The sun beamed down onto the bright streets of Paris. Cube cadets mingled with the various citizens of the city to enjoy their last few hours till they left the city of love to return to Cube.
So what exactly were our cadets doing? Most were shopping to their heart's content. Others were milling around, sightseeing or both.
But for our protagonist, Minori Nii, this time was spent sitting in a cafe, alone.
Yes, for all his talent and cunning Minori has a surprisingly little amount of friends.
Kim Suho, who he planned to hang out with today, was unsurprisingly already gone by the time he was going to ask.
That left… practically no one. Well maybe Yeonha, but… it's a little difficult to talk to her without rumours being spread around.
Minori could also make a few friends, after all, how hard could it be to walk up to some lonely club member and make a few connections.
Yet, it didn't seem right. The cadet he murdered for practically no return during the cave exercise had left a bad taste in his mouth. Maybe it would have been different if his attempt to get into the Evil Society as a rat hadn't been immediately shut down.
That person… Lee Sang-Il. He probably wasn't even the boss. What kind of idiot organisation would let a stranger meet the big boss.
I adjusted my collar and ordered a refill of my coffee as the familiar constricting sweetness had begun to make itself known.
There was no magic in the feeling, purely psychological. And yet it remains, even months after the incident, anything sweet felt oddly disgusting.
Clink–
I set my cup down along with a few euros on the table.
Funny how even after becoming the world's strongest country, Korea's money still lacked relative purchasing power.
I stacked the coins neatly before drinking the rest of my coffee and leaving.
'I wonder what normal people do to relax…'
Feeling a bit restless I decided to wander around Paris a bit until time was up.
Sightseeing is a pretty normal thing to do, right?
…
When I returned to the dorm on the fiftieth floor of my building there was a moment of silence as I stared at my door.
Out of habit I always used [Starlight Seer] before entering rooms. I think the habit started around the same time I started working on my magic theory.
The reason I do this is to check a few seconds into the future as well as detect anything off.
The thing about [Starlight Seer] is that it doesn't just show me the future, but highlights important, dangerous and/or magical things in a silvery moonlight glow. Generally the glow's strength is determined by how important, how close to the present, and how magically charged it is.
I brought this up because, well…
Painted on the knob of my door is a shape reminiscent of a handprint. The small intricacies and lines that create fingerprints appear to be solid indicating that whoever's hand it was, had worn gloves.
Which means one of two things. Either someone has entered my room in the time I went to France, or someone will try to enter my room in the future.
'So what do I do? Pretending not to notice anything is how I would usually approach it… But being too passive got me into the mess with Ori and the Evil Society.'
I tried to come up with another solution than 'play it by ear' but after a second of deliberation I slipped back into my comfort zone. I'd check the room using the few seconds I had left among the stars and then make a plan.
I took a deep breath, the starry shadows remained still.
I kicked the door in and rushed in.
If I were to get maximum mileage I'd have to be quick.
My eyes darted around the living room, latching onto every semi bright item within the space. Any footprints, any hand prints, any items-there.
In the reflection of a window looking out onto the Cube campus was a man dressed in all white.
His figure flickered, dulling and erasing before reappearing in a ravel of strings.
I recognised them to be an assassin from the Evil Society.
In cloth and silk was the cloaked man. From head to toe he was covered in purple jewellery.
Just like that, the world regained its colour and I stood in front of my door.
With clenched fists, I managed to regain composure, not letting my mana leak out in any capacity.
'That bastard… is he just here to 'talk' again?'
Quietly, I relaxed my posture, let my bag slip off my shoulder. I then slipped my left hand into my pocket, decrypting a slip of mana infused paper and holding it in my fist. My other hand held my wrist up to the scanner of my door, letting my Cube watch unlock it.
I went through my doorway, nothing out of the ordinary. The shoe rack had a single pair of slippers, there was an empty coat rack and the picture of… remained face down on the shelf just out of range of the living room.
I slipped my shoes off and hung my coat up, walking into the living room without putting my slippers on. It would be easier to move around without them.
With a calm expression I half turned my body to look at the window.
It was clear, the sun casting long shadows as it began dipping beneath the horizon. The sight of Cubes futuristic buildings never ceased to amaze me, even now.
It would have been beautiful if I didn't know a djinn was sitting there, staring right back at me.
Even without the stars I still felt the chill of being watched, the only threads I could see were the ones that connected the Djinn to its patron.
It looked like a dark pink blood spatter, flickering in and out as a sign of the camouflaged assassin.
'Enough of that. Let's get you back into view. Can't expect me to win against an enemy I can barely see.'
"Seriously, trying the same thing twice. It's fucking miserable that you think I'd get tricked by that again."
Despite my meticulousness in action the aggravating words slipped from my mouth. Thankfully it had the desired effect.
"Not bad." The voice rasped. One white gloved hand grasped onto the window ledge. It pulled forwards revealing the assassin in his full form. He then clasped his hands together, his eyes creasing in what I can only call a wicked smile. "Not bad at all. I really wish you would work for us. It would-"
"Get to the point." I folded the paper in my pocket and clenched it into my fist before pulling it out.
The assassin stepped onto my living room floor, his scimitar from last time was nowhere to be seen.
I noted it as odd. But it was one more edge that I had.
