Sa:cryd ZERO

Chapter 9

The next morning, Lexus was preparing to go to school as he happened to catch some interesting news on the TV. Apparently, an orphanage had been burned down as the incident was thought to be the work of an arsonist. Luckily, the kids managed to escape as the caretaker risked his life to help them and burned in the fire. Once Lexus was ready, Alice then dropped him off at school as he then made his way to his classroom. The homeroom teacher wasn’t in yet, so the students were chatting and talking among themselves. Lexus realized that the students were mostly talking about the news this morning. Most of the students wished the police would hurry up and catch the arsonists, as some discussed whether they would attend the funeral of the dead caretaker. Lexus took his seat as Linda approached him. “We haven’t had the chance to talk much of late. How’ve you been?”. “Uhh I’ve been pretty great”, Lexus said, a bit confused. “Lately a lot of stuff has been happening in this city ever since you arrived. Do you have anything to do with it”, Linda asked all of a sudden. Lexus almost panicked as he answered. “What do you mean?”. “Oh, I’m just messing with you. I was worried about you, especially since you started hanging out with Vanessa. Rumors say that wherever she goes, only chaos follows. You should be careful too…”, Linda was about to continue when Lexus talked back. “I don’t know if you have anything against her but say anything bad about her again and you’ll pay”. Lexus said it a bit loudly as the whole class managed to hear it, including Vanessa. Lexus immediately realized that he had been too loud as he wanted to die of embarrassment. Linda couldn’t believe his sudden change of attitude as she just stared at him. Moments after, the homeroom teacher entered as all the students stopped conversing and prepared to greet him. Linda had no choice but to take her seat as the whole class was dead silent. During recess, Lexus made his way to a secluded spot where he found Vanessa eating all alone. “Mind if I join you?”, Lexus asked. “Knock yourself out”, Vanessa answered without looking at him. Lexus sat down as the two ate in silence. After a while, Vanessa turned towards Lexus. “You didn’t have to protect me. They’ve said a lot worse”. “You still don’t deserve such treatment so of course I got mad”, Lexus said between bites. “Hah, that so?”, Vanessa said as she continued to eat. “Did you see the news?”, Vanessa asked. “Who didn’t? what’s up?”, Lexus asked. “There wasn’t a body after the caretaker burned to death. It turns out that the fire outbreak may have been the work of a kanizor who had targeted the kids in the orphanage and hence our next mission”, Vanessa said. “So, you’re saying there’s a kanizor that caused the fire explosion who then ate the caretaker after he burned to death while trying to help the kids escape then disappeared. That’s messed up”, Lexus said. “That’s right. Intel says the kanizor may still be around the neighborhood so we’ll check it out after class. Shin is away at the moment, so it’ll just be the two of us. Ezekiel informed me that you have your own weapon now”, Vanessa said as she finished her meal. “You’re in for a surprise”, Lexus said with confidence as he also finished up. “Hmmm. I guess we’ll see. Also…”, Vanessa said something, then stopped. “Also?”, Lexus asked. “Thanks”, Vanessa said in a really low voice, then immediately walked away. “Wait, what did you say? I didn’t quite hear you”, Lexus shouted after her, but she was already gone. Puzzled, Lexus had no choice but to head back to class since recess was almost over. When school was over, Linda walked over to Lexus before he could step out. “About this morning, I’m sorry for saying what I said. I hope I’m forgiven”, Linda looked very sorry as she spoke those words. “Oh, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it. I’d also like to apologize for what I said too”, Lexus replied with his apology. “It’s fine. By the way, me and my friends are about to go for some karaoke. Would you like to accompany me?”, Linda asked. “Oh, umm, I’d love to go but I have something I have to take care of. Maybe some other time”, Lexus said as he bowed and stepped out. Linda was fuming inside as she watched him go. She noticed that Vanessa was looking her way as Linda gave her a sinister look. Vanessa ignored her and also stepped out. Together, the two headed to the district where the fire occurred in order to search for the kanizor. Before they proceeded, Vanessa received a notification as she immediately checked it out. “New intel?”, Lexus asked. “Yeah, this may not be so hard after all. Follow me”, Vanessa said as the two went towards a particular shop. The young lady at the counter immediately recognized the two and handed over a small envelope. Vanessa took the envelope and gave her some money in order not to be suspicious and then exited the store. “So, here’s the thing, the two of us are siblings looking for our uncle who went missing a few days ago and was spotted around here. They managed to locate the guy the kanizor was impersonating, which makes our job easier”, Vanessa said as she showed Lexus a picture of a man. “Alright, then let’s get to it”, Lexus said as the two then went to the location mentioned in the intel. When the two arrived, Lexus immediately realized that the place was a bit run down as only old folks and retired people lived there. Vanessa approached one of the old ladies sweeping around. “Excuse me, have you seen this person around here? He’s our dear uncle who moved here some few days ago as me and my brother have been looking all over for him”, Vanessa asked as she showed her the picture. “Hmmm, I don’t think I’ve seen a man such as him, sorry dearies”, the old lady answered. “I see”, Vanessa and Lexus continued to ask around until they landed on a particular old man who had good news for the two. “Excuse me sir, have you seen this man anywhere around here. He’s our dear uncle who moved here some days ago and me and my brother have been going through hell trying to locate him. can you help us?”, Vanessa asked as she showed him the picture. “Oh, I think I have seen this man. He looked like he was in a hurry as he passed by my house. I think he lives in that inn over there. I think he was probably trying to run away from money collectors or the mafia. If he’s your uncle, you guys had better bring him back home before he lands himself in some real trouble”, the old man said as he advised. “Thank you so much sir”, Lexus thanked him as the two immediately headed for the inn. The two couldn’t enter through the front entrance since they were still minors and therefore used the back entrance once the coast was clear. The two climbed up the stairs as they checked the rooms there. As they were checking, Lexus stopped in front of a particular room as he caught the scent of burnt flesh. He immediately signaled Vanessa as the two thought up a plan, then slowly entered the room. The place was a mess as sitting alone in the center was a middle-aged man. The man wore a black jacket and a cap as he seemed to be eating something. Lying in front of him was a female child who had apparently been burnt to death as the man happily munched on the corpse. Vanessa almost threw up as Lexus drew closer. The man finally felt their presence as he stopped eating and slowly got up. The man was much taller when he stood up. He didn’t turn around to look at his intruders as he just spoke. “So, someone managed to find me. It’s a shame my plan to dine on the burnt flesh of the kids at the orphanage didn’t work out, but there’s always a next time, Hehe. Now you two will just have to play with my flames until you die”, after the man spoke, a huge shattering explosion surrounded the room as blazing hot flames immediately poured out, burning everything in sight. The flames immediately reached the other floors as the inn started to burn down rapidly. Soon after, screams were heard as the other residents tried to escape the burning building. “Vanessa, you go help the other people escape the building. I’ll deal with the old furnace over here”, Lexus said as he put on his armored gloves and took a fighting stance. “Sure, but don’t you dare lose”, Vanessa said as she immediately left the room. The kanizor with the body of a flaming gorilla with the head of a frog lunged forward and threw a punch at Lexus, who quickly dodged. The kanizor then opened its mouth as it shot a flaming hot tongue as it effortlessly sliced through the burning woodwork. Lexus had no choice but to go on the defensive but also had to quickly end the fight before the smoke and heat got to him. After dodging the flaming tongue in succession, Lexus also rushed forward as he punched the kanizor a couple of times. The kanizor reeled backwards as it shot out its flaming tongue at point blank range. Lexus couldn’t react in time as he had no choice but to block the attack. To his surprise, the gloves were able to tank the hit as they were unaffected by the heat. The kanizor was also surprised by this too, as he was expecting Lexus’ hands to be sliced clean off. Lexus’ gloves were charged now as he immediately went on the offensive. The punches he gave were much more powerful now as the kanizor screamed in pain. Seeing that the situation wasn’t good, the kanizor attempted to ramp up the burning flames around them as it blasted out blazing hot flames in huge amounts. The sheer force blew Lexus backward as the kanizor kept breathing out the flames. In no time, there was a lot of smoke all over as Lexus started to sweat from the intense heat. Lexus recovered and got up. “I have to end this quickly before I burn to death”, he thought, as the kanizor jumped through the flames like it was nothing to attack. Lexus took another stance as he waited for the kanizor to get closer. Once the kanizor was close enough, Lexus put his fingers together like a knife and stabbed the chest of the kanizor. The energy burst out like a blade as a hole immediately opened in its chest. However, the kanizor wasn’t willing to go down without a fight as it bit into Lexus’ shoulder, tearing off flesh and burning it. Lexus screamed as he sliced upwards and tore open the chest of the kanizor as it disintegrated. Lexus immediately ran out of the burning building before it collapsed. Soon after, the fire service and a bunch of police officers made it to the scene as Vanessa was waiting at the back of the burning building. Lexus came out a few moments later with the wound on his shoulder. Vanessa rushed to him and gave him one of her potions she brought with her just in case. Lexus drank the potion and immediately regenerated the missing flesh from the wound, which surprised even Vanessa. “You’re a mess. Let’s go to my place and get you cleaned up. You wouldn’t want your mom to suspect you if you went back like this, right?”, Vanessa suggested. “Lexus couldn’t believe his ears, as he answered. “Yes, of course. Also, she isn’t my mom but rather my older sister. I get that a lot”. “Oh, my bad. Not that I care though. Let’s go”, Vanessa said as she started to move. “Haha”, Lexus laughed awkwardly before following after her.

