We all eventually sat down on the mount, accompanied by the unmelodious sounds of our chewing.
This lasted a couple minutes until Amber broke the silence.
"So… Snapper, right?"
"Finally said my name without insulting me–you should be proud of yourself," he replied. "Doesn't make up for this dreadful excuse of a meal though."
Amber frowned. "You know what? Forget it, I'm already done trying to talk to you." She directed her focus toward me instead. "I've never seen your face around here before—a little village in the South where everyone knows each other. Who are you, and where did you come from?"
"I'm not sure," I replied honestly. "The only thing I can remember is being a slave to a bunch of scary people."
"That would explain the shackles... but it doesn't explain how you ended up here. There aren't any slave owners back in the village, or anywhere in the South. At least, none that I'm aware of."
"I wish I could tell you, but I'm not sure how I even got there myself."
"So what you're saying is, you've lost your memories?"
I nodded in response.
"Do you at least remember your name and age, or what region you're from?"
"I've been a domestic slave for as long as I can remember, and as far as I know, I was never allowed to see the outside world. So at the moment, I'm afraid I don't have a proper answer to either of those questions."
"... That's far too cruel." Amber seemed to empathize with my unfortunate circumstance.
"As for my name though… My masters often addressed me as 'Wolf boy'. I have no idea what it means or where it comes from."
"Wolf...?" Amber raised an eyebrow at me for a moment before suddenly widening her eyes in shock. "Wait a minute! I didn't really notice it before, but now that I'm observing them more closely, your eyes sorta look a like an Axiell's." She nodded to herself as if to confirm. "Yeah, you're definitely a Beastren, but you don't have all the other features… You must be a hybrid then. Mhm-mhm, you're probably a combination of Axiell and something else!" she concluded.
She seemed rather overzealous about this situation for some reason. I was even forced to to lean back slightly whenever she got too close.
"Sorry, I seem weirdly excited about this whole thing, don't I? It's just that… I think you and I are the same. I know it doesn't seem that way since I don't have all the features either, but I'm a Seraphox. Just like you, I'm also a half-breed and I'm not sure what other half I belong t–"
"Wait! You're one of those damn foxes!?" Snapper cut in mid-conversation, a piece of meat still lingering in his mouth as he talked.
"Hey, I'd watch your mouth if I were you!" Amber snapped, with a justified hostility.
"I just have a bad history with your kind is all... Now I can't wait to finally get rid of you at East Contra."
"Likewise, you racist piece of shit!
"Anyway, what the hell's your story? Why would you team up with a gang of Stealers and then suddenly turn on them? It doesn't make sense."
I too wondered why Snapper decided to switch sides, so I paid close attention to his words.
"I wasn't really teamed up with them." Snapper placed a hand on the white mask buckled to his waist. "This mask is a contract, which makes me a licensed Voltaire."
"A Voltaire?" Amber exclaimed, her eyes widening. "I think I've heard of you people. You're all trained mercenaries, aren't you? You extradite or kill bounties on dangerous missions for rewards."
In other words, they were a coalition of licensed assassins managed by wealthy individuals, who give missions based on other people's inquiries.
For instance, if someone was looking to hire a Voltaire for a job, they would first talk to the manager. Then the manager would share the details of the job with the coalition, or whichever Voltaire is available, along with the amount the hirer is willing to pay. After accepting the job, the Voltaire wears a special mask as both a way to conceal their identity and form a contract.
From what I understood, Snapper was someone who possessed a licence to legally kill another person or a particular group of people based on the objective he was hired to complete.
"So, the masks you guys wear… How is it used as a contract?" Amber asked.
"Our handlers give us an objective: we're either hired by other groups or sent to eliminate or capture a desired target. Those who hire us are given the masks, and they are put on us without retaliation."
He explained that there was a type of energy called 'Vision' involved, which was drawn out by the mask, making it was a meticulously crafted piece of technology.
"Once our hirer puts the masks on us, we can't take it off. We have to follow every single instruction they give us, even if it's to wipe their asses. This happens until the contract expires or the objective is complete, in which case, the mask will finally come off and we'll be free."
"What happens if you don't do as your hirer says, or if you don't complete your task?"
Snapper's expression dulled unexpectedly.
"Then the mask will kill me," he said in a low voice. "It'll absorb my life force until there's nothing left."
"That's insane! Who would even agree to something like that!?"
"People with a lack of option," he replied. "I had to make a living that way, no thanks to your fellow Seraphoxes."
"Why do you hate my kind so much!? What the hell did they even do to you!?"
"Hmm, I don't know… Maybe they raided my home village when I was barely old enough to remember, slaughtered my entire family, destroyed our farm, then took almost everything we had and left like nothing even happened..."
"I-I didn't know… I'm sorry..."
"Doesn't matter. The Seraphoxes have made me the killer I am today, and no amount of apologising will ever change that, got it?"
"Yeah, I got it. But for the record, I didn't have anything to do with your past, and people always have a choice… got it?"
For a few minutes, there was a tension that hung itself over the cold air, leaving only enough room for silence to return.
"You know, you still never answered my question," Amber said to him a few moments later.
