Chapter 42 – Chain of Unbounded Events (5)

The city of Seoul. A murky alleyway.

In this desolate place, tainted with an impenetrable stench, a middle-aged man, garbed in ragged attire, pleaded desperately, grasping at the hem of a cleric’s robe with his trembling hands.

“Pl-please. Please, the elixir…”

The cleric, swathed in a black robe, silently gazed at the man before revealing a small phial of medicine from within his garments. A vibrant flush spread across the middle-aged man’s face.

“Oh, oh, oh! Pl-please, grant me that elixir.”
“What is the price?”
“Th-the price…”

The man’s eyes were clouded, so much so that one might mistake him for unconscious at first glance. Saliva trickled from the corners of his mouth, and his nostrils flared violently. Frantically, he rummaged through his pockets and around his chest, pulling out a wallet, only to sink into despair upon examining its contents. Nevertheless, an ugly smile crept onto his face, a sign of his lingering addiction to the elixir, as he held up a single finger and began to beg.

“I-I have no money. My only daughter, perhaps…”

“You intend to sell a person? A suitable sacrifice, perhaps?”
“Yes, yes! That’s right. I need only the elixir.”

Ha. The man barked out a hollow laugh, roughly tossing the phial to the ground. The medicine bottle shattered, and the man greedily gathered the spilled pills, even as shards of glass embedded themselves in his hand.

“Contact me later. Until then, keep your daughter in pristine condition.”
“…Heh, heh heh.”
“Respond.”

A swift kick from the cleric sent the man flying several meters away. Coughing and sputtering, the man crawled towards the scattered pills.

“Ugh, hahaha. Ughhhhh!!”

The man’s outstretched hand was crushed under the cleric’s boot, grinding it mercilessly into the dirt. Blood seeped into the ground.

“Reply.”
“Yes, yes, understood.”

Upon hearing the man’s answer, the cleric snapped his fingers. His robe and mask vanished, revealing the guise of an ordinary man. He stepped outside, casting a fleeting glance at the alley. There, the middle-aged man, clutching the salvaged medicine, was scampering towards the other end.

“What an imbecile.”

Just as the cleric muttered this to himself, a woman appeared out of nowhere.

“Ah, the next fool.”

The woman was suddenly before him, cornering him.

“Who might you be?”
“Oh, don’t you recognize me? I thought we’d met before.”

The woman widened her eyes, feigning surprise at his nonchalant response. Her black hair framed her dark eyes, gleaming like polished obsidian. She flashed him a wicked grin.

“Truly disappointing. How could you forget me? Remember this encounter well.”

She quickly began to conjure magic within her hands. The man, startled, hastily donned his robe once more.

“What the fuck!”

With a crescent-shaped grin etched on her face, the woman roared in laughter.

“Sompi shows no mercy to those ignorant of the venerable Blood Tree!”

Kwaang!

Her fist shatters the man’s mask, accurately denting his face. The man, after staggering back several steps, clutches his bloodied face and conjures magic.

A teleportation spell circle.

“What!?”

Yet, could things unfold as he wished?

Simply striving for attention, Sompi had mastered the arts of Interference and Spatial Magic. To her, low-level teleportation was no more than a child’s harmless trick.

“Do you now perceive who I am?”
“…Sompi!”
“Exactly, you fool.”

An exploration prodigy.
A communicator.
The daughter of malevolence.

Sompi, chuckling, begins to condense her magic power within her hands. The suppressed space starts to assume an uncanny form.

“Now, my friends!”

Sompi grins at the drone hovering in the air.

“Since I’ve filmed a V-log today~”

She triggers her magic. The man’s body stiffens as if frozen in time.

“If you appreciate the P-tree, why not all press ‘Like’?”

– Like
– Like
– This is insane! LOL
– A prodigious talent, indeed. Who else would consider broadcasting their criminal apprehensions?
– But solving the case is truly impressive. That level of competence is requisite for broadcasting with confidence.

Upon seeing the reactions, Sompi smiles with satisfaction. The surrounding murmurs, initially a burden, now mean nothing to her.

“Ah, my team members are arriving. Shall I wrap up the live stream now? Sending my love!”

– Bye-bye!
– Attention-seeking is so off-putting. Show-off.
[User has been banned.]

…
…
…
[The live stream has ended.]

“Is the live stream over? Can I come out now?”
“Your real face is indeed a costly spectacle.”
“I believe the eldest daughter of the honorable Gorosoe family should not appear on such low-tier broadcasts.”
“Charming.”

Rossi clicks her tongue, amused by P who nonchalantly flips the bird. Meanwhile, Bob strides in from behind her. His towering height, a massive 3 metres, draws everyone’s attention.

“Bob, can’t you do something about your giant-like height?”
“I don’t have control over my height. When I fight, it always increases.”
“… Alright. I’m sorry.”

The clicking sound of smartphone cameras echoes around. Articles will probably start to appear by tomorrow, discussing Do Won-hyang’s resolution of the serial murder case.

Bob’s back is already burdened with dozens of unconscious followers. Of course, with no part of their bodies sacred, they were sure to die if left as they are.

“Bob is truly a madman.”
“I concede that. His pure combat ability is likely on par with our Master’s.”

Rossi responds to P’s jest. It’s already been a year since Bob joined. Unnoticed, Bob has become an irreplaceable warrior within their team.

Yet, when asked if it measures up to White Peach, who can say?… P shuddered as he remembered the movements of White Peach.

“The thought of defeating White Peach goes beyond the pale.”
“I concede that point.”
“But, wouldn’t it be a fair match if paired with Zodiac?”
“Perhaps. There’s a rumor that if Zodiac gets angry, a whole nation could fall.”
“Really?”
“Hehe, just kidding.”

