The Sword God’s Homecoming
“You’re back?”
My father lifted his head from the complete wreck of a house.
Explosion marks. Broken furniture.
“What happened to the place…?”
“Haha. Something came up.”
When he saw Yehwa, Father gave an awkward laugh.
“Ah, Yehwa too. I’ve already heard the story from your parents. You’ll just be staying with Jayeon for today and tomorrow.”
He could at least wipe the soot off his face.
“Yes, sir!”
While Yehwa ran inside, I leaned close to Father and whispered.
“Did a robber break in or something?”
“Not exactly… You know that incident causing all this chaos lately, right?”
If he meant the recent incident, there was only one thing it could be.
“The kidnapping case?”
Recently, there’d been a series of child kidnappings causing a huge stir.
The number of cases wasn’t that high, but the children involved were the problem.
Only children certified as top-tier talents from each clan were being targeted in these insane kidnappings.
Some people believed it was the work of the Demon God Cult, but nothing had been confirmed.
Though honestly, I think that guess is probably right.
“But what does that have to do with the house turning into a disaster zone?”
“I used my ability to try to find the missing children.”
My father’s ability was Memory Playback.
An A-plus ranked trait that let him play back memories related to information, whether it involved a place or a person, as long as he had even a fragment of data to go on.
With that unusual ability, Father had become a brigadier general at the young age of forty.
“Why does that matter? What does it have to do with the house ending up like this? Ah.”
His ability?
“Wow. This is turning into a real headache. They’d already prepared for me perfectly, too.”
So there really were all sorts of ridiculous abilities in this world.
What the hell kind of mechanism was that?
Was it even possible?
“That’s possible?”
Father let out a sigh and shook his head.
“That’s what I’m going to have to find out from now on. Your mother’s gone to headquarters to investigate it.”
So that was why only Father had been home.
“Human beings are supposed to be joining forces, not slaughtering one another. And yet here we are….”
“You can say that again. The world’s gone to hell… And the time prophesied by Lady Stella isn’t far off now either….”
The time when the Demon Kings returned was less than ten years away.
Which was also the same as my awakening period.
Well, of course it was.
I’d pushed it back right to the limit and ended up at about that point.
Probably a year off, give or take.
“What are they even planning to do by kidnapping children?”
“Who knows. We’re guessing they’re trying to bring the Demon King’s revival forward.”
As if that were even possible….
Actually, it was. There was one way.
“Damn it.”
They were really going to do that?
Those bastards were definitely devils wearing human skin.
“You’ve thought of something, haven’t you? Tell me. If it makes sense, I’ll push it hard from my end.”
Ever since I’d helped him a few times in the past, my father had trusted me completely.
“I’m not certain, but… there’s a high chance it’s a human sacrifice.”
“Human sacrifice? How could that possibly—? You mean they’re going to use a few kids and somehow break the Sword God’s power?”
“It’s not about breaking the Sword God’s power.”
It wasn’t about breaking my power.
Come to think of it, I didn’t really have much of a power to break in the first place.
I’d only cut fate itself.
Which meant that right now, there wasn’t even any power left for me to speak of.
Since fate had been severed, they were trying to restore it through children blessed with talent.
Utter madness.
Fucking lunatics.
“That’s possible?”
It was.
Because they didn’t have only the Demon King on their side.
Of course, I couldn’t tell my father that.
Not yet.
So I glossed over it for now.
“It is. I know that in the past, the Demon King of Greed used this method to call another Demon King.”
I’d seen it with my own eyes, so I knew for sure.
Even now, just thinking about it made my temper spike.
That damned Greed. Burn through every possibility just to summon the Six?
“W-what? No, wait—where in the world did you learn something like that?”
What else? Experience.
I couldn’t exactly tell him the truth, so I used one of the cards I’d gotten quite a bit of mileage out of in my past life.
Ah, Lord, please help me commit a righteous lie again today.
Sorry, Mom.
“I read about it in one of Lady Stella’s books. I got curious about demons and fate after that, so I read all the papers and books I could find on the subject.”
“Heh… I knew you read a lot, but I didn’t realize you’d gone that far. Thanks. Now that I’ve heard this, I can’t just sit still.”
“You’re going right away?”
“It’s too late today, so I’ll have to go first thing in the morning. This is going to turn into a huge mess. Human sacrifice… Those filthy cult bastards.”
Father narrowed his eyes and clenched his fist.
He squeezed so hard that even his knuckles trembled.
Rage.
As a father with a son of his own, he could never forgive the people who kidnapped children and offered them up as sacrifices.
“If you need more help, let me know. I’ll help whenever you need it.”
