The Genius Magician Who Sees Rainbows Chapter 003
The Boy on the Scrap Heap (3)
"I came because of all the commotion."
The voice was low and eerie.
A flash of lightning revealed the man's silhouette.
A cleanly shaved head.
A tall, muscular build that must have been around 190 centimeters.
Ray knew who he was.
An executive of the Hector Organization.
The Silent Humphrey.
Though they'd never met directly, Ray had seen him from afar a few times due to his height.
"Ah, Mr. Humphrey!"
"All this trouble over one little rat."
Ray immediately kicked off the ground.
He drove his elbow deep into Humphrey's solar plexus.
Thunk!
Is this what it feels like to strike solid stone?
Ray instantly knew his attack had no effect.
This opponent was clearly on a different level from the others.
Whoosh─!
He quickly launched himself away from the grasping hand that swooped down from above.
"...You certainly move nimbly."
Humphrey's voice remained calm.
He wasn't showing any signs of getting serious yet.
But even so, the speed at which he extended his arms was unbelievably fast.
Whoosh─! Whoosh─!
Ray focused on dodging.
Humphrey's movements were so quick that even reading his mana flow didn't make it easy to react.
His pupils dilated.
His blood boiled and muscles pulsed.
While his mind remained calm, his body showed honest reactions.
He knew that getting caught even once would mean the end.
Running away was the best option.
But the door was too far away.
Even just avoiding Humphrey's attacks wasn't easy.
Thunk! Thunk!
He threw a few more punches at the solar plexus while dodging, but Humphrey didn't budge an inch.
He needed an opening to escape.
And to create that opening, it had to be now while his opponent was underestimating him.
Hyah!
Ray's fist flew once more toward the solar plexus.
Just before his fist made contact with muscle.
Ray spread his hand wide and created a small flame in his palm.
"Ugh!"
Humphrey staggered for a moment from the burning sensation across his chest.
Ray didn't miss that opening and dashed toward the wide-open door.
Whoosh──
The world was shrouded in darkness.
The barbed wire made it impossible to climb over the fence.
And the wire gate was secured with a padlock.
'In that case.'
Having quickly made his decision, Ray picked up a stone and threw it toward the gate.
Then he pressed his back tightly against the side of the warehouse door.
Clang!
The gate rattled when struck by the stone.
Organization members poured out of the warehouse, shouting.
"Over there! By the gate!"
"You cheeky little brat, we'll kill you!"
Splash! Splash!
Organization members running toward the gate.
After confirming that the four figures were moving away, Ray immediately entered the warehouse and escaped through the hole.
─Over there! Behind the fence!
─Catch him if you don't want the boss to kill you!
Angry voices could be heard in the distance.
Ray paid no attention and ran up the hill with all his might.
Squelch! Squelch!
Though his feet sank into the soft mud, he somehow managed to reach the top.
He looked back.
Several figures could be seen climbing the hill in pursuit.
They wore raincoats and carried flashlights.
Ray turned and ran back the way he had come.
Splash. Splash. Splash.
The rain made visibility poor.
Water splashed in all directions under his boots.
Urgent shouts continued to echo from behind.
Haah─
Hot breath escaped the boy's mouth, contrasting with the cold raindrops.
If caught, he would die.
He would suffer all kinds of torture before his breath was cut short.
He felt no fear.
His only thought was that if he died here, he wouldn't be able to repay his debt to the underpass children.
'If I'm gone, the others will take the underpass from them.'
That would definitely happen.
In the slums, places to shelter from rain were as important as food.
After all, the black rain was one reason slum children had such short lifespans.
"There he is! Grab him!"
An organization member appeared ahead.
Ray quickly changed direction and ducked into an alley.
─There he is!
─Don't let him get away! After him!
Splash! Splash! Splash!
He could feel the net closing in from all directions.
As expected, shaking off multiple adult pursuers wasn't easy.
Moreover, these were gang members who had survived in the rough streets.
End of the alley.
Ray stopped in front of a dilapidated warehouse and tried to open the door.
This was a hideout he had scouted in advance for situations like this.
The back door connected to Street 17, making it good for escape.
Rattle! Rattle!
