Chapter 44: The Alchemist
The words struck the room. The general clenched his jaw until the veins on his neck stood out.
"Damn it!" he roared, rage about to overflow.
A soldier leaned in and whispered into the officer's ear; the information calmed the anger as quickly as it had appeared. The general swallowed with effort and, after a few seconds that felt eternal, gave in partially.
"All right," he said at last. "We won't separate. But we demand that the decisions of the Silver Moon Group be respected. In compensation, we expect you to go to the front and lead the operation."
Seo-Yeon's expression tightened. Until then, she had maintained her composure; now, after hearing the general's conditions, she released the contained energy of her core. The air in the room grew denser; the pressure rose until it became hard to breathe."Listen, old man… do you plan to send my people as cannon fodder?" she growled, her anger turning into a palpable threat. She wanted to strangle him, but all the soldiers stepped in front of the general to protect him.
Seo-Yeon took a deep breath to calm herself, the glow of her core fading little by little. In the end, she fixed her gaze on the table and dictated the conditions in an icy voice:
"Fine. All the equipment will go to our group. You'll see with what you enter; if you plan to fight with sticks and stones, that's your problem. Nothing else will be said."
With that sharp cut from Seo-Yeon, the meeting ended. The breathing of those present began to release when the air they had been holding in their lungs came out in a collective sigh.
The general wiped the sweat from his forehead. His voice sounded forced, empty of the authority he tried to maintain.
"All right… out of respect for the affection the alchemist has for you, I will refrain from continuing this discussion."
His footsteps echoed as he walked away from the hall, each one slower than the last.
One by one, the other members followed his example. First ten, then five, and in the end, only three figures remained under the dim light falling over the central table.
For a few moments, a thick silence reigned. The echo of the door closing was the only thing that dared to break it.
Richard opened his mouth to speak, but a short, uneven laugh stopped him.
Seo-Yeon, who minutes earlier had dominated the meeting with icy calm, now laughed like a child who had just won an impossible game. Her lips curved into a wide, bright smile as she gave a small jump, her heels ringing against the metallic floor with a clear tink.
The contrast was unsettling.
Richard watched her with a mixture of doubt and confusion, wondering if that woman had lost her mind… or if she was suffering from some sort of late crisis."Are you okay, Seo-Yeon?" he murmured as he placed a hand on her shoulder.
Her body tensed when she felt a hand on her shoulder. But after seeing who it was, she relaxed, offering a smile."Of course I'm happy!"
She nodded, calming her momentary impulsive attitude. She had let out her childish side for a moment. Though no one could deny that even with the mind of a forty-year-old and the body of a child, she could act childishly sometimes.
"I never thought everything would turn out so well…" she sighed with relief, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "I thought the general would force us to go to the front line without having the right to answer back. Eighty percent of those present were on his side."
Her voice lowered until it became a whisper, and finally, she dropped into one of the seats. The chair creaked under her weight, and the sound of water filling her glass filled the void left by the silence.
Richard waited a moment before speaking."Since I helped you, I suppose I deserve part of the payment, don't I?"
Seo-Yeon raised an eyebrow but didn't argue.
She typed several commands on the console resting at the front of the room. The main screen, a supercomputer that also worked as a communication channel, came to life with a low hum.
First, a sharp beep, like the tone of an old phone, then brief static. Finally, an image took shape on the monitor.
The face that appeared on the screen was unfamiliar to Richard. A young man with brown hair and greenish eyes looked at him from the other side. However, just one glance was enough to notice something disturbing — his pupils seemed to crystallize, tinted a greenish hue, a sign that he was infected.
Richard understood before the other man said a single word."I see…" he murmured, almost to himself.
The alchemist bore no resemblance to Seo-Yeon, but possibly her new traits were due to her awakening as a high-ranking Elementalist. So much so that she had transformed into a snow maiden.
Seo-Yeon, on the other hand, had pale skin and a glacial serenity; her body seemed made of snow, a clear mark of her elemental affinity.
The alchemist looked at him with exhaustion, his eyelids heavy as if simply keeping them open required effort."I see you already understood my condition… I only hope you don't say anything to the others."
His words left an unsettling echo in the room.
Seo-Yeon, who just a moment ago had been calmly drinking her glass of water, choked when she heard him. She turned toward her brother, surprised, the glass trembling between her fingers.
Richard also watched her, though his expression remained neutral.
The alchemist, on the other hand, only managed a tired smile, as if he had expected that reaction.
"You know how I am, Seo-Yeon. There are things I wouldn't tell you, even if you asked. I don't want to worry you more than necessary."
She remained silent. She knew that tone. It was the same one he used when he locked himself in his laboratories for days, when he was planning something reckless that endangered his health.
She knew that if she said anything, she wouldn't get any answers. That was how her brother had always been—stubborn, hiding most things just to keep her from worrying.
"Sister, could you step out for a moment…? I'd like to talk with Richard."
The metal doors opened with a mechanical hiss, giving Seo-Yeon and Eimy free passage to leave the room.
Both women left without protest.
Though Seo-Yeon turned to look at her brother one last time, it hurt her that he didn't trust her enough to tell her whatever he was planning to say.
"Is it really that complicated, what you're going to say?"
* * * *
After the sound of the doors closing echoed through the room, the alchemist wasted no time looking Richard straight in the eyes.
He spoke without hesitation, his voice low but direct.
"So, you figured out my condition just by looking… didn't you?"
His eyes scanned from the other side of the monitor as he tasted the potion of truth he had mixed into the brew he'd asked Seo-Yeon to give him.
It might have sounded deceitful, but he wasn't foolish enough to overlook the crow that had been circling around him.
"Yes—just as I knew about the potion you gave me."
The alchemist narrowed his eyes, studying the young man carefully.
"And I also know that what you're dealing with isn't a problem with your awakening. You were infected from handling the cores…"
Richard nodded after noticing the black veins crawling along the man's neck like a nest of worms burrowing beneath his flesh.
"So, you purified the cores using your own body as a vessel…"
"Now it makes sense how you managed to find a way to cleanse the infected cores…"
He sighed.
"Then… what you told Seo-Yeon—is it true?"
Richard's question caught him off guard for a moment. The alchemist smiled faintly, sensing the sincerity behind his tone, and nodded.
"Yes. With that, I could create a brew capable of helping me purify all the infection that's eating away at my body."
His words faltered, caught in his throat for a brief moment, as if he lacked the strength to continue.
The alchemist let out a weary sigh.
"Although I'd say there's only a forty percent chance of success, my body is already breathing its last… and it's only getting worse with time."
That was why he hadn't wanted to tell Seo-Yeon. The nervous smile etched on his face was merely his only way of keeping the fear of death's breath from consuming him.
He placed a trembling hand over his chest. The hum of the intravenous machines filled the silence as he felt the faint, weakening pulse of his heart.
"That's why, if something happens to me… I'd like you not to tell Seo-Yeon about this conversation. She may be my older sister, but lately she's had too much on her shoulders already. I don't want her worrying about her brother being on the verge of death while leading the operation."
Richard frowned at the dramatics of these siblings.
He wanted to tell him he had an alternate solution—but that would interfere with his future dealings. After all, wasn't it better to save a life while playing the role of the hero than to save it in a simpler way?
In the end, the psychological effect was always stronger when others saw you struggle for something. Humans had always sympathized more with hardship than with things achieved easily.