Yuri swore, pulling me away from the window. She wasn't a moment too soon, as a rock soon smashed through the glass, just barely missing me.
"Yuri, get him out of here!" Micaela quietly exclaimed. "Use the back entrance. Don't hurt the mob, they don't know what's going on."
Personally, I wanted to go out there and kill everything that moved. Yuri probably did too, even if she tried to hide it. The shit they were saying about me made my blood boil. Though, I was still pretty sore from my last encounter, and trying to fight more than ten elves seemed like a good way to get gang-raped. Therefore, retreat was the only option.
Micaela seemed to notice my anger, sighing as she slapped a palm to her face.
"Alex, until thirty minutes ago, you were suspected of committing multiple murders, all on people of relatively good standing in the community." She deadpanned. "People are pretty upset right now, and they don't know that you're innocent yet. I'll handle them. Just get out of here."
I didn't really have a choice, because Yuri proceeded to quickly drag me out of there. Thankfully, the mob was too stupid to surround the place, and so we traveled out the back entrance completely unmolested (Both literally and physically.). I found it ridiculous that we had to sneak around like common criminals, but I kept my mouth shut. We were trying to be quiet, after all.
Once we were far enough away from the building (Which I only just noticed was the town's clinic.), Yuri allowed me to walk by myself. Quietly, we tiptoed away from the scene, sneaking back to the house. Unfortunately, there were a few elves waiting for us, standing on the porch. One of them caught sight of us, pointing and yelling. Yuri stepped in front of me, her eyes like chips of ice.
"You are trespassing on my property." Yuri declared loudly. "Disperse, or I will remove you myself."
The elves didn't seem too bright, because they continued to remain in place. Did they not know how dangerous Yuri was? She could've killed them all if she wished, and yet they were acting like they were stronger.
Well, Darwinism would root them out soon enough.
"We don't care what you have to say!" One of the braver ones yelled out. "Hand over the human! He must pay for his crimes!"
Yuri scoffed, and put a hand on her short-sword. It remained sheathed for the time being, but it was enough to scare them somewhat. So they at least had a shred of self-preservation...
"The investigation has been concluded." Yuri stated. "It was proven that he fought in self-defense, so he is considered innocent."
The one in front scowled, glaring at me with all the hate she could muster.
"Likely story!" She snarled, slamming her fist down on the porch railing. "My sister died in his little rampage! She'd never hurt a fly!"
Yuri sighed loudly, softly counting to ten under her breath. Once she managed to compose herself somewhat, she took a step forward, causing the elf's eyes to widen comically.
"Fool, your sister was part of the group that tried to rape my son to death." She grunted quietly, her voice radiating an aura that promised nothing but violent, bloody death. "Do not attempt to lay blame on my son for simply protecting himself."
The other elves started to back away slowly, chuckling nervously to themselves. Yuri watched them go, before her eyes returned to the elf that had spoken. She seemed frozen, stuck halfway between rage and fear. With a loud sigh, Yuri took another step forward. The elf, realizing that she should probably get the hell out of there, turned and bolted like her life depended on it.
After that debacle, nothing else impeded us. As we walked in the door, Yuri slammed it shut, and locked it behind her. I could tell by the expression on her face that she was absolutely done with this town's shit. I doubted she'd go on a rampage, but I could tell that she wanted to. I didn't blame her in the slightest. Never before had I wanted to burn down an entire village, but hey, there's a first for everything, I guess.
Now, if they'd just been hurling insults and shit, I'd have been mad, but not nearly as angry as I was right now? Unfortunately, the mob had put that Lewd spin on the situation that only monsters could produce. The things that they shouted... Well, some things are better left unspoken. Really, the willingness to commit remorseless rape is what pissed me off the most. Seriously, this world was fucked up. Whoever made it this way was a real piece of shit. Sex shouldn't be weaponized! It's unnatural, and quite frankly, disgusting.
Man, if I get a hold of a nuke...
