3 Encounter
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3 Encounter

Vroom, vroom~

It was late afternoon. Only one car moved on the bumpy road. Not far from them, a tree lay in the middle of the path. It was impossible for any vehicle to cross the way.

Ace leisurely drove the car with no intention of stopping or taking a detour while his partner sat in the co-driver seat with closed eyes.

“Moshi,” he called.

The youth didn’t answer. He just opened his eyes, which emitted a violet light and the tree was lifted up. Moshi closed his eyes again to lean back.

Whenever there was an obstacle, Ace would simply call out the other’s name and Moshi would use his ability to clear the way.

“Are your eyes okay?”

“So-so.”

With his eyes still directed on the road, Ace didn’t inquire further. After a few moments of contemplation he spoke again. 

“Rest assured, we’re not far from our destination. The compass has never displayed such definite coordinations like now.” He breathed softly, “We’ll get that artifact. I won’t let you down.”

Moshi gave a simple “Yes.” He didn’t sound very touched, but inwardly he was happy that Ace cared so much for him.

The drive continued in that quiet manner; they’d soon reach the next town.

***

A person laid amidst a destroyed store that was no more than a ruin now. Everything crumbled to piles of dust, just the space around the sleeping person was free from pollution. By the time he regained consciousness, the sky had already begun to darken.

The youth opened his eyelids, but his head was still dizzy. By instinct, he reached for his bat, but his weapon was nowhere to be found. After a few moments of confusion, his mind cleared somewhat and he remembered passing out after feeling a thumping pain.

F*CK THAT SH*T! WHICH P*SSY DARED TO KNOCK ME OUT?!

Again, rage filled the young man. In his fury, he hadn’t realized the singularity of the environment. His havoc earlier didn’t reach the level of pulverization, and the dust formed a perfect circle around him. 

It was odd.

But all he could think about was that he wanted to destroy. Even the last bit of land on this godforsaken planet should be scrapped beyond recognition.

It was then when he remembered the katana in his hand. The dark purple cluster mesmerized his mind and like in a trance, his legs dragged him outside the store.

Swish, sash!

The sword danced in beautiful arcs. It mercilessly cut down what crossed its path. The stupid parasitic plant sprouts, or metal scraps of cars— everything was chopped into tiny pieces.

Not even the buildings were spared. The youth swung the katana  while the tip sent out invisible wind slashes to crush entire walls.

He got higher than he ever reached with any climax.

Time ticked by, and the whole street resembled a post war battlefield. His ecstasy lasted until a wet sensation on his face woke him up. At some point, it had begun to rain without him realizing.

“Number One…” he suddenly remembered his oldest hen, which had provided him with food and companionship over the years. The cloud in his mind vanished and panic took its place. Number One was left outside together with his other poultry stock. They were well domesticated, and it was normal for them to wander outside without supervision.

It would only take a loud beat against something to call them back. But today of all days, the youth wasn’t there to call them back. The sky darkened earlier, which wouldn’t pose a problem normally— if it weren’t for the rain. 

The disappearance of humanity didn’t occur with any supernatural event like a pandemic zombie outbreak or a meteor crash. There was no visible change in the pre- and post-apocalyptic earth. 

Despite this, the weather still underwent an unseen change, which consequences couldn’t be neglected. Small and vulnerable animals couldn’t withstand the rain. They would simply drop dead, like moths that got too close to the flame, a few days after being exposed to the weather for too long. But the rain wasn’t poisonous per se, because neither he nor plants were affected by this.

He ran back to his current hideout with his new weapon in hand. When he nearly reached his destination, the familiar sound of Number One’s and the other chicken’s cackling could be heard— they were safe and sound cuddled together. 

When they saw the youth, a shiver of fear flashed by their eyes. But the culprit didn’t realize that in the slightest. He dismissed it as a simple mood swing, because of the weather.

It was, after all, not the first time they experienced the strange rain. The last time that rain appeared was still vivid in his memory— it was a total disaster. He was in the middle of the road without a shelter in close proximity, when the rain caught them off guard. As a result, the poultry had received a full shower of the unpredictable rain. 

One young hen died instantly, the only male duck went insane and killed itself, while three roosters succumbed to death over the course of one week. But the most vicious case was with the group of chicks and ducklings; they began to devour each other in the middle of one night. On the next day, three blood painted chicks hid under their dead mother hen. 

If a pile of minced meat with feathers could be described as a hen. Even though it was a fairly young hen and there were over a dozen of opponents, still, to be able to brutally crush a matured hen to this extent…

He shook his head frantically until the yet to dry drops of rain left his dark brown hair. Even then, he didn’t stop shaking, as if he was discarding the memory with the remaining liquid altogether. 

The picture of that bloodbath still gave the youth goosebumps. The scary part was, that he had heard absolutely nothing that night. Meaning that— one, they either had learned concealment magic, two, they had become mute, or three, they killed each other before anyone could let out a sound. 

In precaution of a repetition of that massacre, he consequently killed the remaining three odd chicks and burned down the building with the bloody mess. Whatever the truth was, he swore to never expose them to the rain ever again. 

It was a huge loss for him at the end of the day. 

Without enough stock, he couldn’t breed new chicken. That would cut down a safe supply line and diminish his survival rate by a huge chunk. Therefore, he was relieved to see them lively cuddled together in the corner. 

Of course he didn’t forget to make a headcount. 

One, two, three…seven...

All hens were there, ducks too, as well as the chicks and ducklings. Only...

F*ck.

...Sin was missing.

The youth ran out again and wanted to shout. However, he had only now realized that his throat was sore and temporarily scrapped. Not talking was under normal circumstances no hindrance and a mood question, but it was fatal in his current predicament.

He ran around like a headless chicken in hope to run into Sin, or at least get a trace of him. One by one he went down the streets that damn rooster could have gone along. 

Still, he couldn’t find anything. 

But to his shock, there was the sound of an unfamiliar car engine starting in the distance. None of the remaining animals on earth could control a car, which indicated only one thing. 

—Other humans appeared.

Does that count as gore?
  • Yes Votes: 2 5.7%
  • No Votes: 12 34.3%
  • Maybe if it's bloodier Votes: 21 60.0%
Total voters: 35
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