BXBX NOVEL Chapter 59: Clothes Maketh the man.
"I do esteemed one. There is a mirror placed directly above the door. While it had a more mundane purpose it allowed my brother and I to find out beings such as yourself who hide in plain sight."
My eyes darted towards the door and indeed noticed a mirror placed above it. Those entering would hardly notice it was there, but from the position of the tailors they would immediately notice I had no reflection. Upon turning around, I pulled the P30L and aimed at the tailor's forehead.
"Who are you with? You have three seconds before I send you to hell."
The tailor who was an old man didn't panic but continued talking.
"This shop is affiliated with IRIS, esteemed one. My father became a wraith during the second world war. For those of us who are the weaknesses of reapers we are taken under protection and are given livelihoods to survive."
I didn't know how many humans knew of the reapers but having a way to detect a reaper at the door definitely meant these guys were part of the world of the agents of hell. His explanation did make sense though.
If you had 2000 reapers, the number that had families would no doubt be a large number as well. Instead of having a bunch of useless humans, making them into laborers would be the best course of action.
"How many shops are affiliated with IRIS in this state? What would you do if Trinity finds out? Could you even defend yourselves?"
The old man then pulled out a small gem out of his pocket as he said with melancholy.
"Esteemed one, Trinity only cares about the humans of powerful reapers. My father fell in the line of duty over ten years ago, this was his soul gem. Thus, my shop and I no longer hold any importance to them. As to how many, I have no idea, IRIS only sends us a check every month. I do not know of any other shop in Arizona run by the forsaken."
I used {Reveal} on the marble on his hand and proved his story was true.
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Name: Gerard Sabre
Rank: Wraith
Soul Capacity: {Fate} 2/4 | {Kismet} 0/1
Souls Available: 0 | To evolve: 400
{Fates}1. {Surgeon} Lvl 2 | Cost: 2 | Owner: Self | Sub: {Excision}
{Kindred}: N/A
{Kismet}: N/A
Soulgear:
___
Why was that little stone being treated a reaper? From the looks of this Gerard didn't even manage to grow much before dying. If reapers were spiritual beings, then does that mean that only the Soulgems were considered our physical bodies?
"Forsaken?" I repeated like a parrot.
"The humans left behind by the reapers. That is what IRIS calls us."
How cruel. They got a pension that lasted longer than 10 years, but the term was needlessly heartless. So… Hidden in plain sight were thousands of Forsaken protected by IRIS. I somehow felt this didn't match the usual M.O. of the evil bastards.
'Granting that their relatives died, these guys would already hate the undead with a passion. Maybe they intent to turn the Forsaken as a backup reaper pool?' I theorized.
Still, it didn't matter to me as I had no humans related to me. I used {Sheathe} on the P30L and apologized to the ones here.
"I am sorry for my rudeness, I didn't know Gerard, but I am sure he used his life to protect Hellsgate."
No matter how the reaper fought and died knowing what I knew of them I couldn't spit on their memories. Selfish or not Gerard Sabre went to hell of his own volition and fought for the living. His family didn't deserve to have his achievement belittled.
"Oh? You figured out his name just from seeing this? Truly your ways are mysterious. No harm meant esteemed one. To the forsaken, anyone still fighting in Hellsgate is a living hero. How can we help you today?"
"I wish for a black suit like John Wick. I will be returning to hell tonight and wish to dress appropriately."
"Is that so? Then please let me use my meager skills to ensure you are dressed to kill before your return."
The tailor and his assistant took my measurements in record time and picked out a few suits with black shirts. The suits were off the rack, so they offered me ones made from wool, cotton and linen. I tried one on and noticed I lost weight again. My body was probably already fit enough to join the military.
"Clothes maketh the man," I murmured a quote I heard from a movie.
"What color do you want the tie to be mister…"
"Smith… John Smith."
"Ah, yes. What tie would you like Mr. Smith? We do not have black ties at the moment."
"Hmm. How about a white one then?"
"Right away."
The assistant then showed me a box with half a dozen white ties with various decorations. They looked nice in a choir boy sort of way. It didn't seem to match the outfit I wore though. I had on a black single-breasted suit with peak lapels made from wool.
