The Encirclement and Annihilation

"That's a lot of crows..."

"It's quite a sight."

People who had lived in cities for a long time rarely got to see a flock of crows like this. Watching them gather in great numbers and migrate like birds of passage, Conina couldn't help but marvel.

The woods seemed to glow, too. As the darkness of night gradually faded, tiny points of light shimmered among the trees. From a distance, it looked both mysterious and dreamlike.

"What are we waiting for? Come on!"

After witnessing Sean's incredible magic trick, Johnson's enthusiasm for the woods had reached its peak. He eagerly took Jenny by the hand and ran toward the trees.

"Hey, wait! Be careful!" Gennardo called.

Johnson didn't even look back. "It's fine. The information says the woods are safe."

The information had indeed said that. But it had also said that the fledgling eagle birds in this area only lived in the Wild Bird Forest, and that they could get there by taking a detour. So much for that.

Words were dead, but forests were alive. There was no such thing as one hundred percent reliable adventure information.

Without Sean, they might have faced an attack from a flock of fledgling eagle birds. Their chances of survival would have been slim.

And yet that was exactly why Gennardo didn't know how to persuade Johnson not to act rashly.

Sean had personally shown them that wizards really existed in this world.

In other words, the rumors about a spring in the woods that could awaken a person's magic might well be true, too.

Gennardo's expression was complicated. He wasn't stupid. How could he believe that controlling fire to kill the fledgling eagle birds had been nothing more than a magic trick? It was just that what he had seen was beyond his understanding, and he was having trouble accepting it.

The worldview Wilson had built over the past few decades had also been shaken. But unlike Gennardo, after the shock came a growing fervor.

When an ordinary person stumbled upon the mysterious and supernatural, with an opportunity right before him, how could he overcome his intense curiosity and longing and simply turn a blind eye?

He couldn't.

At least, Wilson couldn't.

"Like I said, you could die." Sean reminded them again.

If they hadn't taken his words seriously before, they had to reconsider the warning in them now. Sean hadn't been trying to scare them. It really was possible to die after coming into contact with the mysterious. Perhaps he'd gone through the same thing himself.

"But—"

"People could die at any moment."

This time, it was Jim who answered him.

Jim hadn't lost his head over Sean's "magic" or Johnson's enthusiasm. On the contrary, this was a considered choice. He had once been a mercenary, after all. Even though he'd changed careers, he still loved adventure.

And people who loved adventure never stopped because of danger.

On that point, he was just like Wilson.

That was why they had joined the Adventure Club and come to the Black Berry Rainforest.

"You all take your time deciding. I'm heading over first. Heh."

Jim smiled and greeted everyone, then slung his hunting rifle over his shoulder and headed for the woods.

Wilson had always had his eye on the beautiful, fiery Conina. Before leaving, he made sure to give her a serious look and say, "When I come back as a wizard, I'll take you somewhere even more thrilling for our next adventure!"

Then he turned smartly and followed Jim.

With those two gone, only three of the original seven remained.

Conina was torn. Her right eyelid was twitching fiercely.

Women were more curious than men, and she really wanted to see whether the world was truly as fantastical as this. But her intuition also told her that Sean was right. There was deadly danger hidden beneath the woods' dreamlike exterior. If she went in, she might never come back out.

Sean made the decision for her.

He did it because Conina had always treated him well, ever since they met.

He fell silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Did you bring a rope?"

Conina didn't understand, but she nodded. "I did. Why?"

"Do you want to try bondage?" Sean asked.

Conina: "?"

Gennardo: "Are you asking me?"

Sean: "?"

Conina: "I do!"

Ignoring Gennardo, she answered without hesitation, her alluring eyes lighting up.

This guy... had he finally come around?

After agreeing, Conina furrowed her brows slightly. "Wait, are you planning to have one last fling before we die?"

Sean: "..."

"Sure, if that's what you want to call it."

