Chapter 7 – The Broken World (Two)

The boy glared at the Golem.

I am different from you.

I am a human who feels emotions.

Whoosh!

The flame blooming in his palm was as red and hot as the blood flowing beneath the boy’s skin.

Whoosh! Swoosh!

The flame danced a violent dance, matching the killing intent harbored by its master.

The vortex of flame, completed in an instant, tore through the darkness under the bridge and charged fiercely towards its target.

KWA-GWA-GWA-GWA────!

A moment lasting only a few seconds.

The Golem, reacting to the flame, fired a beam of light once more.

The vortex and the beam collided in mid-air, pushing against each other tautly as if in a contest of strength.

But that too was brief.

The vortex, attuned to the boy’s emotions, accelerated its rotation, grew in size, and swallowed the beam.

Then, with explosive force, it continued its charge and engulfed the Golem.

Guuuuuung──

The Golem thrashed.

It flailed its arms about as if this inanimate object that didn’t breathe could feel pain.

Its melting torso turned into liquid.

It vaporized, consumed by the flames before it could even flow down.

The Golem’s cries gradually subsided.

Guuuuuung──

Finally, when the flames disappeared.

Nothing remained in that spot.

Only the scorched black floor and the heat lingering in the air bore witness to what had just transpired.

The darkness that had retreated returned.

The sound of heavy rain once again filled the boy’s world.

The boy was confused.

He couldn’t even properly comprehend what he had just done.

What was certain was the fact that Niles, lying on his lap, was dying.

“Niles. Snap out of it. Snap out of it.”

There was no response.

In his panic, Ray slapped Niles’s cheek.

Smack!

“…Y-you bastard. I’m already dying as it is. Gahk!”

Niles, who had just coughed up a mouthful of blood, strained to lift his head.

The moment he saw the large hole pierced through his own chest and the boy’s knee clearly visible on the other side, a hollow laugh escaped him.

It’s over.

This isn’t ‘seems like I’ll die’, this is definitely dying.

“Niles. You can’t die. You mustn’t die.”

The crack in his heart stopped widening.

As the fissure sealed, the emotions that had burst forth were being sutured shut again.

Perhaps it was an instinctive judgment made by the boy’s brain and body.

The thought that being vulnerable to emotion was disadvantageous for survival was deeply ingrained in the boy’s mind.

The sadness and fear gradually healing over.

Within that, the boy shook Niles’s body.

“Don’t die. Please.”

“Stop… shaking me, you… brat. Feels like… you’re doing this… on purpose.”

A ragged breath escaped Niles’s mouth.

He wasn’t afraid of death.

It was a concept all too familiar to those born at the very bottom.

He had thought he would die in some non-ordinary way someday.

He just hadn’t expected it to be today.

“Gahk!”

The bleeding wouldn’t stop.

His fading consciousness signaled that life was reaching its final moments.

Did he regret his life?

Not particularly.

In the bottom-feeder life that ensnared him like a spider’s web, he had always struggled and flailed to survive.

Still, for someone born in the lowest place, he had experienced quite a lot and achieved many things.

It might seem trivial in the eyes of those in high places, but he himself was satisfied.

But sometimes, he did have this thought.

If he had started struggling a little earlier.

If he had started thrashing about at around this boy’s age.

Wouldn’t his life have taken a slightly different shape then?

“Hey.”

“Don’t talk. I’ll get medicine or something from the car─.”

Thump!

Niles grabbed the arm of the boy who was trying to get up.

It was an immense strength unbelievable for someone about to die.

Niles trembled as he spat out the words.

“You… really leave this place… go to a better place….”

Go up the river.

Don’t get swept away by the current.

The sentence couldn’t be finished.

Niles lowered his head and didn’t open his mouth again.

In his other hand, pulled halfway from his pocket, were car keys and a note.

────!

Within the emotions that were closing off, the boy screamed.

Rage and sorrow.

They were the first emotions the boy had learned in this world.

──────!

But the scream was swallowed by the sound of the rain and the roaring river, unheard by anyone.

His tears mixed with the rainwater, flowed along the ground, and became part of the river.

