"I said no."

"......."

The spirit stiffened at my words. Even with the veil covering her face, I could easily guess her expression.

"W-what do you mean by that...?"

"Exactly what I said. No."

I scratched my cheek and spoke to her, watching her clear confusion.

"I get the situation."

I understood everything—the Chief had appeared and turned this once-peaceful place into a ruin.

That the Lord of All Realms had foretold that a savior would come.

And that they were now assuming that I was that so-called savior.

I understood all of it.

"But I’m not a volunteer."

Apologies, but I wasn’t some kind of hero.

"I'm not the type to help just because someone asks me to."

"...Huh?"

The spirit looked completely dumbfounded. It seemed she hadn't even considered the possibility that I wouldn't agree to save them.

"T-then... what do you desire...?"

"That’s for you to figure out."

I let out a small chuckle.

"I don’t really want anything from you. But I also don’t feel like doing anything for free...."

I shifted my gaze, checking the entrance I had come through.

"Think of something to convince me. If I like it, then sure, I’ll consider giving you the ‘salvation’ you want."

"Ah... O Great One...."

The spirit hurriedly lowered her head again, but I ignored her and asked,

"How do I get back in once I leave?"

"...Excuse me?"

"I need to step out for a bit. How do I return?"

"......."

"I have other matters to take care of. I plan on coming back, so tell me properly."

"If you follow the path, you will find an exit. You can return through the same entrance... However."

"However?"

"If night falls... the entrance will be sealed until morning. You will not be able to reenter until daylight."

"Oh? That’s actually convenient."

I had no plans to stay past nightfall anyway, so it wasn’t a problem.

"Alright then, I’ll be going."

I started walking toward the path. At the same time, I turned to the spirit.

"Think carefully about what I said."

"...Ah—"

She tried to say something, but I didn’t listen.

Whoosh!

Flames erupted from my body, and I shot through the path.

Just as the spirit had said, I soon spotted what looked like an exit.

A gatekeeper stood guard, but I didn’t bother acknowledging them.

"Hm?"

Fwoosh—!!!

"Guh!?"

Before they could react, I turned into fire and passed right through them. In an instant, I was at the massive gate, gripping its surface.

Creak—!!!

"Ah! What in the—?!"

The gatekeeper reacted too late. The doors were already opening, just enough for me to slip through.

Before they could approach, I propelled myself outside.

Fwoosh!

My flame-wrapped body shot out of Mareong Valley.

Suspended in midair, I took in the sight of the rocky mountains once more.

Nothing had changed.

It was still nothing but stone. Taking that in, I immediately moved.

There was something I needed to confirm.

*********

Fwoooosh—!!!

Flames surged outward, branching out in countless directions.

The rapidly spinning blaze spread like an inferno, its thin, thread-like tendrils extending in every direction. They resembled tree branches and roots.

They slowly expanded, growing ever denser.

This was another form of sensory projection using fire.

It allowed for a more precise, intricate perception of my surroundings.

Before long, my senses had enveloped most of Mount Marryeong.

"Hmm..."

Countless pieces of information flooded into my mind. I narrowed my eyes as I processed them.

There was a lot, but ultimately...

"Nothing much has changed."

It was no different from what I sensed last night.

"Still nothing."

There were barely any traces of life. I could still sense the presence of those in Mareong Valley, but aside from that...

"The same as before."

Outside of that, there were no signs of living creatures at all.

Should I expand my range further?

I considered it, then shook my head.

Whooosh—!!!

The fire-branches rapidly retracted, returning to my body. The flames flowed back into my heart, and I finally ceased the blaze.

"...Tsk."

I bit my thumb, frowning.

"What the hell?"

I didn’t get it. Not just this damn mountain, but more importantly...

"Where the hell did the Chief go?"

I couldn’t sense even a trace of the Chief I had fought last night.

"I wanted to confirm something."

The Chief only moved at night—if I could locate him during the day, it would be far easier to deal with him. That was why I had come out.

"Where the hell did he disappear to?"

His presence had been so overwhelming last night, yet now, I felt nothing.

Had he sunk into the ground? Vanished into the sky?

Or maybe... had he left Mount Marryeong entirely?

"Is this also some kind of power?"

