Chapter 75 – Whirlpool of Desire (One)

“Rockdeer are timid creatures. I’ve heard there hasn’t been a single case of them attacking humans yet.”

“Those beasts? They’re not dangerous at all. They’re too busy running away if you get close.”

Veronica and Skyle spoke.

Rockdeer were said to be timid, docile animals that would never attack other creatures first.

Even when attacked, they would simply endure without fighting back.

‘…But with this level of rage.’

Those words might prove to be wrong.

The rage the Rockdeer currently harbored was of such magnitude that it wouldn’t be surprising if something erupted at any moment.

Veronica, too, seemed to sense something unusual about the Rockdeer’s cries, her face hardening stiffly.

Tense air.

Footsteps echoing from all directions.

‘It’s harder to find than I thought.’

Ominous crimson mana.

After running through it for several dozen seconds.

Gguruk!

Fran, cradled in Veronica’s arms, suddenly thrashed about.

“Fran! Why, what’s wrong, all of a sudden?”

The creature, lifting its head, was looking somewhere outside the window.

Ray and Veronica followed the direction of its black eyes.

“There! It’s over there!”

As Veronica shouted, there among the fleeing herd was a blue-skinned Rockdeer running alongside its companions.

Ray stepped on the accelerator.

He moved forward, cutting across the path of the herd the creature belonged to, and then slowed down.

─Gguruk!

─Ggururuuk!

The Rockdeer that had slowed down together tried to change direction to avoid the vehicle.

But blocked by the vehicle zigzagging left and right, they couldn’t move forward.

‘This should be enough.’

A momentary, chain-reaction traffic jam.

That was sufficient to cause about two hundred Rockdeer to fall behind from the main herd.

Vroooom──!

The vehicles of Skyle’s mercenary group, having quickly caught up, surrounded the separated Rockdeer herd.

“Target secured.”

Ray radioed Skyle and John in turn.

Over the radio, their low laughter could be heard.

Inside the canyon, a circular clearing surrounded by sheer cliffs.

─Gguruk.

─Ggururuuk.

The gray-shelled beasts realized there was nowhere left to run.

They kicked the ground with excited gestures, turning their bodies this way and that, but no escape route was in sight.

Retinas trembling with anxiety.

Reflected there were only the iron steeds of humans pouring in through the narrow entrance of the clearing.

─Gguruk.

─Ggururuuk.

As the iron steeds surrounding them in a circle slowly advanced, the beasts were herded into a dot-like formation in the corner of the clearing.

There were 17 vehicles in total.

They all stopped simultaneously, maintaining some distance from the beasts.

Clunk. Thud.

Clunk. Thud. Thud.

Doors opened all at once, and Skyle and the mercenaries armed with guns, along with John and his bodyguards, got out.

Clunk. Thud.

The last to step out was Ray.

As Ray stepped away from the vehicle and walked forward, Skyle approached with a boastful tone.

“Well, your skill at herding them was truly exceptional. Even a professional drover couldn’t handle things this skillfully.”

“…….”

“Did you have experience in this area before? Or did you use magic?”

He hadn’t particularly used magic.

It was just that, without emotional fluctuations, he could drive without a single mistake even in precarious situations.

“Amazing. Truly!”

Clapclapclapclapclap──!

Skyle’s exaggerated applause continued.

Ray knew.

That this was not applause in praise of the other’s skill, but self-congratulatory applause for the imminent time of capture.

Along with the unrestrained clapping, the golden mana within its owner’s vessel also seemed to tremble with joy.

Next, John approached with Michael in tow.

“So, you’re saying that among them is the Rockdeer from the photo, the one I’m looking for. There’s no mistake, right?”

Ray glanced at John’s vessel.

Excitement, anticipation, thrill, ecstasy.

And the greatest of all, greed.

John, too, was showing the most intense emotional turbulence Ray had seen so far.

“Congratulations, President. Isn’t this the moment you’ve been longing for?”

Michael said.

While a clear smile rose on his face, his vessel was turbidly mixed with emotions like doubt and anticipation.

Half-belief, half-doubt.

Ambivalent feelings.

Doubt about the possibility of the Rockdeer John saw in the past actually existing.

Suspicion that the photo reported by the mercenary group might be fabricated.

Yet, ultimately, the hope that everything would turn out to be true.

