When I Can Stand Beside You

"Preposterous."

Cheongyeon stared at Lee Seoha and Hong Yuhwa, his face a portrait of disbelief. The flash from moments before had carried a genuinely chilling power—to any ordinary observer, it would look as though Hong Yuhwa had landed the final, decisive blow.

Decisive it certainly was, though without the power of negation Lee Seoha had left behind, it would have been a heart-stoppingly close thing.

That power is worth studying.

It was the negative energy Lee Seoha had planted that had truly finished the fight, grinding the Minotaur's resistance down to nothing. Giga Flare, the advanced spell Hong Yuhwa had unleashed at the very end, wielded undeniably colossal force—but a Minotaur could have endured it at least once. Not so the single strike that had buried a black sword in the beast's chest on sheer intent alone, seeding the power of negation to gnaw its resistance away from the inside.

"What is your assessment?"

"A dangerous power in its own right. One that can slay demons, but—"

If that power were ever turned upon us, we would find ourselves in quite the predicament as well.

Cheongyeon swallowed the rest of the thought. After all, the reason they were here in the first place was to draw them toward the path of goodwill.

"Emperor, do you remember what I told you some time ago?"

"That you wished to lecture him?"

"I do. And I find myself wanting to observe him in person."

Cheongyeon's gaze settled on Lee Seoha. A longing had welled up inside him to watch the boy from his very side.

"Conceal my identity as you see fit. And if that cannot be managed, then through my disciple at the very least."

"...Do you truly find him that dangerous?"

"I do."

Cheongyeon and the Emperor would see to it that he never joined the demons' ranks. The Transcendents who had witnessed that power would surely feel the same. And yet—if he ever did cross over to the demons' camp, he would become a dagger keener than any other, driven straight into their hearts.

"And if even that fails."

At Cheongyeon's words, Seo Yebin smiled bitterly.

If he went over to the demons' side, he would drive every Transcendent alive to pool their strength and hunt him down at the cost of their very lives. And the ones who would have to do it would be none other than themselves.

"Awake at last, my lord?"

"Seoha, you're awake!"

"...Yeah."

Heukcheon and Yeongcheon greeted me the moment I opened my eyes—and so did the window that Talent Appraisal pulled up before me.

"How long was I out?"

"About sixteen hours now."

"Better than I expected."

I yawned and skimmed through the window. Then I thought:

Hmm... this one's tricky.

In short, if I wanted Hong Yuhwa to grow, I would have to keep beating her and keep prodding her with stimulation.

Manageable enough for now.

But someday the wall would come. The Usurper.

Its maximum rank is Ex, after all. An Ex-rank Usurper? That was a serious pain in the ass. Two heroes—great, truly great ones—had held talents of that rank, though both were long dead now. When I considered the mark those two had left on this world...

Good deal, though. Hong Yuhwa had made it this far on her own, so there was no chance of her defecting to the demons' side. Once the finals were over...

"..."

It was late to be realizing it, but the insult I'd heard right before blacking out came flooding back.

Seoha, you're ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠kind of pathetic, you know that?

The words Hong Yuhwa had thrown at me at the end.

Pathetic. Pathetic.

Ha. Me? Pathetic?

My blood boiled. The word kept ringing in my ears.

Unbelievable. It had only gone that far because I'd stripped its resistance with Defying Heaven energy—did she really think she could have managed that alone?

Not that the kids there had any way of knowing. Defying Heaven was an alien force, nothing like ordinary mana.

People only ever see as much as they know. Hong Yuhwa had only just acquired the Usurper, and she had no special 'eyes' like Kim Seohyun or Erciel, so perhaps it was only natural...

Exactly. She doesn't.

The corner of my mouth curled upward.

"My lord, you look positively wicked."

"Even a wicked look suits you, Seoha!"

Knock knock.

A knock echoed through the room. I swept aside the thoughts surfacing in my head and focused on my senses. Only one presence outside.

A familiar one. Erciel.

"Come in."

Click.

"Hello!"

Erciel walked in, beaming ear to ear.

"Hey."

"Thank goodness, you look perfectly healthy."

"My body's built tough."

The Black God Martial Art was, at its heart, a physique built to surpass its limits—a body that healed most any wound and shattered its own ceilings. I considered the martial techniques of Defying Heaven truly superb as well, but...

