Chapter 84: Saeorin (4)
‘The distance…’
It wouldn’t close. I reinforced my body with mana, occasionally releasing it beneath my feet to gain bursts of speed. Yet, the gap refused to shrink.
Two streaks of light raced through the deep forest, maintaining a slight distance. My long, white hair trailed behind me like the tail of a beast.
Taak—
‘What…’
I was dashing through the woods when I felt a strange force softly clinging to my body. It wasn’t mana.
It was the power of a spirit, something I’d experienced long ago when my sister, sleeping within this body, had briefly awakened.
There was no change in my physical senses. That meant my sister hadn’t awakened. It had to be a spirit from this forest, sharing its power with me for some unknown reason.
The wind shifted. It felt like a gentle hand pushing at my back. I ran with the wind at my heels. My form turned into a gust of piercing wind.
Saaaa—
I swung my sword, cleaving through everything blocking my path. Even thick branches couldn’t stand in my way. When my storm-like figure outpaced the moonlight—
I finally came face-to-face with my opponent.
Time seemed to slow. Our gazes locked in midair, passing through each other transparently.
His unfocused eyes seemed to stare into the distance. They weren’t the eyes of the living. Yet his body moved, breathing still.
The scent was familiar. The build was familiar. He retained the exact appearance of his final moments before death. The figure before me was unmistakably myself.
“You…!”
I hadn’t wanted to believe it. I’d tried to ignore it. I hadn’t even considered the possibility.
Yet here it was, a reality standing before me. The words I’d prepared didn’t come, and my body froze as if petrified, unable to draw my sword.
Time flowed, albeit slowly. As my form, propelled by the wind, hovered in the moonlight, my past body came to a stop.
He’d given up fleeing. I landed on the ground, facing my former self.
“Who are you…”
It was a question laden with meaning. But no answer came to my query. The white-haired man stared silently, then quietly drew his weapons.
Swish—
A spear in his right hand, a short sword in his left.
“If you won’t answer…”
The hollow echo of my voice spread through the forest. The white-haired man moved first. His form dashed forward swiftly, riding the wind with eerie movements.
It was like watching a wolf race across a snow-covered plain.
Could he fully wield the memories embedded in that body? I faced him calmly. His attacks weren’t particularly remarkable. A straightforward thrust was followed by a sword swing to support the motion.
The moment I stepped back, a red line of blood streaked across my cheek. More than the stinging pain, the fact that I’d been struck shocked me.
But my movements didn’t falter. As my retreating foot touched the ground, my muscles tensed, and a powerful twist erupted from my waist. The Black Dragon Sword in my hand carved a slash through the air next.
My entire body’s will infused the strike. The intent to cut him down fueled the blade with strength.
The moment the slash tore through the air, imbued with frost, a flicker of hesitation brushed my fingertips.
It was a clear pause, too distinct to dismiss as mere imagination. Yet my hand swung through.
Shwiik—!
The blade’s tip veered as if it had struck an invisible barrier. It wasn’t magic, nor martial arts.
It didn’t feel like sorcery either—there were no signs of anything manifesting. If he’d parried it, I should’ve felt an impact at the sword’s end.
I realized instinctively. This was the spirit’s power too. The wind that had enveloped me upon entering the forest hadn’t been mine alone.
I leapt back widely to evade the flurry of incoming attacks. My small form soared through the air as if carried by the wind, crossing a considerable distance.
As I landed and prepared my next move with the White Dragon Heart Technique, his form—which had seemed poised to charge—began to dissipate into the blowing wind.
I couldn’t let him escape. That single thought drove my body. My leg stepped forward powerfully, stomping the ground. The mana I’d accumulated surged from my heart to my fingertips.
At the same time, I forced a shift in the incantation. It aligned with a stance prepared for swift strikes. A throbbing pain spread from my heart through my body. But I didn’t stop.
The moment the Black Dragon Sword left my hand, a jet-black flash streaked forth.
