Chapter 22
—
The group that had warned they would kill each other, and the lone individual, glared at one another.
“…”
If even one person moved, the silence would shatter.
In that knife-edge tension, something pricked at Arthur’s senses.
“…?”
Turning his head, Arthur looked toward Hazes.
Hazes’s head was glowing as he mumbled an incantation under his breath.
Watching that strange light, Arthur murmured to himself.
‘That spell… I’ve heard it somewhere before.’
After a moment’s thought, he recalled an old memory and let out a soft exclamation.
‘Ah… that’s the spell the Imperial Army mages used. It’s the same as the one cast by the mage who stood beside Khan Madrid.’
But how could a back-alley mage like Hazes be using that spell?
‘Is it just because it’s the same type of magic?’
Arthur shook his head.
He didn’t know much about magic, but he at least understood the fundamentals.
From his limited knowledge, no two mages used the exact same incantation.
Even for something as simple as casting a Fireball, the wording differed from mage to mage—
—because each had their own unique spell system. Which is why this was strange…
Frankly speaking, the Hazes before him wasn’t that great of a mage.
Not that he had no skill at all, but compared to an Imperial Army mage—a “true” mage—he was lacking.
That made Arthur curl the corner of his mouth.
‘I came here thinking it would be a light job… but it looks like I’ve gotten tangled up in something big.’
Ending that thought, Arthur lowered his sword—
—then, without warning, lunged forward.
“…!”
The sudden leap made the Ares Family members surrounding him widen their eyes.
They belatedly tried to raise their weapons in defense, but it was already too late.
“Huh?”
One of the Ares Family guards, holding a pistol, let out a surprised sound.
At that same moment, the wrist holding the gun was severed.
Arthur snatched up the gun that fell with it and gave a small nod.
“Borrowing this for a bit.”
With that, he pulled the trigger in rapid succession.
Bang bang bang—!
Gunshots rang out, and several Ares Family members were hit and collapsed.
Amid curses and screams, Arthur emptied the magazine and muttered:
‘Nice thing about a crowd—no need to aim carefully.’
He moved again, this time targeting another pistol-wielding guard.
Even with his body enhanced by his bloodline ability, firearms were still a troublesome weapon—
—and troublesome for his enemies too.
With that judgment, he stole another gun and fired.
It took less than five minutes to reduce the Ares Family’s numbers from about forty to thirty.
The sudden slaughter made the gang shout in rage.
“Kill him!”
“What are you idiots staring at?!”
“You going to let one rat get us all killed?!”
Blue light began to rise from the bodies of some of them—
—mana-fueled physical enhancement.
To Arthur’s surprise, some Ares Family members had even formed a mana circle.
‘Oh… so they’re not just a run-of-the-mill gang?’
As he turned in mild amazement, the enhanced men charged headlong at him.
‘Undine.’
\[Yes!]
At his call, Undine activated her power.
The rushing men suddenly lost their footing.
“Wha—?”
A puddle appeared underfoot. Normally, it wouldn’t have tripped them—
—but with all their focus on Arthur, they made the fatal mistake.
Which ended with their heads being lopped off.
A wet slicing sound, and blood sprayed high.
The sight stirred unrest among the Ares Family.
“Damn… they call him a rookie, but is every one of Willet’s mercenaries a monster?”
With that mutter, they stopped charging and began circling to form a tighter perimeter.
Arthur glanced around.
‘What’s Hazes doing?’
When his gaze found the mage, his eyes narrowed.
Static crackled around Hazes’s body.
Mana surged violently.
Sensing the danger, Arthur instinctively rolled aside—
Boom!
A lightning bolt crashed down where he had just been, charring the ground black.
The sight drew a small gasp from Arthur, and even the Ares Family members stared.
“Our mage’s even scarier.”
“Only a real mage calls down lightning from a clear sky.”
Their eyes brightened, and their earlier hesitation faded.
The mysterious mercenary from Willet was formidable, but with a mage like Hazes backing them, confidence returned.
Arthur muttered as he got to his feet.
“Mmm… this isn’t good. I’d just broken their morale.”
Even with his bloodline boosting his physical abilities, prolonged fighting was still taxing.
‘Before anything else happens, I need to take Hazes’s head.’
He sprang forward.
“Stop him!”
“Buy time for the mage to finish casting! Then we win! Block him with your bodies if you have to!”
Weapons swung toward Arthur.
He swung his sword in a wide arc at the first man charging in—
—sccchhk.
The man’s torso split cleanly in two.
The others froze at the sight of their bisected comrade.
“…Huh?”
Before they could react, Arthur’s blade moved again.
Unlike earlier, when he’d only gone for necks, he now struck with no restraint, hacking bodies apart.
Viscera spilled, blood fountained, cartilage and bone gleamed through ragged flesh—
—and faces went pale. Even in the backstreets, scenes like this were rare.
Their recovered morale collapsed again—
Boom!
Another thunderclap, another lightning strike.
Arthur evaded in time, but several Ares members were not so lucky.
Their bodies burned black from head to toe as they collapsed screaming.
Those who had been throwing themselves in front of Arthur to protect Hazes shouted in panic:
“What the hell are you doing, mage?!”
“Shut up and close the circle! Sacrifice a few and we’ll get him!”
The order made their expressions harden—
—while Arthur let out an impressed murmur.
