Chapter 43 - Underland 2

As the Revenant's massive bulk left the Gateway District behind, the scenery outside rapidly lost its color. The brilliant LED lights, neon signs, and holographic billboards gradually disappeared, replaced by ruined buildings and corroded gray structures.

They seemed to have reached the outskirts of Sanctum already.

Siren took out a data pad from the passenger seat.

"We'll be leaving the official roads now. I'll guide you from here."

With practiced familiarity, she directed him toward shortcuts known only to Sanctum's lower classes and through abandoned tunnels. Following her directions, the Revenant crossed the faded city.

Eventually, they arrived at one of the waste disposal sites on the outskirts.

"This place..."

Ash leaned forward without thinking, looking out the window. Siren tilted her head at him.

"What's wrong?"

Mountains of scrap metal. Waste strewn everywhere, broken cyberware, and parts whose purpose he couldn't identify. Even the foul smell of oil mingled with rust.

It was all so familiar.

'... Yes. It all began in a place like this.'

Ash recalled the girl who had awakened him, and the days when her hands had gradually pieced his "body" together.

"Mr. Ash?"

Snapping out of his reverie, Ash murmured quietly, almost to himself.

"Ah. Forgive me. I have memories of a place much like this."

"... Memories? Of somewhere like this?"

Siren sounded incredulous. She had never imagined anyone would look at a waste disposal site and speak of "memories."

Ash didn't answer her question. Instead, he asked about their next steps.

"... So, why have you brought us here?"

Siren's expression briefly stiffened. Gazing out the window at the dank waste disposal site, she spoke slowly.

"I'm planning to use an underground tunnel managed by the REST-men."

"Ah. Now that you mention it, I believe I heard something about waste disposal sites being under the REST-men's jurisdiction."

"That's right."

"Hmm... The REST-men."

Ash made a slight adjustment to the steering wheel in silence, then asked casually,

"Might there be another route?"

"There probably is. I just don't know it. Why? Have you had some trouble with the REST-men?"

Ash shook his head and glanced at Siren.

"It is not for my sake, my lady. It is for yours."

"... Mine?"

"Indeed. Are the REST-men not connected to your past?"

Siren was at a loss for words for a moment, so Ash continued calmly.

"From what I have seen, you seem none too fond of having once been a REST-man. Am I wrong?"

"..."

"I merely asked you to guide me. I am sorry it has led to this. You have my apologies."

Siren found herself staring at his profile. His steel face betrayed no expression, but she could sense something all the same.

Consideration. Concern. Regret.

Things unfamiliar in Sanctum.

For some reason, warmth spread through her heart, and her eyes shone all the brighter as she looked at him.

"I've thought this for a while, but even aside from your swordsmanship, you're a wonderful person, Mr. Ash. You're like a real adult."

"A real adult? Are there false adults, then?"

"Of course. For example... Grandpa Santa?"

Ash chuckled softly.

"Master Santa is a good man. A benefactor who looks after us, too. But 'false adult' does suit him rather well. You should hear the uproar when he gets into an argument with Miss Akina."

"Really? Now I'd like to see that for myself."

"You will have an opportunity sooner or later. The two spar quite often."

During their brief conversation, the Revenant reached the spot Siren had been directing him toward.

"... My lady. Are you certain this is the place?"

"Yes. This is it."

Ash had imagined a tunnel. A tunnel leading to an underground city.

He hadn't imagined an enormous mountain of refuse blocking their path like a cliff.

He was about to ask again when—

"What's this? An armored vehicle for the Outer?"

Someone's voice reached them.

"Well, anyway, halt!"

At the sharp shout, men equipped with crude cyberware emerged from various points among the scrap heaps.

'... It seems we have come to the right place. Are these some sort of gatekeepers?'

As Ash made to get out, Siren caught his arm.

"Stay inside. I'll deal with them."

With that brief instruction, she lowered the passenger-side window.

One of the REST-men had already approached the vehicle. He poked his head toward the window to look inside, then twisted his face into a scowl.

"Fuck."

Both the curse and his gaze were directed at Siren.

"Well, look who it is! Hey! Everyone, come over here! The 'traitor' is here!"

Murmurs spread through the dump.

"Well, Anna. No, wait. They call you Siren now, don't they? Been watching you on the broadcasts. How's shaking your ass in front of a camera treating you?"

Siren turned her head and smiled at the sneering REST-man.

"It's been a while, Jeffrey."

BANG!

She flung the door open as she greeted him, sending the man leaning against it sprawling. Without so much as looking at him, Siren stepped out slowly.

Malicious gazes shot toward her from all over the mountains of trash, but she stood among them without a trace of fear.

The woman who blushed at Ash's side and sometimes acted a little silly was nowhere to be seen. A chill like that of a finely honed sword surrounded her.

"Years go by, and this place never changes. How's everyone been?"

"You fucking bitch!"

