Ch.158Desolate wind

“Theo, that man…”

Theo, who appeared behind Saeeorin, lowered the person he had been carrying on his shoulder to the ground. He was the brave elf warrior who had rushed out earlier, claiming he would handle the attackers alone.

The hood he had been wearing was torn long ago. The handsome face now revealed was pale as he continuously coughed up blood.

“Ku, kuluk… I am in your debt…”

“What debt… Keep your mouth shut. The bleeding is severe and dangerous.”

At that moment, the elf warriors who had been watching cautiously rushed out and began tending to the wounded man. They took out wooden boxes from their pockets, thinly applied solid medicine to the wounds, and wrapped them with bandages.

Only after finishing the first aid did the elf warriors express their gratitude to Saeeorin and Theo.

“Thank you for saving our comrade.”

“I only did what needed to be done.”

Saeeorin waved to the elf warriors and looked around. The moonlight shining from the sky illuminated the swords stuck in the ground, brightening the surroundings.

“Are they Sun Tail people?”

“You recognize them?”

Saeeorin nodded at Flora’s question as she moved forward.

“Sun Tail people have a distinctive scent.”

“Scent…?”

It was a peculiar smell—a mixture of dry sand, sweat, and a special perfume. For Saeeorin, with her exceptional sense of smell, it was an offensive odor.

“Why did these people attack us?”

It was a situation Saeeorin couldn’t understand. Sun Tail was a small, minor country located in the south. Though the country itself was wealthy, it was no match for the powerful Karma Empire. Launching a preemptive attack while maintaining good cooperative relations was clearly suicidal.

“Seems like the carriage was their target. They repeatedly tried to hijack it.”

“Hmm…”

Saeeorin examined a corpse split between upper and lower body with Flora.

“Did you find anything?”

“No. Clean.”

“Hmm…”

The situation was similar with the other corpses. There was no evidence to reveal the attackers’ origins. Even if Flora and Saeeorin claimed the attackers were from Sun Tail, without evidence, Sun Tail couldn’t be held responsible.

“This suggests a planned attack. Does that mean our mission was leaked?”

“That’s highly likely.”

Just as Saeeorin nodded at Flora’s answer, her body suddenly spun, and one of the swords stuck nearby flew at high speed.

Shiiik-!

The sword, shot like a beam of light, pierced through the leg of a fallen corpse. A scream erupted.

“Gaaaah!”

“What? He was alive?”

Saeeorin nodded at Theo’s question. She wouldn’t have known without using Ashaen. The heartbeat was so slow it was hard to believe the person was alive.

Saeeorin lightly rolled her foot forward, approaching the survivor pinned to the ground. Facing Saeeorin as she approached, he twisted his entire body violently, as if trying to escape even if it meant severing his pinned leg.

“That’s pointless resistance…”

“G-gaaah!”

“Is it what’s in the carriage that you want?”

“Gaaaah!”

“Your origin?”

“G-geuuugh!”

All Saeeorin could hear in response were shouts and screams. It was an expected result. These were attackers who had concealed their origins. They would try their best to keep their identities secret.

“Theo.”

At Saeeorin’s call, Theo stepped forward. He swung his sword once lightly, releasing blue lightning. The lightning of Cheonroiseom, which he constantly maintained, escaped his body and enveloped the survivor.

Kwarrung-!

“Uh, ugik…!”

The survivor, now charred black, was barely breathing. He wasn’t dead. Instead, he had become a body that couldn’t really live. Theo tightly bound the blackened ash-like figure with rope and tied him to a nearby horse.

He would be taken to the Cheongik headquarters, where interrogators would extract information from him.

The cleanup of the area was complete. Saeeorin raised her hand to the sky against the blowing wind. Simultaneously, all the swords stuck around rose at once and flew toward her.

The moonlight shining from the sky concentrated in one place. From the center of the light, Saeeorin stored hundreds of swords in subspace. The widely spread wings of swords disappeared in an instant.

Everyone watching thought the same thing. She truly looked like the Empress of Swords.

“Let’s depart then.”

Saying that, Saeeorin lightly jumped onto the carriage. As her graceful feet touched the roof of the carriage, a gentle wind burst around her.

Whoosh-!

It was her intention to guard directly from atop the carriage.

When Saeeorin ordered departure, everyone mounted their horses. Theo, having lost his horse, had no choice but to ride with Flora.

