#075. Whirlpool of Desire (1)
"Rockdeers are timid creatures. I've heard there's no record of them ever attacking humans."
"Those beasts? They're not dangerous at all. If you get too close, they'll be too busy running away."
Veronica and Skyle spoke.
Rockdeers are fearful and docile animals that never initiate attacks on other creatures. Even when attacked, they simply endure.
'...But with this level of rage...'
Those words might prove mistaken. The fury currently harbored by the Rockdeers was so intense that an outbreak of violence wouldn't be surprising.
Veronica's face hardened as if she too sensed the abnormality in the Rockdeers' cries.
The tense atmosphere.
Footsteps echoing from all directions.
'It's harder to find than I expected.'
Ominous crimson mana thickened around them.
After running through it for several dozen seconds—
Gruk!
Fran suddenly thrashed in Veronica's arms.
"Fran! What's wrong? Why are you acting like this?"
The creature raised its head, staring intently through the window.
Ray and Veronica followed its gaze.
"There! Over there!"
A blue-skinned Rockdeer ran among its companions, exactly where Veronica pointed.
Ray slammed the accelerator. He cut off the herd's path before abruptly slowing down.
─Gruk!
─Gruuuk!
The decelerating Rockdeers tried swerving around the vehicle, but found their escape blocked by its zigzag maneuvers.
'This should suffice.'
A brief traffic snarl.
Enough to separate about two hundred Rockdeers from the main herd.
Vroooom──!
Skyle's mercenary vehicles swiftly surrounded the isolated group.
"Target secured."
Ray radioed Skyle and John in succession. Low chuckles crackled through the receiver.
Within the canyon's sheer cliffs lay a circular clearing.
─Gruk.
─Gruuk.
The gray-shelled beasts finally understood their trapped state. They pawed the ground nervously, finding no escape route.
Their trembling eyes reflected only the "iron horses" pouring through the narrow entrance.
─Gruk.
─Gruuk.
As the encircling vehicles advanced, the creatures clustered tightly in a corner.
Seventeen vehicles halted in unison, maintaining cautious distance.
Clank. Thud.
Clank. Thud. Thud.
Armed mercenaries and bodyguards emerged, Skyle and John among them.
Clank. Thud.
Ray exited last. Skyle approached with theatrical praise as he stepped forward.
"Your herding skills are exceptional. Even professional wranglers couldn't match this."
"......"
"Did you have prior experience? Or was it magic?"
No magic had been used. Only emotionless precision in perilous moments.
"You're incredible! Truly!"
Clapclapclapclapclap──!
Skyle's exaggerated applause echoed. Ray recognized it not as praise, but celebration of impending capture. The golden mana in Skyle's vessel quivered with each clap.
John approached next, Michael trailing behind.
"So the Rockdeer from the photo is among them? No mistakes?"
Ray studied John's vessel. Excitement. Anticipation. Thrill. Ecstasy.
And overwhelming greed—stronger than any emotion Ray had previously observed.
"Congratulations, sir. This must be the moment you've longed for."
Michael's smile contradicted the murky blend of doubt and hope in his vessel. Cognitive dissonance.
Doubt about the Rockdeer's existence.
Suspicion of photo manipulation.
Yet desperate hope for validation.
"Yes. The photographed Rockdeer is definitely here. We'll begin the search shortly."
"Skyle, you've endured much. I never imagined this moment would truly come."
While monitoring their conversation, Ray scanned the clearing.
An expansive depression—perhaps a former oasis—dominated the center.
Two hundred Rockdeers.
Dozens of humans and vehicles.
A space neither cramped nor spacious, half-filled with life and machinery.
"Let's commence the search. I can barely contain myself."
"Understood."
Skyle dispatched subordinates while stealing glances at Ray. The battle would begin when Ray uttered the prearranged incantation.
Fidgeting with his shotgun's grip, Skyle thought:
'Is the magic preparation delayed? Well, powerful spells take time—especially one to instantly neutralize that young mage.'
Their plan was set:
Neutralize Michael with lightning magic
Simultaneous shotgun blast as backup
Immediate protective barriers against counterattacks
"Penetrating that dense herd won't be easy. The search team's in for trouble."
John maintained conversation while awaiting Ray's signal.
'Lightning magic to near-annihilation,' John recalled, smiling inwardly at Ray's hotel room demonstration. A refreshing strategy his half-wit subordinate Michael could never conceive.
'And that additional suggestion...'
Contingency plans for missed spells.
Direct fire on Skyle if needed.
'Impressive. Youthful yet experienced.'
John fingered his concealed pistol, resolved never to loose this valuable new hound.
Ray's gaze shifted to mercenaries struggling through the Rockdeer cluster.
The trapped beasts could only emit fearful cries as armed men approached.
─Move! Get out of the way, you deer bastards!
─Can't breathe! Where's that gem-foreheaded bastard?
The search difficulties were genuine theater.
Every mercenary knew the photo was fabricated, but remained unaware of the blue-skinned variant.
'They'll discover it soon enough.'
