The Insatiable - Chapter 22

Haruhiro and Anna stood there silently for quite some time. They didn’t know what to say or should they even say anything? They looked at each other and could see the confusion in each other’s eyes.

“”What was that about?””

They both asked the same question and they both have no answer to the other. Haruhiro then felt his knees giving up on him, he fell on the ground butt first.

“Argh! That was too nerve-racking. How come so many weird people keep on coming out today? Any more and I feel like my body is going to give in.”

“Haru, what weird people?”

He looked at Anna who is full of curiosity towards what had he had just been through. Haruhiro smiles at her warmly and said, “Later.”

“Hmph. That answer is annoying, I’m displeased by it.”

Haruhiro is surprised by what she said and almost blurted out an apology but he saw that she was smiling playfully at him. This made him glad in his heart, it seems that she wasn’t that traumatized by their almost near death experience if she’s still acting like this. Haruhiro then played along with her, he mustered all his remaining strength and stood up.

“Oh no. What can Mr. Wolf do then so that Little Anna will no longer be displeased?”

Anna smiled, even more, when Haruhiro played along with her but then quickly reverted her expression to that of a pouting spoiled girl. This cute expression she did make Haruhiro’s blood boil.

“Hmph.” Anna snorted and made her back face Haruhiro but a small smile could be seen on her face.

“Aww. Little Anna how about this…”

Anna is confused because he didn’t continue what he was saying but when she was about to look at his direction she felt her body being gently turned around and diving into his embrace.

Before she could even react Haruhiro already pressed his lips to hers. She could feel his warm lips and breath, his strong arms embracing her, and his body sticking close to her. Anna felt that this is how the two of them should be, close to each other and always together.

They stopped their kiss after a while and decided to follow back the others inside the orphanage. The two held each other’s hand and walked at a pace a bit faster than they usually would.

As they walked like this, Anna imagined once again what it would have been like if the spreading virus didn’t exist and that the following days is only an elaborate prank of her adoptive mother and Haruhiro. It would really have been great to have their date as they held each other’s hand like this.

Because of this, she felt bitter when she remembered how she has to share him with others. She couldn’t refuse her adoptive mother since she took care of her since her childhood and Anna also felt that it’s not just pure love she sees whenever Nanako talks about Haruhiro’s father. To her, it felt like something dark would come out if she didn’t agree to her back then. That was the first time Anna felt so scared that she felt covered in cold sweat.

There’s also the case with Yasumi. Every time Anna would ask Haruhiro about the life of the other Yasumi and the other soul, he will try his best not to talk about it. She once suspected that he was lying to her but she doubts that, it’s Haruhiro she’s talking about. Anna trusts him more than she trusts her adoptive mother. She knows he was telling the truth but… Why is he not telling her anything more? Is there something that he doesn’t want her to know? She felt uneasy knowing that he is hiding something from her but she can’t gather enough strength to ask him. Anna could only wait for him to say it himself.

She muttered under her breath, “Bad Wolf… You won’t leave me right?”

Haruhiro didn’t understand why she would ask this right now but he still answered her seriously with a, “Of course I won’t Little Anna after all you are my, Haruhiro’s, woman.”

Anna smiled at what he said but she pretended to be mad and let go of his hand, she also didn’t forget to playfully hit him on his chest.

“Pfft. What’s up with that? It sounds annoying to hear.”

Haruhiro felt uncomfortable hearing this from Anna. He remembered events from his previous life and the women who took care of him. There were events that men would always claim the women as his, they would mark them with anything they could think of -they would brand them, put a collar around their necks. Anything they could think of when Haruhiro remembered the scenes from back then he frowned.

He then remembered one story one of the women said to him, how before zombies ruled the world and the world wasn’t such a chaotic place. Men and women who loved each other would hold ceremonies called marriage, most would hold it in a place called a church and there they would vow to each other how the couples would take care of each other forever.

It wasn’t that much of a story than a wishful dream, at least that’s what Haruhiro thought before his soul got the original Haruhiro’s memories. When he saw how what they were telling him back then was real and how he saw on their faces longing… He decided in his heart. What he decided, only he knows.

They continued to walk together, Haruhiro didn’t notice the complexity of Anna’s thoughts right now because he himself is thinking of other things. Like the story from his previous life but mostly what happened today.

Who those people were, what was their goal, and how powerful could they be when they can make something like the System? The events of today will no doubt be remembered by him for a long time.

He thought that with the System he would no longer need to worry too much about the apocalypse, he won’t feel threatened by any existence. Even the other Deadly Sins seem trivial to him and he no longer put them in his eyes but today, it seems that he really was childish and naive.

Not only was he not able to rely on the System, but even the System also seems to be controlled by someone else. Haruhiro now knows that he shouldn’t rely on the System too much however that doesn’t mean that he’ll stop using it. Controlling himself from depending on it too much is what he should really do.

Also, it seems that not only the Deadly Sins but also some other people also have abilities that he should watch out for. He shouldn’t underestimate everyone just because of this System that he has.

