A pitch-black space, devoid of even a sliver of light. The only illumination came from the aura of fire enveloping Aquila’s sword, revealing a sight so horrific it was difficult to put into words.
A cramped room, barely large enough for three grown men to lie down pressed together, with no windows, no ventilation. And inside, eight children huddled close, pressed against each other.
“You....”
They had a distinctive appearance—ornate features. The unmistakable traits of Arkons that I had grown familiar with over my six years in the Border Defense Army.
The sudden light seemed to startle them. The children looked up at us with wide, frightened eyes before quickly turning their heads, dazzled by the brightness. I took in their appearances in a single sweep.
Emaciated bodies, as if they hadn’t eaten properly in a long time. Ragged, tattered clothing. Matted hair, unwashed for who knows how long. And bruises, scars littering their skin....
Whether they had been used for experiments or subjected to forced labor, one thing was certain—they had been abused for an extended period. Scratches marred the walls, deep grooves dug by fingernails.
Was that the sound I heard?
I wasn’t entirely sure what had called us here, but whatever it was, it had clearly been born from these children’s suffering.
Karon...
The memory of Karon, smiling brightly as he nonchalantly confessed to being used by a dark sorcerer, flashed through my mind. My jaw clenched involuntarily.
So this was it?
After going through something this cruel, he could still smile like that and follow my orders without hesitation?
A furious disgust welled up in me—rage at this world that treated Arkons like disposable tools, to be used and discarded at will.
These goddamn bastards....
I clenched my teeth, swallowing down the curse words threatening to spill out. The children, perhaps only now realizing we were truly there, reacted in various ways.
“P-please! Save us! Save us!”
“Hic... hngh....”
Some of them cried out for help, others broke down into sobs, and some, too terrified to even speak, shrank into the farthest corners of the room as if trying to escape.
“Hey, it’s okay, it’s okay....”
Despite the boiling fury inside me, I softened my voice as much as possible.
“It’s okay. We’re here to help you. We’re the same as you—hetero sapiens.”
“...What?”
At my words, their gazes flickered between my vividly colored hair and the aura surrounding Aquila’s sword.
“...You should put that away.”
“Yeah.”
The children seemed afraid of the weapon. Aquila smoothly shifted his sword behind him, keeping only the light of the aura to illuminate the space.
That seemed to help. The children gradually calmed, and I slowly stepped toward them.
“We’re here to get you out. Come with us. We’re going outside.”
“B-but....”
A young girl at the front hesitated, her voice trembling.
“There’s a spell on us....”
“...Ah.”
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Right. Karon had mentioned it too. That dark sorcerer had bound him, forcing him to labor under his control.
Should we have brought Karon here? He might have known something about this spell.
...No. This place would probably bring up painful memories for him. Even if he could help, I didn’t want to force him to relive this. We’d have to figure this out ourselves.
“It’s okay. We’ll deal with that sorcerer, and we’ll break whatever spell is on you.”
“B-but... he’s really strong....”
“We’re stronger.”
As I reassured them, I took another careful look at their faces—six girls and two boys.
“...Ah.”
I had heard about this before. More girls than boys died before reaching the age of enlistment, which was why the gender ratio in the Border Defense Army always skewed toward men.
So this was what they meant.
I didn’t know exactly how these children had ended up here, but if they had been abducted, then the kidnappers would have chosen the ones easiest to take—physically weaker children. That meant more girls.
The girls who never made it to enlistment were being exploited like this and then discarded.
As I pieced it together, my rage flared, nearly impossible to suppress. Even with the children in front of me, I felt like I had to grab my gun right now and hunt that dark sorcerer down.
“Hff....”
I exhaled sharply, struggling to stay in control. Sensing it, Aquila reached out and pulled my head against his chest. Burying my face against him, I focused on breathing deeply, just as Ishina had drilled into me at least fifty times.
After a while, whether it was the breathing technique or the warmth, I started to settle. I lifted my head from Aquila’s chest and turned back to the young Arkons.
“Alright, kids, let’s head up. You’re not forbidden from leaving the basement, right?”
“N-no....”
“Then let’s go.”
With the eight children following behind us, we made our way out into the artifact chamber where we had been earlier. The sight of the children stunned the soldiers waiting outside.