‘Hazes sure plays rough.’
At that moment, a sharp tingle ran through his senses.
He twisted his body on instinct, but too late—
Krrrak-BOOM!
Lightning surged up from the ground toward him.
Just as it was about to strike, a sudden figure appeared—
—a gnome, raising an earthen wall.
Boom!
Smoke billowed. Arthur blinked at the gnome shielding him.
“Oh… didn’t know you had that trick, Mr. Gnome.”
\[…]
“You should’ve told me earlier. Would’ve made the fight easier.”
The gnome gaped wordlessly.
\[…]
Arthur smiled wryly.
“Still, thanks. Even with Frakil’s power, taking that head-on would’ve been bad.”
The gnome shook his head and slipped back into hiding.
Arthur turned his gaze back to Hazes.
“S… shit…”
The mage’s face had gone pale; that last attack must have been his trump card.
The mana storm had vanished.
Worse, the Ares Family had all fled after his reckless blast.
Sensing the battle was over, Arthur asked:
“Is that it, Hazes?”
The bald mage’s eyes widened, then he turned to flee—
—but Arthur was not one to indulge such feeble escape attempts.
He grabbed a discarded weapon and hurled it.
“Gyaaaah!”
The thrown axe struck Hazes in the spine, sending him sprawling and writhing.
Arthur stepped over and pressed a hand to his back.
“I’m going to ask some questions now. You’ll answer, right?”
“O-of course! Anything! Anything!!”
Satisfied, Arthur nodded.
“First question—how did you know I’d be here?”
“H-heard it from a spy planted in the Lester Family! We hired a broker named Willet, and I heard you’d be coming here!”
“And how did you identify me?”
“Who the hell else dresses like some outsider in these streets?! You stand out, idiot!”
Arthur gave a small sound of agreement.
‘Now that I think about it… I should be more careful about that.’
He continued questioning, and Hazes—though cursing—answered:
“The kidnapped kids? We’ve got ’em locked in a warehouse down this alley!”
“Why kidnap them?”
“Why d’you think? To sell their damn organs! Kids’ organs are valuable—every boss in the underworld, politics, medicine—they all want fresh ones!”
Arthur stroked his chin. It sounded plausible, but something felt hidden.
He decided to probe further.
“This is a bit different, but… are you connected to the Imperial Army?”
The question made Hazes freeze—then glare, blood dripping from his mouth.
“…What? How do you know that?”
“Because your spell is the same as one used by an Imperial Army mage I know. But your skill doesn’t match theirs.”
“…”
“So what’s your connection? I’m very curious.”
Hazes gave a dry laugh.
“So I tried to ambush someone who can recognize an Imperial mage’s spell…?”
That confirmed Arthur’s suspicion. He was about to ask more when Hazes coughed blood—
—and, to Arthur’s surprise, spat out his severed tongue.
“Shit… guess this is how I go…”
He trailed off and died.
Arthur scratched his head.
“Just went and died on me. Could’ve kept you alive… had more questions…”
He closed the mage’s eyes and cleanly severed his head.
Stretching, he muttered:
“Ah well. I can ask Willet the rest. Time to head back.”
—
—
Willet stood with arms crossed.
“Here’s the mage’s head you wanted.”
Arthur untied the sack. Inside was the bald head with a rose tattoo.
“You could’ve captured him alive.”
“He wasn’t that easy.”
“And yet you finished the job in a day?”
Arthur only shrugged.
Willet rewrapped the sack.
“Either way, you win the bet. Congratulations.”
“So… I’m one of your mercenaries now?”
“Not mine. We’re just in a contract arrangement.”
He handed Arthur a document detailing what jobs he could and could not take while working with the office.
“Need me to explain it?”
“No. I’ll sign.”
“…What if there’s a nasty clause?”
“If you were that kind of person, I wouldn’t have come to you.”
Willet’s eye twitched.
‘Does he actually know me… or is he fishing?’
Even after passing the test, Willet didn’t trust the man—or boy—in front of him.
He still had no idea of his identity, despite his unusual mix of spirit affinity, bloodline powers, and swordsmanship.
‘A case this unique should be in the records somewhere—but there’s nothing. It’s like he fell out of the sky.’
The job had been given expecting him to fail. Hazes might have been a back-alley mage, but he led a gang—he wasn’t meant to go down easily.
While Willet pondered, Arthur spoke up.
“Willet, sir?”
“Go ahead.”
“Can I ask about the test?”
Willet tilted his head.
“What’s to ask? It’s over.”
“Yeah, but… Hazes was using Imperial Army spells.”
Willet’s eyes widened.
“…You mean an Imperial mage’s spells?”
“Yes. But weaker than the real thing. I’ve never seen that before. Could you explain?”
At the polite question, Willet fell silent, eyeing him with double the suspicion from before.
Still, it was a fair request from a contracted mercenary.
“I can tell you—but you won’t like it. Still want to hear?”
“Yes.”
“…He was a test subject.”
“A… test subject?”
“For mages. More specifically, for the Mage Tower founded by Imperial Army mages.”
Arthur’s eyes narrowed.
“Then… that would mean—”
“Magical engraving.”
Willet’s voice dropped.
“Experiments that etch spells into living beings, at the cost of their lives. Hazes was one of those subjects.”
