C91 - 92
Chapter 91: Conditions of Power (1)
The demand from Gunther was simple.
If you want to save that kid Roy, come to the waste disposal site by the time specified.
If you don’t show up, think about the consequences yourself.
The intention was obvious.
It was about seeking revenge in the arena.
However, knowing it wouldn’t work out normally, they resorted to desperate measures.
It’s truly unbelievable; words fail me.
“He’s so anxious, yet in the end, he resorts to this, Gunther, you worthless scum!”
Ironically, the one most excited was the manager.
“I apologize, sir!
We’ll take care of this matter ourselves. Please don’t worry, sir…”
I left without saying a word in response.
“W-where are you going? Are you really going there…?”
“Leave it to the kid.” She was taken aback and blocked my path in an instant.
“Are you crazy? This is obviously a trap! You don’t know what might happen if you go!”
A trap, indeed… If we define it, it’s like an analogy for schemes that trap others in difficulties, right?
It’s definitely not going to be a good thing if you go.
But then again, I don’t even consider the thought of encountering any trouble just because I’m going.
Ignoring her words, I headed towards the waste disposal site.
* * *
In the previous life, there was a situation quite similar to this.
It was during the height of the war between the Ushif Empire and the Garam Kingdom.
At a time when the Garam Kingdom was somewhat on the defensive, they executed a scheme to turn the tide: the kidnapping of Larshel Vert, the eldest son of Vert.
What does being Vert’s eldest son entail?
It meant being the son of Aschel, who was a prominent figure in the Empire.
Although not of royal blood, being the child of such an influential figure made him valuable enough to be a hostage.
There were debates within the Empire on whether to rescue him or not, but I remained silent, simply waiting to see what Aschel would decide.
Contrary to my expectations, he asked me what I thought should be done.
I told him that if he sent me, I would not only rescue Larshel but also annihilate those responsible for his capture.
I was quite enraged at the audacity of those who caused him trouble; I couldn’t tolerate it.
Looking back, I realized that I was more inclined to think about killing those scoundrels rather than rescuing the son.
Regardless of reasoning, it was a rather pathetic situation.
But life goes on, and now, a similar situation has come before me again.
A street urchin selling cigarettes?
Frankly, it doesn’t matter.
It’s not related to my current mission, and nothing changes if he dies.
He just happened to cross paths with me, one of the many street urchins in the city.
I may have given him some assistance, but that’s where it ends.
I have no further obligations.
Yeah, none at all…
Strangely enough, my current emotions are hardly different from what I felt back then.
Reasons, relevance, they don’t really matter.
Right now, the thought dominating my mind is that I should kill that insignificant piece of trash.
With each step I take, a smell wafts in.
There are exactly two types of smells: one, the foul stench of discarded waste, and the other, the very familiar scent of human blood.
The latter, however, has an unusually strong metallic tinge, different from usual.
I didn’t want to know what it was.
It wasn’t particularly important to me.
Though I didn’t consciously acknowledge it, I was aware that many people passing by were watching me.
However, none of them dared to approach.
Quite ironic, isn’t it?
Even these insignificant street rats tremble in fear and watch from behind, yet the fool who lost an arm is still clueless, floundering about.
Lost in meaningless thoughts, I found myself in the designated area.
“You’re here?”
Gunther, arrogantly perched atop the trash, flashed a satisfied smile as he watched me.
“Frankly, I was quite surprised! I mean, I did invite you, but I never expected you to come all the way here just for that little brat! Seems like you’re more compassionate than meets the eye, huh?”
Ignoring the fellow’s blabber, I glanced around.
The space was filled with metallic waste of unknown purpose.
What was odd was that among the rubbish were scattered white fragments that seemed strangely familiar.
In fact, I already knew what they were: human bones.
There were easily hundreds, if not more, scattered around.
Although it wasn’t a communal graveyard, this guy probably knew why human bones were here.
“Just by looking, you already know, right? Curious about why there are human bones here?”
I gestured for him to spill the beans.
“Don’t you know the meaning of waste? Simple! It means disposing of something no longer useful. This place is a disposal site for such things.”
He proudly extended his remaining arm.
“As I mentioned before, I conquered the Lambert Cage, but I was expelled for killing someone during the match. I had no regrets. I enjoyed it as much as I could! So when I left, I left with joy!”
His eyes gleamed maliciously.
“But as soon as I left, strangers greeted me! One had lost an arm, another had a crushed knee, and yet another had a crushed face! I don’t remember, but they all claimed I did it!”
Living like this, it’s strange not to have enemies, right?
“They said they’d seek revenge! That their lives became meaningless because of me? Upon hearing that, I thought this: If something becomes useless, shouldn’t it disappear from this world? Like waste? What’s so different about humans?”
