78 Fear of Hybrids

The Ice Wing Stronghold is a towering fortress a tad larger than the Scarlet Blood Stronghold. Once the group approached the vicinity, they could feel the temperature drop. Its name, the Ice Wing Stronghold, was a fitting name for the fortress.

"Please head in, we don't do body checks here, but please do note that biting someone is a crime in here. So, even as a joke, don't do it." Eugene casually explained as they walked towards the entrance heavily guarded by Bulwarks.

"Ah, Eugene, Karma, and Levi," The Bulwark greeted with a gruff voice. "Is everyone done dealing with the Omega Zombie?"

"Yep, we got survivors." Eugene jerked a thumb towards Kazuichi and his companions. "One's a Hound, the other one I don't know. The other two are humans."

While Eugene was explaining whether they were infected or not, the Bulwark was actually smiling. But when his gaze landed on Amaya and Tris, he frowned. It was as if he didn't want to welcome them in the stronghold.

"That's a pretty average haul. I just hope they won't—" Before he could continue what he was about to say, a pungent and threatening smell came from either Tris or Amaya. Since the scent was too strong, he couldn't pinpoint whether it was coming from the younger sister or the older sister.

Apparently, since the Bulwark was too attuned to his identity as a Hybrid, he was severely affected by Amaya's scent as a Canary. "Kaghhaghk~! What's that smell?" He exclaimed, cutting himself short.

"She's a Canary" Kazuichi calmly explained, patting Amaya's head and bringing her closer to him. He could tell that the Bulwark was fighting the urge to slap the living daylights out of Amaya.

"A Canary? That's pretty rare, and here I thought thinking they'd be useless." The Bulwark covered his nose as he spoke. "Send them in, welcome to the Ice Wing Stronghold," He greeted belatedly.

The other Bulwarks who were guarding the entrance, couldn't help but cover their noses as Amaya and Tris entered. They were also a bit bewildered at Kazuichi's existence since he smelled weird, unlike any other Hybrids. He was definitely a Hybrid, but they don't know what type of Hybrid he was.

From the get-go, Kazuichi could tell that there was something wrong with the stronghold— or rather, there was something oddly different about the place.

The Ice Wing Stronghold was unlike any other stronghold. it looked more like a regular portion of the city. With its normal streets and cozy bungalow homes, it was like arriving at a subdivision post-apocalypse.

Despite the hospitable nature of the stronghold, Kazuichi smelled the strong scent of hybrids. The heavily intense odor overpowered the smell of uninfected humans.

It was then that Kazuichi realized that the stronghold had more hybrids than uninfected humans.

All this time, Eugene was leading the way so they could meet the leader. At first, Kazuichi wanted to tell Eugene and the other Mercs that they belong to the Scarlet Blood Stronghold.

However, after careful consideration, he decided to meet with the stronghold leader of the Ice Wing Stronghold.

Halfway there, Eugene felt the unease encompassing the group. Based on Kazuichi's expression, he could tell that he was uncomfortable and wary of the stronghold. It was explainable though, since this was the first time they entered the Ice Wing Stronghold.

"You don't have to worry about anything, um, Kazuichi, was it?" Eugene said, patting Kazuichi on the shoulder. "Here in our stronghold, Hybrids are more welcome than the uninfected. Here, the Hybrids could take refuge instead of staying outside, facing the dangers of the horde and getting shunned by other strongholds."

"Humans are pretty naive. Some of the strongholds didn't even think about using Hybrids as a defense. You know, fight fire with fire." Eugene then heaved a sigh before he pointed at Karma and Levi.

Eugene could still recall the time when his group struggled to make ends meet. No shelter welcomed them because they were Hybrids. The gap between the humans and Hybrids got even larger when the Aberrants appeared, and with it came the instinctive fear of Hybrids aggravated.

Recently, there were even shelters that would kick out Hybrids in fear of them. And many shelters fell because the Hybrids sought to take revenge.

Then the cycle continued, and the hate towards Hybrids grew even worse.

Nevertheless, there were a select few who would welcome Hybrids with open arms. The Scarlet Blood Stronghold still coexist with Hybrids, but they hide it from the uninfected humans who were part of the Stronghold.

As for the Ice Wing Stronghold, they were especially tolerant of Hybrids. In fact, the ratio of humans to Hybrids was actually in favor of Hybrids.

"It was thanks to our stronghold leader that we were able to live here without worry. Without him, we'd still be roaming outside, dealing with the horde and Omega Zombies with little to no weapon to defend ourselves."

From what Kazuichi could gather, Eugene, Karma, and Levi were all part of the same team, and they were rescued as Hybrids who were staying outside.

'The leader of this stronghold sounds like a good guy.' Kazuichi thought to himself as he followed the trio's lead.

Amaya, Sano, and Tris trailed right behind Kazuichi. They didn't speak another word since they were suspicious about the place. They could sense that there was something wrong with the stronghold, but they didn't give Kazuichi the heads up for fear that the entire stronghold would turn on them.

After all, it would be better if they let off a friendly atmosphere so the stronghold would reciprocate it in return.

It wasn't like Kazuichi was not cautious of Eugene and the others. He was also doubting whether the stronghold was really peaceful and ideal. As such, he decided to meet with the stronghold leader first and then he'd take it from there.

A few minutes later, the group arrived in front of a normal-looking house by the far end of a street. It was a bungalow-type, and it looked slightly identical to the other houses surrounding it.

"Please head inside, the stronghold leader is waiting," Eugene advised, gesturing for them to go in before he excused himself with his group.