"Why are you asking my age?"
Asha asked back with a bright expression.
"You look very young."
Wearing the kindest smile he could manage, Haseol continued.
She looked too young, so he had asked her age.
The girl fell silent for a moment at that action.
What could the meaning of it be?
After thinking for a while, the girl seemed to find her own answer and opened her mouth.
"I......"
"Yes."
"Am an adult."
"Ah~. I see."
Haseol nodded.
It seemed she had told him exactly what he had wanted to know.
He did not want to know her exact age.
Someone who had worked to get rid of the pure-white dome.
Someone whose traces remained plainly in blood across the floor.
It was likely because he did not think the work now assigned to him was something a minor should be doing.
"Earlier, you said you used to work on it, right?"
"Yes, yes."
Asha nodded at Haseol's question.
"You are not doing it now, right?"
"My successor has been selected, so I am retired."
"Your successor means me, right?"
"Yes, yes."
Asha nodded with a beaming smile.
At those words, Haseol smiled with complicated feelings.
"Asha, are you not going to do this work at all anymore?"
As though he still had some lingering attachment, he asked again.
"As I said earlier, I am retired."
"You still seem young. Why did you retire?"
[The reason the predecessor retired is not important at the moment. Ask something else.]
Eska spoke as though Haseol's question displeased her.
"Ah~, you said you were busy earlier, right?"
Haseol also seemed to remember and asked Asha.
"Yes, yes. I am very busy."
Asha nodded and held up a finger.
"Shall I just quickly tell you the key points of the work you have taken on?"
Then she made the proposal first.
"I would appreciate that."
"Okay. First!"
Asha raised her finger high, as though pointing not at the ceiling but at the sky.
"This pure-white dome!"
"Yes."
"This dome appears to eliminate things related to supernatural abilities."
"If things related to supernatural abilities means exactly wha...... No. Eska, Bisan. Did you understand what Asha said?"
[I understood. Simply put, she means people like Bisan and me, or the Waycut you have.]
"Then let us move on. You said there is not much time, so please speak up only if Eska or Bisan does not understand something."
[Understood.]
"We are sorted out, right? I will continue."
Asha gave a pleasant smile, then pointed at the floor.
"The beings that eliminate things related to supernatural abilities are called ghosts."
"I met one too."
"Ah, you met one? Then you already know everything! There is nothing more to say! If you protect supernatural abilities inside a dome made by ghosts, that is all! Supernatural abilities are the target, but even if you are ordinary, you will need to work hard."
As though that was good news, Asha clapped with the hand holding the game controller.
"Ghosts try to eliminate everything related to supernatural abilities, and that includes killing every ordinary person who might be connected to supernatural abilities, right?"
"Yes! Yes! You know it well!"
"Do you not know why ghosts try to eliminate things related to supernatural abilities?"
"I do not know that very well either, but could it simply be instinct?"
"Instinct?"
"Ghosts introduce themselves. They are simply that sort of thing, aren't they? Eliminating things related to supernatural abilities causes humans enormous damage."
"Their very existence is like that...... Then do you know why such beings began to appear?"
"I do not know that either. Then! It was nice meeting you! I am busy, so I will be going now!"
After saying that, Asha turned away from Haseol and looked at the television again.
She was about to put her headset back on when.
Thump.
Haseol caught the headset and stopped her for a moment.
"You are the predecessor. Is there nothing else you can tell us?"
"Eh~. I do not know anything beyond that either."
"Do you not know about the being that gave us information about the future, or why the ghosts began to appear?"
"Well, I do not know things like that either. Ah! There is one thing I know."
"What is it?"
"You should leave here right now and prepare for what is going to happen."
Asha's mouth still held a bright smile, but her eyes were a little different from before.
"......"
"Difficult things will come quickly and in great numbers. As though they are trying to test you, Haseol. Prepare yourself."
Asha's eyes were serious.
Serious.
And worried and concerned.
"So! Hurry up and get out! I am busy, and Haseol will be busy too!"
Asha quickly waved both hands at Haseol.