“Thanks. You really are my son.”
It was the perfect moment for some warm father-son bonding.
It almost was.
“Jayeon…! Why aren’t you coming?”
Yehwa’s high voice rang through the house.
“Go on. Your girlfriend’s waiting.”
“She’s not my girlfriend. Yehwa’s a kid.”
“You’re a kid too.”
Fair enough.
I made my way through the ruined house toward Yehwa.
“What is it?”
“I’m bored!”
“Want to train?”
“Ugh… I just finished, and I came home!”
“So what? I used to train every day even after coming home.”
Time was limited, talent was nonexistent, and all that was left was effort.
This was the kind of life that couldn’t be followed with half-hearted resolve.
If the fate of humanity weren’t resting in my hands, I wouldn’t be like this either.
“More importantly! Let’s do this.”
Chess?
“I was called the chess god in my younger days, you know.”
“What are you even talking about?”
There was such a time, child.
“Come on in. If you win, I’ll grant you one wish.”
I’d show her the meaning of crushing defeat.
“Really?”
Yehwa slowly licked her lips and watched me.
Her eyes were those of a predator watching prey.
What is this?
An inexplicable unease wrapped around me, and I found out why before long.
“Ha! Ha! Ha! Why’s the chess god so flustered?”
I’d run straight into a wall.
At some point, every move I tried to make had been blocked.
Utterly helpless.
That was my last move…!
“Check.”
Tap—.
“Checkmate.”
“Huh?”
It was over?
“I am Nietzsche. The chess god is dead.”
Yehwa suddenly started spouting nonsense.
She placed a hand on my shoulder while I stood there dazed, then pulled one corner of her mouth into a grin.
“Not bad, ordinary mortal.”
“Huh?”
What the hell had just happened? No, seriously, why was she so good at this?
Everyone I’d played against before….
Ah.
Everyone I’d played chess with had just been muscle-brained idiots.
What kind of chess game could you expect from guys who spent all day swinging axes on the battlefield…?
Damn it.
“Jayeon.”
Yehwa’s meaningful gaze scanned my entire body.
“What…?”
“Your promise. Don’t forget it.”
Her expression was fierce, like she was warning me to prepare myself if I did.
Was that the face an eleven-year-old could even make?
“Yeah….”
“Hehe. Good.”
That day, I learned something important.
Never make a bet with Yehwa.
And especially not chess. Chess was absolutely forbidden.
***
“Then I’m heading out! Keep an eye on the house, okay? Don’t go outside today, just in case.”
One day should be fine.
“Yes, sir. Take care.”
“Right. Your mom’ll be home tonight, so just hold out until then. And don’t do anything weird with Yehwa.”
Weird things…?
“I’m twelve years old.”
“Ho ho ho, where exactly do you see a twelve-year-old?”
174 centimeters tall, 68 kilograms.
Yeah, I didn’t exactly look like a twelve-year-old.
Do fathers usually say that kind of thing to their sons?
His personality was just… so much like the father I’d had in my previous life.
And the face, too.
Was he reincarnated or something?
No, impossible.
After all, the thing I’d barely managed to achieve in the end was reincarnation.
“Sigh… have a safe trip.”
“Mm-hm.”
The moment mana flowed into the ring on Father’s ring finger—
Whirr—.
A blue gate opened in front of us.
A so-called spatial transfer device. A machine developed independently by Jayeon Academy through a combination of science and supernatural ability.
Officially, they said it wasn’t publicly announced and was only granted to generals and above.
Our house had two of them.
No matter how many times I see this, it’s still amazing.
If something like this had existed during the war, the whole shape of history would have changed.
Tch.
“You’re really going now, Dad?”
“Yes, yes. Now hurry up and go, Brigadier General Kim Seokhyun.”
Don’t look at me like that with that bearded face, please.
When I shooed him away with a wave of my hand, he looked a little dejected and walked toward the gate.
Even then, he kept turning back after every few steps….
Ha….
Is this really okay?
“It’s really only until today.”
I hugged him tightly, and only then did his face brighten.
“Hah-hah, ha-ha-ha! Good! I’ll be back!”
Was he that happy?
Let’s not go outside today.
Better to remove the risk entirely than to stir up trouble by scratching at a wound that didn’t need opening.
“Guess we’ll have to train in the yard today.”
“Whaaaat? I thought we weren’t doing it today.”
No chance.
There was a musician from the twentieth century who once said it best.
“If I don’t practice for a day, I know it. If I don’t practice for two days, my wife knows it. If I don’t practice for three days, the audience knows it.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m saying we need to train.”
At that, Yehwa seemed to think for a moment, rubbing her smooth little chin.
