The Hell Riders' Reckoning
Shaking down delinquents was always the most satisfying part.
“Young man. You truly know nothing at all.”
“.......”
“Well, with that tattoo and those flashy clothes… you do look like the sort who hasn’t a single thought in his head.”
Of all the information Alkana had provided, the only useful thing was the word “smartphone.” Beyond that, the man knew nothing.
At Dayman’s words, Alkana swallowed the furious retort “Just who the hell do you think you are?!” and forced it back down his throat.
“You know nothing of history. Nothing of common sense… Aren’t delinquents usually connected to the Thieves’ Guild? Don’t they handle information as well?”
The Thieves’ Guild. Alkana wondered what on earth Dayman had eaten to become like this. Just how far in the past was he living?
“The Thieves’ Guild disappeared ages ago, boss. These days, one search on a smartphone gives you almost anything you need. We use the internet to communicate and gather information… everyone does.”
“Smartphone? You mean this artifact?”
“Yes. If you look here…”
Alkana showed him how to search for information on the phone. Naturally, Calion’s eyes widened in astonishment.
“If I search for what I want here, the information appears? Truly?”
“Yes. If you want news, you go to the news tab. For detailed information, you can search on something like TreeWiki and it comes up right away.”
“Hoh… and they provide this for free? Such precious information?”
“Yes… That’s how it is these days.”
“What a strange era! A truly strange era!! I came following delinquents to find the Thieves’ Guild, but that was a fool’s errand! To think the Thieves’ Guild was inside my pocket all along! Hahaha!!!!”
Only then did Dayman realize why Alkana knew so little. If everything could be found with a single search, there was no need to cram information into one’s head.
“So, searching here gives you almost anything you need, is that it??”
“Yes. That’s correct, boss.”
“Haha!! Then we’re done! No need to visit the Thieves’ Guild after all!!”
In the days when the Archmage of Light, Calion, had been an active adventurer, back-alley delinquents had been his reliable source of both a meal and information. Convenient creatures that also yielded a bit of coin.
Now that he had obtained a means of acquiring information, it was time to collect the money.
“Well then, let us move on to the final matter, young men.”
“Yes, boss. What is it?..........”
“Hand over your money.”
The moment they had been dreading had finally arrived. Alkana clenched his teeth. He subtly signaled to the crew members behind Dayman’s back, indicating they should pretend to hand over the money and then strike when an opening appeared.
But such tricks would never work on Calion.
“Ah, by the way, young men. Do you know what this is?”
With a casual swing of his staff, a massive flame suddenly appeared in the air. Black fire that burned fiercely, so dark it looked as though the space itself had been erased. Every crew member’s eyes bulged at the sight.
Who wouldn’t recognize it? A 9th-circle spell. Not some illegal modification of a wand limited to 7th-circle or lower lethal magic, but genuine military-grade sorcery. Hellfire.
“From the look in your eyes, it seems you do know. If you’re hit by this, your body melts away completely, leaving not even ashes behind. Quite convenient for disposing of corpses.”
Cold sweat began to pour down the crew members’ faces. What in the world was happening?
Dayman had been their perfect cash cow—the pathetic, brainless pushover who threw money at them just to look good in front of a girl and caused trouble relying only on his family name. The youngest son of the prestigious knight house of Calidos, treated like an idiot even by his own fiancée because of his stupidity. The fool who tried to fill his crushed self-esteem by belonging to the Hell Rider Crew.
‘Then why the hell can that bastard use magic like that!!!!’
Military-grade magic of 9th-circle and above had been legally restricted from being activated through computational systems. Being able to use it meant his own personal skill was sufficient to cast it. And without even chanting.
‘There’s a limit to hiding your power, damn it!!’
‘Did his personality change or something? How could that pathetic loser Dayman……’
Watching the trembling crew members stare only at the Hellfire, Dayman nodded in satisfaction.
“So, kindly cough up every last coin you have. Unless you want to leave this world as a handful of ash. Ah, and one more thing.”
Dayman’s staff began to emit a violet glow. A warning that magic of 8th-circle or higher was being activated.
“I can also tell if you’re lying. So don’t try any cute tricks and just hand it all over.”
“Y-Yes!! Yes!!! W-We’ll transfer it right now!!”
“Transfer?”
“These days, almost everything… is sent through internet banking.”
“What is that? Explain.”
Alkana had no choice but to stammer out an explanation of internet banking. After hearing it, Calion burst into booming laughter.
“How convenient everything has become!! Come now!! Send the money to this account. Ah, I’ll accept valuables as well. Jewelry you’re wearing, cash—anything worth money, hand it all over.”
“I-If you take everything, how are we supposed to live!!.......”
“The most precious thing you possess is something I cannot take from you.”
“??”
“You still have your youth, the most valuable thing of all. Stop doing foolish things and earn your living through honest labor. Well? Hurry up and hand it over.”
Alkana wanted to cry. But there was nothing he could do. The law was far away, and Hellfire was close. Still, he tried to comfort himself. If they still had the motorcycles that were the crew’s very symbol, they could use them to rise again……
“Ah. And those two-wheeled vehicles over there. What are they called?”
“Motorcycles.”
“Sell those as well and bring me the cash.”
