Chương 78: Missing

Ch 78 - Missing Taking in the catastrophe unfolding before him, Evan was half-tempted to return to bed and pretend he had seen nothing. He had hoped to make it through the New Year without any major incidents, but it seemed his bad luck had decided he had enjoyed enough peace. With a sea creature he suspected was a kraken rampaging through the water and smaller monsters pouring out alongside it, there was no chance he could just sit back and leave everything to the licensed Awakeners.

He changed out of his nightwear and into his most comfortable clothes, which meant his training gear, then headed outside. As he passed Hiroto's room, he peeked through the open door and found it empty. Had he gone out to help? Knowing Hiroto, he wouldn't have backed down with a Rift Outbreak in progress. Outside the villa, the fighting had begun. Evan unsheathed his sword and intercepted a crab monster chasing one of the island's staff.

Its claw swung toward him, but he dodged and leapt off the limb, using the momentum to slash at its eyes. The creature recoiled in pain, giving Evan an opening to drop beneath it and drive his sword into its exposed underside. Ignoring the stuttering thanks from the staff member he'd saved, Evan continued forward. Several young Awakeners were already fighting the monsters, but Hiroto was nowhere to be seen. Was he with Reika?

A familiar voice caught Evan's attention, and he spotted Carmen struggling against a small sea serpent. Dashing toward her, Evan took advantage of the creature's momentary blindness and fired an ice spell at its side. The serpent screeched and turned toward him, retaliating with a jet of water. Evan dodged the attack as the creature slithered rapidly across the ground, moving surprisingly quickly despite its aquatic nature. Bang! Bang! Carmen fired her handgun.

To Evan's surprise, the bullets punched through the serpent's side and neck, staggering it long enough for him to sever its head. As the creature collapsed, Evan turned his narrowed eyes toward the gun in Carmen's hand. She grinned.

"Never seen someone using Anti-Monster Rounds?"

"Please tell me you at least have a license for that gun."

"Who cares? We're in the middle of a Rift Outbreak. And, for the record, yeah, I do have a license."

"Great to hear. But why are you outside? Shouldn't you be hiding in the underground bunker like the other rich non-Awakeners?"

"Is that really something an F-rank like you should be saying to an E-rank like me?" Carmen put her hands on her hips.

"And for the record, I was ambushed on my way back from the party. Unlike you, who scurried off the moment your stomach was full, I still had things to do."

"The struggles of being a rich heiress, I guess, but have you seen Hiroto?"

"Nope. I'm pretty sure I saw him heading off with Reika and her mother before me. I haven't seen him during the attack either. But as for Reika—" Bzzzt! A bolt of blue lightning shot up from the distant forest.

"There she is," Carmen said.

"Quite the flashy one. Makes her easy to spot."

"You go back and hide. I'll back Reika up." Evan sprinted toward the source of the lightning, ignoring Carmen's protests about being ordered around. Racing through the trees, he dodged obstacles and cut down beasts that tried to stop him. Finding Reika wasn't difficult. Scorched vegetation and torn branches marked her path, while the smell of charred bodies hung in the air. Pushing through a tall shrub, he spotted Reika taking down another beast.

Unlike Evan, who had changed into more practical clothes, she was still wearing her linen midi dress.

"Whitfield?" Reika frowned as she turned toward him.

"Why are you here?"

"Why can't I be here?" Evan asked.

"Just because I'm an F-rank, you think I shouldn't get involved? Did you forget I beat you in that spar?" Reika's expression soured at the reminder, but she asked, "No, but aren't you supposed to be with Hiroto?"

"With Hiroto? What do you mean? I thought he'd gone out to deal with the Outbreak since his room was empty."

"No, he isn't out. Hiroto said he was feeling sick not long after the party ended, so when I left the villa, I told him to stay put and not get involved. He said he'd go to you since it would be safer if you two stayed together."

"He didn't come to me. Do you think he ignored your order and headed out on his own?"

"I doubt it. Hiroto looked really unwell. Even if he's an S-rank, that's not something you should ignore and push through." And yet Hiroto's room had been vacant when Evan checked. Only a short time had passed since Reika had left to deal with the monsters, and Evan had spent that time changing clothes before checking on Hiroto. Yet someone who was supposedly too ill to leave his bed had somehow vanished without a trace.

"Something isn't adding up here," Evan muttered.

"It's strange enough that a Rift Outbreak suddenly occurred without any Rift being detected near the island. And that creature..." A wave crashed into the island as the kraken rampaged through the waters, its guttural bellow ringing out once more.

"That thing is definitely S-rank. And now Hiroto suddenly goes missing..." Evan said.

"You think someone is targeting him?" Reika asked. He rested a hand against his chin, considering the situation. Any Rift that opened inside the barrier should have been detected by the RCB, yet one had appeared here without warning. He could give the RCB some leeway with the Rift being out at sea, but something capable of producing an S-rank monster should have been impossible to conceal... Unless someone had deliberately hidden it. Stolen novel; please report. His thoughts returned to the device Isaac had used.

Could this be the work of the church Isaac had babbled about? If Isaac was a demonic arts practitioner, there was a good chance the other members were as well. But why target Hiroto? And why cause a Rift Outbreak just to do it?

"Whitfield! Answer me!" Reika shouted.

"I have a few theories, but first we need to find Hiroto. I think someone took him."

"Took him? You think they brought him to the harbor?"

"Not with that beast rampaging in the sea. More importantly, I bet they have another way off this island." He dashed back toward the villa, with Reika following close behind. They soon reached Hiroto's room, and Evan barged inside, scanning the room for any sign of a struggle. Nothing was out of place, leaving only the open window. He rushed over and leaped through it, landing outside. Rain had fallen that afternoon, leaving the ground soft enough to preserve footprints.

