Chapter 103

From the Dregs (V)

“... what the hell do you think you’re doing?” Emma’s chilly voice bounced against the darkened and smudged walls dripping with eerie, gray-dyed liquid.

Her eyes weren't looking at the startled man in front of her but rather an iron-barred cage on the other end, filled nearly to the capacity with people and creatures, a good number among them appearing to be children.

Daniel and Senna entered right after her, their expressions dropping immediately as well, turning frigid.

“W-who the hell are you?!” the sole man outside the cage jumped at his feet and pulled back, taking out a dagger and holding it tightly in his shaky hand. “Do you know what this place is? You are dead! Dead!”

“Tie him up,” Emma said to Daniel. “We’ll take him to C’.”

“What about the kids?” Senna asked.

“... I don’t know,” Emma replied, sighing. “We don’t have enough to take care of ‘em, and we’re just newcomers here.”

“We can’t leave them like this, though.”

"No, I know," she added, rubbing her temples.

“Y-you, stay away!” the man hollered at Daniel who was approaching him. “You--you have angered the Ghost! The Ghost! There’s no saving you!”

“Shut it unless you wanna become a ghost as well.” Daniel shot back, tossing a dagger, handle-first, and squarely hitting the man on the latter’s forehead, knocking him out. He looked at the cage, sighing after and walking over.

Shapes and sizes came in bunches; some had tails, a few had wings, some had scaly skins, some were tall and some were short. However, even with that, they all had one thing in common -- they were skin and bones.

Emma fell into deep thought, grumbling inwardly. She thought it would be a simple mission to just clean up some roadside bandits... but it was much more than that. They'd been at it for two days now, and this was the third hideout they'd found -- but it was the first with anyone else in it except the bandits. There was something strange about the whole ordeal as a lot of things didn't add up. By now, it was clear to them that these weren't just simple 'bandits'. They had a system -- and, so far, that system ensured that Emma and the other two never met anyone of true importance.

For instance, the man lying on the floor was just a random, low-level 'Collector' -- someone who went around and collected the fees. He had no information about the members higher up or even of the organization in general. The entire way the whole thing was put seemed eerily modern and progressive, so much so that if she hadn't known better, she'd be certain the head of the entire operation was some crime lord from Earth.

“Emma?” Senna asked uncertainly, glancing at the cage.

“Daniel,” Emma made a quick decision. “You’ll stay here, hidden, while Senna and I will rush back and bring others with us. The fact that it’s no longer just collecting fees but likely trafficking as well means we are a bit over our heads with this. You cool with it?”

“... yeah,” Daniel nodded. “I won’t let anyone in.” he added in a dark tone.

“If we hurry,” Senna said. “We can be back here in an hour. I’ve memorized a few alleyways we can use as shortcuts.”

“Lead the way, then.”

“Alright.”

The two rushed out of the 'room' and vanished in a blurry light, leaving Daniel behind. He scurried over to the corner and blended in with the dark walls, disappearing from sight. He sat down, the look in his eyes heavy as they inadvertently found their way back over to the cage. Something rushed up to his throat and stopped there, thumping like thunder.

He tried closing his eyes but it did little to help; some things were seared into his memory, like permanent stains, and the sight behind the iron bars swelled them back onto the surface. Gripping his fingers into a fist, he heaved himself up and walked over, standing beside the cage, still invisible.

"... I'm sorry," he mumbled into the equally invisible wind. "I... I don't know what to do. But Cain does. I'm sure he'll figure out what to do. He always does, you know? He's a bit of an asshole... but... he always makes the right decision. All of them... all of them do. All of them, except for me." he slumped down slowly and sat beside the cage, cradling his face with his hands. "I said yes on a whim, you know? I mean, hah, when a rich guy knocks on your door and offers you hordes of greens... you don't exactly say 'no, thanks, I'm better than that'. I... I just thought it was him buying up his bodyguards so they can escort him into the Tower.

“But... I was wrong. Everyone... everyone was amazing. I’ve seen a lot of people in and out of this place... but nobody was quite like them. Most of the time, they’re just bickering and fighting... but there ain’t a wall tall enough that can stop them when they put their minds to it. They cleared the first floor, you know? Lukas told me. And... honestly... I... I don’t match up. At-fucking-all. I mean, when I saw Jamal fighting or even Senna... I mean, Senna's a kid! She's, what, fifteen? Maybe sixteen? And she's so good it makes the rest of us look like kids. And even she... defers to Cain. I can’t imagine just how strong that guy is. Apparently, he’s level 49. 49. The highest! And he hasn’t been in the Tower for god-knows-how-long while the rest of us kept grinding.”

“...” though he didn’t expect an answer, of course, he realized it did feel good to get it all off his chest. Sighing, just as he was about to stand up and hide back in the corner to wait for others, he saw a pair of eyes inside the cage lock onto him. They were brilliantly silver and lustrous, so much so that Daniel almost believed he was colorblind to have missed them. Wait, is silver a color--never mind...

