episode_0057

*****

Souls exist in this world. If you had said something like this in the old world, everyone would have looked at you like you were crazy.

But not here. It is common knowledge that humans have a soul, and there are even theories about it. Foods that are good for stamina Foods that are good for the soul, like foods that are good for hair loss, are also being circulated publicly. Of course, they are all cheap and ineffective.

The greatest contribution to the development of such spiritual studies is the existence of soul poetry. Soul poetry is literally the power to see the soul, and when I was active in Korea, I used to suffer from various prejudices and discrimination.

Of course, over the past 10 years, a lot of that has disappeared and is said to be almost non-existent today. Rather, its value can be said to be infinitely high as it is useful in all sorts of areas, such as soul research, crime investigation, and psychological treatment.

So, it was a mistake to judge that he was a probationer based on Quickle’s soul poetry. When I see subtle changes in common sense, I feel like time has passed.

“So, the reason you were judged as a protection inspector is because of witchcraft?”

“… Yes.”

Nodding, the small head in front tilted.

The value of soul poetry is high. On the other hand, it also means that there is no need to be a hero. Cyclops, who does not have a particularly strong sense of justice or likes fighting, seemed to be a hero because of the magic she had learned.

“If I work hard to learn magic, I might be able to follow in my master’s footsteps.”

“Do you think you have a lot of respect for your teacher?”

“Yes. I don’t know what Master thinks, but I think of myself as a mother.”

From here, I can only see the back of the person with the hood over his head, but the sincerity is evident in his voice. When I heard those words, I had quite complicated feelings.

That’s because, as far as I know, the only heroes who use magic are priestesses. Once you reach the age where you can hear the word “mother,” it is no different from certainty.

When I think of becoming classmates with the child of an old colleague, there is something like this indescribable feeling. I feel like my longing for the past and memories of my colleagues have been overlaid with a sense of self-destruction.

Just as I was feeling that uncomfortable feeling, Cyclops also strangely stiffened. Because of our interactions so far, he stopped thinking of me as a murderer, but I still felt troubled in my soul.

Well, I’m still used to this attitude. As I said, most of the soul city owners I worked with felt this way. Except for the priestess.

I think it’s probably because of things that happened while I was on active duty, but I don’t know the exact cause. The problem is not that you can’t guess, but that you guess too much.

“Wait, wait. There is a magic ahead.”

“Yes. I’ll leave it to you.”

In that way, even though we felt awkward with each other, the process went smoothly. The conversations between them also had their own sense of intimacy.

Even if there are some awkward parts, if you include those and become friends, everything will work out. There was a reward in not neglecting exchanges at school.

“It’s too much. Be quiet. It eats me.”

So, if we think of this sale as an expression of love, wouldn’t it be more like a reward? I had a mental victory and ran, hugging Quicle.

When I teamed up with Quickle, the other kids looked at him with sympathy. But looking at it now, I would like to argue that I should have been viewed with sympathy.

See, since his eyes are closed, there is no mental damage. On the other hand, I am steadily taking dot damage from the horse’s blade.

I want to believe that the reason Quickle looks slightly amused is because of his mood.

After one-shot-two-killing the wolf girl and Mr. Ryan by kicking from behind, I picked up Quickle and ran. This is because I decided that it would be better to quickly support the other kids than to hide in vain since the intruder’s presence was discovered anyway.

As I followed Quickle’s directions and passed the crossroads, I felt a familiar energy ahead. In retaliation for selling, he threw a few quibbles into the air.

“It’s arriving soon.”

“… Wow.”

Of course, Quickle landed lightly. There are some really flat screams.

Judging by the energy, the people in front were Raon, Mare, and something unpleasant. However, the amount of energy was smaller than expected, so the battle may have reached a lull. After explaining that to Quickle, I entered the floor… .

The sight inside the floor was quite unexpected.

“Fafnir, over there. There is an uncle.”

“No. Never go there.”

A very faint divine power was felt through the horn. Moreover, the area around here was a mess, but the man was just staring into space.

