Chapter 28 - Bouncy Balls are Quite Dangerous

"So, tell me a bit more about where we're going." Locki asked as he eyed Daki. The female demon had been the best choice after the teen got concerned over Gyutaro's behavior; It helped that she could corral Kagura after the girl insisted on tagging along.

Currently, the girl had been supremely excited when she joined in. Locki could tell the reason tied back to the woman who helped her escape from the slavers a year or so ago, but he didn't really have the heart to explain his suspicions to the girl. He only hoped he was wrong as he watched Kagura dodge a couple of cloth hands that chased after her, much to Daki's annoyance.

"She really is happy, huh…" Their escort, who called herself Selome, was distracted by the scene too much to really notice, but she quickly hid her emotions as Locki nudged her. "Sorry, what was the question?"

Locki sighed, trying not to seem too aggrieved. "What kind of resistance should I expect?"

"Um… there shouldn't be any mages, I think. Most of them were driven out when Rebecca took over the coast, but then the Rune Knights came and…"

Locki nodded as Selome spoke. It was roughly what he expected. Fiore wasn't going to spend the resources required to completely uproot Dark Guilds who actively hid within The Calm Sea, but they would definitely drive out what they considered "negative" to the city even if Rebecca was a net positive. If anything, she'd be considered a Rogue Mage. The problem came when one considered what happened to the women and places that depended on her presence to keep them safe when she was driven out.

The young man clicked his tongue the more he thought about the issue. "And I'm guessing you can't go to the Rune Knights because of your affiliation, huh?"

Selome didn't speak, but her silence was enough for Locki to put it together. The situation was rather parallel to Evermont's in a sense. Of course, Hargeon's corruption probably didn't extend so far into the city, but in the places that it did… Locki couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed in the Magic Council Branch of the city.

Scarlet Hand's guildmaster watched over the two guildmates that followed him. Kagura had finally stopped running away from the white-haired demon, and Daki aggressively redid the girl's messed up braid. He couldn't hear them from where they were, but he knew Daki had to be insulting Kagura for being so difficult. It was only for a moment, but Locki felt something other than apprehension for his future as he watched on.

Shaking his head, Locki turned his attention to Selome. She seemed lost in her own thoughts as well.

"If you think I can read your mind, please try again." Locki said, startling her out of her reverie. "Though, if you really want to reminisce, then I wouldn't mind hearing about how this Pirate Queen came to be. Everything about her makes it seem like she appeared out of nowhere."

Selome pursed her lips, pensive. Locki felt that getting information about the Pirate Queen from anyone who supported her was like pulling teeth. However, he felt confused when Selome nodded slowly. "Fine, I suppose you deserve to know at least some of it."

Locki's paced slowed slightly, forcing the woman to match him unconsciously. Ahead, Daki noticed his actions and stopped Kagura from going off again.

"You'd be correct to think that Rebecca appeared out of nowhere, and really, no one really knows anything about where she might be other than her second in command, a doctor who goes by the name Stein. Though, Pirate Queen was not really what she and her crew called themselves." Selome laughed as if she remembered a funny joke. "That was a nickname that the Dark Guilds and the Rune Knights spread around after she gained traction; probably as a way for people to fear her instead of rally around her."

"And what does she call her own?" Locki asked. He figured her title had some conspiracy behind it when her actions seemed primarily altruistic.

Selome smiled. "Edgerunners."

"Edgerunners? What is that supposed to mean?" Locki pondered aloud, trying to recall any magic guild that appeared under a similar name.

"Hell if I know." Selome shrugged playfully, lips pulling into a smile. "But Rebecca also liked the title of Pirate Queen, so I guess it didn't really matter too much. Ah, we're here."

Locki raised an eyebrow as Selome's joyful tone quickly became somber. Her sparkling eyes that he seemed to reminisce in beautiful memories swiftly dulled as if a switch had just been flipped.

The building itself wasn't too different from the ones that surrounded it. Here in the upper portions of Hargeon, closer to the red light district, it seemed like every single building had been pressed close to their neighbors. They were all close to the ground and shoddily built, so it was only seldom that a building above two stories ever found itself in this part of the city.