“What’s your name?”

“WHAT THE FUCK?!” Daniel jumped up and backed off, noting that the owner of the silver eyes had encroached right to the edge of the cage, extending its arms over and hugging the iron bars as it plastered its face against the cold iron, looking at him curiously. E-eh? A... a girl? Taking a closer look, he realized it was a woman -- ante-Human woman, at least. The color of her hair mirrored that of her eyes, and despite her general unkempt and rough appearance, it was difficult to hide the fact that she was fairly beautiful, so much so that Daniel stammered at his words. Shit, I’ve never been good at dealing with hot people...

“What? Did I scare you?” the woman asked with a grin. “You’re a bit of a wimp, aren’t you?”

"W-what? No! No, I'm not!" Daniel exclaimed.

“Hmm... yeah, you are,” the woman added, ignoring his protest. “First, you bitch and moan about how everyone’s better than you, and then you get scared by a girl in a cage. I mean, what’s that all about? What, do you think I could have escaped all this while but waited for some guy to come here so I can scare him?”

“You... you could--”

“I didn’t.”

“’course.”

“It’s okay. Lots of people are wimps, you know? Rather, I’d bet that most people are wimps.”

“Are you a wimp?”

“Gosh, no, that’d be extremely lame.”

“Oh. Wow. Thanks for that.” Daniel said as his shoulders slouched.

“Ha ha ha, don’t take it so personally,” the woman spoke as though she wasn’t locked behind a cage, appearing free-spirited and rather indifferent to her woes. “It’s the wimps that make the heroes look good, right? That man, what was his name -- Cain? Right, the reason he appears so cool is probably ‘cause all of you guys freeze up when it matters. Really, the difference between a wimp and a hero is whether you take a leap or don’t.”

“... you know, it’s wrong to eavesdrop on other people. Especially when they’re talking to themselves.”

“You weren’t talking to yourself,” the woman corrected. “You were talking to us. Granted, most here are too tired and hungry to stay awake, but, hey, at least I’m here, right? I’ll listen to your woes.”

“... I somehow feel your intent is genuine,” Daniel said with a dubious look in his eyes. “But it still made me feel really small. Meh, it doesn’t matter. Nothing does, anyway. I’m fine with being a wimp.”

“Bullshit!” the woman exclaimed. “What do you mean ‘nothing matters’ and you’re ‘fine with being a wimp’? Just because you’re scared doesn’t mean you get to play it off.”

“H-huh?”

“How do you think I wound up here?”

“... you got caught?”

“Oh, wow, what insight.”

“Hey, you asked!”

“I tried to save these guys!” the woman exclaimed.

“... good... job?”

"Well, yes, I failed -- obviously -- but... so what? What's the alternative? To be like the rest of the scumheads in this city? Who just sit around with their tiny cocks up their ears, ignoring every plight they see? I failed, yeah, and I got caught and I'll probably be sold into a whorehouse or something... but that doesn't mean I'll stop fighting. Ever."

“You won’t be sold into anywhere,” Daniel said, sighing. “We’ll help you.”

“Yeah, you may get us out of this place... but do you think we’re the only ones?”

“Don’t tell me you plan on fighting, again?”

"Hell yeah, I do!" the woman bumped her fist against the iron bar, a determined look in her shining, silver eyes. Daniel barely held his lips together, wondering whether she was extremely brave... or just plain old stupid. "What about you?"

“H-huh? What about me?”

“Are you really okay with just being a wimp next to a hero? Wouldn’t it be nice to, once in a while, take that central stage?”

“... yes, yes, of course, an Assassin taking a central stage. You’re just full of brilliant gems, aren’t you?”

“You know what I mean!”

“...” Daniel abruptly burst out into laughter, shaking his head.

“W-what? What’s so funny?” she asked, frowning gently.

“Nothing, nothing,” he replied. “You’re just... a bit different, is all. Tell you what -- you won’t have to go at it alone.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ll help you.”

“You will?”

“Yeah.”

“... and by you, you mean... you, right? Not, like, you’re gonna ask that hero or whatever for help.” the woman asked.

“Of course I will, you idiot,” Daniel glanced at her with dead eyes for a moment. “I may be a wimp, but I’m not an idiot. Take all the help you can get. Don’t worry, Cain doesn’t care who you are as long as you’re at least a decent person.”

“... man, you know nothing about girls, do you?”

“I know I shouldn’t do whatever they tell me just ‘cause they’re pretty,” Daniel replied, grinning. “Saved me a lot of grief over the years.”

“Yeah, yeah,” the woman smiled stealthily as a brief moment of silence fell between the two. “What’s your name?”

“... Daniel. Yours?”

“Larua,” the woman replied. “Nice to meet you, Daniel.”

“Likewise, Larua. You should rest. I’ll wake you when the others come back.”

“Alright,” she said, yawning and pulling back. “I’m now all sorts of interested in meeting these heroes of yours. I hope they live up to your words...”