Chapter 812: Pasture [3]

The water closed over my head rapidly.

I reached towards the wall, but my fingers found nothing. The hand beneath my collar tightened, pulling me lower into the darkness as the faint light above disappeared.

My chest hurt.

There wasn’t much air left to hold.

But...

I could feel the four markings.

Something was happening.

And a moment later, thin lines stretched from one to the next within my mind. They connected, then extended downwards, slowly revealing the space beneath the water. Almost as if it was forming a sort of cube.

For some reason, I gave up my resistance the moment I caught sight of it.

The hands dragged me down further.

But as they did, I could almost make out my surroundings within the darkness. I could make out the stairs descending beside the gallery, the original edge of the pool, and the deep basin beneath my feet.

All of it appeared together.

Not as a flat picture.

There was depth to it. I could tell how far the bottom was, where the railing ended, and where I was sinking without turning my head.

It was like looking at a small version of the hall.

Except it was inside my mind.

"....."

At the same time, several dots appeared within it.

Most were red. Some moved along the bottom, while others hovered beneath the gallery. One appeared right where I was, clinging to me as we continued sinking.

There were yellow dots too.

A small group near the bench, and a few more beneath the surface.

’The others...?’

My attention briefly settled on them before returning to the red dot beside me.

That was the thing holding me.

I still couldn’t see its face, but I knew exactly where it was. More strangely, I felt as though I could reach it without moving my hand.

It was a rather difficult feeling to describe.

The entire area felt connected to me. Wherever I focused, I could sense what was happening there, and the longer I looked at the dot, the more certain I became that I could make it move.

This place...

This pasture.

’I reign supreme.’

The thought appeared quite naturally as one of my nodes flared up.

[Herding]

My body suddenly stopped moving.

The hand beneath my collar was still there, but it wasn’t pulling anymore. Even the fingers reaching towards my ankle stopped just short of touching me.

"....."

I focused on the red dot.

’Let go.’

The fingers slowly uncurled.

I could feel them moving, almost as though they were my own. It was only when the fabric loosened around my neck that I realised the thing was actually following my thoughts.

My eyes widened slightly.

’This...’

I tried making it move away.

The red dot shifted immediately, and a pale arm passed beneath the light on my harness before disappearing into the darkness.

There was no resistance.

That was what surprised me the most.

I avoided using Herding because of my condition. Trying to take control of an anomaly inside an <A> Ranked Gate could put too much strain on my nodes, especially if it resisted.

But now...?

It almost felt effortless. Not just that, but all my nodes.

The strain on them had reduced significantly, and so did their power.

There was still a faint tingling behind my eyes, but the sharp pain I was used to never came. My fingers weren’t stiffening, and I could move my arms without feeling something run down my back.

’Is this what my fifth node does?’

Create an area where the power of my nodes increased significantly.

My attention moved through the area again.

Several red dots were heading towards the edge of the Pasture.

I watched one reach the space between two markings. It stopped there for a moment before moving to the side, following the line until it reached another corner.

Then it tried again.

But...

It didn’t cross the boundary set by the two dots. Almost as if an invisible wall had been placed before them.

’...Oh?’

Another tried leaving from somewhere beneath the gallery. I felt a faint pressure as it pushed against the boundary, but that was all.

Neither could get out.

A smile slowly formed on my lips.

’How interesting.’

I was starting to have quite a few questions. How large could this area be? Could I maintain it for as long as I wanted, or would—

My chest tightened.

"....!"

Right.

I was still drowning.

I pushed the questions aside and kicked towards the surface. The hand beside me remained still as I passed, and for once, nothing caught my leg when I tried to swim.

What a pleasant feeling.

It feel good being able to use my nodes again.

Splash!

"Ha...! Haa..."

I came up coughing, keeping my chin raised while I struggled to take a proper breath. Water ran down my face, and I wiped it away before looking towards the gallery.

The scout’s light moved across the bench.

He was still there.

Adrian wasn’t, but I could now tell where he was without needing to look for his light.

Three yellow dots were close together beneath the surface. One moved between the other two, occasionally pulling them a little higher.

’He found them?’

I couldn’t be certain until I saw them properly.

But before I could move closer, two red dots started heading in their direction.

Hmm.

I tried to feel my node again. The distance was quite far, but for some reason...

[Herding]

I felt like I could reach them.

And it did as a faint sting passed behind my eyes, and the red dots stopped moving almost at once. Even those pressing against the boundary became still as the strange connection spread through my mind.

I could feel their hands.

Their fingers...

I could feel their every movements, as if ready to act on behalf of me.

All of them were under my service.

"....."

I slowly rose out of the water.

My wet shirt clung to my body as I stopped just above the surface, remaining in the darkness beyond the scout’s light.

Then I looked down.

There was nothing to see besides the black water, but that no longer mattered.

I could feel everything within the Pasture.

"...How very nice."

I let out a slow breath, feeling the last of the tightness in my chest ease.

For a moment, I even thought about taking one of the anomalies for myself.

They were quite strong. Strong enough to pull Marcus beneath the water, and there were probably a few things I could learn by examining them properly.

But I eventually shook my head. Such anomalies only seemed to be useful for the water.

I didn’t think I was going to go in the water anytime soon.

Raising my hand, I tapped the side of my head once and gave them an order.

Since those hands were strong enough to tear through breathing equipment and rip someone’s head off, then they could use them on themselves.

Tap!

I tapped my temple once more.

The water beneath me stirred.

The first red dot remained in place, but I could feel its fingers curling back towards its own body.

Shortly after that, the red dot disappeared from my sense.

Another vanished shortly afterwards.

Then another.

The water stirred as a pale figure broke through the surface a short distance away. Another one followed right after that as I remained where I was, watching more and more of the anomalies rise up at once.

Or what remained of them.

There wasn’t much for me to do.

All I needed to do was remain put as the anomalies tore themselves apart.

That was...

Quite something.

A few bubbles rose beneath my feet.

By the time they reached the surface, the last red dot was gone.

I waited for another moment before checking the area again.

Only the yellow dots remained.

"....."

The water was quiet.

I tried to feel the nodes in my mind. There was still some pain, but it was still manageable. Another thing I realised was that once set, the Pasture didn’t consume any of my nodes. But I also could feel its power waning with time.

’I really needed to understand this node better.’

There was a lot of testing that I needed to do.

Preferably somewhere I could stand without worrying about drowning.

A light appeared beneath the surface before I could think further.

The three yellow dots were moving upwards.

I lowered myself back into the water, turning towards them just as a hand broke through.

Splash!

"Ha... Haa...!"

Adrian surfaced a short distance away.

One arm was hooked beneath Marcus’s shoulder, while his other hand gripped Vera’s harness. He struggled to keep both of their faces above the water, his own chin dipping beneath it whenever one slipped lower.

Neither seemed capable of helping him.

I looked at them, somewhat surprised.

He really did find them.

Adrian’s light passed across my face.

"What are you waiting for!?"

He pulled harder against Vera’s harness, his voice hoarse as he looked straight at me.

"Help me!"