The bar Alex walked into was mostly empty with three people, two of whom wore hoods over their heads while indulging in a bowl filled with porridge.
The third person was one he was already familiar with; the drunk doctor Watson, the latter of which was currently indulging in an alcohol bottle set on his table.
Pursing his lips, he slowly made his way down the stairs, surveying the area with a keen eye.
The faint sll of pork mixed with various vegetables wafted around the bar, alongside the strong sll of watered-down alcohol.
As he neared the last step, a squeaking sound erupted causing one of the unknown two present to glance in his direction.
Naturally, Alex caught this, prompting him to stare at the man.
Their eyes t for a brief mont before the man hastily withdrew his gaze and for added asure, drew his hood down, obscuring his features further.
Alex raised a brow, his mind calling back to the first ti he’d t Basar.
Sothing similar?... Or was it just a coincidence?
As he questioned this, he made his way to the counter and after knocking a few tis, the kitchen door flung open and Rebecca stepped out
She held a tray in her hands with two bowls and a cup placed on it.
"Here you go. Enjoy your al." Rebecca remarked with a smile as she placed the tray on the counter before making her way back inside the kitchen.
Alex watched her silently before shifting his attention to the tray.
He opened up the first bowl to discover it was half full with a few morsels of pork dipped in a strange green stew.
Despite its suspicious appearance, it had a rather appetizing scent.
Alex took a deep breath before opening the second bowl to reveal a salad made of greens mostly.
Then the cup was filled with slightly less watered-down alcohol.
After ensuring that there was nothing funny in the al, Alex didn’t hesitate to eat up, with the sight of food bringing out an unnatural hunger within him.
As he quickly wolfed down the food, Alex let out a burp of satisfaction before returning to scrutinizing the bar.
At this point, one out of the duo that wore hoods had left with only one remaining.
It was the sa man that had exchanged eye contact with Alex.
After he’d wiped his hands, Alex got to his feet and slowly sauntered over to the man before sitting opposite him.
"Hey."
"..."
"Can you understand ?"
"..."
"Hello."
Crash
The man suddenly stood up without warning and imdiately rushed out of the bar, leaving Alex perplexed.
"Am I that scary?" He couldn’t help but wonder as he glanced at the entrance only to have his attention drawn elsewhere.
"Psst."
He glanced toward the origin to find Watson gesturing at him to co.
Pondering his options, Alex soon obliged as he made his way over and sat across from Watson.
The latter flashed a toothy smile as he remarked. "Let give ya so advice, unless you know the person, it’s best not to talk to people in this city."
"Why?" Alex inquired.
"It’s the dark things, ya know. It’s why they wear hoods, so they don’t draw the attention of the creatures."
"Dark things?"
"Mn," Watson nodded before quickly adding. "But don’t ask any further."
Raising a brow, Alex decided to ask sothing else. "So why don’t you wear one?"
"Heh, there’s no need. It’s not like there’s any reason to keep up with the facade." Watson replied, letting out a self-deprecating chuckle as he downed so alcohol.
Alex pursed his lips. "I heard about your wife."
"Ah, forget about that." Watson nonchalantly replied as he gestured at his wine bottle. "Want so?"
"No, thank you."
"Hehe, that’s good."
"..." Shaking his head, Alex was about to ask more questions only to pause as he noticed the approach of a presence.
He furrowed his brows as his senses quickly picked up that the person approaching wasn’t normal.
Alex pondered his options before deciding to take his seat again, his fingers poised to snap at the first sign of trouble.
Just then, the faint sounds of footsteps echoed just outside the door before it flung open to reveal a middle-aged man with a gray mustache standing outside.
Wearing a long black leather jacket with a black shirt, brown pants with holsters currently holding a pair of revolvers, and ankle-high boots along with a boat-shaped hat, the middle-aged man stepped into the bar before glancing in Alex’s direction.
The man looked quite muscular but judging from his age, Alex guessed that he must have been way bigger in his younger years.
"Hmm." The man scrutinized Alex with a keen eye before he spoke up in a deep voice. "I didn’t think you’d survive."
Alex studied him in turn, noting the aura about the man that signified his identity as a Mystic.
Albeit not sensing any malice from the newcor, Alex was still prepared to snap in case of anything.
anwhile, Watson took another gulp from his bottle before speaking up. "Oi, Gerald, Rebecca didn’t give the usual stuff. What’s up?"
The man glanced at Watson briefly before replying. "A new batch will co in tomorrow, I’ll send it across."
"Hehe, that’s good. I guess I should take my leave then."
"Mn, alright." Gerald nodded before taking another look at Alex.
Then without saying a word, he shifted his gaze toward the kitchen and started toward it without a word.
As Alex watched Gerald go around the counter and enter the kitchen, he couldn’t help but acknowledge the weathered feeling he got from him.
Just then, Watson spoke up. "That’s Gerald, the guy that saved you. He’s a pretty good guy so you don’t have to worry."
"Apart from being a good guy, do you know anything else?" Alex inquired.
"Well... he is also the leader of the rcenary guild in Popolis."
"...Noted."
"Alright, I’ll take my leave then," Watson said with a chuckle as he quickly finished up his bottle before picking up his hat and bag.
Just as he turned to leave, he paused and turned to regard Alex once more, he muttered. "I’d advise you to leave as soon as possible."
"Hmm?"
"Mn, this city... tch, it’s gone. There’s nothing here but darkness."
"What do you an by that?"
"Well... I guess even I don’t know what that ans." Chuckling softly, Watson turned and without further ado, quickly took his leave.
Alex stared at his back until he was completely out of sight, leaving him perplexed.
"What was that about?" Taking a mont to ponder, Alex soon stopped as he was unable to draw up anything tangible from Watson’s words.
Letting out a sigh, he glanced at his fingers. "I was so confused that I didn’t even think to check if I’m still a Mystic."
He chuckled softly as he was glad that Gerald wasn’t an enemy though he didn’t think he did too bad in his responses.
Taking a deep breath, Alex snapped his fingers after which pulsating black and white erupted from his shadows, allowing him to let out a sigh of relief.
Just as he attempted to get to his feet, a loud crash caused him to put up his guard.
"You fucker!... Get out of here!"
What followed was a barely coherent argunt followed by a few more crashes and what appeared to be fighting after which it soon ca to an end.
Alex remained wide-eyed as he stared at the kitchen door, unable to fathom what had just happened inside.
A mont later, the door flung open and Gerald stepped out with a black eye and his hat gone, revealing a head full of gray hair.
Alex’s eyebrows twitched at the sorry sight of the man who seed so imposing a mont ago.
"..." Gerald silently stared at Alex briefly before intoning softly. "Co with ."
Then, as though there was nothing wrong, Gerald slowly made his way upstairs with Alex looking on in utter confusion.
***
Alex and Gerald sat in the upstairs living room with the latter currently using an ice pack to massage his black eye.
"So what do you want to know?" Gerald casually asked.
Coughing awkwardly, Alex inquired. "How about from the beginning?... Where did you find ?"
"The outskirts of the city. When I found you, you were in terrible condition with a horrible scar across your chest. Honestly, I was inclined to leave you for dead but when you called out to , I couldn’t just leave you there so I brought you here."
"... I called out to you?" Alex raised a brow.
"Not just that, you said so really strange words."
"What did I say?" Alex inquired, his brows furrowing ever so slightly.
Gerald let out a sigh as he intoned softly. "7 days. In 7 days, God will descend."
Reviews
All reviews (0)