The Honored One

A spacious office.

Even within <Dragon Sword Mir>, this was the Clan Master’s room, a place only a very small number of people were permitted to enter.

As the phrase goes, being invited here was itself an honor.
A man and a woman looked at each other.

Click.

The woman started first,
placing an evidently expensive teacup down, and politely asked.

“Does it suit your taste?”
“Even for someone who doesn’t know tea well, it’s very good.”
“I’m glad you like it, Yu Seha.”

The Clan Master of <Dragon Sword Mir>, Ju Yae-young.
Not only in the Republic of Korea,
but recognized across the world as an S-rank powerhouse,
she sat as Clan Master, the so-called ‘An honored one.’

She addressed the boy before her with the utmost respect.

The boy, treated like a VIP, gave a wry smile.
He waved his hand as if to say it wasn’t necessary.

“Um, just call me Yu Seha comfortably. You did that at first, remember?”
“I cannot. Then and now are different; what Yu Seha has done is so great. Observing proper manners is only right.”

Yu Seha clicked his tongue and took another sip of tea.
Fiddling with the tie around his neck, he made a tentative request.

“Then, could you at least… withdraw your mana?”
“…Eh, yes? What do you mean…”

Ju Yae-young answered in surprise.
And half a second later,
she belatedly grasped the situation.
After briefly opening her mouth, she hurriedly bowed her head.

The elegant composure from moments ago vanished,
her face flushed bright red,
showing an unintentionally similar streak to her daughter, Ju Na-young.

“I-I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s fine. That’s a natural reaction.”

What on earth could cause that?
It was Ju Yae-young’s mana filling the room that caused it.

Currently, Ju Yae-young was emitting a considerable amount of mana.
It wasn’t for casting a skill or spell.

It was simply a natural emission of caution.
A perfectly natural flinch one would have when facing a predator.

In fact, Ju Yae-young only noticed the mana leaking out after Yu Seha pointed it out.

However, this was clearly odd.
Ju Yae-young was an S-rank hunter.
To use the Sword Ghost’s phrasing: those qualified to go out into the celestial realm, beings who have reached the stars.

Among that tiny elite,
Ju Yae-young was a mid-to-upper-tier practitioner.

The Plum Sword Empress Wei Ga-ryeong,
and the Overlord Sword wielder Peng Jin-ah were slightly above her, but she was a formidable and skilled veteran.

Moreover, Ju Yae-young specialized in magical paths as a <Wizard> class.
Would such a woman be clumsy at [Mana Control]?
Would her skill level be low?

Of course not.
That’s nonsense.
Ju Yae-young pressed a hand to her forehead.

‘…How embarrassing.’

She let out a small inner sigh.
The reason for this mistake was simple.

It was an instinctive fear of Yu Seha right in front of her.
Even though Ju Yae-young knew it would never actually happen,
she had been unconsciously wary of him.

Living beings feel basic fear before overwhelmingly superior power.
Ju Yae-young was no exception.
Precisely because she was such a strong individual, she could feel his power viscerally.

Ju Yae-young placed her hand over a large flame sac not inferior to her daughter’s.
A special mana circuit that ran throughout her body.
It was the bodily organ called the ‘dragon vein,’ something only members of the <Dragon Sword Mir> family could possess.

The mana traveling through it was surging sharply.
It readied her to enter combat at any moment, independent of conscious will.

‘…Isn’t that overkill?’

Ju Yae-young glanced at Yu Seha.
A handsome young man, sitting politely with his legs together, sipping tea.
Just an ordinary boy who looked a little pale.

But Ju Yae-young could say for certain.
If Yu Seha were to swing a fist right now, she’d have to be ready for limbs to be crushed.

‘……’

Moreover, the half-man half-beast form glimpsed when facing Tang Seo-ran.
If he fought in that state,
she and all clan members of <Dragon Sword Mir>, including Cho Seol-hwa, would have to accept total annihilation.

The boy before her was that overwhelmingly powerful.

‘…In other words…’

Because he was that strong, he could engage the absurd creature called the Sword Ghost one-on-one,
and ultimately buy enough time to secure victory.

Well, as always…
Having strong allies is a good thing.