"Always so annoying. The younger generation really needs to learn to hold their tongues." He spat before sighing and glaring at me.
I could feel my hairs stand on end as something from beyond also began peering into the room.
Lilith. I came to the conclusion as I glanced at the threads that were being tugged at by an unseen force. Kind of like a wave trace… no, exactly like a wave trace.
It was clear that whoever this person was, was getting orders directly from their devil.
'...complications… I doubt 'She' is very happy with the amount of Lilith Djinn's I've killed.'
"But since you want to get straight to the point. Fine. I'm here because someone wants to meet you."
I narrowed my eyes as the gears turned in my head. The tension was beginning to get to me. Lilith's presence was starting to feel suffocating.
'F*ck was it always this bad?'
"And since I've brought you to him, can I leave now?" The white clad man huffed. He turned to look at my couch where a smiling man sat.
My eyes shot wide, my pupils narrowed. Sweat began gathering on my brow. My heartbeat quickened. I felt cold. Control over my mana slipped but I doubt it mattered anymore.
It was then that things clicked. Lilith was actively trying to find her subordinate. I thought she was giving orders but… she can't see in here.
And it's because of… Him.
The stare from beyond also came from the man. Not from his eyes but, deep within. I felt like I was dangling over the edge of an abyss.
I felt numb, my thoughts didn't feel like they would hold for much longer.
'What the hell is that thing?!'
My ribs felt compressive on my lungs, it didn't feel like my brain was getting enough oxygen.
In my near panic, I completely lost logic. Everything told me to run, but I didn't. My brain told me to warp but I didn't. The spell slipped in my hand, encrypted once more as I let it run out of mana.
What I was looking at was something made from pure magic and buried deep inside it was something that made my skin crawl. A cage of mana holding a primal evil that I didn't dare peer into.
I grit my teeth and set off [Wild Blood]. It would keep my thoughts from slowing for at least eleven seconds.
I breathed, my throat tightening as I forced myself to speak.
"And who are you to break into my house?"
My tone wasn't exactly steady, nor was it calm. But I didn't regret it. The thing I did regret was the taunt that automatically left my lips.
Where the hell was my politeness? I thought I was pretty good under pressure but this is…
"Oh, my apologies. To think I even forgot to introduce myself. Silly me." The man spoke in a jovial tone, his eyes were crescents much like his widening smile as he sipped on my tea from my mug.
I let [Wild Blood] drain from me in silence, the sensation of horror was still present but at least I could think straight now.
'It's times like this I wish I wasn't so mana sensitive.'
Now that I wasn't reeling from fear I cast my gaze to the man himself.
Sitting in a full black suit with a dark mage coat settled over his shoulders was an incredibly handsome man. He had pale skin and full black hair, combed neatly and styled. His smile was..eery to say the least. Like a little child setting fire to an ant's nest.
"I am Bell. And I want to offer a deal." He set my mug onto the coffee table in front of him.
"Take a seat, Nii. Let's have a nice, and productive chat." His smile became unnerving once more.
I took a seat.
'Keep composure. It's no longer about maximising my situation. It's about surviving this encounter. Stay calm. Stay cool. You still have a job to do.'
Chanting that like a mantra in my mind I took a seat at the opposite end of 'Bell' if that was even his real name.
"...I don't exactly have a good track record with deals, sir. Especially not with someone I don't know." I began, my voice was still rather shaky but at least it wasn't clearly scared.
"Hahah, don't worry. You'll benefit from this too. I've dug a couple pieces of information up on you and well, you have quit the strange background." Bell laughed and played it off.
"It says you were born and raised in Japan in your official documents… but they only dated up to four years ago. You were then admitted into a Cadet training school and climbed up the ranks in only four years. Starting off slow and then rising to rank 10 in japan, just enough to get you into Cube." Bell paused before leaning back.
"But that's when things get interesting. Within a month of being accepted you are involved in a rather important incident at the museum. Funnily enough there was a little kid with the Authority of healing there, which was the main reason for the event."
'I don't like this.'
"Then not a week later you are singled out by a Djinn in the Evil Society and practically forced into becoming a mole. During this time you killed 13 Djinn of various organisations using something that made a lot of Devils angry."
'I don't like this one bit.'
"But that's not all. You met Belial's dormant devil host, survived and then purged a sprouting parasite from your body. And then, not long after you killed a Djinn with a technique I myself have not seen put into proper use."
'I feel sick.'
"So what I'm saying is this: You have incredible potential. Potential which I consider useful." Bell snapped his fingers and my watch buzzed.
'F*ck.'
Bell looked as though he was going to say something again but paused, laughed and then turned towards my window.
As he turned I managed to catch a glimpse of an ear bud.
'Someone was talking to him… Could they also hear me?'
"Ahh, that wasn't as fulfilling as I thought it was. I never even got to tell you about my great deal. A shame really, but I'm sure someone with your deductive reasoning can 'pick up what I'm putting down' as the youth would say."
His form became fuzzy for a moment as my senses were overwhelmed by sheer exposure to mana.
"So prepare, because the next time we meet. It'll be for an outing, Minori Nii."
The mana wisped away in a stream of threads as his form disappeared from my living room.
I sat there for a moment before letting out the biggest sigh of my life.
"Haaaaa– I survived…"