The sun was shining bright in the morning, its sunlight reflecting on the golden frame of the holy Baal in Aefrine's hands. It has been a few days since Aefrine and Bloody Mary teamed up. And it turned out that Mary was a she after all. Aefrine was surprised to wake up to see a tall lady with a beautiful face under the horrifying helmet. Small nose, red vivid eyes, and soft black hair. She was probably the most beautiful person Aefrine has seen yet so far, not like he was interested in any of that. If anything, their trip so far was anything but comfortable.
Mary was a very quiet person, and when she spoke, she only gave objective statements. Despite her face's beauty, it never showed any emotion, nor would it move the slightest unless she was talking or eating...
Aefrine didn't like this. Even though they have a deal, Aefrine didn't trust her in the slightest. He got tricked by a well-known raider, and even God wouldn't bother to save him if he trusted blindly a well-known murderer. The scene of Afli getting chopped was still vivid in his mind.
He has two keys, but he feared that Mary might just crush Larry's skull open to get them while they were asleep. That is why Larry would 'sleep' the further he could from her.
That is also why he tried to get as much as basic information about her, but her attitude was so unhelpful. At one point, he wondered if she was doing it on purpose or that she was simply a cold-hearted, calculated killer. He also feared that if he could make her mad without knowing, since her face never gave a hint. He ultimately decided to just give up and give her the silence treatment because even when he used soul hearing, he could only find boredom always boredom... like, how is that possible?
"Where is Larry?" Asked Mary as she was dragging something white and slimy with her hooksword.
"He is going to get some food for us." Replied Aefrine, who was sitting while patting Yuta's head who was next to him.
"Larry is an incompetent hunter, as he is very rash. And to add on top, he has an enchanted mask that creates and shoots concentrated beams of fire, which makes the possibility of him drawing unwanted attention from predators and enemies alike very high."
"Yeah,...I warned him not to make too much noise, he would be fine. He was just...bored of sitting all day while you hunt. "
"Boredom is not an excuse for such rash decision."
You don't say ...?
"Anyway, what is that ?"
"This is a dri-shoom, a very rare shoom which is highly profitable."
"Well, I suppose you are going to sell it in the next town we arrive at."
"Correct. But I also will be using its heart."
"What do you mean?"
Aefrine examined the dri-shroom. It was the size of Larry. Its trunk was white and wide with two huge black dots and a half-circle hole from which a liquid was spoiling out. It reassembled a face. And the top of it was like a hat with dark purple and bright yellow colours. The yellow part reassembled a skull, or maybe Aefrine was just imagining it...
Mary threw in front of him and took a knife and a small hool. She opened the back of the shroom, and from it, she pulled out a small purple heart. It was the size of a cup, but it was beating so fast with white liquid. And even faster was Mary, who put it quickly in a glass bottle. Soon after, she cut her hand a bit and poured the blood that came out in the bottle. The white blood started turning red, and then she put her finger on the top and shaked it really fast. Finally, she pulled the heart out and put it in leather packaging while poured the bottle on his shoulder without any warning.
"Oww! It stings! What are you doing?"
"Your shoulder is healing as twice as fast as it should. Therefore, I am simply pouring this potion so you avoid any infections. It does have a stinging effect, though."
"Yeah, thanks for the warning."
Mary didn't reply. She went back to the shoom and started wrapping it endlessly in a big leather packaging over each other.
"Isn't it enough?"
"The Dri-shroom is a very poisonous creature. It would be necessary to at least wrap in five thick leather packaging to ensure it doesn't harm anyone."
"But you just used its...heart on my shoulder?"
"Yes, the Dri-shroom is very useful because from it many potions can be made, its heart alone with some blood can help heal simple wounds and protect from sicknesses."
"I see. You know a lot about the potions..."
"My knowledge about potions doesn't exceed a basic knowledge about the making of the most important potions."
"Ok... well...that is great...er why are your teeth like that?"
"Eh?"
This is the closest they had as a conversation, and Aefrine wanted to make it long enough to see if he could get any useful from her. But even he knew that was such a stupid and rude thing to say about the fact that Mary has two long fangs, far longer than they should be...
"I am sorry, I didn't mean to say it like that."
"I will tell you if you want to do an information exchange."
"A what exchange?"
"An information exchange, I answer your questions, and you answer mine."
"Ok."
"I am a half-vampire."
"What?"
"I think that I am a half-vampire."
"Wait. You mean, vampires that are ferocious human-like creatures that drink blood but die immediately from the sun? Like those types of vampires? And also, what do you mean 'I think' and 'half', I don't get it..."
"Yes, those types of vampires. And I said 'I think' because I am not sure of it, and I said 'half' because despite having long fangs that exceed any normal length of a human tooth, the sunlight doesn't affect me."
"But, I thought vampires aren't real, at least at my village we thought so."
"There are some mentioning of vampires in various ways in many civilizations, but all of them date back to one thousand years ago, the holy bal does mention them but the majority of scholars say it isn't the popular imagination of blood-creatures but just a group of bad people. So, there is no proof for the existence of vampires except me."
"So, that is why you!- -"
"If you concluded that I have killed people for food, then your conclusion is wrong. I am an assassin."
"What ? What is an assassin?"
"An assassin is a person who kills people for money without bringing much attention..."
"But, your name is well-known, I think... there is bounty for you...and and..."
"Yes, I was probably unknown in general to the public, but after I retired, it seems that somebody sold me out."
