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“Fuck, this hurts like hell.”
“…”
Moon Ha-yeon collapsed to the floor and heaved up black blood.
It wasn’t ordinary blood; it was a kingly presence imbued with Magi—the crystallized life force expelled by a
The blood evaporated the moment it hit the air.
Her body cracked in places and gradually crumbled.
This wasn’t merely a body’s collapse.
More importantly, her soul was slowly dissolving.
Yu Seha looked down at her in silence. He clicked his tongue softly, confirming his suspicion.
For the record, he was far less injured than when he had been the Sword Ghost.
‘It couldn’t be helped.’
Moon Ha-yeon may have had more total power, but the Sword Ghost So Hang-woo’s actual strength had been far more overwhelming.
Even that Sword Ghost had been decisively defeated in a direct fight.
This battle had been decided the moment Yu Seha toppled the Sword Ghost.
Moon Ha-yeon hadn’t been an easy opponent. Her threat didn’t come merely from being a Demon King—the real terror was the poisonous malice she harbored.
Yu Seha shrugged off the combat coat wrapped around him. Part of it had been ripped away entirely, and where it hadn’t regenerated a deep darkness shimmered. It was something he’d taken during their final clash, when it had seemed finished.
He smiled bitterly.
“Really… you’re vicious, poisonous.”
Moon Ha-yeon glared at him with disgust. She hesitated, then spat something from her mouth: a crushed fragment of Yu Seha’s heart—quite a large piece.
She cursed.
Amid whipping sword energy, she had struck prepared vital points, aiming to shred flesh and seize bone. There were simply too many targets.
“…Fuck, how many hearts do you have right now?”
“Nine. And five brains, by the way. It’s not normally like this—I emptied unnecessary organs and refilled them with authority just for this moment.”
“…Even if I crush all of those…”
“Of course you won’t die.”
“You monster. I really can’t tell who’s the Demon King.”
She sighed. She already knew—she had intuited it from the start. She had felt Yu Seha’s presence from afar, and the moment he arrived at the temple and displayed his exalted rank, she sensed her fate.
She felt the difference between someone like her—who had clawed up using fortune and tricks—and someone who ascended by innate talent.
‘Damn, he’s too strong.’
Muttering, Moon Ha-yeon—
Yu Seha looked at her and asked another question.
“Lifespan.”
“…”
“How much time did you originally have left?”
“You already guessed…”
“Of course I did. I could see you collapsing the moment I looked.”
Moon Ha-yeon clicked her tongue. “One month.”
“As expected, even if the Mun family’s blood fully blossoms—”
“—trying to swallow the top-ranked Demon King was greedy. Still, I got this far because I’m who I am.”
“The option to go up earlier—”
“—doesn’t exist.”
Moon Ha-yeon stared at the
‘Like those parent bastards, or Tang Seo-ran and the like…’
Those who treated the world like a toy—she had realized recently that a nauseating wickedness like that existed even in the world ‘above.’
She would not bow to them, cling to them, or live a shameful life. Never again.
‘I won’t be a puppet of fate and play the clown. If I die, I die.’
“So? I’m honestly exhausted right now. Won’t you let me rest already?” she said.
Yu Seha shook his head. He dispelled the intangible sword and turned away.
“That’s not my role.”
“What?”
At the stair entrance Yu Seha had been looking at, Moon Ha-yeon turned to look as well. She showed surprise.
“You…”
A purple-haired woman, wounded in places and breathing roughly, had barely staggered in. She looked at Moon Ha-yeon with trembling eyes.
“Unni…”
Thud, thud!
Moon Bora felt her heart pounding. Even though she’d sworn and steeled herself, seeing her sister dying released a flood of grief.
She stepped forward and thanked Yu Seha as he made way. Her steps quickened into a hurried stride, and she reached her sister, whose body was fading from the feet upward.
“…”
“…”
Moon Bora looked at her sister’s collapsing soul and realized the hypothesis Yu Seha had mentioned a day ago was entirely correct.
