My hands slipped all over my pockets and papers as I tried to think of a way out of this situation.

The 13 people before me didn't exactly seem like the forgiving type.

I cursed as their words became clearer and I could feel the emotions laced in their jeers.

"Another one?"

"Well, isn't this our lucky day?"

They sniggered and swung their arms far and wide as they slowly and confidently made their way to me.

My arm was broken.

I was far from a combat-ready state.

All I had right now was probably... the Phantom.

"Vigar."

My body was stuck to the ground like an anchor as the scoffing got closer and closer.

"Nimbus cloud."

"What?"

Vigar who seemed to have now caught up to the situation spoke with uncertainty and confusion toward my instructions.

"You know the golden thing that goes around and-."

"Ah."

The group of rowdy troopers stopped with gleeful smiles strapped onto their faces. They were within listening range. I couldn't make thoughtless comments now.

One man, slightly taller than the rest, possessing spiked ginger hair and an extremely lanky and lopsided build waddled in a way to me.

His skin was moist-sand brown yet tinged with disturbing purple.

He reached into his horrendously blue coat that had been dyed poorly and pulled out a beige document.

It had hundreds of scruffy signatures rushedly blabbed on and the handwriting was a sight for sore eyes.

The man's lips moved abnormally, bending to the right side as he spoke blatantly arrogantly.

"By the order of Harnold Dradger, you are to be punished in accordance with your crimes."

His voice was a mix of amusement and sheer boredom as he moved on to the next line of the document.

"If you do not accept the terms and conditions, then you possess the right to be taught accordingly."

His eyebrows raised scantily.

A few solitary seconds of silence emerged from beneath us, all that could be heard was the whimpering of the civilians in their grasp and my deep controlled breaths.

A corrosive wave of laughter erupted from the creased and dry faces of the members.

It felt forced, almost.

I felt uncanny, somehow.

I presume the Captain of the squad raised his eyebrows in disapproval at his subordinates' disruptful behavior before subtly clearing his throat.

"Put your hands in the air slowly, and take timed steps toward me. Do not react when my subordinate takes hold of your shoulders and remain calm. Any actions of rebellion or ignorance will be noted and added on to your crimes subsequently."

I sighed lightly, nodding my head tightly.

The foul air stung my skin as my feet began slowly moving, one after the other.

"Vigar."

My voice was so low that to outsiders, it looked as though my mouth was merely quivering in fear and apprehension.

My eyes moved from side to side as the troop held back their cackles. They were enjoying this.

Well. It was whatever.

"Use your physical form to fly me away."

I received no answer.

It felt as though the air had become uncomfortably heavy and complacent.

My shoulders began to ache and a distasteful feeling grew on my tongue.

My steps got slower and slower as I edged towards the open arms of a stumpy pale and mohawk-accompanied man.

"Shy?"

He chortled to himself as the edges of his devious smile grew unpleasantly wide.

My shoulders awkwardly revolved back as I found my confidence sinking faster than any ship would in cold water.

Vigar.

I'll kill that phantom if I ever get the chance.

For around a minute, my arm's cast had loosened before fading away.

Did he lie?

Could he just leave whenever he felt like it?

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The bitter blast of betrayal furled over my eyes as I found myself taking the last step toward the stumpy man with plump and hairy gorilla arms.

Halfway through my step, I found myself frozen.

The stumpy man looked at me puzzled before deciding to take things into his own extremely hairy and grotesquely warped hands.

The leader of the pack closed his eyes silently as yet another one was taken victim to the DustCrack Cause.

Swoosh.

My center of gravity had disappeared.

It felt as though I had left all the pressure and tension deeply condensed in my bones on the ground.

The Gorilla-man's arms swayed in blank air as he questioned his vision.

The air was propelled behind me as I found myself being drifted away by a thoughtless white mass.

"Haa."

I was genuinely convinced that I had been left behind.

I shifted my shoulders back and relaxed.

That was over.

"You know, I think I can genuinely start trusting and liking you Vigar."

"Boss..."

"I genuinely thought I would be beaten up right there, had it not been for your swift recovery. This is just... bliss. I quite like you now, I think. I don't think there's anything that could ever repel my newfound respect for you-."

And I laughed.

My laughter was so cheery and out of character that I felt odd.

My throat burned with thin and chilled air.

But it was a comforting type of odd.

I let the air take away the inky stress within me and let my laughs release my pure emotional incarnate.

This Phantom wasn't that bad, I guess.

I felt my senses being pulled back to Earth- wherever this place was when a small voice piped from below me.

"I'm out of energy boss."

"Huh."

Air blew my eyelids back painfully.

My momentum became a soaring bomber as I felt my life flash before my eyes.

My hair felt as if it was being forcefully ripped off my head.

My broken arm rattled and squealed in pain as it was forcefully blasted around by the air.

A slushy prison of water soon sprouted from the ground.

My arms were tied by a set of cold and miserable coils as my momentum was absorbed into countless ripples.

Ah.

I hate that phantom so much.

My head was straight down to the floor.

My entire body was suspended and trapped.

Everything that had previously been heaven had swiftly been struck and had become a homemade kind of hell.

I rose my eyebrows scruffily as the yobs that had previously been dumbfounded had stopped laughing.

They now looked at me confused and angry.

