Become a Calamity god

Running down to the exit of the building, Cree could not help but feel some relief wash through his body. He had encountered some Hollow bats in the building along the way, though because they were usually one or two in number he usually disposed of them with ease. These battles were not in vain though as he was now in level 4. Even though this was a relatively low level, Cree felt contented. It was always way better than those people who had no level at all.

The thought of what he had done to reach his current level did disturb him though. He had drank the blood of a monster, getting over that was never going to be easy. The changes that had occured in his body made him feel weird, though if he was to be honest he felt better than ever.

Reaching the building's exit, Cree peeked through it searching his environment. It was no surprise that the place looked terrible as monsters could be seen roaming the streets and attacking people with the intent to kill. These Abstracts wasted no time in showing that they were interested in human flesh. That much was clear as they fed on their preys.

Some monsters feasting on an unrecognizable person noticed Cree peaking from the exit, staring at him as he did the same. These creatures had rock like bodies just like a golem, however they seemed more like ugly goblins with glowing red eyes when observed carefully.

'Damn it, I have been found.'

The creatures sprinted off leaving the corpse they were feeding on. This caused Cree to widened his eyes in surprise as they had just done the complete opposite of what he expected them to do. Claire noticing the look on his face proceeded to explain what had just happened.

"There are two reasons why those red eyed goblins probably ran away. The first is that they may have noticed my presence, however I highly doubt that. Or they noticed that you were of a higher power level than them."

"Abstracts can tell if I am stronger than them?"

"Of course they can. They have basic animal survival instincts you know, they know things they can't go up against but that doesn't mean they go ahead with it all the time", Claire stated.

Looking around once more, he came across Callum's body laying on the ground motionless. Running up to his brother he fell to his knees trying his best to hold his tears in. Sure he knew his brother was already gone, however that didn't change the fact that it hurt to be reminded of that fact. For some reason his body had not been harmed by any of the Abstracts moving around. This caused Cree to believe that they were only interested in living people.

"You can't be out in the open Cree, it is too dangerous. A being far stronger than you could be lurking around..", Claire adviced.

Picking Callum's body from the ground, Cree ran into an alley covered in rocks. Here he was pretty sure that he would not be found. He would then go on to dig the ground in that area with his claws and bury him. Cree knew it wasn't the fanciest way to let him go but it was the best he could do at the moment.

Staring at the grave in silence, a few tear drops could be seen rolling down his face. Claire walked up to him from behind and tapped his shoulder.

"I think you should say some few words.."

Cree couldn't help but be surprised that she was aware of such a thing. Though this was something to be expected as she could read the minds of people. He still felt like Claire was responsible for his brother's death, hence he didn't want to say anything when she was around. Though remembering that she had helped him so far he didn't hold anything in.

"Callum, I am so sorry for what happened to you. I tried my best to help... be there for you just like you were for me in the past. Sadly I couldn't do that. I did my best but my best wasn't enough.... I am sorry, but at least now you can rest peacefully with our family, wherever you are. Wait for me..."

Cree collapsed to the floor looking like a mess. It was clear to Claire that he was depressed and would not live long if he stayed this way. She saw that as a loss on her side as she was starting to develop some interest in him. Thinking further she realized that this was a good time to tell him about what was going on.

Floating over Cree who was on the ground, Claire gave a wide smile. In this position they were facing each other, face to face but form different directions. Cree would have considered this weird the moment it happened but he was too depressed and to him Claire didn't count as a romantic interest, heck she wasn't even human.

"I was sent here by the Grand Order to alter the plane into something capable of testing the people of this world, in order to find the next Calamity god, a being of great power just like me."

"And why are you telling me this..?", Cree asked as he looked her in the eyes.

Levitating higher in the air, Claire threw her hands open just like a child. "Just imagine having incredible power like that in your hands. You would be able to bring your friend back."

Just then Cree sat up from the floor in an instant. The look on his face told Claire everything she needed to know, she had caught his attention.

"Are you being serious?...I can bring Callum back? In that case, how do I become a Calamity god?", Cree went straight for the gold.

"Well that is no simple task. You would have to grow higher in level and conquer Rift cubes all around the world. Rift cubes are similar to dungeons you have seen in manga and anime, only that it is there to test and bestow power to those who are worthy. Usually the person who conquers the most Rift cubes would become the new Calamity god, however if you have more power than anyone in the world even without doing this you would be chosen."

"Where exactly can I find a Rift cube?"

Pointing towards the light beam shooting up into the sky from a distance, Claire showed him it's location.

"Why aren't I surprised? The place were monsters are coming from is the place where the Rift cube is located", Cree smacked his forehead with his palm.

"Don't worry about that, the flow of Abstracts should have come to an end by now. The only issue you have now is your level and time. A Rift cube can only be conquered once and they only reveal themselves after some period of time. I would advice you to reach level 20 before attempting one though.."

"I don't care about those things... I can't wait for that long. I am going to complete the Rift cube right now. Though lemme make one thing clear, when I become a Calamity god the first thing I am going to do is will kill you and the Grand Order", Cree said with determination pulsing through his veins.

"Well that is fine by me. It is only natural that you would try to do something like that", Claire responded with a neutral expression.

Seeing that she was in no way intimidated by this, Cree proceeded to walk out of his hiding place leaving Claire to herself.

Even though Cree had just threatened her and the Grand Order, she could feel butterflies in her stomach all of a sudden giving her the idea that something was wrong with her. A smile escaped her lips as she quickly came to the conclusion that she was just excited for what was about to come.