324 — To Not Forget

Yu Seha stepped back. The thrust required no movement, but he deliberately dodged it—an honest evasion. When he counterattacked, the illusion of <Turtle Knight> shattered.

With his eyes closed, Yu Seha executed thrusts. His body and internal qi shifted endlessly under [Complete Devour]; plants around him sprouted, rotted, and regrew, feeding on that cycle.

One hit, two, three, then a five-hit thrust. Vrrr! The sword’s tip hummed, vibrating without the slightest tremor. He could have chained hundreds of linked mysteries into endless strikes if he’d wanted, but he chose not to.

Stray thoughts trailed through Yu Seha’s mind. Training usually meant clearing distractions and embodying a single, peaceful martial intent, but he deliberately filled himself with thoughts. They fanned out like a thousand mind maps, coalescing into a universe in which he became even more self-aware.

They were precious training—memories of the past and an opportunity to look back on himself.

Before he knew it, the surrounding scenery shifted. He was in the basic training hall open to all cadets.

‘Ah, so that’s where we talked.’

They’d met earlier, but this was the first time they’d honestly exchanged names one-on-one.

It was the place where he’d evolved a <2-hit thrust> into a <3-hit thrust>, and where the adorably cute ‘Yongaah!’ echoed beyond the glass.

Yu Seha smiled and turned his gaze. A tuft of red, foolish hair swayed beyond the window.

He crept up and surprised her with peekaboo; the girl who cried ‘Yongaah!’ toppled backward, and he even handed her a perilla-mint Mentos.

‘She was cute.’

She’d been like that then, but now she was even lovelier—the ‘Yongaah’ girl, Ju Na-young.

Their connection formed in droplets and etched itself deep within Yu Seha; he recalled each moment as if to never forget.

Memories surged like an undertow. Before long they pulled him to the soft-hearted, kind ‘Hung-aeng-aeng’ girl—the one he once suspected, later cried over, regretted, and apologized to.

‘Kukuk.’ Yu Seha laughed. Pretending to be haughty and cold, she was kind by nature and always got the short end of the stick.

Though her body was the most mature, her heart remained childlike.

‘She was whining again this morning…’

He packed her a lunch, hugged her from behind, and planted a ‘smooch~’ on her cheek. She’d greeted him, ‘Let’s have dinner together tonight~ Se-ha.’

Moon Bora.

Everything that followed from meeting her up to this moment of being together was a tremendous blessing.

‘Ah, ah…’

Yu Seha continued swinging his sword like a dance. His chain of thought always ended with her.

Climbing and climbing, memories reversed and reversed until they reached the original beginning and Yu Seha’s unchanged resolve. They led him to his precious favorite character.

A shabby face, ragged leather armor patched here and there because there was no money. A Myoin tribe girl holding an old shield she had invested in and polished diligently.

‘Ma Hana.’

Peng Jin-ah, like an angel—the greatest pillar of my life.

He remembered the ‘Muaah~’ she first showed. That was the start of everything, and recently it had culminated in a woman’s kiss, tongues exchanging.

Yu Seha smiled and moved in a state of self-forgetfulness.

Around him, countless clusters of colored light quietly burst forth.

It was the heavenly path that unfolds for those who , a harmony born of enlightenment and realm.

Normally this would force ascension; without a far stronger rank, one couldn’t refuse the pull.

But this wasn’t his first time. When he first acquired [Complete Devour] through dealings with the ‘Demon King’ and the ‘Tyrant’, similar signs had appeared and were quelled by a temporary retirement as the price.

That experience hardened into a domain of power, and before long he reached a stage where he could shrug off such heavenly hands and act as he pleased.

Like Sword Ghost So Hang-woo, Yu Seha refused to ascend and remained here.

He swung his sword in all directions. From the tip an immaterial thread sprang out, winding like a skein to enfold the [Sword of the Saint]. Strand by strand it formed the heart-sword countless martial artists yearned for—the ease with which he could wield it revealed the height of his realm.

