MBOMEN 63

Chapter 63: Two People at a Crossroads (16)

“…I see.”

Yustar gave a somewhat hollow smile and looked around.

At the edge of the path where the fog had lifted, something pale was piled up.

Some of it had black spots, while other pieces had fused with the soil and turned yellowish. Yet there was one thing in common: they were all human bones.

Like a sheriff who had stumbled upon a troublesome scene, Yustar placed his hands on his hips, blew the hair from his forehead, and picked up a skull from the ground to examine it.

“There’s no sign of major trauma.”

He spoke calmly. Laila quietly watched his movements.

Like a doctor, he turned the skull over in his hands, half with curiosity, half with a contemplative gaze, examining the head that had long hardened and turned cold.

“It seems they must have lost their way around here and died of natural causes.”

Laila looked around from left to right and let out a quiet sigh.

“At least dozens of people. And what we see here is just the surface—there are likely more victims.”

She whispered, adding,

“Now I understand what you meant when you said it wasn’t a hallucination but a curse.”

“That’s right. It’s not common, but sometimes a curse that hasn’t dissipated covers the sink and conceals it. Or perhaps the sink deliberately draws in that energy to hide itself…”

Yustar’s voice trailed off as he started walking.

Laila followed, carefully observing the dried vines and bushes.

Once, these paths must have been fragrant year-round with camellias, cherries, eastern roses, and pelan flowers, but now everything that remained was twisted and cold, like withered bones.

Avoiding the bones underfoot was no easy task—they were scattered not only along the edges but across the middle of the path.

Occasionally, it looked as though wild dogs had dug around. Laila wondered suddenly: do the animals not get lost here?

Meanwhile, Yustar continued speaking.

“Research on the sink has been ongoing, but not much has been discovered. It’s only recently that we realized the sink has a will of its own—it’s more like a living creature than a mere phenomenon. But we can’t define it as a complete organism… It does have desires, though.”

Laila responded.

“If it has desires, I think it should be considered a living being.”

Yustar glanced back with a faint smile.

“Of course, in simple terms, yes. But sinks don’t just appear anywhere, randomly. In that sense, they’re highly paradoxical. What can I say… it’s like energy that once existed only as a concept now produces something tangible.”

Ah, so it’s like a natural disaster, Laila thought. Something invisible, unknowable until experienced, manifests into a tangible form…

The two of them were about to enter the entrance to Vintos House.

Laila’s gaze lingered on the carved pillars of the distant mansion, and she didn’t notice Yustar stretching out his arm to block her path.

“Ah!”

Startled by Yustar, Laila let out a small gasp. In that moment, Yustar turned his sharp face and put his index finger to his lips.

“Shh, Laila. Listen.”

Like a well-behaved child, Laila closed her mouth, held her breath, and listened. There was a rustling sound. At first, she thought it was the wind, but listening closely, she realized it wasn’t.

Something was moving nearby.

Yustar gestured to her as if asking if she could hear it. When Laila nodded, his expression stiffened as he placed his hand on the sword at his waist.

Laila, watching him grasp the hilt carefully, searched her leather bag for a magical tool she could use.

“Yustar, I…”

“Shh.”

He whispered again. Laila stayed close behind him, scanning the surroundings.

The rustling grew louder. Whatever it was, it was near them. It seemed to be moving closer, spinning in circles, clearly intending to disorient them.

Is it an animal? Laila whispered. Yustar felt the cold tension emanating from her body. He suddenly regretted not having more time to train her—if he had known they would face a physical attack like this…

But he shook his head. There was no use in regretting it now.

He silently drew his sword, assumed a stance, and without looking back, said,

“It’s highly likely. It doesn’t resemble a wandering wolf or a wild dog.”

Then he suddenly smiled and made a joke.

“Perhaps it’s a mad leopard.”

A swift rustling sound went through the bushes. Its speed and weight were far from a leopard.