Only then could the person he believed in and followed experience a moment of ecstasy, and he, too, could share in the joy.

“Yes. The Rockdeer from the photo is definitely within that herd. We will begin the search. If you wait a moment, you will be able to experience the moment of reunion.”

“Skyle, you’ve worked hard too. That the moment I so longed for has truly arrived… I couldn’t be more moved.”

While paying attention to the conversation between John and Skyle, Ray turned his head to survey the clearing.

In the center was a wide, sunken pit, likely where an oasis once existed.

Nothing else particularly stood out.

About two hundred Rockdeer.

Dozens of humans and vehicles.

A clearing that, while not narrow, couldn’t be called very large either, with more than half the space occupied by them.

“Then, let’s start the search. I can hardly wait for the moment of reunion.”

“Yes. Understood.”

Skyle designated a few subordinates and sent them toward the Rockdeer.

All the while, he kept glancing at Ray.

Ray, having completed his magic preparation, uttering a specific phrase was the signal to commence combat.

Fiddling with the handle of the shotgun at his waist, Skyle thought.

‘Seems the magic preparation isn’t complete yet. Well, it probably takes some time. They said it’s a powerful magic that can subdue that young wizard in one strike.’

They had agreed in advance.

To use lightning magic to subdue Michael in an instant.

And, in case the magic was blocked, he himself would simultaneously fire buckshot at Michael upon the signal.

「Don’t worry about getting hurt from counterattacks. I’ll immediately use a ward to block them.」

Follow-up measures were also prepared.

Indeed, wizards were such reliable beings.

“It won’t be easy to push through those tightly packed Rockdeer. The friends in charge of the search will have a bit of a hard time.”

John, too, continued the conversation while waiting for the moment Ray would open his mouth.

‘He said he’d use lightning-type magic to bring them close to annihilation in one go.’

John smiled inwardly, recalling the moment Ray filled the hotel room with sparks.

It was a refreshingly straightforward plan that a half-wit like Michael would never think of.

Even if they just entered combat, victory was assured, but if there was a way to reduce damage, there was no reason to refuse.

‘And he made one more proposal to me.’

There was a chance the magic might miss.

So, why not arrange to shoot Skyle directly upon the signal?

‘Not bad. He’s young but seems experienced in these matters.’

John fiddled with the pistol in his pocket and thought.

He must never let go of this capable new hunting dog he had leashed so easily.

“…….”

At that moment, Ray’s gaze was directed at the mercenaries struggling to move through the herd of Rockdeer.

The Rockdeer, already surrounded, couldn’t flee from the approaching mercenaries and only let out fearful cries.

─Move! Get out of the way, you deer bastards!

─I’m suffocating. Damn it, where the hell is the one with the gem on its forehead?

The difficulty in moving was real.

The act of searching for the blue-gemmed Rockdeer was a pretense, a performance to deceive John.

No one in the mercenary group was unaware that the photo was fabricated.

However, the mercenary group was unaware of the existence of the blue-skinned Rockdeer.

‘They’ll find out soon enough.’

The searching mercenaries would soon discover the creature.

The reason for deliberately delaying the signal was to confirm its location before combat began.

“To be honest, when I first heard your story, President, I was half-doubting. But upon searching, there really was a Rockdeer with that appearance.”

“It might not be the exact same Rockdeer from my memory. A regrettable thing, but it could just be a mutant of the same lineage. Still, that’s enough. If I can just feel that emotion again.”

John and Skyle failed to detect the subtle sense of discord lingering in each other’s words and actions.

Because they were focusing all their nerves on Ray’s signal.

Then, the events that unfolded next were almost simultaneous.

The moment a mercenary, pushing through the Rockdeer herd, stomped on a fawn obstructing his path with his foot.

─You fucking deer bastards! Move aside!

Gguruk.

Ggururuuk.

The crimson mana harbored by the Rockdeer expanded as if exploding, and.

─Th, there! It’s over there!

─Wh, what? It really exists? Its skin is blue.

Other mercenaries found the blue-skinned Rockdeer.

“Begin─.”

Along with that, Ray’s lips began to move.

The pupils of John and Skyle dilated widely, not wanting to miss the consonants and vowels formed by his lips.

“─now─.”

In truth, the words were uttered in an instant.