He didn’t stop. A geometric dance unfolded—triangle to square to pentagon—the extreme of the Guiying Sword (Ghost-Shadow Sword), evolving with every moment.

And it soon condensed into a single form.

“…”

Yu Seha looked at the [Sword of the Saint]. A perfect sphere rippled into being—the endpoint of the Ghost-Shadow Sword reached by the Sword Ghost. He had finally arrived there. No—he had surpassed it. Colors flowed across the sphere as countless enlightenments fused; it was the phenomenon that appears when the five mysteries of the sword blend into one.

Yu Seha slowly lowered his sword, internalizing the countless images, extremes, and realizations until he returned to his original self.

“Hoo…”

The most ordinary of ordinary people—loved by everyone, in the original form that symbolized Yu Seha more than anyone.

Suddenly, he muttered.

“Status window.”

Yu Seha lightly ignored it. He had no intention of becoming a god, nor of being swayed by high-ups he didn’t even know.

‘Right? Demon King.’

A brief silence. When no answer came and he found it odd, another transcendent being replied.

[‘Hmm, the Demon King seems a bit busy lately. He’s not here.’]

‘Ah, is that so.’

Indeed, they hadn’t been able to converse lately; it seemed there were some circumstances.

“Hm?”

He noticed belatedly that his whole body was covered in sweat. He could have used magic to evaporate it or disabled the function to stop sweating altogether, but he chose not to.

All of these were human things, one by one. He deliberately bore the discomfort and turned to fetch the bottled water and towel he’d put in his bag.

It was then. As if waiting, a presence became unmistakable, and a voice that tickled his ears reached him—so seductive it seemed like melting silk wrapped around the throat.

Even the words were alluring.

“Master~”

“…”

A normal man with no resistance to charm would have been utterly enthralled.

Yu Seha turned his head with a displeased expression.

When their eyes met, the other twisted their body as if unsure what to do, then slowly approached with a sweet smile.

“I prepared a towel and bottled water here, Master~”

“…”

Yu Seha clicked his tongue and appraised the woman. About 170 cm tall and slender, clear features, an attractive smiling eye, even a beauty spot beneath the eye—she was the sort of gentle-looking beauty many men preferred. Her pale lemon hair and green pupils reflected him like a clear mirror. Up close, she was very similar to someone he knew.

‘Senior Mari.’

She looked almost identical to Choi Mari—essentially a one-sided copy.

In truth, the real problem was her outfit: fishnet stockings and a bunny girl suit with an unusually exposed chest, a towel and water bottle tucked between her cleavage.

“…”

Yu Seha clicked his tongue and pointed his forefinger at her.

Chaaak-!

The fingernail at the tip of his finger darkened and transformed into a tentacle-like appendage that moved rhythmically—an application of body transformation using [Complete Devour]. With it he snagged the two items without touching flesh.

“Kya-hong, Master, you’re so rough~”

“…Don’t make noises like you’re enjoying it on purpose. It’s disgusting.”

“Eh~ Disgusting? At this size, shape, and elasticity it’s perfect, isn’t it? I put a lot of care into setting this look.”

She looked herself over and smiled in satisfaction.

Yu Seha pressed his forehead and shook his head.

“…I gave you several outfits. Why did you insist on wearing such rag-like clothes?”

“Because men go crazy for it~ And you don’t have to use honorifics… you’re my master now.”

“Who is a master? It’s just a contract relationship, i.e., business.”

“Ah~ If the master just orders it, I’d strip and do that kind of thing~ It’s more exploitation than business, exploitation.”

“…Am I supposed to get angry?”

“Sob sob, I’m joking, but you’re too cold.”

“…Don’t fake crying.”

Yu Seha pressed his temple as if tired. Had he known she had this personality, he might have reconsidered the contract…

“Like I said a few days ago, if you want I can cancel it anytime—”

“-No~ I don’t want that.”

He sighed. A person resembling Choi Mari stood before him; she would naturally bring that image to mind.

‘Barbados.’

She was a hierarchical lord of the Tower of Oracle. She stood right in front of him.