The Immortal Had a Guardian Spirit Chapter 12

All of it was something he’d said once in the past, when Raven’s self-esteem was at rock bottom.

It had been bitter to watch, seeing him act like a criminal when he’d only been pushed into opening a gate, never intending it.

This was a child he had watched over unceasingly from the very moment of his birth. The guardian spirit, who held exceedingly partial thoughts when it came to Raven, had put in considerable effort to lift up the child who tormented himself. The statement just now was also one of the things said in that process.

Raven’s wavering eyes were tinged with green light. The guardian spirit, having yielded his sight to him, softly lifted the corners of his mouth into a smile.

[And asking me for help isn’t being shameless; it’s granting my wish. I prioritize your well-being above all else. Overuse isn’t good, but it’s better than enduring without calling me in a dangerous situation.]

[…]

[Then go and come back. I’ll protect this one.]

You’re going to close the gate, right?

I can’t close the gate, and you have the burden of a child, so this must be the best option.

Pat. The touch that lightly pushed his back was truly affectionate. Raven stared at him blankly for a moment.

…Death’s voice echoed clearly in his head.

“Honestly, aren’t you curious? The reason why the guardian spirit still won’t tell you his name, even after all that long time together.”

“You must have thought about it at least once—why he cares for you so much, what his identity is, what purpose he has.”

…He’s right. Why are you so kind to me?

Not only his words but his voice drips with an exceedingly warm and blind affection, yet for some reason, it makes me feel a sudden fear.

Damn Death. Saying such useless things.

‘…Indeed, no matter how much I think about it, I’m not worth that much.’

Since he’d poked at the part I’d been deliberately ignoring, it couldn’t help but well up like this.

I silently clenched my fist tight.

[…Kid?]

“No, it’s nothing.”

…When Death proposed a wager to find out the guardian spirit’s name, the guardian spirit was furious.

Was that anger due to the act of trying to uncover his identity, or was it anger at the conduct of toying with me?

‘…Let’s stop thinking about this.’

He had only somewhat cleared out the monsters that had poured out; the gate was still not closed.

The longer it was left open, the higher the possibility that another gate would open somewhere on the surface. Investigating those doubts could wait until later.

The thoughts that were about to sink deep and heavy stopped there. Raven, who quickly relaxed his expression, poked the tip of his lips up playfully, just as he always had.

“More than that, since you’re going to protect someone anyway, don’t just protect Didi—”

[?]

Raven disappeared somewhere. Not long after, what he held in his hand when he reappeared was none other than Dan.

A mischievous voice fell over the head of Dan, who hadn’t yet grasped the situation and was just blinking blankly.

“Protect him too. You can handle two even without eyes, right?”

‘What is this…’

Dan, belatedly grasping the situation, scowled fiercely.

Just as a fierce resistance was about to erupt, a cold voice froze the air.

[…So you’re the one called Dan.]

“Yeah.”

[Why go out of your way… No, never mind. If you wish it.]

…His actions seem to differ from his words.

Though he seemed to have wrapped it in forced kindness, a suppressed displeasure could be felt in his reluctant, restrained voice. Raven awkwardly scratched his head.

He understood him disliking Dan, as Dan wasn’t entirely blameless for his injury, but the sight of him turning his head precisely to where Dan was, having lent his eyes to him, was a bit chilling.

Looking at his firmly hardened lips, Raven quietly added.

“You can’t kill him.”

[Why would I kill someone I’m supposed to protect?]

“And you can’t hurt him either.”

[Why, that’s a given.]

Since he’d received confirmation, there should be no need to worry.

‘But why am I uneasy…?’

Even so, he couldn’t leave the gate as it was. After hesitating briefly, Raven eventually turned his reluctant steps and headed toward the gate.

His gait continued naturally, as if he’d never been injured at all. Like speaking the plain truth, a calm yet confident voice clearly pierced everyone’s ears.

“I’ll finish quickly and come back.”

──It was immediately after Raven entered the gate that the guardian spirit’s blade was aimed at Dan’s neck.

∞ ∞ ∞

The guardian spirit disliked Dan.