I can assure you. That’s definitely something that couldn’t be undone.

Other than that, no other personnel were seen on the floor. Only after checking that did I approach Raon and Mair, who had collapsed.

A mare lying in an almost upright position. Raon collapsed on top of him. Quickle took a small breath as the pool of blood spread around him.

“Quickle, please provide security around here for a moment. Especially watch out for that guy.”

“Yes… . sorry. Leave it to me… .”

Wounds are common in the aftermath of battle, but puddles of blood are not common. Even an awakened person will die if he bleeds this much.

Fortunately, judging from the energy felt by both Mere and Raon, their lives were not in danger. Raon probably poured all his magical energy into the healing magic. Looking at Raon’s pale face, it seemed as if he had used up almost every last drop of his magic power.

Even if they are not awakened, creatures basically have magical powers. If you use that magic power beyond its limit, you will experience magic power depletion.

The depletion of magical power itself can be cured if left alone for a day. However, although her life was not immediately in danger, Mair’s wounds could be considered serious enough. In addition, it was impossible to remain depleted in magical power in this hostile territory.

In the end, I decided to take special measures.

“Quickle, I’m sorry, but can you look over here for a moment?”

“… If possible, I don’t want to see it in person.”

“Sorry. It’s important.”

Quickle hesitated, but looked straight at me. The small, rabbit-like face immediately contorted in disgust.

Fortunately, I felt the magical energy boiling within my body as intended. If the number of gazes is insufficient, you have no choice but to make up for it with quality. I slightly lifted Raon’s head, which was lying down under Quicle’s strong gaze.

“What on earth are you doing──!?!?”

I didn’t see it with my own eyes, but it probably looked like I was extremely surprised. All kinds of emotions were conveyed through Quickle’s gaze. In addition to the original disgust, there was shock, confusion, and very little interest—no, that last one was a little weird, huh?

Anyway, Quickle was very confused. It’s worth it. Because I have now kissed Raon. Moreover, the tongue is slightly inserted between the lips.

Of course, I hope there is no misunderstanding. This is a forced transfer of magical power through mucosal contact. In other words, it is the same as artificial respiration.

However, this method is terribly inefficient if you haven’t learned something like the Bangjung technique. Of course, there was no way I was learning something like that, so I needed to amplify my magical power in order to wake Raon.

The result is this unintentional public artificial respiration, or rather, the transfer of artificial magical power.

I feel like my head is ringing. At the same time, I felt my magic power draining away. I quickly removed my lips before I too ran out of magical energy.

Raon woke up as he snatched the stretched thread with his sleeve. His pale complexion became healthy again. No, beyond looking healthy, it seemed like he was completely red.

“Ha… . Army’s, Jinhae… .”

“Is it dark!?”

“It’s about magic, calm down. Didn’t you learn it at school?”

“I’ve heard about it, but… .”

According to Quickle, if you are not skilled in manipulating magic, the magic may rip apart the injured person’s body, so he does not teach it. … Now that I think about it, there were some side effects. It’s okay because it’s Raon.

While Raon was wandering under the influence of the sudden magical power, I finished providing first aid to Mare. Fortunately, Raon quickly came to his senses.

“Fafnir… ? And, Quickle? ──Ah. Me, me!”

As soon as I came to my senses, I stretched out my hand to stop Mair from running towards me. I spoke with a sigh to Raon, who looked up at me with puzzled eyes.

“First, meditate. Because I literally only gave him enough magical power to make him conscious. Mair put out the fire and provided first aid, so it will be okay for a short while.”

“Well, is that so? It’ll be okay… ?”

Raon looked down at Mare with concern, but soon closed his eyes to recover his magic power. It won’t recover that quickly, but at least it will be much better than what I gave.

Anyway, I never thought Raon would be this anxious. Of course, it was a serious injury that brought him close to death, but that alone feels a bit excessive.

Was this an injury suffered while trying to protect Raon, or was Raon the cause? Maybe it’s both.