Mostly angry.

I felt the gorilla's emotions as his hands stubbornly smacked into each other.

"Someone needs a bit of discipline, I say."

His voice was manical and felt like it had twitched halfway through.

His comrades behind him rose their hands and yobbishly jerked their mouths around shrewdly, spitting insults that I had never heard even with two lives of experience.

"Clobber his Cunderblap."

"Beat that bangunga off his face."

"Don't forget his dorararara."

Despite the comical and weirding aspect of these phrases, their serious expressions and emotions remained firmly.

I began questioning what a Cunderblap was and how I would fair without one when I saw the stumpy man take out a hammer.

No.

I need my Cunderblap.

Keep that hammer away from me.

Unknowingly, I had formed 3 sources of world energy before me.

My left arm shrieked in pain due to this development but I managed to keep them steady and fire-ready.

If that bastard takes 3 more steps.

Then I might take a Cunderblap for myself.

We met eyes after the chaos settled down a little.

My eyes pierced through his in our little exchange strikingly.

He blinked bluntly before swinging the hammer whilst tilting his head from side to side.

An unsettling sequence of snaps sounded with each tilt.

He rose the hammer with utterly crazed eyes.

His plump arms didn't bulge with divine and sculptured muscle but they inflated to a level where they were a sight of wonder.

I felt my Clunderbap flash before my eyes which had tightly shut, only allowing the rest of my senses to tell the tale.

My ears heard the sound of Air crazing everywhere.

My nose refrained from inhaling too much of the dirty air.

My hands were slippery and moist from the water prison.

All I could taste was the emptiness and blandness of my mouth.

Boom.

Air blasted in every direction in a frenzy as my tightly clenched eyes slowly unveiled themself.

Had he... missed?

His hammer lay straight down before me.

I myself was untouched and left with an expression of discomfort.

Damn. That's pretty awkward.

The stumped man did not seem to be thinking along the same lines.

With a look of triumph, he held out a warty hand before proudly announcing.

"By the order of Harnold Dradger, your Judes are to be split with the Dust-Crack Clan in a 15:85 ratio."

I held back a glistening smile, playing off my half-smile as a jerk of pain.

"Argh."

I flashed my eyelids down whilst doing my best attempt at squirming in pain.

"Oh, please no. Anything but... that."

I spaced out halfway.

No. I hadn't sold the bag, had I?

I glanced upwards swiftly and was pleased to see that he was bathing in my 'sorrow and misery.'

The stumped man grinned looking at the boy's squirming face.

Unknown that the boy was merely holding back a careless laugh.

A hot and rabid breath plummeted down my spine.

I found my limp body being lifted by the stumped man before the pack started moving again, chortling with each other and yabbering on about topics I hadn't a clue about.

I met eyes with some of the.... less fortunate members of the party.

3 Elderly people, their eyes had sunk so low that I don't know if they felt shame or pain.

A girl a few years older than me with grey-tinged white hair a shade darker than snow.

Interesting.

There were 2 small street boys tunneled with dirt and lastly some middle-aged workers.

Quite a variety was present in this sweep-out.

I didn't know if we weren't permitted to speak or such was the mood.

Nevertheless, it was a loud yet isolated journey to wherever we were heading off to.

My neck felt a small strain with every bump due to the unsteady grip of the stumped man.

The buildings we passed were all of the polished wood and smooth and flawless black paint that would be sold in high esteems in capitals. They were all around 2 floors and quite grand compared to the Gale Kingdom's regular housing.

Necromancy paid well, I suppose.

The windows had now curtains but no light either. Like the one-way windows on celebrity cars from Earth.

There were a few lively buildings, yet the yellow-lit windows swiftly became cold upon the sign of our entourage passing by.

It seemed like this gang had a lot of power here.

The bastards seemed to enjoy their influence, sniggering and slapping each other's book with every light dimmed.

I seemed to be the only one of the victims looking around relaxed and carefree within the troop.

Was I missing something?

Half of 0 in this world was still 0, no?

I stopped my thought track as a light and thin texture crumpled over my front.

It was invisible.

Vigar.

I resisted the urge to boot the despicable thing in front of me and merely let my face scrumple up to relieve my rage slightly.

I heard a small chortle peep out of the stumped man's caveman face and resisted the temptation to boot the other despicable thing behind me as well.

We soon stopped by a building.

This time no lights were turned off.

It was the Adventurer's guild.

The place I had planned to go to anyways if it really existed.

What kind people.

As we entered, the foul smell had disappeared, replaced by a thick and sickening perfume that was in no way an upgrade. It was like being dipped in burning hot oil, and then being dipped in burning hot water.

It seemed that this place worked as a bank too.

I saw multiple people exchanging paper-sheets and items for bills similar to that of the poster-stapler from earlier.

They were probably the Judes that was this Kingdom's money basis.

As the gang split the sea of patiently waiting liners who held back frustrated spits, one man stood before and halted the gang in their tracks.

They were apprehensive of this man.

A red-lined with golden patterns hood covered his face.

He stood before them and lightly drew out a blade from a sheath, it was a quiet sound that rang yet the room had become so silent that it was all that sounded.

A mature and oaky voice emerged from the hood, it sounded not arrogant but knowledgable and inhumanely soothing.

"Can I help you?"