As expected, the sounds of slashes and cuts could be heard everywhere. The shrieks of the monsters pierced the eardrums, and a dense smell of blood filled the air.
Even so, none of that touched them. Instead, a weightless hand descended on his head, followed by a low and affectionate voice.
“[I’ll finish this quickly, so stay calm there.]”
What followed was a mix between a game of chase and a massacre.
As if he didn’t intend to leave a single monster alive, the man with black hair and green eyes—the same as Raven—swept through the area, eliminating every creature he encountered.
Sometimes, when he moved a little away, hidden monsters would lunge toward the two seemingly defenseless humans, but each time, that mysterious man appeared like a ghost, exterminated them, and disappeared again. Not only did the monsters fail to touch them, not even a drop of blood splashed on them.
A literally ghost-like ability.
Dan, who had been watching the whole spectacle over Raven’s shoulder with a blank mind, suddenly came to his senses and began to tremble.
It wasn’t a time to stay paralyzed.
“…!”
“Ah.”
Seeing him suddenly thrash, Raven almost let go reflexively but reacted instantly and held him tighter, as if hugging him to stop him from escaping.
…Now he seemed to realize that this was real. It was understandable to be scared, but if he separated now, he would undoubtedly die.
“Calm down.”
Did you want to live so badly, only to think about dying right in front of me?
“Calm down. Do you want to die right here?”
That must not happen.
The monsters’ howls tore through their ears. The loss of sight had sharpened his other senses so much that everything became unbearable at times, but even so, he couldn’t afford to scream at a terrified child. After speaking softly, Raven pressed his lips tightly together.
‘…Damn it.’
The persistent trembling of the child made him realize he needed to do more.
He thought about hitting him on the nape to knock him out, but immediately discarded the idea—using force against someone who hadn’t even reached adulthood was simply unacceptable.
Sure, if he knocked him out, things would be easier. But he couldn’t allow himself to cross that line—the bare minimum to still consider himself human.
So… what other option was left?
‘This is why I don’t like kids.’
Raven gave a resigned smile, adjusted his grip on the boy, and began to calm him. To his surprise, he knew exactly what to say to a scared child in such a situation.
It was something he himself had heard from his guardian spirit when he was young, when he first met a true adult, a true protector. And they were words he had repeated again and again to his first disciple and those who came after.
Holding back any bitterness or irritation, he gathered only the warmest and calmest feelings and spoke softly. He never thought he would say those words again… but now they flowed once more from his lips.
“Shhh… It’s okay.”
There’s nothing to worry about.
“The monsters won’t be able to touch you.”
I will ensure your safety.
“Just close your eyes for a moment. This will be over soon.”
With a voice made of the purest tenderness in the world, Dan jolted and stopped thrashing. His emotions, frayed by fear, began to calm, and his vision cleared.
It was then he remembered a very simple and effective way to communicate his intention.
“…Hm?”
As if something bothered him, he took Raven’s hand and pushed it away. Raven, who had extended his palm without resistance, flinched at the cold touch of the boy’s fingers.
For Dan, the fear of monsters had never been the main thing. What he wanted to convey was something completely different.
— Help me.
“You…”
Silence.
Raven spent a moment looking at his palm, as if processing what had just happened, and finally murmured the words he had left incomplete. His voice, serene and calm, resonated in a low tone.
“…You can’t speak, right?”
More than that—asking for help.
Now that he thought about it, the way he had found him wasn’t just a survival reaction to a monster. It was an excessive desperation, as if he bore a greater mission on his shoulders.
‘…’
Raven’s dull gray eyes searched where he thought the boy’s face should be.
…The change in his eye color, the sudden appearance of someone, that person using a sword he didn’t have before to massacre monsters—all that were details anyone would point out immediately, yet the boy said nothing. He only asked for help. That showed how desperate and sincere he was.
“First… your name?”
— Dan.
“I see, Dan.”
Some things were already becoming clear.
He extended his hand, groping toward where he thought the boy’s face was, and then descended until he found his neck.
Feeling the hand touch his neck, Dan tensed immediately. At the same time, Raven’s expression also hardened.
…He hoped it wasn’t what he thought.
“Wait… a moment. Why don’t we try an ‘ah’?”
“……”
“I just want to check something.”
As if asking permission, he lightly touched the boy’s lips with his fingers. Dan, hesitating at first, seemed to remember he was asking for help and opened his mouth. At that moment, Raven’s fingers entered slightly.
“Just as I thought…”
“……”
“You’re a fugitive slave, aren’t you?”
The rough scars on his neck, the cut tongue…
And even more, the fact that he froze up when an unfamiliar hand touched his neck clearly came from fear.
“A slave…”
Raven let out a bitter smile upon hearing that word that was not unfamiliar to him.
No matter how much governments tried to eradicate it; as long as there was demand, the slave trade would continue to exist in the shadows. That was a fact.
In theory, the only officially permitted slaves were criminals or nobles of defeated nations, but who really followed those rules?
There were many people who wanted slaves, and very few available.
Thus, blinded by the money from those willing to overpay, slave traders began attacking villages and kidnapping innocents to sell them. It wasn’t hard to deduce that this boy was one of those victims.
“I had heard that male slaves without special skills, of ambiguous age and little physical attractiveness, were used as labor—they destroy their tongues and vocal cords to prevent them from asking for help. And since they don’t know how to write either, they can’t communicate with anyone…”
At that moment, a hand suddenly rose and grabbed him by the collar of his clothes.