Their target was only a single story tall, and looked like it was on the verge of collapse. Locki had seen drug dens in Evermont that were cleaner and had more structural integrity than the building in front of them. The walls were stained and ripped, revealing moldy, wooden boards inside. Its windows were similarly broken and crusted with dirt and salt. Even the place smelled like a wet dog that had dried out in the sun.

Locki felt a tug on his pants and he looked down to see Kagura as she frowned at the ground. He quickly caught on that she had seemed to sense something, and also paid attention to the ground, but his cursory search turned up nothing.

"You see something?" He asked softly.

Kagura nodded. "I think I can sense something. One mage who doesn't seem too strong."

Locki hummed and looked over to Selome. The woman trembled a little at Locki's gaze, having heard Kagura's declaration. She looked too fearful for it to be a trap, and from her glances at Kagura, Locki didn't even need to use his Curse to vet her intentions. Though, he did so anyway to make sure, and then breathed a sigh of relief when it came up negative.

"How far do you think they are down?" Locki asked.

"Um," Kagura shuffled on her feet. "Maybe three of you or so. I'm still figuring out how to sense magic signatures… sorry, guildmaster."

Locki smiled as kindly as he could. "That's okay, Kagura. Can you just point where they are?"

When the girl did so, Locki smiled and patted her on the head. He jerked his chin in Daki's direction, and the demon sighed before she nodded.

Selome didn't have a second to question what that signal was for before the demon formed a large cone made out of thick strips of fabric that was connected to the demon's flower robes by a long sash tied at her waist. In the night, where Daki didn't have to worry about the sun, the demon could finally move with impunity. The large cone fueled by her abilities and the [Weaving] skill soon began to rotate, faster and faster till all the fabric began to make sounds similar to metal clashing on metal.

Locki knew that the demon threaded iron wire through her fabrics, weaving them into her clothes, but he didn't really think she could control them to this degree. Still, the guildmaster could only plug up his ears as the fabric drill hit the ground with a thunderous boom.

Dirt and stone flew through the air, immediately clouding their surroundings. Through his fingers, Locki could hear the sound of gravel and pavement being ripped apart by Daki's attack. He quickly pulled out a piece of cloth to tie around his mouth and nose, and moved over to hand another to Selome and Kagura.

Soon, the sound disappeared and Locki was treated to the shouts and curses of someone below. The cloud of debris still hung in the air, but he was close enough to Kagura and Selome to pull back the black-haired girl before she charged headfirst into an enemy's base.

Kagura shot him a confused look but thankfully she stopped.

"Daki and I can handle things below. Make sure you catch anyone who comes out and protect our client." Locki ordered the girl as he moved to the hold Daki had dug. He had many negative suspicions on what happened to Selome's co-workers, and he didn't really need the girl to see if he was right on any of them.

The hole Daki created was narrow and sloppy. Locki could see strips of fabric that were torn off in the process, hanging off small threads of wire that had broken off in her maneuver. It would fit him, but he'd definitely get cut up if he jumped down. And from the signs of splattered blood, he was sure Daki had done just that.

He sighed. It was times like these that he disliked how his magic wasn't that useful. Of course, those complaints quickly disappeared when he thought about how useful his abilities were outside of well… not dying.

However, Locki wasn't one to despair for long. He had long internalized this fact, and he had gone forward with this weakness in mind.

The young guildmaster swiped his right hand in the air in front of him, rubbing a thumb on the [Subspace Ring] that was on his pointer finger. It was one of the luckiest things he got from his Tier 2 Blue Prisms over the past year or so, and it certainly helped to stop his basement from being flooded with random junk.

Now, he could carry all his random junk with him!

In one slick motion, Locki quickly caught a metallic vambrace that appeared from thin air, slipped it on his arm, and activated it. His [Rune Woven Armor] still was broken and missing its helmet portion, but it was the best thing he had with him that didn't necessitate an hour to put on.

