In a dark alley in Prague. Hilos, the vampire leader that was supposed to lead his team to capture Barbara, is sitting there.
He was there that night, and he saw how his brethren got killed as he was looking from afar. Angered, he kicks the wall, making it crumble into pieces.
"Because of that, I was tortured by Deacon Frost. But that bastard is dead now. I have a new leader... He gives me more power than I have before."
His voice is cut-off like a broken television channel. His appearance used to be a handsome vampire, now he is bald, and his skin is giving out a blue tint.
Hilos now has lost his vampire weakness to garlic, and silver. But his craving added a taste to another vampire.
He is now a Reaper, a mutant vampire with a ravenous taste for blood. Even if he's changed physically, he still wants revenge on the ones that made him suffer.
"That woman, and THAT DOCTOR!!!" He yells at the top of his lungs. . A team of 5 bloodthirsty mutant vampires is now following him. None have kept their intelligence, unlike him.
"Let's go. To New York! I will get my revenge!". All 6 of the Reapers disappear into the dark alley.
…
In the previous storage ring lottery, Ryan got a lump of 100-meter tall monster meat.
He holds a ring for the RedWidow, in which she wins an arsenal of cold weapons. Not magical weapons or anything, but just normal swords.
Among them are a blue Nichirin blade, a yellow Nichirin blade, Murasame(replica), and Wado Ichimonji (replica).
Back to the meat, he still hasn't decided what to do with it.
RedWidow: Why don't you cut it up and package it. Monster meat, especially magical ones, sells at a high price.
Hydra: I will do that, but I also wanted to share it with my family and friends. If I haven't mistaken some of you also have gotten monster meat. Can we exchange some?
Mythic: I got Kraken meat, which is basically octopus meat. Another one is a crab. I can give you some legs. I also get many alien bodies. Do you want to taste one?
QueenElf: (barf.gif)
Kickbaal: My meat is already finished. Sell me some more!!
Hydra: what? That's 90-meter-long dinosaur meat!
Kickbaal: Barbarian has a great appetite. That is just appetizers.
Vampirekid: Does a big ass fish count. It's a 50-meter-long tuna. (Fish.gif)
Mephisto: I have beef with all of you! Just kidding, I got a big ass cow. (Minotaur.gif)
Kai has the storage ring containing the eel now. He exchanges his previous 1m³ storage ring for a major 70m³ upgrade.
"I'll cut it up into sizable bits and share it with my people." An impulse brews inside his mind. Unlike Ryan, he doesn't procrastinate when he decides on something.
"Hmmm, the meat is almost 20 tons by my estimate, so a large area is needed," he mutters in a low while he is treating a patient in the clinic, piquing the curiosity of the patient who is a little boy, but the doctor that giving him a shot today don't continue talking.
"All done, you've been a brave boy. Have a candy" Kai signs what he said with a hand gesture.
The boy is politely signing back 'Thank You' before he leaves with his mother. That marks the end of today's clinic session.
'It'll be stupid to do it in New York. If suddenly a big monster appeared on the streets, there would be chaos. '
'Although, I think people will be desensitized to it in the future.'
Kai teleported to the island base where the elf is getting ready at the square. Ryan is already there, and he sees the other him almost throw up. "*clicking tongue* I don't think your magic affinity will ever be good"
"Make way, Kai will show us a performance here." The elf said to the islander. The kids are very excited. Those who are still 5 or 6 years old are holding a wooden sword, and dressed like a warrior!
"Unleash the monster! Hehehe" They scream and giggles. The trio looks at them with gentle eyes. Among the three, only Kai's face is uncovered.
Annika said to Kai "We have evacuated the area. You can proceed now." Her Deer God gave out the notice half an hour ago. Naturally, she completed a job that will take a few hours in minutes.
Kai stood in the middle of the square that had been cleaned. There is a large open space there. Then he took out the 100-meter-long eel. "EEK!" The kids yell in surprise and shock.
