**#285. The Hat Under the Tree (5)**
—
Re-entering the hallway within Tennenbaum, Ray sprinted without pause.
“There he is! Fire!”
“What the hell is that brat?!”
Enemies rounded the corner and aimed their guns.
*BANG!*
“Aaagh! M-my hand!”
“Grrhk, my hand… my hand is gone…!”
But the moment they opened fire, their barrels exploded, blowing off their hands. A bolt of lightning struck instantly, searing them from the inside with no time to even breathe.
*Thud! Thud!*
Ray dashed past their collapsing bodies in an instant.
Leon, running at full speed behind him, couldn’t help but marvel inwardly.
*That level of magic control is unreal. At that age—how?*
Normally, there was a delay before magical elements combined to manifest a phenomenon.
This tendency was even more pronounced with powerful elemental magic.
*Crackle!*
“Ugh!”
But the boy’s lightning struck almost instantaneously.
To chalk it up to being a low-grade spell didn’t make sense—the power behind it was simply overwhelming.
Above all, the strangest thing was how the enemies’ gun barrels exploded whenever Ray’s gaze fell on them.
*He’s destabilizing the elemental composition of mana bullets mid-flight to induce internal collisions?*
It was absurd.
Yes, it was theoretically possible—but only in theory.
Whether any human could actually do such a transcendent thing was another matter entirely.
Yet what was unfolding before Leon’s eyes was undeniably real.
He was overwhelmed with a mix of awe and confusion.
“Which direction next?”
“Eh? Ah! That way!”
Leon snapped out of it at Ray’s question and answered.
With all elevators in Tennenbaum shut down, the two had to reach the top floor by moving through rooms and stairways.
*Click!*
Opening a door revealed a large storage space with various items.
It was one of nearly twenty second-tier auction halls located in Tennenbaum’s midsection.
This was the prep room where all items headed for those auctions were stored.
“If we go out the door on the opposite side, we can take a shortcut.”
“How long to the control room on the top floor?”
“At this rate… just a few minutes.”
“Got it.”
Then, Ray suddenly stopped.
“What’s wrong?”
“……”
His gaze was fixed on a large, cloth-covered structure.
*Rustle…*
When he pulled the cloth away with his arm, he saw children curled up in each other’s arms, asleep inside a cage.
Their filthy appearance made it clear they had been captured from outside the wall.
Ray silently looked over their softly breathing faces, then abruptly asked,
“What do you think about people from outside the wall?”
“Excuse me?”
“Don’t you think they’re inferior? Dirty, primitive, subhuman. So it makes perfect sense they’re brought here as test subjects or auctioned off.”
The sudden question carried an unclear intent.
Leon was taken aback but answered with his honest belief.
“…I don’t think that at all. People are people. We’re all the same.”
“You mean I’m the same kind of person as these filthy kids?”
An overwhelming killing intent surged forth.
Leon couldn’t breathe under the crushing weight bearing down on him.
*Did I… say something wrong?*
No, he hadn’t.
Even as an immense fear bore down on him, Leon refused to compromise on his values.
“No… These children… if they’d been born in better circumstances… they wouldn’t be dirty like this. They’d look different.”
The intense moment made him spill more thoughts.
He spoke of his goal to abolish slavery—not just in Tennenbaum by reforming it as its overseer, but throughout the entire city.
Ray stared intently at Leon’s chest and replied flatly,
“I see.”
At that moment, the killing intent vanished.
Leon finally gasped for breath.
“Haah… haah….”
“Let’s go. We don’t have much time.”
As Ray walked off ahead, Leon still couldn’t understand what had just happened.
What exactly had that moment been?
Their advance from that point accelerated.
“Stop him! Stop him now!”
“Team 3! Team 3, requesting backup!”
Realizing their bullets were useless, the enemies switched to magic.
But before they could even cast a spell, the elemental bonds were torn apart, preventing any phenomenon from forming.
*BOOM! CLANK!*
Sometimes a thick iron door dropped down—likely triggered from the control room.
*CRAAAASH───!!*
Ray simply blasted through it.
“Send the bill later.”
At that moment, he thought of Philip.
Ray nodded to himself and added,
“I’ll make sure to pay for everything.”
Leon, who had been stunned by the melted iron door and the scorching heat in the air, came to his senses and replied,
“N-no. There’s no need for compensation in a situation like this.”
For some reason, he felt like he’d melt like that door if he dared ask for it.
They rushed up to the top floor, wound their way through a maze of corridors, and reached the control room.
Through the door, multiple glowing circles could be seen.
“Step aside.”
*BANG!*
The door shattered, and immediately, gunfire erupted from behind the smoke.
“Shoot! Shoot!”
“Don’t let him get close! Turn him into a beehive!”
Ray dashed through what appeared to be a fairly large room, evading the hail of bullets.
Given how accurately they were tracking him, the enemies were likely using special gear that let them see through the smoke.
It didn’t matter.
He could pinpoint their locations too.
*Three in front, four to the left, two diagonally to the right.*
Using the glowing circles beyond the smoke as a guide, Ray retrieved the wind swirling around his body and gathered it in his hand.
*Tap.*
He paused briefly.
Then shaped it into a massive sword and swung it wide.
*CRACKLEEEEEEEE───!!*
A slicing sound tore through the air as a violent gale swept through, clearing all the smoke in an instant.
The now-clear room revealed the enemies, all split and collapsed.
Beyond them, separated by a transparent wall, was a room filled with complex panels.
