“Yeo-ul, stop.”
Before the worked-up Yeo-ul could land a punch on the tall Esper, Da-woon hurriedly stretched out his arm to stop him.
“Come here.”
Yeo-ul was halfway out of his mind. At this rate he'd end up freezing Da-woon too, so Da-woon called to him with a slightly tense voice.
Thankfully, Yeo-ul responded to the call. He'd been about to shatter the frozen Esper outright, but instead he grabbed the two arms Da-woon was reaching toward him.
“Hyung, are you okay? Can you see me? Can you hear my voice?”
Holding Da-woon close, Yeo-ul fumbled with his hands, unsure what to do about the gas mask. Blood was streaming out from beneath the mask Da-woon wore, so he couldn't just yank it off.
“I'm fine. I'm perfectly, cough.”
He'd meant to soothe him, to say he was okay, but of all moments, he heaved up a great mouthful of blood right in front of Yeo-ul. Watching the blood gush out from under the gas mask, Yeo-ul's face went white.
“It's just blood. It's nothing.”
Da-woon pulled off the gas mask himself and tossed it aside. He'd lost a fair amount of blood, but his mind was clear. A little anemia was an everyday thing for him, and the pain spreading through his body was bearable.
“I'm really fine. So hurry up and release your ability.”
Resting his cheek lightly against Yeo-ul's shoulder so he wouldn't collapse, Da-woon looked at the people who'd been turned into ice statues.
After the man slammed into the rock, the Esper who'd tried to help Da-woon had also frozen solid. From the way the eyes were moving behind the surface of the ice, they seemed to still be conscious. Good grief, they'll catch a cold like that.
“Hurry. Listen to me, please.”
He took the chin of Yeo-ul, who was staring fixedly at his face, and spoke. Looking down at Da-woon's faintly trembling hand, Yeo-ul ground his teeth and released his power.
The tall Esper, who'd been calmly waiting for the ice to break, brushed off the shards of ice still clinging to his body. Once Da-woon got a proper look at his face, which radiated the aura of a high-rank Esper, his mouth fell slightly open.
That man... he's a pretty famous Esper.
“Leader! What happened?!”
Another Esper, who'd just finished clearing a nearby gate, read the ominous atmosphere and came running.
Leader? The moment he heard the subordinate call the big man by that title, Da-woon realized who he was.
He's the leader of the Horyeong Guild.
He couldn't recall the name, but he'd memorized the guild's. There was no one who didn't know the Horyeong Guild, every bit as famous as the Sawoo Guild. The man was a celebrity who appeared on TV as often as Ryu Tae-ha.
“Da-woon-hyung, did that bastard do this to you?”
Surely Yeo-ul knew the man was the leader of the Horyeong Guild, yet the kid spat out curses without any filter and even jabbed a finger at him.
Seeing this, the Horyeong Guild member's eyebrow twitched as he glared at Yeo-ul. No matter that he belonged to the Sawoo Guild, it was only natural to be angry when some kid this much younger treated his leader so carelessly.
Reading the man's mood, Da-woon quickly shook his head.
“No. Put your finger down.”
Telling him not to point, Da-woon pulled Yeo-ul's hand to his own chest to stop it. At that, Yeo-ul's murderous aura softened a little.
“Then was it that bastard?”
Yeo-ul, pressed tight against Da-woon, asked while touching his chest as if pressing on it. The spot he gestured toward with his eyes was where the man slammed into the rock lay unconscious. The culprit who'd left bite marks on Da-woon's neck and collarbone.
“...No, it wasn't.”
“Why do you keep saying no?”
There was a sharp crack from Yeo-ul's jaw, the tendons standing out. Loud enough to make one wonder if a bone had broken.
“Tell me straight. So I understand, properly.”
If he understood, he looked like he'd cause trouble... Da-woon swallowed hard and pressed his lips shut, fighting down the sourness rising in his throat.
Taking this as a refusal, Yeo-ul's aura grew even fiercer. Just as the rough waves he gave off seemed about to choke Da-woon's very breath, the leader of the Horyeong Guild cut in.
“Go Yeo-ul. That's enough.”
