Crimson and Furs 2

Chapter Eight: Analysis

Orpheus stepped out of the portal, appearing in a dark street which was several miles far from the street where they had fought with the Path four, Mutant. Soon after, Bloody Mary materialized. She was holding the unconscious Daniel and semi conscious Evil Buddha who was breathing slowly.

Orpheus didn't say anything as he created three potions and caused them to swirl in the air. They had the potency of curing the mutation caused by the Path four, Mutant. He then made them float towards Bloody Mary and the rest.

"Drink it to eradicate whatever residual effects that mutation would have left behind," Orpheus said with his chin slightly raised. "I don't want something suddenly happening to you three all of a sudden."

Bloody Mary immediately shot him a glance, causing his facial muscles to quiver in fear. Without saying anything she possessed Daniel, causing him to open his mouth in order to swallow the floating potion. She also did the same to Evil Buddha before taking the potion herself.

Although she was a Specter who would be immune to normal potions, there was no way Orpheus potion wouldn't affect her. This was because potions of Counts were very magical and had effects which could affect even Path four Cursed. Hence she decided to drink it.

After drinking it she felt a cold feeling assault her entire body, causing her to subconsciously glance at Crimson Moon Orpheus who was sizing them up with his red eyes.

"Why are you looking at me like that..." Orpheus narrowed his eyes before coming to a realization. "It's not that I'm going to poison you!"

Bloody Mary didn't say anything as she turned her head away, her bloody hair fluttering to an invisible wind. It was as if she would be penalized for communicating with the Path three, Count.

"Horrors..." the young 16-year old Crimsone muttered to himself with a scoff. But he ultimately didn't say anything else, afraid of angering the Specter.

Soon Daniel and Evil Buddha opened their eyes, taking in their environment. The former was still very weak from the subsequent attacks of the newly advanced Mutant when he had been a Hellhound. The latter on the other hand was drumming with energy as he had not suffered any damage apart from the mass mutation.

Orpheus wanted to make a taunting remark to Daniel about how weak and useless he was when his eyes twitched uncontrollably. Daniel wasn't wearing any clothes! Obviously he had torn through them when transforming into a werewolf to fight the Hellhound!

Daniel also noticed that he was naked, his facial muscles twitching in embarrassment, Now I don't have any self-esteem left...This will become the topic of discussion one day.

Evil Buddha pretended not to see that Daniel was naked as he propped his hands close to his head before exerting strength. His lower body first flew up before his back bounced off the ground. With this action he effortlessly flew up into the air before landing in silence.

Bloody Mary on the other hand stared at Daniel for some time before saying, "You're naked..."

Daniel's facial muscles twitched the more, his cheeks becoming extremely red in embarrassment. He began feeling that this situation was worse than when he had been fighting the Demon!

Bloody Mary didn't say anything again as she vanished into the spirit world, going somewhere unknown. At that time Orpheus was still staring at Daniel in shock.

"Be a gentleman," Daniel resisted the urge to frown as he clenched his fists, green veins popping across his hands.

"Oh, right," Orpheus slowly averted his gaze as if he wasn't accustomed to being told what to do. "Humans..."

Hearing Orpheus' scoff made Daniel's blood to boil and he took a great deal of discipline to not claw him in the torso instantly. But then after thinking about what the Crimsone had just said, he couldn't help but narrow his eyes as a question came to his mind: Am I still a human?

After been bit by the late Alpha, Daniel had become a Lycanthrope. From that day his goal had been to advance rapidly, climbing across the Cursed Paths till he would possess sufficient strength to protect himself and his family. He hadn't considered if he was still a human or not. And now it bothered him.

"Well, the term Cursed answers it," Daniel muttered to himself as he curled himself on the grounds to prevent Orpheus who was stealing glances at his groin from seeing any further. Discovering this 'spying' made him to momentarily forget the question he had been pondering about.

If he wasn't in love with Felicia Dwayne I would have thought that he's gay, Daniel thought within himself. Wait...there are bisexual people...

Orpheus was still comparing the size of his 'manhood' with Daniel when he saw the latter's gaze become apprehensive. His facial muscles twitched as he directly said, "Your d*ck is a little bigger than mine."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Daniel asked, narrowing his eyes.

Orpheus pursed his lips for some time before saying, "You're a monster."

"..."

Daniel wisely decided not to continue with the conversation. He turned to look at Evil Buddha and saw him seated on a car's bonnet smoking a stick of cigarette.

"You're only nineteen," Daniel said. Evil Buddha had recently turned nineteen this year, 2024.

"Doesn't stop me from smoking," Evil Buddha said. "It's good for relaxing the mind."

"From what?" Daniel muttered inaudibly in a habitual manner. "It's not like you have a family to care for..."

It wasn't news that Evil Buddha was an orphan. Hence, he lived alone in his apartment. There was no one he needed to care for or protect. And that was why he was a distinguished Church member as it allowed him partake in several missions without restrictions.

After some moments Bloody Mary appeared. She was holding a bunch of clothes which she immediately threw to Daniel, "Dress up before another girl sees your nakedness."

"..."

Daniel expressionlessly grabbed the clothes and began wearing them silently. After he was done he stood up, bowing his head slightly in embarrassment.

"We still need to get out of here," he finally said. "The Special Cops don't lack Wizards among them and they're all good in tracking people."

"Let's head to the Museum then," Orpheus said. "There they wouldn't be able to track us using magic. It isn't in the spirit world or physical world."

Daniel nodded as he tapped a button on the bracelet he was wearing. The others did the same and soon they vanished out of sight, leaving blinding specks of light.