“Dalin, so seriously, how do you manage to—huh?!”
“L-Lady Salvia! What happened?!”
So Dalin really had been drawing all the attention. Even while we were rescuing the children, no one had so much as glanced in our direction.
I’d noticed it before, but Dalin was undoubtedly a talent. When it came to aggro-drawing, she was practically a prodigy. If she had been born in 21st-century Earth, she would’ve been an influencer. What a waste of potential, being stuck in this godforsaken world.
“They’re Arkons the dark sorcerer was using. Once we capture him, we’ll have to break whatever spell he put on them.”
“Ah... I heard about this a lot when I was a kid.”
Dalin’s direct senior, Abraham, spoke with a voice still heavy with shock.
“Both my parents are Arkons. When I was young, they always warned me not to get kidnapped. No matter how strong an Arkon’s body is, a child can never outsmart an adult....”
I hadn’t grown up in this world, so this was news to me. But from the way he spoke, it seemed like a frequent issue for Arkon children.
These goddamn dark sorcerers.
If I got my hands on them, I’d make sure they paid in the worst ways imaginable....
The three most notorious dark sorcerers ruling over the northern empire—fraud, attempted terrorism, and now kidnapping. What the hell was wrong with these guys?
“We’re taking the kids upstairs. You lot search the room. We didn’t have time to look around properly.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
The five soldiers rushed into the hidden chamber while we led the children up the stairs.
And just as I stepped onto the final step—
“...So, you found out.”
I came face-to-face with the dark sorcerer.
A man draped in a suspiciously cliché black robe. The same outfit as the sorcerer who had attempted an attack on the emperor’s procession.
Did they coordinate their outfits or something?
A reasonable question, but now wasn’t the time. The important thing was that the sorcerer had shown himself.
“Creeping into someone else’s property like a rat to steal what isn’t yours... Do you feel some kind of camaraderie just because they’re your kind?”
...What the hell?
Instead of launching a dark spell at me, the guy was running his mouth. Seriously? This was his first move?
Is he one of those villains who loves to explain things?
Wait a second... That actually made a lot of sense. Was today just a day of clichés?
A cliché villain! The type that babbles about their master plan, convinced they’ve already won—only to get completely outmaneuvered by the protagonist.
“Why aren’t you running?”
“Hah! You may be in the Border Defense Army, but one soldier is hardly a challenge for me!”
“Ah...”
So he hadn’t noticed Aquila yet. Since Aquila was standing behind the eight children, his presence was completely obscured.
Thankfully, Aquila caught on and stayed hidden, letting me play along. At this point, we didn’t even need to speak to understand each other’s thoughts.
To get as much information as possible, I decided to humor the idiot.
“Man... Just my luck. I thought I’d make it to my discharge, but I’m gonna die to a dark sorcerer before then. So, what’s the deal with the spell on these kids? If I’m gonna die, at least let me know. I don’t wanna go out with regrets.”
“Hmph. Fine. You’re about to die anyway. Consider it entertainment.”
Wow....
I was genuinely impressed.
Yet again, a so-called “one of the three greatest dark sorcerers” turned out to be an absolute moron. Dark sorcerer, villain energy +30.
“The children...”
He lifted his chin arrogantly.
“They are bound by a contract forged with their own blood. There is no way for you to break it.”
Just hearing the word contract made my head throb. Probably because of my own contract magic.
“So, I’m guessing you’re not gonna tell me how to break it?”
“Hah! You think I wouldn’t see through such a transparent attempt to trick me? You’re just trying to buy time to run, aren’t you?!”
“Yeah, got it.”
I smiled kindly and nodded.
Alright, so I wasn’t getting anything else out of this guy. In that case...
“Guys, come out.”
The moment I spoke, Aquila and five soldiers sprang from behind me.
To me, Dalin, Patty, and Matty looked like a bunch of clueless idiots, but to an outsider, their presence probably seemed a lot more intimidating.
“W-what?! But you were alone—!”
“Oh, come on. Why the hell would I come down to a sketchy underground chamber alone? For god’s sake, dark sorcerers, at least try to be smart! Get a grip!”
And just like that, we beat the crap out of the dark sorcerer.
As always, violence and fear saved the day.
This time, it was the ultimate cliché reversal.