Chapter 144 – Reverse Scale (2)
A men and a women with brown hair.
One was a boy with an innocent face, the other a girl with a sharp impression. From their overall appearance, they seemed to be siblings.
It was hard to determine their exact age because they were emaciated, as if malnourished, but the boy looked to be in his late teens, and the girl in her early twenties.
"…Slaves?"
The orphanage where Verden had spent his childhood, and the Bohemirn Magic Tower where he had lived afterwards, were both located on the western continent.
Because the Holy Kingdom of Luas existed on that continent, the abolition of slavery had been implemented there first, and so slavery had disappeared before Verden was even born.
By contrast, the eastern continent had been late to change.
In particular, in the Kingdom of Estiria, it had been less than ten years since slavery was abolished.
Humans treated as mere objects.
Until only a few years ago, such scenes had been taken for granted throughout the kingdom, and all the more so in Roafra, where every crime was rampant.
So this sight was not something all too surprising.
Costa pointed at the siblings one by one.
"The younger brother is Aiden, that girl over there is Charlotte. The toys I used to play with died not long ago, so I got these new ones this time… While I was trying to break them in with some training, I discovered something really interesting."
Costa twirled his index finger.
The one-eyed man, Moknen, walked toward the siblings.
Charlotte immediately glared up, trying to block his way, but because of the chains she could not.
The sound of nails scraping the floor came out. She bared her teeth desperately, but only her breath came harshly, no voice.
"She was being too noisy, so I cut her vocal cords. But anyway, just watch closely."
Moknen walked past the sister and stopped before the younger brother.
He grabbed Aiden's wrist and drew a dagger across his forearm. From the opened wound, red blood spilled down.
At first glance, it looked like simple slave abuse, but immediately after—
"…!"
Magic power surged from within Aiden's body.
Soon the magic power flowed outward, gathering at the wound, and the freshly made gash healed on its own. It was almost like recovery through holy power.
This was something impossible to achieve with ordinary magic power.
In other words, there was only one possibility.
'A peculiar trait of magic power.'
A talent formed only congenitally, a property possessed only by a very few mages like Rovellin.
"The ones who supplied these slaves didn't know. Of course, the rule is to not damage potential goods. Well, thanks to that, I was able to buy such a rare one for dirt cheap… Really lucky, wasn't I?"
Costa bobbed his head as if boasting, the earrings hanging from his ears jingling.
"So, I had the mages under me investigate, and they said his magic power produces an effect similar to holy power recovery. In particular, his regeneration ability seems to surpass holy power itself. Put simply… Yeah, like a flesh puppet? From what I experimented, unless it's a truly fatal injury, his body can recover on its own."
Costa sipped his wine.
After moistening his throat pleasantly, he continued speaking.
"I hear mages love things like this, don't they? Experimental subjects that hardly ever break, and are worth studying. Right, Boldren?"
"Of course, Lord Costa."
Boldren answered, sneaking a glance at Aiden.
His eyes were filled with desire for knowledge. It was a craving any mage would have. He swallowed his regret, smacking his lips as if he truly wanted to possess the boy.
And so it was, all the mages under Ruin Costa around them felt the same.
This time, Costa pointed at Charlotte.
"And that one has no particular talent as a mage. But for the sake of her dear little brother, she's willing to do anything. She even suddenly leapt at me, trying to bite me! Even though with a mere wave of my hand, I can leave her neither alive nor dead. Isn't that right, Charlotte?"
"…!"
Charlotte's eyes brimmed with deep murderous intent and hatred.
Costa brushed off those emotions lightly, smiling as if watching the tricks of a pet. Then, he looked toward Verden.
"If you come under me, I'll give you ownership of them. They haven't even finished basic training yet, so their temper is still wild… But they're very clean, so you won't feel any distaste. If you want, I can even train them for you."
Costa's eyes curved into crescents.
"Of course, I'll also add the money and power I mentioned earlier. Honestly, this is the most generous offer I've ever made in my life, so I hope you see how highly I value you. Oh, and!"
Clapping his hands, he turned to Galliark and Samwell.
"If you want, you two can come along too. The big guy looks like he's got some real skills, so I can treat him well. As for that guide, hmm, I'll use him as my personal errand boy. You'll earn plenty of money, so how about it?"
"..."
"Uh, that's…"
Galliark ignored him with folded arms, while Samwell fidgeted nervously, trailing off.
Though their reaction was lackluster, it didn't really matter.
For Costa, what was important was Asher—the mage who would become his banner.
"That's all I have to offer. I think it's more than enough compensation, don't you?"
"..."
No answer came.
Galliark glanced at Verden.
Though Verden's face wasn't visible behind him, he could still tell. It was not mere silence. It was a heavy, oppressive stillness.
The kind of stillness where no one dared to move carelessly.
