Bow
Woojin, having woken from sleep, groggily pushed himself up. He stretched and organized his thoughts.
The dark-affiliated priest, Vikram.
"…Shameless bastard."
Not wanting to fall behind someone who had worked harder than himself. The very thought was infuriating, but… up to that point, it was still within the realm of understanding. Maintaining the lead had been a matter of pride for Vikram.
But what followed crossed the line.
He had recklessly tried to master Mind's Eye and nearly lost both eyes in the process—then stolen a relic and pretended to be the victim. No matter how one looked at it, his skin was thick.
"Still, I did gain quite a few useful pieces of information."
Information about the dark-affiliated priest.
He had just woken up, so his mind wasn't turning very well… It would be best to slowly sort through that information and organize it, then casually forget whatever memories were unnecessary.
Having reached that conclusion, Woojin looked out the window. The sun was setting beyond the horizon.
"How much time has passed?"
He'd better check.
Woojin walked out of the bedroom. Immediately, the smell of delicious food pricked his nose. Cindy and the witch were seated across from each other at the table, eating.
Cindy spoke first.
"You're awake. You were asleep for quite a while."
"How long?"
"Roughly fifteen hours, I think? I didn't count exactly."
After saying that, Cindy turned to the witch.
"Rachel. Bring a cup and a bowl."
"Mm…"
The witch rose from her seat while chewing the food in her mouth. She was still disguised as the courtesan Woojin had seen at the banquet hall before. She seemed capable of basic communication now.
"You've already taught her to speak?"
"Yes. I tried it as a way to pass the time while waiting for Jin to wake up… She learns quickly. Her mind is damaged, but it seems her language ability remains somewhat intact."
While Cindy was speaking, the witch returned from the kitchen. Rachel placed a cup and a bowl in front of Woojin naturally.
Trickle—
Even without being ordered, Rachel poured water and set it before him. The sight made him feel strangely unsettled.
"Her mind seems somewhat recovered… Has some of her memory returned too?"
He was curious about the witch's condition. As it happened, Woojin had one ability he wanted to test.
"Mind's Eye."
He closed both eyes to open the third.
But it felt like his proficiency was lacking. Even Vikram, who had originally possessed this ability, had forced open Mind's Eye through all sorts of shortcuts, so his understanding of the power had been shallow.
As a result, the information he saw was fragmentary. It was closer to intuition than clear sight. That intuition whispered that the witch was harmless.
"It's useful in its own way… but not enough to peer into another person's inner world."
Which was only natural. Woojin couldn't even contemplate his own inner world yet.
Opening his eyes again, Woojin carefully picked up the cup. He had to be cautious not to crush it by misjudging his strength.
Cindy, who had been scooping up stew, followed the movement of his hand with her gaze.
"That… is still there?"
She pointed at his hand. The back of it was covered in gray scales. They had grown smaller, but they were still noticeable.
"It'll take about another day to disappear completely."
"You'll need to be careful when going outside."
It was a considerable inconvenience.
Woojin had a habit of suppressing his strength, senses, and abilities in everyday life. They tended to interfere with normal living otherwise.
Some abilities, once drawn out, took time to subside again.
"Can you keep what you saw a secret?"
Woojin asked Cindy. Anyone would find such an ability suspicious.
Cindy grinned.
"That's perfect. I had a favor to ask as well."
She gestured toward Rachel's neck. A tattoo wrapped around it like a necklace.
Come to think of it… what Cindy had done—placing a curse on the witch—wasn't exactly something to be proud of either. If it caught the attention of the Order's Alliance, severe punishment would surely follow.
"Since we each have one secret, I think we can live a little more at ease."
"Seems that way."
The two clinked their cups in agreement.
**
One minor concern remained.
"What should I do with these inner cores?"
Woojin stroked his chin as he examined the two inner cores resting on the desk. They had belonged to Stonehide and Chainsickle respectively.
He hadn't been able to retrieve the inner core from the man with multiple mouths. The situation had been too urgent, and since he had scorched the bastard with a rain of fire, the core was likely charred black as well.
"From the start, that guy… his ability was rather strange. Hard to call it human."
It had looked as though a demonic beast was imitating a human, or multiple demonic beasts were parasitizing a human body. Considering that, the inner core he possessed was likely of little value.
In that sense… the witch tamed by Cindy, Rachel, was similar.
"Too alien to be called human."
Her appearance resembled that of a mermaid. Rachel didn't seem entirely human either.
Which meant that even if he killed the witch and consumed her inner core, he likely wouldn't inherit the memories in her mind. Woojin could only glimpse memories contained within human inner cores.
"Therefore, if possible, it's better to extract the witch's information through interrogation."
Touching the witch would be postponed. That left him with two inner cores at present…
"…Even if I eat these, I doubt I'll gain meaningful information."
The witch and the talkative man had been personnel assigned for the mission, but Chainsickle and Stonehide were direct subordinates who acted under Vikram's orders.
They knew less than Vikram. So consuming their inner cores would yield little valuable information, and Woojin already possessed their abilities, so there was nothing particularly desirable there either.
"I'll feed them to the wolves."
Stonehide's would go to Rex, Chainsickle's to Misha. Having reached that decision, Woojin lay back on the bed and drifted off to sleep.
The following day at noon.
Woojin, Cindy, and Rachel left the city. They planned to head to the Third Frontier City and ask Bow for help, then assess what could be done about the witch.