Especially since Yu Seha was someone her daughter praised without reserve.
Even discounting the rose-colored lens of ‘love,’ it was obvious he was a good person.

‘But…’

There are limits to that.
Imagine a flock made entirely of sheep,
and a tiger that has just reached adulthood suddenly appears.
And not just any tiger, an exceptional alpha individual…

Do you think those sheep wouldn’t be terrified of the tiger?
Even if they knew it was on their side?

‘……’

Ju Yae-young steadied herself with a long sip of tea.
She once again realized how important her role was.

Her role, besides reporting on various situations concerning Yu Seha,
also involved downplaying and condensing the story of his deeds in the world.

To prevent his power from being revealed to the world in too concrete or explicit a way.
And at the same time, to protect him from forces that might target him.
This plan had been proposed earlier by Su Ok-bin.

—…You mean he’s getting attention overseas?

—That’s right. The level of villains and magi in Korea is top-tier. Such a force being wiped out in one night draws attention. There are even portions of video footage of Yu Seha and the Sword Ghost’s fight circulating.

—What do you mean? Approaching their battle was impossible… Do you mean to say it was even captured by satellite?

—It’s possible, but that’s not the point. Their powers clearly defy the laws. If they wished, they could wipe out an entire great force.

—……

—Hunter Ju Yae-young, I want to protect Yu Seha. Regardless of his power… he’s simply a kind, just, and lovable boy.

You know strength alone doesn’t solve everything. Please help me protect him.

“Pf.”
“…Ju Yae-young?”
“Ah, nothing. I just laughed at myself for a moment; I felt a bit pathetic.”
“Yes?”

Ju Yae-young felt ashamed of herself.
She was only nineteen.

Two years younger than her daughter,
just an ordinary young man.

‘Studying ordinarily, making ordinary friends…’

He should have been enjoying youth, attending the Academy as normal,
and yet they’ve helped him and she still found herself on guard…

Ju Yae-young exhaled softly.
As an Awakened, she felt disgusted with her own nature.

Still, no matter what, Ju Yae-young was an adult.
She was the leader of a clan that led countless powerful individuals.
She set aside emotional rifts here.

She intended to do her best for the boy before her.

“Then, although it’s a bit late, I’ll explain the aftermath of the assault, Yu Seha.”
“Um, please, the title…”
“Then, Yu Seha.”
“Um, the polite speech too…”
“That won’t do. It’s a courtesy due to a hero.”
“…Ah, yes…”

Ju Yae-young calmly explained various follow-ups and countermeasures.

In the annals of Korean history,
it was an attack in the dead of night, a great war that would certainly be recorded.

Therefore, there were quite a few seemingly odd details Yu Seha needed to know.
She filtered and sifted them to mention only the important core points.
In the process, the conversation naturally turned to the fleeing survivors.

“It’s undeniably a great victory, but… we ultimately couldn’t capture the four people who had the greatest impact.”
“Four people…”
“I’m truly sorry — I was distracted by the bodies…”
“No. On the contrary, I’m grateful you came in time.”
“Thank you for saying that. I’ll continue the briefing.”

The survivors who fled the fierce battle.

Sword Ghost So Hang-woo,
the Evil Blood Witch Moon Ha-yeon.
Tang Seo-ran, the master of <Tartarus>, and the vice-master Tang Pyo-rim.

Among them, the Sword Ghost’s actions were unparalleled.
As if daring anyone to try to catch him,
He deliberately did not hide his traces.
Yu Seha interjected a comment about this.

“…Chasing him is of course necessary, but you mustn’t follow his trail openly.”

Ju Yae-young nodded in agreement.
She had already felt the Sword Ghost’s terrifying nature,
thanks to someone with the [Record Search] skill, Ju Yae-young had felt it keenly.

A trap laid as if saying, ‘Come if you dare,’
Or rather, a direct challenge.
The result was nothing but deaths so silent not a mouse or bird noticed.

Ju Yae-young ordered that they pursue by indirect routes based on the traces.
That alone helped greatly in tracking movement.

Then,
a hypothetical scenario was mentioned.

“…If the Sword Ghost’s goal this time, like the villains who attacked, was to maximize casualties…”
“…Many would have died, yes.”

