Those Who Walk on Ashes (6)
The magical beast stared at Seongjin.
What filled its eyes was hatred.
It was not passionate or heated. It had settled into something cold and deep. Yet its weight was crushing all the same.
It was a bone-chillingly cold emotion directed at a single target—staring, confronting, radiating killing intent, and seeking the complete annihilation of its very existence.
The beast slowly steadied its breathing and fixed Seongjin with a gaze brimming with hatred.
...This is dangerous.
Seongjin’s instincts screamed a warning the moment he met that stare.
Rumble rumble rumble.
In the distance, the crater of Kargas Volcano belched thick black smoke. The maw that had just vomited flames and boulders now lay deceptively quiet.
A sudden eruption. Anyone could see it was unnatural.
Even accounting for the time spent in battle, the administrative bureau’s calculations had placed the eruption more than seven hours away.
Yet the volcano had exploded as if mocking that prediction.
...Was the roar the trigger?
If Seongjin’s memory served, the volcano had detonated immediately after the beast’s roar.
The bureau had monitored this mountain for generations. The chance of such a massive error was slim. The exact timing might vary slightly, but a discrepancy this large should have been impossible.
It made far more sense to assume the ability belonged to the beast—or to the original monster it had once been.
Seongjin let out a hollow laugh. Erupting a volcano with nothing but a roar. Just how absurd was its power?
He glanced behind him. His comrades stood dazed, staring at the distant crater.
Ju Won carried the unconscious Ryan on his back. Beside him, Beowulf supported a bloodied Ricardo. Blood still seeped from the hero’s wounds despite attempts to staunch it; he wouldn’t last much longer.
Chiron stood nearby, leaning on his trident like a staff.
...Everyone’s in rough shape.
If the beast attacked again now, they would all die.
He made his decision.
“Ju Won. Activate the portal device.”
Beowulf’s eyes bulged. “Professor Han! What the hell are you saying? You want us to leave that monster like this and run? The volcano’s erupting! If we don’t finish it here, the entire autonomy will—”
“Look at the condition of your own bodies before you speak.”
Seongjin cut him off, voice dry.
“Do you honestly think you can fight that thing right now? We’d be wiped out in seconds.”
“...Ugh.”
Beowulf groaned. His emotions had flared because it was his homeland, but even he knew their limits. Had the situation been reversed and this not his home, he would have made the same call.
He had no rebuttal.
“Besides, even if we’re fine for the moment, the eruption’s aftermath could reach us any second. Whether the beast moves first or the disaster does, staying here means total annihilation. Return to headquarters alive. That’s the priority.”
His tone left no room for argument. Ju Won bit his lip.
He wanted to deny it, but he couldn’t. Seongjin was right. Continuing the fight in this state was impossible.
“......Understood. I will activate it.”
Ju Won pulled out the portal generator the bureau had provided. A mechanical whine filled the air as space rippled and a glowing circle tore open.
The moment the portal stabilized, its surface shimmered. Someone forced their way through.
“Professor! Everyone!”
It was Alice.
As prearranged, she had crossed over the instant the portal opened to observe the high-level magical beast. She scanned the devastated battlefield.
“Are you all safe?! I heard the volcano erupted. The beast—did you defeat the high-level one?”
“Miss Alice, now is not the time,” Ju Won said. “We must retreat.”
“Retreat? What do you mean—ah!”
Whoosh!
The instant Alice emerged, something went wrong.
Flames erupted from her wrist. She screamed and clutched it.
These were the fire spirits she had absorbed into her pattern on the first night of the Inferno operation, near Agni Village. The ones that had been quietly slumbering inside her suddenly burst forth all at once.
Clusters of flame scattered in every direction, emitting bizarre sounds.
[Woong… Crackle. Pop, crackle.]
It sounded like howling. Or like desperate cries calling someone’s name—an eerie, resonant wail.
“No! Come back, all of you!”
Alice tried to unsummon them in a panic.
But nothing happened.
“Huh…? Why?”
When she looked at the spirits, the dog-shaped flame shook its head. Alice’s eyes widened.
They were refusing her summons. By their own will.
“Why are you doing this…?”
She had never seen them disobey before. As she stood there, completely at a loss, Seongjin spoke.
“Just let them go. You too, Alice. They originally lived here. Looks like they don’t want to leave.”
“But what about you, Professor? You’re not coming?”
Though the bio-carapace helmet hid his face, something in his posture suggested he was smiling.