After guessing the situation like that, Raon’s recovery was somewhat complete. I heard about what had happened from Raon, who had begun to cast recovery magic on Mare again.

“Yes, that’s what Cat said.”

“Yes… .”

How shocking is it that Cat did something like this because she wanted more power? In fact, Raon seemed to still be scarred by Cat’s betrayal.

… Well, I wasn’t that shocked. After listening to the reason why a villain became a villain for 20 years, I honestly get the feeling that it is there.

What do you choose at important moments? In the end, that’s just the problem.

I focused on the other side rather than that. If you listen to Raon’s story, it is said that the man has now become a monster. The problem was that its characteristics were similar to monsters I knew.

The part where you can subtly feel divine power, the part that repeats only extremely simple desires, and even the appearance. It was almost the same symptom as when I failed to awaken after taking Genesis’ monster transformation medicine.

Honestly, I thought that even if it was a human experiment, it was simply inhumane. However, if Genesis is involved, the story is very different.

There is no way that an ordinary company could already make a monster-turning drug with its technological capabilities. In other words, it is safe to say that the probability that there is some kind of transaction between this pharmaceutical company and Genesis is almost 100 percent.

However, just now, agents of Genesis came to our side, and from what I heard, to Raon’s side, and started a battle.

Make a deal with the other person and then attack in reverse. There is nothing strange about it if you think of it as a backstabbing operation. But that Genesis? Why bother dealing with a company like this? There must be another reason here.

My brain isn’t that good. However, even Seodanggae can predict the behavior of an opponent who has been fighting for ten years just because he or she can recite Pungwol every three years.

I looked around again, but didn’t see the Genesis fighter Raon had mentioned. If he had regained consciousness, he would not have left Raon and Mare alone, so he guessed that he must have been summoned using some kind of method.

And then I thought of some worst possibilities.

“Raon, how much longer do you think Mair’s treatment will take?”

“I think I will recover enough to move in about 5 minutes.”

“Okay… .”

I suppressed the nervousness that rose up at the answer of 5 minutes. It hasn’t been confirmed yet, so there’s nothing to be too anxious about. This problem will be resolved if we join the other kids and get out of the lab quickly.

In an instant, my gaze shifted to one of the entrances. It was the same entrance that Quickle and I entered. Sure enough, before long, a human figure jumped out from there.

He stopped Quicle, who was about to enter a combat stance, with one hand. Standing leaning against the wall near the entrance was Mr. Ryan. Not only was the injury serious, but the beast-human potential had been released in the first place.

Since he showed up during the attack, he must have known that it was me who had ambushed him. But I didn’t feel any negative feelings towards me from those gazes.

Rather, as I approached, Mr. Ryan knelt down towards me and said this.

“Please, save Sang-eun… .”

Who is that again!?

***

Cooung, cooung. In a place that could be called a concentration camp for monsters, a loud roar continued to echo. It was the sound of monsters bound by shadows being thrown back into their original prison.

“It’s easier than you think if you just seal the five senses.”

“That would only apply to you who deal with the devil. Rather, where did the person who proposed it go?”

Jabberwock looked around and found Chae Sa-hee. It was she who taught him that blocking the five senses was the best way to subdue monsters.

It was a situation where everyone knew information about the monsters in advance. However, there was no reason to reject the information received. After going through several verifications, the trainer and Jabberwalk divided their roles by sealing and restraining each other’s five senses and subdued the monsters.

Of course, it was impossible to pay attention to Chae Sa-hee’s location one by one while being busy. All I can say is that when I came to, it was gone.

“Leave it alone. If I tell you where I’m going, can I stop you?”

“… Tsk. You like that──”

Jabberwock tried to respond to his trainer’s nerve-racking words. But suddenly, the trainer’s head turned to one side.

“Hey. Two people are coming. The direction is the direction Surtur ran out of.”

“… !”

After hearing the story, Jabberwock immediately moved to one of the entrances. To greet Surtur who returned from the battle——not. Just in case, it’s an enemy.

