The Scar of Reunion
***
Not even a fraction... not even a fraction could be reached.
My attack, my sword, my... the sword I had carved my entire life into revenge—did not touch Persona at all.
After Persona, disguised as Seojin, came to me and left behind the despair and anger she would never give me again, I trained like a madman to kill her.
I trained to the point that even a moment of rest felt like a luxury—muscles torn apart hundreds of times, bones broken hundreds of times.
Yet I never stopped.
When my left hand broke, I swung with the right. When my right hand broke, I swung with the left. When both arms broke, I bit the sword between my teeth and swung it.
When my body could no longer move, I scoured every scrap of information about Persona and cast illusion magic on myself, fighting her tens, hundreds, thousands of times.
I replaced sleep with potions and recovery scrolls and trained only.
But I still could not reach her.
Even when I collapsed from exhaustion and the potions and scrolls ran out, even when I shook off their desperate pleas to rest and trained anyway... the woman who had taken my only precious family and humiliated me stood right before my eyes, yet I could not touch her.
My talent may have been lacking, but through sheer stubbornness, blood and sweat, erasing even tiny scraps of rest and sleep, I swung the sword and trained only for one purpose—killing Persona—yet my blade, my attacks, did not even graze the tip of her hair.
What... what more did I have to do here, when I had no talent and removed sleep and rest just to train?
Even when my bones broke and my body could no longer move, I kept training.
Even after entering a dungeon alone and surviving life-or-death battles dozens of times, if I still could not reach her, I no longer knew what more I had to do here.
I had given my life to kill Persona, yet not a single effective hit landed, not even the collar of my shirt brushed against her. My body was paralyzed after a single attack.
It was too futile.
I had poured my entire life, everything I had, into killing Persona, yet I had failed even to brush against her with one attack and had been rendered powerless in one strike.
Everything in the world had crumbled.
Nothing left, everything had collapsed as if only I remained.
'Maybe... I should just die...'
A world where only I existed.
I had sworn to myself that I would never collapse against the enormous wall before me, yet the hatred and rage that threatened to shatter me fell.
The hatred and rage that kept me alive crumbled, and the will to seek revenge, the will to keep living, vanished.
I wanted to give up.
I wanted to abandon the revenge against Seojin, the reason I was still alive.
With no reason left to live in this hell after abandoning the revenge that had given my life meaning...
But a single ray of bright light shone upon me.
"What are you so excited about? You look like you're about to burst."
The man with black hair who attacked me, thinking I was a member of Noah.
The man who said Persona had business with me.
And the man who had pierced the heart of Persona, whom I had poured everything into yet could not even scratch.
This man seemed unbearably bright.
.
.
.
.
.
"Cough...! You... what is your real identity?"
Persona, pierced through the heart by Vellis, spat blood from her mouth and asked Cheonseong.
Highest.
Even if Cheonghee had lost his mind in rage, the man who had easily suppressed the Highest villain Persona by crushing her heart like a child's toy was only twenty years old.
Even as a non-combat ability user.
One of the strongest among Noah's elite villains.
If this story spread, no one would believe it and the entire world would erupt in chaos, yet Cheonseong thought nothing of it.
"Drop the act that you're seriously hit. It's gross."
Cheonseong furrowed his brow and said to Persona, who was spitting blood and asking him.
"What~ You're so boring. Usually when you pierce a Highest villain's heart, you're supposed to be happy, right?"
At that, Persona, who had been pale and spitting blood just moments ago, pouted and complained to Cheonseong, "Tch, why are you so boring? But I guess it's because you know my strength. Sigh. And it's not like I killed you or anything you like."
At those words, Persona's eyes widened, then she clutched her stomach and burst into laughter unlike before, genuinely amused.
"Wow~! You already knew that much? You turn out to be way more fun than you look!"
Cheonseong, watching the real joy in Persona's laughter, completely erased the annoyed expression from his face and spoke in a steady, eerie voice that was neither high nor low, as if it came from someone else's throat, to Persona who kept laughing.
"Hitting on me or harassing Cheonghee and poking at me is not your problem."
"Eh? Why are you suddenly mentioning Serien—."
Persona tilted her head in confusion at the mention of Serien. Cheonseong's finger pointed behind her, where Cheonghee was barely conscious, struggling to keep her eyes on them.
"If you touch my precious people, I will make you suffer the result you fear most. So if I'm going to talk, get rid of those brats right now."
"Umm~ I have no idea what you're saying~!"
"......"
"Who are you?"
Persona looked bewildered. Cheonseong whispered something in her ear. Persona's laughter vanished like a lie, the atmosphere shifted, and the killing intent of the Highest villain was aimed straight at Cheonseong.
"Do not mistake my body for being stronger than you."
Cheonseong released his own killing intent. Unexpectedly thick and powerful, they clashed in a standoff. Time passed with no end in sight. Persona paused, then eventually withdrew first.
"...I'll get out of here."
Persona had been the one to show mercy first.
"Only once. Take your trash and disappear."