“Then if you don’t train for two days, I’ll know it, won’t I?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Hehe. Something like that.”
Yehwa, Yehwa. Please don’t do that.
I’m not asking because I don’t know.
I’m scared, lady.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing… let’s just train.”
I absolutely could not let her know that I’d caught on.
“I suppose there’s no helping it….”
Yehwa puffed out her lips.
As if that would work!
“Come on, hurry up.”
“Y-yes….”
In the yard, two black wooden swords had been laid out side by side.
“Huh? These are…? Did Father prepare them?”
Who gave you permission to call him Father?
And no, he didn’t.
“I did.”
“But they’re both black? Didn’t there used to be only one?”
“One was the one I used when I was little. The other is the one I’ve been using recently.”
“But what’s this pattern?”
That was the point.
“Here, pour your mana into this.”
“Like this?”
Huuuuung—.
The moment Yehwa’s mana flowed into the hilt of the black wooden sword, the blade was wrapped in light and vanished.
“Wha—!”
A tattoo in the shape of a leaf appeared on the back of her hand.
“How is it?”
“Wow! Waaah!!”
“Pretty cool, right? My mother engraved it for me.”
She engraved it herself?
She’d carved high-grade pocket-space technology using the power of the spirits.
Even in my previous life, there weren’t many people who could pull that off.
Looks like the standard of this world had gone up.
“Yeah! This is amazing. Wait—if it’s like this….”
“You already had your first real battle yesterday. This is a gift from me, to celebrate that.”
“A gift from Jayeon…!”
Seeing how happy she was, I’d clearly given her the right thing.
All right, with the gift-giving ceremony done—
“Shall we start with stamina training?”
“Ugh… yes.”
The moment mana was fed into the black wooden sword and transformed into a tattoo—
Crack—!
The barrier my mother had set around the house shattered.
“What?”
A familiar energy stabbed at the tip of my nose.
No, an energy I’d been familiar with in my previous life.
Damn it, no way!
The instant the barrier broke—
I tore the ring off my finger and threw it to the ground.
A ring with anti-detection magic on it. That would become the clue Father needed to find me.
I’ve already built my insurance.
I was too late to get clear along the route, so I had to get Yehwa out first.
“Hong Yehwa! Run!”
“You—!”
“Just run!”
The moment Yehwa started moving—
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Kyaaah! A-monster!”
A man who looked to be at least two meters tall blocked Yehwa’s path.
His grotesque face had both eyes sewn shut.
His voice sounded like nails scratching across a blackboard. And more than anything—
That sticky, greasy energy.
A Demon God Cultist.
“Damn it, why the hell are you here?”
“Keh heh. The brat’s got quite the mouth, doesn’t he? Since you wouldn’t come to us, we came to you personally.”
Father. Mother. And now Yehwa’s parents were all absent. The fact that they’d shown themselves now meant—
Fuck.
So they’d planned this from the start?
“You were targeting us.”
“Oh? The brat’s sharp. I wonder what kind of face you’ll make when you cry. Kahahaha!”
So they really were Demon God Cultists.
“Crazy bastard.”
There was no way I could win in my current state, but I couldn’t afford to show weakness.
The trembling at Yehwa’s fingertips traveled through her clothes and into me.
I couldn’t let this little kid suffer because of me.
The creature stuck out his tongue like some filthy pervert and licked his lips at the sight of her.
“Kyaha! This is why I can’t give up kidnapping children!”
Crack.
That disgusting bastard was staring at Yehwa through the tiny gap where the stitches parted just a little.
I was going to rip those eyes out, at the very least.
“You’ll die here.”
“Ah, you did seem a little strong. But did you really think I came alone?”
Thud, thud-thud—.
With the sound of pounding feet, three more grotesque figures appeared.
They surrounded me in a diamond formation.
I kicked up another iron sword lying at my feet.
I grabbed it and handed it to Yehwa, then met her eyes.
“Yehwa.”
“Yeah….”
“Can you handle just one of them for me? And don’t take that out.”
The wooden sword was the last line of defense.
I couldn’t let her use it in this situation.
Every part of my plan was focused on this moment.
“I-I can do it. No. I’ll do it.”
The tremor in Yehwa’s hand disappeared.
There was still a faint trace of it left, but not enough to affect a fight.
Good. That was enough.
“Haha! These brats are underestimating us way too much!”
This is my chance.
A chance to exterminate the Demon God Cultists in one sweep.
That old feeling from the days when I’d cut down Demon God Cultists and the higher-ups of the demon race alike without caring which was which.
With that sensation carved back into my mind, I opened my mouth.
“I’ll kill you all.”