Chakra (3)
An elder with whom he had always been on friendly terms continued with a grave expression.
-“You, too, were educated as a descendant of our Yun Family, so you should know well. In the current situation, we cannot move so rashly.”
Those were the words Yun Sohoe heard when, upon receiving news that contact with Lucette had been lost, he rushed straight to the council of elders.
Had she formally entered the Hongsan State under the name of the Yun Family, that would have been one thing, but this had happened while she was moving in secret to track down the mastermind behind the kidnapping incident. It meant the situation was somewhat awkward for them to step forward aggressively.
-“Of course, that does not mean we intend to sit by and do nothing. News has been cut off from a practitioner representing our Yun Family; we could never do that. However, we also cannot ignore the Hongsan State and dispatch our forces into their territory without regard for their wishes.”
The Hongsan State and the Cheonghae State, the two great powers that divided Sabacheon between them.
It was certainly true that the Seongcheon Yun Family, caught between them, had taken on the role of maintaining balance between the two sides and mediating their frictions.
Their authority, which not even nations could treat lightly, was such that it would not be an exaggeration to call them the foremost family on the continent.
However, no matter how elite the practitioners of the Seongcheon Yun Family might be, and no matter how strong their influence, there was no way they could oppose a nation head-on.
The overwhelming national power that came from vast territory and the population attached to it was on an entirely different level from the Yun Family, which governed only a few cities in scale.
-“We have already spoken with the higher-ups of the Hongsan State and secured their promise of full cooperation. Their local search teams have begun an investigation, and once our discussions are complete, we also intend to dispatch a person in charge. ...Of course, to some extent, we will have to follow the Hongsan State’s control.”
Despite that difference in power, the reason the Yun Family had been able to maintain its current position was entirely due to the “peace treaty” personally concluded by the Thunder Emperor decades ago, as well as the existence of the hostile nation sharing their border.
Even if they could not compare to a nation, what greater threat could there be than a force that commanded countless elite practitioners and occupied a strategic key point joining the other side?
In the end, it meant the authority they had enjoyed until now could only exist to some degree upon the other party’s respect and concessions, and that was no different from saying that when this side had to ask for a favor, they had to back down that much more.
That was what international diplomacy was by nature.
-“Still, do not worry too much. Is Lucette the sort of child who would be taken down so easily? Contact has only been cut off for a while due to some unavoidable circumstance; it will come again before long. What we are doing now is merely preparing for the worst.”
The elder who said that also looked frustrated with himself for being able to offer only such principled words...
But no matter what, what could not be helped could not be helped.
“...For that reason, members of the Yun Family cannot act recklessly until the discussions are finished. It would be different if there were definite proof that the mastermind who touched our Yun Family is within the Hongsan State, but before we could catch hold of that, my sister disappeared...”
After explaining the rough circumstances to Hun, Yun Sohoe let out a sigh.
Of course, he fully understood the family’s situation as well.
Lucette, who had reached the depths at a young age, was certainly an important person, but neglecting international relations and letting that become the seed of discord was an even greater problem.
If the conflict built up like that and escalated into war, who would take responsibility?
“...But you, as an outsider, are different.”
That was precisely why Yun Sohoe had urgently sought out Hun.
Of course, Hun was also a guest of the family, but since not much time had passed since he entered the family, his presence had not yet been made public.
‘Most importantly, he’s also a strong fighter capable of knocking down multiple upper-tier practitioners in an instant. Not only that, he seems to have some other hidden card beyond even that...’
There could be no one more suitable.
His eyes gleaming, he finished as if crying out.
“I do not know what situation my sister is in, and yet I cannot simply spend time dawdling like this. If you help me with this matter, I will reward you greatly— I mean, I will reward you! I beg you!”
The trembling end of his words, and his two tightly clenched fists quivering faintly.
Hun stroked his chin and quietly looked down at Yun Sohoe.
‘A practitioner of the depths lost contact without any prior hint...’
He recalled Lucette, whom he had encountered several times.
She, an ability user who belonged to a fairly high level even among those at the pinnacle, was by no means an easy opponent.
Whether she had already been subdued or had somehow hidden herself, anyone who wanted to do such a thing would have had to make preparations on that level.
‘Did she fall into a trap?’
Or perhaps a transcendent powerhouse who had opened the Heavenly Gate had acted personally.
Whichever it was, it was clear this incident would stir up great turmoil in Sabacheon.
‘Tsk, just leaving it alone feels kind of unpleasant.’
Was it because he had passed through various dimensions and resolved chaos wherever he went?
He furrowed his brow slightly at the sign of calamity that was scratching at his nerves.
‘Still, with Ramyu here, stepping up for something like this so readily is a bit...’
As if sensing Hun’s hesitation, Yun Sohoe opened his mouth urgently.
Judging by the look in his eyes, it was clear that if not now, there would never be another chance.
“If you bring Sister Lucette back safely...!”