"I think this is my first time to unleash my swordsmanship to the fullest in this world. Too bad it is against an eel" He said. The other time is when he uses the training card.
He draws his sword. As the eel body is too big, he uses his wings from the hippogriff's companion form to fly up. The moment he uses his wings, the kid's eyes widened. They are more astonished to see a man with wings than the long monster!
Kai holds up his sword that was made with some adamantium metal Ryan bought and created with the help of the system. It looks as if he is standing in the air. When he is ready, he said in a low tone, "... Dragon Dance"
He hasn't reached the level of sword qi yet, but he could use air slash. Started by chopping the eel's head, then he flies like a dragon, his figure zig-zagging across the air, chopping the rest of the eel body into a 1m³ cubic shape.
Only bones left on the eel body when he's done. This artistic performance took only 3 minutes. The 100-meter-long eel is no more.
The girls who have been practicing swordsmanship are stunned. "Is it possible for human swordsmanship to reach this level?"
The children focused more on his wings. "An ANGEL!!"
Kai and the elf are both confused when the kids surround Kai who flew back down.
They thought 'How the hell did a black wing be considered an angel? Wouldn't it be a fallen angel instead.?'
Ryan is more focused on what's left. 'What should I do with the bones?' He blurred for a moment before he realized 'Wait, what the kids just said?'
"Hey, kid. Are you not afraid of my wings? Didn't black remind you of evil things?" Kai asks as he couldn't hold in his curiosity.
The children said with a bright smile. "A demon will not pass through the Deer God's sight. So you must be an angel."
Their hearts melted when they heard that. The elf said to them. "Alright, everyone can help. Pick up the eel to the warehouse."
"Yes sir!" even the small ones didn't hesitate to help as they are strong. The cut-up flesh of the eel didn't amount to anything on them, even when the size is larger than some of the children.
There is an excessive amount of meat. Ryan checks out the price of the meat in the system.
"1 piece of the cutout flesh can be sold for 100 tc. I have 1000 of them." The price will become higher if he processes the food a little bit. But he doesn't feel like doing it.
He traded them with the chat group member, in which they got multiple types of monster meat exchanged.
"I have an idea! As it is winter, let's make a hot pot!". The elf looks at Ryan weirdly after he says that. Of course, Kai is going to do it. He will just eat.
"Are we the same guy anymore? Why are we so different?" Kai mutters in a low voice.
"Nope, if it's eel, it must be grilled or spicy soup," The elf interjected. "What are you waiting for Kai? Go on.." He joins Ryan and is pushing the work.
The pushover specialist quickly gets to the chopping board. Luckily, he enjoys it. In the center square of the base, the bones are replaced with a giant pot instead.
When Kai is cooking and the elf is supervising, Ryan experimented on the bones a little. After all, it is a waste to throw out the bone.
"Let's see, there is a higher level of calcium carbonate in the bones compared to other fish bones. " He could use it to make calcium phosphate bioceramic, which is good for bone regeneration.
It wasn't at the level of regrowing bones, but if a bone is broken, the compound will help in mending it.
There is also a type of energy, presumably excessive life force or magic that makes the eel grow like that. He will continue his experiment later as a delicious smell envelops the entire island.
"It's done folk!" Kai said to the kids. The big 3-meter-tall pot is filled to the brim with the soup. Not only eel, but he also added some mushroom, leek, crab leg that mythic gave, and other seafood such as abalone.
The aroma alone has made the people on the island's mouth waters. They waited in a single line with a bowl of their own and deliciously slurped the soup.
The elf and Ryan gave Kai a thumbs up when they tasted it. Ryan is more sensitive as he could detect some energy in the soup. It'll help strengthen the bones and immune systems of those who eat it.
He wants to test more but the atmosphere is too nice, that he decided to just enjoy the moment.