“Seems that thing has locked onto me. I’m not the type to walk away from a fight that comes knocking. So……”
Seongjin turned, fixing his gaze on the high-level magical beast staring him down.
“I’ll answer it.”
Two blade tentacles burst from his back with a wet shlick.
Beowulf and Ju Won watched, then slowly nodded. Supporting the wounded, they moved toward the portal.
“...Come back alive, Professor Han.”
“Lord Han Seongjin. I pray for your fortune. Everyone, we must retreat now.”
“Cough! But we can’t just leave the beast—”
“Lord Ricardo, save your strength! You’re losing too much blood.”
Ju Won ignored Ricardo’s weak protests, carrying Ryan through the portal.
“What are you doing?! You’re really leaving the professor behind by himself?! That’s too cruel!”
Alice finally understood and began to struggle. Beowulf sighed, then simply hoisted her entire body off the ground.
“Kyaa! Put me down! Let go!”
She pounded on his back, but the veteran warrior didn’t even flinch. He tucked her under one arm like a piece of luggage.
“Sorry, kid. But this is the only way to lighten his load.”
Just before vanishing beyond the portal, Beowulf shouted one last time toward Seongjin’s back.
“Come back alive, Professor Han! We still have to go eat gukbap!”
Seongjin raised one hand silently in farewell.
As the last of his comrades disappeared, a notification floated before his eyes.
[Frenzy Lv. 2] has ended.
......
The frenzy had ended.
The godlike power that had flooded his body shrank away in an instant. The softened pill still left him stronger than normal, but the explosive might granted by frenzy was once again sealed for the next twenty-four hours.
He exhaled slowly and looked down.
The small fire spirits had gathered in a huddle, staring up at him with earnest eyes.
“You’re not leaving?”
It was his first time making eye contact with spirits, yet he understood immediately.
They were pleading.
Receiving a request from spirits. Never thought I’d see the day.
“Fine. But I won’t be able to look after you during the fight. Stay back.”
He waved them away. The spirits obediently retreated from the battlefield.
Then he turned to the only one still standing beside him—the one who had not yet entered the portal.
“You should go too. You’ll only get in the way. Looks like something’s broken.”
“......”
Chiron’s condition was far from normal. He had been slammed into a wall twice by the beast. Though he stood straight, the faint tremor in his stance gave him away. This was no minor injury.
He knew better than anyone that he would only be a burden.
“...Why?”
After a long silence, Chiron finally spoke. He didn’t need to elaborate. Seongjin understood the question.
Why stay?
There wasn’t a single neat answer.
The first reason that came to mind was the core. The organ inside a high-level magical beast could be used to create a detector and make future demon-body level-ups far easier. That had been his goal in coming to this autonomy.
Another reason was simpler: he didn’t want to run.
Logically, retreating was the correct choice. But his body rejected the idea. The fighting spirit engraved in his soul boiled at the sight of the beast staring him down.
This instinctive urge to test himself against the strong was, in many ways, the reason he kept living.
There were other reasons too—the eyes of the bureau staff, the expectations of his comrades, the silent plea in the fire spirits’ gazes. He didn’t want to disappoint any of them.
His original objective, the burning desire for battle, the sense of responsibility, and more—all of it mixed together into something complicated.
“I don’t know. I just feel like it.”
“......”
Chiron stayed quiet for a moment, then the corner of his mouth lifted ever so slightly.
“You don’t know. Haha.”
It was the first time Seongjin had ever seen him smile. The perpetually dissatisfied prince with his frowning brows actually knew how to laugh.
Chiron muttered to himself, stowed his trident, and dragged his battered body forward. He placed a hand on Seongjin’s shoulder.
Seongjin narrowed his eyes in confusion.
Chiron closed his own eyes and drew a deep breath. When he spoke, the words carried a resonance far too deep to belong to any human tongue.
"Oh sea, soul of the churning waves."
"I, in the name of Chironius Diego Atlantis, prince of the undersea kingdom of Atlantis, beseech you."
⟨ GRANT HIM STRENGTH ⟩
"Give this one the power to stand against a mighty foe!"
—Splash!
From the scorching air heated by the volcano’s massive eruption, streams of miraculously blue water surged upward. Dozens of clear currents, as if wrung from the very atmosphere, rushed toward Seongjin’s body.
Shwooooosh!
