The 31st Piece Turns the Tables
chapter-103

The Black Fog bought Seol and Mirei enough time to escape the Shadow Hunters.

“Urgh…”

“Mirei, are you alright?”

“I’m fine. I just… I just need to catch my breath.”

Mirei pulled out a cigarette from her inventory and placed it in her mouth. It was lit shortly after, letting smoke roll out of her mouth.

“Haha… how unsightly.”

“Is that… a painkiller?”

“How’d you know?”

Pandea had many kinds of painkillers in the shape of a cigarette. They often absorbed its effects by burning it and inhaling the smoke.

‘She carries painkillers around with her?’

As Seol gave her a suspicious look, Mirei simply shrugged.

"It’s because my body's in pretty bad condition."

“...Is this what you meant about not having that much time?”

- Hm… What should I do… I don’t have that much time, though. Could you perhaps ask someone else?

Those were the words Mirei told Seol when he first met her.

“You remember that?”

“Answer me. Don’t hide anything from me anymore, either.”

“...Fine. You’re right. I don’t have that long left to live.”

“How much time do you have left?”

“I don’t know either. At the longest… it could be more than a year. At the shortest, I could even die tomorrow. But that’s life, though, no?”

Mirei gave a sheepish smile while exhaling more smoke.

“I feel a bit better now. Should we keep walking? My hideout isn't too far from here. We have more than enough time to talk while walking. And I’m sure you haven’t forgotten, but I am a pretty busy person, too.”

After finishing her sentence, Mirei wobbled to her feet.

“Are you sure they haven’t found your hideout, though?”

“I don’t know. Still, even if they did, it should take them some time. Those guys normally hunt Shadow Summoners through their sense of smell or instinct, so I prepared special measures for them there.”

“I see. One more question then, why can’t I use Shadow Summon in front of the Shadow Hunters…”

“It was your first time meeting a Shadow Hunter, huh? Those guys are trained to hunt Shadow Summoners specifically. It isn’t too strange for them to have a special skill or two. Well, it wouldn’t work against someone on Gregory’s level or anything, but it is dire for people like us.”

As she said, being unable to use his shadows in his Shadow Space was a horrible experience that Seol did not want to have again.

‘But then… how did thwart Malacus when she couldn’t use her summons?’

Even if Seol could break through the Wall of Awakening this Adventure, what next? Was he really capable of defeating or avoiding Malacus?

Seol's demeanor shifted to seriousness in response to the critical situation.

“Don’t worry too much. If the experiment is successful—”

“Mirei, I can’t trust you anymore.”

“......”

“You hid way too many things from me. Your name, your pursuers, even the fact that you were a shadow.”

“Sorry.”

“I haven’t changed my mind. However, I do think that I have a right to know everything now.”

Mirei scratched her head.

“What do you want to know?”

“Everything,” responded Seol.

Mirei’s hideout entered their vision finally.

“I want you to tell me what you are afflicted with, why the Shadow Hunters are chasing you, why your relationship with Gregory soured, and…”

Seol’s golden eyes exchanged glances with Mirei’s eyes.

“Why you became a shadow?”

Mirei’s lips twitched.

* * *

Translator - goguma

Proofreader - Karane

* * *

Gregory was an ill-tempered and heartless individual.

“You stupid idiot! Give up already!”

"No! I don't want to, Gregory, you stupid idiot!"

Gregory was stupid.

“How dare you say that to your master?!”

“I don’t need any lessons like this!”

“Hah!”

And Mirei hated Gregory.

She couldn’t understand why people revered him as a legendary individual.

Still, regardless of how she viewed him, Gregory was undoubtedly a legendary Shadow Summoner.

At a young age, he delved into the unique study of Shadow Summoning.

Shadow Summoning was a study that the summoners of the past generation simply wrote off as ‘delusional.’

However, Gregory gathered the scattered fragments into one. And then, he combined them with his own theories to create his own study.

That was how Shadow Summoners, a class that never existed before, was born.

