Level-Up Apocalypse: Surviving With The Assimilation System

Chapter 188: Understanding Evil

"That’s why you killed all of those people?! You shouldn’t even be alive–! I watched you die!" Finn pushed the words out with contempt through gritted teeth, pressing harder with both blades.

Crow’s smile widened at that claim, simply looking up at him with those eyes hollow of humanity, "You watched me survive. Think back to that night. Oh, I know you remember it–I do, too. How could I forget? We had a lot of fun together, didn’t we?"

No part of him wanted to indulge the sickening fantasies of the killer, though he couldn’t deny that he indeed witnessed something far off from "dying" when it came to Crow’s fate. A part of Finn couldn’t even muster up rage, it was more confusion and sadness that somebody this twisted could exist.

"I don’t get it…Why the hell are you like this? Those people–they were just trying their best to survive, like anybody else–why did you take that away from them?" Finn demanded an answer, grabbing hold of the man’s wrist as he slipped past his guard.

The power of position was his as he had the twisted, young man pinned, with his blade pressed against his throat. Despite the dagger being intimate enough to cut the life out of Crow in an instant, the relaxed smile didn’t fade nor did Finn sense any urgency from the killer.

’What’s wrong with him? I can’t understand what’s going on in his head at all–he doesn’t care if he dies? Does he still think he’s in a position to win here?’

he questioned.

"I’ve learned quite a lot about myself recently. Some introspection–I mean, all we have is

time

. What I’ve discovered is that the greatest gift, the greatest mercy I can give to people is to welcome them inside of me," Crow explained with a soft smile.

"What? What the hell are you talking about…?" Finn quietly asked in quiet disgust.

"You haven’t learned it yourself, have you? We’re very much the same, Finn," Crow claimed.

"Not a chance–there’s no world where that’s true," Finn responded, pressing harder as the edge of his dagger drew blood from the pinned man’s neck.

Crow’s smile remained, "When I consume somebody, a part of them stays with me–I learn so much about them. Even in death, they’re carried with me. Isn’t it the same with your gift, Finn? You assimilated Raven, and even…me. Tell me, do you feel me inside of you? Somewhere in there, a part of myself?"

"I–" Finn tried to speak.

The words of the elusive hunter stirred something within him, feelings he had thought of but placed deep within his mind. It was a phenomena he recognized before; picking up pieces of those he assimilated.

Whether it was the adamant nature of Damian, the lust for battle like Raven, or even the tenacity of Crow–he could feel their mark.

"You do feel it, don’t you? I have a part of you as well–a small piece, but a piece all the same," Crow told him. "In that regard, we both carry Raven as well."

Listening to the words that made his stomach twist, he breathed heavily while looking down at the person he pinned. The feathers of the eviscerated bed floated in the air like snowflakes, yet Finn didn’t feel any resistance from the hunter.

It seemed almost too easy that he held him down without a fight. Though he saw the man as nothing more than a bloodthirsty predator, something deeper within him knew–Crow wasn’t intending to kill him.

"Ah, you get it now," Crow said. "You can sense my intentions. I’m not here to take your life–not yet, anyway."

"What the hell are you here for, then?" Finn questioned in quiet disbelief, conflicted at what his own gut was telling him as he kept the blade pressed, though not as hard.

"To see you," Crow answered.

"If you plan on coming anywhere near the others–if you do, I–!" Finn threatened, once again pressing his blade down.

As blood trickled from the neck of the hunter, Crow’s gaze didn’t shy away, "I said I’m only here to see you, not them."

Again, the sickening feeling was that he could sense what came from the man’s lips was the truth. No part of him wanted to trust what was said, but it was something he concluded on a deeper level–an understanding on the threshold of souls.

"What’re you getting at here? What is it you want from me?" Finn asked, needing an answer.

"I’m not sure of that right now. Since that night, all I’ve wanted was to meet you again. I was hoping a reunion might spark some answers to that," Crow answered with a smile.

"Those people in there–you killed them just because then? For no reason?" Finn asked.

