She slowly approached me as I staggered, bowed her head to look down, and spat out a single remark.
"That whimpering figure suits you rather well."
Words that struck coldly.
And yet, strangely, that voice had never been so welcome. Was it the relief of having survived, or the absurd sentiment of having someone by my side?
She glared at me once, then soon turned her gaze to the monster. Watching the creature that had been freed from the water prison and was crawling on the ground, she furrowed her already fierce face even deeper.
"Filthy thing, you've sure gobbled up a lot. And yet this damned kingdom thinks only of hiding things like this. Really... rotten bastards."
A murmur that could have been a curse or a soliloquy continued, and soon she thrust her hand inside her robe.
And she intoned shortly and decisively.
"Bephanir Style · Auxiliary Rite · Sacrifice."
A cold current split the air and spread. A pale energy rose from her fingertips.
It flowed around the monster like smoke, and soon began to coil around its body like a snake.
[Pain Reenactment]
The monster's body trembled violently. It was neither simple pressure nor suppression. Magic that forcibly dredged up and made one relive the pain they had experienced. An amplification where the pain of memory transferred into present pain.
"Kraaaaaaaaagh—!!"
The scream that burst from the monster's mouth was no longer that of a human. A body twisting like convulsions and muscles contracting abnormally. The foreign sensations that had been writhing beneath its skin all squirmed at once.
Crack! Thud!
The demon stones embedded throughout its body cracked deeply and, unable to bear it, shattered one by one.
"Is it dead...?"
At the small murmur, she responded shortly without even turning around.
"It's not dead."
And she slowly twisted her fingers. A dark red line spread across the ground as if seeping in, and a tearing sound echoed along the monster's torso. Soon after, a dull sound of something bursting from inside was heard with a thud. Another magic stone hidden inside the monster finally shattered into pieces.
At that moment, part of the monster's body sank as if melting from the inside. Red steam and black energy intertwined and billowed up, and finally the flesh began collapsing from the center. It was neither noisy nor violent—a bizarrely quiet conclusion. She quietly sighed and lowered her hand. The traces of rising magic slowly cleared away, and the monster no longer writhed.
It was completely over.
A moment later, she took something out from inside her robe. It was a piece charred black as coal, something burned beyond recognition. She held it in her hand and gazed at it for a while, then soon, as if losing interest, kicked it aside with a flick of her foot.
"To think they used something like this. What a waste..."
The burned piece fell to the ground with a tap and was buried in the dirt. She brushed the soot off her hand and muttered.
"Sigh, I'll have to go get another one..."
And she looked back at me. Her eyes still held an expression of annoyance, irritation, and not wanting to tell me anything.
"Kuh... Th-thank you."
"Thank me? For what?"
"For catching the monster—"
"Don't get the wrong idea. Did you think I handled that monster to help the likes of you? I was merely cleaning up uninvited guests causing a racket in my forest. Which is why I'm currently contemplating whether to dispose of you too."
I wondered if she was the type weak to praise, but her expressionless face showed no sign of jest. She seemed to mean it; the gaze watching me for a long while was strangely cold.
"But you know—"
Her gaze turned sharp.
"That magic you used earlier, what was it?"
"...Huh?"
"That thing where you trapped the monster in water droplets. I'm asking how you used it."
She asked seriously, as if intrigued.
"There's no trace of a brand on your soul. It's not a relic, and it's not spirit magic. It looks like you pulled power from somewhere external... but its source is far too unclear. Isn't that strange?"
"Th-that... I was told asking about magic is rather rude—"
"Rude? That's funny."
"I-I researched this magic myself!!"
Because she was frowning deeply, I panicked and spoke without thinking.
The truth was, even I couldn't clearly explain where the magic I used came from. So I just had to make excuses.
"Tch, obvious lie."
She shook her head.
"Research? Look at you. Anyone can see you're an idiot; what research could you possibly do?"
"..."
