Revenge (1)
Tall and well-built, with a pleasant face and unfailingly courteous manners.
And respectable skill with magic, to boot.
Burrow, a first-year student in the magic department, was the sort of person who earned goodwill from everyone—men and women alike.
"Hmm… here. This part of the formula is written incorrectly."
"Oh my, you're right? I've been stuck on this problem forever… Thank you so much, Burrow."
"Haha. Not at all. I'm just glad I could be of help to Lady Laila."
Even those prideful noble magicians treated Burrow without discrimination.
Considering how bitterly the conflict between nobles and commoners had been escalating of late, that alone was a rare sight.
And yet.
That seemingly perfect young man harbored a single secret.
"I-I'll hurry as best I can…!"
Namely: he had contracted with a devil from the Demon Realm.
The reason a man of such meager magical talent had managed to enroll at Elprime Academy at all was precisely because he had become a thrall of the Devil of Magic.
In exchange for that power, the devil demanded only one thing of him.
That he periodically offer up the souls of magicians.
And the more gifted the magician, the better.
Naturally, Burrow fully intended to fulfill that demand with diligence.
After everything it took to get this far… I absolutely cannot disappoint Him.
So Burrow began to scheme.
Elprime Academy, gathering place of the Empire's greatest young geniuses, overflowed with talented young magicians.
That meant no shortage of offerings that would satisfy the devil's appetite.
…But touching a noble would be pure insanity.
Cross the wrong noble and the consequences would be unmanageable.
So Burrow's gaze drifted, almost of its own accord, toward the commoner students.
As he pondered how best to lure them in, a rather plausible idea took shape.
Hmm. Come to think of it, the nobles' contempt has been growing uglier by the day…
I should put that to use.
"Might I have a word with you?"
Finally. He's here.
Watching Burrow approach with that gentle smile, Aria thought as much—and kept every trace of it off her face.
"What is it?"
She answered with her usual cold indifference, not so much as a flicker of anticipation showing.
Burrow pressed on undeterred by her frosty stare.
"I've heard you've been having a rather unpleasant time of late."
He glanced around once, then lowered his voice to a near-whisper.
"Wouldn't you like to give it back to them?"
"…"
"I feel the same way. I've been gathering people who share that sentiment. If you're interested…"
With a soft rustle, Burrow slipped a small scrap of paper into view.
"…"
As if genuinely tempted, Aria bit her lip and stared at the note for a moment—then snatched it up in a flash.
Just as I thought. She only pretends it doesn't bother her. She's been bottling it up all this time.
Completely taken in by Aria's performance, Burrow crowed inwardly with triumph.
"Well then, I'll take my leave."
He offered one last impeccably polite smile and walked away.
"…"
Once she was certain he was gone, Aria hurried off at once.
I have to show Master right away~
"So this is the note that bastard gave you?"
"Yes. Did I do well?"
"Of course. That's my Aria. Good girl."
"Hehe…"
Praising her the way one might reward a clever pet with treats, Leon poured out compliments as he unfolded the scrap of paper.
Sunday, 6 PM. Lantville 23-04, the building with the red sign.
Color immediately brightened Leon's face.
"This weekend already? Perfect—nice and soon."
Things had been getting a little dull lately, so an event like this was more than welcome.
"Lantville… that's on the outskirts of Elaim, isn't it?"
"Right. Ideal place for shady business."
Elaim was a major city, which meant no shortage of things to prey on—and a well-developed underbelly to match. The central district around the Academy had decent security, but the farther out you went, the more commonplace crime became.
I thought the intelligence bureau had tightened security. How did this slip through?
Or maybe the intelligence bureau is just incompetent.
Leon shook his head and turned to Aria.
"We should get ready. Let's head out together tonight."
Aria nodded without a second's hesitation.
That evening, Leon and Aria arrived on the outskirts of Elaim.
Both were wrapped head to toe in pitch-black robes, hoods drawn deep, faces covered by masks. The work ahead would become very inconvenient if their identities got out.
Fill the Soul-Anchoring Stone. Clean up some trash while I'm at it.
That was the plan.
Leon was hunting offerings to restock his supply of souls.
Crossing dimensions was no trivial feat. To summon a devil from the Demon Realm into Middle Earth, a suitable quantity of offerings was essential.
Though I won't need nearly as many as last time.
The contract with Bergopf had cost five hundred souls. The situation now was different—he didn't need anything close to that number. A little of the Soul-Anchoring Stone he'd filled in Hevilon still remained, too.
