#075. The Vortex of Desire (1)
—
*”Rockdeers are timid creatures. I’ve heard there’s never been a case of them attacking humans.”*
*”Those beasts? They’re not dangerous at all. If you approach them, they’ll just run away.”*
That was what Veronica and Skyle had said.
Rockdeers were known to be timid and docile animals, never attacking other creatures first. Even when attacked, they would simply endure without retaliating.
But—
*‘…With this level of rage.’*
Those words might soon be proven wrong.
The sheer intensity of the Rockdeers’ fury made it seem as though something could explode at any moment.
Veronica, too, must have sensed the ominous cries of the Rockdeers, as her expression had turned rigid.
The air was thick with tension.
The sound of hooves echoed all around.
*‘They’re harder to find than I thought.’*
The crimson mana grew heavier, more oppressive.
Then, after sprinting for dozens of seconds—
**Kuruk!**
The creature cradled in Veronica’s arms, Fran, suddenly struggled.
*”Fran! What’s wrong? What happened all of a sudden?”*
The little one lifted its head, staring intently at something outside the window.
Ray and Veronica followed its gaze.
*”Over there! It’s there!”*
Just as Veronica shouted, they spotted a blue-skinned Rockdeer running amidst the herd.
Ray stepped on the accelerator.
He drove forward, cutting off the herd’s path, then slowed down to a halt.
**─Kuruk!**
**─Kururuk!**
The Rockdeers, forced to slow down, swerved to avoid the vehicle.
But the car zigzagged left and right, blocking their way forward.
*‘This should do it.’*
The temporary obstruction caused a bottleneck.
That was all it took for roughly 200 Rockdeers to fall behind the main herd.
**Buaaang—!**
The mercenary vehicles of Skyle’s group swiftly caught up, surrounding the isolated Rockdeers.
*”Target secured.”*
Ray radioed Skyle and John in turn.
He could hear their low chuckles over the radio.
—
—
–
Inside a canyon, in a circular clearing surrounded by sheer cliffs—
**─Kuruk.**
**─Kururuk.**
The gray-skinned beasts realized they had nowhere left to run.
Their hooves kicked at the ground in frantic agitation, their bodies twisting about, but there was no escape.
Their eyes trembled with anxiety.
Reflected in them was the sight of iron-clad vehicles pouring into the clearing’s narrow entrance.
**─Kuruk.**
**─Kururuk.**
As the encircling vehicles advanced, the Rockdeers were herded toward the edge of the clearing, shrinking into a clustered mass.
There were 17 vehicles in total.
They stopped at a calculated distance from the Rockdeers.
**Clack. Thud.**
**Clack. Thud. Thud.**
Doors swung open all at once.
Armed mercenaries, along with Skyle, John, and their bodyguards, stepped out.
**Clack. Thud.**
The last to emerge was Ray.
As he stepped away from the vehicle and walked forward, Skyle approached with a grin.
*”I must say, your herding skills are quite impressive. Even professional wranglers wouldn’t have done it this smoothly.”*
*”…….”*
*”Have you had experience with this kind of work before? Or perhaps, did you use magic?”*
He hadn’t used magic.
He had simply maintained complete emotional control, allowing him to drive with precision, even in precarious situations.
*”Remarkable! Truly!”*
**Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap—!**
Skyle’s exaggerated applause echoed.
Ray knew.
Those claps weren’t in praise of his skill.
They were a celebration of the loot that was about to be secured.
Skyle’s golden mana pulsed with excitement, mirroring its master’s greed.
Then, John approached with Michael by his side.
*”So, among these, the Rockdeer I’m looking for—the one from the photograph—is definitely here, right?”*
Ray glanced at John’s aura.
Excitement. Expectation. Thrill. Ecstasy.
And above all—greed.
John’s emotions surged more intensely than any Ray had seen before.
*”Congratulations, President. This is the moment you’ve been waiting for.”*
Michael spoke, his face adorned with a bright smile.
But his aura was a murky mix of doubt and expectation.
He was torn.
