38: Hatred

"Me?? I-I just want to stay by your side..." Luna said quietly.

I look at you; you look at me. Everyone looked at each other in silence and didn't know what to say.

A second later, as if she realized her mistake, Luna's face turned red as a tomato and she stammered and immediately corrected herself.

"I-I mean stay by your side, guys."

Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and nodded with understanding. Except for Caleb, who has lived a hundred worlds. He's not dense and could understand the intricacies of human psychology. He's not a damn anime protagonist. However, he didn't know what to feel about Luna's crush on him.

'It might be admiration? Now, I finally know why she always cares about me. Damn it! This body just has to look like a Webtoon character!?'

Caleb has to agree that the body he took was above average, if not for his pale skin. Of course, pale skin has also its own charm. Vampires are popular for a reason...

Luna finally recovered, and her face returned to normal. Then she opened her mouth to ask:

"Clifford, how about you?"

'Well, at least she knew how to change the flow of conversation.'

With a chuckle, Caleb set aside his thoughts. Crush or not, he didn't intend to dwell on things at the moment. With the threat of death hanging over his head every moment, he couldn't afford to. Not to mention his damn age. A freakin million or even billion years. Actually, age has already lost its meaning to him. What's there to count when he can't even count? It had already turned into a mere numerical value for him.

Then there's also the uncertainty of how long he would stay alive in the world. He was a traveler, bound to become alone. Caleb knew it; he was well aware of it. How could he afford to love a woman? When he was constantly getting reincarnated to a different world? It would be too sad just to leave every woman alone when he knew that he wouldn't stay long.

Of course, there's a solution to everything. As long as he was strong enough, or if he could discover a function that might enable him to bring others with him. Then he can give it a chance. After all, he wasn't a saint. He prefers to have someone beside him. Not to mention a beautiful woman. However, presently, he has to know his priorities and those are concerns for the future. Now, he just needs to survive and become stronger, escape the vicious cycle first!

"I want to eradicate every single Apokalip walking on our planet!!"

Such a strong declaration made Caleb, who was in his own world, wake up in his daze. He stared at Clifford in surprise who was currently clenching and gritting his teeth so hard that blood started to seep out from them. Caleb even felt a strong killing intent in his words.

The group started to get concerned. Andre tried to immediately calm down Clifford who snapped out of his abnormal outburst. Fatty, on the other hand, had already distanced himself one meter away from Clifford.

Such a hatred... Caleb understood that it was due to how Clifford witnessed his parents die in front of him being eaten by Apokalips alive. Andre might be the protagonist, but Clifford has the potential to become a Villain or Anti-hero. Well, he also has some possibility of becoming an Antagonist.

'Damn... Where did I find myself in?'

...

Just like that, the morning came. The sun shone brightly on the lonely house. The dark clouds parted, giving way to the rays that pushed out the darkness.

In the lonely wooden house. Inside one of the rooms. A pale young boy opened his eyes. He stood up and went in front of the mirror, yawned, and then stretched his stiff body caused by a long night's sleep. He looked at the mirror in front of him and saw the dark circles just beneath his eyes.

They slept last night just talking about anything that came to their mind. It could be considered a goodbye before his leave. Due to this, Caleb became more and more familiar with what kind of character they have and their aspirations.

First, Luna, who has a little crush on him and just wants to stay by his side. It beats Caleb what she saw on him, or is it his predecessor that she likes? He didn't even know how the original Johan behave in front of Luna due to his damned hazy memory.

Then there's Fatty, who he thought at first just liked eating but didn't expect to have a dream of becoming the most popular chef or Destiny chef. Among the four, Caleb enjoyed Fatty's company the most because the bastard was naturally funny and the realest among anyone.

As for Clifford, Caleb felt complicated. The guy was kind, yes, but he has a bit of a dark personality that seeks vengeance. Such a guy wasn't someone Caleb wanted to associate himself with. Those who step on the path of vengeance are bound to cause chaos and step upon the bodies of others. All in all, Caleb will still help in the future if ever Clifford finds himself in trouble. However, that's it.

Lastly, there was Andre who has a far-reaching goal and a positive mindset. He has a different spirit! Caleb could feel that Andre had the same mindset as him. However in terms of friendship. For example, Andre might sacrifice his life for his friend, but Caleb would surely not.

Just like that, Caleb started his day with a tea. He did his morning routine, such as bathing, eating his breakfast, and organizing his room. After that, he went out of the house and saw the hunting party waiting for him.

They greeted him with a good morning. Every one of them wore backpacks while carrying weapons. Just like Caleb himself. As for his weapon? It was an Odachi that Fushigiro gave to him as a welcoming gift.

With that, they set off. Caleb looked at the sun that was about to rise to its peak with a determined expression. 'Here I come... This is my first step to becoming a Destiny!'