The two sisters looked at each other. Moon Ha-yeon broke the silence.
“…Why did you come?”
“…Because I’m your younger sister… I came.”
Moon Ha-yeon snorted, then laughed. “So, how do I look? Pretty pathetic, right?” She chuckled self-deprecatingly and sighed deeply.
“…You struggled so much, you kowtowed, you finally got your revenge and even rose high enough to become a Demon King…”
And in the end, it’s like this.
She smiled bitterly and turned at the sound of sobbing. “Hmm?”
Moon Bora couldn’t hold back; tears streamed down her face. She covered her eyes with both hands and for a moment Moon Ha-yeon was dumbfounded.
‘Honestly…’
She thought her sister an idiot. Even in this state she could still attempt a final desperate move. What was she doing, sobbing instead of mustering strength for a surprise attack?
‘Is it fortunate…’
That stupid, scatterbrained sister… would be happy with that man.
She snorted and laughed at the thought. Looking back, she felt just as crazy. When had she ever really thought of her sister? She was a hypocrite.
Meanwhile, having calmed somewhat, Moon Bora spoke softly to her sister.
“Unni…”
“Why.”
“…You know, don’t you, if you die like this you won’t be able to reincarnate.”
It was the price paid for becoming a
“…So, you mean you’ll fix it?”
“…Yes.”
“…What?”
Moon Bora looked at Yu Seha. With his permission she checked the
—Fwoosh!!!
A white flame flared and formed a short dagger.
Moon Ha-yeon looked shocked. “…How do you have that…”
It was undoubtedly the [Sword of Pasa]. Of course, Moon Bora still lacked the qualification and talent to wield it. But because Yu Seha could use it, she could borrow it.
She stared at the [Sword of Pasa] in her hand. It was the technique that had once astonished her when Yu Seha first manifested it. With the thought that maybe she could save her sister, she infused it with an unfamiliar magic.
Recently Moon Bora had blossomed a new [Innate Ability]. It was a force completely opposite her sister Moon Ha-yeon’s [(Legendary skill)].
[Activating ‘Universal.’ This is an (Epic)-grade skill.][Grants special effects to skills and equipment.][Returns all of the struck target’s power to its most original natural state. It weakens and separates all powers the target possesses.]
Plunk!
Moon Bora thrust the dagger into Moon Ha-yeon’s heart in one swift motion.
She saw it with her own eyes: Moon Ha-yeon’s body, the combined authorities, and the Demon King’s soul being separated. It was merely a separation of power.
This couldn’t revive Moon Ha-yeon; she shouldn’t be brought back to life.
However…
“Someday… we might meet again.”
At least she had been granted the chance to be reborn.
“…”
Moon Ha-yeon looked at her hand. The Magi lingering in it drained away and vanished. Following that, her body crumbled into dust.
She hadn’t expected to leave the
She sighed and looked at her sister who kept crying like an idiot. She should have just left her to oblivion… Why, at the end, did she come to someone as trashy as her?
‘I don’t care anymore, now.’
Still, she felt she should give a final word as repayment.
Moon Ha-yeon took Moon Bora’s hand and murmured something to her surprised sister. It was undoubtedly a dying message. Moon Bora flinched, choked up, and nodded.
Moon Ha-yeon smiled bitterly and closed her eyes. She sank as if being submerged, the ossuary within her swallowed by darkness.
‘Min-su…’
Did I at least keep the promise I made to you? I stepped into the light without dying, and faced them proudly. I lost in the end, but…
‘I have no regrets.’
In the end, she couldn’t overturn the world. She couldn’t topple the hypocrites who oppressed the weak for personal gain, nor the hypocritical adults. It would be a lie to say she had no lingering regrets.
Still, things will get a little better. Yes, at least the world will be a little better.
In an instant, a faint presence reached out a hand before her. She looked at the hand and snorted.
‘What the—?’
Have you been waiting?
Rustle.
An old earring lay on the floor.
