"The mountain is restless."
"Indeed. It is."
"Those don't sound like sword-blade clashes. We should go investigate."
Meanwhile, aside from Otis and Don Quixote on reconnaissance, Lee Sang, Faust, and Meursault noted the mountain's disturbance and began preparing to head out.
"A swarm of [Originium Larvae] is moving in mass… Something must have happened."
"We don't have time to wait until they pass. We'll break through."
Faust drew his blade, which shimmered with a flowing yellow light. Then, in a dance of successive strikes, his sword cleaved through the [Originium Larvae] with surgical precision. Before long, the yellow glow had intertwined with streaks of red, rendering each blade arc like a strange, abstract tableau.
"[Flesh Rend]!"
Then, from Meursault's sword erupted a sheen even deeper than the red glow Baekhyun displayed—like fresh blood sprung to life. The very landscape before them cleaved apart. Struck through, it ripped open.
"Isn't that excessive?"
"Had Faust drawn his blade first to aid, I wouldn't have needed to step in."
"Because it's hardly pleasant to cut them down."
"That hardly seems a valid justification."
"I didn't expect anyone to understand."
That banter seemed frivolous compared to the display of force they had just delivered. Yet it served only to highlight that they stood outside any conventional scale of power.
"Meursault! Faust! Lee Sang! It's bad… really bad!"
"Sinclair. Speak calmly. What happened?"
At that moment, Sinclair came running down the slope. He panted raggedly, his body streaked with dirt and small lacerations.
"There was… a huge beast… it suddenly attacked us…!"
"A beast? There are no such creatures on this mountain. Not only is this area unsuitable for large fauna, but we patrol it regularly. It's been ages since any large beast showed itself here…"
"Then what was it?! Are you saying we saw things?!"
"Enough. For now, let's ascend. If it's proven false, we'll punish accordingly."
If Sinclair's account was accurate, Baekhyun left alone above was in danger.
"Go up first. You two, hurry up."
He drove a dagger, shaped like a crow's feather, into the wood. Instantly, Lee Sang was nowhere to be seen; only black smoke and crow feathers swirled in his place.
"A [Movement Arts]… I heard it's extremely rare…"
To think a swordsman would wield such a rare Movement Arts.
"There's no time to stand here in shock. Let's move up."
"O-Okay!!"
'They want me to climb back up there…'
Sinclair felt strangely wronged.
"Lee Sang. Has something happened?"
"Hm. That was a pun… Never mind. Look over there."
Lee Sang reached the training ground first but, for some reason, stood there motionless like a bored magistrate rather than lending aid.
"…That is…"
That phenomenon every swordsman hears of at least once: the so-called awakening, or enlightenment. It arrives in a life-and-death clash like a storm, not through mere practice.
"The atmosphere has shifted."
All three, having cleaved others down to the marrow, had stared into a battle-crazed madman's eyes—those destructive orbs lusting for blood—to the point of revulsion. Therefore, none could speak with certainty.
"That's not right. How can a living person harbor such murky eyes?"
His expression held the innocent joy of a pure swordsman or even a child anticipating a duel, yet his eyes—blacker than a corpse's—could read nothing. It sent a chill down all their spines.
'I thought he was a genius rivaling Sinclair, but I was terribly wrong. He's on an entirely different starting line.'
Talent. The ease with which he could take life—everything he'd shown us across our time together seemed a mere act. That callous gaze sent a tremor down my spine.
'Someday, I'd like to try a fight where we risk our lives and cut each other down.'
It was an awakening fit only for the Sword Sect.
"Strange. A Liberi shouldn't be able to muster such strength."
Even if a blade could be lodged between its muscles—whether by chance or intent—no normal adult could have endured that thrash. If it had been a wyvern or a Draconic strain, that'd be different. But Baekhyun is a Liberi. That's simply not the case.
'This is rife with intrigue.'
Faust regarded him with the clinical gaze of a professor identifying a promising graduate student, pondering why a Magpie, of all Liberi, would be crouched in a back alley—but it promised to be a fascinating subject of study.
"It's getting dangerous. I'll move—"
In the end, Baekhyun was flung clear of the beast and crashed into the wall. It was surprising he endured that long, but the time to intervene had come.
"Am I… awake… now…?"
"No, more importantly, his eyes have changed."
Indeed. It wasn't merely a change of expression; his very eyes had transformed. The sclera turned jet black, the iris milky white, and veins swelled as if to burst. It was like a pale moon in a midnight sky surrounded by bloodstained branches.
