Bailonz Street 13

As the trembling ceased, I naturally reached for the doorknob. But then, a sudden curiosity made me pause.

“Why are you doing this for me?”

It was an impulsive question.

Why? Someone like El had no reason to take an interest in me. To beings like them, humans must seem as insubstantial and scattered as mist. So why were they doing so much for me?

‘They could let me die or go mad.’

I heard El’s laughter.

“Perhaps I, too, am beginning to understand it. Their ‘interest,’ you see. But it’s a bit different for me. I find the children who endlessly search for answers quite endearing.”

Them? Interest?

A white hand covered my eyes.

“I’ll send you to William. He will know the way out. Please, take care of yourself from now on. Don’t recklessly provoke entities from beyond our world. And while you’re at it, show me the end of your story.”

I felt El open the door, making an order that was absolutely not easy. Beyond the door, a gale was blowing. It was a little unsettling, but thinking that Liam was on the other side made the temporary blindness bearable.

El wanted me to be safe. El wanted an ending. That was enough.

Yes, that was enough. I had my answer, and the ‘door’ closed in front of me.

＊ ＊ ＊

I regained my breath.

A rustling sound came from right next to my ear. My hearing returned. Next came my thoughts.

What is this? My mind thought.

Finally, my eyes could see. I squinted against the light pouring in, feeling as if it would pierce my eyeballs. Sunlight?

I slowly opened my eyelids and turned my head to look around.

Rustle.

Then I felt a prickling sensation on my cheek. My cheek, eyelid, and forehead. Ouch.

“What is this?”

A harsh voice escaped my throat. It was hoarse and a bit low. Though my voice was naturally low, this one was different. Startled, I touched my neck. Instead of smooth skin, I felt an Adam’s apple. Why was it sticking out? My neck should be smooth.

‘Huh?’

As I tried to get up, something fluttered and flapped beside me, drawing my attention.

It was a crow. It was pecking at my skin, as if checking if it could eat a dead animal. A crow sitting not too far away stared at me. It seemed quite angry about having its meal interrupted.

“Shoo!”

I waved my hand. The crow still watched me with its beady black eyes, as if urging me to lie back down.

Feeling uneasy, I tried to get up,

…then noticed something strange. My limbs were much longer than my height. And I was wearing pants.

‘No way.’

My hand was odd too. Much thicker and more knobby than my original one.

Dirt was caked under my nails, and my palms had scraped wounds. Such injuries usually came from falling and trying to brace oneself. But I had no memory of falling.

“Is it possible?”

I carefully started moving my body. Everything moved fine. Nothing broken or stabbed.

I desperately needed a mirror. I had to see what had happened to my body. With that thought, I finally took in my surroundings.

I was in a deep pit. Deep enough to stand an adult man upright and still have room. How did I end up here? Trees grew around the pit, with roots sticking out, and the sunlight poured in through the gaps.

Damn it. How am I supposed to climb out of here?

“Did you see the look on that guy’s face when he cried?”

Just then, I heard voices. They sounded no older than their early twenties. Very elegant accents, but the content was vulgar.

“He fainted when we pushed him. A guy like him, crying like a baby.”

One guy spoke, and the others laughed in agreement. At least three, no, four? The ground was so wet it was hard to tell by their footsteps. The one in front seemed to be the one who had pushed the owner of this body into the pit.

“Should we pull him out now? If he’s missing for too long, it’ll cause a fuss.”

“If he licks our shoes, maybe we’ll pull him out?”

Another guy laughed.

“He’s got too much pride for that. He’d never do it. Boohoo, let me out, boohoo!”

“It’s ridiculous that someone like him could be the next head of the Vermilton family.”

Ah. So it was jealousy over family status?

I began to understand. I was in someone else’s body. Big hands, long limbs, an Adam’s apple. Clearly, I was in a man’s body.

From what I could hear, this body belonged to the ‘Vermilton’ family. And it seemed like a well-known family. Given that the body’s owner was pushed in here without much resistance, he must have been quite timid.

I took a deep breath and surveyed the area. Plenty of things to climb on. This body felt quite light and agile, probably capable of following my will. But first, those who pushed a person into a pit deserved some proper retribution.

“Hey! Dylan! Are you crying after falling over?”

Dylan. So the name was Dylan Vermilton.

A nasty voice called down from above, and a face appeared, framed by irritatingly shiny blond hair. Thanks to the shadow it cast, my eyes felt a bit more comfortable. The guy seemed surprised to see me standing in the pit.

I immediately hurled a clump of dirt I had in my hand at his face. The dirt hit him squarely in the centre of his face. He made a gagging sound and, staggering, fell into the pit.

He flailed about and shouted to the others above.

“Ahhh! Catch me! Catch me, Ben!”

If they tried to catch him, I planned to drag them down too. But it seemed this kid wasn’t very popular. No one made a move to help him.

As I stepped back slightly, the guy landed heavily on his butt. He must have hit his back on the way down because he screamed in pain.

“Oh. Hello. Welcome. Cosy down here, isn’t it?”

I greeted him nonchalantly. The guy spat out all sorts of curses without responding.

‘He who seeks revenge must dig two graves.’

I recalled an old proverb. One grave for myself and one for the person I was avenging. Okay, ready. Dylan Vermilton had already been buried once, so no need to dig another for him. All that was left was to dig graves for these guys.

The bullies who tormented Dylan Vermilton didn’t seem to have expected him to fight back. Right. I agreed. The original owner of this body probably would have stayed in the pit until rescued, exhausted. That’s why they taunted him with conditions like licking shoes, something he’d never do out of pride.

“You think you can cross the line because I didn’t do anything?”

But not me. If I get hurt, I’ll repay double. I found myself in an unfamiliar place, in the body of a boy, and nearly buried alive? How long had it been since Philip Peterson had buried me, and now another burial? I had enough of dirt. Though there’s a famous funeral phrase in 19th century England, ‘Dust to dust, ashes to ashes,’ it doesn’t apply to me.

I said,

“Brace yourself, you cheeky bastard.”

＊ ＊ ＊

After shoving the other three into the pit, I watched comfortably. The boys, now dirtied and bruised, sat huddled together, repeatedly standing and sitting for an hour and a half. If they tried to slack off, I kicked the dirt pile next to me. They quickly straightened up. Good.

While disciplining them, my mind was a whirlwind. This was the second time I found myself living parasitically in someone else’s body. How did this happen?

El had promised to send me to Liam. So why was I here? Does that mean Liam is here?

“Enough. Stop.”

As soon as I spoke, the four of them collapsed onto the ground. Though they panted pitifully, they deserved it for trying to bury someone alive.

“W-will you let us out now, Dylan?”

I snorted.

“Why would I bother with that?”

“We did what you asked!”

I tilted my head slightly.

“How much did you bully me?”

The four of them clammed up. Their silence was amusing, and I let out a laugh. When I placed my foot on the dirt pile, they flinched and cried out.

“No answer?”

“…You bastard.”

“Is that supposed to be a boast, you little shits?”