Moon Bora picked up her sister’s keepsake. She approached Yu Seha and apologized.
“…Seha, I’m sorry. I know she’s the enemy and I shouldn’t be sending her off so prettily. I know how many people died because of her, but still… at least for the last time…”
“It’s okay.”
At his single word, Moon Bora burst into loud sobbing as if a dam had broken. Regret, guilt, and a sense of relief poured out as tears.
Yu Seha wrapped his arms around her shoulders and gently held her.
Kugugugu-!!!
Dawn light mingled with the last of the sunset. Beyond the white radiance, the temple Moon Ha-yeon had created slowly collapsed.
Some fleeing villains and minions could be seen, but most were subdued by the hunters and either died on the spot or were taken into custody.
On the hill where everything was clearly visible—
Yu Seha sat down and closed his eyes. The fight was over.
Although there was no sound, a phrase replayed in his head.
[You have successfully cleared all of the
[Congratulations. You have reached your own ending.]
[All subsequent actions are entirely your own story.]
[May you spend eternal, happy times with those precious, grateful, and beloved to you.]
Something like that…
It was specific enough to feel deceptively real.
As he watched the first sun, he heard a familiar voice.
“Muaah, the sun is pretty.”
It was Ma Hana. She had released her
Yu Seha looked at her and reached into his chest pocket. He took out a Ju Na-young-brand handkerchief—always hard at work—and carefully wiped her clean.
“Mwang, mwang, mwaaang…”
“M… hey, you did well.”
“Mua~ the hard work was done by Se-ha and Bora.”
A brief, comfortable silence passed. It wasn’t awkward. Even without words, just being together was happier than anything.
Yu Seha glanced over. Ma Hana, hair fluttering and making a ‘mua~’ sound while smiling like an angel, captivated him.
He felt his heartbeat quicken; his face flushed slightly. He silently listened as the roughly voiced advice of two transcendent beings echoed in his head.
He took a deep breath and reached into his chest. He realized this was the moment he had been waiting for.
Gripping a palm-sized box, his voice came out louder than he intended, betraying his nerves.
“M, M-…!”
“Mua?”
“Th-that, um…”
“Muaang?”
Ugh, damn it!
Yu Seha darted his eyes around. He couldn’t properly face the fluffball tilting her head as if to ask why. He wondered if he was really such a coward.
They knew each other better than anyone, and now he couldn’t be without her; their relationship had become more precious than himself.
‘Be brave, Yu Seha.’
‘I have to do this myself!’
“…M, M…!”
“M, mua?! Seha, are you uncomfortable? Does it hurt? Do you want to go to the hospital?! Or do you want to lie on my lap?”
Instead of answering, Yu Seha carefully showed the box in his hand. Ma Hana blinked and her pupils dilated unbelievably wide.
“Mm, mua…?!” she murmured, covering her mouth with both hands.
Click.
When he opened the box, inside lay a pair of pure white rings.
“Muaah…”
“Phew…”
Yu Seha slowly took Ma Hana’s delicate hand and calmly placed a ring on her ring finger. Before he knew it, he was on one knee—calm, but with more passionate emotion in his eyes than before.
“M-… will you go out with me?”
“M, mwaang!”
“Not just dating…” he added. “With the premise of marriage in a few years… never parting, as lifelong partners. Stay by my side.”
“…!!!”
Yu Seha scratched his cheek and smiled brightly. “Ma Hana, I love you.”
Ma Hana stared at him, dazed. Emotions flickered across her face—stunned disbelief, rapid blinking—then she tugged her cheek and let out a short ‘mwaang!’
Soon teary droplets formed in her doe-like eyes. She gently took his anxious hand and, blushing, smiled brightly.
“Yes! If you’ll have me… gladly!”
Yu Seha laughed with joy. He hugged Ma Hana and lifted her up. They spun, looked at each other, and he gently set her down.
Finally, without caring who kissed first, they kissed softly—fresh like new lovers, sweet and happier than anyone.
