Chapter 115
The current chased us.
Sweeping through the narrow, dark sewer, its force was terrifying.
The four of us ran with all our might. Onseu Om was the fastest, and Meh was the slowest.
Still, the current closed in quickly.
Water splashed and the floor squelched.
The current was too fast for human legs to escape.
This was true even though we were people worthy of being called superhumans.
Onseu Om bellowed.
“Damn it, it's right in front of us...!”
The emergency sluice gate Meh had mentioned was visible in the distance.
But it was still far away, and the current was right behind our heels.
I didn't have to look to know; the sound of the water was frighteningly close.
I’ve been making my living by cutting things for so long that my intuition has only grown.
I can vaguely tell how an un-occurred event will unfold.
The current would swallow us up long before we could reach the emergency sluice gate and close it. It looked that way no matter how I saw it.
If we were swallowed by that current, it would be the end.
It's obvious.
Whether a master of Maesh or whatever, if you fall into the water deep underground and can’t breathe, you'll die.
There's no way around it unless you're a regressed prince with the Seven Secrets.
“…Damn it!”
Onseu Om stopped.
“This job is a complete loss.”
He rolled up his sleeves, glaring at the fierce current.
His Brass Arm was exposed.
The other men glanced at him but didn't hesitate, making a sound like 'tsk'.
“Mr. Onseu? What are you doing…!?”
“Run, Pneuve.”
Indigo mana shimmered from the Brass Arm.
The three 16-port Mana Reactors spewed out their contained power in a gush.
Onseu Om, wrapped in indigo flames, stood against the current.
“You three, don't look back and run!”
“…But that’s!”
“Run, you bastards!”
The water poured out.
When a huge amount of water that had been gathered deep inside poured out all at once, a person was bound to be crushed like a weed.
It was nothing short of a miracle that Onseu Om, and the indigo mana spewing from his Brass Arm, were holding back the current.
As expected of Onseu Om.
I gasped.
It was a current no person could overcome with their own strength, but Onseu Om was holding it back.
I had no choice but to admire him.
“…Ugh…!”
The Brass Arm creaked.
The indigo flames shimmered more intensely.
Onseu Om clenched his teeth and blood seeped from deep within his throat.
His teeth were soon completely red.
“…What are you doing?”
But he didn't give way.
He was single-handedly holding back the flood-like current.
“…Go and close the gate!”
***
Fortunately, the emergency sluice gate worked normally.
With a clank, the gate came down and soon the current crashed against the door, creating a loud noise.
“…That was close.”
Meh muttered.
“A little later, and we all would have been swept away.”
“…Mr. Onseu…”
Pneuve called his colleague's name.
Only three of us had made it past the emergency sluice gate.
The foul-mouthed man with the Brass Arm was on the other side of the gate, where the current was raging.
I don't know what Pneuve Freira was thinking, but his eyes only sank deeper and deeper.
“…It's amazing.”
I ran a hand through my hair.
My beautiful blonde hair was wet with sweat and water, sticking to my skin.
“Is that the Brass Arm I know? To do all that…”
“…Please don't say things like that, Mr. Shion.”
“Ah, I'm sorry.”
Pneuve glared at me.
I bowed my head without hesitation.
Meh, who had caught his breath for a moment, spoke up.
“Let’s move. It's dangerous here.”
“……”
“This emergency sluice gate is also old, so we don't know how long it will hold up.”
Instead of answering, Pneuve Freira looked at Meh.
His gaze wasn't kind.
Meh noticed what he was demanding.
“Yes. There’s something I must do first.”
Meh bowed his head deeply.
“I apologize, Pneuve.”
“You should apologize to Mr. Onseu too.”
“Of course, I feel sorry for Onseu as well.”
The Horm-man placed a hand on his chest.
It was a gesture of respect in his homeland.
“I had a prejudice. I have always treated the Del Conti family with distaste. I apologize once again.”
“…It's fine. Mr. Onseu probably didn’t do it to hear words like that anyway.”
Pneuve looked away.
He looked at the firmly closed sluice gate.
He bit his lip, thinking of the current beyond and his colleague, Brass Arm, who was somewhere over there.
There was a job to be done, yes, a job remained.
“Let’s move.”
***
“How long have we been in the sewer?”
“This is the fourth day.”
“Already?”
I grumbled.
“My sense of time is completely out of whack.”
I took out the metal tin, but the candy was already gone.
I hadn't brought much food to begin with, and all the edible things had been used up by the second day.
I tapped the empty tin and put the sugar crumbs into my mouth.
“I'm dying of thirst.”
There was water all around, but nothing to drink.
It was all mixed with filth, so I didn't feel like drinking it at all, and even if I did, it would do more harm than good.
Pneuve and Meh had tried to use simple purification magic to create drinking water, but they ultimately failed.
This sewage wasn't just horrible.
It seemed to be because of some kind of rotting mana seeping from somewhere.
“You look okay, Mr. Pneuve.”
“I’ve had a lot of similar experiences in the past.”
“I've heard that Erta Magiknights undergo some extreme training.”
I smirked.
“You haven't hidden any food, have you?”
“…I told you not to say things like that, Mr. Shion.”
