Seonyudo Settlement (2)
As I ran toward where Hyeonseok was, I unfolded the note Yeonseo had given me and read it over.
When creating Holy Fire — Ignition.
When shaping it into a sword — Flamberge.
When launching it — Shoot.
The words were almost absurdly simple, but that only made me like them more. When you had to shout them in a hurry, short and easy to pronounce beat long, fancy ones every time.
"All right! Roughly memorized — let's try it. Ignition!"
The moment the word left my mouth, I felt holy power drain from me. The amount was less than usual, yet the flame that appeared was sharper, faster, and far more precise in form.
"Whoa! So that's what using a trigger word does?"
I reached Hyeonseok just as a fierce wind howled down from above. Harpies screeched and wheeled through the air, chasing him in a relentless swarm. He looked exhausted — his altitude dropping, his speed flagging — and I knew at once that if this kept up, he was in real danger. I shouted the trigger words without hesitation.
"Flamberge! Shoot!"
At my words the flame reshaped itself into a sword with a rippling, wave-edged blade. Before, my fire-swords had looked like something a child might scribble; this time the form was detailed, elegant, and perfectly suited to living flame. The blade shot forward, punched straight through a harpy's wing, and set the creature ablaze.
"It actually changes like that? They say words hold power — guess it's true."
More swords streaked out and brought down harpy after harpy. Hyeonseok descended slowly and came to my side.
"Thanks. You saved me."
"Please. That was nothing. More are still coming, though — get ready."
"Got it!"
Furious over their fallen kin, the harpies abandoned any thought of heading toward Yeonseo and Wonkyung. Wings thrashing, they wheeled and gathered on us instead.
"Shall we, Charlotte?"
"Yeah. Let's go!"
Hyeonseok took to the sky again, hurling blades of wind that sheared through harpy wings. The creatures glanced at me standing still on the ground, sneered as if I were nothing, and went after him instead.
"Ha! So that's how you want to play it? Flamberge!"
I forged swords of flame once more, set them in a rising staircase of fire, and stepped onto them — climbing into the sky. At first the footing felt strange and I ascended carefully, but soon I was widening the gaps and racing upward in long, bounding strides.
A harpy froze mid-flight, startled by the sight of me. That was all the opening I needed. I began cutting them down from the air.
Once even one of them slipped free, the rest would scatter or swarm Hyeonseok again. I resolved to end them in a single clean sweep and moved without a wasted motion.
I accelerated along a blade of fire, took the nearest harpy's head in a horizontal slash, spun, checked my position, kicked off another sword, and leapt — cleaving the next from below in one decisive stroke. At a creature thrashing its wings to flee I barked, "Shoot!" Two blades punched through its wings and sent it tumbling; I rode a third sword down and finished it at the neck.
How many times did I swing while racing through the sky, laying down platforms of Flamberge beneath my feet and keeping the flock off-balance? Of the swarm that had filled the air, only about twenty remained — and those shot away toward a tower faintly visible in the distance.
"Hah… hah… What? They ran? Shame. I felt like I was just starting to get the hang of something."
The thin air at that height made breathing hard. I steadied myself, then rode a descending blade of flame back to the ground. Hyeonseok watched the fleeing shapes a moment longer, decided the threat was gone, and drifted down beside me. He raised a hand as he approached. Assuming he meant to ruffle my hair the way he always did, I tilted my head forward —
"You fight pretty well up there too. High-five?"
—and found his open palm waiting instead. Realizing I'd completely misread him, I slapped his hand in a quick, awkward high-five and spun away, bolting toward Yeonseo.
Ugh… what was I even thinking…? No — usually he comes over to pat my head, so… wait. Why am I disappointed?
"So that's why you came out here looking for materials?"
After the fight with the harpies, we ducked into a nearby building, confirmed it was safe, and rested while Wonkyung explained what had brought her this far.
"Yeah. Like I said earlier, my ability is Marking, so it's easy for me to track down materials I've tagged. My aunt — well, not really my aunt, a woman named Oh Haneul — she's a tailor. She makes clothes."
