Ch.172Sisters

After the battle with the dragon, Seo-rin stared blankly at the countless threads scattering across the sky. Control of her body had returned. It meant that Seiran, having consumed most of his mental energy, had fallen asleep once again.

This was the moment when their long journey finally came to an end. Seo-rin slumped to the ground.

“Is it over?”

“It seems so…”

“I’m exhausted… When we get back, I’ll take a bath first.”

Seo-rin wasn’t the only one who had collapsed. One by one, the superhumans of the Empire sat down, their faces drained of energy. After the fierce battle, the commanders, now in miserable states, breathed shallow breaths.

“I’m not joking, I really thought I was going to die.”

No one laughed at Karnok’s words. Through the quiet silence, the sound of someone violently coughing up blood echoed.

***

The wars that had broken out simultaneously across the continent ended in an instant. They had been caused by the mind control of a reincarnator in the first place. Once that reincarnator disappeared, everyone regained their original consciousness.

Of course, the aftermath of the war didn’t simply vanish. Victims who had lost their homes and families wandered the streets.

Only the Karma Empire could be somewhat free from the war’s aftermath.

Karma Empire Capital.

Blue Wing Headquarters Special Ward.

Seo-rin sat on the bed, checking her physical condition. According to the doctor, there was permanent physical damage that couldn’t be healed. The muscles in her right arm and left leg had been completely severed.

Of course, as long as she could use mana, it wasn’t a serious problem. Unless she had to fight a powerful enemy again.

Seo-rin moved her small hands, massaging her arms and legs.

Karnok and Sephiroth were by Seo-rin’s side. Both the commander and vice-commander of Blue Wing were sitting in the hospital room. Normally, they would have elected a temporary vice-commander to ensure operations continued, but this time they hadn’t.

Most of the reincarnators had disappeared. Missions for intermediate-level members and above had evaporated.

“Is it all over now? I’d like to rest a bit.”

“You haven’t forgotten about the Sword Festival, have you?”

Sephiroth responded to Karnok’s muttering. Scratching the back of his head, Karnok leaned against the chair and spoke.

“That person is… quiet for now at least.”

“He’s also a reincarnator. Someone we’ll eventually have to eliminate…”

In the middle of their conversation, multiple footsteps echoed down the hospital corridor. Familiar presences were approaching. A faint smile appeared on the lips of Seo-rin, Karnok, and Sephiroth.

“Visitors?”

“They’re quite prompt.”

As everyone expected, the visitors were Blue Wing members.

“Seo-rin!”

“Commander!”

“You look fine…”

“I heard you killed a dragon? Is that true?”

“I regret not being there with you.”

They had brought quite a lot of gifts. Baskets full of large fruits were lined up inside the hospital room. Only one person, Flora, had brought flowers.

Freedom from rigid rules was the temperament of Blue Wing. The members approached not as subordinates to a superior, but with the closeness of friends.

“Are you feeling okay?”

“I bought something you like, Seo-rin. You know the Golden Street up ahead, right?”

Flora and Theo approached right in front of Seo-rin’s bed. They were friends who had been together since joining. Seo-rin stood up and accepted the gifts they handed her.

“Thank you.”

“Is it okay for you to move around like that? I heard there was something wrong with your leg…”

If she couldn’t use mana, it would have been enough to interfere with daily life, but not now. Seo-rin demonstrated by moving her arms and legs. Seeing that she was fine, Theo and Flora, who had been looking worried, breathed sighs of relief.

Looking around the room, Seo-rin took the hands of the two and led them outside.

“Let’s go out for a bit.”

The three of them began walking along a small garden within the hospital grounds. Seo-rin’s hair fluttered gently in the soft breeze. Considering her physical condition, it would have been better to rest in bed than to walk around outside.

But Seo-rin didn’t do that. She simply wanted to walk with her friends. Walking slowly, she wanted to have conversations they hadn’t been able to share. The three talked lightly.

