Sixth Bloodline [BxB]

CHAPTER 63: NIGHTMARE [BY THE WILL OF MECIFUL GOD]

cHAptEr 63:

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[bY tHE wiLL Of mErcifUL gOd]

   MIKHAEL STAYED behind to keep the kids company for a while, without showing any suspicious behavior. Playing around with them and making food for those brats, Mikhael completely forgot about his troubles as he immersed himself in the role of a caretaker. But behind a carefree smile, he seriously began to ponder on Ares words.

Ares wasn't stupid, he was extremely observant — since he mentioned to Mikhael that those two protectors ignored two perfectly good catches to get the little one, then something really must have been suspicious at that time. But Mikhael wasn't there at that moment, so he can't be sure about what exactly felt wrong.

Still, Mikhael made a mental note to investigate about this matter once he arrives at the Neo Academy.

It might be just his misconception since humans who only now found out about vampires are bound to become interested in those little ones.

But by the time he left, he instructed Ares to make sure that no one leaves this place, adding that he'll lock it down completely for a while. Mikhael and Ethan really happened to come here at convenient time, or else if someone was to notice the disappearance of two protectors and then follow the traces to this place... Although Mikhael was confident in his spells, some spell-casters might notice the oddity in mana around this shield.

Mikhael decided to add more protective shields and few more concealing talismans. He even went all out to use a black tiered one.

But not even that was enough to prevent him from worrying, so he added five more when he remembered how Egypt was nuked.

Six black talismans to create shields — even if they weren't able to protect this place on their own, together they should reinforce each other to make an even stronger shield?

   'This time, it will really be enough?'

Mikhael no longer saved up those black talismans. With all that blood he got from Ethan, he should have enough material to play for couple decades.

He only left with a basket full of fruits and vegetables — since the kids lived in this place, growing plants is one of the way to kill their boredom. And under Mikhael's influence, they all got become food lovers who preferred top quality food — so they decided to grow tasty ingredients on their own.

Now that he no longer had to worry about food on this trip, Mikhael took another three teleportation talismans before tearing them altogether, disappearing from this place.

When he arrived in front of the riverbank, he was met with Ethan sitting on the front side of the car, patiently waiting for him.

   "You're back," Ethan noticed him without even turning around.

   "Yes," Mikhael was at loss. He came together with this person, but now he sneaked around while the later was sleeping. He felt guilty, for some reason.

   "Did you finish what you had to do?" Ethan asked as he stood up before turning to Mikhael, his gaze landed on basket full of fruits and vegetables.

   "Yes," Mikhael replied, but then he felt like he should add something, "That, I..."

   "It's good then. Should we depart for Vatican now?"

   "..."

Mikhael observed Ethan carefully, trying to find something in that face of his. Unfortunately, his face was covered with mask, so he couldn't see much, but Mikhael felt like Ethan wasn't angry and was merely asking Mikhael out of curiosity.

Now that Mikhael responded, he was no longer interested in this conversation.

   "Let's depart," Mikhael could only swallow back the stifling feeling he felt and change the topic.

This person, doesn't he trust him a bit too much?

What if Mikhael was a spy who went to inform those he truly works for? What if he went to plot against Ethan?

   "You... Did you rest well?" But he had no guts to ask if the other person really trusted him so much.

However, contrary to Mikhael's expectations, Ethan furrowed his eyebrows as if recalling an unpleasant memory.

   "Don't tell me, a nightmare?" Once he said those words, Ethan's expression only became even uglier.

Mikhael didn't know what else to say, so he took out a freshly plucked tomato before offering it to Ethan.

   "Here, freshen up," he sucked when it comes to consoling adults. Whenever Mikhael was upset, he only needs to eat to improve his mood, but that's really not a reliable advice.

   "..."

Ethan was also quiet for a while before eventually taking that tomato. Come to think of it, where did this fellow go to get this food? He didn't go to steal from a nearby farm or something, right?

But looking at Mikhael's expectant face, even he did steal this tomato, Ethan couldn't bring himself to scold him.

   'Whatever...'

As he bit on the tomato, he surprisingly found it to be many times tastier than usual. Whether it's because it came from this youth's hands or because someone did a good job in growing it, Ethan felt his originally sour mode to get better.

Mikhael also took one for himself before sitting down. The two weren't bothered by the heat at all thanks to Mikhael's cooling talismans.

Ethan had a though, if he one day wanted to travel to space, would Mikhael modify this vehicle to withstand the environment over there as well?

Sitting inside the car and munching on tomato with Mikhael, Ethan felt like he could tell him about his dream.

   "I guess it was."

   "Huh?"

   "A nightmare. I don't remember much of what happened inside that dream, but I guess if can be called a nightmare," he began and Mikhael listened.

He can't just go and say: "It's fine, it's just a dream," right?

