“Long time no see, Yujin.”
Melisia gazed at Yujin from between the trees of the Great Forest. Yesterday, during the battle outside, she had sensed Yujin’s presence among the trees.
So she had come looking for him. “You’ve been acting as a caretaker for the children, haven’t you?”
She smiled warmly at the sight of Yujin taking care of the kids. Ever since losing his wife, the Saintess, Yujin had wandered aimlessly through life. But now, watching over the children seemed to fill that void within him.
‘What changed?’
Normally, he would have hated playing the role of a babysitter. What could have been the turning point in his life? Melisia’s curiosity grew as she observed him.
“… Hmm?”
At that moment, she noticed a familiar shape at Yujin’s waist. An unusual dagger, unlike any human weapon—this dagger looked oddly familiar.
‘If my memories from so many years can recall it, it must be important.’
She searched through the ocean of memories.
“Ah!”
Finally, it came back to her. Long ago, before he had even fully trained as a warrior, the elders had warned about dangerous relics.
‘What was that?’
She recalled seeing a strange dagger in a book the elders handed out—an artifact similar to the one Yujin now carried.
‘That…’
The elders had said this about the dagger:
‘One of the fragments containing the ancient Demon God.’
‘An object no human should ever possess.’
‘Unable to be destroyed, but must be sealed immediately upon discovery.’
The elders’ words were clear. Long ago, there was a Demon God who defied fate itself. But the First Great Mother had shattered the Demon God into multiple fragments. If all fragments reunited, the Demon God would be resurrected, and the world would perish.
“Yujin…”
So why does he carry such a thing? Has he become a host, seduced by the dagger’s power? Melisia looked at him with a sorrowful gaze.
“Hmm?”
“Oh no!”
Suddenly, a mercenary accompanying Yujin turned his head sharply. It seemed he had caught the stray sound before Yujin could hide behind a tree.
“… What was that?”
The mercenary frowned, then looked away again.
“Sharp senses, indeed.”
That mercenary must be quite skilled. Melisia made a mental note to assess his abilities later but now had more pressing matters.
“Why does he have that dagger?”
The fact that Yujin carried such a relic was unsettling. If its nature were known, he wouldn’t have kept it hidden. But Yujin wouldn’t carry something unknown without reason. “Could it be?”
Is he trying to collect the Demon God’s fragments? But the only outcome of that is ruin. There is no peaceful ending waiting for Yujin.
“No… maybe he wants that very outcome.”
Melisia guessed the reason. Since the Saintess’s death, Yujin had been chasing death itself. Perhaps his self-destructive nature was guiding him still.
“If the Demon God is resurrected,” he might fulfill his desire. The curse of a scholar who cannot sever his own fate.
She understood his pain, but, “I’m sorry, I must stop you.”
And she had to act quickly. As the elders had said, the resurrection of the Demon God would unleash a catastrophe ending both humanity and the Melph.
“The Demon God’s awakening.”
It would be an even graver crisis than the Demon King’s descent a hundred years ago.
Ssssh!
Melisia began to move.
“I must meet with Yujin.”
And stop him, no matter what.
*****
‘Damn it, why did she come?’
Yujin tensed at Melisia’s appearance. Delf, the warrior who had trained the hero Ian, was known for avoiding worldly affairs. Few knew her name.
“But her skill can’t be ignored.”
She had raised the hero who slew the Demon King. And being an ageless being with centuries of experience, her strength and mastery were beyond ordinary.
“Never once have I defeated her.”
Even with the body of a water mage and the power of the Dark Knight, she was unbeatable. Not even the Empire’s Seven Blades could match her.
“Why have you come to me?”
Yujin asked the fairy directly. Melisia was too clever to be teased around; it was better to ask straightforwardly than to guess from hints.
“Didn’t you rampage wildly yesterday?”
Melisia spoke oddly instead of answering directly. Did she mean the battle with the monsters? Then she must have been watching from the Great Forest.
“Then why didn’t you help?”
