Curse the Mainframe! 48 Henry

Having dragged Elias into the bathroom, the bunny quickly escaped outside before Alec could call him back.

Alec ignored the bunny for now.

He wanted to have a chat with Elias without anyone disturbing them, then this was the perfect place.

Elias quietly soaped himself, his eyes barely open.

"Elias. Don't you think it's weird that the Woods' have an extra bedroom in their house?"

Elias paused his subconscious actions, all visages of sleep escaping from him. His eyes sharpened as he thought about it, thinking back about what he saw in the room as well as Stanley and Lorraine's actions over the day.

He nodded. "Stanley sometimes get a lost look in his eyes, like he's thinking or looking at some distant memory that isn't there. Though a lot of the interior of the room that they're allowing us to stay inside has changed over a few years, I don't get the feeling that the original purpose of the room was meant for an adult."

Alec hummed. They thought the same way, then.

Both of them didn't exchange any more words after this, and Elias' eyes started drooping again.

Alec quirked a smile at this sight, helping Elias into the bed and drying his hair since the teen looked like he was about to pass out at any given moment.

The moment he was under the covers, the boy was out like a light. This time, compared to when he had been taking a rest in The Great Expanse, the shadows on Elias' face were lighter, and he seemed almost at ease with himself.

Alec stood up, taking the plant encyclopaedia with him to the nearby table. Flipping it open, Alec started reading from the very first page.

There were so many that he'd never seen before. Plants, flowers, herbs. Their pictures were shown inside with various descriptions. Of course, Alec had no idea of just how accurate the descriptions for these were, but he would remember them first in case he never had a need for the information.

Before he had another source to confirm it with, or if he could get his hands on the samples, then he would tentatively believe the information written down.

Since this world had completely different plants from those he had when he had still been a human, this information was vital and necessary for their survival.

Though he had learnt about what not to eat or touch in The Great Expanse from his teacher, that was just in the one forest alone. There were bound to be others in the different areas of the world that he wouldn't have had a chance to get up close and personal with before.

Neither Stanley nor Lorraine's presence checking on them briefly disturbed him.

Before he realized, he had finished scanning through the various pages of the encyclopaedia. He was about to go back for another more detailed round when he realized that it was already relatively late in the night.

The sounds that he had been filtering out had long died out as the night went on.

Alec closed the book. He wanted to go explore town for a bit without anyone disturbing him.

Sometimes, having to act like a kid just grated at him, and today was one of the days. It was usually manageable. Or rather, Alec had no choice but to get used to it. He literally could not wait until he was at least in his late teens.

Though it hadn't been as obvious in the Neil Clan, out of the clan compounds, Alec felt the differences very clearly. He couldn't stand the way he was being dismissed so casually by some adults. It almost like he didn't exist in their eyes.

Just the thought of it caused him to boil again, but Alec controlled his rising temper, leaving it on a low, simmering flame.

A walk outside would cool his head.

The re-emergence of the temper he almost thought was gone emerged with a vengeance, like it had been lying low all these years, only to come back stronger than ever the moment he was free from the compound.

So, Alec left Bunbun behind to look after Elias' sleeping form. The teen was sleeping so deeply that Alec didn't quite feel safe leaving him alone.

Sneaking out of the Woods' family home, the moon had already risen high in the sky.

The fresh air and soft breeze that caressed his skin cooled the raging temper that was inside him. Alec took a deep breath, releasing it softly.

Seeing the empty streets, only lit up with the barest amount of light, Alec felt the difference from the atmosphere in the clan compound.

Here, there were various sounds of laughter and quiet whispers that met his ears. Compared to the silence that the Neil Clan enjoyed, Mystik Town instead had a liveliness as people partied, got drunk and had an all-round good time.

The longer Alec walked, the calmer he felt.

Just as he was about to turn around and head back to the Woods' family home, he stopped in his tracks.

Henry was not having a good day.

By all manner of accounts, he had been having a terribly shitty day.

Earlier that morning, Henry had headed out nearby to go hunting for the day, as he did every day. He was one of the town's hunters and was well respected within the community.

Henry had it all.

He had a surplus of money to get by, a beautiful wife, a house, a kid. He had friends, and a junior he was taking care of.

When he headed out for the hunt that day, he was with the usual group of five. As the leader of the team, he usually took a little less of the cut.

The day seemed to be going well, as they caught sight of a larger boar. Without any suspense, the five of them brought it down within a few split seconds. Their teamwork was well-honed and seasoned.

Henry knew his teammates well. They had been a team for the past eight years. Going through various life and death battles with them, Henry knew their quirks inside and out.

