Chapter 80 – Whirlpool of Desire (Six)

The blue dot shone as dazzlingly as a star in broad daylight.

At first, I thought it was Michael’s familiar, but as its form gradually grew larger, I realized it was not.

“……?”

Veronica, who had lifted her head following Ray’s gaze, widened her eyes in astonishment.

She also couldn’t close her gaping mouth.

It was a Rockdeer.

A Rockdeer whose entire body, including its eyes, nose, and mouth, was composed of water, transparent enough to see through to the other side.

The creature dashed across the sky, emanating an overwhelming presence along with a brilliant blue light.

“……!”

Too shocked, Veronica mouthed words silently towards Ray.

However, there was no reaction from Ray.

He merely stared, entranced, at the approaching Rockdeer.

Soon, the blue Rockdeer descended onto the clearing.

A gesture as light as a feather.

No sound of landing was heard.

It was about twenty meters behind Michael.

The water constituting its entire body constantly rippled, creating a momentary illusion that the space itself was undulating.

The creature slowly turned its head.

It surveyed the devastated clearing.

Then.

…….

──.

Their gazes met.

The boy did not avert his eyes.

Nor did the beast avert its gaze.

‘So that’s why it was glowing.’

Embedded in the creature’s forehead was a diamond-shaped gem.

A deep, dark blue like the ocean depths.

The light emitted from the gem refracted within its body, scattering reflections in all directions.

Thump.

For some reason, the boy’s heart pounded.

Thump.

A different kind of beat, not stemming from emotions like excitement, tension, or anxiety.

It was longing.

It was definitely longing.

Despite never having experienced this emotion before in his life, the boy felt a strong conviction about the identity of the feeling he was experiencing now.

It was stifling, and yet faint.

A feeling as if someone was pressing firmly on a corner of his heart with a finger.

‘Why?’

Why did he feel as if he had seen that gem somewhere else before?

Why, how, did it feel like a reunion across a vast span of time?

Moreover, what the boy was seeing now was a universe of blue light.

An immense amount of blue light Mana, spewing forth from the gem, shimmered like starlight, enveloping the atmosphere of the entire surrounding area.

‘Beautiful.’

Any other thought was impossible.

A beauty one might witness if they could walk up into the blue night sky and stand shoulder to shoulder with the stars.

Just as the boy was sinking into deep emotion.

The Rockdeer withdrew its gaze from the boy and looked at the people beside him.

And it slowly began to approach.

“Ah… Aah…! Aaah…!”

John’s pupils trembled violently upon discovering the Rockdeer.

“President…? What is… My, my god.”

Michael, who turned his head following John’s finger, gulped down a breath.

Everyone present was speechless.

They couldn’t take any action either.

It wasn’t solely because of the unimaginable amount of Mana that had filled the area at some point.

Nor was it just because of the thought that any careless action could lead to death.

The creature was a marvel.

A marvel that, by its very existence, electrified the human mind and body.

In the suffocating silence, the creature stopped before John.

“Ah… Aaah…!”

John’s outstretched fingertips trembled violently towards the creature.

Tears welled in his clouded eyes, and a storm of emotion—gratitude and longing—swept through his Vessel, painted with multiple colors.

The creature’s head tilted forward.

Moving slowly, its forehead gently touched the tip of John’s finger, then soon separated and returned to its original position.

The creature gazed intently at John.

Then, it turned its body and headed towards the large puddle in the center of the clearing.

Everyone silently watched the scene.

Guruk!

Fran, who had appeared from somewhere, wagged its tail and made a friendly gesture towards the creature.

The creature gave Fran a glance but did not stop walking.

Fran’s mother, who had been watching from a distance, let out a cry.

Guruk─

Hearing the call, Fran returned to its mother, and the creature, the blue Rockdeer, arrived at the center of the puddle.

The next moment.

A chilling blue light filled their vision.

For several seconds like that.

Sensing the light had vanished, the group slowly opened their eyes.

“……!”

And they were astonished.

It was an Oasis.

The puddle was filled with clear, transparent water.

And the blue Rockdeer was flying back up into the sky, dashing away into the distant horizon, disappearing somewhere far off.

“This… what in the world… how….”

Michael’s dazed voice.

It was a sight unbelievable even when seen with one’s own eyes.