'They were no longer even human eyes.'
"That aura… has he already awakened an [E.G.O]?"
"Genius indeed. At this rate, you'd doubt he's merely at the elementary breathing stage."
I had assumed it would take roughly six months to grasp the fundamentals of the breath, and then at least a year—three at most—of training before one could awaken such a skill. Yet he exhibited that red glow on his first attempt and…
'He cleaved it cleanly. To see the sword's path hold true under those conditions—remarkable.'
Perhaps it would be acceptable to advance the timing of his deployment.
"Watch out!! Rocks above!!"
"I shall go, then."
To leave such a precious swordsman to perish in a place like this would be a tremendous loss.
Using Arts once more, Lee Sang rescued Baekhyun from beneath the falling rock. With that, the beast incident came to an end.
"So that happened… Even more surprising: is it really true he infused a self, an [E.G.O]?"
"Indeed! It took me two years to achieve it, yet Baekhyun was barely at the beginner breathing stage, wasn't he?"
"Still, all four of us witnessed it. There's no way we were all mistaken."
"More pressing is this horn. I can't begin to guess what beast it belonged to."
"The carcass is already crushed beneath the boulder, unidentifiable. All we have left are the horn and the testimonies of the two children who saw the beast from multiple angles. Once Baekhyun wakes…"
"Wow, meat!! Huh? The meat, where is it?"
They were about to hold a feast with the one they had just caught.
"You're noisy even in your sleep. Now you wake up looking for meat?"
"Oh, it's Otis. I guess I'm not dead. Or is it Otis who died?"
"By all means, go ahead and hold the rites."
"Faust. Take the horn and determine by tomorrow morning what beast it belonged to. And you, Baekhyun…"
"Huh? Me? Moejang, if you're going to scold me, hurry up."
"No. You are to come with me to the village tomorrow. Be ready on time."
"Huh? Really?! Outside?!! Seriously?"
"Yes."
At long last, I'm finally getting out of these damned dank alleys and tile-roofed quarters!
"Is it really that great?"
"Yes. Once you step outside, you see what it means for people to live like people. But tell me, why did I summon you? Usually you're in a hurry to get to bed."
They say I won't grow any taller. That's quite the issue, though.
"Our intel on this beast is far too limited. I've brought you in to help gather additional information."
Ah. So that's it.
"Then why am I holding a book again?"
"That's a zoology compendium. I thought I'd have you study as well…"
"What. Ah, I think Lee Sang is calling me…"
Clack
"The only way to get out of here is to satisfy Faust."
"Trying to pursue knowledge among a horde of sword handlers—I'll have to educate you thoroughly."
'No... Moejang, Sinclair, Lee Sang, Otis... Don Sahaeng! Save me...!'
From then on, I was force-fed knowledge and had information drained out of me.
"Kid. Why are you still awake again?"
"Ah, Otis... it's just... I can't sleep well."
"Is it because you feel like you ran away on your own? Or because you think you'll be left alone?"
"...Both. To be honest, when I was thrown I could only think that I was still alive. But when I saw that sword blow earlier, I noticed Hyun had advanced several paces while I ran away. I couldn't just stand there, even after seeing that."
"...Adjust your grip on the sword, kid. I'll spar with you for exactly ten minutes."
"...Yes!"
"What do you make of those sights?"
"...Hmm. I see. That's their tactic—to force you into a position where you must throw the first stone."
"Since we became fugitives from the Administration, this is the first time, isn't it? Ah, what an event."
"Indeed. It reminds me of the scenes from when we first served the Administration. Let's go another round."
"Excellent. The night stretches on..."
"Faust, can't you go to bed now? At least let me spar with you for ten minutes! No, five minutes!!"
"There's still another to go. Please, take your seat again."
"Graaah, you demon!! You're not a Filaine, you're a Sarkaz, right?"
"If you look at my ears, you'll see. Now, please take a seat. Repeat that sentence..."
Cheng!!
"There. Remember that sensation, kid."
"One more time... one more time, please!"
"Uhaaam... sword sounds in the dead of night. You woke even me up. So I'll join in!"
"Huh? Wait, 2-on-1 is too unfair!"
"Life is the real battlefield, kid."
"...It's been ages since things were this lively. I doubt I'll get any sleep."
It's been so long since I've heard such uproar; I hope I get used to it soon.