Ch.122Crown King Ma Seung

A wind wrapped in white mist raced through the mountains. The Seorin party had just begun to leave Bellov behind.

Whoosh-!

They moved by stepping on the tips of towering rocks or using bare tree branches as footholds. The durability of these footholds hardly mattered. The wind summoned by Seorin made their bodies weightless.

“A-are we being kidnapped?”

“Oh…”

The two siblings, held around the waist by Seorin and swaying back and forth, nodded as they conversed. Their voices were faint due to the rapid movement.

Seorin didn’t stop. She didn’t run in the same direction as the companions who had departed earlier to avoid the pursuit from Bellov. She only came to a halt when the city of Bellov was no longer visible.

As the harsh wind settled on the middle of a large mountain, the figures of four people appeared.

Wheeee-!

Seorin, now standing still, looked back toward Bellov. There seemed to be no immediate pursuit, but it was only a matter of time. The suddenly appeared reincarnator appeared to cherish these two siblings, Yuri and Yujin. It was clear that a pursuit to find them would soon follow.

Sephiroth looked at Seorin with a complicated expression. A small sigh escaped from his mouth as if he had something to say. However, he ultimately said nothing. There was no other choice.

“So, Seorin. What are you going to do with these two now?”

At Sephiroth’s question, Seorin’s gaze turned to the siblings. Judging by their bewildered expressions as they nervously glanced around, they didn’t seem to understand the situation.

“Um, excuse me. Why did you kidnap us? If you could at least tell us the reason…”

“Sis… I think it’s better to stay quiet…”

“For now, I plan to take them with us. When we reach the city next to Bellov, it would be better to release them then…”

Seorin spoke while looking around, ignoring the siblings’ words. If she released these two in the dense forest, they would surely become monster food. When she put her hands on their waists to carry them, she realized that they were ordinary people who hadn’t undergone physical training.

And so began the strange journey of the four. The overwhelming speed at which they could move lasted only briefly. Because Seorin’s mana wasn’t infinite, the four people’s pace slowed considerably.

In the dark night, as Seorin walked slowly while erasing their traces, she detected a strange presence. Multiple human presences had entered the wide detection field of her Ashen.

It was clearly an enemy pursuit team.

“The pursuit has caught up.”

“It was about time. If anything, they’re late.”

Seorin closed her eyes while standing still. She concentrated to expand Ashen’s detection field further. Wind spread out from beneath her feet in a circular pattern. When Ashen’s expanded domain swallowed an entire mountain, Seorin opened her eyes.

The scale of the pursuit team was substantial. Over a hundred people were busily searching through the mountains, and even now, new presences were increasing one by one. Seorin’s gaze turned to the two siblings.

They were said to be children of a fairly substantial merchant group in Bellov.

‘When I return to headquarters, I should request an investigation into that merchant group.’

“Let’s move quickly.”

“Are you alright?”

Seorin nodded at Sephiroth’s question. Thanks to the brief rest, a significant amount of her mana had recovered. It meant she could run again.

Seorin’s small feet stomped firmly on the ground. Simultaneously, a swirling white wind gently enveloped the four people.

***

Several days passed. Even when they quickly moved with the wind and shook off the enemy’s pursuit, the pursuers would catch up again within hours. The pursuit team caught up numerous times, but he never entered Seorin’s detection field.

By this point, it was questionable whether the reincarnator was even following them.

“Um, Lady Seorin? Why do you carry so many swords?”

“They must be spares… Sis, stop asking such rude questions.”

“Have you ever seen someone carrying spare swords like that? Besides, Lady Seorin hasn’t told me to stop asking questions.”

Yujin and Yuri had only been tense for the first day. The sociable Yuri asked Seorin various questions while maintaining appropriate boundaries. Although most were ignored, Seorin occasionally answered, keeping a smile on Yuri’s face.

“They’re not spares. I use all of them.”

“All of them? What about that spear on your back?”

Seorin glanced back at Yuri’s question. It was the spear she had taken as a trophy after subjugating the Four Dragon King. She had also collected swords used by various knights, but they were no longer with her. She couldn’t bring everything when hastily leaving the inn.

“You ask a lot of questions.”

“Ah, I’m sorry…”

Whenever Seorin showed discomfort like this, Yuri would immediately bow her head and back down.