Gregory had multiple disciples as well, but there was one disciple he treasured the most.

That disciple’s name… was Mirei.

She, his third disciple, was an orphan from a small tribe that he took in and raised, at a young age when she was still being breastfed. His decision to do so was deemed eccentric by others.

However, Gregory saw it differently.

‘She… is a genius.’

Mirei was a genius.

Her intelligence was blinding. The rate she absorbed new information made Gregory believe that she could quickly reach the essence of Shadow Summoning.

Gregory was in awe of her.

‘Mirei will become greater than even me someday.’

However, Gregory hadn’t taken her nature into account.

He later learned that Mirei’s name meant ‘kind flower.’ Like her name suggested, Mirei was kind.

She loved all life and cherished it.

The problem was that her personality stood in the way of her reaching greater heights as a Shadow Summoner.

“Mirei, shadows are a tool. No, even describing them as tools would be dangerous. They are savage beasts. You must always keep a leash on them and teach them to be subservient.”

“No, shadows can become friends.”

“You are foolish… I know the true power of shadows. They are a frightening existence. Showing an opening by cherishing them is a dangerous action. One day, they will devour you.”

They always fought back and forth with their words like this.

Gregory wished for her to obediently focus on his teachings. He even planned to pass down everything he owned to her one day.

However, she refused it all.

"Gregory, you are the smartest person I know. You're smarter than me—no, you're smarter than anyone. However, for this... just this... I'm right. Shadows aren't simple existences subservient to power. We also aren’t their masters either. We simply need to understand them more."

“You fool… shadows are dead. You, someone who’s living, would have to bear all of their regrets. Do you really think you would be capable of enduring that? You would simply be swayed and used by them!”

“I will use my life to prove that I’m right. And you, Gregory… you’re just a coward who’s simply too scared of shadows to approach them.”

“You will one day learn the meaning behind my words, Mirei.”

Gregory and Mirei’s relationship had ended there.

After all, their approaches to Shadow Summoning were intrinsically different.

Mirei then left Gregory’s side, and after that, she traveled the world.

However, as she had left Gregory’s side, many who held grudges against Gregory began targeting her, too.

One of such groups was the Shadow Hunters.

“Gasp… Gasp…”

She had gone through many difficult battles, but she was still diligent with her research.

“The Genius Mirei’s 7th Log… To coexist with shadows, we must go beyond assimilation. Assimilation is just another word for the summoner to hold onto the reins while they use the shadows as tools. There is a limit in understanding each other with this method.”

A lot of time had passed.

For Gregory… For Mirei…

She had gone through many fake identities, shown many fake expressions… She was now living while pretending to be someone else.

However, Mirei still held onto one truth.

“Is it hard, Sodin?”

Sodin was a shadow who had been with her for many years. And Mirei, like her name suggested, was always kind to him.

“...I’m alright.”

“Let me know if it hurts.”

“I’m fine, but… how are you?”

“Me? Haha… I’m good, too.”

Sodin always felt sorry for her.

Despite her research going on for many years, no progress had been made at all. He, her shadow, believed that he was at fault for it.

“Mirei, your theories might be true. However…”

“Stop.”

“The reason your research has made no progress is because I am weak. It might be better to look for another shadow…”

“Stop talking about that. That’s not the problem.”

Mirei sincerely believed that. She also believed that with enough time, she could coexist perfectly with shadows, too.

However, something unexpected happened.

She did not have much time left.

“Krgh…”

“Mirei, you witch!”

Her pursuers were persistent.

Especially the group with the Shadow Hunter named Malacus.

In the end, she was pierced by his arrow and swept away by the river.

“Haha… How could this be… To think that I, the genius Mirei… cough… would make a mistake like that.”

It was a mistake getting onto the carriage like that.

Malacus had caught her. She fought back well, but she couldn’t avoid his arrow.

Mirei used her wits to barely avoid him, but she was in a critical condition. She had spilled too much blood.

Her consciousness was fading. Blood continued dripping out of her chest.

