F Grade Healer Becomes Strongest Biomancer-Chapter 40: Prince of the Underworld

Mio

The sight of him brought an immediate warmth to her head. This was unlike Shizuka’s; it was strangely comforting.

"Gaian’s mark," Ezra said. "My Vestige says they’re old friends."

"That makes us friends?"

"It’s on the table."

Mio asked the next logical question then.

"Where are we?"

"My domain. The underworld."

The gray pressed in from all sides.

Oh. Am I in hell? Where’s the fire?

The boy, Ezra, took a step forward. "You have many questions, I’m sure of it." The mist around his legs dispersed and coiled around him with every stride.

"But before I can continue, I need to know something."

He brought out a staff from his System inventory. Old looking thing, splintered and half his height. He hit the ground once.

Mio blinked too early. They were standing in a room now: her apartment, her room. It smelled like dust and old laundry. The desk, the monitors, trash on the floor. Everything was the way it had been, before the mark.

A half-finished energy drink sat next to her mousepad. The carbonation was long dead.

Mio’s knees buckled just the slightest, gaining posture with an elbow to the counter where her collection of anime figures sat. Ezra sat on the bed, her bed, and repeated himself.

"I need to know something."

She couldn’t stop shaking.

"What."

"Are you still Tamei Mio?"

She looked at the boy, then the trash, then the pinned curtains. The faint sound of a livestream played in the headphones on the desk. Laughing or screaming, she couldn’t tell from where she stood. There was the little oval mirror where Aoi always used to put makeup on for her.

"Are you?"

"Stop fucking with me."

He shrugged. "Good enough."

"Now to the matter at hand."

Ezra stood back up. The livestream audio cut out. The room went quiet.

"There’s something you must do."

Can climbed up over her back and sat on her shoulder. He didn’t even acknowledge Ezra.

"What’s that?"

"I need you to free Nami."

Mio paused for half a second. His request was practically impossible. Even the thought of speaking her name made Kagami want to pull Mio’s tongue clean from her mouth. Not to mention Nana’s immediate nickname for him: tongue guy.

Worse yet, she still hadn’t reached the minimum level 30 Segawa established.

"That’s suicide," Mio said.

Ezra didn’t look surprised at all.

"I mean... why don’t you just do it?"

"Because they have a monster."

"Kagami?"

He laughed. It was unpleasant.

"No. Kagami is an engineered biomass weapon."

"That... explains a few things."

"Does it?"

"Whatever, just tell me who."

"I won’t tell you."

"Then fuck off." Mio didn’t even hesitate.

Ezra tilted his head.

"I am the champion of Kharon."

"You already said that, idiot," she shot back.

"My vestige is Kharon. God of Death and Decay."

"You want my praise?"

The mist gathered at his fingertips. When it cleared, his palm was out. Something silver caught her eye.

Aoi’s hairclip?

"Why do you have that?"

"You dropped it on the ground when you returned from the incursion."

Before she could question further, he closed his fist.

"Do you miss her?"

"Stop." It came out smaller than she wanted.

"I can bring her back for you."

He didn’t stop.

"The dead don’t rest easy, Mio. They linger. They wait. She’s been waiting for y—"

Liar. He has to be.

She clenched her jaw.

"Be careful with your next words, champion," Mio muttered. The light had gone from her eyes.

"Or what?"

"Can."

[Active Form: Blade]

Ezra didn’t flinch.

Knock.

Knock.

"Onee-san?"

She froze, blade inches from Ezra’s throat. There wasn’t even a pulse.

Can retracted into her palm again.

"Stop it. Please."

The door kept knocking.

"Onee-saan, open up. Mio! Open the door."

She dropped to the floor, gasping for air that wasn’t there.

"Where is everyone? Please open the door, onee-san. It’s dark. Everything’s dark."

The doorknob rattled now. Then came the pounding, harsh and without rhythm.

"Think on it, Mio. Nami-san needs our help."

He tapped the staff.

The apartment folded. The knocking stopped.

Mio woke up in the graveyard. She was laying in a patch of dead grass and wilted flowers, a dozen rows from where Can had squeezed himself into the bodhisattva. The sun was out, mist gone.

Can climbed her forehead, visor staring down at her green eyes.

Was it a hallucination?

She found her feet. Her head was throbbing. The hunger was quiet.

Her body felt lighter than it should. Hollowed out.

Mio felt something in her palm.

The clip was there. It was warm from her palm.

"Inventory."

The System blinked to life.

[Inventory]

Chipped Dagger (Rusted) x1

Shattered Shield Fragment x1

Torn Leather Strap x1

Putrid Core x1

+435 others...

Right, she hadn’t looked at what she was carrying all this time. Mio held the clip in her fingers.

[Would you like to deposit item?]

[Yes / No]

She watched the clip materialize into dust, then it appeared at the top, where it always had.