"I understand. But... the promise will definitely be kept."
After confirming the other party with his senses, Cheonseong told Persona to leave. Persona glared at him coldly for a moment, then said she would keep the promise and vanished from the spot.
After Persona disappeared, Cheonseong walked over to the fallen Cheonghee and looked down at her.
"Forget what you saw just now."
Ssshh.
Along with Cheonseong's words, a repulsive aura of demonic energy enveloped Cheonghee.
"....Why... why did you just let Persona go.."
The mana in Cheonghee's body reacted violently against the demonic aura, pulling her back to consciousness. She looked up at Cheonseong with difficulty and asked.
She had witnessed the killing intent just moments ago, yet ignored his words and instead asked back. Cheonseong said nothing and raised his foot, stomping hard on the back of her hand.
"Ack!!"
Cheonghee's hand, with almost no physical reinforcement, was easily crushed under Cheonseong's foot. Bones shattered.
"Cheonghee. What you should say is not that. Say you will forget what you saw. That's all."
Since the act had already been exposed, Cheonseong spoke coldly, leaving Cheonghee with no choice.
But even though she was exposed with killing intent flying everywhere, Cheonghee did not back down at all and said again.
"Say... it. How... did you... send... Persona away."
Honestly, she wanted to stop. She wanted to stop right now. She was going crazy.
The alarm from her instincts screamed. It screamed from the inside of her head all the way through her entire body.
Muscles contracted in terror, as if about to crush bones right then.
Yet she did not want to give up.
Was her mind broken by the fierce killing intent? She could not stop.
No, she had no choice.
Because the man before her was at the same time a messenger of death to her and the only light—hope.
"Tsk. The Persona from just now was not the real one. She was a clone created by her power. So killing me was pointless. Persona will not die."
Cheonseong read the unyielding resolve in Cheonghee's eyes and clicked his tongue, explaining that the Persona he faced was a clone.
"If you already know, forget what you saw. Do not spread it."
"I... don't... want to."
"Haah.... Hey, Cheonghee."
Even though he had explained out of annoyance, Cheonghee answered uncooperatively again. Cheonseong scowled and stomped down with his foot toward her arm instead of her hand.
"This is not a request. It is a warning. If you do not want to die, keep your mouth shut and live quietly."
"I... can't... do... that."
Even though he poured out even stronger killing intent and demonic energy, Cheonghee's expression did not fade at all. Instead, it grew stronger as she spoke to Cheonseong.
Eventually, Cheonseong's killing intent, having reached its limit, exploded outward.
"Hey. Do you think I'm joking?"
Whoosh—!
A barrier that concealed sound and appearance unfolded, hiding both Cheonghee and Cheonseong from view.
"You have no choice. Even if you did, it would be one of two things: die right now, or swear you will never tell anyone what you saw."
Cheonseong had become dull after living with Yuna, Hana, and Beatrice, but even after the years had dulled his sword, it remained a sword.
Through daily life-or-death battles, he had reached transcendence and slain Apatini in the end. Even his dulled killing intent was fierce enough to stop the heart of any ordinary person who simply witnessed his sincere killing intent.
The killing intent alone could kill people. With demonic energy mixed in, it slammed into Cheonghee frontally, dominating the surrounding space.
Her heart felt like it would stop.
It was the kind of killing intent she had never experienced, could never experience, and tears threatened to fall like a child's.
Her existence felt like an ant compared to the man before her. The fear and helplessness she had suffered until now felt like a joke.
Her bones and muscles froze with cold, as if her entire insides had been iced over.
Tremble... tremble... tremble...
Had her body ever trembled this much? Even when she had been struck directly by lightning from the brain-shock technique, it had not been this bad.
Yet now, without even receiving an attack, her entire body trembled more violently than when she had been shocked by lightning.
Her body, her instinct, her mana, her heart, her lungs, her muscles—every part of her body trembled from the fear of the killing intent before her, in pain.
"If you know, swear right now—"
But because of that, she could not stop.
Even though she felt she would die any second, even though she felt she would lose her mind, there was a reason she could not give up.
Because of that, she looked up at the man whose eyes were clouded by killing intent and could not see properly and said.
"Kill... me."
"What?"
"If... you're going to... kill me... then just do it."
She wanted him to do it if he could.
It was not said without thought.
She had the conviction to bet her life on the fact that the man before her would not kill her. It was not certain, but it was enough to bet everything on right now.
"Do you think my words are a joke?"
"You... you... can't... kill me?"
"...."
Cheonghee smiled with a hint of mockery. Cheonseong could not speak. She was right. He could kill her, but he could not do it right now.
He wanted to kill her on the spot, but in case of any emergency, he could not.
"What do you want?"
Eventually, Cheonseong withdrew his killing intent and demonic energy and asked Cheonghee what she wanted. Cheonghee, freed from the demonic energy and killing intent, panted heavily.
It had worked. His bet on her life—his final gamble—had succeeded.
"Help me... make it possible for me to... kill Persona... haah... kill her."
