#008. The Shattered World (3)
A proposal.
What on earth was he trying to say?
How did he know Niles was dead?
“Ray. I’ve been watching you for a long time. I want you to hear me out.”
Humphrey, the Silent.
A nickname earned through his usual reticence and flawless execution of duties.
He was now speaking more words than he’d uttered in his entire life.
And with a voice laced with desperation and urgency.
Ray studied the mana swirling within Humphrey’s vessel.
No traces of deception or malice colored its flow.
Ray’s concentration fractured.
He crawled out of the all-consuming anger like shedding a shell.
“……”
This man had once pretended not to notice him while standing beside Hector.
Debts must be repaid.
Such was the iron law.
Ray gave a quiet nod.
Humphrey exhaled in relief, swallowed thickly, and spoke.
“I’ll be direct. I want you to leave Sector 50.”
Ray stayed silent.
Again. Another person telling him to flee.
“Why?”
“I want you to find my brother.”
“Brother?”
“The brother Hector sold to the City of Mages.”
Ray tilted his head.
“You have a brother?”
“Yes. That’s why I’ve worked for Hector. He promised to reveal my brother’s location after ten years of service. By now… he’d be around your age.”
To be precise, Humphrey wasn’t eloquent.
But this was a story he’d rehearsed countless times.
The words flowed with practiced efficiency.
“You knew I could use magic.”
“Yes. I suspected before. The warehouse fight confirmed it.”
Humphrey tugged his collar to reveal a faint burn scar on his chest.
“I saw you climb from the riverbank into the streets. Watched you take down his men with magic.”
The explanation accelerated—
as if fearing Ray might change his mind at any moment.
With each passing word, Ray’s mind grew colder.
“What’s the City of Mages?”
“Somewhere upstream along the Elton River. They say only mages can enter.”
“Find him yourself. Don’t outsource your burdens.”
Humphrey shook his head bitterly.
“…I can’t leave this place.”
“……”
Another adult paralyzed by deep-rooted fear.
Another soul stripped of courage to embrace change.
Ray’s voice turned glacial.
“Why should I help you? I have vengeance to pursue.”
Humphrey’s head swung side to side.
“Knowing a few magic tricks won’t defeat Hector. Especially with that monstrous mage at his side.”
The mage with navy-blue mana.
The one who’d controlled the golem.
“How strong is he? What magic does he use?”
“…You don’t understand his terror.”
Dark mana—the color of primal fear—churned in Humphrey’s vessel.
“One subordinate who displeased him froze solid before shattering. Another drowned in a water sphere over his own face.”
“……”
Humphrey divulged every detail he knew about the mage.
Ray calmly sorted his thoughts.
Objectively, his chances were slim.
His magic was instinctual, untrained—
perhaps barely a fragment of true magical knowledge.
His opponent was a seasoned expert.
A cruel professional who killed without hesitation.
At best, he might land a surprise attack.
But could that be called vengeance?
“Hector’s rounding up every child in the sector. Stay here, and you’ll be caught. Sold into slavery—without doubt.”
“……”
“Leave first. That’s how you’ll get your chance for vengeance.”
Angry shouts erupted from the alleyway—
Hector’s men.
“We’re out of time.”
Anxious yellow mana flickered through Humphrey’s vessel.
After several heartbeats, Ray spoke.
“One condition. Recover Gull’s body.”
“I can manage that. Hector won’t notice.”
Humphrey’s mana flushed crimson with excitement.
He produced a leather pouch and note from his coat.
“Didn’t plan to ask empty-handed. My life’s savings. The note has my brother’s name and description.”
Ray opened the pouch.
High-denomination coins and a car key glinted inside.
“Why trust me with this? I could break our deal.”
“I know you. You’re not the type.”
Humphrey steadied his breathing.
“And you’ve got the talent to climb to the upper sectors.”
“……”
Ray considered returning the key but pocketed it instead.
Niles’ prepared car waited at the sector’s edge, but contingency plans mattered.
He glared toward Central Plaza—Hector’s domain.
I won’t forget this rage.
I’ll return to dig it up and drench myself in it.
“Wait. Until I come back.”
Thud.
Ray vanished into the maze of alleys, footsteps fading.
Humphrey drew a shuddering breath.
Then roared with all his strength:
“Over here——!! Enemy here——!!”
A diversion to buy seconds.
