It had truly been a chaotic day.
Baek Yu-Seol was already drained of energy and focus. He had somehow gotten entangled in the affairs of beastmen, a witch hunter, and the Kajilisk… a high-ranking monster.
Blue blood dripped from the light sword extended from his Teripon Sword. His Sentient Spec warned him that the blood was laced with deadly poison, but Baek Yu-Seol paid little attention to it.
"Um... excuse me..."
A voice came from nearby. Turning his head, he saw the beastman chief, who had been boasting loudly at him just moments ago, now trembling with fear in his eyes.
"Thank you... truly, thank you for saving us..."
He hadn't sought gratitude. From the beginning, Baek Yu-Seol hadn't been acting with any specific goal in mind.
It was simply that he had the ability to save them.
That alone was reason enough not to hesitate.
Without responding, he quietly observed the beastmen.
Despite being saved, there was clear unrest among them.
And for good reason… because the witch they had tried to kill had, in fact, been the one who had sealed the Kajilisk, a nightmare for the beastmen, for nearly 50 years.
The truth that they had spent half a century hating and resenting someone who had driven them out of the forest to save them was difficult to process.
To make matters worse, they had just recently hurled insults and abuse at their savior. And now, once again, they had been rescued by someone associated with the witch.
How could they possibly repay such kindness? How could they atone for the sins they had committed against the witch?
Baek Yu-Seol didn't care about any of that. Sheathing his Teripon's magic swords, he turned to look at Syclen.
As expected, though the mansion had burned down in roaring flames, the witch stood unharmed, without a single scratch on her.
When he approached, Syclen regarded him with a curious expression.
"Interesting. You feel quite different from other mages. Are you really a mage?"
"I just pretend to be one."
"Pretend?"
Baek Yu-Seol nodded.
"I don't really consider myself a mage anymore."
"Then what are you?"
Recalling the title once used by Ha Taeryeong, he answered.
"A swordsman. I think that's a more fitting title for me now."
"A swordsman, huh… Definitely unusual in this age of grand magic."
"Was there ever a time when swordsmen weren't unusual?"
"Haha, fair point. There's never been a time when the era of mages wasn't dominant."
Syclen chuckled softly, then glanced at the distant, anxious beastmen fidgeting as they cast occasional nervous glances her way. It seemed they wanted to say something to her, but she turned away without hesitation.
"What are you waiting for? My house is burned down anyway. For now, I'll stick with you. You said you're looking for a witch, right? As a witch hunter, I've still got some skills that might be useful."
"Thank you. But..."
Baek Yu-Seol hesitated, clearly still concerned about the beastmen.
"Are you sure you don't want to talk to them?"
"I'm fine. The problem is they're not fine with it. Disappearing without giving them the chance to apologize is the greatest punishment I can impose on them."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. Apologizing lightens the burden on one's heart. Now they'll have to carry the guilt of what they did to me for the rest of their lives. It'll be an excruciating weight."
For beings with emotions, guilt was the harshest punishment of all. Over time, it might fade and be forgotten, its weight growing lighter. But the knowledge that they had committed a grave sin against someone who had saved them would remain etched into their hearts and souls forever.
It was, in a way, a punishment that seemed uncharacteristic of a witch hunter.
"...Fair enough. Let's leave right away."
Baek Yu-Seol was also short on time, so he quickly gathered his things, and they departed.
Left behind were the beastmen, staring after the vanished Syclen with pained expressions.
***
In the carriage, Syclen listened to Baek Yu-Seol's story. Suddenly, she spat out the water she was drinking in shock.
Sitting across from her, Panallet was caught in the spray of water but said nothing, as the atmosphere was far too serious.
"So, the witch you're looking for is none other than…"
"Yes. The Witch Queen, Scarlet."
"What a lunatic. I've met someone even crazier than I expected," Syclen muttered as she scratched her tangled hair with her nails.
"Of all people, you're searching for the Witch Queen...?"
"Is the Witch Queen particularly hard to find?"
"Sigh. Hard to find isn't even the issue. Certain witches, once they've reached a certain level of power, can sense the moment they're being tracked. That's why even witch hunters can't touch a big shot like the Witch Queen. The moment they tried to track her, they ended up dead instead."
"Oh... So that's the story."
While it was clearly a dangerous situation for a witch hunter, Baek Yu-Seol found it to be good news.
"So, you're saying that the moment a witch hunter begins tracking them, the witch can detect it?"
When Baek Yu-Seol asked, his eyes sparkling with interest, Syclen nodded reluctantly, her expression uneasy.
"Yes, that's right. Why?"
"Do you happen to remember when the last witch hunter attempted to track the Witch Queen?"
"I don't know everything about witch hunters, but I think the last time was 500 years ago. Back then, the strongest witch hunter of the time tried to track the Witch Queen but was killed. After that, no one dared to go after her."
"Then..." Baek Yu-Seol gulped.
"If a witch hunter were to suddenly, out of nowhere, start tracking the Witch Queen now..."
"If that happened?"
"It would be an extraordinary event for the Witch Queen, wouldn't it?"
"Well, yeah... She'd probably think, 'What's gotten into these idiots?'"
"Exactly!"
"What?"
"I don't know how or why it works, but can you start tracking her immediately?"
Syclen looked slightly taken aback by Baek Yu-Seol's unexpectedly serious and eager expression.
"It's not impossible... but why?"
"It's a long story. Just tell me if it's doable."