He harbored skepticism about whether the Rockdeer from John’s past truly existed.
He wondered if the photograph the mercenaries had provided was fabricated.
Yet, deep down, he wished it was real.
He wanted the man he followed to experience this moment of elation—so that he, too, could share in the joy.
*”Yes. The Rockdeer in the photograph is definitely among them. We’ll begin the search now, so please wait a moment for your reunion.”*
*”Skyle, you’ve done a great job. I can’t believe this moment has truly come. It’s overwhelming.”*
As John and Skyle conversed, Ray quietly scanned the clearing.
In the center was a large depression—perhaps the site of an old oasis.
Aside from that, nothing stood out.
Around 200 Rockdeers.
Dozens of humans and vehicles.
The clearing wasn’t small, but it wasn’t vast either, over half of it occupied.
*”Alright then, let’s start the search. I can hardly wait for the reunion.”*
*”Understood.”*
Skyle signaled a few subordinates toward the Rockdeers.
All the while, he kept glancing at Ray.
Ray’s cue—specific words—would mark the start of battle.
Skyle absentmindedly toyed with the grip of his shotgun.
*‘Is he still preparing his magic? Well, it makes sense. A spell powerful enough to instantly subdue Michael must take time.’*
They had planned in advance.
Ray would use lightning magic to neutralize Michael in one strike.
Just in case, Skyle would fire his shotgun at the same time.
*”Don’t worry about retaliation. I’ll use a barrier to block it immediately.”*
They had contingencies in place.
A magician was certainly a reliable ally.
*”It won’t be easy to navigate through those tightly packed Rockdeers. The search team will have a rough time.”*
John continued to chat, but his attention was locked onto Ray’s lips, waiting for the cue.
*‘He said he’d use lightning magic to decimate them in one go.’*
John smirked, recalling how Ray had filled the hotel room with sparks.
It was a bold strategy.
Victory was already certain, but if losses could be minimized, why not?
*‘And he made one more proposal.’*
There was a chance the magic might miss.
So as a backup, John should fire at Skyle the moment the signal was given.
*‘Impressive. He’s young, yet so experienced in these matters.’*
John’s fingers idly brushed the grip of his pistol.
This talented new hunting dog—he would never let him off the leash.
—
At that moment, Ray’s gaze was fixed on the mercenaries struggling to move through the herd of Rockdeer.
Already surrounded, the Rockdeer could do nothing but cry out in fear, unable to flee even as the mercenaries approached.
─ “Move! Get out of the way, you damn deer!”
─ “I can’t breathe! Damn it, where the hell is the one with the gemstone on its forehead?”
It was true that they were having difficulty moving.
However, the search for the blue-gemmed Rockdeer was just an act—a ruse to deceive John.
Every member of the mercenary group was aware that the photograph had been manipulated.
Yet, none of them knew of the existence of the blue-skinned Rockdeer.
‘They’ll find out soon enough.’
It wouldn’t be long before the searching mercenaries discovered it.
The reason for the deliberate delay in signaling was to pinpoint its exact location before the battle began.
—
“When I first heard the CEO’s story, I was skeptical. But after looking into it, I found that such a Rockdeer really does exist.”
“It may not be the exact one from my memory. Unfortunately, it could just be a similar mutation. But even if that’s the case, it’s enough—if I can relive those feelings from back then.”
John and Skyle failed to notice the subtle discord in each other’s words and actions.
Their full attention was on Ray’s signal.
Then, what happened next occurred almost simultaneously.
─ “You damn deer! Get out of the way!”
The moment a mercenary forced his way through the herd and stomped on a calf that was in his path—
*Gwoom!*
*Gwoooom!*
The crimson mana within the Rockdeer swelled explosively.
─ “T-there! Over there!”
─ “What… What the hell? It’s real? Its skin is blue!”
The other mercenaries had found the blue-skinned Rockdeer.
“Begin—.”
At that moment, Ray’s lips began to move.
John and Skyle’s pupils dilated, straining to catch every consonant and vowel forming on his lips.
“—Be—.”