"Time to set out on a long journey again…"
Cindy muttered with a carefree yawn. She seemed tired of walking aimlessly. Woojin agreed.
With the expedition underway, the demonic realm near the city had become trivial. Multiple subjugations had wiped out the demonic beasts entirely.
Thanks to that, the two chatted leisurely as they walked.
"It'd be nice if we had a mount."
"Tarasque is too slow, isn't it? We'd probably arrive even later."
"We'd be fast if we rode the wolves."
"Really? I'm a bit curious about that."
They were conversing casually when—
Crack, creak—
A strange sound suddenly rang out. Naturally, both of them turned toward it.
Rachel used her transformation technique. The witch's body swelled violently, tearing apart the clothes she was wearing. Soon, a massive spotted leopard revealed itself.
Cindy nearly fainted at the sight.
"Hhk— w-what…?"
"Get behind me."
Woojin stepped in front of Cindy, gripping his machete. The spotted leopard approached them, its gait extremely cautious.
Swoosh.
The leopard gracefully lowered its posture and turned its back, as if inviting them to ride. Seeing that, Woojin finally understood the situation.
"…Looks like she heard us talking about needing a mount. The witch turned into a leopard."
"This is Rachel?"
"You saw it just now. And I did mention beforehand that she could transform into a spotted leopard."
"Even so… this is way too big."
Peeking out from behind him, Cindy swallowed hard. She was clearly frightened, though she tried not to show it. Someone who held the reins shouldn't fear a beast of prey.
Gathering her courage, Cindy approached the leopard. Perhaps because of the curse, the beast was extremely obedient.
"…Can we really ride it?"
"Of course. It'd be more comfortable with a saddle, but we'll manage. If you sit in front of me, you'll be safe."
As he spoke, Woojin effortlessly lifted Cindy and set her onto the leopard's back. Having been placed there before she could object, she stiffened completely.
"I-I never said I'd ride it!"
"Then would you rather walk?"
"…Wouldn't that be safer?"
"It's fine. There's a trick to it. It'll get cold soon, so you might want to put on another layer."
Chatting casually with Cindy, Woojin used vine-rope to fashion a set of reins around the leopard's body. He tied the knots carefully so they wouldn't come undone mid-ride.
After climbing on behind her, he used the remaining vine-rope to create a safety belt for Cindy. It positioned her like she was leaning against the back of a chair—except her back rested firmly against his chest.
This way, even if something went wrong and she fell, she wouldn't be hurt. Woojin intended to serve as the airbag with his own body.
"All right, we're ready… Let's go."
Bang!!
The leopard kicked off the ground and burst into motion. With each explosive acceleration, their speed climbed higher. The scenery around them seemed stretched thin, as though pulled into long streaks.
"KYAAAHHH!!"
Naturally, Cindy screamed.
**
They arrived at their destination.
Cindy climbed down from the leopard's back. Her legs trembled like those of a newborn fawn.
"I-I'm never… doing that again."
She repeated the threat several times. The journey had been short, but mentally exhausting. Rachel, now returned to human form, kept glancing at her anxiously.
It seemed Cindy would need some time to calm her startled heart.
"Go home with Rachel and rest. It'd be better to visit Elder Bow tomorrow."
"We could go now, you know?"
"Just rest. It's not urgent."
"…All right."
Cindy staggered toward home. Seeing this, Rachel hurried to her side and held her arm to make sure she didn't stumble.
From a short distance away… the two looked like nothing more than close sisters.
"What a strange way for this to end."
He hadn't expected the witch hunt to turn out like this. Woojin watched their retreating figures for a moment before slowly heading elsewhere.
He entered the training hall. As always, Bow was seated in meditation.
"…Jin, did you complete what needed to be done?"
"Yes. The banquet was rather entertaining as well."
"Seems you handled it well again. The wolves are with Roland right now. He's been feeding them treats often, so they've grown rather close."
Bow spoke in his usual calm tone. Then he tilted his head slightly.
"Is something troubling you? Your atmosphere feels somewhat different from usual."
"…May I ask you one question?"
"Go on."
He would not bring up Vikram. If Bow learned of his former disciple's death, the man would surely grieve.
Still, there was something he wanted to know.
"What led you to open Mind's Eye?"
"…A difficult question. You usually avoid that topic altogether."
"I've grown curious."
Bow pondered for a moment before answering.
"There was something I could not endure. Hard to explain in words… I simply grew weary of everything. Disappointed in myself. A trial too great befell me, and I sought to forget it through an even greater trial."
And so Bow had cut out his own eyes. It was no different from abandoning martial arts entirely.
"But nothing changed. In truth, it was an act of resignation. I fell into inner demons and spent each day in meditation… until one day, I indulged a delusion."
"What kind of thought?"
"I wished to see the hearts of people. I was always too slow to notice them."
The moment he embraced that impossible desire in his heart, Bow opened the third eye—Mind's Eye.
"…Is that sufficient? I've never spoken of this aloud before, so I may not have explained it well."
"Yes. I understand."
"Then that is good. Speaking at length has made me somewhat tired. You may go now."
A dismissal. Woojin left the training hall without complaint.
Bow resumed his meditation.
Speaking of the past had been painful… yet, somehow, his heart felt lighter. As if he had set down a burden he had carried for many long years.
"…I should retire early tonight."
It seemed he would not lose sleep for once.
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