Was it Magic?

Some other mysterious power?

Or was he dreaming right now?

He couldn’t even begin to guess what process had led to this phenomenon.

Guruk.

Gururuk.

The Rockdeer moved first.

Those who had collapsed from prolonged thirst and the aftereffects of battle began to struggle to their feet.

Those who managed to rise on all fours staggered towards the Oasis.

The Oasis was soon surrounded by Rockdeer.

Only the sounds of them hastily drinking water could be heard, and the bodies of the dehydrated Rockdeer began to regain vitality.

That scene was reflected in the old man’s retina.

It appeared blurred and distorted due to the tears pooling in his eyes.

It was exactly the same scenery he had seen in his youth.

“Ah… Aaah….”

Tears streamed endlessly from the old man’s eyes.

Tears as clear and transparent as the water contained in the Oasis.

John was no longer breathing.

A faint smile had settled on his wrinkled face.

“…You were my hero.”

Michael closed John’s eyes.

After carefully laying his head and body on the ground, he stood up and looked around.

The Rockdeer, having quenched their thirst, were leaving the canyon in groups.

Leaving behind the wrecked vehicles, the dead humans and Rockdeer—a scene left in disarray.

Michael’s mind was just as chaotic and complicated.

“…What do you plan to do, Ray-nim? Do you intend to leave right away?”

“I plan to depart a little later. Gather my things, and sort out my thoughts a bit.”

It was an answer without much hesitation.

Confirming the blue-skinned Rockdeer up close, and securing John and Skyle’s Ignis cards.

All objectives had been achieved.

Especially, he hadn’t expected to actually see the Rockdeer from John’s story.

‘What could it have been.’

What kind of creature, born in what place, living for what purpose.

Was the gem embedded in its forehead the source of its power?

Could it possibly be related to the Rainbow Shard?

While lost in thought, Michael’s voice continued to reach him.

“I… don’t really know.”

“Know what?”

“What I should do from now on… I mean. The President told me to leave. But I am not someone who can shine on my own.”

“What exactly do you mean by not being able to shine on your own?”

“It means I don’t have the ability to live accomplishing great things like the President did.”

Ray was silent for a moment before speaking.

“I’m not so sure about that.”

“Huh?”

“You seem like someone who could live achieving what you want.”

“…Me?”

Ray nodded slightly.

It was a statement with its own basis.

‘I can’t forcibly inject emotions into Michael.’

The emotion Michael currently held was confusion.

He tried to amplify that emotion by injecting Atmospheric Mana, but the moved Mana, as expected, could not enter the Vessel.

Ray had discovered a commonality among those he couldn’t inject emotions into.

‘A Light Cluster is floating.’

Philip, Veronica, Michael, and several other passersby he had encountered on the streets.

In the center of their Vessels floated a Light Cluster.

Each a different color.

A Light Cluster the size of a fingernail.

‘Thinking about it now, it seems Niles and some people in Sector 50 also had them in their Vessels.’

It was a fact he had recently become aware of.

As his efforts to understand people’s emotions increased, and simultaneously, his sensitivity to Mana developed rapidly.

Ray had made his own deductions about the commonality of people possessing these ‘stars’ of light, and reached one conclusion.

‘They all have clear personal convictions and thoughts.’

They aren’t easily swayed by others’ words and possess distinct, colorful values.

…Veronica, in particular, had a tendency not to even listen with half an ear.

‘She has a trait of only listening to what she wants to hear.’

Anyway, to express the disposition of those with stars in their Vessels using a word found in the dictionary, it was this:

Conviction.

The power to believe that what one thinks is right.

‘They inevitably have a much greater advantage in achieving their goals. Because their own thoughts aren’t easily shaken.’

That’s what he thought.

Therefore, if Michael had something he desired, he was a person with a very high probability of achieving it.

Ray nodded and gave his delayed answer.

“Yes. You.”

“…….”

Ray’s attitude was utterly serious, not feeling like mere words of comfort.

Michael, unsure how to react, quietly spoke.

“…Thank you. At least for saying so. But what can I, who has lost my familiar, possibly do….”

Squeak──

Screech──

It was then that sounds came from beyond the sky.

Looking up, they could see three dots approaching rapidly towards them.

