I Eat Them

Luca Allsworth was an awfully loaded second-generation heir, and it showed how cordial he was while talking with someone. Since they belonged to different factions, the chat most likely centered on his travels since he had been scouring the Atlantic and the nations around it for some reason. He had also gone around the Caribbean, and his experiences were enough to bedazzle a hermit like Noah.

Unlike Luca, Noah had been staying in the mountain for most of his second life; he only went around the country for a few days and in silent and bullet travels. He never had the chance to enjoy his stay. As Montana Mills, he was technically broke so flying out of New York City was only a dream for him.

Seemingly forgetting that they were not normal humans, the two continued to speak until a nurse came in to check up on the patient. Moreover, Noah even stayed with him until Luca was discharged.

Caliga wasn't sending him any notice so he was sure that Rosanna was safe alone in the house after all.

��My uncle would be very worried about me. It's been hours since I last gave him a call." Luca walked with Noah out of the hospital, undisturbed by the fact that he was walking next to a witch. However, as Noah had put it out twice, Luca had placed some trust in his words… that he was not an enemy of the Order.

"Why don't you do it now?"

"My phone is broken by the accident." Luca took out the phone he recovered from the hospital staff. "I cannot make use of yours, sadly."

"I don't mind." Noah took out his phone and handed it to Luca. He could see the hesitation in the other man's eyes. Luca finally cleared his throat and returned it. "I didn't want to complicate things. Moreover, if I have your number, I can track your whereabouts…"

"So what? It would be a shame if I can contact you while you can't reach me." Noah hummed with a smug smile. Of course, he knew Luca's number and a lot more details about him. One text to Laquisha was enough for him to pull up all of it.

Luca was stunned. This man… sure knew how to dig information and use them as leverage. However, Noah didn't seem to be threatening him at all.

When they reached the parking spaces, Noah walked to his bike and gestured to it. The hunter only went against protocol and asked for a ride. He had a lot of reasons to know things about this witch and where his luggage was.

Not surprisingly, Luca's destination was close to Noah's apartment. Since the house wasn't scouted by Noah himself and that SCC knew where he was, he figured the houses there were owned by SCC and were used to accommodate their guests—Noah and Luca.

The only strange thing about it was having Luca's unit in parallel to Noah's.

Did Allan know that his associate's son was a hunter? Was he trying to pit him against Noah? They wouldn't be surveying the area if they had reason to believe a fight would ensue there, right?

However, the joke's on them. The enemy of Noah's enemy could be a useful friend.

The motorbike sped through the streets, and Luca was feeling rather awkward. His hands were on Noah's waist, and he could feel how firm the other's muscles were. If Noah was just an informant, why would he train so badly? Was he supposed to be doing this to keep in shape?

He was a witch of Asmodeus; worldly beauty should be granted to them in an instant.

Halfway their ride back to their street, a surge of magic echoed from a certain alley. Without any words between them, Noah continued to drive until he could circle to the area. He didn't want to attract attention under the stark light of noon.

"It should be around here somewhere." Luca looked around and then used his ring to produce a compass to direct them to the source of magic. What he found strange was that the compass didn't even point at Noah at all. He could conceal his magic so well that even the grace compass couldn't detect it?

Noah stopped nearby, and both men got off. They only glanced at each other before Luca crushed the compass with his hand. A subtle feeling of magic exploded around him, and Noah felt like his body was being restricted from moving, and yet the hunter ran off ahead and turned at a corner.

"Fucking hunter…" Noah snorted as he forced to break out of the hold.

When Noah caught up with Luca, he saw him locked in a stand-off with another witch. The man seemed to be too drunk in his power, and a mutilated corpse of a woman was next to him.

Luca dropped his elegant-boy image and had the airs of a veteran hunter. "Surrender and face the wrath of Heaven, witch."

"Really? Aren't you getting ahead of yourself?" The man laughed out before producing a whip-like appendage from the wrist of his right hand. "You're the one dying here, pal!"

Luca didn't talk again as he summoned a glove of light from the ring, causing his fist to light up and be filled with energy. He shot from his spot and launched an attack on the man. However, the man used his whip to swing from one spot to another, quickly getting behind Luca.

A whiplash came after, but Luca rolled forward to evade. He then spun and shot towards the man again. Without his guns, it was hard for him to do real damage. He had already changed his fighting style after a series of rigorous training. Right now, he could only rely on the countermeasures he had in place.

Noah saw it unnecessary to prolong the fight. Besides, he was supposed to suppress these kinds of encounters after all.

The chances of hitting a man, who was like a monkey having a vine wherever he reached out, was next to impossible for Luca. When he tried to change his tactic, the man had called forth a second appendage and lashed at Luca. Before it could hit Luca, Noah jumped in front of him and caught the appendage with his right arm.

"Hahaha! You do realize that the vine is poisoned, right? Not only will your skin rot while you're still alive, but your limb will also be severed from your body!" The man laughed out as if he had already won.

"Oh, is that so?" Noah only smiled. His left hand then exploded in blue light. "Let me try again."

He tugged on the appendage, and the inhuman force easily pulled the witch towards Noah. The witch's other appendage tried to land a hit, but Noah grabbed the vine attached to him again. He gave it another tug, destabilizing the witch. When he was in range, Noah swiped down, his ruthless claws carving deep valleys on the man's face and chest.

Blood spurted all over, and Luca retreated from the fright he received. His eyes were too wide as he watched a witch cannibalize another. Moreover, Noah wasn't like how he was before.

It made him feel like it wasn't the same person from a moment ago—what more last year.

"Mercy, please… I didn't really ask for this…" The man was planted on the ground, blood pooling underneath him. He could barely move and talk because of the hit.

"Tough luck." Noah only shrugged as he was sure this man would wantonly kill if he was released. With a quick smash on his skull, the witch died.

Before Luca could speak again, a big black dog walked into his view. It was the same one he saw a year ago. The black dog opened his head and consumed the dead witch. The hunter then twitched and broke from his own nightmare.

"W-Wait! You can't do that! Witches should be burned upon death!"

"That's my kill. I decide what to do with it." Noah looked over his shoulder and turned around to face Luca. "If you want to deal with someone, then look over there." He gestured at the dead woman. "Tell her you still wished to honor the man who did that to her."

"…But…" Luca wanted to speak again, but his eyes were cast on the mutilated corpse. She was cut into pieces and exploded in some parts. It was even undeniable that her crotch was wrecked open by the vines.

Noah only hummed as he petted Caliga and sent him into invisibility again. "If you have no complaints about how I do things, then you're welcome to work with me. However, should you interfere, I will have no choice but to not accept you.

"Then again, if you still want to be friends with me, I can still hold onto that."

"After being consumed by your hellhound, where will the bodies go? Will they be stored in those bellies until they get brought back to life as familiars?" Luca had heard about rituals and the backward ways of the witches. Even if Noah was a witch of Asmodeus, it didn't exempt him from doing such a thing.

Even if he was sent to kill Bomberman, he should at least rely on the coven for power, right?

"Brought back to life as familiars?" Noah was shocked. This could happen? This was insane, and he didn't even hear it from Mephisto. Maybe even Laquisha didn't know of this.

Then again, if Luca believed for it to be done by Noah, then it meant the other witches would indeed kill another in hopes to revive and enslave them. Such practice was horrifying.

"Of course not. The hellhounds dissolve the body and soul into magic." Noah didn't want to be clustered with those witches so he chose to be truthful. "It then becomes part of my power."

The witch pulled back his right sleeve as the blue light disappeared. The wounds from the poison vine were nowhere to be seen. "In short, I eat them."