36 Chapter 36: The Eyes

"..."

"Robb!? Who are you guys!? What have you done!?"

With a knife plunged through his chest, the only thing Zero could really do was turn around to try and see who stabbed him in the back.

No… that wasn't really right. Zero could do anything he wanted– the blade barely did anything to him. In fact, if it wasn't for Alice screaming, Zero probably wouldn't have even noticed there was a blade on his chest as he was busy trying to determine where the scent of the slayer was coming from.

"..." His memory was a little weak, but Zero was sure that he had seen the man that stabbed him before. Was it… in the photo shown by Charlotte? If so, why did he stab Zero?

Why could he smell the slayer from Alice earlier? How could he smell it from her?

Zero's eyes then looked back and forth between the slayer and Alice. He was about to ask something, but before he could do so, the slayer suddenly pulled the knife and once again stabbed Zero; this time, through the stomach.

"N… No, Robb!"

"..." Zero stared at the blade for a few seconds, before he finally fell to the ground.

"..."

"..."

And a few seconds after, a very long and deep sigh echoed throughout the dark alleyway; followed by a small shushing sound.

"You didn't have to scream."

"W… what if he was stronger than you? I… I didn't want to risk–"

"You're a cold fucking vile bitch, you do know that, right?"

"Stop… stop talking, we… we need to dispose of the body."

"First– is this really your ex? How is he even alive? You said on the phone he doesn't remember anything?"

"The fuck does it matter? Stop asking so many questions. If Charlotte claims he is, then he probably is. You know, mother's intuition and all that… we can't risk anything."

"...Get the sack."

"W… why me!?"

"Can you shut up? Stop pretending like you haven't done this before."

[Reader of Fate: Craze the Third and Your Uncle Demon, says they hypothesized this.]

"..."

"..."

Of course, Zero was listening to every word they were saying. If there was a skill that Zero had even before his mind started to develop, it was the skill to play dead. Everyone in the horde knows how to do it almost instinctively– it was one of the easiest ways to catch humans, after all.

[Reader of Fate: Kieran Ilner, says Zero somewhat reminds him of Dante.]

"Why are you so slow? Get the sack out of my bag!"

"You… how would we even fit him in this sack!?"

"You did it before, Alice! Just months ago with the same person!"

"C… can you keep your voice down!?"

"You're the one screaming!"

Zero could feel his body being moved and rolled around; not even caring as he continued to listen to the conversation.

"..." There it is, that faint smell again. Zero could smell the scent of the slayer from two opposite directions as Alice crouched down to get his head inside the bag. It took a quarter of a minute, but the two were finally able to fully fit him inside.

"Where… are you going to throw him?"

"F… fuck, why is this motherfucker heavier than I remember," the slayer groaned as he threw the sack to his back, "I'll… I'll dump him in the river."

"That's disgusting. We're drinking that!"

"Stupid bitch, not here. In the slums, those motherfuckers ruined their water long before."

"The red-light district? But there are a lot of eyes there!"

"Trust me, I'll be the most normal-looking one there. Fuck, why is he this heavy!?"

"Stop complaining, you're a slayer!"

"Shut the fuck up. What are we going to do about the mother?"

"...What about her?"

"What do you mean 'what about her'!? Don't you think she'd become suspicious that her son if this really is her son, disappears again after last being seen with you?"

Ah. There it is. Although it was still not clear, Zero's empty mind was slowly putting the strings together.

These two… might have killed Charlotte's son. But… why? What reasons would humans have to kill each other? Especially those that seemed close to one another?

Zero has seen it more than once– humans deliberately leaving their friends to be devoured. And at the same time, he had never seen anything else work better in groups than them. The Giant Hornet, the Wind Mafia; both groups were moving almost as one.

It was… weird.

"Wait… don't tell me you're planning to kill Charlotte too?" Alice's voice slightly trembled.

"No, fuck. Why would I kill an old lady?" The slayer let out a small scoff as he started walking away, "You're the one doing that."

"W… what!? Why should I!?"

"Because she'll start having suspicions. Aren't you listening? Do you want all the hard work you stole from this guy to disappear!?"

"I… I didn't steal anything!"

"Right, you just hired us to kill him for no reason."

"You–"

"And you're supposed to be the smart one, Ms. Scientist."

And before Alice could even say another word, the slayer started to walk away with Zero's body. He was initially going to devour them while they were packing him inside the sack, but for some reason, Zero found their conversation quite… interesting.

These humans… they truly are quite interesting creatures.

He probably still would have devoured them both at the same time, but Alice didn't really seem appetizing– the only scent she had was between her legs. He has her scent…

…Zero could come back for her anytime.

And so, Zero just curled up inside the sack like a fetus; careful that he won't accidentally tear it apart if he moved. It didn't help that the slayer seemed to be rushing; his scent, growing stronger by the second– the same response the other slayers give off whenever they're in battle.

Interest, truly interesting. Zero seemed to be learning more and more about humans in the past few hours. Sadly, the scent became diluted as they entered the Red Light District; replaced by the worse smell humanity has to offer.

No. After what Zero has heard, are the people of this area really the worst? How are they any different from Alice and this slayer? If anything, Zero could probably trust the people here since they have the same eyes as him– dead.

And very soon, while Zero's mind was filled with thoughts, the slayer finally stopped moving; dropping the sack he was in on the ground without any warning.

"S… shit, fuck… finally."

And with those gasps, Zero felt the sack slowly being rolled forward.

And with this, Zero also finally moved; his hand, penetrating through the sack without even any resistance and immediately grabbing onto the slayer's leg.

"W… what the fuck!?" The slayer wanted to pull his foot away, but unfortunately for him, the sack was already starting to fall towards the river. The slayer tried to grab onto something to hold onto; but once again, unfortunately for him, the residents of the slums have long sold the railings as scrap metal.

He was, however, able to hold onto the edge of the banks. He then immediately tried kicking the hand that suddenly grabbed him, but found that it was latched on to him as if it was glued. He quickly turned his head down to see what was going on…

…only to see a pair of eyes staring at him from the hole he made on the sack.

"W… what the fuck!?"