Episode 44: Barbed Wire
Nothing to do anyway. Might as well step into the virtual space.
Waiting out the rain left me with idle hands, so I decided to enter the virtual space and train. I slipped away to an empty room and activated the ability.
Imperial Swordsmanship Lv. 2 — Training Ground
Connecting to the ancient empire's secret training ground.
The grounds themselves were unchanged, but the sky had been dyed a deep red, thick with the mood of a setting sun. Beneath that crimson sky, she was waiting.
The woman knight was exactly as before, flame-colored hair untouched by time. Red light washed over her silver armor until it looked soaked in blood, and her eyes were still deep, and still cold.
"All right. This time—"
She moved before I could finish. I threw myself aside on reflex, and her blade hissed past my ribs.
Damn it. Fast as ever.
I set my stance in a hurry, drew my sword, and locked onto her movement. I was not going to fold so easily this time.
Imperial Swordsmanship Lv. 2
The forgotten sword art of the empire manifests in the user's body.
Clang!
Our blades met and threw sparks. The ring of steel filled the training ground.
Her swordsmanship was still perfect. This time, though, I could read a little of her movement. The last beating had taught me something.
"Hah!"
I swung with everything I had. She turned her body with elegant economy and let the cut pass her by—but this time I had already guessed what came next. I pivoted hard and went for her flank. Her eyes widened, just slightly. For the first time, her expression changed.
"Not yet!"
I poured Telekinesis into the blade. The sword grew heavy and drove toward her with greater force.
She was still faster. She slipped the attack by a hair and answered with a counter.
"Kh—!"
Her sword grazed my shoulder. A sharp sting flared there, but this time it wasn't a killing wound.
We kept trading cuts. I lost track of how long it went on. My body grew heavier, and my breathing turned ragged.
Then her blade flashed and came for my throat.
This time—!
I wrenched myself aside on the last of my strength. Her sword kissed past my ear, and in that instant I didn't miss the opening.
"Graaah!"
I wrung every scrap of power out of my body and swung.
Clang!
She stopped it clean, as if she had known the strike was coming.
Haah... damn it.
It had been my best shot, and watching it die hurt—but I couldn't stop.
Clang!
I kept swinging.
"You goddamn—!"
Shhk.
It lasted only a moment. She slid into the gap my carelessness left, and I couldn't stop her sword.
"Ah... shit."
A cold sensation closed around my neck, and my consciousness went dim.
When I opened my eyes, I was back in the real world. Sweat soaked me through, and my heart was still hammering.
"Haah... haah..."
I dragged in rough breaths and looked around. I'd come into the room alone, and alone was how I found it.
"This time... I got a little better, didn't I?"
I muttered it as I stood. I'd lost again, but this time I had definitely startled her. A small step. Still a step that meant something.
"Haah... if I beat that bitch, what kind of reward is waiting?"
I let myself savor the thought of whatever prize came with toppling a presence that overwhelming, then lay down and rested my spent body until the rain decided to quit.
Once the rain had passed, we went out into the yard. Damp air tickled the nose, and the sound of dripping water lingered at the ear. Mr. Jang was already coming out with the tools he had set aside.
"Well then. Shall we get started?"
There was strength in the old man's voice. His wrinkled hands worked the wire with easy, practiced motions, and I watched them closely.
So that's how it's done...
Kang Hanna came up beside me then. Worry sat plain on her face.
"Hey. Shouldn't we be helping too?"
I nodded.
"Yeah. We ought to be doing something. Mr. Jang, what can we help you with?"
Jang Sangcheol thought for a moment, then answered.
"Mm... you two can help me straighten the wire. Jaemin and Jia, clear the ground around the wall where the barbed wire's going up."
We each took up our work. Hanna and I uncoiled the wire and pulled it straight, while Lee Jaemin and Lee Jia cleared the junk piled along the wall.
Sweat ran down my forehead. Under a sun that beat down hard, only our breathing cut the quiet air.
"Ah... fuck. This is harder than it looks."
Hanna grumbled. I smiled at her.
"If it keeps us safe, this much is nothing."
"What's with that greasy line."
She snorted, then nodded anyway.
Off along the wall, Jaemin and Jia talked while they cleared the ground.
"Jia, you really think this is gonna stop them?"
Unease clung to Jaemin's voice.
Jia answered.
"Yeah. Mr. Jang made it, and Dohyun-oppa agreed, so I think it will."
"Huh... that's unexpected."
Her answer left him puzzled.
"I mean, you lean on Dohyun-hyung's word a lot more than I thought."
"If you look at what Oppa's done, how could I not? We're alive mostly because of him."
There was no rise or fall in Jia's voice. She said it the way someone states a fact too obvious to argue.
Jaemin was briefly at a loss for words. He scratched his head and answered.
"Th-that's true. I rely on hyung a lot too."
"We all do. Hanna-unnie doesn't say it, but she follows Oppa closely too. And that isn't a bad thing. In a situation like this, you have to trust someone and follow them."
"Yeah... if hyung hadn't been there, we'd have been..."
His voice trailed off. Both of them shook their heads, as if to throw off the awful picture.
From farther off came the sound of wire being worked. Park Dohyun and Kang Hanna were at it hard, and now and then Mr. Jang's instructions carried across the yard.
Jia watched them for a moment, then turned to Jaemin.
"Come on. We should be working too. Is the ground around the wall cleared?"
Jaemin nodded.
"Yeah, pretty much. Just that corner left to tidy up."
The two of them went back to work without another word. Under the harsh sun, only their movements cut the still air.
Park Dohyun's voice reached them from across the yard.
"Everyone all right? Anyone want water?"
Jia and Jaemin looked at each other. Both of them were thirsty, and neither moved first.
In the end Jia sighed.
"Let's go. We should rest a little too."
Jaemin nodded and followed her toward where Park Dohyun was.
As they walked, Jaemin found himself watching Jia's back. Beneath that cold exterior, he could feel a warmth she kept hidden.
After the break, we got back to work. The sun only grew fiercer, and sweat ran down my back.
"Hey, we're almost done!"
At Hanna's shout, everyone looked up. Fatigue and satisfaction were mixed on her face. I nodded and smiled.
"Yeah. Just a little more."
Mr. Jang checked the last stretch and spoke.
"This part needs to be fixed tighter. Dohyun, mind holding this for me?"
I hurried over and gripped the barbed wire. Watching those wrinkled hands move with such sure skill, I felt all over again how lucky it was that he'd ended up with us.
Having a skill like this... what a relief.
As if she'd read the thought, Jia spoke up.
"Oppa, I think we're really lucky. Having someone like Mr. Jang..."
Her voice was as cool as ever, but there was warmth in her eyes.
Jaemin cut in.
"You're right, hyung. But will this actually stop enemies?"
The unease was still in his voice. I thought for a moment, then answered.
"It won't be a perfect line of defense, but it'll buy us time. And we'll feel safer. That counts for something."
Hanna ran a hand along the wire and joined in.
"Yeah, I feel a little better now. But I'm starving to death after putting this up. What's for dinner?"
Everyone burst out laughing at that. Some of the tension finally loosened.
Time passed, and sweat and effort at last brought the work to an end. Sharp barbed wire glittered along the top of the wall.
Mr. Jang looked over his handiwork with a satisfied face.
"Good. This ought to do a fair bit of good."
All of us let out a breath of relief at his words. Even inside that relief, though, the unease still had its place.
And even in a moment like this, a danger none of us had seen coming was already on its way.