Chapter 85 – Black Rain and Seeds (One)

Philip listened intently as Ray recounted everything that had happened in the canyon without omission.

“My goodness… I really should have seen that sight myself.”

He expressed great regret at not having seen the blue Rockdeer, Blue, with his own eyes.

“So John and Skyle are dead. They attacked each other. Ray, it turned out just as you said.”

He nodded as if he had expected Ray’s prediction to be correct.

“…Curiosa? An Executive of Mercread? Doctor? Wait, that’s too much information all at once….”

When it came to the stories about Mercread and the people involved, his face briefly contorted as if his brain was overloaded.

Then, with an expression of understanding, he said,

“So the main direction of our journey now will be to move around searching for Mercread’s Executives.”

“Right. But nothing will change. We were already heading upstream along the Elton River anyway.”

The direction pointed by the Binding Magic’s Arrow was also upstream along the Elton River.

By moving in the existing direction, they would naturally encounter Mercread’s Executives as well.

“So the gem embedded in Blue’s forehead is a Rainbow Shard?”

“I think the possibility exists. At the very least, it’s clearly a gem containing an enormous amount of Mana.”

The blue gem that Blue possessed.

The red gem that Mercread possessed.

Combined with the list of orders Walter had received and Curiosa’s story, the hypothesis that the Rainbow was a gem gained more credibility.

“Something smells, this. Aren’t we going to be the first investigators to discover the Rainbow?”

Ray shook his head at Philip’s excitement.

“We’re not at a stage where we can be certain yet. It’s just a possibility. We’ll continue our investigation centered on the gem theory, but we’ll keep other possibilities open too.”

“As expected, you’re wise. Our leader.”

Philip suppressed a laugh.

Then, lost in thought, his face turned slightly more serious as he said,

“But if we have to collect all the gems, getting one from Blue probably won’t be easy. You said it walks the sky and created an Oasis in the blink of an eye. Is that a creature that can be captured by human strength?”

Ray recalled the moment he faced Blue in the clearing.

The profound longing that welled up in his chest.

He hadn’t felt any desire to capture Blue at all.

‘…Even if I had tried, I probably wouldn’t have succeeded.’

Blue was an unknown lifeform not known to the world, but there was one clear fact.

It was that it was a transcendent existence far beyond human strength.

Even Curiosa, with her 4 Rings, gave up on capture and only watched as Blue departed.

If she had attacked Blue, she would most likely have lost her life.

To borrow Curiosa’s expression, she would have become an ice sculpture in the wilderness, subjected to indiscriminate licking by passing animals.

‘…Considering the goal of the Rainbow, it’s right not to miss any opportunity that comes.’

After pondering, Ray reached a conclusion.

‘Let’s not rush.’

He repeated to himself.

Confirming Blue’s existence and obtaining information about Mercread through Curiosa was already a significant enough gain.

Ray opened his mouth, which had been closed.

“For now, we can set aside thoughts about Blue. It won’t be too late to find a method after completing the hypothesis that the Rainbow is a gem. For now, we’ll depart from here once our information gathering is finished.”

At Ray’s words, Philip and Veronica nodded.

Regardless, the party was a community of fate sharing the same boat, and the captain setting the boat’s course was Ray.

Of course, it was natural that such acceptance was underpinned by feelings of trust.

“And there’s something else to show you.”

Ray took out the photograph found in Walter’s basement and showed it to the two.

“It’s a photo presumed to be of Mercread’s Doctor and Executives.”

“Wow. It’s a really old photo. It’s black and white. It’s blurry, hard to see.”

“But there are names written above each child’s head. We can make these out. Walter, Curiosa, Allerger, and…”

Philip paused for a moment and muttered in a dazed voice.

“Obsess…”

Philip’s finger had stopped beside the girl in the middle of the children.

Ray asked.

“Why? Do you know the name?”

“No. It’s a name I’m seeing for the first time. It’s just…”

“Just?”

“It’s just… she seems familiar somehow.”

The photo was old and worn, making it nearly impossible to properly recognize the faces of the people in it.

Yet, Philip couldn’t take his eyes off the girl in the photo.

Then, after a long while, he handed the photo back to Ray.

