Suspiciously Competent (8)
The opponent right in front of me was strong.
The title the ManShinJeon bastards called her.
Apostle.
Apostles were the highest-ranking executives of ManShinJeon. Monsters beyond the realm of the Council Leader or the High Archbishop of the Holy Church.
They poured that overwhelming power solely into selfish desires and vile deeds, so anyone who opposed them was brutally murdered or left to live with horrific aftereffects.
In other words.
They were all madmen.
What do I do?
She seemed unable to use her power on me because of Sariya sis, but if she got serious, I couldn't guarantee Wishi's safety.
She was a good person. I didn't want to lose her.
Sariya sis's return to her true form seemed temporary, and she wasn't even wrapped in wind.
But they didn't know that.
I need to use the information advantage as my greatest weapon.
I steeled my resolve, feigned calm, and opened my mouth.
"You wanna keep fighting?"
The Apostle replied in a refined tone.
"Oh my, do we really need a reason to shed blood? Meeting a spirit mage was a delight, and encountering such a fascinating spirit has me in high spirits."
"There's such a thing as position."
"Position? Is that such a big deal?"
The Apostle shrugged.
"That can change anytime. Today's enemy can be tomorrow's ally. In the blink of an eye."
"So, are you leaving ManShinJeon, ma'am?"
The Apostle chuckled.
"No?"
She pointed at me.
"You should come to us."
Negotiations broken.
Sariya sis was already unleashing a blast of wind pressure and charging at the Apostle.
BOOM!
The Apostle slid back like she was on ice and flicked her finger.
KRAK!
The marble floor erupted like sharp spears, aiming for Sariya sis.
Sis sliced through the spears with her nails in one go, spinning in midair.
Using the ceiling and walls as footholds, she dodged the endlessly sprouting spears and shot toward the Apostle like an arrow.
But.
Sis is getting pushed back.
Without devouring the surrounding spirits, she wouldn't last even a few minutes.
The Apostle called out to sis, who was twisting in the air.
"How about becoming my spirit instead of that brat who doesn't even know spirit arts and just relies on spirits? I'll feed you all the natural energy you could want."
Sis, who had deflected a spear and was aiming for the Apostle's face, snorted.
"You think you could even handle a contract with me?"
In that gap, I ran to Wishi.
The Apostle's power couldn't reach near me, after all.
I crouched down beside Wishi.
"You okay?"
"I'm fine."
Wishi grabbed my arm with trembling hands.
"We need to end this before it hurts the patients."
I recalled the cookie house incident.
Back then, since it was made of cookies, I could just eat the whole rule yokai, but now that wasn't an option.
What do I do?
Then the bear doll tugged at my chest.
And pointed upward.
The 4th floor.
Does it know something?
The bear doll's button eyes looked serious.
No other options.
It was a gamble, but.
I decided to trust the bear doll.
"Sis! Hold on!"
I shouted to Sariya sis and ran up the stairs with Wishi.
As we climbed, I asked,
"Got any salt?"
"Salt? There's no such thing in the ward...."
Wishi paused mid-sentence.
"We have saline solution."
She pulled a small bottle from her pocket and handed it over.
"Saline won't have Thousand-Day Salt in it, right?"
"......This isn't the time for jokes. It probably has something similar."
"That'll do."
It was basically saltwater, so it should work.
"Thanks."
We passed the 3rd floor to the 4th.
The moment we climbed the stairs, the air changed.
Wishi covered her mouth with her hand.
She was holding back the urge to vomit.
Every room door was open.
A headless doctor was slicing open a patient's stomach. A nurse was gnawing on an arm.
Mixed in with the patients' screams were gleeful laughs.
I followed the bear doll's guidance.
End of the hallway.
A worn door with writing scrawled in blood.
[Director’s Office]
Wishi grabbed my arm.
"Wait."
Her voice trembled.
"Wouldn't it be better to surrender now and at least stay alive?"
"......"
"This is too dangerous. You don't need to step up for this."
She was right.
I wasn't even an official Council member yet—just an aspiring NEET.
But.
"You know, Wishi? Wearing this makes my heart feel weird."
I looked down at the hem of my gown.
"I don't get it myself. But I think it's because of you."
Wishi's eyes widened.
"You said if I get even a little tired, one more person survives."
Yesterday, helping patients and hearing their stories. Every thank you made my chest itch.
It was the same when I posed as the archbishop to save people. When I saved Amelia. When I toppled the ManShinJeon branch and saw spring return to the faces of the suffering.
Sariya sis fighting for me downstairs right now. The memory of almost losing her. My vow not to let sis overdo it alone anymore.
And what Wishi said.
Maybe.
Just maybe.
There might be something in life more important than life itself, worth risking it for.
I said I wanted to live with people, but I didn't really know them.
I didn't understand myself.
What do I want to do right now?
I asked myself.
The wind blew.
A flow spread from my fingertips in my pocket. My body felt lighter.
Then, like before, my heart melted away uncontrollably.
"If my small effort can save someone, and that's what I can do now."
I looked at Wishi.
"That seems pretty cool to me."
"......"
Wishi stared at me intently.
She didn't hold me back anymore.
Instead, she lightly punched my chest with her fist.
No real force behind it.
Her legs were shaking, but her eyes were different from before. No defeat in them.
We opened the door and stepped inside.
Inside the director's office.
Human limbs, sorted by body part, were displayed in glass cases.
The desk was made of medical workers' heads. Eyes rolled faintly toward us.
A chair of bones.
Sitting there.
A doll-like thing made of blood vessels and organ bundles. Wearing a bloodstained gown. "Director" pinned to its chest.
A heart pulsed above its head.
Thump.Thump.Thump.
The bear doll pointed at it.
"That's the guy!"
Wishi shouted.
"The core of this rule yokai!"
