"So... Is That All?"

Five shadows loomed within the Underground Storehouse, huddled around a single lamp and shooting the breeze. They were Prisoners, and by the looks of it, they were bored.

"Think that newcomer actually pulled it off?" one of them asked.

"Doubt it. The kid looked like a total clumsy loser. Whatever—if he blew it, we’ll just kill him."

"We’ll know soon enough. He said he’d do the deed tonight. By the way, where’s Zack?"

"Said his stomach was killing him, so he’s back in his room sleeping it off."

"Huh? That guy’s been acting sketchy lately. You don’t think he’s a traitor leaking info to the Royalist Faction, do you?"

"Pipe down. He’s here."

At that exact moment, the door to the Underground Storehouse creaked open, and a lone silhouette stepped inside.

I walked slowly through the dim warehouse toward the five Prisoners. As I approached, the flickering lamplight gradually pulled me out of the darkness.

"You alone? Where’s the Princess?"

"Tch. He failed."

The disappointment in the room was thick enough to choke on.

I stopped right in front of them, looking for all the world like an Ordinary Black-haired boy. I kept my head down, my dark eyes fixed on the shadow stretching out across the floor. Perfect. The 'disgraced failure' vibe is coming along nicely.

"Don’t tell me you chickened out."

One of the Prisoners stood up, unsheathing a knife with a metallic shring.

"What happened to the Princess?! Answer me, dammit!"

He pressed the blade against my throat, his voice dripping with the kind of staged aggression meant to make the weak crumble. Usually, a kid like me would be shaking in his boots right about now.

But I didn't tremble. I didn't even flinch. I just kept staring at my shadow on the floor, playing the part of the unfathomable protagonist.

"Clara..." I muttered.

My voice wasn't particularly loud, yet it had that strange, weightless quality that made it echo through the entire room.

"She isn't coming."

I didn't look up. My gaze remained fixed on the ground, but I let a tiny, faint smile play across my lips. Ooh, that was a good one. Very 'mysterious third party.'

"The hell do you mean she isn't coming?! Did you fail? Or did you just lose your nerve?!"

I didn't give him the satisfaction of an answer.

"What's the play? Do we kill him?"

"He probably just got scared. If he'd actually failed a kidnapping, he'd be covered in bruises."

"True. Let's rough him up a bit and send him back for round two."

The Prisoners all stood up, forming a circle around me.

"You really did chicken out, didn't you, you little brat?"

The guy with the knife at my throat reached out with his free hand, grabbed a fistful of my hair, and yanked my face up. He found himself staring into my eyes—dark, bottomless pits that gave away absolutely nothing.

"What’s with that look?"

He grimaced in disgust and flicked the knife. The blade bit into my neck, leaving a thin red line where a single bead of blood began to trickle down.

"Stop looking at me with those creepy-ass eyes."

I didn't look away. I stared him straight in the face. In fact, that smile I’d been holding back was starting to become impossible to hide.

"What the hell are you laughing at?!"

He slammed the hilt of his knife into my cheek.

Hard.

But I just kept smiling, my gaze never wavering.

"Kid, do you even realize what kind of situation you’re in?"

He hit me again.

This time, he really put some weight into it. It was the kind of impact that should have shattered my cheekbone and sent my teeth flying across the room.

And yet, I didn't even budge.

I just stood there, wearing that same smile, staring him down.

"—!"

"Quit playing around!" another Prisoner barked from the side. He stepped in and wound up a haymaker aimed right at my jaw. "You gotta hit him like you mean to kill him! If you let 'em look down on you, it's over—wha?!"

It was a total sucker punch, delivered with 100% lethal intent.

But nothing changed. I didn't fall. I didn't even sway. There wasn't so much as a scratch on my face.

My unreadable eyes just stayed locked on them. I could see the realization hitting them—this wasn't normal.

"Is that all?" I whispered.

"—! Don’t you dare mock me!!"

The Prisoner’s face turned a brilliant shade of crimson as he began raining blows down on me. He punched and punched and punched until he was wheezing for air. Finally, he let out a jagged laugh.

"See that?! That’s what happens when you underestimate... eh?"

"Are you done yet?"

I was still smiling. My face was completely pristine. Not a single bruise.

"This guy... there's something wrong with him."

"Tch. Give me that."

One of the Prisoners snatched the knife and drove it straight into my side.

Or at least, he tried to.

"What—why won't it—?!"

The blade shredded my shirt, then stopped dead. No matter how much weight he threw behind it, the steel wouldn't pierce my skin.

"H-hey. What's going on?"

"I told you to kill him for real!"

"Shut up! It won't go in!! It's like I'm stabbing a brick wall!!"

He tried again. And again. And again. Stab-stab-stab.

Still nothing.

The Prisoner stumbled backward, gasping for breath, his eyes wide with pure terror as if he were looking at a monster.

"H-he's not human—"

"So... is that all?"

The next moment, my fist blurred.

Actually, calling it a blur is being generous. To them, it was invisible. I moved with the kind of speed that skips the 'action' and goes straight to the 'result.'

And the result was simple: my fist was buried in the Prisoner's chest. Right where his heart used to be, there was now a gaping hole.

"Ah... a-hyu..."

Thud.

The Prisoner’s body slumped to the floor, and a dark pool of blood began to fan out across the stone.

"Wha—?!"

"No way..."

"He... he punched a hole through him with his bare hands..."

"Hie..."

Splish. Splash.

I stepped calmly into the growing pool of blood.

"I’ll ask again... is this the end?"

I gave them a thin smile. The Prisoners were frozen, their faces pale and stiff with horror.

"Kuh... All four of us! Go!!"

"D-don’t mess with us!!"

"K-kill him! Just kill him already!!"

"H-hie... hieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!"

The remaining four shadows lunged at me in a desperate, panicked swarm. The lamplight flickered wildly.

Shadows danced.

When the light finally steadied, five corpses lay on the floor, each sporting a matching hole in its chest.

"So... it's over now, isn't it?"

There was no one left to answer.

Splish. Splash.

I turned and walked away, my footsteps echoing through the blood-slicked Underground Storehouse.