Spirit (1)
Spirit (1)
- Kreeeek...!
The undead, tangled in dozens of strands of mana, twitched and thrashed. I nodded slowly, kneading the mana that had gathered in my hand.
While circling the barrier around the Fairy Tree, I had encountered quite a few monsters and undead.
That wasn't strange.
Though the Korean Peninsula District, where the Three Great Families are based, boasts good public safety, it's still difficult to wipe out every monster that spawns naturally in areas with high mana concentration.
Especially here, in the Taesan family's territory, which is rich with vitality energy.
It's fairly common for undead to form naturally when monster corpses mix with vitality energy and thought residue.
"There's a joke that farmers roaming the outskirts of the territory usually travel with three or four undead as escorts."
Lee Ji-yeon said with a soft laugh. I grinned along with her words but tilted my head.
- It's not entirely a joke, is it?
Rumor has it that the farming tools used by the Taesan family's farmers are undead.
I'd even experienced it firsthand in the original work.
I once saw an undead made from a 4th-rank monster being used to plow a field.
"Ahaha... A family-affiliated necromancer often chooses farming as a hobby after retirement."
Lee Ji-yeon explained that the resulting rumors had grown a bit exaggerated.
I bobbed my head as I accepted the hand gently stroking my hair.
- Still, we're running into more undead now.
At my sound transmission, Lee Ji-yeon closed her mouth and looked around.
Over a dozen undead were stuck to the ground, bound by pure white mana.
Earlier, the ratio of monsters to undead had been roughly seven to three.
But as time passed, the number of undead abruptly appearing grew, until now the ratio had reversed.
Not only had the ratio changed; the total number of individuals appearing had increased.
"It's pretty conspicuous. This isn't just a stray encounter—they've formed a group like this..."
Realizing it wasn't something to dismiss lightly, Lee Ji-yeon's expression began to harden, but when she became aware of me nestled in her arms, she broke into a grin.
- Fwoosh...
But the clusters of undead floating up and spreading behind her were relentless.
It seemed the goal was to scatter undead everywhere and gather data.
'...Not that I'm one to talk, since I'm doing the same thing out of suspicion.'
I twitched the fingers laced with mana.
The mana coiled around the undead burrowed into its outer hide. Whether the undead struggled or not, the thin threads of mana churning through its insides rapidly extracted data.
Unfortunately, no meaningful data had surfaced yet.
The only added information was that these were naturally occurring undead.
But my suspicion hadn't faded.
'The head of Taesan, Lee Ji-ah, is afflicted with the Curse of the Dead.'
Though I didn't know exactly when the curse had taken hold, I knew from my observation that, like Baek A-rin's case, it hadn't been long.
'And at some point, Lee Ji-ah began staying confined in the Death Vein as if in seclusion.'
The Death Vein was an area optimized for practicing and handling necromancy.
It was a place where numerous necromancy-type dungeons had rampaged in one spot, saturating it with their innate talents, and where a dense yin energy—death energy, one might call it—had pooled.
And Lee Ji-ah, cursed by the dead, was residing in that Death Vein.
The situation was impossible not to suspect.
'Considering the situation in the original work, launching an immediate scheme would be impossible, but...'
If they initiated an invasion right now, they'd have to wage war while weakened, burdened with heaps of restrictions.
They wouldn't be able to properly wield the Tower's power, built up over centuries, or its army corps.
In other words, uncertainty would creep into a war meant to be a guaranteed victory. There was even a risk of being counterattacked.
Therefore, the Tower Masters couldn't invade recklessly until their restrictions were broken.
And there was no reason to invade.
In just a few more years, they could tear down all the restrictions and return in full force, so there was no need to endure such a reckless gamble.
'But the Tower Master of Bitter Cold recently pushed through and invaded anyway.'
The Tower Master of Bitter Cold had tried to kill me despite shouldering that colossal burden and recklessness.
Because he saw me as a threat that had to be stamped out before I could fully grow.
It wasn't out of the question that the Tower Master of the Dead might do the same.
'I hope it won't come to that, but...'
Of course, I thought it unlikely that the Tower Master of the Dead, for whom army corps are vital, would take such a risk, but I couldn't afford to let my guard down entirely.
- Drip... drip...
My mind kept turning as my hands moved steadily.
While the threads of mana tied to my fingers pulled out the undead's data, I let the mana pooling in my hand drip steadily to the ground.
The viscous mana, as if it possessed a sticky viscosity, seeped into the earth.
The flow of the earth vein underground drew in my mana.
I held onto the mana that was trying to be absorbed into the earth vein and made it cling to the vein itself.
By common sense, it would be dismissed as nonsense, but the process wasn't at all difficult.
The earth vein at this location was already where the Fairy Tree had taken root.
There was no reason for it to oppose me. In fact, the Fairy Tree's power came into play, making the flow of the earth vein favorable to me.
