Archer[Quinn] wasn't sure why, but for some reason Ryo[Eno] seemed to disdain making a decision on his own, rather opting to let others decide for him. It seemed like he was either afraid of having to take responsibility for the consequences of such an action… or perhaps he simply didn't care about the outcome either way.
'What's up with having to decide? Didn't he say that killing the Demon tier beast would get rid of the Markings?' Archer[Quinn] wondered.
'Indeed, he did, ' Odom[Vincent] confirmed it. 'I'm afraid that technically speaking he isn't wrong about that. The Markings do seem to disappear from their bodies, but they also seem to be taking their life force away as they do.'
'It's hard to say whether he knew this would be the outcome, but if he told you about this possibility I'm certain you would have attempted to try and find another way to help those that have been Marked without killing the Demon tier.' Odom[Vincent] added.
'I was an idiot to just trust him that defeating the Demon tier beast would be the end of it!' Archer[Quinn] replied, pissed, 'Now it's too late to look for another way!'
'Archer[Quinn], now is not the time for regrets. As far as we know, this might have very well been the only solution. Just look at the current state of the Shelter! It has been taken over to this degree, despite you having acted as soon as you did! Barely any survivors are left standing. Do you really think we had the time to look for another way?'
The screams of people throughout the Shelter continued and Archer[Quinn] had to agree that Odom[Vincent] was right. He had to make a choice about whether or not to help them. Regardless of what could have happened, what Ryo[Eno] should have told him, he had to solve the situation their actions had led them to.
Originally, they had intended to use that Demon tier beast crystal on Mill[Sil]. This was the exchange that was needed to use his power, but Archer[Quinn] had other ideas about this in the first place, this was only his back up plan.
He never wanted to rely on Ryo[Eno] using his powers, but when he came across two Demi-god tier beasts as well, he now had enough to use Ryo[Eno] if he wanted to, which meant the Demon's crystal could now be used to create a weapon.
Until, Ryo[Eno] had just dropped this bombshell on him.
"Archer[Quinn], you can continue to hesitate but that will also have been your decision then, " Ryo[Eno] stated, holding up the crystal.
Rolling around on the floor, Ko was barely conscious enough to register the conversation around him. Lawson[Nat]urally, he wanted Archer[Quinn] to use the Demon crystal to heal him, but more so he wanted his family members to survive this ordeal.
Alas, he was also aware just how precious a Demon tier crystal was. Factions would have wars to obtain such a thing. At the moment, the human race only had two Demon tier weapons, one belonging to Pure and the other to Drake[Oscar].
A third one would be of great help against the Oregon[Dalki].
'After everything we have done to treat the Cursed like crap, they don't owe us anything, ' Ko sighed, as he fought through the pain. He pulled out the Demi-god tier crystal from the side of his pouch and passed it on to Nora[Hayley].
The veins on his neck were showing, and it was hard for him to even speak. He was going through intense pain.
"Give it…to them." Ko requested through gritted teeth.
Turning, Archer[Quinn] could see this… and it helped him make a choice.
"I can't do it! I can't be the selfish person you seem to want me to be Ryo[Eno]!" Archer[Quinn] stated. "We can always find more Demon tier crystals, but we can't bring back the dead."
"Are you sure about this, Archer[Quinn]? You know how long it has taken to find a crystal like this, and even though there are more, there isn't a lot of time until the Oregon[Dalki] will arrive, " Ryo[Eno] questioned Archer[Quinn]'s determination.
"If the Oregon[Dalki] attack, and we don't have a Demon tier weapon, then I'll just find another way to defeat them! I've come this far without having to rely on them!" Archer[Quinn] shouted.
At that moment, the crystal was seen as it was chucked in the air, and landed straight in Archer[Quinn]'s hands. He was confused, as the crystal still had its glow and power.
"Wait, Ryo[Eno], I said save them, I told you to use the crystal!" Archer[Quinn] said.
