A few days earlier, the old cannery had burned to the ground. People said the bizarre fire had raged for a full day and night. Even the rare downpour that hit Zaun that day hadn't managed to put it out.
Most people in Zaun had no idea what really happened at the old cannery that night. But everyone knew one thing: after that, Vander never came back, and the sky over the Undercity had changed.
"You really are here, Van."
"If I wasn't here, where else would I be?"
Van's workshop was running hot. Using borrowed equipment, he was forging a new blade for his battle axe.
The old one had been destroyed in the explosion, and he hadn't even managed to recover many pieces of it. With no time to spare, he had no choice but to melt down the materials he had originally set aside for Blitz's mechanical grappling claw and use those instead.
"You're being this open about it? Aren't you worried Silco might come after you?"
"If that's all you came to say, then you wasted the trip, Sevika."
The woman standing in Van's home was none other than Sevika, now firmly under Silco's banner. Just a few days ago, she had saved Silco's life at the cost of one of her arms.
She was only just recovering from her injuries, and the color still hadn't fully returned to her face. After standing there for a while, she looked around for somewhere to sit, found nothing suitable, and finally dropped onto Van's bed.
"Silco brought you up a couple of days ago... but I told him I wanted to talk to you first."
"What is there to talk about with a traitor?"
"Hmph. I never betrayed anyone."
With one hand, Sevika pulled a small pouch from inside her coat and set it on the table. The mouth of the bag hung half open, enough to show it was packed with money.
"Lie low. Stay out of this mess."
"Speaking for Silco, or for yourself?"
Van picked up the pouch and weighed it in his hand. It was heavy. A serious amount of money.
"For me... Go somewhere else. Buy what you need. With your skills, you could make a life for yourself even topside."
"If it's from you, I'll pass. Wouldn't surprise me if you stuffed rocks in there."
Van tossed the pouch back without a second thought, and Sevika caught it just as casually.
"I'm only helping you because of what we had before... You can't beat Silco. Not now."
"Heh."
Clang!
Van brought the hammer down hard. The newly forged blade locked perfectly into the old haft, and a brand-new battle axe was born.
"How are Powder and Vi?"
Van picked up the axe and casually threw it off the workbench. With a thunderous crash, the blade slammed into the floor and bit deep into it.
Sevika felt the tremor through her feet, and the corner of her eye twitched.
"The blue-haired girl's with Silco. She's doing pretty well... As for Vi, I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"...Don't look at me like that. I've got no reason to lie."
Van's stare was as sharp as a hunting dog's, full of suspicion. Sevika licked her lips and spread her hand helplessly.
"Who knows? She just vanished. No one's seen her alive or dead."
Van frowned. In his free hand, he idly turned the hammer over.
That wasn't what he had expected. He hadn't found any trace of Vi either, but he had assumed Silco had taken her.
"Silco didn't search for her?"
"He had people look around a bit, but that was it. She's just a kid. Silco doesn't waste time on things he doesn't care about... And when a living person disappears in the Undercity, they're usually..."
Bang!
Van tossed the hammer onto the workbench. The crash made Sevika jump.
"Anything else?"
"...Anyway, stop thinking about revenge. I'm saying this for your own good. Silco's power is a lot bigger than you think. There are still fools in the Lanes trying to make trouble for him, and they can't even make a ripple."
Van said nothing. He lowered his head and looked at the axe he had just reforged, his fingers tapping unconsciously against the haft with a crisp metallic ring.
The silence stretched on.
Sevika simply watched him and waited for his answer.
At last, Van let out a long breath and pulled his hand away from the axe.
"Fine. I'll agree."
A flicker of surprise crossed Sevika's face. Even she hadn't expected Van to give in that easily.
But before she could speak, he added another sentence.
"On one condition."
Van slowly raised his head. His eyes narrowed, and a strange light flashed in them.
"I want to see Silco."
"I still can't believe Silco actually agreed to meet you."
"Heh. Guess you carry some weight with him after all."
Van walked through the Undercity streets with his axe turned upside down, dragging the blade along the ground in one hand.
The narrow streets had been nearly empty these past two days. Aside from gang members and black-market dealers, ordinary people in the Undercity barely dared go outside.
Sheriff Grayson had been right. Without Vander keeping things in check, the Undercity had truly fallen into chaos.
The Lanes had been hit by the unrest too. Luckily, Van was still there. Once he hardened his heart and killed a few people to make an example of them, the situation eased a little.
But Van knew it was only the calm before the storm.
Those bastards were like vultures, forever testing whether the prey was finally dead. It wouldn't be long before they swarmed in and tore everything apart.
Zaun had already changed. The Undercity was about to change with it, and no one knew what would become of the Lanes.
"Why you want to see Silco, I don't know. Why he agreed to see you, I don't know either. But I'm warning you, don't do anything stupid."
Sevika looked terrible. Part of it was her unfinished recovery. The other part was that she genuinely wished Van would get as far away as possible and stop dragging himself into more trouble.
All because she had gone soft for a moment and actually asked Silco for permission after Van kept pressing her.
"Don't worry. I won't make things hard for you."
"You'd better not."
After passing through a slick, muddy alley, Sevika brought Van to a drab little building that looked too unremarkable to notice.
The windows were caked with greasy grime, so filthy that it was impossible to see inside.
The walls were peeling and split with cracks, with flakes dropping off every so often. The front door was unusually thick, but the rust coating it only made it look even more shabby.
"Leave the axe outside. Then you can go in."
Van nodded and casually shoved the haft into Sevika's hand. The sheer weight nearly dragged her down on the spot.
"What a beast..."
Sevika cursed under her breath. Unable to lift the massive thing at all, she simply let the axe drop to the ground, stepped forward, and knocked on the iron door in a specific rhythm.
[End of chapter]