Perfect Body: Legacy of Greed

Their conversation was interrupted by Julieth, and with no time for further discussion, they began to move again, leaving the basement and heading for the main street. 

After a quick reconnaissance by two of the bodyguards, the situation seemed different from what they had seen from above. 

The beasts were no longer running frantically, and the reason was that the hunt was over and they were enjoying their meal. 

Only a few that had found nothing were prowling or fighting each other, and even hunting each other, which was a good thing since it wasn't a total hunt against them, but it seemed that humans were the priority prey. 

It was best to proceed with caution and avoid as many beasts as possible. 

Now everyone was armed, including Cassian, who carried a steel bar. He chose it himself, feeling that it was more practical with blunt objects than with sharp ones. 

They understood that conflict was inevitable, but now the guards, armed with bladed weapons, proved themselves to be professionals and began to make their way without Cassian's help. 

They had chosen a path with relatively few beasts, and none of them very large. Although it was not a direct path, they avoided attracting the attention of many beasts in the surrounding area.

After a few minutes, they entered an empty coffee shop with all its windows broken and traces of blood. 

Since there were no beasts in the area, they chose to take a short break and rethink their route. 

"Okay, there are no walls on the coast. We can rest for a moment." 

Julieth said. She was the leader of the bodyguards and relayed her findings. 

It was a two-story building, and one of the guards went up to the second level to scout it out. 

Cassian didn't question Nora again. If he thought about it, her true identity didn't matter much. 

Eventually, he would go to another world, so whatever Nora was hiding... it didn't matter. 

It was actually good that she had such strong backing, as it would give him peace of mind in the other world, although he wouldn't deny that he would miss her a little, because even though she was annoying, she had become his good and only friend. 

"Hey, Cassy, now that I think about it... there's nothing legally stopping us from getting married anymore. I mean legally, because in our hearts we already are." 

"What the hell, Nora? What are you thinking right now, in the middle of all this? In a situation where you could die at any moment. Don't make me remember you as a crazy person!" 

"Huh? Who's crazy!? Tsk, you don't understand, Cassy. I'm calm because you're here. If you weren't, I'd be crying in a corner." 

"..." 

Cassian didn't know how seriously to take those words. But it was true that staying calm was much better than panicking, so he thought that talking nonsense wasn't necessarily a bad thing. 

"Well, what I meant was that you can't go to another world anymore, or rather, use that silly excuse not to marry me." 

"Come on, what kind of nonsense are you using to question my dream?" 

"You know, every time we talk about this, I feel like your reasoning is reduced to zero. I'll explain it simply: cars stopped working, right? That also includes trucks. No trucks equals no Truck-kun. Without Truck-kun, there is no other world... which means: wedding, and lots of children." 

"(ﾟДﾟ)!" 

"My lady, we have mapped out a relatively safe route, but we also spotted a strange phenomenon. It could be the origin of the monsters." 

"Huh? How do you know?" 

"We saw them coming out of what looked like a kind of... I don't know how to describe it. It's as if the air is broken, like a large floating broken mirror with a piece missing in the center. The creatures were coming out of there. We suggest avoiding it at all costs." 

"Hmm... Where have I heard of that before? Oh! Right! Cassy, that sounds like a lot of the novels you read, doesn't it? That genre of hunters and weird things." 

"(ﾟДﾟ)!" 

"And in those stories, humans awaken powers, right? I want powers too! Maybe I can be strong like you, Cassy... Although last time you told me that—" 

"(ﾟДﾟ)!" 

"Fire Ball!... tsk, it didn't work. You lied to me, Cassy. You said redheads always have fire powers." 

"Miss, it's time to move. Beasts have been spotted coming this way." 

"Ah, that's bad, we'll talk about that later,Cassy, take me...Cassy?... Are you still in shock about the trucks?"

"(ﾟДﾟ)!" 

"Oh, look, a 2D MILF running around in a micro bikini, screaming ara~ara." 

"Where!?" 

"In your imagination, idiot. How could that exist? Anyway, are you awake now?" 

"Huh? Yeah, I thought I heard something disturbing, but it must have been my imagination. I don't remember what it was." 

"There's no Truck-kun. Okay, let's go now." 

"...Damn it, you didn't have to remind me!... Let me go first! Julie, take care of Nora. I'm going to kill all those beasts that murdered Truck-kun!" 

"...Yes, I'll keep her safe." 

"Hey, Julieth! Are you going after Cassy? Why does he call you so familiarly, and why did you respond so lovingly?" 

"Huh? M-me...? ah...?" 

Julieth was confused. She was sure she had only responded normally to Cassian's reasonable request; she didn't remember responding "lovingly" at all. 

