A Name for the Nameless

Crash!

I rolled to the side.

Crash!

And rolled again.

Because I had grabbed the orb, that berserker angel had finally registered me as a target. Even if I'd wanted to use my footwork, it gave me no opening — that greatsword just kept coming down, again and again.

"Guh—"

Crash!

The blade swept past my nose so close that a scream tore out of me before I could stop it.

You lunatic.

If I hadn't been fighting for my life, I would have cursed it out until I ran out of breath. That was how absurd the greatsword it swung was — every strike broke the rules.

Why do I almost feel like it would've been better to fight Leviathan?

Of course, if Leviathan had manifested in its true body, comparing it to an angel like this wouldn't even be possible.

Crash!

Absolutely impossible.

I'd only managed to defeat Envy because Leviathan was possessing a human body and riddled with weaknesses.

Crash!

But one thing was certain: they weren't remotely in the same league.

First, I need to find a way out of here.

I had to break free from this situation, then get out of the lake entirely. The problem was that the angel had wings — mobility that was practically cheating.

Clang!

I barely managed to deflect the greatsword with my dagger. My arm went numb, but if I wanted to live, I had no choice.

Now, in this gap—

Basic footwork.

Speed.

Crash!

Any later, and I would have been ground meat.

Using my footwork, I raced back along the path I'd come, as fast as my legs could carry me.

Wham!

But behind me came a thunderous beat of wings, and a shadow fell over my head.

Even this speed isn't enough to shake it?

Those wings really were cheating. Even as I thought that, I didn't stop my legs. Stopping ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠meant dying — that much was obvious.

I ran with everything I had.

Vmmm!

Then the angel's wings began to cluster with divine power — and fired it as a laser.

"Hah!"

I twisted and weaved, dodging the beams of divine power. If even one of those hit me, they wouldn't find enough of me to bury.

Each attack blasted the floor apart where it landed.

I can't keep leading it like this….

If it chased me all the way out of the cavern, out of the lake, I'd be in serious danger.

So I'll pin it down here.

I stopped dead in my tracks. I'd been sprinting at full speed, but I stopped without the slightest recoil — while the angel sailed past and slammed into the wall.

Crash!

It was loud, but there was no way that berserker angel was dying from something like that.

At once, I called on the Power of the Earth. It was an ability that let me exert force over ground itself — soil, rock, the substance of the land. And this temple was built entirely of stone.

Meaning my power works on it.

I used the boulders of the temple to bind the angel's arms and legs, then hurled the stones scattered around us at its wings, pinning them down as well.

Everything went smoothly, up to that point.

"Kieeeek!"

The angel thrashed wildly to break free, but as long as I was exerting my power, it wasn't getting loose. I plastered the rocks strewn across the ground over the angel's entire body, then fused them with the temple's stone.

A live burial, technically a success… but.

The real question was whether those rocks would hold once I released my power.

No choice but to trust it and go.

I let the Power of the Earth go. Cracks began to spider across the stone almost immediately.

"Damn it."

Rather than try to patch it up, I stepped into my footwork. Basic footwork.

Speed.

And sprinted for the exit faster than I ever had.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The cavern shook — the angel thrashing against its bonds. I felt it in my gut: the moment I stopped running, I would die.

So I ran at absolute full power.

Demons and angels, by nature, divide their strength according to the state of their possessed vessel. But if one descended in its true body, even one stamped with the label of "lesser" would take an S-rank past level 500 just to face it.

Right now, I was about S-rank, level 200.

If I fought that berserker angel head-on, I would lose. No question.

Splash!

I threw myself into the water and swam fast, bursting out into the lake.

CRASH!

The instant I surfaced, the ground shuddered violently. The berserker angel must have torn free of its restraints.

I'll seal off the lake here.

I pulled the soil around the lakeshore together, closing the lake off completely.

That buys me time, at least.

I took the orb out of my inventory and poured mana into it. Thankfully, the orb responded readily to my mana.

I'll fill it as I go.

Basic footwork.

Speed.

I ran, channeling mana into the orb with every step. Blocking off the lake was a stopgap measure and nothing more.

To beat that angel, I need the Imugi.

I drove my legs forward, heading for Cheonji as fast as I could move. After a desperate ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sprint, the lake finally came into view — my legs were trembling from running like my life depended on it, because it did.

"Come out. Now."

Dragging my shaking legs along, I stepped into Cheonji itself.

And the system message appeared.

The moment the message came, Cheonji churned and roiled. Then, from beneath the surface, the Imugi rose.

"So you are the successor that one spoke of?"

