Chapter 196 - Brother (1/2)

Wain wanted to leave, but suddenly Hana stopped him.

”What? Do you want to come with me? Why? Though no, it doesn't matter. I don't need a burden.” Said Wain and turned around.

”Wait! Take me with you, please!” Hana wasn't about to give up.

”That's enough. What's the point of me taking you with me? You're hurt, and you don't have a weapon. You'll only get in the way.”

”I understand, but I have to go south!”

”Hmm, why?”

”My brother must be there...” Hana muttered.

”I see...” Wain said slowly. ”In any case, it won't change my mind. If you want to go yourself, it's your business, don't drag me into it.”

Hana bit her lip. She knew Wain was right, and she blamed herself for not going looking for her brother herself before.

Hana wanted to do it, but she couldn't. At first, she had the task of surviving, and it wasn't until she took the high ground in Twilight Steel that she had the opportunity to do so.

However, she didn't know how to cross the canyon separating the parts of the city. Unlike Last Light, Twilight Steel had not yet built bridges and passageways to the other parts of the city.

The reason was that the western part was much larger, and Vineta needed more time than Gisle to establish their hold over this territory. Also, Twilight Steel did not have someone like Clovis, making the transition to the other sides much easier.

Hana had no way to traverse the canyon, even when she had time to search for her brother. Of course, Hana could have gone down, but she didn't know of this method since she had not been there.

However, when Wain said he was going south, Hana saw this as an opportunity. She realized that Wain must have known a way to cross the canyon and get to the other side, so she decided to try it despite her dislike of Wain.

”Damn, you attacked me, broke every bone in my body, and took away my weapon. Don't you have any humanity in you? If you don't take me with you, then at least save my brother!” Holding back tears, Hana said, holding out a photograph to Wain.

Wain stood silent for a while but decided to look at the picture.

”His name is Marco Helzu. You will distinguish him from the others.” Said Hana.

The picture showed a boy of fifteen with a unique appearance. The left half of his hair was white, and the right half was black. Also, one of his eyes was gray, and the other was purple.

”It's pretty rare to meet people with heterochromia and such an unusual hair coloring... I really notice him even out of a million other people.” Proclaimed Wain.

”Does that mean you're going to help me?” With hope in her voice, said Hana.

”You could say that.” Wain nodded. ”But, I won't look for him purposefully. If I happen to meet your brother and it doesn't interfere with my plans, I'll save him. Don't ask for more than that.” Wain said seriously and walked out of the hall.

Hana murmured quietly, ”Thank you...”

”What was that...?” Teresa said, shocked. ”He can kill people without blinking an eye, but now he's decided to help a stranger.”

”Yeah, that's something incredible. A solar eclipse can be seen many times more often than such a kind Wain. It's not like him.” Said Gisle.

”Huh.” Teresa grinned. ”Seems to me there are two possibilities here, either he liked this girl, which is unlikely considering he broke her bones, though if he's sadistic, it makes sense. Or even Wain can't be completely cruel and cold to children.”

When Hana heard this, she was embarrassed. Even though Wain had behaved like a real bastard and barbarian toward her, she now felt grateful even though he had given her only a ghostly hope.

”Hana, you do realize that there is almost a hundred percent chance that your brother is no longer alive, right?” Said Vineta.

The blond-haired girl nodded, ”Yes, but I managed to survive, which means Marco has a chance. Suddenly the apocalypse started, it's unbelievable, and a miracle could happen to all of us, including my brother.”

...

When Wain left the base, the ring on his finger shone brightly, and a silver compass appeared in his hand. With this item, he would locate the last part of the map.

Wain decided to check again to see where the third part of the map was.

Click.

He opened the compass, and the next moment the arrow turned south.

”Great, now I need to find out something else.” Wain muttered and closed his eyes.

He had several tasks in the south, one of which was to discover the fourth form. Like the last time, Wain saw a blurry image of a wooden door in a dark alleyway.

It was almost impossible to find a place based on this clue, but other than that, Wain also sensed energy fluctuations. They worked as a beacon, and the closer Wain got to the target, the more accurate the way was.

'The fourth form, given that conditions are different this time, will likely be unique. Although, each of the forms has incredible power and specialness.' Thought Wain and ran towards the south.

On his way, Wain encountered several monsters. Most of them were Primary Chronicle creatures, he ignored them, they were useless.

However, there were a few First Chronicle. Wain was surprised that such monsters roamed the city during the day and killed them after collecting a few souls.

'Three months later, First Chronicle monsters are already walking the streets of the city. Soon there will be as many as Primary Chronicle. it could be a problem...' Wain thought.

He understood that not all humans had evolved yet, only a small fraction. What's more, most people still haven't activated their Soul Altars yet. Now it was much harder to find a weak zombie than on the first day of the apocalypse, which made the process more difficult.

It took Wain a little over two hours to get to the canyon, and in that time, he killed fifty First Chronicle monsters. Wain did not save these souls for trade but used them immediately.

Wain bought everything he needed from Sven and didn't think he might need Void Souls anytime soon.