Crimes of the Island City (A Hololive Fanfiction) Vol. 1

Chapter 12: The Reaper and the Healer

In the snap of Calli's fingers, a line of black mist appeared in the air before us.

I wasn't taken aback by its summoning. However, I am a bit hesitant to go through the portal. I'm not sure how it works since it's just a line.

"C'mon, walk through. The portal will widen up as you are about to enter," Calli says with a gentle smile on her face.

I don't hesitate it further. I walk towards the portal. As I got close, the portal expanded. It was wide enough to accommodate me through.

Walking through the portal, it was all just black mist. Everywhere I looked, it wall all just black mist. I looked back and I only saw Calli, who gave me a smile when our eyes met, following right behind me.

After a moment, a pathway opens up, showing what appears to be smoothly polished wooden twin doors. I guess it was the end of the path.

I step back out into the open, along with Calli. We were at a building that had paint peeling off its walls. The lights on it's sign were flickering. Some of the letters weren't even lit up.

"Here's my personal favorite bar in the overworld," Calli

Both of us enter the bar. It was as you'd expect from a bar. It was filled with all the gossip and laughter coming from the customers. The bar wasn't also too crowded, meaning only a select few in the city know about it.

The interior also looked nothing like its exterior. The interior was all clean and fully rennovated.

Calli walks up to the front of the bar and I follow right behind her.

"Oh, Miss Calliope, will it be the usual?" The bartender asks Calli. It seems Calli is a regular at this bar.

"Of course," Calli replies.

The bartender nods and goes under the counter. He returns with a really tall bottle of red wine. He places two glasses for both me and Calli.

"Have you ever tried Underworldian Red Wine before, Kyou?" Calli asks me.

"Uhh no," I reply.

"Well, you're gonna have a blast," Calli remarks as she pours me a glass.

I take the glass and take a sip of the wine. It was really sweet and exotic. After a few seconds, I felt a bitter after-taste.

"Oh that's good," I complimented.

"Haha, I knew you'd like it," Calli smiles as she pours herself a glass.

I take the bottle and pour myself another glass.

"So why healing magic?" Calli asks. "Are you dedicated to helping others or there's another reason?"

"Well, that's my first reason. I wanna help others. Second one would be that it's an underrated type of magic," I answered. "A lot of people underestimate the capabilities of healing magic. And you know, I just wanted to see if healing magic is as boring as other people say it is."

"Huh, that's interesting," Calli remarks. She takes a drink from the wine. "Being an apprentice of a grim reaper's a lot like being the Grim Reaper himself. Death-sensei's work is pretty delicate and, you know, it's pretty rare to have some time off for yourself."

"I've read about the Grim Reaper. But I've never read anything about apprentices before," I reply.

"Well I'm currently his apprentice. I don't know if he has more, but all I know is that reapers before me are now full-fledged Grim Reapers," Calli says as she takes a sip from her drink. I do the same as well.

"Also, when you said you were doing your job back there. Any chance you can tell me how it works, or is it just a reapers-only knowledge?" I ask.

"It's a very delicate process. One that requires a lot of patience, endurance, and focus to pull off successfully," Calli answers. "We reapers extract souls from dead bodies to escort them into the afterlife. The extracting part is the most delicate and difficult part of the process."