37 Chapter 37: I Still Am

"W… what the fuck!?"

3 times. The slayer has probably tried to stomp the head that was peering from the sack 3 times now– and yet the only thing that was happening was him losing his grip on the edge of banks with each hit.

He opted to lift himself up, but sadly for him, he wasn't really blessed with that much strength as a slayer– he was, however, very fast. But right now, that was useless.

"L… let go! W… what the fuck!" The slayer repeated his words as he once again tried kicking Zero's face; this time, however, the sack finally completely ripped open as he did so.

"..." The slayer's eyes then once again turned his head down and focused on Zero's face, only to see a small smile slowly forming on his face,

"W… what the fuck!?" He once again repeated as if it was the only words he knew. But almost as if Zero's smile became a catalyst for him, his arms seem to have gathered enough strength to lift himself up and Zero back onto the pavement.

"F… fuck," the slayer once again muttered with his limited vocabulary, "What the fuck!?"

The slayer immediately used this chance to kick Zero several times; until finally, Zero let go.

"Argh!" But not before his claws shredded a chunk of the slayer's foot,

"You… you crazy motherfucker!" The slayer then said as he frenziedly crawled backward; his eyes not leaving Zero for even a single second, "How… how are you even still alive!?"

"Well…" Zero then very slowly stood up; his bones, slightly cracking from being curled for almost an hour,

"...I'm not," he then whispered as he checked the back of his cloak, only to see a large hole now adorning it,

"I… just bought this."

"You… you're a fucking monster!"

The slayer then stood up, using this chance while Zero seemed to be distracted to limp away. And even with one of his feet severely injured, his movements were still swift; Zero could even tell that he was probably faster than the werewolves he ate the other day.

"..." Zero then slowly turned his head down, looking at the trail of blood left by the slayer. He had never really stalked a prey before that knew he was stalking them; and with the way the slayer rushed away, he would clearly do his best to hide or run away from him.

If they were in the normal parts of the Safe Zone, the slayer could very well have been able to already escape. But sadly for him, he just had to bring Zero to the one place in Concretespire where Zero probably belonged.

Although his prey got away– for some reason, there was this feeling slowly growing inside Zero; almost like a tingle that crawled throughout his dried skin, like the maggots inside him telling him to chase the slayer.

Not in the way he was used to; not crawling like a meek cockroach in the shadows, stalking and waiting for a chance– No. This…

…just became a hunt.

[Reader of Fate: Mister Rabbit, expresses 'Oh Snap' with an image of a tall purple alien.]

***

"S… shit! Get out of the way!"

The slayer, Joseph, was trying his best not to stop for even a single second– even pushing the listless citizens of the Red Light District to the side as he rushed to return to normal areas. But with one of his feet practically shredded, he was basically moving like a pinball; using everything within his path to push himself forward.

"F… fuck! This isn't happening!"

Joseph screamed as he used a woman's hair; practically tearing her scalp as he rushed through the crowd,

"Why… why is the local government not doing anything about this hellhole!? Too many fucking people!"

The Red Light District has the reputation of being a sea of druggies, criminals, and people that were barely people. And the term sea was not an exaggeration, as the number of people here almost exceeded the number of people in the normal areas.

It was a great place to hide a body– and Joseph has been doing so for the past few years. After all, not all slayers want to venture outside where all the beasts and Bubbles are scattered like flies.

In fact, most were like Joseph; using the abilities they luckily received from Power Bubbles to become a mercenary– practically operating separate from the Slayer Association. He…

…has a lot of experience. Sadly for him, none of them included people still moving without any problems after being stabbed several times.

[Reader of Fate: Kirito Dragneel, says this is when Joseph realized he fucked up.]

[Some of the Readers of Fate are worried about copyright.]

[...Some of the Readers of Fate are wondering why their messages are being shown here.]

Of course, it would be shown. After all...

...Zero was near. Watching Joseph's every move; his eyes, the only things that could be seen as he stood on top of one of the buildings.

"..." Zero's cape then snapped in the air as he leaped from one building to another; his silhouette, almost like a bat shining in the moonlight. Zero didn't even need to run, he just walked as Joseph struggled to get through the sea of crowd that was similar to a horde.

And then, finally, Joseph seemed to have found a room to breathe as he rushed to one of Zero's favorite places– an alley.

"Fuck… fuck!" Joseph immediately leaned his back against the wall; gritting his teeth as he raised his wounded leg. However, the only thing he could really do was stare at it, before once again running– this time, avoiding the crowds and using the alleyways to get through.

"I… I need to warn Alice, shit! Fuck!" Joseph cursed on his own, "Fuck! How is that guy even Robert!? That's a fucking monster! Fuck… if… if the Slayer association finds out… fuck! I'm done… I'm do–"

And before Joseph could finish his words, he heard a small whisper coming from behind him. He didn't stop limping away, of course. His head, however, very slowly and slightly turned around to see what the whisper was…

…only to see Zero… crawling across the walls like some sort of cockroach towards him.

"What the fuck!?" And because of this… shocking scenery, Joseph lost his footing as he violently rolled on the ground several times,

"S… shit…" Joseph completely ignored the pain, however, as he immediately stood up and turned towards the direction Zero was coming from… only to find that he was no longer there.

"Wha–" And once again, Joseph's words were disrupted. This time, however, he did so voluntarily as he quickly ducked down… avoiding the set of sharp claws that wanted to crush his neck.

"S… shit," Joseph then leaped into the air, swiftly somersaulting before landing on his good leg; his eyes, focusing on Zero as he slowly stepped out of the shadows,

"F… fuck you! You think you're just going to kill me that easily!?"

"...No," Zero's voice whispered through the darkness; his face, slowly being lit up by the few moonlights that were able to seep through the cracks of the abandoned streets, "But… I thought I knew more words than you."

"F… fuck you!" Joseph then grabbed the two knives hidden on his waist, "You… you should have stayed dead, motherfucker!"

"I already told you," Zero then pushed his cloak to the side, stretching his arms and revealing his long set of claws,

"I still am."