The Incident (12)

The black, dead blood falling from the sky pooled on the dungeon floor, forming a dark puddle.

Thud.

Cheon Seong's arm fell onto that puddle, and Hwa-yeong's face went from blue to deathly white as she clamped a hand over her mouth.

"...Damn it. I'm gonna get... I'm gonna get really scolded by Yuna for this."

"Don't you have time to think about that! We need to heal you right now—!"

Even with his arm severed, Cheon Seong was worried about getting scolded by Yuna, and Hwa-yeong burst into tears as she approached him.

"I'm fine, so you just hurry up and dodge!"

"I'm not fine! I'm not fine! Even if you're fine, I'm not fine!"

"......"

Seeing Hwa-yeong shouting through her tears, Cheon Seong couldn't bring himself to say anything. He didn't think he should.

But that choice of his became poison. Hwa-yeong, tears streaming down her face at Cheon Seong's grievous wound, clutched her aching chest and thought: that single word from him—"I'm fine"—felt like it was tearing her heart to shreds. The ironclad sense of security he'd shown since they'd been trapped in the dungeon. That single promise that he'd protect her. Every one of those words had assumed her injury wasn't a factor.

She had been the one who found comfort in being protected by someone who was devouring himself to keep her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠safe.

She was so stupid.

She had begged him to take care of himself if he got hurt, yet she was too stupid, too pathetic to notice the meaning behind his single word that he'd protect her. Always, always she was like this. She only saw what was right in front of her and failed to see the most important thing beyond it. People called her a genius, so she simply accepted it as if she really were one. Everything seemed to resolve easily, so she didn't look beyond the surface—and that carelessness ultimately led to her beloved's arm being severed.

And yet, what disgusted her most about herself was that even in this situation, she was still fluttering at the sight of Cheon Seong's eyes, worried about her more than himself. She had confessed her feelings for her friend's lover, and now she hated herself so much she wanted to die—for finding comfort in her beloved's sacrifice.

What if, what if it had been her who sacrificed instead of Cheon Seong? The thought came to her: wouldn't it be better if this selfish, ugly woman—who survived on Cheon Seong's sacrifice and fell in love with her friend's man—sacrificed herself in his place? Wouldn't that be the only way to atone to both of them?

'Right. I should die in his place instead—'

Thwack!

Pain struck her forehead, jolting Hwa-yeong out of the self-consuming spiral that had her convinced she had to die. She clutched her aching forehead and raised her head. There, looking down at her with an expression of helplessness and tender eyes, was Cheon Seong.

Looking down at Hwa-yeong, who gazed up at him while clutching her reddened forehead, Cheon Seong pulled her tightly into his embrace with his remaining right arm and spoke.

"I can see exactly what you're thinking, you idiot. This happened because I wasn't good enough—not because of you at all. So you don't need to feel guilty."

"N-No, but... but because of me, because of me, your arm..."

Even as Cheon Seong gently soothed her, telling her it wasn't her fault, Hwa-yeong trembled and clung to him tightly with both arms, burying her face in his chest as she blamed herself. Cheon Seong sighed and pulled her away from his embrace.

As the sigh that pierced her heart sounded and she was pushed from his arms, Hwa-yeong's face flickered with despair, anxiety, and relief—and at that moment, Cheon Seong reached out, lifted her chin, and bent down to press his lips to hers.

Smack.

At the first time Cheon Seong had ever initiated a kiss, Hwa-yeong's red eyes, clouded with negative emotions, widened and then cleared once more, returning to their beautiful, gem-like red.

Puff.

"To be honest, I can't promise I'll be able to love you. And I can't lie and say I do—that would be betraying Yuna, and betraying your heart."

Wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes, Cheon Seong smiled and continued.

"But if we survive this, at the very least I'll try to pay attention to you. So stop blaming yourself."

At Cheon Seong's words, Hwa-yeong touched her still-warm, cherry-red lips with her fingers and nodded, responding in a voice so soft only he could hear.

"...Okay."

"That's all I need."

With those words, Cheon Seong wiped the smile from his face and turned to the servant watching them silently, his demeanor cold and serious as he prepared for battle. No matter how monstrous they were, their essence was that of knights. They had shown sincerity by upholding the knightly code. Now it was their turn to repay that sincerity.

"Thank you for giving us time. So as a return..."

KWAAAAAA—!!

Dark mana erupted from Cheon Seong with an intensity incomparable to anything he'd shown before, staining the dungeon black. A moon of dark mana rose in the dungeon's sky, and black lines appeared along Cheon Seong's arm.

"From now on, I'll fight with my full heart."

Shlick—

Cheon Seong's figure vanished, and the servant drew his sword once more.

Whooom—!!!

BOOM!!!

Cheon Seong's fist and the servant's sword collided, the shockwave striking the dungeon.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

The Fourth Form of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, Black Moon, amplified the user's dark mana. But the side effect of Black Moon was that if the user couldn't withstand the amplified mana, the runaway energy would become a poison that devoured the user.

However, the Black Moon · Last Radiance he was using now was an advanced technique he had developed because he felt the original Black Moon was insufficient. He wanted a means to close the gap with those who were overwhelmingly stronger than him—even if the risk grew. What was created was the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, Fourth Form, Black Moon · Last Radiance.

Even though Last Radiance was an advanced technique he had developed while still immature, it produced results that far exceeded his expectations. But the power that surpassed his expectations to an unimaginable degree made Last Radiance a double-edged sword that consumed the user's lifespan simply by being maintained—it made no distinction between friend and foe.

The maximum time he could maintain Last Radiance right now was a mere three minutes.

