The Shaman Desires Transcendence

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Park Jinseong headed towards the place where Anastasia was, accompanied by Iarin and Iserin.

Originally, he was going to go alone, but Iarin insisted, “N-no way you’re going anywhere alone in such a weak state right after collapsing! I can clearly see your legs shaking like a newborn deer! You need my support, okay? Huh?”

At that, Iserin sighed softly at Iarin’s antics, her eyes looking at Jinseong with a gaze that seemed to ponder something as she silently stood beside him.

Thus, a protective duo formed with the twin sisters.

The first thing Park Jinseong saw upon reaching Anastasia was…

“….”

It was Ella, whose face began to turn bright red as soon as their eyes met.

Next, he saw Anastasia, clinging to Ella with all her arms and legs like an octopus.

Anastasia lay on the bed, holding tightly onto Ella as if trying to tie her up, with a persistence akin to a water ghost pulling in another victim.

With her eyes closed, it was likely something she was doing unconsciously rather than with intention… but the thoroughness of her grip suggested a remarkable skill.

“Oh, you’ve really mastered the restraint technique I taught you.”

Iarin exclaimed beside him, impressed.

Seeing Anastasia perform the restraint technique so perfectly, even without knowing, made Iarin proud as a teacher, acknowledging that she had undeniable talent in martial arts.

“…Puma. So you were the culprit.”

Ella spat out angrily, knowing full well the consequences of the restraint technique she had taught Anastasia in real-time.

But that anger was short-lived.

Crack.

Did Anastasia perceive Ella’s anger as defiance? She started to apply pressure not just to hold onto Ella but to thoroughly restrain her joints.

“…!!!”

A scream tried to escape her lips.

But perhaps because Jinseong was in front of her—or maybe because she thought she needed to maintain her dignity as a lady—Ella managed to suppress her scream and glanced at the door, her face turning red in embarrassment for showing such an undignified display.

Jinseong couldn’t help but chuckle at this sight, glancing at Iarin as if to say, “Help her get free from that grip!”

Iarin grinned at Jinseong’s cue and approached Ella, her gestures looking a bit too mischievous.

With fingers dancing as if warming up to play a piano, Iarin’s movements were flashy.

This made Ella widen her eyes, glaring at Iarin as if to silently warn her not to do anything foolish.

But Iarin smiled, unfazed by Ella’s restraints, and reached out towards her…

…carefully pulling Anastasia off Ella’s body.

Ella, shocked at Iarin’s help and not expecting such behavior from her, looked at her with a gaze full of doubt and then glanced at Park Jinseong standing by the door, thinking, “So this beastly girl can hold back when it comes to my brother?”

In that way, Ella was safely freed from Anastasia’s clutches.

As soon as she regained her freedom, perhaps fearing being bound again, she quickly distanced herself from the bed, leaving only Anastasia lying there, eyes closed.

“Hem hem, now that I’m free, I might have some sore muscles or joint stress from being restrained, so I definitely need a special massage, right?”

However, sadly, complete freedom didn’t come to Ella.

Just as she barely escaped the shackles of the name “Anastasia,” now another set of shackles awaited her in the form of Iarin.

Iarin pointed out how Ella’s soft and fragile body couldn’t possibly avoid consequences from being restrained like that and built up a very natural justification for offering to help her with her upcoming muscle pain.

And with that justification set up, she began to forcibly pull Ella along without a hint of guilt.

“Come on, just for a moment.”

“Hey, how terrifying can muscle pain be?”

“No, that’s not it.”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry. Witches have strong life force, so after one massage, you’ll feel completely fine, trust me?”

It seemed like her forcefulness only partly masked her eagerness.

And so, Iarin dragged Ella out, with Iserin following her, seemingly trying to stop Iarin’s rampage.

It was a normal scene.

Thus, in the bedroom remained only Anastasia and Park Jinseong, two people.

The once noisy room filled with silence.

“Are they gone?”

Then, breaking that stillness was Anastasia, who slowly opened her eyes just enough to look at Jinseong.

She then rolled her eyes slightly, gazing at him with a look akin to a guilty puppy that had done something wrong.

Cautiously, she opened her mouth to speak, with a tinge of apprehension.

“Um, Jinseong? I… I’m sorry.”

The first thing she said was an apology.

“I put you in danger by trusting that old man…”

Park Jinseong simply watched Anastasia’s gloomy expression and moved closer.

He smiled reassuringly, taking her hand, as if to say there was no need for her to worry.

“It’s alright. That old trickster was determined to deceive the young Asha, so how could you respond easily to that? Though it’s right to resent those with evil intents, it’s wrong to blame those who fell victim to it, so you should not feel guilty.”

