As he walked silently through the darkness, a sudden creaking noise rang out fifteen meters in front of him. A heavy iron door slowly opened up ahead, spilling its interior lights outside. Sebas stopped and quietly observed the scene in front of him.
When the door was opened all the way, a person’s face came into view. Although he could only discern the silhouette because of the backlight, it was probably a man. He appeared to examine his surroundings and, failing to notice Sebas, went back inside.
Thud. Suddenly, a heavy sack was flung out the door and crashed on to the ground. The light leaking from the door fell on the sack, and by its shape, made it apparent that something soft was being held inside.
Although the door was open, the man who threw the sack as if he was taking out the trash did not yet reappear.
For a moment, Sebas frowned then wondered whether he should walk past it or head back the way he came. He had run into quite a bothersome incident.
After a brief hesitation, he continued down the quiet and narrow path of the dark alleyway.
The mouth of the large sack split open.
The sound of Sebas’ footsteps rang through the alley and at last, the distance between him and sack shortened.
As he was about to walk past, his feet stopped.
Sebas felt something touch his pants. He lowered his gaze and there, found what he had expected to see.
Extending from the sack, an emaciated, twig-like hand holding onto the hem of his pants and the topless body of a girl.
The sack was now opened wide, fully revealing the girl from the waist up.
Her blue pupils held no strength, glossed over in a murky glint. The hair that fell down to her shoulders was withered due to a lack of nutrients. Her face was beaten, swollen like a balloon. Her dry, cracked skin was littered with countless pink spots the size of fingernails.
The scrawny body had almost no life remaining.
It was already no different from a corpse. No, it was obviously still alive. The hand grasping on to the hem of Sebas’ pants claimed as much. But could you call someone who could only just barely breathe as being alive?
“…Will you please release your hand?”
There was no response to his words. It was obvious that she wasn’t ignoring him despite hearing what he said. Past the swollen cracks of her eyelids, there was nothing reflected in her murky eyes as they stared into space.
If Sebas were to move his feet, he could easily brush aside those fingers that were thinner than tree branches. However, he did not do so and instead, asked her once more.
“…Are you in trouble? If so—“
“—Hey, old man, where’d you come from.”
A low, menacing voice interrupted Sebas.
A man appeared from the doorway. Thick chest and arms with a scar on his face, the man glared sharply at Sebas with a hostility that was plain for anyone to see. The lantern in his hand shined a red light.
“Oi, oi, oi. What’re you staring at, old man?”
The man loudly clicked his tongue and gestured with his chin.
“Get lost. If you leave now then I’ll let you go in one piece.”
Seeing that Sebas did not move even after his warning, the man took a step forward. The door behind him slammed shut with a heavy thud. Very slowly, the man menacingly set down the lantern at his feet.
“Hey gramps, you deaf?”
The man spun his shoulder, cracked his neck, and slowly raised his right fist. He obviously was not someone who would hesitate to resort to violence.
“Hmm…”
Sebas smiled, one well suited for the expression of an elderly gentleman. His smile made others feel his kindness and experience a powerful sense of relief. But for some reason, the man took a step back, as if a powerful carnivore had appeared in front of him without warning.
“Uhh, uh, uh, wha—“
Pressed back by Sebas’ smile, the man uttered incoherently. Without even realizing that his breathing grew harsh, the man tried to retreat back farther.
Sebas fastened the scroll he had been holding in his hand until now to his belt, the one he bought from the Magician’s Guild. He took exactly one step forward in order to close the distance between him and the man and stretched out his hand. The man could not even react to that movement. The hand that was grasping onto the hem of Sebas’ pants fell to the ground without a sound.
As if that was the signal, the outstretched hand grabbed the man’s throat and— too easily, his body was lifted into the air.
When comparing Sebas with the man based solely on their outer appearance, Sebas had no chance of victory. Age, thickness of the chest, arms, height, weight, and the smell of violence that their bodies exuded, Sebas could not beat him in anything.
That old gentleman had lifted the powerful heavyweight of a man into the air with one hand—
— No, that wasn’t the case. If there was a third party present, that person may be able to keenly sense the ‘difference’ between the two men. Humans possessed the senses of living creatures— even if they were duller than that of wild animals, would they not realize it if such a clear distinction was placed before them?
The ‘difference’ between Sebas and the man was—
— the difference between the strongest and the weakest.
Now completely off the ground, the man thrashed his feet about and twisted his body. As he tried to grab Sebas’ arm with his hands, his eyes filled with terror, as if he had come to a realization.
The man had just managed to figure out that the old man in front of him was an existence completely at odds with his outer appearance. Useless retaliation would only serve to further anger the monster in front of him.
“That girl, ‘what’ is she?”
A quiet voice flowed into the man who had stiffened up with fear.
His voice flowed quietly, like clear water. The stark contrast with how he was easily holding the man in the air with one hand only served to terrify him further.
“S-She’s our employee.”
The man responded desperately, his voice etched in fear.
“I asked ‘what’ she was. Are you replying to my question by saying that she is an ‘employee’?”
The man wondered if he had given the wrong answer. But was that not the most correct reply in this situation? His wide eyes looked about frantically, moving around like the eyes of a scared animal.
“Ah, there are some among my comrades who also treat humans like objects. I ventured to guess whether or not you also fall under that category. If you saw humans as objects, then you would not feel any remorse. But you replied by referring to her as an employee. Then you have done what you did while recognizing her as a human, correct? I will ask you again. What were you going to do with her?”
The man thought briefly. However—
A sound like something being crushed rang out.
Strength went into Sebas’ arm, instantly making it painful for the man to breathe.
“—Urrkgahhh!”
The man screamed with a bizarre noise as Sebas channeled strength into his hand, making it even more difficult for him to breathe. ‘I will not give you the time to ponder, answer immediately.’ His message was clear.
“S-She’s sick. I was taking her to the temp—“
“—I do not like lies.”
“Gaaghhah!”
The strength in Sebas’ arm grew even stronger and the man’s face became dyed completely red as he screamed out once more. Even if he could suspend all disbelief and acknowledge that putting her into a sack to transport her to the temple was a possibility, Sebas could not sense even a shred of concern from the man towards the girl when that same sack was dashed against the ground, like he was throwing out the trash.