Capítulo 29: Chapter 29: Search for The Perfect Cloak (1)
Zero could feel it.
It hasn't appeared yet. But Zero could feel his bones getting heavy; almost as if his body wanted to fall right there and then. He experienced this feeling before– a few moments before he fainted in the test hall.
…Right after he summoned…
"F… fire!"
And almost instantly, the hand that Zero was using to hold the cloak lit up in flames… which scattered through the supposed fire-proof cloak.
The merchant, who was also holding the cloak on the other end, reluctantly backed away and let go of the cloak.
"N… no!"
But alas, in doing so, he dropped the burning cloak right… on his stall– on the top of his other wares.
"No!" The merchant screamed as he ran away, trying to find any source of water nearby. He tried to ask for help from the merchants beside his stall, but the only thing they did was quickly remove their own items and ran as far away from the fire as possible.
As for Zero, he just shrugged his shoulders… and started to walk away. His head seemed to be hurting a little bit; with his muscles feel like they were about to fall off anytime soon. Natalia mentioned it before… but it's what happens when you use up all your mana?
Whatever it is, since he could still walk, then it shouldn't be a problem for now.
But with the crowd that suddenly gathered because of the fire, it made it hard for him to pass through. And when he eventually found a path, someone suddenly grabbed his wrist.
"Where… where do you think you're going!? Guards! Somebody call the guards!"
Of course, it was the merchant; his face, completely red as fumes almost escaped from his nose due to his rising anger. As for Zero, he was initially going to push the merchant away– but he couldn't really smell any aura on the merchant; humans without scent were fragile.
There were also a hundred eyes looking at him at the moment. It wasn't… wise to hurt a human, no– he could only do that in the dark when no one was looking.
And so, Zero just stood there; completely ignoring the merchant even as the man's saliva was being thrown all over the place. Once again, Zero was amazed at how the humans seemed to not have any limit to their words.
They just talk and talk.
It didn't help that more and more people were coming to watch what the commotion was all about. In this regard, humans and zombies were no different.
And very soon, the guards arrived– with one of them immediately extinguishing the fire by… seemingly disintegrating the ground beneath her and making the sand it created to float in the air before blasting and covering the fire with it.
Interesting, Zero thought as he leaned to the side to watch. That was the first time he had seen something like that.
"Guards! This is the guy! This is the guy that burned all my stuff!"
The merchant then waved his hands incessantly as he shouted for the guards; and as soon as the guards saw the merchant, they all quickly looked at each other, before letting out a collective sigh that might as well be a song in a choir.
"You again, Mark?" The guard that seemed to be leading the squad; the reluctance in his steps could be felt by every person within the vicinity.
"That your stall that burned down?"
[The Readers of Fate are commenting that it's always Mark.]
"Y… yes! This guy burned it!"
"Hm," the guard squinted his eyes and nodded his head, before finally taking a look at Zero. And as soon as he saw him, his eyes immediately widened.
"You again!?" He repeated. Of course, Zero had seen the guard before. How could he not, when he was the one interrogating him earlier and also one of the guards that discovered him dragging the zombie's head.
"Dave," Zero muttered, "Yes. It… is me."
"...You burned Mark's shop? Why?" Dave could only let out another sigh as he put his arms on his waist; almost as if he was tired of everything– and why wouldn't he? He has been working overtime.
"I… did not burn Mark's shop," Zero shook his head.
"Wha… what do you mean you didn't burn it!? You burned my fucking cloak!" Mark then threw Zero's hand away as he rushed to Dave,
"Dave, man. I need some compensation here or something!"
"Ah, hm… alright," Dave raised a finger to Mark as he gestured to him to wait and stay put before walking to Zero,
"What happened?"
"I summoned flames and… burn his black cloak."
"See!? He admitted it!" Mark's screams almost whistled in the air from how high-pitched it was.
"Can someone shut that guy up!?" Dave ordered his men to take Mark away,
"...Why'd you burn the cloak, man? You like getting into trouble?"
"Mark… said fire-proof."
"..." Dave looked at Zero's scarred and pale face for a few seconds, before letting out a sigh and shaking his head,
"You can go, we'll handle this."
"..." Zero returned Dave's glance, before nodding his head and walking away.
"Mark! We told you not to fucking con people again! See what happens when you scam the wrong people!? Do we have to lock your ass up again!?"
More and more people were crowding the area, so Zero chose to not listen in and just continue his search for a new cloak. But alas, he had scoured the entire stalls, and yet no one seemed to be selling any.
There was what the humans called a hoodie, but Zero did not really like it for some reason– that was new to him, having a preference for things other than what was coming inside his mouth.
And so, Zero continued his search for the perfect cloak– until he reached the part of the markets where stalls were few and far between. Instead, the shops were inside the buildings now.
And unlike earlier, none of the shopkeepers were going outside and calling for people– no. The humans go inside themselves.
[Some of the Readers of Fate are telling Zero to leave. Your money is in trouble.]
Still, Zero walked through the streets– after all, there were lesser people here. He preferred the silence. Now, if only all the humans walking along with him didn't stare at him like some sort of–
–Wait. Do humans eat other humans too?
And while Zero was contemplating that, his feet suddenly stopped in their tracks as his eyes… seemed to have a glimpse of something majestic. Zero then very slowly and carefully walked backward, before slowly turning his head to the side.
And there, on the other side of the window wall, hung more than a hundred cloaks. And so, without any hesitation… he entered the store.
"..."
"..."
"...Is that him? The one who entered the store?"
"Yes. Fuck! I knew he'd go there. He was looking for cloaks."
"You really should stop scamming slayers, most of us don't kid around. Weren't you just almost arrested a couple of minutes ago?"
"Shut up. Are you gonna help me, or not!?"
And there, somewhere in the shadows of the spacious street, Mark and a few other people were standing a distance away from the store that Zero entered; seemingly watching his every move.
"...Nah. We ain't gonna help you. It's not worth messing with a fellow slayer."
"W... what!? But I already paid you!"
"Sike! Complain to the guards."
And with that, the people that were with Mark suddenly all walked and left, leaving him all alone.
[...]
"F... fine. I'll do it myself!"
[The Readers of Fate are telling Mark to just walk away.]
But alas, he couldn't read what the Readers of Fate were saying.
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