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World Without Magic

Meanwhile, an hour before the dirty bomb exploded...

Jek was trying to find information about both the Agents and the Collectives, but he met a dead end. What's worse was that he lost sight of both Raine and Aranis. He could not mistake the human's red hair and the elf's pointy ears and auburn hair, but with all that crowd and their humanoid figure, it was hard to find them. He was fortunate that Narati stayed with Karkas, even though he knew the Fa'ar was uncomfortable with a croc who hated his race.

He sighed, giving up on trying to find the two of them. The wolfman hoped that they would wait outside, waiting for the rest of them to come. He just hoped Narati did not say anything stupid and got himself killed by an ally. That would be stupid.

Sitting on a stool, Jek ordered a drink and quickly drank all of it. The bartender, a cheetah beast race, noticed Jek's frustration and said, "No luck?"

"Job's not working. Better drink it down like someone down to his luck."

"Cheers for that," said the cheetah.

"How about you? Girls like you don't go around bartending in this place."

"Yeah, I get that a lot, and I don't mean being a bartender. Not many females around here, so you might think of me as one."

Jek was surprised, but not that apparent. He looked down towards the cheetah's chest and then down to his pants. He smiled.

"Waiting for someone?" said Jek.

"I got one already. He's a lion."

"A cheetah and a lion. Cheers to that," said Jek, raising his glass. "You know, you really should dress a little bit more like a guy if you don't want to get mistaken again. I mean, you packed a gun down there."

"Yeah, my boy said that to me, too," said the cheetah, giggling. "But no. You'd be surprised how...exotic some people are. My lion is one of those. Besides, I don't look like a guy anyway, so why not?"

"Suit yourself," said Jek. He then looked around and said, "Any talks worth hearing?"

"Not much. It's mostly about those machine armor guys and those magical people doing war with each other. Some say the Collectives are holed up upstairs, but I don't know. As far as I know, my home is up there, by the third floor. Not the best view, but with running water and magic-induced crystals, my life's complete. Oh, and with my boy, too. Let's just hope nothing get out of hand."

"Kid, you should be careful with that crystal. It might blow up in front of your face."

That voice came from another person, clearly wearing a uniform of sorts. From the way he dressed, he looked like a person of high stature, but seemed down to earth. Jek had never seen someone like that before. Most people wore rags, while well-off people wore tailored clothes. This person was one of the well-offs, yet his eyes were a bit off.

Raine once said to him that beast races were easier to read that Jek thought, but the reverse was also true. This man, a human with receding hairline, had clearly seen atrocities beyond even Jek, a hardened bounty hunter who started killing before the age of 20. But, Jek wasn't talking about how hardened he was in killing. Everyone had eyes full of sorrow, years after killing so many people. They wanted to stop and live like a normal being, even if they had 'beast' in their names. Others, despite of being a total nutcase (in the case of a certain rat), clearly regretted their decisions.

But, the moment he looked towards the human's eyes, he knew for certain that he was in another spectrum. Unlike Narati, whose schizophrenic impulse was partially because of his suffering, this person had a different way to spell 'insane', all from his eyes alone.

The effeminate cheetah boy also knew what Jek was noticing, for he suddenly lost his cheerfulness and became more of an indifferent person, like a bartender proper. He knew the human in front of him was a lunatic, not because of suffering, but because of enjoyment. Yes, the human was a psychopath, pure and simple. He loved to kill others, be it human or beast. For Jek and the world, that was a simple thing. Without law governing who die and who lived, the only way for these people to go is six feet under. Hell, that's a privilege so rare in this world. People like them would either end up rotting in a mass grave, or getting their heads staked to remind others that they were not feared.

"Kinda expected, human," said the cheetah while serving his drink. "Salvaged from an old lamp post. I can't believe they used it for a lamp. It heats the room and cook meal well. But, I know that thing's unstable."

"Why don't you throw it away, then?" said the human while drinking. "You don't use magic, so why use a junk that end up killing you anyway?"

"Everyone's gotta find a way to live, I guess. It's not my call."

"It's my call, alright," said the human. "Before you get into trouble, I suggest you throw that thing away. Last warning, kiddo."

From the tone of his voice, Jek concluded that the person beside him wasn't a normal lunatic. He's one of the Agents of Tomorrow, the so-called 'cult' that hated magic with a passion. It wasn't a joke or something to laugh about. They had the technology to kill people who laughed at them. It was something of a topic around that part. The settlement who wanted their help knew that the Agents were not saviors. They were trying to enforce their beliefs. It's not something serious, especially in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. What's serious was their effort in trying to get people to their cause.

Many residents of this wasteland would not appreciate bullies, especially those who threatened to kill anyone who did not like them. Most would ask bounty hunters to make short of their works. Others would gang up on them. But these Agents, at least based on the rumors, were ruthless. They were more easily described as monsters. A settlement who rioted on them were massacred, down to the children, just because they could. Those machine armor were the worst kind of weapon they could create. Even worse, they ran in fossil fuel, which was scarce after the magic war ended. While it was volatile, they seemed to know how to use it like they were born inside it.