In the gloomy gray alley,
Humphrey’s vessel seethed with mana—
swirls of anxiety, hope, and anticipation.
Ray ran.
And ran.
“There he is!”
“Don’t let a single brat escape!”
Hector’s men swarmed like wasps from every turn.
Crackle!
Azure currents sent them convulsing to the ground.
“This way!”
“Keep pushing! We’ve got him cornered!”
Endless enemies converged as chaos spread.
But it didn’t matter.
The mana enhancing his body sharpened his senses to every vibration.
Another instinctive application.
He navigated the labyrinth without entrapment.
When his legs finally faltered,
a broad intersection greeted him—
where 17th Street met other numbered roads.
Ray braced hands on knees, gasping.
As he straightened to resume running,
his eyes met another’s across the crossroads.
“……”
A permanent fixture of these streets.
The memory surfaced abruptly.
Confirming no enemies nearby, Ray approached.
“……”
“……”
Not quite eye contact.
The woman was blind.
Viola sat serenely on her mat, smile unchanged.
Untouched by the surrounding havoc—
likely spared by distance from the massacre’s epicenter.
“I have a question. Answer quickly.”
Ray reached for a coin, then paused.
The 1,000-shilling piece from Hector.
…Can’t use this.
Its purpose is already decided.
He selected another coin and dropped it into her tin.
Clink!
“They say wishes come true if you find the rainbow. Is it true?”
“Ray, is it?”
Viola’s milky eyes focused precisely on his face.
Her warm smile deepened.
“The rainbow exists. It grants any wish.”
Her vessel still held only serene violet mana.
Impossible to gauge her sincerity.
The mage mentioned seeking something… the rainbow?
Humphrey had said the one-eyed mage referenced it too.
“Can it revive the dead?”
“Yes. Anything. But none know its location.”
“Thanks.”
Ray turned, then glanced back.
“You should relocate for a while.”
He resumed running.
17th Street’s crumbling facades watched him disappear.
Sector 50’s outermost edge—23rd Street.
Ray easily spotted Niles’ prepared car—
a white four-seater parked near a derelict building.
Still slightly too large for the boy.
“……”
His mind fogged from mana overuse.
His body-enhancement magic had faded; no energy remained for spells.
As his sweat-drenched hand reached for the key—
“Well well. Caught a rat instead of Niles’ brats.”
A man staggered into view across the lot.
Unsteady gait.
Hostile eyes.
Recognition flashed—
one of Hector’s men from the black rain night.
The warehouse chase.
…Missing a finger.
Bandages covered the stump—
punishment for failure.
But the real danger lay elsewhere.
Needle marks dotted the man’s rolled-up sleeve.
A grimy syringe filled with murky liquid clutched in his other hand.
Ray knew that drug—
a cheap stimulant mixing painkillers with frenzy.
“The hell’re you? Why’ve you got that key?”
The distance closed dangerously.
Fortunately, the man didn’t seem to recognize him yet.
“Niles’ brat, eh? He send you to fetch his car? Where is he?”
Tension crackled.
Ray moved first.
Click-clack!
“You little—!”
Ray jammed the key into the driver’s door as the man charged.
Slamming the door shut—
Thunk!
—would’ve worked,
had the man not grabbed the handle at the last second.
“Cheeky bastard!”
Ray pulled from inside, but brute strength pried the door open inch by inch.
His mana-depleted body couldn’t sustain enhancements.
A muscular arm shot through the gap.
“Get… out…! What’re you… plotting!”
The man’s grasping fingers snagged Ray’s hood.
When it slipped off, recognition flared.
“You—! It’s you—!”
The door flew open.
As the man lunged into the widening gap—
Thud!
Ray released his grip.
The man crashed backward, howling.
“Fuck! Fucking brat! You’re the warehouse rat!”
He scrambled up, charging again.
Ray slammed the door with mana-reinforced strength.
Crunch!
The arm caught between door and frame snapped audibly.
Click.
The key slid home.
The engine roared awake.
Ray gripped the wheel.
Though he’d never driven, he’d memorized Niles’ movements.
Crunch-clack! Vrooom—!
Reverse gear. Accelerator floored.
The car lurched backward, scenery blurring through the windshield.
“You fucking brat——!!”
The man cradled his broken arm, face contorted.
Ray shifted to drive, wheel cranked right.
Vrooom—!
He stomped the accelerator.
Full speed ahead.
