Who Are You? (5)

"Kyeng!"

I raced through the mountains.

A dark hillside lit only by moonlight. With Miho perched on my shoulder as my guide, I tore through the woods.

Even the scant moonlight was blocked by the trees, leaving almost nothing to illuminate the ground. But my heightened senses—and the faint traces of mana I could still feel—pulled me forward.

The dark mages had fled in such a panic that they hadn't even bothered to hide their tracks or their mana, focused only on putting as much distance behind them as possible. That made following the residual mana almost easy. To make matters worse for them, they left trails laced with black mana, the signature of their kind, which made identifying them even simpler.

Deeper and deeper into the mountain I went.

"Hoh."

Once I reached the heart of the woods, it was clear they hadn't even tried to cover their trail. Footprints stood out sharply in the dirt. Following those prints and the lingering mana, I soon spotted something of note.

The trail of footprints suddenly gave way to a deep gouge in the earth. Judging by the shape, someone had fallen hard here. The prints continued, then stretched into a long scuff mark and what looked like handprints—yes, definitely a fall. There were no other signs of an attack from some third party. And just before the tumble, the footprints had grown unsteady, proof that the runner was either injured or thoroughly exhausted.

Which meant the fleeing dark mage was still nearby.

Unfortunately, after the fall the footprints vanished, making further tracking by tracks alone difficult. It seemed that once their mana was spent, they had proceeded carefully, trying not to leave any more traces. Even the mana residue cut off here.

But I had a high-performance black mana detector of my own.

I cast a stealth spell. In an instant my form blended with the surroundings, my presence thinning to almost nothing. It was a crude stealth technique I'd learned half-assed from Marbas, but on a night this dark, spotting me would be no easy feat.

Just in case the dark mage could sense the spirits sealed inside the doll, I left my bag here. I'd layered strong sealing magic over it so they shouldn't be detectable under normal circumstances, but better safe than sorry. Dark mages were intimate with spirits; there was always a chance they might notice the countless ones bound inside the doll.

I held my breath and lightened my steps. Any sound that might escape was erased with a silence spell. At the same time I carefully throttled the spell's power so the inevitable mana residue would be kept to an absolute minimum.

A few minutes later—

There he was.

A man limping slowly along. The silhouette, half-hidden by trees and only visible in snatches, was unmistakably human. Miho was pointing straight at him as well. This had to be one of the dark mages who had terrorized the academy.

I carefully tailed him from behind.

"Ugh, damn it… Should I have just fought alongside hyung after all? No… turning myself in might've been the best option…"

The limping man muttered to himself. I slowly closed the distance.

"There's no way they chased me this far. Hyung still has to hold out…"

Judging the gap close enough, I shot forward like lightning and struck the back of his neck, knocking him out cold.

A chop to the nape. It was a dangerous method that could seriously damage a person's spine, but I had no interest in going to the trouble of subduing him any other way. He was a criminal anyway, and I didn't have many better options. Besides, I'd carefully controlled the force so it would only knock him unconscious. He probably wasn't hurt.

And if he was… well. Not my problem.

"Ghk…!"

The man crumpled where he stood. I caught him as he fell and looked him over carefully.

Brown hair, a timid face—and just like the man earlier, the tips of his hair had gone white. Classic signs of mana exhaustion. From his muttering and appearance, he was clearly related to the one who'd been in that abandoned house.

I patted him down for anything dangerous. His pockets held quite the assortment of artifacts; he must have grabbed everything he could when he fled the hideout.

Still carrying him over my shoulder, I returned to where I'd left the bag. I didn't forget to contact Kim Gabyul either.

A fine purple powder began to slowly wrap around the man.

My eyes gradually opened.

My head felt foggy. Thoughts wouldn't connect. But my brain forced itself toward wakefulness anyway.

An unpleasant sensation. The feeling of my entire body jolting and swaying. My surroundings came into view—nothing but bare earth. My gaze was pointed at the ground.