So within those three minutes, he had to bring him down.

Heavenly Demon Divine Art, First Form, White Night · Extreme.

Unlike the ordinary White Night, which unleashed mana to erase the enemy before you, White Night · Extreme concentrated the light of White Night into a single point, compressing it to pierce through the opponent.

The mana gathered into a single point was compressed into a small sphere with power beyond any reasonable estimation. Judging that a direct hit would be dangerous, the servant tried to dodge—but an unknown force crushed him down.

In that moment, Cheon Seong, having completed the advanced technique, moved at blinding speed to the servant's side and drove a powerful single fist into the cracked armor.

Whooom—KWAAAAAAANG!!!

Unable to react in time, the servant took Cheon Seong's White Night · Extreme squarely. His cracked armor shattered and scattered across the dungeon as he was sent flying, embedding himself in the wall far away.

Hwa-yeong, watching from afar, marveled at the power that had destroyed the servant's armor—which had only brought despair until now—but the one who had destroyed it, Cheon Seong, was not unscathed either.

"Haa, haa—Ugh! Cough!Cough! Haa... Spit!"

Cheon Seong spat out completely black, dead blood, wiped the blood from his mouth, and expelled the remaining blood and clots from his mouth.

Last Radiance, Cheon Seong's modification of the Fourth Form Black Moon. Like the original Black Moon, Last Radiance amplified the user's mana while the black moon of dark mana hung in the sky—but unlike the original Black Moon, which only pushed the body to its limits, Last Radiance's amplification was on an entirely different scale, and it consumed the user's lifespan.

The mana, amplified to the point of running wild, suppressed and intimidated the opponent by its very presence, and the runaway mana amplified the power of each individual martial arts technique. Even if the price was the user's lifespan.

To describe his current state: like a candle burning brilliantly in its final moments, he was lighting the wick of his lifespan with the flame of dark mana and burning it away.

The black lines that had appeared on his arm as the black moon rose spread further with each passing moment, carving their marks all the way up Cheon Seong's chest. The ominous black lines instilled intense anxiety in Hwa-yeong, who watched Cheon Seong fight—but having decided to respect his choice, she suppressed the anxiety burning in her chest and prepared her magic.

'Please, let me be of help to Cheon Seong.'

Fwoosh!!

Along with Hwa-yeong's will to protect Cheon Seong, crimson flames erupted and gathered, forming a crown of fire that rose above her head.

Flutter—!

A cloak of flames appeared behind her, billowing and radiating intense heat.

Hwa-yeong's unique ability—the Eternal Flame, a fire that never went out. The eternal flame burned fiercely, even consuming its own master, but Hwa-yeong didn't care about the burns from her own ability and controlled the Eternal Flame.

The unquenchable flames of hell gathered in Hwa-yeong's hand and were hurled at the servant, who had not yet recovered from Cheon Seong's attack.

Whooom—Fwoosh...

The Inferno flying toward ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the servant sputtered out and vanished in midair—but a smile appeared on Hwa-yeong's face.

Creak, creak.

Just as the servant, having recovered from Cheon Seong's attack, took up an offensive stance—

FWOOOOOOSH!!!

Flames of such intense heat that they melted the rock beneath erupted from the ground under the servant's feet and swallowed him whole.

"Stop hurting the person I love. Fight me instead, you monster."

Hwa-yeong muttered with a smug expression at the servant burning in her Inferno, and hearing her words, Cheon Seong smirked and prepared his next attack.

Shing—!!

The servant cut through the Inferno itself and broke free. Though he had escaped the attack, the servant's armor had melted from Hwa-yeong's Eternal Flame. His gaze turned toward Hwa-yeong, and though his visor hid his face, she could tell he was glaring at her with fury. Hwa-yeong raised her middle finger at him.

"What are you going to do, glare at me? My attack isn't over yet."

Fwoosh!

The moment Hwa-yeong finished speaking, the flames of the Inferno that the servant had cut through reignited in the form of shackles, binding him.

Shhhhhhk!

The eternal flames became shackles, binding the servant and burning him.

Clank, BOOM!!

But Hwa-yeong's shackles couldn't hold the servant for long, and he broke free from her restraint. Immediately freed, the servant raised his sword and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠charged at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Hwa-yeong, reaching her in the blink of an eye—and as he swung his sword down at her, a chilling hand of the grim reaper approached from behind the servant.

"No matter how much of a knight you are, a monster is still a monster. I'm pretty sure your opponent was supposed to be me."

A bright night contrasted against the black moon in the sky, and a dragon baring its fangs in moonlight lunged at the servant.

BOOM—!!!

The dragon that pierced the servant vanished along with the black moon, gathering the brilliant moonlight—and the servant, having angered the dragon, was sent flying, shattering the dungeon that had trapped Cheon Seong and Hwa-yeong until now.

"Is... is it over?"

Hwa-yeong muttered the phrase that would be called a flag anywhere, but just in case, she had kept the Eternal Flame burning. Fortunately, Hwa-yeong's flag didn't trigger, and as time passed with the servant motionless, joy and triumph spread across her face.

"We did it! Cheon Seong! He's down, Cheon Seong?"

Unable to contain her joy, Hwa-yeong immediately called out the name of the one who had finished the servant, cheering—but where she turned, Cheon Seong lay collapsed on top of the puddle of his own black, dead blood.

Last Radiance, which burned the user themselves. The maximum time Cheon Seong could maintain it was three minutes.

The time it took for the black moon to rise and disappear had exceeded the maximum three minutes—it had been five.

Cheon Seong's body was growing cold.

The flame was going out.