Ch.45The Adenia Pursuit

Splash-

The forest’s warmth came from the hot spring water flowing along the ground. Countless streams from unknown origins spread throughout the forest, radiating heat.

Sei-rin covered her nose with her sleeve. The strange stench mixed with hot steam made her uncomfortable. It smelled like rotten eggs.

‘This place hasn’t been touched by human feet.’

Looking around, there were no traces of people passing through the forest paths. Places frequently visited by humans naturally develop wider roads.

Only small paths existed here. Sei-rin could roughly determine her direction and the size of animals inhabiting this forest by following the trails they had created.

Moving along the forest path, Sei-rin discovered small markings etched in various places. At first glance, they looked like scratches made by clawed beasts, but she recognized them as markers from the Karma Empire’s Intelligence Department.

The claw-shaped scars pointed in a consistent direction, marking the way forward. Sei-rin recalled the brief conversation she had before entering the forest.

‘They said an intelligence agent lost contact while pursuing a reincarnator…’

These must be traces left by that agent. Sei-rin continued following the markings. The humid, sticky environment naturally evoked disgust.

Her small frame proved quite helpful in navigating the forest. She could slip through dense undergrowth without getting caught. She utilized paths created by small animals to move forward.

The predators she occasionally encountered posed no significant problem. Wild beasts naturally recognize the stronger being. Even without showing it explicitly, they can sense the aura and accumulated bloodshed in one’s body. That’s survival instinct.

Those without survival instinct are destined to perish. That’s the law of nature. Predators that met Sei-rin’s gaze lowered their posture and waited for her to pass.

Thud-

‘This is…’

Sei-rin stared at the skeleton before her. It was a decoration made from animal bones, tied together with rope crafted from plant stems found in the forest.

It resembled ritual tools made by tribal shamans.

Wild animals living in the forest couldn’t possibly create such objects. Moreover, this wasn’t the kind of marker the Empire’s Intelligence Department would leave.

It must certainly be a trace left by the reincarnator.

Sei-rin didn’t approach the strange decoration hastily. Through personal experience and knowledge acquired at headquarters, she knew that objects created by reincarnators often possessed mysterious powers.

‘Hoo…’

She closed her eyes and concentrated. The mana rotating near her heart began to extend outward, carrying a chilling coldness.

She expanded her perception range using a variation of the Emperor Sword technique. Instead of dominating the space, she merely extended her senses. She could feel the flow of air, the movement of small insects, and the direction of water streams flowing along the ground. Sei-rin sensed a faint ominous energy.

‘A trap…’

Relying on her senses, she drew her sword and swung. A swift, pure white flash cut through the ominous decoration lying in a straight line before her.

There was no sound. Parts of the severed decoration fell naturally to the ground and scattered. Above them, a faint flame flickered and disappeared.

She had heard that reincarnators wielded a technique called necromancy. They summoned the dead, bound them to this world, and drew power from them.

Some said it was similar to the sorcery of the Astrins, but to Sei-rin, it was an entirely different power. Sorcery was a technique performed through communion with spirits. Without the help of spirits, a sorcerer could do nothing.

It was different from necromancy, which forcibly drew power.

‘What a repulsive power…’

The dead should rest in peace. Sei-rin felt anger rising at the practice of necromancy, which forcibly summoned those who had departed to the netherworld and exploited their power.

As she moved deeper into the forest, the frequency of strange decorations created by the reincarnator increased. Sometimes, bizarre creatures using corpses as vessels wandered the forest, neither truly alive nor dead.

Sei-rin glared at the beast before her. Despite having its belly torn open with entrails spilling out, its limbs continued to move.

This wasn’t the only one. She encountered them frequently. Behind her path lay piles of rotting animal corpses.

These creatures continued moving even with severed arms and legs. They moved unhindered despite damaged internal organs. They crawled on bones when their muscles were blown away. Even without heads, they persisted.

Only when completely dismembered and scattered did they stop moving.

She had heard that this person was researching necromancy using human corpses. Sei-rin imagined her comrades buried in the snow moving while alive.

‘How horrific.’

This was someone who shouldn’t be allowed to live. Sei-rin increased her pace.

Just as she sat on a wide rock for a brief rest, a small bird flew onto a tree opposite her.

Swoosh-

A silent slash cut through the misty vapor and severed the bird’s body. White frost settled on the branch as the bird’s dismembered body fell to the ground.

Splash-

Despite being cut precisely in half, the bird continued moving. It flapped its wings and glared with red eyes. Sei-rin sensed a strange gaze beyond it. Not a bird’s gaze, but a human’s.

“Are you watching?”

No answer came. She hadn’t expected one either. Rising from her seat, Sei-rin looked around.

