On the rooftop of the building stood a young man, eating an apple with a bored, expressionless face, his burning eyes staring at the sky covered with smoke.
Sitting up, he cracked his sore neck, letting out a yawn, and looked down, his posture hunched.
Then he stood up, patting his coat, spat out the skin of the apple, took a step forward and fell, his boots crashing against the ground loudly, but despite jumping from such a height, he wasn't hurt.
He moved through the east borough. Everywhere he looked, he saw nothing but poverty, sickness and despair.
People were discouraged with life, their living conditions terrible and their health poor.
Lowering his head, he watched a child checking the corpse of an older man, his skin showing a bluish hue.
Hmm... He died from the cold, around two or three days ago, his body isn't rotting yet. Sam thought calmly while the boy pulled at the stiff arm, barely managing to remove it from the pocket, the arm making a cracking sound like it was made from wood.
Sam shook his head, taking another bite from his apple, navigating with his Desire Sense and observing his surroundings, his keen instincts giving no signs of what he was looking for.
Hmm... This area is empty too... He licked the inside of his cheeks, removing skin that had gotten between his teeth, and spat it out. Let's move to the next location then...
Thinking like this, Sam decided to continue his task, scouting the eastern borough to map criminal organisations.
For now, there was nothing but insignificant groups that he had no interest in.
Accelerating, he rooted himself in place abruptly, his boots finding purchase, and launched himself forward, leaping onto another rooftop and glancing at the giant clock, barely visible through the smoke.
An hour... That's the time I have until the Demoness wakes up. He sighed, displeasure twisting his features.
Because he had forcefully formed a connection to her through a link, he knew when the effects of his curse would fade, so he needed to hurry back to Bravehearts Bar.
Now that I think about it, I need to find someone to sell me information. This is such a chore. Sooner or later I can make a map, sure, but it's too time-consuming. I'll just find someone to give me information about criminal organisations, pay them, and be done with this. Licking his lips, Sam slid down and then jumped, grabbing a balcony and launching himself forward, rolling onto another roof.
Now that I've decided what to do about the map... the Demoness, she's a chore too. At this point I'll kill her and sell her Beyonder Characteristics. She's refusing to sell her soul, so what can I do? Release her? No way. It's not like I'm asking for eternal slavery, just five years. What's the big deal? The more Sam thought about Trissy, the more irritated he found himself. His anger mostly came from the fact that he needed to masturbate constantly so that when he was near her, he'd be so exhausted he wouldn't even care about her charm, post-nut clarity was there to assist too.
But he didn't like it. Not only did it feel disgusting to do constantly, it also drained him. He felt like he had a hard time focusing on his tasks, even now, feeling so lethargic that instead of mapping criminal organisations himself, which is something he would usually do without a second thought, he had decided to find an informant.
And besides that, there was one last reason for his irritation. Every time he did it, he thought about her. It wasn't like he wanted to, she would just pop up in his head.
"You have a crush on her?" Malice whispered in his mind, holding back laughter.
"Hell no." Sam shook his head, covering his face as he slowed down, walking calmly.
"Hmm... Why are you thinking about her right now then?" Malice finally burst into laughter, his loud voice echoing in Sam's head.
Sam remained still for a moment, looking down with a grimace as he once again began thinking about Trissy. "Shit..."
He cursed under his breath. It felt like she was a drug at this point, the more he thought about her, the more his lust grew. But at least his trait as Cold-blooded was fighting against it, giving him a rational mind.
"The Demoness's charm is really annoying."
"Kill her then." The insidious voice of Hollow was as chilling as his words, devoid of any emotion, as if Trissy were nothing but a maggot to step on.
"Wait wait, I think he actually likes her." Malice spoke with amusement, his instigating voice filled with mocking glee.
"Fuck it, I'm going to kill her." Sam groaned and leaped down, walking onto Iron Grate Street, and after crossing the bridge, reached Bravehearts Bar.
Opening the door, he waved at the barman, greeting him casually, and instantly headed downstairs, stepping down into the basement and reaching her.
The Curse of Slumber was still in effect, forcing her to sleep, her lovely features soft and peaceful as she inhaled and exhaled, her chest rising and falling.
She was dirty, her hair filled with blood and filth, unkempt, she didn't smell as great as she had before either, but for some reason it was still pleasant, and her appearance still alluring.
Sam observed her for a moment, then grabbed a rifle, aiming at her head, sliding a bullet into the receiver, about to squeeze the trigger and put one through her skull.
"Do it." Hollow said simply, his tone neither excited nor bloodthirsty, it just was, like his name, empty and hollow.
Sam remained still, gritting his teeth, about to pull the trigger but eventually he exhaled, his body relaxing as he grabbed the rifle, pulling the ejector and popping the bullet out, catching it in the air and setting both on the table.
"Stop talking big if you don't have the guts to pull it." Hollow retreated to the back of his mind, his voice fading.
"I know..." Sam sighed, taking a seat and covering his face, remaining still for a long time.
Finally, the effects of the curse ran out and Trissy stirred from her slumber, her expression disoriented and lost until she regained her bearings, looking up and scanning the room, her eyes inevitably finding Sam, who was leaning forward with his face buried in his hands, his pitch-black hair streaked with stunning gold spilling over his fingers.
She did not move, did not look away either, just staring at him tentatively, her expression composed and lovely, adorable in the way only a fair lady can be.
After either killing her curiosity or satisfying desire, she sighed, licking her scarlet lips, her eyes half-lidded and her aloof look strangely seductive.
"Missed me?"