But Costa thought differently.
'He's almost convinced.'
Verden, lips sealed.
That appearance made it seem as though Verden was deeply considering Costa's proposal. The reason for such differing perspectives was simple.
It was nothing more than a difference in thought.
In Roafra, the weak were granted no rights to claim anything.
In such a place, Costa had reigned as a power for nearly thirteen years. Moreover, he possessed a twisted nature that took pleasure in the suffering of others.
For someone like Costa, everything he had just said was nothing unusual.
Bein (non-human).
The rulers of Roafra, with a few exceptions, were beings whose humanity had been distorted. They did not understand common sense, nor did they try to, and even when they did, they did not follow it.
What Verden had seen in the underworld was only the part that surfaced outward.
Roafra.
Its reality was exactly this.
Costa jerked his chin toward the slave siblings.
"You two, say something. Don't you have anything to tell the person who's about to be your master? Nothing to appeal with? If you're rejected, I'll throw you into the torture chamber."
Torture chamber.
At that word, Charlotte flinched. With her vocal cords damaged, she could not speak. Tears fell from her clenched eyes, tears filled with pain that shredded her consciousness and with the sorrow of being unable to protect her younger brother.
Her younger brother, Aiden, looked at her.
He had not reacted even when his arm had been cut, but now he slowly lifted his head. A faint light returned to eyes that had long since been dead.
Aiden's black eyes met Verden's blue eyes.
He had been sold to Roafra through illegal slave hunting, together with his sister.
And he had learned. He had learned just how cruel the underworld of the Kingdom of Estiria truly was, a place he had only heard about before.
He had screamed for help. No one came.
Through a gap in the door, his eyes had met those of a passerby. He screamed. The passerby pretended not to see and simply walked away.
The more Aiden hoped, the more despair came.
Beside him, he heard his sister's screams. He hadn't wanted to hear them.
After she lost her voice, only the sound of the whip rang in his ears. Costa punished Charlotte every time Aiden resisted, flaunting it before him.
And from time to time, Costa made sure Charlotte saw Aiden's pain as well.
Costa's cruelty had long since transcended human limits.
The thickening smell of blood was unbearable.
Especially unbearable because it was family's blood. He had wanted to die then and there. And so his heart, which had been steadily breaking, finally snapped.
No one would help them. No matter what they did, they could not escape.
Aiden realized that fact with bitter clarity. The desperation that had once filled his eyes had dried up like a drought, and hope had been cast aside long ago.
But even so.
"Please… help me…!"
Aiden said it once more.
That was all he could do, all the weak could do.
"Ha."
Costa let out a short laugh, then his expression turned cold.
"Moknen, give me my darling."
"Yes, Lord Costa."
Moknen handed him a brown whip.
It was crafted from the fine leather of a magical beast, so light it felt almost weightless. Because of that, it was not suited for use as a weapon to break bones, but it was more than enough to leave painful wounds on the skin.
For Costa, who lacked physical strength, it was one of the best torture tools imaginable.
Costa rose from his seat and sighed.
"Tsk, how disgraceful. Sorry, Asher. I guess since the basic training hasn't been finished, they're not acting like proper slaves. Maybe I should've broken them down from the very bottom… Just wait a moment. I'll silence him from saying nonsense and then we'll start again."
Pak! Pak!
Costa cracked the whip, loosening up his body.
"This time, since we have guests, I won't use the sister. I'll use you instead. I wouldn't want scars to make her unpleasant to look at, you see."
Lightly finishing his preparations, he drew his arm back, and with a chilling smile, he swung the whip with all his might.
Swaeaek!
The tip of the whip split the air, flying straight toward the younger brother.
At the whip aimed precisely for his face, Aiden shrank back and squeezed his eyes shut, while Charlotte thrashed, screaming a soundless scream.
"…?"
But even as time passed, the pain never came. There was no sound of flesh being ripped. Something was different from before.
Aiden cautiously opened his eyes.
And there, standing before him, was a man with ash-colored hair.
Having approached before anyone noticed, he had caught the whip in his hand. His blue eyes shone with a bright, transparent color unseen anywhere in Roafra.
Aiden gazed up at him blankly, as if entranced.
He knew well enough that to hope for salvation again was foolish. He knew that it only ever brought worse pain.
Even so.
"Help…"
From his parched eyes, a small tear of hope slid down his cheek. Aiden, with a trembling voice, said once again.
"Please… help me…!"
Normally, he would have heard ridicule instead of an answer.
But this time, it was different.
"Alright."
So Verden answered, pulling back his arm.
"Huh?"
Costa, tilting his head in confusion, unable to understand the situation, was dragged forward.
Magic power concentrated along the activated mana circuits.
And then, from Verden's fingertips, claws of earth shot out, tearing Costa apart.