Ch.50Ruins of Another World

I had to make a choice. Either go back and request support, or trust my instincts and pursue the reincarnator. Which would be better? In truth, it wasn’t even a dilemma worth contemplating.

My hatred for the reincarnator was immense and burning hot. But that hatred wasn’t greater than my feelings for my sister. This was an area where it was impossible to predict what might jump out next. There could even be traps set by the reincarnator who had gone ahead.

Turning back to request support was the sensible choice right now.

“AAAAHHH!”

“HIEEEEK!”

Just as Seo-rin was about to retrieve the evidence and turn around, two mages fell from the sky with screams.

Seo-rin launched herself immediately. There was no hesitation or deliberation in her actions. The black cloak behind the small girl’s rapidly moving body spread like mist.

“Kek…!”

“Huek…!”

Her small hands grabbed the napes of both people’s necks. Brief screams escaped because of this, but Seo-rin didn’t pay much attention.

The landing point was more of a concern. In the Fairy Forest, control of mana that flowed outside the body becomes scattered. This meant it was impossible to change direction by releasing mana and using its impact.

Seo-rin rotated her body and landed softly on a fairly thick tree branch.

Thud-

Crack-

At the same time, an ominous noise was heard. The branch, which would have been strong enough for Seo-rin alone, couldn’t withstand the added weight of the two mages.

Before Seo-rin could react, the branch broke with a snap!

“Oh no…!”

The small girl and the two mages began to fall. Seo-rin immediately rotated her body to guide the direction of the fall. Fortunately, the spacing between the grown trees wasn’t too far.

Tap- Clack-

Each time her small feet in walkers touched a branch or the straight stem of a giant plant, their falling speed noticeably slowed.

It was at that moment. Seo-rin felt a considerable flow of mana from her right hand. Sheive, whose neck she was holding, was using magic.

“Ugh…! May the l-lightness of feathers dwell in this body…!”

Though the incantation wasn’t completed, the magic didn’t fail. The magic activated by Sheive moved the mana and drew out its power.

The manifested mystery gently wrapped around the three falling people.

“This is…”

“Ahem… Thank you for helping, but there was no need. With magic, we can greatly reduce falling speed, you see.”

“Thanks… though it wasn’t much help…”

Seo-rin didn’t focus on what the two were saying. Or rather, she couldn’t. A strange energy felt from all directions was giving her inspiration.

Faint and shallow. Yet it couldn’t be ignored. She felt a strange familiarity from the two unrelated disciplines of magic and sorcery.

‘Emperor Sword Form…’

A martial art she had acquired through memories from another dimension. It possessed a concept closer to sorcery than swordsmanship. At least, that’s how Seo-rin herself judged it.

A martial art positioned somewhere between sorcery and magic. It seemed almost within grasp yet remained out of reach. That’s why it was frustrating. She had a feeling that if given just a small clue, something would race through her mind at lightning speed.

‘Even in the Fairy Forest, something…’

A faint thread connected to the Fairy Forest as well. In the midst of thought upon thought, Seo-rin realized she had landed on the ground.

“What a curious place, a forest beyond a forest. The Magic Tower investigated the Fairy Forest, but we never discovered a place like this…”

“Um… could you let go of this?”

The two people, now free from Seo-rin’s grip, straightened their clothes and looked around. The mages’ eyes, imbued with mana, emitted a soft light even in the darkness.

Seo-rin turned and looked up at the massive tree wall. The top of the gigantic wall that soared endlessly into the sky was not visible.

‘Too high…’

She couldn’t even think of climbing up while carrying the two. Seo-rin asked, just in case:

“Can you fly through the air with that magic of yours?”

“Of course! It’s possible, but… flight magic has poor efficiency and can’t be maintained for long. Three seconds at most?”

“And the speed?”

“Not very fast either. Think of it as about as fast as we can jump with all our might.”

Seo-rin let out a small sigh. It didn’t seem like they could cross the wall using magic. This meant they couldn’t go back. They needed to find another way.

“This isn’t good. I was planning to go back and request support…”

“What’s there to worry about? They say the combination of knight and mage is invincible. If you protect us properly, what is there to fear?”

Too optimistic. Or perhaps it was confidence from his own abilities. While it was better than being intimidated, it didn’t make the frustration go away.

Seo-rin kept her mouth firmly shut.

“Lead the way, Sir Knight. I’m eager to explore this unknown space quickly.”

“If it’s an area even the Magic Tower hasn’t discovered, it would be recorded as a high achievement, right? And if we can catch the reincarnator too, I might get promoted…!”

Seo-rin stared blankly at the two before walking forward. This was a problem caused by lack of communication. If she had shouted for them to wait before jumping down, this wouldn’t have happened.

