Chapter 71: Bargain

Chapter 71: Bargain "Ahh, my head!"

Kieran groaned, trying to raise his head towards the throbbing pain, only to be truck by an intense jolt of agony. Every nerve in his body felt like it was on fire.

"Kieran!"

Ruby’s concerned voice came from not to far away, but he couldn’t turn his head to look in her direction, lest he was willing to go through more pain.

He couldn’t move a single part of his body!!

"What the–"

Kieran groaned, feeling a strange invisible force lifting him up, propping him into a sitting position.

It felt like an invisible hand that pushed lightly on his back, taking the position of a backrest to help him feel more comfortable.

In this position, he could finally look towards Ruby and he was met with an unexpected sight.

Ruby and the creature that had forced him into a suicidal mission were seated opposite each other, the crackling of the emerald flames and the long meat stick in her hands painting a picture of two people quietly enjoying a vacation, her expression being the only contrasting element.

That and the dreary atmosphere of the swap around them!

"It’s not ready yet, you’ll have to wait a little!"

Ruby said anxiously, staring at the meat as if that was going to make it cook any faster.

"Hmm?"

Kieran could barely respond without having his body delivering him concentrated shots of pain, but his gaze was questioning enough for Ruby to understand hid confusion.

"She refers to the flesh of the ..."

The creature took the chance to explain, its eyes filled with contemplation, looking back at the piece of flesh. Then, as if making its mind up, it stood, approaching the still cooking flesh.

"Since you’re awake, it should be ok!" It said, pulling the meat off the stick and approaching Kieran.

"What are you doing? It’s not done yet!" Ruby blurted in a tone filled with confusion, and worry.

’It’s acting up again!’ she thought, her unease growing.

The creature paused mid step and turned its piercing gaze towards Ruby, an amused glint dancing within its emerald eyes.

"What’s acting up?" it asked.

Ruby stiffened, her eyes widening in shock. That question was too specific, as if it had read her mind.

’What was that!’

Ignoring the creature’s question, she avoided eye contact. Every moment with that thing just felt unnatural.

’Thing? Strange, coming from one of her kind’

A small smile creeped onto the creature’s face, withdrawing its gaze as it crouched in front of Kieran, holding out the piece of meat.

"Eat this, it will help!" it said in a neutral tone before remembering that Kieran was unable to move his body tearing out a small piece for him.

The creature seemed intent on feeding Kieran, holding out the piece of meat as its curious eyes observed Kieran who was having none of it, clenching his teeth through the pain. The creature sighed and turned to Ruby.

"Let me try!"

Ruby said from behind, taking the meat from the creature who offered it without resistance, retreating to its previous seat by the flames. It had a peaceful air around it as it watched the flickering flames, unbothered by Kieran and Ruby.

"I don’t know why he said you could eat this, but I think we can trust him... at least with this." Ruby said, crouching next to Kieran.

Seeing this, she let out a sigh and tried again.

"If it wanted to kill you, it wouldn’t need to go through all this trouble. It even saved you from that beast earlier," Ruby said, her tone more persuasive.

’Saved me? It was the reason I was in that situation in the first place! But still, why didn’t it just leave me to die?’ Doubt creeped into his mind.

Despite his resentment, Kieran forced himself to think rationally. Ruby had a point. The creature had shown any sign of hostility – at least not directly.

’I’ll just have to get stronger if I wish to change anything!’ At this moment, the words of his instructor flashed across his mind.

He had just been played to the point of death, just to satisfy the hidden intensions of some creature stronger than him. It left a pretty bitter taste in his mouth.

Reluctantly, he opened his mouth, allowing Ruby to feed him a small piece.

"It might not taste good since it’s no–"

Ruby stopped midway watching the bitterness in his eye melt into akin to shock, then a mad hunger.

’Why does he have that kind of expression on his face? It’s basically raw meat!’ Ruby thought, confused and worried.

Kieran on the other hand had been sent to another dimension the moment the piece of meat touched his tongue, one filled with divine flavors! It felt like his taste buds had erupted!

He honestly thought he couldn’t get a better experience than the head chef’s cooking he had eaten on the day of the orientation, but even the chef’s food paled in comparisons to what he had just tasted.

’Would have been better if there was some blood on it!’

The strange thought froze Kieran. Where had that come from?

With Ruby’s help, he managed to devour the huge chunk of meat without much issue, his gaze expressing his unspoken desire for more.

Meanwhile, the creature sat by the fire, observing silently, as if watching an entertaining performance.

At the end of his meal, Kieran had recovered enough strength to talk and move his body without feeling like he was about to fall apart. At least while he didn’t try to make any kind of exaggerated movements.

Testing the limits of what he could do for now, Kieran dropped his scythe which felt evidently heavier than before and turned towards the creature who was still acting as the silent spectator, walking up to him.

’It’s time to have a talk’

Kieran took a seat in front of the creature which gazed at him with an unbothered expression.

"Don’t you have something to tell me?"

Kieran asked, expecting an explanation.

’Young yet so bold’

The creature thought amused at Kieran’s lack of fear.

"What do you wish to hear? You completed your part of your bargain and I have released your friend!"

The creature said causing Kieran to frown.

"What do you mean? I wasn’t the one who killed that!"

Kieran growled, pointing at the headless body of the beast which laid dead on the piece of land where he had cleared out the two groups of beasts.

"But I got what I was after regardless, so I consider it a success"

The creature said, rendering Kieran speechless.

"Why don’t I ask you the questions."

"Why do you move with their kind?" It asked suddenly.

"What do you mean their kind?"

Kieran frowned at the creature’s words which hinted at something he didn’t know.

There was a lot he was just discovering about himself and a lot he had yet to discover. The last thing he needed was another one thing to add to the list. Little did he know how long the lost actually was and how many more things he was still going to add.

"You don’t seem like one of them to me"

"Why would you say so"

Kieran furrowed his eyebrows, his confusion evident on his face.

"You don’t smell like them. You do.... but then you don’t!"

The creature tried to explain but it seemed to be able to put it into the right words. It probably needed to expand its vocabulary.

"What are you even trying to say?"

Kieran dismissed the creatures claims.

Basing his claims of him being different on just his smell was beyond his understanding. Sure, the feature in front of him was in no way normal, but even then, accusing him of not being human felt like a sour joke.

"Alright then!"

The creature dropped the topic, seeing Kieran’s irritation starting to increase after a few questions.

"But why do you fight yourself?"

"What do you mean?"

Kieran felt like facepalming after hearing another weird question from the mouth of the creature. What did it mean by fighting himself?

"I’ve watched you battle. It feels unnatural...you reject the path your body offers."

"It seems like you can barely see it, which is rather surprising, but what is more confusing is the fact that you reject it!"

The creature said, leaving Kieran at a loss.

He still didn’t understand what the creature was trying to tell him.

"I approached you without ill intent because I felt a faint sense of something familiar from you, but it seems like whatever it was is still hidden."

"When you’re strong enough, seek me out. I would like to see you again! Make sure to use the energy in the flesh well."

The creature stood up, preparing to take its leave.

"I also didn’t forget our deal"

It said, waving its hands and the head of the beast fell out of nowhere, surprising both Ruby and Kieran.

Looking away from the huge head, the creature had disappeared and Kieran could no longer sense its presence.

"How are we supposed to get that back to camp?"

Kieran asked, looking at the head that was a big as him standings straight.

"We drag it?"

Ruby joked, but then stopped laughing feeling the seriousness radiating from Kieran.

"Wait, we really are going to have to drag it?!"