Fiery Confession

It lasted scarcely an instant.

Yu Seha didn’t move.

He saw Ju Ye-young’s Breath reach him in under a second.

At a glance, its range and ferocity were overwhelming—easily twice that of Ju Na-young.

It was a judgment that made clear why dragons once dominated the surface.

Yu Seha’s mind settled like a calm lake as he watched.

He wiped away every trace of Complete Devour that had been active across his body.

‘Not yet possible.’

It wasn’t like the time he’d risked everything in a duel with the Sword Ghost.

On paper his stats might be higher, but in practice he was strictly weaker than he had been then.

Ghost-Shadow Sword and Complete Devour.

He could not operate the two powers at once.

“To be precise, they don’t mesh.”

Used together they produced mutually detrimental results—worse than using either alone.

That meant each demanded an absurd cost.

Still, he wasn’t truly worried.

He was certain that, given time, he could deploy them simultaneously and form various combinations.

Moreover, he could reach far higher levels.

And that wouldn’t take long.

‘For now, only the Ghost-Shadow Sword…’

Not in the Sword Ghost’s style—pushed to the brink by him—Yu Seha would unfold the Guiying Sword (Ghost-Shadow Sword) in his own manner, letting it flow through his body.

He hated to admit it, but he projected onto the old man the Sword Ghost—likely the strongest opponent he’d ever meet: a man who, without ascending as a transcendent, had reached a celestial realm with a human body like his.

The murderous aura of the Heavenly-Slaying Star spread outward.

It coalesced into a blood-red old man.

Yu Seha swallowed without realizing it.

Cold sweat trickled down his jaw.

The presence was incomparable to when he’d projected the swordsmen ‘Gwae’ or ‘Hwan.’

As if wielding a real blade, that presence aimed a chilling killing intent at Yu Seha’s throat.

‘—Focus.’

A voice—an auditory hallucination—whispered as if the real man watched.

As if demonstrating, the trajectory of a swung longsword unfolded before him.

Yu Seha noticed and gripped the hilt.

Faster, stronger, and with his own unique flair, he unfolded the Ghost-Shadow Sword in the only way he could.

The pinnacle of the Heart Sword unfolded atop the Sword of the Saint.

It took a triangular form.

It assumed its characteristic hue and thrust forward.

The advancing sword qi blurred like a phantom.

The Overlord Sword Technique’s brutal gust wrapped around it, creating a state of being and non-being.

“…!?”

Ju Ye-young opened her eyes wide as if she couldn’t believe it.

She instinctively knew how dangerous that was, but she didn’t back down.

She poured more power into the Breath, determined to overwhelm him with raw firepower.

Thus the two abilities collided.

The clash was decided within a second.

Chwajajajak—!

The dragon’s authority pronounced judgment.

<Breath> was cut off helplessly.

A massive lump of power was sliced and scattered in all directions.

Startled, Ju Ye-young scrambled to respond, but the attack was already moments from the back of her neck.

As if he’d been waiting, Yu Seha waved his hand.

The sword qi of the Ghost-Shadow Sword vanished from that spot as if evaporating.

Even if it had struck, it wouldn’t cause serious injury, and there was no reason for bloodshed.

“Phew…”

‘That’s good.’

Yu Seha wiped his sweat and stepped forward.

He offered his hand to help Ju Ye-young, who had fallen onto her rear.

She blinked her green eyes and a small “Yongaah…” slipped out.

He smiled slightly, thinking she must indeed be Ju Na-young’s mother.

“Um, are you alright?”

“Yo, Yongwae…”

“Um…”

“Yo, Yongaah, sorry—it’s a habit I gave up long ago… I was just so surprised it slipped out.”

Ju Ye-young smiled awkwardly and took Yu Seha’s hand.

A moment later, sitting on a bench, Ju Ye-young downed an entire bottle of water in one go.

She let out a small “huh…” as if thirsty, then smiled warmly at Yu Seha, who hadn’t broken a sweat.

“Let’s end the match here.”

At Ju Ye-young’s words, Yu Seha bowed his head.

“That’s a lot to ask. Thank you for accepting.”

“No—rather, I’m glad I could witness the power of an Absolute in the not-so-distant future.”

Yu Seha scratched his head, embarrassed.

A rather cheesy title.

But Yu Seha’s current strength fit the title perfectly.

Ju Ye-young watched his innocent smile and exhaled, relieved she was on his side.

Then she reached out to shake his hand.

“Let’s face each other again next time.”

“Yes.”

Ten minutes later, after asking for permission, Ju Ye-young met her daughter, Ju Na-young, who had come to watch.

Ju Na-young hopped up and down the moment she saw her mother.

“Mom, Mom! How was it? How was it!?”

Ju Na-young’s eyes sparkled with stars.

