Ash and Daredevil blazed a path to their home, the speed they used was fast enough that no traffic cam could capture them clearly. The closer they got the faster they both changed back to their normal appearance without suspicion. Ash put Daredevil inside the shed. He could sense Daredevil was sleeping, even before he turned the engine off.
"Sweet dreams boy," Ash said as he made his way to his room. He was completely exhausted, even with his body repaired he was drained after that fight. He just wanted to sleep, with the weekend starting tomorrow he was going to sleep for the next two days without interruption. Weakly opening the door, he didn't see the boots placed next to the door carefully. Ash was confused about what they were doing there. Those weren't his boots; there was even a duffel bag and some takeout boxes on the counter. He heard his shower being used too, someone must have broken in. He thought it was a squatter possibly, he hated their guts badly, after they tried breaking into his old home and then his apartment. He was ready to throw a fireball at whoever was going to come out, but he stopped when he saw it was Lita, in a towel, brushing her hair. She freaked seeing the beaten up Ash because she didn't expect him to come back looking that or even when she was in the shower. It caught her off guard.
"Ash you scared me. What happened to you? You look terrible. Did you get into another fight?"
Ash didn't respond, he was delirious and fading fast. Lita helped him get his shirt off and shoes, his clothes were mangled but not him which confused her. "Ash what happened to you?"
"Why are you here?" He asked with a groggy and disoriented voice.
"Oh, I just." Lita didn't want to answer honestly. She was trying to not to show Ash the bruise on her back that her dad gave her earlier from finding out she used her tips to hang with Ash that fateful night. "Never mind why I'm here I have a spare key remember. Just what happened to you you're back late and looking bad. Explain yourself now." She demanded like a concerned partner.
"I…don't have to…explain anything. It's….my problem….just leave…me." Ash couldn't finish answering , he was ready to just pass out, he had no willpower or strength left to even stand up from how tired he was. He fell forward on top of Lita, his head snuggled in her chest as she could hear the small sounds of snoring from him. Lita was confused at first, she didn't understand why he did that. She didn't care, she gave a weak smile as she wrangled a pillow from the futon for her head to lie. She held Ash tight as she riddled her fingers in his hair laying her face on the top of his head.
"You may act tough, but you're still a lonely child aren't you?" She whispered to him. "I won't leave you alone. I promise."
*****
Morning had come, and Ash opened his eyes again. He was still groggy and regaining his senses after the fight with the Berserker. He slowly lifted his upper body stretching out his arms, hearing his joints pop from the stiffness in them. Every joint from his fingers, wrists, elbows, and down to his spine popped in succession. He tried to rub the part of his remaining neck to smooth out the crink in it from that stab he gave himself. He still couldn't believe that stunt worked, felt medically impossible to drain pent-up blood that way he figured he asked the system for help.
"System, is my body changing even without the stats affecting it? I could have sworn I felt nearly concussed when I hit the ground yesterday, is that even possible with this pumpkin head?"
{Answer, user is assimilating with Darkmold at an accelerated rate. You are the first user to whom Darkmold has granted the gift of human sensation early on. The user will be able to feel sensations such as pain, touch, taste, and even emotional response once again. However this is not a replacement for the user's original head, it is only a temporary solution to help the user blend in with humanity better avoiding the cost of discovery. The user can switch off emotions and feelings at any given time.}
"So I can feel again? I mean, I guess that's great, at least now I won't feel like I'm disrespecting Lita when she kisses me. What about the blood? I stabbed my neck to release it, I know it's not logical but how did it come out?"
{Answer. Due to Darkmold's influence, the body was beginning a minor healing process. Without vitality points, Darkmold acted in self-interest by using reserve strength to expel excessive blood in body. Should the user be unconscious or emotionally shattered Darkmold will take over to preserve the user's body.}
Ash felt nervous hearing the response. His stabbing himself was not his choice, it was the pumpkin that did it. It meant he needed to be better prepared for the future to avoid the pumpkin from taking over even if it wasn't noticeable.
"Ok, system can I trade the skulls for some new gear. I collected at least eleven souls total from that last outing should be some good rewards."
The system was quiet for a moment, and Ash tapped on the screen irritated at the slow response. "System? What's with the holdup?"
{Error. The user did not collect eleven souls. The user has only collected one soul and twelve heads in total. Kraegans user killed had no souls to collect. Only the soul the user collected was the first kill, Casper King. The user can still trade the collected skulls for rewards, but those with souls will yield greater results.}
Ash looked with unease at the results, then realization. The system was right. He didn't collect souls from the Kraegans earlier because they weren't ascended, even the Berserker wasn't considered a true ascended Kraegan just a mutation among its kind. The trade wasn't worrying Ash, it was the fact that if his hunger came back and he needed to feast on another head again with a soul, how was he going to go about that in a proper way that wouldn't hurt his conscience or an innocent.
