Code Collector

Allen's tears fell from his eyes as all the memories of the past came flooding back. His body was trembling and he couldn't help but grit his teeth, trying to suppress the anger and guilt that was threatening to burst out.

"I remember now," Allen said. He pulled out five Basic grade tools from his Inventory and dropped it in front of Chen. He didn't even bother looking at what they were or how much valuable it was to him. "Thank you. Our deal is done."

After saying those words, the boy used the effect of his cloak and vanished into thin air. Chen's men were about to look for him but the man only raised his hand on his side, signalling for them to stop.

"Let him," Chen said with a stern voice. "I don't think any one of us can handle that rage."

"But boss—"

Chen spun to face his men, both the bald man and the buzzcut man gasped after seeing their boss. His eyes were wide, showing fear but his mouth was grinning widely. "That man isn't something we can handle."

Meanwhile, the forest was filled with constant screaming and a surge of dark and sorrowful aura. A dark figure was running across the forest floors as he spread his darkness around it.

Not one creature ever tried to go near him. Just his aura alone made them scared to their bones, even the high tier Rare grade beasts.

"You killed her."

"It's your fault!"

"If only you were faster, or stronger. She didn't die."

"You blamed your teammates for her death when it was all your fault!"

"Die!"

"Perish!"

"Stop living."

Allen reached a small clearing where he lost all his energy. He dropped to his knees and his mask fell to the ground. He didn't know what he was feeling, but he knew that he didn't like it. 

It was like there was a huge lump in his throat that he couldn't swallow. Or a huge thorn in his heart that let the blood flow out like a river. The feeling of sadness was too intense that his body was shutting down.

"I'm sorry," Allen whispered. He looked up to the skies and watched the stars twinkle over the thin sheets of clouds. "I'm sorry."

"Allen!"

A voice was calling his name, and it was her.

The boy closed his eyes as he let his body shut down. The last thing he remembered was a woman in a blue suit approaching him.

"…len." He heard again.

"I'm sorry."

"Dante."

–

Allen's eyes fluttered open. He was inside an unfamiliar room that wasn't s duplicate of his room in Camp Twyla. The walls were gray and the sheets were soft. The air wasn't warm nor cold, it was just right.

"You're awake, huh?" Allen sat up and saw that Sebastian Lincoln was standing by the window. The man was leading his body on the windowsill while his arms were crossed and his long blonde hair gently flowing in the air.

"Sebastian…" Allen trailed off. "Where am I?"

"In a villa I built in the middle of the woods," Sebastian replied. "I come here to cleanse my soul when I felt a strange darkness in the middle of my woods. I didn't like strange darknesses, so I came to investigate. That's when I found you screaming gibberish in the middle of a clearing while looking up at the sky with tears in your eyes."

"I'm sorry," Allen muttered. "I must've bothered you."

"As a matter of fact, you did," Sebastian said bluntly. "I was in the middle of a call with my friend who's also living in these woods when you called."

The description suddenly rang a bell in Allen's mind. He didn't knew every single Hunter in the Otherworlds but he knew a particular Hunter who was also staying in the forests in his villa that he built.

"You have a friend that lives in the forests too?" Allen asked to which Sebastian answered with a nod. "Is his name—"

"Bernard," Sebastian cut him off. "He was the person who referred you to me. That man was also my student in aura control, and he was the best of the best."

"I bet," Allen smirked. "That man soloed a giant high tier beast along with three of its offsprings. When they fought, it was like he was the beast and the wolf was the prey."

"As expected of a Primordial Beast Bearer," Sebastian said, making Allen's smile wipe off from his face. "I assume he didn't introduce himself to you based on your reaction, but yes. Bernard is the Ox's Bearer."

"Ox…" Allen repeated. "But the person who owned the Ox was a woman. Sylvia Franco, the woman who could destroy a car by her brute strength alone."

"And she had a child named Bernard Franco," Sebastian said. "Sylvia was my mother's best friend and they both became Hunters the exact same day. It just happened that Sylvia last hit the Ox before my mom did. My mom got jealous and she quit being a Hunter."

"But you're good friends with Bernard?" Allen asked to which Sebastian answered with a smirk.

"We're more than good friends," the blind man answered. "We were each other's own, the only person both of us can rely on at the darkest times. On other times, we just hang out."

"Wait a minute," Allen took off the blanket and stood. "You knew Bernard and he knew that I wasn't just a normal Hunter. Then why didn't he say anything?"

"He didn't want to get you involved," Sebastian said. "He knew you have the Snake, and if he tells you his real identity, you might lean on him for help which is not a good idea."

"And why not?" Allen scoffed. "He's one of the few people who has reached the fourth world. He's not a man who is easily scared of something else."

"But Bernard isn't a man of the Fourth World," Sebastian said. "Right after the Fire Dragon Incident, Sylvia replied and she gave the Code to her son. But Bernard hasn't even ascended to Eternity yet. It was the Ox who rose, but not him."

"So…" Allen trailed off. "Bernard is not as strong as his mother?"

"He's currently the most powerful man in Paradise," Sebastian replied. "But beyond that, he's nothing. Among the one hundred Hunters in Eternity, Bernard is just one of the lowest. He's not someone who ascended quickly after gaining the Primordial Beast Code. The Code isn't a shortcut to getting stronger, after all."

"But it—" Allen cut himself. "Why did I even get stronger than most Hunters in my level?"

"That's because you have the Snake," Sebastian said. "Among the eleven Primordial Beast Codes, only the Dragon, Rat, and Dog has the power that can rival the world. The others were equal to one nation, a power similar to four Hunters in Eternity. Then came you."

"M-Me?" Allen pointed at himself. "What about me?"

"No one has ever expected that the Snake would come," Sebastian said. "We just thought that the Snake Beast was killed or lost forever. Everyone just simply forgot about it. The higher ups just think that there are only eleven Primordial Beasts left. They watched the stone slate with the glowing engravings of the beasts, already giving up of waiting for the snake to glow like the others.

"But then it did," Sebastian smirked. "Two months ago when a group of interns were inspecting the stone, the snake glowed. They called out for the research team and everyone could only gasp at the sight. I was there too after a couple of hours, and it was the most majestic thing I saw in my life."

While Sebastian was talking, Allen couldn't help but feel the thrill boil inside him. The way the man tells him about what unfolded that night on the other side of Haven was making him excited all over again. It was like his life restarted for the second time.

"You see, the brighter the engraving on the stone, the more powerful the Bearer is," Sebastian continued. "The other nine were glowing like a dim florescent light, but the three I mentioned before were glowing bright like it was a big light from a studio."

Sebastian shook his head and smiled, remembering the events that happened. "Then came the snake. The brightest light in the stone. When the others shone like stars in the night sky, the snake glowed like the sun in the daytime. It was impossibly bright."

"Why are you telling me this?" Allen asked. "You're obviously stronger than me, and you can just kill me to get the Code or threaten me to give it to you. So why aren't you doing it?"

"Because I'm not like my mother," Sebastian said. "I would never thirst for any Primordial Beast Code. I would get stronger on my own, without any of the Primordial Beast Code's help. But I'm not going to do it alone. I'm helping you, so you could help me."