I doubted he had simply left. If the spirit was right, and he could only move at night...

"He must have set something up to keep himself safe during the day."

He had definitely prepared for this.

"Tsk."

I clicked my tongue in frustration.

Of course, nothing was ever easy.

Which meant...

"I’ll have to check again at night." 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Once the moon rose and the Chief started moving, I’d need to investigate once more.

"Will that even be possible?"

Last night, he had noticed me immediately.

That meant there had to be some kind of mechanism in place.

"Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense."

There was no way he had simply detected me with keen senses alone.

"There’s some kind of secret to his power."

Both his extraordinary perception and the reason I couldn’t feel him now...

"...For now, I’ll leave it at this."

I put the search for the Chief on hold. There was something else I needed to deal with first.

"What are you doing?"

"...Holy shit—!"

The sudden voice nearly made me jump out of my skin.

"Damn it!"

Of course, it was Cheonma.

"Could you at least make some noise when you move? You scared the hell out of me!"

"Sorry."

Cheonma answered flatly. Her expression showed no trace of actual remorse.

"Damn it."

When had she even gotten here?

I hadn’t noticed her approaching at all. Did she take advantage of the moment when I had just withdrawn my senses and was briefly unfocused?

That would make sense.

"...Or would it?"

Was that really all there was to it?

"...Did you disappear somewhere again?"

Cheonma had suddenly vanished and then reappeared. She did that often, but this time was different.

This wasn’t even Mount Hua. Where the hell had she gone?

At my question, Cheonma answered with her usual blank expression.

"A walk."

"The hell you did. If you’re going to make up {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} an excuse, at least try to make it believable."

That was complete nonsense.

"...It’s the truth."

"The hell it is. Do you seriously think this is the kind of place you take a walk in?"

This place was nothing but rocks. A ‘walk’ was the most ridiculous thing I’d ever heard.

Even a stray dog would laugh at that.

"Tell me the truth. What were you doing?"

"......."

Cheonma didn’t answer.

I frowned.

"You’re not going to answer?"

I was already suspicious, and now she was refusing to talk. That only irritated me more.

What was she up to? Had she really gone off to do something behind my back?

The doubt rising in me pushed me to step closer.

"...I was looking for something."

Cheonma finally spoke. Looking for something?

"Looking for what?"

What could she possibly need to find here?

Had she gone searching for an oddly shaped rock or something?

"The thing we saw yesterday. I was looking for it."

"The thing we saw...? You mean that bastard?"

Was she talking about the Chief? But why would Cheonma be looking for him?

I narrowed my eyes at her strange words.

"No. Not that."

Cheonma shook her head.

If it wasn’t the Chief, then...

"Something else."

"Something else...?"

Wait.

I remembered.

"You mean the one you mentioned—the thing that was hiding?"

"Yeah."

Back when I was fighting the Chief, Cheonma had claimed there was something watching us from hiding.

That was the reason she had dragged me away in the middle of the fight.

"She was looking for that?"

So it was still here, hiding somewhere?

But that meant...

"I didn’t pick it up with my senses."

I had just spread my perception across the entire mountain.

If something was still lurking here, then it had completely evaded my detection.

The realization sent a chill down my spine.

But then—

"It’s not there anymore."

Cheonma’s words came, and without meaning to, I felt relief.

I scowled immediately.

"You idiot. Why are you relieved?"

Why the hell was I trusting what she said so easily?

Annoyed at myself, I almost smacked the back of my own head.

"Why did you come out here?"

Cheonma asked.

"What?"

"Why did you leave?"

She meant why I had left Mareong Valley.

"Same reason as you."

I had something to find.

Whether that was the Chief or something else.

Besides...

"That place is a bit uncomfortable."

Mareong Valley, where the spirit resided.

For some reason, I didn’t like being there.

It was ridiculous enough that they expected me to play the role of their savior, but even beyond that...

"Something’s there."

There was something about Mareong Valley. Something about the spirit.

I was sure of it.

Because...

"That being, the ‘spirit.’"

A creature supposedly born in the image of their master.

"She’s hiding something from me."

She had shown me the utmost respect, yet behind that, she was concealing something.

And that unsettled me more than anything.