Although they only came to town eight years ago, Henry felt like he'd known them all his life. He quickly blended into their group, and to his surprise, had been made leader.

Or so he thought.

At first, it seemed like the day would pass without any incident, with their victory and spoils, when they chanced upon an injured Ash Phoenix.

Henry's heart palpitated as he stared at the mound of gold that was in front of him, shocked.

As he was so distracted, he never realized how the four behind him had exchanged glances, not needing to say anything else.

Henry slowly approached the Ash Phoenix, taking care not to make any sudden sounds. Though it looked to be unconscious, its breath raggedy, Henry would not underestimate it just because of that.

Luckily for them, they brought along a cage that would cut off the magic of anything that was placed inside it.

Before the Ash Phoenix was able to wake up to the signs of danger that the men were emitting, Henry successfully placed it inside the cage, shutting the door.

Having locked the cage, Henry burst into hearty laughter, turning around to congratulate his brothers, only for him to feel a cold stab just under his ribs.

Henry staggered back, the pain blooming into startling clarity.

"Why!?" he roared at them, unwilling to believe it even at this point. "Aren't we brothers!?"

Were they not brothers who had gone through life and death together? He always treated them well, so why!

Briggs, who heard his words, laughed unkindly. "Why? Do you want to know why? Why don't you ask your lovely wife, then?"

Gred, the junior that he had always been taking care of, sneered at him. "Brothers. Hah. Someone like you, always nagging and getting in the way… if you weren't the town's best hunter, we would have gotten rid of you a long time ago. Since we don't need you any longer, then why don't you just die?"

The feeble hopes that Henry had clung on to instantly disintegrated with every other word that came out of their mouths.

The four men grabbed the caged Ash Phoenix, who had woken during the commotion, releasing shrill cries, and laughed, heading off.

Briggs paused just before they were out of earshot, looking at his former leader. "We'll be bringing your lovely wife with us. After all, that's our kid!"

Henry paled, doing his best to stem the blood flow, and collapsed on the ground.

The four laughed loudly and wretchedly, leaving the bleeding out Henry on the ground. The man would be dead sooner or later, with no help and no supplies out in the field. Even if he did survive, and he wouldn't, they would be long gone.

After they left, he climbed up with great difficulty, rummaging through his pack. Grabbing some bandages for a makeshift solution, Henry poured his magic into the deep stab wound that had been draining his life blood.

Henry didn't know how long passed before he pains in his side disappeared. The one saving grace that Henry had was that none of them knew that he was a Support Magitype, able to heal his own wounds.

Since he was able to boost his own strength, they'd always considered him an Offensive type, something that saved his life today.

Before this, he'd always considered it a shame that he hadn't been born with the Offensive Magitype, which would have brought his hunts to a whole new level, but he couldn't be more thankful for it right now.

Henry's eyes burned as he fell straight into depression.

By the time he made it back to town, it was already early evening.

"Henry! Hey, Henry!"

Henry ignored the various calls to him as he walked through the town, heading straight back to his home. He hoped that he would be able to see his wife and child, getting rid of his fears, but it was not to be.

Henry stood in front of his home that had been burned down to the ground, his legs trembling from the weight of his anger. His front ached from the phantom wound that he could still feel. Though he was already healed up, that didn't mean that he was able to forget about it.

He took deep breaths to try and regulate his breathing, but it only made him angrier as he breathed in the scent of smoke and fire.

"Hey man, snap out of it. Why aren't you with your wife and kid?" his neighbour and friend said. "I saw them packing their things earlier and heading out with your bunch."

The words from his neighbour pierced into his mind. Maniacal laughter leaked out from his mouth. "Haha. Hahahahaha," he laughed, looking at the sky. "HAHAH!"

Philip looked at Henry with uncertainty and worry, but kept his mouth shut. Even the blind would have noticed by now that something wasn't right. He had faint suspicions that he didn't voice out loud, scared that it would ignite the anger in the hunter.

"Let's go get a drink man."

Philip headed the still laughing Henry into the nearest bar.

Hours later, the still sober Philip and the completely smashed Henry were walking back, with Henry's arm slung over his friend's shoulders.

"-ou're a ood man," Henry slurred, stumbling.

Philip stumbled, bearing the weight of his friend. "Sure I am."

"-ow could ey! 'Ow could ssshe. H'drian isn't een ma kid."

Henry was doing his best to hold himself together. He knew that he was drunk, and his motions were totally out of his control.

The one drunk and one sober man stumbled across a child that didn't even look like he'd hit double digits yet.

"Wat're you lookin' at!" Henry exploded, seeing the kid's blatant look.

Ah, shit, Philip thought.

Chapter end

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