Jeffrey sprang up and lunged, but Siren's fist was faster. Caught squarely by her counterpunch before he knew what was happening, he spun halfway around in midair and slammed into the ground again.

"Oh."

Watching from inside, Ash let out a low sound of admiration.

Meanwhile, the other REST-men all drew their weapons. Dozens of muzzles trained on Siren.

With tension stretched so taut that a fight seemed about to erupt, Siren simply took a credit card from inside her clothing.

"Quit pretending we're friends and open the gate. It's not like we're on laughing-and-joking terms, is it?"

She tossed the credit card at Jeffrey, still sprawled on the ground.

"Here. The toll."

"... You traitorous bitch!"

While Jeffrey was still cursing, another REST-man approached and picked up the card. He immediately pulled out a PDA and checked the balance.

"Huh?"

He looked at Siren.

"This is the toll?"

"If you've checked it, could you open the gate now? I'm busy."

The REST-man checking the card suddenly burst into loud laughter.

"Hahahaha! Wow. Impressive."

He waved the card at his companions with an exaggerated flourish.

"Must be making good money over at Halloween, huh? Well, you'd better be. That's what you got for shooting dead all the big brothers and sisters who raised you and running away. You'd have to make at least this much for it to be worth it. Right?"

At his venomous words, Siren smiled again.

"Didn't I tell you I was busy?"

"Oops. My apologies."

After that last sneer, the REST-man waved toward the top of the mountain of refuse.

"Open it!"

At his shout, the enormous mountain of waste began to tremble with an eerie grinding sound.

RUMBLE...

Then, all at once, its center gaped open like the maw of a giant monster.

Revealed within that yawning darkness was an asphalt road so well maintained that it was hard to believe this was a waste disposal site.

Siren was looking at the open passage and about to climb back into the Revenant when the same REST-man spoke again.

"Welcome home, Anna."

She stared at him for a moment, then slammed the vehicle door shut.

"..."

Ash looked at Siren briefly, then pressed the accelerator without saying anything.

For all its massive size, the Revenant glided into the yawning darkness.

* * *

The light from the surface vanished completely. Nor was there any other real source of illumination.

Through endless darkness, with nothing visible beyond the stretch ahead lit by its headlights, the Revenant drove steadily onward, its exhaust growling from time to time.

For a while, a heavy silence filled the vehicle.

Then Siren spoke, her voice sounding low in the darkness.

"You're not going to ask me anything?"

Keeping his gaze ahead, Ash answered matter-of-factly.

"Must I?"

"No, but most people are curious."

"I see."

Ash made a slight adjustment to the steering wheel and glanced at Siren.

"When you put it that way, I can hardly refrain. May I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"A little earlier. That is..."

The question he asked next was wholly unexpected.

"When you threw that punch, did you plant your rear foot because you thought your opponent might counterattack? Or was it a reflex?"

"... Huh?"

"Excellent footwork. Though you ought to make contact a little earlier. Had the impact coincided with the instant you put your weight into it, the man would have made a full turn rather than half of one."

Siren stared at him, dumbfounded. Not a question about her past or her betrayal, but about how she had moved when she punched someone?

And he was utterly serious.

She burst out laughing. At first it was a small, incredulous chuckle, but soon she was laughing aloud, unable to contain herself.

Her laughter filled the Revenant's cabin.

After laughing for a long while, she wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.

"You really are a wonderful person, Mr. Ash."

"That does not answer my question."

She laughed loudly once more.

Was this indifference? Or simple straightforwardness?

Or was it consideration that encompassed both?

Whatever it was, it didn't matter. It had made her heart a little lighter.

"Thank you, Mr. Ash."

Ash merely shrugged.

That was the end of their conversation. Unlike before, the silence that settled between them was comfortable.

They drove on through the darkness, with nothing visible beyond the stretch ahead illuminated by the headlights.

How much time had passed?

A faint glow began to appear at the far end of the dark tunnel.

"Looks like we're here."

Siren was right. The light gradually grew, soon revealing a sweeping view of a vast space.

At the end of the tunnel, Underland unfolded before their eyes.

"... Oh."

Needless to say, there was no sky here. Instead, enormous structures forming the foundations of Sanctum loomed overhead, along with countless pipelines tangled together like veins.

Unidentifiable industrial wastewater seeped from between them, scattering like raindrops and soaking what lay below.

Below—a dark, dismal city packed with buildings that had sprung up at random, without any plan.

The underground city was chaos itself. Tall buildings, extended haphazardly, leaned precariously against one another for support.

Makeshift skybridges and cables sprawled between them in a disorderly tangle. To Ash, it almost looked like a city caught in a spiderweb.

In the damp air, where acidic mist mingled with wastewater, holographic signs of every kind cast a bleak glow.

Purple, green, and red lights that stirred desire flickered ceaselessly, bathing the entire city in a dangerous, grotesque beauty.

For a moment, Ash could only stare speechlessly at the bizarre city spread before him. Siren gave him a faint smile.

"Welcome to Underland."

Ash found no ready answer.