Chapter 92

In a dilapidated port warehouse district. Among the warehouses, which are rumored to be used by rough and dangerous underworld figures, there is a building attached to one of them. In one of its rooms, a man named Hayano Ran, or rather, a man who now goes by the name Zephyrus, sat on a sofa with cotton poking out, its appearance old and worn. He propped his feet up on a tilted table and drank his wine cheerfully.

He gulped down the wine, and red liquid dripped from the corners of his mouth. After throwing the empty wine bottle onto the table, he wiped his mouth roughly.

"Haha, it was quite an interesting battle."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it, darling."

Sitting next to him, leaning against him, was his wife, Kanimi. She now goes by the name Flora and was looking at Zephyrus with a delighted expression.

"…Mr. Ran, wasn't there a promise to kill Hoshizuru and the others and kidnap Miu?"

A man in a suit, sitting opposite, asked with a slight look of irritation on his face.

"Hmm? Was there? Ah, maybe there was. But that kid, despite his appearance, was quite vicious."

In his slightly drunk state, he vaguely remembered making such a deal with the man opposite. He had completely forgotten about it since the moment ‘Anemoi’ was found at the mansion.

"You must have let your guard down, right?"

"Indeed, I did let my guard down… but that kid had a dangerous look in his eyes. He enjoyed the battle at his age. Not normal at all."

The man looked at him with a critical eye, but Zephyrus didn't care. That kid was dangerous, with an unfathomable light in his eyes. It was as if he was looking at something completely different from Zephyrus. But explaining it wouldn't make sense.

"Just a 10-year-old kid… Well, it's fine. I expect you to do a good job from now on."

Sighing in resignation, the self-proclaimed baron continued.

"We'll leave here tomorrow. A ship is scheduled to pick us up."

"Alright, leave it to me."

"Your subordinates are ready. They are all skilled mages. They should be useful for your mercenary activities."

"Am I the leader?"

The man nodded at Zephyrus, who looked at him with a dubious expression. No matter what, this man was a skilled wind mage. Not many could control ‘Anemoi’ like he could.

"Of course. Only you can handle ‘Anemoi’. However, once we return to the base, we will analyze ‘Anemoi’. We want to mass-produce it."

"Sure, do your best. Did you kill the guy who made Flora's ‘Anemoi Replica’?"

"The research facility was destroyed in an accident. The technology for ‘Flying Magic Armor’ is valuable."

The man answered casually, with no trace of guilt on his face. It was as if it was a matter of course. Ignoring the man's attitude, Zephyrus chuckled.

"Then, I'll have a meeting with my subordinates later. I'd like to start the first job this month, so please keep a firm grip on them."

"Leave it to me. I believe it was about kidnapping druids in Tokyo. Are there really people living in such a wasteland?"

"Yes. We confirmed it with drones, though it was quickly destroyed. The area is designated as dangerous, but that's why the druids, who live in harmony with nature, reside there. There are people who will pay a high price for them."

"Hmm, well, fine. As long as the reward is substantial. Hey, bring me some new wine. And my name is Zephyrus."

"Understood, Mr. Zephyrus."

With a casual response, the man gave up on the conversation, stood up, and opened the door, shouting loudly.

"Hey, wine! Anyone! Hey, bring me some!"

In the dimly lit, concrete-walled corridor, the man's voice echoed, but there was no response, only an eerie silence.

"Huh? That's strange… Are they all sleeping? They should be awake even at night."

The man looked puzzled, but just as he heard small footsteps, he felt a shock at his neck, and something passed by.

"What? Wh-what is this?"

The man's vision flipped, and he hit the ground with a dull thud. For some reason, his body appeared in his field of vision… and his consciousness faded into darkness.

"Hey, you!"

The man who opened the door had his head cut off and collapsed on the floor. Seeing this, Flora turned pale and stood up. Zephyrus's eyes turned fierce as he stood up and braced himself.

"Huh? …Is it that kid?"

A small figure, wearing a robe with the hood pulled deep over their face and sunglasses, had just thrown the blood from a short sword. The figure's build was unmistakable.

"My name is ‘Loki’. Zephyrus, it seems we are in opposite positions this time."

The voice was as cute as a bird's chirp, but the aura was different from the kid he fought earlier, exuding a dangerous presence. Zephyrus understood from the stance alone that this was a different master.

"‘Loki’… I heard you stole the kid's appearance… Are you here to kill me?"

The kid from earlier was different in skill. Zephyrus inwardly cursed and glanced at ‘Anemoi’ in the corner of the room. There was no time to put it on.

"Zephyrus, I'll kill you here."

‘Loki’ calmly declared, holding a short sword infused with powerful magic. Zephyrus tried to find an opening but found none.

"Done, miss."

"Really, humans in this world are weak at infiltration. Maybe we're just too strong."

