Ch.52Miraculous Story (2)

The Red Sword Saint, Kyle Stroban.

He was a hero of the continent who led the Great Purge against cultists, a figure who brilliantly filled dozens of pages in history.

A star that reached the highest night sky.

He executed countless black mages and illuminated the chaotic empire with radiant light.

At the end of the war, he even died gloriously in battle.

Such noble actions garnered attention throughout the empire.

People called him the “Fallen Star,” commemorating the hero’s tragic end.

It was the typical biography of a great man.

‘Of course.’

That wasn’t the whole story.

Beyond the screen, there are always stories that audiences don’t know.

Kyle Stroban was no exception.

There were plenty of untold stories.

-I saved the continent… but I couldn’t protect what was most precious to me.

The man had a family.

A beautiful wife, and a daughter so precious he couldn’t bear to hurt her.

The hero initially took up his sword to protect them, but that choice instead pushed his once-happy home into hell.

It was a nightmare.

-I ruined everything.

Kyle led the purge from the very front.

He was an overwhelming force.

The black mages, judging they couldn’t defeat him head-on, devised a scheme to bring down the star.

They kidnapped his beloved family.

-Throw down your weapons and surrender.

-If you want to save your wife and daughter, you’d better come quietly.

He couldn’t defy their words.

A star falling helplessly.

The man was captured without the slightest resistance.

The cultists imprisoned Kyle in a facility no one could discover, where they tortured him and used him as a test subject for black magic.

They didn’t even tell him whether his family was alive or dead.

Kyle could only endure.

For the sake of his beloved family who might still be alive.

-How does it feel now, Sword Saint?

-You’ve been blocking our path for so long, and now the tables have turned.

-Let’s see how well you can endure.

Painful time passed.

Stabbed, cut, torn. It was closer to torture than experimentation.

As his once steel-like resolve began to crack under those malicious hands, someone appeared.

-I’ve come to reclaim you, Red Sword Saint.

It was a boy with deep blonde hair and narrowed eyes.

After infiltrating the facility, he instantly slaughtered the cultists and calmly approached Kyle’s cell.

His ominous gaze seemed to assess the man’s condition.

-You haven’t become a monster yet.

-I was worried I might be too late… I suppose that’s fortunate.

-It would be quite troublesome if you appeared as a stage boss.

Incomprehensible mutterings.

While mumbling indifferently, the snake cut through the iron bars to free the man.

He quietly supported the body sprawled on the floor.

As if helping him escape this place.

-Let’s go together.

The wounded beast was taken in.

Leaving the devastated facility behind.

The boy took the fallen man somewhere.

There, Kyle was able to meet someone he had longed for but never dared to dream of seeing again.

It was his wife who had been kidnapped.

-She was at some branch outside imperial territory.

-I rescued her while wiping out the remaining cultists.

-As you can see, she’s badly injured… but she should recover healthily.

-You’re lucky.

Kyle embraced his wife and wailed.

His heart crumbling weakly.

The snake slithered into that subtle crack.

Cunningly tempting the once-brilliant hero.

-Serve me from now on.

-Then I will fulfill everything you desire.

A voice that rang out calmly.

Though his appearance was that of a boy around sixteen, his ominous smile resembled an adult’s corruption.

The snake whispered an offer that couldn’t be refused.

-Your daughter too, if you wish.

-I don’t know how long it will take… but I will certainly retrieve her for you.

-The other half of your world that you lost.

Kyle couldn’t resist.

-I am your master.

From that day forward.

The hero came to serve a new god.

***

The promise was eventually fulfilled.

At a moment completely unexpected.

“Your lost daughter… I’ve brought her back as promised.”

Narrowed eyes with a steady smile.

Behind him, a massive lump of flesh was writhing.

<Aah, aaah…?>

Bizarre cries flowed from a mouth split into five parts.

Hundreds of tentacles were attached to its body, and just as many eyes were densely packed on its skin.

Sharp teeth protruded like thorns.

It was a horrific appearance that made one’s brow furrow involuntarily.

But.

Kyle couldn’t take his eyes off it.

Rather, he stared blankly at the dying monster.

Perhaps it was a kind of intuition.

“……”

No matter how distorted the appearance.

Parents always recognize their children.

It’s like an instinct.

Not deducing from given clues, but realizing through the emotion that burns hot in one’s heart.

Kyle, who had been a father, was no different.

<Augh… aaah>

The daughter he had loved so dearly.

The image reflected in his pupils denied the possibility, but the man’s heart was beating violently.

How could a father not know?

“…Eileen?”

A short word caught in his throat.

A name he hadn’t spoken in a very long time. It felt particularly painful.

His breath faltered.

Kyle had realized.

<Augh…?>

That the monster before his eyes was truly his daughter.

His body stiffened from the choked breath.

The man simply took in the miserable sight.

“……”

Blinking red eyes.

Though there were countless eyeballs, the red eyes that particularly resembled his own stood out.

He was certain those were the pupils his daughter had originally possessed.

After a moment’s pause, Kyle began to move.

Slowly approaching the monster.

From his lips, chewed to the point of tearing, bright red blood dripped.

His steps were hollow.

“Eileen… my daughter.”

Thud-.

Finally, his legs gave out.

Kyle fell to his knees before the writhing tentacles.

Dry tears streamed down his cheeks.

“How your father has missed you…”

He had known, actually.

Having been kidnapped by black mages, he had somewhat expected this outcome.

He had steeled himself every sleepless night.

However.

“…How could you return in such a form?”

The pain of actually facing it was on a different level.

