A Debt to Repay
“……”
Silence fell.
The abrupt self-introduction hung in the air, met only with quiet. A tense standoff like a battle of wills dragged on until the Sword Saint, finally grasping the context, responded.
[I am Eunseong.]
“I was starting to think I'd been ignored and was wiping away tears, but looks like I won't lose face after all.”
Row paced around Eunseong—now inhabiting Maness's body—with his hands clasped behind his back.
“Necromancy, the root and origin of soul-binding arts.”
His face still brimmed with lingering excitement.
“Even with the relic's help, reaching that level is astonishing.”
Eunseong tracked the opponent with his eyes—a figure devoid of overt hostility but brimming with danger. He focused solely on protecting the man who had soothed his lonely soul in this foreign chamber.
“Ah, have I been talking too much about myself?”
Row completed his circle around them and shrugged playfully.
“I know about you too. A warrior from the East, wandering in search of a worthy sword opponent. A figure forgotten by history.”
The evaluation, unheard for centuries, slowly soaked into Eunseong's mind, stirring buried memories.
“To meet your end alone in this backwater valley—fitting for your reputation, I suppose.”
Hidden Star. A name suited to one who had ascended to the Harmony Realm yet never sought fame.
[Few knew of me even in life, yet you do. Impressive.]
“When you blindly pursue something, you end up peering into the abyss.”
Kaang—
A black thorn shot from the shadowed forest. Eunseong deflected the ambush with a single casual swing.
How peculiar. The strike carried no killing intent.
“So, how's the body feel?”
At the question, Eunseong held his piercing gaze, demanding more details. Soon, a shadow rose behind Row, morphing into a hand that pointed at the young mage.
“That body you've possessed. You've probably circulated the mana to purge the poison, but this guy's venom isn't something to take lightly.”
The shadow hand indicated the cold corpse.
“You might not know since you've reached such heights, but in this world, he was a fairly renowned assassin. Subduing him with mere possession isn't easy.”
Eunseong glanced at the hand—not his own—holding a tree branch. The foe spoke true. The high-level detoxification and aura manifestation demanded inner energy equivalent to a mage's mana, far beyond simple possession.
[Indeed.]
Having experienced the body firsthand, Eunseong voiced his assessment.
[He transcends the ordinary.]
“Right?!”
The exclamation burst out—loudly, laced with madness.
“A mage who hasn't even walked the path of magic for long! And he pulls off levitation and illusions! Multiple mana bullets at that, seizing control in realm clashes, and now even necromancy!”
It went beyond excitement—a fanatic witnessing long-held dreams fulfilled.
“That's nothing short of a hero's return!”
Birds that had been holding their breath took flight. The scene sent chills through the body just from hearing it. He was genuinely thrilled.
[It's not even yours. What makes you so happy?]
“Hm?”
Row's head snapped at the probing question, his face twisting with unfamiliar displeasure.
“Being an ancient ghost must mean you're lacking empathy, huh?”
Eunseong waited impassively for a response, unshaken by the blind accusation.
“Things you can't have naturally shine brighter. Longing and fear for that distant, unattainable height— that contradictory awe!”
Laughter. Laughter whose emotions were inscrutable.
“...That's what I want.”
A profoundly twisted soul.
[I respect that. Humans are unpredictable beings.]
It mattered not to Eunseong what the man was. He need only repay the grace by guarding the body's owner. He had no right to judge an outsider's ascent.
After all, he was merely a wandering ghost from a distant era.
“And you've felt it too, right?”
But the remark piqued Eunseong's interest enough.
“The power of understanding he possesses.”
Understanding. A force he'd sensed since possession. He'd ignored it as overstepping to interfere, but it was undeniably there.
[You mean the inhuman power.]
Eunseong's gaze shifted to the shadow rippling behind the madness-stricken man.
[Like the one you wield.]
“You get it.”
The Sword Saint's mastery couldn't transfer instantly to the body. No matter how many times one had wielded a blade. An external force had enabled it: understanding.
The body had comprehended the soul's path of the sword and followed.
[Hasn't humanity triumphed?]
Thus, Eunseong spoke of ancient events.
The Great Cataclysm. When inhuman entities set foot on the continent.
“They did. The hero's sword bore light. But…”
Row's shadow rippled once.
“Remnants linger. Especially demons—not mere traces, but two entities left on the continent.”
This was unknown intelligence. Eunseong had never reached the front lines before his death, devoting himself to protecting civilians from ravage. The greater the crisis, the more the weak suffered.
“Nature and Understanding. Those two demons chose symbiosis with this world.”
But what spilled from Row's lips wasn't battlefield gossip. It was information that could reignite continental chaos if spread—a state secret to be buried.
[I see.]
Eunseong's curt reply followed. The foe had confirmed it: this body's owner was tied to demons.
Intriguing, yes—but nothing would change. An old relic had no place meddling in a new era.
“That's enough, you damned bastard.”