The water enveloped him, swirling violently. Then, like a crashing wave, overwhelming energy pierced through his entire being.
“......!”
Seongjin clenched his fists at the overwhelming sensation. It felt as if cold water had shot straight through his spine. His strength surged. Every single physical stat rose dramatically. The gap left by the ended frenzy vanished completely.
His senses grew crystal clear. His nerves burned past their limits.
It was an incredible enhancement.
Having finished the incantation, Chiron exhaled roughly and removed his hand from Seongjin’s shoulder.
“...I never imagined the day would come when I would bestow this blessing on another.”
He turned and walked toward the flickering portal. At its threshold, he looked back one last time.
Seongjin slid open the faceplate of his helmet, letting the cool air touch his skin. He flashed Chiron a refreshing grin.
“Thanks, Chiron. I’ll take your secret to the grave. So don’t worry and go.”
“...Hmph.”
Chiron snorted and threw himself through the portal. With a mechanical hum, the circle vanished from the air.
Now only two remained.
Seongjin closed the faceplate again. Crimson eyes burned with fierce light.
He looked at the beast.
The beast that had been staring at him raised one hand.
Crack. Crunch. Snap.
A horrific sound echoed through the space. The beast gripped the cross embedded in its neck and ripped it free.
Crash!
The cross flew into the distance.
Thud.
Black blood gushed violently from the open wound. Despite an injury that should have left it writhing on the ground, the beast ignored the pain. It looked at Seongjin with nothing but pure hatred.
Seongjin met that gaze head-on.
“...I don’t know why you’re so angry, but.”
He focused the bio-carapace into both hands. With a scraping sound, the plates gathered and formed two lines.
Two daggers now rested in his grip.
“Let’s have a proper fight.”
He planted the two tentacles into the ground and began walking toward the beast.
When had it started?
When had he begun busying himself with such trivial matters?
He—no, it—delved into its mind and traced memories back across centuries.
Hundreds of years ago. Back when Pyros Autonomy was still called a kingdom. A time when castles of earth and stone stood instead of concrete skyscrapers.
In the Kargas volcanic region, there had been a monster.
[Graaaaah!]
It reigned as king. Everything bowed beneath its feet. Neither kin nor rival could match it.
All within the volcanic zone belonged to it. Those who resisted were killed or broken.
That reign of overwhelming violence had seemed eternal.
Until that day.
One day, an intruder stepped into the heart of its domain.
[Hmm. This place overflows with spiritual energy. It would make an excellent site for a new spiritual land.]
The monster charged to tear the intruder apart. But the moment it saw her shape, it felt an indescribable sense of alienation.
She was not a living being. She was a woman-shaped entity of pure burning essence, red flames wreathing her entire form. An immense, mysterious magical wave rose from her like heat haze.
The monster roared loud enough to split the earth and swung a foreleg that could pulverize mountains.
—Kwaaaaang!
Only the ground shattered. The woman had not moved. She simply looked at it with quiet, burning eyes and gave a single light wave of her hand.
In that instant, the monster experienced something entirely new. Its massive body slammed into the ground.
Crack. Pain. Humiliation. And at the same time, a burning desire took root.
[Grrrrr……]
It rose again, baring fangs. But the woman had already vanished.
From that day on, the monster followed her.
It did not fully understand why. Perhaps it was a competitive urge to defeat her.
The woman never killed it. If it crossed the line, she would lightly suppress it and leave it on the ground, treating it like an annoying pest and moving on.
Thus began a strange companionship. The monster watched her every move, waiting for an opening. The woman occasionally swatted it away.
She was an exceedingly peculiar being.
She would often gaze down at the small, weak creatures nesting near the volcano—beings the humans called themselves. To the monster they were nothing but fleas, easily crushed by a single step.
Yet the woman was endlessly kind to them. She would adjust the volcano’s heat so they would not freeze. She would calm the earth’s rage to protect their homes.
It made no sense. Why would one so powerful care for something so weak?
Nor did her eccentricities end there.
Whenever her body brimmed with the volcano’s energy, she would tear off pieces of herself and create new life—small flames that took the shape of wolves or tiny birds.
Humans called them spirits.
These pure beings born of her power never showed hostility toward the monster. They fearlessly played between its massive legs and danced around its breath, drawn to its heat.
The woman, too, never looked at it with killing intent or contempt. Her gaze was deep and serene, like nature watching a mischievous child.
Decades, then centuries passed.