"Son of a–" Locki tensed as the demon's curse was cut off by the sounds of continuous gunshots. He pursed his lips as he took in the new information; Daki's clothes were rather durable, so weaker magic items couldn't really penetrate them, and the demon was too agile to be hit by a normal human with a magic item like a gun. That meant Guns Magic was involved.

"Tricky stuff…" Locki mused as he covered his face and jumped down the hole. A couple wires scraped along his armor, but no damage occurred beyond the affront to his ears as the metal screeched and vibrated his armor.

He hit the floor with a heavy thud, transitioning to a roll as he quickly took stock of his surroundings. Locki immediately recognized it as a long, cobbled hallway, dirty and dark with only a couple light Lacrima on the ceiling. The floors and walls were broken in parts with holes that he immediately knew were from the result of Guns Magic scattered around the place. He found several splotches of red blood that painted the area, and from the sounds he heard further into the hallway, it seemed Daki was extremely angry that she got injured.

Locki took to a brisk jog as he caught up. Daki having the time to curse meant she was okay, and the sporadic sounds of gunfire meant that their target was fine, too.

The blonde jerked to the side suddenly, halting his thoughts as he dodged out of the way of three silvery-orange projectiles. Except, he couldn't get out of the way completely as one of the projectiles seemed to bounce off each other, hit random sections of the hallway, and then continuously bounce off any surface they hit in erratic trajectories.

Locki immediately covered his face feeling one of the bullets skid across his gauntlets as he did so. The force was strong enough to push him against the wall but not much else.

Frowning, Locki looked over his armor, and he only found a slight dent where it hit. He passed a glance to the odd bouncing bullets as they continued to ricochet everywhere down the hallway. Oddly, none of them seemed to travel backwards, as if they could only bounce forwards.

Still, his thoughts were put on hold as Daki curses echoed into his ears. Locki picked up his pace, ducking and dodging under several erratic as he made his way down the hallway. It helped that his earlier observation that they only seemed to bounce forwards was correct; he was able to just rush past a couple since they would never bounce back.

Quickly he came upon the carnage that Daki and her opponent wrought. If he had been attacked by maybe three or four bouncing bullets, Daki was besieged by thousands. Silvery-orange bullets bounced off the walls, ceiling, and floors like demented rubber balls as the white-haired demon ripped apart the hallway in the effort to shield herself with the debris.

Daki had formed five cloth hands that carried thick stones that were ripped free from the passageway as makeshift shields. She then continuously charged into the mess of bullets, but there were too many of them. They simply bounced everywhere, striking the demon through her shields and forcing her to stop as they tore into important muscles in a spray of blood and gore. She made it worse as she discarded broken sections of repurposed stone, letting the bullets have more surfaces to bounce on.

Locki quickly ducked under a couple bullets, stepping forwards as he saw that they were about to bounce again. He quickly realized that he had to keep going forwards lest he get overwhelmed from all sides. It was a magic that excelled in their current environment, and one that they had no choice but to step into further.

However, Locki was not like Daki. He did not rush into battle and attack incessantly like Gyutaro, nor did he have a multitude of overpowered attacks for anything like Kagura. Locki fought slowly, methodically. To take advantage of his magic, he needed to.

Ever since Ultear had joined, Locki didn't really have time to train like Kagura or Gyutaro. Even if he did do their insane physical regimes, his returns would not be that substantial. As such, the blonde put all his effort into figuring out the best way to fight for himself; a way to leverage the stringent conditions of both his Curse and Magic.

Because of this, Locki never rushed into things. He always observed his surroundings in a fight.

The erratic nature of the bouncing bullets was something that was impossible to predict, so Locki didn't predict it. All his Curse needed was information and for the object to be in range. His escape from that Vulcan's last ditch attack had taught him that even magic could fall within his Curse's acceptable targets.

And he already had enough information about the bullets to affect them.

However, in a chaotic tunnel full of bullets, Locki could only affect a couple at a time. Even so, the blonde made his way through the barrage of bullets with an even pace.

Locki focused on the bullets that would strike him critically, feeling out the position of every bullet that made it within ten feet of himself, the range of his Curse. Those that would be problematic were promptly slowed and discarded once he passed. Those that wouldn't matter, Locki simply ignored.