And so the carriage escort mission resumed once more.

***

After crossing the border of the Karma Empire, there were no more attacks. Saeeorin’s group was able to safely escort the carriage to the Cheongik headquarters.

Cheongik Headquarters.

Inside Sephiroth’s office.

Saeeorin sat on a large sofa with the elf warriors who had shared the escort mission, waiting for the conversation between Sephiroth and the elf warriors to end.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“I hope there will be improvement in his condition.”

The elf warriors took out a small wooden box from their pockets and handed it to Sephiroth. The box looked ordinary, with no special features.

This was the item the elf warriors had risked their lives to protect. Saeeorin slightly turned her head to look at the box. Who did they mean by “him”? The girl’s curious gaze circled around the box.

The small box’s lid was opened after the elf warriors who had delivered the item left the office. Sephiroth placed the box on the table and opened the lid.

Creeak-

The sound of old hinges slowly faded away. What appeared from inside the box was a small orb. Not an ordinary orb. Along its translucent surface, something faint like clouds moved endlessly.

“What is that?”

“Moonlight.”

“Moonlight…?”

“It’s an elf secret technique—an orb containing a portion of moonlight. They say it has the ability to purify the soul of whoever bathes in its light.”

“Soul purification… Don’t tell me.”

“Your guess is correct. We’ll use this to awaken Karnok. Of course, if there’s no improvement, we’ll have to appoint a new vice-commander…”

Saeeorin thought of Karnok, who had been unconscious for the past few months. He had been sleeping as if dead. The fact that numerous renowned doctors had visited without improvement spoke volumes.

Sephiroth stood up and said:

“Follow me, Saeeorin. You need to help me.”

“Ah, yes.”

Saeeorin immediately followed behind Sephiroth. After leaving the office, Sephiroth headed straight for the private ward where Karnok was staying. As if arrangements had been made in advance, the ward was completely empty.

Upon arriving at Karnok’s room.

Sephiroth and Saeeorin looked down at Karnok, who lay in bed with a pale expression. Unable to consume proper food for months, his physical condition was far from normal.

His face was gaunt, and his arms and legs were skeletal, having lost muscle. Even if Karnok regained consciousness, it seemed he would need a considerable rehabilitation period to recover his former abilities.

Sephiroth walked around the room, covering the windows with black curtains to prevent even a single point of light from entering.

Only the faintly glowing magic stone lamp provided the sole illumination in the room.

At that moment, an enormous amount of mana began to swirl around Sephiroth’s body. The golden mana, spreading like a whirlpool, formed a hemisphere that surrounded Karnok’s bed.

“Saeeorin.”

“Do you want me to do the same?”

“You need to prepare for when my barrier breaks.”

“Yes…”

Saeeorin nodded and drew up her mana. Starlight swirled beneath her small feet, spreading widely to cover the dark room. Just as all preparations were complete, Sephiroth shattered the starlight orb in his hand.

Crack-!

The first thing Saeeorin perceived was light so powerful it could blind her. If her body hadn’t been enhanced by mana, it would have been intense enough to damage her eyesight.

“This is…”

As her eyes adjusted to the light, Saeeorin frowned and looked beyond the golden hemisphere. Through the flashing light, something hazy was endlessly swirling. As if the moonlight orb itself had been greatly expanded.

“Vice-Commander Sephiroth?”

There was no answer to Saeeorin’s call. At that moment, with a cracking sound, the golden hemisphere shattered, and light burst from within.

“Kuuugh…!”

Whaaaa-!

The repulsive force erupting from inside was tremendous. Even though she strengthened her body with mana and used Sun Force to protect her entire body, she was being pushed back. Saeeorin drew the sword at her waist and stabbed it into the floor to withstand the repulsive force.

The storm of light that seemed eternal began to subside. As the light faded, the surrounding objects became clearer. The first thing she discovered was Sephiroth sprawled on the floor.

“Vice-Commander…!”

Just as Saeeorin was about to approach Sephiroth, a man in a white patient gown appeared, with fading moonlight draped behind him.

“Karnok…?”

“It’s been quite a while, hasn’t it?”

Karnok, who had been in a comatose state, had awakened. He was still the vice-commander of Cheongik. Around Karnok, with moonlight at his back, black and white mana leaked out, undulating like waves.