—Who are you?
A man behind the wall spoke.
His voice was muffled.
One hand clutched a detonator, ready to press it at any moment.
The other held a knife to the throat of an elderly man in neat attire.
“Administrator!”
Leon, who had just entered, shouted.
The man growled immediately.
—Both of you, freeze right there. One step and I press this switch and slit this old man’s throat. White-hair, answer my question first. Who the hell are you? What kind of monster takes down the Resistance’s elite operatives alone? And not just a few—nearly a hundred!
Ray paused, thinking.
He doubted the man was just asking for his name.
“Administrator of the Imaginus school.”
—Imaginus? Never heard of it.
“I wouldn’t expect you to. It’s newly established.”
*Grit!*
The man ground his teeth.
—Doesn’t matter…! You’ve ruined everything. Years of our planning down the drain. Because of you, we lost our chance to break down that goddamned wall…!
“That’s unfortunate.”
—You smug bastard…! Of course you wouldn’t understand, living inside the wall. You don’t know what we’ve endured, dragged in from outside, treated like trash.
“I do.”
—What?
“Not completely. But somewhat. I’m from outside the wall too.”
—What the hell are you talking about…?
“I’ve faced discrimination myself, though of a different kind.”
Ray shared a few stories that made it clear he was indeed from beyond the wall.
The man’s expression turned to shock as he shouted,
—That makes it even worse! Why are you standing in our way?! You’ve felt it too, haven’t you? How disgustingly arrogant the people in here are? It’s not too late. Join us. With your power, even the commander would gladly welcome you.
Leon, watching from behind, was deeply unsettled.
*He’s from outside the wall? I never imagined…*
If Ray changed his mind now, the consequences could be disastrous.
As everyone held their breath in tension, Ray finally spoke.
“If you detonate that bomb and bring Tennenbaum down…”
—What?
“The kids captured from outside the wall will be crushed along with it.”
—That’s a necessary sacrifice. The few for the many.
“So that’s your answer.”
The man had no idea.
Those words had just solidified Ray’s choice.
Ray, watching the emotion held in the man’s vessel, stepped forward toward the wall.
—S-stop! I’ll press the switch! Take one more step and I swear I’ll do it!
“Go ahead. If you have the guts.”
The man was gripped by fear of death.
He wouldn’t press the switch unless it was truly the last second.
When Ray stopped in front of the wall, the man smirked in relief.
—Y-you won’t find any weakness. That wall is made from processed mithril, nothing can break through it, not even the most powerful ma—
He was cut off in disbelief.
The part of the wall Ray touched was turning into black, ash-like particles and scattering in every direction.
“Wha—! Guhk!”
“Now I can hear you better.”
Before he could react, Ray’s hand grabbed the man’s throat and lifted him into the air.
The detonator fell to the ground, and the administrator was released safely.
“Grrrk…! Hrk…!”
“There’s no grand reason I stopped you. I just have people in this building I need to protect. That’s all.”
“Gkkk…!”
The man’s face turned red as he beat against Ray’s arm with all his strength.
But Ray’s pale, delicate-looking hand didn’t even flinch.
“And I’m guessing there’s someone backing the Resistance. For you to take over Tenenbaum, the city’s largest auction house, in one swift move—it’s not something a run-of-the-mill group could do. And the equipment you’re using doesn’t seem cheap either.”
“Gggh…! There’s no such—!”
“That scientist who distributed the firearms on the black market?”
“There’s no one behind—! Ggguh…!”
“So I’m right.”
Ray confirmed his suspicions through the emotions welling up in the man’s vessel.
Firearms that use mana as ammunition.
Those were not things that could be created with human technology.
‘There’s a very high chance this so-called scientist is a dwarf.’
And perhaps, it could even be Rael—the guardian who protected the yellow gem.
Since the red guardian, the Doctor, had survived, there was no rule saying the others hadn’t as well.
After a few more questions, Ray finally released the man’s throat.
The Tenenbaum side would want to extract more information from him, so there was no need to kill him.
At that moment, Leon, who had moved the administrator to a safe spot and tended to him, stood up and approached.
Then, bowing his head, he said,
“Thank you.”
For not changing your mind.
“Once things are settled, Tenenbaum will arrange a formal compensation discussion. We hope you’ll return then. If visiting is inconvenient, we’ll come to you. It’s late, but here is my card.”
Ray silently accepted the offered business card, gazed at it for a moment, then tucked it into his pocket.
In the meantime, Leon had announced through the broadcast system that the terrorist attack had been suppressed and the situation was under control.
“……”
Ray looked around the ravaged interior for a moment, then walked toward the shattered glass wall damaged by gunfire.
Crunch, crackle.
As he stepped over the shards of glass, he arrived at the edge.
Far below, he could see the endless crowds bustling about.
There were people clearing debris with magic, others rescuing the wounded, bystanders watching, and journalists snapping photos.
────!
Just then, someone spotted Ray and pointed upward with a shout.
Everyone turned their gaze toward the top floor of Tenenbaum where Ray stood.
────?
──────!
As the cries continued, a wave of emotion began to spread within their vessels.
A vivid, deep violet emotion.
It was awe.
After all, there wasn’t a single person who hadn’t witnessed the white-haired boy stopping a falling private room with thousands of strands of vines.
“……”
Thus, the boy from the lowest sector stood at the highest summit.
And from that faraway height, he watched.
The flickering lights of countless emotions below.