The simple yet intricate incantations of the Formless Sword Technique followed. Speed dominated the strike.
Shwiaak—!
The instant I launched the sword, I knew it wouldn’t connect. As my expression crumpled, the Black Dragon Sword slammed into the ground, bursting the earth apart.
Kwaaang—!
“Phew…”
My heart pounded. Sweat dripped despite my body not being fatigued. I’d gotten overly worked up.
‘I lost him.’
He’d vanished without a trace. I didn’t know how he’d done it. If even a hint of his scent had lingered, I could’ve tracked it. But nothing remained.
It was as if he’d truly become the wind and disappeared.
I turned my head. Two presences approached rapidly from not too far off. My juniors, left at the campsite. They must’ve felt the shock of the battle and were rushing here.
I turned fully. A gentle, cool breeze caressed the Black Dragon Sword, lifting it naturally back to me.
Tak—
The Black Dragon Sword returned to its sheath.
Would it have been different if all three of us had been together?
I opened my mouth as my two juniors approached.
“S-Senior!”
“What happened!”
They spoke first, weapons already drawn. Not bad preparedness, I muttered to myself before replying.
“I lost the reincarnator.”
There was much to discuss back at camp. Pursuing him now was near impossible. Night had deepened, and the sudden mana surge was drawing monsters. Above all, I’d lost his trail entirely.
“Let’s head back.”
I turned, lightly wiping the blood trickling down my cheek. It was a shallow wound, already starting to heal. A mysterious power of my sister’s body.
The pursuit resumed the next morning. Breakfast was simple jerky. The three of us chewed the tough meat as we began tracking from where the reincarnator had vanished.
“I first spotted him near the ruins. He fled into the forest after I noticed him. If we can’t find traces here, we’ll head back to the ruins and search.”
“Yes!”
“Understood!”
Humans see more in daylight than at night. Countless clues, invisible in the dark, revealed themselves with the morning light.
The direction of broken branches and wolf fur caught on them were undeniable signs of the reincarnator.
White-furred wolves only lived in cold regions, not here. It had to be fur from the wolfskin vest he’d worn.
Sniff sniff—
The scent was familiar too.
I gathered my juniors.
“It’s the reincarnator’s trail. The broken branches point straight ahead.”
“Oh…”
“Wow… Where did you learn this?”
“I didn’t learn it. I figured it out myself.”
I didn’t neglect their training either. I crammed them with the knowledge a hunter needed.
The trail led toward the mountain range. Since that was our original destination, there was no hesitation in pressing forward.
“Oh…”
“Is this the ancient mages’ ruins…?”
Upon reaching the base of the mountain range, Parna and Vigat gaped in awe. They’d glimpsed it from afar, but up close, the ruins’ scale exceeded imagination.
They were vast. Majestic. Time had eroded much of their past glory, but enough remained to infer their original shape.
I charged toward the massive ruins without hesitation.
“Ah! Wait for us!”
“Huh…!”
I didn’t look back. More accurately, I didn’t have the leisure to. Familiar pictographs caught my eye across the sprawling ruins.
“This is…”
“You can’t possibly read it, can you?”
I stopped before a large wall, brushing my hand over the faded characters. The primitive script was unmistakably similar to that used by the White Frost Tribe.
“I don’t know.”
“Ah…”
Wind, sky, bird.
I cautiously pieced together the meaning as I traced the blurry symbols. Too many parts were broken or crumbled to form complete sentences.
‘If just a few more strokes were added, it’d be identical…’
Then it happened. A soft breeze brushed my cheek, as if guiding me to look somewhere.
The wind carried intent. Following the spirit’s lead, I shifted my gaze. The faint breeze flowed along the ruins’ path, leading to a large building buried under a landslide’s debris.
“The wind…”
The wind continued, into the collapsed structure.
I followed it. My two juniors hurriedly trailed behind.