Of course, in this line of business, death was expected. But to meet someone who could take a life so casually, even when surrender had been clear, bordered on psychopathic.
Rebel groups operated everywhere, and each was branded with bounties, dead or alive. However, most knew that keeping them alive was always the higher priority.
Rebels had important information, contacts, networks, and assets worth more than their deaths.
Yet the man standing before him didn’t care for any of that.
Centuries ago, before the rise of mana engines and cyber-magic weapons, everything began in the Crystal Mines. Mining those crystals was fatal to most, but a desperate underclass of laborers endured it for generations.
However, over time, their bodies slowly changed.
Bones, organs, and even blood vessels were calcified with crystalline filaments. They became living conduits of mana, cementing themselves as the very proof of industrial and capitalist cruelty.
Without the Glassheart miners, there would have been no foundation for the industrial magic revolution.
They were, in truth, its unwritten architects.
And yet, for that very reason, they were despised.
The mages hated them, believing their existence had cheapened the sanctity of magic.
The workers loathed them, blaming them for the upheaval and the boom that destroyed livelihoods.
The corporations despised them most of all, because a single Glassheart could destabilize mana-tech systems.
They were the blood in the gears of history. To most, they were a common enemy.
And so the world hunted them.
Industries sought to enslave them, forcing them back into the mines they had once endured, exploiting their immunity to the toxic radiation that killed ordinary men.
Common folk hunted them too, fearing that as long as the Glasshearts existed, progress would only bring ruin again.
"...And you’re the target," he said.
The pale moonlight cut across his features, finally revealing the man’s face. Long golden blonde hair tied into a bun. But it was his crimson eyes that stood out most, the mark of a bloodline that had long claimed superiority over the rest.
The man before him, the target, was none other than the Schneiders’ second son, Julius Sebastian Schneider.
He was said to be the stain of the Schneiders. Arrogant, haughty, wasteful with wealth, and utterly ignorant of combat, making him an easy target,
A typical nobleman’s son.
So why was he here with a weapon in his hand?
It was almost as if he had willingly delivered himself over.
* * *
Julius had met his fair share of Glasshearts before his regression, and it was safe to say that few of them ever met a good end.
It was often said that in daily life, there was a sixty-two percent chance you would cross paths with a Glassheart without ever realizing it. Such was their reality, forced to blend in among humanity as best they could.
And if one day, a long-time neighbor suddenly disappeared without a trace, it was almost always the same story. A Glassheart discovered by the Republic, taken away, and never seen again.
Swiiish——
Julius deactivated the photon saber. Against Glasshearts, such weapons were useless. Their very nature rendered them impervious to magic-forged arms and mana-based technology.
Revenant Knights often carried spares such as steel blades, daggers, ballistic firearms, or anything grounded in the physical sense.
Those were the tools capable of dealing with Glasshearts.
But Julius was no Revenant Knight.
Julius sneered, though cold sweat broke along his brow.
"You’re finished... you little shit. Once everyone finds out, you’ll die like the rest of your filthy kind."
It had to be said, Julius absolutely despised the Glasshearts. Even if their goals occasionally aligned, their methods were irreconcilable.
But that wasn’t the true reason behind his hatred.
’It was your people who killed Gabriel.’
A Glassheart had been responsible for his death. And for Julius Sebastian Schneider, that alone was enough to curse their existence.
Like most, Julius believed the Glasshearts were a race that deserved to be extinguished. In this era, they were the only ones capable of mining Glass Shards, and their existence kept the cycle alive.
To halt the rapid and toxic advance of technology, the simplest solution was to wipe them out entirely.
And it wasn’t only that. Glasshearts were often hostile by nature. In the years to come, Julius had seen their names surface again and again in incident reports.
Terrorist attacks. Insurrections. Revolutions. Time after time, Glasshearts were at the center of the bloodshed.
"You look at me with such malice," the Glassheart said. "I can’t say I’m surprised. Still... I hoped an ignorant noble boy like you might see my people differently. Foolish of me, I know. These days, education makes certain we’re painted as devils."
"Who allowed you to run your tongue?" Julius snapped.
