“That useless piece of garbage!” Elgen snapped. Velitra’s former right-hand man ran along the waterway, carrying bags full of coins.
Now that the resurrection spell—which he’d been counting on to grow filthy rich—had failed, Elgen no longer had a use for his old boss. He’d taken advantage of Velitra’s moment of vulnerability, inflicted a fatal wound, and stolen as much gold as his arms could carry. Both Velitra and the other man he’d left behind were healers, but they probably didn’t have enough mana left to do anything. It was unlikely his former superior would recover.
I could start a new research project with this money, he thought. Or maybe—
Elgen’s plans for the future were suddenly interrupted when he spotted a figure at the end of the dim passageway, clad from head to toe in a gray robe.
“You’re...the Conductor?”
“Hey there,” said the figure in a strange high-pitched tone, raising a hand. “I understand your disappointment—I was looking forward to the resurrection spell too. Sad that Zenos got in the way of my fun again, but it was an interesting little spectacle nonetheless. What a fascinating thing, mourning.”
“What do you want?”
“I know I said I didn’t care that much about money, but I did help make quite a bit of this coin, so I figured I’d at least take some for my future activities. And besides...” The Conductor approached Elgen soundlessly. “I hate leaving trash unattended.”
“Perfect. I never liked you anyway,” Elgen scoffed, throwing the bags to the ground and pulling out a sharp knife from his pocket. “Stupid of you to come here. Now die!”
✦ ✦ ✦
Looking down at the silent husk as it tumbled into the waterway, the Conductor’s eyes gleamed darkly.
“Now, then...” the Conductor whispered with a light sigh, hands clapping together as if dusting each other off. “Humans are weak. I’ve always wondered how, three hundred years ago, the almighty demon lord lost to such pitiable creatures. After conducting all sorts of behavioral experiments to understand them, I have come to the realization that they are indeed very weak. But very strong at the same time.”
Leaning down, the Conductor picked up the bags of gold.
“See you next time, Zenos. Until that day comes, I’ll be continuing my research.”
The hem of the gray robe fluttered in the air, leaving only darkness in its wake.