Jek knew he was threatening the cheetah boy due to his possession of a magical junk. They hated magic, so they took their time taking magic away from people, without thinking that they needed them. Now the wolfman seemed to know how the person beside him had killed mages in cold blood and in apparent euphoria. He tolerated crazy, but not his kind of crazy. His trigger finger was itchy, holding the urge to pull his gun and shoot the person beside him in the face. One less menace to worry about, Jek thought.

But no. The last thing he needed was panic, so he held his ground and drank another glass, acting neutral as much as he could. The cheetah boy also tried to suppress his apparent annoyance, as do the other bar patrons. Luckily, the human was as dense as his beliefs, and he could not sense the killing intent of the bar patrons.

"Bartender. Another shot, please," said Jek, trying to get the cheetah boy towards him. The cheetah turned and hastily served a drink to the wolfman. He intentionally made his voice loud enough so the Agent was drawn to him.

The Agent looked towards Jek, then to his gun on the table and the rifle on his back. He then said, "Gunslinger?"

"By trade," said Jek while taking the shot. "Tough job. No better way to drink it down."

"Spoken like a true person. Unlike those witches and their magic show, your weapons might work the best against them. One shot to their head and boom! Their head explodes out. Oh, what a sight. They don't seem so high and mighty now after getting muted."

Jek remembered the sight he saw with Narati and Raine. He knew what he meant.

"Any particular reason you'd be in this market?" said Jek.

"Weed out the magical people, of course! Like you, it's a tough job, so I just drink my fill and let the knights do their jobs. Oh, and we have one of the muted strapped up and destroy them. We got words that there was a Collective base in this building. It's just words, but we don't take them as rumors. Everything's possible in this world, right?"

"Yeah. A world full of psychopaths and murderers. Seems like a colorful world to me."

That sarcastic comment wasn't taken as a joke to the human. Jek knew it hit something within him. Something he was sensitive about. The wolfman needed to somehow agitate this human so the others had the reason to stab him in the back, without alerting the machine armor.

"I...guess that's how this world has become. Murderers and psychopaths," said the human. "If people would've listened, this goddamn filth won't be here. This place was an office. Office! Instead, now it's a filth hole full of hiding witches and magic is still used as if it's something safe. I may sound like an asshole, but those Chaos races wouldn't be so discriminated if not for the arrogant elves and mages waging war with them."

"Chaos race, huh? Well, they seem to be around."

"Not everyone's a dangerous individual, you know," said the human. "But I wish this world's a better place. A world with no magic involved, just machines and technologies. With that, the world might've stayed intact."

"Not always, though," said Jek. "Techs, magics. They are the same. Both are dangerous."

"Dangerous or not, technology is not the reason the world becomes like this, right?"

"Can't argue with you on that."

While Jek was talking to the human, Narati and Karkas still sat in silent, in awkward situations where both were silent and did not speak for a while. Narati started to become uncomfortable around the croc, mostly because of his hatred towards Fa'ars and his small stature.

But, after travelling with the others and learned how to not be a coward, Narati knew that sooner or later, he needed to talk to Karkas, regardless of his hatred to his race. He wanted to know that he had no intent to harm or betray the croc, and he steeled his heart to say the words, "You know, you can always talk to me about your problems with my people."

Karkas turned towards him and said, "Like I said, rat. You stay away from my life. I had enough problems with your people."

"Not everyone's an evil bastard, and not everyone's a cutthroat," said Narati. "I don't want this relationship to be purely professional."

"And what are you going to do, huh? Help me? I know your race is a close-knit community where you live in 'packs'. No one will betray others, and that's how the work."

"But I'm not a pack. I'm a single Fa'ar."

"Just what the hell do you want, huh? Talk to me like I'm your goddamn friend?" said Karkas. "I have no problems with you since you're just a kid, and that's it. You're not yet an adult, so keep your concern to yourself and live your life..."

"Will you listen to what I say?!" exclaimed Narati, losing his cool. "I've had enough with people treating me like a kid. Yes, I am 16, and I winch every time I heard gunfire. But I know what suffering is! I've been lashed on my back, almost got killed by an animal, and almost lost one of my eyes, all because I'm a Fa'ar! If you think you don't like me just because I am a rat, then fine! You can just join the rest of them!"

Karkas suddenly roared and said, "You are still a kid, and I will say it again until you understand that your rage is meaningless! Suffering? Pain? Racism? Those are the things that defined a person. But you? You just let yourself be the victim of everything and think that you need help, just because you are a kid! For a 16 years old travelling alone in this place, blowing things up and watch people burn, you don't even understand other people! You are no longer a coward. That's something I understand, but you act like you're living a different life, and that's what I hate from you! You don't act like other Fa'ars do. You...you're like a kid."

"So?"

"So act like one and stop getting into adult's problem, kid," Karkas sighed. "But you're right. I may have overstepped and...treated you like a savage. That doesn't mean I trust you, though."

"So why don't you tell me your hatred and I will help you the best I can?"

"Betraying your own kind?"

"I'm not one of them. I'm one of ours," said Narati.