He had raised his voice, but then stopped, unable to finish.
Then he opened and closed his mouth as if hesitating over something.
For an instant, hesitation had washed over him with the thought of whether it was truly all right to do this.
‘No, later matters can be dealt with later. Whatever happens, saving Sister comes first.’
Having already been kidnapped once himself, he could instinctively feel it.
This was definitely no ordinary matter.
If he hesitated here, something would happen that he would deeply regret later.
In the end, he squeezed his eyes shut and once more threw out his winning move.
“...In return, I will teach you our Yun Family’s secret chakra operation method— Jeollyundo (轉輪道).”
“Hm? Jeollyundo?”
At the unfamiliar word, Hun tilted his head.
He had never heard during his education that such a thing existed.
“...Unofficially, of course. It’s not something we’re supposed to teach others...”
Yun Sohoe, forgetting even his old-man-like concept, fidgeted and lowered his head.
Whatever it was, it seemed to be quite important.
‘Oh? So they were hiding something like that? A secret art...’
But it was also something he had expected to some extent.
Whatever anyone might say, the Seongcheon Yun Family was a massive force counted on one hand even across all of Sabacheon.
It was not particularly strange that they would have a trump card kept carefully hidden for only their own use.
“Okay, deal.”
He had been wondering what to do anyway.
One more weight had been added to the scales that had been in balance, so there was no need to hesitate further.
‘For now, I should take anything that looks good. If something like that exists, it’ll help me grow my chakra faster.’
If a descendant of the Yun Family personally looked after her, there would be no need to worry about Ramyu’s safety either.
In addition, he would be able to aim for improved chakra proficiency through actual combat.
That seemed better than shutting himself inside the Yun Family and repeating the same training over and over.
He could also take the opportunity to look around other regions of this world.
“You’ll provide transportation, right?”
“O-of course— ahem! Of course!”
“Oh, right. I’m penniless.”
“We are the Seongcheon Yun Family! We will support your expenses properly as well!”
Whether Yun Sohoe had persuaded the elders well or not, Hun’s journey to the Hongsan State proceeded in a flash.
Since they had merely been unable to act recklessly due to their position of having to preserve balance, it was only natural that they had no reason to decline if an alternative took action on their behalf.
And so, less than half a day after news of Lucette’s disappearance arrived.
One person from another world was delivered to the Hongsan State.
***
Bang!
Hun kicked open the lid of the square box and crawled out from within, massaging the stiff back of his neck.
“Ugh, so this is chakra. Good grief, there really are all sorts of abilities in the world.”
It had not taken very long for him, who had been within the Yun Family’s territory, to cross the border and arrive at the site of the incident.
There was truly no other way to describe it than “bullet delivery.”
‘A supernova of the courier industry. With this ability alone, you wouldn’t have to worry about starving to death even on Earth.’
It did not seem particularly suited to transporting living creatures, and even though he had strengthened his body as much as possible, his entire body ached.
Still, he had crossed in less than half a day a distance that would have taken a week by land, so he was in no position to complain.
“More importantly, this is the place?”
After catching his breath and raising his condition as much as possible, Hun slowly looked around.
He was in a mountain forest where trees laden with reddish leaves were spread everywhere.
Though it was still far too early for falling leaves, the splendid sight that dazzled the eyes made him understand at once why this place was called the Hongsan State.
“...It’s wide.”
And after climbing a nearby tree and sweeping his gaze in all directions, he could also tell at a glance why the search was making little progress.
A mountainous region so vast that its ends seemed distant and hazy.
Finding the trace of a single person somewhere in this immense place could not possibly be easy.
All the more so if even those traces had been cleanly erased by the culprit’s hand...
‘If I’m careless, I might not make it in time.’
The fact that someone of her caliber had failed to leave behind even proper traces meant she was still in a situation that could hardly be viewed positively.
As time passed, it was only right to assume her chances of survival were also decreasing exponentially.
“I can’t just let that happen.”
Of course, Hun had no intention of letting that pass.
It would be one thing if he had not accepted the job from the start, but after coming all the way here, how could he return empty-handed?
From the beginning, he had no intention of dragging this matter out.
“Whew. Now, then...”
Hun took a deep breath.
At the same time, the microcosm within him opened.
Through the 「Root of the Ideal」, a single mental image was drawn up.
“Let’s begin.”
Wooooong—
Along with those words, a faint vibration leaked from his body.
The chakra, as soon as it spread in all directions, dispersed softly and seeped into the mountains, streams, grasses, and trees.
Hun blinked several times with eyes that had changed into a star shape imbued with the power of “nature,” then quietly observed his surroundings.
‘...Mm, as expected. The efficiency really isn’t good.’
Then, unable to maintain it for long, he squeezed his eyes shut and pressed firmly at his brow.
If it had been High Elf Harris, the owner of that mental image, he would have been able to scan the entire mountain in this one attempt.