“Me?”
Melisia smiled at the question, a smile that said, ‘Do you really know me?’ She had hidden away even during the Demon King’s descent—she wouldn’t interfere in something like that.
Disgusted by her meaning, Yujin clicked his tongue.
“Just an old woman who lives too long.”
“Haha, is that so?”
Melisia laughed off the insult. “Not a word from someone who transcends human life.” Her laughter carried a sharp sting.
Melisia pointed at the dagger that Milru was possessed by. The warning to give up collecting the divine fragments was clear: do not gather the fragments of the gods.
“… How much do you know?”
Yujin circulated his inner mana and asked. Maybe Melisia wanted to remove an obstacle, and if necessary, Yujin would have to fight her.
“As much as I need.”
Melisia wasn’t surprised by his reaction. She must have expected him to be ready to fight. Yet she still wasn’t prepared herself. This meant either she wanted to continue talking, or she had confidence she could win anyway. Perhaps it was a calculated risk.
Annoyed by being underestimated, Yujin decided to hear her out.
“Why should I listen to you?”
“Do you want to destroy the peace you created?”
“What do you mean?”
If gathering the divine fragments breaks the world’s balance, then she must know the identity of Ilru. Yujin decided to pry more information.
“That dagger,”
Melisia spoke bluntly.
“Contains the Demon God.”
“The Demon God?”
Yujin had heard of gods but never of Demon Gods. Reading his expression, Melisia asked again.
“So, why did you come?”
Yujin demanded.
“You still beat around the bush.”
Never underestimate the cunning of elves. Their lifespan was much longer than humans’, so if you indulged them, you might only hear the real answer years later.
“Enough!”
Melisia folded her arms and spoke firmly.
“You really are cold-hearted. Don’t you want to catch up with me?”
“An old woman over a thousand years old acting cute just annoys me.”
Yujin acted like a teenage boy, but her bluntness was typical of this warrior. It didn’t anger him anymore.
“You’re still a boring man, Yujin.”
Melisia stopped joking. Her playful expression faded, and her green eyes fixed on him seriously.
“There’s only one reason I came.”
She pointed her index finger at his dagger sheath.
“Stop what you’re trying to do.”
“… What?”
“You really don’t understand?”
“Of course not. How would you know?”
How had she swallowed Milru’s existence? Pointing out the dagger was suspicious enough, but how did she know about the Demon God?
[That woman is dangerous.]
‘Huh?’
Milru, who had been silent, suddenly spoke. Even he was breaking his silence to speak, so what was Melisia’s true identity?
[You can never defeat her in your current state.]
Was that all he said?
‘Don’t tell me. Hey, what did you do in your youth?’
[It’s not a Demon God. Don’t compare me to those cheap little swords.]
Milru’s voice sounded irritated, whether at being called a Demon God or being compared to lesser beings.
“Hmph. Explain yourself.”
Melisia sighed and began.
“That dagger is an artifact from an ancient empire that ruled the Demon Realm.”
“Huh?”
Yujin furrowed his brow at this new information. There was an empire even in the Demon Realm? It was supposed to be tribal states when the Demon King descended.
“And that artifact is one of the fragments of the Demon God, resurrected by the First Demon King.”
“The First Demon King…”
Probably the one who summoned Ilru. Yujin remembered cursing that king the first time they met. But speaking so casually in front of such a historic figure was bold. “So?”
The persuasion was lacking. Though Yujin didn’t fully understand Ilru’s identity, they shared a common goal.
“So what!”
Melisia’s expression turned incredulous for the first time.
“You’re trying to resurrect the Demon God!”
“When the Demon God awakens, a catastrophe like the Demon King’s descent a hundred years ago will happen!”
“Yes! Give me that dagger!”
Ilru, quietly listening, scoffed. [Nonsense. I will wipe out humanity’s civilization, not destroy it.] After a pause, he added another cryptic remark.
[… The one who destroyed civilization was humanity itself.]