A heavy silence fell for a moment.
They spoke indirectly, but the conclusion was clear.

Even this victory would have tipped the scales toward defeat.
The villains’ and magi’s morale would naturally be revived.
He was that fearsome an opponent.

Soon, Ju Yae-young broke the silence first.
She bowed her head deeply.

“…Thank you once again, Yu Seha.”
“No, I’m the one who couldn’t finish him off in the end.”

She meant it.
Even if they had continued into a second round in that state…
Could they really have won?

‘……’

At least for the moment,
the image of me ripping his neck out,
could not be pictured at all.
And it was maddening.

The conversation returned to the starting point.

“We couldn’t find Moon Ha-yeon at all.”
“She’s probably with the Sword Ghost.”
“I think so too… may I ask for your opinion, Yu Seha?”

Yu Seha spoke about the Sword Ghost’s ideology and madness.
Ju Yae-young listened silently.
She knew already, but clicked her tongue as if it were truly abhorrent.
At the same time, she somewhat understood.

“You have to be that crazed to step into that kind of world, it seems.”
“My guess is the Sword Ghost wants to see something in Moon Ha-yeon.”
“…The possibility flowing in the Mun family / Mun clan’s blood?”
“…Perhaps.”

She deliberately held back.
In the ‘GAL’ storyline, Moon Ha-yeon should have died long ago.
She plotted betrayal, but Tang Seo-ran, who already knew everything, backstabbed her and she died miserably.

As a result, her potential never blossomed, but side stories often mentioned how dangerous that potential was.

‘If it’s the Sword Ghost, he probably anticipated that in advance.’

So he likely decided to help Moon Ha-yeon.
There was evidence for this.
Namely, the corpse of Tang Pyo-rim.

“You said he was split in half, right?”
“That’s correct.”

The only fleeing person whose death was confirmed.
The <Vice-Master> Tang Pyo-rim.

Tang Pyo-rim was found in a corner of an abandoned factory,
literally in a gruesome state.

Additionally, remnants of mana presumed to be Tang Seo-ran’s were found.
They also discovered a ritual thought to be sorcery.
They said one could even access Tang Seo-ran’s desperate screams from that place.

Yu Seha was certain.
He didn’t know exactly what was done or how,
but Moon Ha-yeon had defeated Tang Seo-ran.

Despite such injuries she survived and went somewhere with the Sword Ghost.
Presumably to reveal darkness once again in the future.

Ju Yae-young, who had a similar hypothesis, murmured.

“…Tang Seo-ran has also been added to the list of targets, but finding him will be difficult.”

Ju Yae-young answered while controlling deep anger.
She never uttered, ‘Because he’s already dead!’

There was still a chance, and
for Ju Yae-young, a lifelong enemy and rival
ending so emptily was impossible to accept.

Watching her, Yu Seha asked.

“…Are you okay?”
“……”

Ju Yae-young smiled faintly.
Yu Seha, who knew all the circumstances,
could say what she could not say aloud.

Hearing it made her feel ashamed.
His suffering and contributions were so great…
to think such a long-cherished wish would end like this — she couldn’t accept that.

“…Yes, we successfully cremated the first recovered body. Thanks to you.”
“That’s a relief.”

Soon, Ju Yae-young brought up the next topic.
She said they had decided in a meeting with other groups what to do with the many corpses of villains and magi who died this time.

Not only their equipment,
but corpses or body parts steeped in Magi would all be used for research.
She even said they would eventually craft artifacts from them when finished.

“Uh, all of them?”
“Yes. All 419 corpses in total.”

A rather chilling detail.
But Yu Seha said nothing.
The other factions were the same.

Everyone’s rage was too great to argue that using the dead was a breach of ethics.

With eyes reddened, Ju Yae-young calmly declared.

“By wielding items forged from their melted corpses… we will not forget their crimes.”
“……”

However, one of them was an exception.
His body had been separated individually from the start.
It had not suffered any special indignities.

There was only one reason,
it was at Yu Seha’s request.

“Kim Min-su.”
“……”
“As requested, his body was quietly cremated.”
“Thank you.”

Ju Yae-young snapped her fingers, and an urn containing collected bone ash appeared on the table.
Yu Seha looked at it with a complex, subtle expression.