5
Chapter 5
"......So, what did you just say?"
I seriously started to worry that my ears had actually stopped working.
It was bound to happen, in a way.
The girl right in front of me was spouting absolute nonsense with absolute confidence.
"I offered up half my soul."
My head started to spin.
Well, I had expected it to some extent.
When I suddenly woke up, my surroundings were a complete mess, and I even saw a strange black fluctuation.
I had predicted that she would have hastily made a contract with a Demon or the Demons to save me.
But this idiot said she offered up half of her soul.
"What in the world did you make a contract with?"
"I don't know."
It seemed she hadn't even read the contract and just stamped it right away.
Was this how it felt to hear that a friend took out a loan from a shady lender?
No, this went beyond shady lenders; it was like borrowing from loan sharks.
The price of half her soul was just that vicious.
If she had offered even a little bit more of her soul, it would have belonged to the Demon after her death. It was literally the maximum cost she could pay.
This was a terrible deal no matter how you looked at it.
Unless the other party was on the level of a Demon King, it was a contract where she was completely ripped off.
"What were you even thinking......."
My words dried up before I could shower her with scoldings. Come to think of it, I wasn't in a position to get mad at this idiot.
Think about it.
If you heard a friend got involved with loan sharks?
You'd start by asking if they were out of their mind, throwing all sorts of words at them. You'd relentlessly nag that thoughtless idiot to wake up and get a grip.
But what if it was to pay for my cancer treatment?
What if I barely managed to survive because of it?
If you were a decent human being, you wouldn't be able to say a single word of complaint.
In the end, all I could do was leave a warning not to abuse the power she had received and express my gratitude.
"Either way, thank you."
Ciel nodded at my words.
Her face rarely showed any emotion, but maybe it was because of the time we had spent together. I could tell that Ciel was smiling.
"......Ah."
Ciel, who had been staring blankly in thought as always, suddenly let out a strange sound.
"What is it?"
"Your name."
Maybe I had grown somewhat accustomed to Ciel's way of speaking. I could understand what she was trying to say.
And I couldn't help but be horrified.
Come to think of it... she didn't even know my name.
The more I looked at her, the more I realized she absolutely couldn't be left alone.
I mean, what kind of idiot sells half her soul to save someone whose name she doesn't even know?
"Ian. I don't have a last name."
I made up a suitable name and told it to her.
This was the nickname I had used in my previous work.
"Ian."
"......What?"
"Just because."
"You're so random."
Sharing such meaningless, yet surprisingly comforting conversation, we wandered around in search of a passageway.
And in the middle of all that, I remembered one crucial fact.
Come to think of it, what was my real name?
When I previously tried to check my information, like my name or abilities, the Status Window clearly stated that the feature was locked because the tutorial hadn't been cleared yet.
But wouldn't it be possible now?
If this Mining Site was my first tutorial, then I had essentially already cleared it.
With that in mind, I opened my Status Window.
And...
[This feature is available after clearing the tutorial.]
The exact same familiar message I had seen before.
However, a strange notification window had popped up right above it.
[Defeat the Ma■ of Re■. (■/1)]
A strangely glitched message.
Did this damn Status Window have bugs too? While I was panicking, the strange notification window disappeared almost instantly.
As if to make up for it, a large red message suddenly popped up.
[Inflection point confirmed. Resetting Destiny Path.]
What the hell does that mean, you nerds?
The urge to submit a 5,700-character complaint to customer service was overflowing. But these bastards just kept spitting out the exact same message, basically telling me to screw off if I didn't like it.
In the end, it was just as useless as last time.
'......Yeah, I didn't really expect much anyway.'
I quickly swatted the useless Status Window out of my sight.
As soon as I dismissed it, I felt a strange sensation on my cheek. I turned my head to see Ciel poking my cheek.
"I told you to just say it if you have something to say."
"I wanted to do this."
"......Right."
I gave up trying to understand this girl's state of mind.
I had no choice but to play along.
She even gave up half her soul for me. Was I really going to complain about this?
"Look over there."
With those words, Ciel pointed her finger straight ahead.
There was a massive door over there.
But something was strange.
"Why is it locked?"
If that was the exit, it should definitely be open. While I was lying down dealing with the aftereffects of the Sleep Magic, the others must have already made their way out.
It wasn't some digital lock; there was no way the key could have turned and locked itself.......
'Wait, don't tell me.......'
These bastards. Did they purposely trap us in here?
How could such bastards exist?
No, seriously, they actually took the time to lock the door on their way out?
'Ah.'
Well, I'd be scared too if someone summoned a Demon or something.
I knew she was just a somewhat naive kid, but to the others, she must have looked like a crazy Black Mage.
They were afraid she'd chase after them, so they locked us in.
God, that's so incredibly petty.
"Well... if it's come to this, should we just pick the lock?"
"No."
With that, Ciel picked up a rock from the ground with a blank expression and threw it with a full swing.
-Wham!
And the rock instantly shattered into pieces as it collided with what looked like a Barrier.
It seemed that approaching it without a key would end up like that.
"This is seriously driving me crazy."