Raven, surprised by the movement, felt something coming toward his head. He turned his neck quickly and barely managed to dodge it; he clearly heard the sound of wings brushing past his ear.
“What is this…?”
Raven grabbed the boy before he could abruptly retreat. He caught his wrist when he tried to struggle and took a step forward to follow him, maintaining the distance. His eyes widened slightly when facing such an unexpected situation.
Just at that moment, something small and fast flew by menacingly. From the sound, it seemed like a moderately sized bird, and Dan had reacted as if he knew exactly what was going to happen.
Raven was very familiar with that behavior.
“A ‘Soul Fragment Master’…?”
“!”
Beings whose souls were fragmented, taking the form of animals.
Those fragments shaped like animals were called “soul fragments,” and those who were their core were called “Soul Fragment Masters,” or simply “Soul Masters.”
Because they came from a single soul, they shared all senses—sight, hearing, etc.—and by directly manipulating their soul, their power was extraordinary. Therefore, in the early days of the Gate incident, most of those who stood out were Soul Masters.
Even though he had almost been decapitated or had his skull crushed, Raven was not angry. Instead, he focused on something else.
“I thought there were almost none left, and here I meet one. What a surprise.”
After the first crisis caused by the Gates, the Soul Masters became symbolic figures.
Just by existing, they were considered heroes. And now that fewer and fewer are born, no matter what form their soul fragments take, they are treated as valuable individuals.
And yet… one of them had been captured as a slave. It was hard to believe.
“…You don’t have to be so defensive.”
Raven had no particularly positive feelings toward the Soul Fragment Masters, but he also wasn’t evil enough to mistreat a child.
Clap!
He smashed the crow that lunged at him again against the ground as if he were catching a fly, and while suppressing a sigh, he patted the back of the boy, who had frozen.
“At least you know how to write. That’s good. Knowing how to write, and being a Soul Fragment Master… you were hiding all that, right?”
“……”
If the traffickers had found out that he knew how to write, he wouldn’t have made it alive to him.
A fugitive slave can become the key witness to imprison illegal traders. Those bastards would never leave alive someone who could testify against them.
…But he didn’t answer. Raven tilted his head slightly.
“Ah, and being a slave won’t change the way I treat you, so don’t worry about that. I don’t care about people’s status anyway.”
“……”
“……”
Still no response. Was he still on guard?
Well, letting your guard down in a situation like this would also be stupid. He had approached this the wrong way. It wasn’t about the boy lowering his guard…
“…Now that I think about it, you had asked for help?”
Only then did Dan lift his head. Raven, who was attentively watching, as if waiting for that moment, narrowed his eyes toward where the boy’s face was and raised both hands.
The crow that had been crushed on the ground regained its freedom and soared into the sky.
“I’ll help you.”
“……!”
Raven had already understood the situation for a while now.
Dan’s desperate running probably didn’t have a clear destination; he was just looking for someone who could help him. If a fugitive slave asked for help, it was most likely because he wanted to be hidden, or because he wanted someone important who was still imprisoned to be rescued, or to help a gravely injured companion.
Any of those options worked for him.
“So let’s talk a little, okay?”
“……”
“Hmm?”
Raven was weak with children, especially if they were victims of the Gates. From the moment the boy asked for help, his decision had already been made.
Dan, still hesitant, nodded slowly. Then he placed his fingers on the palm Raven extended, who sighed in relief.
— Your name?
“I don’t have one, but you can call me Raven. Since I already know your name, let’s move on to something else. How old are you?”
At a glance, he seemed to have just stopped being a child. By touch, his bone structure was still immature.
Raven lifted his free hand and felt the boy’s face.
“About 17? 18? More or less, right?”
— 17.
“I knew it.”
He’s young.
‘A Soul Fragment Master so young…’
It had been a long time since he had seen one. Well, considering he had been missing for ten years, it wasn’t just an impression—it really had been a long time.
At that age, it would be normal to want to show off if you had something special, different from others. And yet, he had managed to hide it all this time. That, in itself, was admirable.
The hand that was touching his face moved to his head, where he gave him a light pat.
“……Hmm?”
“You’re young, but you did well. It must have been very hard.”
Knowing how to write was already a lot, but being a Soul Fragment Master—if that had been discovered, the outcome wouldn’t have been good.
Due to the nature of Soul Masters, if one dies, the other dies as well. It would be enough to place a bomb on the fragment to render them completely defenseless. It would be like handing your heart on a silver platter.
‘That’s why, in the past, Soul Masters were considered perfect slaves.’
Of course, that’s now part of a forgotten past.
‘But if his fragment was a rare bird, hiding it would have been easier.’
It could even have facilitated escape.
If he was lucky, it might have been an advantage. As long as it wasn’t attacked by natural predators, a small and common bird would be an ideal choice.
It seemed to have the size of an average bird. As long as it wasn’t attacked by predators, there shouldn’t be much danger.
‘…Someone once told me he had to deal with a white arctic fox as a fragment.’
It was weak for combat, useless for infiltration, and attracted too much attention. Carrying it around was like shouting to the world where your weakness was.
How envious. Raven, unintentionally daydreaming, frowned when he felt a notable pain from within.
…The problem wasn’t the pain itself, but the hot liquid that seemed to want to rise up his throat.
It was probably a reddish liquid with a metallic taste.