The Smarter One

Jinsu sat where he was, staring at the ground without blinking.

His mind was empty.

For the first time in a long while, he did not know what to do.

Where should he begin his search?

Where should he go?

Who should he ask?

Questions crowded his mind, but none of them found their way out.

He simply remained there, lost in his thoughts.

Then...

He heard hurried footsteps in the hallway.

The sound grew closer and closer before the door was suddenly thrown open.

Ivo appeared, followed by the rest of the squad.

"Jinsu! Are you alright? We heard someone screaming!"

Jinsu did not answer.

He continued staring at the floor as if he had not heard them.

Ivo approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Jinsu?"

In the next moment, Jinsu pushed his hand away and stood up.

He raised his eyes toward him.

There was something different in his eyes.

"Where is Ryo?"

Ivo froze for a moment.

"What?"

Jinsu took a step toward him.

"Where is Ryo's headquarters?"

He said it harshly, as though the words had been forced through clenched teeth.

Ivo looked into his eyes.

Then he looked toward the wall.

The moment he understood, his expression changed.

"No..."

He slammed his fist into the wall with enough force to make the entire place tremble.

"Don't tell me..."

He raised his head angrily.

"That bastard was here?!"

One of the squad members shouted:

"He violated the Slayers' Pact! Has he lost his mind?!"

Ivo turned and headed toward the door.

His hand had already grabbed his sword.

"I swear I'll kill that bastard!"

Before he could leave, Saki grabbed his arm.

Ivo stopped and turned toward him angrily.

"Let me go, Saki."

Saki did not release his arm.

"Wait."

"What?!"

Saki looked at him calmly.

"Think for a moment."

Ivo fell silent.

Saki continued:

"Ryo is extremely intelligent. Do you really think he would do something like this without considering the consequences?"

Ivo remained silent.

Saki slowly lowered his hand.

"You know him better than anyone here."

Ivo did not answer.

He was angry, but he had begun to think.

Then he said:

"And what do you suggest? That we just leave him alone?"

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He stared at Saki.

"If we do that, our squad's reputation will fall."

Saki shook his head.

"I'm not saying that."

Then he looked at Jinsu.

Jinsu was still standing in the same place.

His face was expressionless, but his eyes held something else.

Saki said:

"I think there's another party involved in this."

He paused for a moment.

"Ryo wouldn't break the rules this easily."

Then he looked directly at Ivo.

"You know he's smarter than that."

Ivo's eyes widened.

Shock appeared on his face.

"No..."

Then he whispered:

"Don't tell me..."

He slowly raised his eyes.

"The Master?"

Silence fell over the room.

The members of the squad exchanged glances.

"What? The Master? What does the Master have to do with this?"

Saki did not answer immediately.

He looked at Jinsu.

Then he said:

"The question right now isn't: What does the Master have to do with this?"

He paused.

"The question is... what does he want to know?"

One of the squad members answered:

"It doesn't matter where Ryo was now."

Then he looked at Ivo.

"Whatever he wanted to find out by sending Ryo... he has already found out."

A heavy silence fell.

Anger appeared on Ivo's face.

Then he drew his sword.

"Then we need to reach Ryo before he reaches the Master."

Jinsu immediately moved.

"I'm coming with you."

But Saki stepped in front of him.

"Stop."

Jinsu raised his eyes toward him.

"You're staying here."

"Move."

"You're the target."

Saki stood his ground.

"If Ryo did all of this because of you, then keeping you here is the only thing we can do to protect you."

Jinsu did not move.

Then he said quietly:

"Move."

Jinsu raised his head.

His eyes were filled with anger and sorrow.

It was a look Saki had never seen before.

Saki's expression changed slightly.

"Stop."

Ivo called his name.

"Saki."

Saki turned toward him.

Ivo said:

"Let him go."

Saki looked at Ivo for several seconds.

Then he stepped aside.

Jinsu walked past him without saying a word.

Ivo moved ahead, followed by the squad, while Jinsu walked with them.

They reached the end of the hallway.

Ivo stopped in front of the door.

He placed his hand on it.

Then opened it.

The darkness and void Jinsu had seen earlier vanished, as though they had never existed in the first place.

And in the next moment...

Jinsu found himself standing in front of the house they had entered through.

Ivo raised his sword and said:

"Now..."

He gave a cold smile.

"Let's go beat the hell out of that bastard."

The squad looked at Jinsu.

Then Ivo said:

"Try to keep up."

In the next moment...

They disappeared.

The squad spread throughout the village, leaping across buildings and running at speeds that made it difficult for Jinsu's eyes to follow them.

Each one took a different route.

One of the members looked back.

He saw Jinsu still standing where he was.

He smiled.

(This bastard...)

(All he has are those fists of his.)

(There is no way he can keep up with the Slayers.)

Then...

Jinsu disappeared.

His eyes widened.

"What?"

He looked around.

Nothing.

(Where did he go?)

(Did he jump?)

He raised his head.

(No way...)

He froze.

Jinsu was above him.

No—he was above the entire village.

His gray hair covered part of his face, and his eyes carried that empty gaze that no one could understand.

Then he fell.

He landed directly in front of the squad member.

Ivo turned toward him.

Then smiled.

(That bastard...)

(Did he get ahead of me?)

One of the squad members increased his speed.

He passed a building and leaped after Jinsu.

