Chapter 19: Lucian the Cannibal

"The price has gone up, nothing I could do about that."

"There is literally no reason for the price to go up, Mr. Ferguson," Lucian tightened his grip on the wad of cash in his hand as he stood in front of Ferguson, his supplier, and the supplier of many others in the back streets of Old York.

Ferguson had a bright blonde buzz-cut hair, obviously dyed from the fact that the outer parts of her eyebrow were unfortunately also involved in the mess. He had a tattoo of a tear an inch below his left eye, perhaps in an attempt to pair it with the large scar he had on the other side of his face — but perhaps the most unnerving feature of his face was his eyes; they were completely black, obviously also altered and tattooed.

"That doesn't seem to be a problem for you," Ferguson placed his hands on the back of his head and leaned back on his chair, blowing a large puff of smoke from his mouth as he smiled at Lucian before glancing at his bag, "You seemed to be getting a lot of opportunities out there, maybe share some of it with us. What do you think, Waldo?"

And as Ferguson glanced back, the large man standing behind him stepped forward; the man's bald head, almost hitting the dilapidated ceiling.

"It is too much," Lucian did not care for Waldo, however, as he just shook his head, "That is not the price we agreed upon, Mr. Ferguson. I would be willing to pay that in our next transaction, but not this one."

"I told you, I can't do anything about that, pft…" Ferguson snorted as he raised both his palms, "...Just buy what you can. You obviously have a lot of money."

"I do…" Lucian just casually said it. He thought about it for a while, and there truly was no reason for the price to go up; was he truly just raising the price because he saw that Lucian had a lot of money? The more he tries to learn about social interactions, the more he realizes that he knows absolutely nothing.

If only Malenia was here with him, she would know exactly what to do. That's right… he needed to cure Malenia and Maeve as fast as possible, the money didn't matter as long as he could get the materials.

"Then—" Lucian was about to get more money from his bag, but before he could do so, he felt a sharp pain suddenly crawl throughout his entire body; his consciousness suddenly getting lighter by the second.

He had just injected himself with the suppressant just a few hours ago, and he was already feeling the effects fade away…? No, it is fading away — he needed to go home, fast.

"...No," Lucian then let out a small sigh as he returned the cash in his hand to his bag. He then glanced at Ferguson for a few seconds before just turning around and walking away, "I will go home for now, Mr. Ferguson. I will come back tomorrow."

"Home…? Do you think I'm a fool!? You're going to get it elsewhere!" Ferguson almost roared from his throat as he pointed at Lucian's back. And since the place of their transaction did not have broken windows and was only covered by used tarps, all the homeless people outside could hear him; causing all of them to just curl on the ground and cover their ears,

"Where else are you going to get it!? I am your only source!"

"I am not getting it elsewhere, Mr. Ferguson," Lucian did not turn around as he spoke, "You are the only supplier I know. Goodb—"

"Waldo!"

And before Lucian could step out of the abandoned building, Waldo, despite his large size, was able to quickly block his path through the door, towering over him and completely covering the door. Lucian only glanced at Waldo for a moment before looking down again and walking to the side… toward the large window and just casually pushing the tarp and passing through it.

"What the—Waldo!" Ferguson then once again pointed at Lucian, causing Waldo to rush outside the building and once again block Lucian's path before he could get anywhere,

"Do you really think I would just let you leave? You're supposed to be my loyal customer — not cool, not cool at all, man… not cool."

And as Ferguson stepped out of the building, some of the homeless people started approaching him; most of them crawling on the hard and dirty pavement while showing their palms to him. Ferguson, however, just spat on their palms and kicked them away,

"Just give me all your fucking money, and I'll give you the good shit you need. You don't have to make it awkward between us."

"Mr. Waldo," Lucian completely ignored Ferguson as he stepped forward, almost hitting Waldo's large belly, "Please move away and… You are a Cultivator?"

"Oh, why yes, oh yes, indeed," Ferguson let out a small chuckle as he stretched his arms to the side and approached Lucian, "Mr. Waldo here…

…is a Cultivator. I didn't know you had keen eyes like that."

"No, I smelled it," Lucian whispered as his lips started to twitch. And it's true — despite the overpowering scent of the slums and Waldo's very own body odor, Lucian smelled the familiar scent of lithium — which was weird, as lithum's do not really have any scent, "I… would truly appreciate it if you let me leave now. I promise I will return tomorrow and buy from you, Mr. Ferguson."

"Buy later, buy now. What's the difference?" Ferguson shrugged as he placed his hand on Waldo's back, "Look, how about this — I sell you what you need now at a discounted price, but of course, the next time you buy it at the new regular price. How about that?"

"That… would be good, Mr. Ferguson," Lucian slightly glanced at Ferguson before shaking his head, "Then… I promise to return later tonight."

"No! You buy it now!" Ferguson then slammed his palm on the wall, "You really think I don't know what you're going to do!? You're going to buy from that motherfucker Black!"

"I do not know who that is, Mr. Ferguson," Lucian once again shook his head, "You need to let me leave…now."

"No, no one's leaving," Ferguson clicked his tongue several times while wagging his finger, "Waldo… bring him to the back and serve him the regular. Make sure the money doesn't get dirty."

"Wh—" And before Lucian could even say anything, Waldo suddenly grabbed him by the collar and started dragging him back inside the abandoned building.

"What the fuck are you all looking at, you fucking junkies!?" Ferguson then screamed at the homeless people who were trying to approach them again. He then grabbed a small plastic from his pocket filled with white powder and snorted its contents in front of all the homeless people, smirking while he did it, "Yeah, that's right. You guys want a taste of this, huh? You want?"

And while Ferguson was teasing and kicking away the homeless addicts, Lucian found himself being violently pushed and slammed to the wall by Waldo, and surprisingly, or perhaps not, he did not even break a single bone or feel any pain even as he hit the back of his head hard.

Lucian, however, did still drop to the ground; not holding his head, but clasping his stomach that was starting to grumble and roar.

"Mr. Waldo, please — you need… to let me go…" Lucian let out an almost feral groan as he felt his fangs extending; his saliva, now almost just waiting to drool from his lips. Waldo, of course, did not even listen to Lucian as he lifted him up by the neck before punching him straight in the stomach.

"Kh…" Lucian groaned as he took several steps back and once again hit the wall. He then covered his mouth and nose as the scent of the lithum in Waldo's body was getting stronger by the second.

Waldo, however, just interpreted this as him trying his best not to puke from getting punched in the stomach.

"I want you to know," Waldo finally spoke up as he stepped closer to Lucian and grabbed him by the shoulder and leg before lifting him up over his head, 

"This is not personal at all!" Waldo then screamed as he swung Lucian in the air and slammed him on the ground…

…or so he thought. Waldo's eyes slightly widened as he did not see Lucian hit the cold hard floor at all — he wondered first where he disappeared to, but he heard a small whisper coming from the corner of the dark ceiling.

He quickly looked up, only to see Lucian hanging there like some sort of lizard; his black eyes that were almost disappearing into the darkness, looking him directly in the eyes.

His eyes, however, were not what Waldo was staring at—no. Waldo was looking at the fingers slowly disappearing into Lucian's chewing mouth.

"!!!" Waldo breathed in as he quickly looked at his hand, only to see all of his fingers gone; his hand completely mangled, "You are—"

"You're right, Waldo…" Lucian then swallowed Waldo's fingers and smiled; blood, dripping from his lips and down the floor, "...This is not personal at all…

…It's intimate."