If it were simply that Raven had gotten hurt trying to save him, or that Dan had wounded that precious body with his fingernails while trying to stop Raven from killing his sister, he would have only felt bitter inwardly and not shown it outwardly. Because in any case, it was a path his child had chosen himself, and it wasn’t entirely Dan’s fault.

But Dan had been hostile to Raven.

[Don’t move unnecessarily.]

Therefore, the guardian spirit clearly revealed his own animosity toward him.

A voice as cold as ice fell.

[Or I may not be able to protect you.]

Was it just his imagination that those words sounded not like he wouldn’t be able to protect him, but a declaration that he wouldn’t?

Dan, who had unknowingly moved to follow Raven, halted— and looked at him. Eyes filled not with fear but with bewilderment and doubt turned dazedly to the guardian spirit.

‘…Right now, your ward just went into the gate alone.’

Why aren’t you even agitated? Shouldn’t the ‘guardian spirit’ naturally follow him in too?

He knows Raven is stronger than him. He had once easily subdued him as if handling a child.

But that didn’t mean he was strong enough to close a gate alone. In the first place, wasn’t it absurd for an adult accustomed to travel to lose to someone no different from an ordinary rural youth, save for handling a shard soul? His own defeat was, in a way, natural.

People who try to close gates don’t form teams and enter for nothing.

‘If he were skilled enough to close a gate alone, he would have become famous long ago…’

Considering he’d never heard the name ‘Raven’ before, the chance of him surviving after entering alone without even his guardian spirit was close to zero.

And yet, despite going to the gate alone, leaving behind what must be his main force, the guardian spirit.

[I’ll finish quickly and come back.]

…He’s talking about time, not survival; what on earth is he thinking? A look of dismay crossed Dan’s face.

A gaze mixed with distrust and anxiety darted between the gate and the guardian spirit. As if sensing the gaze despite having lent his eyes, a low voice immediately fell.

[I am a guardian spirit. Separate from my personal feelings, as long as I have that child’s request, I will certainly protect you so long as you don’t do anything foolish, so I’d like you to wait quietly without worry.]

[…—.]

It wasn’t that kind of distrust. Dan shook his head.

Unlike this guardian spirit, whose skills were proven enough to be compared to an Awakened, the skill of the man called Raven had never been clearly demonstrated.

He had cut the roof of a monster’s mouth, but in the end he almost died. He saw him moving to avoid monsters while holding this child called Didi, but perhaps for safety, he focused more on evasion than attack. What’s more, hadn’t he even vomited blood last time?

The image of him coughing up blood as if dying was still vivid in his memory.

He knew that the one called ‘guardian spirit’ hadn’t stayed here for nothing, but he couldn’t just think positively and wait leisurely.

— Mr. Raven… are you an Awakened?

As someone who had to hope he wouldn’t die until he died by his own hand, Dan asked, praying he had some other ability, penetrating the animosity pouring toward him.

The guardian spirit, who had been silent for a moment at the sensation on his palm, shook his head.

[No. Humans capable of closing gates aren’t limited to ‘Awakened’ only.]

Of course, in the early days when gates first opened, those who could face monsters were limited.

Was it just the ‘Awakened,’ who gained talent through sheer luck, and the ‘Shard Soul Bearers,’ who were born with it?

But as befitting a race that continuously evolves and develops, afterwards ‘Spellcasters’ found ways to oppose monsters through research, and as a bit more time passed, after bloody effort, ‘Combatants’—who had reached the ‘heel’ of the Awakened, a realm described as ‘something an ordinary human might graze with their fingertips even after working themselves to death’—also mastered how to efficiently deal with monsters.

And Raven had a history of teaching people of all these types. How could the skills of such a person be insignificant?

The guardian spirit recalled ‘Raven,’ who could be called a product of effort and struggle, and let out a dry voice.

[Raven is a Spellcaster and a Combatant.]

[…!]

[And I’d appreciate it if you stopped talking to me.]

Not only did he not want to, but even just coming out like this and conversing with a living person would accumulate burden on that child.

‘…Though I probably didn’t need to warn him.’

The guardian spirit turned his head. Dan, who had been calming his surprised heart at the fact that he was a more remarkable person than he thought, and had absently looked where his head turned, soon couldn’t believe his eyes.

How long had it been since he entered? He could see Raven lightly landing outside the gate and the gate closing behind his back.

