Chapter 2

What the hell was going on right now? Hudson could only stare at his own heart that Anne had ripped out, which was still attached to some blood vessels and other parts. He wanted to ask that question, but his throat and lungs were being tormented by an unimaginable pain. When he opened his mouth, he vomited fresh blood. His blood ended up splattering all over Anne's face. Not only did she not avoid it, but she also stuck out her tongue to lick the blood flecks near her lips. "I knew I found the right person. You really are special… I'm sorry. I wanted to pleasure you before killing you," she said. Anne bent over to show Hudson his beating heart. "But I really couldn't hold myself back anymore. You only have yourself to blame for smelling so good." She opened her mouth. While she was still beautiful, her jagged teeth added a sense of peculiarity to her appearance. Hudson was tormented by raw fear and pain. It was as though his brain was desperately trying to distract him. A question soon popped into his head. Why was he still alive despite his heart having gotten dug out? Hudson couldn't move his limbs due to the intense pain. All he could do was watch the monster piercing his heart with her teeth before sucking on the blood that spurted out of the organ greedily. Anne slowly stopped sucking on the heart. Her mouth was completely bloodied at the moment. Whenever she opened it, Hudson could smell the strong copper wafting from it. "What the hell? Why isn't your core inside your heart?" she said. Obviously, Anne didn't get what she wanted. Her gaze slowly turned cold. What? His core? Hudson couldn't really make out what Anne was talking about. Suddenly, Anne seemed to have remembered something. Her eyes curved slightly as she revealed an extremely frightening yet meaningful smile. "I know where your core is right now," she said. Anne sat on top of Hudson. She bent backward slightly so that she could place her hand on his thigh. She hooked a sharp fingernail against his waistband with a flirtatious expression. "Then I shall satisfy you this once," she said. Hudson tried to fight back with all his might. It was one thing to die, but it was another to get violated before his death. He'd rather die on the spot than go through the torture. However, even moving one finger hurt him immensely. So, he focused all of his energy on turning his head. Hudson slowly turned his head, hoping to find something that could help him out in this situation. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything. Hudson was helpless. He could only turn his attention to the scenery outside the window. The torment brought to him by the immense pain was starting to fade away. Instead, a numbing emptiness soon replaced it. He couldn't really feel what Anne was doing to him right now. However, he didn't want to die yet. "If there was truly a god in this world, please… Please help me," he pleaded desperately. At that moment, a figure appeared within Hudson's line of sight, as though she was answering Hudson's prayers. She levitated outside the window, looking extremely beautiful and radiant under the moonlight. Hudson originally thought that he was just seeing things, but he did notice the young woman flashing him a small smile outside the window despite his vision going hazy. Then, she placed a finger before her lips as an indication for him to stay silent. Before Hudson could react, the young woman shattered the window and broke into the apartment. The moment the glass shattered loudly on the floor, the woman lunged toward Anne at lightning speed. "Close your eyes." A cool and melodious voice drifted into Hudson's ear. It felt as though that voice was laced with some sort of magic, for he closed his eyes immediately. Then, he heard Anne's enraged screams as well as a sound that resembled solid metal slicing into flesh ringing out loud. After that, Anne let out a short shriek. "Alright, open your eyes." The voice boomed again. Hudson opened his eyes weakly. It was only then that he was able to make out the voice's face clearly. The young woman had a delicate and cold-looking face. Long dark hair cascaded down her back. She wore a uniform consisting of only black and white, which highlighted the curves of her body. Hudson couldn't even avert his gaze from her ample assets. At the same time, he recognized the young woman under the moonlight's illumination. She was Winona Lloyd,a classmate of his at the university. Hudson didn't really talk to Winona. As far as he remembered, she was a bubbly and cheerful young woman, making her rather popular. One would always feel cheerful and energetic after hearing her tinkling and melodious laughter. However, the Winona right now was completely different from the Winona Hudson remembered. She stood by the window while wielding a scythe that was almost taller than her. Crimson blood dripped from the sickle belonging to the scythe. Of course, the blood belonged to Anne, who had gotten decapitated by Winona. Anne—or rather, the monster—was now dead. "I've confirmed that the target is an advanced infected, codenamed Zyphros. The hunt is over. Reaper has accomplished her mission. Proceeding to scan around the environment right now." Winona stepped over Anne's corpse lightly while reporting her findings to her earbud. At the same time, she approached Hudson. "Additional info—a citizen has been dragged into this