episode_0133

Just as darkness had fallen suddenly, so too did light appear abruptly.

“Ugh!”

I was able to escape from a void where nothing was visible, nothing audible, nothing tangible, and nothing perceivable, as if being flung out.

The reason was nothing special.

Simply, enough time had passed for me to wake up.

When I opened my eyes, my surroundings were dark enough that I couldn’t discern objects, and my fingers and toes were so tightly bound that I felt I would have to crush and extract the bones of the restrained parts just to move my body.

“Damn it… Why am I in a place like this…”

Slowly recalling my memories, I had been hiding with Yuki, watching those Fifty-Star bastards causing a ruckus, when…

Somehow, I got caught up in idle chat and momentarily lost my focus…

Then, when I looked forward again, some face appeared, and I suddenly felt dizzy…

‘Hmm. I have no idea.’

I suppose it’s one of the Wizard’s patented techniques.

More than such trivial matters, it was the fact that I had been ambushed and captured, bound in an unknown location.

And the absence of Yuki’s body warmth or touch made me uncomfortable.

“Yuki?”

I called out her name softly, but there was no reply.

Could she still be unconscious?

Frowning at the creeping anxiety, I activated my battle-goggles for night vision. The place I was confined in was a small, cube-shaped concrete solitary cell.

On the desolate, gray structural walls, there were ominous black stains that looked like old blood, mold, and only an iron door that was the sole connection to the outside.

Yes. I was alone.

“…”

Numerous possibilities flashed through my mind.

They reproached my past complacency for not properly guarding myself and allowing the ambush, violently shaking the reason that should have remained cold and calm.

Snap- Crack-

As I forcefully moved my restrained hands and feet, I felt the pain of tearing flesh and crushed muscles.

But that didn’t matter at all.

Even in a posture that prevented proper exertion of force, my body, pushed to its limits, effortlessly shattered the metal ring restraints, scattering their debris.

Ding-ding!

Once I get out, I’ll kill them without hesitation.

Sharpening my boiling murderous intent, I looked down at my fingers, which were deeply gouged to the size of the rings, revealing bone. Instantly, flesh filled in, and they returned to their original form.

The difference from a healing factor, perhaps, is that not even a scar remains, making it impossible to tell that such a thing had even occurred.

Having completely shattered all 22 restraints on my hands and feet, I launched a fist at the iron door blocking my way, fueled by a rage so cold it felt like a shiver, rather than heat.

CRASHHHHHH────!!!

With a single blow, the fixed door ripped apart, sending hinge fragments and concrete dust flying.

And what I saw was…

“Look at that. Didn’t I say he’d go wild the moment he woke up? It would’ve been a big problem if we hadn’t tied him up. Hand over the 10 credits.”

“Kuhut..! My precious three cans of Shuhai…!”

“You damn bastards. Can’t you do anything without breaking something?”

Across the table, Yuki was trembling her hand and reluctantly handing a 10-credit chip to the Wizard, her face full of regret.

“…Huh?”

* * *

“Damn it… This was supposed to be a place no one knew about, so where did the information leak from? Wizard, was it you?”

“That’s a possibility, but I’d like you to know that I’m also a victim.”

Stan Burton, the reclusive programmer who operated the Black Market and was half-zombie-like, had never revealed his identity to anyone until now, remaining shrouded in mystery.

And the Wizard, whose real name was unknown, who seemed to have a considerable friendship with him.

The Wizard’s appearance was in his early to mid-thirties, not giving the impression of being very old. In fact, if we went by my actual age rather than my outward appearance, the title of ‘Hyung’ might be more fitting.

Having torn off the door and emerged from the solitary cell, I sat awkwardly at the table and was served tea from a steaming hot can.

“…Hmm.”

“Hoho~ You seemed completely heated up. Were you that worried about me?”

Regardless of my mood, Yuki playfully poked and tickled my side, flashing a rather smug, triumphant smile as she kept leaning in, trying to catch my gaze.

“…”

I couldn’t say no, but my pride wouldn’t let me affirm her as she wished.

Every time I clamped my mouth shut and dodged her gaze, a finger would follow, as if playing a game, and poke my cheek.

“It’s good to see lovers getting along, but…”

“Partners.”

“Hm. Yes, I’ll correct myself to ‘partners.’ Anyway, you two appear to be the president of R&B Risk Control and the boss of K.I.T.S.U.N.E. Am I correct in my assessment?”

Grrr-! Yuki bared her teeth, and the Wizard held up his palm as if to calm her down, yelling “Calm down.” At his subsequent question, I nodded.

“Didn’t you already figure it all out while I was asleep anyway?”

“There was no need to figure it out, actually. First, I must ask: are you two targeting me or my friend here, like those others? Please don’t lie; I have ways of knowing.”

“Wow, magic is certainly convenient. We’re actually enemies with those idiots. If you’re asking why we came… I was curious about who the head of the Black Market was, but mostly, I just didn’t want to see those idiots succeed at anything.”

I gestured with a shrug towards the Fifty-Star guys in the corner, who, like me just a moment ago, had been completely stripped of their gear and restrained naked.

The Wizard hadn’t considered it, but Stan Burton, the operator of the Black Market, was also the reason Yuki had visited the Black Market with the Shinsengumi, so it was ambiguous to say there was no connection at all.

However, perhaps having judged that there was no animosity, the Wizard simply gave a slight nod without any excessive reaction or change in expression.

“Then that’s fine.”

“What’s fine? My hideout’s been exposed, and my face is out there, you bastard. Ugh..! Do you know how much money I spent to leave no trace at all?!”

