Chapter 449: Ah, this isn’t it.

When was it?

No, about how much time had passed?

I can’t quite remember properly.

It was an event from so long ago, and also, a memory I don’t particularly want to recall.

It’s something I want to bury deep in my heart, or erase completely from my memories.

Yet, there are definitely things that don’t fade away, despite such feelings.

No, rather, it’s precisely those kinds of memories that tend to remain even clearer.

The memory from this time was like that for me.

The scent, mixed with the unique stench of the Demonic Realm, had become familiar;

and the rising red moon felt like an ordinary lantern by then.

It was when I woke up late at night, as always, to stand guard duty.

As time went on, the number of survivors dwindled, and by this point, the guard duty rotation had become hopelessly tangled.

Hwaruk.

As the darkness deepened, obscuring my vision, I lit a flame.

Since the wick was as small as a mouse dropping, it only lit up the area right in front of me, and didn’t warm my body much either;

but I lit it anyway, thinking it was better than nothing.

Pik-!

A gust of wind blew from somewhere and tuk! extinguished the flame.

[…]

Staring at the pitifully extinguished flame, I frowned and looked to my left.

[What are you doing, you wanna die?]

I raised my irritation to the maximum.

That’s because the wind just now was an artificial force created by the wick.

The person who snuffed out my flame was staring at me with their characteristic cold gaze.

[It’s you. I definitely warned you not to carelessly light fires.]

At the woman’s cold voice, I clicked my tongue briefly.

[I can’t see anything, so what am I supposed to do? I need to see something to stand guard duty, right?]

[If you can’t see anything, then don’t see anything at all. If you can’t even see this, you won’t be able to see anything anyway.]

Her resolute words made my brow furrow.

[You sure talk like shit.]

[Because it’s the truth. It’s better than monsters charging at you because they saw your flame.]

She spat out the chilling words nonchalantly, then grabbed her long blonde hair and tied it back tightly.

The short glimpse of her white nape made men unable to look away, but

I averted my gaze from it instead.

It wasn’t the woman’s beauty that dug deeper, but her words.

[Something like ‘You’re weak, so just grovel.’ Is that about it?]

I saw the woman’s shoulders tremble slightly at my words.

[…It wasn’t quite like that….]

[What do you mean, ‘not like that’? Forget it, it’s not like I haven’t been through this once or twice.]

By now, words like that didn’t hurt my pride anymore.

There was no more pride left to be crushed and shattered.

Or maybe, just a tiny bit was left.

[…You guys, the ‘talented’ ones, wouldn’t know.]

Perhaps that’s why I unintentionally blurted out words like these.

[You wouldn’t know how someone like me, crawling around on the ground, feels. You wouldn’t know.]

[…]

Her golden eyes turned towards me.

A subtle irritation seeped into those eyes.

I couldn’t even understand that irritation.

The ‘greatest late-bloomer’ who started standing tall, replacing the Five Dragons and Three Peaks with their ‘once-in-history talent’.

That was her epithet right now.

Why would praise for her talent be so irritating?

It was something I couldn’t understand.

[What makes you say that, thinking you know so much…?]

She said that to me, perhaps displeased,

but I just accepted it indifferently.

[Did you say that because you know me so well?]

[…]

At my words, the woman, So Geomseong, bit her lip.

Seeing that, I let out a sigh.

This is an unnecessary argument.

Especially arguments with those ‘talented’ folks – I hated them.

No matter what we say, it’s obvious we won’t understand each other.

Why would I engage in such bothersome conversation?

As I shook my head thinking this, she was the one who posed a question to me this time.

[You… why are you always so full of complaints?]

[What?]

[Acting like that in everything, does it make you feel any better?]

[This bitch. Now you’re trying to lecture me? Why are you trying to do what even my parents didn’t?]

That’s right.

If my parents didn’t do it, that’s why I’m like this.

I swallowed those words inwardly.

[No matter how talented you are, this…]

[I am not talented.]

[Are you kidding me right now?]

