The Curse of the Black Dragon

I've changed Esili's name to Cynthia. Apologies for the confusion.

"What a mess this has turned into," said the man, eyes on the newspaper.

The world was buzzing — and no wonder, for the clash between the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠finest students of the world's two most famous academies had ended far too easily. A single strike. That was all it had taken; the duel between the two students was over in one stroke.

The man folded the newspaper and propped his legs up on the desk.

"The plan?"

"Going smoothly. So smoothly it feels like we're getting away with murder."

"Of course it is. The goddess of beginnings and fate — the very deity the Pantheon of the Hundred Gods least wanted to face — is on our side."

The god of beginnings and fate. A deity who blessed whatever was new — and that deity had attached itself to their side, bestowing its blessing upon America's "Terror." As a result, they had obtained the fate they desired.

"And the Seven Evils?"

"Large-scale support is impossible. At the very most, Heung-ak and Jan-ak can step in."

"That'll be plenty. Heung-ak, who can stand toe to toe with Paewang, and Jan-ak, who rivals Cheongyeon."

The man turned his gaze upward.

Overhead, an island hung in the sky. The Sky Island. Atop it stood a temple of pure white — the Pantheon of the Hundred Gods, the dwelling place of a hundred deities. Every god that had reigned over America for the past fifty years had gathered there.

The man smiled faintly. Because at last, he could repay those damned gods in kind.

"And the Nazi bastards?"

"They're ready. The Nazis hold plenty of grudges against America, after all."

"True. Every time those freaks stirred up some incident, the priests of the Pantheon flew into a frenzy to shut it down."

The man closed his eyes.

"Tomorrow's the team battle, yes?"

"Yeah."

"A perfect day for a festival, then. And every festival needs its offerings."

If the futures of Divine Academy and Korea Hero Academy made fine offerings, his masters would be more than satisfied — the otherworldly beings he served.

The Heavenly Demon.

The being who had once dyed the very heavens demonic. A Transcendent who dominated an era — and a Transcendent who reigned over only a single era at that.

For one who attained the enlightenment of transcendence, shed the shell of their species, and engraved their own law upon the universe, lifespan meant nothing. If they so willed it, they could live for centuries — a thousand years, even.

Which was why the Heavenly Demon's life was riddled with questions. Why had she flourished for only a single era? Why had she never annihilated the orthodox sects? Why had she left the hidden ones of the demonic path alive?

Scholars spun many tales. But nothing was ever proven. They could only speculate that some ominous power — one that seemed to deny everything she possessed — had made it impossible for her life to continue.

I thought much the same. Hadn't the power of Yeokcheon shattered even the vessel that was the Heavenly Demon...?

"...I'd rather not interpret any further than this."

'Why?'

"It's nothing but praise for the Heavenly Demon and musings on why she abandoned herself. To put it simply, she went completely mad partway through."

'I see.'

So that was it.

I looked around. Stone walls surrounded me, reminiscent of some ancient structure. This was the place where the Heavenly Demon's legacy had slumbered. Seong Hanbyeol had used her talent to read the memories out of a demonkin — and the site those memories pointed to was here. Since it happened to be nearby, I'd come to see whether anything remained. 'Well, we got something out of it, at least.'

I turned my gaze. At the center of the cave stood a statue of a woman who could only be the Heavenly Demon. Her face was deeply familiar to me. 'Heukcheon.' The statue resembled her — no, it was identical.

I resolved to search the area more thoroughly. It was the Heavenly Demon's legacy, after all — who knew what else might be here. 'Honestly, it wouldn't hand over just one pair of handcuffs.' I activated even the Sacred Eye and combed the surroundings, but found nothing of note. Just as I was about to give up, I sensed a faint trace of Yeokcheon energy.

Truly faint — so faint I would never have noticed it without my Concept Stat. A lingering echo, you could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠call it; something had dwelled here and then drifted away elsewhere. Its source lay deep inside the cave.

"Lord Seoha?"

'One moment.'

I headed for the wall where the echo lingered and rapped my knuckles against it. A hollow sound answered. I gathered my Yeokcheon energy and released it.

KWA-BOOM!

The wall crumbled, revealing a passage beyond. The lingering echo of Yeokcheon energy grew thicker with every step.

"So there was a place like this hidden here."

"No kidding."

Yeongcheon and I went inside. Past the passage, we came upon something like an altar, and at its center sat a single ink-black box, all alone. From within it, the Yeokcheon energy pulsed with real force.

"To think she'd leave a place like this behind. No, wait — it looks more like this got mixed in when the dimensions overlapped?"

'Is that so?'

I approached the box. It was simply an elegant chest, nothing more. I laid my hand on it and absorbed the Yeokcheon energy within.

Hwooooooong!

The Black Core lodged in my heart began to churn. Swelling enormously, it ravenously gobbled down the Yeokcheon energy. '...This is cutting it close.' It had exceeded what the core could absorb — it was flooding in faster than the Black Core could handle.

Past 50, both the density and the volume itself seemed to swell. That was the nature of Concept Stats — a single point in one was worth at least three of any special stat.

Glub. I scattered the Yeokcheon energy threatening to overflow from the Black Core throughout the meridians of my whole body. The method preserved my total reserves, but it risked clashing with Mystery — the power I was destined to gain in the future. 'I'll have to grow it as fast as I can, then.' Heukcheon would surely know a way. Once the Black Core had settled, I turned my attention to the notification window.

