Hui-Ryeon's plan ended in failure.
However, with the Dark Mage King gravely injured, it was unlikely he could wield the same influence as before.
Hui-Ryeon would likely exploit this situation to manipulate the dark mage army to his advantage.
The Dark Mage King couldn't just stand by and let that happen.
"My sons."
"Yes, Father!"
At his summons, seven sons immediately appeared before the throne, kneeling in respect. Some were twice as large as the Dark Mage King himself, while others were no bigger than an average human. What they all had in common, however, was that they resembled humans and lacked horns.
Indeed, they were all born between humans and dark mages, inheriting a stronger dark mage bloodline.
They were unique beings, capable of wielding the powers of both humans and dark mages.
"The time you've all been waiting for has come."
The time they had been waiting for.
At those words, all seven sons raised their heads with anticipation. Though Ma Yu-Seong had been the de facto heir to the throne, in the unlikely event that he rejected the position, the true successor would be determined through the Battle of Blood and Magic.
The Dark Mage King, who doted on Ma Yu-Seong, never thought this day would come. Yet, his foolish youngest son had stubbornly refused the throne to the very end.
"So, the time has finally come…"
"We will not disappoint you, Father!"
It no longer mattered what the youngest did.
Becoming the King of all dark mages meant one could reshape the rules of the dark mages at will, battle countless powerful beings across the world, and grow in strength.
Dark Mages were stronger than humans.
To stand at the pinnacle of the dark mages was to stand at the pinnacle of the world.
With their father injured and Ma Yu-Seong refusing the throne, this was the perfect opportunity to claim the ultimate position of power.
"But…"
The Dark Mage King continued, addressing his overjoyed sons.
"Right now, everyone knows that I've grown weaker. So, even if one of you inherits the throne through the Battle of Blood and Magic, doubts will arise about whether you are the rightful heir."
The sons understood this as well. They were simply too excited by the opportunity in front of them to think deeply about it.
"That's why you must prove yourselves. Go out and fight. Tear out the throats of every dark mage who questions your lineage and hang them up for all to see. Do so until everyone acknowledges you. Until they realize that you became kings through sheer strength."
At these words, the sons knelt in unison and bowed their heads deeply toward the Dark Mage King.
Though they weren't as favored as Ma Yu-Seong, they too carried the bloodline of the Dark Mage King.
And unlike Ma Yu-Seong, who was still growing, most of them had already completed their growth or reached a near-perfect state.
Each of them wielded power equivalent to an risk level 8 or 9 and commanded their own armies. The moment they stepped into the world, the dark mage society would be set ablaze.
'Hui-Ryeon, no matter what your intentions were... from the moment you failed to kill me, you lost.'
After sending his seven sons out into the world with a simple nod, the Dark Mage King rested his arm on the throne.
The wound in his chest still hadn't healed. Ever since his battle with Elthman Elwin - his former mentor - 50 years ago, he had been unable to fully wield his abilities, leaving even this injury lingering for an unusually long time.
He knew deep down… before this wound could heal, he would inevitably be drawn into another battle and meet his end.
Sensing this, the Dark Mage King let out a hollow laugh.
'In the end, it seems I'll never see the world I've dreamed of.'
He had sent his seven sons out to dominate the dark mages and its society.
But what was the point of it all?
Whether his sons triumphed or fell, it didn't matter. Even if they conquered the world, their victory would ultimately mean nothing.
It was nothing more than domination over the dark mage society.
What the Dark Mage King truly desired was a unified world.
A world without discrimination or suffering... a perfect world ruled by a single transcendent being.
But he himself could not become that transcendent being.
The inherent limitations of living beings prevented it. However, Ma Yu-Seong...
If it was his youngest son, he could surely surpass those limitations and become the transcendent being capable of uniting the world into one.
If only Ma Yu-Seong had accepted the throne, all of the Dark Mage King's dreams could have been fulfilled, and he could have closed his eyes in peace.
"Such a shame. Truly a shame."
...The Dark Knight, who had been silently observing from the side, quietly left the black fortress as the Dark Mage King drifted off to sleep.
'It's all because of Baek Yu-Seol.'
Clenching his fist, the Dark Knight thought of Baek Yu-Seol's name. The one who tarnished the reputation of the dark mages and seduced the youngest son of the Dark Mage King, leading him astray.
