Chapter 285 – Hat Under the Tree (Five)

Ray, who had re-entered the corridor inside Tenenbaum, ran without pause.

“Over there! Fire!”

“What’s with this brat!”

Enemies who appeared from around the corner of the corridor aimed their guns.

Boom!

“Argh! My, my hand!”

“Ugh, my hand, my hand…!”

But the moment they fired, the gun barrels exploded, blowing their hands off, and without even a moment to breathe, lightning that flew in constricted their bodies, burning them from the inside out.

Thud! Thud!

Ray dashed past the bodies that toppled over sideways in an instant.

Leon, running after him with all his might, couldn’t help but marvel inwardly.

‘This is an absurd level of magic manipulation. At that young age, how on earth…’

Ordinary magic typically has a delay from when the elements fully combine until the phenomenon manifests.

That tendency was more pronounced the more powerful the natural magic was.

Fizzle!

“Ugh!”

But the boy’s lightning was almost instantaneous.

And its power was excessively strong to simply dismiss as low-grade magic.

Above all, the incomprehensible point was that whenever the boy’s gaze landed, the enemies’ gun barrels exploded.

‘Does he shake the elemental fusion the moment the Mana Bullet is fired, inducing a collision?’

It was utterly absurd.

Of course, it was theoretically possible, but that was just theory.

Whether a human capable of such a transcendent feat could exist in the world was an entirely separate matter.

But the spectacle unfolding before his eyes was also an undeniable reality.

Therefore, Leon couldn’t help but feel great confusion along with awe.

“Which way next?”

“Huh? Ah! That way!”

Snapped back to attention by the boy’s voice, Leon answered.

Currently, all elevators in Tenenbaum were shut down, so the two were passing through various rooms and staircases to reach the top floor.

Clank!

Opening one door revealed a large space storing numerous items.

Nearly twenty second-class auction halls located in Tenenbaum’s mid-levels.

It was a preparation room where all auction items bound for those places were stored.

“If we go out the door on the opposite side, we can use a shortcut.”

“How long will it take to reach the control room on the top floor?”

“At this pace… I don’t think it’ll take more than a few minutes.”

“Got it.”

It was then that Ray, who had been moving according to the guidance, suddenly stopped.

“Why have you stopped?”

“……”

Ray’s gaze was fixed on a certain large structure wrapped in cloth.

Swish.

Moving his arm to pull down the cloth, he could see children inside the cage, holding onto each other as they slept.

Their shabby appearance made it clear they were children captured from Beyond the Wall.

Ray looked over each face breathing softly, then suddenly asked.

“What do you think about people from Beyond the Wall?”

“Huh?”

“Don’t you think they’re filthy, inferior, and uncivilized? So it’s only fitting they get caught and sold off as test subjects, right?”

A sudden question of unknown intent.

Leon was extremely flustered but answered according to his convictions.

“…I don’t think so. People are all the same people.”

“Are you saying these filthy kids and I are the same people?”

An immense killing intent that erupted in an instant.

Leon couldn’t breathe properly due to the sensation constricting his entire body.

‘Did I say something wrong…?’

No, that wasn’t it.

Though an overwhelming fear washed over him, he could never compromise on his values.

“No… these children too… if they were born in a good environment… they would have a different, not filthy appearance… now.”

Emotions intensified by the extreme situation made other words pour out.

That his goal was to rise to the manager’s position and ensure Tenenbaum no longer dealt in slaves.

And furthermore, to abolish slavery within the city.

Ray, who had been staring intently near Leon’s heart, spoke in a flat tone.

“Is that so.”

The killing intent dissipated at that very moment.

Leon hastily gulped down the breath he had been holding.

“Huff… huff…”

“Let’s go. We don’t have much time.”

Watching Ray move ahead into the distance, Leon couldn’t understand.

Just what kind of situation had occurred a moment ago.

The advance thereafter proceeded rapidly.

“Block them! Block them!”

“Team 3! Team 3! Requesting assistance!”

Enemies who realized guns were ineffective attempted to attack with magic.

But before manifestation, the elemental fusion was completely torn apart, and no magic could manifest as a phenomenon.

Whoosh! Clank!

Sometimes, perhaps due to manipulation from the control room, thick iron doors or similar things would fall.

Kwaaaang───!!

But Ray just smashed right through them.

“Bill me for the cost later.”

Philip came to mind then.

Ray nodded and added.

“I’ll compensate for it properly, of course.”

Leon, who had been standing dazed before the melted iron door and the heat-tinged air, snapped back to reality and answered.

“Ah, no. Compensation in this situation is completely inappropriate.”

For some reason, he felt that if he demanded compensation, he might melt away like that iron door.

Urging their way, the two arrived at the top floor, wound through complex passages, and reached the front of the control room.

Multiple Rings visible beyond the door.

“Step aside.”

Boom!

The moment they broke down the door and charged in, gunfire poured from within the hazy smoke screen.

“Fire! Fire!”

“Absolutely do not allow approach! Turn his body into a sieve!”

Ray ran through the interior space, which seemed quite wide, dodging the rain of bullets.

Since the gunfire followed relatively accurately, it seemed the enemies were wearing special equipment that allowed them to see through the smoke screen.

It didn’t matter.

Because he could also pinpoint their positions.

‘Three ahead, four on the left, and two on the right diagonal.’

Ray, who had identified their positions through the Rings glowing brightly beyond the smoke screen, retrieved the wind wrapped around his body into his hand.

Tap.

A momentary pause in an instant.

He shaped it into the form of a giant sword and swung it horizontally with great force.

Zzzzzzzzz───!!

With a sound tearing through the air, a gale swept in, and all the smoke inside was swept away.

The field of view cleared in an instant.

The sight of enemies fallen, sliced in half, came into view.