But Jinsu remained ahead of him.

The member increased his speed again.

(I can't overtake him...)

He clenched his teeth.

(Damn it.)

He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Jinsu was running across the rooftops without showing the slightest sign of exhaustion.

He wasn't moving like them.

He wasn't leaping from one rooftop to another with calculated precision.

He moved naturally.

Quickly.

As if his body itself knew how to move.

The member stared at his back.

(He doesn't even know where we're going...)

(So how did he get ahead of us?)

Suddenly...

Jinsu disappeared from in front of him again.

The man stopped for a moment.

"What?!"

Then he heard a voice behind him.

"You're slow."

He spun around.

Jinsu was standing on top of one of the buildings.

He looked at him coldly.

Then he jumped without waiting.

"That bastard..."

The squad member continued along his path.

But this time, he did not try to overtake him.

He had understood something.

Jinsu wasn't trying to keep up with them.

He was watching them.

And adapting to them.

Ahead of them, Ivo, Saki, and the rest of the squad were moving at full speed.

Ivo raised his eyes.

He saw Jinsu approaching.

He smiled.

"There he is."

Saki looked back.

"He caught up with us."

One of the members said:

"He even passed some of us."

Ivo did not answer.

He continued running.

The squad member clenched his teeth.

(Jinsu...)

(That bastard wasn't trying to catch up to us.)

(He was only adjusting his speed.)

Then Ivo suddenly stopped.

The squad stopped behind him.

He looked ahead.

"Stop."

There was an old building at the edge of the village.

Isolated.

Quiet.

And its door was open.

Ivo slowly approached it and drew his sword.

"Stay behind me."

Saki stepped forward.

"Ivo..."

"I know."

Ivo entered.

The place was empty.

No one.

No Ryo.

Not even a trace of a struggle.

Not even a sound.

The others entered behind him.

Saki looked around.

Then crouched down.

He picked something up from the floor.

A bottle of liquor.

His expression changed.

"This belongs to Ryo."

Ivo took it from him.

He looked at it.

Then clenched his fist around it.

Suddenly...

They heard footsteps.

Everyone turned.

Jinsu was entering the building.

He walked directly toward them.

"Where is he?"

No one answered.

Jinsu raised his eyes toward Ivo.

"Where is Ryo?"

Ivo slowly exhaled.

"He left."

"Where did he go?"

Saki looked at the bottle.

Then said:

"To the Master's headquarters."

Silence.

Jinsu lowered his head.

He remained still for several seconds.

Then he raised his head.

The confusion had disappeared from his eyes.

Nothing remained except anger.

"Then we'll go after him."

Ivo looked at him.

"No."

"What?"

"We're not going."

Jinsu stepped closer.

"Why?"

Ivo gave a faint smile.

"Because you don't know where he is."

Then he pointed toward the door.

"But we do."

Ivo turned and began walking out.

The members of the squad followed him.

Jinsu remained standing there.

He looked at the bottle.

Then said:

"Wait."

Ivo stopped.

"What?"

Jinsu raised his eyes.

"Ryo didn't go to the Master."

Silence.

Saki turned toward him.

"What did you say?"

Jinsu answered:

"If he wanted to go there..."

He looked at the bottle.

"He wouldn't have left this behind."

Everyone stared at it.

Ivo said:

"And what exactly do you mean by that?"

Jinsu answered:

"He wants us to believe that he went to the Master."

Saki's eyes widened.

Jinsu continued:

"He left it here deliberately."

Ivo stared at him for a long moment.

Then a small smile appeared on his face.

"Finally, you understand."

Jinsu raised his head.

"Understand what?"

Ivo stepped closer to him.

"Ryo wasn't running from us."

He paused for a moment.

"He was leading us."

Silence fell.

Suddenly...

A faint laugh came from outside the building.

Everyone froze.

Ivo raised his sword.

"Who's there?!"

No one answered.

The squad rushed outside.

The street was empty.

But on the rooftop of the building across from them...

Someone was standing in the darkness.

Only a faint smile could be seen on his face.

He looked at Jinsu.

Then said quietly:

"Just as I expected..."

"He came."

The man turned and left.

Jinsu suddenly raised his head.

He felt something.

A presence.

A gaze.

Something watching him.

"There is someone here."

Ivo looked around.

"Where?"

But Jinsu did not answer.

He leaped onto the rooftop and disappeared into the darkness.

"Jinsu!" Ivo shouted.

But there was no answer.

Saki looked at Ivo.

"Do you think he..."

Ivo smiled.

"Yes."

He tightened his grip around his sword.

"Ryo wasn't trying to reach the Master."

He looked toward the direction Jinsu had disappeared.

"He wanted Jinsu to reach him."

Then silence fell.

And somewhere far away...

Atop a tall tower overlooking the village, Ryo stood alone.

He had been watching everything.

He saw Jinsu approaching.

And he saw the squad behind him.

Then he closed his eyes.

A small smile appeared on his face.

"Just as I expected."

He opened his eyes.

"Anger was enough."

He looked at Jinsu from afar.

"I knew you would come."

Ryo turned and walked into the darkness.

But before disappearing, he stopped for a moment.

Then said:

"Now..."

"Let's see which one of us is smarter."

Then he disappeared.

Below, Jinsu was running at full speed.

He did not know where the road was leading him.

But he knew one thing.

He would not stop.

Not this time.