He couldn’t convey the meaning precisely, but Melisia’s words didn’t make Yujin give up. She had no right to stop his will in the first place.
“Even if that’s true, it doesn’t matter.”
“What?”
Suddenly, a murderous aura radiated from Delf.
“Ugh…!”
The sharp aura felt like flesh being torn. Those who have reached a certain level can put their will into their mana; that mana becomes fighting spirit affecting the surroundings.
Crack…
‘But this level of aura is annoying!?’
The murderous energy from the elf cracked the ground and tore at Yujin’s skin. Hot blood flowed from the wound.
[I guess you can’t go back in one piece.]
‘Stop talking and help!’
This mess is all because of you, Milru, yet he spoke as if from across a river. Meanwhile, Melisia asked with wide eyes.
“I ask again.”
She stretched out her right hand to the right, and particles gathered in her palm. They formed the shape of a cross-shaped longsword.
“Mi… crazy.”
It was the sacred sword of hero Ian.
“That was in your possession…”
The Solaris, the Solar Sword. Since Ian’s death, its whereabouts were unknown. So this woman was hiding the Sword of the Sun.
Joy!
Melisia brandished Solaris and pointed it at Yujin. Though about fifteen steps apart, Solaris’s mere aim could level the surroundings.
Whoosh…
Flames of solar energy rose from the sword’s tip. A radiant sphere of light, the moment it unleashed would incinerate whatever the blade pointed at.
Fssst…
The grass around was already turning to ash. What if Yujin took the full brunt? It would take time to recover.
‘In that time, Ilru will escape.’
The fairy asked again.
“Will you truly not give up?”
“Damn it…!”
Depending on Yujin’s answer, a disaster would unfold. If he refused, everything would turn to ashes; if he gave up, the dagger would have to be handed over.
‘Either way,’
the dagger would fall into Melisia’s hands.
“Hey, Ilru.”
[You want me to lend you power?]
“Yes.”
Right now, they had to unite to defeat Delf. Even if they couldn’t win, at least they could prevent the dagger from being taken. Ilru opened his mouth to respond.
[My current power is insufficient.]
That wasn’t the answer Yujin wanted.
‘So you won’t lend your power?’
[Of course not.]
Ilru smiled confidently.
[I have enough strength to defeat that elven witch.]
‘Then lend me that power!’
[Already done.]
Along with Ilru’s words, a hot mana surged into Yujin’s right hand. Upon looking closely, a tattoo-like seal appeared on the back of his hand. This must be the symbol of Ilru’s power.
‘The power of a god…’
At least for now, Yujin could endure. No matter how strong a skilled fairy was, before divine power, all mortals were insignificant.
He said to Melisia, “I refuse.”
Melisia raised an eyebrow at the rejection. First surprise flickered in her expression, then it softened into sadness.
“I see…”
She added softly,
“I actually liked you.”
Then Solaris’s solar flames exploded.
Whoooosh—!
[Extend your right hand!]
Just before the wave of solar destruction crashed down, Ilru shouted. Yujin had already stretched out his right hand, and the seal on his hand began to glow.
[Aegis!]
With Ilru’s shout, a burst of light erupted from Yujin’s right hand. The light spun spirally and formed a circular barrier.
The circular shield met Solaris’s solar energy head-on.
—!
A deafening roar shook the heavens and earth, then—
“Wha…?”
As if by magic, everything fell silent. The solar wave released by Solaris vanished as if it had never existed.
“… What is this…”
Melisia was stunned that her attack had been nullified. The attack from the sacred sword Solaris was normally impossible to break; even the Great Mother could not nullify its solar flames. Then she understood the reason for this phenomenon.
“It’s the power of the Demon God!”
[Even if it’s not the Demon God!]
Ilru snapped at her words. This power was definitely his. Melisia gripped her sword tighter, readying herself.
“I don’t want to stain my hands with blood.”
“Then go home.”
Yujin’s eyes blazed with determination.
Not even death itself would force him to give up the dagger.
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