Sixth Bloodline [BxB]

CHAPTER 22: SEWERS [WHOM DO YOU SEEK FOR, CHILDREN OF MANA]

MIKHAEL'S SOUL of a gossiper was on fire. Suddenly realizing something crazy, he wanted to talk with someone and spread the story, but there was no one he could confide in.

Although Ethan was good and all, would it really be fine to tell him something big like this? Not to mention that event from twenty years ago... He'll have to bring it up as well, right?

But if he does that...

"How frustrating, this is why I always work alone," he mumbled to himself. Right now, he and Ethan were "sneaking" in shadows on top of Eden's buildings towards the crime scene, and although there were other vampires around them — Mikhael, who was proficient in this kind of shady job and Ethan who was stronger than those guys could easily breeze through patrolling guards.

It was so easy for them that Mikhael even suspected that Ethan already spoke with those guys beforehand to ignore them if they see them. If not... Wasn't the security of Eden a bit too lacking?

Now that he thinks about it, there were usually few Nobles patrolling the city alongside ordinary guys, but he's yet to see a single one.

"Did you send all those guys away?" He couldn't hold back his curiosity anymore. There's a reason why Mikhael always got himself in trouble.

"Hm?" Ethan glanced at him before realizing what he meant. It was surprisingly, once you accept that this young vampire is a bit stupid, easy to figure out his thoughts - especially when you know what caught his attention.

"Yes, I sent them to investigate if someone knew the victim and abandon the crime scene. After all, I don't know who's responsible for this, so everyone is under suspicion at the moment. Once our current situation gets leaked, it would be troublesome if the enemy caught a wind of it," Ethan explained before coming to a sudden stop.

"You're too slow," Mikhael almost tripped off the building upon hearing his words. It's not that he's slow, he was following behind Ethan, it's Ethan who didn't move fast enough!

'You're the slow one! Your entire family is slow!'

But before he could open his mouth to complain, the other guy has already came in front of him before throwing him across his shoulders.

'Huh?'

' What's with this?'

"We need to come back home in time, don't think you'll get away tonight just because I had a busy day."

"..."

Is it too late to rebel now?

Mikhael should've slept until morning, he made a serious mistake.

Despite Mikhael weighting a bit, Ethan carried him like a speck of dust and arrived to that alley in less than ten minutes.

Mikhael's been into some dangerous extreme sports, but going over mile per second with his head upside down, it was too much even for him. When Ethan let him down, Mikhael stumbled to the nearby wall before fighting to catch his breath and try to stop the urge to throw up.

Lunatic. He's a pure lunatic, what of Mikhael being slow? This guy certainly did it just to vent out some steam on Mikhael!

"Weak," as if dragging him around wasn't enough, Ethan threw another insult at him wounding his already weak heart.

"..." Still, Mikhael couldn't say anything because he honestly felt like he'd throw up whatever is left in his stomach if he dared to open his mouth.

In turn, he began to send daggers with his glare, hoping that they'll somehow curse Ethan to trip or something.

The later naturally ignored him, believing that it's beneath him to scoop down to this child's level.

It's good that vampires couldn't read minds, else Mikhael wouldn't have hesitated to kill him today. What of this child? You're the childish one!

"Although I sent those guys to investigate, it's not like we have no leads at all. While you were busy doing absolutely nothing and sleeping until now, I got something on out victim," Ethan explained as he came to that canalization shaft and crouched down.

"He's a new guy, came to Eden just around a week ago - and coincidentally, he was registered on the same day as you. Although I do have his name, there's no information on his bloodline nor private life. We only know that he's been causing the mess outside as Red Reaper or something, and he was caught hanging of the New Eiffel tower stark naked. Who knows who caught him, but..." He paused once he saw Mikhael's weird expression.

Twitching his eyebrow with a bad premonition, he still asked.

"You don't happen to be that good Samaritan that hung him on the New Eiffel tower, do you?"

Mikhael only turned his head away in shame.

Red Reaper. Why isn't that the nickname of the last target he had to catch before he got caught himself?

Regarding this target of his, Mikhael had some mixed feelings. He originally had to kill this guy because there were various rumors about his evil deeds, such as decapitating his victims and painting the entire room where the corpses were found with their own blood.

Yes, this guy didn't hunt them to feed, but to play with their blood — and there was quite the number of victims piled up.

His last sighting was around Paris and Mikhael went on his way to deal with him under the orders of Hunters HQ. Being a decent hunter, Mikhael went to stalk this guy for a while, since rumors can't be trusted and to his amazement, he found out a ridiculous truth!

