Code Collector

It didn't take long for the rumors to spread like wildfire. Allen had barely have to do with everything that's going on. All he did was said something to Jack somewhere between the lines of, "I heard that if you go to a random alley and whisper "The Wandering Trader", and your heart wants something really bad, he will come."

It took one small word from him to the old man and all the alleys of the camp was filled with hopefuls. It seemed like the rumors got twisted so many times that a lot of these people were kneeling, praying like The Wandering Trader was some sort of a god.

To Allen, this was amusing. But to the police, this was a major problem. They have several Hunters praying to an unknown god who was accused of assaulting two women. It wasn't a very good god if you asked anyone.

But to the desperate, any god is good as long as they could provide them with what they want.

Allen didn't exactly know how he would do this. He meant to tell Jack that as a joke and a test to see if it works, and now that it was happening, he doesn't know what to do.

It was also bad for him to just wander around the alleys while waiting for a potential client since he might get a suspicion from the police. If there's anything he doesn't want at the moment was jail time.

He was strolling around town that day, just waiting for anything when he remembered his quest. The Dark Panther quest was still in his interface. It did not disappear even after almost a week of being in there.

He wanted to go to the forest and see what it meant but he thought that it would be a hassle. It barely gave him any clue as to which darkness the quest was referring to.

If it meant the dark forest, then it was too late. Bernard already killed the wolves that were chasing him. The quest should be invalid if this happens, but it was still lighting up, meaning it was still available.

"In the darkness lies a beast," Allen whispered to himself, trying to break the riddle of a sentence. "Darkness. Darkness."

"Help!"

His head immediately snapped to the direction of the sound. He was in the middle of the street when he heard the girl scream.

"Please, help!" she screamed again.

The boy didn't waste any more time and headed to the alley where he heard the noise. There, he saw two large men dragging a woman with them.

The woman looked hepless. Her arms were being gripped by the large and muscled hands of the men. She was dragging her heels on the floor, trying to stop them or at least slow them down but anyone could see that it was pointless. The men were just too strong.

Allen didn't even want to do something heroic using his own identity as Dante. He wanted to disguise himself, but it seemed like there was no time left. He had to act.

The boy brandished his hammer and ran to the men. Both large suspects saw him approaching, making them smirk smugly.

Compared to them, Allen looked rather thin. Or course, he wasn't just skin and bones, he had muscled with him. But standing side by side with these two made him look as though he was a stick.

"What are you going to do, young man?" the guy on the right chuckled. He had a dark skin and black hair that was tied to his back. The other one had lighter skin and his blonde hair was made into a buzz cut.

The buzz cut man threw the woman's arm off and ran straight to Allen. He was lowering his head like he was going to brace the boy with it.

Allen wanted to slow down, not wanting to hurt the man, but a thorned helmet suddenly appeared on his head. It was a large iron helmet that had a big thorn on the tip.

From the looks of it, it seemed like the equipment can withstand an impact. But Allen wasn't too sure if his hammer can.

The boy didn't have any other choice but to slid down. He bent his knees so that they would reach the ground. He then leaned back swinging his hammer from the bottom of the ground and up.

The man saw this but it was too late. He was already approaching Allen at full speed and vice versa. Even if he stopped, Allen was already on the ground.

Whoosh.

"Hiya!" Allen yelled, swinging his hammer up. His metal hammer hir the man in the face, exactly where the opening of the helmet was.

"Blargh!" the man groaned, feeling the pain travel all throughout his body.

Allen wasn't done yet though. He extended his right leg and spun, swerving the man's legs and making him stumble to the ground. He fell with a loud thud, his metal helmet clanking after hitting the ground.

"Felix!" the other man yelled. He pushed the woman off of him and grit his teeth. He was clenching his fists as he watched his fallen comrade while Allen was walking up to him.

"I have defeated him," Allen said. "Surrender now, or else you'll suffer the same fate."

The man chuckled. "As if."

He grabbed something in his jean's pocket and slammed it on the floor. It was only a small orb but when it hit the ground, it exploded into a bright colored smoke.

"Hey!" Allen yelled, running after the man. When he arrived at the spot where the man was, he was gone. "Damn it!"

Allen turned around to see the woman still sitting on the ground. She was panting while fanning herself with her hands. "I-I feel tired."

"Ma'am, please don't fall asleep," Allen said. He leaned right front of the woman and laid her head in his thigh.

It didn't take long for the smoke to clear up but both men were already gone, much to Allen's dismay. He missed the chance to interrogate those men and ask for their intentions.

Who was this woman and why were they trying to take her away?