Farewell and Reunion
I built my master’s grave right beside the spot where our old cabin once stood. She hadn’t left behind even a single bone, so there was nothing to bury but the clothes she’d worn and the few belongings she’d used in life. The only other thing she left behind was me. And since I couldn’t exactly crawl into the grave with her, this was the best compromise I could manage.
“Haa…”
Before leaving the forest for good, I tore down the little cabin we had shared. A house with no one living in it loses its meaning, after all. Surprisingly, the decision hadn’t required much hesitation.
I gathered the two swords my master had used—the Seonggwang-geom and the Wolgang-do—and once everything was ready, I finally allowed myself to look in the mirror.
Only then did the feelings hidden beneath my grief rise to the surface.
“So this is…”
My body began to tremble. The deep, rough voice that had always been mine had transformed into something beautiful and sweetly feminine. My short brown hair had grown long and black. My eyes now sparkled with a golden hue, and my chest had swelled into full, heavy curves.
I had become a woman.
Perhaps because I had inherited my master’s power, my current appearance was strikingly similar to hers. Yet traces of my original self remained in several places. Unlike the warm golden tone of her skin, mine was so pale it looked almost white. Where her eyes had been monolid, mine now had distinct double eyelids. And while her hair had been perfectly straight, mine still carried a gentle wave of curls. On the surface I resembled her closely, but the closer you looked, the more my own features stood out.
It was as if… this was what a child born between the two of us might have looked like.
‘What the hell am I even thinking!’
My face burned with embarrassment. I collapsed right where I stood.
The curse that radiated an ominous aura. Logically, I should have been more afraid of inheriting that dreadful power, but right now the fact that I had turned into a woman felt far more overwhelming.
‘Ugh, whatever. I’ll just have to accept it.’
I stood up again and resumed my preparations to leave. Every movement made me painfully aware of the new weight on my chest. In the end, I wrapped my breasts in bandages the same way my master used to.
“…Haa.”
It felt like I had crossed a massive line.
‘You never said anything about turning me into a girl…’
Then again, maybe she hadn’t known either. Or perhaps she had kept it from me on purpose, worried I would refuse the power if I found out.
I glanced at her grave. The dead don’t speak, so there was no way to know the truth.
I looked back at the mirror. The clothes I was wearing were my old ones. They no longer fit properly and felt both cumbersome and uncomfortable.
“…”
My gaze drifted to my bag. I wanted at least one keepsake of her.
I reached for one of her outfits—no, no! It wasn’t for any weird reason! It was purely to cherish the memory of our time together! Wasn’t the Seonggwang-geom and Wolgang-do enough? Cold steel could never hold the warmth of her heart, that’s what I believed. Really. Believe it or not.
Anyway, I pulled one of her garments from the bag.
It was a simple black dress. No flashy decorations or elaborate designs—just clean and elegant. It was the one she had worn most often in life. Far from ordinary, it had been crafted by a renowned artisan and imbued with incredibly powerful magic. Normal attacks couldn’t even leave a snag on it. It was practically an artifact. Not only that, it stayed perfectly clean without needing to be washed and never wore out no matter how many years passed. A truly flawless piece of clothing.
‘Though Master would still wash it sometimes because it felt “off” to her.’
I let out a small chuckle and alternated my gaze between my reflection and the dress.
‘These clothes are too uncomfortable to keep wearing.’
There was no helping it. I began to change.
Wearing women’s clothes didn’t exactly fill me with joy.
*
“The deeper we go, the thicker the malevolent energy becomes.”
The man frowned deeply.
“Ugh. Do we really have to do this? I feel like I’m going to throw up. It’s disgusting!”
The elf woman beside him had turned deathly pale.
“You said the energy weakened over the last few days. That wasn’t a lie, right? Asia, can’t your holy power do something about this?”
At those words, Asia clasped her hands together in prayer.
O Goddess, drive out evil and bestow your blessing upon us.
A wave of light spread out from her, and the oppressive aura around them eased slightly. But it was only temporary.
“Is that all you’ve got, Asia?”
“…This is my limit.”
Asia shot Saren a glare.
“Can we really win this?”
The honest doubt slipped from Edgar’s mouth before he could stop it.
“What are you saying, Edgar! How can you sound so pathetic!”
