Gerard POV:

The clean streets of Chunhae complemented the rustling trees lined along the pavement. They had a natural fragrance not present in Hibe and caused a slight glow to illuminate the area. It couldn’t compare to nature in countries owned by the Afia Family, but I appreciated it as much as I could.

‘...’

This happened whenever I was alone. My heart cried out for Byeol, but her memories cried out for closure: a battle that dished out more damage than I was used to. Phoebe relayed her last words to everyone precious to Byeol in private; it helped write the closing chapter on her life, but I couldn’t bring myself to close the open book.

Shun wasn’t there that night, but I knew it was him. He used the Codex, ignoring the risk of Ki Deviation, because he cared in his own way.

I stopped beside a small park for a few moments until the scenery added to the weight over my chest. I didn’t need that increase going anywhere else, so I walked on.

My mind drifted to those strange assassins targeting Shun’s family.

***

“Katherine Brightfield: the final disciple of The Shadow King.”

‘!!’

A shadow phased into view; the darkness rippled backwards to reveal a dark-skinned man with plaited rows down his scalp underneath. His voice crushed my body into the earth. Aiden was far from completing his calculations, so his experience was the same. It brought even Phoebe to her knees, leaving only Katherine standing.

‘Ki Pressure… Is he capable of varying the intensity placed on separate targets?’

I added more information to the Mysterious Assassins report when they bowed toward him. This situation would have been concerning, but it didn’t seem like the Assassins were that focused on chasing after Shun once he left Chunhae.

‘Isn’t this strange?’

The way we directed the fight to the plains was easy—too easy for the level of opposition we were up against. I couldn’t sense any of their Ki Stages or their presence, but what made me sweat bullets was something worse. If I passed by any of them on the street, I wouldn’t be able to tell if they could use Ki or not.

‘…Ah, this is really bad.’

Before the weight of the situation, not my own, could crush me any further, lifelike water serpents shot forward. Their fangs aimed at the new target when a swipe of his hand eradicated them.

‘...’

This man had just burst apart Katherine—our Katherine’s Elemental Ki without moving from his position. I turned my head to Phoebe, who observed the exchange with serious eyes. She wasn’t worried or concerned, and that made my shoulders loosen.

“You are on the cusp of becoming a true Elementalist. The only thing lacking is your Ki Stage, but I’m curious. How good is a Magi’s disciple at hand-to-hand combat?”

Katherine’s eyebrows fell before she stood guard in front of everyone. The corners of the man’s mouth rose by such a small margin I could have imagined their movement.

“Three stances, Three chances. Or so the saying goes.”

“Ghost.”

A hand blurred. The entire area shook. Dust clouds dispersed, and the unknown man carried the same neutral expression. I couldn’t tell if he was impressed or disappointed; his face was like a blank slate to me, but maybe Aiden could grasp something.

“May I know who you are, please?”

“Otemb.”

Katherine angled her body to the side. The distance between her legs widened before two fists, one closer to her chin, the other extended further down her line of sight, faced Otemb. It was the Offensive Stance of the Pantheon Style, and the first time I had ever seen Katherine use a fighting stance.

‘!’

Within the span of an eye-blink, they vanished and reappeared more times than I could count. Katherine spun into the pocket before her palm shot Otemb backwards. Flawless high-speed combinations transitioned into several high kicks that ruptured the air, blasting Otemb all around the open plains.

‘…Wait, what? Katherine is THAT good at close-range combat, too?’

Sweat rolled down the side of my temple.

‘Ah, our Katherine is simply amazing.’

Despite not being able to move, I found the strength to give her the thumbs up; someone had to acknowledge this moment. Katherine’s eyes turned golden blue, adding another layer to her beauty while she slipped and weaved between strikes. The battle went beyond what I could see for the next few minutes until Otemb caught her fist.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“The Shadow King must be proud.”

The ground splintered, and the sky quaked, but Katherine couldn’t move an inch from the position she was in. Otemb shifted his gaze toward a beautiful blonde-haired woman, resting her head on his shoulder.

“How much time are we giving him?~”

“15 days.”

“Pfft!~ You’re so generous!”

I didn’t catch the joke, but whatever it was, it made this woman double over. She held her stomach through the laughter before moving back to inform the others.

“Will you… kill Shun?”

Otemb peered down at the fist he held in place. Brown eyes, darker than his skin complexion, travelled toward Katherine until his mouth opened.

“How well do you know him? Do you think he would lay down his life for his wife and child?”

The gentle curvature of Katherine’s eyes radiated out a pure light. My cheeks rose along with all of Starcry’s because we knew the answer to that question better than anyone else.

“He would, without a doubt.”

“We shall see.”

***

After that question, I thought they’d leave. Instead, we all gained valuable experience from fighting against such powerful people for free.

‘I even broke through to Enryo…’

My feet came to a stop when I peered down at the slight bounce of a potbelly jutting out.

‘…Yet you still persist, my worst enemy born from my deep desires.’

I let out a sigh, unable to stop the trembling of my hands once the sun shone. The bright smile that once illuminated the darkest depths of my mind was no longer here. It left me and went ahead before we could be together.

‘If it wasn’t for Aiden and Phoebe, I would have started comfort eating.’

