C21: Killing Spree

Jamie and the cat managed to outrun the rats after holding their ground for more than 15 minutes, and still… they haven't even found a goddamn core!

"Man, this thing is getting crazier! And what are those gooey acids in the pipelines? They are burning the fuck out of it!" Jamie cried out as he struggled to catch a breath.

Andy flashed his torchlight into the pipelines once again to check whether there were more rats following them. But, there was none.

"Oh man…" the cat panted, leaning against the wall of the sewer line. "That red gooey shit… the rats are vomiting them out! And many of those things are in their fully grown selves! I don't know what we can do if we don't stop the one who's manipulating them!"

"Plus, the main objective of these rat bastards is destroying the pipelines and bringing out the Downwood Guard so they could kill them down, one by one!"

Jamie just sighed upon hearing this. "This mission is worth the 20 Golden Coins!"

The cat looked at Jamie's tiresome face. "The coins may not be worth it, but this town is! My family is living here… I just can't let the rats get out and slaughter them all!"

The Demon King was surprised to hear this coming from a cat. He truly did love his town, and the cat apparently had a 'family!'

<Your energy is running low! Please recover your energy and health!>

"Ha… Ha…"

"Here, eat this. It'll regain your energy!" The cat tossed what seemed to be some sort of an apple to Jamie.

[Enchanted Apple - Lvl 5]

"But don't eat too much!"

Jamie took a bite out of the apple and all of his energy was boosted to its max. He tossed it back to him, thanking him for the bite.

The cat too regained his lost strength and energy by the apple.

****

"Hmm? They haven't called us back, to tell us that one of them is dead at least," Hendrick said to the two sitting beside him in the bar.

It was Pattermont and Goldick.

"I think the two might've survived! They did look like they were on for the jobs…" Goldick said, wondering about the cat. "What do you think, Pattermont?"

"I think women can't just stop judging men by their looks! He might've looked like he was it… but my guess is, the two bastards might've already been dead."

Goldick didn't like the tone of these men, but, what the hell can she do to clear out the stupidity of men? "You're right… more will come, and then… just die!"

"Don't get your head high in the clouds! You're talking to your seniors! Please show some respect!" Hendrick snapped at Goldick. She was quite pissed by these foolish men, but she couldn't relieve her anger with a kick to their ball sacks!

'Idiots.'

////

Jamie and his new cat friend, Andy, walked further into the sewers.

The torchlight they were using helped them to repent the rats, and those things hated its light. So, the intelligent ones kept vomiting out acid onto their flashlights. Now Jamie's torch was flickering.

"Damn… my flash is dying."

"Mine is still here… I saved it from that acidic vomit. Man, even my magic didn't kill those things!"

Jamie looked back and forth because he was given the duty to keep an eye on any clue to find the root of this problem or another rat ambush.

Suddenly, he stepped on something slippery and long. It almost grabbed hold of his leg!

"ARGH!"

"What what?!" Andy flashed his light on the thing underwater.

Suddenly, there was a red glow. Jamie kicked away that vein-like thing that had grasped his foot but soon it caught his attention once more. "Huh? Are you seeing what I'm seeing? It is red?"

Andy narrowed his eyes and leaned closer to the vein. "Yep. The same glow that the rats had in their eyes."

"What is it?"

Andy scoffed. "Our path to victory, man." He shone his flashlight on Jamie's face. The path to the core of these cunts."

"Haha… finally."

The two partners started to move along the veins in search of the mother of this root. Jamie hadn't seen these roots before, but he could sense the aura coming from these red roots. It was interlinked to something inside this very sewer!

////

Treeng!

Melloni rang the bell because Claire wasn't hearing her yells with all the commotion in her head.

Claire was almost going to type after waiting for more than 10 minutes and now, her sister had broken her passion. "Sis!! Ahhhh!!!" Claire buried her face in her pillow and screamed. But she soon endured the pain and got up from the bed.

"Hmmm… is she –"

Claire opened the door to the cottage.

"Dear, you good? Why the long face?" Melloni asked as she entered the cottage.

"No, Big sis… just, you know. Bored."

"Aw… Honey!? Don't be so cute always," the older sister cried out for no reason and pinched her little sister's cheeks.

Claire pouted at this. "I'm not trying to be cute, Sis!!!"

"Oh, you are now!"

****

Just as Melloni changed back into her clothes, she quickly grabbed the stuff needed to add the potion at last.

"Be a dear and grab those potions for me, will you?"

Claire grabbed the few potions and came to the kitchen to see her sister's cauldron. "Is this… that Vampire's potion?" she asked as she handed Melloni the bag of potions.

"Thank you dear, and yes…" Melloni thanked her sister as she poured the potions into the brew.

"Dear, what is the time?"

"Almost 2 pm, Sis. Jamie still didn't return, huh?"

The sister was absent-minded at this moment, and she wasn't quite listening well to her little sister because of the potion. "Maybe you should call him? Or text." The woman said as she gazed at the potion turning blue.

"Text him!? Ummm… Ummm… I don't know about that, Sis."

"Oh shut up! You can do anything, Claire!"

Claire blinked upon hearing this, and her face flushed too. "I – Yes!! Thank you for encouraging me, Sis!" she squealed and ran upstairs once again.

"Aw, silly girl." The sister kept pouring away the lovely potion as it started to form the broth.

////

Jamie and the cat finally came to an end where he saw the roots crawling up a wall.

"Huh… I think we've reached the end of this." Jamie stated as he gazed above. There was a layer of roots covering something and clearly, the strongest of this weird aura was coming from there.

"I think it's there."

"Yep, it is." The cat replied.

The cat raised his paw and directed it towards the roots. He closed his eyes and focused his magic on the tip of its cat nails.

Suddenly, an arc of lightning shot out of his hand and hit the dark roots. The roots soon untangled and dropped down to the sewage waters with a splash of disgusting water.

Jamie and Andy looked up, only to see a heart-like structure holding all the roots together, and that heart was beating! The linked core was alive.

Swish!

Jamie threw his sword at the heart and the [Old Eden Sword] slashed the living core straight through the middle. Blood poured on the ground. "Haha… that was easy," Jamie laughed and gazed back at the Cat. But the cat didn't seem very 'excited.'

"Dude?"

"Jamie… this is just the beginning."