“........P-Please, not those……”
“They’re the symbol of our crew!!”
“A symbol of the crew is useless in the afterlife, isn’t it?”
The Hellfire grew even larger. The crew members could say nothing.
“Contact a fence and have them come pick it up quickly.”
Drawn by the scent of money, an illegal fence arrived within ten minutes of Alkana’s call. He loaded all 325 motorcycles onto five massive trucks and drove away. The payment went straight into Dayman’s account.
“Hmm. My account balance shows 214,816 runes. How much is that worth?”
Having completely cleaned out the Hell Riders, Dayman held out his phone to Alkana with an innocent expression and asked. Alkana answered with a half-sobbing face.
“An average commoner family’s monthly living expenses are around 800 runes……”
“Oho. Then this is an enormous sum. Splendid. I’ll gratefully accept it.”
With a flick of his staff, the Hellfire floating in the air vanished.
“Delinquent squad. I feel the need for proper education. Where can I obtain high-level information?”
“Boss, you’re an academy student.”
“Hmm? Academy?”
“An educational institution for mages and the Blessed, not ordinary people like us. You’re enrolled in the Knight Department of Romeln Academy. If you go there, you should be able to receive education.”
“Aah! Is that so!! Where is Romeln Academy and how do I get there? Wait a moment. Can that information also be found on the smartphone, by any chance?”
“..........Yes. Of course.”
“Hahaha!! This thing is truly remarkable! But there’s a problem. The screen is cracked, so while it’s usable, it’s rather inconvenient.”
Dayman stared straight at Alkana. Alkana understood immediately what the man wanted.
“.........I’ll give you my phone. If you just swap the SIM card, you should be able to use it as before.”
“Thank you. This one looks much nicer than mine! Is it one of the most popular models?”
“........It’s Caltech’s H34. One of the best-selling ones.”
“I see, haha!!”
After also stealing Alkana’s phone, Dayman began heading toward Romeln Academy while humming a cheerful tune and turning on the map app.
“.......Captain. What do we do now?”
Alkana couldn’t answer. But the outcome was already decided. All the money they had saved was gone, and the motorcycles were gone too. The very means to sustain the Hell Riders had disappeared.
“Damn it..........”
That was the moment the massive crew known as the Hell Riders, which had dominated the capital city of Erental in the Magic Empire, collapsed.
Whether the Hell Riders fell or not—
“Oho!! So this is what they call a subway!! Haha! The world has become so convenient!!”
Dayman boarded the subway while marveling at the advanced civilization of humanity.
“Let’s see… After eight more stops, Romeln Academy should appear! This smartphone… is truly something!!”
With nothing else to do on the way, Dayman opened the search bar on his phone with a curious expression. The name of the search engine, Sephiroth, appeared prominently before his eyes. Alkana had said that searching here would bring up most information.
“Demon… King.”
If there was one thing he was most curious about, it was naturally the Demon King’s whereabouts. He had clearly seen that only the head remained. If that vile bastard was still alive, he would never have stayed idle. Finding out what he was up to was the top priority.
“Oho. What’s this. Tree……Wiki? I suppose I should go in here.”
He entered the wiki and began carefully reading the contents of the Demon King’s page. But the smiling expression on his face quickly twisted into an ugly grimace after reading just a few paragraphs.
“The Demon King was… subjugated by the Hero Party?? Subjugated???? Why does it say those cowardly bastards who ran away subjugated him!!!!!!”
When he shouted in fury, the people on the subway turned to stare at him in surprise. But Dayman was too enraged to notice.
“This…… This makes no sense!!! What subjugation could those cowardly bastards have achieved!!........”
The Hero Party members had all come from prominent families. They were precious descendants of the imperial family and noble houses. It was highly likely they had fabricated the story after returning. Fabrication…… Fabrication?
“W-Wait a moment.”
Dayman hurriedly returned to the search engine and began typing slowly with his index fingers.
“Arch……Mage of Light. Cal……ion.”
Dayman searched for his own name. With a pounding heart, he checked the results that appeared. TreeWiki. When Calion read the document about himself inside it, his eyes shot upward like a demon’s.
“The Black Mage Calion. A rare traitor who repeatedly conducted evil human experiments. Leader of the criminal organization Night Crow Order. Though he was part of the organization supporting the Hero Party, he betrayed humanity during the final duel with the Demon King and switched to the Demon King’s side? Because of this betrayal, the Hero Party’s archer and tank died, nearly causing defeat in the war, but thanks to the Hero Erental’s remarkable sacrifice and courage, the Demon King was ultimately defeated…… You goddamn bastard!!!! You son of a bitch!!!!!!!!!!”
Unable to hold back, Dayman began screaming. His rage was violent. They had fabricated something this absurd?? They had told such shameless lies??
People around him began secretly raising their phones to film him, but Dayman paid no attention as he continued venting his fury.
“I swear it!!! The Demon King is not yet dead!!! This time, I will set things right!! I will!!!! The Archmage of Light Calion will personally deal with the Demon King and put an end to the Great Human-Demon War!! You cowardly, idiotic heroes!!!! Cowardly and filthy!! You bastards worse than pigs and dogs!!!!!!!!!!”
The moment an SNS star was born under the title , though the person in question, Dayman, had no idea.