Nam Seok-gwan handed the man slammed into the rock over to his subordinate, then took a step toward Yeo-ul. At the same instant, an ice spike planted itself in front of Nam Seok-gwan's foot. It was Yeo-ul's warning not to come any closer.
Nam Seok-gwan, understanding the warning, indicated Da-woon with his eyes.
“I think he needs guiding first. It'll be dangerous if he loses more blood.”
Yeo-ul's eyes, which had been ignoring him, wavered faintly. Seeing this, Da-woon quickly nodded.
“Right, let's go to the Guiding Room. Carry me there.”
Along with the request, he naturally wrapped an arm around Yeo-ul's neck. If by chance the kid used his power on a person again, he intended to clamp down on his throat hard enough to knock him out, but thankfully Yeo-ul obediently did as told.
“Hold on properly.”
Supporting Da-woon's back as he stood, Yeo-ul wrapped Da-woon's limp legs around his own waist. Flustered, Da-woon squirmed and declined being held in his arms.
“Hey, I can walk. Put me down.”
“You're the one who held on first, Hyung.”
“No, I just grabbed your neck.”
“No. Have you ever seen a patient walking around?”
I've seen plenty. Honestly, as long as the legs aren't injured, everyone walks, you know...
Normally he'd have seized on the slip of the tongue like a joke, but overwhelmed by Yeo-ul's force, Da-woon shut his mouth. He didn't want to bicker with him anymore. And as Yeo-ul said, he didn't have the strength to walk either.
“Ah, thank you, Leader.”
Held in Yeo-ul's arms, Da-woon bowed his head toward the leader of the Horyeong Guild.
Nam Seok-gwan only nodded silently. Until Da-woon and Yeo-ul vanished along with the teleporting Esper, his calm gaze lingered on the two of them for quite a while.
Stepping out of the transport gate, Yeo-ul let out a great sigh.
The people passing through the Guiding Room corridor stopped in their tracks and took interest at the appearance of a Sawoo Guild member. Of course, Yeo-ul paid no mind to their stares. His blue eyes held only one person.
“Hyung, what's wrong with your foot now?”
“My foot?”
Da-woon, who'd been resting his cheek against Yeo-ul's chest with a weary face, lifted his head.
“Ah...”
Only then did the indoor slipper, on the verge of tearing apart, catch his eye. Sadly, the other one was nowhere to be seen.
“Why would you wear something like that...”
Yeo-ul, flaring up, was about to pour out words but bit his lip. Looking at Da-woon's pale face, which wouldn't have looked out of place fainting on the spot, he held his tongue.
Getting guiding came first. Save the fit for later.
“I was careless.”
Wiggling the toes peeking out through the torn sock, Da-woon muttered. He hadn't even realized his big toenail had come off. He didn't have the strength to treat it right away, so he decided to handle it after receiving guiding.
“It's all my fault, so if you're going to be angry, be angry at me.”
What he meant was that it was his own fault for not avoiding the injured man even though he'd known he was an Alpha. In truth, it had been his own choice. He'd known the man would pounce on him, an Omega, but he'd let his guard down anyway, thinking it would help with the treatment. Besides, even if the man lunged at him with a battered body, Da-woon had figured he could easily subdue him once he'd finished the bare minimum of treatment.
“...”
Standing blankly in front of the door, Yeo-ul gave no reply at all. Da-woon glanced at him and parted his lips.
The veins bulging in Yeo-ul's neck looked ready to burst any second. His guiding seemed more urgent than Da-woon's own.
“Are you not feeling well? Do you want to get guiding first?”
“Shut up, ...close your mouth and get your guiding. Seems like your head's gone funny too, Hyung.”
The exhausted Da-woon just nodded quietly. He had no strength left to argue.
His body felt far too heavy and tired. He thought he might be running a slight fever, too. Da-woon let out a small sigh.
Inside the Sawoo Guild lodging near the mansion.
Pat, pat, pat, pat.
A cat scratching its ear with a white hind paw gave a wide yawn.
The cat passed the time alone, wandering between Da-woon's room and the living room. While waiting for Da-woon, who'd rushed out, it prowled around the unfamiliar space it hadn't gotten to look over, having slept the whole time.
