Durarara!! - Volume 9 - Chapter 4.1

In a Dark Place 5

“So, Izaya Orihara. You’re friends with that Black Rider, huh?”

“…”

“You’ve had that urban legend riding around and looking for scoops on us, haven’t you? As well as Heaven’s Slave. Did you have the rider contact them, perhaps?”

“…”

In the darkened bar, Earthworm was still talking to the hooded man.

The cake had been put away however long ago, and there were now three dozen two-liter bottles of mineral water neatly arranged on the counter of the bar instead.

As usual, Earthworm was doing all the talking; the man with the sack over his head said nothing in response.

Did that count as conversation? For Earthworm’s part, she certainly felt like they were sharing a mental connection.

“Like I said earlier, neither the owner nor I know much about them…but if they’re going to get in our way, we need to crush them soon. So if there’s anything you know about this Heaven’s Slave, I’d love to hear it now.”

“…”

“In either case, once your sisters arrive, you’ll want to talk, I think. Or should I smash your fingers one by one with a hammer? There’s still a stain on that table from the last person we had to do that to… Wanna see? Oh, right! You can’t see through that sack! Ha-ha, sorryyy!”

Beneath the hood, her conversation partner’s face and mind alike were racked with fear. The repetition of threats was the only way Earthworm knew how to communicate, and it was the only time she felt a connection to another person.

“You know, I think you and I can get along much, much better.”

“…”

She put one hand to his neck and held a bottle in her other. Liquid sloshed around inside it, loud enough so that he could hear.

“Want respite?”

“…”

“Don’t want to die?”

“…”

“Worried about your sisters? Or about yourself?”

“…”

The man maintained his silence throughout each of the rapid-fire questions.

But Earthworm was happy with that. Silence was, in fact, the very thing that fed her soul more than anything else.

Even though she hadn’t been inflicting any direct pain, the woman sensed that the man’s commitment to silence was considerable. Normally, a person would at least hurl back an insult or two by now, but he’d been admirable in his restraint.

“Say, are you feeling secure in your situation? Are you finding solace in the idea…that you and your sisters couldn’t possibly be killed today? You wouldn’t do that, would you? I mean, you couldn’t…not if you’d actually found out what we’re like.”

Earthworm giggled and slowly unscrewed the cap on the bottle.

“I love our owner! I would do anything for the owner.”

“…”

“And I mean anything…”

She chuckled darkly. The bottle tilted over the burlap sack until the liquid inside slowly poured out. It dripped in fine formations with hardly any splatter, maximizing the amount that seeped into the fabric. She rotated the bottle carefully and evenly around his head so that the entirety of the sack was soaked but not his clothes or the floor.

“I would’ve been fine with using acid to melt that bag and your face into disgusting blobs, but I wasn’t feeling how gnarly and sinister that is. I wanted a different effect… Something brighter!”

As she spoke, the smell of the liquid filled the room. It was a very distinct odor that was obvious to anyone who’d smelled it before: kerosene. Not as distinct as in the moment of extinguishing a kerosene lamp but plenty strong enough to identify it.

“Are you holding up? Not suffocating? And don’t breathe in too hard and get high, okay? Wait, does kerosene get you high the way paint thinner does? Anyway…”

“…”

“Well, when your sisters get here, we’ll be doing a variety of things to them…and at about the halfway point, I’ll burn the sack, okay? Then it’ll burn off, and you’ll be able to see exactly what’s happening to them. You’ll want to hold your breath when it’s burning, okay? The fire will suck the oxygen out of your lungs. No guarantees on how many minutes that will take to finish.”

If she actually lit a fire, the burns would make it impossible not to breathe, but she knew that already.

What kind of face would emerge when the sack burned away?

Fear of death? Sadness at what was happening to his sisters? Boundless rage? Despair? Or eyes full of purpose, having not lost their hope?

Any one of them would do, thought Earthworm.

“I wonder what people will do. If they’re placed in a desperate situation with a loved one, will they care for themselves in the final moment or for the other? I happen to think human beings are designed to prioritize themselves in the end. Do you know anything about that, info dealer? You’ve got lots of information about human beings, right?” Earthworm asked. It was an impossible question to answer, and because of that, she didn’t expect an answer for it, either.

The real purpose of the question was to fan the flames of his fear and unease. But her total inability to get a rise out of him was impressing her.

What move could she make to put pressure on him now? Go with the classics and pull out his fingernails, or remove his clothes and use a soldering iron to tattoo a message on his skin?

She was just about to lose her battle against restraint and move to actual physical torture when the sound of multiple footsteps came from the entrance of the bar.

“Oh, we’re out of time…”

“…!”

“Looks like your sisters have arrived.  ”

Like a housewife signing off on a long-awaited home delivery, Earthworm leaped to her feet. But instead of heading over herself, she delegated the duty to another woman.

“Go and open the door.”

The young woman obeyed and headed to the entrance. As she watched her go, Earthworm told her captive, “It’s a moving family reunion! I do believe I might shed some tears!”

“…”

She giggled in anticipation of the coming scene…

…but the mirth stopped within just a few seconds.

When her subordinate opened the door to let the visitors in, they were not the people Earthworm expected—but a group of about ten unfamiliar young men.

Who?!

Are they the info dealer’s men?! No way!

The Awakusu-kai? No, they’re too young!

How did they know this place? I mean, who are they?!

They can’t be cops. They look younger than me…

Who? Enemies? Friends? Danger?

Owner… Help me, Owner!

The thoughts echoed and burst through her mind, until at last, she settled on the one figure she trusted more than any other to come to her aid.

Though no one answered that silent call of hers, of course.

Her companions were just as shocked as she was, wary of the intruders at the entrance. But the young man at the center of their group simply spread his hands and spoke bracingly to the entire bar.

“Greetings, members of Amphisbaena. We are not yet your allies, but neither are we your enemies.”

“…Who are you?” Earthworm demanded. Unlike the wheedling taunt she used with the man in the burlap sack, her voice was now taut and sharp with instant vigilance.

The young man identified her as the central figure of the group and made an obsequious bow. “Pardon me. My name is Shijima.”

“I am the second-in-command for distribution of the Heaven’s Slave drug.”

Then time rewound to half a day earlier.