The two women gossiping sounded like housewives prattling about a morning soap opera.

“What are you two discussing?”

Zodiac happened to stroll over and inquire about their conversation. P and Rossi responded with very natural smiles.

“Oh, it’s nothing.”
“Sure? If you badmouth me, you’ll regret it!”
“Us? Never.”
“Exactly~ Even if P is a bit rough around the edges, he would never disparage Zodiac. By the way, could you send these people to the interrogation room?”
“Why not?! Just leave it to me!”

Zodiac rolled up her sleeves and infused her entire being with magic. Soon, all the people around vanished. P, taken aback by the swift spatial magic, applauded.

“Remarkable.”
“Hehe!”

Zodiac, with a lofty air of pride, placed a hand on her hip and grinned.

“Now, we just need to interrogate them, find their hideout, and that’s the end of it.”
“Right? But did you check for suicide magic and poison in their mouths?”
“Hey, who do you think I am? Of course, I checked.”

They are the cream of the crop.

Despite the inevitable casualties, they had never faltered in their mission. Rossi grumbled as she cleaned the floor with magic.

“By the way, how many times has this been now? This is the seventh case related to Flower.”
“Indeed. Wasn’t the last incident involving our junior also a case related to a Flower branch?”

P, with a grimace, muttered under his breath as he scrubbed the blood from his shoes.

“The dregs of society.”

Flower, a major terrorist organization aiming to uproot the entrenched social hierarchy and overturn the world’s foundations. The deeds of those who controlled the underworld were utterly heinous and malevolent. To fund their grand scheme, they circulated drugs and accepted assassination contracts. It’s beyond belief.

However, there are reasons why the World Association and the Tree Sect can’t apprehend them, despite their vigilance. They can harness the power of the World Tree. Recently, there are rumors that they have set their sights on the Five Great World Trees.

Even White Peach, one of the top fighters of Flower, couldn’t defeat their executives single-handedly. According to White Peach, it would take a desperate measure to take down an executive. Given their immense power, it’s no wonder the World Trees cannot take action. The power of the World Trees has been waning for a long time.

“It feels like things might explode on a grand scale soon.”

At P’s grim observation, everyone maintained a quiet solemnity. Because she was right.

If every officer of the Flower were to target a single location simultaneously, P wondered how many forces could possibly endure such an onslaught. Probably none, she concluded.

“It’s alright!”

Zodiac, in an attempt to resuscitate the moribund atmosphere, lifted her voice.

“I’ll manage it somehow!”

P and Rossi chuckled at the sight of Zodiac, who was cutely voicing her determination.

An object rolled and bumped against their feet. It was contained within a pristine white medicine bottle – its inherent vitality was palpable to anyone who laid eyes on it.

Menedel.

Originally a substance used to aid the growth of the World Tree, but with the addition of a few elements, it could easily transform into a potent and addictive weapon.

Rossi contemplated as she looked at the object.

If there was someone who had consumed this excessively… they would likely have turned into a monster by now.

Suddenly, a blood-curdling scream rang out from somewhere.

* * * * *

It was after watching a movie with Cornus.

“Ahhhhhhh.”

In a corner of the commercial district, a little girl was crouched and sobbing. I approached the child directly and extended my hand.

“Are you okay?”
“Dad…waaah,” she sobbed.
“Hey, try to calm down.”

The child showed no signs of stopping her weeping. Surrounding people began to cast strange glances at me, and I, drenched in cold sweat, desperately yelled.

“Is there a parent for this child around?”

After assuring the bystanders that I meant no harm, I again tried to console the child.

“Come on, calm down.”
“Sniffle, sob. Waaah.”
“Do you want some sweets?”
“Waaah!”

Damn it… I should have dealt with such situations before. Normally, a pretty girl would be cooing over her. I looked at Cornus as if pleading for help. But Cornus remained as impassive as ever.

‘She’s unlikely to be good at this sort of thing.’

Left with no choice, I summoned my magic into my hand.

“Look here.”
“Sob, waaaaah.”
“Rabbit!”

Igniting a flame above my hand, I crafted the shape of a rabbit. Even though it was my own creation, it was almost a perfect manipulation of mana. The child, seemingly a bit placated, gazed blankly at the fiery bunny.

“Hic, huh?”
“Where is your dad?”
“…I don’t know. Waaah.”

How did it come to this? Yet I couldn’t ignore it. Stripping off my stoic facade, I tried to comfort the child with a warm smile.

“Sniff, sob. Shin Chaerin…!”

Just then, a man was sprinting toward us from a distance.

“Dad?”

The girl, upon hearing the man’s voice, lit up with a bright smile. But the smile quickly faded, and her small face contorted once more.

“Sob, why are you like this, Dad? Are you hurt?”

The child started crying anew.

The man’s forearm was speckled with blood, and his face was heavily shadowed by dark circles. His wrinkled shirt, yet to meet an iron, was as crumpled as his face, conjuring the image of a broken man.

The onlookers gaze at the man as though he is a curiosity, a foreign entity.

-Kuruk, kuruk.

“My child, my own flesh and blood…! Ah, ha. Chaerin. At last, the cure is within my grasp!”

An odd sound emanates from the man’s lower torso.
An aura of magic grazes the skin.

The man’s eyes are suffused with a startling crimson.
Upon his shod feet, the unmistakable roots of a vivid tree are sprouting.
I find myself standing before a startled child.

“…Cornus.”
“Hm.”
“Shield your eyes.”

The figure, who could no longer be referred to as human, let out a grotesque cry.

“At last, I’ve found it.”