Agony's reaction was strange.
'This power... what is it?'
Yet, the power that arose inside my body in opposition to Agony's Darkness was even stranger.
Whir...
A thrilling energy spread through my body.
Frowning, Agony hastily withdrew his arm and shouted.
【Stop!】
"..."
【I’ve confird your power. You can go.】
"What's going to happen to from now on?"
It was an important question to : If I would stay here or wander around the world again?
【This place...】
Agony instantly dispelled my worries.
【...will be your ho from now on.】
"..."
【 Everyone in the Veil will beco your brothers. Kindness may be their only redeeming quality, but they will definitely be of help one day... Huh?】
He placed his hand on my shoulder and gently hugged .
【Don't cry, boy! D-Did you not like it?】
"That's not it..."
I never had anything I could call ho.
Although the monts I spent with Santos had been happy, they were just fleeting monts in the middle of hardships.
And he expelled in the end, anyway.
【If you don't want to, you don't have to accept it.】
"I don't dislike it..."
【Really?】
"Yes. It's just that I'm happy."
This place is now my new ho—a new nest where I could be with Yurim.
I could say goodbye to cages with barbed wires.
SLAM—!
The door opened, and Yurim appeared.
"Really? Can Seol really stay?"
【So you heard everything...!】
Despite Agony's sowhat stern expression, Yurim jumped with open arms, hugging Agony and simultaneously.
'Warm...'
Having soone who cared about didn't feel bad.
"Welco to the Veil!"
It was winter, shortly after my seventeenth birthday, when I beca a new mber of the Veil.
* * *
Ti flew by, and the next winter had already arrived.
"It's been a year since you ca here."
"I'm grateful for that.'
Even amidst intense training, there were tis when I could take breaks like this.
I was talking with Toki and Agony.
Here, I had two teachers. Toki, who taught martial arts, and Agony, who taught general studies and how to use Darkness.
Here, Agony—also known as the Old One—was actually a demonic spirit with trendous power. I heard it did countless bad things in the past, but it was hard to believe, seeing its current self.
However, its power was the real deal.
I had changed.
Although the path ahead was still long, it was a huge change considering my past.
【I saw a lot of potential in you. However, it isn't good.】
"Yes? What does..."
Was it saying I didn't have potential?
Or...
【I've told you many tis that good training and proper rest are both important. Especially rest, you shouldn't skip it!】
"I-I'm sorry."
【Hmm... I don't understand why you're trying to beco stronger.】
Agony looked at with a serious expression.
【The reason you're trying to beco stronger. I wonder what it is.】
Toki also chid in from the side.
"I’m also curious. The reason the boy wants to get stronger is neither vengeance nor a desire for conflict."
【You have an intense desire to beco stronger, but it’s not because of the hell you experienced during your childhood... Is sothing inside you forcing you forward?】
I couldn't utter a single word properly.
Their words weren’t wrong.
I needed to beco stronger—I had to.
If soone asked why I needed to beco stronger, I could probably list dozens, maybe even hundreds, of reasons.
But if they asked whether that reason reflected my true feelings... I would hesitate to answer.
'I don't know.'
If soone asked if I wanted to take revenge on those who had thrown my life into hell, I would say yes. However, that couldn't beco my life's goal.
Bzz...
'Ugh...'
Again.
[Interdiate Insight activates.]
[You couldn't find anything.]
[Interdiate Insight fails.]
I felt another headache that made unable to continue thinking.
【Are you okay?】
I awkwardly smiled at Agony's concern.
【Well, I’m not saying it’s necessarily sothing bad!】
"I agree. Don't think about it hastily."
【However, at so point, you will need to clarify it. Otherwise, you will hit a wall.】
"I will keep it in mind."
Agony tightly held my shoulder and said.
【I've been watching you for a year, so I can say with certainty—you have a talent that others don't.】
One by one, its tiny fingers folded.
【Your ability to face fear, magic talent, and the ability to read through situations.】
"You can be confident—you're a talented child. There's no need to push yourself too hard."
"Yes..."
It seed that, as a group, they had planned to lift my mood. I was getting too embarrassed about being here.
"Well then, I'll..."
【Alright.】
I had to spar with Yurim, so I left first.
However, upon hearing the words that ca out of Agony, I stopped.
【What I can't understand the most is your judgnt. Or should I call it luck?】
"That's right. If a hundred people were put through the sa hell the boy did, all one hundred would have died. But as if he knew things would turn out like this, he sohow ended up coming to the Veil. His judgnt to save Yurim gave him a reason to be drawn here... Although it wasn't intentional, that’s how it ultimately happened."
I just did it because I thought I had to save Yurim.
Yes, it was because of that.
【He was barely nine when he decided to escape from the dockyard. How does that make sense? Agony can't understand.】
"It certainly is strange."
Strange? ?
I rested my chin on my hand and thought for a mont.
【Perhaps Seol can see through the essence of fate? Perhaps he knows what he must do no matter what—the most important things.】
"That's an overstatent..."
【Right? But what about the hidden power in his body...? Could he be more talented than the kid taken by the Faces... No, that's not true.】
"Even if Seol has a lot of talents, they can’t compare to that child’s depth. The only one that can compare to that kid's talent is Yurim."
【In the fight against the Faces, the only ones we can put our hopes on are the future generations—those two!】
"Old One, I wonder what the Master thinks..."
【Huh? I don't know either. He's probably busy with his own matters. Why? Are you worried?】
"It's been a while since he last appeared..."
【He's the only one who can hold back Angry Face. He will soon appear. We should leave Angry Face to him and focus on nurturing those kids. To reap the disaster we've left behind. What's the location?】
"We're continuing to investigate..."
That kid?
Who were they talking about that they were so scared?
* * *
Ti is fair, but for , who had endured hard tis, happy monts seed to pass even faster than before.
