Chapter 72 : Rescue(2)

To enter the dormitory, I hid my identity by pulling my hood up high and returned to the room with them. It felt strange to look around a room I hadn’t been in for so long.

“You lived outside for a year?”

The two of them were shocked when I explained what had happened. Except for the six months I spent with the resistance, it was true that I’d been living outdoors every day. Luna, who heard the story, asked with a worried expression,

“Saya, were you alone all that time?”

“No. I was only alone for about six months. Before that, I was with Chri—”

I was going to say that I’d been living with Chris, barely surviving, but I stopped myself. It was too painful to mention him, to recall someone who was probably with his comrades in the afterlife.

“Before that…?” Luna pressed.

“Sorry. It’s not a very pleasant story. More importantly, tell me about Cled’s situation.”

“Instructor Cled, you mean,” Carne corrected.

Carne checked to see if anyone was outside the dormitory door, then locked it and said to me, “The situation is as bad as it can be. In a day and a half, Cled’s execution will proceed as scheduled.”

What was worse, unlike when I was imprisoned, even visitation wasn’t allowed.

“Now I’ll ask one,” Carne said, looking at me quietly. “Saya, honestly, I can’t fully trust you.”

“What do you mean, Carne?” I asked.

Luna answered for her first, but Carne took a step back from me and said, “Are you really Saya standing in front of me?”

“What are you talking about? Anyone can see it’s Saya…” Luna protested.

“You were gone for almost two years without any news, and now you show up right before Cled’s execution. Is there such a coincidence?” Carne pressed.

I couldn’t offer any particular defense.

“Was it so hard to send a single letter saying you were alive? If you disappear like that and then reappear, what about us who’ve been struggling to forget you?”

Before I knew it, Carne’s eyes were filled with tears. Seeing her, I apologized in a small voice, “I’m sorry.”

“Do you know how hard we tried to find you? We traveled all over the region whenever we had a chance. Everyone believed you were still alive!”

“Carne, stop it now,” Luna said, standing to intervene. She looked like she was about to burst into tears herself, so she lowered her head without saying more and sat down.

“It’s always like that,” Carne continued. “When something happens, you keep your mouth shut and try to solve it yourself without saying a word to us.”

Eventually, Carne stood up. As if she didn’t even want to see me, she opened the door and started to leave.

“I was scared,” I said.

“What?” she paused.

“I was scared. Everyone involved with me dies or disappears.”

I was afraid of watching people die one by one. I didn’t want to involve anyone, seeing the places and people where I could finally relax vanish one after another.

“You’ll have the same fate if you get involved with me.”

Carne didn’t respond.

“If I lost you both—the only family I have left—I’d have no reason to live anymore.”

“You avoided us for just that reason?” Carne asked.

“Yes. I don’t want to put you in danger by getting you involved with me. I still feel that way.”

Carne, who’d been watching me in silence, met Luna’s eyes. Then they stood in front of me together. They looked at me quietly, then suddenly smiled.

“Shall we do it?” Carne asked.

“Yes,” Luna agreed.

The moment I looked up at them, two fists flew in from both sides.

“…..!”

Flicking the fist that hit my left cheek, Luna said with an angry face, “Don’t judge on your own!”

I looked at her in surprise.

“You interfered in our lives like that, and now you’re telling us to avoid you because we’re in danger?”

Luna continued, her expression turning sad. “Originally, my life should’ve ended at seven. But why am I still alive?”

“That’s…” I started.

“Because you said you’d be expelled instead of me, Saya,” she finished.

Carne, beside her, added, “And I’d probably be waiting for a hanging in prison by now—as the price for killing Freesia.”

Before I could respond, two palms came down on me. Luna shouted, her characteristic sparkling eyes shining, “From now on, we’ll interfere in your life too. No matter what you say.”

“…..”

[What will you do, Saya?]

‘I’m dangerous.’

I was living misfortune. All the people who’d been kind to me had met terrible ends and died.

‘Living itself is a curse.’

The faces of the dead passed by like a lantern—how painful, how unfair, how resentful they must have felt. If they hadn’t met me, they’d still be living their lives.

It’s a curse. A curse for arbitrarily changing the woven world. That’s the only way I could see it.

[That’s not true, Saya.]

Invidia’s voice echoed quietly in my mind.

‘It’s not…?’

Emotions swirled wildly, their sharp edges aimed at Invidia.

‘What do you know? Have you ever experienced human emotions…?’

[That’s…]

‘You’re just a Sarkas. A monster without emotions, only imitating humans…!’

No matter how connected we were, Invidia was ultimately a Sarkas—a monster incapable of understanding humans for a lifetime.

He was silent for a moment, then spoke again. [You’re right, Saya. I can’t understand humans.]

