Into the Creations 1445

Chapter 1445 – 1445. Dark Moon

I returned home after receiving a call from Yuria.

The three uninvited guests were imprisoned in the basement, their limbs bound and mouths gagged. I reflexively scanned the basement. It was a space I usually used for magic training and research. Aside from a few magical tools, there was nothing special.

I had told Yuria she could use the basement as she pleased, so there was no reason to hold her accountable. Besides, my magic research materials were all in my head.

“…How did you subdue them? They shouldn’t even be able to move.”

“I severed their spinal cords. With their nerves cut, they can’t move their arms and legs. They can still move their necks, though. And of course, they can still talk.”

“And the limbs are tied up?”

“Just in case. There might be some secret arts I don’t know about, so I tied them up.”

I approached them. The wounds on their backs were covered with old, rag-like cloths. It felt like they had only received rough first aid, with no regard for any potential infections.

‘Impressive skills.’

Looking at them, I couldn’t see any other injuries. This meant she had subdued them with overwhelming skill.

‘I guess that’s what you’d expect from someone trained at a knight academy….’

It wasn’t that surprising that she had subdued them. She was a maid. From the first time I saw her, I had guessed she possessed a certain level of strength.

I grabbed one of the guys and sat him on a chair. His eyes were shaking, and cold sweat was dripping down his forehead. I deliberately chose the one who seemed the most timid.

[Silence]

Before removing the gag from his mouth, I used magic. I blocked the sound in the basement. It would be troublesome if his screams leaked outside.

I removed the gag. He didn’t scream. He bit his trembling lip.

“…Kill me.”

“Why would I do that? Right now, death would be the greatest mercy for you.”

“I can’t feel anything in my body. That means no matter what kind of torture you inflict, I won’t feel any pain. Killing me would be easier. Or are you going to take care of my piss and shit for the rest of my life? Heh heh. That wouldn’t be so bad either. A pretty maid taking care of my piss and shit… Ugh!”

Slap!

I slapped him across the face.

I was furious that he had mentioned Yuria. Yuria was my woman, someone I was responsible for. I couldn’t let some worthless guy insult her.

I grabbed his head and moved my mana. I was planning to scan his body with mana.

Zap.

A blue spark flashed. I felt puzzled. I hadn’t used lightning magic. It was just that my mana had naturally turned into a weak current.

‘…It seems like this is more convenient for scanning a human body.’

I chose the more convenient option.

The subtle current flowed through his body, transmitting information to me.

‘He’s not a mana awakener. Still, his body is incredibly well-trained compared to mine. Is it possible to reach this level with just ordinary training, without mana…?’

The answer to my question came immediately.

Drugs.

I had heard of drugs that enhance muscles. They were expensive, but not impossible to obtain.

‘Just like Yuria said, his nerves are severed. Cleanly severed. Amazing skill. But this… I think I can do something about this?’

The way a person moves is ultimately through electrical signals sent from the brain. If I could control those electrical signals….

Zap.

A current flowed. Suddenly, the guy stretched out his left leg. He extended it with force, all the way to his toes.

“Wh-what did you do?!”

“Is this the right leg?”

I controlled the current differently. This time, the guy moved his right arm to the side. Crack! His elbow broke, and his arm twisted completely behind the chair.

“M-my arm…!”

His arm didn’t stop there; it rotated 360 degrees. Of course, his arm was completely mangled as a result.

I conducted several other experiments. Forcibly moving his other arms and legs, stopping the biological activity of his internal organs.

I got excited in the middle of it. Mana taking the form of an electric current.

The body reacting to it.

Magical inspiration flashed and passed by.

What if the current could manipulate the brain? If it was possible to manipulate the other person’s memories or mind?

‘Magic that can manipulate humans as I please. Creating such magic isn’t impossible.’

I moved the subtle currents to his brain with anticipation.

The result was a failure.

The moment the subtle current touched his brain, the guy’s eyes rolled back, and he died. A human brain was much more complex and sensitive than I had thought.

I felt my excitement instantly fade. I realized that no matter how many times I tried this method, it wouldn’t work.

“I accidentally killed him. But I got a general idea.”

I dragged the corpse off the chair and sat another guy down. He swallowed hard, watching me carefully. His gaze was filled with fear. He had seen me conduct human experiments right in front of him.

I placed my hand on his shoulder. Zap. A subtle current flowed through his body.

“Kaaaaaah!”

The guy screamed. It probably felt like his entire cells were being tortured.

“If you want to be comfortable, you’ll have to tell me everything, starting with your name.”

He didn’t last even a minute.

“I’ll talk…! I’ll talk, so please stop…!”

I took my hand off his shoulder. He let out a sigh of relief as the pain disappeared. Then, he quietly glanced at his companion. His companion slowly nodded. There was a look of resignation in his eyes. It seemed he had chosen to talk and die rather than continue to be tortured.