Of course, even without that assistance, it wouldn't have been difficult.
'Because my mana manipulation itself has deepened in the first place.'
The mana clinging to the earth vein began to guide its flow. Unable to mount a proper resistance, the earth vein smoothly reshaped itself under my direction.
The fairy's innate talent was blooming, and my mana affinity was growing significantly.
The quality of my mana, which already scoffed at common sense, and my manipulation and dominance over it, were growing even deeper.
"You're telling me your mana is undergoing more positive changes here...?"
Lee Ji-yeon, who had been spectating—no, monitoring—what I was doing, opened her mouth slightly in admiration.
I sprinkled mana evenly across the ground and shrugged my shoulders.
- I've only been awakened for two years. Isn't it natural that there should be growth?
"...Wow, seriously. Now that I think about it again, it's really insane."
Lee Ji-yeon's expression turned dazed as she blinked.
"Two years... No, if we're being precise, about a year and a half? That's usually when people practice mana manipulation before their unique ability even manifests..."
- That 'usually' refers to cases where people awaken as children. I awakened a bit older, so there's bound to be a difference in learning and growth speed.
"Awakening as a child is actually an advantage in terms of early education, though... *Sigh*. At this point, it's just silly to keep analyzing your potential and being shocked by it, junior."
Murmuring to herself, Lee Ji-yeon let out a small breath and shook her head.
Then she shrugged and rested her chin on the top of my head.
"Well, whatever the world says, right now my junior is just a baby who fits snugly in my arms."
- ...Don't tease.
"It's a statement based on facts, though?"
Lee Ji-yeon giggled and adjusted her hold on me.
Just as she said, I had the build of a small child who fit snugly in her embrace.
I pressed my lips shut and finished dripping the mana.
Then, a spirit that had been lurking nearby seized the chance as if on cue and darted forward, catching and consuming the falling mana.
- Wooong...!
The trembling spirit flashed with light.
Where the light faded, a spirit that had instantly ascended to a mid-level spirit wagged its tail gently.
"This one turned into a puppy."
- ...It ascended to a mid-level spirit. It's taking on a unique form.
"I know that. But the thing is, the form is a puppy again."
Lee Ji-yeon looked at the puppy-shaped spirit with an unreadable gaze.
"A lot of the spirits you've contracted, junior, have taken puppy forms. Is that because your mindscape is being shared with them?"
- It, uh, could be.
"What do you mean, 'could be'? So many of them share that common form, it's obvious there's an influence—"
- Anyway, I can't be sure about it.
"Heh. Yes, yes, I got it."
I cut off Lee Ji-yeon's words and shook my body.
Lee Ji-yeon giggled quietly, shifted me into a more comfortable hold, and soothed me with a gentle bounce as she resumed walking.
- Ding!
An alarm rang from the smartwatch on Lee Ji-yeon's wrist.
"...Ah, looks like comms are back."
- Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
Dingdingdingdingdingdingdingding...!
The sound kept coming, overlapping with itself until it became a relentless cascade.
Under the awe-inspiring barrage of alerts, Lee Ji-yeon and Kariade both fell silent.
Cradled in Lee Ji-yeon's arms, I swallowed hard.
"You can't blame them. Everyone's been so worried sick..."
- Hmph...
Lee Ji-yeon shot me a sidelong glance and tapped at her smartwatch.
[Group Chat (8)] [+999]
[Video Call]
[Accept│Decline]
A hologram bloomed in the air. Lee Ji-yeon immediately pressed Accept.
- Diri-ring!
The connecting tone sounded, and soon two screens appeared within the hologram.
[big sister, where's Ha-yul right now?! Is that really Ha-yul?!]
[Are you truly there...?!]
I could make out an interior with a slightly blurred background, and another backdrop dominated by an immense tree... a Fairy Tree.
Those backgrounds vanished as Yeon-hwa and my master shoved their faces forward, radiating urgency.
"Yep, I found him right here."
Even at the ear-splitting volume, Lee Ji-yeon didn't flinch. She simply slipped her hands under my arms and gently lifted me, presenting me to the screen.
My tiny self dangled in full view of the call.
My five-colored wings folded themselves demurely behind my back.
[Ah...!]
[...Haaaaah...]
Yeon-hwa and my master stared wide-eyed. For a moment they scrutinized every inch of me on the screen, then their shoulders slumped in profound relief.
[Ha, fuck... fuck... It's really you...]
"...Yeon-hwa..."
Yeon-hwa lowered her head and covered her face with her hands.
When a sob crept into her murmured voice, my body shrank as if caught in a compactor.
[I, I need to see him too, so move over a little...!]
[Ha-yul, you're really there, right...?!]
[Junior Disciple! You're actually okay, aren't you?!]
The screen widened.
Professor Liana and Ellia appeared, and farther back Daera and Lee Ha-sol came dashing into frame.