Then she immediately put on the headset, turned away from Haseol, and looked at the game screen again.
As though the conversation was over.
[There are more things I want to ask, so take her headset off again.]
Eska casually ignored Asha's attitude.
"I will leave first."
[Why?]
"She must have a reason for saying she is busy."
[Playing a game does not seem like an appropriate reason to say she is busy.]
"That is probably true."
[If that is the reason, there is no need to be considerate. And if there is another reason, I would like to hear that reason as well.]
It seemed Eska had not given up yet.
[There are surely things only a person at the scene can feel. Let us respect that.]
Bisan supported Haseol's opinion.
Haseol walked across the blood-drenched floor and stepped out of the building.
"Let us accept that she is busy because she has to play a game. If it is a lie, she will have a reason of her own. And if it is true, that means she is a person with whom we cannot reason anyway."
Giving his thoughts, Haseol stepped outside.
Stick. Stick.
The unpleasant sensation of blood clinging to his shoes and the road, of blood stuck to his slippers.
As he retraced the way he had come outside the building, dark-red footprints formed behind him.
However, perhaps the unpleasantness did not bother him.
Haseol looked back as he walked toward the outer edge of Rootstream, looking at the abandoned shops.
"By the way, the language Asha was speaking was not Korean, right?"
[It was Spanish.]
"But we communicated without a problem. Did you cast some kind of magic on me?"
[Since I was casting magic on your vision and hearing anyway, I cast a few more spells as well. You will have no problem communicating from now on.]
"Ah~."
Haseol uttered a sound of realization, then.
"Have you cast more spells on me without telling me?"
[Of course. It may be difficult to understand even if you hear an explanation about magic, but would you like to hear one anyway?]
"I think I would be more at peace not knowing."
Haseol laughed it off as though he had given up.
[Ah, Haseol.]
"Go ahead."
[I do not know whether it is for the reason Asha mentioned, but.]
"Yes."
[Another Rootstream has appeared.]
"It really is fast."
As he said that, Haseol gradually began to quicken his pace.
He walked quickly, then ran out of Rootstream.
The sticky blood on his shoes also diminished, and by the time he reached the edge of Rootstream, he no longer left footprints.
At the end of Rootstream, Haseol looked back for a moment.
The building where Asha was remained just as it was, with no particular change.
[Is there something weighing on your mind?]
Bisan asked Haseol.
"A little."
[Since Asha was cheerfully playing a game in a pool of blood, pretending to be an irresponsible and immature person, how about pretending you did not notice?]
At Bisan's words, Haseol let out a hollow laugh.
"Ha! Is there no chance that Asha is simply a crazy person who enjoys games regardless of the situation?"
[It is not impossible. Then would it not be what Asha wants if we think that way?]
"We should. If Asha's Rootstream were one that needed to be resolved, I think she would have said something. Let us think about it later."
Haseol nodded at Bisan's words, then stepped outside Rootstream.
"Ahh~~. Seriously. What kind of person is she? Playing games in a pool of blood, and though she is the predecessor, saying she is busy playing games and not even giving us a proper explanation."
"You are right."
"Even if she is the predecessor, it would not be enough for her to explain in as much detail as possible what she experienced. Does she not realize that she was working to stop humanity from being destroyed?"
"Exactly."
Bisan went along with Haseol's clumsy complaining.
"Is the clumsy performance over?"
Eska, who stood to the side, asked.
"I think that was enough for Asha to let it go. Why?"
"The path to the next Rootstream is connected. Are you prepared?"
Eska tapped the rectangular frame with the back of her hand.
Through it, a space entirely different from the current landscape was visible.
"I do not know about being prepared, but I gave up when I fell from the sky."
Haseol smiled as he walked toward the rectangular frame.
He stepped into a new landscape.
A field filled with pure-white snow.
However, it was dark night, and starlight was the only light, so much could not be seen.
Since streetlights were positioned at regular intervals, it seemed there was a road between them, but even the streetlights gave off no light.
Haseol's feet sank deep into the snow.
"It is not that cold."
As he shook snow from around his feet, Haseol spoke.
