[Earth - Central City, Black Market]
The dim underground light of the capital illuminated the black market, almost everyone here wore black robes and masks to conceal their identity.
Inside a dark alley, stood a young man with his cigarette, his clothes worn and shabby, his black hair disheveled, and his green eyes drooping as though drained of all hope.
Unlike the others who wore robes or masks — he didn't, or more precisely, couldn't.
If one looked more carefully, on his neck there was a seal that revealed his identity, a slave.
Beneath him, several cigarette butts had already fallen, and as the one in his hand burned out, he lit another.
"Mordred, you still smoking? Really? C'mon, you're really addicted, huh?" An old voice came from his left in front of the door.
An old man with his bald head, he had a big scar on his head. He was also had a slave sigil on his neck.
Mordred nodded, still inhaling his cigarette.
"Yeah, it makes me a little bit better after work," He said calmly.
The old man's expression creased, he let out a sigh while scratching his bald head.
"Suit yourself, I won't be responsible if you die young from smoking too much. Come on, the boss is calling us," He said, and then he led Mordred toward the inside of a bar familiar to him.
After walking for several minutes through the dark corridor, they finally arrived.
Before him, there were a dozen slaves in full uniform, lined up neatly waiting for orders, Mordred and the old man naturally fell in line with them.
Tap-Tap-Tap
The sound of footsteps echoed, a well-built man whose muscular frame could not be hidden by his formal attire, eight of his fingers adorned with gold rings, a creased and stern face, appeared before them.
Antonio Giovarno, the head of the Grigio cartel, a level 8 cartel group focused on drug trafficking and illegal weapons operating underground in Central City.
"Slave!" Antonio shouted, Mordred's shoulders trembled slightly from the voice that seemed capable of shattering eardrums.
Fuck... I'll never get used to this shit.
"Tonight, is a decisive night for the future of our group. As I have told you several times, in this mission you will — no, you must die!"
Those words that left his mouth silenced everyone, cold sweat ran down everyone's foreheads.
Even though they had been told beforehand, not a single person could remain calm in this situation, who would just stay quiet when told to die? No one, but the slave seal on their necks erased the option to refuse and flee.
Antonio noticed the silence of the slaves before him, yet he simply closed his eyes and opened them again as though nothing had happened.
Antonio lit his cigar, inhaled it, and spoke quietly.
"Even though I said you all must die, it's not really like that, there is a slight chance you will stay alive. Do you understand?"
Mordred bit his lip, the warmth of the cigarette he had smoked earlier was already gone.
He wanted to protest, performing a kamikaze and sacrificing himself had a small chance of survival he said? Impossible, even Mordred who had survived the brink of death countless times could already feel the death god's scythe at his neck right now.
It's a miracle... More than fate needed to survive, that's... Impossible.
Antonio nodded his head heavily, realizing there was nothing more to be said between them, and walked out of the room.
"Gather at the west warehouse in 5 hours, prepare yourselves."
All of Slaves answer him, "Yes sir!"
After he left, everyone let out a heavy sigh. Mordred immediately stepped outside as well, the atmosphere of despair didn't suit him right now, what he needed was quiet.
As he was smoking in a narrow alley, the old bald man from before came along carrying a bottle of alcohol, his face flushed from being drunk.
"Old man Scott, you drunk? Now how did you get to be present on that operation?"
Old man Scott seemed to pay no mind to Mordred's question, and he spoke to him slightly slurred.
"Yo, Mordred! Still smoking? Ah... Why don't you drink some alcohol with me? It's so... Good."
Mordred shook his head with a thin smile, "Nope, I'm not old enough for that."
"Hell nah, you're smoking but not drinking? It's not good! Let's go drinking! Hahaha!"
"... Shut the fuck up." Mordred could only shake his head helplessly facing old man Scott who was already drunk.
Staring at the ceiling of the underground city, Mordred asked the old man.
"Oy, old man. Are you happy?" He asked.
