episode_0080

Nebel, Seira, Johann. And two other exiles.

As the founding purpose and true intentions of Vanishment were casually revealed, Luna Anthony Taylor, who had been quietly listening, fell deep in thought.

Each had reasons like kinship murder, revenge, human experimentation, terrorism, and more.

Their methods varied wildly, but every one of them was merely an effort to break free from the shackles of a past that bound them.

‘They’re similar.’

Somehow, Luna felt they were similar to herself.

In this very place, there were two individuals who knew the meaning behind the uncomfortable name ‘Taylor’: Shape Shifter, a member of the Seven High, and Johann, the leader of Vanishment.

Normally, she would have wanted to leave immediately, but hearing their story, of running towards ruin in the name of liberation, just as she wished for, Luna felt a complex mix of empathy and kinship.

“Everyone’s got pretty rough ways of doing things.”

Her old friend, sitting next to her, broke the somber mood.

Ten years ago, while relentlessly climbing the stairs upward with the goal of avenging his enemies, he noticed an Asian man wandering the streets in shabby clothes, wearing a foolish expression.

Thinking he might have been scammed and left on the streets, he brought Dojun into his shop and gave him a few drinks. Dojun then blubbered and wept, muttering nonsensical, exaggerated tales.

A quick background check revealed that his identity didn’t exist in any database, as if he’d dropped straight from the sky. So, as a joke while helping him, he intentionally gave him the name John Doe (an unknown person).

He never imagined that Dojun would still believe he was called John Doe because he couldn’t pronounce “Dojun” properly.

“I’m sorry, but this is all we have left.”

“Who’s saying anything? It’s just… killing people and all that… not something a mercenary should say, but in the end, it just creates a mess, doesn’t it?”

“Are you telling us to draw a line?”

A line.

In an era where the tyranny of irresistible beings with absolute power occurs without any attempt at concealment, a line still exists.

Thanks to transhumanism and countless modification procedures flooding the market, the value of humans has risen, yet in the same era, the value of ordinary humans has fallen. Still, the moral lines built by humanity over nearly 200 years faintly remain.

Don’t lie, don’t steal from others, don’t assault… and so on.

But those moral lines have faded to the point of invisibility, so countless people crossed them without hesitation.

After all, aren’t all those sitting here mercenaries who have already crossed such lines?

However, that line wasn’t just a single one.

Larger, clearer lines still remain, serving as a standard that even people whose actions have become more extreme compared to the past still hesitate to cross, to become true monsters.

And she, too, and Vanishment, would have to cross that line, becoming monsters for their goals.

For some reason, Luna Anthony Taylor could only look down at the floor of the limousine, as if embarrassed.

Hoping his gaze wouldn’t turn to her.

“No.”

“…”

From his lips came a denial of her expectation, when she thought he was about to negate those who sought to become monsters.

And Luna, who had been trying to reflect his thoughts about her by mirroring them through the others, furtively lifted her head.

“What would someone who just heard your situation know? The conclusion you’ve agonized over for years is surely the best, a far better choice than any idiotic conclusion I’d come up with in a few seconds. I was just… lamenting why so many people try to live such self-destructive lives, talking about ‘well-dying’ and all that. Well, I guess it means the world is just that messed up to live in.”

It was a perspective of detached observation, neither understanding nor empathy.

“Anyway, even if I told you not to, you wouldn’t be persuaded, would you?”

“Of course not.”

“In that case, the smartest thing is to just say ‘good luck’ and cheer you on, and tell me the execution date so I can escape beforehand. Although, if someone I know dies like that for no reason, it’d leave a bad taste, so I might have to claim emotional damages.”

“Haha…”

His indifferent expression didn’t seem like he was teasing her.

Looking at his face, Luna unconsciously spoke in a quiet, low voice.

“Then, if I said I was going to fight something I couldn’t handle for revenge, what would you do?”

The words were her own, but Luna was startled.

Wasn’t it a part of her true feelings that she had feared expressing, afraid of being denied?

With a look of surprise, she tried to retract her words, but before she could, his hand, firm yet not rough, radiating a sense of stability, settled over hers.