Are we seriously going to starve to death over some bullshit like this? There had to be spare keys somewhere, but it looked like someone had taken them all.
They weren't there when I searched the storage room earlier, either.
It was right as I was agonizing over this that it happened.
"Take it."
A boy's voice suddenly rang out from behind me.
I urgently turned my head to confirm the kid's face.
"Consider it payment for the bread back then."
It was the kid who had been starving on the floor back then.
But if there was one difference, it was that this time, I was the one receiving.
The kid pressed a key into my hand.
It felt strange.
When I was almost killed after being betrayed by those guys, I had certainly blamed myself for doing something stupid.
I thought I had wasted my kindness, believing that since I came to a fantasy world, I should live cold-heartedly to match it.
But right now, I'm alive thanks to that.
I was alive thanks to the kid who didn't forget my help, waited for me until the very end to repay his debt, and thanks to the friend I made here.
-Creak.
The door slowly opens.
What unfolds before me is a world even I do not know yet.
Is it a few years after my previous life, or a few years in the past?
What could have changed?
I couldn't figure out a single thing.
But then again, when has that ever not been the case?
In the end, the conclusion is exactly the same this time around.
I just have to dive in and figure it out as I go.
I took my first step towards this unfamiliar world.
*****
A completely empty, abandoned Mining Site.
A visitor arrived at that place.
"......How gruesome."
It looked like an ordinary scene with nothing special about it.
But the man could see it.
The terrible energy that still lingered in this place even after all this time. The Demonic Energy that made him feel sick to his stomach.
"It's the same energy as the one who killed the old man."
The man, the Knight Commander of the Empire, spoke with a deep frown.
However, he wasn't frowning because he had just realized the grim reality of this Mining Site using children as expendables.
This was a business the Empire turned a blind eye to.
He had known about it for a long time.
He knew but didn't act. He had no reason to.
It was obvious.
Because the true masters of the Empire were not its people.
The true masters of the Empire were a handful of high-ranking Nobles and Royals. People like the old man who ran this place.
Therefore, what he had to protect, and what he—known as the Sword of the Empire—had to swear his loyalty to, was never the citizens.
Whether the trash of the Slums died or not, no matter how the offspring birthed by that scum met their end, it was none of his business.
In the first place, if lives destined to do menial labor with lowly status and die meaningless deaths could be utilized in a way that contributed to the Empire's development like this...
'That would actually be something to be proud of.'
It was a mercy far beyond what they deserved.
The man genuinely thought so.
"......The more I look, the more appalling it is."
The Knight Commander muttered to himself and headed deeper inside.
I had expected this to be anything but ordinary from the start.
The elder, who was resting in his mansion, was suddenly swallowed by a dark shadow.
All sorts of Artifacts and the mansion's defensive magic proved completely useless.
They were quite a formidable expert.
Perhaps a high-ranking Demon had been summoned. The man who had tracked its energy all the way here swallowed hard and touched the floor.
"......Is this the place."
It was the place where the erosion of the Demonic Energy was weakest.
Near some chairs that looked like where the children ate their meals.
If it were here, he could read the memories imprinted on the land.
If things went well, he would be able to uncover everything, from the culprit's identity to their goals.
The Mana that the Knight Commander poured into the ground resonated with the earth. Soon, it took shape, reproducing the events that had occurred there.
-That's strange.
-What's strange?
The shapes were unstable, but he could make out the general idea. A boy and a girl were having a conversation.
-What you're saying.
-......I mean. How many times do I have to tell you to give some context when you speak? It's hard to understand.
-It seems like you've lived in another world.
-Huh?
-All people should be equal. Parents should love their children. You say those things as if they're obvious.
-Well, I guess it could feel that way to you.
-Do you want to change the world like that?
-Why? Are you going to help me?
-......I don't know.
The moment he heard those words, the Knight Commander's face twisted.
He couldn't find any connection between this past reflection and the culprit. However, it seemed he had caught at least one dirty Traitor.
Things like this needed to be nipped in the bud before they could sprout.
With that in mind, the Knight Commander quickly stabilized the flow of his Mana.
Just a little more... Just a little more.... Just a bit more and he would see the face.
That filthy little rat.
He could find and kill that brat who dared to rebel against those with blue blood flowing in their veins....
[Who do you think you are, peeking at my beloved as you please.]
A strange voice suddenly echoed in his ears.
His head grew dizzy.
The world instantly went dark.
A scream burst from his lips. Yet, for some reason, he couldn't hear a thing.
Incomprehensible, nonsensical, unidentifiable.
The man could only stare blankly at the Wolf before him.
[Well, I suppose I should do my part for what I've received.]
At that moment, 'it' removed its Wolf mask.
The man saw it and smiled.
Smiling as he vomited blood,
Smiling as he slashed his own stomach open,
Smiling as he pulled out what was inside him,
Smiling as he plunged a sword into his own head,
And twisted.
With the happiest smile in the world.
That was how the Knight Commander of the Empire died.
Leaving only the bite marks of a Wolf, looming like a shadow over his mangled corpse.
It was the moment the name Black Fang—an organization that would turn the entire Empire upside down—was carved into history for the very first time.