He tossed a handful of bones among the rubbish, as if they were no different.
“I also thought, why not dispose of useless humans besides them? It’s meaningless to keep living anyway, right? In a way, am I not a god here, within this waste disposal? Who would stop me from judging and discarding humans? Nobody, right?”
I expected this kind of babble from the arena.
Useless trash must be disposed of.
Therefore, useless humans should be disposed of from this world.
It’s a simple yet equally ridiculous logic.
“According to your logic, you, missing an arm, are also a useless human. Shouldn’t you be discarded too?”
“Missing an arm? Who? Me? What are you talking about!”
-Whoom
He manifested mana with his remaining hand, reaching towards the empty shoulder.
“Creation: Hands of Nature!”
-Squishy sound
Fine soil emerged from the magic circle created by the spell.
Gradually taking shape like molding clay, it formed a new arm.
Absolutely absurd.
The guy who argues that useless things should be discarded casually wields creation magic.
At that moment, it felt like a waste even to shake my head.
“I didn’t harbor ill feelings towards you from the beginning. I just thought you’d be a good opponent to wake me up from this trash! But after seeing your eyes, my thoughts changed! That contemptuous gaze that almost belittles me! It’s exactly like that lunatic on the other side!”
He extended the newly created arm towards me as if challenging me.
“Do you think you can face me with this new arm?”
“Of course not! I hate to admit it, but among the men I’ve seen, you’re quite the powerhouse! I never thought I could win against you no matter how hard I fought!”
The guy who knows this created the current situation?
“But isn’t it true? The end of a fight ultimately depends on who lives and who dies! If I live and you die, then I’ll be the ultimate winner!”
-Snap
He signaled something, and the lackeys lurking around began to gather.
Each held some unknown metallic device in their hands.
——————
——————
Without hesitation, they activated the devices.
-Whoosh
Suddenly, the surrounding air felt heavy, and soon an immense pressure, as if crushing my body, engulfed me.
If my memory serves me right, this isn’t magic but the ability of an artifact called the ‘Gravity Zone.’
It amplifies gravity in a certain area, severely restricting movement.
In fact, for an ordinary human, simply standing would be impossible, causing extreme pain.
“Oh? You’re holding up quite well! I didn’t plan this for you, but I wouldn’t mind using it on you.”
I have to admit, he prepared quite a clever trap for me.
“I’m going to turn you, a seemingly intact person, into useless waste! Then you’ll sleep peacefully like the white bones piled up here! But I don’t like things ending too easily, so give it your all and resist!”
Resist?
I couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Forcing me with strange words like giving it my all and resisting, isn’t it amusing?
Having to pour out all my strength against such guys?
This isn’t even Velias or the Academy.
Even here, except for one person, nobody knows that I’m Cyan Burt.
Except for one.
[Shall I help?]
Kaeram asked with a mischievous smile.
“No.”
There’s no need to involve her.
He asked for my all-out effort?
Unfortunately, there’s only one person on this land I want to face with all my might.
But I can give it my best shot.
I’ll give him the most extreme pain a human can feel, as I always do.
-Clang
Finally ready, he leaped forward.
Certainly, his speed was twice, no, more than three times faster than what he showed in the arena.
With a body as large as a bear’s but a speed like an arrow, it was truly a devastating movement.
So, what will I do?
In front of me is just a sluggish movement.
I clenched the mana sphere generated in my palm and pulled it back.
-Swish
There’s not much I can do.
It’s the most basic posture when training the body: the stance of a martial artist.
As the guy came charging towards me with all his might, I calmly threw a punch at him.
-Thunk!
Our fists met naturally.
Despite the powerful impact and the violent shockwaves that rippled outwards, the waves soon tilted to one side.
“…!”
-Crunch
There was no crackling of bones.
The moment my fist made contact with his arm, it turned into dust and scattered in the air.
His body, unable to withstand the shockwave, was promptly ejected into the pile of waste.
-Thud
The lesson was over.
His face buried in the garbage spoke volumes, a stark contrast to his demeanor just five seconds ago.
“What, what’s happening? Does this make any sense?”
When people encounter their limits, they easily succumb to despair, more than any other creature.
Perhaps he knew this, and it wasn’t about giving it my all.
It was about showing him the insurmountable wall, delivering extreme despair and emptiness.
It’s clearly an impossible task, but I slowly approached him.
“Who, who are you? This is completely different! Is it fair that I can’t do anything and just take it?”
Despair and confusion mingled in his face.
Every person I’ve encountered during my cleansing operations wore a similar expression.
Though he wasn’t initially on my list from the client, adding one more won’t hurt.
I looked down at him and asked softly,
“How many were there?”
“…”
He remained silent.