Turns out, this guy was anemic.

Yes, an anemic vampire! He just happened to be around the crime scene, having fainted when he saw all that blood, but when others found him - he naturally became the prime suspect. Still, he got away the first time, after all he really might've been in the wrong place at the wrong time. But then he stumbled upon the same thing the second time, people were already suspicious. And when there's the second time, third will soon follow, then fourth and so on and it would already be too late to clear his name.

Mikhael happened to see another episode of this miraculous coincidence. Naturally, he prevented the real perpetrator from getting another victim, the later was smart to use the anemic guy as a meat shield, but when Mikhael was left alone with this stupid vampire, he became hesitant to do anything to him.

In any case, there was W.E.R.P. patrolling Paris, so Mikhael chose to leave this guy to them and send him to Eden. Still, the later was annoyingly pestering him like Jesus to be killed for crimes he didn't commit, sprouting nonsense like he's guilty because he let the other party used him - so Mikhael got some rope, tied him to the most visited place in Paris and went to chase after the other guy which eventually led him to rebuilt New York that is just an outskirt to Eden now.

Regarding Eden and the city Mikhael once destroyed, there's a bit of history with the two.

Since the original city was already gone, human government had no qualms about leaving this wasted parch of land to vampires to build their Eden. Eden as of now takes over 9/10 of previous New York while just outside its barrier lies rebuilt city of New York where humans lived.

Although vampires and humans were in war, it's not like there weren't neutral parties or lovers who belonged to different sides. Within Eden, humans were loather. Outside of Eden's, it was vampires.

In such situation, the two sides that signed a treaty wanted to see if the two races could coexist together. Before, humans didn't know about vampires, but now that they did - it was s wonder if they could accept to coexist with them.

So the second version of New York that was outside of Eden became the first city ever for two sides to live peacefully.

There were some problems here and there, but after some time and after learning from their previous mistake, the experiment was success. After all, the more time passed, the more people who wanted to coexist appeared. Nowadays, the two sides barely show signs of hostility. There are humans in Eden, even though vampires make the bigger number, while vampires who don't attack indiscriminately are left to roam the world as they please.

The New York of now, other than being a peaceful city, is also the home to many W.E.R.P. agents. Perhaps it's because they grew in environment where vampires weren't that scary, W.E.R.P. agents had no problem in picking their job and were much more accepting of the other race unlike other humans. Any ordinary human born in New York was protected by vampires too - from how to trick a vampire to how to best them up and escape, the local vampires had taught those children well.

They're also the first to react when someone causes trouble.

New York also has a special role. There's no saying that vampires in Eden only pretended to be nice in order to get out, so before they're released outside, they're sent to New York first. They also had to report back to Eden every three months for s while before receiving a proper [Blessing].

As of the New Eiffel Tower... Well, vampires destroyed the old one during the war, unfortunately. Still, how could human race let go of their national symbol? So they went ahead and rebuilt it.

But back to the Red Reaper.

"It would appear that I, indeed, was the one to have done it," Mikhael sighed.

"Didn't take you as someone to commit vandalism, though," Ethan turned his head away, "You fell lower in my eyes now, Flame."

"..."

Right, since the guy was actually innocent and Mikhael knew about it, but the outside world didn't, Mikhael had to make sure W.E.R.P. doesn't kill him when they found him. So aside from hanging him off the New Eiffel Tower... Mikhael also wrote a long note on the "national symbol".

So he couldn't refute Ethan's words.

What could he do, his tracking talisman showed that the other guy ran really far and Mikhael had to chase after him before he had time to stop and take off that talisman, which is why he was in hurry to ditch this guy.

"Ah, then it would make sense," Mikhael suddenly realized something. After explaining to Ethan what he knew about this guy and his conjuncture about some kind of a trade happening in this alley. Nonetheless, Ethan's expression when he told him about that anemic vampire was so priceless that Mikhael regretted not having brought a camera with him.

"If it's someone new to Eden, then he won't know much of the rules, but there's no way that someone like him could bring the virus," Mikhael began, "To begin with, since the time I left him over to W.E.R.P. and now, it's been too long. And as someone entering Eden, he couldn't possibly smuggle in a dangerous virus. His belongings would be taken away just like mine, not to mention the barrier..." what a good thing he left his gun in void."

"Do you know why is Eden the safest place, yet the best prison for vampires?"

Ethan raised an eyebrow before realizing something.

