Beyond the Pure White (1)
"From today on, I'll be your bodyguard. Take good care of me."
"Bodyguard?"
"Didn't Irena tell you?"
As she spoke, she slipped behind me and wrapped her arms around my chest. Her ample breasts pressed against my back, and the distinct feminine scent of her skin and perfume filled my nose. Camilla's hands roamed over my chest before she lightly nipped at my neck.
"…Could you stay still? You're making it hard to focus."
"No. Irena called me here, so let's stay like this for a bit. Okay?"
I tried to pull away from her teasing movements, but she didn't budge. What kind of assassin is this strong? In the end, I had no choice but to quietly endure her caresses.
Maybe three minutes passed like that. In the distance, I saw Irena charging toward us with a furious expression—practically flying.
"Hah… hah… Camilla!"
"Oh? Rena, hi!"
When Camilla waved, Irena extended a hand of mana and sent her flying. BOOM! Camilla slammed into a tree, but she simply brushed the dust off her clothes as if nothing had happened.
"Isn't that a bit much for a friend you haven't seen in a while?"
"Friend, my ass. This is a business relationship."
"Hmph. Too mean. I'm sulking!"
"You're thirty years old and still acting like that?"
"A woman only gets started at thirty, you know?"
She struck a seductive pose. Camilla. I'd only heard about her, but seeing her in person, she didn't seem entirely sane either.
"So, what's going on here exactly?"
"Sorry for the late introduction. This is Camilla. She's going to protect you from now on."
"So… why do I need protection? I'm not exactly a civilian…"
I let out a deep sigh. Irena leaned in and whispered in my ear.
"We don't know when or where the Demon Sect might target you. If it were up to me, I'd guard you twenty-four hours a day, but I have my own duties…"
I remembered what she'd said at the hospital. 'So all I have to do is keep you safe from the Demon Sect?' I never imagined that snowball would roll this far.
"That's why I called Camilla… I never expected her to make a move on you the moment she arrived…"
"A move? Rena, you know my personality. Liking someone else's man. You called me knowing that, didn't you?"
"There simply weren't any other suitable candidates. More importantly, you must honor the security contract."
"Don't worry about that. But earlier, when I got a little taste, it was delicious. Can't we do it just once…?"
BOOOOM! The rock beside her turned to dust under Irena's mana hand.
"…This girl. Getting angry over a joke."
"Try anything like that one more time and words won't be enough."
"Fine, fine. You're scary, so relax your face."
After wrapping up the conversation, Irena left, saying she had a meeting. The way she kept glancing back at us made it clear she was uneasy.
Once Irena was gone, Camilla pressed her heavy breasts against my back again.
"It's only been a few minutes since the professor left…"
"I'm not doing anything. I'm just staying like this."
I sighed and showed her my phone.
"Who's this? Your girlfriend?"
"Her name is Shin Suyeon from the first-year Support Department. I'd like you to protect her in my place."
"Hmm…? If I do that, won't Rena get mad at me?"
"I'll take responsibility for that. She only awakened recently, so I expect flies to start swarming around her for a while. Just watch over her for now."
"Well, if you say so…"
An unwanted bomb. If that's the case, all I had to do was pass the bomb along.
***
Shin Suyeon's hunter awakening had been spectacular. The public believed she'd stopped the monsters with her own power. Right after awakening, she'd held off hundreds of D-rank monsters. It was proof of her exceptional potential.
She even has two S-rank derived skills, after all.
If she hadn't had connections with the Association, word of her abilities would have spread much sooner. To express my gratitude, I went to see Lee Jun.
"Thank you for handling the Forest of Shadows incident last time."
"You saved both me and Seol. Don't say things like that. It makes me feel bad."
"Haha. Sorry."
"So, you came here today for something else, didn't you?"
Still as sharp as ever. I hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"I want to find the Altar."
"You mean the one that appeared in Jaehyuk's recording orb?"
"Yes."
The Altar. I had to find the headband my sister had hidden before the Demon Sect did.
I should have asked her.
Because of the nature of Soul's Sanctuary, its duration was short. That's why only the necessary parts had been reproduced, and now it had come back to bite me. If I searched the route from the hospital to the dungeon thoroughly, I'd probably find some answers.
To do that, I'll need the power of a guild or the Association.
I couldn't search that vast area alone. When I explained this, Lee Jun pondered for a moment before nodding.
"You're right. It's better than sitting still and letting the Demon Sect take it. Can you mark the route from the hospital to the dungeon on the map?"
"Yes."
After I marked the route, Lee Jun made a call somewhere.
"Hey, Seungwoo. Can you tell the kids to gather in the conference room for a bit?"
He was already getting to work. He's really reliable. If this man had been my ally in the first timeline… things might have been different. In a good way.
Well, it's something that I know now, at least.
Now this man was my ally. An S-rank hunter who commanded the Hunter Association itself. Even against the Demon Sect, he wouldn't be outmatched.
After finishing his instructions, Lee Jun hung up.
"Alright, Seonghyun. We'll start working on it right away, so don't worry and just wait."
"Thank you, sir."
"No need to thank me. If this old man has one small request… take good care of Seol."
A difficult request. But lip service was free.
"Don't worry."