Pneuve’s voice had a sharp edge.
The polite demeanor he had at the beginning was gone.
It had been like that ever since Onseu Om disappeared.
I whistled, as if to say I couldn't even make a joke.
“We’ll be there soon.”
Meh, who was looking at the map, said.
The mana lamp was running out of fuel and flickering, so it was hard to see the map.
He touched his mustache, which was dirty with grime, sweat, and sewage.
“We should be able to get out tomorrow.”
“Through that old well site?”
“Yes. We'll have to use levitation magic to go up, so let's get some rest now. To conserve as much mana as we can.”
“Who's on watch?”
At my question, Pneuve raised his hand.
“It's my turn.”
“Mr. Pneuve, wouldn't it be better if I, who can't use magic, stood watch?”
“It's fine, Mr. Shion. I don't lack mana.”
Meh nodded.
“I’ll leave it to you, Pneuve.”
“Leave it to me, Mr. Meh.”
“Mushat.”
“Mushat.”
***
The man walked on the damp ground.
He walked endlessly, looking around this way and that.
It was dark, and he wanted to light a fire, but he couldn't.
He felt his way along the path with his hands.
‘I can't be found…’
His steps were cautious.
He couldn't help the squelching sound, but he had to make it as quiet as possible.
It wasn't difficult since he was already used to the darkness.
‘…He's quick-witted.’
Something caught his fingers as he felt the wall.
It was a symbol with three lines on top and two on the bottom.
It was long so he could recognize it even in the dark.
It was also at a fork in the road.
This must be it... The man cautiously crouched down.
He saw a number carved into the squelching floor.
‘…This is the 65th section. I have to go to the 68th section…’
He had already memorized the map of the sewer.
He had studied it enough before they started, so he could recall the path ahead with just a moment of concentration.
From this fork, left, then right after about two blocks, then right two more times… The distance wasn't far.
As long as he was careful not to run into those guys in the middle, there would be no problem at all.
‘I'll be there soon.’
He sighed.
Once he reached the 68th section, he could say goodbye to this disgusting sewer.
Goodbye to the filth, goodbye to the bugs, goodbye to hiding! He couldn't help but feel a little relaxed.
‘I should hurry… No, maybe I'll rest for a moment.’
He was extremely tired.
No matter how physically fit a man was, it wasn't easy to stay in a dark, narrow, damp, and dirty place while holding his breath for four days.
He adjusted his hat and fell along the wall.
‘…It's probably under this moss.’
Clank, a sound was heard.
It was because a hidden switch under the moss was pressed.
A part of the wall opened.
He had heard that it was a simple shelter to take refuge in case of flooding.
Inside the opened wall were sealed water bottles and dried food.
It seemed to have preservation magic on it, as it hadn't gone bad even in this sewer.
The man smiled and ate the food.
It was just a shriveled biscuit and lukewarm water, but it was so sweet.
No matter how careful he was, there was a gulp, gulp sound.
He quickly finished three bags of dried food and two water bottles.
‘…If I could just have a cigarette here, it would be so…’
“Well, I've lived to see a strange sight.”
A light shone in.
A chuckling laugh followed.
“Why is a dead person here?”
A boy walked over, holding a mana lamp.
He looked about fifteen or sixteen, with beautiful blonde hair and blue eyes even in this dark and dirty place.
The man in the indigo frock coat bit his lip.
“…You, kid…”
“Oh, oh, a dead person is drinking water and eating biscuits. Maybe he's not dead? Maybe he was just pretending to be dead?”
I placed a hand on my cheek.
“Did you think I'd actually be fooled if you sacrificed yourself and pretended to be dead? My, what a simple-minded plan.”
The man in the indigo frock coat, with a tricorne hat.
The man with a right arm made of brass instead of flesh and blood, Onseu Om.
I looked at the perfectly alive Onseu Om and scoffed.
“It's good to see you, Onseu Om.”
***
“I knew you were alive.”
“……”
“I went through a lot of trouble pretending to fall for your act. Pneuve was trying so hard to act angry, but his acting wasn't as good as his effort.”
I smiled maliciously.
“It was a strange story from the start. That Brass Arm saved a kid who got on his nerves? It's unbelievable even if he sacrificed his life for his colleague. It's a joke, a terrible one at that.”
“…I'm going to have to cut out that tongue of yours.”
“A lot of people have said that to me. But look, is my tongue cut?”
I stuck my tongue out.
My tongue was healthy and a fresh scarlet color.
I was going to sharpen my tongue.
From now on, I was going to dig into Onseu Om's secrets.
Nothing makes a secret-keeper happier than digging up someone else’s secrets while keeping their own hidden.
“Well, since my tongue is fine, I can't help but talk. Let's think about this, Onseu Om.”
I spoke excitedly.
“Why did you pretend to be dead? Why did the Del Conti family send you here? What reason could there be for the proud Onseu Om to enter a cockroach lair that he despises, and even hide like a rat?”
“…Shut up, kid.”
“You don't want to answer. Fine by me. I’ll just make my own guesses.”
I put my index finger on my lips.
Onseu Om couldn’t stand how infuriating I was.
“You don't have to answer, but at least listen. That's the least you can do, right?”