"I see, it was you," he said, "When the New York was wiped out, it's not like there was nothing left in that area. There were odd black crystals that couldn't be taken outside of a certain range no matter what... We later used them to create this trackers," he pointed at Mikhael's wrist, "Enhanced them and had a powerful spell-caster erect eight pillars at the strongest ley-lines and made a natural barrier so that vampires wouldn't be able to leave without our consent."

"Correct. It's as you say," Mikhael did create those eight pillars back then, but he didn't make them here. They were given away to Dante who sent them somewhere else, and their shape was much smaller than the current version of them. Which is why Mikhael didn't immediately recognize those pillars. Glancing at his wrist that still had that stupid tracker, Mikhael had somewhat conflicted gaze.

"Those crystals should be hearts of the dead vampires. The natural barrier you spoke of won't allow anyone affected with Blue Death in or outside. It's why those crystals couldn't be taken out. I didn't know about the perpetrator of this case, but I hoped I could somehow stop him from entering and leaving this city - he'd certainly come to collect back data or so I believed. So for now, we can only guess that the Blue Death was created inside of Eden and this guy wasn't the one to bring it."

So, that allowed them to narrow their search a bit.

"Those that "traded" something with him should be the responsible ones. In this case, it's either their poisoned him, or he escaped from sewers beneath the city. To take down the Eden, there should be a decent amount of people involved. Also..."

He took out a sword from the void. In his guess was right, his guns won't cut in.

"Also, there's a chance that neither vampires nor humans are the ones responsible for this mess."

Though, his idea sounded somewhat crazy.

Contrary to his expectations, Ethan only smiled, yet his smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

"It took you a while to figure that out. No vampire would willingly start this madness... Unless they're not aware of everything. They could be used as scapegoats and help the mastermind due to some promises, but they shouldn't know what the Blue Death truly entails."

Mikhael nodded. When not even the Pureblood could get away from this, how could ordinary vampires and nobles make it?

Hm, unless they have an antidote with them, but even Mikhael didn't hold that thought in high regard. He tried many things, yet he couldn't erase this thing from his body.

Wait.

If...

A thought crossed his mind, but before it could fully take shape, it was gone.

"So, they gave it to him. Drugs..." Ethan continued for him, "If they somehow mixed it with drugs, as a new vampire who wasn't allowed to drink blood and was anemic as well, he'd need to get it on daily basis, or every few days. Though they are forbidden here, it's not like people don't deal with them in secrets. So, he came here for another dose. But did he meet them or died without them appearing?"

"We'll need to wait for investigation to end before we can act further. Did he disappear for a while or was he at his designated home before the day of his death. It will solve our doubts, but still..."

"We can't let sewers unchecked. In any case it would be fine to have an outline on enemy's base for the future."

Mikhael was surprised at how good their teamwork was. If he didn't know better, he'd think that the two were partners before.

While Mikhael was gloating in happiness, Ethan only stared at him with an unfathomable expression.

'It really is you...'

But then that expression twisted into something sadistic and cold, immediately lowering the nearby temperature.

'Heh, to be able to piss me off by merely standing in front of me, I should've known better. See if I let you slip through my grasp this time, you crazy bastard!'

Mikhael's sense for danger - other than times where he sought death on his own - was quite sharp. Despite not knowing Ethan's thoughts nor seeing his cold glare, he still shivered from an unknown cold.

Still, Mikhael wasn't the one to back down from the unknown.

"I can feel something, we're on a good track!"

"..."

Unable to even tell where the killing intent came from, how did this i***t even survive for so long?

In fact, Ethan overlooked something very important.

It's no secret that Mikhael was a lazy person. And how does one deal with lazy people? You make them work, just like Mikhael's previous boss who knew that if he let Mikhael chose his own missions, the later would just go to sleep for eternity.

So Mikhael always had a thrilling share of dangerous adventures and had to always stay vigilant.

But what was the situation now? For entire week, Mikhael had this overpowered existence next to his side 24/7. Not only was Ethan the strongest guy in this city, he even have him timely meals, let him drink his blood if Mikhael showed even the smallest signs of hunger or weakness, had a bunch of nobles protect their residence, and accompanied him every night.

So... In that situation, what would happened to an already lazy person that found an even better way to be lazy?

It would only get worse! Like a wild cat that's been brought to zoo and had its all wishes granted and bunch of people at his back and call, he'd lose his edges.

Not to mention that Mikhael was already used to Ethan's bullying who never went too far after Mikhael actively sought his own death, so he's the last person Mikhael would be afraid off.