‘Then don’t interfere…’

[It’s not interference. I’m trying to tell you the truth.]

‘Truth…?’

[Do you remember when you lived in Krio?]

Six months spent caring for Chris, whose life hung by a thread—a memory so terrible I’d tried to bury it.

[You always said that the human named Chris was pitiful.]

‘That’s the truth.’

[Look at this, Saya.]

His memories replayed vividly in my mind, showing the face of someone lying in the dark.

‘Chris…?’

Chris, quietly closing his eyes while listening to my chatter, was smiling brightly.

[Just before he took his last breath, he was feeling happier than any human I’ve ever seen. If you don’t believe me, I’ll show you directly.]

Everything Invidia had analyzed, seen, and felt flowed into me.

‘This is… Chris’s feelings…?’

The words Chris had said to comfort me—they were all his true feelings. He’d never lied to spare my sadness. He’d simply expressed his happiness as it was.

‘Thank you.’

As I learned his true feelings, the negative emotions gradually cleared. At the same time, I felt like apologizing to Invidia for my harsh words.

‘Sorry, Invidia.’

[What are you sorry for?]

‘…Everything.’

[It’s not necessary.]

Invidia didn’t accept my apology.

[It was I who broke our promise not to analyze others’ emotions and looked into his feelings. You have nothing to be sorry for.]

What they thought of being involved with me—I had no right to judge those feelings. I wasn’t some grand curse in someone else’s life. I was just an ordinary character, flowing by and getting involved.

Regaining my smile, I took the hands Luna and Carne held out and stood up.

“I won’t take responsibility even if you die helping,” I said.

“Stupid talk. Who’s going to die? You’re spouting nonsense, so you’re definitely Saya,” Carne replied, returning to her usual blunt expression with a slight smile.

“Let’s have a reconciliation hug!” Luna exclaimed.

“Luna!?” Carne protested.

Luna hugged Carne and me tightly. Carne shouted that she hated it but eventually realized escape was impossible and relaxed.

“This is really annoying,” she muttered.

Because she was so close, I could strongly feel Carne’s texture through our clothes.

“Carne,” I said.

“What?”

“I didn’t know, but you’re surprisingly big.”

Carne, not understanding at first, looked down at her chest pressed against me, then shouted with a bright red face, “What are you saying, you pervert…!”

[Her fat tissue, converted to human measurements, is 75C…]

‘Don’t analyze that.’

Sticking with them, I noticed things I hadn’t before—my untouched bed and belongings, left as they were since I’d gone, and the many things waiting for me.

In the end, my life is a novel I write. Even if I can’t live exactly as I want, I can hold the pen and change direction.

‘I’m back.’

In my future life, I won’t let anyone die carelessly.

Luna disinfected the wound on my cheek. Carne, watching from a distance, said, “Grace, be gentle, okay? You almost knocked her teeth out.”

As she said, Luna’s fist had been ten times more painful than Carne’s.

“One more hit would be cheap. Don’t you think so, Saya?” Luna asked.

“…Haha,” I laughed nervously.

Her face was smiling as usual, but today’s Luna Grace was ten times more frightening. Knowing she’d suffered the most while I was away, I thought it was a fair measure.

“Now what? Are we breaking into the prison with the three of us?” Carne asked.

Luna answered, “That’d be a little difficult. Even if we ignore the soldiers, Yuri’s there.”

‘Yuri…’

In the year and a half I’d been away, she’d grown incredibly strong. It’d have been nice if she’d kept her sanity, but it seemed Violet had already gotten to her.

“Yuri’s too strong now. Even using Sarkas’s power, I couldn’t win. Her Osteon and weapon merged suddenly, and I nearly died just touching it,” I said.

Carne’s expression grew complicated. “Unification. It’s probably because of Unification.”

“Unification…?” I echoed.

Come to think of it, Yuri had mentioned something like that before using the technique.

“Probably… it started right after you left,” Carne explained.

Generally, Osteons were known only as summoner abilities, but some exceptional Spirit Masters manifested an abnormal phenomenon—Osteons combining with their weapons. The world called it “Unification.”

“Can you do it too, Carne?” I asked.

“No. Here in Semal, only Commander Violet and Yuri can use Unification. It’s a level most can’t reach.”

I couldn’t counter Yuri’s unified blade with Sarkas’s power at all. It was as if their natures were fundamentally different—a strength beyond common sense.

“How can I learn it? This Unification thing?” I asked.

Carne tilted her head. “What? It’s impossible. Even among Spirit Masters rampaging at the border, many die without discovering the conditions. Besides, there’s only one day until Cled’s execution.”

True, learning a technique in one day, with unknown conditions, was impossible. So, a way to get in without facing Yuri…

After thinking for a while, Invidia sent a thought.