"What?"
"Why did you turn against them and decide to help us? You looked like you were practically going insane."
"Well, being free from the mask after having to wear it for a couple of months can do that to you," he retorted. "Anyway, part of the reason I turned on them is cuz they were bastards who deserved to die… even though one of them's probably still alive."
"WHAT!?"
I was just as shocked as Amber, considering I was the one who slaughtered them all myself.
When Amber regained consciousness, she saw that Marn had disappeared, but Vince and his gang were all dead before we escaped the village.
"I understand why you're surprised, but the thing is, Vince was a 'Soul Stealer'."
"A Soul Steal!? You've gotta be kidding me."
"What's a Soul Stealer?" I asked, feeling the need to pitch into the conversation.
"That's pretty ironic of you to ask, Wolf boy." Snapper addressed me by my slave name, which I didn't really mind.
He explained that someone who was able to claim possession of someone else's 'Soul Card' was deemed a 'Soul Stealer'.
They could achieve this title by either killing the person and having a low chance of obtaining the card, or by successfully stealing their card, which would also result in the owner's death.
"And by "Soul Card", you mean the card that someone's born with, right?"
"Yeah, a Birthcard, or a card that someone has been bestowed, which in your case is the Copy Card."
"I see… Snapper, you said you only gave part of the reason you decided to help us. Does the other part have something to do with the Copy Card?" I asked, remembering his reaction to it during our fight.
"Well, I was gonna wait until we got to East Contra before asking you this..."
"Asking him what?" Amber questioned with a hint of suspicion.
"I know you guys need to get away from all the heat in the Nixous region… even though it's extremely cold here. But anyway, the real reason I'm taking you to East Contra is because I want you to become a Collector."
"SERIOUSLY!?"
Amber's sudden reaction made me curious.
"Umm, what's a–"
"Don't worry, I'll explain," Snapper anticipated. "A Collector is the most common profession for Card Holders. They go around the world, collecting as many cards as they can from all sorts of places: typically dungeons. TThe job is incredibly dangerous, but with the right team, you could gain strength and vast knowledge while exploring the entire world. It's one big adventure that no one would want to miss out on, so… are you in or what?"
"Like hell he is!" Amber protested. "He doesn't know shit about the world, not even a fraction. He may be gifted, but without any knowledge of anything, he'll just end up dead before he can even blink!"
"You know he has a mouth too, right? It's certainly not as big as yours, but the guy can speak for himself."
Amber groaned. "This is a bad idea, and you know it! Do you seriously wanna get him killed that bad!?"
"I won't let that happen, and besides, you saw him back at the inn, didn't you? Or are you just denying the fact that he single handedly took down three experienced Stealers with no experience himself. He's special, and I bet he could become even stronger than Gouldsworth ever was."
"Oh, so is that what this is about?" Amber said firmly, as if she just pieced it all together. "You're just using him to continue Gouldsworth's legacy, writing a story about how you "helped" the new Copy Card holder become stronger than the Lord of the Cards himself!"
"You should mind your own business, Seraphox. After all, we'll soon be going our separate ways, won't we?"
"Thank god for that."
"Yeah."
The friction between the two was beginning to hurt my head a little.
"Guys," I interrupted.
They stared at me in unison. "What!?"
"Sorry, but I've already made my decision…" I now had their full attention, each one hoping I would side with them. "I think I should become a Collector."
"ALRIGHT! I knew you'd come through for me, Wolf!"
"Are you serious?" Amber looked disappointed.
"I'm not sure if being a Collector is something that I want, but just before Mr. Gouldsworth performed the soul sacrifice, he told me something."
"What did he say?" Snapper asked in a rather curious manner.
"He asked me to rid the world of evil and 'restore balance'. Although I'm not entirely sure what that means, I feel like his card comes with a great responsibility. After giving it some thought, I'm sure that he wanted me to become a Collector and go on my own adventure." I looked at Amber, feeling a sense of guilt. "I'm sorry, Amber, but I have to do it."
"Tch," she turned away as if forcing herself not to care. "Don't say I didn't warn you."
Snapper stared off into the distance as though he were picturing something in his mind.
"The Card Master's last words, huh…? People would start dancing on their hands if they could hear this."
"You're not gonna go around telling people about him, are you? If anyone finds out that he now owns the Copy Card, do you know what will happen?"
"I'm aware, Seraphox," Snapper moaned. "He'll likely have a huge target on his back. We'll just have to make sure he remains inconspicuous for a while."
"Again with the name calling…"
"Yeah… I don't care," he dismissed. "Anyway, I've already refuelled the Sand Surfer, so we should get to East Contra within a few more hours."
"A few more hours!?" Amber moaned.
It seemed like she was already eager to part from us, especially Snapper.
"Don't worry, if you get tired, maybe you can have a rest on Wolf's lap this time," he chuckled.
For a brief moment, Amber and I crossed eyes before she shifted her gaze away from me.
It looked like she was blushing, but her hand was covering most of her face so I couldn't really tell.
"Alright! Time to hit the road!"
And just like that, the terrain began to move again, at a much higher speed than before.