Night. The dim light of the stars and moon shone on an eerily quiet part of the imperial capital. With a completely stone paved ground and an extensive beautiful red brick wall, that place was the upper cla.s.s section of the capital. The stone paving illuminated by the pale moonlight, and the darkness made the brick buildings seem as if they were covered with red rust. Each building was big and built close to one another, and the fact that it was completely deserted along with the antique look gave off an oppressive feeling.
It was completely different from the normal citizens’ wooden houses and stores built from stone. There, a lone man chased after two shadows, one short and one tall.
“You f.u.c.kers! Do you think you can get away after doing this to me of all people?”
With spittle flying from the corners of his mouth, the man shouted after the ruffians. Wearing a coat produced by a tailor well known even in the capital, it oozed with the air of money and self-consciousness, but currently his demeanor didn’t show any hint of that.
That was also to be expected. Behind the hot tempered man who was shouting, his guards were packed on top of the brick path, burying his body as they collapsed over one another.
“Ugh, someone! Someone else! Anyone! Save me--!”
The man arrogantly shouted, but no one responded. With only that arrogant voice, it pa.s.sed between the two shadows in front of him.
Before long, the echoes of his angry voice died away, and a single shadow, a tall man clad in a pitch black robe denied his call for help.
“n.o.body is coming. No matter how much you call out, n.o.body can hear you.”
“That, that’s not possible... no matter how many streets and alleys we’ve pa.s.sed, in the middle of the imperial capital, for no one to notice is…”
Those dangerous words sent him into a panic. Even though the man knew that the words of the black silhouette couldn’t be possible, he had an uneasy premonition. And, the shadow’s words were right. No matter how much he shouted, neither the military police that should be patrolling nor the citizens living here came. His outcry and their conversation, it was as if there was a black curtain behind the two of them isolating them from the world.
With this impossible situation, the man sputtered out muddled words.
“Why, why are you doing this to me?!”
“There’s no need for someone like you to know that.”
Right after these words were uttered, two shadows approached the man.
“W-wait! How about I hire you guys? I can pay any amount of money.”
“--hou?”
“I just happen to have a man I want to get rid of! How about it? I’ll pay 100 empire gold coins as a down payment. 100 for the two you isn’t enough? Then 100 each!?!”
For his own sake, the man made such a proposition. To that, the short shadow quivered slightly. It was like he was grinding his teeth, and he snickered. The tall shadow, however, was the one that responded.
“100 coins is quite an amount.”
“It would be to anyone. However, only you guys are worth that much! After all, you made my guard collapse so easily.”
“They were weak.”
“I agree. I paid them so much money and yet, at such an important time they became useless. However, you guys are different. Even though we’re in the empire, you were able to corner me this far.”
Affirming the tall shadow’s words, the man sang praises about them to try to reel them in. And then, he asked to confirm the deal.
“So, how about it? Not bad don’t you think?”
Did he think they were convinced? The man had a disgusting smile on his face.
However, the words he expected didn’t come. As if declining, the small shadow approached the man.
“Wha, why?! 100 gold coins, that’s a huge amount you know!”
“True. But…”
The voice of the small shadow that spoke for the first time was surprisingly young. It had the sound of a child who was still at the age where you could not tell the gender. To what that person was trying to say, the man swallowed nervously.
“...What’s wrong?”
“It’s as you said.”
“...?”
“There’s a person we want to get rid of.”
“What about it? Everyone has a person or two they want gone. I don’t know who wanted it, but because even you guys are like that, in this way they wanted to hurt me right. So how about it? If you’re dissatisfied with the offer then I’ll give more and--”
The man didn’t refer to what happened before his words. To the man immersed in his own little world, the small shadow began to let off a surge of hatred.
The man froze mid breath for a bit, and then
“...That person, can I kill him.”
“...?! YOU! It can’t be his doing could it? No, it can’t be that you…”
“There is no need to tell you. Do it.”
Interrupting the words of the man who realized something, the tall shadow told the small shadow to take his life. And then, the small shadow began to recite a spell incantation.
“Darkness. You, the body that exists in nothingness, sink into our enemy. Imprison the one enslaved by his own greed. Orgo Lecula Ragua Sakunt Labilal Peibalon…”
From the small shadow’s mouth a spell incantation began to take form. Anyone who heard it would recognize it was a frightening dark magic. But instead of chanting it as expected, it was more like that of an inexperienced student. They were words with no meaning, nay, it was more like an inhuman coa.r.s.e roar.
“From the given darkness a wicked torment.”
With those words, the dark curtain around the small shadow began to undulate, and what seemed like a mysterious image was shown. In the darkness, magic power swelled up, and from the outstretched arms directing the magic, there was an uncanny squirming feeling. And then, from the man’s eyes, the two shadows, the moon, the stars, everything disappeared.
“Stoo---aaaaaaaaaa!”
The man’s pitiful scream was swallowed up by the darkness.
Before long, the man’s body was spit out crumpled on the stone pavement. After confirming it with his own eyes, the tall shadow then quietly said.
“Let’s go.”
“...Yeah.”
Then, the two shadows vanished into the darkness. As they left, the unnatural dark curtain silently vanished.
What remained in the alley in the upper cla.s.s district was just the bodies of the man and his guard.
There was just the twinkling of the stars and the shine of the moon projecting onto the man’s face.