Ch.155Desolate wind

The place where Se-eorin arrived was completely different from the forest she had been in moments ago. White sand stretched out in long expanses, and mysterious plants that sparkled in five different colors swayed slowly in the wind.

‘They look like coral…’

Having absorbed countless memories through her sword, Se-eorin could determine that this landscape closely resembled the middle of an ocean floor, based on the miscellaneous knowledge she had accumulated.

The only difference was that there was nothing here that could be called seawater.

Se-eorin looked around the vast coral forest and tightened her grip on her sword. Her beautiful face contorted slightly. It would have been better if it had been an attack-type magic. The mana barrier of Sun Force would have protected her body.

‘Space-type magic…’

In the moment when mana burst forth with light, space had twisted, and she had arrived in a completely different place. Even Theo, who had been caught up in it with her, was nowhere to be seen.

Though he wasn’t the type to get beaten up wherever he went, she was more than a little worried because of the powerful reincarnators who had been appearing one after another recently.

“Theo!”

Despite risking revealing her position to enemies, Se-eorin called out Theo’s name. Her voice echoed hollowly, rippling faintly across the pure white sand.

The answer she had been waiting for didn’t come.

It was the same even when she expanded Ashen’s detection field to its maximum.

“Hmm…”

She had fallen alone in an unknown place. Se-eorin thought of the carriage that elven warriors had been escorting. She didn’t know what was inside, but it was something that the elven warriors needed to transport to the Empire even at the cost of their lives.

Meaning it wasn’t a mission to be easily abandoned.

Se-eorin immediately kicked off the ground.

Whoosh-!

Se-eorin’s figure, having quickly taken to the air, began moving by stepping on the five-colored corals in succession. The reason she wasn’t flying through the sky was because there might be an enemy attack.

The place she arrived at was the only location where she sensed a human presence. The faint, quiet presence seemed unaware of Se-eorin’s arrival, maintaining a peaceful demeanor.

Tap-

Se-eorin’s toes landed on top of a small coral, crumbling it. The faint wind flowing from her body made her uniform and cape flutter.

What Se-eorin faced was a girl holding a small basket in her arms. She looked to be about eight years old. Despite Se-eorin standing behind her, the girl with a considerably small frame was crouched down, raking the ground with a tool in her hand.

Se-eorin deliberately made her presence known. As the wind flowing from her body faintly reached out to caress the girl’s cheek, the girl finally turned around. And then came an exclamation.

“Wow…”

The girl stared at Se-eorin in front of her with her mouth agape. It was because the white rippling wind and flowing hair created a mystical atmosphere as they blended with the surrounding landscape.

“Who are you, big sister…?”

“Se-eorin.”

“I-I’m Lena. Are you an angel who came down from the sky, big sister?”

Se-eorin smiled lightly at the girl Lena’s innocent question. It was a question that made her feel foolish for having been tense, wondering if the girl might be a reincarnator. Eventually, Se-eorin relaxed and crouched down to meet Lena’s eye level.

“Do I look like an angel to you?”

“Yes… because you’re so pretty.”

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not an angel.”

She didn’t deny being pretty. Lena let out a deep sigh as if disappointed.

“I see…”

“Lena. Could you tell me where this place is?”

Lena nodded at Se-eorin’s question. Then she began to chatter excitedly. According to Lena, this place was called the Five-Colored Coral Island, located a bit away from the continent where the Karma Empire was situated.

Se-eorin, who had been worried that she might have been sent to a completely different dimension, could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

“Let’s go to our village together for now. It’s extremely rare for visitors to come from outside. By the way, what kind of ship did you arrive on? Since it’s not the time for the tide to come in, I think you must have docked quite far away…”

“Oof.”

Lena said as she got up. Her basket was now filled with sparkling shells.

Se-eorin and Lena walked for quite some time. Se-eorin could have drastically shortened that time if she had carried Lena herself and run, but she deliberately chose not to.

