him? I have so many things to say.

[Morty]: Tell him after you died too.

[Crule]: Hey, don’t go dying on me on purpose now…

[Shin]: *sigh* I won’t, but at least it’s reassuring that I got something to do after death. I can talk to him eventually. Better than not having a chance at all.

[Morty]: That’s the spirit! Anyways I have to get back to work. Due to you guys’ poorly executed hunt of the drake, I have a lot of souls to reap.

[Shin]: Wait a minute, don’t blame your work on us, if we weren’t here, the whole moon may have faced death by now.

[Morty]: Shhhhh!

[Crule]: Aahahaha, he got you there!

[Morty]: You guys are mean, I’m leaving.

He suddenly vanished.

[Shin]: Shit, that’s scary.

[Crule]: The kid’s an enigma. Considering out of the seven originals, he was the most eccentric. He makes the rest look like tamed old folks.

[Shin]: No kidding.

Crule and Shin started the engine again and took off back towards Noxia. Everyone else was still sleeping soundly as if the sandman dropped his entire sack of sand over their eyes.

Eventually, Shin went back to sleep too.

Crule set up the auto-pilot and just stared at his onyx black hand.

He smirked and chuckled in a way that anyone listening would call it an evil laugh.