"Not right now. I'll need to perform a ritual once we reach the nearest village."
"Perfect!" Baek Yu-Seol clenched his fist in determination.
The reason for Baek Yu-Seol's excitement was simple and straightforward.
For the past 500 years, no witch hunter had attempted to track Scarlet. But now, in a situation where Scarlet had lost her avatar and was sealed, a witch hunter suddenly decided to pursue her?
It was likely that Scarlet would immediately sense that Baek Yu-Seol was looking for her.
In a way, it was like sending a signal flare to Scarlet, whose location and even existence were unknown.
Even if such a message were sent, there was no guarantee Scarlet would respond. It might end up being a meaningless act.
However, for Baek Yu-Seol, just the act of sending her a signal brought him immense joy.
This behavior struck Syclen and Panallet as strange, even though they hadn't known Baek Yu-Seol for very long.
He had always maintained a perfect poker face, rarely revealing any emotion. Seeing him express such pure happiness was a novelty.
"So the Witch Queen really was someone special to you, huh?"
"Why would I lie about that in front of witches and witch hunters?"
Panallet, looking slightly uneasy, spoke up.
"...By the way, you. How did you know I was a witch? Normal mages wouldn't be able to distinguish us."
Perhaps it was a minor concern for her. If her identity as a witch could be discovered so easily by someone like this, there was no telling when another magician might figure it out.
"I think I naturally developed that ability after spending a long time with witches. Plus, I have a peculiar constitution that makes me different from ordinary mages."
"I see... That must be it. Sigh."
As they chatted idly, the carriage carrying the three of them arrived at a nearby rural village.
The villagers, upon seeing Baek Yu-Seol and his companions, didn't pay them much attention. Their clothing was neither extravagant nor particularly eye-catching, giving the impression of mere travelers passing through. No one seemed to care about their arrival.
Syclen wandered around the village until she found an abandoned, unused house. After entering, she quickly tidied up the interior. She even installed a fluorescent light on the ceiling, much to Baek Yu-Seol's surprise.
"I thought rituals were supposed to be performed in dark and grimy places."
"What nonsense. Even for a witch's ritual, flames are necessary. Sometimes, to focus on that flame, other lights are extinguished, but that's only something weak, lower-level witches do. Rituals should always be conducted in clean, tidy spaces. A dirty environment doesn't allow pure intent to be conveyed."
"True... Even a single impurity in a magic circle can cause it to malfunction."
Syclen began drawing a witch hunter's specialized magic circle on the floor using chalk. Baek Yu-Seol had expected her to use something dramatic, like blood or red magical potions, so he was a little disappointed to see it was just chalk.
Still, he didn't voice his thoughts.
Syclen was a highly skilled witch hunter, and it wasn't surprising that she had methods different from others.
'But still…'
Baek Yu-Seol narrowed his eyes and carefully observed the tracking magic circle being drawn.
It was a completely new type of magic circle, distinct from anything related to magic he had encountered before.
If that were the case, it should have been incomprehensible to him… even with his Sentient Spec.
Yet, strangely, even without wearing the spec, he had a nagging sense that he could somehow understand the magic circle.
Unable to hold back his discomfort, he blurted out.
"Hey, isn't there an extra dot in the rune at the one o'clock position?"
"Oh, you're right. I must've spilled some chalk dust there by mistake."
Thud.
Baek Yu-Seol froze.
Syclen froze.
Even Panallet, who had been quietly watching from the side, froze.
The three of them were enveloped in a sudden, heavy silence.
Syclen slowly raised her head, breaking the silence.
"You... Do you know witch hunter magic?"
Baek Yu-Seol couldn't answer.
Witch hunter magic?
There was no way he could know that.
After all, he didn't even fully understand standard magic. Without his Sentient Spec, Baek Yu-Seol was, in all his glory, just an ordinary person.
Staring blankly at his palm, he shook his head.
"No... I've never learned anything like that. It just feels like... somehow, I've learned it before."
"I see... You did say you were with the Witch Queen as a child. Maybe she taught you some basic knowledge to counter witch hunters."
But that wasn't it.
Baek Yu-Seol hadn't even spent a full year with the Witch Queen, Scarlet.
There had never been an opportunity for her to teach him anything about witch hunter magic.
'Then why do I know this?'
This wasn't the first time something like this had happened. Slowly but surely, Baek Yu-Seol had been experiencing these strange phenomena. He was now able to use some of the capabilities of his Sentient Spec even without wearing them.
More unsettlingly, knowledge seemed to be gradually integrating itself into his mind, as if it had always been there.
"Alright, let's begin."
Before he could think about it further, Syclen changed into a pure white ceremonial robe, signaling the start of the ritual. Baek Yu-Seol quickly refocused.
This moment was critical.
Baek Yu-Seol had been eagerly anticipating this.
Before she disappeared, Scarlet had left him one final message:
'Find me.'
Perhaps, even as she left that message, Scarlet hadn't truly expected anyone to answer her call.
For a thousand years, not a single person had sought her out.
Perhaps Scarlet had harbored the fear that, once she disappeared, Baek Yu-Seol would eventually forget her and move on with his life.
In that place, she wouldn't be able to hear any news from the outside world.
And so, finally, after such a long time… Baek Yu-Seol was now able to respond to Scarlet's message.
'I am searching for you.'
To ease her fears.
To ensure she didn't feel alone in her solitude.
If he could deliver even a single message to her…
That alone would be enough.