Chapter 400: I came for yours too. [1/2]
Humans were normally blank slates.
Any infant born would normally have no concept of preferences of any kind. These were usually acquired as the person developed.
Everything from what they found beautiful to what they feared. Such things came from one's experiences. Bad ones even more so. If a child almost drowned at some point, he would begin to hate anything that reminded him of that event.
The same thing happens when a person experiences fires, earthquakes, or just plain violence. If you asked me what I thought of Robert Acwellan when I was human, I wouldn't say anything.
If I saw his picture, I might have prejudices based on his appearance. If I heard him speak, I would probably have an understanding of his temperament. If I knew his past, I would be able to relate his experiences to my own.
However, no matter what you learned, there was no better way to understand someone than to interact with them.
Right now I was face to face with Robert Acwellan. What I knew about him went beyond what most humans would know. Unlike humans, reapers shared their greatest regrets and their greatest desires.
That, after all, was what {Fates} were supposed to be.
"It was Robert Acwellan. He was someone who had his entire village massacred. His rage created his {fate} {Blood Feast}. I only protected the group because of him. When I forgot my reasons and my rage, I left and just killed undead for a few years. The current members were all recruited by Robert."
{Blood Feast}. A fate ranked as SMC. Which stands for S-ranked Manifested specialized in Combat. From what I saw when he fought Krishna's guys, that was an understatement.
Known as the Slayer, this bastard had no problem being outnumbered. I even shot him in the head and heart and he still held off four Phantoms. But it was not as if I was any different.
Like him, I was anything but ordinary. I had fought one hundred and forty-five Reapers alone. I had just fought and killed five Phantoms. In the short time that was my second life, my results were just as good as his.
And unlike him, I had already fought a Revenant and lived to tell the tale. If just surviving was a victory, I also fought four different Specters. No matter how you looked at it. He was no longer above me in any way.
"I have come for your head, Limitless."
With such an opening line, I smiled at his threat. Even if I might have felt sympathy for him knowing of his regret, he owed me 81 lives.
80 Wraiths and 1 Phantom. That was the number of people who died when he tried to kill Krishna. The girls, Krishna, even the Yuddha Rakshas said it wasn't my fault.
But for me, that battle was my first failure as a Reaper. It cemented the fact that without power you cannot protect anything.
'As such, I will kill this motherfucker or die trying.'
There was no other outcome.
"Funny. I came for yours too." I replied with a smile.
The moaning of a group of zombies came from my left.
The sounds indicated that they were coming towards me. But I didn't worry and kept my eyes on my prey.
As suddenly as the zombies arrived, the sound of thousands of bullets flying through the air followed. Of course, metal rending flesh also came after that.
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Robert silently turned his helmet towards our surroundings. A loud shot sent a 7.62 NATO round towards the Slayer. The air around Robert's face solidified as it blocked the bullet.
"Whores have no place fighting among men," he commented derisively.
Before I could even comment, Jasmine came forward and stood by my side.
"I listen to no man but my husband. Fight as hard as you can, Reaper. For you will not live beyond the night."
Seeing the fierce attitude of my sexy sharpshooter, I was smitten. Jas had a face similar to the one she had when she enlisted. It exuded pride, ferocity and immense beauty.
These days I almost forget she could make such an expression. I have grown accustomed to seeing her loving and affectionate smile. I took a moment to store her proud and cool appearance in my mind before taking her hand in mine.
"Wifey, come back for me later. For now, please help Aki and Lilly. Please? I have some things I want to talk to him about alone."
My loving Kindred stared at my face for a moment before nodding softly. She gave me a kiss on the cheek, then she turned and rushed off to help the other Sirens.
The Slayer said nothing and just watched. When it was just the two of us, I asked the question that had been bothering me all along.
"Why?"
"..."
"With all your power, you could have easily joined the assault teams if you wanted to. Instead, you remained a Phantom and created an army of trash. Why?"
The Slayer waved the heavy looking polearm on his shoulder before answering.
"You talk too much."
I guess he was right. I really did talk too much. Why bother to learn such things if it would not change our fate. Before the night was over, one of us would be dead. And we both knew it.
"[Inventory] F90s. {Save.} So it would seem."
"{Blood Feast}"
At Robert's command, the entire zone suddenly turned red. It was as if the moon suddenly turned into one of blood. The ground also turned scarlet.
The hairs on my body began to stand on end. Such a reaction only happened with David and the Specters. This was probably my body telling me that I was in danger.
"{Sanguine Armor}, {Carnival of the Damned}."
It was like I was the boss in a video game, and my opponent was the players. He kept calling out {Fates} as part of his battle preparations. Maybe because I knew how it felt, I waited.
Robert then smashed his polearm into the ground with a command.
"{Dominic, do not interfere}."
The zombies around me were being destroyed by Lilly, Aki and Jas.
I could hear from the sounds of gunfire that they were blasting everything apart. Jas even used Sacred as flashes of light illuminated the red sky.
The Slayer ordered his men not to interfere. It was unusual because it removed the advantage of having support. Did he think I sent Jas away for the same reason?
'Not that I'd complain if he did. But I am not stupid.'
My instructions to Jas were simple. Kill everyone else and come back to help me. I didn't have a problem with the Sirens being the one to kill the Slayer. Of course it would make me feel good, but such wishes were for children.
The Sirens and I were like the hero party of a tactical role-playing game. No matter which one of us landed the killing blow, just getting through the stage would be enough. We won or lost together.
Such was my mindset. All I wanted was for that bastard to die and for me and the Sirens to live. If he was acting out of some misguided sense of chivalry, I had no reason to follow him.
Blood flowed from all around us towards the Slayer. Much like when he fought Krishna, the blood coalesced into armor and a cloak that enveloped his body.
His deadly pole arm was similarly drenched in blood, morphing into a much more gruesome appearance.
If you had told me he was some kind of Dracula, I would have believed you. Considering how much this bastard loved dramatic blood effects, they must have been related.
With his preparations complete, he tucked his weapon under his armpit and extended his hand. Then he moved his fingers inward. This was the universal "come and get some" gesture.
I took a deep breath as I moved to begin the battle.