Chapter 364: Unexpected coincidences
=No shit, the boy was slammed into a brick wall with the force of a first ring Grandmaster, that shit hurts.=
=Who knows, funky bloodline? Sheer tenacity?=
=Maybe…=
=Last time we had a healer kaijin was a long, long time ago. I don’t know if any of the current roster has that ability.=
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[Oh shit, that is a sizable amount of blood.]
[Impact…crater…]
[What kind of bastardo slams a child into a brick wall?!]
The kaijin entered the alleyway that Razor Maiden and Spring Brawler pointed out and immediately saw for themselves what had caused them to call for urgency: a battered and bruised child currently laying in a small puddle of blood that was still relatively warm and fluid.
This meant that the injuries were still recent and could still be treated, if they had found the child any later, things wouldn’t be so good.
Hurricroak and Nepeherage immediately dropped to their knees and began to move to be in the child’s left and right hand positions. They didn’t move the child in any physical manners, in fear of the wounds suddenly becoming aggravated as the did.
[Fractured skull. Broken shoulder bones. Several torn ligaments, what the fuck…]
[Wait…don’t we…know this…child?,] Frosttusk pointed out as Hurricroak continued to mark damagers on the boy’s body.
Nepherage quickly and carefully lifted the battered child’s head by the chin and confirmed that these wounds belonged to none other than Jasper, the little boy that Hurricroak had helped earlier that day.
[Oh no…Hurricroak, I’m so sorry…]
[What are you apologizing to me for?,] Hurricroak pointed out while confirming the last of the wounds, [only do that if we fail to save his life.]
[Huh? But how are we-]
[Logos, Pathos,] Hurricroak began to say with an uncharacteristically stern tone, [none of us can use healing arts unless it’s the self-cast kind. Is it possible for us to possess this kid on our own and do that?]
<=...=>
[Well?]
A pregnant pause hung in the air for a couple of seconds before Logos and Pathos gave their answer.
=The child is too weak both physically and spiritually in this moment,= Logos finished, =you guys would need either a decently grade aether pill to repair the damage as is or figure out a way to strengthen his spirit before you guys can do something as dramatic as possessing him. That or figure out who among you is compatible enough with him to make sure the possession doesn’t overload him.=
[What the hell do you guys mean strengthen his spirit?,] Hurricroak followed up.
Practically on cue, the battered and broken form of Jasper the little boy suddenly began to move and reach out towards the hotel, as he did, a weakened voice cried out.
“J…Janice”
As soon as those words left his lips, a small surge of strength seem to come off of him. Nothing too noticeable, but definitely something that showed that there was still some fight left in him.
Whatever that fight was, it seemed to stir something inside of Nepherage, Hurricroak and Frosttusk.
“Huh…dying on the ground, still hoping others can be saved…how [Heroic]…”
“Full of…[Regret]…wanting to…do better…”
“A strong heart despite the odds…[Resolute] little bambino…”
=Now it’s a matter of who should…=
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“Wait…that’s how much you’re willing to pay for her?!”
“Holy shit, we’re rich!”
A little bit after Simos, Graff, Victor and Shadow left a little boy to die in an empty alleyway, a fate that was far, far too common among orphans and beggars alike, the latter of the foursome took them to a empty meeting room that happened to be in the hotel proper. Once they had arrived, Shadow had made sure to render the little girl called Janice unconscious, alongside the little kitten that she had been carrying with her.
It was a little after that moment, that Shadow revealed that Miss Venus was willing to pay an absolutely ludicrous sum of money for the little girl that the two idiots had plucked right off the street. Of course, this deal might have blinded those two into wondering why she would pay so much for one little girl, but there was third member to this deal that wasn’t so blind.
‘Alright, the last time I heard anything about her buying children, it was a price at least…four times less than that amount,’ Victor thought to himself, ‘what the hell is so special about this little girl that Miss Venus is willing to pay so much this time?’
A small part of Victor briefly thought of taking the girl elsewhere for a bigger payout, but alas, his honor amongst thieves won out and he didn’t want to impose himself on his compatriot’s deal. Besides, he was still getting his bottle of teeth growing pills, so it didn’t really matter to him.
With the details of the exchange presented, the four of them proceeded to decide on the venue of where to make the exchange.
Simos and Graff were tempted to ask why they didn’t do it here and now, but stopped themselves once they heard the explanation provided by Shadow.
“The lady prefers not to mingle her performances with her proclivities, she’d prefer some degree of…physical separation at minimum.”
In essence, don’t shit where you eat and vice versa…sorta.
“Milady’s show will take about an hour and a half. Bring the girl to this address ten minutes after that time,” Shadow said as he presented Simos, Graff and Victor a small map of the harbor, one of the warehouses on it being circled, “understood?”
“Understood.”
“Good.’
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As the kaijin stood around the boy reaching out, his heart still somehow going strong despite his current condition, they tried to figure out who among them was going to possess him.
Now, normally this wouldn’t be a big issue, since all of the people they had possessed up till now had some level of strength to them. This meant that despite being undoubtedly influenced by the kaijins taking over their minds and bodies for a bit, they were still fundamentally themselves.
Jasper however was a different scenario.
=The boy has yet to develop a proper foundation for his own formula either, meaning the one possessing him is definitely going to leave an impact on this kid’s future.=
<= Choose carefully, or else this might have consequences far beyond what you guys had hoped.=>
It was kind of a messed up situation to be in, being a child’s only hope for survival but also become the reason why they won’t grow up to have a normal life anymore.
Evidently, this was reason enough for one of the kaijin to immediately bow out of the ring.
[I will…pass…this time…around…,] Frosttusk said as he left the decision to Nepherage and Hurricroak to decide, [regret…should be…something…for…adults…to carry…not…young…children…]
Once he said that however, Nepherage also bowed out.
[Heroism is the ability to charge in the face of danger regardless of the consequences…he already appears to have that in spades,] Nepherage noted, [he doesn’t need any more of that.]
And so, Hurricroak, the first of the kaijin to meet with Jasper properly and give him a small bit of hope in his otherwise dark life, was also going to be the one to save his life.
‘Does this count as the first time or second time I saved his life,’ Hurricroak briefly mused as she brought her attention to the dying child reaching out beside her.
[So…how does this work exactly?]
=You’ll understand what to do next.=
[Aish, I figured you two would only be cryptic to our lord…no matter.]
As instructed, Hurricroak placed her hand on Jasper’s back, being careful not to cause him any pain. Once her hand had fully rested on him, words began to form in her mind.
[May the resolve of someone who had waited lifetimes strengthen you in ways beyond your mortal form. May the sound of thunder herald your arrival…]