Conina didn't understand. "You know it's dangerous, so why are you still going? Can't you just stay here?"

"No." Sean shook his head.

Once someone had been targeted, there was no choice. And Sean had never been the sort to sit back and wait for death.

Sean began pitching a tent right there.

Gennardo scratched his head, looking a little awkward. "Should I give you some privacy?"

"No," Sean said. "Stay outside and keep watch."

Gennardo: "Huh?"

Was he telling him to listen in?

Conina's cheeks flushed. She gave Sean a coquettish sidelong glance. "You rascal. You look so proper, but you have such a wild side. Are all you novelists like this?"

Sean remained expressionless. "You can say no."

"No." Conina put on a shy expression. "Actually, I like it this way, too."

Sean: "..."

The tent was pitched in no time.

"Are you tying me up, or am I tying you up? Either way works for me." Conina's eyes shimmered as she looked at Sean, her gaze practically trailing after him. She took off her jacket, and her mature figure-hugging camisole slipped down on its own, revealing her smooth, rounded shoulders.

"I'll tie you up," Sean said.

"All right." Conina winked at him. "Mr. Sean, don't go easy on me."

Sean: "Don't worry. I'm never gentle when I get started."

Conina thought he was joking. Only when Sean actually got to work did she realize he meant it. He showed no tenderness at all, binding her up like a suckling pig. The hemp rope, two fingers wide, was wound tightly around her body, as if it would sink into her skin. Her long, pale legs were squeezed until rolls of flesh bulged between the ropes.

And tying her up really was all he did.

Poor Conina had hoped to use her body to keep Sean there and stop him from taking a risk. She had great confidence in her practiced moves, certain she could make Sean lose himself in her. But after tying her up, Sean did nothing at all. He simply left her in the tent and walked away.

Conina: "???"

"Sean, get back here!"

Sean: "No. I'm all done."

Conina: "???"

"I'm not done yet!"

"That's your problem."

When Gennardo, who had been smoking under a tree, saw Sean come out, he froze. "That fast?"

He took a pack of Wild Horse Brand cigarettes from his pocket and held one out to Sean. "Want one?"

"Thanks, but no." Sean declined, then asked, "Do you want to come with me?"

Gennardo didn't answer. He stared at the woods, dotted with fireflies, and took a deep drag of his cigarette. He sucked on it so hard that even an old smoker like him couldn't help coughing. Then, seeming both dejected and relieved, he tossed the butt onto the ground and crushed it under his shoe. "Forget it. I'm not going."

He smiled. "My husband is still waiting for me at home. My life now... is pretty good."

"You made the right choice," Sean said. He glanced at the tent. "Take her away from here once it's light. Don't talk to anyone you meet on the way. Forget what happened today."

"All right." Gennardo seemed to have guessed something, too. His gaze passed over the Wild Bird Forest, then settled on Sean again. He said solemnly, "Good luck to you all."

"Take care."

"You, too."

Gennardo watched Sean leave, his back straight as he strode forward with determination and slowly disappeared into the woods.

Meanwhile,

a thin mist hung among the trees.

Wilson and the others had already found the Spring of Enlightenment.

The spring itself hadn't been hard to locate, either.

They all had experience with outdoor adventures. As long as they heard the sound of water, they could follow it straight to the source.

It was a beautiful place. They saw no unicorns or elves, but there were butterflies, birds, countless fireflies, and fragrant flowers and plants carpeting the ground. With mist drifting through it all, it looked just like a fairyland from a storybook.

The center of the lawn dipped naturally, filling with clear spring water.

By then, it was dawn. The moon had long since vanished from the sky, but a full moon lay at the bottom of the spring, giving off a faint glow and illuminating the entire pool.

"This is incredible."

Johnson said excitedly, "Do you think there's really a moon hiding under the water?"

Jim teased him. "Why don't you try fishing it out and see?"