Soon they appeared in the large hall of the Museum, seated in their various chairs. Seeing this made Daniel relieved and he couldn't help but say, "Sometimes I wonder how you guys came up with such a technology."

Orpheus turned to look at him before replying, "Money."

Daniel smiled as he said, "Why do you sound as if your wealth has to do with your efforts?"

"I'm a Count," Orpheus raised his chin slightly, his expression becoming smug.

Everyone around immediately understood what he was getting at. As a Count he had so much luck which he used in his various businesses. This made him extremely wealthy and capable of surviving without his father's inheritance.

Daniel chuckled after some time before saying, "Too bad I'm already a Lycanthrope."

"Crimsones don't go about biting people," Orpheus said. "So don't think you'd have become a Crimsone."

"Becoming a Crimsone would have been easier," Evil Buddha finally said after some time. He hadn't talked for a long period of time now as if he had been traumatized by seeing Daniel's large manhood.

Orpheus and Daniel who had been arguing turned to look at him, expecting an explanation. It was no news that Evil Buddha was the most intelligent Curious Mythologists member among them. Well, that did not include Crying God who had a very high IQ as a result of being a Wizard.

"First, Daniel would have to find a way to die in the most painful manner," Evil Buddha said. "This will make him leave enough resentment to awaken as a ghost. Then he would find a way to consume a Vampire."

Seeing the pleased look on Orpheus' face and the distasteful look on Daniel's face, he happily continued, "Heh, I mentioned Vampire because you have no way of defeating a Viscount."

Path one of the Crimsone Cursed type was known as Vampire while Path two went by the name, Viscount. Its corresponding Path three was Count, the Cursed Path Orpheus currently was.

"Insulting me like that, heh," Daniel said with a dry chuckle. After some moments, he added, "To the matter at hand."

The expressions of everyone turned serious as they listened to Daniel as he continued, "I feel that there is another Cursed type called Demon. We should all have the same feeling."

"True," Evil Buddha immediately nodded. After all he was the one who had seen the Demon take out a horn before chewing on it, transforming into a bizarre creature who could cause a terrifying mutation.

"First, he was only capable of using this demonic fire and transforming himself into it," Daniel analyzed. "Second, he used a roar on me. It dealt significant damage to my soul and I would have died if Bloody Mary hadn't intervened.

"There was also the usage of this ability which allowed him to maximize my desires by entering into my dream. Thankfully I have dream lucidity."

When he made the last statement he couldn't help but turn to look at the gloomy Bloody Mary, wondering if she still remembered seeing the naked Selene in his dream. This Horror was very terrifying as she had directly appeared in Daniel's dream when he thought of her.

Or does the ability come from me? Daniel thought within himself. Can I really summon someone into my dream by just thinking about them?

He wasn't allowed to continue with his train of thoughts as Bloody Mary said, "Realm Traversing."

Daniel and Orpheus narrowed their eyes, wondering what Bloody Mary meant by those two words. Only Evil Buddha revealed an enlightened look as he slowly smiled.

"Oh yes," Evil Buddha said. "This Demon was also capable of traveling through various realms and that should be how he escaped from Bloody Mary who is skilled in Spirit World Traversal."

"How are we sure it's Realm Traversing and not Spirit World Traversal?" Crimson Moon Orpheus asked, raising his eyebrows slightly.

"Because that Demon is a Hellhound," Evil Buddha said. "Well, he was a Hellhound before he advanced to become another creature. I saw it with my own eyes as he took the horn and chewed on it."

"That means he went to the museum to get that horn," Daniel said. "That horn must be the essence of the corresponding Cursed Path after Hellhound."

"Yes," Evil Buddha said. "And judging from how he was able to successfully escape from Bloody Mary, he should have been a Path three Cursed before consuming the next essence."

"So you're saying that Demon was a Path three, Hellhound?" Orpheus asked.

"Yes," Evil Buddha nodded. " A Path three of the Demon Cursed type. Tsk, is it right to call it Demon Cursed type?"

"I've heard of it in the scrolls belonging to the Abyss Cult," Bloody Mary said. As a Cursed who possessed dual abilities of the Horror and Witch Cursed types, she had joined the Abyss Cult. Hence, she was privy to some important information.

Daniel remembered how Bloody Mary had almost killed everyone at the haunted house during the school excursion arranged by the Abyss Cult member, Miss Pinmaker. Miss Pinmaker had wanted to sacrifice all of them, performing a ritual to cause Abyss to descend. Thankfully everything was resolved and the Special Cops had come to their intervention.

"Strange," Daniel opened his mouth and said in a deep voice. "I feel that with the appearance of the Demon Cursed type, a storm is brewing. This might not be less terrifying than the descent of Abyss."

Hearing this, all of them fell into a deep thought. From what they had discussed among themselves earlier, they knew that the appearance of the Demon meant that the desires of mankind had reached a crescendo or...the gates of hell had been opened.

"We need to become more powerful," Daniel said as he clenched his fists. After completely harmonizing the Wolfman Cursed path, he felt the urgency of finding the essence of the corresponding Cursed path.

After ending the meeting, he watched as everyone vanished from the Museum, leaving only him there. And it was at that time he realized a problem: He didn't even know the name of the corresponding Cursed Path!

Daniel let out a deep sigh as he thought within himself, I'll have to find a way to ask Cassio in my dream. As someone who created this world in his dreamscape, he must know everything.

Sigh, he closed his eyes. I can't believe I forgot to ask Evil Buddha and Bloody Mary who are way more knowledgeable and experienced. This has to do with me spending several nights thinking and acting like a vigilante...