Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Survivors (3)
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The nights in the slums are uniquely dark. And long.
Beyond the stream that marked the border, the city looked vibrant even late at night thanks to the magic lights, but within District 13, there was only pitch-black darkness.
As if even the moon had turned its back on District 13, the crescent moon only sprinkled a faint, dim light upon the ground.
Torches were lit here and there, but they were not enough to drive away the deep, thick darkness that seemed to swallow even the shadows.
“This is the worst. Everything is the worst.”
Once my eyes had fully adjusted to the dark, I calmly retraced my steps through the alley I had walked this morning, heading for Haveron's house.
Just in case, I didn't even carry a torch. Carrying one would be like advertising my presence.
“How many are we getting today?”
“As many as we can.”
“Oh! It's getting harder to secure ‘materials’ in District 13. We'll be pretty busy if we're going for the max today.”
Just like now.
Just as I passed the entrance to District 13, I heard the sound of someone snickering in the distance.
In the middle of the night, in District 13? A joke? Besides, didn't the topic of their conversation reek of suspicion?
Securing materials, maximum capacity. What kind of materials could be secured in District 13 at night?
What else could there be but people? It's not like there are any resources here, or any place worth robbing.
It's them. The ones who created the atmosphere I felt in this district this morning. And the ones I need to deal with right now.
If I let scum like them be, Haveron could be harmed.
“Scum.”
Four of them.
“Boss, you wanna go to the Black Rose after this? I hear it's the place to be these days.”
“Nah. That place is too expensive. The girls are stuck-up, too. And not today. It's an important day.”
“Even so— Gurgle-!”
Suddenly, something flew from behind and pierced one of their necks. He collapsed to the ground, making a gurgling sound as he choked on his own blood.
One down.
I stepped on the falling man, leaped, and drove a second piece of scrap metal into the neck of the man next to him.
It was just a palm-sized piece of scrap iron I'd found on the ground. But even a piece of scrap like that can become a fine weapon, depending on who wields it.
Magi and motes of light slowly seeped out. As I thought, these guys are connected to the Empire in some way.
Perhaps they're a gang of thugs managed by the Intelligence Bureau to do their dirty work.
But kidnapping, for the Empire? What could be the reason? Is it the same as what happened in Libria? Or something else?
Whatever the reason, it certainly wasn't a good one.
*Fweee—*
The survivor frantically set off a signal flare.
A murmur from the surroundings, which I hadn't heard until now, suddenly pierced my ears.
“It's not just one or two.”
Dozens of outlaws, filling every alley, emerged like cockroaches.
“He's over here! Kill him!”
“Signal the others! No screw-ups!”
The fact that over a dozen of them had appeared on this street alone meant that countless more were spread throughout the vast expanse of District 13.
“These bastards... no way. Dammit! Haveron—!”
It meant Haveron wasn't safe from the risk of kidnapping either. The situation had changed in an instant.
*Thump-thump-thump—*
I sprinted forward with quick steps.
*Whoosh—*
Ducking my head, I dodged a horizontal slash.
*Thwack—*
I struck the arm of the man behind me who hadn't been prepared, then used the momentum to bring the crowbar down on the head of the man in front.
The men screamed. I kicked one rushing at me from the front.
“Ugh—!”
He flew back, coughing up blood, and their formation broke. In the chaos, I grabbed the arm of a man swinging a sword and separated it from his torso with the crowbar.
*Clang—*
I parried a swinging sword with the crowbar and smashed my other fist into his face.
As the men took a step back in fear, I took two steps forward and swung the crowbar.
I could hear faint breathing from the houses on either side of the alley.
I swung the crowbar, threw a fallen sword, and landed a punch.
The battle flowed like water, and with each kill, motes of light poured out and were absorbed, again and again.
[Dexterity has increased by 1.]
[Annihilate Evil has increased by 0.1%.]
The ground was stained with blood, and the groans of the dying filled District 13.