It happened right after the confession. As if they’d been waiting, the presences who had quietly lingered throughout flocked out.
Ju Na-young rejoiced as if it were his own, and Moon Bora clapped loudly.
“Yongaa, what’s with Yu Seha—he’s such a man?”
“Miss Hana, Seha… congratulations. Truly so…”
Ma Hana blushed at their words, bowed her head, and gave a playful wink. “Mua, thanks for waiting…”
Her gratitude to the two who’d supported her was also her permission as his lawful partner.
Ju Na-young glanced at Moon Bora.
“Sob… whine… sob…”
Her eyes were swollen from crying. Looking at Moon Bora, he snapped his fingers and thrust out a fist.
“Hey, Moon Bora!”
“Whine…? Yes?”
“You remember the promise, right? The second concubine spot.”
“Ah…”
“I won’t give it up so easily, you better go all out too!”
Moon Bora blanked for a moment but then recalled the dying words her sister had left—her parting counsel.
—Take the second even if it’s second best, you idiot sister.
She nodded, accepting Ju Na-young’s challenge, light returning to her eyes.
“Of course. I’ll win.”
“Yongaa, I have no intention of losing to anyone except Ma Hana, you know?”
A stare-down continued, crackling with tension. Ma Hana teased, “Se-ha’s such a bad guy~” while Yu Seha blushed and coughed.
It was then someone crept up with low footsteps like a stray cat and quietly hugged Yu Seha from behind.
“Oh, Master?”
“Yu Seha…”
It was Peng Jin-ah. She was wounded in places, wrapped in bandages, and even wore an eye patch.
“…Are you feeling okay?”
“I’m fine. Thanks to your treatment, the lethal wounds were avoided, and he asked me to convey his thanks for healing his manor.”
“If only you could remove the injuries entirely… With my ability I could restore any wound—”
“—I appreciate the thought, but these were all sustained fighting the Sword Ghost. I want to heal with my own power.”
Peng Jin-ah glanced up at Yu Seha. A blush bloomed on her face, making her look like a flowering blossom.
“…Of all people, you are the one who sees, touches, and enjoys this body the most… so it shouldn’t be ugly, right?”
“Ah, um…”
At such frankness, Yu Seha’s face turned beet red. Peng Jin-ah gave an eye-smile as if finding him cute, bowed, and made a request.
“Yu Seha, from now on I’d like you to call me by my name.”
“Oh, ah, yes… Master… no, Peng Jin-ah.”
“Yes, thank you.”
She bowed to Ma Hana, who grinned and gave bright consent; Peng Jin-ah snuggled into his arms.
“Ji, Jin-ah…?”
“…Yu Seha, I’m the concubine of the lowest rank, but I’m confident I can make you happy.”
“…Yes?”
“Perhaps… any desired outfit or play? Or, like those girls who talk about Balbatos or whatever… would you like to be called ‘M-master’ and enjoy it?”
“…Eh?”
Somehow, the final concubine’s fierce assault proceeded ominously. Only then did the grumbling Ju Na-young and Moon Bora notice her.
“I’m already thirty-one this year… and I have zero experience with men, never even held hands. You’re my first. From now on, everything of mine is yours. Being the latest, I must strive. If you tell me anything, I’ll do as you say…”
“Yoongaaaat! Unni! That’s dirty!”
“That’s right, Professor! That’s dirty!”
Despite her words, Peng Jin-ah couldn’t hide her embarrassment and lowered her head. Ju Na-young and Moon Bora cried, “This isn’t right…!” and “Yoongaaah!”
Yu Seha chuckled and, like a true man, hugged all three at once.
“…Please wait a little. I’ll confess properly to each of you like I did to—”
“Whine!” “Yonga.” “Mm…”
Yu Seha turned and extended his hand to Ma Hana. She took it and leapt into his arms.
Finally, the bright smile that always defined her returned.
“Muaah~”
She wore a meowi-like smile.
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