Ch.96Black Starlight

‘Should I have targeted both of them…? No, there wasn’t enough leeway…’

The dawn wind swirls together with the shattered starlight. Sei-Erin was lost in thought alone. Her hair, flowing with the flickering starlight, was gradually returning to its original color. The dye that had colored her hair was washing away due to the massive battle and the power of the shattered starlight.

Sei-Erin had only a moment’s respite. Her instinct told her she needed to target one of them—either the reincarnator using Hakam’s body or Handel, who had suddenly been enveloped in starlight.

In the end, Sei-Erin chose Hakam. Until the moment the sword left her hand, she never doubted her choice. This was the result.

Sei-Erin caught her breath and looked around. The dust of shattered starlight drifted slowly on the wind. Clouds of starlight wrapped around the towering mountain peak.

Each time she followed the traces of starlight, she felt a mysterious otherworldliness and an inexplicable sense of foreboding. This was the first mark left on this world by the birth of a reincarnator.

Sei-Erin concentrated the surrounding wind above her right hand. Slowly swirling together, the gathered starlight formed a sphere with the wind. As Sei-Erin carefully grasped it, the wind and starlight faded away above her small hand.

Sei-Erin, wrapped in wind and starlight, created a mystical atmosphere. It began as her hair gradually washed clean, returning to its snow-white color. The children who hadn’t lost consciousness after the falling star couldn’t dare open their mouths.

Because the sight was so beautiful, they feared that if they spoke, the girl before their eyes might disappear. It felt as if they had arrived in a different dimension, detached from this world.

Everyone present shared similar sentiments.

With each breath the small girl took, the gathered starlight dispersed. Sei-Erin’s gaze turned toward the base of the mountain. She sensed the instructors finally approaching. Those who had initially headed toward the mountain peak in time had all been killed by Hakam’s hand.

The red blood was hardening. The pungent smell of blood remained clear and unmistakable. Sei-Erin moved toward her brother, who lay fallen on the cold earth.

Hakam’s body, with its pierced chest, didn’t move at all. The traces of magic that had been emitting faint light had also lost their glow. Even the faint sound of breathing that had been audible had stopped.

Death.

Sei-Erin had delivered death to her brother once again. As her footsteps reached Hakam’s side, her small hand drew out the sword.

Not a single drop of blood stained the clearly visible blade of the Moon Sword. After glancing briefly at the children one last time, Sei-Erin turned away. As the swirling wind gently enveloped Sei-Erin and Hakam, both figures instantly vanished.

***

In a darkened room, the Emperor of the Karma Empire sat in a chair, staring at the object before him. A loom that emitted its own light despite the absence of illumination was slowly turning.

The golden threads stretching into the void were faint at their ends, as if connected to somewhere beyond this world. The loom was continuing to spin, receiving threads from beyond.

The Emperor touched his lips. His golden eyes scattered light similar to the threads.

“The future…”

A small voice flowed out, filling the room. Eventually, the Emperor rose from his seat and reached toward the loom. His fingers, wrapped in golden energy, grasped the tangled threads.

“Hmm…”

The threads were chaotically tangled. It meant that the predetermined future had changed. Though it was quite a serious matter, the Emperor’s expression remained largely unchanged. Among the threads hanging from his grasp, one strand gleamed with white light.

“Should we cut it out?”

The Emperor turned his head at the question from behind him. There stood an old man, bowing his head, who had been standing without making any sound, as if merged with the darkness.

“No. I think it will be fine.”

The Emperor answered. The loom continued to turn without stopping.

***

During mission execution, engaged with a reincarnator. Successfully eliminated him but failed to prevent the birth of a new reincarnator. By this agent’s judgment, the mission is deemed a failure, and all activities in the Bikrom Kingdom are suspended.

Choosing to depart from the current mission area rather than return, in order to pursue the newly born reincarnator. No additional support necessary; will return to headquarters if tracking period exceeds one week.

Sei-Erin-

Having returned to her original form, Sei-Erin immediately wrote her report and sent it to the Karma Empire along with Hakam’s body. Normally, no courier would accept transporting a human corpse, but this was resolved using the power of the Imperial Intelligence Bureau scattered throughout the country.

Before leaving the Bikrom Kingdom, Sei-Erin took one last look at the Elementary Division of the Knight Training Institute. There were many children she had grown attached to during her time there, however long or short it might have been.

