Selina's Story
"Huff… huff…."
"Hah, hah…."
Selina and I caught our breath for a moment. Out of habit, she went to offer that post-battle fist bump she always did after a fight, only to snap out of it late and awkwardly pull back her extended hand. I watched her for a second before shifting my gaze straight ahead, confronting once more the source of the Swelling Fallbirth—the most vicious curse left behind by the Busung Eclipse Lord.
—!
——!
The thing was still opening and closing its black maw, rhythmically expanding and contracting its body.
"…Planning one last desperate struggle, are you?"
——!!!
"I don't know what you're saying, but it probably means you're ready for me to start, right?"
I began stepping forward slowly, one foot at a time, toward the curse's source—still glaring at me with hundreds of eyes like it was about to fire a beam. At the same time, I drew the power of White Breath to its maximum in one hand.
My intent was clear: no drawn-out battle, just one perfect purification to end it all.
And two steps behind me, Selina—who had been quietly watching—spoke up in a very small voice.
"…Kail, I think that you…."
"Stop."
I cut her off, already guessing what she was about to say.
"What you need to do is already decided. Stay by Leysila's side to keep her safe until I come out. And the moment this curse devouring Talian vanishes, make sure you never show your face in front of me again."
"……Got it."
"Good. See you later, then."
With that, I threw myself straight into the heart of the Swelling Fallbirth's source.
A sticky, slimy energy wrapped around my entire body. My vision flickered pitch black for a moment before the scene unfolded: the mental world of the fragment left by the Busung Eclipse Lord. A foul, repulsive space where I had to face the curse's source with nothing but my own mental strength.
"…You've grown quite a bit in power, huh. Even this world from a mere fragment feels almost like the real thing."
Squelch—squelch!
I stepped through the viscous blood-mud, wrapping my sword in White Breath's energy as I advanced.
At that instant, the thick darkness around me rippled grotesquely, as if it had been waiting, and began to conjure familiar landscapes and faces.
"It's all because of you! If you hadn't pretended to be a Hero from the start…!"
The village chief of Randel territory, whom I'd barely saved from a merciless demon raid in the past.
"You deceived us. To think you'd trick us in the name of God, you monstrous freak."
Minel, the boy soldier who had followed me like an older brother and begged to learn the sword.
"Save my child! Who asked a fake like you to step up?!"
Even Lunain, the priest who had trembled in prayer behind my back when I threw myself in front of a horde of magic beasts.
"……."
Illusions, all of them. I knew that perfectly well in my head—this was just the kind of commonplace mental attack demons spat out as easily as breathing.
But those dagger-like voices piercing my sight and hearing mercilessly clawed open the wounds I'd barely buried in my memories, precise and cruel.
With every step, my ankles felt weighed down like they were chained to iron blocks. My breathing grew ragged, my stomach twisted, and a tearing ache ripped through my chest.
But I couldn't collapse.
"No… way."
I bit my lip until it bled and forced another step forward. Letting out a long sigh, I struggled to steady my shaking vision.
It's all in the past anyway.
I'd long since abandoned any lingering attachments or expectations from others. Whether they resented me or spat curses calling me a deceiver—it was no longer my concern.
I pressed on silently, very slowly, following the path cleared by White Breath's white light.
How long had I walked like that?
The illusions charging at me to break my spirit burned away in the white light, crumbling with screams. Finally, I reached the center of the blood-soaked space.
There hovered a house-sized heart, pulsing with an eerily massive beat.
…That was the true core of the curse.
Thinking the end was near, I calmly adjusted my grip on my sword and closed the distance—
—O pitiable and foolish human who calls himself a Hero.
The surface of the massive heart warped, forming hideous lips, and a low, muddy voice leaked from the gaping crack.
"You…?"
—Do you still remember my voice even after all that, Hero? A fragment of lingering thought from the Busung Eclipse Lord, left behind before that bastard died, was speaking to me.
—I know well your deep rage and injustice. How could I not know the despair of being thoroughly betrayed by those you trusted as comrades and discarded like filth?
"……."
I didn't respond. I'd already figured out all it could do was flap its mouth, and it knew that too—which was why it kept slinging its tongue around so eloquently.
—Help me, and I'll grant you perfect revenge. I can inflict horrors on that silver-haired beastkin out there far worse than what you endured. I'll turn all of Talian into a living hell—so join hands with me.
