There Is No World For ■■

* * *A long time ago, though it felt like it was just yesterday, the sheep had to obey the shepherds and ranch owners.Trapped in the ranch, they tried their best to grow the desired wool.If they were told to fight other livestock, they fought. If they were told to endure pain, they endured. And if they were told to swallow their screams, they swallowed them.- Why! Why can’t you do it?!- Do you know how much flesh and blood was consumed to create you all?!Was it because of that so-called patriotism?- This is your last chance. I’ll give you three seconds.- Complete the blessing. The Saintess managed to do it in just one second!- If you fail again…Was it because they were afraid of those whips?- Specimen 112 has been disposed of. It’s your fault.- Specimen 31 has been disposed of. It’s your fault.- It is all your fault.Or did they succumb to torture?No, it was nothing like that. The reason the sheep obeyed the shepherds wasn’t something grand.It was just because the sheep didn’t know what freedom was.They didn’t know about the leash around their necks, nor the things the shepherds could do with it…Hence, they obeyed.And so, they lost.- There are five of them. Losing one wouldn’t be…One day, when the ranch owner was disappointed in the sheep…The shepherds dragged a white sheep away, and it never returned.Only after they lost a precious member of their family did the sheep grow angry.For the first time in their lives, they rebelled against the shepherds. Then they raged, before finally falling into despair.The leash around their necks granted them no freedom.- Foolish things, did you really think we wouldn’t have any safety measures in place?Only after experiencing the excruciating pain from the leash did the sheep start to smell the stench rising from it.Blood, tears, and rotten flesh.The Black Sheep, who was the most fierce when ramming into the shepherds, couldn’t bear the stench.Hiding in a corner of the ranch, out of the shepherds’ sight, she hung herself with the leash.Self-abandonment, suicide, freedom.Death came for the Black Sheep, but in the end, she was unable to die.It was because she realized the leash wasn’t just hers alone.The sheep’s leashes were all connected to each other. Tightly and cleverly.The moment one sheep hung itself, the others would also suffer along with it.The Black Sheep realized that this was the final safety measure hidden by the ranch owner, and she understood that she would never be able to break it.- You must never forget; the reason why you were born.- For the country, for the nation.- Obey.The sheep became obedient once again. No, she submitted.In a ranch where even death would not bring liberation, they could only bow their heads, holding each other’s lives as hostages.But not everything returned to how it was before.The sheep did not forget what the shepherds had done to them, the cruelty of the ranch owner, the stench of the leash, and…

10-11-16

The number of the shepherd who took away the White Sheep.

* * *Just as Seti was about to press the ‘answer’ button with trembling hands, Yeomyeong approached her silently and snatched the phone from her hand.

“W-wait….”By the time a startled Seti looked up at him, Yeomyeong’s grip around the phone had already tightened.Crunch.The phone shattered, with pieces of plastic and fragments of the screen spilling from between his fingers.“You can deal with that after we finish this.”Yeomyeong said this while locking eyes with Seti. His golden eyes glinted with firm resolve.“Don’t forget… the reason I came all the way here… It doesn’t matter what comes after you here, it’s not too late.”Seti’s eyes trembled.It was because the memory of her scolding him for sneaking into the girls’ dormitory resurfaced in her mind.But the one who needed reprimanding was herself.She hadn’t been thorough enough. She had been careless and ended up wasting too much time.If Yeomyeong snuck into the girls’ dormitory, she and her sisters…She pushed the gloomy thoughts to the back of her mind. Now was not the time to dwell over ‘what ifs.’Yeomyeong was here for her and her sisters’ sake.Realizing the immense risk he had taken, Seti bit her lip and lowered her head.Yeomyeong patted her on the shoulder and said,“It’s alright. Everything is going to be fine. So, raise your head.”“…Okay.”Just as the tense atmosphere began to relax, Siri, who had been watching the whole scene unfold, sighed sullenly.“That was my phone…”Oops. Yeomyeong gave her an apologetic look.Seeing that face, which seemed to feign composure, even Siri felt her tension dissipate.Of course, it was just a feeling.Though her expression had softened, her hands were still trembling.“…Unnie, I think you’ll have a lot of trouble in the future.”“What?”“That oppa, I bet he’s going to turn into a total womanizer.”“…”While Siri kept making lighthearted remarks to mask her anxiety, the sound of footsteps from beyond the rooftop door kept getting closer.It had to be the two remaining sisters they’d been waiting for.Just as Seti sighed in relief, the footsteps stopped right outside the door.“…Seti Unnie? Siri?”A husky voice reminiscent of a rock singer was heard from the other side.A voice so familiar that Seti opened the rooftop door immediately.