This meant she bore some responsibility too. Seo-rin silently searched for a path.

“This grass… it looks similar to green deer hooves but a bit different… The root structure is unfamiliar too…”

“This bug is full of mana…? If dried and processed properly, it could be used as a mana supplement.”

Throughout the search for a path, Sheive and Envy showed great interest in everything around them. They would walk a little, stop, crouch down, and open their notebooks. They even dug into the soil to extract plant roots.

All of it was irritating. Seo-rin couldn’t hold back and spoke up.

“Our mission is to eliminate the reincarnator. Could you please focus a bit more?”

“Ah, I haven’t forgotten. But how can we just pass by things like this?”

“That’s right. Everything here is a treasure.”

Seo-rin couldn’t understand their attitude. And the two mages felt the same about her. A dissonance arising from different perspectives. Different backgrounds and different situations.

Seo-rin placed her hand on her sword. It wasn’t to cut down the two. Since falling down here, she had been continuously looking for an escape route. But something else had approached faster than that. The scent of the reincarnator.

Sheive and Envy weren’t oblivious. They read the suddenly changed atmosphere. The knight’s hand on her sword meant there was an enemy nearby.

The two mages held their breath and drew out their wands.

Seo-rin gauged the opponent’s position through the scent carried by the wind. The flow wasn’t consistent. As if indicating that the target was moving around here and there, the scent kept breaking and reconnecting.

This meant the enemy hadn’t detected their position. Seo-rin quietly drew her sword.

The white blade, drawn without a sound, was traversed by the faint image of a white dragon. Normally, a chilling cold would have swirled around it, but such phenomena didn’t occur in the Fairy Forest.

The target was unaware of her very existence. In contrast, she knew even their location. These were perfect conditions for an ambush.

“It’s the reincarnator. I’ll clear the way, so follow quickly and provide support…”

Seo-rin immediately turned her body. The girl, moving in a lowered stance as if sliding, melted into the undergrowth.

Rustle- Rustle-

Seo-rin didn’t run normally. She had to maintain a low posture to minimize exposure. In other words, she ran like a four-legged beast.

This was familiar to Seo-rin. She often ran like this when she needed to cover long distances urgently. It was a normal sight for a White Frost tribe warrior.

As her speed increased, the surrounding scenery stretched longer. The moment the small girl’s body burst out of the dark undergrowth, a considerably wide space opened up.

‘Enemy…!’

Seo-rin’s gaze quickly scanned the area, locating the enemy’s position. On top of a small tree stump, sat someone covered in a robe.

The state of the robe was miserable, as if they had gone through all sorts of hardships to get here. It was frayed, scorched, and torn in various places.

There was no need to doubt the target’s identity. In this forest now, apart from Seo-rin and the two mages, there was only one person.

As soon as she recognized the opponent, Seo-rin extended her sword. Tremendous force was put into the snow-white blade that flew in a straight line.

With mana-based property changes impossible now, she had to subdue the opponent with pure strength alone.

Dragon Flash-

Like the momentum of a dragon sprouting along a ridge. Seo-rin’s sword rushed toward the reincarnator.

It was at that moment. Just before the extended blade touched the reincarnator’s body, something snow-white surged from beneath the tattered robe.

Clang-!

‘Clang…?’

Something unexpected sprang out from under the robe. What the reincarnator had drawn was a sword made of carved bone. That’s why her reaction was delayed.

Clang-clang-!

Snow-white sparks fly as the two swords twist in a test of strength. Seo-rin immediately rotated her body and landed on the ground.

Swoosh-

At that moment, the reincarnator’s arm approached Seo-rin. She felt the flow of mana. Rapidly gathered mana began to rotate, forming a strong current.

‘Wind…!’

Seo-rin didn’t retreat. Instead, she advanced forward and threw her left fist. Mana that raced from her heart swirled at the end of her fist, carrying a chilling cold.

Boom-!

Magic and fist collided. It was the reincarnator who was pushed back. Watching the fluttering robe fly away, Seo-rin looked down at her left hand.

Red blood dripped from her limp arm. The sturdy uniform sleeve was completely torn. The snow-white skin revealed underneath was covered in wounds as if cut by a knife.

‘I made a mistake…’

Seo-rin belatedly recalled the content written in the Blue Wing manual. When fighting a reincarnator, one should always keep in mind the unpredictable nature of the situation.

She tried moving her left hand. Each finger moved as she willed. This meant the nerves weren’t damaged. The wounds were also shallow, so there was no problem in fighting. Seo-rin gripped her sword with both hands.

A fierce smile appeared on her lips.

It was then. Familiar presences approached from behind Seo-rin. Sheive and Envy, who had been following, had arrived.