Rise of the Crusader

54 Addiction

“Ripper?” Raphael mumbled the name in a low voice.

Aiden and Devon nodded their head when they heard him, they stared at the pale young man who was feasting on the bodies of Nancy and Sharon, and a frown appeared on their face.

“You know how people get really addicted to alcohol, but instead of alcohol, Ripper’s addiction his to bloodlust. When he gets consumed by bloodlust his morality is irrelevant, and once he starts feeding, he won’t stop until he has ripped his victims into pieces.”

“Which is why people refer to him as the Ripper,” Devon said.

Raphael couldn’t help but be alarmed, he raised his hand and stared at Ripper. “How strong is he?!” Raphael asked.

Even though the two women were A-rank metahumans with high-power ranks, the pale young man had handled both of them as though he were simply squashing bugs.

“Very, very strong!” Devon and Aiden replied simultaneously.

As Raphael heard the both of them, he raised an eyebrow. “Let me put it this way,” Devon said, “The strongest metahuman you have probably encountered in the academy is Serena, you see if Serena goes head-to-head with Ripper, I can assure you that she won’t last up to ten minutes.”

“Ripper would crush her!!!!!”

.....

“So, he is that strong!” Raphael muttered, as even though he hadn’t seen Serena battle with someone or fought with her, he could always sense that she was very powerful.

And yet, when compared to this pale young man, Serena was still lacking behind. From how Devon had phrased his word, Serena was no way near to comparing to Ripper.

“Though they are all year-3 students, Ripper is the fourth most powerful student in the year-3 divisions. While Serena is at number six.” Aiden exclaimed.

“They are still three other students who are stronger than Ripper.” Raphael placed his hand on his chin as he spoke. Raphael couldn’t possibly imagine how strong those other three were, as merely Ripper in front of him gave him an unusual feeling.

“Oh shit! He has moved on to the next person,” Aiden said, as after feasting on Nancy’s body till only her scattered bones were left, Ripper pulled Sharon’s body closer to him, and soon began to dine on it.

“I’m going to puke!!!!!”

While Aiden and Devon had witnessed killings of all kinds during their years in the academy, the way Ripper took care of his business was different than the rest.

According to those who were closer to Ripper, it was said that Ripper considered himself to be an artist, and when he worked on his victims, each bite and chewing was done with style.

“Oh... Godd, I can’t watch this anymore,” Devon said and then turned around.

Aiden stared at the scene for a few more seconds before turning towards Raphael and saying, “Raphael, I’ve been meaning to ask, is there a reason why the student’s council and the cabal are backing you this much.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have any problem with it, but I’m just really curious. I have never seen the both of them act this way to any students in the academy.” Aiden said.

It wasn’t only Aiden who was curious about the student council and the cabal, Devon was also just as curious. And when he heard Aiden, he stared at Raphael.

Raphael, however, simply flashed a smile, “I actually don’t have any explanation why the both of them are like that... Perhaps they were one of the clients, I worked for.”

“Clients?” Devon mumbled.

“Yeah, Serena introduced me to a couple of people years ago. I have never met any of them since we mostly talk on the phone, but if there’s a reason why I think the two of them are like that, it should be because of that.”

Aiden and Devon placed a hand on their chin, they were about to speak, when they felt all the hairs on their body erect. As the two of them stared at one another, they gulped, and very slowly, they turned around.

“Y-You... Ri-Ripper” Aiden stammered as Ripper had appeared in front of him.

Ripper, however, didn’t glance at the both of them, and instead, his eyes were glued to Raphael. Though Ripper had withdrawn his fangs and claws and also wasn’t brimming any killing intent, they were an inborn aura he excluded that made others feel frightened and intimidated around him.

And after staring at those cold eyes for a few seconds, Aiden and Devon found themselves unable to glance at him anymore. The both of them lowered their heads, hoping this nightmare was going to end.