"Wait, you retired? "
"Yes, it has been approximately half a year since I retired from being an assassin
"For how long have you been ...killing people?"
"Eleven years."
"Oh...OK."
"..."
"And you are sure that you never drinked blood...?"
Mary opened her mouth for a moment, but no words came out. Then she answered:
"No."
"Then why did you kill like seventy-five people... was the money really worth it ?"
"I don't understand the question. "
"Don't you feel anything about the people you killed?"
"No."
"How? How could you just...kill them like that. I can't get over Afli dying like that...I-i"
"If you mean that boy, I find rather strange that you feel in such a way about somebody who died trying to kill you."
"That doesn't make it OK for him to be killed. Like you can't just kill people..."
"Death is a natural phenomenon. All people die from different causes."
"That isn't an excuse for killing. If you didn't do anything, those people could have beautiful lives and make the world a better place..."
"Or a worse place. It works both ways."
"So, killing people for you is as normal as breathing?"
"Yes."
"Why do people care so much about money..."
"I don't do it for money,"
"Then for what ? Did you hate those people?"
"No, before I receive the mission, I usually don't know anything about them. Just like your quests as raiders."
"Then why?"
"I... don't know..."
"What? What do you mean you don't know ? You ended many lives for no reason. Are you crazy? Just say you don't - "
"Enough!"
For the first time, her face showed emotion. It was a brief moment. The best Aefrine could say that it was contempt, as she looked rather annoyed than angry.
OK, I think I should calm down... I gone too far...like, I have become Alma... but she wasn't wrong, and, and...nevermind...
"I am sorry -"
"I have answered many of your questions. Therefore, it is my turn."
Is she changing the subject ?
"Oh, yeah, sure, go ahead, ask..."
"Why does the Hirohasm empire want you?"
"What do you mean ?"
"The Hirohasmeans have offered 3 million duvats for you alive and 1 million for your dead body..."
"Oh, so it was them! Ok, that makes sense... it is a funny story, actually... I had a fight with someone called Ryuji -"
"The shogun?"
"Yes...and I took from him the keys of Fate... so he probably wants them back..."
"I doubt that you have the capability of having a direct confrontation with Ryuji and yet surviving."
Eh?
"What is that supposed to mean ?"
"Based on your current state, you would stand no chance against Ryuji."
"Hey, I am a B-rank raider, you know."
"I also doubt that."
"What?! Here is the ID card. There, B-rank! I took an entire test to get that rank..."
"Even as a B-rank, I doubt you could survive a fight with the shogun. It is said that he had a sword that could cut the strongest armour."
"Oh, yes, I heard him say something about that. I am not sure about it through, I only saw it cut through old building, yet it didn't cut my bow."
"How do you make your bow?"
"Oh...I don't really know..., I just think to make it, and it appears. It has always been like that since I was born."
"Since when, you have been able to use it ?"
"Oh, good question... I think..."
Suddenly, the black figure appeared, not far away, lurking in the shadows of the giant trees. He stood there, staring into Aefrine like a predator approaching it prey... Aefrine stood up in response, breathing heavily, clutching on his shoulder.
"Are you OK?"
Mary turned around. There was nothing. Aefrine blinked for a moment, and even him could no longer see such figure...
"Nothing...it is just..." Replied Aefrine while wiping off his sweat."it always was with me , I don't have a memory where I didn't know how to use it."
"I see. You have quite inhuman soul magic capabilities."
"Nah, everyone says that the bow is a very unique skill or something... but I don't see anything in it."
"Aefrine, soul magic is very complex magic. Only a few could harness it for a great usage without using any other types of magic, and all of them need enchanted tools. Your body allows you to use soul magic to form a weapon, which in itself is very unique, and also, you don't need any enchanted tools to do it. Such ability is totally unheard of except in fairytales."
"Really....? I mean if you so..."
"Can I see it?"
"Eh, OK."
"It is made of pure soul magic...does it have a weak spot?"
"What?"
"Spirits have a weak spot that if attacked physically, the whole spirit would get destroyed. "
'Oh, my bow doesn't have one, I think. It isn't really a spirit..."
"Then, it is a very deadly weapon since the arrows are also made of pure soul magic, it would be hard to counter since spirits can't be harmed unless with soul magic. So, the only effective way to deal with your arrows is by dodging them."
"But you just straight tanked them like there were nothing..."
"That is because my armour is enchanted to block soul based attacks. So, my armour is built to counter your bow. But my armour is very expensive and nobody actually bothers to wear a full armour against soul magic, since it isn't very practical."
"Then why do you wear one ?"
"Because as an expert assassin, I have no trouble with any type of magic, except soul magic. It is very unpredictable and makes things complicated most of the time, so I took a measure to ensure that it wouldn't matter on the mission."
"But why don't you just cut through them?"
"It is impossible to cut through a spirit unless with another spirit.."
"But..."
"What?"
"Well, I have a...friend who dodged them like you said would make more sense, but Ryuji...he simply shattered them like there were ordinary arrows..."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I saw him with my own eyes."
"Then he can cut through anything..."
"But he didn't manage to cut my bow, like he himself was surprised and asked me about my bow..."
"Then his attack potential isn't infinite, what about Larry?"
"Eh?"
How can she change the subject so quickly?
"Since when have you tamed Larry?"
"Well, I don't know what you mean by tamed but we have been friends for like months now..."
"Then, how did you become friends with a demon?"
"What? He is a skeleton, not a demon..."
"Aefrine, there is no such thing as a skeleton. Your friend is a demon."