The Preying City

"Oh my. Looks like he is dead. A bit faster than I expected." Miss Mystique walked past Vincent and sat down with her chins resting on her palms. A melancholic look adorned her eyes as she stared down at the horror filled face of Cameroon. "Human bodies are so fragile. But I guess it's this very imperfection that makes death so beautiful."

Vincent looked dull as he stared ahead blankly. His knees still touched the ground and he hadn't even bothered standing up even after the fear had disappeared. He had thought that he would finally learn about his enemies.

Maybe because he had let his excitement get the better of him, the loss hit him even harder. For a moment, he was truly lost. But then Miss Mystique's words brought him back to his senses. His emotions were in turmoil but he brought it under control. Standing up slowly, he organized his thoughts.

"Hooooohhh" He took a deep breath and looked straight at the young woman.

Curious, she turned to him to see what was going on. The man had a murderous look on his face. Her heart skipped a beat and she moved back involuntarily. The wall of the booth touched her back and Vincent moved.

His movement was completely unlike before. He had crossed the dozens of steps between them in a blink. His fist moved at a frightening speed.

Bang!

The fist had passed her by before she could even react. Looking to her left, she saw the fist lodged into the concrete wall. Cracks resembling spider webs spread from the point of impact.

"I don't know who you are or how you know what you do about me. But one thing that I do know is that you knew there was a curse placed on him that would activate when he tried to speak about the Seventh gate. I don't know why you are doing this but I don't care at this point. If you don't give me a reason to let you go right now, you won't leave this place alive. I am sure you wouldn't want to die here inside this fragile body." Vincent spoke in a menacing manner.

He was almost reaching his breaking point. He was fine with being used by the hidden party as long as he could get a lead on the Seventh gate. But she had deliberately lead him here and orc.h.e.s.trated for the event to unfold as it had. This, he could not stand and the best thing to do was get rid of her if she couldn't prove that she held value for him. This risked his identity being exposed if she had a partner but if she didn't, it ensured his safety.

"Extraordinary vision and a physique that greatly enhances the speed and toughness of the arms. Those are the traits of the giant punching mantis found in the northern exotic isles of the continent. As far as I know, no other supernatural possess these traits. The only way for anyone to have these abilities would be by copying or taking. Only a handful of supernaturals can do that. With that in mind, it's not hard to determine what you are.

His fear stopped working on you after you ate his flesh. To be able to nullify the target's abilities on you after consuming the their flesh or blood. That is an ability unique to a very rare supernatural. I had never met a predator until today. I must say, you didn't disappoint me. You haven't even used your trump card and your punches are already hard to follow with the n.a.k.e.d eyes. I had never even thought that a predator could be even more terrifying by taking a normal animal's ability rather than a supernaturals'." The fear and shock disappeared from her eyes as if it was all an act. A chilling calm replaced all her emotions.

It was now Vincent's turn to be caught by surprise. Predator was a very rare supernatural and few people knew of it. The woman however, determined all of that in such a short period of time. She was either greatly experienced or had an ability that let her analyze things to an almost superhuman level. There were also some other methods but the chances of her using those would be astronomically low.

Satisfied by Vincent's shocked face, she continued, "I can understand why you are angry. But trust me, this was the only way. Even if I had told you that it would turn out this way, you wouldn't have believed me. As for why I did this? It's to prove that we know what you want to know."

She did make sense and he couldn't refute her words. It would have been clear to him if he had thought this through.

'Looks like I wasn't clear minded at all. I will have to keep this in mind for the future. I can't believe I would start losing my bearing after all this time.'

Vincent remained silent to acknowledge her words. Seeing that she had no intention of speaking further, he asked without hoping to receive an answer. "Who are you?"

"We are a messenger of the temple of knowledge."

"What business could a messenger from the temple possibly have with an insignificant person like me?" The temple of knowledge was an ancient organization of supernaturals. They claimed that their purpose was to find the answer to everything. If she was part of that organization then it did make sense that she would know about him. Few things could be hidden from them.

"I want to extend to you an offer. Become a seeker for us and we will reward you with answers equivalent to what you contribute for our cause."

"I never knew that the temple accepted outsiders into their ranks."

"We didn't. But the times are changing. You should already know this but a war is coming. No one can escape it."

"What if I refuse?"

She smiled in amus.e.m.e.nt. "You underestimate the temple. We come knowing that you will accept."

"Fine. I accept. Now tell me about the seventh gate." Vincent spoke in a resigned tone. It really felt like she knew everything. It was better to just go along with her wishes. She had come prepared after all. Besides, the deal wasn't bad at all.

"You need to contribute to our cause before you get to ask. As a sign of goodwill, we will give you a piece of advice though. You should take the Emoss bug with you when you attend the next gathering. You will need it. We have to go for now. You don't have to worry about cleaning up the place. It will be taken care of. As for this girl, tell her that the jade hairpin is the price she paid for all that she learned." Right as she finished her sentence, her body collapsed to the floor unconscious.

Cl.i.c.k.i.n.g his tongue in annoyance, Vincent dusted off his clothes. Crouching by her side, he tried waking the young woman up. Unfortunately, she was out cold. Left with no choice, he carried her and headed for the unconscious Elias.

He kicked the man but received no response. Vincent repeated his action once more and the new investigator finally woke up.

The man rubbed his eyes and observed his surroundings. Looking around, he was shocked to see the swathes of injured men and women unconscious. Some were even sleeping on top of yellow liquid and he didn't want to know what it was.

He checked his own clothes to ensure that he hadn't ruined his new suit. Finding just a little bit of dust here and there, he felt relieved.

"Get up. We are leaving this place." Vincent spoke as he adjusted the sleeping girls' position to make it easier for himself.

"Where to?" Elias asked as he gulped.

"To bury her of course. Also burn the place down." Vincent spoke coldly. Elias s.u.c.k.e.d in a mouthful of air and backed off from him. "Tch... I am joking. Someone else will clean up the place. This girl is still alive. We are leaving this place. Or do you intend to join these people instead of your family for the night?"

"Hahaha of course I knew you were joking." Elias scratched the back of his head awkwardly and followed Vincent out.