He wore a thin white T-shirt and jeans, but there was no shivering from the cold.
"You are in Bloodline State."
"I will go in right away."
Haseol walked toward the pure-white Rootstream before him.
"Phew."
When Haseol exhaled, white breath appeared.
It was not snowing, but the weather did seem to be cold.
Estimating the road by the occasional streetlights, he walked.
He entered the large Rootstream at its center.
Inside Rootstream, as outside, only pure-white snow was visible.
Without even a single tree, only streetlights running through the center stood here and there.
"What should I look for here?"
Haseol asked as he looked at the snow-covered ground.
[We were told a ghost comes to eliminate supernatural abilities, so we need only find one of the two.]
"What would be the best way to find them?"
For the moment, there was nothing but snow in front of him.
There was starlight, but it was still dark, and distant places could not be seen.
He felt at a loss.
[You should be able to see well even at night in Bloodline State, but it seems you have not adapted yet.]
"I think so. It is not much different from my usual vision."
[It looks like we need light. Eska, do you have a tool that can make light?]
[I will make one. Come out for a moment.]
Haseol turned around and left Rootstream again.
Eska had taken out a small notebook and was writing something in it.
Scratch, scratch.
She wrote quickly.
Rip.
After tearing out a page, she folded it and held it out to Haseol.
"Tear it directly down the middle. Then it will make light."
"What is this?"
Haseol asked as he took the paper and entered Rootstream.
[It is called a scroll. It is a tool that activates simple magic.]
"Ah~. A scroll. It lets you use magic without a spell in fantasy."
Haseol nodded and held the scroll in both hands.
"Do I just tear it?"
[Yes.]
Haseol tore the scroll.
The scroll he held turned into blue light and vanished.
A mass of light extending from the scroll rose into the sky and began to spread light in every direction.
The mass of light did not feel like a lightbulb or a streetlight.
It brightly lit the inside of Rootstream as though a small sun had risen.
However, unlike the warmth of sunlight.
It was a light so completely pure-white that it even felt cold.
"Oh, there is something."
A space where even trees were absent, with only sparse streetlights.
Far away in that space stood a building covered in snow.
"A rest area? It looks like a supermarket, right?"
[It seems so.]
"I will go take a look."
[Let us go.]
Haseol walked toward the snow-covered supermarket.
"The lights are off."
[They are.]
"If even the streetlights are not on, there probably are not any people either, right?"
[That is highly likely.]
"Even with such a bright light floating in the sky, there is no reaction inside. That makes it more likely."
The supermarket drew closer.
[We will know when we go inside.]
"There is a high chance a ghost will be there, right?"
[Likewise, we will know when we go inside.]
Haseol brushed the snow piled on the door handle away with his hand.
[There was a predecessor in the previous Rootstream.]
Bisan brought it up.
"Yes."
[The predecessor said difficult things would come quickly and in great numbers.]
"She did. Why bring that up all of a sudden?"
[I thought it would be good for you to brace yourself before opening the door.]
The image of Bisan wearing a pleasant smile came to Haseol's mind.
[What a pointless thing to say.]
Eska did not seem to like that advice much.
It was understandable, since it could make Haseol hesitate.
"Fuuuuu."
When Haseol exhaled softly, white breath escaped.
He grasped the door handle.
An icy chill traveled through his entire palm.
It was so cold that it felt as though his hand might stick to the handle.
Haseol pulled the door.
The next moment.
Haseol felt a heat throughout his body strong enough to make him forget the cold that had touched his hand.
CRAAASH!
A thunderous roar that seemed to tear his ears apart.
Flames swallowed his vision.
Countless fragments pierced his body.
Haseol's body flew dozens of meters backward and rolled across the ground.
Without even understanding what had happened.
Without his lower body.
Only his upper body remained.
Perhaps the one fortunate thing was that, in that brief instant, Haseol instinctively wrapped his arms around his neck.
It was likely possible because he was in Bloodline State.
Something had embedded itself in even the arm protecting his neck, and blood gushed out, but he had protected his neck all the same.