'The Knot of Absorption?' I had a rough idea of the principle. The power I'd gained at 30 had been Reclamation — with it, I could instantly reclaim my Yeokcheon energy mid-fight, and my combat endurance had soared as a result. The Knot of Absorption, I could roughly guess. But Yeokcheon energy was hard enough to even lay eyes on... and absorption, of all things? The skill felt ambiguous.

As I was mulling that over, I sensed Yeokcheon energy. 'One plus two?' Talk about an absolute steal.

By the time the thought finished forming, the energy had molded itself into a single shape — a dragon. A black dragon wrought of Yeokcheon energy stood before me, its golden eyes fixed on me.

"You are..."

"Lord Seoha, get away, now!"

Yeongcheon cried out in alarm. At the same instant, the dragon's eyes flashed.

"So you're the Heavenly Demon's heir — the kind of ingrate I could devour whole and still not be sated!"

The creature spat the words with murderous venom, bared its jaws, and hurled itself at me. Suddenly I recalled what Yeongcheon and Heukcheon had told me — that the Heavenly Demon had split her power into twenty-five parts, that beings guarded each fragment, and that they might not look kindly on me.

I raised Heukcheon. With the exquisite subtlety of the Soul-Seizing Sword Art, I deflected the dragon's charge at a slant.

'...?' The dragon shrank in size. The problem was that a colossal amount of Yeokcheon energy had just poured into the Black Core. I hastily expelled it.

"Lord Seoha?"

"What in the world...?"

A brief lull fell. I spoke to Yeongcheon through our link. 'Yeongcheon. You can absorb Yeokcheon energy, can't you?'

"Huh? Yes. I mean, I can."

'Then try eating this.'

I shoved the Yeokcheon energy toward her.

"Mmph — w-wait, this is far too dense, and there's way too much of it—!"

The Knot of Absorption. I had a feel for how to use it now. I tuned my body with the Black God's Dance. The muscles in my legs swelled, and in a single instant I leapt.

KA-BOOM!

I slid Heukcheon into Baekhong and reached out. A slick, film-like membrane met my palm. I activated the Knot of Absorption.

The black ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dragon's body shrank dramatically.

"No! This is impossible! A mere whelp barely at the middle realm, wielding Yeokcheon energy better than the Heavenly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Demon herself?!"

The dragon was aghast. I fed the surplus Yeokcheon energy into Heukcheon. Vwooom! The energy whirled around the Heukcheon Demonic Sword, and black force clung to the blade, holding its edge unnaturally vivid.

Shff. An unpleasant sensation crawled through my hand as the black dragon's body split in two. It was more anticlimactic than I'd expected. The power I'd sensed from it shouldn't have amounted to only this.

"...I curse you. At your most crucial hour, you shall bear the most fatal of fates."

A spine-chilling voice. The rank it must have piled up in life was immense — the mere utterance of those words carried a crushing weight. A black sphere took shape in the air.

'....' "That thing is dangerous!" Yeongcheon shrieked. I knew. That thing was genuinely dangerous. My Sword Ghost instincts were screaming warnings, as if every threat before this had been nothing at all.

"...Sorry to disappoint, but did you forget I'm immune to curses?"

"Kheheh. Heir of the Heavenly Demon. Still green, I see. I know you fear this thing even now. And a power that sacrifices rank borders on Mystery. It is mere words for now — but one day, it will seize you by the ankle."

The black dragon addressed me through its dying will, its telepathic presence rippling with something like glee. The Yeokcheon energy wasn't taking proper effect. I summoned the Black Wings, and they wrapped around me like a barrier.

"Heheh. Go on, then — struggle all you like."

Ignoring the taunt, I closed my eyes.

My sight was unnecessary now. I honed my senses to a razor's edge, and the spiritual energies around me came into focus.

I fine-tuned the spiritual energies, dissected the Knot of Absorption down to its finest thread, and studied the curse through the Sacred Eye.

I saw it — the curse woven from rank. The eye that beheld the bright dawn laid bare its flow. But it wasn't enough. More. Something else had to be added here. Unfathomable Talent flared to its utmost, and I felt something mysterious stir — a power unlike anything I'd known before, one that resembled Mystery itself.

'So this is rank.' A wall rose before me, so high I couldn't even dream of looking up at it. Something imposed by force, by some alien will. Something that had sought, with malice, to deface my very existence. Just as the black dragon had said — this was a power that would meddle with my fate and strike with the utmost lethality at the most desperate of moments. Like a deadly venom, it would tighten around my life.

'This really won't be easy.' Wearing a bitter smile, I tuned the Yeokcheon energy with Midas's Hand. I pushed my thoughts to their utmost limit; my head whirled. I bit down hard on my lip and forced my mind to focus. 'Not bad.' Forcing a grin, I worked the Knot of Absorption. Think of it in reverse — I was going to absorb this rank, right here and now.

Vwooom! The Black Core in my heart roiled. Running the Knot of Absorption, I guided the curse toward my heart. If this went wrong, it would hit exactly as the dragon had promised — at the most critical moment, with the most devastating effect. I might even die.

And at the same time, a strange intuition stirred. A gamer's instinct? Or the feel I'd developed playing Epic World? I didn't know what to call it. Something far more fundamental than any of that whispered to me.

That I could do this.