When I finally arrived at Haveron's house…
“Fuck.”
It was torn apart and burning. And there were bloodstains everywhere.
I frantically scanned the area. Scuff marks on the ground, clear signs of a struggle, a corpse left behind—likely killed during the abduction.
Nowhere could I see Haveron or Anya.
District 13 was ablaze, spewing light, and people were either fleeing for their lives or screaming.
District 13 was in this state, yet there were no soldiers in sight.
“These... sons of bitches.”
This was all planned, wasn't it?
There's no time. I have to find Haveron now. I spread my Spiritual Power wide, following the tracks on the ground.
There must be a place where this scum gathers.
And in a place like that, my Spiritual Power would surely swirl even more intensely than it is now.
I have to find that place. Haveron will be there.
***
“Move it, move it! I said get more! We have a large quota!”
“Secure the important ones first! We have to move out as soon as the job is done!”
An underground space lit by flickering magic lights. Countless outlaws were moving about busily.
The doors, normally kept shut for concealment, were wide open as they ceaselessly brought in the 'materials'.
After a proper selection process, the materials were sorted again.
Sobbing and wailing people. Eyes that had lost the will to live. All sorts of negative emotions filled the space.
“Boss. It's a jackpot. A jackpot!”
“A jackpot? What kind of jackpot?”
Odillo frowned at the sight of his subordinate running toward him, out of breath. He was already busy as hell, and this had better be important.
“The test results are in. A child blessed by mana has turned up.”
“Huh? What? Blessed by mana?”
“That... that father and daughter the higher-ups ordered us to capture no matter what. We tested the kid, and that's the result we got.”
“Ha, so flowers do bloom even in a junkyard. An unexpected harvest.”
It was an unexpected jackpot. To think that a material we were ordered to collect at all costs was this valuable.
The higher-ups would surely be pleased.
Odillo looked at the sleeping, blonde-haired child his subordinate had brought. Perhaps because she grew up in the slums, it was hard to guess her age from her physique alone.
“Blessed by mana. For a mere 'material' to be blessed by mana... it's no different from a curse.”
It was an incredibly rare body, literally blessed by mana. One with immense potential to become a great mage. And such bodies were extremely valuable research subjects for the laboratory.
*BOOM—!*
*WEEEEEE—!*
Just as he was muttering to himself while looking at the sleeping child, the entire underground area suddenly shook, and the alarm system began to flash and blare loudly.
“Go out and find out what's happening, now!”
A subordinate burst through the door.
“Boss! We have an intruder!”
“I know! Who dares! Capture him immediately! There can be no delays!”
*BOOM—*
The vibration felt a little closer this time.
“He's fast! He set off smoke and flash grenades, we're looking for him now, but...”
“Idiots! Get him now!”
How dare he attack this place! And at such a crucial time.
“We're speeding up the transfer procedure. You lot, go to the warehouse and get the materials. The rest of you, call in everyone who's left and deal with the intruder.”
“Understood.”
There was still some time before the portal reactivated. He could forget the other materials, but this one had to be sent to the laboratory, so he picked her up himself.
Cradling the 'material' under his arm, he hurried toward the inner area where the portal was connected. Weren't there prototypes sent directly from the laboratory there?
The prototypes that would tear the intruder to shreds.
I didn't think I'd have to use them. This actually works out well.
I was curious about their performance.
“Khuhuhu...”
I hope he's someone who can give me a good show.
***
“Hah. This is a real cockroach nest.”
Unbelievable. The place I reached after tracking them was near the District 13 cemetery.
Putting aside the fact that my Spiritual Power was going wild, I could feel the Magi on my skin.
Less than an hour had passed since the kidnappings. Haveron must be in there. And Anya, too.
There's no way to sneak in here like in Assassin's Creed. It was literally a burrow with a single entrance. The ceiling was low, and there was no space to hide.
“But what's this?”
