stranger things in an even stranger town (chapter 32)

A/N so i was writing this fanfic as i watched the show, so i might not have been aware, which just made realise something, to make a smart character, i have to make him notice little things here and there, and connect the dots fur faster than other characters could, which knowing the world helps as you know what is going to happen,

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Chapter 32

Near where he met Trevor again, there was a town called Lindenfield. Cain could be seen, staring at a large church. "Hmm," he grunted, feeling his hair stand up from the energies swirling around the church, unseen but palpable. "The same as that energy surrounding the first world I have been to," he thought as he observed.

that is when an old man walked towards him before standing beside him, he had a long, dirty blond hair, wearing peculiar clothes and a painter's hat. The vibe the man gave off spelled trouble, and Cain didn't entertain him. "Oh, it's you again," that is when he heard a familiar feminine voice. Cain turned to see Sypha, the orange, short-haired magician. "I thought you were only traveling with the Belmont boy," the old man standing next to him said, as the old man noticed the look of surprised sypha had when he saw cain, like she knew him, which the old man noticed, as they stood on each side of Cain as they started to talk among themselves, who remained fixated on the church.

"Your friend is not much of a speaker, is he?" the old man asked as Cain remained lost in his thoughts, busy formulating a plan. "You didn't answer my question," Sypha said to the old man, who touched his chin, remarking, "Well, they are quite mad, but this alchemical rune seemed odd," referring to a rune symbol they saw carved on a house they passed by.

"Odd? This is the second time I have passed by that symbol," Trevor's voice sounded behind them as they turned around, before travor saw cain which caused him to asked, "And what is he doing here?" Sypha shrugged as she herself didn't know the answer, "Well, he is not answering us," Saint Germain which was the old man, said as Cain stepped forward. that is when sypha noticed trevor eyeing saint Germain "Oh, I would like to introduce my new friend. This here is Count Saint Germain," Sypha introduced. Trevor, with an air of someone who'd had a bad encounter with the clearly a con artist, remarked, "We have met."

"Yeah, sorry. I was busy wondering if you were looking for the same thing I was," Saint Germain said, turning toward Cain. "I assume that you are not here for the same thing I was, right, friend? Cause that would complicate things," Saint Germain said as Cain sighted before turning around, replying, "Not unless your thing is a multi-eyed grotesque creature," surprising the old man, both by speaking and by the fact that his eyes were golden, with a slit pupil.

"Definitely not," Saint Germain said, letting Cain pass by. "I need a drink," Trevor said as Saint Germain smiled awkwardly at what he expected to come next. "Don't you need one too, Saint Germain? Let's go to the tavern, all of us," Trevor asked, but it was more an order than a request, dragging Saint Germain by the collar.

Scene Change

Still standing in front of the church, Cain had a smile on his face as he thought, "Although I could kill the creature now, why would I when I can milk it for experience when it summons more enemies through the portal." Cain could perfectly see beneath the briarwood, the name of the church. He heard hurried steps. "You knew there was a night creature, didn't you? You knew it had access to a portal down, a portal to hell. Do you have any idea what it could do if a night creature passed through that?" Trevor's voice sounded as he got close to Cain, practically in his face as he yelled.

Cain didn't speak to him, but his draconic eyes stared at the Belmont, who wanted to say something but remained quiet. Sypha touched Trevor's shoulder while Saint Germain appeared on the other hand. "Don't," Sypha said as she dragged Trevor away, leaving Cain to watch the church, sensing the portal that seemed to have spawned several tendrils outward.

He noticed a man sneaking back in the middle of the night, and Cain could see his XP actually increasing. "Looks like the duplicate found some more creatures," Cain developed the habit of sending ten duplicates, which would use warp further away until they found a creature, which they immediately dispatched.

"This is a quite efficient way to hunt," he nodded to himself, observing the ever-changing portal. Eventually, he found a place under a tree where he sat and closed his eyes, periodically sending out duplicates in search of monsters, some finding their prey, while others didn't and dissipated. Meanwhile, he meditated to recover lost mana charges.

However, just as he closed his eyes, he opened them, noticing two monks from the church walking towards him. They wore black robes, and their shirts had a green armband with the same runic symbol carved on the sides of houses around the town. Seeing them, Cain opened his eyes; the monks stopped and stared at him. For some reason, their eyes had no life in them. After a few seconds, they walked away, and Cain closed his eyes again.

-Scene Change-

When the sun went down the next day, Cain opened his eyes, observing the progress of his level. "This is quite effective," he thought, nearly leveling up, which was surprising. "Looks like they all decided to act," he pondered as his duplicates reported armies approaching. Finally, he recovered his own lost mana charge.

Standing and dusting himself, his eyes fell on a small group of people approaching. The town judge, known as the Judge, led them, accompanied by Trevor, Sypha, and Saint Germain. "You finally decided to act," Trevor said as Cain turned his attention to the church. "The night creatures are mine; the rest is up to you," he said to the group, readying himself.

"Oh, by all means, please," Saint Germain said, pleased that Cain decided to take on the danger. "And what should I call you?" the judge asked as Cain replied, "Nothing," and walked forward. "Well, Mr. Nothing, how do you plan on taking care of the night creature?" the judge asked, and Cain paused. "Just focus on the monks. As I said, I will handle the night creatures," he said before going invisible.

"And he is gone. Guess we shouldn't be surprised at this point," Saint Germain said, while the judge spoke to the monks. Cain saw them performing a ritual in the basement, the same place he had arrived. Behind his back, a large stream of fire with visible souls inside appeared and made its way to the basement as if summoned.

Inside the basement, Cain watched a four-legged creature with two large arms, black leathery skin, bioluminescent hair running down its back, and several eyes going all the way back to its head. The stream of soul-filled fire was consumed into the creature, crucifying it, causing the creature to swell as large faces appeared on its body.

Faces of the consumed souls poked out as Cain watched, without a single intention of moving. His goal was clear: grow as strong as possible by killing as many monsters as possible. "The stronger it is, the more XP it provides," he thought. As the creature continued to consume the souls, reality cracked, and a pink light appeared, with a large pair of many white eyes peeking through the pink crack.