Old man Scott paused his lips that were gulping down alcohol, and swallowed it before answering.
"Huh? What do you mean? Yes, of course I'm happy."
"Even as a slave?" He asked again, Mordred couldn't stay calm no matter how he tried, after being reminded once more of his approaching time of death.
He reflected back on his life.
It's not... Really special, isn't it? It's so mundane.
Ordinary, even though he said that, anyone could say that his life was quite miserable.
He was born into a common family on a numbered-series planet at the edge of the galaxy, his father was a C-Rank Hunter, and his mother was a seamstress.
He spent his childhood happily, until an interstellar war broke out, his father was forcibly conscripted to become a soldier, the once peaceful planet was colonized by a planet from another solar system.
His father fell in the war, his mother was forced to become a prostitute just to put a morsel of food on his plate — food whose price had become equivalent to gold due to the blocked trade.
Until finally the war reached its peak, his home planet was destroyed after being struck by weapons of mass destruction, he and his mother were separated, and he became a slave who was then purchased by the Grigio cartel.
Yeah, it was so bad...
Mordred put out his cigarette, walking out into the street with light steps while letting out a sigh.
"However, forget it. We're going to die anyway, what's the point of thinking about whether life is happy or not."
He paused for a moment.
"C'mon, let's spend the rest of our lives having fun."
Old man Scott chuckled, "Huh, you're right. Where should we go?" He asked.
"Where else? Let's go gambling!"
***
"Hah... We lost it all, isn't?" An old voice heard from my right side, old man Scott breath sounded flagging.
"That's right, we must've been cheated! They were rigging it—"
"Yeah of course, they are illegal casinos," Old man Scott cut in.
"Right..."
Old man Scott took out his watch, checked the time and then spoke to me.
"It's almost time, let's go."
My breath caught slightly upon hearing his words. No matter what, five hours was an incredibly short amount of time, compared to the average human life expectancy of around 300-400 years, I had only lived 17 of those.
"... Okay," I said with a voice that was slightly hoarse, and then stepped forward with a heavy heart..
[Earth, Central City Underground, West Warehouse]
Dozens of cartel members and armed slaves gathered in formation, before them stood Antonio Giovarno who was toying with a Greatsword in his hand as though it were nothing but a plaything.
After a moment, the chime of a bell from the abandoned church next door rang out.
DONG—
The sound echoed, Antonio rose from his seat.
"It's time, prepare to fight!" He commanded.
"Ready!" His subordinates answered in unison.
Outside the warehouse, dozens of armored knights surrounded them from every side, on the chest of their silver armor, the symbol of the Elventia Empire was displayed prominently.
"You criminals, surrender or die! You are being detained for the various crimes you have committed! Obey the imperial law!" Said one of the knights leading at the front.
Antonio remained silent inside the warehouse, together with dozens of his men who were prepared to ambush.
Shit! Those damned traitors, if only they hadn't leaked our information, this underground capital wouldn't have been sealed off like this!
He glared at the knights with irritation while cursing in his heart.
If only there had been no traitor among them, the imperial knights would never have been able to discover where their main headquarters was in the underground hotel, they were fortunate to have escaped with only minimal casualties, but the underground capital became sealed due to their pursuit, and not a single person could leave this place.
Because of that, pressure and condemnation from every direction came crashing down on their cartel group, which forced him to take this dangerous step with barely any hope at all — by sacrificing all of his members and then escaping when the battle broke out.
He had only told this plan to a few of his trusted men, who he also planned to escape alongside, but for those who weren't, he didn't care. They were nothing more than pawns that could be gathered again whenever he pleased.
Antonio looked into the eyes of his trusted men, who also looked back at him with faint smiles on their faces, then his gaze drifted toward the slaves and worthless subordinates whom he regarded like insects.
On the other side, Mordred who was waiting on the far end of the warehouse was whispering to his fellow slaves. Despite the tense atmosphere, they had already resigned themselves to their fated deaths, which led them to exchange a few last words with one another.