Hi, Aoi.

The inventory screen flickered and closed. She stayed crouched in the grass for another breath. Two.

Then she stood and walked toward the cemetery gate.

She passed the Tamei graves on the way out. This time, she stopped.

The flowers were plastic. Someone had been maintaining them. Not her. She hadn’t been here in months.

"Sorry," she said to no one. The word felt small. Then kept walking.

Mio walked the rest of the way back to the train. It was barely nine in the morning, but people were amassing in waves. Bikes weaved between pedestrians. Someone’s phone blared a morning show jingle. The traffic got increasingly louder. She kept on.

"Status."

[Status]

Level: 16

HP: 1,540/1,540

Reservoir: -30,000/200,000

VIT: 73

STR: 17

AGI: 18

INT: 18

SPR: 22

The red numbers were still there. But the hunger had been quiet since this morning.

She didn’t want to find out why.

Then she suddenly remembered.

[Rare Lootbox x2]

It blinked steadily at the corner of her eye. She told herself she was going to open it with Nana.

There was still time.

The train was packed. Rush hour spillover.

One hundred twelve. Ninety-eight. One hundred forty-one. Two hundred three—that one was exercising.

A child near the door, gripping her mother’s hand. Sixty-three.

Mio closed her eyes. The numbers didn’t go away.

The front desk agent glanced up when she walked in.

"Back so soon." He didn’t seem thrilled.

She signed in. 10:03.

"Briefing’s at 1200. Second floor."

"I know."

She was already moving.

The wall by the entrance was empty. Rosemary lingered in the air.

The elevator was slow. She watched the floor numbers climb and thought about the other numbers. The ones she couldn’t turn off.

Second floor. The doors opened.

Nana was sitting cross-legged on the bed, eating chips from last night’s haul when Mio scanned the badge into the room.

"You look pretty."

Mio paused at the doorway. The lingering musk of the mist made her queasy.

"Thanks."

She closed the door behind her.

"Where’d you go?"

"Look for Can." The lie came quick.

Nana stopped chewing. "Can’s right there." She pointed. He was standing near the cracked pot. He didn’t try to eat the contents this time.

"Oh."

"That was a lie," Nana sang.

Mio shrugged and sat down. "You can’t tell."

"I can."

"Okay, how?"

"Your chin grows big."

Mio’s finger touched her chin with sudden defense.

"That’s not even a thing."

"It is. I invented it—"

Knock, knock.

She heard Nana’s voice through the door. Onee-san, please let me in. But Nana was here, right here standing under the light through the window. She gulped the knot in her throat down.

"Hello-oo-oo?" Nana chewed on another chip.

Mio grabbed her hand without thinking. It was warm, real. She hadn’t realized how cold her own hands were.

"You’re being weird. Is your brain dead?"

"Shut up." Mio grabbed a pillow.

Nana burst into giggles. Mio flung it, then another when she laughed even harder. The second one knocked the chips out of her hands, bits and pieces scattering across the sheets.

"Sorry—are you okay?"

Nana coughed once, twice, then threw stray chips at Mio’s face.

"Ugh, okay, I get it—look."

[ENGINE: REWARD AVAILABLE]

Claim at any time.

[Claim]

"Nana, I got more boxes to open."

Nana spilled what was left of the chips. "Open the gold one first!"

Mio pulled up the interface. Two boxes hovered in her vision—one bronze, one gold. Both pulsed with a faint glow.

"Why gold?"

"It’s shinier. Obviously."

Mio tapped the gold one. The box unfolded, panels peeling back like origami in reverse.

It opened in a exaggerated way; sparkles and dazzle.

Nana leaned in, pointed chin on Mio’s shoulder. "What is it? What is it?"

"It’s a key."

It materialized into her palm.

[RECEIVED: Vestige Domain Key]

Contents: Marrow Key x1

Used to open the gateway to the domain of the Biomancer. Unlimited use case.

Mio hid it from Nana, unsure if she should show her.

It opens... a door?

"Well?" Nana snatched it. "What is it?"

"Hey!"

They fought over it. Can didn’t even glance over as they rolled off the bed and onto the floor.

Mio managed to pry her little fingers loose and pushed her away, harder than she meant to. Nana tumbled into the table of snacks.

"Ow."

"Nana!"

The knocks came again, loud and vibrating against Mio’s teeth. She glanced at the door, at Can still near the pot, then over to her sister on the floor.

Let me in—

She blocked out the whisper and scrambled over. Nana was rubbing her elbow, chips scattered around her like confetti.

"I’m fine." She held up the key, grinning. "I win."

"That’s not—" Mio sighed. "Give it back."

"What’s a Biomancer domain?"

"I don’t know."

"Liar. Chin’s doing the thing again."

Mio snatched the key back. This time, Nana let her.

"Now the other one," Nana said.