Chapter 60

〈 Episode 60 〉Part 1 Chapter 4 (17)

The petals are all burning away.

Butterflies of flame with azure wings, drawn to the ice flower like moths to a flame, alighted upon its fragile petals. The ice flower melted helplessly under the heat of these sapphire butterflies.

Rustle!

One butterfly prodded the core of the ice flower. Already weakened by the loss of its sepals, the ice flower could no longer withstand the dance of the fire butterflies and crumbled apart.

Rustle–

“Hmph. Not much of a challenge.”

BOOM!

Harang leapt out from the remains of the ice flower, landing on the dirt path below. Her already pale face had flushed red as an apple.

“MA- YOU- ARE- GOING- DOWN!!”

In her hand was a sword forged of ice.

An apprentice of Light Blade. Though their elemental attributes differed, she had still trained under him in the art of swordsmanship, focusing primarily on mana control.

“Die!”

Spitting words unfit for any true hero, Harang charged forward.

I lowered my right hand.

The remaining fire butterflies, having already shattered the ice flower, now blocked Harang’s path. Her sword slashed through them one by one as she closed the distance.

“Not letting you get away!”

Seok Harang.

A girl who rarely loses her temper but, when truly angered, regains her icy composure like clockwork – all focused entirely on defeating her opponent. But she hasn’t yet awakened that monstrous potential within her.

“HAAARGH!”

The final butterfly was cleaved by her blade. One more step. Just one more step and Harang’s sword would reach me.

Kreeeek.

The edge of her ice sword was caught and splintered in my hand. Having already infused my mana into the weapon, Harang desperately tried to pull it free.

Psssssh!

From within the transparent ice, blue flames began to rise. Realizing the danger, Harang quickly dropped the sword and leaped back.

KABOOM!

The ice sword exploded in a burst of Chang-yeom flames. Rolling across the ground, Harang shook off the fiery tendrils clinging to her clothes.

Thud. Dropping to one knee, Harang panted heavily as I lifted a single butterfly from my shoulder to my palm.

Flare.

The blue flames shifted form, transforming into a small bird-sized creature. Unlike Mini Phoenix, this hawk-shaped firebird known as Fire Arrow. Its origin lay with a certain legendary wind rider, though it has since fallen from its former glory.

“There’s nothing better than animals for manifesting mana. But as you said before, you’re just fumbling around. You create images but fail to imbue them with the essence of your mana.”

“Shut up already!”

An icicle shot toward me like a beam of light. But Fire Arrow had already darted forward, shattering the icicle with its body in a flash.

Fwiiirr.

Fire Arrow spread its wings, menacingly approaching Harang. Clapping her hands together, Harang released a surge of mana from her palms.

SHIIING!

Behind Harang, a massive snowman formed.

“Frost Giant? Excellent. A well-rounded guardian that follows your will-”

“Don’t pretend you know everything!”

The Frost Giant threw a punch. This must be Harang’s strongest summonable creature in her current state.

I sent Fire Arrow flying to draw the Frost Giant’s attention, creating a proxy battle between summons that gave me a chance to speak with Harang.

“Calm down. Keep your body hot, your head cool. If you can’t weave threads of calmness like ice itself, you cannot win.”

“…Damn it.”

Harang clenched her fists. The Frost Giant, which had been struggling to grasp a fire arrow, ceased its movements.

I placed the fire arrow on my wrist.

“Hey. What exactly are you? If we’re going to fight, let’s do it properly. Are you seriously trying to tutor me right now?”

Without lying, I revealed truths about Seok Harang that only someone who truly understood her could know, while omitting the fact that this knowledge came from her original heroine storyline.

[…]

Skipping ahead significantly…

“You really know who I am?! Who told you that?! There aren’t many people I’ve told this to!”

I raised a finger.

The extended index finger slowly descended, pointing directly at Harang.

“Your own lips, directly.”

“Myung Seung-hyung? No way. That guy isn’t this strong. I don’t remember any pyromancer this good. You’re lying!”

“The truth. Directly from your own lips.”

Sorry, but I didn’t lie. I simply omitted the fact that this Seok Harang is from the original heroine’s storyline.

I merely listened. As her companion, and as one lover among those who shared affection in her route.

While intertwined on the bed.

