Reclaiming the Demon’s Curse - Chapter 201

“How was your school? You already finished the Awakening Prep Course, right?”

A tall and gorgeous lady wearing clothes like a tight jacket and slim pants spoke gently to the younger lady beside her.

“Yes, Sis… Don’t worry. I’m doing well. Just focus on your work~ I heard that you almost died in your recent exploration. You can’t die yet! I need you to help me finish my studies.”

The younger lady said with worry. Of course, it’s not just because she wanted to be supported but she genuinely cares for the other.

They are Melody and Karen.

Karen was Cyril’s girlfriend, or perhaps ex-girlfriend, in the other timeline. On the other hand, Melody is currently Cyril’s friend or instructor as she taught him her Spear Art: Barbaric Impaler.

They were at Flushdenn City to visit the cemetery as it is their parent’s death anniversary. They have just left the flower shop and were about to visit the grave.

“Don’t worry. I’m taking care of myself. Aside from that, I befriended an A-Rank Awakened. I think he’ll let me join in his exploration and I know that I can even invite him if he’s free. I’m sure he won’t decline.”

Melody said with a smile. Karen wouldn’t normally see her sister this happy so she felt curious about this person.

“An A-Rank Awakened… Are you sure that he’s not trying to use you? Don’t trust them too much. I heard that all A-Rank are arrogant as if they wanted everyone to kneel down on them.”

Karen said as she recalled the things she watch online. She heard from her classmates that those Awakened who are at high rank would feel privileged or entitled and would normally break rules.

They have older brothers who had become like that after Awakening so they know. It seems that once they mastered their Aura, they felt that they could do bad things to those 17 years old or below or people who hadn’t awakened yet.

It’s quite a scary thought so she really wanted to experience the Awakening already.

“Haha… Don’t worry about him. He’s really a nice guy. He’s gentle and heroic. I can’t explain it with words but he’s like a perfect man.”

Melody said in trance.

On the other hand, Karen shuddered after hearing those words and looked at her sister with a dumbfounded look.

“Y-you… Sigh~ Whatever, you’re already old enough. Just make sure that you’re not getting tricked. I know that Artifacts are expensive. If he’s asking you to buy something and promised to pay later, don’t believe him, okay?” Karen said. She can only shake her head after seeing her sister’s determination.

“Of course, I know that!”

The two changed their topic and talked about the recent popular item amongst the young Awakened. It is a magical device that allows them to change their clothes almost instantly.

It seems to be a product of another country and has been imported here by many partnered companies…

Wang~ Wang~ Wang~

As the two were chatting, they suddenly heard the siren coming off and thought that there was a fire nearby.

However, they didn’t see any smokes or fire trucks coming…

Nevertheless, they know that the siren signals danger or emergency.

Soon, they heard gunshots and people screaming.

“Karen! Hold my hand tightly.”

Melody immediately said as she felt something off about the situation.

She wanted to use her Aura to scan the surroundings but since she’s together with a non-Awakened, it would be dangerous for her to be exposed to the Aura. Though she’s confident with her control, it might still affect Karen if she’s too close.

Melody wouldn’t dare to risk that.

‘What’s going on?’

As Melody urged Karen to run away in the opposite direction, they then heard the reason for the siren from the few running individuals.

One of the street vendors asked one of them…

“What’s happening on that side? Is there a hostage scene or something?” He asked while preparing to leave as well.

“No! There are blood-sucking monsters! Ahh! Vampires! I think they are vampires! They are everywhere! They should be coming here if they are not killed by the police!”

“What?! Anyway, we have a lot of Awakened here. I don’t think it’s that terrible issue, right? How many are they?”

“Old man! The police and even the other Awakened can’t use their Aura so easily! You know that the non-Awakened could die even if they have the best control over their Aura. It’s like radiation to them. We can only rely on guns until the non-Awakened are all evacuated! This will not be easy!”

The man said before running off in the opposite direction of the Vampires. His words made sense and the people who listened to gulp in nervousness after realizing the situation.

Karen and Melody who also heard this looked at each other with terrified faces.

Melody had never fought against the Vampires but heard how terrible they are. As for Karen, she has no ability to protect herself so she worried looked at her sister. She had never even seen a monster in person.

“We’ll go out of the city first. Although there is a shelter, it would still be dangerous unless we get away from the source of the problem.”

Melody knows that there are Vampires that has the ability to transform into a normal human if they wanted to blend with the crowd.

With that in mind, she felt that it’s better to leave this place completely and avoid the gathering of people as much as possible.

Of course, she might be overthinking this as well but since she already experienced a few life and death situations, she knows that in this case, she had to follow the instinct that allowed her to survive until now.

They have come here using a subway train as they thought that it is a lot faster. However, now that there’s an emergency, they felt that going to the train station would greatly limit their mobility.

“There!”

Karen noticed a couple of Military Humvees filled with soldiers.

They are probably those stationed here at Flushdenn City in case of terrorist attacks. Nevertheless, this allowed them to decide a direction they should be going.

They went to the military outpost at the edge of the city by foot and indeed, they found several people who did not get to the shelters designated and went directly here thinking that this is the safest place.

“Are we going to stay here?” Karen asked as she looked afar.

More than 500 meters away from them, they can still hear the loud gunshots and screams from the battleground.

“Of course, not. I’m just looking for someone…”

Melody said softly as she looked around the military personnel busying around. They seem to be preparing more soldiers and vehicles to be sent to the battlefield.

“All civilians, please follow the orders of the soldiers giving you directions to be in safety. Please wait until further instructions as we assess the situation of the outbreak!”

Melody heard the announcement as she grimaced at the thought.

“As expected… It’s really an outbreak. It was just a theory before but it’s really happening now. We have to get out of this place.”

Melody and Karen heard about the Outbreak Theory before. However, since it never happened, the theory was completely forgotten and it was only being mentioned in some old studies about the Arcane World.

“All civilians, please follow the orders…”

The announcement was repeated a couple of times as Melody searched for someone.

“There… I found someone from the Association. Follow me, Karen.”

Melody said as she approached a person wearing the staff uniform of the Awakened Association. The man seems to be nervous as he kept looking at the paper in his hands and the building in front.

“I’m Melody Claude, a B-Rank Awakened. I need to bring my sister into safety. Can you help me?”

She then showed her License Card to the young man who was about to enter the Barracks. It seems that he has some business in this outpost.

“Oh… Great timing! A B-Rank Awakened! I know you! Thank you for working with the Association. Right, I will take care of your sister. In fact, we have a shuttle prepared. However, it’s to be sent to Versailles City. Is that alright?” The man’s face lit up after seeing Melody, one of the few B-Rank Awakened working for the Association.

“That’s good. The capital should be safe. So, you need a strong Awakened, am I right?” Melody asked.

“Yes… We need to send a response team and we have a group of C-Rank and D-Rank in this city. However, there is no leader among them. All of them are skilled but it will be difficult. If a B-Rank like you organized and lead them, it would work for sure.” The man said filled with confidence as if he really knows Melody’s skills.

“I see… Why are you here in the outpost then? Are they here?”

“Well, there is a couple of C-Rank here that were supposedly training with the military.. Anyway, I came here to find a good leader for them. However, since you’re here and you’re also part of our organization, it will be perfect position for you, Miss Melody!”