Out of Control
Snore.
Soft, even breathing.
“Khhhrr.”
“Hnnngh.”
My eyes snapped open.
In the dead of night I cracked my lids, then carefully lifted my head to check on the two people sleeping beside me. Young Cult Leader Lee Da-yeon and Left Guardian Kim Na-yeon were both sunk deep in slumber.
I started to ease myself upright—only to feel resistance from something coiled tightly around my body. My brow furrowed. Na-yeon’s arm was locked firmly around my waist.
“Nngh.”
Careful not to wake her, I lifted that arm, curled myself small, and wriggled free at last.
“Khhhrr.”
Thankfully, she didn’t stir. I shot her face one pointed glare, then slipped out of the bedroom on silent feet.
Rummage, rummage.
In a dark corner of the office I dug through the refrigerator. What I wanted was definitely in there.
“Oho.”
Found it. The Left and Right Guardians had probably meant the drinks for themselves alone, but they’d bought so generously that three or four cans still remained.
How insolent. This supreme being is wide awake and very much alive, and my subordinates dare hold a drinking party without me?
Some of the labels were written in that curly “English” script; others, surprisingly, bore Chinese characters.
“Hmm. Is this from the Central Plains? Ah—there’s English up top as well. Asa…hi? No, the characters underneath aren’t quite the same as the Hanzi I know.”
I marveled at the branding for only a moment before licking my lips and cracking the can open. A soft pssst, then bubbles rose and frothed.
I swallowed hard and grinned.
“Heh heh heh.”
I finally understood how Malko—the Taeguk Geomseon of the Wudang Sect—must have felt when he converted an entire cavern in the White Cloud Peak training caves into a liquor storeroom. Crossing the vast gulf of a past life I could barely remember just to taste alcohol again made it worth every drop.
Sip.
“Ugh.”
I scowled. That sharp bite again. Carbonation. One of this era’s culinary mysteries I still could not fathom. Why add the stuff even to liquor?
I smacked my lips and took another careful sip—then tipped the can and poured it straight down my throat.
Gulp, gulp.
“Khaaah!”
I wiped my mouth roughly and roared. Now I understood why they put the fizz in. At first I had no idea why anyone would lace a drink with something that stung, but the clean rush that shot from throat to brain in an instant—that alone was peerless under heaven.
And I could tell what kind of liquor this was. Grain. Barley.
“Bitter, but better than I expected.”
Sip, sip.
Now I was properly settled in. I plopped down on the office floor, one hand scrolling my smartphone, the other steadily working through the beer. A quick search told me the drink was called “beer.” I sampled cans of different brands, comparing the flavors.
“This one has depth. That one’s light, with a clean finish.”
Walking the Way of Wine remained a pleasure even in a new world. I nodded along, evaluating each company’s brew—
Ding.
“Ugh.”
A sudden wave of dizziness hit; I pressed a hand to my head. The buzz was rising already. Strange. I hadn’t drunk that much.
A moderate flush simply lifted the mood. No need to circulate inner energy and purge it. I had never blacked out no matter how much I drank, so leaving this alone should be fine.
“Hee hee hee.”
I cupped my warming cheeks and kept sipping.
“…?”
My clothes were a mess. Where was I? What was this in my hand?
Sniff, sniff. Ah. Liquor.
Had I been drinking with Malko? Then where had the bastard gone?
“Malkooo?”
Huh. This Seat’s voice sounds strange. Must have gone overboard in a drinking contest with Malko and gotten thoroughly soused.
Oh—the moon outside the window is bright. I don’t know where this is, but wasting a fine drink in such a cramped space is a crime. When did I take off my martial robe? And what is this floaty, thin thing I’m wearing?
Ah. The robe’s over there. Looks a bit small, yet somehow it fits.
“Hic.”
I threw the martial robe on loosely, gripped the oddly shaped bottle in one hand—
and launched myself out the window.
“Khhhrr… nngh?”
Kim Na-yeon woke from deep sleep. The soft, warm weight against her left arm was still there—but her right arm felt empty.
“…? Yeon-ah?”
Gone. The little black-haired girl she had been cradling in her right arm was nowhere to be found.
Na-yeon stormed straight into Kim Do-yoon’s room, hauled him awake, and headed for the office.
Thud-thud-thud.
“Ugh… I was sleeping fine. Why drag me out in the middle of the night without even asking?”
“Yeon’s gone!”
“What?”
“Look at this.”
“…!”
Dragged into the office, Do-yoon took one look at the scene and his jaw dropped. The window stood wide open; night wind poured through, making the curtains billow.
“…How did this happen!?”
“I—I don’t know. Yeon was missing, so I came out here and the window was— Wait. Don’t tell me—!”
The worst possibility flashed through Kim Na-yeon’s mind.
Kidnapping?
Wiji Yeon was strong when she used her power, but her body was still a child’s; she needed a lot of sleep. Had the Red Wind targeted the one hour when she was most defenseless?