As the material was durable, breathable and comfortable I went with what was practical. The trousers were pleated which according to the tailor was more traditional. I didn't actually care about such things. But what I found impressive was how sharp I looked.
I couldn't look at the mirror, so I instead used {Perceive} to look at the eyes of the forsaken and looked at my appearance from their irises. It seemed that the tailor altered the suit like lighting to match my exact build. For shoes I just got a clean pair of black colored oxfords at the suggestion of the assistant.
From how well everything fit I would have believed it if they told me this was custom. I took a few steps and did some wide movements to see how the suit felt. I even drew the P30L out again and mimicked some John Wick posters I saw.
"Mr. Smith, about the ties. None of the ones here match you. Why not try this?"
The son of Jack Sabre then showed me a red necktie. As it flowed towards the ground, I hallucinated and saw a wave of blood raging like a waterfall. Unsure what I saw I checked the tie and was pleased with the look and feel of it.
'What the hell was that? The stress is making me see things.'
I then faced the assistant and tied it on my neck, using his eyes I checked to see if I had it on crooked or not. The tailor smiled were he saw my reactions. With the suit completed I felt like a brand-new man.
"You look amazing esteemed one."
"Thank you, how much is the total bill?" I inquired.
"The total comes to $2000."
"Do you accept digital payments?"
"We do esteemed one."
I used my cheap ass phone and sent them $3000. Immediately the Tailor tried to correct the error.
"Mr. Smith you sent too much."
"Keep it, it's a tip. Instead, I have a favor to ask. If you find any information about IRIS or the forsaken tell me the next time I come in."
"Understood esteemed one. May your fate end the darkness. Happy hunting."
Both the tailor and assistant then bowed their heads down low as I walked out of their shop. I tended to forget due to being surrounded by amazing girls. Out of the 20,000 reapers in the enlistment over 19,000 died. Dying in Hellsgate was a natural conclusion for many of my kind.
Even if one graduated to become a Phantom or a Specter the responsibilities and expectations naturally increased. And tonight, I would dive into such a world for the first time. I naturally wanted to make sure I had everything ready.
I brought a suit which would be my uniform, due to my {fates} it didn't matter if it got destroyed. My guns, {fate} and kismet were also ready. As tempting it was to train using the remaining time, I didn't think it would make a difference. I also still had four snicker bars in my storage.
"Hmm… why not increase supplies then. I don't need medical ones, but it doesn't hurt to have some."
With a new destination in hand, I went into a Mcdonalds and ordered twenty-five big macs. This along with the Snicker bars would be my stamina boosters with {Eat}. Suddenly I remember the memes about video game characters being immortal so long as they had food.
"Haha I'm going to be a living meme."
Next, I went to a local drugstore and bought bandages, antiseptic, burn creams and fever medicine. I then spent the next hour browsing Graveyard, specifically the [Buy and Sell] section looking for cheap {Heal} tablets like the ones the girls used. I found a seller who sold his for 500 souls a piece.
I bought them and was told Graveyard would send them to me when I get summoned into Hellsgate. I next returned to my apartment to terminate my lease and stored my stuff inside my storage.
At around 5 PM the sun in its final moments of glory before setting by the time I finished everything I wanted to do. As hard as I tried to keep composed, the slow ticking of the clock was like a noose around my neck gradually tightening.
Would I be able to come back? Were my preparations enough? Such questions hounded my mind the entire time. Without even a place to crash, I ended up wandering towards the spot I died.
Here in this place was where my life took a wild turn. Dying here made me into a reaper. In Hellsgate I murdered over twenty-five people in cold blood and abandoned at least three more to their demise. I danced with death so much we were already intimate.
I met seven Formless who became my allies and witness the power of David Thomas who acknowledged me. I took down undead by the hundreds, on top of a Rank D undead brute which everyone thought was impossible.
The future certainly was unpredictable, yet until I drew breath, I never intended to stop fighting. I calmed my nerves and steadied my will. After 5 more hours passed. I felt the pull from my very soul and got summoned back to Hellsgate.