As Ray tried to open the door, he spotted a padlock.
There hadn't been a lock until yesterday.
He had been sure this was an abandoned warehouse with no owner.
'Did it get an owner already?'
Ray calmly looked around, searching for another option.
The shadows of organization members loomed behind him.
"Damn... *huff* *huff* shit. What a pain in the ass, chasing in this rain."
"Yeah. *hah* Why does this kid have to be so fast?"
Whoosh─
Three organization members visible through the raindrops.
Fortunately, Humphrey wasn't among them.
...This changes things.
Ray steadied his breathing and waited for them to make the first move.
"Just shoot him. Put a hole in his gut, that'll teach the brat a lesson."
"Are you an idiot? What if someone hears? What if this gets back to the boss?"
The organization members growled at each other.
In Sector 50, guns weren't common items, and they couldn't be used whenever you wanted.
Behind him was a dead end wooden wall.
There was nowhere left to run.
The organization member in front waved his knife at Ray while speaking.
"Hey, kid. While I'm still asking nicely, come here and give back what you stole. Everything you've stolen so far too. If the numbers don't add up during inspection, the boss will kill us too."
Aware that their opponent wasn't an ordinary kid, they showed no signs of letting their guard down.
"......"
Ray didn't answer.
If he let his voice be heard, they might recognize him later on the streets.
He simply watched them with cautious eyes.
Ray's pure white irises.
Within them, the various colors of mana flowing through the organization members' bodies shimmered and rippled.
Like paints of different colors mixed together on a canvas.
"Hey kid. Come here, will you?"
"What, are you mute? Shy little thing, aren't you?"
The organization members slowly closed the distance.
"Get him!"
"Damn! You won't get away with this!"
Then they all rushed in at once with a shout.
Swoosh!
Ray twisted his waist to dodge the first knife slashing horizontally.
At the same time, he threw an uppercut at his opponent's face with full force.
"Ugh!"
"You insolent brat!"
He narrowly avoided an attack coming from another angle.
And simultaneously.
Grab!
He seized the opponent's wrist.
Then gathered mana to generate an electric current.
Crackle!
"Arrrgh!"
Blue electricity coursed through the rain-soaked organization member's body.
The collapsed member writhed on the ground like he was having a seizure.
"W-what! This kid has a taser─ Aaagh!"
The other two fell in succession.
Snake-like currents crawled across the ground around them.
─Over there! I heard something from here!
Multiple sets of footsteps and silhouettes appeared at the end of the alley.
There must have been more people at the warehouse checkpoint.
It seemed more pursuers had joined the chase.
Ray jumped onto a large garbage bin nearby.
Tap! Click!
The concrete wall's protrusion beside the warehouse.
A large nail driven into the wooden wall.
Using these in succession, he instantly cleared the 4-meter wooden wall.
Thud!
The organization members who arrived late.
Hearing Ray land on the other side, they shouted in bewilderment.
"That, that crazy─!"
"What are you waiting for! Break through!"
Crack! Crunch!
After several tackles, the wooden wall came down.
Street 17 appeared before them.
This was the territory of their rival organization, Niles.
"H-hey, we probably shouldn't cross over here."
"Damn it. We're dead either way if we go back to the boss. At least if we catch this kid we might have a chance to live."
One organization member stepped over the fallen wooden wall to the other side.
Creeak─!
He looked around while speaking.
"It's raining black rain tonight. No one's out, and the rain will muffle any noise."
Then he turned to his companions and added.
"Just catch him and come back this way. Before anyone notices."
The organization members exchanged glances and began their pursuit into Street 17.
On this night when everyone was hiding from the rain.
Boom!
Under the thunder and lightning, multiple sets of footsteps echoed busily through the streets.
─This... kid...!
─When we catch... you're... dead!
Ray thought as he watched the organization members closing in behind him.
Seeing how they'd chase even into enemy territory, they must really be prepared to die.
...There were too many of them.
It wouldn't be impossible to escape if he lured and took them down one by one.
However, he couldn't guarantee how much time and effort that would take.
'I can't use magic indefinitely either.'
He thought carefully.
He couldn't return to the underpass with them on his tail.
Even if he shouted through the rain, no one would come out.