“What a surprise. Why?” I asked aloud.

[I think I can figure it out. When fighting her, the unified blade touched my tissue directly.]

“You can figure it out from just that?”

“What are you talking about, Saya?” Carne asked.

“…Ah.”

I’d lived alone so long that I’d gotten into the habit of speaking to Invidia aloud without hesitation. To them, I must’ve looked like I was talking to myself.

‘No need to hide it anymore.’

Since they’d entrusted their lives to me, there was nothing left to conceal.

“Invidia, come out and tell everyone directly,” I said.

[Understood.]

When I called his name, Invidia appeared in the form of Daengdaengi.

“It’s Invidia? It looks like your Osteon from every angle,” Carne remarked.

“It’s rude! I’m not a being defined by such a simple word,” a voice replied.

Carne, startled by the male voice that shouldn’t have been in the room, looked at Daengdaengi again. “You spoke?”

“It’s not speaking. I don’t have vocal organs. I simply resonate my body’s organs to make a plausible sound—”

Before he could finish, Carne collapsed onto the bed.

“With this principle, it mimics human vocalization,” Invidia concluded.

“She’s already fainted, Invidia,” I pointed out.

He tilted his head. “Strange. She saw you transform, but faints at this.”

“Wow! Daengdaengi’s talking!” Luna exclaimed, her eyes shining brighter than ever.

“Daengdae…!”

Luna hugged Invidia tightly, with no intention of letting go.

“What are you doing? Let go!” he protested.

“He was cute before, but he’s even more lovable now that he talks!”

Invidia, flustered by his first intense human contact, cried, “Saya! Help me!”

“What’s wrong? He likes you,” I teased.

“Saya…!”

Eventually, Luna released Invidia after Carne regained consciousness.

Carne, with a complicated expression, said, “To summarize, a part of Invidia entered… Osteon—no, Daengdaengi’s body?”

“Yes,” I confirmed.

“And Invidia merged with you, Saya, leading to this?”

I applauded her perfect summary.

“I can’t believe it. A Sarkas—an ancient species—coexisting with a human,” Carne muttered.

Unlike her shock, Luna was fascinated. “I’m envious. A talking pet.”

“I’m not a pet! Saya and I are in a symbiotic relationship!” Invidia snapped.

“Not parasitic?” Luna teased.

Once things calmed down, Invidia continued, “This is the conclusion from analyzing the Gigantas components I absorbed from the tissue touched by the sword. Listen carefully.”

“Why do you talk so complicated?” Carne grumbled.

“He’s always like that. You’ll get used to it,” I said.

Invidia paused, then spoke, “The condition for Unification is ‘not using the Osteon’s power.’”

“What?” I asked, confused.

“If you don’t use the Osteon’s power, how do you unify?” I pressed.

“Unlike what you humans assume, humans and Osteons weren’t symbiotic from the start. Osteons entered human bodies solely to absorb life energy and survive.”

Initially parasitic, Osteons evolved over time, realizing higher human survival rates benefited them. They developed ways to protect humans more efficiently.

“So, Spirit Masters summoning Osteons and exerting physical force in the present world is a form of evolution?” Carne asked.

“Yes. Taking it further, reaching a form that provides complete power while being closest to humans is Unification,” Invidia explained.

Still full of complex terms, I asked directly, “How do I do it?”

“It’s simple. Seal my power and the Osteon’s. If you fight using only your own strength, you’ll naturally learn it.”

Carne, surprised, asked, “So, the reason most Spirit Masters fail at Unification is because they rely on Osteons?”

“Exactly,” Invidia confirmed.

It was hard for a Spirit Master to avoid using an Osteon’s power in battle. Survival instincts drive humans to seek convenient, efficient methods.

“To summarize,” Carne said, “you must battle without borrowing power, making the Osteon want to protect the Spirit Master on its own. You’ll need a suitable practice partner.”

“A practice partner?” I echoed.

“For example, someone who doesn’t use magic but can overwhelm Saya in combat.”

“A knight,” I realized.

Our gazes turned to Luna.

“I don’t know, but should I fight Saya?” Luna asked, stretching her arms.

I grew worried. “Invidia, is there no other way?”

“For now, this is it,” he replied.

“Let’s fight, Saya!” Luna cheered.

“Wait,” Carne interjected. “Where are you planning to fight? If someone finds out Saya’s alive, all our plans are over.”

“You’re surprisingly sharp, human, despite your looks,” Invidia said. “Don’t worry. I have a way.”

His arms transformed into a net, covering Luna’s and my heads.

“The place where you’ll fight is my mental world.”

“…..!”

Invidia’s grip swallowed our heads, our vision darkened, and our consciousness was ejected.