Hun, who had reached his limit merely by examining the vicinity of a single peak, smacked his lips in regret.
‘Still, there are results.’
Even if he had not copied it perfectly, it was the mental image of a being who had reached transcendence through unity with nature.
Though he had discovered no particular trace, by momentarily assimilating with this area and hearing the whispers of the wind, he could tell where he should look next.
‘It seems certain something happened here. There are also signs that someone did something.’
His gaze turned toward the peak beside him.
...No, that gaze went beyond the nearby peak and looked somewhere even farther away.
“It might be hard to finish this within today.”
His footsteps, light as clouds, flowed away ethereally.
Toward the place where the root cause that had brought him to this distant land was located.
***
A forest in the middle of the night, filled with an eerily deep silence.
Because the moon and stars that should have served as lamps for the dark night had all hidden themselves, the ground, where not a single ray of light shone, was filled only with bleakness.
The trees, which under ordinary circumstances would have exuded an elegant charm, were like monsters with grotesquely twisted faces, and the plants that should have had soft blades of grass had become vines bristling with sharp thorns, hanging like nooses targeting victims.
On top of that, razor-sharp rocks, sticky swamps that watched for every chance to snatch at one’s feet, and a blood scent that made the head ring were thickly mingled together.
Literally, this place was a ghost forest itself.
“Haa, haa...”
In the middle of that Ghost Forest (鬼林).
A woman who had roughly tied back her disheveled hair gasped for breath.
She knew very well that she had to suppress her breathing as much as possible, but she could not help it.
Because now, she was truly approaching her limit.
‘This sense of incongruity... As expected, the time axis is distorted. How much time has passed outside?’
It had already been well over ten days since she had endured in this place.
Although she had been moving without rest all this time, far from escaping this Gwirim, she had not seen so much as a single ray of rising sunlight.
‘…I was careless. To think they were involved this deeply.’
The reason she—Lucette—had ended up in this state was entirely because she had fallen into a trap while tracking the mastermind behind Yun Sohoe’s kidnapping.
It was a trap so meticulously arranged it was as if they had known in advance that she would come.
‘How on earth? This means there’s a spy inside the clan… and quite high up at that…’
As her thoughts reached that point, she bit her lip and shook her head.
If that was true, it was no ordinary matter.
For someone as fiercely loyal to the clan as she was, it was a conjecture she simply could not bring herself to believe.
While she steadied her breathing and tried to devise some way to break through this situation—
“Is this as far as you go this time? It seems you’re finally starting to tire.”
The thin male voice that had now become familiar cut through her thoughts.
Lucette ground her teeth and turned toward the presence she sensed.
“General Buryeong…!”
A man with a gaunt frame, a height that did not suit it, and a goat-like beard.
One of the generals representing the Hongsan Kingdom grinned at her with a clean, composed face, in stark contrast to her haggard state.
His green eyes, filled with countless concentric circles, gleamed.
“Kkeuk, so even the famed Thunder Tiger ends here? Still, you did rather well. I never thought you’d last this long. In any case, those Yun bastards…”
Kwa-rururung—!
His leisurely words were never finished.
A massive beam of light that began from Lucette blasted his entire body away in the blink of an eye.
“…You really are impatient. To think you still had this much strength left.”
But he appeared from the opposite side and shook his head as if it were nothing.
It had already happened several times before, so there was nothing surprising about it now.
“Huuup, huu.”
Lucette forced herself to regulate her breathing and glared at the former eunuch general before her.
She already knew enough about that man.
A practitioner who, like her, had reached the deep layer—General Buryeong.
Had they faced each other under the same conditions, she would not have been pushed this far.
No, considering her combat-oriented traits, she might even have been able to subdue him without much difficulty.
But from the moment she fell into the trap her opponent had painstakingly prepared, her chances of victory had inevitably plummeted to the bottom.
‘It isn’t just him. At least five upper-layer practitioners are supporting this formation. If I count those below them, there’s no telling how many more there are.’
It was bad enough that she had fallen into a trap, but it was not even one-on-one.
To her, the situation itself could only feel unreasonable.
‘…Do you think I’ll just let myself be taken down like this? Even if I die, I’ll make sure to land at least one blow.’
But as she had done until now, instead of giving voice to complaints, she drew up her anger.
Lightning sparks flashed in her eyes as she clenched her teeth.
She forced herself to scatter all thoughts of the trap and the spy behind this mess, as well as even the face of her younger brother that kept forcing its way into her mind, and focused only on her opponent.
Right now, she had no room to spare her attention elsewhere.
Just as she steeled herself and sharply raised her fighting spirit—
[Ah, ah. Hello? Can you hear me?]
A somewhat familiar voice rang through her mind.
[Hm? The connection worked fine… Can you not hear me? It’s me, Hun.]
It was the voice of the man she had spoken to several times before.
At that unexpected voice, the focus she had struggled to draw up wavered, and ripples spread through her eyes.