Beyond them, past a transparent wall, was a space filled with complex panels.

─Who are you?

The man beyond the wall asked.

His voice sounded muffled.

One hand was gripping a detonation switch as if about to press it at any moment.

The other hand was holding a knife against the neck of an elderly man in neat attire while wrapped around it.

“School Master!”

Leon, who had followed in, shouted.

The man immediately growled.

─You’d both better stop right there. The moment you take a single step, I’ll press the switch and cut this old man’s throat. You, white hair, answer my question first. What’s your identity? What kind of guy are you to single-handedly take down our Resistance’s elite members? And not just one or two, but close to triple digits!

Ray pondered briefly.

He probably wasn’t asking for a name or such.

“School Master of the Imaginarius School.”

─Imaginarius? I’ve never heard of such a School.

“I think that’s possible. It hasn’t been established for long.”

Grind!

The man gritted his teeth.

─Whatever…! You’ve ruined everything. The plan we’ve painstakingly prepared over several years has gone to waste. Because of you, the chance to bring down that sturdy Wall has flown away…!

“That’s unfortunate.”

─Despicable bastard…! You, a resident Inside the Wall, wouldn’t know. How much humiliation and contempt we, dragged from Beyond the Wall, have endured and persevered through.

“I know.”

─What?

“Not completely, but to some extent. I also came from Beyond the Wall.”

─What do you mean….

“Though it’s a different kind, I’ve also experienced a lot of discrimination.”

A few stories followed that could prove his origin from Beyond the Wall.

Greatly bewildered, the man shouted in an agitated voice, as if arguing.

─Then I understand you even less. Why are you interfering with us? You must have felt it too, right? How disgustingly elitist these bastards here are. It’s not too late even now. Help us. With that level of power, even the Unit Leader would greatly welcome you.

Leon, watching the situation from behind, fell into great anxiety.

The boy was from Beyond the Wall.

It was a fact he had never imagined.

If he changed his mind here, the situation would uncontrollably spiral into the worst possible outcome.

Just as everyone present held their breath in tension, Ray opened his mouth.

“If you detonate the bomb and collapse Tenenbaum.”

─What?

“The children captured from Beyond the Wall will inevitably be crushed to death.”

─That’s an unavoidable matter. The sacrifice of the few for the many.

“So that’s your answer.”

The man wouldn’t know.

That with those words, the boy had completely made his choice.

Ray, watching the emotions in the man’s Vessel, strode step by step toward the wall.

─S-stop right there! If you come any closer, I’ll press the detonation switch!

“Go ahead, if you have the courage.”

Extreme fear of death.

The man wouldn’t press the switch unless it was truly the last moment.

As Ray stopped before the wall, the man raised the corner of his mouth with relief.

─Th-that’s right. No matter how you look, it’s useless. This wall is a special item made by processing Mithril, and no magic, no matter how powerful….

The man, regaining confidence as he spoke, couldn’t hide his astonishment.

The transparent wall touched by the boy’s palm was turning into black particles like ash, scattering in all directions.

“Wha…! Cough!”

“Now I can hear you clearly.”

Ray’s hand, moving without giving him a chance to react, grabbed the man’s neck and lifted him up.

The detonation switch fell to the floor, and the School Master was also freed.

“Ugh…! Gah…!”

“The reason I interfered with you guys isn’t much. It’s just because there are beings in this building I must protect. That’s all.”

“Guh…!”

The man, his face turning red, beat Ray’s hand with all his might.

But the hand that looked white and delicate didn’t budge an inch.

“And I think there’s a backer for the Resistance. To seize Tenenbaum, the city’s largest auction hall, like this in one go isn’t ordinary organizational power. The equipment you’re using doesn’t seem like cheap stuff either.”

“Guh…! There’s no such…!”

“That scientist who distributed those guns on the Black Market?”

“There’s no backer…! Ugh…!”

“Seems I’m right.”

Ray confirmed his guess was correct through the emotions in the other’s Vessel.

Guns that used Mana as bullets.

That wasn’t something human technology could create.

‘The probability that the scientist is a Dwarf is very high.’

And perhaps it could be Rael, the Guardian who protected the yellow gem.

With Doctor, the Red Guardian, alive, there was no law saying other Guardians couldn’t have survived.

After finishing a few more questions, Ray released the man’s neck.

Since Tenenbaum’s side would also want to extract information, there was no need to kill him.

Just then, Leon, who had been tending to the School Master moved to where he had fallen, straightened his bent body and approached.

And bowing his head, he said.

“Thank you.”

For not changing your mind.

“Once the situation is sorted out, Tenenbaum plans to formally discuss compensation, so I sincerely hope you will visit again. No, if visiting is inconvenient, we will come to you. It’s late, but here is my business card.”

Ray stared intently at the received business card before putting it in his pocket.

Meanwhile, Leon announced throughout Tenenbaum via broadcast that the terror incident had been suppressed.

“……”

Ray, who had been briefly surveying the devastated interior, approached the floor-to-ceiling window shattered by gunfire.

Crunch, crackle.

Arriving at the spot, stepping on glass shards.

He could see countless people busily moving about far below.

Some were clearing building debris with magic, others rescuing and bringing out the injured, and there were onlookers and journalists taking pictures.

────!

Just then, someone who spotted Ray shouted and pointed a finger.

Everyone looked up and saw Ray on Tenenbaum’s top floor.

────?

──────!

With continued shouts, a certain emotion began to spread in their Vessels.

A vivid purple emotion.

It was awe.

There wasn’t a single person who hadn’t seen the spectacle of the white-haired boy stopping the falling star chamber with thousands of vines.

“……”

And so, the boy from the lowest Sector watched from the high top.

Beyond his field of view, down below.

Countless flickering lanterns of emotion.