The One Who Faces the Demon

The One Who Faces the Demon.

A trait that allowed a contract so long as a holy relic—or something deeply connected to one—was nearby.

It didn't even have to be fully mine. Proximity alone was enough, so the window appeared at once.

And I had no reason to refuse.

Accept.

The moment I sent the request, the golden light I'd seen before should have wrapped around me…

It didn't.

I'd accepted, yet the scenery didn't change at all. I'd expected something dazzling to unfold the way it had last time—but absolutely nothing happened.

And the reason for that soon appeared before my eyes.

Neither acceptance nor rejection—a temporary hold. A thoroughly ambiguous result.

What is this?

Why put it on hold like that? While I was turning it over in my mind, another window rose not long after.

This time I was the one who had to accept.

Should I take this?

I was still weighing it when I finally glanced to the side.

The interior of the church looked as though time itself had stopped. Seong Harim—and everyone else—stood completely motionless. Outside the windows, though, people moved about perfectly normally.

A bizarre situation. And I knew exactly what it was.

Sacred Time.

Put simply, it was an act by which a Constellation exerted influence inside a domain that worshipped them—and only within a narrow, confined space at that. A power usable solely in places where their existence was fully acknowledged and revered. At minimum, you needed to be on Kamael's level to wield it: a rare technique exclusive to Constellations of that caliber. And of course, it consumed an enormous price.

So why use it now?

"No—first things first. I'll just accept."

There had to be a reason she'd gone so far as to spend that kind of power. With that thought, I allowed Kamael to send me a divine message.

The instant I accepted, a woman's voice reached me.

Could I even call it "hearing"? This wasn't something that entered through the ears. It was a kind of knowledge pouring straight into my mind. This was a Constellation's divine message—the speech of beings whose very rank defied description. It had been depicted any number of times in the original novel, but experiencing it firsthand was a different sensation entirely. The voice was so clear it raised goosebumps, almost unnerving in its vividness.

She must have held back her power.

Ordinarily, any ordinary person who heard a Constellation's divine message wouldn't walk away in one piece. That included me. And yet right now I felt completely at ease.

The voice itself was mature, but the way she spoke was not.

"Yes. I came here to contract with you."

I didn't speak her true name. In the human world, merely uttering the name of a lofty, exalted Constellation could be enough to seriously offend them. Well… calling the true name of the Usurper of Black Flames had been something I'd done because it needed that kind of impact. Looking back, even that had been an impulsive act—pure insanity, honestly.

Where should I start? I considered it for a moment, then decided the best approach was still the direct one.

"Will you form a contract with me, The One Who Faces the Demon?"

Kamael's reply was just as ambiguous ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as before. She was willing to contract, but not at this very moment. Neither a yes nor a no. It was so different from any answer I'd expected that I pressed her.

"May I ask why?"

If it was something I could fix right away, better to deal with it now. The answer might even help with future Constellation contracts.

"Yes. I've contracted with Lady Gucheon Hyeonnyeo."

That made sense. Until I'd gained this trait, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠multiple contracts were something no one had ever heard of. As I'd said before, a multi-contract meant splitting a precious, one-of-a-kind contractor. Constellations were never going to welcome that.

Michael—the head of all angels, the greatest servant of Him, an Archangel. If it was Michael's order, even Kamael had no choice but to obey. Human greed… Michael's suspicion was a fair one.

"Very well. Then what is the content of this trial?"

The instant the words left her, a long window unfurled before my eyes.

The trial was high risk, high return in the purest sense. The rewards included both a Constellation contract and a skill to go with it—but the content of the trial was just as demanding.

"A demon-type…?"

In this world, there existed spirit beasts that transcended the rank of ordinary animals. Their species were wildly varied, and their grades were strictly stratified. The Century Azure Serpent I'd slain before had been a Fairy Tale-grade monster-type spirit beast. And among those spirit beasts, one lineage was regarded as especially powerful.

Demon-types.

She wanted me to take one of them down.

That's a lot harder than I expected.

Rank didn't matter, she said—but without that clause, I couldn't even have attempted the trial. Even at the same Fairy Tale grade, a demon-type and a monster-type were worlds apart in sheer caliber. With my current strength, killing one was impossible. Bringing Seong Harim or anyone else along wouldn't change that.

A few candidates did come to mind—but every one of them needed specific preparations. Nothing I could handle right this second. Taking one down was going to require a fair amount of groundwork.

"Then help me out?"

With those final words the divine message cut off, and the power that had gripped the church's interior vanished. Time began to flow again.

"Shall we start from here?"

"Hm? Ah… yeah. Go ahead and explain."

Seong Harim, who had been frozen behind me, started moving again and resumed guiding me. I'd already achieved my purpose, so I wasn't particularly interested—but I quietly listened to her explanations all the same. I could already picture the face she'd make if I simply turned around and left.

…I am interested, actually.

But that wasn't something a friend would do.

Thinking that, I walked the broad halls of the building alongside Seong Harim.

After touring the circle with Seong Harim, I headed for the Academy's training grounds.

A facility any Academy student could use—and one of such high quality that a great many of them did.

From now on, I'll come every day.

The Nine Skies Sage Sword was a sword-style skill where proficiency mattered. And the best way to raise proficiency was consistency. Until I hit a certain level, I planned to show up daily.

Still, I didn't think it would take that long. The founder of the sword style was my own backing star. Unless I was spectacularly talentless, my proficiency should climb steadily.

I claimed a corner of the training grounds and was just lifting the First Heaven Sword when another voice—one that had already grown quite familiar—reached me.

"Spar."

The sparring demon.

No—Lee Seah.

"Spar. You in?"

"…How long have you been here?"

"An hour."

Lee Seah's body was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠already soaked with sweat, as if she'd been training for quite a while. Anyone looking at her would think, Yeah, she's been working hard. And in that state, she was demanding a spar from me.

"Aren't you tired?"

"I am."

"…Then why spar with me?"

"Sparring. Important."

With that, she leveled her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sword at me.

A blade with a black edge. Its most striking feature was its sheer size—a greatsword nearly as tall as Lee Seah herself. An oversized greatsword. You had to wonder how she was even holding the thing. The surprising part was that she showed no sign it was heavy at all.

What is that?

I'd never seen the weapon in the original novel. But the design itself was familiar. The protagonist's weapon was essentially that greatsword scaled down.

"You in?"

She already had her sword out—had I ever really had a choice? Well, fine by me. I'd wanted to fight Lee Seah at least once and see what level she was at.

"Let's do it. I wanted a spar anyway."

With those words, I drew my own sword.