"Then I'll pass," Johnson said. "I'm filthy. I don't want to contaminate the spring."

"What should we do now?" Wilson asked expectantly. "Can we just drink it?"

Johnson nodded. "Yes. Just drink it."

"My uncle said that anyone who's not especially stupid will awaken their awareness and gain magic as soon as they drink the spring water. They'll see the world in a whole new light."

As he spoke, he took out a disposable plastic cup, crouched down, filled it, and handed it to Jenny.

"Here you go, sweetheart."

It was obvious he really loved her. Whenever he had something good, he gave it to her first.

"Thanks, Johnson." Jenny gave him a sweet smile, then suggested, "Why don't we all drink together?"

"Sounds good to me." Wilson was eager to try. "We can see who awakens first."

"That'll definitely be me." Johnson was full of confidence. He filled another cup and called Jim over. "Come on, let's toast."

"Cheers!"

The three of them clinked cups and drank the spring water in one gulp.

The Spring of Enlightenment was holy water that had once helped countless mortals become wizards. Its effects were immediate. As the sweet, crisp liquid flowed down their throats, Johnson and Jim's minds instantly grew hazy. Their eyes closed without them realizing it, their muscles relaxed, and the cups in their hands fell to the ground. Their bodies swayed as if they were drunk, sinking into a strange state.

Seeing that they had all drunk it, and that it really seemed to be working, Jenny gritted her teeth, gathered her courage, and drank the spring water, too.

Sean arrived a little later than they had. By the time he followed their footprints to the spring, the four of them had already begun reshaping their understanding under its influence. Clearly, they were all clever—at least, not stupid. Otherwise, drinking the spring water wouldn't have been enough to make them enter a state of "meditation."

As long as they closed their eyes, they were certain to awaken successfully.

Unfortunately, that might not be a good thing.

Sean sighed softly.

He hadn't brought a cup, so he had to use his hands.

He looked up at the black crows still circling above him like dark clouds. His expression grew calm again. He went to the pool, crouched down, scooped up the spring water with both hands, and brought it to his mouth.

The next second,

the scene before Sean changed.

Everything in his field of vision began to fade rapidly, as if an invisible eraser were wiping away the woods' greenery and erasing the branches and buds from the tree trunks. The trees turned from emerald green to withered yellow, then from yellow to ashen gray, until at last they crumbled into mounds of yellow earth. It was as if several hundred seasons had passed in the blink of an eye, and time had swept it all away, leaving an endless desert stretching to the horizon.

Sean had been to this desert before.

He saw the cactus again.

This time, the cactus looked even more human than before. A human face had even appeared on its head—not Quill's, as Sean had imagined, but his own.

Sean's pupils shrank. On an impulse, he looked down and was astonished to find that his body, too, had become a cactus!

They were two identical things.

When he ate the cactus, he was eating himself.

In that instant, Sean understood.

"Cellular autophagy!"

The dream he'd had in the car hadn't been a dream. It had been meditation.

When he was hungry and ate the cactus, that had been the process of cellular autophagy. He should have eaten it raw, but he'd chosen to roast it with sunlight instead. That method of eating, so different from ordinary consumption, had produced extra energy in his body. That was why, when he woke from the dream, he had possessed that half-lak of magic.

As Sean figured this out, the scene before his eyes changed again.

The yellow sand beneath his feet began to tremble and float, rolling up into the sky as if gravity had vanished. Countless grains surged upward, blotting out the sky. A gale roared through, making it almost impossible for Sean to keep his eyes open.

He instinctively raised a hand to shield them. Through the gaps between his fingers, he glimpsed the sand gathering into a gigantic vortex. At its center was a shade of nothingness, pitch black. At first, it was only a tiny point, but as the sand vortex grew, that darkness expanded rapidly, as if tearing open the sky. A tremendous force of attraction erupted from it, spinning Sean around and pulling him inside.

