[Melas] Chapter 140. Felix III - Hunters (Patreon)

A Cat Beastkin and a Dog Beastkin stood before Felix. They spoke nonchalantly with each other, conversing as though there wasn’t an Atrocity right there.

“It looks ugly, though,” the Cat Beastkin, a white-haired girl named Rin, said with a disgusted look. “Are they always so ugly?”

The Dog Beastkin, Shang, sighed. His red-furred droopy ears twitched in annoyance. “Yes, Rin. They are.”

“Nn, I see.”

Felix stared at them, baffled. Did they not know what they were up against? It was an Atrocity— one of the most dangerous variants of an Abomination there was. It was known for its intelligence. It could command other Abominations as an Amalgamation would. And unlike Amalgamation, it didn’t need thousands of corpses to form. Atrocities needed only time and a few powerful host bodies.

It was fast, terrible, and strong. The two Beastkin would be ripped apart in mere moments. Felix had to warn them. He opened his mouth as he felt the power of his miracles coursing through his body. But before he could even do anything, the Atrocity bounded for Shang and Rin.

“No!” he shouted as the glowing green lines covering his body almost seemed to shoot out. It covered the air like string, reaching out to tangle the Atrocity. However, it was too fast. His miracle wouldn’t catch it in time. It grabbed for the Cat Beastkin—

And she flipped out of the way.

“Whew, that was close!” She twisted in the air as the Atrocity stumbled forward.

The Dog Beastkin drew a crimson sword and struck the bumbling creature from behind, aiming for its ‘limbs’. It let out a chittering cry as its body glowed brilliantly in reaction to the attack. It swung back for him, but he easily ducked under the thudding hit. He slashed the Atrocity across its chest, marking it with an ‘X’ shape before leaping away.

It gave chase— only for the places he had sliced open to combust into yellow flames. The Atrocity stumbled back as its chittering grew louder, and the outer blue bulbs began to melt away. A moment after, Felix’s bindings caught it, wrapping it up before it could steady itself.

“Nn— mine!” Rin yelled as the Atrocity struggled.

Felix blinked. “What are you—” He didn’t even get a chance to finish.

The Cat Beastkin crashed onto the back of the Atrocity and began to tear it apart with her claws. It stumbled and fell over as it tried to pull her off, but the bindings restricted its movements too much. It couldn’t reach over its shoulders to grab the girl. And she took advantage of that.

The Plague Doctor stared as their tangled battle continued. He was in a stupor— a complete daze as to what was going on. Here he was using miracles before the eyes of the Beastkin to fight an Atrocity, but not only did they seem apathetic to that fact, they were also taking down the Atrocity on their own. Was this even real?

“Behind you!” Shang barked, bringing him back to reality.

Felix spun around as the chirpings echoing down the cave grew louder. He directed his miracle towards the oncoming horde of Abominations instead. The green lines peeled off the Atrocity and launched out at the first wave of Abominations, blasting them a part. But as he did that, a deluge of yellow liquid flew towards him, and he tensed. Flames shot out past him, evaporating that acid before it could even reach him.

The Dog Beastkin lowered his blade as he ran up to Felix. The mana crystals lining the sword dimmed, and the fire dissipated.

“Quick, before the other Abominations arrive,” Shang ushered Felix forward.

The Plague Doctor paused. He glanced over at the unconscious Melinda. Shang noticed it too and reached over to pick her up.

“Wait, you can’t touch her,” Felix said hurriedly, stopping the Dog Beastkin. “She has the Noxeus. You’ll have to stay back. I’ll bring her myself.”

Shang paused. Then he nodded. “Hrn, very well. But we must hurry and get out of this cave.”

Felix spoke as he scooped Melinda up and followed behind Shang. “We can’t let these Abominations leave—” he started, but stopped as the Atrocity unleashed a cacophonous chirp.

It echoed over the chittering of the Abominations giving chase to them. The Atrocity ripped Rin off and tossed her aside. Somehow, the Cat Beastkin managed to land on her feet. But the Atrocity’s anger didn’t end there. Its core shone brilliantly as if it was building up something.

“Nn, I don’t think we should be here for what comes next!” Rin shouted, dashing for the cave exit as well.