Fortunately, it was Surtur who came in from the entrance. When the lab seemed empty, he tilted his head and opened his mouth.

“Jabberwalk──! Trainer──! There’s no one──?”

“So please lower your voice!”

Jabberwock jumped out, frightened by Surtur’s overly bold actions. The trainer also sighs and walks out.

The two people who came out stopped for a moment when they saw Surtur. Surtur’s original dark red hair had bright red bridges.

No fool would dye his hair in the middle of enemy territory. In other words, that meant that there had been some change in Surtur. It was quite common for the growth or wounds of the soul to show up in the body.

“Are you okay?”

“Huh? what? Oh, you mean this person?”

“No, your hair. Some parts are red.”

Jabberwock took a picture with his cell phone for Surtur, who was confused and unaware of it. Surt was surprised to see his hair change.

“First of all, it’s a good thing. The special training I’ve been doing with Fafnir has paid off. I never thought it would turn out like this.”

“That’s enough, just explain about this guy.”

The trainer urged the beast dragged by Surtur by tapping it with his foot. The upper body, which most clearly reveals the characteristics of a prisoner, was almost completely burnt, so it was impossible to tell what kind of prisoner it was.

“That’s a hatter.”

“Hatter? this? Did that person have Lee Hyeong-gye’s potential?”

“To be precise──”

The painter briefly explained what had happened. The battle with the Hatter, the Hatter’s potential, the reality of reinforcements, and even your own awakening.

The trainer who heard the story sneered.

“In the end, I was awakened by medicine. If the opponent hadn’t misunderstood your potential, you would have died.”

“If you think about it that way, who would have thought that Multiple Potential would be a researcher? And I could have survived even if I wasn’t awakened.”

Surtur even thought about forcibly inflating the flame if he had to. Of course, Surtur’s soul would not have been intact after doing something like that, so if he was bluffing, it was a bluff.

“Still, it felt like I had been burned by an ordinary flame. Is this a stronger effect?”

“I feel like I can now do many things, including that. I’ll tell you more details later.”

“Isn’t it rather weakened?”

After that, a bit of bickering continued. They were waiting for the beastman’s unique recovery ability to recover from the burns inflicted by Surtur. Of course, recovery is only slightly better than that of humans, with some exceptions.

In the end, the trainer couldn’t stand it and slapped the Hatter in the face. Hatter opened her eyes with a groan and, without realizing it, pressed against the wall as three men were glaring at her.

“Now, wait a minute. You guys are heroes!? Is it okay to scare people like this!?”

“Mister, it looks like you don’t understand the situation. Just looking at this guy’s tail, he’s going to be in prison for the rest of his life, right? From what I’ve heard, I heard that you use something with really good potential, but I don’t know why the association only leaves researchers with that kind of potential.”

The trainer looked down at the Hatter, who was crouching down and leaning against the wall. The pose, tone of voice, and appearance combined made him truly a gangster himself.

And it worked perfectly for Hatter, who has a typical strong and weak personality.

“Now, wait a minute! My ability is just extraction! I was able to extract medicine ingredients with this ability!”

“Mister, do you see him over there? Just by detecting lies in what he said, it would be clear that he used all his abilities. You know that, right?”

“Well, that’s a strengthening potion… .”

From there, it was all smooth sailing. The Hatter began to reveal everything they had done so far. There were times when it held on, but it quickly collapsed when the trainer threatened it or Surtur showed a glimpse of its flame.

“How hard did it get burned to do that?”

“Sarah says what about the soul, but I don’t know.”

In any case, it was convenient for them if they could easily find out the information. Surtr and Jabberwock recorded the Hatter’s statement, saying that it was not something the trainer had done once or twice.

However, as the conversation progressed, the three people’s expressions became more and more rotten. This is because the scope of the incident was much wider than they originally expected.

“Ha, haha. Are you afraid now? Did they realize what they had touched? If you knew, please apologize to me now. And if you release me──hehehe.”