Worse yet, two more people appeared from the corridor. An old man with obvious powerful magic and a beautiful woman he had never seen before. It seemed they had killed everyone in the building, but they were as calm as if they had just finished pest control.

"Zephyrus, I'll kill you here. Keeping you alive would only lead to more trouble."

After glancing at the two, ‘Loki’ slightly crouched. But in that instant, Zephyrus saw an opening and acted.

"Tch! But you're too soft!"

‘Gale’

Zephyrus used wind magic to accelerate his body. A gust of wind swept through, and he reached ‘Anemoi’, placing his hand on the armor.

"Honey!"

"Yes, darling!"

‘Gale’

Using the same magic, Flora leaped into Zephyrus's arms, activating the power of ‘Anemoi’s’ artifact.

‘Wind Transfer’

Their bodies dissolved into the wind, starting the transfer to another hidden location.

"Haha, I don't know how you found me, but goodbye!"

The scene shifted, and the transfer should have been complete. However, the wind dissipated, and the three were still in front of him.

"What! Why!"

"That reaction is already something ‘Loki’ has done."

The beautiful woman, with a bored expression, pointed a gun at him.

"It seems we don't need to show the power of great magic."

The old man infused his hand with immense magic and cast a spell.

‘Earth Blast’

A rock projectile, about a meter long and as sharp as a spear, was launched from the magic circle drawn at the gun's muzzle. Despite the shock, Zephyrus quickly cast a defensive spell.

‘Windstorm Barrier’

A barrier of violent wind, capable of repelling physical attacks, tried to block the projectile.

"What!"

"Ah!"

However, the rock projectile pierced through the wind barrier. Its power was slightly diminished, but the meter-long projectile still blew Zephyrus away.

‘Earth Dragon II’

Blown away and slammed into the concrete floor, Zephyrus saw darkness before his eyes and grimaced.

"I remember, licking one's lips is a Japanese thing, merciless bastard!"

In front of Zephyrus, a large rock dragon's head, made entirely of stone and exuding terrifying magic, opened its mouth. Its teeth, sharper than any magic sword, were about to swallow him whole.

With a single gulp, Zephyrus and the others were consumed, and a dull thud echoed.

"Mmm, that was quick."

Putting away her queen dagger, Miu checked the log of the defeated enemy.

‘Killed Zephyrus and the others!’

It was over so quickly, she thought, as she picked up the discarded ‘Anemoi’ and its replica, storing them in her item box. Dismantling this ‘Anemoi’ should yield the ‘Wings of Anemoi’.

If this were a novel, she would have given him time to equip ‘Anemoi’, but since she's just a minor character, she doesn't care.

There is something else to consider.

"Old man, did you end it in one hit for my sake?"

"Hmm, you are family, after all. I don't mind, and I don't think the miss does either, but Frigg did."

The old man, Odin, looked at Frigg with a bored expression. Surprising, Frigg cared.

"Even though I'm the older brother, I thought about your future."

"…Thank you, Frigg."

Frigg's concern was unusual. As Odin said, it shouldn't matter, but this was someone who could endanger the family. A random event could lead to the death of her parents.

Hmm, but thinking about her father, maybe a tiny bit of resentment, a micron, was born. You do something good once in a while, Frigg.

"Frigg… If you didn't open the trunk, I would have been more grateful."

"What? We need to escape quickly. That's why I opened the trunk while talking, ah, gems and ingots! Bingo, you did have valuable stuff."

Hooray, Frigg opened the trunk next to the sofa and jumped for joy. It was filled with accessories, platinum, and gold ingots, making her ecstatic. She would be a perfect spy if not for this.

"Should we leave any signs that Zephyrus was here?"

Without any signs of Zephyrus, it would be easier to blame future troubles on him. So, the old man asked, but… it's a tough decision.

"Hmm… Wasn't there a son of this couple somewhere?"

There should have been a foolish son.

"No, there wasn't. There were only a few mercenaries and some suspicious thugs."

"…Was I abandoned?"

It might have been a lucky break for him, as his life would have been dark if he were here.

"He didn't seem like a man who cared for his son."

"True… So, he was probably abandoned somewhere. Yeah, we should leave signs that Zephyrus and the others died. If we blame future events on ‘Loki’, it won't be on Zephyrus. It's not right for the son to suffer for something his parents didn't do. Well, he seemed like he would self-destruct anyway."

There's no need to burden him with unnecessary guilt. ‘Loki’ is here, after all.

"He might become a man consumed by revenge."

"He came to kill and was killed. Let him be consumed by revenge. I'm not as kind as Shin. Let's withdraw. Make sure no one knows who killed them."

Looking back at the goddess's testing eyes, he stuck out his tongue and blew a raspberry. He doesn't feel that much guilt.

I'm not kind enough to save someone who came to kill me. I'm the arrogant god ‘Loki’, after all.