Preemptive Strike, Certain Victory
Preemptive Strike, Certain Victory
"It really is you, Daera... You're not a fake..."
"...I said it was real! Why won't you believe me... Hmph..."
"No, it's just so unbelievable... I can't..."
Daera, who had been pressing her swollen eyes and choking back emotion, welled up with tears.
Atra pulled out a handkerchief and wiped Daera's eyes, then pushed her hair aside to examine her face.
"Really... really..."
Her lips parted hesitantly, but the words didn't form a proper sentence.
Only in that moment of unreality did a brief ugly feeling surface, but soon an overwhelming, unbelievable emotion filled her heart and head.
Emotions welling up again, Atra bit her lip and pulled Daera into a tight embrace. Daera sniffled and buried herself in Atra's arms without resistance.
As she was held in that familiar embrace, the tears she had barely held back welled up again.
"I... I was so miserable... I wanted to die, honestly, but I wanted to see you again so badly..."
There were mountains of things she wanted to say, but she couldn't explain properly. It had been so long, and so much had happened.
She had no idea where to even begin to tell it all.
"Yes, you did well. Truly, you did so well. You endured..."
Even without hearing the full story, Atra simply comforted Daera.
It was a dramatic reunion.
Both had desperately dreamed of this day, yet deep down they had expected it would never come.
But it came.
They were reunited. Though they had thought death had separated them forever, her disciple had returned alive...
"Um, I've been hanging back out of consideration for the mood, but isn't it a bit too cold here for a heartfelt reunion?"
That was when Liana, who had stepped aside to give them space, spoke up.
She glanced around with a bemused expression at the two who were still in much the same state since they'd come back.
There wasn't really anyone around. This was just one of the many, many castle walls. At most, only Liana and Lee Ha-yul's spirit were there.
- Woooosh...!
But this high up, the wind was fierce. Liana clutched her disheveled hair and shrugged.
Thanks to the barrier she'd set up, it wasn't cold enough to freeze to death, but it was definitely not the ideal spot to share old stories right after a dramatic reunion.
"That's true..."
Atra nodded at Liana's words. It was true that the flying hair had become a nuisance.
With that thought, Atra carefully smoothed Daera's hair, blown by the wind.
It was different from the past. Once black, it was now dyed blue, and much longer.
Traces of many rough, hasty cuts were visible, though now it had been tidied up, professionally trimmed.
"...Your hair has grown a lot. Well, it's short considering the time... Did you cut it yourself?"
"Sniff... Yeah. I cut it myself all this time, but my junior disciple cut it for me this time."
"Junior disciple...?"
Atra blinked. A forgotten thought resurfaced.
"My little... no, you mean Lee Ha-yul?"
"Yeah... I met him where I was... Thanks to my junior disciple... Ah, ah! That's right! My junior disciple! He dumped me and went off alone!"
Daera, who had been about to recount her hardships in detail, let out an exclamation at the sudden thought.
- [I'll be right behind you.]
'Right behind me, my ass!'
Getting out of that hell was her wish, but she didn't want to run away alone and leave her junior disciple behind.
But Lee Ha-yul had literally forced her out.
And so Daera was abandoned in the middle of a snowfield.
It was a troubling situation.
She had no idea where she was. She'd lost her smartwatch long ago.
- This area is under a Mobilization Order, Superhuman Daera. There's a frontline not far from here. How about heading there first?
- Ah, yes...
If not for the head of the Calamity Flame Family, she would have had to wander around blindly for a while.
Daera fidgeted and endured an awkward journey with the head of the Calamity Flame Family, Hong Jin-seon.
'He said people would be waiting right when I got out! But it took over a day just to get there!'
And even that took a full day.
Her eyes sharp, Daera looked at Atra and flailed her arms.
"Where is my junior disciple! I really have to give him a piece of my mind! Huh? What kind of manners is it to abandon your senior?!"
"......"
"...Master?"
Daera, who had been grumbling playfully, fell silent.
Atra's expression had noticeably darkened.
Liana, whose large chest was noticeable even at first glance, had also clouded over, and the listless spirits grew dull and sprawled out on the ground.
At the sight, and at the invisible presence of Lee Ha-yul, anxiety suddenly pricked at her mind.
- [I'll be right behind you.]
The voice from that moment. Along with the sound, the memory resurfaced.
Because she'd been transported so quickly, she'd only glimpsed his blurred face, but it had seemed to reflect fear and resolve.
"What about the little one..."
Atra bit her lip and spoke.
"...What?"
Daera's face turned deathly pale.
.
.
.
A temporary healing facility set up at the rearmost rear of the defense line.
