The Futile Black Curtain
“……”
Yeah, that's right. Ryu Chae-hwa died just like this, so pathetically. He couldn't even give her a proper grave or any rites for the dead.
What had he thought about her end back then? Was he sad? Angry?
No...
He vaguely remembered thinking it was for the best. It must have started from the moment she first approached him, eyes full of admiration, saying, “It's an honor to serve you starting today.”
This girl mimicking Ohana had always rubbed him the wrong way in some subtle fashion. Her perfume, her clothes, her hair, her speech, her hobbies—even that affectionate gaze begging for just one glance.
It felt like she was a grave robber desecrating the dead. That sentiment lingered deep in his chest.
“……”
So... what about now? Did he still feel the same?
His eyes met Ryu Chae-hwa's as she writhed on the ground. Those pupils, oblivious even to her own death, brimmed with innocent, tender affection waiting for an answer.
A bubbling sound echoed from within. Something deep in his heart began to stir.
A tangled knot of indefinable emotions heated his body. Something on the verge of exploding demanded to burst from his lips.
Conversely, his mind sank colder than midwinter. He had to think. Judge. Prepare.
Enemies didn't wait. The slightest hesitation could cost everything.
Choi Siwoo. He had to do what needed doing.
First...!
He shouted at the two survivors. Or tried to.
Thud!
Mun Him-chan grabbed him, hurling him away with every ounce of strength left in his suckling babe of a body.
In midair, their eyes met. Mun Him-chan flashed a toothy grin and snapped a quick salute.
“Live on, Boss! No—Hero!”
Space tore open once more. A body cleaved from crown to toe splayed apart, spilling guts.
“Gaaahhh!!!”
Ye Dong-tak charged forward, enraged by his comrade's instant death. He thrust out his shield and sword.
“Die, you bastard...—!”
He couldn't finish. His split skull rocketed skyward, yellow brain matter splattering the ground.
“……”
Master! Left at 45 degrees. Incoming attack right now!
He knew. Even without Kay's warning, his skin already sensed it. This goddamn body ignored his men's deaths but reacted to his own peril with hyper sensitivity.
Knees bent, he lightly slashed his sword.
Shing!
The sound resonated as the space-slicing magic rebounded, cleaved in reverse. A chilling tinnitus rang out, vast runes too complex to parse scrambling his vision.
He rose from his knee. Mad cackles echoed from above.
A white muscle mass glided through the sky. Tendrils writhed with massive demonic energy. The spells etched across its body screamed artificial modification.
A ridiculously ordinary man's face protruded from the tiny head—save for the slit eyes so narrow you wondered if he could see.
“Oh dear, what a pity. I meant to send you painlessly with your men. Hm? That look—is the great hero angry over these losers?”
“...So it was you, the closest aide.”
“Of course. I'm a man who always seizes opportunities. A man who survives any situation. You knew the Association had the 4th lurking behind it all along, didn't you?”
Yeah, he knew. The Association's idiotic antics. Why they clung to useless bloodline supremacy. That the so-called villains now hunted were once old-era heroes who'd staked their lives.
By the time he realized, it was all over anyway.
“Ichimaru Ken...”
The man bowed low in exaggerated flourish, like a gentleman greeting.
“For a lowly worm like me to be remembered by you—such an honor.”
The Association's top executive, the real power broker. And... humanity's betrayer.
* * *
The two men stared each other down. Words they wanted to say piled up.
Long-time acquaintances, this worst of reunions ironically allowed raw honesty.
But they wouldn't. To Ichimaru Ken, it was just old jealousy. To Choi Siwoo, he was merely a ghost of the past.
“...Let me share one good thing, Choi Siwoo.”
Ichimaru Ken's slit eyes snapped wide. Demonic eyes gleaming black spewed thick miasma thick enough to induce vomit.
Ichimaru Ken activates Slit-Eyed Bastard Opens His Eyes (SSS).
All abilities usable at 100%+ without restrictions.
“I'm no mere familiar now. I've inherited part of His body.”
“Even the 4th isn't right in the head, huh.”
“Yes, Hero Erina's strike. He survived, but it sufficiently weakened His existence.”
“That means...”
“Exactly.”
Ichimaru Ken raised his hand. An intricate, beautiful yet violent magic circle formed.
At least a kilometer in diameter—absurd.
“Defeat me, and the 4th vanishes soon after. The 3rd died long ago... leaving the 2nd and 1st, plus the Demon God. But I hear the 1st fell to the 2nd. So just two left.”
“Still a lot.”
