Chapter 310: To be Edible [1/2]
I knew that compared to a Specter I was crap, but wasn't this bitch being too rude? All I said was hi. Why the fuck did she get mad?
Eva Baker then turned and threw a roundhouse kick at my head. As if expecting it, Phillip was already more than five feet away after introducing us.
'This fucking monocled bastard.'
Concentrating on the task at hand, I shielded my temple with my arm. There was a thud as the woman's foot hit my fist. However, being armed with Liv's {Fate}, such a kick was meaningless to me.
"Mrs. Baker, please calm down," I said through bared teeth.
But the woman just scoffed and sent a palm to my chest. Once again the effect was neutralized. Was this woman fucking retarded? Undeterred, Eva came closer to ram her shoulder into my chest.
Expecting to stop the blow, I used my hand to block her shoulder. However, she then caught my elbow, causing my arm to buckle, while sending her own elbow to my chin before turning and slamming her other elbow into my temple.
Thinking it would be dangerous to continue in such close quarters, I jumped back to create some space between us.
"Look, lady, your strikes barely make a den..."
My words were abruptly cut off as I felt blood drip from my nose. Just as I was about to wipe it off, an immense pain suddenly attacked my insides. I began to vomit black sludge, unable to stop.
A dizzying headache assaulted my senses as my vision began to blur. A sharp ringing sound like tinnitus assaulted my brain. The torture was so intense it took everything I had just to stay standing.
What the fuck?
'Ugh shit, my head is spinning.'
[Mithridat class 4 neurotoxin detected. {Digest} Unable to neutralize substance]
[Mithridat class 5 pathogen detected. {Digest} Unable to neutralize substance.]
" Fuck, as expected from a Specter. {Regen.} [Absorb]!"
Despite the poisons wreaking havoc in my body, I didn't back down and fought them off with my vitality. Within seconds, the deadly diseases were forcefully attracted by my combo skill as my {Fate} restored my body.
Satisfied, Eva nodded in praise. " Ho? Interesting. I'm impressed. You pass."
Feeling something coming up from my stomach, I threw up what looked like black marbles from my body. Clarity returned to my mind after I expelled the foreign material. Wiping my mouth, I drew Ebony and Ivory and aimed it at Eva Baker.
"..."
Why were the Specters all fucking crazy? Roland was probably the only one who didn't try to kill me from the outset.
I had so many questions, but I couldn't get any of them out. This woman really tried to kill me for a reason known only to her. Her husband, Adam, quickly stepped forward and got between my guns and Eva.
With tan skin that looked Hawaiian or something, the man was huge but not fit. Adam's eyes had a fierce glow as he held a pair of glowing single-bladed axes in his hands.
"Adam, I'm fine. Thank you."
The man, upon hearing his wife, made his weapons disappear and stood silently. Phillip then stepped forward and reintroduced the Bakers.
"Limitless, forgive me for withholding their identities. May I present Eva Baker, the Coroner, and her kindred Adam Baker, the Lumberjack. They are famous in Administration for their request that no one could fulfill."
"And why should I care about their wishes? That woman tried to kill me. If I hadn't fought off her poisons, I'd be dead already."
My exclusive clerk then bowed as he apologized. "I apologize, the Bakers do not deal with anyone who cannot meet their standards. That is their absolute rule. I knew you could trump it, but I know that is no excuse."
I shifted the ebony and pointed it at Phillip's head.
"Explain. Now. Before I end you."
This monocled bastard better have a good reason or I will blow his head off.
Eva then walked over to me and took the muzzle of my pistol and placed it on her forehead.
"There are no sane people left in Hellsgate, boy. My {Fate} is called {Blight}. People who hang around me have their bodies decompose as if they were dead. I control decay as if it were my own hand. I could have healed you just as easily as I let your insides rot."
Black symbols manifested all over Eva's body. They looked like black floral patterns etched under her skin.
"My request to the Administration was simple. Find me a Reaper who is not afraid of pain and death. If they fulfill my request, I will return to the front lines."
"..."
As always, the more I learned about the Reapers in Hellsgate, the more I learned that I knew nothing. I stowed the USP Matches away while I eyed Phillip.
"You fucking bastard, all I asked for was someone who could feed 500 people. What the fuck are you selling me out for?"
"Esteemed Limitless, although I am your exclusive employee, fulfilling the Bakers' request will get me a promotion. Besides, since she is a Specter, Mrs. Eva has the meat supply needed to feed so many. She was literally the only one who could fulfill your request."
Eva began to wave her hand in rejection as she interjected.
"Fuck that, there is no way I could cook for 500 reapers right now. You are crazy! Even if my husband and I are good cooks, we can't guarantee the quality with the time we have left. Like I said, for your order, please get the fuck out of my diner."
"If you're worried about the taste or the nutritional value, I don't care. It just has to be edible," I reasoned.
{Comfort Food} would bring immense relaxation to the people who ate it; {Eat} would bring great relief from stress and exhaustion. With both, I believe, no one would even care how it tasted.
However, unlike {Eat}, {Comfort Food} could only be applied to "food". I didn't know how subjective this was, but I didn't have the time to waste on all that. So, like any good capitalist, I found someone I could pay to do it.
"Hmm. If that is the case, then I accept. I am willing to do it in exchange for a favor. I will also use my own supplies of food."
I didn't know how good their food would be, but for 500 people, it should be expensive. But the favor worried me. It was dangerous to agree to something you did not understand.
Probably seeing my hesitation, the woman quickly added.
"Relax, boy, I am not asking you to do anything that would harm your precious harem. My favor is simple. You will accompany me to a zone of my choosing as my backup."
"How do you know about my girls? And I am expensive, you know?"
Eva chuckled arrogantly before answering. "Boy, as the first Formless who has not yet been killed despite the noise you make, there is no Specter who does not know about you."
Her words made me stiffen. It seemed that everyone who had passed through the ranks of the Phantoms knew the rules for the Formless. I didn't know whether to be flattered or concerned.
"..."