I Need to Make Money (4)
Dozens of sharp arrows whistled through the air. Hot on their heels came a massive fireball hurtling toward me. Whoosh! Mana woven into a rigid frame, condensed for maximum destructive power. Just like Zepeto, it was a method of comprehending mana through intricate formulas. Not the sort of talent meant for back-alley smuggling. This guy had proper training. Made me think this organization might be bigger than I'd guessed.
Shoo! Shoo! No time to dwell on it. I ordered Dusty to scatter darkness, then swung the chains wide.
Bang! The chains whipped through the air, batting away every arrowhead.
The real problem hit right after. Woooosh! The enormous fireball turned my vision blood-red as it barreled in.
But there was no reason to dodge. I thrust my left arm straight out.
"Eat."
The mana forming the fireball got sucked right in. Shoooo. No explosion. The flames shrank in an instant and vanished without a trace.
"W-what the hell! Outta nowhere...!"
"I can't see shit!"
Perfect blackness. The scattered darkness smothered every scrap of light inside the abandoned warehouse.
"B-boss! Magic! Light a fire, quick!"
"Hold formation! Don't break ranks!"
Chaos in the dark. The woman's frantic shout rang out as mana gathered at her fingertips. A formula for ignition, to spark a flame.
Fwoosh! Just as a brilliant blaze was about to erupt from her hand—
Shh. Like someone had gently blown it out, it fizzled away with a pathetic puff.
"......Huh?"
Her voice trembled in confusion. She hurriedly wove the formula again, faster this time, squeezing out mana with brute force.
Paat!Shoo.
Paaat!Shh.
But the result was the same. Every flame that tried to ignite got yanked straight into the void of darkness.
"Too bad."
My modulated voice echoed ominously. They flinched hard.
Our Dusty is anti-magic that devours mana itself—anything but Heart Image spells, anyway. Sure, it just gobbles the mana inside without reflecting the spell back or anything like that, which is a minor letdown. But I held out a sliver of hope that maybe, when Dusty grows into a proper adult...
Crunch crunch crunch crunch crunch. The sound reverberated.
At the same time, dozens—hundreds—of crimson eyes blinked open.
—Aaaagh! Aaaaaagh!
—Save me! Please, save me!
—Boss! Boooooss!
And the screams Dusty swallowed layered on top like frosting.
Perfect darkness. The primal terror that grips humans when their sight is stolen.
No need to wait long.
"D-don't stab! It's me, you psycho!"
"Who stepped on my— Gaaah!"
I didn't even twitch a finger, but their ironclad formation crumbled like a sandcastle.
Blindly swinging weapons at phantoms, they hacked and stabbed each other in a farce.
I strolled leisurely through the heart of the mayhem.
Clink. Chains blended into the shadows erupted from beneath my feet, lashing out in every direction.
"Gaaaaah!"
"My legs—something's on my legs...!"
The chains snagged the smugglers' ankles and necks, yanking them skyward.
Clang! Crash! Weapons clattered to the ground, and dozens of men dangled in midair, unleashing a symphony of screams.
Dusty savored each one, erasing them bit by bit with evident satisfaction.
Thud, thud. Now, only two sounds remained.
One was my slow footsteps.
"D-don't come any closer...!"
The other was the woman's voice.
The female mage. Her trembling hands groped the empty air where her men had been hoisted moments ago as she collapsed to the floor.
Every step I took, she dragged her ass back another pace.
But even darkness has limits.
Thump. At last, her back hit the far wall of the warehouse.
A dead end with nowhere left to flee.
Thud. My toes halted right before her nose.
A tiny flame flickered at my fingertip, thrusting the mask's rippling outline into her face.
"Hiiik...!"
Her terror-stricken face came into full view beyond the little blaze. A mess of tears and snot.
"P-please, spare me... I beg you... I'll do anything—anything you say...! I got tons of money! Take it all, everything here!"
She rubbed her shaking hands together in desperate plea. Hardly dignified for a back-alley smuggling boss. Couldn't she ham it up more noir-style?
I leaned in until the mask nearly touched her nose. The firelight twisted its jagged mouth into an even more grotesque leer.
"Hand over the money. The ledger too. Everything you've got."
Best perk of this gig? It feeds Dusty's meals and fills my pockets. Two birds, one stone. Only hitch is I can't exactly brag about it to folks.
"I-in the basement... It's all there. Our stash of funds... The ledger you're after, everything's inside...!"
