Egru took one last look at the brick house. Without realizing it, he wiped away the tears welling up in his eyes. No matter what anyone said, it was time to prioritize his weak and young brother over Levian, who was living well.

‘N-now I’m really leaving…’

Rustle.

In one hand, he held his belongings. With the other, he firmly grasped his young brother’s hand.

“Brother, are we moving now?”

“Yes, D’Élysée.”

Egru gently squeezed his brother’s hand.

“W-we’re moving now.”

“Wow.”

D’Élysée smiled brightly. Looking down at his brother, whose mere sight pained his heart, Egru smiled along.

“Ah, ah…”

No. No.

But it didn’t take long. A very short time was enough for everything to go wrong.

“St-stay here, D’Élysée. Don’t follow anyone, okay?”

“Okay, brother. Is something wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing. I’ll be right back after checking something.”

Egru hurriedly looked around the large carriage rest stop. He ran around on his short legs, checking the counter, stables, and carriage shed.

“Why, why, how…”

Egru sobbed in dismay. There wasn’t a single carriage left. And that wasn’t all. Strangely, there was no one around. Only the pungent smell of horse manure filled the wide space.

‘F-first…’

Let’s go back to D’Élysée.

By then, the sun had completely set. Only the sound of crickets filled the quiet rest stop.

‘W-we have the carriage fare anyway. When the sun rises tomorrow, we can try again…’

We can try again. It’s okay. He could see his brother sitting under a distant torch. Those pale green eyes looking only at him.

“Brother!”

And then fear seeped into those pale green eyes.

Before the startled Egru could turn around, someone threw a cloth sack over his head. Then his body was lifted up.

“D-D’Élysée! D’Élysée!”

“Brother! Big brother! Let go! Let him go!”

His brother was in danger. Egru struggled wildly.

“L-let my brother go! Take me instead!”

But all he got in return was merciless beating. It was dark in front of his eyes and smelled of grain husks. Soon, it changed to the smell of blood. Egru was beaten until he could barely breathe.

“Stupid bastard, learning only bad things!”

“Ungrateful hybrid brat!”

He didn’t know how much time had passed. He didn’t even know where he was now.

Egru was beaten almost to death by the guild members. He was battered like a rag, his teeth stained completely red. Even though he was still, his whole body convulsed uncontrollably.

“Why are you hitting a child? You barbaric bastards.”

It was then that a familiar voice was heard.

“Le… Le… Levian…”

“Hey, you guys go open the door. The weather is hellishly hot.”

At Levian’s order, the guild members bowed and went outside, wiping their sweat. At the same time, the damp sack was suddenly pulled off. As it was thrown aside, there was a splat as the bloodied water stuck to the floor.

Egru barely opened his eyes through his narrowed vision. Everything in front of him was red. It seemed all the blood vessels in the whites of his eyes had burst too.

“Egru.”

Levian frowned, crouching down delinquently. He exhaled cigarette smoke without restraint.

Even the cigarette smoke touching his face felt painful to Egru. He barely maintained consciousness, coughing up thick liquid from his mouth.

“Wh-where’s D’Élysée…?”

“Put that aside for now.”

Levian’s gaze slowly scanned Egru.

“You know, right? What I do to those who try to run away without paying their debts. I showed you before, didn’t I? Hm?”

In the past, Levian had taken Egru underground right after signing the contract. Past the underground casino with its private gambling rooms, even further down.

In short, it was a space filled with torture and screams.

“Remember this. Those who can’t pay on time get their waists bent backwards and stuffed into baskets.”

That was Levian’s warning at the time.

“When happiness continues, people start thinking it’s their right. I didn’t think you’d be like that too. Stabbing me in the back like this?”

“…”

“How should I put this. I’m especially disappointed in you. I thought we were best friends. On a level others couldn’t even approach.”

Egru could only sob, blood dripping from his chin. His pathetic limbs trembled uncontrollably. The aftershocks of the brutal violence had not yet faded.

Levian sighed and wiped the blood from Egru’s nose.

“Let’s stop this now. Getting beaten up, hurt, looking so pitiful like this. Next time, it won’t be you…”

Levian, who had been holding cigarette smoke in his mouth, dropped the butt and ground it out with his toe. It looked just like stomping out the last spark of hope.

“You know, after you, it’s him. Why do you pretend not to know? What do you think is good for that kid?”

Egru’s heart plummeted.

“I-I won’t… do it… again… I’m… s-sorry… Levi…”

“Shh.”

Levian put his index finger to his lips.