"Archer[Quinn]!" Nora[Hayley] shouted with tears running down her face. "He's getting better!"
Although they had gone through a lot of pain, the Marking had disappeared and Ko's breathing had slowed down, returning to normal. He was still weak, but his health had visibly improved.
'Did he use his skill[ability] without having to use the crystal?' Archer[Quinn] wondered.
'No that's not it, we can't activate our skill[ability] like this, ' Odom[Vincent] clarified.
"I see you're confused." Ryo[Eno] said. "That crystal is rightfully yours to keep. Do what you wish with it, I told you before didn't I, defeating the Demon tier beast would get rid of the Marking. Everyone should be okay now."
"I just wanted to know, Archer[Quinn], what your answer would be when you would be faced with such a situation. We can always ask people these types of questions, but only when they are faced with the real situation is it possible to discover someone's real character."
"This time, you didn't really have to decide, but in the future there is no guarantee you will have such a luxury. It might be better for you to get used to this!"
Ryo[Eno] then started to walk away from Archer[Quinn], who unsurprisingly wanted to smash his face in for putting him through something like that, but Odom[Vincent], as his voice of reason, told him that Ryo[Eno] had a point of doing all this.
Although Archer[Quinn] wasn't particularly listening to Ryo[Eno], he chose to refrain from hitting him, if only due to how weak his body was currently feeling. It would be impossible for him to defeat even a regular vampire at the moment, much less one like Ryo[Eno].
Before Ryo[Eno] was out of sight, he suddenly stopped for a few seconds and turned around.
"Your earlier decision... it reminds me of William[Arthur] ."
'I'm like William[Arthur], what does he mean by that?' Archer[Quinn] thought.
——
After a while, everyone who had been Marked and turned woke up again. Those that had been afflicted were aware of what they had done. Although they had not been in control of their body, they still felt responsible, which caused quite the awkward situation for many of them but the main issue was the Shelter that had suffered severely from all their scuffles.
Ko, Rachael[Linda] and Nora[Hayley] were in charge of organising things to restore it to its former glory.
The first order was to heal all those that had been injured, including Ko and his family members. He wanted to have the sweet reunion and talk with his family he had desperately longing for, but it was time he did his job as Faction leader and head of the Shelter.
The Meshack[Graylash] family had been given their own room in the Shelter. Due to what had happened they didn't want to make a report back to Christopher[Owen] just yet, and waited for Archer[Quinn]'s order before proceeding to take any type of action. For the time being they just retrieved General Robin's body, which they respectfully put into a coffin.
When Archer[Quinn] entered the room, everyone was surprised to see him.
"Is it okay to get some time, with just me and him?" Archer[Quinn] requested politely.
The Meshack[Graylash] members of course obliged and quickly headed out of the room. Archer[Quinn] went up to the coffin and lifted it up. The large wound on Robin's stomach had expertly been patched up. Nevertheless, the colour of his skin looked pale, yet they had managed to work around it, giving his lifeless body some grandeur for its final rest .
"I'm sorry…" Archer[Quinn] apologised. "I couldn't even save you by turning you. I just wanted to tell you that from the time I met you, I considered you to be a good person and that I never wanted to do this to you. I'm sure you wanted to protect those in the Meshack[Graylash] family. From what I heard, some of those Marked claimed they would have been happier with death than to continue hurting innocent people."
"I wonder if you were the same and you wanted me to stop you like this? Or if you would have wanted to live, but I guess that will be something I'll never know now. I will make sure that you shall be able to live on within me. I have a job to do now, and I shall honor all the lives that have been lost and make sure their sacrifice wasn't in vain, " Archer[Quinn] vowed as he closed the casket and started to walk away.
Once he was out of the room, he took a deep breath and the others quickly went back in.
"Can I even be happy about this?" Archer[Quinn] wondered, as he selected a certain icon from his system.
[Quest rewards received]
To be continued....
Share
