As if it were a scene inside a play, the gaze of the one sitting in the tree and the one falling crossed slowly. Finally, when Raven reached the ground, without thinking, he landed agilely to stabilize himself and immediately started running.
His instinct warned him. If he didn’t manage to shake him off now, it would be almost impossible later.
Crash, crash!!
-Oh, oh, why so suddenly in a hurry…?
Bam!
Hurried footsteps and a loud thud were heard coming down the stairs from a room. Raven threw the room key onto the counter through the open first-floor window and accelerated his run even more.
It seemed that the key rolled to a corner of the counter because he threw it hurriedly, but…
‘Someday they’ll notice.’
Anyway, it landed on the counter.
The sounds of footsteps behind him and the grinding of teeth that could be heard were chilling. It was as if a shiver ran down his back, something he hadn’t even felt when facing monsters, so Raven let out a dry laugh and focused on running.
‘If he catches me, I’m screwed.’
***
The youngest disciple thought.
Father… even though I have found the master, if I approach carelessly, it will only raise his defenses. If I approach him as he knows me, he will attack or reject me; and even if I approach under an unknown appearance, I would only gain distrust and rejection.
The master I know is like a rabbit — despite his loneliness, he is incredibly distrustful. And after what happened with me, it must be even worse.
So instead of approaching immediately, he thought carefully.
‘I must meet him in a situation where he cannot reject me.’
His goal was to take him to the imperial center, more precisely, to the imperial palace.
He could force him, yes, but his master was someone destined to wander.
It wasn’t to his liking to tie him down in one place, and besides, he felt guilty. That’s why he wanted to show him a huge and comfortable cage, a home where he could come and go freely, and apologize. For having been discovered. For having hurt him with his clumsiness at being discovered, when he should have hidden it to the end.
And he had to imprint on him that this would always be his home. If he filled it with beautiful and grand things, even if he didn’t want to remember, eventually he would. Remembering would increase the chance that someday he would want to return.
‘I need a way to take him to the capital without raising suspicion…’
First he had to bring him. He knew that sooner or later his master would end up going to the imperial center, but having found him, he didn’t want to stay away.
Besides, he couldn’t guarantee that some other opportunist wouldn’t approach first.
The youngest disciple, Deceiver, slowly tore the paper in his hand while thinking.
‘Who was he weak against…’
The answer came immediately. Deceiver looked at Dan, who was still following Raven, and smiled twistedly.
‘Children who have not fully grown. And the victims of the portals.’
Even if it happened twice in the same day, it would raise suspicions, but it would be better than risking doing nothing. It was better to create a situation where he couldn’t refuse.
‘At last I’ll be able to see your face closely again, father.’
Ah, but first he had to take care of this.
Although it seemed he would move immediately, Deceiver stayed in place and scattered the pieces of the wanted poster into the air.
Especially the information about Raven’s physical appearance. Even if the record didn’t disappear, if it wasn’t visible, it would be hard to remember.
So there would be no problem with someone recognizing him and reporting him.
‘Having removed the posters from all the inns and shops in the city where the master is heading, there won’t be a problem for a while.’
He thought that putting a bounty on him was ridiculous.
‘As if he were an ordinary person.’
Our master, as sensitive as a rabbit, would detect any anomaly. Even a secret bounty would be enough for him to sense something and avoid the imperial city.
Besides…
‘I found him first. I’m not going to let them take him from me over a measly piece of paper.’
He had always been his. His father, his master, his only key to perfection.
While evaluating the situation, he remembered how clumsy he had been in the past by allowing other disciples to approach.
This time he wasn’t going to lose him. So without hesitation, Deceiver threw himself in the direction where his beloved master was heading.
***
After rescuing Dan, the spirit guardian had clearly said before returning.
[Good thing it happened after closing the Gate.]
At that moment, Raven didn’t reply, but deep down he agreed. If it had happened before closing it, everything would have gotten extremely complicated.
It wasn’t easy for one person alone to close a Gate while protecting others. Even after experiencing it several times, just imagining it gave him chills, so he truly thought, as said, that it was a relief.
‘But it turns out it really happened.’
With an uncomfortable expression, Raven stepped back, hugging the ‘child.’ Unlike Dan, who already seemed more like a young man, this was a ‘true little girl’ of barely ten years, who didn’t fit in at all with this place and was now trembling while burying her face in his chest. As if that weren’t enough, she discreetly rubbed her face against him, as if seeking comfort or wiping away tears.
‘……What kind of connection do I have with children?’
Everything he encountered were children.
He let out a bitter laugh and, while comforting the girl, moved his eyes to assess the situation.
The current scene was so desperate that anyone who saw it would say the same.
A Gate open in a wide intersection, monsters overflowing from it, and a little girl trembling as she stood before them.
Although he had been fleeing hastily, upon seeing that image he couldn’t just walk away.