She herself is adorned with every conceivable ‘talented’ epithet, yet she claims not to be talented. What kind of bullshit is this?

One.

[…I really am not talented.]

So Geomseong said that to me in an exhausted voice.

I still couldn’t understand her words,

[Fine, you’re not talented.]

I decided to just brush it off because it was bothersome.

If she says she’s not talented, what more can I do?

I just wished for this time to pass quickly.

It wasn’t just the guard duty being annoying; it was particularly uncomfortable having to stand watch with So Geomseong.

This rotation happened because the person who was supposed to be on duty before me became monster chow.

We were already grinding our teeth every time we met,

and now we’re stuck together like this.

Snow Phoenix, that damn bitch, must have known.

That damned person arranges the guard duty roster.

And she knows I’m uncomfortable around So Geomseong, so she must have done this deliberately.

In any case, she was a woman I didn’t like.

Anyway, it’s been about seven days and nights since we were paired up like this.

Among those days, today was particularly chatty.

Ah, of course, the conversation wasn’t peaceful; it was as sharp as before.

After growling at each other a few more times, silence began to fall.

I, for one, found this silence rather comfortable, so I was just quietly counting the pebbles on the ground,

when So Geomseong suddenly asked something strange.

[What is your goal?]

[…Eh?]

At those words, I unintentionally frowned.

What is she talking about…?

It was such an unexpected question.

What do you mean, ‘goal’?

[What kind of bullshit is this, all of a sudden?]

[I was just wondering if people like you have goals too.]

[Why are you suddenly picking a fight? Is she really crazy?]

It was absurd.

It felt like being hit by a rock while I was just looking at rocks.

And now, ‘goal’. Goal?

[…]

I thought hard, but nothing particular came to mind.

My life wasn’t one that actively sought goals.

I don’t even have affection for life itself, so how could I have a goal?

There’s no way something like that exists; I’m just breathing, that’s all.

Thinking about it only seems to worsen my mood.

With a displeased expression, I looked at So Geomseong and asked.

[What about you? Do you have a goal?]

[…]

At my question, So Geomseong turned her head away, avoiding my eyes.

[What? You don’t have one either? We’re the same.]

As I said that with a smirk, So Geomseong’s eyes flared, and she quickly turned her head towards me.

It seemed comparing me to her really upset her.

[…I… do…]

Despite her fierce expression, her voice was incredibly meek.

It felt mixed with a bit of embarrassment, perhaps.

[You do? What is it?]

Honestly, I wasn’t curious at all, but I asked anyway.

Because I didn’t need to know anyone else’s goal.

[…]

To my question, So Geomseong didn’t answer for a long time.

I wondered what kind of grand goal could make her hesitate so much.

Maybe becoming the Alliance Leader, or the number one under heaven?

That would be quite difficult, I suppose.

Well, she’s talented, so she can afford to have such goals.

Thinking that, I waited indifferently for her answer, when So Geomseong uttered words in a very small voice.

[…Ma-yo.]

[What?]

It was too quiet to hear clearly. As I strained my ears and asked again,

[…Mom…]

So Geomseong said that to me, her ears slightly flushed.

Mom?

[…?]

Hearing that, I made a strange face and put a little distance between us.

[…What the…]

Out of the blue, ‘Mom’? What does that even mean?

Did I mishear?

[…Mom?]

[…]

I asked again just in case, but judging by her reaction, it seemed I hadn’t misheard.

Seeing my reaction, So Geomseong, embarrassed by her own words, started getting angry instead.

[…Why…? Is it strange?]

[Wouldn’t it be strange? Out of nowhere, your goal is ‘Mom’.]

[…Mother is a great goal. Why don’t you know that?]

[Maybe it’s because I don’t have a mom. I don’t really get it.]

[…]

So Geomseong suddenly shut her mouth at my plainly delivered self-deprecation.

It wasn’t something I said intentionally to make her feel that way.

[No, so why specifically is that your goal?]

With all sorts of great things out there, why ‘Mom’?