The next dawn.

Ray, who had opened his eyes in bed, slowly got up and headed to the window.

Perhaps because he had caught a brief nap between the previous afternoon and evening, he had woken up earlier than usual.

Shoooooo───

“…….”

Or perhaps he had woken up because of the sound of the heavy rain pouring outside the window right now.

The streets were dark and silent.

Amid the dense curtain of rain filling his vision, not a single open shop or passerby was visible.

Well, that was only natural.

Because what was falling now was the Black Rain.

The boy, who had been silently gazing at the scenery, raised his palm and brought it close to the window.

Tap! Thud! Thud-thud-thud!

Raindrops, black as ink, struck the window as if wanting to come inside too.

“…….”

Anything touched by the Black Rain becomes diseased.

Whether it’s a person’s body or the land.

Before leaving the clearing inside the canyon, Veronica had transferred some of the soil on the ground into a ziplock bag and said,

「The timing of the Rockdeers’ mass migration being moved up… it might be because the food in their original habitat ran out.」

The soil lifted by Magic had a color between brown and black.

It was contaminated by the Black Rain.

It was known that no plant could grow on land whose color had changed to that of coal.

‘What is there upstream of the Elton River?’

The black rainclouds pouring down the Black Rain generally moved from upstream of the Elton River.

It was a fact he had only recently realized, having started looking up at the sky more often while being conscious of the Rainbow.

‘It seems like the rainclouds generated in the upper Sectors descend to the lower Sectors.’

Among those he had met so far, the person who had gone the farthest upstream along the Elton River was Michael.

「I’ve been to Sector 31 before. It was to escort the President.」

「Further than that? I didn’t feel the need to go higher. I was already living well in a place where I had settled.」

He said the Black Rain fell in Sector 31 as well, which meant the starting point where the rainclouds formed was a Sector with a number lower than that.

And the boy was speculating that starting point might be the City of Wizards.

‘The Golems emitted Black Smoke into the sky every time they moved.’

The Golems’ method of movement was simple.

They drew in large amounts of Atmospheric Mana into the core at their heart and used it as fuel to move.

Since they weren’t emotional humans, there was no risk of falling into Mana addiction.

A truly efficient method of movement.

But there was a side effect.

The Mana of various colors swirling in the heart could only end up mixing together and becoming a single type of black Mana.

That was the true nature of the Black Smoke the Golems emitted like steam with every step.

“…….”

The boy drew in the surrounding Mana and mixed the colors haphazardly.

The Mana orb on his palm gradually became murky until it turned completely black.

When he released the binding, it floated away into the air like a soap bubble.

But unlike ordinary Mana, it couldn’t blend into the atmosphere; after moving here and there, it passed through the window and disappeared.

‘It went up into the sky.’

Like the Golems’ Black Smoke.

He didn’t need to look outside the window to know.

It was a fact he already knew from countless observations.

‘And once it reaches the top of the sky, it will become a raincloud.’

That was why he thought the birthplace of the rainclouds was the City of Wizards.

‘For rainclouds large enough to cover the sky to form…’

Then, that place must be where powerful Magic is used an extremely large number of times.

Magic powerful enough to mix many types of elements until the Mana turns black.

Thus, Ray became lost in endless contemplation.

Shooo──

Unaware that the rain was gradually thinning.

In front of the lodging, on a morning where the rain had stopped and faint sunlight was shining.

Squelch─

Stepping over a puddle of black water pooled on the ground, Ray said,

“If no useful information comes up by today, we should move to the next Sector.”

“I think so too.”

Philip agreed from beside him.

Day 4 of arriving in Sector 48.

It was enough time for the five Gangs who had received the orders to search the entire Sector following the keywords.

Black Rain. Rainbow.

A brown-haired woman with a scar on her neck.

If related information was circulating in the Sector, it should have been caught by the Gangs’ search network long ago.

But the fact that not even a minor clue had been found so far meant…

‘It’s highly likely there’s no related information in the Sector, I suppose.’

Of course, another possibility couldn’t be completely ruled out.

The possibility that information existing somewhere in the Sector hadn’t been discovered yet.

But rather than staying in one place and continuing to spend time based on that single possibility, it was much more efficient to move to the next Sector and continue the search in a new location.