Thus, the boy’s emotions were erased and blurred by the world once more.

Shoooooo──

It was a night in the slums where the Black Rain fell.

Waking up to sunlight stabbing his eyelids, Ray awoke from sleep.

“…….”

He was under the bridge.

Discovering the aching all over his body and the collapsed tent, he realized last night’s events were not a dream.

Turning his head, he saw Niles lying on the ground.

It was harder than he imagined.

Moving a dead adult under the bridge alone.

After that, he had tried to deal with Pale and the younger kids dead inside the tent but had fallen asleep from exhaustion.

Strictly speaking, it was dangerous.

He could have been discovered by Hector’s operatives on patrol.

It was a careless action he would never have taken normally, but last night his stamina and mental strength had been at their limit.

Fortunately, judging by the bright sunlight outside, it seemed the rain had stopped not long ago.

The surroundings were quiet, suggesting the enemy hadn’t been active during the rain.

“…….”

His mind had returned to its usual numb state.

It felt like he had dreamed a wild dream.

That he had felt such intense emotions.

Still, something was a little different.

It wasn’t exactly the same as before.

The emotions that had stormed through him last night had left traces all over his chest and then vanished.

Fear, hesitation, excitement, confusion, etc.

It was like craters left by meteor impacts.

…And rage and sorrow.

The craters of those two emotions were larger than all the other emotional craters combined.

Focusing on the traces, he could faintly feel each emotion.

Especially rage and sorrow were felt very vividly.

They were proof that he was human.

“…….”

Drawing up rage, he created a flame.

Whoosh.

Not as large as when he defeated the Golem yesterday, but it was a much larger flame than usual.

The hypothesis that the power of Magic changed depending on emotion seemed correct.

Perhaps because he held onto the emotion for too long, his head began to ache.

As he disengaged, the emotions from moments ago disappeared as if they were a lie.

“…….”

It felt like turning emotions on and off.

Ray turned his gaze to look at the dead Niles and the children.

‘No time to deal with the bodies right now.’

The Black Rain had stopped, and enemies had likely entered 17th Street with high probability.

Ray immediately began to move.

Clink─ Clink─

He washed the blood-stained raincoat in the river and put it on. He climbed the riverbank and headed towards 17th Street.

He intended to find and kill the Wizard controlling Hector and the Golem.

What was received had to be repaid.

Whether it was a favor or revenge.

Even if he couldn’t kill them, he had to inflict comparable damage to uphold the ironclad rule.

Tap─ Tap─

He moved his steps quickly.

Passing the outskirts of the street, his eyes met charred black buildings and corpses littering the ground.

“Damn. What the hell is all this?”

“Help over here. I can’t find Henry.”

Surviving residents were dealing with the scene.

A few members of Hector’s Gang were seen moving among them, seemingly supervising.

“Hey, what’s this kid doing─!”

Ray’s action was faster than the operative’s shout.

In an instant, Ray dove into the operative’s embrace, generated a blue electric current, stretched out his arm, and grabbed the opponent’s neck.

Fzzzt─!

“Ugh-grk!”

Thud!

The other operatives nearby turned to look at Ray.

“The fuck. What is this?”

“Isn’t that the brat? The one who said the kid who raided the warehouse used a stun gun.”

“Grab him first. The boss said to catch all the kids.”

The operatives, having exchanged signals, pulled out knives and simultaneously rushed at Ray.

A coordinated movement, cautious of a possible stun gun hidden inside the raincoat.

Fzzap! Fzzzt!

Thud! Thud!

But it took less than ten seconds for all of them to fall at Ray’s feet.

The emotion Ray was currently focusing on and feeling was rage.

Red Mana, corresponding to rage, flowed through Ray’s blood vessels, flashing like lava.

It was a body Enhancement Magic used instinctively.

Ray imagined making his body ‘strong’, and the red Mana, attuned to his will, transformed into Magic.

Thump.

His muscles rippled incessantly, and his body felt as light as a feather.

Passing through 17th Street, yesterday’s rage was being revived intact.

Right now, revenge against Hector and the Wizard might actually be possible.

