Chapter 12: A conversation

Saint Cor stared at the man standing next to his room's door with a bit of confusion.

"Hello, sir, My name is Rake, and I hear that you have been looking for me." Rake clarified with a small smile. 

This didn't alleviate Saint Cor's confusion one bit. It wasn't a matter of who he was. But what. 

Looking at the newcomer, Saint Cor felt nothing. It was as if he wasn't there. The essence inside Rake's body was somehow perfectly attenuated with the natural essence in his surroundings. Making him feel like an inert object. 

He had never seen anything like this before, not even in monsters or humans specialized in stealth. 

Not to mention that even after focusing his senses deeply, to Saint Cor, Rake at most felt like a mundane human.

He felt a small chill flow down his body. This wasn't something he believed to be possible. 

As a nightmare war veteran, he is always observant of his surroundings. He has survived many attempts on his life. His advanced senses have saved his life from assassination way too many times. It has never failed him. Not before this. 

"Sir?" Rake asked again.

Saint Cor broke out of his stupor. 

"Ah, yes. So, you are Rake. I can't say I am not surprised by your appearance here. Why did you leave your room?"

Saint Cor asked simply. 

"Well, I was a bit curious about what was happening. Also, that woman looked too nervous for everything to be normal. So I just decided to take a simple tour of the area. Can't say I am disappointed, the facilities are nice."

"So, how much information have you gathered?"

"Hmm, enough to know my importance. You really should get better security for those records."

Which was ridiculous because it was hidden very carefully. With the lockdown, there was also no way to access them even with the highest clearance, very few people can enter the records storage in the case of a lockdown. And none of them were inside the facility during the lockdown. 

Thinking this Saint Cor then asked,

"So, I assume that your aspect is related to infiltration and Assassination. Am I wrong?"

"Hmm, maybe it is, maybe it isn't. Who knows?"

Rake replied with a bit of amusement. 

"What do you want?"

Saint Cor simply decided to ask directly. He figured that Rake wanted something and was simply stalling at the moment.

"That's not what's important. What's important is what you want. My desires and demands can come after that." 

Rake replied with a small smile on his lips. He was also not happy with all the probing. He hasn't been around humans for too long. All these pleasantries were irritating him. 

"Demands? Are you sure you want to talk about demands in the presence of a Saint?"

Wake of Ruin asked with a frown. 

"Well, everyone has things that they want, what's wrong with that? What would be best is for everyone to have what they want. Is that so bad? Now, What do you need from me?"

Rake asked again. 

"I want you here, providing us with a lot of your blood that can be used to kill monsters and save lives."

Wake of Ruin demanded. 

"Alright. Done.

In exchange, I want to be free to go wherever I want with no restrictions and have the full support of the government."

"No." Saint Cor simply replied. 

"If I guarantee you that blood, what does it matter what I do in my downtime? I have been stuck inside the nightmare for years. I want to relax and travel the world a bit."

"It's a matter of security, what if you're kidnapped? What would we do then?" saint Cor replied.

"Hmph, you don't believe that do you? You just want me monitored all the time. You know that capturing me would not be easy. How about just giving me a handler? That should work just fine, shouldn't it? 

I also need a guide after all. 

"I see then. That is acceptable. Anything else you want?" Saint Cor simply asked. After all, this works just fine as well. Expecting Rake to remain there all the time would be unreasonable after all. He can certainly agree with the sentiment.

"Hmm, nothing else, That would be enough ....Ohh right, I also want to pick a home to live in, get some money to spend, and other generic stuff. That can be arranged right?" 

"Yes of course. I'll have my people organize your living arrangements."

Saying so, Saint Cor stood up to leave the place. His work here was done. 

**

There is a good reason for all this. For Rake, being under and protected by Saint Cor was probably the best thing he could ask for. 

Rake was fatigued. He has been in a war for too long in his lonesome. With no contact with humans and no proper rest, his psyche is now at a breaking point. He simply can't continue anymore. He has reached his limits long ago. 

Now that he has returned to civilization, he needs a break from all this. 

Preferably a long one. 

He also didn't mind the blood collection. What does it matter? He understood that killing nightmare creatures and saving lives comes above anything and everything else. 

Better to donate some blood in the safety of a medical room than to spill it on the battlefield. Also, he understood the current position that the world government is in. They really do need all the help they can get.

'Sigh, with the timeline, I'm probably not going to have that privilege of a long break. 

Just can't get a win, can I? One battlefield to another. Sigh….'

**

Rake was sitting in a sterile white bed.

"So, you're saying that this has everything needed to produce blood?"

He was looking at a container filled with white liquid that smelled vaguely like blood. Like iron, if that makes sense. 

The lab coat-wearing scientist standing in front of him replied with enthusiasm, "Yes sir! It's one of our best discoveries. There has been a lot of research put into this specific topic."

"Not bad. Seems good enough. How much do you guys have?"

Rake asked as he took a sip.

"We have galleons of it. No need to worry about finishing them all. We can also gather more if necessary."

"Hmm, good enough," Rake said as he licked his lips after drinking. 

"Why is the taste so bland? This tastes like viscous salty water."

Rake complained slightly. Not that he minded too much, he has drunk much worse stuff.

"Uhh, well, usually it's drunk by unconscious people and extremely injured people. The taste rarely mattered. Keeping it bland has helped with preventing any adverse reaction that any patient might have." The scientist replied thoughtfully.

"Makes sense I suppose. Do you guys have anything like sugar? Add those to the formula next. I'm going to be drinking way too much of this thing for it to be this bland."

"Alright, sir. We'll be sure to add some flavor and sugar to the formula."

"Good. Now, shall we begin?"

"Whenever you're ready."

After saying that, Rake laid down. He also made his body as soft as possible so that they could insert the needle properly. 

The blood's monster attraction property comes from his flaw. 

Something completely unexpected to him. To think that it would be like this is something that he didn't expect one bit. As he lay down, he stared at his runes. Especially the ones that described his particular flaw. 

Flaw: [Intoxicating]

Flaw description: [Your essence attracts all nightmares. Every time your essence escapes your body, it attracts all monsters that can sense it.]

'Sigh, to think that this even extends to items that contain my essence.' Rake mused quietly as his blood was being extracted. 

He was replenishing the blood just as quickly as well. He had a straw and drank the formula at the same rate the blood was being extracted. 

Slowly spending essence that filled up just as quickly. 

'Sigh, this aspect of the flaw is going to be irritating, isn't it?

Sigh, nothing goes my way.'

**

AN: So, what do you think? 

The flaw was already there. It's just more official and much stronger. The stronger he becomes, the stronger his flaw becomes as well. 

And since he has had this for a while now, he has learned to control his essence in a very stealthy manner. 

....I probably should explain that properly in the novel and not just in the author's note section.

.....Anyway, I've planned the next chapter as well. It's just going to be relaxation for a while, no need to be too excited. with some teeny tiny revelations and lore. 

Nothing to worry about..he he he....*rubs hands deviously*...

Anyways, thanks for reading. Feel free to comment as much as you can, I reply to every comment and I love reading them. feel free to comment random stuff, I won't mind. Also, any and all criticisms are welcome.

Hope you have a great weekend. 

Byeee....