The Forbidden Fit and the Birth of the Sea Guardian
Damn. How the hell did I end up in this situation?
I stared at the taboo item right in front of me, lost in the dilemma of a lifetime.
"Maybe the size doesn't fit? Aw, well. My granddaughter does have a pretty nice figure, after all."
I barely held back from flipping off the old perv through the wall as he slipped in his sleazy innuendo, and instead picked up the item in question.
I didn't know exactly how to put it on. But after inspecting it from every angle, I had a rough idea.
All that was left was to actually wear it.
Gulp.
More tense than when I'd faced off against Xiao Lin, I slipped it on.
It's a bit tight.
As expected of Phoenix. Old man Park's granddaughter was pretty stacked, but Phoenix was a cut above.
"Ughhh...."
I twisted and turned in front of the full-length mirror in the corner of the room.
The pale sky-blue hue matched my azure locks perfectly, clearly covering the important bits.
"Never hated being a visual novel protag more than today. For real."
It felt like gazing at a stunning work of art, but this body was mine.
Sure, I'd spent a night with Phoenix in the game, but this was my first time seeing her naked.
Gotta throw something on top, quick.
If I kept staring like this, I might end up with a nosebleed.
I flung open the box old man Park had left behind.
The one intact outfit left from what his granddaughter had bequeathed before leaving.
"...Lord have mercy."
I lifted the neatly folded priestess garb from the box and squeezed my eyes shut.
* * *
"Thanks for everything, sir."
The girl bowed her head to old man Park.
"Aw, shucks. Made me feel alive again in this godforsaken world. Heh heh. Next time, stick with your crew—don't get separated. Wouldn't want some sea beast eatin' ya. Got it?"
"I'll be careful."
The old man had no clue that even if Seahaemugi ascended to dragonhood, it wouldn't touch the girl's toes.
But every time he saw her, she reminded him of his granddaughter who'd lost her father. He couldn't just leave her be—not even her subtle attempts to look after him while pretending otherwise.
"Um, if it's okay, I could escort you to the terminal—"
"I said I'm fine."
The old man waved her off with a grimace.
"Where would I go, leavin' the place I was born? Gotta die here if I die. And besides..."
He turned his gaze to the sea before continuing.
"When my girl comes back, someone's gotta be here to greet her, right? An empty house would break her heart. If I wanna get some filial piety from that undutiful daughter of mine, this old codger's gotta wait right here. Till she returns someday."
"What if a monster attacks?"
"Then it's my day to return to the sea. Ah, but monsters don't understand words, do they? Wish I could at least ask 'em to scatter my ashes there."
"...As long as this world doesn't end, you'll never die to a monster, sir."
Her voice rang with certainty.
The old man found her absurd reassurances oddly amusing.
"Heh, must be the clothes. You look just like a girl your age."
"Urgh."
The girl shot him a prim glare.
"I'm twenty-five...."
"Hah, whatever. Now git. Head straight to New Seoul, register as a hero, and no dawdlin'."
"Yes, sir. I'll take your advice."
She bowed deeply, then turned on her heel.
"Stay healthy and live long. Until your son returns."
"Yeah, yeah.... Fine. I won't paint your walls with shit, but I'll live long enough to smack that boy upside the head when he shows. Happy?"
The old man shook his head in exasperation and shuffled inside.
The girl—Phoenix—wiped the smile from her face and leaped lightly in place.
...Boom.
Mana-reinforced legs sent her soaring over at least ten buildings.
Slipping into what was now little more than a haunted ruin, Phoenix brushed dust off a table and placed a monster core in the center.
Let's see. According to the lore...
Mana wrapped around the core like threads.
Crackle. Crackle.
Reacting to the flames' mana, the bead-like core floated into the air. The fire spread outward, gradually shaping into a humanoid form.
Here goes.
Recalling the original scene where the cadres performed "Kaijin creation," I—Phoenix—took a deep breath.
"The sun commands it. Cast off the fetters of a lowly beast and be reborn as a being of intellect. I bless your birth. I claim your death. Phoenix of the Azure Flame."
I gently placed my hand over the core and infused a bit more mana.
The blazing flames hardened into scales that enveloped its body like armor.
Plus a veil for good measure.
I tore off a scrap of the scarf-like veil and fed it into the core.
The kaijin's body glowed, taking on a turquoise hue.
I stretched my cramping fingers and mentally dredged up some half-baked line, chanting a few more verses.
"You who tread two worlds. Become the azure flame spear that illuminates and guards this realm."
Mana devoured through the core was one thing, but the mental strain was no joke.
No idea what the original cadres were thinking, broadcasting this ritual worldwide. No shame?
I pulled my hand away and snapped my fingers.
"Manifest, my servant."
The chant's end. A fierce mana storm whipped through the house.
......From the Azure Flame, your born servant offers greetings. Master.
The monster—no, the kaijinSeahaemugi—spoke in a synthesized electronic tone and dropped to one knee.