Their standoffing gazes snapped to one spot. A rift tore open there, and a woman emerged, face twisted in disgust.
Row welcomed the familiar arrival.
“Well, if it isn't someone special.”
How could he not? A senior from school days shared with his old comrade.
“Looks like you've got esteemed company.”
Almond, Snowrobe professor, brushed off the junior's sneer.
“Shut your trap.”
*
Shoooo—
Wind scraped through the forest, as if urging conversation after prolonged silence.
“Should've stopped by the school when I was there, Senior.”
“Yeah. If that Metaph bastard had tipped me off, I'd have killed you then.”
Row chuckled, running a hand through his hair.
“Your jokes are a bit much.”
“Think it's nonsense?”
“Aren't you underestimating the power held by a demon who shook the continent?”
Shadows surged—from every darkened corner.
A split-second could mean life or death.
“Wanna try?”
“...As if.”
Row soon withdrew the darkness.
“Gambling against a grant mage who can theoretically wield all magic would be idiotic. Especially with a sword ghost right there.”
His briefly murderous eyes flicked to the two blades. The vivid aura still clung to their honed edges.
“Aren't you in a similar spot?”
Almond inwardly agreed. She couldn't be sure he was alone. A moment's distraction could endanger the separated scholar and student.
“Tch, being a professor never helps in a pinch.”
“At least our interests align, so that's something.”
“...What?”
Disgust plain on her face. Being lumped with this monster felt like ink spilling over her.
“You've heard and seen everything up to now but didn't step in.”
True, in that context. She'd waited despite her student's peril—for growth, for talent's bloom. They were the same.
“Mine aren't as filthy as yours.”
“Filthy?”
Row's face warped with another mocking laugh.
“You lot, cultivating boundless potential like potted flowers in the direction you want—have you got room to talk?”
Sophistry and truism. Almond's accessories glowed, deeming further words worthless.
“Get lost. Talking to you disgusts me.”
“……”
Row sensed the banter with his once-close senior had reached its end. Paths diverged. Their irreparable rift was his own choice.
“Eunseong, was it?”
Even at the call, Eunseong offered only his unchanging gaze. Impassive.
Words of hollow comfort came for the weathered ghost.
“Life as a specter mustn't be lonely. Hero material's right beside you.”
Not quite a blessing, yet one. With that, Row vanished in an instant—into endless, pitch-black shadow.
Chirp—
The forest's void filled once more with beasts' cries.
Eunseong, watching the pensive Almond silently, spoke first.
[Are you his guardian?]
The familiar face carried an odd aura, leaving Almond hesitant.
“Something like that.”
[Too lax. Without me, the body's owner would be dead.]
“...Now I'm getting lectures from a ghost.”
Too lazy to sort her tangled thoughts, the irresponsible guardian scratched her nape vigorously.
“That ring Maness is wearing.”
Eunseong eyed the ring on the index finger she'd indicated.
“It's loaded with spells. Beyond seeing and hearing from the wearer's view, it monitors their condition in detail. Defense magic would've triggered automatically at the brink.”
With a gesture, Almond unfurled the same spatial magic in the air.
“It's got portal magic embedded too, for instant jumps.”
[A dragon crossed space and time?]
Spatial magic. Eunseong voiced his doubt.
“As if. It's our precious principal pitching in for student safety.”
[...The principal.]
Details escaped him. Centuries had passed; times changed. Best to accept at face value.
[High expectations, then.]
Means existed, yet limits were pushed. Effective for human growth.
“That staff proves it. And…”
Almond studied her pupil's face intently. Same as always, yet utterly different.
“Your presence too.”
Straightforward. Convincing even to a centuries-old ghost.
[Understood.]
“So, what now? Pass on if you want.”
[I planned to.]
His soul soothed. Reason to linger in the mortal realm gone.
[Seems I have a debt left to repay.]
Mastering necromancy meant exposure to it. No burden in lingering; he'd stay, guarding the owner.
“Fine, do as you like. Release the possession first.”
At the demand, Eunseong's eyes flashed wariness. Releasing now left the body defenseless. The prior exchange suggested trustworthiness, but he wasn't naive enough to fully trust a stranger.
[I entrust you with it.]
Yet dominating indefinitely wasn't viable. Feeling his energy wane, the Sword Saint withdrew his soul with a brief plea.
Woooong—
Maness's crumbling body lifted via magic.
Almond's emotions were crystal clear in that moment.
“...This is such a pain in the ass.”
A sigh at her baggage of a pupil scattered with the breeze.
*
Deep in his inner world, Maness relived it.
Blossoming spells, mana blades coalescing. Emotional exchanges flowing back and forth.
His eyes snapped open amid faint, ink-in-water memories.
Clunk—
Clunk—
Inside the carriage. Clutching his head against the wheel's jolts, a voice stabbed at Maness.
“Awake?”
Almond. Sharing a carriage alone with the psycho professor wasn't exactly welcome.