   "There was blood. A lot of blood," Ethan continued, his gaze somewhat distant, "Withing the endless expanse of red, there was a gold... No, a figure with golden hair, I guess."

Mikhael thought, how particular.

   "A woman, I think," the more Ethan spoke, the more confused he become. In his dream, a lone figure with long golden hair sat in pool of blood.

Not hers — Ethan didn't know why he thought of that, but he instinctively knew that none of that blood belonged to her. He couldn't see her face, but she was looking straight at him, a creepy smile on her face before she mouthed something Ethan couldn't hear.

But even though he couldn't hear a thing, the moment she said what she wanted, his heart felt a chill that rooted him to his bones, unable to move a single inch. He felt like everything he knew crumbled to dust at that moment, as if he's done something wrong.

Something he could never fix in his whole life.

   "A stupid dream," he spat out in the end before messing with Mikhael's hair. He doesn't know why, but when he woke up and failed to notice Mikhael by his side, that feeling of terror only grew stronger making almost lose his mind.

Luckily, he noticed the note Mikhael left, so he calmed down, but he felt confused after that dream, so he went out to cool his head.

He wasn't angry that Mikhael left, but that dream really left him with a bitter aftertaste so his voice sounded a bit harsh when speaking with Mikhael earlier.

Mikhael still had no idea how to console the other party. Do people normally become bothered because of their dreams? At least, Mikhael never felt like that.

Dreams are dreams and reality is reality. Rather than worry about nonsensical dreams that had no way to interfere with his everyday life, Mikhael felt that painful reality was far more terrifying to boot.

   "Don't let it bother you," but not saying anything... What if he sounds uncaring at all?

   "Who knows, it might've been you in your previous life — or just some horror movie you watched long time ago."

He was that terrible at consoling other people.

   "..."

Ethan felt that it would've been better if Mikhael never uttered a word in the first place.

   "At the very least, if someone was a woman in their previous life, it's obviously you. Look, you didn't even reincarnate properly - if I not for me seeing you naked before, I'd still doubt that you're a man yourself."

   "..."

Mikhael first moved the basket with food to the backseat, and then jumped on Ethan, with intent to bite him to death!

What a bastard, he have his best to console him, and this is what he gets? He'll show him who's the real woman in this relationship!!

Thus, their journey continued to be as uneventful as always, aside from daily round of useless arguments with no definite winner.

Ethan kept that basket in his void, so Mikhael had fresh food for the next week —  a powerful cheat like void was thus degraded for ordinary food-preserving use.

The two finally arrived in Vatican on the same day when the new Pope was supposed to appear.

At the entrance to Vatican, their car was stopped together with many others — this place was utopia for humans so those with money would all flock over here to seek protection. Vatican didn't mind those who gave them money either and welcomed them with open hands, before using them to spread their influence to the world.

Ethan coldly looked at the guards when it was their turn while Mikhael put on his most amicable smile before lowering the window.

   "This lowly servant imparts the benevolence of the merciful God above to two brothers," even Ethan was caught off guard by those words, forget about about those two guards who came to question them.

   "This..." They noticed the clothes the two wore, "Are you two from the church?"

Mikhael sighed, maintaining that smile on his face.

   "Insignificant as my lowly existence is, this servant has indeed been graced with opportunity to serve the merciful God above and obtained the ability to preach of His wise words, spreading His love far and wide, and letting humanity revel in front of His ultimate power."

   "..."

The two guards took a moment to decipher the meaning behind his words as Ethan fought the urge to crack a smile before choosing to shift his sight away.

   "So you are or you're not?" One of them asked annoyingly.

   "The words of the benevolent God above are meant to preach of his unrequited love for humanity, this two brothers — this lowly one apologizes if those words brought you annoyance instead."

   "Alright, alright. We get it, show us your identity tokens!" The two began to sweat as they felt that letting this person talk would lead to a mental breakdown, so they immediately cut to the chase. They met all kinds of protectors that were wrong in their head as of lately in this city — they merely asked this for the sake of courtesy, but who'd know that this person would begin to sprout nonsense and whatnot!?

   "Thanking two brothers for your kindness to pardon this lowly one's offense. If my words made you misunderstand the majesty of merciful God above, not even death would be enough to wash away this lowly one's sins," Mikhael continued as he gave those tokens he obtained from Ares.

Heh, Mikhael has taken over countless identities on his missions, so he naturally knew which personality those pitiful guards hated to confront the most.

   "Alright, everything seems to be alright with those two," the one to the right said after he checked them before returning them to Mikhael and only then noticed the silent driver. Mikhael also noticed his gaze before continuing to drive his attention.

   "Your intention on this trip is..."

   "By the blessing of merciful God above, this lowly servant was given the mission to protect our one and only resplendent light upon those stained grounds of mortal realm. The one who received our beloved God's love, care and the most sacred of all missions; to spread His love far and wide, is however often targeted by malicious minds who seek to prevent the benevolent God's preaching of love and eternal life among us lowly humans. Therefore, this lowly one, although it can't be considered as important as the one Holly child has, was tasked with mission to protect the bearer of God's will on those gained grounds."