"Hey John, I heard you were in love with Emma, the daughter of meat butcher Roland right? How is it? Did you confessed to her?" I asked him.
"Hell nah, I'm too afraid, I can't!"
The others who heard that immediately felt disappointed, and someone said, "Aw man, you're so pathetic."
John fired back quickly, "You too, you're getting lost in the upper city for the entire two days just because you're drunk right? Hah! Stupid!"
Pfft—!
A stifled laugh was heard from beside John, it was me.
"You..." Said the man who had just been humiliated by John, after that we all laughed as though there was no tomorrow, quite literally.
After all, this was the last time we would joke around like this.
Suddenly, just as they had finished laughing, the warehouse door exploded, and dozens of knights immediately came bursting through.
"Shit! We miss it! Fight!"
Dozens of knights and roughly a hundred cartel members and slaves fought brutally, although our side outnumbered them, their side possessed greater individual strength and coordination.
Blood quickly began to flow, body parts flew through the air.
My eyes trembled as I watched John get his throat slashed right before my eyes, but I swiftly lunged forward and drove my blade into the knight's stomach until he fell dead.
Thrust—!
I pulled out my sword, blood coating my hands. My gaze immediately fixed on the battlefield before me.
Hopeless... Huh...
My breath rose and fell, but for the last time, I prayed.
Let me kill one more...!
I leapt straight at one of the knights' face, my body was immediately slammed by him into the wall, as his sword nearly reached my body, another fellow slave deflected his blade and I finished it with a slash across the neck.
My breath immediately rose and fell, blood from the knight I had just killed smeared my cheek, the familiar rusty iron scent blinded my sense of smell.
My eyes glanced upward, sure enough, that bastard Antonio had already fled with his dogs.
Scratch—!
A foreign heat enveloped my stomach, slashed from behind by a knight, fortunately I quickly stepped back and wasn't wounded too deeply.
"Kgh...!"
I nearly writhed from the pain, but the figure before me could have ended me right then and there, now my body was flooded with adrenaline.
My fellow slave who had been beside me earlier lay lifeless behind me, while I was cornered here alone.
"... Aaargh!"
—Cling!
My sword was immediately blocked by him, and he kicked me right on my wound until I couldn't move at all as a buzzing sound filled my hearing.
As I looked up, a silver sword coated in thick red liquid was directed downward toward my head.
I closed my eyes while cursing.
Fuck!
In an instant, the world fell silent.
"Wha..."
As I opened my eyes, everything had stopped, as though time had frozen within my sight.
"What in the world—"
Just before I finished my curse, something startled me.
[Congratulations!]
[You're awakened!]
"Huh? I'm... Awakened? At this fucking time?" I said while pointing at the sword aimed directly at my face.
Even though I could move, I couldn't shift my body from this position.
I let out a sigh, at least I could rest a little here.
"Ha... Status."
[Name : Mordred Ashton
Class : Duality Malfunction
Job : Swordman/Mage
Rank : G
Mana : G+
Speed : G
Dex : G-
Str : G
Mp : G
Luck : D+
Skill :
— Job Exchange \
Description: Can be used to change your job. Your job right now : Swordman.
— Voice of Something \
Description: Allowed user to hear a voice.]
"Skill S rank?" I said, my eyes went wide.
S-Rank was supposed to be a powerful skill, but why was its description like that? Hearing a voice? I already have ears! What is this useless skill?!
Suddenly, as I was cursing about my skill, a voice was heard.
{Hey, cursing in front of the person themselves isn't very nice, you know.}
"What the fuck! Who is that!" I jolted in fear, my eyes shifted from one person to another, trying to find whether anyone could still move in this stopped time.
Is this that? The situation where a figure called a god appears and reincarnates me into a world where I become a little girl who is then dubbed the little devil of war?
{Calm down, dude. I'm not there, I'm your skill, look at the description, it said you can hear some voice right? It was me.}
"... You?"