Meanwhile, Raphael and Ripper had eyes glued to one another. The tension in the surrounding became intense very quickly, and it was only after a few minutes that it lessened.

“It’s... It’s nice to finally meet you, Raphael Queen!”

Raphael smiled, “The same goes for you, Ripper,” As Ripper offered a handshake, Raphael responded immediately.

Ripper nodded his head, and then glanced at the students who were staring at him in the surrounding, including Bane. Once they all saw Ripper glaring at them, they swiftly shifted their gaze.

“Raphael is with me!!!! Coming after him means coming after me and the cabal... If this ever happens again, I won’t spare any of you!!!!!!”

With that said, Ripper turned around and walked out of the alley. As he took each step out, everyone was staring at him with fear and panic written evidently on their faces.

While being a member of the cabal made Ripper a force to not be reckoned with, the powers, strength, and sadistic side he possesses made him extremely dangerous.

“I knew hanging out with you was the right thing to do, Raphael.” A few seconds after Ripper left, Bane appeared in front of Raphael. “This is really good, I just have to say that I’m close friends with you, and the deal is sealed.”

“Hahahahahahaha!!!!!”

Devon rolled his eyes when at Bane, and as for Aiden, a smile could be seen on his face. “Not you too...” Devon said, shaking his head at Aiden.

“What?!! What Bane means is that he can use his Raphael to pick up girls in the academy. Though the idea is a little petty, people do it a lot.” Aiden muttered, and seeing that look on Devon’s said, he said, “Look at how everyone is staring at us!!!”

As Devon stared at the surrounding, his heart skipped a beat because it was really just like Aiden had said. Everyone was staring at them, the women were giving all sorts of flirtation signals, and as for the men they had a terrified look on their faces.

“You can’t blame them, can you?!” Bane spoke as he winked seductively to one of the women ahead of him.

As for Raphael, a neutral expression remained on his face. Raphael only took a glance at the women who were adjusting their clothes, revealing more cleavage, and body parts for a few seconds, before moving his gaze away from him.

“Later guys!” Raphael had only taken a few steps forward when a dark portal appeared in front of him. Raphael was about to speak when he heard Aiden.

“Today has been a long day, I say we attend the club some other time. What do you think?!”

Devon and Bane shrugged their shoulder, and with a thumbs ups from Aiden, the four of them went into the portal.

....

As Raphael, Devon, Aiden, and Bane appeared in the dormitory, Bane leaped on the couch right away. Devon went into the kitchen, and Aiden took the gamepad from the table.

Seeing how Raphael was staring at the both of them, Aiden and Bane glanced at one another, “Do you want to play?!” Aiden asked.

“No, I have something to take care of,” Raphael responded.

“Oh!” Bane and Aiden’s mouths opened slightly, the two of them nodded their heads and were about to start the game when Raphael’s voice rang out.

“The both of you have been in the academy for quite some time,” Raphael paused, “You also know Ripper, so apart from his bloodlust, do you know any other information like powers or something that he was.”

Based on the traits Raphael saw from Ripper, he was able to discern a little from Ripper, but he was perplexed and also wasn’t satisfied with what he knew about him.

“Ripper? Ripper is a vam...” Before Aiden could complete his word, the room door was slammed open, and a figure rushed into the room.

As the person stared into the room and saw Raphael, an expression of relief appeared on the person’s face. A second after and the person dashed toward Raphael.

The act caught Raphael surprised, and before he could even realize what was going on, he felt a soft hand wrapped around him, and the person’s head placed on his chest. “Thank god... You’re fine!”

Meanwhile, as Aiden and Bane saw the girl who just barged into the room and then hugged Raphael, their eyes twitched, and the both of them couldn’t help but be dumbfounded.

A minute later, Melinda and Becky rushed into the room.

“Elisa, you shouldn’t worry, he’s going to be-”

Melinda paused, her mouth opened slightly, as she stared at Elisa, who was hugging Raphael tightly. As for Becky who was beside her, a smile hung on her face.