   "..."

Ethan really felt like he couldn't continue to listen to Mikhael anymore. How can you say that with such pure smile on your face? Don't you feel an urge to puke at your own words?

The poor guard was led forth and back by Mikhael's words, so it took him another few moments to understand what was going on. Luckily, few other protectors had came before and clearly stated their goal — not to mention that they were also warned by the higher ups about Pope's arrival.

   "Alright, alright! You can pass!" The more Mikhael acted like fanatical worshiper of God, the more the guard felt like he was definitely with church. He also didn't want to talk to Mikhael anymore — such a simple question could be answered with but a few words, how did the reply become so long instead?

   "This lowly one thanks the two brothers for allowing me and and my brother to step into those sacred grounds and fulfill our mission bestowed by the merciful God. May His blessing shine upon you and his wisdom lead you onto the proper path," Mikhael rolled up the window as Ethan speed up, he could see the tears in the eyes of that guard who was more than happy to get rid of Mikhael.

   'The working class doesn't have it easy, indeed.'

   "Was there really a need to talk like that?" He finally asked Mikhael when they got away from the entrance and Mikhael rolled his eyes.

   "What do you know, if I want to get that needle, I must show potential first. But if I'm too outstanding, the Pope will wonder why am I still just a mere protector instead of a candidate."

   "You can't be both?"

   "The new Pope was already elected, I'm afraid the other candidates have long departed this world," Mikhael sighed, "So, if I'm someone who only has God in his eyes, how can I even pass the test to become a candidate, forget about becoming a Pope?"

   "..."

True. Church wouldn't want a devoted Pope like this. If it's the one guiding ordinary people, Mikhael could pass, but for a spell-caster one...

   "So I can have an excuse to be both outstanding and won't ever threaten the other guy. Not to mention, worshiping the God and him who is on top, he should trust me more so I can dig out some more information about how the church and Neo Academy joined hands," Mikhael didn't add what he truly wanted to confirm.

Did the church target children turned into vampires on purpose, or was that just an accident?

The more time passed, the more Mikhael felt paranoid about what he heard that day, so much that he couldn't even sleep calmly without resolving this doubt.

   "What about me, then?"

Mikhael frowned.

This man, Mikhael really didn't want to be noticed by others. Only he could look at him, touch and take advantages of.

   "You... Just pretend to be a noob. And if you can't do that, just remain silent all the time or act like you hate the world," in summary, don't even talk to other people and go around attracting unwanted attention!

   "..."

Ethan felt that there was something wrong in the gaze Mikhael gave him, but he couldn't quite find what was odd so he shrugged it off like nothing important.

   "Alright," if it was the past where Pope's existence was hidden, it would really matter if he was someone like Ethan who didn't like to speak much. But it's clear that church wanted to draw attention, so they needed someone who can control the masses and bother Ethan and Mikhael failed to satisfy that condition.

But still...

Ethan gave Mikhael an odd glance.

Why did he feel like this little thing was proficient in infiltrating places? Even acting so good, Ethan really wanted to see what was underneath that mask of his!

   "Are you confident in getting close to the Pope?"

   "No problem, we just need to raise a commotion and he'll come to seek us out on his own."

Indeed, he wasn't wrong. This little fellow really knew what he was doing.

   "Will it really be fine if I act according to the plan?"

   "Yup. Even if you show disdain for the Pope, it will be fine. If you want, we can also act like sworn enemies, with me trying to convert you to the light side, how about it?" Mikhael's eyes shone as he thought of that idea and Ethan sighed before flicking his head.  He couldn't aim for his forehead because it was covered with mask, but the rest of his head was fine — in fact, if he could shake his brain a bit and make it work properly, how wonderful would that be?

He clearly understood by his later words that he was just messing around.

Ethan drive to an empty street before parking the car. They both left and only after making sure that no one was around did Ethan throw the car inside his void.

   "What now?" Since Mikhael was used to this process of infiltration, Ethan decided to leave everything to him.

   "Nothing much, we can go and enter the Academy. I originally wanted to use that letter of recommendation I got from that woman, but it seems like there won't be a need for it anymore," he sighed. And he went through all that effort to not start a fight back then...

   "But if we're going to act like enemies, should we really be going around together?" Ethan was bored and decided to play along with Mikhael — even entering this city didn't require of him to say a word, forget about making a move. He even doubted if there was any use for him being here.

   "Don't worry about it, I'll be pestering you to convert you," Mikhael snickered.

He didn't trust this guy to leave him to his own devices. How many women did he already attract just by standing there? Both Natalie and that spell-caster!?

   'See if I don't chase them away by sticking to your side, humph!'