Brunaulf's Pain (1/2)

Holder POV:

I leaned forward in the wheelchair and fanned out my fingers. My ability activated as I scanned Vice Denise's mind.

"Well? How does she look?"

Margaret probed me for an answer about her current condition. Beads of sweat ran down my forehead as I deactivated my ability.

"...She's fine. There's no noticeable damage beyond what she initially suffered."

Margaret didn't move an inch from her position. I could sense her displeasure at my response as I heard the sound of her lips parting.

"And you're sure about that?"

"...Yes."

"Hmm."

I felt her gaze move to Denise as she performed her own inspection. Truthfully, my ability hadn't completely returned yet. I was able to heal light wounds just like before, but my senses were heightened to a significantly higher degree. I could feel the underlying structure of the body on a much clearer level.

"You can go now, Denise. Please remember to be careful."

"...I will. Thank you both."

I smiled in her direction as her presence left the room. I heard the rustling of clothes while Margaret adjusted the outside of her dress.

"You look like you have something to say, Holder."

My lips spread into a thin smile as I opened my eyes, that were devoid of any light. I saw the green and blue butterflies wrap around Margaret briefly before vanishing into the abyss.

"Why are you hiding your Ki?"

Her movements stiffened ever so slightly; it almost escaped my detection.

"What ever do you mean by that? I can't use Ki, Holder."

I stared in her direction silently. Margaret's breathing was stable; there were no other inconsistencies besides her initial reaction.

"It's strange. A doctor within the Organization who can't use Ki... That doesn't sound right."

"I believe we shouldn't solely rely on Ki to solve all of our problems. There are many things normal doctors like me can do."

My ears pricked up. There was a slight change in the way she spoke—her intonation over certain words differed. Was she agitated?

"You make a good point... Apart from the obvious fact that Ki is a part of life itself. A doctor's job is to save their patients, yet you turn away from the method that would increase their survival rate the most."

The sound of Margaret placing her clipboard down on a small table drifted into my ear.

"...My patients seem to be doing just fine, Holder."

Cold sweat ran down my neck as I sensed a hint of malice etch itself into my name. I clenched the sides of the armrest tightly and held my ground.

"T-That's true... Which makes it even more suspicious. I've been recuperating here for a while, and I noticed how your patients recover fast, a little too fast."

Her high heels struck the floor as she approached me slowly.

"That's normal. Ki accelerates the healing process of the body, and the rate of that acceleration depends on multiple factors."

"You're right. But my previous statement had already taken that into consideration."

"..."

I could feel her eyes peering down at me as I gulped. Maybe it was unwise of me to lay out my suspicions alone, but I couldn't just sit back and let someone unknown move around freely here.

"Margaret, who are you?"

"Heh. I guess being around Frida turned a timid man into a brave one."

"!"

My eyes widened as I felt the air move violently out of the way of her lunging hand. I kicked the wheelchair to the side, rolling on the ground while avoiding her strike.

"Losing your eyesight really turned out to be a blessing for you, Holder."

She dashed forward as I stumbled to my feet. I wasn't used to fighting in the darkness even with my heightened senses. I dodged as many strikes as I could, but her fingers soon wrapped around my neck.

"So, here's how things are going to go. You're going to sit back down in that wheelchair and act like nothing ever happened. If you breathe a word of this to anyone, I will personally kill Frida. Do I make myself clear?"

I struggled to break free from her grip as she imposed her will on me.

"Holder, I respect you, I really do. If you knew who I was, you would know how much I'm holding back from snapping your neck right now."

"Keuk!"

I flew through the air, crashing into the wheelchair as a pained moan escaped my lips.

"I take it we have a deal then."

Margaret walked towards me slowly when the door suddenly burst open. I could tell right away that it was Frida.

"Holder! Are you alright? Margaret, what happened here?"

Frida's elevated heartbeat immediately returned to normal after confirming that I was alive. Her gaze left me as she focused on Margaret, who was crouched down a few inches away from me.

"I apologize, Frida. He fell when I wasn't looking. I was careless."

"...No. Thank you for watching over him, Margaret."

Frida walked over to me quickly and helped me back into the wheelchair. Her soft lips pressed against my forehead, followed by a warm embrace.