Beads of sweat formed on my brow at the thought of going down that route. Clean plates reflected chubby cheeks, unsatisfied with the amount delivered. I saw a serviette wipe the remnants of food away until the snap of fat fingers brought in a dozen more. Music played to stop the tears from falling while delicious cuisine was shoved into a large mouth.

‘…Let’s definitely not do that.’

When I woke up, Phoebe had finished combing out her hair. She turned to where Aiden would be, meditating in the middle of the living room, to ask if her hair had grown and by how much. It had been 4 months since he left to live with Sanura, but it didn’t get any easier.

‘And there was that, too.’

Phoebe’s shoulders trembled. Tears splashed against her slender fingers before I got up and rubbed her back. I tried to convince her to skip the wedding, but she decided to support Shun, so there wasn’t much I could do to change her mind.

‘They would have looked great together…’

After a brief hug, Phoebe tied her hair into a ponytail and left for work. I checked on her again before leaving Yeongyeol, but I wasn’t worried because Phoebe was the strongest woman I knew.

‘I’ll be late at this rate.’

I walked on until I saw a young girl looking around. She stood near the side of a small plaza when those passing by stopped to ask if she was alright. Her head bobbed up and down to reassure them before she opened her mouth.

“Yes! I’m waiting for a big mister!”

‘Big mister? Children are so kin—’

“He’s very fat and cuddly!”

“…”

‘Well, I’ll still take the compliment anyway.’

I couldn’t help but let out a light chuckle at the scene. Once I stepped into her line of sight, the young girl’s eyes widened. I crouched down to take out Katherine’s autograph when she rushed forward with open arms.

“Mister!!!”

“Ah! You shouldn’t hug strangers!”

She dived into my belly and squashed her face against it.

“But you’re so cuddly!!”

A sigh escaped my mouth before I stroked the child’s head. She took a few steps back after some time, allowing me to hand over what she had requested.

“Here you go. A special autograph from our Katherine!”

I watched the young girl unfold the paper with care. She held the sheet in her small hands; her face sparkled until the light dimmed. It faded—replaced with her eyes curving upwards and tears pouring out.

“Lady Katherine is soooo niccceeee!!!”

“…That’s our Katherine for you.”

A laugh spread out around us when I added to it by giving her the thumbs up. This child’s reaction wasn’t the first I’d seen from people reading Katherine’s personalised messages.

‘Words… are powerful.’

I rubbed the young girl’s back, but all I could think of was Byeol. What could I have done better? How could I have changed? If… If I was more like Shun, then she wouldn’t have entered that dungeon.

“Remo!!!”

Light danced around the plaza before peeling away to reveal a blonde-haired woman. Violet highlights ran through her hair, matching the fur of a mutated Kinnix. Large arched ears pointed backwards and accompanied the monster’s puffy cheeks, narrowing with the tilt of its head.

“…”

Her eyebrows dropped when Remo buried her head deeper into my belly. I looked down at the child, then back at a glare even more intense than before. Sweat ran down my forehead; I needed to explain this right now.

“W-wait a minute! This is NOT what it looks like!!”

The woman stormed over and ripped Remo away from my stomach. She had no interest in hearing what I had to say.

“Mister!! Save meee! My big sister is meannn!”

“Did this man do anything to you?”

‘…’

I should have stayed home, but Phoebe would get on my case about getting some fresh air. The woman was taller than the average height in Chunhae, and based on her looks, she wasn’t born here either.

“He gave me Lady Katherine’s autograph! Look, Big Sis!”

Her fierce gaze melted once she studied the piece of paper. The woman’s lips spread into a soft smile that shimmered under the sunlight.

“Sorry! I misunderstood!”

She bowed her head as I got to my feet and chuckled. There weren’t many ways she could have interpreted that kind of scene from her perspective.

“You did the right thing.”

Her head tilted; her eyes seemed to examine my entire character within a few seconds.

“But how did you get Katherine’s autograph? Are you a friend? Or a member of Starcry?”

‘Damn… Today is not going my way at all.’

I scratched the back of my head before a sigh brought my shoulders closer to the ground. At this point, I just wanted to go home and relive memories of the past.

“That’s right. I’m Gerard Alfray, and you?”

The woman raised an eyebrow that followed the motion of her eyes, scanning me once more.

“I’m Remy, and… I don’t mean to be rude, but you look a lot skinnier in person.”

‘…’

I stared at her in silence until my brain restarted, and I held up a hand to analyse this rare encounter further.

“Wait a minute. Say that again.”

“You look super cute!”

Vibrant blue sparkled with enough light to brighten the darkest skies. Remy’s lips spread apart, forming a grin that emphasised the softness of her facial features. The Kinnix on top of her head purred, and I felt the heat rise from my cheeks.

‘…Cute, she said.’

Remy walked away, increasing the distance between us. The sun reached its peak when her feet stopped. She turned her head back in my direction to look me in the eyes.

“Let’s hang out sometime! O-only if you want!”

Red tinted her fair cheeks before she dashed out of the plaza with Remo. I folded my arms and stood beneath the sunlight.

“…Starcry. Shun really did well with that name. Right, Byeol?”

The rays made the droplets glisten, but the warmth made them disappear sooner than I wanted them to. I turned around and made my way back to Yeongyeol.