“Always wondering, aren’t you? About your parents. Why they abandoned you. Even after becoming so famous as an S-Rank, why they never showed their faces.”

“…Hmph. Sounds like something a documentary psychology doctor would say. Nothing new here.”

“Started doubting Light Blade around middle school graduation, didn’t you?”

Harang flinched. Despite attempting to maintain composure, her poker face had already cracked.

“How did Light Blade happen to find you among all the orphanages in Busan on your very first day there? Even for an S-Rank talent-”

“Ah, shut up! Too damn talkative!”

Her words were cut off.

“Zip it and reveal your true identity already! All this teacher act, I’ve been asking from the start! What I want to know right now is-”

“Not my past!”

She moved the Frost Giant, who had grown to the size of a four-story building, raising his fist high.

“Not my past!”

I raised my right arm. Fire Arrow flew upward, charging toward the Frost Giant.

“It’s your name, you little brat!”

Fire Arrow’s body spun like a drill, piercing through the Frost Giant’s fist. While the Frost Giant quickly melted into a watery mess, Fire Arrow’s flames weakened from the cold.

PSSHHHH—

Both Frost Giant and Fire Arrow disappeared. Only the warm puddle left in the dirt path marked their presence.

Crossing my arms after observing this,

“[…] Haven’t introduced ourselves properly yet, have we?”

“Yeah, we haven’t!”

How could that be?

There’s no way I wouldn’t have introduced the most lovely and adorable Phoenix in the world to others-

[Ah.]

Met Seok Harang for the first time as a monster. Seeing her immediately brought back unpleasant memories, leading to preemptive attacks without introduction.

I know her well, but this is our first meeting from her perspective. I had forgotten that fact.

“That’s my bad. I sensed you coming over Guanak Mountain and got caught off guard.”

“…? Huh? You felt me coming from Anyang?”

Harang’s expression soured. Why? I was merely stating facts.

“Of course, right? Your unique mana pattern. There’s no way I wouldn’t recognize it.”

“Hyeeek.”

Harang took a step back.

“How do you know my mana pattern? Did you hack into the association’s database or something?”

“Think whatever makes you comfortable. But…”

BEEP BEEP

Harang’s smartwatch alarm went off.

With the opposing fire and water elemental forces colliding earlier, the unstable air had blocked signals until now.

I subtly turned my left hand behind my back, partially transforming it to human form to access my watch hidden in monster form.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

“Excuse me.”

The incessant alarm caused Harang to glance at her screen then look startled at me.

I casually pulled the screen in front of my eyes with my right hand.

The alarming messages were from Ji Hwa Kim and Lighthouse:

– Cheon Gaeul deceased, intruder attacking barrier


– Cheon Gaeul deceased, intruder attacking barrier


– Cheon Gaeul deceased, intruder attacking barrier

[…?]

This made no sense. Why would Cheon Gaeul die? An attack on the barrier? With even Light Blade unable to pass through, what does it mean that Cheon Gaeul is dead?

I checked the earliest message from Ji Hwa:

– Enemy hero task force present, searching National Assembly


– Cheon Gaeul has left the barrier


– Phoenix Sir


– Phoenix Sir


– Please respond


– Gaeul fleeing to main chamber


– Enemy hero ambushes Gaeul


– …


– Cheon Gaeul-

“Damn it!”

No need to read further. Transforming my hand back to monster form, I immediately ascended into the sky.

CREEEAK!

A giant butterfly blocked my path.

“Where do you think you’re running off to?”

The massive butterfly’s wings spread wide behind the airborne Harang. With each flutter, scales of powder-like snow fell. This ultimate technique of the Snow Princess had once frozen an entire horde of monsters crossing the Han River in a single strike.

“You thought I was just chatting idly? All this was to buy time for-”

“Move aside.”

Gathering mana in both hands, I combined them into a pure essence of Chang-yeom flames. The sphere hovering above me like a weather balloon seemed ready to explode but held its form.

“…”

Seok Harang would sense it. The amount of mana contained within this massive fireball, the nature of that power, and the impact it would create upon detonation.

A magical bomb capable of erasing a 500-meter radius from the map, easily surpassing the strength of Seok Harang’s S-Rank ultimate technique.

“You… You’ve been hiding this kind of power and toying with me this whole time?!”

