In conclusion, Hui-Ryeon's plan could be considered 99% perfectly executed.
Although the Dark Mage King defeated the Earth Dragon far too easily, which was outside the calculations, Hui-Ryeon successfully sacrificed the leader of the Dark Mage Alliance and released the energy he had accumulated over 18 years to deal a fatal blow to the Dark Mage King.
Now, all that remained was for the gravely injured Dark Mage King's power to be inherited by Ma Yu-Seong. And in the process, Hui-Ryeon planned to intercept the inheriting ability.
It was flawless.
The Dark Mage King turned out to be unexpectedly strong, but even that was within a calculable range.
Ma Yu-Seong, upon hearing that the Dark Mage King was wounded during the battle, returned to this place. The Dark Knight delivered a grand speech urging him to ascend the throne, nearly persuading him entirely.
It was truly the final stage.
Everything was about to conclude.
"Why…?"
Seeing Ma Yu-Seong disappear right in front of the gates of the Fortress by abruptly using the power of the necklace, Hui-Ryeon dropped his staff from his hand.
"Why…?"
He could not, in any way, comprehend Ma Yu-Seong's sudden actions.
Such a move was completely outside his calculations.
The probability of Ma Yu-Seong suddenly giving up the throne inheritance and returning to Stella Academy from there was close to 0%.
As Hui-Ryeon stared blankly at the spot where Ma Yu-Seong had disappeared, a loud burst of laughter erupted from behind him.
"Ha-ha-ha! As expected, he truly is my son."
The wounded Dark Mage King.
Sitting on the throne with half his chest torn open and barely clinging to life, he was still able to laugh.
He was truly an extraordinary man.
Although he didn't like the sight of the Dark Mage King laughing while on the verge of death, the truth was clear, this battle was Hui-Ryeon's defeat.
Hui-Ryeon had managed to inflict a critical blow on the Dark Mage King, but finishing him off was impossible. Furthermore, he knew he wouldn't be able to deal such damage to him again in the future.
In other words, if he failed to seize the Dark Mage King's powers this time, all the plans he had meticulously built would collapse into nothingness.
"Leader, Leader!"
"…Did you find out?"
When the Dark Mage followers hurriedly approached Hui-Ryeon, he asked with a stiff expression.
"Y-Yes… The reason Ma Yu-Seong suddenly left…"
"Stop stalling and speak."
"According to the informant we planted in Stella… It's because of… a promise he made with Baek Yu-Seol…"
Crack!
The moment that name was mentioned, the dagger Hui-Ryeon was holding in his hand bent out of shape.
"Baek Yu-Seol… Did you say Baek Yu-Seol?"
"Y-Yes, that's right…"
Hui-Ryeon's face twisted into a demonic expression. Baek Yu-Seol shouldn't have had any involvement in this plan. There was no way he could have interfered.
Why, then, did everything fall apart because of Baek Yu-Seol?
'This… This doesn't make any sense…'
Hui-Ryeon was unaware.
He didn't know that Baek Yu-Seol had been working for over a year to get closer to Ma Yu-Seong and turn his heart away from corruption.
Because Hui-Ryeon overlooked that fact, his plan had completely failed.
On the other hand, Baek Yu-Seol, without even realizing it, had successfully thwarted Hui-Ryeon's scheme and prevented Ma Yu-Seong from falling into darkness.
"W-What will you do now…?"
Hui-Ryeon turned to look at the Dark Mage King.
The King was still smiling.
As if mocking him.
It seemed to say, 'Look at me. Even in this severely wounded state, I have defeated you.'
"Leave while I'm sparing you. If I recover even slightly more, I won't let any of you go unpunished."
Hui-Ryeon turned his head sharply and replied, "... We'll retreat to the temple for now. I need to revise my plans."
Failing to seize the Dark Mage King's powers was a grave mistake. Without those powers, it was impossible to kill the King and ascend to the throne.
'I have no face to show my father…'
Fawn Prevernal Moon, his father, had met countless 'sons' across countless worlds but claimed all of them had failed.
Was he destined to become just another failed son?
'No. I'm different! I'm not like the others!'
Clenching his fists tightly, Hui-Ryeon stomped through the fortress moat with anger.
"Just wait, Baek Yu-Seol... My father told me not to touch you, but I can't hold back any longer. You've interfered with my plans time and time again. The only solution is to eliminate you."
***
Meanwhile, upon returning to Stella Academy, Ma Yu-Seong found himself a full four minutes late to his promised meeting time. Since the teleportation ability of the necklace only transported him to a predetermined location, the meeting place was still a considerable distance away.
"Four minutes and forty-two seconds late."
Ma Yu-Seong merely smiled and brushed it off, as if he was unbothered.
Baek Yu-Seol noticed the strangely cheerful demeanor of Ma Yu-Seong and couldn't help but ask, "What happened?"
That evening's menu was spicy rice cakes - so fiery that they were spicier than any bomb - topped with slices of brisket.
Eisel, despite tears and a runny nose, couldn't give up on the spicy rice cakes and kept eating. Watching her struggle, Ma Yu-Seong handed her a tissue.
"Well…"
"You seem like you're in a good mood."
"Haha, in a way, you could say it's something good. Although… it's not something that should be good. From another perspective, it could even be considered bad."
"What kind of nonsense is that?"
Even as he ate the messy, splattering tteokbokki, Ma Yu-Seong managed to appear refined.
"My father… has been gravely injured."
"What?"