mission." She crouched down to look at the gaping hole in Hudson's chest. Then, she reached out to cup his cheeks. "Final verdict—the citizen didn't survive the attack. Requesting a clean-up crew to deal with the scene stat. Reaper shall leave the scene immediately. Over and out." She concluded her report. After that, Winona took Hudson's hand gently. As she gazed at his opened eyes which couldn't find solace even in death, she let out a small sigh. Then, she slowly placed Hudson's hand on his own chest. "May your soul rest in peace. May you be spared from all the pain and suffering in your next lifetime…" At that moment, Hudson spoke up. "I'm not dead yet." Honestly speaking, he just had his eyes open like a regular person. It was just that he couldn't utter a word due to how shocked he was. He didn't expect Winona to mistake him as a dead person. Winona was flabbergasted and shrieked as she landed on her ass. Almost immediately, she hooked her scythe around Hudson's neck. "How are you still alive?" she asked. "I don't know! I wanted to die just now, but I just couldn't, you know? I'm incapable of dying!" Hudson said. Winona gulped in response. Her cheeks were tinged red because of the unexpected shock. She continued to arm her scythe vigilantly, though she freed up a hand to feel Hudson's exposed and damaged heart. Winona said, "You didn't get infected, nor did you exhibit any symptoms of an awakening. It's verified that your heart has been destroyed, yet you're still alive." She knelt down next to Hudson, her curiosity piqued as though she discovered something interesting and fun. She used the hilt of her scythe to tap on Hudson's head before sticking out a finger to touch the wound on his chest. "Is this fun to you?" Hudson asked. "Kinda. It's my first time seeing someone like you," she replied. Winona looked torn, unsure if she should report this situation to the higher-ups. If the clean-up crew arrived at the scene and found Hudson in this state, they'd most likely view him as an infected and get rid of him. However, she could smell that the young man before her wasn't infected whatsoever. "Are you still retaining your own consciousness?" she asked. "Yup. It's just that my chest feels awfully cold," Hudson replied. As soon as his words fell, Winona couldn't help but giggle. "Are you an idiot? That's because your chest and your stomach have gaping holes in them." Hudson didn't say anything. Instead, he could only stare at the way Winona laughed. Her mirthful eyes were curved into crescents, her beautiful face looking extremely charming at the moment. Her tiny nose wrinkled slightly, and her dimples could be vaguely seen on her cheeks. They only served to make her smile even sweeter and brighter. Thanks to the smile, Winona's murderous air was instantly replaced by the cheekiness and bubbliness that only young women had. Originally, Hudson wanted to ask Winona if she had recognized him as her classmate. However, Winona suddenly raised a hand to cover her ear. It seemed that there was a voice drifting from her earbud into her ear. "Reaper, why is your signal lingering at the scene? Did something unusual happen?" she asked. That voice snapped Winona out of her thoughts. She quickly got up and walked toward the window. A moment of silence later, she gave Hudson a side-eyed glance before replying, "Update—a citizen with a unique physique has been discovered at the scene. His heart had gotten dug out of his body and destroyed, yet he didn't die nor exhibit any signs of dying. No signs of awakening have been observed yet." "Reaper, stay by his side and place him under further monitoring. If you discover any signs of infection, you are to deal with him promptly. Day of the Beast Wave is coming soon. We mustn't lower our guards at this time," a person replied over Winona's earpiece. "24 hours and 360 degrees monitoring?" Winona asked. "Yes. For now, the monitoring period will be one week. If the citizen doesn't show any other signs of mutation over the week, you may bring him back to the HQ," the person said. "Affirmative. Over and out." Winona sighed after the call was over. Hudson stared at her scythe-wielding silhouette, which was bathed by the moonlight that poured through the window she stood next to. Just now, the voice in the earbud said a lot of things he couldn't understand. Something about monitoring periods, infecteds, and awakenings. But what puzzled him even more was the fact that he could hear the voice coming from Winona's earbud. It seemed that his hearing had gotten enhanced somehow. "Give me a moment," Winona said to Hudson, who laid on the couch. After that, she dug out a yellowed piece of paper charm from a white sack that slung by her hips. Then, she trapped the thin charm between two fingers. With her eyes closed, she began chanting an old and ancient spell. "Hearken my command, o' light of mine! Purge the vileness from my sight!" After that, Winona gently raised her hand. The yellow charm floated in mid-air before combusting on its own. Surprisingly enough, its ashes turned into numerous black souls. Those souls were quick to pounce onto Anne's corpse and began feasting on her greedily. Soon, the souls finished devouring her, leaving no trace behind. Hudson couldn't help but gulp at the harrowing sight. Once the souls were satisfied with their feast, they didn't approach him at all. Instead, they slowly faded away.