Chapter 498 (2/2)

As Hank expected, Ezekiel broke the staring contest first, leaning back and looking up at the sky.

”I've never seen a sky this blue,” Ezekiel said softly. ”My ex-wife would have loved it. She always was fascinated with the sky. As if the future was above us, slowly drifting down and settling over us all...”

”You have a family?” Hank would permit him a short digression, but ultimately, he would not let the matter of that wild attack go without an explanation of some kind.

Ezekiel grimaced. ”I did. Well... just by a fucked up coincidence my Father-in-Law was in Zone 1 when the System arrived. That wily snake will be the last person in this world to breathe his last. I have no idea how my ex-wife could have survived the System, but my son...”

Ezekiel paused. He closed his eyes. ”We barely even talked. He was 21, and I hadn't even bought him a drink. He was across the country, going to school at Rowlands.”

”Smark kid,” Hank said shortly, his expression easing somewhat.

”Yea, but... he was a little lost. Just couldn't find it in him to commit to things, or he would be something truly great. Maybe... maybe that's my fault.” Ezekiel paused. Then he sat back up and looked at Hank. ”I'm a selfish person, I've always known that. And that's why... that's why I am what I am.

”My Class,” he continued, ”Is... very special a Named Class. Which means it is a bit more powerful, but I also was injected with... instincts, associated with the Class. My Class is Beelzebub, the Taker. The personification of Gluttony. And earlier... I was hungry. I hadn't eaten in a long time.”

Hank frowned. ”We had lunch only an hour prior. How-”

”Not food,” Shaking his head, Ezekiel seemed extremely pained. ”Lives. When I kill... I take a single Skill from the people I Consume, their highest leveled Skill. Which is why the Skills I can use are so varied. And while I'm hungry... I lose one stat point a day, as I waste away. Some inner part of my withers if I don't constantly feed.”

This was more than Hank had been expecting. He sat back on his heels. ”Why are you telling me this?”

Sure, this was the information that Hank had looked for, although he hadn't predicted its shape at all. But there was a lot of information included in this explanation that wasn't exactly... pertinent. He was being told for a reason.

Chuckling, Ezekiel said, ”So you understand why it's necessary that I kill, no matter how much I don't want to. This is just... the way things are.”

”Are you a fucking idiot?”

Ezekiel blinked up at Hank.

Hank continued, ”I don't mind if you are a shitty person, but at least own up to it. Why is it other people's fault your selfishness brought you here? Don't punish an innocent for where your choices brought you.”

Eyes blazing, Ezekiel straightened and glared at Hank. ”How was I supposed to know this would result?”

”You weren't what you were supposed to do is bear your own burden,” Hank said, feeling extremely strange as he spoke. Not because he didn't believe what he was saying, but because while he was speaking, he could clearly hear his father's voice, speaking the exact same words. ”A man's worth cannot be seen in the amount of weight he bears, but in the percentage of his own burdens he pushes onto other people. You, sir, are not selfish; you are a coward.”

Ezekiel bared his teeth. His hands clenched into fists.

Hank just looked at the slight man.

”Ah, fuck you,” Ezekiel said, laying back down with an abrupt thump.