Martinez's slightly budding respect for Osian was doused with cold water.
The emotion Osian showed towards the black magician was clearly disgust.
For Martinez, this was incomprehensible.
[If it's a request, even a witch would be saved, and they'd even become close, so why not with a black magician?]
If asked whether he viewed the black magician favorably, Martinez would answer that he was neutral.
Unlike the distant past, the black magicians had come out to the sunny side and were being recognized by people.
Among them, there were still black magicians breaking the law and doing bad things, but this wasn't a problem exclusive to black magicians.
Even among magicians, there were those who performed horrific human experiments, and there were quite a few other villains as well.
The power used by black magicians was unsettling, but it was becoming 'naturally' accepted in society, so there was no absolute severe hatred or hostility.
Therefore, for Martinez, black magicians were neither good nor bad.Rather, witches, who could be considered definite heretics, were the ones the order should hunt.
Regardless, Osian looked at Elise once more.
"What purpose have you come here for? What dirty schemes are you trying to pull?"
Martinez wondered if this level of hostility was necessary but Elise Denarova was also a person of an unusual personality, so she answered nonchalantly.
"I came to collect corpses."
"What?"
Osian couldn't understand Elise’s words. Corpses? Collecting corpses in this weather?
What naturally came to mind first was killing people during the rainy season and turning those corpses into zombies or skeletons.
Osian's gaze became even more piercing. Elise, seemingly unaware of the emotions in that gaze, added an explanation.
"When it rains, many people die. So I can smoothly obtain corpses that I couldn't normally."
"You're not trying to kill people to create corpses?"
"...?"
Elise tilted her head slightly, as if questioning what he was talking about.
"Killing people is illegal. This isn't a request, it's material collection, so it must be done legally."
In other words, Elise meant that killing people for corpses was illegal under Tirna's law, so she would collect naturally deceased corpses.
His head was already starting to feel dizzy, and they're saying this is actually legal.
That meant there were illegal black magicians as well.
'What nonsense about illegal black magicians, this isn't even a turning point.'
What was even more surprising was that Elise’s words weren't exactly a lie.
In fact, Elise hadn't used physical force since coming here. The commotion among the beggars was simply a request for support because they couldn't do anything about her.
"What. Do you know each other?"
The gang leader who had been silently watching also stepped forward and asked.
Osian was about to say no, but Elise answered first.
"Yes. A friend's brother's acquaintance."
"...Isn't that basically a stranger?"
"We met while working. We're also business partners."
Osian, frowning with a throbbing headache, shot back.
"Enough. So you came here just to collect corpses?"
"Yes. The 40-something district is easy to find corpses in."
"I told you to use honorifics."
"...Yes."
Martinez listening to their conversation felt a strange sympathy for Elise.
At that moment, the gang leader clapped his hands and summarized the situation.
"Well, since you know each other, can't you ask this young lady to leave? Looking at her words, she doesn't seem to be a bad black magician, but our subordinates still feel uneasy."
"Black magicians are all bad. Why are you saying she's not a bad black magician?"
"Huh? Well. That might be how it looks. But isn't there something else important right now?"
"...I see."
Osian, reluctantly nodding his head, spoke to Elise.
"Did you hear? There are no corpses here. So if you want to collect them, get out and go somewhere else."
"No corpses?"
Elise widened her eyes and spoke in a trembling voice.
It was the first sign of agitation from her, who normally showed no emotion at all.
The doll-like beautiful girl talking about corpses on a rainy alley street created an indescribable eeriness.
"That's right. There are none. So hurry and go. Find them somewhere else."
"I've already looked everywhere else. Only here is left."
"Then haven't you collected enough corpses?"
"I was trying to, but there were guests who came before me. So I couldn't secure the corpses."
"Use honorifics."
"...Yes."
Osian belatedly detected something strange in Elise’s words.
"What do you mean by guests who came before? Are there other black magicians wandering around this area?"
"I don't know if they're black magicians...But there were quite a number of them...."
"You don't even know if they're black magicians, and they're moving in a group? What were those guys doing?"
"They were putting corpses in sacks and loading them onto a truck...."
"Putting corpses in a truck? Could they be public officials clearing corpses from Tirna city?"
At that moment, the gang leader interjected with a serious expression.
"Wait a minute. Something seems off."
"What do you mean?"
"The public officials in District 41 don't do their job properly. They're essentially abandoning and neglecting things. You'd know if you saw the streets on the way here."
Osian and Martinez recalled the streets of District 41.
Drainage pipes were blocked, causing sewage to overflow, and several buildings had collapsed due to rain.
The roads and streets were also quite dilapidated due to lack of maintenance.
The guards were nowhere to be seen. It was essentially saying they wouldn't care about anything that happened.
Could such people mobilize multiple people to diligently remove corpses?
"These guys seem to be them."
The "guys" the gang leader mentioned were human trafficking organization members who had been kidnapping people in this area.
Osian, with a hardened face, asked Elise.
"You said you saw where those guys were? Do you remember where they are?"
"Yes. I saw them just before coming here."
"Guide us."
Elise responded to that.
"But the corpses..."
"I told you there are no corpses here."
"I need corpses..."
Osian was exasperated by her appearance, like a child unable to buy a toy. This was why he didn't want to associate with black magicians.
Wait a minute.
A good idea crossed Osian's mind, and a glint appeared in his eyes.
"I can secure the corpses you want."
"Really?"
"Yes. So guide us. And use honorifics."
"Okay...Yes."