What killing intent? Didn't Ethan always show his hostility to Mikhael from the day the two met, so he naturally developed a resistance to it.

"I'll go ahead," he skillfully removed the shaft before jumping down, Ethan only following behind with defeated sigh.

Whatever, he's already chosen this i***t, he'll have to compromise. It's hard to break bonds between blood partners if both are vampires - it won't be worth the effort.

The two continued their search, there was no need for flashlights since they had their superior sight.

Mikhael truly did seem like he's long used to this kind of work, but when he glanced at Ethan in hopes of seeing him all flustered, he was bound to be disappointed. Ethan followed without a word of complaint, and even stepped in front of Mikhael to lead the way.

Mikhael was almost touched when he saw him willing to risk his life to protect Mikhael, but then...

"You're weak and stupid, what if you alert the enemy?"

"..."

He'll be magnanimous this one time. What could Mikhael do? It's not like he can defeat Ethan, so he had to keep quiet.

The first ten minutes went without them finding anything. Other than the usual noise from water, there wasn't even a single rat around them. As for the stench... Mikhael was a good guy who used talismans to purify air around him and Ethan, or they'd die from it.

Still, the quieter this place was, the more uneasy the two felt.

"Where should we be now?" Mikhael asked. He had the feeling like they went far from the place they entered, but if that guy was chased, could he really have gone so far?

Arriving at another intersection, Mikhael tried to figure out what was the better way to explore.

"The North Blood Bank should be another mile to our right," Ethan had better sense of direction, unlike Mikhael, "To the left... Should be the prison."

"Prison?" Mikhael didn't need to think any longer. Blood Bank wasn't that important, but the prison... Isn't that a limitless supply of vampires no one would ask about?

"If we find something, I'll know who to check."

Ethan also realized that, yet before he could take another step, Mikhael firmly grasped his hand.

"Wait," he whispered before pulling an ordinary talisman out of his pocket.

"Glow, glow, spirits of light. Search, search, flow of mana that I want to find," chanting a spell, he kissed the talisman that immediately shattered in countless specks of light. He turned to Ethan with an urge to explain himself.

"It was a good spell to learn for finding lost socks. Those little guys are awesome when it comes to it, I can teach you if you want. Doesn't need much skill," Ethan only flicked his forehead once again.

As expected, you cannot understand the common sense of idiots. Why would he need such a spell for?

The little specks of light chaotically spread at first, but then they separated into four different directions, one going a bit further ahead before stopping in front of wall, while the second gathered a single inch in front of Ethan's foot. As of the third and fourth group... They all began to dance happily around Ethan and Mikhael.

"Good for you, you have an aptitude," Mikhael praised, but was somewhat confused.

Mana, spiritual energy, qi... Name it as you want, it's the basic for spell-casters. Every living being had some, some bigger some smaller quantity of it - vampires were the most pitiful, though. It needed a medium, which varied through talismans to special drawn symbols, artifacts and such - mediums that could gather mana and store it inside.

Mikhael understood first two groups, he sensed something odd in front of him, so he sent those things that could only sense and not disturb mana flow, they found two things. Another group gathered around him because he just used a spell and released some of mana withing his body to do so, but Ethan... Ethan did nothing.

So why would his body be leaking mana?

Perhaps someone threw a spell on him?

In the end, the three groups joined the one around Ethan and Mikhael shrugged as some reluctantly stayed around his chest.

"Well, either an aptitude or someone messed with you," he still decided to warn him. As if whether Ethan would trust him or not... It's his deal. Waving his hand, those specks of light disappeared as he chose to ignore what just happened.

Crouching in front of the first area, he pulled another talisman with a bloody "seal" written on it. He prepared those long ago, but he never got the chance to use them.

Underneath, a yellow "trap" revealed it's glow, but once touched with the "seal" talisman, it immediately lost its luster.

"And ordinary trap, doesn't do much other then break when someone steps on it," Mikhael explained, "We're on a good track, indeed."

Ethan only nodded, his mind focusing on Mikhael's previous words. He remembered those weird thoughts and series when he lost control of his body... Did that, perhaps, had something to do with this?

He didn't have time to ponder any further as Mikhael touched the wall where those specks of light gathered earlier. He picked the red talisman this time before placing it on that wall.

"Unravel," he whispered is so weakly that even Ethan could barely pick it, but it still worked as the talisman began to glow with red light.

The wall in front of them began to disappear like a metal plate facing lava, revealing a glass coffin standing upside down beneath it.

And there, as Mikhael feared, lied another blue corpse.