Grim Reaper in the Apocalypse: Reaping Immortals

Atlan hugged her tightly and let the time pass.

The next morning, the Canzer finally stopped crying and wiped the tears from her chitinous cheeks. She looked up at Atlan's face and realized that she was far too close to him.

The Canzer's cheeks seem to have reddened from embarrassment.

She pushed herself away from him and made some distance between the two of them. This woke Atlan from his sleep.

This was the first time that the Canzer was ever this close to anybody before. She hadn't even interacted with other Canzers before, but now, she hugged a human, of all beings.

But when she looked up at Atlan, she realized that his face wasn't all that strange. It was quite…pleasing to look. She didn't know how that was possible since she had only seen Canzers her whole life.

Atlan had the kind of face that was easy to look at. If she could see his face all the time, then she wouldn't mind it.

Once she realized what she was thinking, her cheeks blushed even harder and quickly turned away from Atlan.

It must be said that Atlan wasn't using his Allure mutation at the moment. She wasn't being influenced by some magic or power.

"What's your name?" he asked her.

The Canzer turned her head back and looked at Atlan.

After a few seconds, she replied.

'Tulip.'

Atlan looked at Tulip in the eyes.
Continue your journey with empire

"Tulip, do you want to see your home?"

His words surprised Tulip. She would have never expected to hear those words from Atlan.

It wasn't like she didn't want to return to her home. It was that she didn't think that it was possible. She thought she would have to spend the rest of her life on the run, never returning to her home ever again.

But now, Atlan was giving her the chance. A human gave her this chance.

This made her extremely emotional.

'Why…'

"Even though there were a lot of deaths back in the Unclaimed Lands, I also want to return to it someday. It was my home."

According to Tulip's story, when she returned to their home, their house was burned down. She didn't see her mothers anywhere.

This didn't mean that they died. After all, there was nobody. It was possible that they also ran for their lives and returned to the house to look for Tulip.

He looked down at the camera in his battle suit.

"Carmine, you said that we have to find a cottage, right? Does this cottage have something to do with this Canzer?"

"Yes, exactly! The records say that there is something in that house that we need to retrieve. The book says that it will eventually help us in fighting against the creature in the castle."

Finally all the pieces came together. It turned out that the cottage they were trying so hard to find was Tulip's home!

It was good that Atlan found this out now.

If he had asked this question to Tulip right when they met each other, Tuliip may feel apprehensive towards him. After all, it was a place that was sensitive for her. For all she knew, she was the one who led the other Canzers back to her home. She wouldn't want to lead humans there too.

But now, Atlan successfully built trust with Tulip. He even knew her name now. She also cried in his chest.

It was safe to say that Tulip trusted Atlan.

And since she was finally able to admit to herself about what really happened, about how she was the one who created all this mess, she would be more willing to go back to her home.

Instead of feeling trauma, it was now a form of healing.

'I want to go back. I need to go back.' Tulip said, with determination flaring in her eyes.

"Do you know where it is? Can you lead us there?"

Tulip nodded her head. 'Yes. I remember now.'

Atlan stood up and walked over to Ninth. "Wake the others. We have to go right now. We know the way to the cottage."

"How?" she asked.

In response, Atlan turned around and said, "Tulip. She's the one who'll lead us there."

Ninth looked over at the Canzer and realized that she had gained a name. Tulip.

She looked at Atlan. "Building trust between you and the Canzer is good, but you must be careful. A Canzer is humanity's enemy, don't forget that. And I'll never call her by a human name."

Atlan couldn't understand Ninth's apprehension towards other Canzers, but he simply didn't agree. After he could hear and understand Canzers, he found out that they were just like humans. They live, they die, and they survive just like them.

And Tulip wasn't like other Canzers. She was different.

"If you open up your mind more, you'll see that Canzers aren't our enemy. Enemies are our enemies, Canzers and humans alike."

Ninth walked away from Atlan and woke the team from their deep sleep.

Once they were told of the situation, they quickly packed up and prepared for the journey ahead. They were getting tired of just walking through the forest with no destination to follow.

"If you lead us to a trap, I will kill you," Ninth warned Tulip.

But unlike before, where Tulip would simply cower under Ninth's hostility, Tulip kept her head up and looked ahead. She bumped her fist on her chest, as if saying that they should trust her.

And with Tulip leading the way, the group went ahead and continued on their journey.

Unlike before, they weren't wandering aimlessly.

Tulip would observe the trees and show them markings that she and her mothers made to lead them back to her home.

And the closer they got to her home, the more Tulip would get excited. She would see familiar trees in her direction and giddily walk up to it, stroking its bark. It was as if she never left at all.

On the way, she showed Atlan the berries that she would pick for their food.

Atlan was the only one who tried it, and surprisingly, it tasted like a real fruit.

It turned out Canzers also ate the same food as humans.