It didn't take a long time for Levin to find out the source of the disturbance that caused his control over illusion gone awry. Coincidentally enough, the source was on the waterfall where he and Mira met the animals a few days ago, making him suspicious about the man there.
Yeah, he had already confirmed that the cause of the disturbance was a man, half-naked, sitting – meditated – right below the waterfall. Even from his spot, Levin could see how long his torso was, indicating that the man was pretty tall. He was also built like a bodybuilder, full of muscle. The man also wore a headband that covered all of his bald head, and somehow, the waterfall couldn't wash away the dark circle under his eyes that Levin initially thought was makeup.
Levin found it difficult to guess the man's identity based on this description alone. However, when he saw the prayer beads on his hand, the soldier could instantly identify the man's occupation.
'A religious person?' He thought inwardly. 'Is he some kind of a monk?'
He didn't dare to get closer to the man since his illusion was still out of control. Honestly, if the monk opened his eyes and snapped out of his meditation state, he would be surprised to see how the flowers kept changing colors or how the rainbow kept coming out of the waterfall. However, even from his position, Levin could hear the man chanting the same thing over and over again.
Satyaṁ ca dharmaṁ ca, hitaṁ ca karma,
Svaasthyaṁ śāntaṁ, sarve sukhinaḥ.
Puṇyaṁ sādhayaṁ, jīvanaṁ saumyaṁ,
Dhyānaṁ cobhayāmi, sarvaṁ samṛddhiṁ.
Honestly, even though Levin didn't know the meaning behind the chant, he could feel his heart trembling a little, somehow getting affected by the man's melodious voice. For a bulky man like him, the monk sure had a good voice, making him wonder if he had a side profession as a singer or not. However, in a scorching hot temperature like this, seeing the man meditating while chanting in a language he didn't know about somehow gave Levin chills on his back.
As he observed the man for the next few minutes, Levin also started weighing his options here, pondering over the pros and the cons of what he should do. Even though he didn't know about the monk's capability, it was always good to have a friend rather than an enemy. However, he also didn't know whether the man would be hostile or not when he saw him.
While he was still getting tangled inside his mind, though, the monk suddenly got up from the waterfall. He was still calm, and as he opened his eyes, it was as if the window to another world suddenly opened right there. Levin had his jaws dropped, wondering what the monk did to have such clarity reflected in his eyes. However, before he could even ask a question, the monk suddenly spoke, sending a shiver down his spine.
"If you are going to attack me, you did a poor job with your hiding place."
Even though the monk said it gently, Levin who felt that he was mentioned started sweating on his spot. The fact that the monk could figure out his whereabouts told him that the monk was not an ordinary person. However, he still didn't know whether the monk would be hostile toward him or not, so he decided to stay still and observe from afar.
"Not wanting to come out, huh?" The monk let out a tired sigh. "Well, if you want to play a hide-and-seek game, don't blame me for being rude."
At first, Levin didn't know what the monk was going to do. The man just stood still, his body was turning in his direction. Levin also grabbed his laser gun tightly, getting ready when a fight finally broke out. Then, he heard the man started chanting something,
Oṁ, jagatāṁ āśīrvādaṁ, prārthayāmi,
Śaktiṁ khaṁtārakāṁ, tejasā rājati.
"HA!"
The man suddenly pointed his palm to the trees that were about three meters in front of him, and then, from his palm, a wave of energy formed there, creating a small storm before the man let it go. Levin didn't have to wait for too long to see the effect as right after that, he could see the tree explode, flying far to the sky instantly.
BAM!
'Holy shit! Is this fucking real?!' He widened his eyes in shock, having the urge to run away instantly from his spot.
However, before Levin could take action, he saw the tree that was just flying in the sky start to land so slowly like a paper, making him wonder what was going on. Fortunately, the mystery revealed itself immediately, as there, was a flamboyant man with thick makeup and a wicked smile standing on top of the tree, looking at the monk teasingly.
"Oh, is that your power? A praying toward God? How cute…"
The monk didn't bother with the teasing tone and asked directly, "You've been stalking me for three hours before this. So, I am going to ask, what do you want from me?" Somehow, the monk's words made Levin shiver as he realized what a fatal blunder he was about to make a few moments ago. Fortunately, he didn't get closer, or the mysterious man on top of the tree would find out his position and change target on him.
"Oh, don't be so rude like that, Mister Monk. I am just here to grab my qualification ticket…" The man's smile suddenly turned into a creepy, wide grin, and Levin's question about why was he so familiar with that found an answer immediately after that.
'Shit! He is just another psychopath like the illusionist! This is going to be bad!'
"Hey, I resent that implication! I am not that bad!" The illusionist complained from inside his head. However, Levin didn't have any time to answer that since he put all of his attention on the fight that was about to break.
"So, you want my blood?" The monk asked for confirmation.
"Yup!" The other man nodded happily as if they just talked about the weather. "Also, your beads look like it is pretty expensive. I wonder what is the cost that the crow bastard put for that?"
In the end, the monk just sighed before saying nonchalantly, "Well, you can try to get it, but don't blame me for being rude, okay?"