Yuri tapped me on the shoulder, snapping me out of my genocidal fantasies. She pointed over to my room with one hand, the other sitting firmly on the hilt of her short-sword.
"You should get some sleep." She grunted. "I'm going to stay up and keep watch. Those villagers might do something stupid, and I want to be ready to fight the instant one of them tries to break in."
I shrugged, and followed her directions, walking off into my room. As I shut the door behind me, I was greeted with the familiar sight of my bedroom. I'd lived here for over half a decade now, and had come to love it. It was still mostly bare, as I didn't really own that much stuff, but there were more books than there used to be. Some of which were of the... inappropriate variety. Those were kept hidden, because I didn't want Yuri to know what kind of fucked-up stuff I was into (Though, my fetishes were pretty tame by this world's standards.). She wouldn't get mad, but it would just be embarrassing, you know?
...Don't look at me like that. I needed some way to resist the seductive ways of the villagers. My hormones had gotten strong enough that not even the red's blissful haze could completely satisfy me. Hence, the book.
...This is a weird topic. Moving on.
I practically swan-dove into my bed, reveling in the soft, comforting safety of my sheets. I knew they offered no real protection from any outside force, but they still made me feel safe, and that was all that mattered.
Of course, considering the fact that I'd just woken up from what was essentially a three-day coma, I realized that sleep would not come easily. It was going to be a long, annoying night, it seemed.
With a sigh, I pulled the covers over my body, closing my eyes in a desperate attempt to fall unconscious. I didn't want to sit in silence for the next eight hours, so I desperately tried to go to sleep. However, as you all probably know, you can't really just force yourself to sleep. It has to come naturally, or it won't work.
So, as I stared blearily into the ceiling, my mind started to wander into dangerous territory. The time for me to leave town was growing ever closer, and I still wasn't ready. I mean, holy fuck, was I terrified. Some of the shit out there was absolutely fuckin' insane, and that wasn't even counting Ilias and her stupid, shitty angels. I wasn't sure if I was gonna live through the next couple of years, and that was kind of a depressing thought.
I mean, I'm pretty fucking scared of death. That's perfectly normal, to be fair. Lots of people dread the thought of their own mortality, and I was no exception. Did that make me a hypocrite for killing people? Maybe, but I didn't really care. Anyone I killed probably deserved it, and honestly, any atrocity was worth it when I got some red out of the deal.
I've said it many times before, but the red was awesome. It was a shame that I had to hide my passions from most others, but that was just something that I had to deal with. A lot of people saw it as gross, or even evil. If it was so abominable, then I definitely didn't want to be on the "good side". Just thinking about it sends shivers down my spine. It was such a wonderful thing, to the point that seeing it as anything other than sacred was simply absurd.
That's why hiding it felt like such bullshit. I was clearly in the right! They just didn't understand, and they didn't quite care to. Yuri knew, but even she told me I should try to suppress my desires. Bah! If anyone had a problem with it, then that was something that they just had to come to terms with! It wasn't like I was hurting innocent people. I targeted animals and the occasional fuckwad that dared to do evil shit in my vicinity. Nobody that didn't deserve it got hurt.
I felt a strange sense of rage overtake me. It wasn't the violent, white-hot anger I was used to. No, it felt cold. Cold, and much, much more dangerous. Anyone who tried to stop me was simply an enemy of the red. The fact that they'd go against such a beautiful thing is... blasphemous, in a way. They'd have to be culled. Anybody who would stand against me and the red would die. It was as simple as tha-
I shook my head, snapping myself out of my thoughts. That... had been a dangerous rabbit-hole to go down. I wasn't quite sure where that had come from, and part of me didn't really want to find out.
...I'm getting off-topic. Anyways, the point is that I'm afraid of dying, but I'm perfectly fine with killing others. It felt strange, but honestly, I didn't really have a problem with that. A lot of people turned their nose up at the idea of taking another person's life, but I didn't have an issue with it as long as It was someone who deserved such a fate. I didn't just randomly start massacring, as that was just poor form. Though, I will say that I was far more comfortable with the notion of murdering civilians than I used to be. That was... just a little bit odd, really. Whatever, I'm not a psychiatrist. If I was, then I'd be the worst one ever.