Just then, the dense undergrowth rustled, and Sephiroth emerged from it. He had returned from scouting while they were having their meal.

“Strange.”

“What’s strange?”

Seorin questioned in response to Sephiroth’s muttering. After looking around briefly, Sephiroth rubbed his forehead and answered.

“The number of people has increased.”

“Is that so strange? They might have simply hired multiple groups…”

“Maybe, but the ones that appeared this time don’t seem to be looking for people. They eye each other suspiciously when they meet. In severe cases, they even point weapons at each other. As if they didn’t know about each other’s existence.”

Seorin stood up upon hearing this. Regardless, they needed to leave this place quickly. She raised the wind and asked Sephiroth:

“Which way should we go?”

“We need to break through. The pursuit team is spread out along the base of the mountain.”

Sephiroth said while stretching his body. His condition had improved considerably over the past few days. It meant he didn’t have to rely entirely on his junior anymore. Golden mana swirled out from his body.

“I’ll cut straight through, so run straight out. If that reincarnator catches up, don’t stop.”

“It would be better if we combined our strength…”

“It would still be difficult. Maybe if I were in perfect condition.”

With those words, Sephiroth stomped on the ground. As golden mana exploded from beneath his feet, a golden flash rushed toward the bottom of the mountain.

He was releasing all his mana, allowing it to flow outside his body. Seorin observed Sephiroth’s mana manipulation and pondered to herself.

What if she used Sun Force in that way? The mana consumption would be extreme, but it seemed possible to use it simultaneously with Ice Dragon-Heart.

The golden rush didn’t stop. It cut through everything in its path in a straight line. Occasional screams, shouts, and golden waves echoed throughout the mountain.

Seorin naturally looked at the two siblings standing beside her. The reincarnator’s inability to approach was largely due to having these two as hostages.

It meant they were important to the reincarnator, yet the two seemed completely unaware of who this reincarnator was.

It was a truly strange relationship.

“Let’s move.”

Seorin moved, wrapped in wind, following the golden flash. No one dared approach the white storm.

After shaking off all pursuit, Seorin’s gaze reached into the distance. A well-maintained path followed the forest, indicating frequent human traffic.

They had finally reached a city where she could release the two. Seorin moved to a place with few people and came to a stop.

Whoosh!

As she stopped, wind spread in all directions. Amidst the white dispersing chill, Seorin brushed back her hair. Her white, glistening hair scattered like snow.

She expanded Ashen’s detection field to its maximum, but no presences were caught. Only then did Seorin release the Yujin and Yuri siblings.

“I’m sorry for everything. You can go back now.”

At Seorin’s words, Yujin cautiously began to move. Yuri, who initially didn’t want to leave, had no choice but to follow when Yujin left.

After confirming that the two had safely entered the city, Seorin took flight. The white dispersing wind disappeared back into the mountains.

Seorin and Sephiroth reunited after a considerable amount of time had passed. Sephiroth, who landed beside Seorin with a streak of golden light, exhaled roughly.

“Huff…”

“Are you alright?”

“No injuries. I’m fine.”

Seorin frowned as she looked in the direction from which Sephiroth had flown. The smell of blood was very strong. The presences of the pursuers were no longer felt either.

“Did you take care of all of them?”

“Most of them. All the notable ones are gone.”

What would he have done if the reincarnator had appeared? Seorin was about to scold him but stopped herself. Her superior possessed skills exceeding her own. Recognizing her position, she kept her mouth shut.

“You should keep that covered. The guys who followed us this time seemed to be after that starlight spear.”

At Sephiroth’s words, Seorin looked back. The starlight spear attached to her back was emitting a soft light. Seorin obediently followed Sephiroth’s advice. She peeled off some nearby tree bark and wrapped it around the spear so that it would look like a wooden stick at a glance.

Several more days passed. Despite Sephiroth having dealt with the pursuers once, their numbers didn’t seem to have decreased much. In fact, as time went on, more people came looking for Seorin and Sephiroth.

They had the skills of mere bandits, but their frequent appearances made proper rest impossible. Seorin and Sephiroth were quickly becoming exhausted.

And so, when the two arrived near the direct territory of the Karma Empire, a man fell from the sky with a powerful wave of energy.

Boom-!