I Reject Quests

Denny suddenly realized that she had been too obedient while answering his questions. Why would she do that? She hated the man who kidnapped her. Even if her life is in danger, she wouldn't be this compliant. 

"You… What did you do to me? Ugh!" She started struggling to no avail.

The masked man tapped his fingers on the armrest while looking straight outside. Since the walls were broken, the situation outside the building was quite clear. It was pouring heavily. Even though it's barely seven in the morning, it looked like it was seven in the night.

While looking at the rain, the masked man let out a sigh. "This is the kind of weather that makes me nostalgic." He said, then turned his head to look at the other person present. "What about you? Does it give you fake memories? Does it make you remember events about the past?"

Denny was taken aback for a while. "...It… reminds me… of him…"

"Him? Who is he? Your lover? Father? Uncle?"

"He… is… wait! Why am I answering your questions!?"

Denny again felt strange. Under normal conditions, she wouldn't be so obedient but whenever a question is asked, it's as if she turns off the rational part of the brain and becomes a robot. 

The masked man ignored her and leaned comfortably on the chair while watching the rain calmly.

After a while, Denny opened her mouth. "Is Rewen coming?"

"He should be." The masked man replied. 

"W-what if he doesn't come?" Denny asked with a dry throat while trying to suppress the quivering in her voice.

"Why don't you take a guess?" He had a mask on his face so she couldn't see his face but she could see his face forming a grin. "Oh, well… he is near." 

"Huh? Rewen is near?" Subconsciously, her eyes lit up. 

"You sound happy? Do you care so little about your cousin? You do realize that he could die, right?" The masked man got up from his chair and stretched his arms.

"..." Denny was tongue-tied. She didn't know how she could reply. Human minds are complicated. On one hand, she doesn't want to die. On the other hand, she also doesn't want Rewen to die because of her. Of course, she has her priority. Even though she doesn't want Rewen to die, her desire to live exceeds that. 

That doesn't mean that she doesn't care about the life and death of Rewen. She is merely more concerned for her life. It might come off as selfish but that's reality. People aren't generally selfless. If they can live at the expense of others, they would. 

Outside B.C. Market. 

*Splash*

*Splash*

*Splash*

Taking slow steps, Rewen walked through the streets. His clothes were completely soaked sticking to his body, his dark red hair covering his eyes, and his entire body looked as if it was dragged.

His headache hadn't decreased.

It had only increased.

He wants to give everything up.

He can't tolerate the pain any longer.

'I can't…'

'I can't… I have to persever---'

He tripped on a stone and was about to fall.

'Hah.' 

He balanced himself. He was sure that if he falls this time, he can't wake up. He couldn't resist the allure of letting everything go and taking a rest. He panted heavily, then raised his hands and brushed his hair to see his surroundings clearly. Even though he wanted to see things 'clearly', he could barely make out the surroundings.

With some difficulty, he could see a building in near sight.

With a tired sigh, he started moving.

'I… want to die…'

*Tap*

'I… don't… want to die…'

*Tap*

'Can… I take a… quick rest…?'

*Tap*

'I… want to… take a quick… rest…'

*Tap*

'When will… all of this… be over…?'

*Tap*

'Is… there even… any end?'

*Tap*

Slowly, he reached the building.

"Rewen!!"

Hearing the voice, he turned around. He could see two figures. One was a masked man looking straight at him and the other was a familiar face with her arms and legs tied. 

Rewen heaved a sigh of relief. Although his vision was blurred, he could make out both parties.

"You are X?" Desperately trying to hide the fact that he was currently weak, he asked in a confident manner.

The masked man didn't answer immediately. He walked two steps and looked at the red-haired young man in front of him from head to toe. "You look miserable."

Rewen's eyes constricted. "As expected… you are… you can take off the mask…"

"Hahaha!" The masked man laughed heartily. "I knew that you would recognize my voice but I'm a little confused at your 'as expected'. Are you pretending to be smarter than you are?" Immediately after asking that, he took off his mask.

It was the cop.

It was the first cop Rewen had seen after coming to Earth.

It was the cop who went to the slums after Rewen called for help.

It was the cop who interrogated Rewen and Svety after Rewen's fight with the cannibals at Area 51.

It was the cop who got trapped along with Rewen and Famin in the [Heart Domain].

"..." Denny had her mouth hanging open. She did find his voice somewhat familiar but eventually couldn't pinpoint that it was the cop who she had met when Rewen was hospitalized. 

"Cut the bullshit." Rewen put some force behind his words. "You had a… gun which shoots out bullets powered by mana… only cops who are Martial Artists have guns. Then… you said you encountered bats who tried to influence your mind but since you had a core, it didn't affect you. How can you have a core when you are a Martial Artist? 

"Since you have guns, you shouldn't be a Mage… or at least, shouldn't be registered as a mage. I didn't jump the gun, of course. There was still a chance that maybe you were lying about having a core which is also weird but less strange than you being a mage. That's why I delved deep into the internet and researched about [Heart Domains]. Turns out you weren't lying. 

"At this point, there was very little chance of you lying about you having a core and it was fair to conclude that you were a shady guy. Later, I went through the Police Registry and searched for your information. Everything about you was normal. You lived in Travil Town, have a wife and two kids, and you've been a cop for twelve years. I was starting to get less suspicious of you when I found out that you recently transferred to the town.

"You transferred to this town two months ago. It wasn't odd, at least not back then. What stood out to me was the fact that you aren't even a cop from Travil Town's Police Station and instead from the neighboring town's station. This was extremely strange and it wouldn't be far off if I said that I made up a conspiracy theory in which X is you. Of course, I don't have any definite proof.

"Even so… my original plan was calling for the cops to look after Denny immediately after I sent my voicemail to the State Police Administration… and we all know how it would have turned out. Either way, it wouldn't make a difference, it seems…"

Rewen stopped speaking.

He felt a sharp pain in his chest the moment he stopped speaking.

It was related to the pain in his head but he couldn't care less. He didn't have the time and luxury to concentrate where he was feeling pain. It doesn't really matter to him, at this point.

Denny took some process of what she had just heard. There were a couple of things she didn't understand and had no knowledge about but she understood the gist of it - the cop was someone who was constantly involved in Rewen's business and thus, Rewen found it suspicious. 

X had very little change in expression. "Good. It's good that you have some intelligence. It's good that you have the strength to last till now. All of that is good but… you don't look to be in a good condition." 

Rewen's eyebrows twitched. "I'm indeed not in a good condition… enough chit chat. How do you want to settle this?"

"How else? You give me your device and I give you… I'll make sure to kill both of you without hurting too much. Haha!" X laughed out loud. "Who do you think I am? Some kind soul who is willing to negotiate with a kid? Get real."

Rewen had no change in expression. He quietly observed his movements. 

"So you want to settle it the old fashion way? You and I fight and the one who wins will get whatever he wants. How about that?" 

He was stalling for him in order to use [River of Right Hand].

X chuckled. "Young people like to overestimate themselves. Anyways, don't waste my time, and let's get this done."