My attention was caught by the muffled sound of shuffling feet, which was coming from outside. It sounded like a group of people were trying (and failing) to stealthily creep towards the house. Angrily, I swept away the sheets that covered me, and walked out into the kitchen.
Yuri was sat in one of the chairs, sharpening her sword with a whetstone. Mine was sitting on the table, shining like it had been recently cleaned.
"I found your sword lying in the grass." She stated quietly. "You must've dropped it when you were attacked. It was rather dull, so I fixed that."
I felt a brief smile cross my face. Yuri wasn't always great at expressing emotion, but she often showed her feelings with little acts of kindness like that. Unfortunately, that quick moment of happiness faded as I remembered why I'd gotten up.
"I heard people outside." I stated, causing her grip on her sword to tighten. "I'm not sure what they're doing, but it sounds like there's a few of them."
Yuri frowned, letting out a long, exasperated sigh.
"This town has made me remarkably angry today." She growled lowly, her eyes trailing to the door. "If they're here to cause trouble, they'll quickly find themselves in a rather... unfortunate situation."
She stalked over to the door, ripping it open with an unnecessary amount of force. From what I could see (which wasn't much, considering the fact that her tall body was blocking my view.), there were a few displeased elves. They didn't seem to have any pitchforks or torches, but then again, it wasn't really that type of village. If a problem could be fucked into submission, then by god, would these people attempt it.
Have I mentioned how much I fucking hate this world?
"What on earth do you want?" Yuri hissed, glaring harshly at the trio. "My son has been proven innocent, so what could you possibly want?"
One of the elves stepped forward, matching Yuri's glare. It was a pretty ballsy move, one that I'd respect if it wasn't so, so suicidal. Did the people here just not know how dangerous Yuri was? That was the general vibe I got from this place. It was either that, or they did know, but they just collectively had the survival instinct of a mentally deficient lemming.
"That investigation was bullshit, and you know it!" The elf fired back, unaware that she was hitting the metaphorical bear with a flyswatter. "You just intimidated Lyla into a confession."
A confused expression washed over Yuri's face, one that I probably mirrored. Who the hell was Lyla? That wasn't a name I'd ever heard before. To be fair, I also only knew like... three people, so I wasn't really the best judge of things like that.
"I... I'm unsure about who you're speaking about." Yuri muttered, anger temporarily giving way to uncertainty. "Would you care to elaborate?"
The elf sputtered for a moment, her face turning bright red from rage.
"The poor guard who's legs got cut off!" She exclaimed, her voice growing to an annoying volume. "She was sobbing uncontrollably when you were done with her! How can you just sit there and pretend that you didn't threaten her?"
Yuri's arms were twitching dangerously, which was a clear sign that she was about to snap. Still, the fool continued on, prattling about how we were completely evil, and how I should be donated to the town for... "Public use."
Yuri did NOT like that last bit, let me tell you.
"Watch your mouth, you damn airhead!" She exploded, shocking the group into silence. "If I ever hear you talk about my son like that again, I'll gouge out your eyeballs and feed them to you!"
I watched, slack-jawed as Yuri screamed at this group of people, her shoulders heaving as she pointed at them with her sword. She'd been mad at Micaela earlier, but this was on a whole other level.
"H-Hey, you can't talk to me that wa-" The elf began, before she was cut off by Yuri's continued ranting.
"I'll talk to you any way I damn well please!" She roared, her eyes glinting with murderous rage. "I've dealt with this town's bullshit for years now! There have been multiple attempts to rape my son, and every time, I'm somehow the bad guy when I react with anger!"
There was a crowd starting to form, and I could distinctly see Micaela in the back, watching with wide eyes. Yuri didn't seem to give a shit though, because she just kept going. It's not like anyone was going to stop her. I certainly wasn't going to try. I choose life, thank you very much.