“What the hell…!”

“Is, isn’t that Ray? That kid?”

Leaving the startled residents behind, Ray quickly moved his steps again.

“Enemy here…!”

Fzzap!

Thud!

Knocking down every enemy he encountered, he arrived in an alley near the central square in an instant.

─How should we handle this?

─Do as planned. Don’t panic. Wasn’t it a fight we were going to win anyway anyway?

From the square, far more voices could be heard than from other places.

He poked his head out of the alley to assess the situation.

“…….”

The moment he saw Hector giving orders to his subordinates, he felt the back of his head stiffen.

The color of the red Mana flowing through his blood vessels deepened further. Its flow also quickened.

Crack.

All the nerves in his body were directed at Hector.

He gripped the knife handle.

The red Mana, densely gathered beneath his feet, was ready to explode.

“Kid. Let’s have a little talk.”

A voice from behind him in that instant.

Bang!

As Ray turned his body and stamped his foot, a sound like an explosion rang out.

Ray shot out like a bullet, kicked off the ground, and rose.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he swung the knife towards the opponent’s neck.

Swaaang──!

“……!”

Humphrey urgently twisted his body.

A stinging pain and droplets of blood flew from his shallowly cut neck.

“Damn…!”

If his reaction had been just a little slower, he would have collapsed, blood gushing from his neck.

Slap!

He covered his neck with his palm and took a large step back to create distance.

Without a moment to catch his breath, Ray immediately closed the gap and followed.

“Calm down for a sec…!”

Swang─! Swaaang─!

Humphrey twisted his body, evading the flying knife.

Due to the ferocious and rapid attacks, cuts began to appear all over his body in an instant.

“What the…!”

The moment his eyes met Ray’s, Humphrey felt goosebumps rise all over his body.

It was the gaze of a beast.

Filled with nothing but the intent to plunge a blade into the opponent’s heart.

Swang─! Swaaang─!

Moreover, the attacks weren’t wild swings.

Every attack consisted of thoroughly organic movements aimed solely at fatal vital points.

It was bewildering.

‘What the hell is this? These absurd movements…!’

When he saw him last time, he definitely wasn’t at this level.

For a street orphan, he fought well, but it was a level that could be easily subdued if one put their mind to it.

But now it was different.

If he didn’t go all out, he would die.

As someone who had experienced countless fights, he could tell.

Humphrey gritted his teeth.

He allowed the shallow attacks to continue while analyzing the situation.

His combat sense is good.

But he shows signs of lacking experience.

Then.

Slick!

“Guhk!”

Humphrey deliberately allowed an attack on his left shoulder.

Not missing the intentionally created opening, he grabbed Ray’s arm.

Thump!

And then slammed him straight into the ground.

It was done with one hand, an incredible display of brute strength.

Kooong─!

Ray, having hit the ground, bounced his body up towards the inner part of the alley.

He immediately corrected his posture and pointed the knife at Humphrey with a guarded stance.

“You… what are you.”

Humphrey looked back and forth between Ray and his own hand with a bewildered expression.

The sensation of grabbing the arm felt strange.

It felt like slamming down a rock, not a person.

Also, that kid was standing there fine even after being thrown with a technique.

In a normal case, he would have been face down on the ground, unable to even breathe properly.

What Humphrey felt was accurate.

Thanks to the shock absorption granted by the Enhancement Magic, the actual impact Ray received was minimal.

Humphrey caught his breath.

Fortunately, it seemed the other operatives outside hadn’t heard the commotion.

“How about calming down first. The Ghost of 17th Street, Ray.”

“…….”

A strange light flickered in Ray’s pupils.

How does he know my name?

Humphrey kept his eyes on Ray’s movements, not letting go of his tension, and continued speaking.

“You’re famous. More than you think. There are quite a few people keeping an eye on you.”

Wondering what he was going to say, it turned out to be nonsense.

Ray put strength into his legs to continue the attack.

But the next moment.

“You’re not thinking of choosing a dog’s death over something like revenge, are you? I have a proposal for you.”

The body that was about to leap out couldn’t help but hesitate.