"That's me."

Monsters weren't supposed to speak. But ancient beings — divine beasts, yokai, creatures passed down through legend — could, for reasons no one understood.

The successor — it must mean the master of the legacy left behind by the First Humans.

Right now, I held the stones of the earth and the Orb of Emptiness.

"Give me the legacy."

I held out the orb, filled with my own mana. There was no chance the Imugi would simply take it and run. The system had explained everything clearly, and the First Humans — whoever they were — wouldn't have left something behind knowing they might be betrayed.

"This is… a power greater than even magic."

"That's right."

Mana was, strictly speaking, a force above magic. I just hadn't expected the Imugi to recognize it.

"If one who wields such power is to be my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠contractor, I suppose this will do nicely."

With those words, the Imugi swallowed the orb.

As the messages appeared, I felt something bind itself between the Imugi and me.

"Looking forward to working with you."

"Likewise."

We were still exchanging greetings when a colossal roar thundered from below.

"Already out?"

"What do you mean?"

"The berserker angel."

Barely had the words left my mouth when an angel came flying toward us, its massive wings beating furiously.

"How dare you bring that thing to a place like—"

Before I could say a word, the Imugi moved first.

Something about its mood just changed.

The Imugi that had looked so placid moments ago transformed the instant it laid eyes on the angel.

Rumble.

Black storm clouds began to gather over Cheonji.

"Thunder."

CRACK!

"Lightning."

CRACK!

With every word the Imugi spoke, lightning hammered down onto the angel. Apparently one strike wasn't enough for it — it dropped bolt after bolt before finally calming.

"Forgive me for showing you such an unseemly sight first thing."

"Don't worry about it."

I was genuinely moved. I stood there gaping at the sight of it utterly overpowering that insane angel. The way it hurled lightning down was just too magnificent.

What'll it be like once it becomes a true dragon?

Mental age: fifty. Apparently I was developing late-in-life hobbies now.

"Contractor…?"

Watching my eyes sparkle, the Imugi spoke with an air of genuine concern.

Nine in the morning. Early, by most standards — but my family was still asleep.

Everyone except Dad.

"Looks like you made it back safe."

"I did."

With that, I held out the necklace Dad had given me.

"Came back in one piece."

"Good…."

"I'm going to catch up on sleep now."

I said my piece and crawled off to my room. Lying on my bed, I pulled up the system messages I'd seen earlier.

It really had been Angel Pow, just like I'd guessed. But that strange string of English and numbers afterward was completely beyond me.

Well, either way, I'm the one who gets a reward. Win-win.

Just as I was thinking that, a small gate opened by my pillow.

"So this is where you've come home to?"

"Not home. Lodgings."

"Like an inn?"

"Something like that."

Once I'd contracted with the Imugi, I'd gained the ability to open the gate's entrance wherever I pleased. The Imugi, for its part, had shrunk itself down to roam the outside world.

The legacy I'd gained this time ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was almost certainly the Imugi itself. After all, it had called me the successor the first time we met.

Perhaps the Imugi had been waiting all this time — for a human like me.

"By the way, what's your name?"

"Mine?"

"Is there anyone else here but you?"

If we were going to act together from now on, I needed to know what to call it. Even the system had been hiding its name behind those question marks.

"I have no name."

"Oh…."

I realized my mistake. The Imugi had lived its whole life inside the gate. The odds of it having parents around to name it were vanishingly slim.

"Sorry. I didn't think."

"Think nothing of it. I've lived an entire lifetime without a name, so I hardly understand what the fuss about them is."

There was something hollow in the Imugi's words — the kind of thing only a being that had long since given up could say.

Reading the quest left me speechless. That last line — death might honestly be preferable — was a direct insult to my pride.

"A name? I'll give you one myself."

"Truly?!"

At my words, the Imugi's eyes lit up and sparkled. It was an awfully burdensome look — but I could feel exactly how much hope was behind it.

"Hmm."

If it was going to be a name, I wanted it to mean something. The Imugi had waited for me alone, in loneliness, for who knew how long — so I wanted to give it something special.

I sketched its image in my mind.

Ah….

The first thing that came to me was the clear, limpid eyes I'd seen the moment we met. Eyes so pure that you knew instantly it was a divine beast — eyes that could captivate anyone who looked into them.

The second thing I remembered was the way it used the clouds themselves to call down lightning.

"Cheongun… Azure Cloud."

"Cheongun, you say…."

The Imugi turned the name over slowly, tasting it. Time passed, and then it spoke.

"I like it. Very much!"