Though it pained her to part with them without saying goodbye, it couldn’t be helped. Sei-Erin turned around and draped her cloak over her shoulders. The cloak, spread out like the night sky, settled over the small girl’s shoulders with a flutter.

Immediately after, Sei-Erin’s figure disappeared.

Her choice to track Handel had no special reason. Having lived together for an extended period, she had become familiar with Handel’s scent. Even at a distance, she could detect the body scent carried by the wind.

Sei-Erin began moving, following that scent.

It is said that when a reincarnator is born, the soul of the original body’s owner is extinguished. However, that doesn’t mean the body’s information changes. The body scent carried by the wind was moving.

It meant that Handel’s body was still alive, that the reincarnator was moving toward somewhere else. Sei-Erin couldn’t move at full speed. A reincarnator who handled starlight from birth—she couldn’t accurately gauge his abilities, so she had to maintain optimal condition.

The sun and moon rose and set repeatedly over Sei-Erin’s head. Though Handel was moving quickly, she couldn’t shake off Sei-Erin’s pace. The girl, wrapped in wind, ran forward like a crouching wolf.

On the fourth day after leaving the Bikrom Kingdom, Sei-Erin discovered Handel standing at the top of a large mountain. She was wrapped in faint starlight, just as before.

*Rustle*

In such an open place, a surprise attack would be meaningless. Sei-Erin carefully landed at the edge of the mountain peak.

Handel, who had been standing alone in the moonlight, turned around. She exuded a completely different atmosphere than before. Her deeply sunken gaze and clothes fluttering with starlight, her carelessly disheveled hair giving off a mature aura.

The reincarnator who had taken over Handel’s body spoke.

“I don’t think you’ve come with good intentions, little one. Why are you so angry?”

She remembered the girl who, just days ago, had approached her calling her Rona, her friend. Sei-Erin suppressed the disgust rising within her and placed her hand on her sword.

It was chilling to hear a completely different manner of speech in her friend’s voice.

“I’ve come to take that body back.”

“Take it back? This body…?”

The reincarnator who had taken over Handel’s body trailed off. Having personally taken over the body, she knew better than anyone what had happened to the girl who originally possessed it.

“This body, that is… Handel, was it? It seems this child was your friend… But unfortunately…”

It’s impossible. The reincarnator said this while spreading both arms.

“How about this? Rona, why don’t you treat me as Handel, just like before? I think of it this way: having completely inherited her memories and body, I too am Handel.”

“What are you—”

“I’ll even be your lover if you want. Since that’s what Handel desired.”

“…”

Sei-Erin closed her mouth. She already knew that reincarnators’ mental states weren’t normal, but this was the first time she had encountered such a case. As Sei-Erin remained silent, the reincarnator spoke again.

“It seems quite good. I was just taking a liking to you… Lady Rona… no, Rona. What do you think?”

As she continued speaking, the reincarnator’s gestures and manner of speech adjusted in real-time. The completed form was the Handel that Sei-Erin remembered.

It sent chills down her spine. Instead of answering, Sei-Erin assumed the combat stance of the White Frost Tribe.

*Swoosh*

“Hmm. Handel, no, I don’t want to fight you…”

The next moment, the two girls’ figures clashed at the midpoint.

*Crash!*

A hand wrapped in wind and a hand wrapped in starlight collided in midair. As they pushed against each other’s power, releasing rough energy waves, the starlight carried by the wind swept across the surrounding terrain.

*Crack! Crack-crack!*

It was like sharp claws raking across the ground. Sei-Erin didn’t back down. She realized from the first clash—this was a fight she could handle. Seeing Handel’s slightly distorted expression, it seemed the power being used hadn’t fully settled into Handel’s body yet.

‘I need to end this here.’

In a split second, dozens of exchanges followed. With each clash, it was Handel who was pushed back. Frowning, she stepped back and rotated her hands as if gathering something.

*Zing!*

The starlight gathered in her two hands collided, causing a violent explosion. Sei-Erin had to hastily retreat, wrapped in wind. She was pushed back more than five steps.

As the sparkling light of the explosion faded, Handel emerged from beyond it. In her right hand, a sword crafted from starlight emitted a clear light.

“I’ll just cut your tendons, Rona.”

*Shiver*

Sei-Erin’s expression contorted. The next moment, Sei-Erin’s fist and Handel’s starlight sword clashed.

*Flash*