"Ugh, nothing I can do much now. I'll need better gear for the future if I want to fight stronger Kraegans I can't have a close call like that again. System what weapons can I trade for the ten regular Kraegan heads preferably something strong, won't break easily, and has a lot of chopping force behind it."
The system went through its listing, and it stopped around the weapons ranging from Grade A to Grade S. Some looked promising but not really conspicuous or good for fast hit and run tactics to use with Daredevil. Ash flicked through a few scratching his cheek in deciding what to pick.
"Eh, not that, no knives I have plenty of those, no way a battle mace, I'm not some medieval knight. Hmm, what about another hatchet or maybe an axe, it would match what I'm thinking of using for chopping off heads."
Ash looked again slowly at the list for axes, ranging from tomahawks, battle axes, and even hunting axes.
"Hmm, tempting on many of them. Hang on what about this one?" Ash stopped at one that was a double-bladed war axe ranked Grade SS level, the second highest grade any weapon could reach as of now next to Grade SSS.
"Let's see, the Gwar, type double-sided war axe, 30 inches in length with the blade width being 11 inches wide. Can grow in strength the more blood it feeds on, and can unleash stored blood into energy-based attacks. The blades on the axe can be detached into hand blades to use for dual-wielding attacks or reattached back onto axe. Well, this one is interesting. I'll take this one system."
{Error. Purchase can not be made. Need to trade a skill or ability to obtain Gwar.}
Ash shook his head in frustration, he felt like he should have seen that coming.
"Argh, I knew that would happen. I feel like I'm being scammed in a way with the trading part. Well, I'll give up Phantom Stride with the ten skulls for the axe. Will that work?"
The system proceeded with the response. It gave the approval for the purchase to proceed. Ash didn't mind giving up Phantom Stride, he didn't really need it anymore, and using it in the future would remind him of what he did to Casper. The system accepted the trade, Ash felt the skull marks on him dissolve away, and soon the axe materialized in front of Ash. It felt light in his hands despite its size. Ash swung it around with ease, it felt like he was twirling a baton in his hands, he figured it was due to the strength he got from the Berserker he defeated.
"Nice. Well like a great man once said, Groovy." He smirked saying the catchphrase of the character he got his nickname from.
Ash slid the axe under the futon, he wanted to buy more stuff with the Berserker skull.
"Since I got rid of Phantom Stride I'll need something for scouting, what did Lita call those things, from a movie or something, oh yeah, system can I purchase something called familiars?"
The system responded, bringing up the list of familiars for Ash to pick.
"Probably should choose something small, can get out of tight spaces easily, and at least defend itself if needed. System can you suggest something with those parameters that can be the equivalent of the Berserker skull?"
The system brought one up, it was a Raven familiar, Grade A level and rare at that.
"Huh? Is this a joke? Did you pick this cause of my last name? Ugh, fine I'll take it I'm too tired to even gripe at this point."
The skull for the Berserker vanished and a small raven tattoo appeared on the right side of Ash's neck just below the cut line where his head was separated.
{Purchase complete. Familiar obtained. The user can summon the familiar by thought. The user must name the familiar to complete the bond.}
Ash did as instructed, he thought of the Raven in front of him, and soon it manifested itself on his arm. It was black as midnight, the talons on it long and intimidating. Its beak jagged and scarred. The wings on it were long and faded as if it had seen many a battle. It had a heavily scarred left eye, as if someone had attempted to rip it out, the white of its hue indicating it.
"Well well looks like you've seen hell too. A name huh? Hmm, Quothe, that's your name. Like the phrase Quothe the Raven, nevermore."
The system announced the success of binding Quothe, who sat on Ash's shoulders accepting his new master. Ash petted his head in response and dismissed him.
"That leaves that. Hey system, I still have the skull from Casper. I noticed it's hollowed out not like the Kraegans'. I'm guessing it's because it has his soul in it. What happens to the soul ingested and what happens if it is traded?"
{Answer. Soul remains trapped inside the user upon consumption. Inside the user, the soul suffers eternal torment living their personal hell. Upon the user trading their soul, the soul will cease to exist. Erased permanently. That is the price of using the power of the Horseman System to obtain god-like power.}
Ash quivered. He didn't realize that's what would happen if he ate a head with a soul still in it. He hated Casper but he wouldn't want to erase him like his life was that meaningless despite what he did to him. But the last message bugged him. He didn't hear or pay attention when the system revealed its name from the first kill, now it echoed in his head on what he inherited from the pumpkin.
"Did. Did you say? Horseman system?"