Shang clicked his tongue . “We won’t let them leave this cave.” He turned to Felix and gestured at the lines covering his body. “But we’ll need you to delay it for a moment.”

The Plague Doctor hesitated. So they know what this is… He had hoped they were just ignorant of what he was doing, but they— or at least, the Dog Beastkin— knew he was using miracles to fight.

Felix could’ve protested— tried to make up some excuse. But all that mattered now was surviving. And he did as he was told.

The lines shot out of his body and knocked the Atrocity back, even before it could unleash the attack it was building up. The explosion stilted it for a moment, and that was enough for them to escape the cave. Right as they reached the exit, a figure stepped out from the trees.

“Feri!” Rin shouted a name. “Do it!”

A young man bumbled forward with a large bag and held up a tube-like object. He squeezed a trigger and a missile launched out at the ceiling of the cave. A large blast shook the earth, collapsing the cave in its entirety, with the Atrocity right at the center. The cavern itself fell on the Abominations— it crushed them before they could even see the light of day.

Felix had thought it wouldn’t be enough. He feared that the Atrocity would pull itself out of the rubble. But he waited with bated breath… and the dust settled. Nothing rose as the last of the debris fell. The Abominations were sealed off or dead.

“Thank you so much…” Hamlin sobbed as he hugged his now-healthy daughter in his arms. “Please, Melinda, never do that again…”

“I’m sorry, Father—”

Felix watched as the father and daughter reunited with tears trickling down their cheeks. A heartfelt moment that would only be ruined by his presence. And yet, they both turned to him and bowed deeply.

“Thank you, Plague Doctor,” they said in unison.

“It was my pleasure. I wouldn’t be the Plague Doctor, after all, if I did not help one in need from the Noxeus.” He tipped his hat at them.

They bade him farewell, and he left their gated manor. He stopped as he saw three figures standing right beyond the gates.

“Nn, don’t you love it when there’s a good ending to a story?”

The three people he met earlier stood before him. Rin, Shang, and the young man called Feri. He was the only Human out of the trio, and he didn’t look nearly as… physically gifted as the Beastkin. That was not to say he was just scrawnier than them. He looked like he’d been malnourished for most of his life.

Felix cleared his throat and nodded at them. “Ah, thank you, kind folks, for your assistance, earlier. I am truly grateful for your help.” He paused. There was a lot he wanted to say— but only one thing echoed in his mind. They knew. He knew that they knew the truth about him. That they were aware of his secret.

“Hrn, we’re Hunters,” Shang said, stepping forward. “We were hired to kill those Abominations, so we were merely doing our job. My name is Shang.”

“I am the Plague Doctor.” Felix proffered his hand.

“Hey, I’m Rin.” The Cat Beastkin quirked her head. “Also, the Plague Doctor? That’s an odd name.”

“I don’t think that’s a name, Rin. I believe it’s a… pseudonym? Or a title of sorts?” Feri tapped a finger on his chin, then smiled and turned to Felix. “I’m Feri, by the way.”

Felix held his hand up, waiting for someone to shake it. When no one did, he balled it toa fist and coughed into his palm. “I am glad you three decided to stay behind rather than heading straight to the Hunters Guild. It does save me… quite a bit of trouble from seeking you out, from there.”

Rin stared at him blankly. “Nn, what do you mean? We’re just here to split the reward.”

“Well, I—” Felix blinked. “Wait, reward?”

“You know! The reward!”

“Uh…”

“She’s talking about the reward we’ll be given by the Hunters Guild,” Shang quickly explained. “Hrn… for killing those Abominations.”

“Ah, well, I am not interested in such things. I helped because I was needed then, not for any kind of prize to claim as my own.”

Although... Felix couldn’t lie and say that he was running low on funds. Especially with how many potions he’d used up just today— it’d cost a lot just to get the ingredients needed to prepare more vials.

“Nn, see, I told you that it wasn’t necessary! We should’ve just collected our reward and left!” Rin harrumphed and crossed her arms at Shang.

Feri raised a placating hand from the side. “Rin, I get what you’re saying, but I don’t think you should be saying that in front of the Plague Doctor.”

“Why not?”

“It’s rude—”

“Ignore them.” Shang chuckled. “Treat her as an… hrn, amusing individual. Don’t take her words too seriously or it will bother you.”