More than 300 people on the island had a feast that day. There are only a few people who couldn't come back because of their work. The pokemon also join in the feast. Charizard likes spicy food especially. Meowth couldn't eat hot food, so Eevee teases him by drinking the rest of his soup.
Psyduck stays away from the pot, as he is afraid that he will be thrown in next.
Ryan keeps a portion for those who are gone and his family. Kai also wants to bring some for Skye. It didn't matter how much they wanted to bring back as there was still a lot on the pot. So Ryan decided to pack it up and give it to the chat group member.
He was greatly shocked when he packed it into a 1-liter soup box. The price of the small size container is more than 1000 tc!! 'I could be rich just by selling food in the system!' Many did in the marketplace.
After consideration, he decided not to. The group member praises him for the meal.
QueenElf: Serve me more. I need more b*tch!
Hydra: What happened, you're scaring me @QueenElf.
Mythic: She goes crazy when she gets spicy food. Ignore her. The food is really good though.
RedWidow:(PleaseSirMayIHaveSomeMore.gif
'Well, there is a lot.' He gives a little bit more to those who are online at the moment. If another one asks for more after this, he will just ignore them.
"Sorry kids, I couldn't stay much longer" The elf and Kai said at the same time. Although it is still afternoon on the island, it is now night in New York. Kai needed to go back to the clinic, while the elf needed to go help a nation he chooses.
The kids who are petting Kai's wing are sullen, but they understand it. Of course, Kai let the hippogriff out to play. The pokemon such as Ponyta seem interested in the hippogriff.
He resummoned back his companion beast, making the pokemon exclaim in sadness. He left after petting these creatures to comfort them. The elf helps Kai to teleport back to his clinic.
Ryan stood there awkwardly when the duo left, becoming the center of public attention. *Ehem*, he coughs and teleports away too.
'That's very uncomfortable. Should I expose myself there? It isn't like those people couldn't be trusted.' He ponders for a while.
Impulsively, he goes back to the island. The island is cleaning up the cooking event at the time.
Yinsen asks him "Is there anything you forget?"
"Yes, I forgot to introduce myself. To you and the islander."
He opens up his face covers, showing something he wishes to be concealed. But when he does do it, the anxious feeling goes away.
"You're... Mr. Knight!" Yinsen realizes who he is. Even the kids know who he is. He is the most famous person in the world, beating Tony Stark by a slight margin. Of course, it's because Tony is Iron Man that it's been close.
Sive sees this and screams "MR RYAN KNIGHT! I'M YOUR FAN! PLEASE SIGN THIS FOR ME!" She wanted him to sign the shirt that she is wearing right now.
Dotty and Mia also wanted a signature. Most kids on the island want a signature. He is popular among the children.
After all, he produces more children's movies than any studio on the entire planet. Even with his scandal, it doesn't do much to his reputation among the public.
Annika takes over when the kids start overwhelming him and start tugging at his clothes and hanging from his hand. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Knight. I am curious how you came to the island."
"The el... I mean the... Deer god. I met him after I built the forest back. He wanted to reward me. We became friends after." Ryan quickly covered it up with the story he used before.
However, Annika didn't miss his slip of the tongue.
'The el? What's E. L. ? Elder? Elf? Elizabeth? Does he know Deer God's true face? Meowth said there were people other than Deer God on this island before we came. Is that him?'
"Hey, are you okay?" Ryan is a bit worried. Annika snaps out of her thoughts. "I'm..okay, just a bit surprised before."
After the initial shock, the islander welcomes him kindly and he is very grateful for that.
While they are talking, Yinsen asks. "Why now?"
"What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean. Why do you expose yourself now? You covered up your identity before."
He stayed silent for a moment, "I feel jealous. I also want to be like Kai, and can play freely with the children."
Annika and Yinsen laugh at the weak reason. But sometimes, the weak reason is the one that becomes a turning point in someone's life. For Ryan, he decided to trust more.