The Glassheart ignored him, pressing on. "But that’s the way of history, isn’t it? It’s always the victors who write it. And we... we are not the victors."
Mana flared from Julius’s clenched fists. It was weaker than what he remembered, but in this situation, it was enough. Sparks crackled along his circuits.
A burst of light followed as the Glassheart unleashed his own mana, sending it streaking toward Julius.
Julius dodged aside before releasing his spell high into the air. Glasshearts were impervious to direct magic. Julius knew that well.
However, raw mana had other uses.
Flash——
Julius’s spell ignited overhead, bursting in a sudden flash. In an instant, the Glassheart staggered back, blinded by the light. Magic burst from the Glassheart, only to hit nothing.
Shielding his eyes in time, Julius lowered his arm and rammed his shoulder forward. The impact sent the Glassheart stumbling, but his crystalline skin tore into Julius on contact.
Shards cut deep into his shoulder, and he winced, pulling back with blood soaking through his coat.
Still disoriented, the Glassheart struggled to steady himself. Julius didn’t waste the opening. In a single motion, he seized the railgun on the floor and leveled the barrel at the crouched figure before him.
The Glassheart bared his teeth in a grin. "That won’t work on me."
The railgun’s barrel began to glow. Against the Glassheart’s crystalline skin, plasma would dissipate instantly.
However, the real danger lay in the aftermath. If the shot tore through the building, the destruction would wound him as well.
Still, it seemed the young noble was too foolish to realize he could do that instead.
Flash——
However, contrary to his expectations, the railgun’s shot never came.
Instead, a sudden flare of light burst before his peripheral vision. The Glassheart’s vision was swallowed in white as he staggered back, blinded once more.
When his sight finally returned, the room was empty.
"...I’ve been had."
Julius was nowhere to be seen.
In the very next instant, the floor split open with a burst of plasma. Gabriel emerged from the haze, his saber blazing as he stepped into the room. He had arrived belatedly, only after cutting down the remaining men outside.
——He’s a Glassheart! Your weapon’s useless against him. Capture him alive if you can! We can sell him at an auction house for a hefty sum!
The words echoed shamelessly from the balcony. Julius hadn’t left at all. He had simply taken cover there.
The Glassheart’s head snapped toward the balcony, his fury evident in his crystalline eyes.
"You...!"
But before he could lunge, Gabriel was already upon him. His saber slashed down and collided with the Glassheart’s forearm. Sparks scattered against the crystallized surface, unable to cut through.
"Did you just ignore my warning?!" Julius screamed.
The Glassheart grinned through the clash. "Your toy won’t work on me."
Gabriel’s eyes sharpened. "Then I’ll just break you the old-fashioned way."
Gabriel shifted his stance. The nanite exosleeve tightened around his arm. The floor cracked under his boots as he drove the Glassheart back with force.
"Don’t you carry a steel sword?!" Julius called out.
"In the car," Gabriel replied nonchalantly. He gave the Glassheart no chance to gather mana, hammering him relentlessly with his fists.
Moments later, the Glassheart lay on the floor like a shattered doll. Bruises and crystalline fractures marred his body. Gabriel had been ruthless.
Julius belatedly realized that if he had actually died here, Gabriel would have been executed by the Schneider family in retribution.
When their eyes met, Julius flinched. Gabriel’s glare was ice-cold. He was clearly furious. Julius instinctively shrank back.
Gabriel drew closer, but Julius’s gaze dropped to the Glassheart sprawled on the ground.
"Did you kill him?" Julius asked.
"No. You said we could sell him at the auction house.
"I lied."
Julius’s eyes flicked to the dagger strapped at Gabriel’s side. So, he’d been carrying one this whole time. He just wanted to show off.
"I wanted to do it."
Julius took the dagger from Gabriel’s belt and stepped toward the Glassheart.
"What are you—" Gabriel began, but his words cut short as Julius drove the blade down without remorse.
Slash——
Gabriel’s eyes widened. Julius had always been arrogant, haughty, and spoiled, but he was never a killer. He shouldn’t have had the stomach to take a life.
Yet he had cut a man down in front of him as though it were second nature.
"...."
...As though this wasn’t his first time.