"And for the record," Yuri continued, glaring at the crowd with unmatched intensity. "I didn't threaten that guard whatsoever! She spilled her guts the second I walked in! Besides, I know they'd been bragging about their plans. Don't even try to paint me as the bad guy, when you're all just trying to make my son's life miserable!"
She ended her rant by slamming the door shut, huffing as she stomped up to me.
"W-What was all that?" I managed to stutter out. "Yuri, why did you-"
She raised one hand, motioning for me to be quiet. I wisely closed my mouth.
She closed her eyes, and let out a very long sigh. Her shoulders slackened, the tension finally leaving her form.
"Alex..." She breathed quietly, glancing at me with tired eyes. "I'm sorry you had to see that. I've been bottling up my feelings about this town for nearly a decade now, so it was only a matter of time before I snapped like that."
I nodded gingerly, still somewhat amazed at the sight I'd witnessed. There wasn't anything I could really say to her, so I stayed quiet. I knew she wasn't angry with me, but I still didn't want to risk her ire.
"...Gather your belongings." Yuri eventually grunted, walking slowly to her room. "We're moving. I don't want to spend another minute in this place."
I whipped my head towards her, my eyebrows rising so high that they nearly left my head entirely.
"W-What?" I asked, gobsmacked. "Yuri, there's nowhere else to go! This entire continent is racist as fuck. Besides, what about Micaela?"
Yuri turned back to me, her expression full of resigned sadness.
"Micaela has been a friend for many years, but she's too lenient on these people." She sighed. "If I have to pick between her friendship and my son's safety, then I'll always pick you, Alex."
...You know, I really felt loved in that moment. Of course, I was annoyed that we had to just pack up and leave, but still. Yuri's words made me feel a little fuzzy inside.
"Besides," She continued, a weak smile forming on her face. "Do you really think I don't know how to disguise myself? I wouldn't have survived this long if I didn't know how to blend in with a crowd."
I blinked. That... actually made a bit of sense. Why wouldn't she know how to make a disguise? That seemed like the type of skill she'd prioritize.
A cloth bag slapped into my face, snapping me out of my thoughts. I looked to Yuri, who just stared back with a raised eyebrow.
"Go on." She said, gesturing towards my room. "Gather everything you can. We're not coming back here if you leave something."
Wordlessly, I obeyed, internally freaking out as I dumped my possessions into the bag. I mean, I didn't own all that much, so it wasn't really an issue. After dumping my extra clothes and the few books I owned into the sack, I'd basically finished packing. I shoved my blanket and pillows in there too, for good measure. I would've taken the entire bed, had I been able to. Alas, that was out of the question.
So, after all that, I walked back into the kitchen, where Yuri was waiting. Her pack was a little more sizable, but not by much. She didn't have all that much either, it seemed. Silently, she handed me my sword, which I strapped to my side. I definitely didn't want to leave that, after all.
"Yuri, are we really leaving right now?" I asked uncertainly. "It's the middle of the night."
Yuri shrugged.
"It's as good a time as any." She deadpanned. "Besides, I can watch over you if you need to sleep."
That wasn't really something I could argue with, so I just stayed quiet. Besides, maybe a change of scenery would be nice...
There was one thing that impeded us, however. There were still quite a few villagers out front, and they'd likely try to start something if we got close enough. So, we slipped out through Yuri's window, tiptoeing towards the treeline. One of them must've spotted us, because they shouted for us to stop. We didn't, of course, picking up pace towards the woods. I thought a few of them were gonna chase us, but they were smart enough to realize that such a course of action would only end poorly for them.
The cool night air felt good on my skin, causing me to groan happily. It felt very nice, compared to the blistering heat of the daytime. I looked over to Yuri, and she glanced back wordlessly, giving me a fond smile. We both stayed quiet for a while, seemingly content to listen to the sounds of grass being trampled underfoot. Coupled with the weak breeze, it was quite the relaxing sound. There was a twinge of pain in my back, but I ignored it. I'd been hurting since I woke from that coma. It would probably go away with time, so I didn't pay it any heed.