The spoken word was only an instant.
But to the two men, who were in a state of extreme tension, it felt as if time had slowed to a crawl.
“—Gin.”
The moment the final syllable was revealed to the world, time resumed its normal speed.
*BANG—!*
Two gun barrels spat fire.
But only a single gunshot rang out.
“Gah—!”
Skyle collapsed to the ground, clutching his chest, his shotgun slipping from his grasp.
“AAAH!”
John, too, dropped his pistol.
Or rather, he had no choice but to drop it.
Because his entire right hand had been blown away.
*Thud!*
John fell to the ground, sweat pouring down his face as he stared at his wrist—at the bloody stump where his hand had been.
What… What is this?
Am I dreaming right now?
─ “C-CEO!”
Michael’s urgent cry sounded muffled, as if submerged underwater.
He was unharmed.
As a precaution, a nearly invisible protective barrier had been deployed around both of them.
In fact, the lead shot from the shotgun had embedded itself into the barrier, appearing to hang frozen in midair.
However—
“Grrrhh… Agh—!”
John’s right hand, which had extended beyond the barrier to fire, had been completely exposed to the shotgun blast.
His breathing grew rapid.
His head spun, nausea rising in his stomach.
He couldn’t comprehend what was happening.
And he didn’t want to.
But the searing pain, as if hellfire were consuming his wrist, was beyond human endurance.
In the end, he could do nothing but wail like a child.
“AAAGH! AAAAAAH! M-my hand! My hand! S-save me! Somebody, please save me!”
That was the signal for battle to erupt.
Both sides took cover behind their vehicles and unleashed a hail of gunfire at each other.
There was no clear initiator—within seconds, the scene became pure chaos.
───!
────!
The relentless gunfire echoed, filling the air with ear-shattering noise.
─ “That bastard shot the boss!”
─ “Filthy, disgusting mercenary scum!”
Enraged shouts cut through the gunfire.
─ “Rescue the boss first!”
─ “Secure the CEO immediately!”
But their hopes were futile.
John and Skyle were too far from any cover.
No one dared risk the hail of bullets to reach them.
Or rather, some might have tried—
But none were willing to take such a risk.
*Cough!*
Skyle, sprawled on the ground, coughed up a handful of blood.
Gravity dragged the blood back down his throat, choking him.
‘What the hell… That old man… Did he plan this from the start…?’
A blinding blue sky filled his vision.
The deafening roars of gunfire and screams rang in his ears.
And the searing pain radiating from his chest.
John’s bullet had pierced straight through his bulletproof vest.
A vest he had bought at a cheap price from a back-alley shop—its authenticity questionable at best.
The client who had betrayed him.
The armor that had failed him.
The subordinates who had failed to eliminate the enemy swiftly.
A boiling mixture of rage and despair filled his heart.
Yet, amidst the storm of emotions, a sliver of hope flickered.
‘I can survive… If I get treatment….’
Years of battlefield experience told him—if he got medical attention in time, he could live.
But for that to happen, the situation needed to be resolved quickly.
And there was only one person here capable of doing that.
With difficulty, Skyle lifted his gaze toward that person.
At the same time—
“Gah… My hand…! My hand…!”
“C-CEO! Please hold on! I’ll stop the bleeding…!”
John, who was being treated with torn cloth inside Michael’s protective barrier, was also looking in the same direction.
John and Skyle—both men’s eyes were fixed on a single figure.
A boy stood there.
The white-haired boy had silently moved toward his vehicle, standing safely within the thickly layered protective barrier, observing the unfolding chaos.
“What are you waiting for?! H-hurry! Kill those mercenaries, all of them!”
John screamed, forcing out his voice.
‘What are you doing… *Cough!* Hurry and kill the guards….’
Skyle’s eyes, filled with urgency and desperation, pleaded as well.
Gunfire continued to shake the battlefield.
Then, the boy’s lips slowly parted—forming silent words.
Just like when he had given the signal to start the fight.
However—
─ “Why should I?”
This time, the words were entirely different.
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