{Correct, I am the strongest—}
"Okay let's stop talking shit, now, tell me, what are you really use for? Can you help me in this situation? Makes me can one punch this knight? Ugh... No, I don't wanna lose my hair, just save me."
{... Really such a young man. Actually, I can't give you an instant power up, but I can save you right now.}
"Really? Oh so you're finally useful after all."
The voice finally spoke again, it sounded incredibly proud and boastful.
{Of course I am! Because I'm the strongest—}
"Shut your mouth, hurry up, tell me how I can survive from this."
{Sigh... Okay okay, in 30 seconds, the world will go back to normal, it's the normal state when you awakened. And then, you must evade it, move to the left 45 degrees and then thrust him with your sword.}
"Okay, that's easy."
After that, I simply prepared myself during that time, directing all of my body's strength to spin and strike back at the knight.
Thrust—!
My sword pierced through the gap in his armor smoothly, dropping him limp and helpless.
"Ha... I did it, I'm aliv—"
—Clank!
"Scumbag! Why did you yelling like Ass! Hurry, we still fighting!" An attack came from behind me, and old man Scott saved me while cursing in my direction.
I nearly stumbled from the surprise, but I immediately tightened my grip on my sword and helped cover him.
{After this, just run straight outside.}
Impossible, the slave sigil on my neck was holding me back from running.
I replied to it in my heart, while continuing to clash swords with the knight before me.
{No, you can. Antonio has dead, your slave sigil wasn't active now.}
"Huh? Really? I'm free?" I asked, my face lit up and my grip on my sword loosened, never had I ever felt this happy in my entire life.
Finally... I would be free, could I enjoy ice cream in the upper city? Play with the children there? Go to school? Yes, that's it! And then...
"Mordred—"
—Scratch!
Huh...
As I was joyfully celebrating my freedom, the enemy who noticed the opening before him immediately seized the opportunity.
And in that moment, old man Scott tried to protect me, his left hand was severed, and there was a deep slash wound on his side.
"Scott!"
I leapt straight toward him, gripping my sword tightly, and drove it into the knight through the opening he had created after slashing old man Scott.
Blood drenched my hands once more, I immediately pulled old man Scott out of the warehouse quietly, fortunately they were all occupied with their own individual fights.
Beside the warehouse, in the old abandoned cathedral, old man Scott sat in a prayer chair, while I tried with all my strength to bind his wound with my shirt that I tore with my sword.
"Hold on, old man! We are free, let's get off this planet! We'll go somewhere where no one knows us. Come on... Hold on."
{It's pointless, young bastard, he's beyond saving now.}
Shut up! What do you know? You can't even give me the power to heal him!
I bound his wound tightly, but somehow his blood would not stop flowing.
"Wha— what do I do? I..."
As my hands reached out toward his severed left arm, old man Scott stopped my hands with his remaining one.
"Stop, enough, this... Is already enough. Cough! Cough! Cough! Kgh..." He said while coughing, and then red liquid came pouring from his mouth.
"Oy! Your mouth!"
"It's fine, I think... It's already time."
My pupils widened at his answer, my breath caught.
"Hey, don't you want to feel it? That freedom, don't you want to live your life happily? Answer me! Scott!"
Old man Scott held my hand again, his fingers sticky with his own blood touched my hands that were drenched in the enemy's blood.
"Enough, didn't I already tell you? I'm happy, this is the best life I have ever lived, at least once. Born as a slave, and dying in freedom, isn't that the best? I never even imagined I could be this free before, the shackle on my neck has come undone, Mordred."
"Ah..." My chest slowly began to tighten, something started creeping toward my eyes.
"Please..." I said, my voice hoarse and trembling.
"Go, Mordred. Mordred Ashton! You are free now, fly high beyond the sky! Hahaha... Even if this old man isn't fit to say it..." His fingers reached for my hair, his large and rough hand, felt... Warm.
"I'm glad to have had you by my side, Mordred," He said, before his eyes closed and his hand fell onto the chair.