"Uh. Yeah. You can speak normally, y'know."
"If that is my master's will."
Its mask-like muzzle parted, revealing a deep, resonant voice.
Kaijin. Not yet appeared in this era, but in the original timeline, these villains slowly emerged.
Unlike heroes turned villains through corruption, kaijin existed solely to slaughter humanity and destroy Earth.
Of course, that was because the spirits posing as evil organization cadres had made them that way.
I placed a hand on Seahaemugi's shoulder.
"What is the reason for your birth?"
"To serve as your vassal, Master, and protect the world at your command."
This is why the incantation's wording matters in kaijin creation.
I patted its shoulder and asked again.
"Protect the world from what?"
"...Uh, um. The sea? From humans dumping trash?"
Its fishy origins kept its worldview sea-bound.
I clutched my throbbing head and stepped back from Seahaemugi.
No time to teach it everything. Shouldn't have made it.
An S-rank monster should have human-level intellect, which was a shame.
But as my first kaijin, scrapping it felt wasteful. And it had a role to play.
Just bullsh*t an excuse.
I pointed at the ground.
"To guard the world from threats yet to come. Cultivate your power here on Yeongjongdo. Become this island's lord, if you like."
"You mean...?"
"South of Yeongjongdo lies Silmido, home to an A-rank monster. Slay it and claim this area. Block any monsters coming from the north. If heroes come to exterminate you, hide and never let them spot you. As for the humans living here..."
"Can I eat them?"
This bastard interrupting me.
I smacked Seahaemugi's head.
"Leave humans alone. Our world includes humanity. Understood?"
"Yes. Got it."
Seahaemugi fiddled with its dented scales, smoothing them out.
"But if humans spot me? You seem to want my existence hidden, Master."
"Won't happen anyway, but never speak to civilians. Just hide. Never get seen by humans. Clear?"
I straightened my wind-tossed clothes and turned.
"What I said is your code of conduct. But your top priority—"
I unfolded the crumpled photo from my top pocket.
It showed the old man, his granddaughter, and a beaming young man.
" "
Seahaemugi stared silently at the photo.
Feigning cool detachment, I pointed to the old man in the picture.
"Is to watch over this old man. Got it? Conquer Yeongjongdo and hunt Silmido's monster while he's asleep."
"Yes. But what's this human to you, Master?"
Seahaemugi's voice cracked.
"I owe him a debt. Can't stay on this island myself, so you're repaying it for me. He's waiting here for his long-lost 'son.'"
With that, I pointed toward the old man's house and strode out of the ruins.
Seahaemugi didn't even see me off, just stared out the window at the old man's place.
"Ah."
The old man, sweeping the yard, spotted me and waved.
I glanced at the ruins, then raised my hand.
"Take care."
That was all I could say.
He probably couldn't hear anyway.
" "
Seahaemugi pressed a hand to the window, waving too.
"This world is full of tragedies."
Everyone knew only flora and fauna turned into monsters.
But sometimes, humans did too.
Like when they swallowed a monster core for whatever reason.
"...If I'd known, I wouldn't have done it."
I clenched the hands that had once burst Seahaemugi with mana and walked along the road.
* * *
The kaijin pondered.
Its master's command: stranger than killing humans or indulging destructive instincts.
Full of bizarre clauses, but at its core: protect that insignificant old man.
The kaijin pondered.
A creator's order was absolute.
Reborn as a kaijin, it carried only the name "Seahaemugi"—a wholly new existence.
Yet suppressing its monstrous bloodlust to guard a human... wasn't bad.
"Aigoo, my back."
Perched on a tree atop a hill overlooking the beach, the kaijin observed the old man's every move.
Drip.
Seawater leaked from its eyes.
Residual from its sea monster days? But I'm born from a core.
The kaijin wiped the endless flow and watched the old man enter his house, baring its teeth.
Grrr.
A wolf-type monster lurking in the mountains slunk toward the village.
The kaijin leaped from the tree, pouncing on the wolf's back.
Crunch!
Its razor fist pierced the wolf's chest.
Sparks of flame flickered from the kaijin's hand.
The monster died without a whimper, and the kaijin yanked out its heart before bounding back to the tree.
"......What the?"
Old man Park wrinkled his nose at the metallic blood scent.
Monsters coming this far now? Tense, he grabbed a rusty rod from the road and crept forward.
"......Holy hell."
A dead wolf monster lay before him, heart ripped out, slowly roasting from the hole.
"That kid's doing?"
His teeth chattered.
If that blue girl had slaughtered the surrounding monsters to protect him before leaving, it spelled big trouble for the old man.
"I went and saved a monster."
Arms crossed, trembling, he retreated inside.
The kaijin silently watched from the tree as other monsters stirred at the roasting stench.
Realizing small fry its master had overlooked remained, it quietly launched into the air.
Yeongjongdo.
The land turned monster colony.
In that tiny island, a new ruler had been born.