"Yes, yes... I'm alive and well—"
[Who said you're alive and well?]
My master cut me off flatly. The edge in her tone was so sharp that my eyes started quaking.
[Which lunatic calls it "alive and well" when they've been impaled through the heart with a spear, gotten wrecked by some unidentified Authority, turned into a complete cripple, and nearly died?]
"Uh, uuh..."
The storm of words made my head drop on its own.
"I'm sorry..."
[I'd rather not do this from so far away. Come back quickly.]
My master didn't acknowledge the apology right away. Her voice was firm.
The others held their tongues too, but their expressions all said the same thing: we'll talk when you're back.
"...About that... I can't return right away."
[What?]
"It's not for no reason! There's a reason..."
My already quiet voice dropped even lower.
Under a chill sharper than the Authority of Bitter Cold, I hastily shook my head and explained.
[You were... born as a fairy? And right now you're in a growth phase, so it's hard to leave the Fairy Tree you were born beside?]
"Yeees... It won't take long. If I wait it out, it'll be over in two days, three at most..."
The faces on the screen blinked vacantly.
They'd always called me a fairy this and fairy that, but seeing me actually manifest as a spirit body while my physical body lay elsewhere must have been a shock.
Watching their reactions, I carefully opened my lips.
"...What about Seo-yul...?"
[We just managed to put her to sleep.]
Ellia, who had been wiping away tears of relief, answered.
I focused on the screen. Her eyes were red-rimmed, with deep shadows beneath them.
"...I'm sorry..."
[I'll collect that when you get back.]
"Okaaay..."
Ellia's reply was just as firm.
With my hands clasped neatly together, I continued.
"...What about Baek A-rin...?"
Baek A-rin still hadn't answered the call. As I stared at the pitch-black screen and asked, Yeon-hwa let out a heavy sigh.
[...She's not okay.]
Not the answer I'd hoped for.
Given what I did, her body should be physically fine, but...
I pressed my lips together. Watching me, Yeon-hwa narrowed her brow, then exhaled.
[Still, she'll pick up soon. Her original smartwatch was destroyed, and the new one is with Madam Kim Yu-yeon, who's been nursing her—]
- Diri-ring!
That very moment.
The hologram expanded sideways as a new screen connected.
[......]
On the screen was Baek A-rin, propped against the headboard of a bed.
Relief hit me first—she was safe.
Then the details that Observation fed me made my eyes waver.
It hadn't even been a full week since Haeju, yet she looked as though she'd endured ten years of heartache.
Baek A-rin, who had been staring down at her own arm, lifted her head.
Her blue eyes, dull and drained of light, blinked slowly—and then caught my image on the screen.
For an instant, light flickered back into those eyes. As they widened, my reflection grew clearer within them.
[...Ah?]
A soft exhalation of wonder slipped through her barely parted lips.
I forced down the surge of emotion and opened my mouth.
"...Baek A-rin..."
At the sound of my voice, Baek A-rin's eyes trembled.
As if to emphasize that I was fine, I flapped both arms and my wings and kept talking.
"I-I'm okay... I really don't have any problems. I'm not dead... So please don't torture yourself, and wait for me..."
As if her awareness had slowed, Baek A-rin stared at me blankly. Her lips moved with visible effort.
[Really... really...? Ha-yul... is that you...?]
"Yes, yeees... Look at me... sniff... I promised, didn't I? I'll be back soon, so don't worry yourself sick and wait..."
A sniffle escaped before I could stop it.
The connection wasn't great, so the audio came through faintly, but even so I could tell her voice was cracked and hoarse.
"Okay...? I'm fine, so... I'll come back n—"
- Click—
In an instant, both the audio and the holographic feed cut off.
[Connection Terminated]
Neat text appeared where the video had been.
"...Connection Terminated?"
Lee Ji-yeon, who had been blinking at the sudden situation, went still.
This wasn't interference. The connection established through the Tower of Harmonization had been severed. There were very few things in this world that could do that.
- Kuuuung!
Just as Lee Ji-yeon's face hardened and she tried to speak, a deep, weighty tremor cut her off.
The world shuddered.
The ground trembled, shattering stone fragments and sending them skittering. Lee Ji-yeon's eyes flew wide open and she snapped her head up.
"...Ah, shit."
A curse leaked from Lee Ji-yeon's lips. Kariade didn't swear, but her complexion had gone deathly pale.
'......'
I felt much the same.
The sky was dyed pitch black.
Even without Observation, even without anyone telling me, I could feel a severance—a barrier that split space itself.
- Crrrack—
From the heaving ground nearby, things began to rise one after another.
Bodies half-formed and lurching. Pure white bone sprouted from within, sheathed soon after by muscle and flesh.
- Grrrrrghk...!
Inside the murky gleam of the undead's eyes, foul yin energy flickered.