“If we really found one, it’ll be the freaking jackpot! With that reward, you can just live however you want.”

“And I was hurrying because I thought that Jade bastard noticed it first…did he find something else?”

Just in case anyone had heard the small noise earlier, they wanted to be gone before someone else appeared so they hurried to put Anne-Marie’s unconscious body in the huge sack.

Right then, a ghastly voice grazed the back of their necks.

“How strange. Is it the season for rats?”

“Hk!”

“It’s annoying to keep seeing you pricks.”

The hand tying the knot of the sack froze in place with surprise.

‘How…! I didn’t sense anything!’

As soon as he turned around, his vision went blank.

Thud!

The man was kicked into the wall by someone who appeared out of nowhere and fainted. His shattered teeth trickled to the floor. His partner turned to look at the man in front of him in horror.

In the darkness, only a black shape could be seen clearly but his blue eyes were shining with frightening intensity.

“Open that thing.”

Lakis ordered, glancing arrogantly at the frozen man.

“Before I open your head instead.”

* * *

minutes before Lakis stood in the alley…

Lakis went out for some time today like usual then he came back and was waiting for Yuri to come back home. He hadn’t been able to find the crow today, so his mood was somewhat low.

He wondered if he had to find the crow in another way but on the other hand, there was a misunderstanding in place. So he thought about what to do next while waiting for Yuri’s return.

However, she didn’t return even though it was way past the time she got off work.

‘She didn’t tell me she was coming back late today, did she?’

Then he abruptly remembered the ‘trash’ he had secretly taken care of in front of Yuri’s house before.

‘…Did some other rat show up? Should I go look for her?’

His discomfort and worry grew and just as he felt the limit of his patience, he heard a sound at the door.

“Are you Ms. Yuri?”

“Yes?”

Then he heard the sound of a few things dropping to the floor. For a moment, the front of the house was quiet.

Lakis’ face crumpled.

The voice he had just heard was not Yuri’s. The approaching footsteps were not Yuri’s usual steps either. But that aside, wasn’t the sound that came after someone asking for Yuri extremely suspicious? On top of that, what if the person that was just in front of the house was indeed Yuri, and he was the one mistaken?Lakis swore under his breath and got up. Then he swiftly left the house and headed to where the suspicious figures were moving. In the dark alley, two men were putting someone in a huge bag.

The events that followed were as described above.

The suspicious man instinctively knew that Lakis was higher on the food chain and tremblingly undid the rope of the bag.. And predictably, the woman in there was not who Lakis was looking for.

Clear silver hair fell out of the bag, revealing a woman’s beautiful face which Lakis only gave a dull glance.

“Uh, are we the same kind?”[1]

Although the man was trembling, he gathered his courage and cautiously asked.

“I’ll yield this ‘mutant’ to you so can you just let me go?”

Lakis frowned.

Seeing that, the man hiccuped loudly.

—These things keep asking if you’re the same kind. Is that the trend among rats these days?

However, Lakis was more interested in the word ‘mutant’ that he said.

“Ng…”

Right then, a groan came from Anne-Marie who lay collapsed on the floor. The man was so surprised that his eyes practically popped out.

“Gasp, how is she already awake…!”

They had poured so much drugs into her, how could she be awake already?! Indeed, this woman was truly a variant. He was momentarily tempted for the reward but his fear of the man lurking in front of him was much greater.

“Huh…? Who are you…?”

Anne-Marie seemed to have not grasped her situation yet, as her unfocused eyes scoured her surroundings, showing her confusion.

“Why am I here…what is going on…”

Lakis turned his attention away from Anne-Marie and looked at the man opposite him with cold eyes.

“Hey, rat.”

“Yes, yes?”

“There’re more, right?”

“Huh?”

“Other than you guys, there’s more looking for this stupid mutant, isn’t there?”