"You seem to be mistaken. I cannot beat Persona. This time she was a clone, and something else acted, so I won."
"No! You... you want me to kill her...!"
Cheonghee strongly denied Cheonseong's words that he could not kill Persona and continued.
"You will definitely become stronger than Persona... so make me strong enough to beat her... that is what I want."
Not that she wanted him to kill her, but that she wanted Cheonseong to make her strong enough to believe the uncertain feeling that she would surpass Persona, Cheonseong hesitated for a moment, knelt, matched her gaze, and said.
"Very well. But swear. You will never, in any way, tell anyone what you saw today. You will obey my commands without fail and will never betray me."
Crack.
Blue flames bloomed, connecting Cheonghee and Cheonseong.
It felt as if everything between them had been placed on a scale. Cheonghee had never seen this before, but the sensation of the blue flames linking them told her what it was.
The Soul Oath.
The highest-level binding contract guaranteed by causality, the axis upon which the world rests. Breaking the contract would instantly destroy the soul of the violator.
It was also a magic forbidden in every country, as both parties would have their souls erased if causality judged the contract broken.
But Cheonseong had been able to use the Soul Oath thanks to Beatrice, who had explained it to him, saying he must prepare for any emergency. He had used it on the contract with Cheonghee right now.
It was an overwhelmingly one-sided contract that was practically a slave contract, with unfair conditions for Cheonghee and an equivalent to handing over her own life to Cheonseong.
Yet Cheonghee's answer remained the same.
"I swear. But until I kill Persona, do not use any command to kill me."
"I swear."
Whoosh—!
Blue flames blazed, absorbed into their bodies, wrapping around hearts and souls.
The contract had been completed.
Now she was, in every way, a slave who could neither betray the man before her nor refuse his commands.
But it did not matter.
No matter how much she tried alone, she could not reach Persona. If she had to become stronger by any means, she would.
If she had to make a contract with the devil to do so, she would make it as many times as necessary.
If she had to become a slave, she would gladly do so if it only meant she could kill Persona with her own hands.
If she could only kill Persona, she would gladly hand over her life for the revenge against Seojin.
Tap.
"This is my contact number. Call me later or leave a message."
When the man's finger touched her forehead, a number lingered in her mind.
The man left, and she was left alone in the ruined amusement park.
"Then... I never apologized..."
Her body lacked strength and could not move.
The traces of the killing intent from just now still gnawed at every corner of her body.
Because of that, it was shocking.
She had looked similar to Yuna, yet she could not even reach the man's toes.
Who was he? What was his real identity that he looked younger than her yet possessed such power, such killing intent, such eyes?
She had become curious about the man beyond the means for revenge.
"Is that man... Cheonseong... going to enter the academy?"
The only thing she could think of was that the man looked young enough to enter the academy.
No, looking at Yuna, it was unlikely. The higher the skill, the harder it was to guess age by appearance.
But if he possessed such ability, he would have been known in the underground or above ground. She had investigated the underground for a long time just to learn a little more about Persona, but she had never heard the name Cheonseong.
It was unlikely to be an alias; he had said the name of Noah's Persona was Cheonseong. The probability of him being an alias was low. For revenge, the target was Persona, but information-wise, Persona was a pillar of Noah.
"Haah... I don't know."
Today's events were still not sorted in her head; her mind was complicated. She could not think of anything more.
She struggled to turn her body and looked up at the sky when she heard footsteps approaching urgently from far away.
"Hurry! No matter what, Cheonghee is in danger...... Cheonghee!? Healer! Come quickly and treat Cheonghee!"
"My god... please endure just a little longer, Miss Cheonghee!"
"Miss Cheonghee! Where is Persona!"
The support force requested from the association arrived. The heroes who had been moving to help Cheonghee discovered her broken arm swollen blue, her chin swollen red, and her clothes in disarray. They were shocked and asked what had happened to Persona.
While receiving treatment, Cheonghee looked toward where Cheonseong had left and gave a faint smile, answering the questions of the guards surrounding her.
"She ran away. In an instant."
"Run? What does that mean..."
"Wow...."
The hero who had been about to ask what Cheonghee meant grew red in the face and fell silent. Other male heroes looking at Cheonghee also blushed silently, stunned into silence.
Cheonghee had always shown a cold, empty smile devoid of anything. But now her smile held warmth and joy. For the first time, the male heroes blushed at the smile she had finally shown of herself.
"Thank you for treating me. But... I'm sorry, but could you report to the association on my behalf? I'm too exhausted from the fight."
"Yes... yes! Leave it to me and go inside!"
"No, you go inside!"
"Leave it to me!"
Seeing them insist on taking her, Cheonghee smiled gratefully and left. Looking at the departing Cheonghee, the male heroes snickered while the female heroes shook their heads in disapproval.
And that day, the fact that Cheonghee, who had stopped Noah's Persona who had terrorized Nuri Island, had risen to the highest rank and the interview where she said she wanted to become a professor at the academy was reported in the news.