Park Shin approached him and said abruptly. "You don't seem like the guy in the scandal. The drug and sex addict."
"Hey, stop that!" Yelena is flabbergasted at Park Shin's action.
"What? You want to ask too, right?" Park Shin is dissatisfied with being censored. Ryan just laughs and explains to them.
"Hydra again!" Annika is hateful. Before this, the Deer God had told her about their true enemy. The woman's glances change and elude killing intent.
"Do you need help in destroying them?" Yelena said coldly.
"There is no need. I can do it myself. But I did encounter some roadblock though." His plan crumbled as Stephanie and Dana ran away together.
Stephanie is now pregnant even though she knows that her love isn't the true Ryan. That makes all her hesitation go away. She left a letter to her dad, in which Gideon Malik comes fuming at Ryan's house.
In which Gideon saw a different person from the one he met at the party before. Ryan's appearance looks kind of different because he puts Gideon in an illusion.
After all, who asks him to leave himself alone in a private place with Ryan? He didn't search the hydra-head memory. At least not now. But he did plant something in his mind.
All in all, his plan kind of succeeded. For Dana and Stephanie, he wishes them all the best and will keep the enemy away from them.
Overcoming the scandal, another topic comes out. He talks with a lot of people until night comes.
"Wait, I need to go back. Otherwise, my family will get worried." He says goodbye to the islander and teleports away.
'Next time, I will come here with Gwen ', he vows in his heart. He gets in trouble when he comes home late at 3 a.m.
"You smell of perfume. Scratch that, you smell like you're dipped in a perfume vat…Did you go to the club with girls?" Gwen is suspicious of him.
"I do meet some girls, but it's not what you think." It took a lot of convincing to avoid an argument. It is not that Gwen doesn't trust him, but she just misses him and just wants to banter. 'Woman is complicated' Ryan thought.
"Hey, I'm going to cook something special for you", he proceeded to take out a nicely packaged 200g of monster meat, and some crab meat to make dinner for his girl.
He didn't take out some soup as he wanted to cook it on his own. 'The soup will be for tomorrow, with father and Hiddle joining us.'
Searing the steak to medium-rare, he served it with mushrooms, tomatoes, and a red wine sauce. He makes a crab cake with the other. With expectation, he asks "How is it?"
Smelling the waft of delicious, juicy meat, Gwen almost drools. She cuts the steak into bite-size pieces and brings it closer to her red lips using a fork. 'Ahh~ This is a real pleasure.'She thought.
Pouring a glass of white wine for her, Ryan sits on the opposite chair, just enjoying the view of her eating. "Slow down, I'll cook more for you if you want it".
He wipes the sauce on her lips using a napkin.
"You're really adorable."
Gwen blushes and said "Okay, I'm not mad anymore now"
…
With a full belly, Kai returned to his clinic. He calls Skye to the clinic and they have a meal together. His daughter returned to their house first as he is on the night shift today.
"Nighttime in hell's kitchen is the one with the most patients " He sighs. Drug deals, and gun violence, most of them happened at night.
He welcomed the ninth young adult with a bullet wound tonight.
"Don't you have anything else to do? Isn't this the third time you've been shot at?", he says while he is removing the bullet away from the patient's shoulder. *Ting* The bullets fall into the tin container after Kai releases the grip on the forceps.
"It's not like I have anything else to do doc. And also, I have never shot first. People keep coming at me" Chris, the young African-American with a gold necklace, a buzz cut, and saggy pants explained himself with a depressed tone.
Kai pinches the sutured gunshot wound, making Chris yelp in pain. "Ouch, be more gentle doc!"
"You have something else to do though. Don't lie to me. You are one of the brightest kids on 10 blocks."
Chris looked down, not daring to meet Kai's eyes. This doctor is a rare person in this screw-up world that constantly tries to advocate for him to do better.
He is born to a prostitute and had an abusive and alcoholic father growing up. Even if he's smart, his life wouldn't change.
