Death Heir’s Devouring System

Most of Alexander's squad had perished, aside from Azrael, Chunk, and Clara. All of the other Proven hadn't been able to survive the monster's waves that they were tasked with keeping at bay.

'I can see now why the waves looked endless; once they killed their opponents, they must have gone to me.' Azrael thought, surveying the people in the military pickup truck.

It was quite a bizarre scene. There were more Champions than Proven.

Aside from Alexander and what was left of his team, the four Champions that took down the Reaver monster were with them.

As it turned out, Azrael had been right—using [Inspect], he could now see Iris's power. The reason he hadn't been able to before was because at that time he had only just been Marked. That was how he learned she was a Radiant Champion.

Aside from his scythe instructor, he had made an effort to learn the name of the blonde woman that had healed him. She was named Eira; what set her apart from the other healers Azrael had seen up until now was that she was able to play the role of a tank as well.

'Quite the combination.'

The other two didn't seem to be of the talkative type. Which suited Azrael just fine; he didn't bother them at all.

"So you say that you were at the Moon Breakers at the time of the terrorist attack?" Eira asked, slowly creeping closer to his seat.

Azrael simply nodded; he made a genuine effort to not piss off those that were stronger than him.

"I see."

She moved even closer until her legs brushed against his.

"I meant to ask." She spoke calmly, gazing upward in order to make eye contact with him due to their height difference.

"Did you meet a boy named Logan there?"

Hearing the unexpected name, Azrael's eyes briefly narrowed.

"Yes… Why do you ask?"

"He was one of my pupils." Eira said, sulking. "Seeing that I have yet to find him, I take it that he has met his maker there."

A tormented smile spread around her lips.

"I wonder if I did a better job of giving him confidence, would he still be alive?" She muttered.

Azrael observed the Champion silently. The way her cheerful demeanor vanished in an instant the second she thought about the death.

Was this the care the woman displayed for her trainees?

Maybe she had genuinely liked the man and was sad that she would never see him again?

Would Azrael have understood her better if he hadn't learned to control his emotions from the Skinwalker?

"He saved me a few times, so I guess you did a good job," he said, bringing some peace to the woman's mind.

'Take it as a repayment for healing me,' he thought coldly.

A smile returned to Eira's face as she met his gaze once more, but before she could speak further—

"Eira." Iris's voice brought her to reality.

"How about you leave the man alone? Don't you see that he is exhausted?"

With a nod, Eira stood up.

"Until next time." She said with a smile.

The second she left his side, Chunk, who had been watching from the side, approached him.

"The deal with VR training still stands, right?"

Not answering immediately, Azrael gazed at his palm before slowly clenching it into a fist.

'Real missions are dangerous and unpredictable. What would I have done if more than one Reaver had come out of the Rift? The fact that almost the entire squad perished is proof enough of the danger.'

After a second of consideration, he met Chunk's gaze.

"Sure."

*****

The ride back was uneventful.

With so many Champions on board, no one was insane enough to attack.

Soon they reached the base. Azrael parted with the Champions, who seemed eager to exchange contact information, perhaps in hopes of recruiting him to their squads in the future.

'I guess I made quite the impression.'

After that, he went to give his report to Seyra.

"Did you expect something like this was going to happen?" he asked, seated across from her.

She studied the papers for a few seconds. Then a mischievous smile spread across her face.

"No, it was just a lucky consequence."

Azrael arched an eyebrow. "Lucky?"

"Yes," her smile didn't falter.

"Had I sent any other Proven in your place, Champion Alexander would have perished, and with him, half the city, resulting in a heavy death toll."

He couldn't help but sigh.

"Your worry for the Champion and the infrastructure is understandable. But isn't the city full of Forsaken? As far as I know, the government doesn't care about their lives; why would that matter?"

Seyra's smile widened as she flipped her tablet towards him.

"With this we have made it known that you are under our protection."

Puzzled, Azrael took the device.

His eyes widened as he watched a recording of himself halting the advancing tide of monsters, while behind him Champion Alexander held the Reaver at bay.

"The best way to ensure your safety is to make you well-known," Seyra said, noticing his confusion. "After all, it's easier to eliminate a Chosen no one knows exists than one regarded as a semi-celebrity."

This was certainly something he had never thought about: if he were to become as famous as Seraphina or Isolde, it would be much harder to kill him, since any assassin would have a difficult time keeping his death under wraps.

'Still, fame doesn't really concern me; all that matters are my safety and gaining power,' he thought.

The rest of the report went well. Seyra was clearly pleased with his progress and gave him a large sum of credits. If he ever needed anything urgently, he could now afford it.

"You are free for now. I will give you a heads-up for any mission unless something urgent comes up." She said. "You can take a breather… Or, knowing you, you'll probably go straight back to training."

With that done, he went towards the reinforced room, where the VR gear for the simulation was kept.

It was time to take upon Chunk's offer and properly explore what the VR simulation had to offer.