The old man once again sat down, tired and disappointed at the failure.
"I should take him back and arrange for his burial," the man said after he rested for a little. "Enough time wasted already."
He pushed his body up as he stood up before approaching Lucifer again.
"Wait a minute. If he is in a coffin, wonât the Coffin be destroyed as well? Even after his death, his abilities work, after all. I wonder if his abilities work on himself. If they donât, I can place his hand on his chest," the man muttered as he tested this theory.
He moved Luciferâs hands and placed them on his chest as he observed carefully.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
"This wonât work on him," he observed as he nodded. "What about his clothes?"
The man once again moved his hand as he made Lucifer touch his shirt, which started decaying.
"So this works on everything as long as he touches using his hand. The only exception is his bare body."
The man bent forward to pick Lucifer up when he suddenly stopped.
"Oh right, I didnât even check if he has any identification. What an idiot I am. Maybe he has the number of his family or his address?"
With that thought in mind, the man started searching. He first checked the pocket which was in Luciferâs shirt, but he didnât find anything.
Next, he moved over to the pocket of his pants.
"Hmm? Whatâs this?"
As he checked the pockets of Lucifer, he found something in each of his pockets.
"Gloves?"
He placed the gloves to the side before he searched more. And only after making sure that Lucifer had nothing else in his pockets, he sat down thinking. He also started observing the gloves.
" With his powers, he shouldnât be able to touch anything without destroying it, so why does he have gloves? Moreover, these donât seem like normal gloves either. If he is able to wear them, could it be that these are unaffected by his ability?" the old man muttered, frowning.
He placed the gloves on the ground before placing Luciferâs hand over the gloves to test his theory. Even though Luciferâs hands touched the gloves, the gloves werenât destroyed. Let alone being destroyed; they didnât even seem to be the slightest bit damaged.
"This... I was right. These gloves are probably made from something that isnât affected by his abilities. Thatâs good."
"How do I make him wear them, though? I canât touch his palm or fingers; otherwise, Iâll be affected by his ability too. This is complicated."
The man fell into deep thought as he wondered how he could make Lucifer wear the gloves without touching his fingers, but that seemed challenging.
"I guess I canât do it. Iâll have to go with the older plan. Iâll place his hand on his chest," the man muttered as he picked up Lucifer and started carrying him carefully as he walked towards his village.
He wasnât worried that anyone would see him with a dead body since it wasnât him who killed the boy. There wasnât any wound on the boy either, so he could just say he found this boyâs body when he went into the sea. The boy had drowned.
All he needed was to tell the truth while changing the story of Luciferâs murder with his drowning. Because if he talked about murder, then people would ask why there wasnât any wound.
He couldnât tell them that the boy healed his body with his abilities after his death. That would not only sound crazy, but that would be dangerous as well.
Moreover, if the news of this spread to big cities, many people would come to take away Lucifer and test on him.
His dead body will never find peace. That wasnât what the old man wanted, so he decided to lie. All so that Lucifer could rest in peace without his body being defiled by scientists.
The manâs village wasnât far from the beach, but still, he had to stop and take rests in between as he was carrying a boy. He was getting tired regularly.
...
"Itâs been over a month, but the old man hasnât come back. Do you think heâs dead?"
"Who cares. Good riddance."
"Donât say that. Be respectful; heâs our elder."
"What elder? He always keeps scolding me whenever I play outside his house. He was a rude old man."
"Itâs not that. You know itâs because his wife and his kids had died because of drowning. Since then, he has been pretty closed. Moreover, you always play outside his house when he is praying for his familyâs peaceful afterlife. Of Course, heâll get angry."
"Hmph, shut up! Stop taking his side!â
The village of the old man was pretty silent as most of the people were still inside their homes. Only a few kids could be seen sitting outside near the old manâs house, talking about him.
"Wait! Look there! Itâs Grandpa Chi! He is back! But who is he carrying with him? It seems like a kid? But heâs not moving?"
"Did Grandpa Chi kidnap a kid? Come, letâs call our parents!"
Seeing the old man return in the distance, all the kids started running towards their home as they informed their Elders that the old man had returned and was not alone.
Hearing the news, the adults also stepped out of their houses right when the old man stepped closer to his house.
"Grandpa Chi, wait!"
A manly voice came from behind the old man.
The old man turned back to look at the middle-aged man who was his neighbor.
"Yes, Zhu?" he asked, confused. "Do you need something?"
"Who is the kid in your arms, and where did you bring him from?" The man known as Zhu asked.
"He? I donât know his name, unfortunately. As for his identity, thatâs a mystery to me as well. And where did I bring him from? Thatâs the only question I can answer. I brought him from the Sea," the old man answered.
"From the sea? What do you mean? Where are his parents?" Zhu asked again.
"I have no idea. I found the boy at the bottom of the S-"
Cough! Cough!
The old man started answering, but before he could even finish his sentence, he heard the sound of someoneâs extensive coughing.
His face turned pale as he realized that the sound of coughing was coming from near him. It was none other than the boy who was in his arms.
âThat boy? He was alive? Did his healing really work?â Shocked, the old man stopped speaking as he looked back at Lucifer.