Pinpricks of pain and noise skittered across his armor, hitting him with enough force to bruise, but Locki walked forwards. One particular bullet slowed just enough for him to step over it rather than have it break his knee. His ears practically bled from all the bullets that bounced off of his armor. It should have been stifling. He couldn't see the end to the tunnel full of bullets, nor did he see the mage responsible, yet Locki didn't really feel the pressure.

His pace never sped up or slowed down until he reached Daki. The demon repeatedly healed and fell down as more bullet wounds opened up on her body, and she only had a breather once Locki came up beside her and slowed enough bullets for her to react to the rest.

"Dammit…" Daki cursed, refusing to look at Locki. The blonde could see her fists curl up, digging her nails into his palms as the cloth hands warded off more bullets.

In the heat of the fight, Locki couldn't really analyze her emotions, but he knew disappointment when he could see it. After all, that was all he felt for himself not too long ago.

"Did you see the mage?" Locki asked, half wondering how to direct her thoughts away from her disappointment and half trying to figure out the situation.

Daki huffed, standing back up and brushing off the blood on her. "Yeah, the bastard started running away as soon as he saw me. He only shot a couple bullets at time, but I wasn't expecting this…"

"Hmmm…" Locki hummed as he looked around. He started to walk forwards with Daki in tow. "Its definitely magic around the C-rank, but our environment makes it insanely advantageous for him. Did you see any hostages?"

"Down the way the bastard ran." Daki said.

Locki frowned, feeling a little apprehension break his previous calm. "Then, let's pick up the pace. I'll be relying on you to block most of them. I can get the ones that slip through."

"... Yeah." Daki said softly, going into a run as Locki began to sprint ahead.

Locki had no idea if this hideaway had a different exit, but it was something he would've put in, so he couldn't disregard the possibility. He pumped his arms and legs harder as he closed his eyes and entrusted his senses to his vague Curse sense.

The bullets flew into his small range, and some were immediately knocked off course –Daki's interference, yet there were some that simply bounced a couple times and reoriented themselves towards Daki or him. Locki focused on those, squeezing them to a tenth of their previous speed as the two ran past them.

Several times Locki couldn't get the timing right and had to hurriedly duck out of the way of bullets that simply flew directly at them. Other times he was forced to shrug off a couple bullets that weren't that deadly, but would have put him in a more dangerous position.

The young man didn't know how long he had been running for, but he felt out of breath by the time the sheer numbers of bullets had dwindled down. There were still more than he was comfortable with. However, a slurred yell and gunshots to accompany it were all he needed to know they had caught up.

"Ger' Bac'!"

Locki finally opened his eyes, nearly stumbling on a nearby rock he caught sight of. However, a cloth hand hurriedly swept in front of his feet to knock it out of the way.

He then, sent a look at the mage who somehow caused Daki more trouble than most. The man was unkempt and disheveled. His hair was greasy and matted and his teeth were yellowed and rotten. He carried a dirty six-chambered pistol in his left while he hurriedly took a swig of a wine flask from his right.

A brief glow and a small magic circle lit up on the dirty pistol in his left, and Locki watched on in distaste as he haphazardly pulled the trigger as he waved it around randomly. The bullets popped out in a burst of light and began to bounce around wildly. To add insult to injury, the man stumbled around the hallway, needing to brace himself on the wall every now and then.

"He's drunk." Locki announced, feeling slightly embarrassed. Sure, the environment suited the mage's mage, and only Daki got taken off guard by sheer numbers, but he couldn't help but feel a little annoyed at the man's state. The only consolation was that the situation was far from dire or hard.

It was just annoying.

"Hey! You should be careful." Locki started, earring him a look of confusion from the mage. "Don't you know that if you're drunk, you will trip!"

Perhaps it was because the man really had too much to drink in such a dark hallway, but the mage immediately tripped midstride. His head bounced as it hit the stone, and the mage screamed as his wine flask shattered on the floor, spilling its contents everywhere.

Daki and Locki didn't let this chance up for a second, forming a shield made out of stone in front of them. They rushed forwards as Locki dodged several bullets that seemingly bounced over or under their barricade.