"...You need to be careful, Holder."

She whispered into my ear gently. Frida moved to the back of the wheelchair and pushed me towards the exit.

"Holder, I hope you recover soon."

Frida stiffened slightly but kept pushing till we left the room. She closed the door behind her and didn't say a word to me for the rest of the way back to my ward.

***

Kumo POV:

I received reports from Sindel that the Cleaners had yet to return to District 3. If my theory turned out to be incorrect, then I'd need to go with Plan B.

My gaze shifted to a piece of paper that showed the current cost of hiring Elementalists. Unsurprisingly, they were very expensive. It also didn't help that we would need to pay Border Patrol import fees, even though it was a service not a good.

'It's one of the ways they keep us in check.'

I shook my head helplessly while looking over the sheet of paper. As the name implied, Elementalists specialized in a specific element and were categorized into two types: Elementee and Elementalist.

Elementees were graded between 1 to 10. The lower the number, the better the grade. Essentially, they were Elementalists in training.

In order to maximize and increase the efficiency of their Elemental Ki, a cultivation technique is used to directly convert the Ki stored in the Ki Center into Elemental Ki. Since their Ki doesn't actually leave the Ki Center, no loss occurs when this conversion takes place. Those who have acquired this technique are known as Elementalists.

There were other elemental benefits to the technique too, but in my opinion, it seemed unnecessary to go so far just to increase the efficiency of Elemental Ki.

A light sigh escaped my small lips as I pondered over what to do about our economic situation.

Thanks to the Administrator's choice to export all of the remaining drugs to Inner Astril, we had a lot of money stockpiled. However, I wasn't satisfied. We needed a much greater source of income in order to be truly self-sufficient.

'!'

I suddenly recalled that Edith mentioned seeing something strange on the outskirts of District 4 before the Leader started training.

I pulled out a drawer and flipped through the dozens of reports I had filed away. I found what I was looking for and returned to the desk.

After rereading the report, I confirmed that it wasn't Edith who noticed it, but the small baby she had saved in District 3. He had pointed to a location covered by debris, crying whenever Edith tried to leave.

'This was the same child who liked to be around the District Leader.'

It was hectic at that time, so I couldn't follow up on it right away, but once the District Leader finished his training; there'd be no harm in checking it out.

"Hmm..."

I leaned back in the chair as I placed my glasses down on the desk. I finally had a lot more breathing room now that the Administrator was back.

I picked up a book I had been reading lately. It was called 'Ki: A Blessing Or Curse?' written by Rolof the Third—a famous author.

It discussed Ki from a different viewpoint, emphasizing the spiritual aspect of it. I flipped through the pages, scanning over the text lightly.

"The quality of his writing has dropped again."

Rolof's argument was intriguing, but the way he expressed himself was confusing. The evidence he presented wasn't laid out in a manner that could be easily digested, and when confronted with a counterpoint, he usually dismissed it as 'the ramblings of a fool.'

It was hard to see him spiral down into the ground like this. His book about artifacts turned me into an artifact fanatic. I started collecting my own and even stumbled across some rare ones.

'Well, I still didn't know what I was doing half the time, but it was fun tinkering around with them.'

I placed the book back on the table. The writing world needed something new, something fresh, and I hoped that day would come soon.

I turned my focus back to what happened a few days ago. The scene of the Administrator encouraging the Trainees repeatedly played over in my head. I placed my hands against my cheek as I struggled to contain the wide smile spreading across my face.

"So cool..."

The clothes he wore, the way he moved, the way he spoke—I loved it all. Every time he looked at me with that mask on, my legs felt weak. Had he conquered Kumo's heart?

I pulled out a pen and a spare piece of paper. A rough sketch of the Administrator quickly appeared on the page. I drew myself next to him but suddenly felt displeased by my appearance.

'...I need to look cool too~'

I added a hoodie similar to his and gave myself cat ears. I drew whiskers on the sides of my cheek and shaded in some hair highlights.

'!'

Amazing. I didn't think I could change my appearance so much.

"Maybe... I should try dressing up like this?..."

My lips spread into a huge smile. It felt like I had stumbled upon a whole new world.