From questions about what they had for breakfast that morning to explanations of delicious recipes they had recently discovered, the casual chatter continued. No one brought up topics related to Blue Wing’s missions or the war.

As the sun that had been hanging in the sky began to set, Flora and Theo, who had been chatting happily, stood up. They realized it was time to part.

The other members who had come together had already left. The two had stayed unusually late.

“I should get going now.”

“I’ll come again tomorrow, so don’t worry!”

“You don’t have to come every day…”

“So you really don’t want me to come?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

After the two left, Seo-rin, left alone, sat on a small bench and looked up at the sky. The sky, which had been tinged with gold due to the severed threads, had regained its original color.

It meant everything was returning to normal.

‘Was it fate… all of this…?’

***

About a week after Seo-rin was admitted to the hospital, she could tell that another presence inside her, Seiran, had awakened.

[It’s been a while.]

‘You sleep for so long.’

[Isn’t sleeping good for the skin?]

The reawakened Seiran showed a considerably different appearance from before. His presence was so massive that he could take control of the body at any time, and occasionally, unconscious power flowed out on its own, affecting the surroundings.

[I think it’s about time, brother.]

‘What do you mean?’

[I mean it’s time for me to become independent from you.]

‘What are you…’

While Seo-rin was confused by the sudden statement, her body stood up and began walking out of the hospital room. This was not Seo-rin’s will. Control of the body had completely shifted.

It was the dead of night when everyone was asleep. Under the soft moonlight, the small girl’s body walked out alone. Bare feet without shoes stepped on the grass. Seiran felt the sensation transmitted from the tips of her toes and released her power.

Hissss—

Dark energy flowing out from the body melted into the ground. In the center of the hospital garden, Seiran formed a hand seal.

At the same time.

Boom!

Through the pattern engraved on the ground, an enormous amount of power shot up into the sky. Dark clouds gathered in the clear sky, and the ground shook as if there was an earthquake.

The shock was so strong that it cracked the outer walls of the hospital ward, so it was natural for Karnok and Sephiroth, who had been sleeping inside, to rush out.

“What’s happening…!”

“Seo-rin…?”

The two, who had each drawn their weapons and come outside, stopped in their tracks when they saw the small girl. The girl enveloped in dark energy looked extremely alien.

They couldn’t approach carelessly. The power emanating from her was pushing everything around away.

“Seo-rin!”

“Don’t interfere. I’m doing something important.”

Seiran answered Karnok’s call.

Immediately after, the shadow that had stretched out beneath Seiran’s feet began to gather in front. The gathered shadow began to form a shape. At first, it took the form of a massive dragon.

The widely spread wings, the head held high in the sky, and the tail whipping around in all directions looked very threatening. However, a shadow is just a shadow. The dragon’s shadow did not exert any physical force.

“The body is ready…”

[Seiran, are you…]

“Yes. That’s my new body.”

A small smile appeared on Seiran’s lips. It was around then that the large dragon’s shadow began to shrink. The size of the massive wings decreased, and the protruding horns carefully curled inward. The dark scales had now become black hair.

Right in front of Seiran, what emerged from the dark power was a small girl who looked exactly like the original body. Through the black hair swirling in the power, crimson eyes were revealed.

A long breath and a blink followed.

The next moment, Seiran was standing on the opposite side of her original form, able to look at herself, now the girl who had become her brother’s body. The soul transplant itself was successful. Arms and legs moved smoothly, and the beating heart began to circulate hot blood throughout the body.

If there was one regret, it was that she didn’t have a completely human appearance. The horns protruding from her head and the sensation of fangs in her mouth felt very alien.

But these were sensations she now had to get used to. Seiran gathered the power that had flowed out and approached the girl who had slumped to the ground.

Two identical girls looked at each other and smiled faintly.

“It’s been a while, brother.”

“Seiran…”

No, perhaps she should call her sister now. Seiran swallowed her last words and embraced Seo-rin.