Today was my 20th birthday.
"Happy birthday, Seol!"
Yurim hugged tightly.
"Thanks. C-Could you let go? I can't breathe..."
"Ah! I'm sorry!"
I could only perceive the passage of ti through the changes in seasons. Since coming here, I had never been outside even once.
However, I wasn't dissatisfied with that.
If I wanted, they would have shown the outside world anyti.
But it was I who refused it.
I thought that the world was hell and I needed to beco much stronger to go there.
And now, that had brought considerable results.
[Awakening! You awaken a new skill.]
[You awaken Black Flower.]
[Awakening! You awaken a new skill.]
[You awaken Shadow Evasion.]
[Awakening! You awaken a new skill.]
[You awaken Make Creations.]
…
I was growing rapidly, as if I were walking a path I had already walked before.
Although Agony was a demonic spirit, it said my talent related to Darkness was above its own.
It was a very strange feeling.
Being acknowledged by soone made unexpectedly emotional.
But that didn't an I was satisfied.
Aside from what Agony and Toki taught , I started making my own weapons. I sotis even skipped rest, fully imrsed in my work as I made progress.
The more I dedicated myself to training, the less frequent my headaches beca.
I concluded that my headaches were a defense chanism to avoid facing the harsh reality.
Approaching that way was more comfortable.
"Seol, happy birthday! Everyone has gathered, so co quickly. And you two, stop being stuck together like that!"
"Wh-Who was stuck together?!"
"Separate a bit!"
Yurim was flustered and stamring, and Kiri was teasing her. Just as I had grown into an adult in both age and appearance, she too had beco a woman who exuded a pure and innocent atmosphere—although her real identity was a fighter who had been raised in the Veil.
Anyway, everyone was gathered today, probably because it was my birthday.
"Ta-da!"
"..."
A modest spot was arranged in the largest common area available in the hideout. The ones who were always here were Kiri, Ziliac, Toki, and Agony.
"Surprised? Are you surprised?"
Ah, and Yurim…
Because the other mbers had been dispatched, I had never seen them in person. Including the Veil Master, I heard there were four more mbers in total.
So, all the mbers in the hideout were gathered here now.
"Happy birthday!"
"Happy birthday, kid."
"Boy! You've beco a fine adult!"
【Congratulations! Congratulations!】
"I'm truly happy for you."
Oh no.
I wasn't expecting them to have planned for sothing like this.
【Ehem...】
Agony quietly approached and hung sothing on the chest of my robe.
It was a red ruby that looked like a crow’s eye.
It was the symbol of the Veil.
【From now on, you will start operating as part of the Veil.】
"..."
【D-Don't cry!】
"I'm not crying."
【But your eyes are moist.】
"I just yawned..."
I cried a lot when I was sad, so it was better to smile on good days.
Yurim smiled along with .
【Then, your first mission is...】
* * *
We arrived at a mountain villa on the outskirts—no, it was more like an inn that looked like a villa.
It was located where one had to pass through to cross the mountain, so there was a lot of traffic.
Sotis, there were more people here than in an inn in the city.
Next to was a beautiful woman linking her arm with mine as we walked into the inn.
'Do we have to go this far?'
Yurim quietly whispered at my question.
"Of course! This is the most convenient way for a young man and woman not to arouse suspicion!"
"Th-That's true, but..."
"We ca here as part of the Veil, not as Yurim and Seol."
"Okay..."
"Hehe."
"Why are you smiling...?"
"No reason."
Yurim and I sat down and ordered food.
"Why order so much?"
"Because we might have to sit for a while."
"I see..."
"And I'm hungry."
"As expected, that's the real reason, right?"
"Shh... Don't look back and just respond."
"Okay."
"He's here. If you look back now, he'll be suspicious."
"What about his appearance?"
"It's the sa. I don't think we're going to get confused."
"Then it's fine."
"He's going to his room."
"Cancel the food. Let's follow him imdiately."
"Ugh..."
Yurim made a distressed expression and called the employee.
Yurim's expression noticeably brightened when the clerk ca over and said the food was already being prepared.
"Yurim, knock on the door, okay?"
"Yes."
After a short while, Yurim ca up with food all over her mouth.
Slurp...
Knock, knock...
"Is anyone there?"
"..."
From inside, the sound of soone startled could be heard.
"Wh-What's wrong?! I didn't call for room service."
"I'm not an employee."
"Then get lost."
"This is troubleso... are you really not going to open the door?"
"Didn't you hear ? Get lost..."
While Yurim was arguing with the man through the door, a crow flew in through a slightly open window.
The crow staggered and sat on a chair.
"Eek... Wh-What? A crow? Why would..."
And that mont.
Whir...
The crow grew in size—no, it took the shape of a human.
The man froze, looking horrified.
"..."
Anyone would have made that expression if they had seen a crow entering through a window and transforming into a human.
The crow was .
"Ah, should I have dusted off my shoes before entering?"
"..."
Drr...
I pulled the chair, approached the man a bit more, and said.
"I'm from the Veil. From now on, answer my questions."
"What..."
The reason we ca here…
My first mission…
"You've contacted soone called Lian Kuruos, right?"
- Lian, an externally dispatched mber, has gone missing.
Upon hearing the question, the man visibly panicked.
"Th-That's..."
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!
A loud noise ca from the doorway.
'What?'
Realizing I had forgotten about sothing, I opened the door.
Clack...
"Next ti, open the door before you start interrogating…"
Yurim stood with an annoyed expression, and behind her were several more people.
"Do you know them?"
"Who? Them?"
"Yes."
Yurim and I exchanged glances.
"No way..."
At the sa ti, everyone drew out their weapons, and a loud voice echoed through the inn.
BOOM—!
Reviews
All reviews (0)