The faint orange glow of a lamp flickered, and the man polishing a glass paused.
A mechanical hum echoed from the depths below... His gaze shifted to the back door. Gripping a gun, he slipped behind a shelf lined with liquor bottles, eyes locked on the steel door.
No one had used the illegal elevator gate connected to the back entrance today. There’d been customers looking to buy drugs or aphrodisiacs, or to steal liquor, but he’d dealt with them all. The bodies? Naturally, they were mixed into livestock feed... or kicked down the waste chute leading to the ruins, erasing all evidence.
“…”
The doorknob turned, and the door creaked open.
“…Danann-chan?”
Standing there were a young man clad in heavy gear and a strikingly beautiful girl. Danann glanced at the man and said, “Liars, don’t get in the way,” before settling into an empty chair inside the bar.
“Danann-chan, it’s not chan! Ugh, I told you to give me a heads-up if you’re using the elevator, didn’t I?!” the man exclaimed, then paused. “And who’s this? Oh, little miss, want some candy?!”
Liars, the man with thick makeup and a theatrical wiggle, offered a fluorescent-colored pastry to Eve, who had taken a seat behind Danann.
“Oh, I’ll take—”
“Don’t,” Danann interrupted.
“Why not?”
“Eat it if you want your brain to fry. If you want to stay sane, never touch anything he offers.” Danann’s hawk-like eyes pierced Liars. “I need information. About the Outlaws and the Cauldron of Lust. Name your price.”
Liars, stashing the pastry back in the shelf, curled the corner of his red-lipsticked mouth into a slight smirk. “Two hundred thousand credits, Danann-chan. A special deal just for you.” He scanned the code etched on the young man’s neck with a device.
“Transaction complete. Alright, let’s start with the Outlaws. They’re the ones you need to watch out for most. Damocles has upgraded his full-body cybernetic prosthetics, and their purge of zealots and rival gang members is getting more brutal.”
“…”
“They’ve sent teams into the ruins to hunt for relics, but nothing game-changing—nothing that could tip the power balance between the undercity and midcity—has turned up. Oh, and they’re recruiting street kids, spreading their influence like roots through the alleys. Danann-chan, are you still being hunted by Damocles?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, keep your head up. As for the Cauldron of Lust, same old story. Their lowlifes peddle drugs, kidnap people for brothels or organ trafficking. Those Aeshema prostitutes? No telling what’s in their heads. Or maybe they’re not thinking at all.”
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“Got it.”
Danann, tapping the table with his fingertips, stood and glanced toward the bar’s main entrance.
“Leaving already?” Liars asked.
“I’ve got what I need.”
“Well, can I ask you something?”
“What?”
“Where’s Lilth-chan?!” Liars exploded. “What’s that?! Cheating?! I won’t forgive cheaters! She asked me to look after you, you know!”
“…”
“That’s how guys are, huh? Clam up when you hit a nerve!” Liars’ mechanical eye whirred, catching the stunned Eve in its gaze. “And you! What’s your name?”
“E-Eve…” she stammered.
“Eve-chan, got it! I’m Liars, your partner’s guardian!”
Liars, with both arms replaced by cybernetic prosthetics and his right eye a gleaming mechanical orb, ran a hand through his perfectly styled mohawk.
“Honestly… you disappear for a while, and now you’re running around with another girl besides Lilth-chan? Danann-chan, you did vet this girl, right? If you checked her out yourself, you’d have paid a fortune to dig through the lists of the dead—”
“No need,” Danann cut in.
“No need? That’s not what she would say. You know, ‘Trust comes from doing your homework.’ Oh, unrelated, but can I ask you to pass a message to Lilth-chan?”
“You’ve got her comms number. Do it yourself.”
“Ugh, you’re as blunt as she is! Fine, I’ve got some girl talk to catch up on anyway.”
“…You’re a guy.”
“Huh? You say something?”
“Nothing.”
Avoiding Liars’ low, menacing tone, Danann stepped toward the door. Overwhelmed by accumulated fatigue, he sank back into the chair, yanking off his gas mask and goggles in one swift motion.
“Danann,” Eve said.
“What?”
“I’m curious… who is this guy? He claims to be your guardian.”
“Self-proclaimed guardian. No proof, no records, and the old man never mentioned him.”
“I see… But he looks so young. Is he…?”
A man, right? Beneath the white shirt, his tanned, muscular skin and bulging veins were visible. A body forged like steel. Observing Liars, Eve noted that despite his ridiculous antics, he showed no openings. He twisted the cap off a fresh water bottle and poured it into a glass.
“I don’t know if he’s a man,” Danann said.
“Huh?”
“Looks like a man’s body, sure. Seems young, too. But Liars hasn’t aged a day since I was a kid. Hell, I’m pretty sure he used to be a woman. Eve, in the undercity, everyone except kids hides their true age and appearance. Don’t judge people by how they look.”
“Wow…”
Eve’s sticky, lingering gaze fixed on Danann as she hesitated over the glass of water in front of her.
“Danann, this—”
“Lick it. If your tongue tingles, it’s poison. If your fingers feel hot, it’s spiked with aphrodisiacs. If it smells off, it’s laced with sedatives. Go ahead, try it. If something happens, consider it a learning experience.”
Danann popped open a jelly pack, gulping it down in one go. Eve glanced at him, dipped her finger into the clear water, and tasted it.
No tingling. Her fingertips felt faintly warm, but it wasn’t concerning. The smell… a faint metallic tang.
One second, two, three… No physical reaction. Concluding it was safe, Eve downed the entire glass, slammed it on the table, exhaled sharply, and wiped a stray droplet from her lips with her arm.
“…Eve-chan,” Liars said.
“What?”
“You’re not from the undercity, are you?”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because midcity soldiers who come to my bar all take detox pills. Even if poison enters their system, their bodies flush it out through sweat, piss, or worse. Here’s a lesson, little miss: don’t put anything someone hands you into your mouth.”
“What does that mean…?”
“It’s laced with poison, drugs, and aphrodisiacs,” Danann said. “That’s what he’s getting at.”
Tossing the empty jelly pack into the trash, Danann dabbed a drop of water from the glass’s bottom onto his finger, tasted it, and grimaced.
“…You really put it all in, didn’t you, Liars? The whole damn mix? Trying to kill her?”
“Just a little test, Danann-chan! If she died from that, she wouldn’t survive a day in the undercity!”
Liars pressed a hand to his cheek, flashing a thin smile as he waved dismissively.
