Mere Dust
After quarreling with the summoner, Belzar circled around to look at Seha. His gaze traveled up and down, as if appraising some curious specimen.
"Hmm."
Then he tilted his head quizzically.
"I really don't get it. Why is my love hanging around with something like this?"
He plopped down next to Seha on the bench, crossing his legs with casual ease, like they were old acquaintances.
"Well, my love's always been unpredictable like that."
Seha froze. He knew he should run, but any sudden move might provoke an unpredictable reaction.
"Relax. I'm not here to kill you."
Belzar chuckled mischievously.
"Just curious. About what kind of bug my love's keeping company with."
Seha swallowed hard. His heart pounded wildly.
Belzar, utterly indifferent to Seha's tension, leaned back against the bench and started swinging his legs.
"You live with my love, right?"
"……."
"No need to deny it. I saw you getting out of the same car yesterday."
A chill ran down Seha's spine. How long has he been watching?
"It's wild. My love, living under one roof with a human."
Belzar gazed up at the sky as he spoke.
"Unthinkable in hell. Any demon who gets close to her comes back with just their head left—upper demons, lower ones, doesn't matter."
He giggled.
"But you've still got your head attached. Why's that?"
"……Because of the summoning contract."
Seha finally spoke, his voice trembling.
"Dahong's my summoned beast. That's why she's with me."
Belzar blinked.
Then.
"Ahaha!"
Belzar burst out laughing, clutching his stomach.
"Ahahaha! A summoning contract! He says it's a summoning contract!"
The boy laughed for a good while, even tearing up.
"You serious about that?"
His red eyes fixed on Seha.
"Contracts are only possible between equals. Think an elephant and an ant could make one?"
"……."
"My love could rip something like that to shreds like paper if she wanted. You know that, right?"
Seha knew. Dahong wasn't bound by the contract.
"She's not by your side because of any contract."
Belzar held up a finger.
"She stays because it doesn't matter if she does. Not because you've done anything for her—because you're not even worth the effort."
"……."
Seha's fists clenched tight.
He wanted to argue, but the words wouldn't come.
Belzar smirked in satisfaction.
"No one worries about the bugs underfoot when taking a quick break. That's you."
"……That's not true."
Seha lifted his head.
"Dahong's not with me just because she doesn't care."
"Oh? Then what is it?"
Belzar tilted his head, intrigued.
"Got any proof?"
"……."
Seha bit his lip.
Proof. He wasn't sure if it counted as proof.
But if this archdemon was right, there was one thing that didn't add up.
"If she didn't care, she could've left."
"Huh?"
"If I really was just some worthless bug not worth her attention."
Seha met Belzar's gaze.
"Then why's she still here?"
Belzar stopped swinging his legs.
"Someone like Dahong could go anywhere. You said she could tear up the contract, right? With that kind of power, she could live alone or find another human."
"……."
"But she hasn't. She's by my side."
Belzar didn't respond.
Seha's heart felt like it might burst. He was terrified.
But his mouth kept moving.
"Maybe like you say, I'm just a bug. Weak, clueless. Maybe I can't do anything for her. But Dahong's here. By my side."
Belzar stared at Seha. The amusement had faded from his red eyes.
But only for a moment.
"What an interesting bug."
Belzar resumed swinging his legs.
"Yeah, you're right. That's why I came—to figure out why she hasn't left."
"……."
"But here's the thing."
Belzar spoke slowly.
"It's not because you're special."
"……."
"She just hasn't found a reason to leave yet. Things are convenient right now. Not because of you—the situation's just comfy. Once a reason comes up, she'll go without a second thought. Think you could say the same then?"
Seha had no reply.
Belzar grinned wickedly.
Then he hopped off the bench and looked down at Seha.
"One more thing."
"……."
"Hmm… You've lived what, ten years plus a bit? Not great with human ages."
"…I'm seventeen."
"Seventeen."
Belzar repeated it like it was some amusing number.
"My love's lived thousands of years."
"……."
"Before you were born—before your parents, or their ancient ancestors—she was already ancient."
The wind blew, tousling their hair.
"You'll live what, seventy? Eighty? Then you'll grow old and croak."
Belzar turned away with a satisfied smile.
"My love will still be around then. Long after you're dead. Living her days like nothing happened."
"……."
Seha's fists trembled.
"You're dust. A speck brushing past in the moment of her life."
Seha could barely breathe. His vision darkened.
He'd forgotten to breathe without realizing it.
Belzar hummed a tune, clearly pleased with Seha's reaction.
"Hah!"
Suddenly, Seha gasped in a deep breath.
"…And what does that make you?"
"……?"
"You're worse than dust."
Belzar's leisurely stroll halted abruptly.
"What'd you say?"
"You called me dust."
Seha glared up at him. His voice cracked, his hands shook, but his eyes were steady.
"Right now, by Dahong's side—it's not you. It's me."
"……."
"You've never stood by her side. You've always been chasing from behind, harassing her. Know what she calls you? A clingy pest who won't take no for an answer. She hates you."
Belzar's smile slowly faded.
"Hmm."
"A-And stop that."
"What?"
"Calling her 'my love' over and over."
Seha's fists shook violently. They were clenched so hard his knuckles were white.
"Her name's Dahong."
"……."
"Not 'my love.' Yoo Dahong. The name I gave her. And she said she likes it."
The mirth vanished from Belzar's face.
Dangerous.