*
Osian and Martinez followed Elise but the gang leader was also with them.
"Why are you following?"
"Don't be like that. I want to see the faces of those guys who randomly invaded our territory, collected corpses, and kidnapped people."
The gang leader pointed to the long stick hanging on his back.
"I won't grab your ankles, so don't worry."
"I see."
"Oh, right. We haven't introduced ourselves. What's your name?"
"Osian. And this is Martinez. The black magician is Elise Denarova."
"I'm Johan Bahar. Nice to meet you."
In fact, the first impression was certainly not a pleasant one, but Johan didn't seem to care.
Even if they had beaten down his own gang members, no one had died, and Osian had essentially fixed those who never listened to him anyway.
The four of them eventually arrived at a location.
It was a deserted narrow street surrounded by old, tall buildings on all sides.
"Where are those guys?"
Martinez narrowed his eyes and looked around. However, no matter how much he looked, he couldn't see any human traffickers.
Osian's gaze was directed towards the ground.
"Traces."
On the ground, there were traces of dragging mud and tire tracks presumed to be from a truck.
It seemed the guys had finished their business and left before arriving here.
"It seems they haven't left long ago, but because of this weather, we can't tell where they're going..."
Because it was raining, chasing them by sound was also impossible.
At that moment, Elise stepped forward and said.
"There's a method."
As everyone looked at Elise, she extended her right palm and raised black magic.
A pitch-black flame that rose like a fireball eventually transformed into the shape of a bird.
It was a 2-star black magic [Dark Gaze].
And it wasn't just one, but 10 of them.
No matter how simple a 2-star magic might be, creating this many simultaneously wasn't easy even with considerable skill.
"Find."
At Elise’s low command, the shadow birds flew up simultaneously and scattered in different directions.
Their wingbeats made no sound, and their movement speed was as fast as a hummingbird.
Elise closed her eyes and concentrated her mind. All the visual perspectives of the 10 shadow birds scattered in different directions were visible in her mind.
Eventually, among the 10 scenes, a truck in motion was seen.
"Found it."
Elise said, opening her eyes.
"The distance isn't far. But since it's moving now, we'll lose it if we go like this."
"Just tell me the direction."
Elise obediently pointed in the direction the truck was heading and Johan looked at her with an incomprehensive reaction.
The truck had already departed, and even if they chased now, there was no way to follow, so what good was knowing the direction?
At that moment, Osian crouched his legs and leaped off the ground.
His body easily climbed to the rooftop, stepping on the building's exterior materials as if defying gravity.
"Huh?"
Johan couldn't believe what he saw with his own eyes. He knew Osian was strong, but he didn't expect this level.
While blankly staring at Osian who had already disappeared from view, Martinez said,
"Let's chase too."
Johan nodded with a bewildered face.
*
Osian, running on the building's rooftop, soon saw a black bird flying far away.
It was the bird tracking the truck.
'Found it.'
White starlight energy formed on Osian's shoulder as a pure white cloak with fur-covered collar wrapped around Osian's body.
Behind the nebula silk, starlight powder scattered, and Osian's speed accelerated. Now almost flying, Osian discovered the truck running below the buildings.
It was a considerably large truck, large enough to carry dozens of people inside.
A truck of this size roaming District 41 looked suspicious at a glance.
Osian jumped directly from the rooftop.
And with all his might, he stomped on the truck's hood with both legs.
-Kwang!
The front of the truck moving at a moderate speed was crushed, causing the vehicle to jolt up and down.
The front wheels popped out, and the driver's window shattered.
Among the scattering metal fragments, airbags could be seen deploying in the driver's and passenger's seats.
"Wh, what!"
"Who drives like that!"
Perhaps due to the aggressive truck stop, those in the cargo area frowned and stuck their heads out towards the driver's seat.
And what he saw was a hand approaching him.
"Uh, uuh?"
Osian grabbed the guy's collar and a body of considerable size was dragged out like a lifeless doll.
"Krk! You, you what!"
Instead of answering, Osian stared at the cargo area revealed as the guy came over to the driver's seat.
Inside were stacked sacks containing corpses, and some sacks seemed to squirm, suggesting living beings.
"It's you guys."
"So what exactly...Ack!"
Osian's sword moved like a light ray and pierced the guy's thigh.
"From now on, answer my questions well."
"This bastard aaargh!"
Since he wasn't subdued yet, Osian lightly twisted the sword he'd stabbed into the thigh.
During this time, the person in the driver's seat drew a pistol and shot at Osian.
Osian used the nebula silk to block the bullets. Even if he didn't block perfectly, the coat had bulletproof effects, so there was no damage from bullets.
"Quick reflexes. Indeed, not an ordinary human trafficker."
"Ugh!"
People in the cargo area took out weapons and rushed down.
They were about 10 in number and instead of being flustered seeing Osian, they immediately tried to pull the trigger.
Osian held out the guy whose collar he was gripping as a shield. His colleagues were startled by the capture.
"Just a bit naive."
While they were holding weapons but unable to act, Osian casually threw the guy he was holding sideways.
Leaving the guy rolling in the overflowing sewer street, Osian lightly landed on the truck.
Abandoning the hostage meant to protect himself?
Intending to mock his audacity, Osian advised those about to pull the trigger:
"And you guys would do better to be more careful behind you."
"Bullshit! Such a cheap trick...!"
The human trafficker trying to refute Osian had no choice but to turn his head at the burning heat felt behind him.
"...What's that?"
And they saw Martinez, covered in golden flames, glaring at them.