However, as they got closer, they heard a loud pop! That was all the warning Locki felt before something entered his Curse's range faster than he could blink. He moved on instinct the second it entered his range, throwing himself to the side of the corridor and slamming his shoulder into the wall hard.

The blonde looked back to see a massive hole had opened up within the shield and a bloody hole the size of his head had opened up on Daki's midsection. Blood leaked out of the demon's mouth as she stared at the section of her that was simply gone. Just as quickly, the hole closed, but not before another shot rang in the hallway, forcing the both of them to cling to the walls.

In front of them, the mage who had been running away was now glaring at them with red eyes full of tears. His pistol shook hard as he clutched it desperately and a series of red magic circles began to form on the barrel.

Well… Locki shouldn't have complained about the C-rank magic.

Locki furrowed his brow as he nodded to Daki; he knew she had no idea what he planned, but he felt a little good when she immediately followed after him. The two took off in another run, sprinting as fast as they could through the dwindling barrage of bouncing bullets that skittered off Locki armor and opened up holes in Daki.

The second the mage's shot had been charged up, Locki looked him in the eye and smiled. The mage clearly aimed at the blonde's head, and Locki knew he was not fast enough to dodge it.

"In the state that you're in… drunk, impaired, crying, [you can't aim straight]." Locki commented naturally as the mage pulled the trigger.

A loud pop sounded out again, and Locki barely caught the red blur this time. It looked more like a line that went from the end of his barrel to the ceiling right above Locki's head. The bullet bored a hole so clean that Locki swore the sides of the hole were a mirror finish.

Panicked, the mage began to charge up another shot, but it was already too late. A strip of cloth from Daki sliced off his fingers in a spray of blood, sending him to the ground in a crying mess as he clutched his fingerless left hand.

Locki reached him a second later, kicking him in the side of the head. His Curse clamped down on the mage in an instant, and Locki finally breathed a sigh of relief. He knew he shouldn't underestimate his enemies, but seriously! This was too much.

"Go get the girls and clear out the rest. Maim only." Locki said, catching his breath. Daki offered him a glance as she looked at the mage Locki currently sat on. He sighed. "No, we can't kill him. Dark Guild or not, Hargeon's people won't let us get away with it. Not with Fiore's Rune Knights in the city. We'd make it seem like they can't do their jobs and we'd get flak for ignoring the no-killing rule."

"Fine." Daki finally agreed and took off down the hallway. Not long after, Locki heard the distant cries of men in pain.

The young guildmaster took the thing to think over his fight. Certainly there were things that he could have done better, but he felt that his strategies worked fairly well. In addition, he could finally use his original magic [Enchanting Speech] whilst in combat; Gyutaro made certain of that, at least.

Locki shivered as he remembered his late night visits to Lon's place because the demon didn't know the meaning of "holding back." She berated him just as much as he called in their Magic Council sponsored healer to treat his injuries.

Feeling a little bored as he kept his Curse's hold on the mage beneath him, Locki began to search the man. Like he expected, he found nothing of use beyond an old knife that would probably break after a single use. However, he did see the mage's affiliation in the form of a row of black, shark's teeth that were tattooed onto his neck as if it were a hickey.

It meant he was part of the Grey Shark Dark Guild. And from where the insignia was, Locki guessed he was part of the Madam Jaws faction of the guild.

Madam Jaws… Locki tried not to laugh at that name. It was the same with many other people who she introduced herself to when she first took claim to Hargeon; they found out just how dangerous she could be when she razed half of the red light district for making fun of her.

In any case, Locki felt it prudent to keep track of who he offended. It helped to categorize who he needed to be wary of and who he could use.

Idly, Locki looked around the hallway as he rested. His gaze traveled up to the hole that the mage had created in the ceiling, staring at particles of dust that floated within the stream of moonlight that came down. Adrenaline slowly ebbed away from his nerves, and the blonde grimaced as he found his hands trembling slightly.

"Pathetic…" He spat under his breath. He had trained, observed his opponent, found out their flaws and yet, he still almost lost. It was as sobering as it was maddening.