Throughout their journey, she needed to observe her surroundings and gather information. The Five-Colored Coral Island was an extremely peaceful and beautiful place. At least on the surface.

What Se-eorin discovered were human remains. Pure white bones half-buried in the white sand.

At first, she thought they were traces of people who had drowned. Since the island experienced tides at regular intervals, it wouldn’t be unusual for some people to have drowned during those times.

However, the frequency was too high. While none were found on the path Lena was walking, Se-eorin could see white bones scattered in places further away.

It was a discovery she wouldn’t have made without her mana-enhanced vision.

“It seems like many people have drowned here?”

At Se-eorin’s question, Lena blinked her large eyes. Then she asked, as if startled:

“How did you know?”

“Just. I have good intuition.”

“That’s right. Our island has had frequent accidents since long ago. It seems especially more so these days.”

Lena was a child who would give ten answers when asked one question. Seeming to enjoy conversation with others, she tried to keep the dialogue going endlessly. If the conversation seemed about to break off, she would change the subject to continue talking.

The village they arrived at following Lena was a very modest place. All sorts of seafood were being dried in the sea breeze along drying racks extending from buildings with walls made of hardened white sand, and salt pans arranged in tiers along the extended path sparkled.

Se-eorin found Theo in the village. Having apparently arrived at the village faster than Se-eorin, Theo was helping with village chores. He was moving a large sack of salt when he spotted Se-eorin and stopped in his tracks.

“Se-eorin?”

“Theo…”

“As I thought! We fell in the same place!”

Se-eorin had a brief conversation with Theo. In the process, she learned that Theo had also not been here long, having arrived at the village only about an hour or two earlier than her.

If she hadn’t met Lena, she would have wandered around and arrived at a similar time. Se-eorin nodded and replied.

“I hear it’s an island with tides that come and go at regular intervals, and from what I’ve heard, it’s not too far from the main continent…”

“I heard that too. The village chief told me.”

“Did you check when we can take a ship to leave the island?”

“They said in two weeks.”

“That’s too long…”

“We can make a raft and set sail. Or we could ride on my sword if not.”

“Ah…”

Theo nodded at Se-eorin’s response. Indeed, there were plenty of ways to leave the island. Se-eorin certainly had enough ability for that.

Se-eorin didn’t particularly want to stay in the village. After saying goodbye to Lena, who had walked with her all this way, she intended to lead Theo out of the village.

Lena was very disappointed, but it couldn’t be helped. The mission was important. Se-eorin buried the small connection formed here deep in her heart.

“Goodbye, big sister!”

Thus, receiving Lena’s farewell, Se-eorin and Theo began to move slowly while riding the sword. Flying briefly on the sword was a method they had used occasionally before. Although it had the disadvantage of not being able to fly for long periods due to the considerable mana consumption, the star ring now seated in her heart eliminated that drawback.

Keeeing-!

The ring of starlight continuously rotated, granting Se-eorin infinite mana.

The vast blue sky stretched out before them.

Se-eorin opened her mouth.

“Theo.”

“What?”

While enjoying the pleasant breeze. Theo looked at Se-eorin while savoring the fishy sea smell carried by the wind.

“Don’t you think this island is… strange?”

“Strange?”

Theo tilted his head. He couldn’t feel anything particularly strange. Wondering if there was something suspicious, he thought back over the past hours but couldn’t recall any peculiarities.

“There were many human bones around the island. Too many.”

“Hmm…”

Even as they conversed, the sword continued to move. As the white sand plains disappeared and the blue seawater came into view, Se-eorin stopped the sword that was flying forward.

“Se-eorin?”

“There’s something ahead.”

Se-eorin placed her hand on the sword at her waist. She could feel it. Beyond the horizon where the blue sea met the sky, something invisible was spread out.

It happened simultaneously with Se-eorin drawing her Gongjul sword. Five swords that appeared from her back flew rapidly toward the straight line.

The swords that flew at high speed seemed as if they would race to the end of the sky. However, in the next moment, they bounced back with a dull sound as if they had hit something.

Tadang-!