Huh…? Why am I like this…

My thoughts still wouldn't line up properly. I had clearly fled the hideout, and then… right, I'd split off from my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠twin sister and run. Why had I run again…? Ah, yes. Some holy mage had shown up.

Had there been someone else with them? Or not? Had the holy mage come alone?

I blinked. Slowly, my mind returned. My body kept jolting. My vision showed only the ground. And most decisively… the thick arm wrapped around my waist.

Fuck! I'm screwed!

I'd run for my life, but it looked like I'd been caught after all. If only I hadn't twisted my ankle while running! If only my mana hadn't run dry!

I rolled my eyes, trying to gather information so I could stay alive. That was when a voice reached me.

"Did you sleep well?"

Goosebumps prickled across my entire body. And without any say from me, I started trembling like a leaf in the wind.

"W-who are you?"

"Haha. Who do you think I am?"

The man answered with a laugh.

How the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fuck am I supposed to know that…!

My body wouldn't move, and now I was getting answers like that—it was enough to drive anyone insane.

"Um… sir, would it be all right if I asked where we're going?"

But I needed to know this. Whether I was being taken as a sacrifice or to the police station would decide how much time I had left in this life. If it was the police station, there was still hope. If I was being offered as a sacrifice… I might not even have a day left.

Please be the police station, please!

But the man's answer was nothing like what I'd prayed for.

"Hmm… how about this? First you introduce yourself, and then I'll introduce myself. We'll exchange information. How does that sound?"

A completely out-of-place topic for a situation like this.

Self… introduction? Right now?

Still, it wasn't a bad offer for me either. No, it wasn't bad at all. Knowing something about the other party might open a path to escape.

As long as he's not a dark mage, I'll be fine.

"I-I'm Yun Chae-ho. I made a small contract with a demon and use dark magic as a dark mage, and…"

I forced my uncooperative tongue to move and introduced myself. After hearing me out, the man laughed easily and introduced himself in turn.

"Haha, what a coincidence. I'm also a dark mage who contracted with a minor demon. To meet a fellow practitioner in a place like this—how delightful.

So, Mr. Yun Chae-ho. Why were you limping through the mountains in the middle of the night?"

A dark mage!

I was truly, completely fucked.

"Th-that… no. The reason I was w-walking…"

I tried to protest that the man had glossed over any real details about himself, but instinct rejected the idea. The thought that I must not oppose him took root. My whole body had gone ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠limp, and the man was carrying me over his shoulder while casually descending the mountain. Even rationally, resisting him was out of the question.

"Ah, I see. Some holy mage broke into your house and you ran, is that it… An interesting story."

"Y-yes… that's right. S-so, where… are we going right now?"

I forced my increasingly unresponsive tongue to move. My head was growing foggier by the second, making it harder to think.

"Where we're going, you ask. That depends on what you do, doesn't it?"

The man still refused to give me any useful information. His attitude pushed my sense of crisis to its peak. I forced my foggy mind to work and poured every ounce of strength into moving my body, but it refused to obey my will at all.

Why won't my body move…! Goddamn it… please just move!

Only my heart hammered wildly as the anxiety mounted. The man watched me carefully for a moment, then continued with a smile.

"One question, Mr. Yun Chae-ho. Are you one of the people who terrorized the academy?"

"Y-… y-yes, I am."

For a split second I nearly denied it, but I forced my mouth to admit that I had been the one who attacked the academy. Something told me lying would be a very bad idea.

"Haha, I see. Mr. Yun Chae-ho, I'll tell you where we're headed. We're on our way to the police. You just rest easy. By the time ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you open your eyes again, it'll all be over."

"What… what did you just…"

My eyes slammed shut and my consciousness sank into the abyss. Even so, the man's answer—that we were going to the police station—filled me with relief.

Hahahahahahaha.

Beyond my sinking consciousness, I thought I heard that laughter.