However, the two men in a state of extreme tension felt an illusion as if time was flowing very slowly.

“─.”

Finally, the moment all the letters revealed themselves to the world, the delayed time regained its proper speed.

Bang──!

Two muzzles spat fire.

One gunshot was heard.

“Gghuk─!”

Skyle, who had dropped the shotgun he was holding, clutched his chest and collapsed to the ground.

“Argh!”

John also dropped his pistol.

No, he had no choice but to drop it.

If one’s entire right hand holding the gun was blown off, anyone would have no choice.

Thud!

John collapsed to the ground as if falling heavily, cold sweat pouring down as he stared at his right hand, now only a wrist remaining.

What? What is this?

Am I dreaming right now?

─Pr, President!

Michael’s urgent cry sounded muffled, as if submerged in water.

He was unharmed.

Because, just in case, he had deployed a transparent ward, difficult to discern with the naked eye, covering the area around the two of them.

In fact, the lead pellets spewed from the shotgun were embedded in the ward, creating the appearance of being suspended in midair.

However.

“Gghuuuk─! Gghuk─!”

John’s right hand, which had extended outside the ward to fire, had been fully exposed to the buckshot’s impact range.

John’s right hand, which had stretched outside the ward, had been fully exposed to the buckshot’s impact range.

‘What? What is this? Am I dreaming?’

John’s breathing grew rapid.

His head spun and he felt nauseous.

He couldn’t understand what was happening now, and he didn’t want to understand.

But the pain, as if hellfire was burning his wrist, was something no human could possibly endure.

In the end, he could only burst into tears like a child and scream.

“Argh! Aaargh! My, my hand! My hand! S, save me! Help me!”

That became the signal flare for battle.

Both sides used their respective vehicles as cover and poured gunfire at each other.

It was impossible to say which side started first, and the interior became a scene of chaos in an instant.

───!

────!

A chain of gunshots, loud enough to make ears ring, continuously embroidered the air.

─That fucking bastard shot the Captain!

─Dirty, despicable mercenary bastards!

Curses laced with malice squeezed through between the gunshots.

─Rescue the Captain first!

─Secure the President’s safety as the priority!

But their wishes were distant.

John and Skyle were in a location relatively far from the vehicles serving as cover, making it impossible to dare approach through the hail of bullets.

No, attempts could be made.

It was just that there was no one willing to take such a risk.

Gghulk!

Skyle, collapsed flat on the ground, vomited a mouthful of blood.

The blood that should have been expelled, unable to overcome gravity, flowed back down his throat, choking him.

‘How did this… that old man… was he planning this from the start…?’

A bright sky filling his vision.

Shouts and gunshots ringing in his ears.

And, the excruciating pain spreading from his chest.

The bullet John fired had pierced through the bulletproof vest worn under his outer clothing and passed straight through his chest.

It was an item purchased cheaply from a back-alley equipment store, of uncertain authenticity.

The client who dared to betray him, John.

The defensive gear that failed to fulfill its role.

Subordinates unable to quickly subdue the enemy.

Intense rage and despair flooded his vessel.

But in a corner of the vessel, a handful of hope shone.

‘I can live… if I get treatment…’

His experience surviving countless battlefields told him that if he received treatment in time, he could survive.

To do that, he needed to resolve this situation quickly, and the only person here with that ability was…

Skyle raised his head with difficulty and looked at one person.

And.

“Gghuk… my hand…! My hand…!”

“Pr, President! Please endure a little! Let me at least stop the bleeding…!”

John, who was having his bleeding stopped with torn cloth pieces within Michael’s ward.

He, too, looked at one person with the same thought.

Where the gazes of John and Skyle converged, a boy stood.

The white-haired boy had already moved to his vehicle and was observing the situation from within a thickly deployed ward.

“What are you just staring at! D, do it now! Right now, kill all those, those mercenaries!”

John, squeezing out his strength, roared.

‘What is he doing… Gghulk! He needs to kill all the bodyguards now…’

Skyle, too, sent a gaze filled with impatience and desperation.

Amidst gunshots loud enough to burst eardrums.

Eventually, the boy’s parted lips slowly moved, forming a sentence with their shape.

Just like when he gave the signal to commence combat earlier.

However.

─Why should I do that?

Its content was completely different from before.