Though it was called temporary, it was by no means a shoddy facility.
The treatment room where Lee Ha-yul was admitted was particularly a place where devotion, money, and manpower had been poured in.
A culmination of all sorts of technology, a veritable crystallization of modern medicine.... The fact was, even lying within it, Lee Ha-yul had yet to regain consciousness.
Naturally, the silence that hung over the treatment room was heavy.
"Mm, he's better than yesterday."
"His external injuries have also healed quite a bit. The wounds won't open now even if we remove the bandages."
The silence did not last.
Baek A-rin and Ellia, who were checking Lee Ha-yul's condition from either side of the bed, nodded and delivered good news.
"Phew..."
The silence lightened considerably. Hong Yeon-hwa, who had been holding her breath in anxiety, let out a deep sigh.
"He's... recovering."
It had been over five days since the Reverse Side's rampage, and Lee Ha-yul was still unconscious.
The amount of care poured into him during that time was immeasurable.
Precious medicinal ingredients that money couldn't buy were given to him as casually as if they were nothing.
If you factored in other material and human value, it was impossible to estimate the total cost.
Even with all that, anxiety had been rampant, but since yesterday he'd begun to show steady signs of recovery, and they could finally relax a little.
"...It's true he's recovering, but it's not like the healing has been fully effective."
Lee Ji-yeon, who was seated in a chair by the bed, added a note to the good news.
Hong Yeon-hwa tilted her head.
"What do you mean? The healing isn't working? But he's recovering."
"Yes, he is recovering. But it's not the medicine or healing that's doing it; it's his innate recovery power that's playing a major role."
Lee Ji-yeon looked down at Lee Ha-yul with a complicated expression. The others followed her gaze.
Lee Ha-yul's right hand, wrapped tightly in bandages, was firmly holding Lee Ji-yeon's hand.
- Wriggle, wriggle...
'...Ticklish.'
A ticklish sensation rose from the fidgeting hand. Lee Ji-yeon kept her lips from twitching into a smile.
Lee Ji-yeon practically lived in the healing room, more than anyone else.
It wasn't just personal preference. There were practical reasons, too.
Lee Ha-yul was unconsciously using Taesan, desperately seeking vitality energy.
Lee Ji-yeon was holding Lee Ha-yul's hand to pass her vitality energy over to him.
Of course, part of it was also to soothe Lee Ha-yul, whose complexion turned poor whenever no one held his hand.
"...It really is Taesan."
"Right..."
"......"
The three people, excluding Ellia, exchanged complicated glances.
Baek A-rin had already known that Calamity Flame and Azure Sea coexisted inside Lee Ha-yul.
But she hadn't known that Taesan was mixed in as well.
Lee Ji-yeon's situation was similar. She had been certain that Lee Ha-yul had clearly manifested Calamity Flame, and was nearly certain about Taesan.
But this time, she had witnessed the scene of Taesan's manifestation with her own eyes—and had even seen Azure Sea on top of it.
She had pretended otherwise, but inwardly, Lee Ji-yeon was so shocked her mind had momentarily frozen.
"Mm..."
Hong Yeon-hwa, who had been focused entirely on Lee Ha-yul's survival, also let out a pensive hum as the sensation of Taesan began to cloud her thoughts.
Hong Yeon-hwa had known nothing of Azure Sea or Taesan. That was why, once she finally collected herself, her astonishment was even greater.
"Just what kind of abilities does this kid have...?"
In the end, another deep sigh escaped.
She was well aware that his secrets numbered more than one or two, but she'd never imagined they'd be of this kind.
"...So, what do we do about this?"
It was Baek A-rin who spoke.
With her hand resting gently on Lee Ha-yul's right hand, she looked around the room even as she felt her vitality energy steadily draining from her body.
Under her gaze, Hong Yeon-hwa and Lee Ji-yeon wore complicated expressions.
"...Who knows. Right now, we have no idea what's going on. We haven't even heard the circumstances from him yet..."
"Even without knowing the circumstances, what's been revealed is right in front of us. How many troops witnessed it with their own eyes? It'll be impossible to keep it under wraps."
Unions between members of the Three Great Families were not rare. One could even say such marriages were common.
Naturally, there had been cases where children born from such unions manifested the unique abilities of the Three Great Families.
There was a common thread.
If the parents carried the bloodlines of Calamity Flame and Azure Sea, the child could manifest Calamity Flame and Azure Sea.
However, there had never been a single case where the abilities overlapped.
Cases where manifestors married and their children also manifested the unique abilities of the Three Great Families were never particularly numerous.
The conclusion had already been reached: it was theoretically impossible.