"Ah, so you were gathering fabric and supplies for her. But coming alone? Wasn't that a little reckless?"
Yeonseo, who had been listening quietly, perked up at the mention of a clothes-maker named Oh Haneul and joined the conversation.
"I… I know it was reckless. But around our settlement there usually aren't any bandits, and the monsters from the tower at the National Assembly Building never used to come this far. Not until that weird one showed up."
Hyeonseok, who had been leaning against the wall with his arms folded, dropped them and stepped closer.
"Could you tell us more about that weird one?"
"Hm? Oh, that thing… Well, I've only heard about it secondhand, so I don't know much. But they say it had two pairs of wings, feathers like steel, and even six arms."
Steel feathers… Could those be the same as the one we'd found earlier? Just in case, I pulled the feather from my pocket and held it out to Wonkyung.
"A feather like this, maybe?"
"Huh? Oh! Yes — exactly like that! You've already run into it?"
"No. We just happened to be investigating something related."
"Is that so? More importantly, I never even got your names. All right — proper introductions. I'm Choi Wonkyung. I handle scouting and recovery for the Seonyudo Settlement."
Only then did we realize we hadn't properly introduced ourselves either.
"I'm Charlotte Magnier. Just call me Charlotte. The one with the blue hair is Yeonseo, and next to her is Hyeonseok."
"Great! Nice to meet you all! Come on — let's get back to the settlement. I can look for materials another day. Let's go!"
The bright, clear sky was already washing over with golden sunset, staining the horizon red. Night was coming to meet us, so we made for Seonyudo at a quick pace.
The first time Wonkyung saw Yeonseo's summoned creature, her excitement shot through the roof. The entire way to Seonyudo she talked without pause, and the rest of us could only listen, half-stunned by the sheer volume.
She told us about greenhouses full of crops, about gardens and botanical parks where people gathered to talk and dance. She described children climbing the observation deck to watch the surroundings or pick out constellations. Even after all that, her mouth kept firing like a machine gun, as if she still had a hundred stories left.
In that short stretch of road, through Wonkyung's endless chatter, we learned the state of Seonyudo. The tower had been standing long enough that the blighted zone was creeping toward the island, so the nearby settlements had pooled their people for a raid. About a week ago they had set out — only to find the monsters around the tower far more vicious than usual. Then that strange creature had appeared, and the whole force had been forced to retreat without even putting up a proper fight.
"So that's where things stand. It's been a real mess. But now that you three are here, maybe we'll be all right? Oh — we're here! This is the Seonyudo Settlement. Hey, uncles~ It's me!"
Wonkyung waved as she called out. Several buses had been lined up as a barricade, with a watchtower rising behind them; the people on duty waved back. They climbed down from the tower, the barricade lifted, and an entrance opened.
"Come on in!"
We followed Wonkyung through the gate — and the Seonyudo Settlement was beautiful. It had always been a park where people came to play, and somehow that original character had been preserved even as it became a place for survivors to live. Just as she'd described on the way, the heart of the settlement was thick with trees and blooming flowers, and the glasshouses glowed green with dense foliage.
We left that greenery behind and headed for a building right beside the entrance, marked Management Office.
"This is where Mr. Ryu Jinseong runs the settlement. I've got to go see my aunt, so I'll catch you later~"
With that, Wonkyung sprinted off. We went inside, explained our situation, and were shown to the director's office.
A knock — a call to enter — and we stepped in. A man in explorer's gear and dark brown sunglasses spread his arms in welcome.
"Welcome~ First time at the Seonyudo Settlement?"
I was still deciding how to answer when Hyeonseok drew an envelope from his coat and held it out.
"This is a letter from Mr. Kang Hancheol of the Mokdong Settlement."
"Oh~ Thanks! Don't just stand there — sit down, sit down."
He took the letter, dipped a finger into a cup on his desk, and drew it out. A thin, transparent blade formed around the fingertip. He slit the envelope open, read the contents, then lowered his sunglasses just enough to look at us with suddenly serious eyes.
The easy, roguish charm from a moment before was gone. What sat across from us now was a hunter sizing up his prey.
"All right. Let's talk business."