Even as the thought flashed through his mind, Seha pressed on.
"Dahong drinks coffee in the morning. Black."
"…."
"She loves watching TV. News, movies, dramas, even infomercials. She zones out on anything."
"……."
"At night, she likes staring at the city lights from the balcony. When the moon rises, she stands there forever."
"………."
"Some mornings, I make her fried eggs. Two—one for her, one for me."
Belzar's eyes grew icily cold.
Seha didn't back down.
"I know all that. Because we live together every day."
"……."
"You don't. Not after centuries of chasing her."
"……."
Seha stood up, gritting his teeth and glaring at Belzar.
They stood in silence for a long moment.
The wind blew.
"Heh."
Belzar broke the silence first. He slowly ran a hand through his hair.
"You're getting on my nerves."
"……!"
Oh no, I went too far…!
Seha realized his mistake too late.
Belzar slowly raised his hand.
"I was gonna let you live out of pity, but…."
Dahong…!
Seha sensed the end and squeezed his eyes shut.
At that instant—
Slash!
Belzar's arm was severed clean off in a chunk.
Thud.
A pale white forearm hit the grass.
"……."
Belzar stared down at his severed arm. White holy fire burned at the stump.
He gazed at it expressionlessly.
Clack. Clack.
The sound of heels approached.
Seha turned his head. It was Seoyeun.
Shirt and slacks—her usual class attire.
But her eyes were different. Not the weary kindness of before, but cold and sunken.
Behind her, three summoned beasts: a great angel with a spear, a golem wreathed in green flames, a white eagle.
"Who gave you permission to touch my student?"
Her voice was ice.
Belzar looked at Seoyeun, then back at his arm's stump.
"Holy fire."
His tone was appraising.
"Not bad."
Then—
Wooong—.
Mana pulsed from the academy building. The emergency barrier had activated.
Several presences rushed in quickly.
Scree!
The eagle cried out, casting a massive shadow.
A female professor leaped down from it, drawing her sword.
The gryphon landed behind her with a mighty flap.
To the left, a spirit knight shrouded in prismatic aura appeared, greatsword raised as if ready to charge.
To the right, a professor with a mid-rank angel—three heads—unfurled a magic circle to block the escape.
Surrounded.
In an instant.
Seoyeun raised her hand.
"Capture him."
A curt order.
Everyone moved at once.
The great angel thrust its spear at Belzar. Holy fire-wreathed light cleaved the air.
The gryphon lunged from behind.
The sword professor unleashed a slash.
The spirit knight swung its greatsword from the left, tracing an arc of rainbow aura.
The mid-rank angel's scales shifted, unleashing chains of light that targeted Belzar's limbs.
The golem raised both fists.
Boom!
Earth and dust erupted.
"Got him!?"
The smoke cleared. The golem's fist was buried in the ground. The light chains gripped empty air.
"Up high!"
Seoyeun shouted.
Belzar floated in midair.
The eagle streaked in with a silver flash.
Belzar seized its neck with his remaining hand.
Screech!
The eagle shrieked.
Immediately, a prismatic storm engulfed Belzar's position—the spirit knight's slash.
The eagle flapped away, scattering feathers.
Belzar landed far off.
His red eyes locked precisely on Seha.
"I'll remember you."
A low voice.
Devoid of playfulness—pure ice.
"Bug."
Belzar's body dissolved into inky black-red liquid.
Seoyeun yelled.
"Block it!"
The great angel charged spear-first.
The mid-rank angel's golden chains lashed out.
Holy fire burned part of the smoke, chains pierced the liquid.
But most had already seeped into the ground and vanished.
"……How, with the barrier up?"
"Could be a trick."
The professors stayed vigilant.
Seoyeun knelt by the slumped Seha.
"Yoo Seha."
Her cold eyes softened slightly.
"You okay?"
"……."
Seha tried to nod, but his neck wouldn't move. His legs had no strength.
The words he'd thrown at Belzar felt like a dream.
Did I really say that? To an archdemon?
He'd nearly died. For real.
After a few deep breaths, Seha answered in a shaky voice.
"……I'm fine."
Seoyeun patted his shoulder.
"You held your own well."
"……."
Seoyeun stood and began issuing orders to the professors: reinforce the barrier, confirm student evacuations, deploy detection hunters, and so on.
Seha sat on the ground, staring up at the sky.
Blue skies.
The same as before.
Somewhere in an alley far from the academy.
Liquid bubbled up from the ground, reforming into the boy.
Holy fire still burned at the stump of his left arm, severed by Seoyeun. It wouldn't regenerate.
"Lord Belzar. Your arm…."
Eloise approached.
"I know."
Belzar's reply was curt. No trace of his usual playfulness.
Eloise fell silent.
Belzar pressed his right hand to the burning stump. White holy fire was engulfed in black-red flames, then extinguished.
Moments later, his arm regrew.
"Who'd have thought a human wielding holy fire."
Belzar muttered.
Eloise asked cautiously.
"……Did things not go as planned?"
"No."
Belzar answered.
"I saw everything I wanted."
"Then why…."
"Bad mood."
Eloise went quiet.
As Belzar walked out of the alley, he said,
"Eloise."
"Yes."
"That bug. What's his name?"
Eloise recalled for a moment.
"Yoo Seha. First-year at the academy."
"Yoo Seha."
Belzar repeated it. The boy's eyes he'd glimpsed beside her had been veil-piercingly cold.