Escape Redline
Considering he had just eaten, it was a stomach-turning sight. While thoughts of disgust and revulsion naturally came to mind, dwelling on them wasn't a productive attitude for his future.
It was time to ask a useful question.
"Is there a reason you keep them locked up instead of killing them?"
"Demons are convenient," Shadia replied. "In what way, you ask? If handled correctly, they become a force to be reckoned with. Mages are rare, but there are plenty of ordinary people willing to contract with a demon."
"They look like they're on the verge of starving to death..."
"Not yet. Even if they're injured, once they truly reach a near-death state, they begin to cannibalize their own kind. The ones that recover and grow stronger this way acquire highly useful abilities."
Shadia glanced at Muzark, as if gauging his reaction.
"It's not a secret. Rumors that the Security Bureau keeps demons are widespread, aren't they? They've been spotted being transported several times. I don't think it's something we need to hide."
"I'll take that to mean you won't be silencing me."
"You have a very dry way of looking at things."
He knew too little of this world to start preaching about ethics.
He hadn't yet established a clear standard of right and wrong in his mind.
Reaching the third basement floor, Muzark caught his breath.
"What is this?"
A massive lump of flesh sat before them.
It was a dark red mass of flesh, minced and clumped together like a Salisbury steak. Bones protruding through torn skin here and there repeatedly contracted and expanded, pulsing as if it were breathing.
"It's the husk of Harmensales, retrieved from Claude Regan's workshop."
"Think of it simply as a corpse. It's not dead, but it might as well be."
"This is the reason Harmensales demands mana," Shadia explained. "To restore his dead body. The demon you and Yen saw can be considered a mere remnant—a scrap of Harmensales, if you will."
Muzark swallowed hard.
"This thing can come back to life?"
"Realistically, it's impossible. Even offering tens of thousands of tons of mana stones wouldn't be enough."
Shadia flatly dismissed the possibility.
"Claude Regan was lucky. Even if it was just a remnant, a mere low-tier mage managed to contract with such a high-ranking demon. From Harmensales's perspective, it was probably a final, desperate struggle."
As she said, it was on a completely different level from the beasts upstairs.
An overwhelming sense of dread radiated from it, making it hard to believe this was just a "scrap." It didn't feel like the same species as the ugly, ragtag beasts above.
"Just because you feed Harmensales doesn't mean he'll resurrect immediately. If he gets too demanding, you can just feed him once in a while. You'll be able to extract a reward each time, too."
"What I'm trying to say is," Shadia added, "you need to understand the gravity of the entity you've entangled yourself with."
"..."
"I will give you a week to think it over."
Muzark was presented with a choice.
"Decide whether you want to live quietly under the Security Bureau's surveillance, or become one of us. Personally, I don't recommend the former. We would provide 'food' for your contract, but situations always change. Keep in mind that we might dispose of you if the need arises."
She called it a choice, but it was practically coercion.
Still, it gave him plenty of food for thought.
1. Harmensales was a far bigger deal than he had imagined.
2. Under the Bureau's tacit approval, he could feed the demon and reap the rewards.
3. It was a suitable environment to secure food, clothing, and shelter while gathering information and building his strength.
He felt like his next goal was already set.
No matter how I look at it, this isn't a place to stay for long.
A city overrun with the homeless and utterly lacking basic management.
A city where a crazy bitch who raises demons runs the Security Bureau.
Tring!
Scenario No. 003
📍 Objective: Escape Redline!
"I found a job, but the people and the city are all so gross, ugh! ๑`^´๑ I can't live in a place like this! I'm leaving! ꒰ •᷅드•᷄ ꒱"
Yeah, I was planning to anyway.
The system message spoke nothing but facts.
"Does it pay well?"
"You'll be in the top 5% of earners in Redline."
"When do I start?"
Time to escape this dumpster.
Eastred Old Town, an abandoned construction site.
"Senior, have you heard the news?"
"News? What news?"
"Harmen... damn, his name is too long. Anyway, they apparently found him."
A man with messy black hair looked to his side. His rude junior was rubbing his hand against the wall as he spoke, smearing sticky bloodstains onto the cement.
Demon blood was generally more viscous than human blood, perhaps because they were born in a polluted environment. Whatever the reason, it was highly unpleasant.
"I heard he contracted with some kid."
"A kid? Yen must be green with envy. How did that happen?"
"Beats me. There were rumors he's a mage."
"He can use magic and he got such a big shot?"
"Damn," the man marveled.
"He must be making bank. I wonder how much he gets paid."
"The world is so damn unfair."
"When was it ever fair? It was probably like this a thousand years before we were born."
He grabbed the head of the subdued demon.
— Squelch. Grrr...
He dragged the severely wounded demon. Its original height was around five feet, but with its limbs severed, its torso was barely a foot and a half. It had been an individual with abnormally long limbs.
Thanks to that, it was much easier to transport.
"Anyway, our Chief sure is lucky."
"Is she? I think she has a pretty tragic fate."
"Well, sure, she had her share of history in the past."
"Think about it," the man continued.
"Forget all that and look at the present. Talent is just rolling in."
"Ah, true. The Security Bureau has been growing fast."
"Yeah, yeah. That's not easy."
He tossed the demon's body into a steel cage. Once they dumped it in the Bureau's basement, their mission was over. From then on, it was up to the Chief—whether she wanted to kill it, use it as feed, or raise it to contract with someone else.
If she didn't need it, he wouldn't mind taking it for himself.
"Anyway, I'm jealous, so jealous."
Four days had passed since his job was decided.
Muzark had not gone to work even once. The Chief of the Security Bureau had only told him to rest and manage his condition. It seemed less like consideration for a rookie and more like internal organizational delays.
