The shadow man looked at Redd for a while without saying a word before he sighed and said.
"Follow me."
Saying that the shadow man turned around and started walking up. During this whole time, he didn't spare the people sprawled everywhere even a glance. In fact, he didn't even seem to think they were worth spending a second near him.
"Stay here," Redd said to Limmy.
"Hey! You're really in huge trouble! Maleck knows that you killed his follower!" The latter replied.
"Hahahaha, don't worry, he probably won't try to kill me."
"Why are you so sure?"
"Because why would he want to see me and even send someone to bring me to him when he could've just attacked me right here and now."
"That's… Oddly logical."
"Yeah, so don't sweat it, and keep an eye on these people."
"O-Ok." Limmy nodded his head profusely.
After that, Redd walked up to the main hall following the shadow man.
"Hey, what's your name?" He asked the dark figure. "Also, you're powers are super cool! You could easily be a Hunter in every sense of the word!"
A hunter is someone who ambushes his target and kills it swiftly in most cases and this man had the perfect ability for that. If it wasn't for Redd's sharp senses honed by living in the forest for the better part of his life, he could've easily been killed.
'Well, if I'm going to get ambushed, this one here would be the one to do it, most likely.' He thought to himself as he hummed casually.
"The name is Roma." He said.
"Roma? Interesting. My name is Redd."
The conversation swiftly ended after that exchange as the two continued climbing from one floor to another. Taking a good look at each floor, Redd was indeed sure that those who were inside their rooms didn't dare to go outside at all.
Perhaps it was fear or maybe they just wanted to stay away from trouble. In either case, they were a bunch that he couldn't probably meet.
Eventually, the two reached the third floor and Redd could finally take a peek at it. The place was quiet, just like the other floors except the difference is that Redd felt something weird emanating from this floor. It was as if there were multiple presences watching him.
However, these presences didn't feel like humans, he couldn't quite describe the feeling. The feeling was new even for Redd.
'Now this is odd.' He thought casually as he continued climbing to the fourth floor. The fourth one was luxurious in every sense of the word. The pathway was paved with a beautiful soft carpet, chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and the walls were made out of thick, expensive wood.
'I can't feel those eyes anymore.'
Eventually, the two reached the fifth and last floor and it was as beautiful as Redd expected if not even more. It only had 5 rooms in it but each one looked so unique that he could only wonder how such a drastic difference between floors of the same ship could be this huge.
Roma walked through the corridor till he reached a particular room with a shiny door that looked like it was made out of gold.
Then, he knocked on the door. A few seconds later, someone opened it. When Redd saw who it was, he was quite surprised.
'It's that girl from the morning.'
Seeing her in there, Redd's entire view of the girl shifted instantly. At first, he was simply curious about her and her mysterious powers. However, he now completely disliked her.
'So she did work for him. I should've thought better.'
The girl seemed to notice the slight shift in his expression but she didn't say or do anything as she simply let Roma in.
"The interior of the room was big, way too big in fact. It was at least 6 or 7 times the size of Limmy's room.
Inside, there was a living room section, a kitchen, a balcony that had a view of the sea, and a King-size bed.
However, Redd ignored all of that and focused on the man sitting on the sofa, casually hugging a woman to his side.
The woman wore revealing clothes and had beautiful blonde hair. The two were kissing carefreely, ignoring the fact that other than Redd, Roma, and the silver-haired girl, there was another fat man, eating an ungodly amount of candies in the kitchen as if his life depended on it. The sound of his teeth crushing the candy echoed in the whole room.
Redd looked at the man and the woman kissing before his expression changed from casual to disgust.
"Eww."
Silence. The moment Redd made that sound, everything halted and everyone looked at him. Even the gluttonous fat man stopped his feast and looked at him.
Finally, the kissing couple also stopped their making out session and stared at Redd.
'So this is the Maleck guy?'
Appearance-wise, Maleck wasn't how Redd expected him to look. He was rather lean, handsome, and with very soft features. If anything, he looked like a nice person rather than a monster. However, the boy knew that it was a facade the moment he felt his presence. That cold, menacing presence. It wasn't simply dangerous, it was also chaotic and incomprehensible as if this man was the incarnation of chaos itself.
The mere feeling of his aura was like prickling needles stabbing Redd's skin. That was a new feeling for him.
"Hmm? Hahahaha, is that supposed to be your 'Hello'?" Maleck immediately smiled at Redd as he said.
"Is kissing that woman supposed to be your 'Welcome to my place'?" Redd asked with a smile.
"True, you have a point, boy. But, what can I say? My girlfriend here is too captivating for me to resist. Isn't that right, love?" He said as he looked at the woman again. The latter nodded her head as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"I heard you killed Karnos."
"Yeah, I did."
"Is that so? Why?" He asked as he looked at Redd with a serious expression.
"Because he attacked me first."
"He attacked you for a reason, didn't he?"
"I was cooking in the ship's kitchen. I used none of your food or ingredients, though." Redd shrugged.
Hearing that, Maleck nodded his head before he stood up and approached Redd slowly. When the others saw that, their faces turned a little serious. Especially the silver-haired girl who seemed rather tense for a second.
Maleck closed the distance between Redd and him, towering over the boy easily. However, the latter didn't back down and stared Maleck in the eyes.
"If this is your attempt to scare me, it's useless. I don't fear you." Redd replied with a serious tone.
"Why should I believe that? I can see fear in your eyes."
"I fear nothing."
The two stared at each other for a while before Maleck suddenly exploded into laughter.
"Hahahahaha! I like you, kid! You have some balls. Most of the idiots that meet me end up licking my shoes in fear. People like you are rare and far between."
He then tapped Redd's shoulder a few times.
"You have fought Karnos and killed him so he deserved to die. How about you take his place and work for me? We have food, warm rooms, luxurious clothes, and even some games to play."
"I killed your friend and… You want me to work for you?" Redd asked with widened eyes.
"He was weak. Weak people die, don't they?"