Oh ho. No wonder I hadn't spotted the kidnapped hostages for a human-trafficking outfit. They'd carved out a separate hole underground. Pretty thorough hideout.
"Lead the way."
I jerked my chin. She started to nod frantically, shaking like a leaf—
Bang! The warehouse's iron door flew open with a deafening crash.
"......?"
The sudden intrusion yanked both our gazes to the entrance.
Beyond the gloom, two silhouettes emerged, backlit by moonlight. A woman veiled in opaque gauze, and beside her a prim, tidy middle-aged man.
Cassandra and Heinrich.
'......Huh?'
Why the hell are you two here?
While I panicked internally, Heinrich snapped his fingers.
Snap!
A globe of light shot from his fingertip like an arrow. Heart Image magic—something Dusty couldn't swallow.
It hit the ceiling and burst like fireworks, scattering rays everywhere. The pitch-black space blazed bright for a moment.
In that instant, their eyes swept the warehouse.
"........."
"........."
"........."
A brief silence hung in the air.
Then Cassandra fixed her gaze on me through the veil and spoke firmly.
"Whisper whisper."
"The young lady demands you reveal your identity."
"That's exactly what I wanna know. Who the fuck are you?"
Cassandra and Heinrich froze at the sight inside, but I was just as thrown. What the actual fuck was this?
"H-help! Please!"
In the midst of the bizarre standoff, the woman at my feet clawed desperately toward Cassandra's group.
"We're just honest merchants... This monster burst in outta nowhere and started slaughtering everyone mercilessly! Save us, please!"
Oscar-worthy waterworks. Anyone clueless would've bought it hook, line, and sinker.
But the response was ice-cold.
"Whisper whisper."
Cassandra glared down at her with utter contempt.
Heinrich adjusted his white gloves and translated.
"The young lady finds it utterly repulsive that wretches who've forsaken the righteous path dare flap their filthy mouths."
"......!"
The woman's face drained white.
My eyes narrowed behind the mask. This wasn't some random drop-in. They'd come here knowing full well it was a human-trafficking den.
"Whisper..."
"The young lady laments that the trail we'd been chasing led straight here..."
Heinrich leveled his gloved fingertip at me.
"Whisper whisper whisper!"
"But she never dreamed she'd witness such vileness here. Who the hell are you! What sort of Heart Image lets you commit these horrors! She demands to know!"
"Hold up, hold on. Wait."
I threw up a hand to halt them. They kept their weapons metaphorically drawn, eyes locked on the scene—and me.
This was one wrong word from exploding into combat.
What now? Think, think.
Brain spun at full speed. Two Heart Image mages. No clue if I could take 'em. Never tested it.
And forget winning—that was secondary. They could not learn my real identity. Guild adventurer moonlighting in the shadows on illegal jobs? Straight to the guards.
Get caught, and I'm fucked.
Play it natural. Slip away quiet-like.
I opened as softly as I could manage.
"Do we really gotta fight?"
Their eyebrows twitched. Mistake. Magic modulation made it sound less soft, more sinister.
"You're here to mop up this trash, right? Same as me. Same goal—no point wasting energy. I'll head out my way; you do whatever with these clowns. Guards, whatever."
Reasonable. Peaceful. Seemed solid.
Didn't land at all.
Snap! Light flared again. The orb lingered longer this time, bathing the warehouse.
"........."
Cassandra looked up at the dangling men. Dozens with hollow eyes, foaming at the mouth, out cold. Plus all those eerie blinking red pupils.
...Yeah. Fair. Even I'd call bullshit if I saw this and heard that line.
But seriously, trust me. Complicated circumstances I can't spill.
"Whisper!! Whisper!!"
Heinrich bellowed, veins popping.
"Same goal? Don't spew that crap, you wicked fiend!"
A blinding halo of light erupted from Heinrich.
"The young lady rages—how dare you utter such drivel after this atrocity! Punishing sinners belongs under the law of light, yet your handiwork is nothing but a demon's frolic in slaughter and torment! Letting you walk will doom this city to greater calamity!"
Fwaaah! Air shimmered behind Heinrich, unfurling a fan of radiant light spears.
Ah, goddamn it. Fucked.
Dead end.
I stared blankly at the spear tips swiveling my way.
'Fuck it. Whatever.'
No choice now. Double down on the act. Just don't let the mask slip.
"Fuck this! Then cough up everything you got too!"
Rattle rattle rattle! Chains surged to my fingertips.