“I mean the humans you’ve discarded so far. How many were there?”
Whether he couldn’t remember or had become mute, considering the number of white bones scattered around, it wouldn’t be surprising if there were less than a thousand.
-Humming
I took Kaeram out of my pocket and said,
“I’ll divide you into exactly a thousand pieces.”
Then, throwing him into the trash, he’ll be disposed of automatically.
Soon, the screams of a man writhing in agony echoed throughout the landfill.
——————
Chapter 92: Conditions of Power (2)
On the opposite side of the landfill, the refuge of the zone wardens.
As the guard checked on the child’s condition, he shook his head after a moment.
“He’s already dead. It seems like he was intended to be killed from the start. It’s been about an hour or so…”
The state of the body made it evident.
One arm severed, bruises scattered across the body—a clear indication of extensive torture.
The child probably endured unimaginable agony until drawing his last breath.
“Gunther!!”
Lisa emitted a roar of anger, her face expressing a desire to rush towards the perpetrator and exact revenge.
“Hold on, Lisa! For now, we need to contain the situation, don’t we?”
At the mention of containing the situation, Lisa let out a hollow laugh.
“Containment? Of course, we should! Then tell me, what do we do to contain the situation?”
The question was posed, but there was no answer.
With nothing else to say, after some time, one guard spoke up after much deliberation.
“I-I’m not sure if this is the right thing to say, but couldn’t we just stand by and watch?”
“…What do you mean?”
Lisa inquired, her expression demanding an explanation.
“Anyway, wasn’t the plan to dispose of that boy soon? If Gunther takes care of it, wouldn’t it be a good situation for us? We wouldn’t have to exert any effort…”
Some guards nodded in agreement.
They hadn’t said it, but they too were considering it.
After all, if the two of them fought, one of them would surely die.
Just watching and reaping benefits seemed like the best option.
On the other hand, Lisa wore a desolate expression, her thoughts inscrutable.
“Is that really a good thing for us?”
Once Gunther had drawn out the boy, the reason was simple: to kill him.
To achieve this, he kidnapped a child with whom the boy had a relationship, and the boy responded and ended up going to Gunther.
Then what?
Could Gunther really kill the boy?
Lisa doubted it.
Almost to the point of perfection, it seemed impossible.
Because, in the eyes of the boy who came to the landfill to find Gunther, she encountered a suffering so intense and vile, unlike anything she had ever experienced before.
She couldn’t even fathom the thought of the boy dying, or even the possibility of killing him.
“……?”
Suddenly, a strange presence, accompanied by the smell of blood, was felt from behind.
“G-Guest?!”
Lisa turned her head, thinking she must have seen wrong.
But soon, her heart started pounding, and her nerves tingled.
What on earth was happening?
She had just closed her eyes and opened them again, only to find the boy, who hadn’t been there a moment ago, now standing before her.
“……”
The boy, without any expression, simply gazed at the child’s body.
He didn’t ask anything, nor did he say a word.
It was as if he could understand the situation just by looking at it.
The boy’s impassive gaze spoke volumes.
After a considerable silence, the boy finally lifted his foot.
From his pocket, he retrieved something and wordlessly placed it on the child’s chest.
“As of today, you’re out of the game….”
With these emotionless words, the boy turned away.
Until he completely vanished from sight, nobody dared to speak.
Only the golden name tag placed on the corpse shimmered bleakly, marking the end of an era.
* * *
You know, it’s hard to say.
I wasn’t particularly happy or sad, but it wasn’t like I didn’t care at all.
It just felt a bit strange.
As I mentioned earlier, I didn’t feel any particular anger about the kid’s death.
I already expected him to be dead.
But when I saw the body for the first time, I could tell.
The blood had started to congeal, and the face was already starting to discolor.
It had probably been about an hour since he passed.
For some reason, at that moment, I had this thought.
If I hadn’t hesitated and just taken out the Gunther right away, could I have saved the kid?
[Our master, you seem completely downcast. Are you regretting something?]
Kaeram was enjoying seeing me like this, mocking me.
Regret, huh?
Do I really have to call what I’m feeling regret?
“Haha!”
Was it some kind of thrill from experiencing something new?
I couldn’t help but laugh, even though it seemed absurd.
It’s ridiculous.
The last time I felt regret was when I was pierced by the Holy Sword.
Didn’t I promise then?
I swore I’d achieve everything for myself, by myself.
And now, here I am, regretting my actions.
It’s simply unacceptable.
“In the end, I couldn’t say it…”
[Say what?]
“His name…”
It’ll probably linger in my mind for quite a while.
* * *
“Gunther is dead?”
A slight tremor ran through Morris’s voice.
