The Weight of Obsession

Lee Seol. Her presence nags at me, but I don't have time to dwell on it right now. I leave her behind and swing my sword from right to left. My target is the wolf bastard's head. Past the flickering flames, about a third of the way into its neck. The blade sinks in deep.

"Grrrk...!"

The thing had been so fixated on its prey that it only noticed me now. It glares at me with those savage eyes.

Fucking mutt. The hell are you staring at?

Crack! The sword shatters its cervical vertebrae and slices through cleanly. The head that had been drooling saliva drops limply to the ground and rolls away.

"Haa... haa..."

The backlash from Equivalent Exchange. My suddenly altered body is rebelling. I try to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠regain control, but I lose my balance completely.

"Seonghyun!"

Lee Seol catches me as I fall. She lays me across her lap and gently smooths my disheveled hair.

"Are you okay? You pushed yourself too hard..."

"......"

A new form of torture. Yeah, this is definitely torture. Every time I feel the soft, smooth texture of her thighs and catch that fresh scent of her body, nausea rises in my throat. I force it down with sheer mental control and open my mouth.

"I'm fine. Go take care of Jihun. If you leave him like that, he'll die."

"Oh, right!"

She acts like she'd only just remembered. She helps me sit on the floor and turns her attention to Jihun.

"Stop the bleeding first."

"Got it."

She needs to freeze ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the wound with her Eternal Snow first. The skin will necrotize, but that can be fixed with healing skills. Right now, stopping the hemorrhage is the priority.

She was about to cast the ability according to my instructions when—

"Why... why isn't it working...?"

A chill suddenly races through my entire body. I don't know why. I just throw myself to the right. In that instant, a searing pain and insane heat explode in my left shoulder.

"Ugh!"

"Seonghyun!"

"Grrrrrrrr!"

The damn dog has my shoulder clamped in its massive jaws. Right. There had been two of these bastards from the start. I swing the sword in my right hand as a threat. It rips a chunk out of my shoulder and leaps backward. At the same time, blood pours from the wound in a steady stream.

"This is seriously fucked..."

I can't feel my left arm at all. It looks like the thing tore through muscle, bone, and even the nerves. I somehow steady my balance and raise my sword, but Lee Seol comes running.

"Seonghyun!"

"Stay back!"

Lee Seol without her powers? She's just an ordinary twenty-year-old woman. I can't fight with that kind of dead weight dragging me down.

"Grrrr..."

Its eyes are blood-red, probably furious that I killed its mate. The pure killing intent pouring from its gaze tells me it's gone full suicidal rage.

"GRAAHHH!"

The beast charges straight at me, clearly intending to tackle me head-on. I angle my body slightly off its path.

Has to be one clean hit.

My vision is getting blurrier by the second. Must be the combination of Equivalent Exchange and the massive blood loss.

My joints scream in protest. I don't stop. The distance between us is one meter. That's enough.

For a brief moment, sensation returns to my left arm and my body feels lighter. I fake a downward strike from above. Just as I predicted, the beast twists its body slightly to dodge. It seems the option of retreating never even crossed its primitive brain.

This is exactly why you can't trust beast bastards.

That's why I'd sidestepped earlier. I forcefully twist the sword that was meant to come down from above and slash it to the left instead.

"Die!"

"KRAAAAAH!"

A satisfying strike that takes out both its eyes and brain in one go! Instant death. As I watch the beast collapse limply, savoring my victory—

"Lee Seonghyun!"

"Seonghyun!"

Han Yuri and Choi Ahyeon were running toward me with horrified expressions.

They sure took their sweet time.

Since the fight was over, I started walking to join them when—

"Huh...?"

My body tilts. As if telling me I no longer have the right to control this flesh. The world spins. And then comes the gut-wrenching pain in my stomach. I roll my eyes downward and see my abdomen has been torn open.

Little shit... that actually hurts.

I thought it was just a dog, but it really was a wolf after all. As I listen to the three women shouting my name while they rush toward me, I close my eyes.

My consciousness is hazy. When I force my eyes open, I see a sealed room with no light coming in. My limbs are restrained, and I'm just staring blankly into space. This is an all-too-familiar sight, and a place that makes me sick to my stomach.

A ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dream, huh.

Even though I know this isn't reality, my mood plummets instantly. I try to close my eyes again when the only door in the room opens and a woman walks in. A white dress and black hair flowing down to her waist. It was Lee Seol. Thirty-year-old Lee Seol. A full ten years from now. Enough time for a fresh apple to ripen completely. Yet an aura of pure innocence still radiated from her entire being.

"Hyun. It's really stuffy in here, isn't it?"

She wipes my face and body with a damp towel she'd prepared. Like she was handling a precious treasure. Her touch is impossibly gentle.

"It's almost over. So..."

She lightly presses her lips to mine.

"Just wait a little longer."

Along with the sensation of her sickeningly sweet breath entering me, my consciousness surfaces. My vision is blurry and I can't see clearly, but the sharp smell of chemicals stabbing my nose suggests I'm in a hospital. After blinking a few times, my sight gradually returns. And what I see is—

"...What the hell are you doing?"