"Relax. I didn’t kill anybody here," Crow said casually despite the cold steel driving harder against his neck.

It felt like the most plain lie, one so blatantly false it bordered on an insult to his intelligence, though once again, Finn sensed it was the truth. Confirming that with the twisted connection they shared, it left him baffled.

The expression on his face must’ve been an interesting one as it drew a chuckle from the hunter’s lips, "I found this place when I snuck my way past those walls. You could say the aroma of death brought me here."

"But you told me it was a gift–" Finn accused.

"I did," Crow confirmed with a quiet answer. "I sniffed this scene out for you. Think of it as an apology gift–the way this person handles business, I’m sure if this scene wasn’t found so soon, many more would be meeting the same fate. I wonder what will happen."

There was a sickening curiosity from Crow as he seemed to imagine what kind of atrocities would be committed by the unknown killer. Finn scoffed, moving his dagger away from his neck before getting up.

"Oh? I’m free to go?" Crow jokingly said, sitting up as he caressed his bruised neck before guiding his own blood to his lips for a taste.

Everything about the snowy-haired, pale hunter made Finn disgusted, though at the very least, he could tell he wasn’t in any danger at the current moment.

"I’m not accepting any sort of apology of friendship from you. Get that through your head now," Finn adamantly claimed, not sheathing his weapons.

"My heart is twisted by those words," Crow said with a playful tone and a small laugh. "If that’s the case, why didn’t you just cut my throat right then and there?"

"Oh, believe me, I’m not against the idea. I’m still debating on it. You’re right about me assimilating the people I kill, though–if it wasn’t for

him

, I wouldn’t even give you a second thought. I’d have already killed you," Finn explained, remembering the friend of his he once scorned for his selfless nature.

"I should thank him, then," Crow said, holding his hand out as he caught the swaying mattress feathers in the disgruntled room.

"Right now, I can sense something different about you…Maybe it’s a long shot, but you don’t seem Explore stories on ???

as

fucked up," Finn claimed. "If there’s any chance of that, I can’t thoughtlessly kill you."

"Maybe it’s the part of you I consumed," Crow guessed with a sly smile.

"That can’t be it. I don’t consider myself that good of a person–not enough to influence the type of evil that you are," Finn presumed. "Along the way, maybe you killed somebody like that."

"A good person?" Crow repeated as if reminiscing.

It was rare to see the man once displaying a one-track mind for killing reminisce without bloodlust. Though it felt like a shot in the dark, Finn was beginning to believe it might be possible that the hunter was changing, even if slowly.

"I doubt even if I ate the

Pope

that I’d become a functional member of society," Crow finally said after a moment of thought.

"Yeah? I’m more inclined to believe that as well," Finn said, staring at the suspicious hunter. "Thing is, being a functional person means not killing based on chance. As inconvenient as it might be sometimes."

A part of him wanted to end Crow right there, quickly and cleanly. It was the biggest part of him, yet that small, but ever loud portion, tucked close to his heart, spoke against it.

’If I did it like that, you’d be disappointed, wouldn’t you, Damian? I know that if you thought there was a chance to avoid killing, you’d take it–that’s why you let me…Yeah,’

Finn thought.

From what he could tell, he had the physical advantage against Crow. It didn’t mean anything for certain when it came to unknown abilities, but he was at least confident he had the upper hand.

"If you try anything, I’ll cut you down before you can do it. Do you get that?" Finn warned.

"I believe you. I just wonder if you’d be quick enough by the time I decided to do it," Crow responded with a playful smirk.

"Just shut up," Finn brushed off before looking around the messy room. "You know something about the person that killed the people in this complex, don’t you?"

"I have some presumptions," Crow answered with a relaxed shrug.

Walking around the room with the destroyed bed, Finn considered his options while Crow simply watched him as though trying to figure out exactly what he was thinking.

"It’d be better to tell Nikko about this. Leave this to the officers," Finn mumbled.

"That won’t be possible," Crow interrupted his thought process.