The dots soon took the form of hawks and landed on the ground beside Michael.

The metal helmets of a form that covered their eyes, which had been on their heads, were gone.

It seemed they had all fallen off during flight, likely damaged during the battle.

The creatures did not leave Michael’s vicinity.

Even though the blindfolds were gone, and they were in a situation where they could fly away to freedom.

“It seems they’ve chosen to stay by your side.”

“…….”

Michael made a complicated face.

He then spread open his coat.

In response, the familiars, flying low, disappeared into the subspace connected to the inside of the coat.

Swoosh.

The coat closed again.

Michael, who had been standing dazedly for a moment, approached John, picked him up, and held him.

“What do you plan to do?”

“First, I plan to bury the President in a sunny place… then return to the Mage Tower. I intend to think about what I can do from now on there. I’ve been a great bother. And thank you. For allowing the President and me to take shelter inside the Ward.”

After bowing his head politely, Michael turned his body around.

After laying John inside the vehicle among the bodyguards’ cars that seemed in the most decent condition, he got into the driver’s seat.

“If fate allows it… we’ll meet again.”

Words delivered through the broken window.

The vehicle left the clearing.

“…….”

“…….”

A brief silence ensued.

Between the boy and the girl, Ray moved first.

Taking a duffel bag from the vehicle, Ray moved around the clearing, collecting currency and anything of value from the pockets of the mercenaries and bodyguards.

Veronica stared blankly at the sight.

It seemed the shock from the horrors of the battle hadn’t yet faded.

In a way, it was natural.

Spread before her eyes was a horrific scene of human and beast corpses intertwined.

It would be stranger if a sixteen-year-old child remained calm and composed without any agitation.

Unless they had lived on streets where someone’s death was an everyday occurrence since childhood.

Or unless they were a special case like Ray, whose emotional range was limited and who lacked such agitation.

Ray, reading Veronica’s emotions, spoke.

“It’s better not to harbor clumsy sympathy or worry. Towards enemies.”

“······.”

“Trying to help will only get you ambushed or taken advantage of instead. Even when John rushed in earlier, it could have been dangerous if we weren’t careful.”

“······.”

“An enemy is just an enemy. A threat that must be mercilessly eliminated.”

Ray tossed out words one by one as he continued his looting.

The duffel bag was already piled high with bills, coins, jewelry, and the like.

In truth, it might not have been a very meaningful action.

In terms of amount, it might not even amount to a speck of the wealth he would obtain through John’s card.

But the looting Ray was doing now was largely a routinized action rather than for any particular gain.

In the end, the one standing at the end of a fight is the ultimate victor.

Taking everything left in that place is the victor’s duty and right.

That was the way of the streets.

“Clumsy guilt doesn’t help with survival.”

“······.”

Veronica, listening to Ray’s words, slowly approached and began to help with the looting.

It seemed she had realized or felt something.

“What are you doing? Not gathering?”

She even urged Ray, who had paused briefly, to resume.

Ray resumed looting.

As silence flowed again, Veronica asked.

“When you used Familiar Magic on the Rockdeer earlier, that moment arrived, right?”

Veronica stared intently at Ray’s chest area, where the Circle would be located, as she spoke.

“That moment?”

“The moment of enlightenment.”

“Ah.”

“You couldn’t help but feel the revolution of Mana. It was so fierce and fast. How is it? Have you reached the 2nd Circle?”

Veronica’s voice held a subtle expectation, but that expectation was not immediately fulfilled.

“1.5 Circle.”

“Huh?”

“Higher than 1st Circle. But lower than 2nd Circle.”

It was an incomprehensible answer.

Not 1st Circle, not 2nd Circle, but 1.5 Circle.

“What does that mean?”

“I’ll explain when we return to the Sector.”

Veronica made her most curious face possible.

But Ray didn’t seem to have any intention of answering immediately.

It didn’t matter much.

There were other unresolved questions and inquiries left to ask anyway.

“That Rockdeer earlier, what in the world was it? It was incredibly beautiful.”

Veronica asked, glancing up at the sky.

Ray’s movements paused for a moment.

Just as he was about to part his lips to answer.

“Yes. It truly was beautiful. To the point where you couldn’t take your eyes off it for a second.”

A voice came from behind them.