"Can you actually even have classes down there?" Wayland asked, his mind reeling at the logistical nightmare of a school at that depth.
"I saw your file there," Seiji replied, his voice calm yet heavy with implication.
"?"
Wayland felt a shiver run down his spine, his face paling. "Hey, you're joking, right? You just said the records there are the most classified and terrifying in the world. Why would my file be among them?"
"I'm not lying to you. But unfortunately, I am physically unable to tell you what was in it."
"You're definitely lying. You've already defected; what could possibly be holding you back now?" Wayland pointed out the obvious flaw in his logic.
"Anyone who enters the Bureau of Mystery Revelation--even a Lord--is placed under a curse. The condition for its activation is revealing any information found within those halls. If I were to tell you even a single detail from your file, my soul would shatter instantly, leaving not a trace behind in the root."
"Wait, even if you're from the Bureau of Secret Remains, you shouldn't have the authority to access those kinds of classified files."
"Under normal circumstances, you're right. I would have no way to enter the Mystery Revelation chambers."
Seiji spoke with a chilling level of detachment as he dropped a bombshell. "But since I had already decided to defect, I made it a point to infiltrate the Bureau yesterday."
"Why did you defect? You have to know you'll never make it back to Japan. You won't even make it out of London."
"I know."
Seiji looked down at the white cat, watching it eat with a small, sad smile. Such a simple, uncomplicated happiness. 'If only,' he thought. "I've been researched and dissected for long enough. It was time to collect a little interest on that debt. Besides... I saw hope. Hope for my family."
"Hope?" Wayland recalled what Louis had told him. "You mean your bloodline?"
"Over the years, I've been subjected to repeated artificial activations of my demonic blood. It won't be much longer before I lose my humanity entirely and become nothing more than a beast."
Seiji stared directly into Wayland's eyes, his voice dropping to a low, intense whisper. "That's why I was looking for you!"
"?"
Wayland instinctively took a step back.
'Why are you shouting at me? Go find the Clock Tower! What does this have to do with me?'
"I told you, I saw your records in the Bureau of Mystery Revelation. Our meeting today wasn't luck; I sought you out specifically."
"And why me? I'm just a third-rate magus."
Seiji let out a hollow laugh. "Your file says otherwise. It's a tragedy that I lack the strength to resist the curse and tell you the truth."
"Tragedy indeed."
Wayland shook his head in frustration. He had a sickening gut feeling that the reason for his transmigration was buried somewhere in those forbidden files.
"I want to make a deal with you." Seiji stood up, squinting at the clouds drifting across the London sky.
"What kind of deal?"
"I want you to eventually find a way into the Bureau of Mystery Revelation, find the volume concerning demonic bloodlines, and deliver it to the Asagami family."
"..."
Wayland fell silent for a long moment. "I don't even know if I can fulfill a request like that. I want to see my own file, certainly, but it'll be a long time before I have the strength to even approach that place."
"I believe in you."
Wayland froze, struck by the absolute sincerity in Seiji's voice. What exactly had he seen in those files that gave him such blind faith in a magus ranked at the very bottom?
"According to the principle of Equivalent Exchange, I will pay you in advance."
Seiji reached into his coat and produced a small, ornately carved teal box.
Wayland felt the card in his pocket begin to pulse with a searing heat. He pulled it out; the crystal-like surface was now etched with glowing, liquid light that looked like molten lava.
He looked at Seiji in disbelief. "You aren't giving me the Dragon Tooth, are you? I can't keep that. The Clock Tower will hunt me to the ends of the earth if I try to pocket it."
"Of course it isn't the tooth. I stole that as part of an experiment on my bloodline, but unfortunately, it was a failure. What I'm giving you is a Dragon Scale Fragment. You don't need to worry about its origin; it won't bring any trouble to your door."
"I'd be taking advantage of you. A dragon scale is far more valuable than a promise for a future that might never happen. This doesn't follow Equivalent Exchange."
Seiji smiled. "You're a strange one. Anyone else would be ecstatic to receive a dragon scale; they wouldn't waste a second thought on fairness. But from my perspective, I'm the one getting the better end of the deal. A single fragment in exchange for the survival of an entire family... is there anything more precious than hope?"
Wayland didn't argue further. He took the teal box with a solemn nod.
Seiji's smile widened. He knelt back down, gently scratching the white cat behind the ears, giving it one final massage. Once the cat had finished its meal, he picked it up and placed it gently beneath the oak tree.
"Follow me."
Seiji led the way deeper into the alley. About a hundred meters from the tree, he stopped and turned around.
For some reason, Wayland felt a sudden, icy wave of dread wash over him.
The warmth of the London afternoon seemed to vanish in an instant.
"What is it?" he asked, his voice trembling slightly.
Seiji's expression was uncharacteristically solemn. "Now, for the final part of our deal."
"What?"
"Kill me."
Wayland's eyes widened in horror.
The air around them began to shimmer with heat. Though it was a crisp September day, it suddenly felt like the height of a blistering summer.
The chill in Wayland's heart only deepened. He felt as if he were sinking into a lightless abyss.
At the end of the silent alley, waves of heat distorted the air in the single meter of space between them.
"This... this is the final activation of my bloodline. I am about to become a beast. Kill me now. Take the credit for my capture to the Policies Department. Use it to climb their ranks. Don't... don't stop..."
Seiji's voice was swallowed by a roar of searing prana.
Almost instantly, the surrounding alley erupted into flames. Trees, weeds, and even the stones themselves seemed to catch fire as tongues of flame rolled across the ground.
"ROAARRR!"
The sound wasn't human. It was the mindless, gut-wrenching shriek of a monster--a creature beyond emotion, beyond struggle.
Seiji's pitch-black shell loomed over Wayland. The flames didn't leave a single mark on his skin; it was as smooth as ice, yet looked like the sharpest of weapons.
His hands had vanished, replaced by the powerful forelimbs of a beast. He had grown to a massive three meters in height, exuding an oppressive, nauseating aura. His head was a mass of warped, pulsing flesh, like a balloon being overinflated. The skin tore as the skull expanded, blood congealing into a dark, burnt crimson. The smell of scorched flesh was overwhelming.
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]