Signs of Chaos
Signs of Chaos
The site where the Twin-headed Poison Dragon was slain was an ordinary forest.
Though it had become a dead forest, its life force drained by the lingering poison, there were still plenty of trees rooted in the soil.
At the heart of the forest, a massive crater had formed.
It was a scar on the landscape left by the attack presumed to have annihilated the Twin-headed Poison Dragon.
Rows of barracks encircled the depression.
An investigation team dispatched by the Association and a search party left with no leads.
And a temporary encampment housing forces from the Calamity Flame, Azure Sea, and Taesan families.
The area was still in a frantic purification process, as the residual venom from the Twin-headed Poison Dragon continued to rampage.
But right beside the crater, the ground had been cleared of obstacles and was practically free of toxins, so the temporary camp had sprung up rapidly.
Among the gathered forces was Hong Yeon-hwa.
'...What the hell went off here?'
Hong Yeon-hwa leaned over slightly to peer down into the crater.
The pit was so deep and wide it looked like a meteorite had slammed into the earth.
A change in terrain.
She could cause one if she really set her mind to it.
If she doused the forest in Calamity Flame, it would all burn away to nothing. If she added Flame Bloom on top of that, Hong Yeon-hwa could create a sizable crater of her own.
'But for one this size... I couldn't do it in a single strike.'
She narrowed her eyes as she studied the pit. Even after a moment's calculation, altering the landscape on this scale was impossible.
Even with Expansion Abilities, it was too much.
Too much for Flame Bloom's output. Flame Advance was a physical enhancement type, so it was useless for this, and Sacred Flame, which she hadn't even learned yet, was a self-regeneration type—also useless.
'...Ha-yul did this?'
Lee Ha-yul had created a hole so big she doubted even a ritual-enhanced attack spell from a superior could match it.
Beyond just the crater, he had annihilated the Twin-headed Poison Dragon without leaving a single trace of its remains.
Furthermore, the ground around the pit, across an area far wider than the crater itself, had been churned up as if it had been flipped over.
Likely in a single blow.
Even accounting for its weakened state—having been turned undead and hampered by other negative conditions—it was hard to believe.
She wasn't dismissing Lee Ha-yul's power, but by every standard she knew, it was simply impossible.
Lee Ha-yul had manifested a Calamity Flame so fierce it rivaled her own, yet even considering that, this was impossible.
Ordinary Calamity Flame couldn't produce a crater like this. Even Flame Bloom would struggle, and Lee Ha-yul hadn't yet achieved an Expansion Ability.
Even if he awakened Flame Bloom in a moment of sheer crisis, leaving a mark like this was out of the question.
Hong Yeon-hwa crouched down and reached out. Her gloved hand ran over the surface of the crater.
It was smooth.
Not so smooth that it shimmered, but given the time since the crater formed, it must have been even smoother at first.
These were not traces of Calamity Flame.
Yet she could feel the distinct aura of Calamity Flame itself.
The energy of the Calamity Flame permeated the crater here and there.
It was faint, hard to detect because the passage of time had worn the traces thin, but it was undoubtedly Calamity Flame.
'...What on earth is going on?'
Hong Yeon-hwa fell into thought.
It was nothing new: Lee Ha-yul was full of secrets.
Like his eyes and voice, the most recent mystery she'd encountered.
To think his blind eyes would open and his sealed voice would return just because of a single kiss.
She'd been so flustered at the time she couldn't even react properly.
It was the sort of thing you'd laugh at in disbelief.
Did he think he was some cursed princess out of a fairy tale?
...Of course, given his appearance, it was a plausible image, but that didn't make it any easier to accept.
She hadn't pressed him relentlessly for answers.
Because the first time she asked, Lee Ha-yul had looked like he found it too difficult to explain.
She could have kept pushing. She already knew the method to break through Lee Ha-yul's defenses.
If she held him in her arms and fussed over him all day, those tightly sealed lips would likely part. She'd nearly succeeded in doing exactly that before.
But Hong Yeon-hwa was a person who understood decency.
She wasn't the kind of shameless scoundrel who would forcibly drag out a secret that the person she loved seemed troubled by—something he was clearly reluctant to reveal.
