Rise of the Eromancer

Chapter 215 The Tall Man And His Crew

"Damn, this place seems even quieter — I was expecting it to be more rowdy since you know who is here."

"The guy's probably keeping it low-key since no one knows him here. Anyway… is that smoke over there?"

The men in the supply helicopter were just waiting on the airstrip with their hands in their pockets. With absolutely no buildings around them and an ocean surrounding the island, the airstrip was extremely cold and windy at night.

Still, the men were still on high alert as they scanned the surrounding area as well as the activities that might be happening inside the prison and in the distance.

"The guys are probably just doing barbecue night or something since we're bringing them new goods," the chubbier man shook his head as a leaf got on to his face; his cheeks, wobbling as he did so, "I swear, all I hear from these guys are complaints after complaints, saying that being deployed and stuck here for years is hell… but honestly? Away from the wife, and then barbecues every month?

These bastards have better lives than us!"

"Are you gonna apply for the next rotation then?"

"Fuck no," the chubby man scoffed, "I'm not going to miss my games for this, no matter how much they are paying me. And heads up, someone's coming."

And as the chubby man raised his fist, a few more men got out of the helicopter to welcome the group approaching them.

"What the—where's the usual team? And why are all of you wearing face masks?" The men behind the chubby man all raised their guard as they stared at the prison guards who welcomed them; their eyes, all centered at the tall man leading the group.

"Hyper TB," the tall man raised his left hand to adjust his cap and mask as he spoke in a very robust and clear manner, "82% of the prisoners got them."

"What…?" The chubby man squinted his eyes.

"Don't worry," the tall man pointed at the guards behind him with his thumb, "Me and these idiots are clean. And can we make this quick? I don't want to wear this stuffy mask for longer than I already have — these doctors man, fuck."

"Fuck, seriously…?" The chubby man scoffed while shaking his head before turning to look at his colleague, "See what I told you? This place is a hit or miss, even with the barbecue. What are you guys cooking inside anyway?"

"..." The tall man as well as his colleagues turned to the direction of the prison to look at the smoke. The tall man then just nonchalantly looked back at the chubby man for a few seconds before saying,

"Prison food."

"Ha!" The chubby man pointed at the tall man as he chuckled, "This tall dude's got jokes on him. Anyway, where's McConnell? Don't tell me he got the coughs too?"

"He's dead," the tall man said without any hesitation, causing his colleagues behind him to just look at him with wide eyes as they all flinched at the same time. All of them, just looking at each other. If the violent winds were not blowing their faces away, their sweat would probably be running down their cheeks right about now.

The chubby man was the same; his cheeks, getting even more fluffy before it just exploded as he burst out in a fit of laughter,

"Oh man, I wish…" The chubby man wiped the tear forming in his eyes, "...But seriously, where is he? I got the cigarette he wanted, he told me to hand it to him and only to him."

"...What kind?" The tall man asked as he leaned closer to the chubby man, "Is it some good shit?"

"Hell yeah, it is."

"Just let me have it, the guy's not going to be smoking anytime soon," the tall man gestured with his hand.

"That's not going to happen. I'm just gonna save this up for the next run," the chubby man waved his hand while clicking his tongue, "Just how much are they paying that guy? This is some premium stuff. I'm not gonna include it with the other things."

The chubby man then beckoned the group behind him to bring out the supplies, and as they placed it next to the tall man's group, a sudden silence just filled the airstrip as the tall man and the chubby man just stared at each other.

This lasted for a good few seconds before the chubby man squinted and stared the tall man directly in the eyes.

"Are you…" The chubby man whispered, "...not gonna check it?"

"No," the tall man scoffed, "Why does it feel like there's less and less every time you come here?"

"My guy, if you think it's crazy in here, you should see what's going on out there," the chubby man scoffed, "Economy's gone to shit ever since we locked up that Wilder guy. Riots everywhere too. I swear, you would think we just arrested the second coming of the Olympians or something."

"Want to trade places?"

"Fuck no," the chubby man just burst out in a fit of laughter before turning around and raising his middle finger, "I don't wanna spend another minute in this god-forsaken shit of a dumpster. Men, pack—"

"Take me with you! I have information!"

As soon as the chubby man had his back turned, however, one of the people behind the tall man suddenly rushed toward him. The chubby man's comrades quickly became alert as they all raised their guard and ran to his aid.

"These people, they are—"

Before the chubby man's group could do anything, however, the tall man also ran to their aid; quickly overtaking the rushing man and blocking his path.

"Y—" And before the man could even say anything, the tall man suddenly waved his left hand across the man's neck at a speed that the others almost couldn't see through the dark. The next thing they saw was just the man's neck rolling on the ground.

"What the…" The chubby man could not help but just stare at the tall man and watch him as he lightly kicked the head to reveal its face.

"...What the fuck?" The tall man breathed out, "This is one of the fuckers from Block 2. Shit… an epidemic is spreading and now we also have to deal with this shit? All of you, take off your—"

"Woah, woah!" The chubby man quickly took several steps back before the tall man could complete his order, "Whatever's going on here, I'm not gonna involve my team. You guys just… good luck."

"Wait, you're just going to leave!?" The tall man bellowed as the chubby man and his team started getting on their helicopter.

"I already said I don't wanna stay another minute here," the chubby man raised his middle finger, "I'm not gonna be buried with paperwork trying to deal with that escapee. See you outside in a few years, bitches!"

And with the middle finger as his goodbye, the chubby man and his team left. The tall man and his men could really only hold their caps so they wouldn't be blown away by the violent wind coming from the heli.

And as soon as the helicopter disappeared into the distance, all of them just removed their caps and face masks.

"Rhys, I'm sorry!" Dominique, who was part of the impostors, quickly approached Rhys as he was staring at the head he just decapitated, "I… I thought he was cool."

"No, I'm the one who should apologize…" Rhys only let out a sigh while shaking his head, "I'm sorry… He was your friend, right?"

"That… yes," Dominique could really only close her eyes and sighed. The man who almost blew their covers as well as the other guards were actually all part of her gang, "I'm really sorry, I thought I had him under control."

"Hm…" Rhys then picked up the head and carefully placed it with the rest of its body, "...Just because he made a mistake, doesn't mean we should just throw him away. Just because the warden's dead that means we're going to become the savages we are, we're not…

…Let's give him a proper funeral and burn him."

***

"For someone who has been abused his entire life, you do know how to deal with people."

"...How would you know I was abused?"

"You're a dregger, boy — the world still pretty much abhors your kind, they have just gotten better at pretending they don't."

A few hours later in Talia's quarters, Rhys and Talia were in front of the monitors, watching Dominique and her gang building a pyre for their fallen brother.

"I literally hold the remote to all these ingrates' lives…" Talia scoffed as she looked at Rhys, "...and yet they are following you more, like you are holding some kind of invisible leash."

"I'm not holding anyone's leash."

"Perhaps that's true," Talia smirked and giggled before turning around and starting to undress, "Perhaps they have all already become your puppies, ready to follow your every order. What about me, boy? Do you think…

…you already have a leash around my neck?"

"I… am not holding anyone's leash," Rhys also turned around as he followed Talia to the bed, "Those people from outside earlier, do you think they noticed something?"

"I watched you from here…" Talia started spreading her legs,

"...You would have convinced Hades himself."

And while Talia was spreading her legs and getting her back destroyed, unbeknownst to Rhys, he was also spreading something else out in the Surface world.

A new… group. An organization that gathered solely to clear and spread his name…

…a cult.