C395. Heartbeat/Gestation/Birth (10)
Cardinal Sergius of the Holy Kingdom Rosario, who serves the goddess Sironia, had lately been feeling a strange sense of discomfort. No, strictly speaking, it wasn't discomfort… it was doubt.
“…Excuse me, Yutia-nim?”
Sergius's voice reached Yutia, who was absentmindedly observing the landscape of Rosario through the office window. But Yutia did not respond; she simply continued looking, as if she hadn't heard a thing.
“...Yutia-nim?”
“Ah.”
When Sergius called her again, she finally let out a soft sigh, as if coming back to her senses.
On her face, which had been expressionless, a quiet smile appeared as she looked at him.
“What is the matter, Cardinal Sergius?”
“A-ah, what you ordered me to do the other time… I have already left everything arranged.”
Yutia repeated:
“Arranged?”
“Yes, didn't you mention it? The matter regarding the eastern village.”
Yutia, who was smiling calmly, let out a brief exclamation.
“I see. Did everything go well?”
“Yes, I took the measures just as you indicated.”
“I am glad. Thank you as always, Cardinal Sergius.”
“You are welcome. Then, I shall take my leave.”
“Yes, please do.”
Sergius bowed his head before Yutia’s smile and left the office.
As soon as he closed the door, he thought:
‘Definitely… something is wrong.’
It was the doubt he felt regarding Yutia Bloodia.
If someone had heard their conversation, they would have wondered:
“What part could have been strange?”
It had only been a brief exchange.
But Sergius's doubts only grew.
He had been in such a relationship with Yutia for years.
And although the relationship didn't start in the best way, the years that had passed gave it stability and, at the same time, a sufficient understanding of who she was.
That was why he immediately detected that she was acting unusually lately.
...Why is she forgetting so many things?
It is natural for humans to forget things. Even someone intelligent forgets details they do not consider important.
But those lapses did not fit the Yutia Bloodia he knew.
She remembered everything.
No, more than remembering: she seemed to foresee things.
She knew most of the information she could ever need.
But lately, something was wrong.
She had begun to forget things repeatedly.
Including, with alarming frequency, orders she herself had given.
Of course, it wasn't that she had become foolish.
If that single part was ignored, she was still exactly the Yutia Bloodia he knew.
And precisely for that reason, that discrepancy was so unsettling.
‘…What on earth is happening?’
Sergius stood staring for a while at the door of the office where she remained.
Seolrang observed the man in front of her.
A being with golden hair like hers. A beast man sitting in the middle of the temple waiting for her.
[I ask you again. Are you ready to abandon everything and accept the "Fragment"?]
At the question, Seolrang nodded without hesitation.
“Yes.”
A firm voice, without a single trace of doubt.
The man looked at her, amused, and let out a faint sigh.
[Until the last time you were trembling with fear, and now you speak with certainty. Where does that conviction come from?]
“Because I need power.”
[…What a worn-out yet righteous answer.]
“Give it to me already. You said you would give it to me the other time.”
At her impatience, the beast man laughed softly.
[Don't rush like that. If it is because the situation outside is urgent, do not worry. While you are here, the time outside will not flow.]
“...It won't flow?”
[To be exact, it will flow very, very slowly.]
Seolrang pursed her lips and muttered:
“You talk too much.”
[‘You’, you say… isn't that a bit cruel for someone who is about to give you power?]
“You said that as long as I accepted, you could give it to me whenever.”
[Don't be so impulsive. I already told you that time here barely runs, and besides…]
But the beast man continued to maintain a serene expression.
[I am just curious. A few days ago, even if I offered you power, you recoiled in fear… and now, in this instant, you insist on receiving it.]
He got up from where he was sitting and approached her.
[As you know, this power of the essence is strong. Very strong. And that is why it has a price.]
He raised three fingers, then lowered his thumb.
[One: if you cannot control the tremendous power and it goes into a frenzy, your body will explode, and you will be blown to bits.]
Then he lowered his middle finger.
[Two: even if you manage to control it and completely accept the power of the Supernatural Blood… you will no longer continue to be you.]
[As I explained to you, when you use the essence, your age is halted until you complete all its trials. And when it ends, you receive a “maturity” all at once that you never had before.]
He finally lowered his index finger.
[Three: in that state of dissonance, you will have to accept the memories of everyone who used this Essence before you. And when that happens…]
He looked at her with red eyes, observing her as if analyzing her.
[Will you be able to continue being you?]
He seemed to enjoy it, with those red eyes that reminded her of someone else.
