S.1209
(07/14) Night
Red Light District of Erebus, The Principality of Remiferia
The bustling sounds of people enjoying themselves under the light of the moon hanging over them. People enjoy themselves however they can after a long day of grueling work. Drinking their issues away with the stench of alcohol in the air, depraving in their wildest fantasies, or gambling their savings away with the chance to win big. The limits practically didn't exist in this section of Erebus.
"How classy… Never change… Erebus." A young voice grunts while watching the area around them to see a few patrons enjoying themselves while a few figures in alleyways unloading all the alcohol they drank.
He was a relatively young man in his late teenage years to early 20s. He was covered in dirt, cover, and wore raggedy clothes that didn't offer much to deal with the chilly weather. It was a common sight in this bustling city district, where the city's upper echelon covers the upper class of Remiferia.
The young man continued to watch the passing of people around him closely. There is a group of nobles on the cusp of adulthood with an air of snobby demeanor that is backed by their status. There were painted ladies roaming around, trying to attract patrons with the hopes of gaining an exclusive sponsor. However, one of the more notable aspects was people just struggling to survive, whether it came from poor circumstances or wasting lives away by drinking and gambling.
As the young man watched the crowd, one particular individual caught his attention. Seeing this individual, the young man pulls himself up from the piece of cardboard he is sitting on and roams through the passing of people, following the individual from a reasonable distance away. From the people giving him dirty looks, he gave off the impression of a drunk homeless individual.
It wasn't until the individual swiftly turned through an alleyway that the young man started to rush through the streets, trying to pass through. While walking, a random person pushes him to the side, and he plops to the ground. Bewildered by what happened, he frantically looked around him only to hear the sound of laughter where he was pushed from. He looks to the side to see a group of young men wearing fashionable clothes laughing at him.
"Hahaha! Look at the dumb drunkard! How did you screw up this badly?" One of the nobles laughed while pointing at him.
"Bet he spent all his money on booze! It's your fault for being in our sight! That's an insult towards us!" Another one yells.
A few of them continued to hurl incidents at him before laughing off to whatever they could indulge themselves in. After they left, the person couldn't help but groan in annoyance at the circumstance while pulling himself up. Knowing nobody would help, he pulled himself up and brushed the dirt off his body before following the individual through the alleyway.
Given how much time the nobles took, it took a bit of hassle. It took the young man some time to catch up to what seemed like a dead end. He hides behind a corner, hearing a faint discussion at the end of the path.
"How much of a cut are we talking about this time? I can't afford to miss payments this month!" One voice whispered frantically, obviously irritated.
"20%. But if you lose, the damages aren't as high compared to simply losing everything. What do you say? A good deal, isn't it?" Another voice says in a composed manner. Given the confidence, the figure was a professional.
"Still… 20% of the earnings? That's quite steep…" The first voice contemplates their decision.
"If you want, I could always find another potential customer who knows what they're doing." The second person stops to leave, causing the first to grab onto it hopelessly.
"Fine, fine! I'll do it! 30k mira on Crimson Nature!" The man says, rummaging through his pockets and taking out a bag of mira inside.
"A pretty safe bet, I would say." A voice echoes through the alleyway, causing the two individuals to look over to see the young man standing by. "Ya get a better chance at the pot, but if you lose, you still see some of it back. Maybe I should get in on the deal."
"Oi! What are you doing?! Get out of here! We're in a private meeting!" The man declares, waving his hand to scare the homeless young man.
"Oh, come on! Can't I bet as well? Or do you require someone else's money for this?" The homeless man shrugs before chuckling, which bewilders both of the individuals.
"Someone else's money?" The first man questioned, getting more irritated by the second. "What are you talking about?"
"You say that, but aren't you the con artist from Crossbell, under the guise that you're pretending to be a Bracer?" The young man says with a cheeky look on his face.
"What? How do you-" The man takes a step backward. As soon as they heard about it, the bookie started to leave. "Where are you going?!"
"It's bad business to be associated with folks like yourself. The bad publicity can affect customers. But that doesn't matter. I'm here for the Mira that you took from my client." The young man folds his arms with a cheeky smirk on his face.
"That I owe? I don't know what you're talking about. I earned that Mira straight from the Bracer's Guild!" The fake bracer declared with an irritated scowl on his face.
"Oh? Cause those Jaegars you supposedly defeated just magically reappeared in the same location, huh? If you're going to scam others, ensure it can't be traced back to ya." The young man says, tossing a pin towards the fake bracer. He catches it and examines it as his eyes widen in shock.
"W-What the?! How did you get this?!" The fake bracer exclaimed.
"Oh, it's nothing. I just happened to have a little talk with em. The military already found where they were hiding, with an "anonymous" tip." The man says with a slight chuckle.
"You goddamn bastard! You're going to pay you brat!" The bracer reveals a one-handed sword, pointing it straight at the young man. "I'll squeeze every last bit of Mira out of you! That's for certain!"
"Welp, this is self-defense, so I guess it's fine." The young man grabs raggedy clothes off his body, pulling it off to reveal a trench coat hidden underneath. He removes a small cloth to wipe the dirt off his face before readying into a fighting stance. "Doubt I'll need a weapon to deal with you."