Seok Harang shouted in anger. Normally she’d make some wordplay before using her ultimate move, but there wasn’t even time for that now.

Tuck.

I threw the fireball southward. It rolled down following the slope where Shadow Phoenix had descended.

Rolling down the destroyed dirt path, realizing what lay at the end of its path, Harang cried out.

“Headquarters!”

Harang urgently flapped her wings, creating walls of ice. Thick barriers rose from the ground to intercept the fireball’s trajectory.

CRASH BOOM!

But the fireball shattered the ice walls, accelerating down the hillside.

“At full strength, it’s going to explode.”

I immediately contacted Mini Phoenix stationed on the National Assembly rooftop in Yeouido.

Flare.

Blue flames erupted beneath me. As Harang rushed forward in surprise, my physical form had already reconstructed atop the National Assembly.

“Here…!”

Raising my fist,

KABOOM!

I shattered the ceiling. Flames erupted to prevent any debris from falling, leaving not even ashes behind as I created the opening.

[…]

What kind of ridiculous situation is this? The sunlight streaming through the hole illuminated Cheon Gaeul.

Flare.

Changing form mid-leap, I gently landed beside Cheon Gaeul in human form. Carefully, I checked for a pulse at her neck.

It’s not beating.

Not even slightly.

[…]

Spreading mana throughout my body to examine her wounds, I found a sharp wound piercing through her back, straight through the heart.

Why?

I don’t understand why she left the protective barrier. Nor why Lighthouse failed to stop her.

Cheon Gaeul is already dead.

Dead.

“Sorry…”

An involuntary apology escaped my lips, though Cheon Gaeul couldn’t hear it.

* * *

Since saving Cheon Gaeul from near death during the dimensional gate incident, I had pondered.

Do I really need to save all the heroines?

The minimum requirement for the true ending route is awakening the six spirits.

Now that I’ve been freed from brainwashing as the seventh spirit, fulfilling the condition of awakening all the spirits allows us to meet the minimum requirements to defeat Seongju and the interdimensional deity.

In other words, there’s no absolute necessity to save all ten heroines. Frankly speaking, as long as six join our side, the remaining four become surplus power unable to awaken spirits.

If they don’t block our path as enemies, I’d rather not interfere with their lives.

Like how Cheon Gaeul chose to live as an actress rather than Maskerade, perhaps the other heroines are living their own lives.

Still, I couldn’t bring myself to let Cheon Gaeul go, due to my own uncertainty. To the extent that Deokbae described it as obsession, I couldn’t let go of Cheon Gaeul. Rather, I couldn’t.

Unlike me, who was dragged into this world by a single mistake, Cheon Gaeul was a cog created for the grand flow of this world, a device of tragedy meant to highlight the protagonist group.

That’s why I especially wanted Cheon Gaeul to live a life different from the original story.

I admired, envied, and even resented how she stuck to her dreams despite threats of being thrown to monsters and villains.

But because of my youthful arrogance, Cheon Gaeul has died.

I don’t know why she left the barrier. Even after repeated warnings, I don’t understand why she left the safety zone or why Lighthouse allowed her to leave despite orders. I don’t even know who killed Cheon Gaeul.

However, there is one thing I do know. I have the means to revive Cheon Gaeul.

The Cube. And the Core of a monster.

Through Deokbae and Ji Hwa, it’s already been confirmed that the dead can be revived as monsters. Even non-elemental beings can be transformed into monsters as seen in the original story.

With the Cube’s assistance, I can easily revive Gaeul.

Not as a human, but as a monster.

The Cube cannot revive the dead. That much is an unchangeable truth, no matter what methods are employed.

Instead, it can revive them as monsters. Not as beings of Earth, but as servants of Terra influenced by the Dark Legion’s officers – actually lower spirits of the main spirits.

My obedient spiritual servant.

Ultimately, I will trample on Cheon Gaeul’s dreams and alter her very existence as a human.

“Still, I wish you were…”

The core in my hand pierces Gaeul’s heart. Black mana begins to churn in the dead organ.

“I want you to live.”

The Cube glimmers. When it touches the core embedded in her heart, the dark mana turns bright white, taking on a gray hue.

In the main chamber filled only with darkness, gray light blooms.

On this day, I created the fourth monster of the Blue Wind Sect.