Before his daughter who was once human but could no longer be called such, Kyle clenched his fist.

It felt like a cold awl piercing his heart.

Life could be so cruel.

What was the point of desperately surviving to see this?

“I truly… truly missed you.”

His voice gradually moistened.

Though it felt like his sanity might snap at any moment, Kyle forced his eyes open with all his might.

There was still something that needed to be done.

A duty that Kyle had to fulfill himself.

At the same time, a responsibility he couldn’t pass on to anyone else.

<Augh, aaah…>

Eileen let out a painful moan.

It sounded particularly pitiful, as if saying she couldn’t take any more.

He wanted to give her peace now.

Shing-.

Kyle drew the sword at his waist.

The slimy tentacles reflected on its cold surface.

The father, who had been standing speechless for a while, soon raised his sword toward his daughter.

It was a cruel scene.

“Rest now… my child.”

Poor child.

You’ve served a sentence with life as your crime; how could the world ever measure your pain?

Only because you came into being through me.

I will end your suffering with my own hands.

“Don’t forgive your unworthy father.”

The sword flashed precariously.

Just as the tragic scene was about to unfold.

“Stop.”

Someone from behind interfered with the attack.

A shadow grabbed his arm, preventing it from moving. Turning around, he saw the snake smiling.

The boy asked calmly.

“Why are you in such a hurry to send her away when I went through so much trouble to bring her back?”

“…Director.”

Kyle answered, suppressing his tears.

“There is only suffering in this state. I want this child to be at peace now.”

“I wish the same.”

“Then… please let me go.”

Transparent red eyes stared at the snake.

A tear or two fell from pupils stained with sorrow.

“I want to end it myself.”

“My, my… it seems you’ve misunderstood what I said.”

“Pardon?”

“I am a person who keeps promises meticulously. I wouldn’t claim to have kept my promise with such a half-hearted conclusion.”

“What do you mean…?”

“Just watch quietly.”

The snake pushed the man back.

Then he placed his palm against the massive tentacles.

Pitch-black darkness prowled around.

The scattered shadows soon converged to a single point, creating a sharp light at the boy’s fingertips.

Simultaneously, the snake began an incantation.

“Shatter.”

Crash-!

A sound like breaking glass was heard.

Immediately after, black cracks appeared in the air, densely surrounding the massive monster.

The scene fragmented into tens of thousands of pieces.

Momentarily startled by this, the boy flicked his finger as he opened his previously closed eyes.

“Rewind.”

Snap-!

White pupils revealed between eyelids.

Following the surface that glowed ecstatically, the entire space was covered in dark shadows.

After a few seconds of blackout.

One.

Two.

Three.

“Stop.”

Snap-!

His fingers collided once more, and the surroundings that had been covered in darkness brightened.

The cracks had vanished cleanly.

“Director? What exactly did you—oh?”

Looking around in confusion, Kyle soon discovered.

The monster had disappeared without a trace.

And in its place lay a single girl.

“……”

Delicate features, red hair reaching her shoulders, eyes gently closed.

She looked exactly as he remembered.

Kyle stared blankly.

Wondering if he was seeing a hallucination.

The snake, who had been quietly smiling, spoke calmly to the man.

“I’ve kept my promise.”

Eileen was there without a single wound.

Kyle checked his daughter’s pulse with trembling hands.

She was alive.

He could feel the warm body temperature at his fingertips.

That overwhelmingly vivid sensation confirmed that the scene before him was not a dream.

The father embraced his daughter tightly.

“Eileen…!”

The snake smiled gently.

“She’s alive, she’s actually alive… my God.”

“She’s just tired and sleeping. She’ll be able to wake up healthily after a day.”

“Ah…!”

A miraculous story.

The world that had been broken in half was finally whole again.

The man bowed his head, tears flowing.

“Ah, Director……”

He held his sword upright.

Kneeling on one knee, he planted the sword tip on the ground. Then he raised his hands as if in prayer.

It was the posture swordsmen took when pledging loyalty to their master.

The hero murmured.

“My God.”

It was worship stained with burning emotion.

The other members standing in the same space were also kneeling, following the man’s lead.

All had witnessed the miracle.

Kyle placed his hands neatly together.

And with very precise pronunciation, he recited a meditation offered to Him.

Toward the sacred resonance.

“All is according to your will.”

A hymn brushing past the moment.

“All is according to your will.”

Even as all the believers recited the prayer, the god simply stood there calmly.

With a faint smile on his lips.

The boy was thinking only.

‘I’m glad it’s a happy ending.’

Wishing for others’ happiness.

Perhaps it was a heart that was too soft.

***

Meanwhile.

Irene was watching the scene.

Though momentarily stunned by witnessing a miracle for the second time, she soon came to her senses at what followed.

It was the snake lightly coughing.

“Cough…”

A softly echoing cough.

The boy covered his mouth.

A dark red bloodstain appeared on his white glove.

It was blood from his lungs.

“Huh…?”

The fox unconsciously let out a surprised sound.

Though startled by the unexpected sight, the boy was calmly wiping the blood from his mouth.

As if he were used to it.

“……”

The surrounding members didn’t seem to notice.

They all had their eyes closed and heads bowed.

Only Irene had noticed.

Snap-!

The snake lightly flicked his finger to erase the bloodstain.

After briefly checking his surroundings, the boy soon flashed a smile at Irene.

“Shh.”

An index finger raised to his lips.

As if asking her to keep it a secret.

Irene couldn’t show any reaction. She just stared with surprised eyes.

At the narrow-eyed boy standing there nonchalantly.