Eisel, who had been eating tteokbokki, froze mid-bite. Even Baek Yu-Seol, who had been calm, stopped moving his hand altogether.
"Y-Your father?!"
Eisel, unaware of the Dark Mage King's true identity, reacted with exaggerated concern. However, Baek Yu-Seol, who knew who Ma Yu-Seong's father truly was, turned visibly pale.
'The Dark Mage King… was gravely injured?'
This development had occurred in the original storyline, but it wasn't supposed to happen yet.
It was meant to happen much later, around the time Ma Yu-Seong graduated. The injury from the throne succession conflict was supposed to play a key role in Ma Yu-Seong becoming the Dark Mage King.
In this world where Flame was the protagonist, Ma Yu-Seong was practically the main heroine equivalent. His corruption ending was considered a bad ending, something players avoided at all costs.
But now, Baek Yu-Seol couldn't avoid it.
"Tell me more. Why was your father injured?"
"Well… My father is something of a magical warrior, you know. It seems he recently clashed with some dark mage and got hurt. But they say his life isn't in any immediate danger."
This didn't make sense.
If the Dark Mage King was gravely injured, only three dark Mages in existence could have created such a situation.
And if it was one of them, they would never have left the Dark Mage King alive after wounding him. They would have finished him off without fail.
Why, then, did he survive with only a grave injury? And who exactly did he fight against?
Baek Yu-Seol couldn't figure out anything.
'But… it doesn't seem like everything has gone completely wrong either.'
The fact that Ma Yu-Seong was sitting here casually, eating tteokbokki with a smirk, meant that events hadn't progressed to the point where he had inherited the throne.
'I almost made a huge mistake. I should have been paying closer attention all along.'
While Baek Yu-Seol was deep in thought, Ma Yu-Seong noticed his expression and asked curiously, "Why are you so serious?"
"Well, wouldn't you be serious if your friend's father was injured? How can you sit there smiling like that?"
"Friend…?"
Ma Yu-Seong blinked. He was momentarily stunned at the word.
"Anyway, make sure to pass along my wishes for his speedy recovery."
As he said this, he picked up another piece of tteokbokki with his fork. Watching him, Ma Yu-Seong smiled brightly and nodded.
"Yeah, I'll definitely let him know."
***
Later that evening
Whoosh—!!!
Autumn rain poured heavily that night as Flame made her way to the library.
The magical problems she had been tackling recently had reached almost a Class 7 level, far beyond what Stella's standard textbooks could offer.
She tied her hair into a tight ponytail and opened her umbrella.
Then, she suddenly stopped in her tracks, pausing to lower her umbrella slightly as she gazed up at the sky.
Crackle!!!
A sensation that made her hair stand on end.
She was familiar with it. It was the same feeling she got when angels tried to speak to her.
But this time, no voices came through.
Since her encounter with Pale Yellow Autumn Moon a few months ago, or rather, after traveling to another time in the distant past, the voices of the angels had grown faint.
It was as if something was blocking their transmissions.
Of course... she no longer wished to hear their voices anyway.
According to Baek Yu-Seol, those so-called angels weren't the grand, radiant beings they appeared to be. They were merely celestial projections, stars in the night sky.
Even their handsome faces and beautiful wings were false, fabricated constructs.
Frankly, she was curious why they had approached her in the first place, but she feared that continued communication with them might corrupt her mind.
"What are you doing here?"
As Flame stood blankly, as expected, someone spoke to her.
She was used to this by now.
Whenever she felt that prickling sensation, something significant would inevitably follow.
In most cases... it always pointed her in the right direction.
For example, if she needed a carriage, the sensation would come just before Hong Bi-Yeon showed up with one to give her a ride. Or if she got lost, someone skilled at navigating would conveniently appear to guide her.
"Hello."
Seeing that the other person appeared to be a female assistant at Stella, Flame politely greeted her first.
"I need to get into the library, but it's locked."
"Ah, if that's the case, no problem. I have the key."
Flame let out a small, helpless laugh. Of course, the very person holding the key would conveniently appear before her.
"Here, let me unlock it for you."
The assistant who unlocked the library door left immediately after.
Now alone in the library, Flame left her dripping umbrella outside and walked in without even turning on the lights.
Flash!
A clap of thunder illuminated the dark library, creating an eerie atmosphere, but Flame didn't mind.
She slumped into a chair in the central hall of the library, staring blankly at the ceiling.
The ceiling, made of stained glass, was semi-transparent. On rainy days like this, the outside world became particularly visible.
Truthfully, she didn't have a strong reason for sitting there.
She was simply... waiting for someone.
Prickle!
After waiting for some time, the familiar sensation once again sent shivers down her spine.
"Huh? Flame? What are you doing in a place like this? I almost thought you were a ghost."
As expected, Baek Yu-Seol appeared and greeted her warmly.
How 'coincidental' that they'd end up alone together in a dark library.
Flame vaguely realized that she might have orchestrated this situation herself.
Without saying a word, she rose from her seat, walked slowly toward Baek Yu-Seol, and stopped just close enough that she could tilt her head back to look at him.
"W-What's up?"
The strange atmosphere was amplified, perhaps because her hair was damp from the rain.
Without a word, Flame looked up at him, then closed her eyes and leaned her head against his chest.
"I don't know…"
"W-What?"
"I just… wanted to see you, so I waited."
After saying that, she pulled her head away and quickly fled the library, as if running away.
Recently, Flame hadn't realized that something about her own behavior was becoming increasingly unusual.