323 — To Not Forget

Four months ago.

This happened right after Yu Seha resolved all the horrors tied to Ma Hana, and after they returned having confirmed their love for each other.

“Mua, Seha. Truly, truly thank you. It’s all thanks to you, Seha. That my story and my parents’ story didn’t end tragically is…”
“On the contrary, I’m the one who should thank you for saying that.”

After returning, Ma Hana entrusted the Soul Stone containing her parents’ spirits to Yu Seha.

She judged it would be safest in his possession.

“By the way, is it okay if we don’t tell Hyeja noona and Professor Cha Yeo-joo? That Senior Ma Tae-han is alive…”
“Mua, I’ll tell those two myself later. It seems like this will stir up more waves than I expected… so it’s hard to say it carelessly.”
“I see. Well, it’s not an easy matter—”
“—it could mean I’ll end up with three moms added to my life…”
“I see… huh? Wait, Meowi, what did you say?”
“Mua~”

Ma Hana first told Ju Na-young and Moon Bora everything that happened and the horrors of the Trial.

She didn’t have to tell them. It was a deeply personal matter—the fewer ears that knew, the better.

There might be no problem right now. After all, it was the bloodline of the Demon King. If people learned she was a descendant carrying the second-ranked heir’s blood—whether out of fear, terror, usefulness, or fanaticism toward the Demon King—some would approach with agendas. No matter how close, there are always things worth hiding.

Still, Ma Hana didn’t want to hide it. She didn’t ask for sympathy; she simply believed telling them was the right thing to do.

Critically, she could trust them as much as Seha. If Peng Jin-ah had been there, she would have told her too.

—Hoo, hngeng!
—Yongaah!

At the sound, Moon Bora burst into tears. Ju Na-young’s eyes filled as well. They hugged Ma Hana, telling her she had endured too much and that she could be happy now.

—Mua, mua… kids.
—Hana, it’s okay. We’re always with you.
—Yongaah… so that’s why you understood what the Demon King Kazantia said back then. I was curious… anyway, there’s no problem now, right?
—Yeah, ah, there won’t be any repercussions for the baby…
—That’s a relief. Really…

A sea of tears. Yu Seha, who had been secretly listening from behind the wall, smiled with relief.

The next remark, however, gave him a bit of goosebumps…

—Uh, um, Hana?
—Mua?
—Th-that horse-shaped creature you showed earlier… it wasn’t a joke… are you going to do it in that form?
—Mua, muang… if, if Seha wants…
—Yonga, I was thinking we three already have the same figure, right? If we add unnie here… then we could do a four-patty hamburger concept……
—Hoo, hngengeng! Nayong, you’re too lewd!

The school term resumed after the break. Yu Seha and the others had been promoted to third year.

The four who always stuck together—without much self-awareness—had literally become objects of admiration to first- and second-year juniors.

It couldn’t be helped.

Moon Bora, head of the Moon family and ranked number one in the <Magic Studies Department>.

Ju Na-young, the legitimate successor of <Dragon Sword Mir>, confirmed by the news to be the next guildmaster.

Ma Hana, despite an unremarkable origin and a build ill-suited to be a tank, proudly upheld her reputation as the Iron-Blood Empress.

And finally, Yu Seha—not merely a cadet but an absolute powerhouse beyond what active hunters could match.

People came from everywhere to see them, and many enrolled hoping to get close.

‘Of course, it’s bothersome so I won’t entertain them.’

Yu Seha left the scheduling to Chairman Yu Neung-hae. He registered only for mandatory courses. He had completed the graduation exams long ago, so there were no academic problems.

He was preparing for the future, both outwardly and inwardly.

‘First, should I strengthen the foundations…’

Yu Seha sat cross-legged and took slow breaths.

Surprisingly, as he exhaled, unidentified plants began to grow and entangle around him.

This was Peng Jin-ah’s personal training room—odd, since the space naturally shouldn’t allow plants to grow.

Soon a small tree sprouted at his back and, in the blink of an eye, transformed into a massive ancient tree supporting him like a backrest.

A dominion—the union with nature granted by [Complete Devour]—increased the circulation of magic power and elevated his mental imagery.

‘Focus… keep stacking them one by one.’

Build a tower that will never collapse. Yu Seha did not indulge in his own strength. Ability is, after all, merely a means; the most important thing was his children. He continued cultivating himself to protect them.