“Indeed, quite a few. The 2nd, No-Face of Six Demons Defying Heaven, rivaling the Demon God in raw power. And the 'Outer' ruler with disaster authority, the Demon God. Even if you beat them, this world already treads the path of ruin—no recovery in sight.”
“What's your point.”
Ichimaru Ken extended a hand slyly.
“No desire to become a True Ancestor like me? You and I could transcend species, reach the supreme realm even gods feared—”
“—Cut the bullshit. Let's start.”
“Knew you'd say that.”
The sky roared. Shockwaves rippled everywhere.
Another circle layered atop the first, multiplying. Twelve crimson circles. Then blue and green stacked like Hanoi Tower.
Rumble rumble rumble!
Space quaked. Clouds churned, earth cracked.
No longer mortal power—a calamity manifested in the heavens.
Sixty magic circles total. Each a 10th-order+ ultra-high spell only grand archmages could cast, amplifying power.
Pure firepower, no tricks. Ichimaru Ken meant to crush with brute force.
All in one second.
Choi Siwoo admitted inwardly: This Ichimaru Ken surpassed even Wien Joun, pinnacle archmage.
Ichimaru Ken glanced down. In that second, ample time to lay down his life.
Sure enough, Choi Siwoo gripped his sword in stance. Black aura intensified.
He seemed unaware, but Ichimaru knew: Not mere mana convergence or mastered realm technique.
Authority.
The 'Nothingness' authority of total annihilation, realm of oblivion. Beyond even the 4th he served, the Demon God himself lacked it—yet this mere human grasped it.
......
How much envy, despair that talent wrought.
But no matter now. Ichimaru Ken held his own supreme fragment.
Crackle!
Circles meshed, spinning. Over sixty spells harmonized, amplifying in symphony.
Beautiful magical incantation resounded. Merging, they summoned new quaternary elements beyond.
Ichimaru Ken uses 13th Order Transcendent Light.
It slammed down as judgment authority only the Demon God could wield—straight at Choi Siwoo.
* * *
Choi Siwoo gazed at the approaching pillar of light.
Untouched structures atomized. The firmament tore, revealing void. Vast power warped time itself.
Weeds on the ground bloomed and withered instantly. Absolute force twisting space-time.
A strike revealing god-realm heights.
Choi Siwoo pondered: How had he countered this blow then?
......
The answer was set.
Just cut it.
He crouched, gripping tight. No needless thoughts. No forced emotional amp for mana boost.
His will manifested in the world regardless.
Three gates opened: Lower from lower abdomen to mid-heart, then upper-brain, linking all.
His unique mental image unfolded, unseen by others—a hazy sword silhouette behind him.
[Part of the Authority...]
He seized the sword. Poured power. Right foot half-step forward, left back; right hand clutched blade over left shoulder, veiling half his face.
Boom!
Dragon tread stomped. Grip tore, blood bursting.
No glance back. No endurance calc. All for one instant's explosion.
Every bodily reserve crushed beyond limits into this strike. Flesh cracked, groaning at the strain.
Vision blood-red.
He swung at the 'god'.
—!!!!!!!!!
Indescribable flash filled the city. Raging storm ravaged wildly. Cracks scarred the heavens beyond.
Miasma clouds split, stars twinkling through.
Sixty circles halved, crumbling to dust.
* * *
“Pathetic sight.”
Choi Siwoo eyed the dissipating meat lump.
“...Kukukuku, is it?”
Upper torso remnant met his gaze. Lips moved.
But no words came; jaws clenched shut.
Choi Siwoo silently watched the body fade.
Soon, only a key fragment riddled with black fissures remained.
He picked it carefully.
Crack!
World crumbled with the sound. Power filling him ebbed away.
He glanced back. Ryu Chae-hwa's dazed stare met his.
“……”
He turned away. It was all just a fleeting daydream, ended.
* * *
Master. Master! MASTER!!!
“...!”
Kay's cries snapped his eyes open. A bizarre space blending darkness and light, like inside a human body, filled his view.
Domain of Illusory Dreams.
He clenched the fragment. A faint vibration instinctively pinpointed others.
“Kay. Let's hurry.”
Yes, Master.
He dashed forward. Midway, footsteps approached from beyond a pillar.
“...!”
Power to lower body; leg lashed like lightning.
Boom!
Crash. Pillar rubble collapsed.
A familiar face emerged.
“...What if you'd hit me, Cadet Choi Siwoo.”
“...Instructor Kang Hanseong?”
“Long time no see.”
Kang Hanseong smiled faintly at Choi Siwoo.