“Didn’t you say they’re your guests anyway? Then you should treat them.”

Roughly having his arm treated, Stan, who was rolling his wheelchair, creak-creak, and crashing into the Wizard, unfortunately derailed, extending his full recovery time by about three more weeks.

Of course, with the advanced medical technology of a Trauma Team, it would only be three days.

“By the way, is this the Black Market owner’s residence? It’s more modest than I expected.”

Rather than modest, for a lower city where people live with all sorts of mental and minor respiratory illnesses, a deep, mold-infested air-raid shelter that isn’t just underground but also seems to have no proper ventilation, is barely worth one star as a living environment.

“To recognize a place like this as habitable for a human is quite polite. Be grateful. Now you have someone who can understand your absolutely unbearable home styling skills.”

“You… dog-like…”

Stan, squirming on the floor, gnashed his teeth and barely managed to climb into his wheelchair (in this process, no one helped him, for the sake of his autonomy and self-esteem improvement), then let out a sigh.

“Do you think I *like* living in a place like this? It’s just… I’ve incurred so many grudges that I can barely breathe unless I’m holed up in a place like this.”

“And you got caught by the blue leotard guys?”

“Ha! That surprised me too. Just what did they hear, and where, to specifically find a fake temporary passage, mimicking an already closed subway line, descend down that incredibly long passage, and even reach this air-raid shelter? And they still want my limbs on top of that? I can’t even go to the hospital!”

Still fuming at the thought, Stan’s face turned red enough to boil ramen noodles, and he glared with wide, bloodshot eyes at the bound Fifty-Star punks.

But what are they planning to do with them?

“What are you going to do with them? Even if you hand them over to EPSB, they’ll probably just pay bail and get out.”

“We’re going to extract information. If they made it this far, they likely received most of the mission details.”

“Oh. Waterboarding them, but only enough not to kill them? Or perhaps dunking them gently for facial moisturizing?”

Just how would they extract information from those crazy flag-worshippers?

My eyes sparkled with a slight flutter of excitement at the classic spy movie-like situation, and Stan looked at me as if I were insane.

“Who interrogates like that these days, you bastard? Are you crazy?”

“…”

I didn’t expect such a normal answer from this damn 22nd-century guy, so I had no choice but to shut my mouth.

‘Was that too analog…? So, do they open up their skulls and stir with electrodes, or turn them into brains in a vat?’

Indeed, considering today’s technology, that makes more sense.

Given all the rumors circulating about how Mega Corps create witnesses, I thought analog interrogation with a bit of violence was still in vogue, but it seems the trend has shifted.

However, Stan, defying my expectations, simply brought a connecting cable and plugged it into their slots.

“What? Why are you looking at me with a disappointed face?”

“…It’s nothing.”

Should I sign up for a mental therapy curriculum or something?

About five minutes passed like that.

Stan, glaring at the screen with heavily dark-circled eyes, diligently went through all of their transmission logs and data. He stroked his chin and hummed in thought.

“We’re screwed…”

“What’s wrong? Why so sudden?”

I, who had been quietly drinking tea and enduring Yuki’s snuggling, snapped back irritably at his ominous outburst.

“Hmm… It seems Fifty-Star invested quite a lot in this dog-like endeavor of destroying everything well-off people have painstakingly built up.”

“I suppose so. I saw nearly twenty of them, and there must be more if you count the ones I didn’t see.”

“No, it’s not a numbers issue. The source from which they got their information is… Ah, hmm… let’s skip that. The quality of the personnel deployed is no joke. Of course, they’re just masturbating to their own achievements among themselves, but they say they deployed six guys with ‘Stars’.”

“Stars?”

Now that I think about it, that word came up in their communications when they were coming here.

“Fifty-Star assigns ranks based on how dangerous and beneficial their ‘feats’ are to the organization. It’s roughly similar to military ranks. A ‘Star’ means they consider them general-level personnel. It’s ridiculous for a cartel to go on about such things, but… they’re not to be ignored. It means they’ve been on the battlefield at least dozens of times.”

“You. You seem to know a lot about that blue leotard organization with the luscious-looking butts. Were you ever involved with them?”

“Wizard, you bastard. You’re just prancing around outside the city hosting auctions, but these guys are damn famous in this city. Don’t think I’d ever wear gay-ass leotards like that.”

“Who said anything? Your personality is quite strange.”

“GRAAAAGH!!!”

It seems the Wizard’s relationship with Stan is one where the Wizard unilaterally beats him up.

He even had to consign his own equipment due to debt owed to the Black Market, so I guess you could say their friendship is quite deep.

After a bout of almost desperate screaming, Stan, exhausted from lack of exercise, panted and looked at us with even more tired eyes.

“That’s not what’s important… These bastards were designed to fail from the start. They were probably an advance party sent to gather more information about the Wizard’s anomalies. It would be good if they completed the mission on their own, but they probably weren’t even expected to.”

“Still, they seemed quite capable…”

They were easily defeated by the Wizard’s magic and couldn’t even properly use their guns, but having directly experienced their anomalies, they weren’t the type to resist if caught off guard.

I don’t want to defend these crazy flag-worshippers, but rather than them being weak, I should probably consider the Wizard to be exceptionally strong in such situations.

Looking at their personal armament and modification levels, it was safe to consider them veteran corporate soldiers.

“This isn’t what’s important.”

Stan nervously yanked the cables out of the naked blue leotard guys and then spoke the name in a terrified voice.

“Goliath is coming.”