Ju Ye-young chuckled and smoothed her daughter’s hair.

“No need to say more… Definitely at the S-rank apex.”

No… he’s beyond that.

“Yongaah! As expected, Yu Seha… he’s amazing!”

Ju Ye-young watched her daughter rejoice in the man’s greatness.

She drew closer and whispered into her ear.

“Uh, Mom…?”

“Do you love him?”

The question came out bluntly; Ju Na-young flinched and looked to her mother for cues.

Then she nodded without hesitation.

“…Yes, I like him.”

Ju Ye-young was silent for a moment.

It was the same question she’d asked on vacation.

Even then, her daughter had been cautious and protective of him—a behavior that clearly sprang from deep affection.

Ju Ye-young smiled faintly.

She hugged her daughter and encouraged her.

“I see… Then never let him go.”

“Uh, Mom…?”

“Don’t worry about the small stuff—leave that to me. First, get him in your arms. Once your heart is set, use whatever means necessary; bring that boy into your arms.”

This had nothing to do with Dragon Sword Mir; she wasn’t speaking as Clan Master Ju Ye-young but as a mother.

“Do it solely for your own happiness… understood?”

Ju Na-young held back a small sob and nodded.

“…Yes!”

That late afternoon, Ju Na-young was flying, gazing at the sinking, brilliant sun.

Yes—she really was flying.

Not with toy wings at her temples, but with enormous, flapping wings that proclaimed her red-dragon blood as she powered through the sky.

Over the past few months, under Yu Seha’s training and encouragement—since he’d mastered flight earlier—she had finally learned to fly.

“—Y-Yu Seha! Can you see this?! I said, can you see it?! I’m flying, I’m flying!”

“—I can see it, amazing Ju Na-young! You finally did it! See, I told you you could!”

“—Yonghehe… So, then… you’ll keep your promise to transform into a dragon often, right? And even the kid version too, right?”

“—…Uh, yeah. It’s a promise.”

“—Yongaah~”

Of course, it wasn’t perfect.

She still had a touch of acrophobia, so she couldn’t fly above a certain altitude.

Still, she could soar above most buildings and fly freely.

Ju Na-young giggled and looked down.

In her arms, Yu Seha was held in a princess carry.

Originally they’d planned to fly together, but Ju Na-young had insisted on carrying him.

Yu Seha readily agreed.

Of course, he wore a sour, resentful expression.

“…Um, Ju Na-young?”

“Yongaah?”

“…Do you really have to be in this pose?”

“Hehe, I really wanted to try it.”

Yu Seha clicked his tongue and made another complaint.

“…Then do you have to look exactly like this?”

“Yongaah, why! It’s cute~ I just want to give your cheeks a big kiss.”

“No, don’t do that. Honestly I’m starting to feel a little uncomfortable with this appearance…”

“It’s just lovable, what’s there to be uncomfortable about~”

Surprisingly, Yu Seha wasn’t a twenty-year-old youth right now.

He had taken on the appearance of a child around ten years old.

It matched the look he’d taken when he paid the price, but this time he’d done it by a completely different method.

He had used the power of Complete Devour to make his body younger.

To mock his limited imagination, Complete Devour’s capabilities proved endless.

In fact, he could manifest most of the fantasies in his mind into reality.

It was a wonder worthy of the name ‘authority.’

Thanks to that, if he wished he could take on the form of a young boy at any time.

It wasn’t limited to children—tests showed he could vary the age range, even become middle-aged or elderly.

Of course, there didn’t seem to be any reason to use those forms.

As an aside, the clothes Yu Seha wore were an artifact designed to automatically alter body shape and form for this purpose.

In effect, it was essential for properly using Complete Devour.

Moon Bora had been the one to get him the clothes.

Of course, it hadn’t been free.

“—…Seha?”

“—Uh, yeah?”

“—…I’ll give you this, so make me one promise. Will you, will you periodically transform into an adorable child form?”

“—Ugh, huh? Yeah?”

“—P-please do it. I’ll dote on you so much… Ah, can you change gender too, so you could become a girl-child? I have so many pretty clothes… Or we could even register several names and use multiple identities? Or, or, just join as my little sibling!?”

“—……”

Yu Seha shuddered.

Ju Na-young watched him and grinned ear to ear.

“See, he’s light and easy to carry~ Decisively super cute, and I can practice caregiving in advance~”

“Huh? What practice?”

“Yo, Yongaah!? Ah, never mind, ho, I was just talking to myself!”

“Hmm?”

Blushing, Ju Na-young gave a vague explanation.

She couldn’t bring herself to say it aloud.

Later, in the not-too-distant future—after being lovey-dovey in bed with Yu Seha, doing dragon cuddles and smooches—if many adorable children were born, imagining them this size and holding them to her chest, she couldn’t possibly call it ‘practice.’