Chapter 6: The Protagonist Appears
Dusk was wandering around in search of prey when suddenly, a burly man appeared. He recognized him immediately — Darius Blackthorn, a dockworker whose massive frame was nearly one and a half times Dusk's weight and stood nearly seven feet tall.
"Dusk, you're bleeding. Are you alright?" Darius asked, pointing at the blood trickling down Dusk's arm.
Dusk was a little surprised to see him here. In his previous life, he remembered Darius had a promising start—just unfortunate to have died young.
Still, Darius was someone worth befriending. After all, Dusk had experienced what it felt like to have no allies. Being ganged up on wasn't exactly pleasant.
"I'm fine," Dusk replied. "I just wanted to see if there were any survivors around here. I want to help people... to ease their suffering. As many as I can."
Darius stared at his colleague, with whom he'd never been particularly close, in astonishment. He hadn't expected someone so noble to be among his acquaintances.
His expression turned to one of admiration and deep respect. To him, this man was someone worth calling a brother.
"From now on, you're my brother. Let's rescue everyone from this wreckage together," he declared, his voice full of spirit and determination. He almost reached out to drag Dusk along with him.
"Haha..." Dusk chuckled softly. He hadn't expected to stumble upon such a fortunate encounter.
'So forming bonds is this easy after all. Still, I can't go with him—if I do, I won't be able to hunt freely.'
"Thank you for your kind offer," Dusk said, smiling as he patted Darius on the shoulder. "I'd be honored to call you my brother. But it wouldn't be efficient if we stick together. There are too many who need saving. We should split up—I'll take Building A, and you go to Building B. What do you think?"