Though only one arm remained.
"Ah, ahhh......"
[Mr. Haseol. You are alive, right?]
"Ah, ngh...... As long as, as long as my neck is not cut, I am alive, right?"
Lying on the cold snow with tears streaming down his face, Haseol asked.
It was what he wanted most to know and needed confirmed now.
[As long as your neck is not cut, you are alive.]
"Then I am alive."
Haseol ground his teeth as he endured the pain.
[Can you lift your head?]
"I cannot, I cannot."
[Lift it. Lift your head and see whether an enemy is coming. This is the most dangerous moment.]
"Ah, nghhhhh!"
At those words, Haseol had no choice but to squeeze out all the strength in his body and lift his head.
Rumble!
The collapsing supermarket came into view.
Gray dust and pure-white snow rose and spread in every direction.
Then it began to burn, wrapped in flames.
[I cannot see an enemy such as a ghost. Can you see one, Haseol?]
"I cannot see one."
Haseol forced himself to answer while enduring the pain.
[Considering that Rootstream appeared and then a great act of terror occurred, attacking you and collapsing the building at the same time, it seems highly likely that it was an attack by a ghost.]
"For now, I cannot see a ghost. Ngh......"
Haseol lowered his gaze.
A lower body was gradually extending from Haseol's upper body and regenerating.
"Huh, ohhh."
At the strange, horrific sight, his strength left him without his realizing it, and he lay back down.
"Huu, huu, huu."
As he breathed raggedly, Haseol felt the metal fragment lodged in his cheek come loose and fall out on its own.
"Hk, kh."
Haseol shuddered and let out groans.
It was not from the cold.
He had finished what he had to say and do, so all that remained was to endure the pain.
Until his body was restored.
[This is the first injury Haseol has received, correct?]
[It is.]
[If he goes straight from a bloodline infusion and having his condition examined to pain at this level...... There was a reason the predecessor told him to prepare himself in advance.]
"Nghhh."
Haseol curled up as he breathed raggedly.
His fist clenched tight, and he was somehow enduring the pain.
[If this is how it begins, we could hardly blame you for giving up.]
Bisan's words reached him.
We could hardly blame you for giving up.
Was he sincere?
Or was he only saying it to comfort him?
[How is it?]
Eska asked.
[Do you think you can continue doing this?]
Since even Eska asked, it seemed likely she was sincere to some degree.
That was how severe the wound and pain Haseol had suffered were.
A wound severe enough to make an ordinary person with no connection to the world of supernatural abilities turn away.
[This is only the beginning. What do you think?]
"Why are you suddenly showing a consideration you never did before......"
[It would be troublesome if we invested heavily in you and then you said you could not do it.]
It was a realistic reason.
"If I say I cannot do it, do I not have to?"
Curled up, Haseol raised one corner of his lips as he asked.
[We do not know.]
[We, who belong to supernatural abilities; Haseol, who was an ordinary person; and something that chose Haseol and us. We do not know how much coercive force the wills of these three possess.]
Still curled on the ground, Haseol gripped the snow tightly with his hand.
"I have to."
Then he spoke.
[Oh? I thought you would give up. That is unexpected.]
"Why? Because I look like an ordinary citizen?"
[Yes. You do not look at all like the type to receive an award for being a brave citizen.]
At Bisan's honest answer, Haseol laughed while still curled up.
"Ah, hah. Kh, hehe."
He laughed as he cried from the pain.
Then his breathing gradually returned to normal.
"I......"
With tears still in his eyes, Haseol opened his mouth.
"I do not have courage, but I have motivation."
As he said that, Haseol slowly got to his feet.
His healthy arms and lower body had both been remade, clothes included.
[Motivation. What motivation?]
"Hmm......"
Haseol thought for a moment, then answered.
"Debt."
[Debt?]
"I received a house."
[Ah.]
"For a modern person, there are not many motivations for working greater than debt."
As he said that, Haseol stood tall on the snowfield.
And he took in the landscape that had changed from before.
No, he took in the landscape that had darkened again, just as it had been at the start.