The Bruised City (2)
“It’s literally lunchtime right now. I have no idea why you’re here waiting for the fights that only start around evening, but what can’t be done simply can’t be done.”
Even so, could I really say the same thing I had said in front of Sigmund not long ago? Could I really tell him, “I’m here to participate in the arena~”?
At least for now, our goal was to slip inside this swaying ship and somehow make our way to Nonedon’s quarters. If we entered as fighters, we would inevitably draw followers. We wanted to avoid that kind of heavy surveillance as much as possible.
“…I really, really need to use the bathroom. Could you please just step aside this once, sir?”
Yet the moment I tried to find another route, Cryan—apparently unwilling to give up—politely asked the bouncer blocking our path once more. He must have been desperate enough to put in this kind of effort.
But the bouncer’s reaction was appalling.
“Hey, when I talk, you listen, you fucking mage bastard.”
“…Pardon?”
“This is Nonedon’s policy. Anyone who drifts in here is bound to be some worthless lowlife trash. Don’t you know what happens if you don’t follow his orders?”
“Y-you don’t have to speak that harshly!”
“The hell—.”
He raised a fist, threatening Cryan who stood below his gaze. However, I could not tolerate such insolence.
Thud—
The instant his fist rose, my own fist reflexively slammed into his jaw.
“Guh—.”
His massive body crumpled to the ground.
“U-ugh…?”
“What a brainless piece of shit.”
“Is it really okay to do this here, Yohan?”
“I already wanted to kill every last one of them. He just gave me the perfect excuse. And like he said, there’s no one else waiting around here, so no witnesses. Let’s just go.”
“Y-you really aren’t ordinary…. Honestly, I was feeling a bit embarrassed and extremely nervous.”
He fidgeted as he spoke to me.
“Should I start calling you hyung-nim?”
“So you can even crack jokes now.”
“…It was seventy percent joke and thirty percent serious. Right now, there’s no one I can rely on more than you. Anyway, thank you, Yohan.”
After scouting the surroundings a little more—
Tsk. This is bad.
I came to the conclusion that sneaking in was the only viable option. No matter how well I knew the characters and setting of this world, I didn’t know every single back alley. I had never actually visited the arena before, so I hadn’t realized it, but the entrances and pathways were heavily guarded. They were even conducting magic inspections everywhere to prevent anyone from slipping through.
This structure made it impossible to force our way through even with Rorschach, which could distort perception.
Is this because of the shipboard rebellion? This vessel occasionally sails and changes locations.
Since the arena also served as Nonedon’s stronghold, it contained far more facilities and important things that needed to be hidden than an ordinary ship. Naturally, the security measures were on an entirely different level from the outside.
The only method available to us now was to search for a hole we could enter from outside.
In other words, a petty thief operation.
“Did you find anything, Cryan?”
“…There aren’t any major gaps. There are large openings at the bow and stern, but those look like entrances for spectators. Not what we’re looking for.”
Rather than wandering aimlessly, we acted smarter. We sent Cryan’s new magic, Scout Wraith, around the ship.
It really was convenient having a proper mage in the party. I felt bad for thinking this, but Karalin only knew how to use frost magic.
“Still… I think I saw something.”
“You saw something?”
I asked, startled.
“Yes. Below the port side, in a hard-to-see spot, there was something that looked like an iron window. I’m not sure if it’s an entrance. I don’t know where it leads, either.”
“Well, wherever it leads, if we can get in, we should be able to get out. Let’s go in for now.”
“What? What if we run into guards?”
“Then we just knock them out quietly or kill them. Or we get kicked out. Simple.”
“Your way of thinking is on another level, hyung-nim.”
“Is that wrong?”
“Sorry my compliment came out awkward. I meant it’s not bad.”
In the end, to break through that small iron grate, we had no choice but to leap from the distant dock into a sea of garbage.
It was far too filthy to endure. Both I and Cryan felt like vomiting, but… we had to bear it.
Grab— Crunch—
The moment I gripped the iron grate, the window shattered without any physical resistance.
Burga grumbled in a voice that clearly said don’t eat this crap, eat something tasty instead, but there was nothing I could do about it.
Upon closer inspection, wooden planks had been layered over it once more. After kicking them hard a few times, a hole just big enough for me to squeeze through opened up nicely.
“…Can’t see anything. What’s inside?”
But hesitation would only delay our search. Without pausing, I shoved my body through. There was no turning back now.
Thump!
The moment my heavy frame landed on the wooden floor, a loud sound rang out.
“Hup.”
Cryan, who was far slimmer than me, slid in gracefully like he was riding a waterslide. Only then could we see exactly where we had entered.
The stench of unwashed bodies. The horrific smell of feces. And the sight of people locked behind bars, tortured until they had lost consciousness—looking more like corpses than living beings.
Ah. It’s a prison.
They were probably people who had caused trouble during the shipboard rebellion or inside the arena, judged and imprisoned here by Nonedon himself. It seemed we had come in through a ventilation shaft—one that couldn’t even ventilate properly, rendering it utterly useless.
“U-uh…”
“Damn it.”
At that moment, one of the nameless prisoners who had seen us enter opened his eyes.
“People! It’s people…!! Outsiders!!!”
He tried to shout, but—
“Shut up…!”
“Shut your mouth….”