A clean appearance with no change from when he went in, except for a small wound on his fingertip dripping blood from time to time.

As soon as their eyes met, Raven waved his hand flippantly.

“Hello Dan, hello Didi. Do you remember who I am?”

“…”

Though he couldn’t possibly have forgotten him in that short time, Dan didn’t feel displeased even at the statement that seemed to regard him as a fool.

Having stood dazed at the unbelievable situation, he noticed Raven’s gaze quietly waiting for an answer and slowly nodded. Didi, who had been staring wide-eyed, also belatedly nodded in affirmation, and only then did a relaxed look settle on Raven’s expression.

“Didn’t I say I’d come quickly?”

…Indeed. He really came out fast.

Had it even been 10 minutes? It felt like it hadn’t even been 5, let alone 10.

‘What on earth is this guy?’

Even people who enter in teams often fail to close a gate.

…Is this a dream?

Facing Raven’s relaxed face, Dan finally began to doubt reality.

In the first place, it was unbelievable that the name of someone who could close a gate this quickly wasn’t known. Wasn’t this a level of skill that couldn’t be hidden even if one tried?

‘A Combatant…?’

Based on the unbelievable situation, questions and doubts sprouted again. Dan rolled his eyes.

Usually, the realm of ‘Combatant’ can only be reached when one is in their 30s or 40s. Since it’s about an ordinary person reaching the heel of an Awakened, it’s only natural that it requires that many long years of training.

It was at a level where people would be surprised and call it fast if someone became a Combatant in their 30s, yet someone who looked like he was only in his early to mid-20s was a Combatant. It was more than enough to make every nation stir and scramble to recruit him.

Yet, the fact that things were this quiet meant…

‘I really don’t think this guy is human.’

No, when the guardian spirit spoke about him earlier, he said that ‘humans’ who could close gates weren’t limited to Awakened, so was he human after all…?

Either way, the suspiciousness had exceeded all limits, and it seemed he had gotten involved with the wrong person.

Of course, that didn’t mean he intended to give up. Anyway.

As if not even feeling the dumbfounded gaze following him, Raven calmly turned his eyes away. He seemed to want to say something to the guardian spirit, his lips twitching, but then he glanced this way and waved his hand.

“Let’s talk again later, brother. Thanks for helping.”

[…Alright.]

The guardian spirit, who had silently nodded, quickly disappeared, and Raven calmly covered his mouth and took a step away from the kids. Subsequently, a cough mixed with blood burst out.

“Ugh…! Cough.”

…Seeing this, he seems weak again.

Dan’s expression grew complicated as he confirmed the blood soaking the ground.

‘He said it wasn’t an infectious disease… A retired strongman with a chronic illness, something like that?’

But aside from the blood, he seemed too fine for that. And he was seriously young.

‘…Well, chronic illnesses don’t come only with age, I guess.’

Anyway, since he had roughly confirmed his skills, it wasn’t like he had gained nothing at all.

Now that the gate was closed and the monsters were cleared, Dan, who had been gauging the situation, quietly slipped back and put distance between them again.

∞ ∞ ∞

Fortunately, Dan and Didi hadn’t forgotten ‘Raven.’

Of course, it was to be expected, since he came out as quickly as possible and, just in case, had left his guardian spirit, a part of himself, by their side.

Raven, who had been enduring the pain surging in according to the settlement and spitting out the blood flowing backward, chuckled softly at the sound of Dan quietly moving away.

It was commendable that he had waited quietly until now. He’d thought he would have bolted much earlier.

‘If he’d run away without incident, I wouldn’t care, but if he’d drawn the attention of monsters that leaked out, it would have become troublesome.’

More so for the guardian spirit than for me.

He hadn’t imagined that the guardian spirit, to prevent a troublesome situation, would hold a blade to Dan’s throat and tie his feet. He focused on turning his head and vomiting blood while covering his mouth.

He covered his ruined lower face, but he couldn’t help the blood spilled on the ground, so the startled child’s gaze clearly reached him.

He only briefly glanced at her complexion to check if she, being a young child, was shocked.

‘…Well, I’ve been considerate enough, so.’

More than that… it’s strange.

Raven lowered his fatigue-laden eyes.

“Cough, keuhuk—.”

Why… why does it hurt?