Damn it, I couldn't say anything. If that person probed any further, I was sure I'd mess up no matter what she asked. Silence would be better.
"...I just used it by instinct."
"...So you're saying you're a Psionic?"
Psionic?
I had heard of it somewhere, but I couldn't remember exactly.
"Psionic?"
"Ha, this idiot's at it again. Even a goblin would be smarter than you."
She shook her head as if disgusted.
"...I don't really know."
"You use it like that and you don't even know what it is?"
Her gaze changed. Eyes not so much surprised, but filled with irritation, doubt, and a slight hint of interest. I instinctively stepped back.
"It's usually innate. There are those who use mental strength like mana, born able to do it from birth. Or they acquire it through insane grinding."
Use mental strength instead of mana...?
"Those born that way, or those made through torture. Those kinds are called Psionics. Got it?"
In short, it meant they were a type of psychic. I thought they weren't much different from mages, but her gaze was still piercing me harshly.
"But you have nothing."
That was true. Because I wasn't that kind of person. What I used wasn't a psychic ability, spirit magic, or a relic.
"Besides, you absolutely reek of the Magic Tower. Psionics would actually be far removed from that place."
"...Then I suppose it's not that."
"Tch, what the hell are you really. At a glance, it seems what you said just now wasn't a lie either."
She waved her hand as if she didn't even want to hear the answer.
"Use it again. That water barrier magic."
"...I can't right now. I have no mana, and my body is—"
Before I could finish, she suddenly threw a bottle at me. My shoulder was in shambles so I couldn't catch it properly, and the bottle fell to the ground. Fortunately, it hit some weeds and didn't break.
"What is this...?"
Before I could even open my mouth, she glanced over my condition and spat out,
"Never mind. Drink that and follow me."
"...Where to?"
She didn't even answer my question. She simply leaned on her staff and strode briskly into the thicket.
...Hey, what. At least say something before leaving. What am I supposed to tell my companions? What if they just think I'm dead...?
'By the way, this is...'
I picked up the bottle she had thrown and left behind with my right hand. It was definitely a bottle similar to the mana recovery potion she had been drinking in the hut earlier. Given the circumstances, anyone could see it was a mana potion, but strangely it felt ominous. Somehow... a doubtful feeling. Still, well. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Pop.
The moment I opened the stopper, I couldn't help but frown. A musty smell, like mold I had smelled somewhere before. Rather than a mana potion, the aroma was closer to pickled vegetable brine that had passed its expiration date.
"...She really wants me to drink this?"
She had already disappeared far away, beyond the thicket. I wanted to hold my nose and drink it, but my left arm was already in a state where I couldn't raise it properly. In the end, I just put it to my lips.
Gulp, gulp.
"Kuh—!"
The moment the first swallow went down, my throat sent a signal to my brain as if screaming. A thick, fishy taste. A stale aftertaste remaining in my mouth. I reflexively felt like vomiting, but I clenched my teeth, covered my mouth, and barely managed to swallow it down.
My tongue tip was numb, and my stomach made growling sounds as if wary of the forcibly ingested liquid. After enduring the terrible taste for quite a while, I was finally able to empty the bottle.
'Does this really even have an effect...? Could I have been tricked?'
The moment doubt rose to my throat.
A strange heat rose from my left shoulder. A heterogeneous warmth, as if sunlight was striking down directly on only one side of my shoulder.
'Huh?'
That warmth immediately changed into pain like a ball of fire.
"...Kgh?!"
I barely bit down and endured the scream trying to rise from my throat. Pain flooded in as if bones were being gouged from inside my shoulder, as if flesh were being twisted. A sensation like forcibly sewing together chunks of meat. The feeling of torn muscles forcibly attaching, of shattered joints twisting and fitting back into place.
"Kuh— Kuhck!"
It was hard to even breathe. Every time I inhaled, pain spread as if fire had been lit on my shoulder. I shook uncontrollably. My whole body was drenched in sweat.
