Chapter 155: Infiltrating the Underground Mall
My meeting with the Oracle didn't last long. She gave me a little briefing on the situation which allowed me to grasp what is going on.
Currently, on the Underground Mall of Shibuya, the alternate realm of this place is considered as a market place for magicians. All magicians, apprentice to experts will visit here to buy things related to magic and summoning. That is... until the Riot Massacre appeared. They started to claim the place as their own and the honest magicians who are selling here all got their business stripped away from them.
Now that the situation has taken for the worse, all of the businesses in the underground mall alternate realm is now under the Riot Massacre's jurisdiction. My task this time is to investigate the Riot Massacre's purpose. One store managed to avoid the radar of the Riot Massacre and is currently helping the Magician Society take intel on what is currently happening on the Underground Mall.
According to the intel given, the Riot Massacre's clients are rogue magicians, and some influential most wanted enemies. They are also holding some illegal auctions that sell different kinds of forbidden things and most of all, it is selling slaves which is also a forbidden thing that even the good magicians will not hesitate to destroy. Slaves are usually being used as test subjects and living dummies by these guys so slavery is one of the most despised crimes the magicians have taken note with.
I am not sure how to finish this mission seeing that I have to deal with gangsters and delinquents this time around. But if this can help Anya out of the predicament, then I won't hesitate to deal with this.
...
The mission is urgent and I have to immediately begin it after I get enough rest. Aside from that, this will be my first solo mission. Before, I have partners to execute the mission with. But now due to the movements of the rogue magicians and some dangerous individuals alongside the demons, many of them are not available to help me. But that doesn't mean I can't fight alone, in times like this, it would be a good time for me to enter the training ground. The shards necessary for the activation are currently within my grasp so one session will work.
"Blue, activate the Training Space. I want to practice hand to hand combat."
"Do you want to activate the dummy's ability to move and fight?"
"Yes."
"Then scan the necessary shards for me to commence the activation."
...
The next day, after a proper rest, I prepared for my investigation mission. I was supposed to go to class today but I think I am doomed to never get myself a good grade this semester. I can only sigh and just shrug it off. There is no point for me to think about it, if I fail, I will just go again to a new grade.
As for my training, I made sure to persevere a lot and try to master different kinds of combat styles. Still, the only combat style I am most comfortable with is street combat style. Very unorthodox and quite hard to predict. After sparring with the dummy for at least 15 years, it made me able to predict different kinds of attack patterns from different kinds of combat styles. I am confident enough that I can take on multiple enemies at once without breaking a sweat.
"You sure you are ready to take on the Riot Massacre? They are not some petty gang you can just take on whenever you want, they also have magicians too," Blue reminded me.
"I don't think I need to worry about them too much. Worrying will make me get old faster."
"Well, according to my data, Sho Amakura is one of the notorious criminal magicians who have gained his fame on using unorthodox magic and melee combat. He might look frail but he is not an easy foe. Now that he is leading the Riot Massacre, we have no idea what strength he already has right now so don't get too overconfident on everything."
"No worries. Yuri and Yuto are with me and if they overpower me, I will ask for their help. Aside from that, I can also get the help of Inari-sama and the little foxes to fight."
"Although they are part of your strength, you should rely on them less because there are times where you will be restricted on summoning. All I was saying is that you shouldn't just stick to one kind of fighting style."
"I will keep that in mind."
...
Around 9 in the morning, I arrived in the normal Underground Mall of Shibuya. I don't particularly shop here but I have explored this place before. I was given the [Realm Shifter] by Voltaire for me to use to cross to the other realm of the Underground Mall since there is no Realm Transporter present unlike in the Magician Society where I can transport back and forth to my house to the Magician Society building.
The [Realm Shifter] looks like a pen with a switch on the top. By clicking the button on the top, I will be able to shift realms with ease. Looking around and making sure no one is around on the busy market, I clicked the button, allowing me to shift the realm I was in.
As soon as the realm shifted, I was surprised because the whole place was a drastic difference compared to the real Underground Mall. Instead of stalls full of merchandise and people bustling about, all I see are wrecked stalls and scattered items, broken shards of glasses, and other debris. Voltaire and the others already informed me what the Underground Mall's reverse side looks like right now but I was still surprised at seeing quite a place. To have this place looked like it was abandoned, just what does those Riot Massacre doing to cause this place to fall?
"Hey, guys! I think I found a rat sneaking in!"
"Ohoho, looks like we will have another one we can sell for a higher price!"
I keep my calm even though they have managed to discover me immediately. Seven delinquent-looking guys are trying to surround me. Each of them has a weapon they are wielding and most of them are holding the metal bat with spikes attached to it. They might look menacing but that is not enough for me to be scared of them.
"Oryaaa!"
SWISH!
The delinquent was surprised and almost went nuts when he saw his metal bat melt and turn into two pieces.
"Don't be afraid! Beat him up together!"
"Tsk, as expected of delinquents," I mumbled before enhancing the mana flow on my hands and legs.
BANG BANG BANG BANG!
Due to how the delinquents mostly rely on their weapons instead of their instincts, before they can even attack me, I already made a preemptive strike and hit their vital points.
THUD THUD THUD...
The delinquents fell one by one without any signs of struggle. It was a quick but efficient way to deal with them quietly without relying on eye-catching magic like fireballs. After finishing them off, I search their bodies for any clues but there aren't any kind of things they possess that will prove useful to me.
After the battle, I started my investigations around the place. I made sure to take note of the unusual things, and any kind of different kinds of situations happening in the Underground Mall. There are also many delinquents hanging around here and there that made my movement limited. I can't afford to make so much ruckus if I wanted to get into the store that gave us intel.
When I reach the corner of the Underground Mall, I spotted a few guys talking about something. They have loud voices so I don't need to get that close just to hear what they are saying. I positioned myself in the area where I can conceal myself and get to see what is happening.
"The goods are always in good quality as always Mr. Amakura. To think you will get to secure this place easily and get your control on the whole underground mall. It only proves the strength of your group," the one talking is a fat man with a monocle on his left eye.
"You are flattering me, it is not just my effort but everyone's efforts to keep everything under control. Having those pesky magicians run this place only wastes the space it was meant to be used for," the one talking is a lanky guy who is called Mr. Amakura. If my assumptions are correct, he is Sho Amakura, the leader of the Riot Massacre.
"Indeed. So when are the next goods will be arriving? If the item that I want is in that stock, I won't hesitate to buy them."
"There are some fine slaves we are trying to procure somewhere else. But not at the moment because the Magicians seem to have noticed our transactions. We will lie low for now to avoid the disruption of the supply."
Now it is confirmed, these guys are indeed running slave trading. These f*ck up guys, they even involved other people? I need to make my move and get myself to the store before they can notice me here. I am now determined to shut down the operation of this place as soon as possible.