Lakis was convinced that this situation was related to Yuri’s late return. Maybe the guy who tried to break into Yuri’s house two days ago was also one of the bastards looking for the ‘mutant’ instead of a slimy criminal like he thought.

Lakis knew what it meant to be this ‘mutant’ they were looking for. It was a term used in Carnot for the test subjects that were made to absorb ruin fragments in the former research institute. He had no idea why these bastards were now running around in the east though.

Thick bloodthirst burst from Lakis’ body. The man and Anne-Marie felt it and held their breaths.

Lakis released the ruin’s power which he had forbidden himself from using all this while. The next moment, a bluish hue broke out over his light blue eyes, giving it a conspicuous foreignness.

His sharp eyes pierced through the man who came to kidnap Yuri and he clutched the man’s neck violently.

“Tell me how to get where those ‘mutants’ are.”Part 9: Kidnapping for romance is bad even when it’s angst.

–

I moved according to the bird’s directions. The controlled bird flew over a wide field and passed a ruined area. Soon, we were at the western border where the black market was located.

Noticing where the bird was flying to, I frowned slightly and threw out my thread under the cover of darkness.

Thump!

As I leapt onto the roof in one stride, I could see a fleet of densely lined buildings under my feet. The bird flew from one red lit building to another and quickly disappeared from my sight. But I’d already webbed the bird beforehand so it would be easy to find where it was flying to.

However, I didn’t chase after the bird right away instead, I gazed at the scene before me with narrowed eyes.

What do I do? I don’t want to make things big.

But I didn’t think I could go inside right now and quietly bring Leo out without harming a single person. Above all, I didn’t know why the person controlling the bird had guided me here. The person I suspected to be the bird’s owner was a fellow test subject who spent time with me in the lab.

Their name was ‘Siren’.

Siren was one of the few test subjects that was able to successfully absorb several ruin fragments to enhance their body’s ability. But ever since Lakis blew up the research institute, I had never seen her.

Honestly, I hadn’t paid much attention to whether she was alive or not after that. I thought she might still be in contact with Odin or Leo. Or maybe like me and most test subjects, she went into solitude. And as a matter of fact, I had even forgotten Siren’s name until I found the controlled bird in Leo’s hideout.

So I was my doubts. Why did she appear now of all times, and in this manner too? Afterall, if we wanted to find one another, we could use our abilities and find each other’s location. Most of all, if her purpose was simply to kidnap Leo, there was no reason to leave a bird there till I arrived.

So I guess she’s aiming for me instead of Leo?

It had been a long time since we last met but that seemed far more likely, given the personality of the person manipulating the bird. It would have been a little easier to move around if Odin was here, so I felt some regret.

I didn’t have the ability to manipulate spiders or anything so if I wanted to find something out, I had to do it myself.[2]

Which meant, I’d have to go inside in the end.

Once I realized there was no other option, I began moving again. And I was soon submerged in the red darkness.

* * *

“…From there, go right…”

Once the man locked eyes with Lakis, he poured out everything he knew like he was possessed. After getting out all the information he needed, Lakis squeezed the neck in his hand.

Crack!

The man’s neck was broken alongside the vicious sound. And the lifeless body sank powerlessly to the floor.

“Hiik.”

The sound of Anne-Marie sucking in a sharp breath rang out. She didn’t know what was happening to her right now and blankly stared at the fallen man. Then she subconsciously turned to look at Lakis.

And at the same time, Lakis’ chilly gaze moved to Anne-Marie.

Only

“Ah, uh…”

The moment their eyes met, Anne-Marie faltered. She couldn’t move a single finger, like a prey before a dreadful predator.

Everything that just happened felt so unreal to her, so this situation didn’t even feel scary. She felt disoriented and her mind was completely blank.

Translator’s Corner:

[1]The same kind can also be translated to comrades. It basically means ‘are we in the same business?’ or ‘we are in the same business, right?’

[2](Sorry XD. I’ll show myself out.)