NOVEL WEB Chapter 21: Accidentally Find the BBG
This is one bizarre date. I've been to an amusement park with a girl and ridden a roller coaster, but not one as unsanitary as this.
First off, this supposed train car works a lot like a bus. When Ravenna pulled the cord, it was like changing the route of the tracks and signaling a stop. Luckily, there's absolutely no one at this point. There must be people in the cars further ahead, but I don't have the guts to go find out.
The public transport conditions aren't the best, with cockroaches scurrying up and down the moving walls, a rusty leak dripping from the ceiling, and seats that look more likely to stab your butt than anything else.
Ravenna skips through this... thing, pulling me by the arm, forcing me to sit next to her and admire the lovely windows frosted with grime. Ow, my butt, how romantic.
"You're going to love it, I swear! It's a shame you won't be able to walk around the same places I do, you'd melt the moment we got there!"
Right, luckily I have no idea what you're going to try. The mentions of a criminal underworld are left quite vague in the original work, because there was never a real focus on the Imperial City, which is the capital of the kingdom.
Anyway, judging by the infrastructure, there must be at least a place to rest or a market, but it's strange how we're going directly there.
Originally, I thought Ravenna had been wrongly judged, but being here must mean the opposite. Better take this chance to clear up some doubts.
"Ravenna, did you try to kill the Count?"
"Well, of course. Why wouldn't I want to kill that trash?"
Yeah, so the trial wasn't senseless after all.
"But I don't quite understand... was there a reason? We didn't have much of a chance to talk about it."
"True, but now that I can guarantee you're on my side as my partner in crime, I guess there's no problem revealing it!"
Partner in crime? But I've done nothing but minor offenses... Well, I did trespass and also attacked the resident, but that's beside the point.
"I always wanted to take my uncle down somehow. He was a pain ever since I decided to join the Libertarians and became a witch. After my parents were gone, I started hating the nobility... I guess that's why I sympathized when you came to my cell! You must hate them too!"
"Oh! Yes, yes, I hate them very much! How can they treat me like this just because of my origin?"
Lies. I have no specific reasons to hate any of the nobility, but i do for my relatives or certain specific people, not everyone. This is also the first time I've heard about this kind of thing from Ravenna, considering she was a secondary villain who exited the scene very quickly...
There's something fishy going on.
"Anyway, you're with them, aren't you? Even if it was an order from your boss, I admit you did your job very well in rescuing me... but our conversation is going to get aggressive because they almost killed me in the process."
A terrifying smile blossoms on her face. What? I didn't even take responsibility for that, and I'm the one who's going to get blamed? Get real, you crazy woman!
Anyway, for me, the pieces clicked, and now I know what's going on, but I bear a good share of the blame for this series of events. In the original manuscript of Sword of The Iron Maiden, Leonhardt ends up detecting magic bombs scattered throughout the courtroom and disarms them beforehand.
Since he rescued me, that never happened, so they exploded like an attack by the terrorists named the Libertarians. Ravenna suspects I'm on their side because of my position, but she's completely wrong!
The journey finally ends when the train gives a dry jolt and brakes with a metallic screech that seems to announce the arrival in hell itself. A collective sigh, from myself alone, escapes as Ravenna stands up with the same enthusiasm as someone disembarking at a festival of flowers and celestial music.
"Welcome to the Scorn!"
Scorn. Yes, that's the name of the place. Now everything makes more sense, and it also seems more threatening. Ravenna leaps from the car lightly, twirling her bat-like cape like a child about to show their favorite playground to a new friend.
I get off next, tripping on the last step and almost face-planting on the platform. The ground here is uneven stone, the walls are covered in torn posters, graffiti in magic blood, and a thick layer of soot.
To top it off, apparently most of the vandalism happened recently, with burnt parts on the rock and the smell of fresh iron in the air. Enchanted lamps cast a dull lilac light over everything, reminding me of one of those indie clubs that only play depressing music.
Ravenna glides along the platform and points to a twisted iron archway, where the path opens into a high ceiling, revealing an environment full of shadows and hooded figures walking back and forth. Armed people, figures wearing fox masks, a giant woman with six arms negotiating the price of an organ on a countertop... Local commerce.
"Next time, can I choose the meeting place? I don't feel comfortable here."
"Oh, but it's charming, isn't it?" Ravenna spins on her heels and walks backward, arms open. "This is where the true artists of chaos gather. Smugglers, assassins, conspirators, revolutionaries... everything the Imperial City tries to hide. If you have or want to discover a secret, this is where it ends up."
With each step, the sound of the markets grows louder. Alleyways open into chaotic nooks full of tents, stalls, and green lanterns that float on their own.
Someone offers me a "frog that cures betrayals" for two silver coins, another tries to shove a mechanical claw with engraved runes into my hand. There's even a bard playing a lute with his tongue. I don't want to live in this world anymore.
"Ravenna... is this the Libertarians' hideout?"
"In part. They have influence, of course, but the Scorn is a no-man's-land. There's only one law: don't die before you profit."
She stops before a large, circular door with arcane symbols painted in fresh ink, gives two rhythmic knocks and a small window slides open. A reddish eye peers out, examining us for a few seconds... then the door unlatches with a click.
"Our contact is waiting," she whispers, her tone suddenly different.
I actually shivered, she's much more serious than the sweet Ravenna from moments ago. Honestly, I feel more comfortable near this type of her than the other, because her happiness while walking through trash scares me.
I sigh. Too late to turn back, huh? Here we go. My feet cross the threshold into the Kingdoom rat hole. As always, I pray not to end up dead, enslaved, or married to a ten-eyed entity, but with my luck, I'm betting on all three. Can't always be losing.
The door closes with a loud thud, and I glance at the gentle doorman, a burly man who actually had a ruby instead of a truly red eye. This guy will kill us at the first hint of any mischief.
Inside, another magical lamp illuminates the space, specifically highlighting a solitary table in the room. Sitting cross-legged and reading a poetry book by an irrelevant author from the past, a man with long red hair raises his eyes towards us.
Wait, I'm not going to freak out just because he's staring fixedly at me with a strange expression, am I? If I'm with Ravenna, everything should be fine.
"Your plan almost failed, Philomeu."
Of all the things to start a conversation with, you pick that? Don't irritate this boss, it's clear this is the main villain!
"That was the backup plan. If you had completed your mission correctly, we wouldn't be talking now."
The bad boy stands up, and... this guy is tall! At least a head taller than me, the same height as Leonhardt! Please don't walk towards us!
Damn, he's getting close, and I've broken into a cold sweat. I swallow hard, time to puff out my chest and be brave, Darius. Cowardice will only put you at a disadvantage.
Oh, he has a sword. He drew his sword. Yeah, forget it, I'm never going to play tough in this situation.
"And why is Darius Moonlight here?"
"He's the spy you sent to save me, did you forget, you beet-head?"
"I didn't send any spy. Why would I waste resources saving a useless pawn?"
Yep, I'm going to a better place. Philomeu's body blurs before my eyes; the sword's edge is already pressed against my neck, about to decapitate me. He's standing right in front of me, staring at me like I'm a worm.
"So why are you really here?"