Seeing the kids being silent. Kai sighs. 'Although he looks like an adult now, the kid is only 19 years old. And now, he's putting his foot on the door to becoming a gangster.'
Opening his desk drawer, Kai took out a document. "Here, this is for you"
"What is it? Is it the bills? Didn't that wait until you finish treating me?" Chris is flabbergasted. All this time, he had been paying for treatment by cash. There aren't any bills.
Kai smacks the kid's head. "Ouch doc, I'm a patient!"
"Read it first"
Chris nods. He reads the document slowly. "It said that I've been accepted to the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. Doc, is it a joke?"
He knows for sure that he had never applied for furthering his study. Even if he does, he didn't have money to go through it. Not many scholarships are thrown out in his direction, given his circumstances.
"Nope, I have applied for it. " Chris becomes happy for a moment before the excitement fades away. "You shouldn't have Doc, it's not like I can go"
"Why couldn't you go?"
"You know what I mean. I didn't have any money... And also.."
Chris tries to make excuses, but before he could continue, he shuts himself up. There is a part of him deep down that wants to go. He looks at the paper again, contemplating his chances.
Kai smiles and says "Don't worry, I will support you through it. I have already paid for your first semester."
The kid is silent. He looks down at the paper again. His body is shivering. Tears start to drop on his admittance letter. With a broken voice, he asks, "Why…?why did you do that for me?.. I don't… deserve it…"
"You do. You deserve it. Never let anyone else tell you otherwise. I won't do this for you if you're hopeless. I know that you have been studying hard for your future… But life isn't fair right?"
Kai doesn't know why, but when he looks at the kid, he feels like he had been through it before in his past life.
The kid nodded. He's been trying hard. Looking for a job here and there, and trying to get a scholarship. But society wouldn't give him a second glance.
Kai puts his hand on the kid's head and says "We can't change our past or where we came from. But at the very least I can help you to get to a better future. Go to the university. Be the best version of yourself, not what society beats you up to be."
Chris listens attentively. Suddenly, he gets to the turning point of his life.
"And also, if those gangs wanted to keep you in their circle, tell them that I will come to visit them," Kai said coldly.
The kid shudders when he hears it. It's not like there is anyone who dares to mess with the doctor in Hell's Kitchen. All of those who did had disappeared mysteriously.
"About your best friend Will, don't worry about him. Domingo needed an assistant in his kitchen. He already agreed to hire Will."
Kai cuts off any other reluctance Chris has to go to the University. Even if Chris has a shitty life, there is always Will on his side getting through it together with him. They decided to become a gangster as there is no other way to fill their stomach.
This is why Kai decided to do something about it. 'They are good kids. At the very least their lives will get easier and they didn't need to resort to a life of crime… just to keep living.'
Chris jumps from the chair and gives Kai big hugs. "Thank..ou..thank... You.." The kid couldn't even speak properly as he keeps crying. He knockdown Kai's metal container that contains his gauze and other stuff, making a big noise.
Will, who has been standing outside the door, rushes in. "What happened? Why are you crying?" He's startled by the big noise at first, but the situation he sees that these people are hugging is even weirder than his imagination.
Chris shows his crumpled admission letter to Will, in turn even his best friend is sobbing. "Thank god..you deserve it, Chris. Thank you doctor for everything."
'When the kid finishes his studies, I can hire him to my company if he doesn't get a job.' This is Ryan's plan. He can give the boys their dream life, but he wants them to work for it.
Kai finishes his clinic at 4 in the morning. When he is finishing up and exits the clinic, he feels the air change.
"It's like I've been stared at by a predator. " Surprisingly, the malice talisman didn't give him any warning. He taps the talisman. "Is it broken?"
*Crash!!* A figure swings his baseball bat and destroys Kai's fortified glass window. Then the figure ran away after mocking him. Kai is amused
" A bait. It seems like someone is scheming against me!"