It was the most incomprehensible thing I had heard so far.

[…It’s not that it has to be that specific goal.]

[You just said it was your goal.]

[I just meant… I dream of a normal life.]

[Hm?]

A normal life?

[Meeting someone. Falling in love. Getting married and having children… Fighting and reconciling through life. Growing old together… That kind of life.]

The more I listened, the drier my mouth felt.

[Then just do it. What’s the problem?]

Because it didn’t seem like something grand enough to set as a goal.

It wasn’t about wanting to become a powerful master,

or wanting to become the head of a great family.

So Geomseong’s words, wanting to live like an ordinary housewife, felt difficult for me in a different way.

I couldn’t understand why she called something achievable right now a ‘goal’.

Perhaps she sensed my thoughts.

So Geomseong smiled an inscrutable smile, chuckling bitterly.

[That’s right. It’s a really easy thing.]

But even as she said that, I clearly heard the quiet words that followed.

-That easy thing is actually really hard…

That’s what she said.

After those words, she didn’t utter another sound.

I didn’t ask anything further either.

As if the night had grown darker, I fell silent in solidarity, closing my mouth along with hers.

And so, the time that day came to an end, but.

Strangely, the memory of this day wouldn’t leave my mind.

What was so significant about this conversation that I couldn’t forget it?

If I were to find the reason,

perhaps it’s because it was the starting point where I unconsciously began to notice her.

Was it because I was intrigued that the great woman’s goal was merely ‘ordinariness’?

Or perhaps, it was the forlornness etched on her face as she spoke of it?

Even now, I’m not sure.

Because by the time I realized it myself, it had already happened unconsciously.

Perhaps the goal she asked about, the one she was searching for, also took root within me around this time.

I never told anyone,

and even I wouldn’t have known it until the day I died.

What’s funny is…

Whether it was her goal or mine,

neither of us ever achieved it, not even until the moment we died in our past lives.

******************

Is this a mistake?

No.

No matter how I looked at it, it wasn’t a mistake.

So Geomseong’s gaze was definitely directed at me.

Among these countless Mindless Ones, why is she looking at me?

I kept checking, thinking it might be a coincidence, but So Geomseong’s gaze remained fixed on me, unmoving.

As I stared into her golden eyes, filled with bewilderment,

Kung.

“…!”

I felt an unknown vibration within my body.

I touched my chest.

‘What is it?’

Kung… Kung.

The vibration didn’t stop, constantly felt within my chest.

Swallowing a groan at the sensation, which seemed to be growing,

‘…This.’

The vibration felt within my body.

I think I knew its identity.

I immediately sent my gaze towards So Geomseong.

She was still looking at me with surprised eyes,

and this time, I must have had a similar expression.

It seems she too was feeling something, just like me.

Recalling that, I clenched my fist.

‘Damn it.’

Kung. Kung.

The vibration continued to echo.

No.

This wasn’t a vibration.

It was resonance.

This was the same energy resonating with each other.

As I became certain of that, my eyes darted around rapidly.

Why didn’t I anticipate this?

‘…Bullshit, how could I have anticipated this.’

It’s an energy I can’t even feel myself.

Whether it was properly contained in my body, or had disappeared,

was something I suffered over without even being able to properly confirm.

This energy that’s currently resonating with So Geomseong…

‘Divine Sword….’

It was definitely her energy, which I had encountered in this life.

The energy of hers that I harbored in my body, as per my mother’s words.

That’s what’s currently resonating with So Geomseong up there.

She must be making that face because she feels it too.

This was a mistake.

‘I didn’t know it would be like this.’

The fact that energies could resonate with each other was truly unexpected.

As for the Nine-Flame Wheel Technique, that’s my inherent power, so I was certain Maje would feel it,

‘…Even this?’

I really hadn’t expected So Geomseong to feel this.

The problem is.

‘I can’t even hide this.’

Because I don’t know how to handle the energy of a Divine Sword like this, I can’t hide it or anything.

Thanks to that…

Kung kung kung-!