Instead, Yen frequented his lodging every day. She drew his blood with a syringe, claiming it was a necessary procedure, but mostly they just engaged in trivial chatter.
Today started similarly.
"Hum, humm."
"..."
"Hum-hum."
Sitting across from him at the round table, Yen hummed a tune. Resting her face in both hands, she swayed her body back and forth. Under the table, her foot lightly tapped against his leg.
What is this? A new kind of provocation?
Muzark glanced at Yen, then calmly pulled out a Jenga block.
"Why are you so excited?"
"I was just thinking you look quite handsome."
"What does?"
"What else? Your face."
It was her turn, and Yen tapped a block with her index finger, gently pushing it out.
Chess yesterday, Jenga today. Yen kept bringing dirty board games that looked like they had been bought secondhand. Thanks to that, the awkwardness was lessened when they ran out of things to say.
"I thought you looked decent even in the mine. Now that you're washed up and dressed like a human, you're practically glowing. Hmm, your hair is a bit like dog fur, though. Want me to trim it?"
"Please stop with the nonsense."
Whenever he received a compliment from Yen, his stomach felt bloated.
Because it somehow sounded hollow. Muzark had plenty of secrets he couldn't tell anyone, but he often felt a more fundamental distance from Yen.
It's like she has a default attitude of 'let's grab a meal sometime'—polite but completely detached.
But it wasn't entirely nonsense; Muzark Bespard's appearance was quite decent. Though his frame was slender, he wasn't a weakling, but rather had a sort of decadent charm.
It was just that he still felt strongly that he was borrowing someone else's body. Also, his hair was white and his eyes were blue, so every time he looked in the mirror, he felt awkward.
It stands out way too much.
He was confident in his adaptability, but this was not easy.
"Looking at your condition, we don't have to worry about aftereffects."
"What aftereffects? Are you talking about Harmensales?"
"It's different from that."
He listened to her explanation while carefully pulling out a block.
"I burned the mana stones, right? The leaked mana might have helped at the time, but it's harmful to the body. Sometimes contaminated mana remains and disrupts mana circulation."
"No wonder your complexion was bad for a while."
"Well, yeah. I'm not exactly a healthy mage."
A self-deprecating smile played on Yen's lips. She had been in bad shape ever since leaving the mine, and had only managed to return to normal yesterday.
There was a reason Claude Regan had called her 'trash.'
"You seem completely unaffected."
"Sorry, but I'm a layman when it comes to magic."
"I have a lot of questions about you."
Tap. Yen kicked Muzark's leg.
"We definitely met for the first time in the mine. There was no way for you to know my affiliation or past. So, should I assume you investigated beforehand and purposely got dragged to the mine?"
Muzark chose silence.
It was better not to answer than to tell a clumsy lie. Patching and sewing lies like rags would always lead to trouble eventually.
When he shut his mouth, Yen snorted.
"Honestly, it doesn't make sense. This case wasn't originally mine, but I insisted on taking it. No matter how well you knew me, I don't think you could predict every single unexpected action."
It was Yen who had approached first. She had unilaterally helped Muzark and awakened his magic. If not for those few words, there would be no room for doubt.
— I know why you're stuck in a place like this.
— I don't know why you're obsessed with that kind of magic, but I can help you.
The keyword 'magic' had been too appropriate.
"Infiltration aside, there are few people in Redline who know my circumstances to that extent. Maybe the Chief? But it's funny to think you two conspired to trick me. Did you just babble whatever to escape the crisis? If so, the pieces fell into place too perfectly."
Yen continued to mutter.
It was closer to organizing her thoughts than a conversation.
"No matter which way I think, it doesn't make sense."
When things didn't add up, like a missing puzzle piece.
Every time this happened, her answer was set.
"What kind of magic did you use?"
"As I just said, I don't know much about magic."
"Ha, I knew you'd say that."
In the end, Yen raised her hands in surrender.
"You must know well. I'm not capable of forcing an answer out of you anyway. The Chief cares about you, and we're comrades who will share life and death..."
Sure.
Muzark couldn't take her complaining words at face value. Even if it sounded true at first glance, he couldn't let his guard down.
Even with an unhealthy body, she might be able to crush a novice mage. Whether the Chief's interest would act positively was also unknown.
And talking about 'comrades' is completely out of the question.
Yen didn't seem like the type of person to be held back by comradeship.
In the first place, Muzark didn't consider Yen a comrade either.
"Still, since I like you, I'll give you one piece of advice."
Yen's voice sank low.
"If you want to keep your secrets in the future, you must always be in a position of strength. There are all kinds of crazy people in Redline. When life is at rock bottom, people easily cross the line."
Muzark tried his best not to show his emotions. It was his specialty, if anything. The fact that foolishly honest people lose out was no different in any world.
From his unchanging expression, Yen couldn't read any useful information.
"Boring."
Despite facing each other every day, they knew too little about each other. Because they didn't know, they didn't open up. Guarding and checking, they reinforced their walls thicker day by day.
"Anyway, you'd better be careful. Lately, there are crazy bastards like 'Mage Hunters'..."
Clatter.
As soon as Yen touched a block, the Jenga tower collapsed.
"Ugh. I'm sick of this. It's annoying to stack them again."
"It does have its annoying side."
"It's just outright annoying. If only I could put a shape-memory magic on it, they'd stack up instantly."
"All that just to play Jenga easily?"
"Tsk tsk. You don't know anything. Surprisingly, those useless products are the ones that hit big."
Yen stretched and checked her watch.
"I should get going soon."
"Yeah. Good luck with work."
"You're the one who's going to work."
She said to Muzark, who asked with his eyes what she meant.
"It's your first job. Follow me."