“Yes! The body was fragmented into hundreds of pieces, making identification difficult, but it was definitely Gunther!”
“The Gravity Zone?”
“It seems completely destroyed to the point where it cannot be used…”
At the mention of destruction, Morris smirked bitterly.
——————
——————
“It’s regrettable that we let it go so easily. Did that brat really not make proper use of it and just destroy it? Tsk tsk. What a waste of goods…”
Morris’s reaction was calmer than expected.
After all, he had once dominated the arena, and now he was the lord of the western district of Lambert.
How could he not be surprised to be defeated by a mere boy?
His subordinate, who had come to deliver the report, found it incomprehensible.
“So, where did that boy Zion go?”
“Well, according to the them, he didn’t return to Cage. I think he might have escaped, but I’m not sure…”
– Bang!
Excited, Morris slammed the desk.
“What! That means he could leave the city?!”
“Well, yes, but…”
The reaction had changed 180 degrees from earlier.
“These idiots! What were they doing instead of keeping a tight watch? He couldn’t have gone far. Go out and find that boy! Mobilize all available personnel if necessary!”
“Yes, sir!”
His sudden command sent his subordinates rushing out.
“It’s unthinkable to let the found demonic sword slip away like this! No matter what happens, it must come into my hands!”
A strange, inexplicable smile played at his lips.
“Morris!”
About a minute later, the subordinate who had left in a hurry returned to him.
“We received a message from Delkia Bridgette!”
“From Delkia? What’s the matter?”
“They say that boy Zion has come to the entertainment alley! It seems like an opportunity, so they’re asking you to come quickly!”
His heavy body rose from the chair in an instant.
“Looks like the gods are on my side!”
* * *
– Tick tock
The urgent and hopeful footsteps of a woman echoed through the corridor.
Delkia Bridgette, the ruler of the eastern entertainment alley.
Her elegant makeup and glamorous yet subtle attire showcased her confident figure.
While her face remained quite restrained, occasional uncontrollable laughter caused her lips to twitch, presenting a bizarre sight.
Finally arriving at a door, she took a short breath before opening it.
Inside, there sat a black-haired boy with the same arrogant gaze as when they first met.
“I appreciate your acceptance of my invitation, Zion…”
She gently lowered her head, revealing her ample cleavage, but the boy didn’t even glance at it.
He simply looked around with an indifferent gaze, not acknowledging Delkia’s presence.
“Did you expect me to come?”
“I’m not bragging, but there hasn’t been a single person who hasn’t set foot here after receiving my invitation. At least among men.”
But Delkia didn’t know.
The reason this boy came to such an inappropriate place was completely at odds with her thoughts.
“You don’t look too good. Is something bothering you? Just say the word! There are many entertainments prepared to lift your spirits! I’m sure you’ll enjoy them!”
Despite being an offer no man could refuse, the boy remained silent.
His indifferent gaze was fixed precisely at the bottom left of the table, where there was nothing.
“… ”
A bead of sweat trickled down Delkia’s forehead, sliding down her neck to her chest.
With each passing moment, she felt the heat rising within her body.
‘It’s dangerous. I can’t bear it…’
The more she looked at the boy, the more her desire surged.
Her demeanor was like that of a starving lion desperately restraining itself from its prey.
– Swoosh
Finally calming her heart, she took out a small vial from her pocket.
Quietly approaching a corner out of the boy’s sight, she brewed the tea.
“You should have a cup of tea to soothe your mind for now. If you have anything to say, feel free to tell me! I’ll listen to everything…”
As she offered the tea with an odd smile, the boy’s gaze finally returned to her.
“…”
From the steaming vapor, a rich floral scent blossomed.
Another minute passed in silence.
The boy’s gaze, previously fixed on the tea, finally turned to Delkia.
“I wasn’t feeling like this until I came here…”
His voice carried a weighty air.
“Just one question. How many have you killed?”
“W-What are you talking about?”
At her bewildered response, the boy’s gaze returned to the empty floor.
“Now you can clearly see the ugly evil that appears when a person commits an act…….”
She was momentarily speechless, unable to even retort.
“That manager from Cage warned me, right? She said the ruler of the entertainment alley has quite eccentric tastes, so be careful. But maybe even that manager didn’t know what to be careful of.”
“W-What are you talking about?”
Though she managed to speak, her body refused to move now.
As if an invisible force were pressing down on her.
“Heh…!”
The boy, who had remained expressionless, suddenly laughed.
His gaze still fixed on the empty space.
Delkia was completely at a loss.
– Clang
Suddenly, the boy drank the tea she offered in one gulp.
“…”
– Thud
Not even three seconds later, he collapsed face-first onto the table.
Another ten seconds of silence.
Regaining her senses, Delkia burst into uproarious laughter.
——————