The resonance with her was growing stronger.

It was reverberating up to my head, making me feel slightly nauseous.

“…Summoning even her. It seems you really intend to start a war.”

I heard Maje speaking as he looked at So Geomseong.

‘The ones who want to see blood aren’t me, but you guys. Isn’t that right?’

His voice, spat out with a smirk, felt much more menacing than before.

It felt like he could kill everyone right then and there.

Regarding this, Cheonjun simply spoke to Maje with his hands clasped behind his back.

‘As I said again, we came here to make a deal.’

‘If you keep spewing bullshit, I’ll rip your tongue out right here.’

Deudeudeudeuk.

The floor where Maje stood cracked with a jjeojeok-!

Shallow flames rose from the fractured ground.

‘Perfect timing. Since that incompetent woman is here too, I can just kill you both right here.’

What bullshit.

He doesn’t even intend to kill them.

It was obvious he was busy thinking about how to send them away.

Kung….

‘Ugh.’

The resonance felt from my lower abdomen grew increasingly intense.

Just then, I felt someone approach and place a hand on my back.

The internal energy within my body began to circulate.

The resonance was still there, but it felt slightly better?

Startled by the sudden sensation, I looked over to see Magyeomhu had approached and was touching my back.

Magyeomhu looked at me and asked,

‘…Are you okay…?’

‘…Thank… you.’

I was startled.

I couldn’t help but look at Magyeomhu with surprise.

Why was she acting like this, when she detests touching others?

Thanks to her, I felt a bit better, which was fortunate, but the bewilderment was unavoidable.

As I was barely managing to calm my head with Magyeomhu’s help.

Swishhhhh-!

So Geomseong, who had been floating in the sky, gradually descended to the ground.

“…”

Seeing her up close, I felt it even more clearly.

That the person before me was her from that time.

Her appearance, which didn’t lose out even compared to Magyeomhu,

and the radiant blonde hair and exotic aura she possessed.

She was much more mature than Wi Seol-ah, whom I met after regression, and including her blossomed appearance,

an incredibly somber aura could be felt.

‘…Maje.’

So Geomseong, having landed softly on the ground, opened her mouth as she looked at Maje.

Upon confirming that, Maje growled, raising his killing intent.

‘It seems your life isn’t precious to you. Appearing here of your own accord.’

‘…We do not seek a fight.’

‘Bringing this much power behind you, and you say you don’t seek a fight? I doubt you’re saying that to be believed.’

“…”

‘Just honestly say you want war. Then I’ll gladly oblige.’

‘…Cheonjun also said this, but we wish to make a deal with you….’

Kugugugugu-!

Before So Geomseong could finish her sentence, a massive flame shot from Maje.

So Geomseong’s sword, floating in the air, plunged towards the flame.

Afterward, the flame was seen dissipating, just like before.

It must have been the black flames mixed with demonic energy, erased by the power of her ‘Pama’.

While So Geomseong frowned at the sudden attack,

Maje spoke towards her.

‘You’re still mistaken.’

The flames continued to burn flamboyantly, wrapping around Maje’s body.

‘Do you still believe you can resolve this through conversation?’

At Maje’s actions, the Mindless Ones immediately unleashed their demonic energy.

‘I thought I had burned away the flower garden in your head long ago. Seems some still remain.’

‘…Maje.’

So Geomseong bit her lip.

Even amidst this, I could feel her gaze occasionally flick towards me.

‘If there’s something you desire, try taking it….’

‘…I will return Noea.’

Maje, who was about to charge forward, stopped abruptly at So Geomseong’s words.

I, too, faltered at this.

Of course, I faltered for a different reason.

‘Noea (雷牙)…?’

Hearing that, I looked at Magyeomhu.

Magyeomhu was openly showing displeasure at So Geomseong’s words.

Judging by that expression, it seems Noea really is over there.

‘What… what does that mean?’

I felt my heart start pounding rapidly at this revelation.

And rightly so.

Because in my memory, Magyeomhu’s Noea had never once left her possession.