I bit my lip hard enough to draw blood, but even that felt like it lessened the pain somewhat. After a long while, the hellish pain gradually began to subside. Little by little, sensation returned to my seemingly broken shoulder.
'This... is a recovery potion?'
This was simply torture.
The fortunate thing was that after enduring the torture, a clear reward followed.
Shhk.
I carefully rolled my shoulder. There was no unnatural looseness, nothing creaked. The movement flowed smoothly.
"Ugh!"
It wasn't a complete recovery. A faint pain still remained deep in my shoulder. But this much was nothing. Compared to before, it was adorable.
I slowly exhaled, held my shoulder, and raised my head.
The direction she had disappeared. Beyond the thicket, the faint trail of her robe hem remained in my mind.
'...With this, I should follow her.'
She saved my life and even helped me recover. If I doubted her after all this, only the worst kind of bastard would do such a thing. With that resolve, I gripped my still throbbing shoulder and carefully moved my feet.
Walking in the direction she had disappeared, I soon saw a familiar landscape. The forest I had barely escaped from just moments ago. And in the very center of it, a hut.
...In the end, she had brought me back to her house.
She was waiting for me at the boundary in front of the hut. She slightly turned to check if I was following. Without a word, she strode past the boundary.
I carefully followed behind and stepped inside the boundary. The scenery was no different from before. In the middle of the forest, a single hut. She stood in front of it.
"What is this barrier-like thing? Earlier, it seemed like not just anyone could enter."
It was just something I threw out there; honestly, I wasn't expecting an answer.
But unexpectedly, she opened her mouth readily.
"Sacrificial Selection."
"...Huh?"
"The barrier's name. It's called Sacrificial Selection."
...The more I heard it, the more ominous the naming became.
"Could its effect be—"
"What do you think. It filters out those with mana, made to use as sacrifices."
"...!"
I instinctively stepped back. She snorted as if dumbfounded.
"Tch, if you're stupid you should at least be fearless. That's what the barrier was intended for; if I really used it for that purpose, you'd be dead by now."
She added, tapping the ground with her staff.
"These days I only use it to filter out annoying intruders. It's convenient."
"Ah... I see."
I nodded vaguely and caught my breath. No matter how much she explained, I couldn't feel at ease.
Squeak.
She opened the hut door and entered first. I cautiously followed her inside.
The inside was dark and disorganized, just as before. Haphazardly placed furniture, piles of books and herbs stacked in the corner, slightly scorched walls. Rather than feeling warm or lived-in, it just felt like someone was merely staying there. She plopped down on a worn chair in the middle of what looked like the living room, glanced at me, and spoke.
"Are you going to stand around all day?"
"...Huh?"
"Sit down. Can't you understand words?"
"Ah, yes."
Of course I had heard what she said, but I hadn't expected those words to come out of her mouth. I quickly found a nearby chair and sat down. It seemed covered in dust, but without even a moment to wipe it, I hastily lowered myself.
Without a word, she let out a light sigh and turned her head.
Then she slipped a hand inside her robe and took out something similar to the bottle she had thrown me earlier.
And without the slightest warning, she tossed it my way.
“Huh?!”
I reached out reflexively and barely managed to catch it.
A cold, heavy bottle.
It clunked in my palm, giving off an unpleasant sense of weight.
“Wh-what is this?”
She tossed out the answer as if it were nothing.
“A mana recovery potion. It’s only half left, so don’t thank me.”
“What…?”
I stared blankly down at the bottle.
Having already drunk it once, I had absolutely no desire to put it to my lips again.
At a glance, it was clearly the same kind of potion.
Even without smelling it, I felt like it would have the same odor.
And the same pain, too.
But the reason she had brought me all the way here
was obviously because of that magic, even if she didn’t say it outright.
In that case, refusing to drink this wasn’t really an option.
“Hoo…”
Letting out a short breath like a sigh, I brought the bottle to my mouth again.
Pop.
Gulp, gulp.
I wondered if it might be a little better the second time, but hell no.