Vanessa’s room was even more stunning than Lexus imagined. The place was super tidy but it also gave an air of comfort and class. Lexus was so nervous that he started sweating. Vanessa offered him a seat as she went to get the shower ready. As Lexus waited, he couldn’t help but notice a picture frame sitting on her desk. Inside the frame was a picture of Vanessa when she was a kid and someone else. When Lexus looked closely, he noticed that the other person was like an older version of Vanessa, as her smile in the picture even made him blush. Vanessa came out soon after. “The bath is ready to go so go ahead and wash up. I’ll take care of our clothes”. “Oh, okay thanks”, Lexus said as he went into the bath to clean himself. This was the first time he was using someone else’s bath and a lady’s, so he couldn’t help but to make weird faces. When he was done, Lexus came out and saw that Vanessa had replaced her torn shirt with a spare one. He immediately put them on as it was a good fit. “Thanks for the bath and clothes”, Lexus said with a slight bow. “If you’re done then get the hell out of here. I have stuff to do”, Vanessa said with an irritated tone as she went towards her desk. “Uhh yeah sorry”, Lexus couldn’t help but to apologize as he prepared to leave. “She was my mother”, Vanessa suddenly said as Lexus immediately turned around. Vanessa was holding the picture frame as she had a complex look on her face. “Oh…I’m sorry for your loss”, Lexus said with a genuine look on her face. “It’s fine. Take good care of your big sister. Now get the f**k out”, Vanessa said as she looked away. “Yes ma’am”, Lexus said as he immediately left her room.