We weren't walking on any kind of path at first, so navigating the forest was rather difficult. The lack of light didn't really help things, either. Yuri could see perfectly fine though, so I ended up just staying close to her. Thankfully, after we were far enough to the village, Yuri led me to one of the many roads that sprawled across the woods. I was kind of surprised that we didn't get lost, but I figured Yuri probably just knew the area well. She'd already been living here for a while by the time I came along.
We'd been walking on the path for a little over an hour when a thought struck me. What was out destination? Yuri hadn't really said anything about it, so I didn't know.
"Hey, Yuri," I spoke, breaking the tense silence between us. "Where are we going, anyways?"
Yuri sighed, her shoulders slumping as she looked over at me.
"Have you ever heard of Ilias Village?" She asked me.
I looked over at her, silently hoping that she was just fucking with me. Her expression was as serious as ever, unfortunately. Alright then, that was... problematic. First of all, Luka lived there, and I didn't want to go anywhere near plot-relevant characters. Secondly, Ilias village gets destroyed in the game, and I didn't want to be around for that. Also, they were one of the most devout towns on the continent. I didn't want anything to do with that.
"...Aw hell." I grunted. "Yuri, I think we should stay away from that place. The people there are religious nutjobs, and I'm not sure I could keep my mouth shut. Besides, you're a monster, and they hate anything nonhuman."
Yuri chuckled at my response, amused for some reason that I couldn't quite grasp.
"Remember what I said about disguising myself?" She asked. "I can just throw on a cloak, or grow my hair out and hide my ears. It wouldn't be that hard to fool them."
For hours, we talked while we traveled. Nothing really important was said, but it was still nice to just have a conversation with someone you love. Besides, there wasn't much else to do in this god-forsaken forest. The few monsters that inhabited the place knew better than to mess with us, so nothing particularly exciting happened.
A little after the sun came up, I began to feel a bit sluggish. I still hadn't fully recovered from the incident a few days ago, and my body had decided to remind me in a rather painful way. My muscles rippled with soreness, and my limbs began to feel like they were being weighed down with cinderblocks. The pain in my back intensified to the point where it could reasonably be called agony, and that torturous feeling only seemed to spread further and further into my body. A cold sweat broke out all over my skin, which made the already humid air even worse.
"Shit, Yuri..." I eventually groaned out, panting as I nearly collapsed right then and there. "I don't think I can go much further right now."
Yuri glanced over at me, a hint of concern flickering across her face. Wordlessly, she pointed to a rather shady spot at the base of a large tree. I just kind of face-planted in the grass, rolling over to that general area. Once I was in a comfortable enough position (the phrase "comfortable" was relative, considering that I was sleeping on the ground.), I closed my eyes, and went out like a light.
*LINEBREAK*
I awoke sometime later, the sound of Yuri's quiet humming slowly beginning to register in my mind. She was sat next to me, reading one of the books she owned. When she noticed that I was awake, she closed it, and slowly stood up.
"Are you feeling any better now?" She asked. "You've been asleep for about four hours."
I sat up, wincing as a spark of pain lanced through my back. I wasn't nearly as tired as before, but I still had plenty of aches and pains. Of course, that didn't change the fact that things felt much better overall.
"I guess." I muttered, slowly climbing to my feet. "I still feel like shit, but not nearly to the extent that I did before, so... I guess that's an improvement."
Yuri shrugged, and handed over my pack of stuff that she'd been looking after.
"Well, if it's any consolation," She said. "We are quite literally less than three miles from the village."
I blinked. Had we really walked that far? I mean, I know we walked until the sun came up, but that still felt a little off. Either we'd been much faster than I thought, or Ilias village wasn't all that far from Enrika. Oh well, I guess that doesn't really matter in the long run.
"So, we haven't really talked about how we're going to do this." I pointed out, hoping to god that she had a plan. "I mean, what's our backstory gonna be? How do you plan to get a house? That kind of stuff."