This was the slums.
Too much interest in other people's business led to death here.
'It would be nice if Niles organization members showed up.'
But that wouldn't happen.
While this was their territory, it wasn't where their members were stationed.
The stationed area was far away.
With his stamina starting to drop, there was no guarantee he could make it there.
Ray made his decision.
He turned down an alley and pushed up the lid of a large garbage bin.
Clatter―
He quickly climbed inside and hid among the garbage bags.
Then reached for the lid.
'.....'
The bin was too deep; he couldn't reach the lid.
Outside, the urgent footsteps of his pursuers were getting closer.
Tap tap tap!
'Just a little more.'
His fingertips trembled.
─This way! He ran this way!
Just as the voices became crystal clear nearby.
Clunk―
He managed to pull the lid down.
Ray held his breath calmly.
Thunk. Thud thunk.
Heavy raindrops hammered the lid.
The vibrations transmitted directly to Ray.
─Damn it! Where did he go!
─He definitely came this way.
Muffled voices could be heard.
Ray gripped the handle of the knife he'd taken from the organization member earlier.
─Split up and search. We need to finish this before the rain stops.
─I'll go toward Street 15. Gait, you head toward Street 14.
Fading footsteps.
Ray released the breath he'd been holding.
"......"
Even long after the footsteps disappeared, he didn't loosen his grip on the knife.
He couldn't completely rule out the possibility that the organization members might return and check the garbage bin.
'Looks like I'll have to hold out here today.'
The organization members wouldn't return to their original territory until the rain stopped or day broke.
After all, Hector was famous for never forgiving his subordinates' mistakes.
This place was safe.
Better than recklessly going outside.
Rustle. Rustle.
Ray lay down among the garbage bags, finding a comfortable position.
'Hmm.'
As the tension left his body, fatigue suddenly rushed in.
His mind was hazy from using magic multiple times.
He felt drowsy.
His eyelids felt heavy.
Thunk! Thud thunk! Thunk!
The raindrops hitting the lid at regular intervals sounded like a lullaby.
The warmth and comfort from the pile of bags also contributed to his sleepiness.
Things that clump tightly together naturally generate warmth.
The garbage bags here.
The children living under the underpass.
There was always a warmth unique to things that were outcasted and abandoned, huddled close together.
Of course, Ray neither knew nor was conscious of such facts.
He only blinked his eyelids, feeling an inexplicable sense of déjà vu in this situation.
It was because of his unconscious mind.
A very old memory of being abandoned among garbage bags right after birth.
The warmth emanating from the garbage bags.
That was the first warmth Ray had ever experienced in this world.
Soon his eyelids closed completely.
The boy's quiet breathing could be heard.
Whoosh───
It was a rainy night in the slums.
*
Ray noticed his vision brightening and opened his eyes.
Light was seeping in through the gaps in the garbage bin lid.
"......"
It seemed he had dozed off.
He must have slept well, as his strength had fully returned.
He listened for sounds outside.
There was no sign of movement.
Creeak──
He carefully opened the lid and looked around.
The rain had completely stopped.
Both ends of the narrow alley led to the street.
Between 6 and 7 in the morning.
Judging by the sunlight, it was around that time.
The Hector organization members must have returned to their territory by now.
It was about time people would start their daily activities.
Still, just in case, he took out his knife and moved forward cautiously.
And then.
Tap.
"Yeah. I knew you'd be around here somewhere. Good thing I came back."
A Hector organization member appeared at the alley entrance.
A rain coat dried stiff.
Bloodshot eyes from staying up all night.
"What's this? Got a knife? Going to stab me? You're quite the little man, aren't you?"
The organization member also drew his knife.
With the blade pointed forward, he closed the distance to Ray with a smile full of excitement.
Step─ Step─
Ray also pointed his knife forward.
He slowly backed away while staying alert.
'It's not just one. I sense someone outside the alley.'
"I'll kill you!"
The organization member lunged forward viciously.
That's when a man silently appeared at the alley entrance.
A gun gripped in the man's hand.
The muzzle was pointed this way.
The finger on the trigger moved without hesitation.
Bang!
A loud gunshot woke the slum's morning.