Near the window, he spotted a deep impression where someone had landed after jumping out, followed by a trail of footprints leading away from the villa.

"Do you know anywhere nearby that's rarely visited but still accessible on foot?" he asked as they ran.

"There's an old ranger station nearby. Part of the island is a protected forest reserve," Reika said.

"Then let's go there. You lead the way." Reika nodded and moved ahead as the two of them pumped mana into their feet, rapidly crossing the woodland until they reached their destination. A small wooden outpost stood among the trees, its faded walls weathered by rain and vines creeping across the roof and windows. Amid the overgrown trail, Evan spotted fresh footprints in the mud. They slowed their pace before approaching the building, whose door stood half ajar.

He peeked inside and saw a hooded man carrying the unconscious Song-hee over his shoulder. What caught his attention was the device in the man's hand, similar to the one Isaac had used. He pointed it at the air ahead, tearing open a Rift, and stepped through. Evan and Reika rushed into the portal after him. The moment they emerged on the other side, Reika seized the man's shoulder and pulled Song-hee free. Then she grabbed him by the face and drove a surge of lightning through his body.

Bolts tore across him in a flash bright enough to hurt Evan's eyes. The man dropped to his knees, then collapsed to the ground.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Evan shouted.

"You expected me to show this lowlife mercy?" Reika shot him a disgusted look.

"No! That's not the issue! Before you start frying everything in sight, shouldn't you at least grab the device he used to open the portal?" He crouched down and picked up the object, still smoking from the damage.

"Oh..." Reika's expression fell.

"Now we're stuck here unless we find another one to get ourselves out!" He dragged a hand through his hair.

"The man couldn't have been working alone. They abducted several people, so that's not something one person could pull off," she argued.

"If that's the case, there should be another device like this somewhere."

"Let's hope so," Evan grumbled. He checked on Song-hee, who remained unconscious on the ground. Unsure what had been done to her, he poured a vial of healing potion down her throat and waited, hoping it would help. When she failed to stir, he patted her cheeks.

"Hey, wake up! This isn't nap time." She remained unresponsive. Evan grabbed her shoulders and gave her a firm shake.

"Come on. Wake up!"

"Hey, don't you think you could be a little more gentle with her?" Reika asked.

"You think we have time to treat her like a princess?" he asked, giving Song-hee's other cheek a light slap.

"We can't afford to drag around an unconscious burden. The least she can do is stay awake. And why do you care if I'm rough with her when she was the one who bullied you at the gala?"

"She didn't bully me!"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say." Song-hee's eyelids fluttered open, and Evan gave her another shake, just to make sure she wouldn't fall asleep again.

"Ouch!" Song-hee jolted awake and squirmed free.

"Stop it! Who dares touch me?!"

"Me." Evan raised a hand with a grin.

"Whitfield! You bastard!"

"Is that any way to treat your savior?"

"What savior?! You're the trash who assaulted me! I'll tell my father about this, and he'll make sure you pay for it!"

"See? She's fine," Evan said.

"Keep your voice down, Song-hee," Reika said.

"We're in enemy territory right now."

"What are you..." Song-hee trailed off as she looked around. They were surrounded by dense woodland, but unlike the lush greenery of the private island, these trees reached high above them, their trunks etched with strange markings. Twisted roots broke through the damp earth, winding around rocks and fallen trunks, while moss blanketed nearly every surface.

"Where are we?" Song-hee asked.

"Inside a Rift. You also just got kidnapped, by the way. Reika and I arrived just in time to save you before you got dragged off to who knows where," Evan said, gesturing toward the corpse nearby. Song-hee's face scrunched up as she took a step away from the body.

"Then how are we getting out? Are you going to clear the Rift?"

"Eh? Maybe, maybe not," Evan said with a shrug.

"Our first priority is figuring out where we are. We think you weren't the only one taken. Hiroto has also gone missing."

"Hiroto? That S-rank?" Song-hee stared at him.

"How could he get taken?"

"He was sick... They probably saw that as an opportunity to take him," Reika said. That explanation didn't sit right with Evan. It wasn't impossible for an S-Rank to get ill, but Awakeners were generally sturdier and healthier than ordinary humans, especially S-Ranks, whose immense mana reserves made their bodies exceptionally resilient. Hiroto hadn't been training excessively or pushing himself particularly hard, either.

For him to fall ill just before a Rift Outbreak appeared, only for demonic arts practitioners to start spiriting away wealthy children from a private island, felt far too convenient to be a coincidence.

"Let's keep moving for now," Evan said, shelving the question for later. They made their way through the eerie forest until they reached its edge, where they stopped and peered ahead. A village lay beyond the trees, its weathered wooden houses clustered along a narrow dirt road.

"There doesn't seem to be any enemies," Reika said. The three cautiously entered the village, keeping their eyes and ears open for any enemies. Yet aside from the abandoned buildings, there was nothing. As they walked deeper into the settlement, they noticed a suspicious shape in the distance. Reika moved ahead first, lightning crackling around her hand, but the figure remained motionless even as they approached. Evan pulled a flashlight from his pouch and aimed it at the object.

It was a skeleton pierced and entwined by thick roots. The vines bored through its torso, threaded between its ribs, and even emerged from its eye sockets. Whoever this person had been, their final moments must have been agonizing and gruesome.

"... A corpse bound by roots. What kind of monster could do that?" Song-hee murmured. Evan pinched the bridge of his nose.

"It has to be a Leshy."

"Yeah... This village and the surrounding forest fit the kind of place a Leshy would inhabit," Reika said. Song-hee gasped.

"Wait... Are you two sure? A Leshy? Doesn't that mean—" Evan nodded.

"We're in an S-rank Rift."