r18novel Page 53
Page 53
"Didn't you tell me you were just here to watch the show?!" Samurai yelled, shoving his mouth close to the phone's microphone. "If I hadn't run fast, you'd be in big trouble!"
"It can't be that serious..."
"It's not that serious?" the samurai scoffed. "Do you know how many people have died underground? They were all my beloved family, friends, and brothers!"
"...Do I have to pay more?"
“It costs more money,” the samurai said decisively.
"..." The voice on the other end of the phone seemed speechless.
"Do you think I would have done this if it weren't for your father's sake—"
"Boss..." The samurai suddenly felt a hand pat his shoulder from behind.
"Get out of here, can't you see I'm busy right now?" He impatiently shook off the hand. "I won't bother with what kind of business you're in, after all, we're all in this line of work for money. But if the money isn't right, our cooperation ends here."
"No! Mr. Takahashi! Wait!" The voice on the other end of the phone was completely panicked. "My father has frozen all my cards! I really don't have any more money right now, could you...?"
"Then I can only wish you good luck, Mr. Sato. From now on, pray that Afterglow doesn't find you." The samurai hung up the phone without hesitation, leaning against the truck behind him and exhaling a breath of stale air. "Luckily, I set it on fire beforehand, otherwise I would have almost been dragged into this mess..."
"Boss." That hand patted him again, not giving up.
"What are you doing?!" The samurai turned around with a displeased look and saw a fawning smile.
“As Mr. Sato instructed,” he said, rubbing his hands together as if to take credit, “we’ve brought the rest of them…”
The samurai stiffly raised his head and saw dozens of terrified boys and girls behind him. The bottle in his hand slipped to the ground.
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It's dawn... Has so much time already passed?
The sense of time spent in captivity has long since become blurred.
Takamatsu looked up, and the blinding sunlight made her unconsciously squint her amber eyes.
...Luckily, I specifically told Xiao Ai not to keep seeing me off...otherwise, she would probably have been kidnapped by that person who was following us by now...
The handcuffs were tightly binding her wrists, causing a burning pain. She tried to move them slightly, but the pain only intensified.
Will Mom and Dad be worried...?
A strong, bittersweet feeling suddenly welled up in her nose, but she bit her lip hard, forcibly holding back her tears.
You can't cry, or people will notice.
Just then, the crowd in front suddenly stirred and began to move slowly forward.
At the very front of the line, a girl who looked very young seemed to have stepped on something and stumbled.
"What are you dawdling for? Hurry up!" The man with a fierce face and menacing eyes raised his foot without any mercy and kicked her hard in the back.
The girl cried out in pain and fell forward, her knees hitting the cold metal floor of the carriage hard.
She immediately gritted her teeth and struggled to get up, but her body trembled and wouldn't obey her commands.
"I'm sorry...I'm sorry..." The girl's voice was choked with sobs as she apologized incoherently, struggling to her feet.
Perhaps due to extreme nervousness, she had barely taken a step when she suddenly bent over and began to vomit violently. The acidic fluid, mixed with the last remaining food scraps in her stomach, spilled onto the floor, landing squarely on the man's gleaming leather shoes.
The girl's face turned deathly pale.
"Damn it, this is so unlucky—" The man stomped his foot, ignoring her, and yelled at another guard next to him, "Hurry up and get me a piece of paper!"
While he was polishing his shoes, the girl gritted her teeth and scrambled forward.
Once everyone had squeezed into the carriage, the heavy door slammed shut with a loud bang, and the familiar darkness descended once more.
In the darkness, only suppressed breathing and faint sobs could be heard.
The girl felt a figure move and sit down next to her. In the extremely dim light, she could see that it was a girl with short gray hair and amber eyes.
"Are you alright?" Takamatsu looked down and gestured to her knee.
A thin, long gash appeared on his fair knee when he fell, and blood was slowly seeping out.
The girl didn't say anything, but silently lowered her head even further.
"I have some band-aids in my pocket," Gao Songdeng said softly, turning slightly to show his coat pocket. "Do you need them?"
The girl paused for a moment, then saw Takamatsu Akari turn around and point her pockets at her back.
She instantly understood what Gao Songdeng meant. With difficulty, she moved her handcuffed hands, rummaged in her pocket, pulled out a band-aid with a penguin pattern, peeled it off little by little, and carefully stuffed the sticky tape back into Gao Songdeng's hand.
The two groped silently in the dark and carefully placed the still-warm band-aid on the wound on the knee.
Then they sat side by side again, drawing a tiny bit of warmth from each other.
"Thank you," the girl suddenly said in the silence.
Takamatsu shook her head, then, realizing the other person couldn't see, gently touched her shoulder with her own.
Not long after, she heard intermittent sobbing beside her.
"I miss my mom so much..." the girl whispered. "Do you... do you miss her too?"
"Hmm..." Takamatsu Akari responded softly, "My parents must be worried about me, and..."