“Gasp… Urgh… What’s the number this time…? Sodin, do you remember it?”

“...the 299th Log.”

“Yeah. Th-the Genius Mirei’s 299th Log… Uh… I can’t think anymore. Why can’t I think? Sodin, dying is quite interesting. It hurts, but it also doesn’t hurt. Was it like this for you, too, Sodin?”

“...It was.”

“You’re still here, that’s a relief… Huh… Huh? So that was it. Yeah, that was the problem!”

“What are you saying, Mirei?”

“I found out why we couldn’t coexist. Cough… N-No… I can’t die like this… I only just learned now. I need to prove it to Gregory…”

“Mirei!”

Mirei realized it moments before death.

She realized that she was right. She realized the method to become one with a shadow.

She discovered the method to go beyond the master-servant relationship, the method to make them truly accept each other.

“The summoner… has to experience death too. That’s… the only difference between shadows and summoners. All we had to do was understand that. But how? Urgh… What do I… I don’t have enough time… No…”

Mirei’s clear, glass-like eyes started to cloud.

She was moments before death.

But then…

Sodin opened his lips.

“Mirei.”

“Maybe if we temporarily put them into a false-death state… ah, so it was that.”

“Mirei.”

“Sodin… it’s cold. Were you always this cold, too? I’m sorry, I didn’t know. Th-there’s a blanket in the bag…”

“Mirei, listen to me.”

Thud.

Sodin fell to his knees in front of Mirei. As her eyes grew cloudier and cloudier, she asked him a question.

“Do you think Gregory was right about my death? Were you disappointed that I couldn’t make your hopes come true, Sodin? Are you going to eat me now because of it?”

“No. I swear to you that’s not true, Mirei.”

“I’m so relieved…”

Sodin then spoke to Mirei while giving her a resolved look.

“You are a kind person.”

“Hehe… Yeah, thank you.”

Grab.

Sodin grabbed Mirei’s hand.

Strength was leaving her hand. Just like Sodin’s cold hand… Mirei’s hand would soon become like that, too.

And then, Sodin said something to her.

“I will buy you some time.”

“What… What are you saying?”

Thud.

Sodin put his forehead to the floor.

“You must not die here. Weren’t you the one who always said this? That you would leave behind a great mark… That you would prove that Gregory was wrong… That you would give shadows a life after death…”

“......”

“I will give you my body. It won’t last long, but it should still give you enough time to yell into the world.”

“No, Sodin. Urgh… Don’t do it! Don’t do itttttt!”

“If I was stronger… I could have protected you… I’m sorry for being weak.”

Fwoooooosh!

Sodin’s black energy pulled apart before wrapping around Mirei.

It was as if she had been covered in a new layer of skin.

Mirei’s fading consciousness even returned, giving her enough time to hear Sodin’s last words.

“Mirei, you were my hope. I hope that you can achieve your dreams. Goodbye, my friend…”

* * *

Smoke puffed out of Mirei’s cigarette. The smoke held her memories.

It also held Sodin’s face, his voice, and his memories.

“The living and the dead accepting each other… It’s easy to say, but is that really possible? That’s what you’re thinking, right?”

“...I understand everything now.”

“You know… Gregory’s summons are all powerful, but they all despise him. He restricts them and controls their actions.”

Seol patiently listened to Mirei’s words.

“But is that the right thing to do? I don’t think so. So that’s why… I’m going to challenge it. I’m going to challenge it until the end, until I can leave behind that great mark.”

She looked at Seol.

There wasn’t even a hint of playfulness on her face anymore.

“And I’m going to do it through you. So now, choose. You’re free to go back now if you want. If you do, it will be like we never met each other, and you will guarantee your own safety the further you go from here.”

“And what’s the other option?”

“Assist me and see the end of this research. During that process, you will experience death too. So, what will you do?”

Now that Seol knew everything, the only thing he had to do was choose.

After a short thought, Seol opened his mouth to answer her.