"Are you looking down on me? Big mistake! Come!" The bracer raises their sword in the area. In a swift second, gunshots forced the young man to jump backward.
"What?!" He looks up to see two mechanical monsters slowly descending beside the bracer. It was a shock to see it as he grits his teeth. "Those things... Aren't they those archaisms that were seen in North Ambria?"
"Perhaps. Not that it matters. I paid good money for them and more than enough to deal with your overconfident ass!" The man says, ready to fight.
"Guess I underestimated the situation. Luckily, I always got a plan b..." The young man reaches into his pockets, pulling out a dagger. "Once we're done here, I'll have you ask some questions for all the effort you're making me go through!"
"As if!" The false bracer yells as one of the archaisms proceeds to fire bullets at the young man.
The young man jumps back, noticing the other archaism ready to shoot rockets at him. Not having any time to think, he throws his dagger at it to pierce a part of the outer shell.
The other archaism proceeds to continue firing bullets at the young man, where he grabs the lid of a nearby trash can to defend himself as a shield.
"Take this!" The false bracer yells out, using the bullets to close in to strike. Despite falsifying as a bracer, he still had some strategic prowess.
However, in anything else, the false bracer was just as good as an actual beginner. Declaring what they would do and having horrendous combat form, it was evident that the false bracer left most of the fighting to the jaegers. Seeing this, the young man ducks under before punching him in the stomach, which had the bracer stagger backward a little in pain.
The young man took an opportunity to grab the false bracer and run towards the rocket archaism. Using the bracer as a shield, the archaisms would have to shoot through the false bracer to hit the young man. They crashed into the archaism, knocking it over—multiple bags of garbage tumble over the group.
The young man emerges, pulling the dagger out from the outer shell of the archaism. But it didn't do that much damage as it shoots a rocket at the young man. He uses the trash lid to block the blow, but the impact sends him crashing backward. Most of the lid was blown off, and the young man's arm rattled in pain.
"Damn..." The young man winces a little, gripping his dagger in his other hand. He looked up to see the two archaisms ready to shoot at him again. Hardly any time for any normal person to get out of, but just enough.
He rushes to the machine gun archaism, doing his best to dodge the bullets hurling towards him. He looks to his side to see the missile archaism shooting another rocket straight at him. A smirk appears as he leaps behind the machine gun archaism. The rocket collides with the machine, and it explodes into bits.
It left only the missile archaism and the false bracer who pulled himself out of the mountain of trash bags. He was frantically searching for his blade, which reassured the young man that he could deal with the machine without hassle.
While the machine readied another missile, the young man swiftly closed the distance. One of the issues with the machine was that it needed to look at its target to fight a rocket. Stepping to the side with swift stabs and slashes with the dagger, the young man slowly dismantled the archaisms.
"Ah! I found it!" The false bracer celebrated while finding the sword in a heap of trash. Unfortunately, the smell of it was revolting, but his livelihood and freedom were on the line. He grabs it, ready to fight the young man as he turns around.
"Not so fast!" The young man swats the blade from the false bracer's hands before kicking them backward. Wincing in pain, the false bracer flops to the ground on his hands and knees. The young man winces a little more at the damage caused to his arm but pushes through as he walks to the false bracer, finally letting out a small sigh of relief. "Those things weren't a joke. Certainly put up more of a fight than you did."
"How the hell did I lose to a goddamn brat? It's unheard of!" The false bracer slams the ground in anger. He saw the young man's shoes enter his vision as he slowly looked up. "What?"
"I'm here to collect the money you took from my client. And how about a bit extra from all the trouble you caused me." The young man says with a small sigh, looking at the destroyed parts of the archaisms around him.
"Grrh…"
"Oh? We can always go another round. I'll be sure to teach you properly this time~" The young man clenches the false bracer by the shoulder tightly, causing them to wince in pain.
"OWOWOW! FINE! I'll give up!" The young man lets go as the false bracer tosses a bag of Mira onto the ground.
"Let's see… Perfect. Thank you for your business." The young man says with a satisfied look before returning to the false bracer. "Well then. How about you explain where you got these machines? Who did you buy these from?"
"I don't know… Got it from this one guy who approached me. They said that some secret society was after him. Sold it to me for dirt cheap." The false bracer said.
"Is that true?"
"Yes! That's all I know! I swear!"
"Good. The military police are on their way as we speak. So just sit there until they pick you up. Shouldn't be waiting too long." The young man begins to walk away in a casual manner
"Damn it! Who the hell are you?" The false bracer yells out.
"Never introduced myself, huh? The name is Shizuya Kuga, a handyman. Taking care of the problems that the authorities and the bracer guild are too afraid to deal with for the right price." Shizuya smirks, tossing a business card to the false bracer before walking away casually with a singular wave.
Sooner or later, multiple figures garbed in military uniform pass by Shizuya as he makes his way through the bustling streets. He has a strange sense of being watched as he looks up at the buildings behind him. Seeing nothing, he shrugs as he walks off.
At that moment, four figures appear from the shadows, closely examining the handyman from afar. None of them mutter a word, simply watching before disappearing into the night sky.
Trails into Sanctity
Prologue