"Hehe. Watching a sleeping person."

Choi Ahyeon, whose face was practically touching mine, was giggling.

"What did you eat in your dream to drool this much?"

"Drool...?"

I bring a hand to my mouth. Saliva was pouring out. Looks like my sleeping habit had acted up again.

But isn't this way too much?

The collar of my hospital gown was completely soaked. I was starting to wonder if my salivary glands were broken.

"If you saw it, you could've at least wiped it. Were you just going to wait until I woke up?"

"Hehe. It's fun. Ta-da! I even took a picture!"

Choi Ahyeon proudly shoves her phone at me. Of course, it shows me looking pathetic while asleep.

"Ugh. So childish. So childish."

I shake my head and try to sit up, but a wave of intense pain crashes over me.

"Ugh!"

"Don't get up. The healer said the treatment isn't finished yet."

Right. I'd forgotten that wounds from Equivalent Exchange have their healing effect halved. The unpleasant feeling of my body refusing to obey me makes me frown involuntarily. I force my expression to relax and look at Choi Ahyeon.

"What happened after I passed out?"

"Um... Professor Irena came and took care of everything right away. She also secured this private room for you."

"What about Jihun?"

"He's playing games in the room next door right now. His healing is fast, so he says he'll be discharged soon."

I heard several more things after that. The grade evaluation had ended at the point when the monsters went berserk. We had taken an overwhelming first place. They said to come later to receive our rewards.

"Ta-da! This is my get-well-soon gift!"

"What is this? Acacia?"

"Yep! Red acacia. The flower language is friendship and fellowship or something, but I just bought it because it's pretty."

Yeah, that sounds about right. There was no way the airheaded Choi Ahyeon would have considered the meaning. She places the pot full of blooming red flowers on the windowsill and hands me another pot.

"And this. Yuri told me to give it to you."

"Black rose?"

The flower language of black roses is...

I don't remember exactly, but I think it was something like death or curse. There's also a note stuck in the pot. When I unfold it—

Now that's a very Han Yuri-like note. She must be seriously pissed about me going off on my own.

"Where did she go? The library?"

"No. She got called to the professor's office because of the shattered crystal this time. They need her testimony since there were traces similar to a witch on the crystal fragments?"

A witch, huh... In this era, witches are more like urban legends. Legendary beings that didn't cause significant damage to humanity.

Well, if it's Han Yuri, she'll be fine.

It's ridiculous that the witch herself is going to give testimony, but I'm not worried. No idiot would dare mess with the daughter of the Portan Guild Master.

While I was organizing my thoughts, Choi Ahyeon frowned, looking slightly angry.

"I just don't get it. Why are they blaming witches for the school failing to manage the crystal properly? They haven't even proven whether witches actually exist or not."

"True."

She seems really bothered by the fact that they're suspecting us. Seeing her huffing and puffing made me feel playful. I suppressed the smirk trying to creep onto my lips and spoke seriously.

"Ahyeon."

"Yeah?"

"I'm only telling you this, so don't tell anyone else."

"Huh? Okay!"

"Yuri and Seol are actually witches."

"......"

Five seconds of silence. Then she suddenly clutches her stomach and bursts out laughing.

"Pfft! You're so funny! That's the funniest thing I've heard all year."

"I'm serious though?"

"Hey, Seonghyun."

"Yeah?"

"Actually, I'm a witch too."

"......"

"Kahaha! It's the exact same joke!"

She laughs so hard that tears stream down her face. Anyway, after that non-incident of an incident, two days passed. I could now move my body mostly as I wanted.

As soon as I could move, I headed straight to the hospital room next door. I checked the nameplate—[Kim Jihun]—and opened the door without knocking. Knock? Between two guys, that kind of trivial courtesy wasn't necessary. But my carelessness came back to bite me this time.

"Whoa!"

"Kyaaaah!"

A man and woman hiding under the blanket. Looks like my timing was terrible.

"I'll come back later."

One hour later. After I heard the woman leave the room, I entered his hospital room again.

"You crazy bastard. How the hell do you call an escort to a hospital?"

"I can't go a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠single day without getting off or it rots inside."

"Idiot. Then at least lock the damn door."

After exchanging some pointless banter, Kim Jihun scratched his head.

"Thanks. I survived because of you."

"If you're grateful, pay me in cash."

"Wow. They say the rich are the stingiest, and it's true. Fine, fine. Your big bro will take you to a really nice place later."

"Yeah. Take care of yourself, and don't overdo it or your bones will wear out."

"Heh heh. You don't know my stamina, that's why you say that. Anyway, go rest already."

He waves his hand like he's telling me to get lost. Looks like he's about to jerk off again. Is there anyone as consistent as this guy?

That's what makes him good, though.

A person whose inside and outside match. That's probably why I can stay friends with him for so long. Feeling a strange sense of satisfaction, I open the door to my own hospital room when—

"Oh? Seonghyun?"

Lee Seol was standing there.