He consoled her, reminding her that as long as Ashtosh Singh intended to attack him, entanglement was inevitable.

Had Anastasia refused Ashtosh Singh’s proposal, it was likely he would have resorted to coercive measures, which could have resulted in her being harmed.

“Everything turned out fine. I defeated the flame sorcerer unharmed, and Asha came away unscathed. Plus… I could perform a ritual to strengthen Asha while defeating the flame sorcerer, so that’s another good thing.”

“But…”

“In the East, there’s a saying, ‘All things must return to righteousness.’ It means that everything will eventually come back to the right path. Just like that saying, everything returned as it should. The one with evil intent has fallen, and Asha, who was almost used by evil, has received compensation. I’ve gotten rid of the one targeting me, so that’s a good thing.”

He continued, “And the clash with him was inevitable. It didn’t originate from me nor from Asha. It stemmed solely from the heart of that sorcerer, from that evil. While we can be angry at those with malicious intent, we must not direct that anger towards ourselves.”

The moment Park Jinseong reached out to China, conflict was unavoidable.

When desires collided, blood was bound to flow.

This was a natural occurrence.

Both Ashtosh Singh and Park Jinseong knew this well.

Thus, Jinseong’s consolation held little falsity.

If there were deception, perhaps it would be in casting the flame sorcerer as an evil entity.

Ashtosh Singh and Park Jinseong.

Can we simply categorize them as good and evil?

Just consider Park Jinseong, who infected Indian soldiers with Leishmania.

He had also caused them to bear the egg of a curse and unleashed a fog made up of insects.

To him, it was an act to send bugs to China by cutting through Ashtosh Singh’s interference, but how could it not feel like an assault from Singh’s perspective?

To Singh, that must have felt like an attack.

In truth, it wasn’t much different.

Had Jinseong decided to attack Ashtosh Singh.

If Singh had noticed his plans to attack using Anastasia and enacted on it early.

Or if due to some whim he thought to bind Singh, a hindrance…

In that case, it would have directly turned into a calamity for India, and could have become a blade against Singh’s Sikh followers.

The bugs sent to China might have thrived by using the Sikhs as a medium.

Then they would have incited rumors saying, “They are filthy beings spreading disease. Their very existence is blasphemy, they must be purified.”

Adding to that, it would be easy to incite conflict deliberately, or to show the parasites crawling from infected Sikh bodies, or the rapid decay of flesh in crowded places to lend credibility to those rumors.

Countless other methods existed.

From the moment the Indian soldiers were infected, Park Jinseong could have stabbed Ashtosh Singh at any time, and that method would have been something Singh found difficult to block. No matter how much one is called the ‘Sage of Flames,’ he could not best Jinseong’s experience from having survived in a world torn apart by World War III…

So how could one claim that Jinseong, having been attacked, was purely good?

And how could one say that Ashtosh Singh, the attacker, was purely evil?

It was a clash of desires and egos.

The clash was caused by the conflict between Park Jinseong and Ashtosh Singh; their twisted relationship birthed this disaster.

Anastasia was merely a tool caught in between.

Therefore, Jinseong did not blame Anastasia.

He merely hoped this would serve as a lesson for her.

Yet, there was something he was curious about.

“By the way, why did you accept that flame sorcerer’s proposal?”

“Ah, well….”

Anastasia paused briefly at Jinseong’s question before responding.

“…I felt like if I followed that old man, I could gain some power that would help you.”

Her gaze drifted off as if recalling that time.

“He said that if I followed him, I would achieve something. It wasn’t exactly tempting… but yeah, I just had this strange feeling. It was more than just getting stronger; it felt like it would be a power that could genuinely help you… such a premonition.”

And so she followed him, but—

“…But my impatience to repay the favor quickly put you in danger. I’m sorry.”

Park Jinseong smiled, insisting he was fine.

He was simply grateful for her feelings.

Then he looked into Anastasia’s eyes and asked.

“I see. Then did you achieve something?”

Anastasia thought for a moment at his question.

Then she slowly nodded and said.

“Yes.”

A short yet weighty response.

“That’s good to hear. Truly a positive development.”

After hearing Anastasia’s assured reply, Park Jinseong simply congratulated her.

“Then rest a bit and wrap up the achievement you gained. We can catch up later.”

A wordless exchange of feelings passed between Park Jinseong and Anastasia.

It was a connection that couldn’t simply be expressed through trust or conviction, but rather dwelled in the ambiguity of things yet managed to convey their intentions towards each other.

Even as the door clicked open and shut, leaving one person behind in the room where two had been.

The warm air from their exchange remained, spreading warmth around them.

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