Shuraba

"Enough, enough, just leave me here..."

After saying goodbye with Adrian, Zed limped out of the market, supported by a tall figure. They made their way to a small grove on the side of the inn.

Even though most of the leaves had already fallen, Zed found a spot where the sunlight was blocked.

*Thud*

He collapsed on the ground, leaning against a tree and made a sour face.

The one helping him was Rai. Zed had prepared a large cloak for her, which could hide her arm-length claws underneath. Although her height was still an issue in the city, in a less crowded and ungoverned area, Zed could let her out.

Taking out the blood bank spore, the red blood cell wriggled in his palm, and Zed frowned, sensing the information appeared in his mind.

[Weekly Ability]

[Shadow Soul]

["Luck is the opportunity of shadow." - Socrates]

[You can use shadow to mentally oppress ordinary creatures, making these animals remember your words. The effect depends on the class difference. Oh, by the way, humans are what we call animals.]

[Note: You still don't have a shadow. Let me tell you quietly, don't use this ability too much, otherwise, the world might gain another vampire somehow.]

Zed lay on his side in frustration. Even moving his arm was difficult now, and his legs were enduring intense pain. This loss of control over his own body was not the first time he had experienced it because all his abilities were associated with the blood bank spore. The side effects under sunlight were just getting worse and worse each time.

"Why can't these meetings and troubles happen at night? Damn.. Do they really have to drag me into this shit during the day, and outdoors, no less?"

Zed could only slightly open his mouth and complain in anguish. Then he looked at Rai, his silent and loyal protector.

"Well, at least I have you guarding me when I can't move. Thank you. Just transform back into a spore quickly, I'm afraid Lucy might come out and see..."

Rai seemed to understand and nodded. The golden color in her cloudy eyes seemed to shine even brighter. She didn't like sunny days either, but unlike Zed, she particular preferred overcast rainy days. She didn't need to cultivate or eat, her power seemed to steadily increase as long as she regularly went out on those rainy days. If there were thunderstorms, even better.

Just as Zed struggled to raise his hand to transform Rai back into a spore, he suddenly felt a chill pass over the back of his head. At the same time, both he and Rai looked towards the depths of the grove...

As Zed sighed, he knew that this day had finally come when Lucy's slender figure trembled into view.

"Lucy, I know you're in a hurry, but please don't be in a hurry yet—"

"Why?!"

She straightly interrupted in cold.

"It's not..." Zed tried to explain.

"Is this why you come back so late every day?!"

Lucy's voice was filled with the unspoken forbidden anger.

"I mean..."

Zed hesitated, struggling to finish the sentence.

"Is this the danger you mentioned?!"

Lucy's gaze fixed on Rai, who was already standing in front of Zed, their eyes seemly had a short clash, but Zed was quite sure that Rai was just searching for any threaten around.

After that, Lucy nodded firmly.

"Good."

She steeled herself with light laugh.

In that moment, Lucy raised her hand, and a gust of storm swept around her. The large trees nearby creaked and cracked, as if on the verge of breaking. With a flick of her silver sleeve, she disappeared.

Once her figure vanished, all the trees around them finally collapsed, except for the one standing beside Zed.

Zed's face turned quickly in few minutes. He immediatly withdrew Rai, who had been on guard, and she transformed into a golden spore that fell into Zed's hand.

His body gradually recovered its functionality as he felt the side effects of using his abilities under direct sunlight was dispersing.

People in the vicinity heard the commotion and slowly gathered around.

Coughing amidst the dust, Zed shook his head slowly.

And again, he got disappointed.

"Does this kind of thing really have to happen while I'm dealing with other matters? All in same day?"

Zed cursed under his breath.

But he only thought for a moment, then decided not to change his mind.

All these events, whether the killings outside the city or the conflicts and threats within, were too dangerous to have Lucy by his side. His methods of dealing with things would become distorted and unsuitable for survival in this apocalyptic world.

"Instead of worrying about that, I should focus on completing the tasks as quickly as possible..."

"Not enough, but getting closer..."

With this thought in mind, Zed's gaze grew even more steel.

"But it's true that I haven't been spending much time with Lucy lately. I need to find a way to balance it all." His mind also drifted into their small... family in this apocalyptic world.

As he contemplated, a clear and melodious voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Zed, is that you?"

Quickly getting up, Zed stretched his shoulders and brushed off the dust in the air, only to realize that the surrounding area was now filled with a crowd. However, when they saw that the center of attention was just a young man amidst the debris, they lost interest.

No guards or city defense, no alarm bells ringing. That meant there was no major event happening. After the ban on firearms, the number of violent incidents in the city had indeed decreased significantly. Moreover, rumors were spreading on the streets and alleys about a particularly skilled "mastermind" in Newford. People were even starting to forget about the shadow thief, and the newspapers no longer used it as a "bait."

But clearly, some people couldn't forget.

"Zed, the masked guy left a message for you, saying to meet him at the old place," said the innkeeper, closing eyes and shrugging her shoulders, added:

"I have no idea where the old place is, but he seemed urgent."

While nodding, Zed handed her a golden coin as he passed by.

"Cheers..."

Then, he reached into his pocket and touched the golden spore again, striding quickly towards the other end of the city.

It seems there are some meat for Rai today.