- Miss Yeon-hwa! The young master has gone missing after engaging the Twin-headed Poison Dragon...
- Urk...
- M-Miss?!
...It wasn't as if she'd never been tempted to just become that shameless scoundrel. She was tested by allure and impulse every single moment.
It was a sweet, intense temptation and impulse that the Hong Yeon-hwa of the past could never have endured.
She was almost proud of herself for withstanding it in real time.
What if she hadn't conquered it?
By now, Lee Ha-yul would probably be locked in a bedroom, held in Hong Yeon-hwa's arms at every moment, suckling at her breast...
A sweet future suddenly flickered through her mind.
The allure and impulse blazed up, thick and sticky.
'...E-Endure... P-Persevere...'
Hong Yeon-hwa's body trembled. She bit down on her lip, muttering the mantra of patience inwardly.
A faint, coppery taste of blood traced through her mouth, and she felt her mind begin to clear from the sticky haze—
"Yeon-hwa, Yeon-hwa, what are you doing?"
"Ack...!"
"Huh?"
A nonchalant voice came from behind her right then. Hong Yeon-hwa let out a bizarre yelp and leaped into the air.
At her excessive reaction, Baek A-rin, who was approaching her, blinked.
"Wha-what. What is it? You called me."
"What were you doing to get so startled? Were you up to something weird?"
"I was just lost in thought for a second and you startled me, damn it! Don't pick a fight."
"Cursing at me for that is so mean... Talk to me sweetly, like how you talk to Ha-yul..."
"You crazy bitch..."
Hong Yeon-hwa scrunched her face up as if disgusted. At that reaction, Baek A-rin dropped her sulky act and giggled.
"So? What were you really doing?"
"Nothing, really. Just observing."
Hong Yeon-hwa replied.
Baek A-rin seemed to consider this for a moment, then trotted over and crouched down right next to Hong Yeon-hwa, gazing into the pit.
Baek A-rin had seen plenty of the crater over the past few days, too.
It was right in front of the encampment, and so massive it was practically impossible not to see.
"Hmm..."
Baek A-rin reached out. Just as Hong Yeon-hwa had done, she swept her hand across the crater's surface and spoke.
"Did you hear about Ji-yeon? I heard she was discharged yesterday."
"Already? Oh, right. Taesan."
Hong Yeon-hwa blinked as if she'd forgotten.
A Manifestor of Taesan possesses fundamentally extraordinary physical abilities.
Their overall physical prowess is enhanced, and their endurance and defensive capabilities skyrocket to grotesque levels.
Furthermore, once they reached the stage of manipulating vitality, calling them a zombie wouldn't be an exaggeration.
"Speaking of which, why is it so noisy over there?"
Hong Yeon-hwa suddenly pointed to the opposite side.
The Taesan family's temporary barracks were clustered there, and they hadn't had a moment of quiet for days.
The Taesan family had been the first to set up camp here, and even when Hong Yeon-hwa and the rest of the later arrivals had just gotten here, they were already in that state.
Maybe it was due to a silencing spell, because no actual sound reached them, but the commotion and clear aura of chaos were blatantly obvious.
"Their heir got caught up in it, so it's no wonder things are chaotic. Depending on the circumstances, the next family head could have died out in the field, right?"
"Is that so? But I heard Ji-yeon was discharged just fine, though. Ah, Ji-yeon got discharged before I could even visit her in the hospital..."
Hong Yeon-hwa muttered with a strange expression.
There had been a few times in the past when she'd heard news that Lee Ji-yeon had been hospitalized.
Each time, just as she was preparing to visit, Lee Ji-yeon would somehow be discharged already, waving at her sheepishly.
It was a memory from the past. They hadn't met much lately, after all.
The last time they met... was in the lounge...
'Ah, fuck.'
It was an utterly mortifying memory.
Hong Yeon-hwa chewed on her lip again to suppress the shame.
"Break ends soon anyway, so I can just go to Siyoram and greet her then."
The investigation was finished. There wasn't much to investigate around here in the first place.
The corpse of the Twin-headed Poison Dragon had been completely erased. The only thing they could do was trace the remnants of the battle in the area.
That was something Hong Yeon-hwa had little skill in anyway.