That’s why, now, after rescuing her, Raven sighed while spinning the dagger he held in his other hand.
‘Now I have two burdens to protect…’
Before he only had to worry about Dan, but now he had to watch over both Dan and the girl.
…Well, not yet. To the crow that had been chasing them — his original body — he had sent a warning that if he didn’t want to die, he’d better stay away, so if he had any brains, he would keep his distance.
Even so, it annoyed him that the spirit guardian was upset. He knew he wouldn’t ignore his danger, but he didn’t have the gall to call him now, after knowing he was angry because of him.
“……Girl, what’s your name?”
Determined to resolve it alone, Raven asked the girl.
“……Di… Cough Didi.”
“Sounds like a fake name.”
He felt the small body tremble in his arms.
He didn’t know what she was so afraid of. From her clothes, she seemed to be from a noble family, so it was natural to hide her name and lineage from strangers.
He had only asked her name to have something to call her, so he didn’t mind if it was an alias. Naturally, he repeated what the girl said.
“Alright, Didi. Do you get dizzy easily?”
The girl shook her head while timidly rubbing her forehead against his chest. The gesture was so adorable that Raven let out a brief chuckle while, at the same time, sinking the dagger into the palate of a monster that lunged at them with its mouth open.
“Then keep your head down for about five… no, ten minutes. Even if it shakes a lot, don’t lift your head.”
The task was simple.
He would carry the girl, defeat the monsters, and then close the Gate.
Given the state of things, he would have to carry her the whole time, which would leave one arm occupied, but it was inevitable. It was better to keep her always in his arms than to separate and risk losing her.
Adjusting her firmly in his embrace so she wouldn’t slip, he whispered.
“When we’re done, I’ll ask you why a noble girl was alone here. Think carefully about your answer.”
“…….”
Being a bit selfish, he could have entered the Gate to escape the monsters, but Raven couldn’t allow that. He knew perfectly well what would happen if he ignored those creatures.
‘Even if I manage to protect the girl inside the Gate, Dan would die outside.’
They would devour Dan first and then ravage the nearby houses.
The losses would be catastrophic.
Thus, without saying more, Raven began to fight while carrying the girl─
“[Little one, you really……]”
─And ended up getting scolded.
It was absurd to fight monsters while carrying such an obvious weakness. In the end, Raven not only failed to close the Gate, but could barely contain the monsters spilling out.
The situation grew more complicated as he got surrounded.
He hastily jumped by stepping on top of a monster to escape the encirclement, but they grabbed his ankle and he fell to the ground, almost dropping the girl. Reflexively, he held the little one tighter instead of bracing himself on the ground. A dull pain coursed through his body and his vision blurred.
That caused him to react late.
When his peripheral vision caught the enormous mouth of a monster wide open, it was already too late. Even though the spirit guardian, who had been silent, acted, Raven wasn’t surprised — he closed his eyes as if already expecting it.
“[…….]”
As if even the noise had been cut, a strange silence fell over the place.
The spirit guardian quickly dealt with the monsters and cast a brief glance at Raven before sighing.
In his rough green eyes, the trembling young man was reflected.
“[What am I going to do with you…?]”
“…At least I didn’t hurt my face.”
If there was something to take care of, it was his face.
“It’s the most useful part, right? Even you, old man… I mean, Hyung, admitted it.”
The comment, meant to lighten the mood, made the girl in his arms tremble in fear. Raven consoled her without giving it much importance.
Better for her to cry than to fall completely silent. Although he couldn’t see the spirit guardian’s expression, he knew he wasn’t smiling.
After an awkward silence, finally a rigid voice was heard alongside a heavy sigh.
“[That wasn’t why… it was about your self-esteem… never mind.]”
“…….”
“[Why didn’t you call me? A smart kid like you should know why I stayed silent.]”
You should have called me. The spirit had stayed silent because Raven didn’t value himself. Thus, if Raven was in danger, he should call him.
“……But…”
The gray eyes rolled to the side. He hesitated, blinked, and finally, pressured by the silence, confessed his worry.
“What if you hated me for being so shameless?”
“[……!]”
“You know… you’re all I have.”
The little girl clutched Raven’s clothes tightly.
Even though a dead being doesn’t breathe, the spirit guardian froze as if his breath had stopped.
The green eyes trembled. After a long pause, the spirit raised his sword to quickly finish off the nearby monsters, and then placed a hand on Raven’s shoulder.
“[Little one.]”
Gently, he moved his hand from the shoulder to the neck and caressed his cheek.
At the sudden touch, Raven’s gray eyes blinked, bewildered.
“[I told you. Even if heaven and earth turn upside down, even if the whole world becomes our enemy.]”
Even if it meant destroying the world.
“[I will never hate you.]”
“…….”
“[Never.]”