Su Yan stared at the dark smear for a moment longer, then manifested another Rapture part. Like the many before it, this one came out clean.
He kept going until he managed to pull another claw part. Holding one in each hand, he compared them. The weight was the same. The shape was the same. Aside from the dirt and blood, there seemed to be no difference.
He set the newly manifested part aside and refocused on the anomalous claw. Brushing away the dirt, he found clear signs of battle damage beneath it—dents, gouges, and several small punctures that looked as though they might have been made by bullets.
The worst of the damage clustered around the joint. Several impact marks overlapped there, with cracks spreading outward from the same spot, as though something had kept striking that one point until the claw finally gave way.
The others did not look like that. Now that Su Yan had a proper sample to compare against, their damage felt almost built in—random, patternless, as though they had simply been made that way.
Piecing it together, Su Yan arrived at a likely conclusion. The different manifestation, the battle damage that told a story instead of appearing at random, the blood—this part had not simply been manifested in the usual way. Somehow, Gatekeeper had pulled it across directly.
His brows furrowed as his thumb traced the fractured joint again, lingering on the clustered impact marks.
He did not know how or why. He had always assumed manifestation meant pulling something over from another world, but clearly he had been wrong—or at least not entirely right.
Knowing he needed more information, he continued manifesting parts, but no further anomalies appeared.
At last, he looked at the pile that had begun to fill the crate and decided that was enough for today. Rising to his feet, he stretched, working the numbness from his arms and legs. Then he tucked the anomalous claw behind the crate. He would tell Nihilister about it later.
When he stepped back out into the courtyard, the warmth of the midday sun hit him at once, and he found a familiar figure in red stretched across one of the benches.
Nihilister wore the same casual clothes Su Yan had seen her in last time. Now that he had a closer look, he had to admit they suited her.
As he stepped closer, he saw she had not even bothered to move.
"Nihilister, I've refilled the Servant-class parts for you. But there's one part behind the crate you shouldn't eat."
One eye cracked open.
"Why?"
"It came out a little strange. Just leave it alone for now."
Nihilister opened both eyes fully, disbelief plain in her gaze.
"That's it?"
She snorted.
"If you're done, stop blocking the sun."
Shaking his head, Su Yan continued.
"There's one more thing. Teacher Lin is arranging for some of my training to take place outside the city. I was wondering if you'd like to come along. We'd be farther from civilization, so you could cut loose a bit."
At that, Nihilister sat up, a faint smile tugging at her lips.
"Oh? I didn't think you'd trust me enough to let me loose."
Su Yan narrowed his eyes.
"I said cut loose a bit, not burn down the whole forest."
Nihilister snorted.
"Hmph. How boring. Still… considering how close you came to getting done in by some stupid mutt, I'll come."
A small smile tugged at Su Yan's lips.
"In that case, I'll leave you to it."
Nihilister had already stretched back out. She waved him off dismissively.
Teacher Lin was nowhere in sight, likely still busy inside. Not wanting to interrupt her, Su Yan let himself out and headed down the street toward the academy.
He had not gone far before a thought struck him. Nihilister's remark had dragged the matter back to the forefront of his mind.
His steps slowed. A moment later, he turned and made for the Spirit Hall branch instead.
When he stepped inside, Su Yuntao was nowhere in sight, so he made his way to one of the reception counters.
The clerk blinked in recognition and set aside the papers he had been working on before greeting him.
"Ah, Spirit Master Su. Welcome. How may I help you today?"
"I wanted to ask if there had been any updates on the Soul Beast attack from a while back."
The clerk seemed to remember something. He bent down, searched through one of the drawers, and pulled out a small stack of papers, setting them on the counter.
"You're in luck, Spirit Master Su. A new report on that came in recently."
He straightened the report and skimmed through it before looking back up at Su Yan.
"The situation is this: the wolf pack itself has been wiped out, but the leader managed to escape. It led the hunting team into the territories of several older Soul Beasts and used the confusion to delay pursuit long enough to get away."
Su Yan frowned at the news. The alpha had been the real danger, and it had still managed to slip away.
The clerk noticed at once. His eyes dropped briefly to the report again, scanning the lower half of the page before he added, "You needn't worry too much, Spirit Master Su. Although the leader escaped, Spirit Hall is still pursuing it. There is one more note in the report: because it stirred up the surrounding Soul Beasts, Su Yuntao and Sisi will remain in Maple Leaf until the situation settles."
The thought of Su Yuntao and Sisi remaining in Maple Leaf eased some of the tension in Su Yan's chest.
He took a slow breath and steadied himself.
"Thank you for the information. I wish the Spirit Hall hunting team good fortune."
Su Yan said, offering the clerk a small smile.
The clerk gave a small bow.
"No thanks are needed, Spirit Master Su. It is only our duty."
"Was there anything else you needed?"
Su Yan shook his head.
"Nothing else. I'll leave you to your work."
As Su Yan left the Spirit Hall branch behind, a quiet sense of anticipation stirred in his chest at the thought of tomorrow's training outside the city.