Devilman

Two days later, that tall hat from the fighting arena appeared at the entrance of Kame House again.

This time, the messenger said nothing. She only left behind a folded note before turning and leaving. There was a single line written on it: "There's something new. Come take a look. Bring someone along too, just to test it out." The signature was still that symbol.

After reading the note, Krillin handed it to Lin Chen. "She said she has something new, and she wants you to bring someone over to test it."

Lin Chen took the note and read it once. "Then let's make a trip there. We've already finished training for the afternoon anyway."

The two of them headed toward the fighting arena along the coastline once more. The afternoon sun was harsher than it had been a few days ago, and the light reflecting off the sea was almost painfully white. A thin haze of heat rose from the ground, making the distant scenery look as though it were seen through rippling water. As they approached the building, the vines had grown denser than last time. Several newly grown tendrils had already reached the doorframe.

When they entered the inner hall, Fortuneteller Baba was seated in her usual place. A tall, thin figure stood before her. He wore a black robe, with a red headband wrapped around his forehead. There was a pattern drawn on the headband, as though it had been casually sketched in charcoal. His skin was dark, and he made almost no sound standing in the hall. Even his breathing was faint. He turned toward the entrance, his gaze sweeping back and forth over Krillin and Lin Chen.

Fortuneteller Baba spoke. "He's Number Three of the fighting arena. He has an ability—as long as he concentrates hard enough on what he's thinking, he can cause changes in his opponent's body." She did not specify what kind of changes.

The man in black took a step forward and stopped in the open space at the center of the hall, looking at Lin Chen. "Will you go first, or will he?" His gaze shifted between Lin Chen and Krillin.

Krillin glanced at Lin Chen, then stepped into the center of the open space. "I'll give it a try."

The man in black did not attack immediately. He watched Krillin as though waiting for something. Krillin stood there as well, his hands hanging naturally at his sides, not rushing to take an attacking stance. After a few seconds, the man in black raised his right hand. A murky red glow lit up at his fingertips. The red light drifted away from his fingers toward Krillin, moving slowly like a cloud of smoke carried by the wind.

When the red light touched Krillin's chest, there was no explosion or burning. It simply seeped into him like water. Krillin remained where he was, with no obvious change to his body. He lowered his head and looked at his chest. "I don't feel anything."

A slight change appeared in the man in black's expression, and he lowered his hand. "Your thoughts are very pure. My ability doesn't work on those without malicious intent." His tone was as if he were merely stating a fact.

He turned to Lin Chen. "What about you?" He raised his hand again, and red light appeared at his fingertips once more. It was darker than the previous glow, as though covered by a layer of ash.

The red light drifted toward Lin Chen and seeped into him when it touched his chest. Lin Chen felt a brief warmth spread outward from his chest, but it was not intense. He stood still. He could feel the warmth fading, like a cup of warm water naturally cooling in the air. He felt no swelling or pressure.

The man in black lowered his hand. "You don't have malicious intent either." He paused. "Neither of you do." He turned and walked back into the shadows at the rear of the hall, his footsteps light.

Fortuneteller Baba chuckled. "Looks like my Number Three is useless against both of you. Then let's switch to something else. The new item is here." She pointed to a long cloth bundle on the low table beside her. Its color was similar to the tabletop, making it easy to overlook unless one looked closely.

Lin Chen walked over and opened the bundle. Inside was a smaller scroll, narrower than the map they had dug up at the outpost before. The paper was darker as well, and thin strings tied both ends of the scroll. He untied the strings and unfurled it. Several intersecting arcs were drawn on it, with no written labels. The direction of the arcs overlapped at the end with the fading thin line on the desert map, as though they were a partial addition to the same map.

[ Ding! Obtained Ancient Information Fragment ×1. Current Ancient Culture Knowledge: 7%. ]

He felt a brief warmth at his fingertips before it faded. He examined the arcs on the scroll again, then rolled it back up and put it into his backpack.

On the way back to Kame House, the wind was slightly stronger than it had been on the way there. Krillin walked beside him. "That black-robed man's ability... he didn't say exactly what it would do."

"It can cause changes in an opponent's body—but it's unclear what kind of changes. He was probably using his ability to test his opponent's inner state. We weren't affected because there was nothing in our minds worth provoking."

The two walked back to Kame House along the coastline at dusk. The color of the sea was changing, gradually shifting from light blue to a grayish purple. He heard Krillin's voice beside him. "There's training tomorrow morning. Don't forget." By the time he returned to Kame House, the lights were already on in the yard. Master Roshi sat beneath the porch with his frayed palm-leaf fan in hand, driving away the evening mosquitoes. His movements were unhurried, as though he were drawing circles.