 Besides, if she remembered correctly, she understood why he called her that, so she didn't think much of it...but now I was in the middle of senseless suspicions, something I honestly didn't want to have.

"Die! This is for you, Truck-kun!... This is for you!" ヽ(`Д´)ﾉ

On the other hand, Cassian was burning with rage. Reality had hit him hard, and he had reacted too late to the loss of something that truly mattered.

He wasn't the type to get angry—but this time, his fury, rare and explosive, was unleashed against the beasts.

He wanted revenge. Not just for the shattered dream they had stolen from him, but also... redemption.

A final tribute to the fallen Truck-kun.

"Ooh! I've never seen him so motivated! He seems eager to get to what will be our love nest." 

"Miss, I don't think..." 

Julieth stopped speaking, not wanting to make the same mistake twice today. It was better to say nothing. Besides, it was good that Nora was focusing on Cassian, so she wouldn't have to endure those ridiculous suspicions any longer.

Now that I think about it, they're both alike.

Julieth suddenly realized, contrary to what she had thought before, that with how strange they both were, maybe they were a couple meant for each other, and it was better not to get involved in any wa-. 

Bang! 

"Hey, don't get distracted, there are flying creatures too!" 

Cassian said, having thrown the metal bar and killed a creature, similar to a dragonfly, that was about to fall on Julieth and Nora. 

"...I'm sorry, I... No! Thank you, I'll stay focused." 

Julieth, who had been splashed by the beast's fluids, saw her and realized her mistake. She made no excuses and thanked Cassian. 

She let go of unnecessary thoughts and concentrated on taking care of her mistress, who, on the other hand, looked at her more suspiciously and threateningly. 

"Uhmm눈_눈... I've got my eye on you, Julieth. Don't even think about falling in love with me, Cassy, and his very attractive masculinity." 

"..." 

Yes, Julieth also decided to pay no more attention to her mistress, who was talking nonsense at this dangerous moment without caring about the situation, although deep down she had to admit that Cassian was someone trustworthy, someone she could leave to watch her back, but only that. 

Julieth saw more dragonflies measuring over a meter approaching. Certainly, these creatures were unknown, but at the same time, they were not. 

really, what's going on?

Like anyone else, at that moment Julieth wanted answers, although there was no one to answer.

.. 

.

"Okay, Cassy, hit him in the head, okay? Did they turn into particles? Cassy, you're on fire." 

With Cassin destroying everything in his path, they quickly made their way through, and made much of their journey, but at one point a strange phenomenon began to occur, which was first noticed by Nora. 

"Wait a minute, miss, something strange is happening. It's not just that creature, look around." 

Cassian, who lost his bar and returned to clean hits, also noticed the problem almost immediately. 

After killing it, the creature turned into something like particles of light. 

For a moment, he thought his strength had gone to some incomprehensible place, but the phenomenon seemed to be everywhere. 

The particles of light began to appear from all sides, and he quickly realized that the source was all the corpses and blood of the beasts and humans. 

Even his pajamas, which were almost completely red with blood, were cleaned.

All became particles and floated up into the sky, and like a river, they headed in the same direction, the center of the city.

RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE! 

From the beginning, it hadn't stopped shaking, but suddenly, it started shaking even more violently.

"Shit, what's going on now?... Hey, Nora, don't jump on me!" 

"This is my evacuation point." 

Everyone was on high alert, and Nora lunged at Cassian and clung to him, as if he were a Koala.

Screee! Grrraaah! Snarl—Aaargh! Screech! 

The screeching and growling of the beasts, as well as the moaning of humans, could be heard coming from all directions. 

Apparently, there were still many refugees in the buildings. Unfortunately, some were collapsing. 

"We have to move and get away from the tall buildings." 

Julieth, who was in charge, quickly made a decision and changed the route, moving away from the tall buildings, and led the group to a safe area. 

Regardless of what was happening, they had to keep moving forward, avoiding danger as best they could. 

Luckily, they weren't in an area with many particularly tall buildings, as it was a middle-class residential area. 

RUMBLE! 

RUMBLE! 

RUMBLE! 

The earthquake did not stop; it was chaos all over the place, and the particles were still moving towards the center of the city.

But the good thing was that the beasts ignored it; they also seemed to be afraid of something, only a few of them got in their way.

"Cassy, Cassy!"

"What's going on? I hope it's not something silly."

Nora, who once again found herself being carried like a sack, was the first to notice what was happening. She frantically warned Cassian, who was focused on detecting any danger.

He hoped that, for once, it would actually be something serious.

"No! Look back—what's that?"

Nora seemed to be speaking seriously, which caught Cassian's attention. He turned briefly to see what she was talking about.

"Holy shit—seriously, what the hell is that?"