“I said something unnece—”

“If our Luna is doing it, of course I have to follow her to hell. You’ll save a seat for me, right?”

His face, unlike a moment ago, showed a hint of playfulness.

He knew nothing, yet he said he’d go with her without a moment’s hesitation. His appearance was so foolish that it made her laugh.

Thinking back, it had always been like that.

Even when his own circumstances were far worse, if she mentioned a small worry, he would laugh foolishly and casually offer to help, as if trying to reassure her.

‘Though he never had money for drinks.’

Feeling the warmth from the hand covering hers, Luna turned her hand over, clasping his fingers tightly together.

Firmly, so they wouldn’t separate.

Then, as usual, she furrowed her brows and curled the corners of her lips upwards, forcing a fierce smile.

“You idiot, in times like that, you should say you’ll save me even if you have to beat me to death. This makes me sound like I want to kill myself.”

“Ow, ow, ow..! It hurts! I said it hurts!”

*Squeeze*—Luna could genuinely and joyfully laugh at the warmth of the hand she held, disguised as a playful grab.

***

“Phew—I really thought my hand was going to be crushed.”

“Such an exaggerator…”

The place I got off, under Luna’s scolding, was surprisingly somewhere in Tonyboni, thick with yellow toxic smog.

Luna, Johann, Nebel, and Shape Shifter had already equipped implants with built-in gas filters, so they disembarked comfortably. But Yuki, Kana, and Seira were seen struggling to put on their gas masks.

Actually, saying they were “seen” was a stretch; beyond a meter, they were just silhouettes. So, it was more like, “I guess that’s what they were doing.”

“It’s up ahead. This area’s smog concentration is intentionally being raised, so follow closely and don’t get lost.”

“Last time I ran the purification system, it seemed worse than before. So it was artificially created?”

“It reverted to its original state within a week, so it’s meaningless.”

“Seriously?”

This explains why housing prices in Tonyboni are ridiculously cheap, even in this era of ultra-high inflation.

As Yuki, shivering as if her fur would get stained with the smell, and Kana, casually adjusting her gas mask, also got out of the limousine, Shape Shifter took the lead.

We followed in a single file line behind him, like ducklings trailing their mother.

How long did we walk through that yellow smog, where you couldn’t see an inch ahead?

After turning several corners, the smog density lessened slightly. In an alley between buildings, where the scattered light of neon signs faintly glowed through the smog in the distance, Shape Shifter stopped.

“It’s down here.”

*Thump* *Thump* Still wearing his broken mask, Shape Shifter tapped the ground with his boot.

Beneath him, a manhole cover was firmly embedded in the ground.

“Ughhh!!! Damn it! A sewer again?!”

Just how many times do I have to go into that godforsaken place?

It’s already a filthy place filled with a pungent smell, and now I have to go even further down? Isn’t that absolutely dreadful?

“Damn it. Is there really no other way than this?”

“If it’s not hidden this well, too many people will find out somehow. Bear with it, even if you don’t like going in.”

“Why is that?”

Seira, perhaps curious as to why I was throwing a fit, asked me a question as I freaked out.

“Wouldn’t it be weirder if I *didn’t* throw a fit going into that unsanitary place?”

“Is that so?”

Her indifferent voice sounded as if she didn’t care at all.

I could clearly picture the shape of her eyes behind the gas mask.

“Alright, alright—let’s not waste time, let’s go in quickly~”

“Alright. John Doe.”

Frustrated by the indifference of a high school girl who wasn’t even human, I was dragged by Johann and Open Face, pulled helplessly down into the sewer.

“Opening it.”

Shape Shifter deftly put his hand into the gap, rotated it about 13.5 degrees, and pressed down firmly on the manhole cover with his palm. With a *click* and a *hiss*, the manhole opened.

And inside, instead of a demonic space filled with murky darkness and the stench of vile excretions, was a clean, metal-lined vertical passage.

“Huh?”

At the surprisingly clean sight, a puzzled exclamation escaped me.

“…Why is it like this.”

“Who would really make a secret passage out of a sewer hole? Obviously, it’s a manhole that doesn’t exist in the city’s design, secretly constructed. It’s not actually a sewer.”

“…”

My face flushed for no reason.