In the evening of the same day he moved into his new home. Leo went to the supermarket to stock up on ingredients again. However, Mittelt and Ophis insisted on tagging along which left him helpless.
One using a puppy face and another, he can't really stop if she wants to follow. Leo decided to screw it and let them do as they wish. But problems occur instantly.
"Leo… that look delicious." Ophis said while pointing at the shop selling crepes. She points at the lady who is making crepes filled with cream and strawberries.
"Oh! What a cute sister you have, sir." The crepes shop lady immediately smelled the customer and quickly praised Ophis, thinking she is Leo's sister.
"Oh, young lady. Do you want this one?" The lady pointed at the strawberry crepe on the menu.
Ophis is salivating while looking at Leo. Leo was surprised that Ophis didn't demand the food instantly and at least looked for his permission first.
"Sigh… will one be enough?" Leo felt it's inevitable and pulled out his wallet.
Ophis nods and the crepes shop lady instantly gets to work making one without even waiting for Leo's verbal request. Then he remembers Mittelt as he turns his head to her and asks if she wants one too.
"Will your money be enough? Kuroka didn't give us much to spend." Mittelt didn't say yes immediately and instead worried if Leo would have enough money for this.
"That's for me to worry about. Just order one if you want one."
"Alright!" Mittelt cheerfully went to order one for herself.
'Small price to pay for their joy and affection.' Leo justified his unnecessary spending and consoled himself.
Indeed, if this were to continue. He would run out of money to feed these mouths in no time. He would need ways to earn money. A lot of money.
[I recommend the Host try to check his own profile. There will be a solution for Host's problem.]
'I can check my own profile? How?' Leo was surprised and curious now that his System mentioned it.
[Look at the Host's own face on a reflective surface and use 'Observe'.]
Leo immediately looks around for a reflective surface like a mirror or something. He found none nearby until he remembered his phone. He quickly whipped out his phone and used the selfie camera to look at his own face before using 'Observe' on himself.
[Name: Leonis Ashford (Rayford William)
Race: Human(?)
Physique: 34
Mind: 13
Charisma: 5
Luck: 109
Skill: Electrokinesis(Novice)
Utility Skill: Cooking(Adept), Cleaning(Novice)
Lolimancer Exclusive Skill: Attack Boost, Shield, Heal
Innate Ability:
Usurper of Luck, Host of the Paleblood, Hunter's Dream]
"Huh?" Leo looks confused at his luck stat, wondering how it is that high until he sees his ability.
[Usurper of Luck - Small chance to steal luck. May consume Luck stat to trigger a lucky occurrence.]
Now he knows the source of his stigma as the Bearer of Misfortune. It was this ability all along. It steals luck from people around him for himself. As for why he is unaffected is because he is the one stealing away those luck. He understands now how he can survive through explosion, fire and gunfire. It's because of this ability.
"Leo? Are you alright?" Mittelt looked worried when Leo stared at his phone very intensely.
"Ah. It's nothing." Leo replied and saw the crepes were done and waiting to be paid.
Leo paid for the crepes before continuing their journey to the supermarket. Along the way, his mind is occupied with his ability.
"Can't I just buy a lottery ticket and win big with my ability?" Leo finally found the answer.
[Took you long enough to figure it out, Host. But Host is correct. His ability can be triggered to force a lucky event to occur like suddenly winning the jackpot.]
'Isn't that a little too overpowered?' Leo asks while he grabs a trolley and marches into the supermarket with the two girls on his side. One is curious and another is excited just to spend time with such mundane activities.
[This ability isn't omnipotent, Host. It can only raise the probability of a lucky situation to occur. Not creating a lucky situation out of nowhere.]
Leo hummed while pushing the trolley across different isles. When Leo went by the sweets and snacks isle, Leo could already see the brightly shining eyes of Ophis checking out bunch of different sweets.
Yet, his nightmare had only begun.
———
On his way back from the supermarket, he lead everyone on a slight detour into the industry area where Mittelt said she felt Stray Devil.
"Is Stray Devils really that common to be found?" Leo asked curiously as he wanted to learn more about the supernatural world.
"Yeah, it's not hard to figure out why if you know how the Devil's treat Reincarnated Devils. They can literally be killed for something as simple as speaking out of turn." Mittelt snorted in disdain at the Devil and crossed her arms to show her disapproval of their methods. "Also, the Heiress of Gremory that is supposed to govern this town isn't doing a great job at dealing with the Stray Devils either. Most of the time, they only realized when there were already high death tolls."