Yuri paused for a moment, and I very briefly thought that she would tell me to wing it. Thankfully, she didn't do that, because my sanity is frayed already, and if it was revealed that she had literally no plan whatsoever, I would've snapped.
"We'll tell them we're travelers from Sentora." She explained, a light smirk on her face. "We'll talk about how our village was wiped off the map by monsters, and inquire about any land here up for purchase. Of course, I have plenty of gold saved up, so buying a plot or two shouldn't be that difficult. Anyways, they'll probably trust us if we just say something about monsters being evil. These people are rather easy to please."
I stroked my chin, considering her idea. I mean, it was definitely simple, but that wasn't really a bad thing. Besides, this was a pretty backwater village, from what little I remember from the game. Of course, that depended on how far along the story was, but we were probably past Lucifina's death by this point.
Well, we'll find out soon enough.
"So uhh..." I began, looking over at Yuri with a raised brow. "Why the hell do you want to live in Ilias village, anyways? The people are pretty fuckin' dumb, and they worship... well, you know."
Yuri shrugged.
"Mostly because it's small." She stated. "Besides, I don't crave sex like most monsters, so I should be fine. It's not like-"
"What if you're discovered?" I interjected, a frown beginning to form on my face. "I'm sure you can fool most of the idiots that live there, but Ilias likes to baptize traveling heroes there on her birthday. If she sees you, you're as good as toast."
Yuri froze, not quite sure what to say to that. Eventually, she sighed, muttering curses under her breath.
"I... I didn't think of that." She sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Shit, I guess we'll have to go to Iliasburg, unless..."
She trailed off, and a contemplative expression etched itself onto her face. I waited for a moment, seeing if she'd come to another conclusion. Quietly, I hoped she'd decide to go find another place. I didn't want to be anywhere near this bullshit village. It was overly religious, and kind of racist.
...Now that I think about it, that sounds kind of like the town I grew up in. Ah, rural Kentucky, it seems like even now I can never truly escape your clutches...
"...Can you buy plots of land that are close to the village, but aren't considered part of it?" She asked suddenly.
I gave her a sideways glance, and slowly shook my head.
"I don't think they care about what's outside the village." I deadpanned. "You could just start building, and they probably wouldn't give a shit."
Yuri looked over to me, a small smile growing on her face. I cursed, realizing that she'd actually taken that suggestion seriously.
"Yuri, if you wanted to just build a house, then you should just do it deep in the forest." I said, feeling a bit of annoyance creep into my voice. "It would be better that way, because we wouldn't have to deal with any of the stupid people that live on this overzealous continent."
Yuri gave me an uncomfortable, almost pained look. It made me really nervous, for some reason.
"Alex... I want you to have some contact with people." She muttered. "Human people. You've been isolated for practically your whole life, and that's not healthy. You need to interact with other people, even if they believe stupid stuff."
...
...
...
OH FUCK OFF!
"What?!" I exclaimed, turning towards her with such speed that I felt my neck creak ominously. "Yuri, what the fuck? I don't wanna go anywhere near that shithole. If I have to so much as look at a villager there, I'm gonna turn the whole town into paste."
Yuri crossed her arms, gazing at me with a somewhat disappointed expression that drove a small lance of pain through my heart. I ignored it, but only just.
"Alex, you need this, whether you like it or not." She said sternly. "You need to know how to interact with normal people, because you've been a hermit for nearly a decade."
I made to argue, but she shushed me (Which did nothing to calm me down, let me tell you.), and continued on speaking.
"Now, I'm going to send you into town with some money to buy building materials." She stated. "Mostly nails, tools, and other stuff like that. Don't buy lumber, because we're literally in a forest. We can chop down whatever trees we need."
I shook my head rapidly, hoping that she'd see reason. This was so, so stupid! Why did we have to be here? It just wasn't fair!