Little by little, an alien warmth seeped into the monster’s heart—the heart that had known only blood and domination.
It grew used to the warmth of the spirits rubbing against it. It began to understand the gentle look in the woman’s eyes when she watched the humans.
Eventually she no longer treated its constant challenges as mere annoyance. Her hand that pinned it down grew gentler. Sometimes she would sit beside its bleeding form and share her warmth.
They never exchanged words, yet within the fierce flames of the volcano the two understood each other’s hearts better than anyone.
Time continued to flow.
The monster no longer trampled humans. Because they were what she loved, it left them to live quietly in the corners of its domain.
Those were the most peaceful, strangely warm days of its long life.
But all flames must eventually die. So too did that peace come to an end.
One day the woman’s demeanor grew heavy.
The monster stood beside her. She looked at it, and it looked back.
It instinctively sensed that something enormous was coming.
After a long silence she spoke, her voice resonating directly into its mind.
[I will soon go to fight a great war alongside my close friends. A battlefield where the fate of the world hangs in the balance. Perhaps… I may never return.]
Her voice sounded resolute, yet sad.
[Therefore, my friend, I implore you.]
She turned and stared straight into its eyes.
[While I am gone, protect this land. Protect the weak lives I loved, and my children who have not yet bloomed. Will you do this for me?]
She stroked its massive face. At the same time, something hot flowed into its body—a piece of her own power, pulsing within its chest.
[Of course, the choice is yours. Do it if you wish. Ignore it if you do not.]
[Grrrr…]
The monster snorted in displeasure and twisted its massive frame. Protecting humans was a shackle. To it they were still insignificant.
Yet it lowered its head in acceptance. It simply did not want to see her sad.
She smiled brilliantly, as if every flame in the world had bloomed at once.
[Thank you. I will definitely… return.]
With those final words she became a pillar of flame and soared into the sky. The monster lay on the rock and watched the red trail disappear for a long, long time.
That was the beginning of its promise.
She never returned.
Decades became centuries. The land’s name changed. Machines called technology covered the world. Still, not a trace of her presence remained.
Yet the monster kept its vow. It used the power she had given it to calm the volcano’s occasional outbursts. Once it even saved a human, and remembered how that human had stared at its back.
Time passed. Many things happened, but none were particularly memorable. They simply flowed by.
There had been one great event—the day the fate of this land had been wagered.
After that, its memories went blank.
The monster opened its eyes to a stinging shock. Its vision was filled with black—its own blood, pouring from countless wounds.
Its head throbbed. Its entire body burned with pain. Its neck in particular ached with an unpleasant foreign sensation.
It did not know how much time had passed since its last memory, but it understood one thing clearly.
The one who had thrown that punch was standing right in front of it.
It roared with rage.
[■■■■■■■■■■■————!!!!!!!!]
Then it lifted its head and looked forward.
A strange being clad in black armor and a crown of horns.
It knew that shape. It could never forget.
The being that had trampled the land she loved and slaughtered its people.
One day it had appeared without warning and destroyed everything. Those who followed it had called it the Demon King.
Where it passed, only ash and annihilation remained.
Now, after years wandering in darkness, the battlefield before it looked exactly the same—overturned earth, raining lava, and the eerily menacing black-carapace monster standing before it.
You…
It could not speak. Only a boiling metallic sound escaped its throat.
But its soul screamed with hatred powerful enough to tear the world apart.
You have set foot on this land again.
To violate once more the world she loved.
Its eyes burned with hatred—an emotion that would never fade.
It would never forgive. This time, it would erase the being before it from existence forever.
That was the last promise it had made with her, and the sole reason it had awakened.
It ripped the annoying object from its neck and threw it aside. Ignoring the black fluid pouring from its wounds, it fully rose.
Now only one target remained in its eyes.
***
The black-armored monster advanced.
Daggers rested in both hands. Menacing blade tentacles trailed from its back and stabbed into the ground, anchoring it.
The magical beast—no, the monster that had become a magical beast—stood up.
To honor the promise made with the woman.
To protect this land and the lives within it.
Black ash fell from the sky, blanketing everything. Lava splashed across its body, sizzling on contact.
It raised its remaining horn.
A thick wind blew between them.
Boom! The volcano erupted again. Black clouds surged into the sky.
[......]
“......”
The last Reolebarge.
Master of the volcanic zone, guardian deity, or king.
Awakened after ten years of slumber, it now faced the armored monster.