"……."
The thought fragment tossed out the sweet bait, watching my reaction as if certain I'd never refuse.
Selina's utterly broken face. And the destruction of Talian, which she'd betrayed everything to protect. It might just be a fitting end for those who'd so viciously betrayed and thrown me to the wolves.
But.
"Hah."
A hollow laugh escaped me unbidden.
If I accepted this damned offer here for some petty revenge—oath or no oath—and closed my eyes obediently, the beastkin of Talian, consumed by the curse, would be reborn as the worst demons, inheriting the Busung Eclipse Lord's power in full.
Hordes of monsters stronger than Legion Commander grade pouring out to trample the continent I'd barely saved—with my own hands?
"What nonsense."
I aimed my White Breath-flaming sword tip at the massive heart.
"Not an offer for the guy who went through all that crap—including playing the idiot Hero—just because I couldn't stand watching you demons run wild in front of me."
—You… insolent human…!
Before the fragment's voice could twist in shock and fury,
I took a deep breath, set my stance, and drew White Breath's energy in my sword to its limit. A blindingly pure white purification light, cold enough to sting my eyes, swallowed the entire area.
No hesitation whatsoever.
"Didn't want to see you again, but it was nice meeting you."
With those words, I simply raised my sword overhead and brought it down lightly. That deceptively simple slash drew a massive white line in the air, cleaving straight through the heart's center.
A single, flawless strike without excess.
—Aaaaaagh!
A eardrum-shattering shriek shook the entire mental world.
Putrid energy from the Busung Eclipse Lord exploded from the cleaved heart's cross-section—but it touched White Breath's overwhelming light and crumbled into white ash.
Soon, the sticky darkness pressing down from all sides cracked like shattering glass and lifted in an instant.
The moment the Swelling Fallbirth curse devouring Talian was perfectly eradicated.
"……."
I watched until the very end, confirming it had completely vanished.
The next day, after the Swelling Fallbirth curse—which had devoured even the primordial beastkin at the Eunmyeong Altar to grow its power, tormenting Talian for over a century—had completely vanished.
The beastkin kingdom was filled with joy and revelry, holding a grand festival. In the plaza before the royal palace, amid endless cheers and songs, Talian's leader—the lion beastkin Kardan—approached me.
"As expected, Kail, we firmly believed you were the true Hero."
Kardan seized my hand, expressing his 'gratitude' with utter shamelessness. Not a trace of shame on that brazen face.
At his signal, representatives of other tribes crowding around chimed in eagerly.
"That's right. Even when those wicked Holy Kingdom scum slandered you, our wolf clan never doubted your innocence!"
"Even if the whole world turned its back on you, Talian was always on your side. Please accept our sincere hearts…."
"……."
A nauseating parade of flattery that made my ears rot.
"Hah."
Instead of responding, I let out a loud, short laugh that rang clear in everyone's ears and slapped Kardan's hand away from mine.
"At least keep your lies within reason if you want anyone to pretend to buy them."
"Th-that's…."
These vermin who hadn't given a damn about the human world just a few years ago. The moment the curse lifted and the Empire moved, shifting the continent's balance, they flipped faces completely—it was laughable.
I didn't bother responding to their pathetic excuses, worth less than dirt, and turned my back.
At the same time, I felt a faint, unpleasant heat flickering deep in my chest wash away cleanly. Pulling open my collar to check, the Oath Brand—my vow to the Creation God to eradicate Talian's curse—had vanished completely.
…It's over.
The contract was fulfilled. There was no reason left to stay in this wretched beastkin land or face these brazen animals.
I gently clasped the small hand of Leysila clutching my clothes from behind and turned away without regret.
Tap.
But the moment I stepped forward, someone blocked my path.
Silver hair. Selina, with a resolute expression.
As if she'd perfectly anticipated my immediate departure, she spread her arms to bar my way.
"Move."
"……."
Selina didn't budge even at my curt order. Instead, she bit her lower lip hard and spoke in a voice dripping with desperation.
"One day… no, two days. Just two days, please stay."
"Why should I?"
"Because there are ordinary beastkin out there who know nothing of the truth and just feel pure gratitude toward you."
Selina's cat ears drooped limply downward. Clenching her fists, she glanced at me cautiously and continued slowly.
"And…."
"……."
"Our story… needs to be finished properly."