Her keen senses detected the movements of various animals, large and small. She normally wouldn’t pay much attention to mice, snakes, or small birds, but now she couldn’t afford such luxury.

She realized these creatures could serve as the reincarnator’s eyes. They were constantly monitoring her position. That meant uncertainty. The reincarnator must be somewhere nearby.

‘Judging by their reluctance to confront me directly, they’re not particularly strong…’

The Empire’s Intelligence Department likely made the same assessment, which is why they dispatched only a mid-level agent. Sei-rin changed her approach.

She lowered her posture and altered her breathing. She incorporated beast-like movements into her body. Like when traversing the white snowfields, she separated thought from action.

Her rapidly advancing body climbed up a tree. Her light frame performed movements beyond human capability without strain. Since gaining control over mana, physical limitations had almost disappeared.

She stepped on branches without breaking them. When stepping on platforms that couldn’t bear her weight, she released small amounts of mana to lighten herself.

Sei-rin leaped between trees while expanding her perception. As she changed her movement method, the entire forest began to stir. Animals large and small moved en masse as if pursuing her.

Sei-rin expanded her perception and focused on these movements, sensing the faintly connected ominous power and tracking its source.

Flutter-!

Birds flew in from all directions, spreading their wings and swinging their talons to block Sei-rin’s path. Though somewhat threatening, they couldn’t impede her movement.

A casually swung slash produced a white wind that severed the birds’ wings.

As she drew closer, the number of undead increased exponentially. The stench of rotting corpses swirled, and special characters drawn in blood appeared throughout the forest.

These characters emitted an eerie light. They must play some role in maintaining the necromancy. Sei-rin took out a small pen from her pocket. Though not originally intended as a throwing weapon, nothing else was more appropriate now.

“Hoo…”

Mana infused with biting cold surged through her body toward her fingertips. When the swirling cold energy transferred to the pen tip, Sei-rin threw it.

Swish-!

The rapidly flying pen rotated slightly before hitting a large tree and bursting. The ink that flowed out spread widely, covering the glowing red characters.

At that moment, a bird flew in front of Sei-rin. Unlike before, it maintained a certain distance, showing no intention to attack.

Then, a human voice emerged from the bird’s mouth.

[Stop!]

Sei-rin wasn’t one to stop on command. As she slightly raised her sword hand, the bird hastily continued.

[L-let’s negotiate!]

“Negotiate…?”

[Yes! Negotiate!]

While conversing with the bird, Sei-rin maintained her widely expanded perception. If her concentration wavered, the mana boundary would shrink. This meant she needed more mental discipline.

All movement in the forest ceased. Sei-rin tilted her head slightly and said:

“Speak. What do you offer for this negotiation?”

[A-a reasonable opponent… Good. Leave this forest immediately. In return, I’ll remove an evil spirit that’s attached to your body.]

Sei-rin’s eyebrows twitched significantly. An evil spirit attached to her body? She had a suspicion.

“Can you see souls?”

[Yes, I can. I see it. Another soul attached to your body. It’s dormant now, but someday it will try to steal your body. You must have noticed it too? That your body isn’t growing properly.]

“Is that the reason for my stunted growth?”

[The body grows with the soul. When the connection between soul and body is misaligned, the body naturally develops abnormalities.]

“You know quite a lot. But why should I trust you?”

[I’ll initiate a soul contract. If one breaks a contract sworn upon the soul, that soul will…]

Sei-rin let the bird’s words—the reincarnator’s words—drift past her. Her widely expanded perception detected a strange movement. She could sense the person’s breathing, blood flowing through veins, and the small sounds created by rustling clothes. Sei-rin immediately kicked off the ground.

[W-wait!]

The desperate voice followed behind her, but that was all. The small girl’s body rushed forward relentlessly. White frost settled with each step she took.

Her charge was like a dragon’s. The frost emanating from her body burst forth sharply in a straight line.

Bang-!

Sei-rin stopped and looked back. A gloomy man in a robe was clutching where his heart should be, coughing up blood.

“Kugh…”

One strike had pierced his chest. He wouldn’t survive.

Sei-rin looked down at the collapsing man with cold eyes. He had called her sister’s soul an evil spirit. This ignorant person…

“Ah, the evil spirit will… will devour you…!”

The blood-choked voice continued faintly. The reincarnator’s dying words carried a strange power.

In that moment, Sei-rin felt something spreading inside her body, gently pushing away the approaching force. For an instant, her physical sensations dimmed.

“Sei-ran…?”

The absent-mindedly uttered name dissipated futilely. Sei-rin embraced her body—her sister’s body.

“So you were there…”