"Is that so…" Leo frowned as he went into a momentary daze.
Leo instantly remembered the time he spent in the Hunter's Dream and the City of Yharnam. A plague created due to the greed of few. Just like the Stray Devil. Humans become beasts that prey on their former kins like a scourge, just like the Stray Devils.
Leo comes to a halt when he is standing at the gate of a warehouse. His nose can smell the wafting smell of blood intoxicating that makes his blood excited and rush into his head.
'Ī̶̯̥̜̪̻̯́̅̕t̸̛̞'̵̧͈̦́͜s̷̛̟̘̱̩̥̮͛͂̏̈́ ̸͈͈̺̪̏t̵̗̳̊̓͝h̷̹͎̍̍͘͠e̸͔̦̓̅͝ ̸̨͙͎͍͕̭̑̽̿͑͝͠s̸̱̟͈̯̑m̸͙͙͗̃ę̵̰͇̻̺̀̎̾̈l̷̠̅l̷̬̝̯̘̟͆͛́ ̸̢̗̯̣̺̣͂̀̉̈̕ơ̶̢̞͕̚͘f̵̣̻͈̞̯̘͂͑̎ ̵͙̞̅a̶̞͍͔͎̜͑̌͛͠ ̶̘̲̐͌̾p̸̪̣̺̺̋̐̈̃̂͝r̴̨̟͍̖̲̲͂͋̔e̶̡͂ý̸͈͖͉̞̋!'
"Leo!"
Leo suddenly woke up from his daze when Mittelt shook his body in a panic which woke him up.
"Are you alright, Leo? Your mouth was bleeding!" Mittelt quickly pulled Leo lower and checked on his mouth.
"It's… nothing." Leo said with a reassuring smile but somehow, neither Mittelt or Ophis is convinced but Leo insisted he is.
"Should I eliminate that Stray Devil?" Mittelt guessed Leo's intention and offered to help when she created a light spear in her hand.
Leo smiled helplessly. Mittelt is really eager to help. Or rather, protect him that it's too endearing yet somewhat frustrating. He is aware that none really knew his strength he gained in the Hunter's Dream and Yharnam. So, it's understandable they didn't really think Leo is any different than a normal human except slightly stronger than the average.
"No, I want to kill it myself." Leo said and patted their head. It has a relaxing effect which calms his agitated mind.
"Eh! B-But!" Leo didn't allow Mittelt to finish her words with his finger placed on her lips.
"Is your trust for me really that little? Do you really think I would foolishly challenge something I have no confidence to win against?" Leo spoke softly so his words wouldn't be mistaken as scolding because Mittelt is quite sensitive.
"See, even Ophis have more trust than you." Leo points at Ophis that was munching on chocolate chips Leo bought for her the whole time and didn't stop Leo at all.
In Ophis' mind, she is probably wondering when Leo will get this done and return to make dinner.
"But Fa- Leo didn't have Holy Power. Stray Devils are stronger than usual because they lose the restraint that keeps them human. With my Holy Power, I can kill it quickly and safely." Mittelt still insisted and was on the verge of tearing up and desperate as if she was afraid of something.
"Who said I didn't have Holy Power?" Leo said in surprise and created a small spear that looked more like an arrow with Holy Power.
"Eh?" Mittelt suddenly stops hugging his thigh to stop him and looks at the arrow made of Holy Power on Leo's palm.
"This! When did this happen? I am sure Fa- Leo didn't have a trace of Holy power a week ago!" Mittelt quickly holds Leo's palm and checks his body.
"This really is Holy Power! But how? No! I am glad…" Tears of joy flowed down her cheek as she repeatedly said she was glad and almost fell to her knees if Leo didn't catch her on time.
Leo didn't understand why she reacted like this. But for Mittelt that was wracked by guilt, thinking she had caused her Father to lose all his power, this is very happy news. The guilt she bottled up finally fell apart and dissolved before it was replaced with joy.
"Alright. Alright. I'm sorry for keeping this away from you. So, no need to cry like that." Leo feels helpless not knowing how to console her.
"Help me look after her for a moment, Ophis. I will kill the Stray Devil before it escapes."
The Stray Devil probably noticed the little drama that happened outside its doorstep. Leo left Mittelt in Ophis' care before he ran into the warehouse.
"My weapon please." Leo called before a silvery white mist covered his hands and the weapons Leo summoned appeared.