Gao Songdeng suddenly remembered a figure with long black hair who, despite not being on the same route, always insisted on taking her to her doorstep.
“...Let me sing you a song,” she suddenly said.
"Huh?" The girl's sobbing suddenly stopped, and she looked bewildered.
Without waiting for the girl's reply, Takamatsu Akari's unique, slightly hoarse voice rang out.
"Her heart was filled with sorrow, her eyes darted around..."
The sound wasn't loud, but it carried a strange penetrating power.
The suppressed sobs and low curses in the carriage seemed to gradually subside with the gentle singing.
In the darkness, countless eyes gazed in the direction from which the song was coming.
"I am all alone in this world."
"In this ever-fading spring—"
A deafening bang suddenly interrupted the singing.
"What do you mean 'hungry again'? Didn't I just feed you?!" The man from before complained, holding his phone and opening the car door with his other hand.
"Alright, alright! I'll send one over, okay?" He hung up the phone impatiently, put his phone back in his pocket, and scanned the carriage with his eyes.
Everyone lowered their heads and held their breath, not daring to utter a single sound.
The girl's body trembled violently, and she shrank back to Takamatsu Akira in fear.
The next second, the man's eyes locked onto her precisely.
Suddenly a smile appeared.
"It's just you."
He scrambled into the carriage, his heavy footsteps echoing in the empty metal space as he approached the girl.
"No! No—!!" The girl tried desperately to shrink back, but he grabbed her hair and dragged her away.
"Ah—!!!" The excruciating pain made her scream. She was pulled up from the ground by an irresistible force, her legs kicking futilely in the air, her shoes brushing against the clothes and bodies of the people next to her.
Even when they were affected, the people around them just dodged to the sides in fear.
"Help! Help me—! Please!!" The girl's desperate cries echoed in the carriage.
No one moved, no one made a sound.
Only countless pairs of eyes, filled with fear and numbness, quickly looked away in the blinding light.
They just trembled, silently watching the girl who had been trembling just like them, being dragged into the open carriage of another car.
Then pray that you won't be next.
Takamatsu's body tensed up suddenly, as if he wanted to do something, but his path was blocked by a crowd of people crammed in front of him.
"Let me go—! Bastard! Let me go—" The girl's cries and struggles reached their peak when she reached the car door.
After a muffled thud, the sound stopped.
Takamatsu seemed to have all her strength drained away, and slowly lowered her head.
I saw a penguin-shaped band-aid lying on the ground.
Dark red bloodstains flowed silently beside them, extending all the way to the carriage door.
Then, a crisp sound of bones breaking came from outside the carriage door.
This was followed by the rhythmic sounds of chewing and the dripping of liquid—
Melodious and lengthy.
Like a melody that never ends.
Chapter Fifty-Eight Collapse
With a screeching sound from the rusty hinges, the rickety office door was kicked open by Koshimura Sawa.
The room was in complete disarray, with tables and chairs askew and scattered scraps of paper covering the floor.
“Too late again…” Koshimura Sawa’s hoarse voice rang out.
He released the guitar sword from his hand. Before the blade even hit the ground, it vanished into the air like sand scattered by the wind, turning into specks of pale blue light.
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Name: Koshimura Sawa
【Sex: Male】
[Race; Variant Human]
【Class: Evil Sorcerer (Spellsword Master) lv.3】
【力量：10(+0) 敏捷：14（+2） 体质：14（+2） 智力：13（+2） 感知：10（+0） 魅力：18（+4）】
[Specialty: Targeted Contact with Species (Silver Light Sharp Words)]
[Fel Invocation: Painful Arcane Explosion, Demon's Vision]
[Magical Items: Astral Shard, Wah-Wah Effect]
[Known Spells]
[Trick: Magic Explosion, Thunder Sword]
[First Ring: Vulnerability Curse, Shield, Silver Whisper, Blazing Slash]
[Second Ring; Mysterious Steps, Shadow Blade]
【Shadow Blade｜Shadow Blade】
[Second Ring Illusion]
[Casting Time: 1 minute, Bonus Action]
[Casting Range: Self]
[Duration: Focused, maximum 1 minute]
[You weave shadows into a tangible sword in your hand. This magical sword lasts until the spell ends. It is considered a simple melee weapon with proficiency, dealing 2d8 Mind damage on hit, and possesses the characteristics of dexterity, lightness, and throwing (range 20/60). When you use this sword to attack a target in dim light or darkness, your attack rolls have an advantage.]
If you drop or throw this weapon, it will dissipate at the end of the turn. Afterwards, if the spell continues, you can reappear the sword in your hand with a bonus action.
[Upgraded Ring Casting Effect: When you cast this spell at the third or fourth ring, its damage increases to 3d8. At the fifth or sixth ring, it increases to 4d8. At the seventh ring or higher, it increases to 5d8.]
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【Pact Boon】
At level 3, your lord bestows upon you a gift as a reward for your loyal service.
[The Blade Pact has been selected]
【Pact of the Blade】