Baek A-rin had a wide range of talents and could be helpful, but she was scheduled to return to Siyoram since break was almost over.
"...Yeah, right. Siyoram. I have to go now."
Hong Yeon-hwa was returning to Siyoram as well.
And there... she had to meet the person who nearly made her a widow by running off and almost getting himself killed.
- Crunch
The clod of dirt in Hong Yeon-hwa's hand was crushed to powder.
She shot to her feet.
.
.
.
"Hmm..."
Hong Yeon-hwa's back receded into the distance. She vanished from sight the moment she stepped into her designated temporary barracks.
Baek A-rin, who had watched her until the very end, turned her head.
The massive crater filled her vision.
It was incredibly vast. She had the feeling you'd need to pummel the ground with multiple ritual-enhanced high-grade spells just to produce something of similar size.
Baek A-rin blinked, then glanced down at her own hand.
'...Is he not even bothering to hide it anymore?'
A handful of dirt was clutched in her palm. Dirt she had scraped from the surface of the pit.
Her pure white glove was soiled, but Baek A-rin paid it no mind as she rubbed the dirt between her fingers.
'No, his life was at stake, so maybe he didn't have the luxury to worry about what came after.'
After all, with the Twin-headed Poison Dragon breathing down his neck, survival had to come first.
'But looking at the traces, it seems like he had some leeway to run...'
A peculiar look in her eyes, Baek A-rin toyed with the soil, which carried a faint trace of 'Azure Sea' energy.
It was such an infinitesimally faint trace of Azure Sea that even Baek A-rin, who possessed extraordinary mana detection abilities among Azure Sea Manifestors, could barely sense it.
She focused her mind and analyzed the Azure Sea energy.
Because the sample was small and uniform, the information she gleaned was extremely limited.
"...Heehee."
But she had learned something.
'It was worth showing him.'
Aside from the output, the manipulation of Azure Sea was exquisitely refined.
That was wonderful news.
Baek A-rin beamed.
.
.
.
The Huabei-Dongbei border.
The Taesan family forces dispatched to the site where the Twin-headed Poison Dragon was slain.
The commander leading them, 'Lee Seon,' was not a Manifestor of Taesan.
He was a collateral descendant who bore the progenitor's blood, but he had manifested an attribute ability that manipulated earth—not Taesan itself.
Compared to Taesan, it was, to put it bluntly, a grade lower.
But he had enough talent to become an Upper-Grade Hero.
Moreover, his proven loyalty to the family over many years and his veteran experience from a long career had allowed Lee Seon to rise to the rank of commander of the family's forces.
In other words, Lee Seon was experienced.
He had been stationed on the Demon Realm Frontline and had seen his share of real combat. He could adeptly handle most unexpected situations.
"...My apologies. My head is aching a bit."
Right now, however, the adept commander was struggling.
Inside the command section of the temporary camp. Lee Seon sat at a desk, cradling his swimming head as he let out a groan.
"I understand."
From the opposite side, Lee Eun-hyuk, who had come to the command post to report, nodded impassively.
Lee Eun-hyuk was also from a collateral branch like Lee Seon, but he had manifested Taesan.
It wasn't a particularly outstanding output of Taesan, but paired with his acquired detection ability, he was an invaluable asset for search operations like this one.
"May I resume my report?"
"Please do."
Going strictly by the distribution of Unique Abilities, Lee Eun-hyuk was of a higher line, but due to the official position assigned by the main family, Lee Seon was currently treated as his superior.
Lee Seon nodded with difficulty.
Seeing his commander so visibly disturbed, Lee Eun-hyuk nodded inwardly to himself.
He was similarly disturbed, after all.
Lee Eun-hyuk opened his mouth.
"At the crater where the Twin-headed Poison Dragon was slain, we have detected distinct traces of an anomalous but unequivocal Taesan."
"...Is there no possibility of error? Perhaps some confusion with Lady Lee Ji-yeon's Taesan..."
"We have conducted precision sensing for several days. As a result, while similarities exist, we have identified it as a distinct, individual energy signature."
At the firm confirmation that followed, Lee Seon shut his eyes tight.
"Haaah..."
His head had been in bad shape lately as it was, and Lee Seon felt a deep worry that his condition might just get even worse...