The trainer hit the hatter, who gained momentum for a moment after seeing the reaction of the three, and knocked him out. After that, the attention of the trainer and Jabberwock rose up and focused on Surtur.

Now that I’ve heard this, what should I do next? Surt sighed and chose the easiest option. Ultimately, this is what a leader does.

“Let’s join the other kids.”

The leader’s directive was unanimously adopted and put into immediate action.

***

Chae Sa-hee blinked. The view, which had been dark for a while, had suddenly changed into an open landscape. Chae Sa-hee shook off mild dizziness and looked around.

She, or rather they were, was on the rooftop of a building. The building itself was reasonably tall, but since there were no other tall buildings around, the view of the surroundings was clear. Chae Sa-hee, who had a specialty in sensing, was able to grasp the entire village as if she could grasp it with her hands.

Among those caught by the sense, the two people who were most familiar with Chae Sa-hee moved slowly. He must have woken up due to the shock of space travel. Chae Sa-hee lightly greeted her two younger siblings.

“Good morning.”

“… sister. It’s already long past lunchtime.”

A large man with his hood removed—Hel spoke while holding his head, which was dripping with blood. Then he looked around and immediately realized what kind of situation he was in.

“Sorry, sister. I failed.”

And then he got down on one knee and bowed his head deeply. Anyone could see that he was expressing a deep apology.

“… Me too, I failed. sorry… .”

Fenrir, who was watching the scene from the side, also bowed down as if he was following Hel. Fenrir’s ears fell so close to his head that they almost touched his head. The tail, which normally waved mercilessly, was completely limp.

“Ha, but they are so cowardly that they do surprise raids!”

“There is no such thing as cowardice on the battlefield. Ugly, Fenrir.”

“Ugh. Oh, you came back like a dog with a curled tail!”

“That’s you.”

“Okay. Okay, so don’t fight. It’s okay because I succeeded.”

Chae Sa-hee nodded and accepted the two people’s apology. Hel solemnly bowed his head again and stood up, and Fenrir quickly returned to his original active state as soon as he received permission.

“But still, you were happy about this mission, right? They were doing really bad things.”

“Fenrir, pay your respects to your sister.”

Hearing Hel’s words, Fenrir rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue. Me~ long. After reaffirming that Fenrir had no intention of listening to her at all, Hel turned her attention back to Chae Sa-hee.

“Still, what Fenrir said is not wrong. I only saw one test subject, but it was just as scary as what we had seen, or even worse.”

“Okay. I looked at a bunch of them, but none of them seemed successful. This is the only way to tell who is the villain.”

Sahee Chae recalled the horrors at the research institute and shook her head slightly. The long tongue hissed in disapproval.

But still, there was something that bothered me. In the end, they also contributed to committing a terrible act.

“The research center will definitely be destroyed, right?”

“Is it just a research institute? This city, perhaps half of Seoul, may be devastated.”

Hel recited a prediction full of confidence. It wasn’t what Chae Sa-hee hoped for, but it wasn’t an unrealistic delusion either. The urge to go back now and prevent the worst situation boiled up inside Chae Sa-hee.

However, that was an act that was not permitted to Chae Sa-hee. She shook her head lightly, shaking off her regrets.

“Okay, let’s go. I should go and write a report on Avatar. Did you find it worth using?”

“For wizards, the implementation of combat power was not bad. However, the disadvantage is that the feedback of the injury is almost the same.”

“For a physicalist group, it’s absolutely not good. The specs can’t keep up!”

“Okay. If each person shares their feelings appropriately, the developers will like it.”

While talking to each other, the three opened the door to the roof of the building.

Just before going down beyond, Chae Sa-hee’s eyes focused on one place. A vision that transcends human senses captured a lone building. It was the same laboratory that had been operating using avatars just a moment ago.

The gaze didn’t stay long. Chae Sa-hee turned and walked beyond the door.

Her eyes never turned to the laboratory again.

*****