As he approaches the only entrance into the warehouse, the smell of blood is thick enough to make him nauseous, not even Yahrnam had given him such experience.
"I wonder how many victims had it claimed." Leo's eyes sharpened and took a quick breath before he kicked open the door next to the main gate and the coppery stench just hit his nose like a speeding truck.
His special eyes pierce through the veil of darkness and saw piles of corpses from young to old. Their gut ripped open and devoured, all wearing the face of terror even after they died.
"Human? Hahaha! It's great! You save me the time to go out and hunt for my next meal." A voice echoes in the warehouse as Leo's eyes dart everywhere to find the Stray Devil.
Even after Leo looks everywhere on the ground, he cannot find the Stray Devil. Then he realized, the Stray Devil is probably above!
"Kekeke. So, you found me. But it's too late!"
Leo barely lifted his head up and saw a giant spider with the top half body of a human attached to it. The Stray Devil was already directly above him and jumped down when Leo noticed her.
"Die!"
The Stray Devil roared and leveraged its spear-like limbs to stab Leo. But before it made an impact, Leo dissolved into a mist and reformed outside of the place it aimed.
"Me die? I think it's the opposite." Leo wore an expressionless face. His enemy does not deserve mercy from him now.
Activating the mechanism, the Saw Cleaver fling opens its blade into a big and brutal tool for butchering. A serrated edge on the back and razor sharp edge on the front. Leo twists his body to the right as blue sparks appear on his hand which coat his weapon with lightning before he swung his blade on the Arachne monster.
"Gyahhhh!" The monster howled in pain while being fried by the lightning.
Leo thought he had won because usually, he won't even need to resort to his lightning power to defeat an enemy. Until it suddenly bursts out its Demonic Power to shrug off the lightning.
"You! I'll make sure to give you a slow and painful death!"
The Arachne hybrid then leaped up and shot its web at Leo but he immediately dived to the side with Quickening. The web phased through his figure and landed on the concrete floor on the back which dissolved the floor.
Leo aimed his Hunter Pistol on the Arachne's spider abdomen while it's still in midair before dashing forward and slashed at the hole made by the gunshot with his Saw Cleaver's serrated edge to tear its abdomen open.
"KhaAaAAA!" The Stray Devil screeched inhumanly with pain and agony.
Leo retreated back, confused about what just happened. He is very sure that whatever is happening is not due to him tearing the spider abdomen open. It was something else.
"YOU! AAGH! YOU POISONED ME!" The Stray Devil mustered her last bit of strength and screamed hoarsely at Leo.
"Poisoned? How?" Leo knew neither his Saw Cleaver or Hunter Pistol had poison.
"Wait, could it be…" Leo remembers his other ability, Host of the Paleblood.
[Host is correct. Paleblood is not a poison. It's the blood of the Great One, the Moon Presence, Flora. However for lesser beings not made to bear a Great One's blood will meet a horrific end as their weak flesh devoured by the blood.]
That explains a lot…
The Hunter Pistol or any firearms use a special bullet that Leo does not understand how it works. But to make it, it needs only two ingredients, his blood and quicksilver or mercury. Mixing them would magically create Quicksilver Bullets which are very effective against the beast that roams Yharnam. But apparently it's also effective against Stray Devil.
Leo looks at the Stray Devil's corpse that erodes like it's being digested in a stomach as blood bleeds out its skin and slowly becomes thin until all that is left is bones and skin.
It's hard on Leo's stomach even when he has already seen a lot of death both in his previous and current world.
Then he looks at the pile of half eaten corpses that are the victims of this Stray Devil. Leaving it for the police is not an option. It would cause massive panic if this gruesome and gory scene were leaked to the public.
He takes out two oil urns and throws one on the pile of corpses and another on the Stray Devil's corpse before he swiftly leaves as this warehouse soon turns into blazing inferno from the special oil mixture.
"We are done here. Let's go home." Leo regrouped with Mittelt and Ophis outside that were waiting for him.
"Mhm! Let's go home." Mittelt and Ophis nod as they see the tired expression on Leo's face.
Ophis tugged his shirt and Leo quickly turned to her.
"Another cookie please?" Ophis asks while showing the empty packaging in her hand.
"That's enough sweets for tonight. You will upset your stomach if you eat too much." Leo lectured Ophis and told her no. Which made her pouting along the way home.
—————
If you readers feel generous or want to appreciate my work and effort, feel free to tip me here.
https://ko-fi.com/lazy_kat_aoi