It's quite chaotic. Smoke was billowing out from inside the burrow, and the outlaws had their weapons drawn, looking around.
A chaotic situation. I don't know why, but I should obviously take advantage of it.
“Then a preemptive strike is the way to win.”
In times like these, it's best to start by shaking up the enemy. No need to give them time to quell the chaos, right?
*Splat—*
Suddenly, something flew through the air, and an outlaw's head vanished, blood spraying like a fountain.
“Uh—”
And before they could even react, a second outlaw's head disappeared. Only after a total of five heads had vanished did they sound the alarm and draw their weapons.
“You bastards. Are people just luggage to you?!”
There was no need for mercy. I blew them away one by one, scanning the faces of the kidnapped people.
Not here. Not here. I thought I'd come in quite a ways from the entrance, but I still couldn't see Haveron.
“Over here—! This way! He's here!”
As if they'd been waiting, their shouts echoed from the passage.
Dozens of them blocked the path from both directions, surrounding me. From the entrance, and from deeper inside.
I calmly suppressed my impatience. Impatience leads to mistakes. I have to be calm at times like this.
The narrow burrow was crawling with them.
“Hoo. At this rate, I can honestly say I fought 100 to 1 later.”
100 against 1. Heh. Isn't that every man's dream? As long as you win, of course.
I swung the crowbar hard and charged toward the clustered enemies. Time to stain this crowbar with blood today!
What's 100 to 1? You just have to smash them all.
***
“Hoo... hoo... hoo. There were so damn many.”
I panted heavily. My hair was a mess. My clothes were torn in several places, soaked with a mixture of my own blood and the blood of the outlaws.
Fortunately, I only had minor cuts, no fatal wounds. Behind Kratos, there was nothing but corpses.
There were exactly 108 of them lying on the ground. What is this, the 108 worldly desires?
It was a truly endless fight. Enough to leave me breathless.
It was a good thing most of the outlaws were small fry. If there had been soldiers or knights mixed in, it certainly wouldn't have ended this easily.
I trudged on, catching my breath. I might have pushed myself a little too hard to end the fight quickly.
Kidnapping is a race against time. And this much Magi would surely have an adverse effect on Haveron and Anya, given their poor health.
“Hoo. Let's go. Let's go.”
The deeper I went, the denser the Magi became, and my Spiritual Power began to spin like crazy.
“These crazy bastards.”
The path to the deepest part of this godforsaken place. Barrels full of Magi lined the long corridor.
The Magi itself was vaporizing from the barrels, seeping out and covering the entire floor.
And on the other side, iron cages holding people like animals.
“Haveron?!”
In one of those iron cages was a bloodied Haveron.
“You goddamn—!”
I violently ripped the lock off with my bare hands and carefully lifted him out.
As someone lifted him out, Haveron, who had been motionless, began to gasp for breath as if on the verge of death and muttered.
“An...ya, An...”
I took a potion from my inventory and poured the entire bottle into his mouth, then sprinkled another one over his body.
Groaning in pain, Haveron opened his eyes and reached out to grab my hand.
“Please... please. My daughter...”
“Save your words. Save your strength.”
I leaned Haveron against the wall and glared into the deep darkness ahead.
“Don't worry about Anya. I... will definitely... save her...”
I felt something welling up in my throat. I pressed another potion into Haveron's hand.
“Take this, just in case.”
Whether it was because it was the first time in over a decade he had received such kindness, or because of his desperation to save his daughter, Haveron gripped Kratos's hand tightly.
“Thank... you.”
“The thanks... are mine to give.”
Leaving Haveron behind, I held the Aeternel Crowbar in one hand and a sword I'd picked up off the ground in the other.
After passing where Haveron had been, I entered a large, hall-like area where a portal was humming as it grew in size.
A bizarre-looking villain was thrusting a sword toward a woman.
*Klaaang—*
I threw myself forward and deflected the blade with my crowbar.
“A... crowbar?”
“I salute your courage.”