It was still disgustingly awful.
The taste was the worst, but the real problem lay elsewhere.
‘…It’s coming soon.’
After forcing the potion down, I instinctively adjusted my posture.
Before my body reacted, I had to grit my teeth and brace myself.
Thump.
At first, it began like a faint tremor.
Somewhere in my chest, near my heart, I felt a dull reverberation.
Thump. Thump thump.
It gradually picked up speed, and then my heart began to pound madly, as if I had chugged a whole stack of energy drinks.
Thump thump thump—!
My breathing turned ragged, and cold sweat poured down my body.
Along with the sensation of mana spreading all the way into my bones, an intense pain bursting from deep within my chest shook my entire body.
“Krgh…!”
My fist pressed down over my heart on its own.
If I didn’t, it felt like my heart might really leap out.
Thump thump thump thump—!
My heart thrashed as if it would tear through my chest.
My lungs heaved with no time to keep up, and my vision wavered as it gradually narrowed.
The pain wasn’t simple suffering. It was closer to violence, devouring my mind by its very existence.
“Krgh, ugh…!”
Curled in on myself, I clutched at my heart.
Each beat felt like an iron hammer striking my breastbone.
I could feel that scorching mana flowing along my veins, and wherever it passed, heat and pain followed as if fire had been set to the path.
It didn’t feel like my blood was cooling down.
It felt like it was boiling.
This wasn’t recovery. It was like being a part inside a machine forced to keep running.
After enduring like that for what felt like ages, my madly pounding heart slowly began to regain its rhythm.
The agony started to subside along with it.
I took in a deep breath.
Only after fresh air filled my lungs to the depths did I feel somewhat alive again.
When I composed myself and raised my head, I saw her.
She was looking at me with fascinated eyes, as if watching a clown’s performance.
With the corners of her mouth slightly lifted, she calmly threw out a single line.
“As expected, it’s a failure. So it had a side effect like that.”
“…”
I’d naturally assumed she had endured that side effect and drunk it herself.
Don’t tell me she had thrown that only at me?
My head flared hot for an instant.
Anger boiled up, and the urge to pour out a retort surged within me.
And yet, it quickly cooled.
…The fact remained that she had saved me.
My body had recovered, and she was the one who had dragged me all the way here.
I wondered if I even had the right to say anything.
No, even if I did say something, she wasn’t the type to listen in the first place.
She was still looking at me with that composed expression, as if I were some “research sample.”
“That’s enough now, isn’t it? Try using it.”
Just as she said, my mana had already recovered by about half.
I couldn’t put it off any longer.
I slowly began to draw up my mana.
“Oh?”
She let out a short sound of admiration.
All she had seen was me manipulating mana, and yet she already seemed intrigued.
I flinched slightly at that reaction, but she tilted her chin, signaling for me to continue.
After hesitating for a moment, I decided to use a different spell instead of the one she was expecting.
In a situation where I didn’t know what might happen, I couldn’t carelessly use a spell that consumed a lot of mana.
[Condensation]
Moisture quietly began to gather above my hand.
Water drawn from the air collected point by point, forming a small mass of water.
At first, she seemed to notice that I wasn’t using the spell she wanted,
and her brows furrowed for a moment. But soon, as she watched the magic condense before her eyes, her gaze changed again.
Interest. Curiosity.
And a subtle probing.
She quietly observed the magic.
Judging that I had shown her enough, I slowly dispersed the spell at my fingertips.
The moisture floating in the air seeped into the ground and vanished, as if nothing had happened.
She watched the entire process without saying a word.
Then, slowly, the look in her eyes changed.
The interest and playfulness from before disappeared, replaced by a strangely quiet gaze, as if she were calculating something.
A brief silence.
As though she were running through dozens of possibilities in her head at once.
There was an odd weight to her expression.
At last, she turned her head, looked me straight in the eyes, and asked,
“…Where did you come from?”
In a voice that sounded as if she already knew.