Blackness swallowed Sean's vision. When the light returned, he saw the familiar face of a young girl.

It was a long street with indistinct outlines, like a painting submerged in water. Its lines twisted and drifted, and its colors were dark, making everything feel unreal and illusory.

The girl was walking along the street. When she saw someone suddenly appear, her eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"Sean?"

Sean was stunned, too. "Miss Flame Crow?"

"You don't even have magic. How could you enter the Void Arts Space?" As she spoke, she seemed to think of something. Her tone abruptly changed. "Don't tell me you went to the Black Berry Rainforest."

Sean was silent for two seconds, then replied, "I did. I'm in the Black Berry Rainforest right now."

The girl: "???"

"Have you lost your mind?"

"Have you forgotten how your friend died?"

"The Spring of Enlightenment in the Black Berry Rainforest is a trap! Once you've completed your awakening and gained magic, they'll kill you!"

"I know."

Ever since Sean had heard the name Floris Family from Johnson, he had understood that this was a setup. If he thought about it further, even an ordinary person like him could infer the location of the Spring of Enlightenment from the path Chris had taken before his death. How could the powerful Floris Family not know?

"Then why did you still go?!" The girl was exasperated with him. "There's no one who can save you this time!"

She was a hundred thousand miles away from the Black Berry Rainforest. Even if she set out and flew there right now, she wouldn't make it in time.

Sean laughed instead. Seeing the Flame Crow Girl here put him in a good mood. More importantly, she had said that he couldn't enter the Void Arts Space without magic. The "magic" she meant was probably the standard minimum unit used in mysticism, one lak. That meant the "insight" the Spring of Enlightenment had given him was complete.

In other words, he had now truly become a rank-one wizard, with enough magic to cast a True Formula.

So—

"You've got it wrong, Miss Flame Crow." Sean smiled easily, a look of relief in his eyes. "I'm not here to ask for help."

He didn't need anyone to save him, either.

The girl thought Sean was just putting on a brave face. Under normal circumstances, her temper would have had her arguing with him for a few rounds, but their lives were at stake now. She forced herself to stay calm and said, "Get back to reality right now. Run as fast as you can, and don't waste any more time."

Every extra second Sean spent in the Void Arts Space was one less second he had to escape. Once those people surrounded the woods, he wouldn't be able to get away even if he tried.

"Okay."

Sean didn't argue with the girl. He had intended to get back as soon as possible anyway. Entering the Void Arts Space had been pure accident, but he'd gained quite a bit from it. Not only had he met the Flame Crow Girl, he'd also learned something: under the Witch Hunt, every witch was in danger and could be hunted down at any moment. But the Void Arts Space had connected the witches. Perhaps they weren't alone after all.

After Sean left, the faint figure of a woman approached from the side. Watching the place where he had disappeared, she asked the girl curiously, "A friend of yours?"

"An idiot," the girl said angrily.

She briefly recounted how she'd run into Sean in Holkodo. The woman's expression shifted as she listened. "Then he's as good as dead, isn't he?"

"Serves him right! He should've listened to me!" The girl was so angry her teeth ached.

The woman asked, "Should we try to save him?"

"No. He said himself that he doesn't need anyone to save him." The girl refused.

But though she said that, she did something else.

"I've got something to take care of. I'm heading back."

After leaving those words behind, she returned to reality, picked up the hotel phone, and called her informant inside the Floris Family. Gritting her teeth, she said, "Find a reason to make the hunters over in the Black Berry Rainforest stop their operation. At the very least, have them slow down. The longer you can drag it out, the better. Do it now."

"Yes."

In the small woods.

Sean had already woken up.

When a person meditated, their muscles relaxed on their own, and their body lost its support. His posture had shifted from a crouch to lying down. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw a swirling, funnel-shaped storm in the sky, vivid with color and breathtakingly beautiful.

All the crows had turned colorful.

Sean heard the heavy, rapid thud of footsteps.

They were here.