The finest parts of the Black God Martial Art were always the body and the eyes.

Even now, that judgment hadn't changed. The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠burns from the Minotaur's Four Flames and my assorted minor injuries were already completely healed.

What an absolutely insane body.

It brought everything under conscious control—the blood vessels, the Defying Heaven energy coursing through them, even the internal organs—and reinforced every last region of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the flesh, down to the parts that were nearly impossible to train. Methods like that inevitably hit a ceiling somewhere, but the Black God Martial body overstepped even that ceiling.

It wasn't for nothing that it had earned a place among the strongest martial lineages on the strength of its eyes and body conditioning alone.

"So what's with the sudden visit?"

"I just had a few things I wanted to talk to you about."

With that, Erciel drew a cloak out of her subspace.

Subspace storage was expensive. That was why I'd received mine from Seo Yebin. But for someone of Erciel's standing, owning one was hardly surprising.

"A cloak?"

"Yes. You remember the reward I promised you before?"

Erciel held out a wooden case and the cloak together.

"It's a cloak that embodies the sum total of our British royal family's magitech engineering. As for its functions—"

"Ah, no need. You can skip that part."

"Come to think of it, your eyes really are remarkable."

Erciel nodded, sounding genuinely disappointed.

I appraised the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠coat with Talent Appraisal (-).

"Not bad at all."

"Right? The functions are one thing, but it's beautiful, too."

That part didn't matter much to me, but it was a gift from Erciel, so I decided to accept it gladly.

"And this?"

"I heard you were badly injured this time. It's a special restorative."

With that, Erciel rose to her feet.

"Anyway, take good care of yourself. Oh, did you hear? Since the finals got suspended, anyone with a low score has to sit a supplementary exam."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Though I can't imagine why, you came in first this time, Seoha."

"...Is that so?"

Now that was odd. I knew perfectly well I was first, but someone with eyes capable of seeing that...

Seo Yebin, perhaps.

Or possibly Cheongyeon. He took a keen interest in the students of Korea Hero Academy and never stinted on advice of any kind.

And here I thought I'd lose the top spot this time. What a relief.

I examined the internal elixir Erciel had given me. By and large it was a pill effective against internal injuries—no stat bonuses, though.

Not bad.

I could brew elixirs better than this, but they demanded far too much labor and eye-wateringly expensive ingredients. The school supplied materials free of charge, yet plenty of costly components couldn't be sourced even there—so in effect, I'd just saved myself a fortune.

A short while after Erciel left, another presence made itself known.

Seo Gayeon. She stood motionless outside my door.

"...Come in."

Click. Seo Gayeon opened the door and stepped inside, her face clouded over.

"You could tell?"

"I felt your presence outside."

"I see."

Seo Gayeon murmured quietly.

"Want to sit here?"

"Yeah."

She settled in beside me.

"What's with the gloomy face?"

"...I feel like I haven't been much help to you."

"Don't worry about it. Even if it gets rough later on, I intend to work you to the bone."

"Yeah. I'd like that."

Seo Gayeon nodded earnestly.

...So it really had been weighing on her that much.

"What about the others?"

"Everyone's busy running around. The finals are suspended. Oh, and everyone who helped take down the Minotaur got their points counted after all."

"...Sorry."

"Don't be. As long as you're safe, nothing else matters."

Her points wouldn't be counted at all—I'd told her not to use her Starlight Mana. Part of me wondered if I'd been overcautious, but her power was singular enough that a little discretion never hurt.

"If there's ever anything you want to ask of me, tell me later. If it's within my power, I'll grant it."

"It's fine. That mana never would have bloomed without you anyway."

"I just feel bad, that's all."

"Then..."

Seo Gayeon deliberated for a moment before opening her mouth again.

"Someday."

Not now, of course.

She looked at me. The imagery rippling out from her mana, the words she had buried deep in her heart, reached me with startling clarity.

"When I can be of help to you."

Because I'm still weak. Because I can't stand at your side yet.

The feeling was so vivid, so fierce.

"If you're ever in danger."

Someday, when I've grown strong.

Her voice carried something close to resolve.

"Help me become someone who can help you when that day comes."

When that day comes, I want to be able to stand beside you.

"..."

She said it all calmly, without drama.

All I could do was nod back, a dazed look on my face.