Laila had seen a leopard once, near the mountains close to her village. It was an old female—fast, even with age, and its weight cutting through the air was formidable.

“If it’s a real leopard, it must be starving and mad,” Laila said.

“It seems too light for that,” Yustar replied.

Laila nodded. Yustar, even though he knew he couldn’t see it properly, needed the sense of communicating with her. Branches snapped nearby. They were close, just beyond the fog.

“It’s on your left, Yustar.”

“I know. I’ll strike once I see it,” he whispered.

His stance lowered further, ready to slash whatever came at them.

Then, suddenly—

“My goodness!”

The high-pitched shout startled both of them. Beyond the fog that had clouded their vision, a swaying silhouette appeared.

“Do not come closer.”

Yustar warned, blade forward. The figure drew nearer—a woman slightly shorter than Laila emerged.

Yustar’s lips parted slightly at the sight of her face. Laila behind him reacted the same. Both thought of Donovan. It was as if his bitter voice had pierced through the fog:

—She has always been different from ordinary people…

Half of the woman’s face was horribly twisted, like molten lava that had cooled. The other half was unbelievably clean, amplifying their shock.

It felt like a century ago when Laila had met him. She remembered Donovan asking her something.

A daughter behaving strangely every night. Laila immediately realized that this woman was that very daughter.

She spoke.

“What are you doing here? This place is dangerous… both of you…”

Trailing off, she glanced them over and then looked at the ground.

“You don’t seem ordinary, though.”

Yustar hesitated briefly, sword gleaming in the mist, then sheathed it and gazed at her.

“And you—are you alright? What were you doing here?”

“My name is Alice. I live in the village below. I sometimes come here to gather branches for firewood. But I heard voices and found you two here. Were you perhaps lost?”

A chill ran down Yustar’s spine. For some reason, the name Alice sounded strangely unfamiliar. Even knowing she was Donovan’s daughter, he could not shake his guard.

“Miss Alice… you are indeed Donovan’s daughter, correct?”

“You know me?”

Yustar nodded.

“I heard about your father. Actually, the two of us were planning to stay at your house today.”

Alice’s twisted face twitched. Her almost invisible lips quivered, then the clean side of her mouth curved into a faint smile.

“Oh, I see. So you’re the ones! The ones from Tentinella, right? My father told me. I had actually come here to gather branches to prepare dinner for you two. I even cleaned a huge pot—big enough to cook anything.”

Yustar repeated her words meaningfully.

“Anything, you say.”

Alice smiled wider.

“Yes, anything. Chicken, pheasant, even duck or pig. Maybe even cow! And witches too. Have you heard such old stories?”

At that, Yustar drew his sword in an instant, almost too fast to see.

But Alice was faster. With a cracking sound, her body twisted backward, flattened like a spider, and slid across the water.

“Yustar!”

As Laila screamed, he swung his sword downward, barely grazing Alice’s hair. Her sharp teeth caught the tip of Laila’s boot.

She was dragged into the Vintos House fog. A crow-like scream echoed through the valley and forest paths.

—I am one who hates!
—I am one who ignites the flames!
—I am one who kills and is killed!

It was Alice’s voice. Yustar ran, unable to chase the sound with his ears, focused on Alice—no, on Laila being dragged by her.

But the faster he ran, the further Alice and Laila moved away.

“Laila!”

Yustar shouted. The fog thickened like dark clouds, trapping him completely. Then he heard a voice:

—I am one who was betrayed and died.

It was close, like someone whispering into his ear.

Yustar swung his sword toward the sound without turning—but there was nothing. Laila’s scream was gone. Silence surrounded him.

The fog began to lift. Yustar realized he had stepped back outside the crossroads, with Vintos House and Hoyer House behind him.

Looking back, only the ash-colored roof of Vintos House’s tallest mansion protruded from the fog.

“Damn it!”

Yustar swore, glanced at the signpost at the crossroads, and ran toward the village.