The two boys stopped walking on the main street located in front of their lodging.

“Don’t you remember anything else about your mother?”

“Hmm… Actually, we parted when I was so young that I don’t remember much. We probably parted when I was around 6. I don’t remember her face or voice well either.”

What remained in Philip’s memory was more of a feeling than an accurate image.

That day, the color the park held when his mother left him behind, and the small sounds coming from around.

The rustling feel of the biscuit plastic wrapper in his hand and the sweet scent that invaded his nose.

“I remember she cherished me a great deal. When I think of my childhood, I feel vaguely happy. I don’t remember exactly, though.”

“She loved you very much.”

Ray spoke while recalling the definition of love he had seen in a dictionary.

“Umm… I think we need a word stronger than love. Attachment…? Obsession…?”

While the two boys were conversing.

─Hello!

─Good morning!

Shouts came from across the street along with the sound of many footsteps.

It was the Captains of the five Gangs, who had come to report.

Seeing them, Ray said,

“It seems they’ve found some useful information.”

“Huh? How do you know?”

“The emotions reflected in their Vessels are different from other times.”

“Ah.”

Philip’s face colored with admiration.

After finishing their meal, the party headed straight to 28th Street, located on the outskirts of the Sector.

“Is that information really true?”

To Veronica’s expectant voice, Philip replied,

“I think it’s worth investigating. It might be a waste of time, but it’s a clue about the Black Rain, which is one of our party’s goals, so it’s not just anything.”

Ray gave a small nod, agreeing with Philip’s words.

If it was related to the party’s goals, any minor clue was worth pursuing and held sufficient value.

Tap-tap-tap──

The sound of three pairs of footsteps echoing through the street.

The closer they got to the outskirts of the Sector, the more run-down the surrounding scenery became.

The place the party arrived at was in front of a shabby Cabin in a Slum.

“The kids said he was a loafer. Lives by scavenging scrap from the Junkyard, almost always drunk. I can guess without even seeing.”

Philip said, looking around.

Inside the haphazardly erected fence around the Cabin, all sorts of scrap lay scattered.

Behind the Cabin, not far away, the shape of a Junkyard with piles of scrap metal could be seen.

Creeeak──

The fence entrance wasn’t locked.

Passing through the scrap, the party knocked on the Cabin door.

Knock-knock―

There was no response from inside.

Thump-thump─

Again, it was the same.

“Is no one inside?”

“Must be out.”

Philip and Veronica wondered.

Regarding that, Ray said,

“No, he’s inside.”

Then, he channeled Mana into the door handle.

Click.

Instantly, he opened the door.

“It’s Magic, after all. The more I see it, the more amazing and envious I am. Veronica, can you teach me that too?”

“Hmm… Even if I taught you, you probably couldn’t use it. You need to know how to handle Mana first.”

The party entered the Cabin.

In the middle of the Cabin was a fireplace with a chimney connected to the ceiling, and around it, furniture like a sofa or table was arranged haphazardly.

Spilled food, torn newspapers, and various other junk lay scattered about, making it hard to believe someone lived there.

“Uh… There’s no one here?”

“Yeah. We should either wait until he returns or come back later…”

Leaving the two’s conversation behind, Ray strode purposefully toward a wooden crate in the corner.

1.5th Circle.

That is, after an incomplete form of a Ring had appeared, a change occurred in Ray’s vision for seeing Mana.

‘It’s there.’

It was the ability to see through objects and perceive the Mana on the other side.

Just like right now, he could see a pitch-black mass of fear inside the crate.

Obstacles like Walls or furniture in between no longer hindered Ray in identifying his target.

Creeeak─

“I-I’m sorry! S-sorry…! I-I’ll definitely pay back the money, so p-please, spare my life…!”

What appeared when the crate was opened was a man.

A man with his face buried between his knees, palms pressed together and facing upward.

“Mr. Hender.”

“Y-yes?”

The man, who raised his head, looked momentarily bewildered upon realizing the other party wasn’t a debt collector.

Then, Ray’s voice fell upon him.

“Let’s have a little talk. It seems you might have a story to tell us about the Black Rain.”