“I’m not in the mood to accept apologies now. Say one more word and your tongue will be ripped out.”

“…”

“Trust between people can be broken in an instant. It’s up to you from now on. Depending on what you do…”

The stale cigarette smoke obscured Egru’s vision. He couldn’t see Levian’s expression at all.

“I can be your best friend, or I can be your worst enemy.”

Everything that followed went according to Levian’s will. Egru’s possessions were cleared out one by one, and his young brother D’Élysée was sent to an orphanage.

“Brother! No! Don’t go!”

The tear-filled cries of his brother still rang vividly in his ears.

Egru returned home alone. As usual, one of his brother’s socks lay on the floor.

Egru sat quietly on the bed, holding the small sock in his hand. He had embroidered the green grape beads on it himself. D’Élysée had kept this sock, refusing to throw it away even after losing its pair, saying he liked it so much.

“…”

This single sock left in his hand was all that represented Egru’s life up until now. But now, like a ship with a broken rudder, he could no longer steer his course.

“Just… just…”

Then, in the house where he should have been alone, a faint voice began to be heard. It was a crackling voice, like a broken radio.

“Wouldn’t it be simple if we just delegated the conversion device to us?”

Unfamiliar voices gradually became clearer. It felt as if they were speaking directly inside his head. But Egru, still unable to escape the nightmare, stared blankly into space.

“I heard it could be abused.”

“And using outside manpower is okay? This is ridiculous.”

“What can we do? It’s orders from above. We just have to keep our mouths shut and follow.”

As the echoes of unknown voices grew louder, the brick house surrounding Egru crumbled. It disappeared, silently spreading like paint.

“Let’s just throw them in the dump quickly. Who knows if they’ll bite and run away again?”

“Those demon bastards always manage to piss people off until the end.”

The dream that had been stirring up painful memories crumbled away like that.

***

“Good heavens, such a small child…!”

“Those bastards deserve worse than death!”

“How did he even get into the system? We should have heard something about a young demon!”

“Damn it, don’t pull it out here! He’ll die from excessive bleeding!”

“Break the arrow shaft first!”

Finally escaping the nightmare, Egru slowly blinked his eyes. Strange. He tried to open his eyes that he had gently closed, but somehow he couldn’t muster the strength.

“Ah…”

A moment later, when his vision cleared, he saw several humans. They were all looking down at him with worried eyes.

No, they weren’t humans. He could tell instinctively.

Pointed ears. Diverse skin colors. Exotic accessories. Mysterious and unique appearances.

They were demons, the likes of which he had never seen before.

“Are you coming to your senses? Can you remember your name?”

“Wh-where…”

“Tell me your name first. Don’t move. Your wounds will open up more.”

“E-Eg… My name is Egru…”

“Good, Egru. Nice to meet you. I’m Tuunri.”

Tuunri skillfully touched Egru’s forehead. She had grayish reptilian skin and wore accessories made of animal bones.

In his half-awake state, something hot repeatedly licked his cheek. Egru turned his head weakly and slowly smiled.

“Hello…”

“Woof!”

“Doggy…”

The big dog was standing guard beside him. Tuunri glanced at the big dog and said:

“Is he your friend? He followed you in.”

“Y-yes. He’s my friend…”

“A good friend, but not a wise one, I’d say.”

Tuunri sighed and said:

“This is Easthole’s garbage dump. If that were all, it’d be fine, but there’s also a cheap barrier above us.”

“Ah…”

“You can come in from the outside, but not the other way around. We’re trapped here.”

Egru slowly looked around. He could see about 50 demons.

“Why, why…”

“I don’t have many answers for you. All demons in the system, and those with demon blood, were summoned. I tried to resist in my own way, but…”

Tuunri shook the golden bracelet tightly fitted to her wrist.

“This damn restraint activated. I thought it was just decorative all this time, but everyone’s under a magic ban and can’t use magic. For demons, taking away magic is like killing us. This has never happened before, even when I’ve visited the system for business.”

Tuunri looked up at the barrier and said:

“So I wanted to ask you something. Why don’t you have a restraint…”

“Hey, kid! Egru! You said your name was Egru, right?”

A deep voice interrupted then.

Egru’s eyes slowly widened. It was a man with a sturdy build, short like himself.

“I’m the dwarf Bey! You can survive! So keep your wits about you! Got it?”

“Don’t be so noisy. Get back, Bey.”

“Um, I’m sorry, but… I-I’m having trouble breathing…”

At Egru’s words, Tuunri and Bey looked at each other. Their expressions seemed somewhat pained.