The unique abilities of the Three Great Families mutually promoted one another and repelled each other. Either way, the reaction was extreme.
If such abilities were contained within a single body? They would alternate between mutual promotion and repulsion, triggering a rampage.
For that reason, merging the Three Great Families was practically impossible.
After all, their unique abilities could never be combined anyway.
To be precise, merging held no meaning. Remaining as solid blood allies, as they were now, was far more advantageous.
"But then Ha-yul appeared. Calamity Flame, Azure Sea, Taesan... oh my. He's got all three? And he's perfectly fine? Using them openly without any problems?"
"......"
"A precedent has just been created, hasn't it?"
"Mm... I don't think this is a matter for us to debate right now."
At Lee Ji-yeon's response, delivered while she rolled her eyes, Baek A-rin shrugged.
"Of course, the current family heads and elders exist, but we here are the heirs of the families, aren't we? Ultimately, we're the ones who will make the decisions in the future."
Hong Yeon-hwa was the heir of the Calamity Flame Family.
Baek A-rin was the heir of the Changhae Family.
Lee Ji-yeon was the heir of the Taesan Family.
They didn't hold full authority over their families just yet, but they were the ones who would hold it in the future.
And even right now, it wasn't as if they had no voice.
"...Well, Ha-yul's name has already been registered with the Calamity Flame Family anyway, so he can just stay with our family."
"Right. Last time, Ha-yul said he would help with our family's business. When we have time, we could go together and check on that too."
"Mm... Since he's manifested Taesan as well, having him visit our family later for various confirmations might..."
The words were all heading in slightly separate directions. The three of them stopped speaking and exchanged subtle looks.
"Huh?"
Then it happened.
Ellia, who had been listening quietly to the conversation while monitoring Lee Ha-yul, noticed a change in him instantly.
"Oh, ohh?"
The others sensed the change too.
Lee Ji-yeon, who had been holding Lee Ha-yul's hand, opened her eyes wide, and Hong Yeon-hwa and Baek A-rin, realizing it a beat later, also let their mouths fall open.
Lee Ha-yul was disappearing.
Terrified, they moved to respond—then flinched and stopped as they noticed a strange shift in the atmosphere.
The carefully wrapped bandages loosened, and his clothing grew baggy.
Disappearing? That was the wrong word.
He wasn't disappearing.
As if time was rewinding, his body was growing smaller.
In less than a few minutes, something squirmed beneath the voluminous hospital gown.
Ellia, who had been blinking blankly, cautiously reached out her hand. Just then, something popped up from the collar of the gown.
"Ah."
It was a child.
And at the same time, familiar.
Pure white hair. Dreamy gray eyes that blinked open.
His wounds had vanished completely. His skin was smooth and glossy. Instead of the smell of blood, a faint, distant sweetness began to drift through the air.
It was a younger Lee Ha-yul. For some reason, he was far cuter than before.
"...Sniffle."
It was the moment everyone froze at that shocking sight.
Those gray eyes, which had been looking around, turned teary. His small body shook, and a sniffle leaked from his throat.
An unmistakable warning sign.
"Ah—!"
"W-Waaaaaah...!"
Before anyone could stop it, the crying erupted. The sound of a baby's wail—heartbroken and utterly wronged—echoed through the room.
"Oh, ohh... how do we calm him down...?! Ha-yul? Look here? Huh? Good boy?"
"Wait, Yeon-hwa! You can't hold him like that. Let me see. Support his arm from underneath..."
"He got, smaller...? More importantly, the crying...! Shouldn't we feed him something?!"
"Uhmm... Just a moment. I'll go get something he can eat."
Forgetting the plans they'd intended to carry out once Lee Ha-yul regained consciousness, they all began to fuss frantically, trying to soothe the sobbing Lee Ha-yul.
[Savior Correction System: Pioneering Progress]
[Quest "Demon Realm" achieved]
[A tremendous amount of Points is acquired]
...
[Savior Correction System: Salvation Progress]
[Confirming the results of an act of salvation performed with goodwill]
[A tremendous amount of Points is acquired]
...
[Savior Correction System: Evil Annihilation Progress]
[Confirming the retreat of entity "Tower Master of Purgatory"]
[A large quantity of Points is acquired]
...
["Curse of Beauty's Misfortune" activates]
[Consumed vitality energy restores the physical body]
[...Damaged body is immense]
[Complete restoration impossible]
[Body is being reduced]
...
[Tower Master of Harmonization manifests Authority "Harmonization"]
[Harmonizing the Savior's physical body]
[A large quantity of Points is consumed]
...
[Body is being restructured]