The world swam yellow before Na-yeon’s eyes. Her hands shook as she sank to the floor.
“I—I was holding her in this arm…! How…!?”
“…No. It wasn’t a kidnapping.”
“What!?”
Na-yeon’s eyes blazed; she seized Do-yoon by the collar and shook him.
“How would you know that, Oppa? Can you swear to it!?”
“Ghk—ghack. L-little sister, let go and talk—”
“…Ah. Sorry….”
“Hah… hah. Thought I was going to choke to death. Why are you so strong?”
Do-yoon made a show of gulping air, then pointed at the wall.
“Look. Yeon’s martial robe—missing, right? If she’d been kidnapped she wouldn’t have left it behind.”
“…Ah.”
“Man, you were so rattled you couldn’t even think straight.”
This time he pointed toward the refrigerator. Na-yeon’s eyes followed—and went wide.
“…!”
The fridge door hung open. On the floor in front of it, several empty beer cans lay scattered.
A different kind of fire ignited in Na-yeon’s eyes.
“That—that little brat!”
Thud-thud-thud.
The two hunter siblings poured mana into their legs and tore through the midnight city. Their guild sat on the outskirts, quiet at night, shops shuttered, almost no foot traffic. Na-yeon tracked the signal in real time on a smartphone app.
“GPS is working fine. She’s nearby. Thank goodness she didn’t go far.”
“Good thing we installed that kid-locator program.”
“Yeah. Yeon always tucks her phone into the inner pocket of her martial robe before bed.”
They stopped in front of an abandoned building and looked up.
“The signal’s coming from right here.”
“The roof, maybe?”
“Straight up.”
“Got it.”
Boom.
Both hunters stamped once and rocketed upward, using the unfinished building’s skeletal steel beams as stepping stones.
Tap.
Na-yeon landed on the rooftop and immediately scanned the area. Aside from a single steel spire rising from the center, the roof was bare and empty. No one in sight.
Why? The GPS put her right here.
“Yeon-ah! Are you here!?”
“Hey, Wiji Yeon! I won’t scold you—just come out!”
“Oppa! You’ll scare her!”
As Na-yeon hurried across the roof, a familiar voice drifted to her ears.
Even in a strange forest of upright stones, the moon in the sky remains the same. Enjoying the view with a drink for company—what could be better? I have wine for a companion, yet Malko is nowhere to be found, and uninvited guests arrive instead.
A voice like jade beads rolling, laced with an odd melody—
Flutter.
Between the moon’s shadow and the building’s spire, a black martial robe billowed. A side-ponytail of pure raven silk streamed in the wind, and a girl’s youthful face, pale as moonlight, came into view. The robe hung loose and disheveled, bare shoulder gleaming with an almost alluring carelessness. Her faintly flushed cheeks wore a dangerously bright little smile, while her red eyes glittered with predatory light.
In one tiny hand she held… a beer can?
“Who might you beee?”
“Wi… Wiji Yeon! You—!”
The girl blinked wide at the sound of her name. The dangerous smile only deepened.
“If you know who This Seat is and still came here, am I free to take you for uninvited pests come to ruin a fine drinking hourrr? Qingcheng? Kunlun? Matters not which. This Seat shall thrash your sect masters’ hindquarters for them.”
“…What kind of nonsense are you spouting? How drunk are you? Put that beer can down right now.”
“Wait.”
“…Oppa?”
Do-yoon stopped Na-yeon as she snorted and started forward. Sparks crackled; cold sweat beaded on his brow as he summoned his sword into his grip.
“It’s Yeon—but it isn’t Yeon. And—”
“…Aegis!”
Boom!
Na-yeon activated her power at once, summoning shield and armor.
“Oho? Young Hero practices the Lightning God Art? No—something a little different. And Young Lady’s technique is one This Seat has never seen.”
Even through the soft, tipsy smile and the cute, tongue-tangled voice, the siblings had every reason to take combat stances.
Hummm.
Blades of mana rose into the air around Wiji Yeon—and turned toward the two of them. Crimson light flashed in the eyes of the girl whose black martial robe whipped in the wind. Pressure strong enough to make their knees tremble. This was what it felt like to face Wiji Yeon’s power head-on.
Until now they had never known, because she always listened so well to Na-yeon. But if that ability ever turned on them—
Na-yeon cried out desperately.
“Y-Yeon-ah! Snap out of it! What’s wrong with you!?”
“Heh heh. Did you think to strike while This Seat was in her cups?”
She took a step.
“Perfect for heightening the drinking mood. Fortune smiles on you—This Seat is merciful. I will not take your lives. In exchange, let me see what your martial arts are worth.”
Yeon’s hand lifted toward the siblings.
“Come, then. Resist with everything you have.”
KRAAAAAASH!
Several blades of highly refined mana, each trailing lethal energy, began to rain down upon the siblings.