* * *“Unnie, what’s going on at this hour…?”n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

The first to step onto the rooftop was a girl as tall as Yeomyeong, with an impressive unkempt blue short haircut.“…A guy? What the fu—!”Just as the soft blue of her eyes, contrasting with Seti’s, caught the sight of Yeomyeong, a voice filled with bewilderment intervened.Seti spoke up.“Neti, you already know him, right? He’s the transfer student who fought alongside me at the shelter, Cheon Yeomyeong.”“Uh… huh?”“Yeomyeong, this is Neti. Park Neti. Our third sister.”…Park Neti?It was a name that surpassed Yeomyeong’s expectations, but he was already seasoned (?) to various strange names. Therefore, he just extended a hand to her as casually as possible.“Nice to meet you, Neti. I’m your sister’s friend, Cheon Yeomyeong. You can call me Yeomyeong.”Somewhat startled, Neti took his hand and shook it. Her hand was as calloused as Seti’s.“Oh, you’re my sister’s friend. Um… it’s nice to meet you. Y-you can call me Neti as well.”Just as the brief introduction came to an end and Neti was about to ask more, another girl peeked from behind her.“…Just a friend? Or is it this?”The girl wiggled her pinky finger. Her atmosphere was completely different compared to the other sisters.Could he say that she was like a sculpture carved from melted jade?Not only did her slightly droopy eyes have a hint of green in them, but even her hair, tied to the side, displayed a soft shade of green.While this was a common trait among all the sisters, her eye and hair colors were something no ordinary Earthian could have.Knowing the secret behind their birth, Yeomyeong forced a wry smile as he replied to her.“Just a friend.”The green-haired girl’s eyebrows shot up, perhaps displeased with his answer.“Just a friend? And yet you came all the way to the girls’ dormitory? Oh, is this perhaps the start of something more…?”Before she could complete her sentence, Seti intervened again.“Yeomyeong, this is Sis. Lee Sis¹. Our youngest sister.”“…”“…Relax your face. It’s obvious that you’re thinking about their names.”Yeomyeong averted his gaze without a word.While the green-haired girl called Sis was staring at them with interest, Siri spoke up.“Unnie, I think we’re done with introductions, right? Now that we’re all here, explain.”The sisters’ gazes turned to Siri.“Why did you gather us at this hour? It’s not just to introduce this oppa?”This time, everyone’s eyes shifted to Seti. After clearing her throat, Seti finally spoke.“…Today, we will break the ban placed on our minds.”The reaction that followed wasn’t what Yeomyeong had expected.Instead of joy or surprise, dry laughter followed.Only Siri, who more or less knew about the relationship between Seti and Yeomyeong, narrowed her eyes and observed the situation in silence.“Geez, I was wondering what you were talking about… Have you been drinking, Unnie?”“You should know that it’s impossible to break the ban. We’ve already made several attempts.”Neti and Sis, the two sisters, spoke to Seti in sharp voices.“Girls, wait a minute….”Seti tried to give them an explanation, but the sisters didn’t give her a chance.“And we almost died last time, didn’t we?! The experts who were helping us break the ban were killed by the government!”“Unnie, even if you try to break the leash, the shepherds will notice it immediately.”“…”“Unnie! I know it’s frustrating, but we just need to hold on a little longer. It hasn’t even been six months since we entered the academy. We just need to find the Staff of Purification before we graduate.”“We’ve already decided whose leash to break with the Staff of Purification. Unnie, as long as we can be free, it’s okay even if the rest of us die….”The voices of the two sisters kept getting more intense, and just when Yeomyeong was wondering if he should step in, Seti raised her hand and gave the two, no, all three of her younger siblings a light smack on the forehead, one after the other.