'His Majesty's plan must proceed as originally intended. Defying the will of such greatness is unthinkable.'
The Dark Knight could not accept the current state of affairs.
He couldn't stand that the Dark Mage King, to whom he had sworn loyalty, was growing weaker and losing his power.
Nor could he tolerate the fact that a plan the Dark Mage King had devoted his entire life to building had been ruined by a single human.
Because of this, Dark Knight might have already lost part of his rationality.
'I must eliminate the root cause and restore everything to its proper state.'
Even though eliminating Baek Yu-Seol wouldn't bring anything back, the Dark Knight was too consumed by dark energy to think clearly.
A state just before losing all rationality.
For a dark mage, this was perhaps the most dangerous moment.
The Dark Knight, a highly disciplined dark mage who had maintained his rationality for a very long time, could no longer suppress his rage.
'I will kill Baek Yu-Seol.'
***
A month passed.
The season of the first snowfall.
Baek Yu-Seol, wearing his winter coat, headed to the training grounds for his regular physical conditioning.
Life had been rather peaceful for him lately.
Meeting frequently with Scarlet to help stabilize her mental state and assist in regaining her abilities had become one of Baek Yu-Seol's important tasks.
It also meant his daily routine had become more relaxed.
Incidentally, he kept running into Flame more often than usual. Somehow, the empty seat would always be right next to hers, or he'd accidentally walk into the women's restroom, only to find her washing her face alone.
And once, when he mistakenly entered the wrong changing room, she happened to be there, changing clothes…
'Why do I keep ending up in the wrong places?'
He didn't know how he kept making these mistakes, but they were genuine mistakes. And every time he accidentally wandered into the wrong place, Flame was always there.
As these encounters happened more frequently, the atmosphere between them grew strange.
For reasons he didn't quite understand, they seemed to keep crossing paths during private moments, like while showering or changing clothes. This led to an oddly high number of secrets they shared with one another.
For teenagers, sharing such intimate secrets would usually be more than enough to spark special feelings. However, both Flame and Baek Yu-Seol had mental maturity far beyond their years, so nothing significant had developed between them yet.
Click!
Without thinking much, Baek Yu-Seol opened the door to the training grounds and walked in, only to find himself face-to-face with Flame once again. His eyes widened in surprise.
This time, however, the situation was a little different.
Flame had arrived earlier and was kneeling quietly in the empty, darkened training ground, staring out the window with her hands clasped tightly together.
She looked as though she was praying.
Behind her, wings fluttered gently, but they felt entirely different from the ones Baek Yu-Seol had seen before.
Previously, they had resembled pure white feathers like those of angels. Now, they looked like an aurora, a luminous radiance coalescing to form the shape of wings.
Baek Yu-Seol quietly sat in a corner, waiting for her prayer to end.
Thirty minutes passed, then an hour.
As the sun began to set, Flame finally finished her prayer and opened her eyes, only to meet Baek Yu-Seol's gaze. Startled, she wore an expression of shock.
"I didn't sense anything this time…"
"Sense what?"
"Oh, uh, nothing! Nothing at all."
She coughed awkwardly and loosened her hair. Her hair had grown quite long, now cascading past her nape and reaching her shoulder blades.
"What are you doing here? Spying on me or something?"
"What? I wasn't spying. I even coughed and made noise so you'd notice."
"…You did?"
"I just came here to work out, but you seemed really focused, so I didn't want to interrupt."
Flame looked embarrassed, twisting a strand of her hair nervously.
"Thanks."
"For what?"
"For letting me think quietly by myself."
"Were you praying?"
"If you call it prayer, then I guess it could be, but… I'm not sure. It felt more like I was talking to my inner self. Maybe you'd understand?"
He didn't.
Did the Flame from the game ever have such abilities?
"Not that I recall. This is the first time I've seen it."
When Baek Yu-Seol responded honestly, Flame widened her eyes in surprise. Her expression was so shocked that Baek Yu-Seol found himself startled in return.
"What's with that look?"
"Oh, uh… nothing. It's just… you've met countless versions of me from other worlds, haven't you? So I thought you knew everything about me."
Flame from another world?
He had almost never encountered one. In fact, the Flame in front of him was the first and likely the last he would ever meet. To him, she was always new and unique.