The two finally reached the place where the people of the orphanage is at, the two saw a lot of them are frightened by what happened. Some are even considering leaving while a lot have left.

Haruhiro didn’t care for any of this, they could leave whenever they want now but once they arrived at the base camp he won’t let any of them comprise the camp’s location. He felt that more should actually leave right now but he remembered how Nanako emphasized how they’re very short on manpower.

He just decided to let everything take its course. Haruhiro saw Erina again but he doesn’t have the energy to entertain her so he decided to just go straight to the bus. Knowing that the apocalypse is coming this bus has long been prepared by Nanako and Anna, the bus was parked near the orphanage and now that it was needed it was driven by one of Nanako’s subordinates. A middle-aged old man with hair already turning white, Haruhiro at first doubted whether or not this person could really drive properly but once he saw him drive he just shut his mouth.

Sitting at a seat beside the window, Haruhiro waited for the people to finish boarding their stuff and get inside the bus. For now, Haruhiro decided to look through the System once again.

He ignored the Slave and Store tabs and looked at the Mission tab. As soon as he opened it, he heard ringing sounds.

[Ding! Hidden Quest Completed!

Hidden Quest: Discover the New Threat

Quest Objective: Aside from zombies, the apocalypse is filled with countless dangers that you as the reincarnation of Greed will have to face. You will need to be ready for them before they are ready for you.

Quest Rewards: Incarnates and Evolved basic information, 20 Greed Points.

Status: Completed]

[Ding! Hidden Quest Completed!

Hidden Quest: First Battle

Quest Objective: As the apocalypse approaches battles with other groups will happen. Battles for resources and territory will be fought, it’s best for you to be reminded how a proper fight should be.

Quest Rewards: 30 Greed Points, 3 Slave Brand, x12 Throwing Knives

Quest Status: Completed]

[Side Quest: Angel Incarnate

Quest Objective: As the holder of the Sin of Greed you will be hunted by Angel Incarnate in order to cleanse this world of your Sins. You will be marked as their enemy. See for yourself the problem that they would be. Meet an Angel Incarnate.

Quest Rewards: Angel Incarnate basic information, 50 Greed Points

Quest Status: Completed]

[Main Quest: Battling Angel Incarnate

Quest Objective: You must fight in order to survive the hunt of the Angel’s for the Demons and Sins. Battle it out with an Angel Incarnate and survive.

Quest Rewards: Angel Incarnate – Raguel basic information(information given will be about the Angel you fought), 50 Greed Points

Quest Status: Completed]

Haruhiro looked through the list of missions and saw that he’s completed almost all of it. He’s already completed the new missions from the battle just now and once all the supplies are placed in the camp’s storage that mission will also be completed.

The mission’s he can’t complete yet are the main quests. The quests like killing Sloth or the preparation for the apocalypse where the countdown is set, there is also another one but he’s not yet in the mood for that mission.

He then decided to look through his Inventory. Haruhiro now has 210 GP from all the missions he completed so far, he also now has four slave brands and a dozen throwing knives. That’s all he has so far since he gave the skill book to Anna and placed the Guard Sentry at the camp. He also has that one mask he bought and used the night he save Yasumi, however when Anna learned what Haruhiro did she flipped out on him and he decided to just keep it inside for when it was needed.

The pieces of information that he has obtained through the missions are all kept in his Inventory. His Inventory also has tabs to separate each category. Greed Points, Weapons, Armors, Supply, and Information. His 35 free slots can be placed in any of these tabs, however, the Information tab does not occupy any of these free slots.

Haruhiro opened the Information tab of his Inventory and chose one of the information he got through completing a mission. The information about Incarnates.

[Incarnates are mysterious beings unexplainable through science. They are beings in possession of a higher beings soul inside them. These souls help to change a person’s very being, giving them abilities they didn’t have before. Examples of possible Incarnates are the angels, demons, heroes of legends.]

Haruhiro felt annoyed by the information. It seems the System is really serious when it says that it will only give “basic information”. There isn’t even anything about how a person could become an Incarnate or other similar things like that.

He shook his head and decided to read the next information, the information about Evolved. This one Haruhiro at least has an idea of since he once saw some people like these.

[Evolveds are people who have gained ability through the energy absorbed by their bodies. This energy changes each individuals body, helping them evolve and obtain skills. Evolved’s are once said to be the future of mankind.]

Haruhiro is staring at the screen dumbly. This one is even worse than the other, at least that one mentioned examples. This one just said its difference from the Incarnate since Evolved’s changes their body through some kind of energy while Incarnates changes theirs through a “higher being’s soul”.

‘Ava, what’s up with all these information? Can’t you just tell me this when I ask you?’

[Replying to Host, Ava can indeed do that.]

‘Then shouldn’t there be more information if what you gave me is some sort of basic knowledge?’

[Host is indeed the reincarnation of Greed. Ava applauds Host]

Then, Haruhiro heard a round of applause inside his head.

“…”