“Do not worry, I’d much prefer transparency, even if it comes in a slightly eccentric way.” Felix shook his head. “However, in regards to that, I’d like to speak with you about what you saw in that cave.”

Rin furrowed her brows. “Wait, what did we see?”

Felix somehow knew she wasn’t joking. He turned to shang, sighing. “I am under the impression that you didn’t divulge the.. .details of what my abilities are to your companions?”

“I assure you, they can be trusted.” Shang gave him a reassuring nod. “I’m sure you would prefer us to be… hrn, tight-lipped about what we had seen?”

“Yes.”

The Plague Doctor stood completely still as he replied. He wasn’t sure if he could trust them. And that was the problem. Could he really just take their word for it and that was that? Everything he’d done would be compromised because of such complacency— the promise he made to Sulla would be forever tarnished.

However, the Dog Beastkin smiled toothily at him. “I can give you my word that none of us shall speak of it to any one or thing. No one shall know of what we saw.”

Rin nodded eagerly. “Nn! I don’t know what’s going on, but I promise!”

“Rin…” Feri sighed.

“Alright, then.” Felix wanted to spin on his heels and be done with this conversation— just leave them be. But his doubts kept him rooted on the ground. And Shang peered into him.

“However, despite my promise, I can tell that you still are skeptical, are you not?”

“Me, skeptical?” Felix laughed and shook his head. “I can assure you, I have nothing to hide. There is nothing I fear. Not the Noxeus, and certainly not people or Monsters.”

“Hrn, yes. That is an admirable trait— and that is another reason why we’ve come to you, Plague Doctor.” Shang gestured at Rin and Feri. “As you already know, we are Hunters. A group of Hunters formerly known as the Claws of Anibes. But as you can see, there are only three of us.”

“Actually, there’s four of us!” Rin interrupted. “Dawa’s just in Esin— he was shopping for better equipment for us.”

“While that is true, four members still is hardly enough for a group of Hunters, no?” Shang gave Felix a knowing look, and the Plague Doctor knew what was to come next. “So, we were hoping to get a new member. One who is quite capable of fending for himself and fighting alongside others.”

“Unfortunately, you are mistaken,” Felix quickly responded. “As I mentioned earlier, I am not doing this for the sake of fortune. I am doing this for the sake of helping others.”

“Hrn, of course. Since you are the Plague Doctor, I know that your duty is to cure people from the Noxeus, yes?” The Dog Beastkin tilted his head slightly. “But I am curious, where exactly is your destination?”

“Why do you ask?”

“You see, I hear that our country, the country of Beastkin,  the Anibes Republic, has been experiencing a growing number of cases of victims to the Noxeus. It also just so happens to be where we’re heading.”

Felix narrowed his eyes beneath his mask. “What are you suggesting?”

“I do believe it’d be a mutually beneficial relationship if you accompany us to Anibes. Especially since the trek from Elios to Anibes is quite the dangerous one for Beastkin like us. Even more so now with Abominations and displaced Monsters. Another member— even a temporary one— would be quite the boon for us. And not only would the people of Anibes greatly benefit from your presence— at least, for a little while— you would also be able to cure those infected you meet along the way.”

It was a long, drawn-out explanation. But Felix saw the merit in his statements. What was more…

Shang leaned forward as if he read the Plague Doctor’s mind. “Furthermore, I can tell you’re suspicious of us. That you’re dubious we’ll keep to our word. I promise you, we will not speak of it to anyone. But you want to verify it yourself, no?”

Felix pursed his lips. That was true. Shang read him like a book. The Plague Doctor wanted to be this caricature which he acted out to be— someone who trusted everyone and took things in stride. But in reality, Felix was incredibly nervous. He was upset that he’d been found out. That everything was at risk.

And he wanted to mitigate that risk.

“What do you say?” Shang asked.

The decision was made there and then. “I am the Plague Doctor,” Felix said jovially, although beneath his mask there wasn’t much of a smile. “I go where I’m needed. And it seems I am needed in Anibes.”

“Then it’s settled. You are now, temporarily, a Hunter.”

Author's Note:

Back to Melas next chapter. Hopefully Saturday. Maybe next week.