It spent a good while hopping and bounding across the plush sofa. Once it had finished thoroughly exploring the living room, it leisurely climbed the long staircase leading to the upper floor.
As if satisfied with the situation, the cat's tail curved as it reached the top of the high railing. Its white eyes, brimming with amusement, slowly swept over the spacious lodging.
Not bad.
The roundly curved tail glided lazily through the air. At a contentment it hadn't felt in a long while, its tail kept swishing. It was a pleasure it hadn't known in nearly thirty years.
No. Was it about forty? By now it could scarcely remember how much time had passed.
Thud!
The cat, which had been kneading at its own tail, gave its ears a light flick at a sound that rang out from the living room. An ordinary cat would have startled at the sudden noise, but it remained utterly composed.
Caw! Caw! Caaaw!
From beyond the thick living room window came the harsh cries of a murder of crows. Five jet-black crows cried out all together in the same rhythm, as if in chorus.
A few crows, their throats gone hoarse, hurled their bodies against the glass instead of crying out. They strained to carry their voices indoors by any means.
Caw, damn it, caw! Caaaaw!
At a glance it sounded like cursing, but the meaning packed within was unexpectedly nothing if not careful.
Please, won't you come out now? Or at least show us your face! We're worried sick!
Translated from crow-speak, that was the gist of it. And the cat, not being a crow, couldn't understand it. It only grasped the sense of it by feel.
Meow.
Damn noisy.
Scratching its ear with a hind paw, the cat leapt down from atop the high railing. It was a height that would strain the joints, yet it seemed perfectly unbothered.
Putting on its act as an ordinary cat, it opened its small mouth wide like a lion and trotted off into the living room.
Caw!
The murder of crows, busily cawing away, felt relieved at the sight of the white lump approaching them. Then they plastered themselves against the glass, packed together as though a black curtain had been drawn over the window, and tilted their heads.
Caw...?
They stared, fixated, at the spiky-furred kitten as if ready to pick it clean. Even under the relentless gaze pinned on it, the cat showed no sign of being cowed, utterly composed.
Stopping before the blackened window, the cat plopped its white rump down on the floor. Then it blinked toward the firmly shut window latch.
Click. At the same moment, the latch turned and the window opened.
Though the window swung wide open without a hand laid on it, no one was startled. Using telekinesis to open a door was, for a “chosen” Beastman, easier than a stretch.
Meow. Mew.
What are you all gawking at? Get in.
One crow at the center of the flock flinched and flapped its wings. The crow couldn't understand cat-speak either, but they could converse by reading each other. That was thanks to all the years they'd spent together.
Deep conversation was, of course, impossible. For that reason, when different species had to discuss something important, they took on human form. Only if they were Beastmen capable of transformation, of course.
The crow, folding its great wings as it came inside, dropped to the floor. The instant its black feet, like sturdy chicken feet, touched the ground, they turned into human feet.
“What on earth are you doing?!”
A man in black shoes and a black suit befitting his jet-black true form bellowed. He was the chief of the crow Beastmen, and the figure entrusted with the grave role of assisting the next leader of the Beastman race.
To think that one as precious as I would set foot in such a shabby place.
He let his inner thoughts show on his face and pounded his stifled chest. Since he couldn't strike the one he served, he beat his own innocent chest instead.
“Why on earth?! Why do you keep pulling these reckless stunts?! Have you taken a liking to tormenting us? Hm?!”
Heuk Gu-hyeok, chief of the murder of crows. He was now in danger of not living out his natural lifespan, done in by sheer aggravation.
“You promised you'd just have a look outside and come right back! I told you over and over that you mustn't make contact with humans!”
Meow.
The fake cat, watching Heuk Gu-hyeok shout at the top of his lungs, opened its snout. With an expression chilly beyond a kitten, it raised a white forepaw and tapped its own mouth. It meant shut up.
Understanding this, Heuk Gu-hyeok wore a dumbfounded expression.
“And that form... what's that about now?”
With a swish of its tail, the cat smirked, seemingly pleased with its appearance.
In truth, its real body often took on a juvenile form too, so there wasn't much difference from its current shape. But look closely and a clear distinction emerged.
That was only natural. No matter that they were both of the cat family, a housecat and a snow leopard couldn't possibly be the same.