“…Why me? I didn’t even say anything!”Siri, who had kept her mouth shut all this time, protested as she held her forehead, but Seti, with a serious expression, met each of her sisters’ gazes.“Neti, we don’t have time until graduation. That bitch is already at the academy.”“…”“Sis, stop with the negativity. Do you really think I wouldn’t have thought of that? And Siri, you…”“…Me?”Seti looked at Siri for a moment, biting her lips, before quickly turning her head towards Yeomyeong.“…Yeomyeong, when can we start?”“We can start right away. The magic circle Miri drew has been ready for a while.”Yeomyeong gave her a soft smile as he pulled out the Golden Seal.The moment the sisters saw the golden, rectangular magic item glinting, question marks appeared above their heads.They realized that the mana contained within the seal was unusual.“Unnie, that…?”“I’ll explain the rest of the details as we proceed. Take your positions inside the magic circle for now.”Saying that, Seti began guiding the sisters towards their spots inside the magic circle Soe Miri had drawn.“It’s a magic circle that prevents mana from flowing outside. It’s not the Earthian method, but…”“There’s also a spell to block out light added here.”“…What’s the use of this? None of these spells have anything to do with breaking the ban.”Since all three sisters had some knowledge of magic, they voiced their individual opinions as soon as they saw the magic circle.Since their words might have sounded rude at first, Seti quickly glanced at Soe Miri to gauge her reaction.However, contrary to her expectations, there was no sign of displeasure on Soe Miri’s face.To be precise, she wasn’t even paying attention to the sisters.She was simply staring at Yeomyeong and the Golden Seal with a meaningful expression.…What’s going on?While Seti tilted her head in confusion, the sisters took their positions inside the magic circle, sitting in a circle.As soon as they did so, Yeomyeong walked past the sisters and stood in the center of the magic circle and raised the Golden Seal slowly.A brief moment of resolve followed by a deep breath.And just before he activated the seal, Yeomyeong glanced at Seti.The sight of her explaining the situation to her sisters looked much more serious than the person he was familiar with.If my colleagues had somehow survived… would I have also behaved like her?He would never know. Unlike Seti, he had no family left.…I hope Seti can protect the family she has left.With that fleeting thought, Yeomyeong infused mana into the seal.Flash!And the next moment, golden mana filled the magic circle.

* * *Soe Miri, who was standing outside the magic circle, opened her eyes wide as she watched it.

“…Oh no.”The magic circle she had painstakingly prepared to hide the mana and light began to shake.It wasn’t hard to guess the reason.It was probably because the mana pouring out of Yeomyeong and the golden magic item was much greater than she expected.The problem was trying to figure out what required that much mana.Aren’t they just trying to break a ban? What kind of ban requires this much mana to break?Of course, Yeomyeong did inform her that it was a very complex and powerful ban.But, in the end, a ban was still just a ban, wasn’t it?It was not like they were trying to unseal a dragon or anything. So, what kind of ban needed this much mana to break…?Crack!Soe Miri snapped out of her thoughts as the magic circle began to crack under the pressure of the mana.She quickly raised her wand and summoned the elemental spirits in her heart.Lelrin, Leon! Hold the magic circle together!Comprehending her command, the elemental spirits immediately clung to the magic circle.She also cast a spell, pouring mana into the cracking magic circle, trying to suppress the light and mana leaking from it.However, she was unable to stop a beam of light from shooting into the sky.

1. Korean names usually consist of 2-3 characters, with the first character being the family name. Lee Sis's name is actually spelled like Isis, while Oh Siri's name is spelled as Osiri.