Delaying the signal served to pinpoint the target's location pre-conflict.
"Truthfully, I doubted your story initially. But we found a Rockdeer matching the description."
"It may not be my exact memory. Perhaps a similar mutation. Still sufficient—if it reignites that feeling."
Neither John nor Skyle noticed the subtle discord in each other's manner.
All attention focused on Ray's impending signal.
What happened next occurred almost simultaneously.
─You fucking deer bastards! Move aside!
The moment a mercenary pushed through the herd of Rockdeer and stomped on the one getting in his way.
Gurgle.
Gurgle.
The red mana within the Rockdeer expanded as if it were about to explode.
─There, over there! It’s there!
─What, what? You’re saying it’s real? But its skin is blue.
The other mercenaries had spotted the blue-skinned Rockdeer.
“Begin─.”
At the same time, Ray’s lips began to move.
John and Skyle’s pupils dilated wide, not wanting to miss a single consonant or vowel formed by his lips.
“─Ha─.”
In reality, the words were uttered in an instant.
But for the two of them, tense to the extreme, time seemed to crawl by agonizingly slow.
“─Jo.”
The moment all the letters were revealed to the world, time resumed its normal pace.
Bang──!
Two gun barrels spat fire.
But only one gunshot was heard.
“Ugh─!”
Skyle dropped his shotgun and collapsed to the ground, clutching his chest.
“Aaaah!”
John also dropped his pistol.
No, he had no choice but to drop it.
When your entire right hand holding the gun is blown off, anyone would do the same.
Thud!
John collapsed to the ground like a sack of potatoes, cold sweat pouring down his face as he stared at what remained of his right hand—just a stump at the wrist.
‘What… what is this? Am I dreaming right now?’
─Boss! Boss!
Michael’s frantic shout sounded muffled, like it was coming from underwater.
He was unharmed.
He had deployed a nearly invisible protective barrier around himself and John just in case.
The buckshot from the shotgun had embedded itself in the barrier, suspended in midair.
“Ughhh—! Ugh—!”
John’s right hand, which had extended beyond the barrier to fire his gun, had been fully exposed to the buckshot.
‘What… what is this? Am I dreaming right now?’
John’s breathing grew ragged.
His head spun and his stomach churned.
He couldn’t comprehend what was happening and didn’t want to understand.
But the pain—like hellfire burning through his wrist—was unbearable for any human.
In the end, he broke down like a child, tears streaming down his face as he screamed.
“Ahh! Aaaahhh! My… my hand! My hand! Help me! Please help me!”
That became the signal for battle to commence.
Both sides used their vehicles as cover and unleashed a barrage of gunfire at each other.
It was impossible to tell who fired first; chaos erupted in an instant within the arena.
───!
────!
A relentless series of deafening gunshots filled the air without pause.
─That fucking bastard shot our leader!
─Those filthy, despicable mercenary scum!
Shouts of rage pierced through the gunfire.
─Save our leader first!
─Secure our boss’s safety immediately!
But their hopes were distant.
John and Skyle were relatively far from their cover vehicles, making it impossible for anyone to dare approach them through the hail of bullets.
No, attempts could have been made.
But no one was willing to take such a risk.
Cough!
Skyle collapsed flat on the ground and vomited a mouthful of blood.
The blood that should have been expelled failed to overcome gravity and flowed back into his throat, choking him.
‘What’s going on… that old man… did he plan this from the start?’
His vision was filled with a blindingly bright sky.
His ears rang with shouts and gunfire.
And an excruciating pain spread from his chest.
The bullet John had fired pierced through the bulletproof vest he wore under his clothes and went straight through his chest.
It was something he had bought cheaply from a back-alley equipment shop—its authenticity uncertain.
The client who dared betray him—John.
The armor that failed its purpose.
The subordinates who couldn’t quickly subdue their enemies.
A wave of bitter anger and despair flooded him.
But in a corner of that vessel, a glimmer of hope shone brightly.
‘I can survive… if I get treatment….’
His experience from countless battlefields told him that if he received timely treatment, he could survive.
To do that, this situation needed to be resolved quickly, and there was only one person present capable of doing so.
Skyle struggled to lift his head and looked at one person.
And then.
“Ugh… my hand…! My hand…!”
“B-Boss! Just hold on a little longer! Let me stop the bleeding first…!”
John too was inside Michael’s barrier, receiving makeshift bandages torn from clothing while looking at that same person with identical thoughts.
John and Skyle—both their gazes converged on one boy standing there.
The white-haired boy had already moved toward his vehicle and was observing everything calmly from within thick layers of protective barriers.
“What are you just standing there for?! Do it now! Kill those mercenaries right now!”
John roared with all his might.
‘What are you doing… cough! Hurry up and kill those bodyguards…’
Skyle also sent an anxious and desperate look.
Amidst gunfire loud enough to burst eardrums.
The boy’s lips slowly moved again, forming words silently as if signaling another command like before.
But this time:
─Why should I do that?
Its meaning was entirely different from before.