‘Don’t let your guard down, don’t be arrogant…’

Even absolute dominion corrupts its owner the moment they fall into it. Yu Seha didn’t want that. He always envisioned the scenario where he failed and lost.

When hardships and despair arrive—what can truly overcome them?

‘Belief in oneself.’

And that belief fundamentally comes from an imagery that never collapses.

Yu Seha pushed [Complete Devour] to the extreme. Vast magic power flowed, cycling through depletion and recovery.

He checked and applied every skill he possessed. Some revealed possibilities for —which skills could merge to create new paths; formulas and blueprints unfolded in his mind.

He shook his head and set them aside for now. Adding more power here would be excessive.

‘No problem if I handle it later.’

“Hoo…”

Yu Seha rose. Around his feet, countless plants bloomed and withered in cycles, forming an ecosystem.

He clenched his fist and thrust it forward again, feeling the flow of will, muscles, bones, and blood.

His hand shifted—from a human hand to a beastman’s paw thick with fur; from that to a fishfolk hand with scales and gills; then to an avian hand with feathers and small wings.

The fist transformed through countless races: into the hands of monsters, greenskins like goblins and orcs, and even into inanimate beings like golems and marionettes. It became skeletal, Dullahan-like, and later formless like slimes.

What had been a change of multiple forms per second quickly accelerated to dozens, then hundreds, then thousands of transformations.

Literally, all creatures of the land bloomed from the being called Yu Seha.

Naturally, his internal powers shifted into all manners of energy and mixed chaotically.

They clashed, they combined, they resisted and formed antagonism—and eventually achieved unity.

Magic power, holy power, ether, demonic energy, forces unknown to the mortal world, and powers beyond—they all swirled together.

‘Here…’

He added a new action.

Yu Seha withdrew his extended fist and gripped the sword in his hand: the fragile, cracked [Sword of the Saint] that could break at any moment.

He swung it without repairing it. He swung wildly, like a child handling a sword for the first time, then executed a precise, simple, honest vertical slash.

Vwoom, vwoom, vwoom!

He increased the speed; his posture grew ever more exact.

Yu Seha repeated the vertical slashes and smiled faintly.

‘…brings back memories.’

He remembered training when Peng Jin-ah had given him the Gravity Sword. She had worn a proud expression—he didn’t understand then, but he did now: she had been buying him time to find training suited to him.

‘She was really cute.’

Thirty minutes later, sweating coldly, he recalled the subtly pained expression on her face.

Until then, he hadn’t known how lovely a teacher could be—how tender their heart was, how beautiful…

‘…I want to see her.’

Yu Seha missed Peng Jin-ah. He wanted to pull her into his arms and breathe in her sweet, coffee-like scent; to feel a body soft and warm like fresh rice cake. In truth, if he willed it, he could summon her here anytime.

‘At the very least…’

In about an hour he could fly all the way to India where she was.

‘Phew…!’

Yu Seha poured those desires into his sword and slashed downward to purge them. He mustn’t summon his teacher and indulge himself.

‘I am human.’

Not a god. So he kept the rules. Yu Seha guarded against being consumed by desire—advice he’d been given by seniors who had risen above.

—‘The Demon King says that most beings of the Above have forgotten what they used to be; they are like children,’ they said.

—…Children?

—‘If they want to eat, they eat; if they want to sleep, they sleep; if they want something, they take it; if they want to kill, they kill; if they want to steal, they steal; if they dislike something, they destroy it all… The reason I and the Yokai King wander alone without belonging anywhere is because we’ve become sickened by their vile desires,’ they said.

—‘The Demon King particularly advised that since you are a being who can transform, mutate, mimic, change, evolve, and adapt into anything, you must be extra careful not to lose yourself,’ they advised.

The realm where transcendent beings periodically told stories felt vain and hollow to those who climbed it. Yu Seha, who had actually risen above, realized how meaningless much of it could be.

Now, tracing the past and rebuilding his foundation, raising his balance of imagery was partly to become stronger, but also—

‘I am human…’

—to avoid forgetting himself.

Vwoom-!

A straight-line downward strike became a natural thrust.

Shoong-!

One thrust became a double, then a triple.

Yu Seha projected a being in front of him: nothing special, just a monster that had left an impression.

‘<Turtle Knight>’.

The scene of an entrance exam formed around him.

Soon the <Turtle Knight> lunged, thrusting toward Yu Seha.