I gave him a bright smile.
***
[C-Rank Quest Cleared 20 Times]
That was the condition to take the test. We'd only cleared four so far. As the rank increased, the speed at which we cleared quests had noticeably slowed. My own condition was probably part of it.
Because I can't freely use Thunder God Assimilation.
Still, thanks to Han Yuri and Choi Ahyeon, we managed to clear the quests somehow.
"Hup!"
Choi Ahyeon's Wind God. Now that she'd grown more proficient, blades of wind formed along her daggers. The camel's back was cleanly split in two by those sharp edges.
"Greeeeh!"
"Die."
Twenty Meteor Showers. BOOM BOOM BOOM! As expected of a walking artillery platform, her damage was no joke. When the last Roaring Camel fell, Choi Ahyeon collapsed onto the ground.
"Ugh! We finally cleared it!"
"Good work, everyone."
"Good work? You're buying drinks today, right?"
"…Drink in moderation. Moderation."
"Stop buying them. If you keep doing this, you're going to spoil the kids."
I had nothing to say to that. As we left the Hall of Challenge while having that pointless conversation, we heard shouting.
"If you're going to do that, just do it alone! Why are you even in a party with us?!"
"N-no, Jung-ah, I really didn't mean it that way…"
"There it is again! Dodging the issue! Seriously, this is so fucking disgusting I could die."
A familiar voice. It was Lee Seol. It was 11 a.m., peak hours at the Hall of Challenge, so there were plenty of onlookers. The people around them clicked their tongues.
"Wow… even Lee Seol's party fights, huh."
"That's just how relationships are. But listening to Lee Jung-ah, she has a point."
Lee Jung-ah. She was the dealer in Lee Seol's party. Even in the first timeline, the party had fallen apart because of Lee Jung-ah. I'd only heard stories about their fight back then, so this was my first time seeing it directly.
They said Lee Seol went berserk.
She'd grown up like a flower in a greenhouse, always loved by everyone. This must have been the first time she'd heard words like that. And it's happening too fast. Considering that happened in their second year, the event that should have occurred almost a year from now was happening right now.
The reason Lee Seol's party fell apart was simple. Inferiority. Defeat. Lee Jung-ah was a dealer. Her position overlapped with Lee Seol's. When Lee Jung-ah took the lead, the hunt became unbearably slow. When Lee Seol took the lead, the hunt ended too quickly. They could have found a middle ground and coordinated, but that was easier said than done. In the end, for the sake of the party, Lee Jung-ah had no choice but to sacrifice herself. Lee Seol had probably shown consideration for Lee Jung-ah, but from the receiving end, did it really feel like consideration?
"Have you thought about me and Jihun at all? I know you're strong, but isn't it too much to only think about yourself? We're struggling just to handle E-rank monsters, and now we have to keep up with D-rank too?"
"J-Jung-ah, I think there's a misunderstanding. Please calm down and listen…"
"That 'misunderstanding' crap again. Stop pretending to be nice! I'm sick of being in the same party as you! Acting all kind and friendly is disgusting too. I'm tired of kissing your ass!"
Leaving those words behind, Lee Jung-ah ran toward the exit.
"Seol-ah… don't take it too hard. Jung-ah was just worked up for a moment…"
"……"
Kim Jihun tried to comfort her from the side, but Lee Seol's expression looked as if she might collapse at any moment. If Lee Jung-ah had been in our party instead of Choi Ahyeon…
Terrifying.
"Seeing it again, you're really an angel."
"Huh? What is?"
Just as I was about to flick Choi Ahyeon's forehead for asking so innocently, a sense of déjà vu washed over me—like something was dominating and covering the space. This was…
The presence of a Witch.
"Seol-ah…? Seol-ah! Snap out of it!"
"Hah… hah…"
Lee Seol clutched her chest, breathing heavily. Her eyes were filled with tears, like someone suffering from an obsession. And around her, a chilling cold began to swirl. The berserk state I'd only heard about. No—this was… the precursor to a Witch's awakening!
Shit…!
Why the hell—?! But there was no time for questions. WEEEOOO WEEEOOO! Sirens blared. Cases of hunters losing control of their abilities and going berserk were common. The Academy had many inexperienced ability users, so they were well-prepared for such situations. When the sensors detected it and triggered the sirens, people began rushing out of the Hall of Challenge. Kim Jihun carefully set Lee Seol down and headed outside as well. Yeah. That was better than trying to handle it clumsily.
"Let's go too."
"Yeah!"
"Yeah."
Pretending to leave with the two of them, I slipped through the crowd and returned to Lee Seol. Vmmmm! A skill-nullification field spread out. But—CRACKLE! Even that shattered.
As expected…
Skill nullification couldn't stop a Witch's authority. Just like how my Equivalent Exchange wasn't affected by skill nullification.
Please…
Hoping my prediction about the Witch awakening was wrong, I activated my sense of smell. Growth Rate: 51% It was growing rapidly. Soon the cold expanded, transforming into a blizzard. CRACKLE! It became hard to breathe, and my body began to freeze over. Eternal Snow. Her ability was taking over the space.
Something… I need something… a way…!
62%. The sprout soon raised its head. 73%. It began to stand.