Thump.Thump.Thump.
As the heartbeat grew louder, Wishi clutched her head.
"Ugh...... my head......"
Her collar fluttered like bandages. The curse was transferring.
The room buzzed.
All the displayed eyes turned toward us.
Blood boiled from the director's mouth.
Blood vessel bundles extended like tentacles toward us.
I unscrewed the saline cap and sprinkled it on my hand.
Then I placed my hand on Wishi's suffering head and moved.
As my heart guided. Like Sariya sis's wind.
I slapped away the approaching vessel bundles with my bare hand.
The leech-like vessels were blown back by a small gust before they could touch, never reaching me.
My body feels light.
Incredibly light. Like sis pushing from behind. Borrowing that strength, I stepped forward.
Moving like wind dancing through rock crevices, in a few steps I was right up close.
I reached out. Pierced through layers of transparent barriers. Grabbed the pulsing heart above the director's head.
Sizzle!
The saline and purifying energy touched it, and the heart burned with a searing sound.
The vessel bundles writhed madly, surrounding me.
By a hair.
I yanked with force.
And crushed it.
Splat.
Black blood sprayed everywhere.
The vessel bundles froze midway, then began rotting from the ends.
The displayed limbs collapsed in their cases. The heads shut their mouths. The eyes closed.
The building shook.
It's over.
The moment that thought hit, strength drained from my whole body.
Immense fatigue crashed over me at once.
My knees buckled, vision tilting.
Someone caught me.
It was Wishi.
"Got you. You're okay."
Her voice faded away.
"Let's get down quick. The building's collapsing."
Felt like she was carrying me on her back.
I sensed Wishi rushing down the stairs with me.
......Wonder how much reward I'll get.
This should be worth a good amount.
If I get it, I can buy some furniture for the house, some elixirs, stuff like that.
Lost in such idle thoughts, my eyes closed.
1st floor.
Sariya was being pushed back.
Maintaining power by devouring spirits had its limits, and she hadn't regained her original strength.
Above all, the Apostle was too strong.
A spear pierced the wall and grazed Sariya's back. Blood soaked her white dress.
"Close one."
The Apostle clicked her tongue.
"What a shame. Both of you. If not for the Council, this would've been perfect."
Sariya gritted her teeth and unleashed wind pressure, but the Apostle brushed it off easily.
"That brat doesn't even know how to handle spirit power, but I could teach him well. You both just need to learn from me."
"Idiot. My little bro will do fine without that."
At "little bro," the Apostle hesitated briefly.
"......Little bro? With a human? For real?"
"None of your business."
"......Weirdos. Spirits and humans aren't on the same level. Why would a noble being stoop to a lesser race? Faster to see yokai hanging with humans."
Sariya laughed at the Apostle's words.
"Maybe."
Then.
The building shook.
Dust poured from the ceiling.
The Apostle looked up.
Her eyes narrowed as if sensing something.
"......Shall we call it?"
The Apostle withdrew her attack.
"Time to part ways."
"Says who."
Sariya growled.
The Apostle smirked.
"Don't misunderstand. If I hadn't been holding back, you'd be dead already."
Sariya didn't argue.
Infuriating, but true.
The Apostle walked toward the opposite stairs, glancing back.
"Tell that brat...... the boy."
She smiled.
"Let's meet again."
The Apostle climbed the stairs and vanished into the darkness.
Sariya panted roughly, feeling her body shrink.
Her 8-cheok frame returned to palm-sized.
That woman.
Strong.
Hated to admit it, but she couldn't match her now.
I need to get stronger.
To protect little bro.
Sariya flew up to the upper floor in her shrunken form.
She saw the boy asleep on Wishi's back.
Face weary with exhaustion. Hands stained black with blood. Yet his lips curved slightly upward.
Sariya landed softly on his face.
"Good job, my little bro."
Outside, the morning sun was rising.
Light poured through the windows into the hallway.
The red lighting was slowly fading.
The 4th floor began to disappear.
Same time.
Isado walking through the darkness.
She stepped out of the abandoned hospital and looked up at the dawn sky.
The moon was setting.
Fun boy.
The more she thought, the more her lips curved.
A spirit that devours spirits. A being that ignores rule yokai precepts. A human her power doesn't work on.
And eyes that possess all that yet know nothing.
I want him.
Isado stopped and pondered.
How to report this to bring the boy to their side.
"Isado."
She turned blankly at the voice interrupting her thoughts.
"Yuk Sado."
"No presence inside. What happened?"
"Failed."
"......What?"
"Failed. Your plan."
"We confirmed the branch leader wasn't staying in the ward before executing. Was he there? No, even alone, what could he do to you? What's the failure factor?"
Isado hesitated briefly. She prided herself on being the most normal in ManShinJeon. Handing info on him to a madman like that could spell trouble for the boy.
"Wasn't alone. There was a gold-grade woman with the branch leader type. Name was...... Wishi?"
"Even two golds wouldn't easily face you in a rule yokai domain."
Suspicion in his tone.
"Speaking of, that rule yokai you made couldn't even distinguish friend from foe properly. During battle, our guys got reclassified as patients the moment they were hurt. Would've won otherwise."
"......"
"Couldn't you do better~?"
Yuk Sado gave up questioning her. She had her own standards. No arbitrary retreat, and he'd get no satisfying answer anyway.
As "Wishi" etched into Yuk Sado's mind.
"Oh right."
Isado halted her forward step.
"Found a promising brat... boy for the Council. I'll recruit him soon. Cool?"
"As long as not the main church. If using as combat asset, make sure he's loyal."
Mental interference or whatever to prevent betrayal.
"Of course."
She walked on.
"Gotta be careful. Got scolded for 'brat'."
She muttered.
"Boy it is."
Isado smirked and walked into the darkness.