Both of us, without needing to discuss it, fired warning shots—Drakaris’s cold sword energy and fragments of divine magic—toward him.
At the sight, every prisoner snapped awake and began assessing the situation.
“W-what the…?”
“Who are you—?”
However, I spoke to the prisoners watching us in a suitably low but firm voice.
“I don’t want to turn this place into a slaughterhouse, so don’t make eye contact and keep your mouths shut. If anyone opens their mouth, I’ll kill all of you before dealing with the guards. Consider it collective punishment.”
“Hiiik.”
Apparently they valued their lives. Everyone shut their mouths and watched us warily as we moved about.
There was only one door leading outside.
“……”
I pressed my ear against it. There seemed to be one guard outside.
“~♬♪”
Even though people had entered, he was whistling and jingling his keys. Looked like he was diligently stealing his paycheck.
He still hasn’t noticed we’re here.
“…Right. So what now?”
While I was lost in thought, Cryan came to my side and quietly offered his opinion.
“Going straight out the door would be dangerous. You could handle the guard easily, but moving around inside afterward would be completely unknown territory.”
“True. Once we’re out, we’ll have no choice but to move while hiding as much as possible… Are you confident?”
“I’m not, but I’ll trust you. I’m fully confident in following your orders.”
“…That makes it tricky.”
The situation was exactly as he described. Since infiltrating as spectators was impossible, we had been forced into this high-risk infiltration mission—entering first and then finding the path to Nonedon’s room. From now on, we would have to blindly navigate completely unfamiliar territory.
No matter how well I could give instructions, could I really guide Cryan safely through all this? If I were alone, maybe. But—
It’s dangerous inside. Still, I can’t tell Cryan to wait here or go back…
If I did, I—a complete novice when it came to magic—would have trouble detecting the mana traps or detection devices I couldn’t handle alone. A dilemma.
But while we were sharing that worry, a voice called out from behind us.
“Hey.”
…?!
I whirled around with murderous intent. There stood a bizarre-looking man with a beard that hadn’t been trimmed in days and wild, unkempt hair. His hands and feet were bound in chains as he called out to us.
The other prisoners glared at him as if they wanted to kill him for endangering their lives, but he paid them no mind.
“Hey, it’s a bit weird to say ‘you guys,’ but—big guy over there. The one who breaks iron.”
“I said I’d kill anyone who opens their mouth.”
“Don’t be so threatening…. I’ve already been tortured so badly that both my body and mind are in tatters.”
What was this guy doing, talking to us?
I told Cryan to keep an ear on the situation near the door, then approached the man.
And then he blurted out:
“I know you. You’re that guy, right? The iron-breaker. Was your name Yogang?”
“……”
“It is Yogang, right?”
This bastard knew me. In that case, there was no benefit in letting him live. I had to eliminate him.
Swish—!
The moment those words left his mouth, I mercilessly swung my sword down toward his neck, but he suddenly changed his tone to something meaningful and then immediately became servile.
“U-ack! Hey! I just asked you not to kill me! Can’t a guy even talk?!”
“You were saying useless things.”
“Useless? Damn, you’re stiff.”
He raised his voice, veins bulging in his neck.
“Fine, then kill me. Go ahead and kill me, but listen to what I have to say first! It won’t be too late even after that!”
I pondered for a moment before answering.
I suppose I can hear him out.
“Then I’ll give you thirty seconds. Speak quietly. If your voice gets even a little louder than it is now, I’ll kill you.”
He spoke with surprising calm and precision.
“…The truth is, I’ve been awake for a while. I saw you melt and break that iron grate to get in.”
He rattled his chains.
“With that kind of ability and that massive build, I recognized you instantly even with your face covered. I’m bad with names so I don’t remember it exactly, but you’re the friend who caused a huge scene with Her Grace the Grand Duke’s daughter at Sigmund’s entrance ceremony.”
At those words, I asked in shock.
“Wait. You’re a student of Sigmund?”
“Yeah. A ridiculously noble and pure student.”
“Then why is someone like you locked up here? What the hell have you been doing with your life?”
“…Damn it, then why are you here? Isn’t it rude to ask something like that?”
I pressed my sword against his throat. A thin line of blood trickled from his stiff neck.
“The one who should be watching his manners isn’t me—it’s you. Give me your name.”
“My name is Jurchen von Laghound, and I am a bottom-ranked new student at the academy.”
His words came out incredibly fast in his desperate struggle to survive, but the moment I heard that name, I understood immediately.
Jurchen…?
Why was Jurchen here?
Startled, I unconsciously pulled the blade away from his neck. Seizing the chance, he begged.
“So please, just spare me once, hyung…”
“…Why does everyone keep calling me hyung lately?”
“I know it’s shameless of me, but could you please undo these chains and take me with you when you escape?”
He bowed his head and groveled pathetically. It was humiliating to the point it was almost unbearable to watch.
“You two don’t know the layout here, right…? I don’t know why you came down here, but if you just free me, I’ll guide you. I’ve been stuck here as a death-row inmate for a while, so I know the place well.”
“Death-row inmate?”
Hah.
“I admit I’ve lived wildly until now. I know I’ve lived like irredeemable trash. I figured I’d get divine punishment someday, but dying from torture in a place like this… that’s just wrong.”
Now he was practically sobbing.
“But if you spare me, I swear I’ll become your guide…”
…What should I do?