But for some reason, Flame seemed oddly pleased, as if she had misunderstood something.
"That's a relief. I thought you knew everything about me, but I'm glad I could show you a new side of me that you didn't know."
"How is that a relief?"
"Well, now even if you travel to another world, you can remember this version of me, the one with these unique traits."
"…I'm never going to another world. Ever."
"Hmm~ And you think that's entirely up to you?"
From what Flame knew, Baek Yu-Seol always returned to the past upon his death. Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense for someone to have experienced regression thousands of times.
Any ordinary person would have given up along the way.
Or so she thought.
"Of course it's up to me."
"…What?"
Baek Yu-Seol spoke with a complicated expression.
"It's up to me. If this world is destroyed, I'll die here too. There's no 'other world' for me. I'm putting everything I have into this one."
Perhaps it was because of how unexpected his words were, but Flame stared at him, unable to shake her blank expression for a long time.
"How many times… have you said something like that before?"
"Never. This is the first time."
"I-I see…"
Flame glanced away from his gaze, lowering her eyes slightly. Then, in a voice as small as an ant crawling, she said:
"…Sorry."
"There's no need to apologize. If you really feel bad about it, just buy some bread on your way out."
"Bread…"
Out of everything he could say, he brings up bread? Flame felt momentarily dumbfounded, but then she realized it made her feel at ease.
Without meaning to, she let out a small laugh. She knew this was Baek Yu-Seol's way of trying to reassure her.
His words weren't lies.
If Baek Yu-Seol wanted to comfort someone, he was capable of saying many other things. The fact that he didn't feel the need to lie was proof enough of his sincerity.
'It's not a lie…'
Baek Yu-Seol's final journey.
After traversing countless timelines, this was his last.
The mere fact that she existed in this world with him was already enough to make her happy.
But…
'That alone won't satisfy me.'
Flame raised her head again. With her usual bright smile, she spoke cheerfully.
"Alright, fine. I'll buy the entire bakery for you. But you have to eat it all right where you're sitting."
"No, that's a bit—"
"Let's go!"
With that, she shouted energetically and grabbed his wrist to pull him along.
And at that moment, suddenly—
Whoosh!
Behind Flame, dazzling golden wings unfurled.
Not the usual single pair of wings, but two pairs.
"Wh-what?!"
Before she could process what was happening, the wings lifted her off the ground. Flame flailed her arms in panic, trying to steady herself.
"What's going on?!"
The wings wouldn't obey her. No matter how hard she tried to control them, they kept pushing her higher into the air, making it impossible to plant her feet back on the ground.
This had never happened before.
It felt almost as if… the wings were trying to abduct her.
At the ominous thought, Flame's complexion turned pale. Just then, Baek Yu-Seol gently grasped her wrist.
"Ah…"
The moment his hand touched her, Flame's body stopped moving.
Thanks to Baek Yu-Seol's strength, the wings could no longer pull her away.
"Take it slow."
"S-Slow? What do you mean?"
"You've always had wings, haven't you?"
"That was… just thanks to the angels' help. They weren't my wings."
"Well, now pretend they are. Try moving them like you would your arms and legs."
"That's easier said than—Ahhh?!"
Before she could finish speaking, Baek Yu-Seol suddenly let go of her wrist.
To her surprise, the wings no longer pulled her upward uncontrollably. She found herself floating steadily, as if he were still holding her.
"Huh? What? It's… actually working?"
"Wow… this feels like teaching someone how to ride a bike."
As Flame tentatively began controlling her wings, Baek Yu-Seol laughed and reached out to take her hand again.
"Alright, that's enough. Come down now. Those filthy beings can't take you away."
"Those filthy beings…?"
"The angels."
"Ah…"
She landed softly back on the ground, but Baek Yu-Seol didn't release her hand.
"This is more trouble than I thought."
"What is?"
"The wings won't disappear. Even after all this resistance."
"Y-Yeah, you're right…"
"They must really want to take you. Can you handle this on your own?"
At his question, Flame vigorously shook her head. She knew she couldn't deal with it alone.
"Well, I guess there's no choice. I'll hold onto you for the time being. You're not against that, are you?"
"You can't just keep holding on forever, though…"
"Yeah, true. There's… uh… privacy and all that to think about…"
"So, for now."
For now. Just for now.
But that was more than enough to satisfy Flame.