Saren scolded him sharply.
“Look at Jin! He’s marching forward without faltering at all.”
Just as she said, unlike the other three, Jin was pressing ahead through the oppressive energy, leading the group. Although his abilities weren’t enough for him to fight on the front lines, he had still been chosen as one of the heroes blessed by the gods.
“Yeah, let’s trust in Jin.”
Those words made Jin start to feel thoroughly sick of them. It was as if they were trying to shove all the responsibility onto him. He couldn’t help wondering what would have happened if they hadn’t cast Glaiese out back then. Maybe things would have been better.
‘Tsk.’
He hated himself for having regrets. It pissed him off. To vent that frustration, he strode forward even more aggressively.
As they reached the heart of the forest, a woman stood there.
Jin stopped and stared at her. The moment she entered his field of vision, the pressure weighing down on him seemed to intensify. It was still bearable. But what truly held him captive wasn’t just the chilling aura.
It was because she was breathtakingly beautiful.
‘Get a grip, Jin.’
She was the one who had spread this evil energy throughout the forest. There was no doubt she had used that beauty to drag countless men to their ruin.
Before he knew it, Jin’s imagination had begun to run wild.
Asia and Saren, who had caught up a little later, instinctively pressed themselves closer to him.
“That woman…”
Saren trembled as she stared at the stranger.
“Are you the source of evil lurking in this forest?”
Edgar shouted, pointing his sword at her. His heart was filled with terror, but he needed to look good in front of Saren and Asia, so he forced himself to act brave. Unfortunately, the way his entire body was shaking ruined the effect.
The woman tilted her head at his question, then opened her mouth.
“No.”
An unbelievable answer. The enemy had to be a demon—one of the most powerful ones at that. Perhaps she was even comparable to one of the Four Heavenly Kings?
“Jin, can we actually beat her? I think we’ve been tricked.”
Saren thought back to their client. That useless old wreck! He had never mentioned that such a powerful demon was here. He had only said the place was full of evil energy, and that it had grown much weaker in the past few days. He had even pretended to worry that it might still be difficult. But that concern had clearly been fake.
Of course, Saren herself had been the one who strongly insisted they take the request. And the others had agreed easily enough. They had all shared the same frustration at being pushed to the rear lines and the desire to rack up achievements so they could return to the front. No matter how strong the monster was, they had assumed anything lurking in the backwoods couldn’t be that dangerous.
But who could have guessed a demon like this would appear!
Demons were on an entirely different level from ordinary monsters.
Jin glared at the woman without answering. In contrast, the woman’s eyes as she looked at them were filled with curiosity.
Her identity was, of course, Glaiese.
‘I feel like I’ve seen them somewhere before.’
Where had it been? Two men and two women. One of the women was an elf, and the other was a priestess.
‘That combination feels awfully familiar…’
Well, it was the most standard hero party composition imaginable. And their faces looked familiar too.
‘Who are they? Have I gone senile? I’ve been in this forest for five years. Maybe it’s only natural I don’t remember.’
During all that time, Glaiese had seen no one except her master.
‘But what do they mean by “source of evil”?’
Come to think of it, there was the curse she had inherited from her master.
‘I came here because I thought there was a monster causing this aura. Looks like they came for the same reason. Still, no one has dared set foot in this forest for five years. They must be pretty brave. Or just stupid.’
The man who had stayed silent until now—the one who had arrived here first—finally spoke.
“Don’t lie. Are you really going to deny the clear aura of evil flowing from you?”
“You wench?”
“Yes, you wench.”
The unfamiliar term felt strange to Glaiese.
‘That’s a new one. But wait a second…’
That voice. She had definitely heard it before.
After a moment of thought, Glaiese finally realized who they were.
‘So it was you bastards.’
Suddenly they all flinched violently. The malevolent energy around her grew noticeably stronger. Even Jin, who had been largely unaffected until now, showed a slight change in expression.
Five years had dulled her anger somewhat. But that didn’t mean she found these people any more likable. The urge to smack each of them in the head was still very much alive.
Still, they were a hero party. And they appeared to be here to do exactly what a hero party should—eliminate the source of demonic energy. So Glaiese decided to set her personal grudge aside for now.
‘Of course, only on the condition that you don’t provoke me first.’
She flashed a wicked smile.