Chapter 10: The Crow's Situation

**

Previously,

"Th..there you are.... I've been waiting for so long. What took so long?"

And that's how Rake's first human interaction in a long long time went.

**

Rake was standing in front of a woman named Ayna with an awkward hand stretched forward for a handshake.

Seeing the hand Ayna could only remember how this person almost destroyed the giant metal door behind her had she not come running here. 

Rake then also noticed her indecisiveness and simply put his hand back down. 

"So...uh..Where is this place? Where am I?"

Rake simply asked.

"You are at the Awakened Academy. This is the Research Division."

Ayna replied.

" I see....well, hello then? Nice to be here."

And the awkwardness continued. 

Rake had forgotten how to be social and Ayna was extremely nervous around the potential high-ranked Nightmare Creature in from of her. If she had any choice, she wouldn't have even come here at all. But alas, she had to keep him busy until someone higher up came. And also to keep him from doing any potential damage.

Also, this was a horrible time for all of this to happen. 

Rake had awoken in possibly the worst time for the Academy managers. But also, potentially the best. 

If he did turn out to be a high-level monster, there were several masters in the institute, namely Morgan of Valor, Sunny, Cassie, and potentially Effie, and a lot more. 

They could handle him if it comes to the worst. 

The worst time, cause his existence is a very well guarded secret and it needs to stay that way. 

Yet the staff were extremely busy handling the after-effects of Nephis' awakening. There was very little margin for error. 

Regardless, Ayna had to keep this potential monster busy. And her being nervous would be an understatement. 

And she had to be able to do this perfectly.

"Um sir, the other staff members of the division are extremely busy at the moment. Hence the delay. I sincerely hope there hasn't been any sort of inconvenience."

"Ah no, not at all. I've just been resting. 

Um, I haven't managed to catch your name yet..."

"Ah, yes. My name is Ayna. I'm a member of the staff here. Is there anything you need sir?"

Ayna has been turned into a nervous maid who needs to keep this person satisfied and happy.

whereas Rake has become a person who has completely forgotten how to interact with other members of society after being in isolation for so long.

To say the situation is awkward, would also be an understatement.

**

Ayna then brought him to a room with sofas and tables and served him some tasty food. She figured that trying to keep him in that room would only cause trouble as it might provoke him and the walls were also not strong enough to contain him. So, for now, she has to keep him calm and satisfied until backup arrives. 

"Here, this is the best food here. Please feel free to dig in. You must be hungry."

She placed down a large serving of steamy steak.

Seeing the steak, Rake was reminded of all the crappy monster meat he had to consume over the years to survive. Even though it tasted extremely tantalizing and tasty, he wanted something else on his plate.

"Uhh, do you guys have any vegetables? or something plant-based? I have been eating way too much meat in my nightmare. I'm sure this is tasty, but could I get something else?"

"Certainly, sir. I'll be right back."

Then when she was about to take the steak back, Rake stopped her.

"Hmm, about that, how about I keep eating this while you bring the vegetables.."

Rake was a bit hungry. Sure he wants to eat vegetables, but that doesn't mean he won't eat this tasty juicy steak. 

"Uhh, certainly."

Saying that she went back while Rake started to dig into the tasty treat.

'Hmm, time to look around the area. What are they trying to hide? Also, I feel something strange. Time to check that out as well.'

**

Saint Cor.

One of the two pillars of the government in the world. He is one of the two Saints that are in the government. 

lately, he has been extremely concerned about the current status of the anomaly in Antarctica. He had recently been very busy with diplomatic issues with the clans to make a plan to evacuate all the people in Antarctica. 

He has also been busy with making sure that there is a sufficient number of 'Frenzy blood pills.' He has also been killing tons of monsters to make sure that there is sufficient soul shards and that there won't be that much pressure on the military when he has to leave this place to go to Antarctica.

But he knows that if it goes the way that he thinks it might go, all of the pills will be used. 

He desperately needs more. He has been pestering the researchers in ways to artificially make more frenzy blood pills, but it hasn't borne any fruit yet.

The pills have also been very important in negotiations with the clans. 

Clan Valor has promised to help with the relocation as long as they are provided with simply a large number of pills.

However, Clan Song has been demanding to know the source. Even after learning that the production had been stopped, they demanded to get the source regardless if it would be useful or not.

This has put him in an extremely tricky situation. He has a tough choice ahead of him. 

If he gave all the pills to clan Valor, there is a small chance that they might betray him and not help the people in Antarctica. 

There's also the fact that with the pill's effects, even without the help of the clans, it might be possible to fight against the possible threats. 

Not to mention the possibility that the source might also wake up and be ultimately helpful.

At the end of the day, he has decided that if the situation truly gets dire, he will simply provide most of the pills to Clan Valor and give the unusable specimen to Clan Song. 

That way, he would have the cooperation of both Clans. While making the best of the situation.

This is the best course of action that he can think of. 

However, just when he decided on what to do, he received a call. 

"Sir, the specimen has woken up. What do we do? Changing star also awoke some time ago and is making too much of a big scene. The staff is finding it extremely hard to manage the situation."

"Ok, don't worry, I'm coming soon."

During the conversation, he was sitting atop a giant pile of dead monsters as thousands of crows were killing mob monsters in the background and saving the soldiers in the background whenever they were in danger.

The sky was dark with poisonous clouds. The air was heavy with the smell of the corpses of humans and monsters. 

Blood flowed down the pile that he was sitting atop.

This was in one of the many places in the world that was filled with nightmare creatures that came out of a nightmare gate. This is one of the many borders that separate the land of the humans and the land of the corrupted invaders. 

The frontlines for humanity's survival. 

**

AN: Sorry for the small chapter. I'm a bit free today. I'll try to release the next chapter soon. Feel free to ask questions. 

I hope I managed to show how important the pills are. If not, I'll be adding more context on how important they can be. Make sure to tell me. 

Also, any questions? 

btw, I'm gonna have to give some of the flashbacks soon. So, look forward to that.

I'm still trying to balance his Aspect ability and effects. Hope you guys like it.

It's just too broken. Nerfing it is the issue. 

Anyways, thanks for reading. Hope you guys liked it. I hope you have a great day.