Karkas sighed. "Alright, kid, if that's what you want. Happy?"

Narati nodded.

"Now, I don't like talking about my past much, but..."

Karkas's story was interrupted by a person in the Agent's armor threatening a vendor. Due to the armor being a power armor, he lifted the vendor like it was nothing.

"I don't need your fucking excuse! Why are you selling crystals?!" exclaimed the Agent.

"I get them from the junks around here!" exclaimed the vendor. "It's for a living!"

"Bull-fucking-shit. You're working with them, aren't you?"

"Just check around here and see for yourself! It's a garbage pile full of..."

The vendor was slapped by the Agent, which sent him flying. The Agent then proceeded to catch the bloodied vendor and said, "Now, I will break your arm unless you tell me where the Collectives are. Say it!"

The vendor was barely conscious, and many others around him started to draw their weapons. But, the Agent shot one who tried to stab him, as he mockingly said, "Anyone working for the destroyers of the world will join them. As if your shots are working on me, anyway."

Narati, who heard those from afar, somehow knew that the Agent spelt trouble. He wanted to help, but Karkas stopped him and said, "You're not getting yourself killed planting a bomb on that thing."

"Watch me." Narati then hurriedly get out of Karkas's way and ran between the crowd. His rodent physique, coupled with his small stature, made him able to move around the crowd like a thief snatching goods from their pouches. But, his attention wasn't those. His attention was the Agent's armor.

One look at that armor and the Fa'ar knew that it had flaws. While it was a technological curiosity, it had many flaws due to it being made from scraps. Narati had seen so many scraps around due to his scavenging, and he knew which part could be utilized in his bomb.

Running behind the human's armor, Narati pulled something out of the gas tank behind him before disappearing into the crowd. The gas came out like a leak, which quickly took the Agent's attention as his armor powered down and he could not lift a finger.

"This fucking thing's broke again!" exclaimed the Agent.

Narati then exclaimed, "Anyone who value their lives, get away from that Agent! That thing's gonna blow!"

The people, who were ready to shoot the Agent, quickly ran away. The vendor, who was still recovering from the slap, was then helped by Karkas, who ran with the crowd to get away from the Agent. By then, Narati threw something so small, yet was lit to start a fire from the gas, as he knew it was flammable and was used to power the armor. With a scream, the human was engulfed in the armor's explosion, which also caused panic and attracting the other Agents.

Jek, who realized the commotion, looked towards the explosion and said, "Now that's a spectacle I won't forget."

"How is that possible? The armor cannot be penetrated! Was it a fire magic?"

"Not quite," said Jek. He cocked a gun behind the human's head and, without warning, shot him point blank. The human quickly fell to the ground, dead, with brain bits pouring out of his open skill.

"You won't even be alive to think about it anyway," said Jek. He then turned towards the cheetah bartender and said, "Sorry for the mess."

"No one's going to clean that up, right?" said the cheetah while taking his jacket.

"A little bit of advice. Get out of this floor as fast as you can. Get your boyfriend and go to your home. Don't get involved in this. Just go."

"Right. You haven't paid your tab."

Jek threw a pouch full of bullets. "New bullets. Worth at least 50 muns. Now if you don't mind, I gotta go."

"Thanks, wolfy!"

Jek tried to ignore the fact that he was calling him with a nickname, as if flirting, yet he knew it was real and not his imagination. His primary problem right now was to get out and get away from the Agents. He knew they were a problem, and they would not stop before things went to their plan.

Just then, his sensitive ears picked up something like a faint sound of explosion. He ran outside and heard something like a crumbling building that caved in its own weight. He saw smokes and dust billowing out from the nearby brick building, that seemed to be ready to crumble due to neglect. While his eyes could only see black and white, he could pinpoint a familiar voice from the ruins, and from his other allies who were with him at the time.

Jek ran towards Narati and Karkas first, to see if they were okay. Narati looked towards him and said, "Where's Raine and Aranis?!"

"You won't believe what I just heard. Follow me!"

Both the Fa'ar and the croc followed him to the ruins of the brick building, and found a group of three walking down the stairs, clearly hurt and in pain.

"Now you're a sight for sore eyes," said Raine with a weak laugh.

"You really shouldn't wander around an old building, Raine."

"Not quite. I crashed through it. I'll explain later. We need to get out of this place as far as we can."

"Why?"

"War will start, Jek. Those Collectives are ready, and the Agents are ready, too. We need to go back to the free-town and prepare to defend it. I hope you don't stir up too much trouble, or we'll be in their radar."

"About that..."

Raine looked towards Jek's hand and then him, and said, "You shot one of them. In the head."

"He had it coming."

"At least you did it during the panic. Let's go!"

As the rest of the Wanderers walked away, Narati was standing beside Karkas and smiled to him with his uneven teeth. He then said, "Not bad for a kid, huh?"

Karkas scoffed and said, "Only a kid can pull that off. Not bad, for a rat kid."

They both walked together, following the others behind, as the carnage and the chaos behind them started to unfold. Their day would soon change, and it wouldn't be a good thing.