...Wow, I really sounded like a child for a second there. Ah well, fuck it. Realizing that I sound stupid isn't going to change the way I feel about the situation. If this is something I must deal with, then childish I shall be.
"But... Iliasburg." I pleaded, desperately trying to stop the argument that would inevitably spring from this. "Ilias Port! Literally anywhere else! I'm fine with being near those places. I really don't want to be near this village."
Yuri frowned, gazing at me with a small hint of concern.
"Alex..." She began, seemingly searching for something in my expression. "Why do you hate Ilias village so much?"
...Shit.
I flinched, suddenly realizing I that I wasn't able to answer that question. I couldn't tell her the truth, because of... certain prying eyes. I didn't want to lie either, because, as has been previously shown, Yuri was freakishly good at detecting bullshit.
"Oh... You know... Reasons?" I muttered, my tone growing more and more uncertain with every word. I sheepishly glanced over at her, only to find her staring at me with an unimpressed look.
"Listen, I just don't wanna be there, alright?" I growled, feeling the familiar heat of anger begin to grow within my chest. "There's plenty of other places on this continent. For fuck's sake, Happiness village is a thing. I mean, they've been having a Harpy problem, sure, but that's manageable!"
Yuri looked at me strangely, slowly crossing her arms.
"Alex, Happiness village is too close to the Harpy Village." She deadpanned. "The queen there likely knows of me, and I don't think she'd take to kindly to a wanted criminal moving near her territory."
I raised an eyebrow, questioning why that mattered at all. Yuri was just one woman, and according to her, all the awful shit she'd done had been way back in the day. Why would the current queen give a shit about something that happened more than thirty years ago?
"Yuri, how infamous are you?" I asked, befuddled. "It's been decades at this point. What the fuck did you do?"
I mean, I know she was a killer. That was something I'd learned long ago. But... why would she still be remembered even now? I feel like there were much more important things to focus on in this world. For fuck's sake, we live in the medieval period! The average human lifespan was like... Thirty-five, or something.
Yuri winced, looking down at her feet in shame. The sight made me feel a bit sad, but I didn't say anything.
"I... I may or may not be one of the most prolific serial killers of this era..." She quietly muttered. "I... Alex, my kill count is higher than the population of Enrika."
... Oh. The population of Enrika was... over one hundred, I think.
Shit, that's... impressive. I mean, I probably shouldn't admire that, but a large part of me did. The idea of killing that many people seemed... rather tantalizing, to be honest. Of course, I squashed that feeling down with reckless abandon. Now was NOT the time for that.
"Well, that doesn't matter anymore." I shrugged, giving her what I hoped was a gentle smile. "I know you, Yuri. You're not like that anymore."
Yuri looked up at me with a pained expression.
"Alex, most of those kills were indiscriminate." She almost whispered. "If I'd only killed heroes and rapists, then I wouldn't still be hunted to this day."
I paused for a moment, briefly considering the fact that Yuri might've deserved punishment, before throwing that whole line of thought out of the window. Yuri was Yuri, and she was my only family in this world. So what if she did horrific shit in the past? That was a long time ago. Was that selfish to say? Probably. Yuri had more than likely broken a lot of families, but at the end of the day, I didn't know them. They didn't really matter to me.
I wrapped Yuri up in a tight hug, chuckling at her surprised yelp. She didn't expect the embrace, but she allowed it nonetheless, awkwardly wrapping her arms around me.
"...So," Yuri said. "Are you going to go get those tools or not?"
I sighed loudly.
"Yuri, for the love of god, pick another town."
"That's not happening. Now, Less talking, more walking."
...Fuck.
A/N: Oh, start this chapter in Spring Break, I thought. Oh, it'll be done before Friday, I thought! OH, WAS I WRONG!
*Sigh* Next chapter, Alex is gonna interact with humans for the first time in years. And hey, they're not even trying to kill him this time!
This one might feel a bit rushed. I don't know, because I'm not a good judge for that. Besides, I don't think I can delay it for much longer. I have work to do, so I have to go ahead and publish this chapter.