Seolrang remained silent.
[If you have talent and divine luck, perhaps you can preserve your “self.” But let me say this first: many have reached the final trial, but no one has completely accepted the power of the Supernatural Blood.]
[Not when they were called the Golden Mane Tribe, nor when they were the Cursed Tribe, nor with any of their other names.]
[Even so, there is no leniency here. From the beginning, this trial belonged to the great––]
His words continued. But Seolrang was no longer listening. She was thinking about the price that being had mentioned.
Becoming unable to accept the power and being destroyed?
She didn't care.
Perhaps other fears would come later, but to protect her “Master,” that price was simple.
Receiving maturity all at once?
She didn't care about that either.
If she could save her Master, she would endure any mental pain.
But…
The last price did terrify her.
"You will have to accept the memories of dozens of people.
Their values will clash with each other and break, and upon their ruins, a new system of values will form.
What you like and what you hate… will become indifferent to you.”
Seolrang recalled the words he had told her the first time.
It was terrifying.
It meant that all her values would disappear.
Everything she cherished. Her family. Her Master.
To Seolrang, they were too precious.
Yutia, who became her family when she had nothing. Rine, who always took care of her. Radan, who listened to her complaints without saying anything. Deus, who played with her without protesting.
And her Master, who always sacrificed his life for her without hesitation.
They were her everything.
That was why she was afraid. Afraid that what was valuable would cease to be valuable. That what she loved would cease to be loved. That what was important would cease to matter.
That she would consider everything she had…
as if it were nothing anymore.
That was why she fled.
Although she could have reached the end, she didn't. Although she could have obtained power, she rejected it.
But now…
“Give it to me.”
[What?]
“I told you to give it to me.”
Even so, Seolrang chose.
She was still afraid. Her body trembled. Her eyes revealed her terror.
But even so…
She chose.
She had to do it. She had to protect them.
Even if what was valuable ceased to be valuable.
Even if what she loved ceased to be loved.
Even if what was important ceased to matter.
Even if she came to consider everything…
as nothing.
She wanted to protect them.
Her family.
Her Master.
Alon.
[…]
At Seolrang's firm answer, the beast man looked at her with his red eyes, then let out a brief laugh.
[Hey… did you know? Even if you don't receive this power, he will survive. Of course––]
That was as far as he got. He didn't take his eyes off her.
“…Give it to me. Now.”
Seolrang repeated.
[Why? I tell you that he won't die even if you don't accept the power.]
Seolrang answered without hesitation:
“Because… that is not what he would want.”
She knew it.
She knew what kind of person her Master was.
She knew how much he would suffer.
She didn't want to see that.
And then…
[…]
The beast man, who was looking at her expressionlessly, suddenly…
smiled broadly!
As if he found something extremely amusing.
[Good. I will give it to you.]
The memories began to slide into Seolrang's mind.
They were precious memories.
She evoked them again and again.
She clung to them.
So as not to forget them.
To continue considering them valuable.
And then…
[Congratulations. Beast Man… no.]
The Beast Man smiled, his red eyes shining.
[To you, who can now handle all lightning.]
And he opened his mouth.
Then…
Fwaaaaah!
A white light enveloped everything.
The enormous mouth was about to close and completely devour Alon's body.
The Poison Eater shone its dozens of eyes, smiling as if enjoying the inevitable outcome.
‘Is there really… no way…?’
Alon desperately searched for a way out with the time he had left.
And in that very instant…
The mouth stopped moving.
No.
It wasn't that it stopped.
It was…
that it couldn't move.
Alon could feel it.
He knew it because he felt it too: an energy so shattering that it made his very soul stand on end.
And he soon found its origin.
‘Seol…rang?’
There was a beast woman there.
At first glance, she measured over two meters.
The first thing that stood out was her extremely long golden hair, which reached her calves.
The second, a golden crown resembling a halo floating above her head.
And finally…
Those golden eyes, cold to the point of freezing his back.
Even so, Alon recognized her immediately.
It was Seolrang.
And just as he recognized her…
Seolrang disappeared.
And then…
Alon saw it.
Despite being high noon, the world darkened as if the night were devouring it.
As if the night consumed the day.
The light of the daytime world was erased.
The nocturnal world descended.
And thus a night crowned by a golden, shining moon was formed.
“Rangchang–Rangchang(狼槍狼槍)––”
The golden moon, made of lightning, shone with such intensity that it turned the day into darkness.
The Fallen Moon (落月).
And it began to descend.