"I brought everyone, guildmaster." Daki's voice brought Locki out of his reverie, and he put all those negative thoughts behind him as he got up with a stretch. He knew, more than anyone, what happened when you let those thoughts take over.

Locki spared a glance at the woman who trailed behind his guildmate. They were as he expected. Malnourished and exhausted; several of them relied on each other or the walls to support themselves, and Locki caught the signs of bruises all over them. Dark purple marks circled around their wrists and ankles, letting Locki know just how captive they had been.

Some of the more healthy – if they could be called that– women in the group stepped in front of those that trembled and refused to look him in the eye. Locki paid them more attention, knowing that they probably had more authority in their little group.

"If we rescue you all, how long would it take you to get caught again?" Locki asked bluntly, ignoring the sudden shrill cries that some made after his question.

"We will have someone take us." One of the women in the front of the group responded. Her brown hair was messy and cut roughly as if someone randomly chopped it with a knife, yet her green eyes were the brightest out of everyone there.

"The Pirate Queen, I presume?" Locki pressed, earning a flinch from the group. He hurriedly stepped back. "Don't worry, I am not going to turn you nor her in. We all have plenty of problems and secrets as is. I just want to meet her."

The brown-haired woman frowned, but she didn't immediately turn down his request. Instead, she focused on the mage Locki was currently standing on. "Is that bastard dead?"

"Hm? No, I can't kill him, and I can't let you all kill him, either."

"Why?!" Another girl who had been trembling behind the brown-haired woman screeched out. Tears gathered in her eyes as her pale skin grew a few shades of red as she screamed. "Why?! Do you even know what he did? What we went through?"

Slowly her complaints turned her into a sobbing mess. The brown-haired woman shot Locki a glance like she knew his reasons, but she still knelt down to comfort the girl. Several other girls in the group started to sob as well, filling up the empty corridor with silent cries.

Locki sighed. He didn't know the specifics, but he had enough information to guess. Daki stood off to the side, saying nothing. She didn't really react beyond a casual shrug as if she expected this situation.

Knowing he'd regret his decision later, Locki waved his hand and a few normal knives clattered on the ground from his [Subspace Ring]. The woman flinched at the sound of metal, but when they took a look at what made the sound they just blankly stared at him.

Locki spared them another glance before he turned around and looked away, resting his shoulder on a wall. His Curse still held the mage in its grip, but he moved far enough away that the mage was only at the edge of his range. He didn't even sense the first woman as she plunged a knife into the man.

The blonde guildmaster just stared up through the hole in the ceiling, wondering if the past him would have made the same decision. Logically, he knew this action would have consequences, and while he could rationalize it that he acted this way to get in their good graces, Locki knew that would be a lie.

"Why'd you change your mind?" Daki came up beside him, voice raised as the sounds of cries and screams of anger rang out behind them.

Locki shrugged. Even he knew he didn't have an accurate answer to that. He just saw himself in their position; chained, broken down, and wholly at another's whim. It was something he dreaded more and more with every passing day.

"Make sure you get them all clothed and cover up all traces." Locki sidestepped her question. Now that they made their choice, he needed to make sure there was nothing that tied them to the crime. "Get them cleaned, too. I don't want Kagura to see them bloody."

"The brat is… smarter than the average human." Daki commented, ignoring how Locki raised an eyebrow at her offhand compliment. "She already knows a lot of what we hide from her."

"I know…" Locki closed his eyes. Kagura was arguably their strongest force, and the rate at which she grew was something that couldn't be ignored. "I just wanted her to be a kid for just a little while longer. You saw how she was after she killed that Zeref Cultist… I only could get Vali to give me a rough image of it, but Kagura is not built to do things like me or you."

Daki shook her head. "Sometimes, guildmaster, I think you are not, either."

Locki pursed his lips as he thought over her words. He couldn't get them out of his head long after he met up with Kagura who greeted him with a tight hug. The guildmaster could only offer the girl a soft smile to comfort her.

All he could hope now to get his conversation with Rebecca to go well. He felt the inexplicable desire to punch something, after all.