Apocalypse Reset: My Crab Can Heal the World! - Chapter 69

Chapter 69: Christening the -Other- Boat
“My, my,” Adon says, hovering over a small woman. He found her out in the field atop a tall plateau, going about her early morning chores. He was thankful for his new wings – without them, he’d have never made it all the way up here.

“So, the entrance to your city must be up here somewhere,” Adon smiles, pushing his face up against her neck. “Wouldn’t you say?”

“I’ll never tell you!” she shrieks, her pasty face flush red and her thick eyebrows furrowed in rage. “You nasty vampire!”

She tries to attack him again, but he’s grown tired of that. With a lightning-fast swing of his claw, he slices her hand off. She howls in agony, clutching her bleeding wound.

“Don’t bother, a cut from a Master Vampire will never heal,” he snarls, standing up and kicking her over. “Don’t worry. You’ve given me plenty of information already.”

He looks to the horizon. The sun is just beginning to rise. He’ll have to stick to exploring the thick forest for now, but he’s closer than ever to locating this ‘Hidden City’.

“Don’t you worry, little ones,” Adon says dreamily, thinking of the people inside the Hidden City. “I will attend to every single one of you before long…with my lovely friend here as my first witness.”

Adon glances down. The woman is already dead, bled out from her gushing wound. “Hopefully you’re not all so fragile.”

…

As Barns packs up, he makes Maria check the System Logs one more time.

“Still no updates,” she smiles, laying in her bed.

Barns moves to pat her leg, then hesitates. ‘Right, that’s where the vampire bit her.’

“Okay,” Barns exhales. He wanted her to triple check the situation in Ordella. If the number drops, that means someone has died. But his progress is stable for now, so he assumes things are going well in Ordella.

“Just gotta trust Clancy,” he smiles, talking mostly to himself. “You sure you’ll be okay alone here with Underhill?”

“I’ll be fine,” Maria smiles. “The guy’s a creep, sure, but he saved my life.”

They decided shortly ago that Osmond would join Barns and Skado on their journey north. They had everything they needed to kill Adon – A legendary hero, a powerful demon, and a sack of ashes that belong to Adon’s dead relatives. They entrust it to Skado, who’s confident he’ll find a way to use it one way or another.

“It’s all we have left,” Osmond notes. “Underhill is doing some experiments with it with his Artisans.”

“It should be plenty,” Skado smiles, packing it into his bag. He keeps the bag with him at all times, and by his own estimates, he has everything needed to kill 99% of the creatures he might run into at any given moment. He’d have said 100% if not for immortal beings like Master Vampires and their tricky rules of engagement.

“Have Underhill send work to Ordella that we’ve headed north,” Barns requests. Maria taps her forehead with one finger, letting him know she remembers.

“Already done. Zelia showed me how to send messages to people remotely just yesterday.”

“You could’ve let me know you were okay, if that’s the case!” Barns says, playfully agitated.

“But then you wouldn’t have come to visit, and what fun is that?” Maria winks. “See you boys later.”

As they depart down Dimartino’s streets, another young man – Underhill – lurks nearby at the harbor. He’s looking up at the mighty vessel brought in by Barns and Clancy. Repairs on the ship have been proceeding swimmingly, and a new sail stitched for the seaworthy vessel.

“Think of all the supplies we’ll be able to bring in,” Underhill grins, rubbing his hands together. “Travel between Ordella and Dimartino will be so fast!”

He turns to the man next to him, Dimartino’s Mayor Quinn. The warm fellow stands wide, his hands at his hips. “All she needs is a good name,” Quinn informs him. “We’re having the townsfolk submit proposals, but some of them are…”

“Yes, I saw the ‘S.S. Foam’,” Underhill rolls his eyes. “The townsfolk really got some kinda crab fever going on.”

Quinn nods resolutely. “The King is our hero, none of us would be alive today if not for him.”

Underhill chuckles, his attention fixed on the ship in the harbor. “Hey, Quinn,” he says quietly, his voice carrying a slight hint of sincerity for once. “We already got a name for the ship. They want to name it after a hero? Name it the S.S. Yunie.”

Quinn is startled by the suggestion. “Yunie…why, that’s brilliant, Underhill! What a fantastic suggestion, I’ll write it down at once!”

Underhill tips his hat at the mayor, and steps past him. The merchant and police captain has places to be. Before he leaves, he throws a remark over his shoulder.

“She was a good egg, or so they say,” Underhill notes. “Hate to see her go, right when she and I finally built some kinda understanding, you know? Maybe havin’ this ship be named after her, that’ll keep her around a bit. Just ask the kid if he’s okay with it.” As he finishes, he struts off.

“The kid – oh, you must mean young Master Roscoe!” Quinn realizes. “I’m sure he’d be delighted for his sister to be honored in such a way!”

Quinn looks around. Underhill’s already stalked off, and he’s talking to himself.

Underhill had always been a slippery one, but this time, Quinn finds himself agreeing with the man’s sentiment. He might be a sneaky bastard, but he has the right instincts.

Quinn smirks, lighting a cigarette and blowing smoke into the harbor. Even the nice old mayor had his vices – though he did not partake in the time-honored Dimartino tradition of whore-play.

‘These things didn’t kill me the first time,’ he thinks to himself, taking another drag. He blows the smoke in a quick, steady jet that flies out over the water.

‘The S.S. Yunie…it’s perfect, Underhill. Yunie’ll be what keeps Ordella and Dimartino close. We couldn’t have asked for a better way to honor her sacrifice.’

Quinn drops the cigarette and grinds it into the ground, having only taken a few drags. He didn’t want the smoking to get him in his second life, either.

“Hm? What’s this?” Quinn asks, looking down. A translucent screen of some sort has appeared in front of him.

[New Message from: Zelia]