"It's been a while since just the two of us went out like this."
Beneath her mask, Aria's eyes curved into lovely crescents. Even walking a dark alley thick with rats, she looked thoroughly pleased.
Leon glanced at her, a little taken aback.
"We've gone out for dinner plenty of times."
"Hmph. Never just the two of us. There were always other people."
Aria shot him a sulky look, lips pushed out in a pout.
"…Fair enough."
Leon scratched his head, sheepish. Whenever they went out, Carotin and Celia were always there, and Liana often tagged along as well.
Guess she was a little lonely.
Faces hidden, walking through a secluded place—it must have reminded her of the days the two of them used to roam Hevilon together.
"Next time, just the two of us, we could—wait!"
Just as Leon was about to soothe her with a promise, a woman's scream cut through the night—sharp enough to reach ears he kept deliberately keen.
"Aria. This way."
"J-just the two of us…?"
Leon kicked off the ground and shot toward the alley at nine o'clock.
"Ugh, seriously."
Aria sighed at the wretched timing and sprinted after him.
Mana crackled around her body like living current. In the next instant her stride matched Leon's speed—body-enhancement magic, the discipline she was most confident in.
Like the wind, Leon and Aria reached the source of the scream in moments.
"Aaaaaaah!!"
"Hold still, you bitch!"
"Quit being stubborn. Just drug her and get it over with."
Five men snickering. A shopping basket tumbled in the corner. A fair-skinned young woman, half her clothes already torn away, weeping tears of blood.
And a man's corpse, skull split open, lying cold on the ground.
"…"
Leon took in the scene at a glance. His eyes cooled by a shade.
Steel whispered free of its scabbard.
Only then did the man peeling the woman's clothes sense the presence behind him and turn.
"…What the—!? When did this bastard—"
Leon's Heaven-Shattering Sword traced two light arcs through the air.
That was all it took. Every one of the man's limbs was severed clean.
"Wh-what?! Gaaaaaaaah!!!!!"
The torso alone flopped and rolled across the ground, spraying blood. Leon seized the man's head and pressed the Soul-Anchoring Stone to his brow.
"I'll put you to good use."
Without a flicker of hesitation, Leon drove his blade through the man's throat.
A pale, wispy smoke slipped free of the dead man's skull—and, like iron filings drawn to a magnet, was sucked cleanly into the Soul-Anchoring Stone.
The stone hummed softly as it swallowed the soul, its color shifting a shade redder.
"That's one."
Leon rose with a chilling little laugh.
The remaining men stared, blank with shock—then scrambled back to their senses.
"…K-kill that bastard!!!"
They charged with long wooden clubs in hand.
Aria met them.
Mana coiled around her fist like a whirlwind and drove straight into the lead man's gut.
His body folded into a sharp angle and flew backward.
Aria spun with the fluid grace of a top. The clubs that had been aimed at her carved empty air. From between the flaring wings of her robe, blue lightning erupted.
A fan of brilliant azure light swept the alley, banishing the dark. The wide-area magic dropped every last one of them.
"Aaaaaaagh!!"
Leon murmured a quiet note of admiration.
That's my Aria. She's improving by leaps and bounds.
He gave her shoulder an approving pat and walked over to the fallen men.
His gaze, looking down at the writhing figures, was the look one gives vermin—or insects. He no longer regarded them as human beings.
"I know exactly where trash like you gathers. First one to talk lives. The rest die. You saw what happened to your friend."
Leon spun his sword in lazy circles, as if ready to stab at any moment.
"M-me! Me!"
"I know where—you son of a bitch!"
The man with the most tattoos was the fastest. Loyalty meant nothing to them.
"Hmm…"
Leon studied the man's face for a moment, then nodded. He looked every bit the type who belonged to an organization.
"You pass."
Soul-Anchoring Stone in his left hand, blade in his right, Leon approached the failures.
"W-wait!"
"Wait, my ass."
Three wet sounds of steel parting flesh. Leon's sword and the Soul-Anchoring Stone both grew redder still.
But the reddest thing of all was his eyes—gleaming between hood and mask, wet and blood-bright, like the eyes of a savage beast.
The tattooed man's crotch went warm and wet the instant their gazes met.
"Lead the way. If you mess this up… you know what happens."
"Y-yes, sir…!"
That night, two gangs in the back alleys of Elaim vanished without a trace.