“We belong to the Fraxson Mercenary Corps.”

I didn’t think they were mafia or a gang. Their vibe was a bit different.

“Were you hired?”

“…We thought it was a good way to make some pocket money.”

“I’m not interested in your thoughts. Who hired you, and what was the job?”

“The client is Orin Harvers. The leader of the Harvers Gang. The job was to kidnap you. He said he wanted your chicken recipe.”

“Why did he hire you? He could have handled something like this himself, right?”

“The Harvers Gang is currently under heavy scrutiny from the council and is lying low. If they moved directly, the council might intervene. They hired us to avoid the worst-case scenario.”

“I’ve never heard of that gang before… Are they a big enough force for the council to care about?”

“They killed a council official, I heard.”

That made sense.

Any force becomes ruthless when you mess with them. Especially when it comes to attacking a public official, it’s like making the entire nation your enemy. It was strange that the Harvers Gang, who had killed a public official, hadn’t been wiped out yet.

I had obtained the necessary information. Still, just in case, I asked about other things. There wasn’t much useful information. Except that the Harvers Gang belonged to Jupiter, a gang alliance in Neo London. Of course, I had never heard of Jupiter either.

“We are the Fraxson Mercenary Corps. If you let us go, we’ll end this here. If you kill us, the Fraxson Mercenary Corps won’t stand idly by.”

“That’s funny. Do you think I don’t know the situation in this world? No matter how I kill you, the Fraxson Mercenary Corps won’t move.”

I hadn’t attacked the Fraxson Mercenary Corps. This had nothing to do with them. As they had said earlier, they had targeted me for pocket money, and I had killed them in self-defense.

If a mercenary fails a mission, their mercenary corps doesn’t directly retaliate. If they did, it would never end. Other mercenaries might take on the job to restore their honor, but… before that, the Fraxson Mercenary Corps would hold the Harvers Gang responsible.

“You seem to know this industry well? Are you in the same business?”

Instead of answering, I turned my gaze away. It was time to cross-check the information I had received from him.

•••

I extracted the information from the captured guys and killed them cleanly. I incinerated their corpses with magic. Even though they were despicable, there was no need to keep them and torture them. That was a waste of manpower and time.

I immediately left the house. I planned to finish this troublesome business before dawn. My destination was District V, which was notorious for having a high concentration of gangs. The Harvers Gang was also based in this district.

I entered District V. I casually adjusted my coat as I walked.

I deliberately didn’t cover my face.

This was retaliation. The Harvers Gang had attacked me first, and I was simply retaliating. It was a natural law in the underworld.

‘I need to show my strength here so that things won’t be troublesome in the future.’

The Harvers Gang wouldn’t be the only ones trying to interfere with my business and take it away. I needed to show them. That I wasn’t someone to be trifled with.

‘Taking down a small gang won’t make me so famous that I can’t live my daily life. And even if I do become famous, I can just not go to the chicken shop myself.’

If I increased the hourly wage, I could easily find staff. I walked, looking at the walls and alleys. Like dogs marking their territory with urine, gangs marked their territory by drawing graffiti on the walls. If you looked closely at the symbols on the walls, you could find the gang’s hideout.

‘The real gangs aren’t in places like this. Their organizations are similar to corporations.’

Most of the guys here were just small-time thugs. That was why I was openly walking through this street.

‘Found it.’

An alleyway with the Harvers Gang’s symbol.

As I walked down the alley, I thought. The Harvers Gang belonged to the Jupiter gang alliance. That was why they hadn’t been wiped out yet, even after killing a Neo London public official.

‘It’s obvious. They must be connected to high-ranking officials. If I eliminate the Harvers Gang… they’ll most likely try to kill me.’

What I had to do was obvious.

I would show them the power I possessed. And I would negotiate with Jupiter. I would make them realize that making me an enemy was more detrimental than insisting on revenge.

‘An alliance. A gang of that size can’t act emotionally. The Harvers guys attacked me first, so I have the justification.’

My feet stopped moving forward.

Three thugs leaning against the wall, chewing gum, were staring at me. Their weapons were brutal. Assault rifles, pistols, grenade belts. Their rough skin was covered with threatening tattoos of skulls and monsters.

“What’s your deal?”

“Do you know whose territory you’ve entered?”

“If you’re a guest, say the password. You have five seconds.”

I ignored them and walked forward. In my head, I was thinking about how to kill them.

They reacted sensitively. They immediately pointed their guns at me and pulled the triggers. Bullets rained down. But none of the bullets touched my body.

Ting ting ting ting ting!

It was a barrier deployed by a 5th-grade mage. Ordinary bullets could never penetrate it.

“You son of a bitch!”

A grenade with the pin removed was thrown at me.