— What is this now?
The red-haired man - one of the Twelve Divine Moons, Scarlet Sumr Moon - laughed dryly as he looked at Hong Bi-Yeon.
She stood firm, her staff raised, eyes brimming with wariness.
That stance alone told him that the strange phenonon - the ice that had seized his hand and stilled the surrounding waters - was not her doing. Yet, no trace of magic lingered in the air.
— This energy... Oh? So another one of the Twelve Divine Moons must be protecting you.
What was going on?
Even Hong Bi-Yeon had no idea why Scarlet Sumr Moon's hand had frozen.
The man rubbed his chin with his free hand, pondering the situation before speaking again.
— Ah, I see now. It's not one of the Twelve protecting you."
"...?"
— It must be soone dear to you, soone cherished by the Twelve Divine Moons. That's why the remnants of nature's force are moving to protect you.
Loved by the Twelve Divine Moons...?
Only one person ca to mind.
As the realization struck her, the paralysis gripping her body began to loosen.
"Take this!"
Hong Bi-Yeon raised her staff high and swung it.
Scarlet Sumr Moon smirked.
— Are you planning to use fire magic? Against , the master of flas? That won't—ugh!
Smack!
No spell ca forth. Instead, Hong Bi-Yeon cracked her staff across his face, then spun around and bolted.
Scarlet Sumr Moon froze in disbelief. He stood there, stunned for a mont, before bursting into hearty laughter.
In a thousand years, he had never encountered a mage bold enough to use their staff as a bludgeon.
And for that mage to be a descendant of Adolevit, who inherited the purest form of magic—it was sothing beyond imagination.
—... Well, now.
Perhaps it had been too long since he last t a human child. He had let himself get carried away and ended up playing along.
Crack!!
Sizzle...
As Scarlet Sumr Moon lifted his frozen ankle, the ice blanketing the Adolevit cetery shattered and lted with a hiss, leaving a vast lake in its place.
"Ugh...!"
Hong Bi-Yeon, racing across the ice, suddenly lost her footing as the ground beneath her turned to water. She stumbled but quickly poured mana into her feet, stepping lightly atop the rippling surface.
— Where do you think you're going?
Scarlet Sumr Moon was already standing in her path.
Without hesitation, she turned to flee in the opposite direction—
Fwoosh!
"Ah...!"
A towering wall of fire erupted, cutting off her escape.
Splash!
Falling backward into the water, Hong Bi-Yeon stared at the blazing flas with wide, dazed eyes.
Scarlet Sumr Moon let out a sigh.
— Let's end this pointless ga of tag. I don't have all day, you know.
Splash. Splash.
He waded through the shallow water, steadily closing the distance.
— I'll humor your little antics later, whether it's swinging your staff or stomping your feet like a child. But for now... Hm?
Tremble.
Hong Bi-Yeon's shoulders were trembling faintly.
Scarlet Sumr Moon paused, puzzled by her reaction. Moving closer, he crouched to et her gaze—and suddenly, he understood.
"Hooh..."
His eyes shifted, taking in the surroundings.
The flas he had summoned soared high, turning the air into a blinding sea of crimson and gold.
Trapped within the fiery glow, her body shrank further and further.
— Ah... Now I see.
Her trembling hand reached out toward the flas, as though desperately trying to extinguish them.
But her efforts were futile.
— Ha... Haha. Wow. I wasn't expecting this. Seriously... This is unbelievable.
"Ugh..."
Realizing that the flas were beyond her control, Hong Bi-Yeon hugged her staff tightly with both arms, shrinking even further.
— Seriously... This doesn't make sense. A descendant of Adolevit... Is afraid of fire?
"... Ah."
Hong Bi-Yeon turned her head away, refusing to answer.
— I see. That's it, isn't it? You're afraid of flas you can't control. Hmm? Why is that? What kind of mory makes you fear it so much?
With a flick of Scarlet Sumr Moon's hand, buried mories she had tried so desperately to suppress began to claw their way to the surface.
'Mom! Mom!! It hurts so much!!!'
The world was drenched in crimson flas.
Beyond the searing wall of fire, her mother's cold, detached gaze pierced through.
No warmth. No pity. Only disgust.
Why?
Because it was obvious.
'You weren't born with the blessing of flas.'
And yet, her mother's voice had once dripped with honeyed promises.
'Do you want my love?'
The young Hong Bi-Yeon had nodded desperately at those words.
'Then... swallow the flas.'
Clench!
Hong Bi-Yeon gritted her teeth and shook her head violently.
Scarlet Sumr Moon watched her reaction, his expression a mix of disbelief and amusent.
— Ha... Is that it? Humans these days are truly ruthless...
Even for Scarlet Sumr Moon, this was unimaginable.
Humans really were endlessly creative... especially when it ca to cruelty.
— To forcefully implant the blessing of flas... You should be grateful to your mother. After all, that blessing was sothing only the twelve disciples of the Progenitor Mage possessed a thousand years ago.
"... I hate it."
But those words pierced through her defenses.
Hong Bi-Yeon lifted her head. Her ruby-red eyes burned like fire.
"I never... wanted this so-called blessing."
— Ha, is that so? But thanks to that blessing, you now have the qualifications to be my bride. You should be thankful!
"I don't need... Any of that..."
— Then how about this?
"...Ah!"
Whoosh!
Sothing ignited.
Hong Bi-Yeon's eyes widened in panic as she dropped her staff and clutched her chest with both hands.
'W-What... is this...?'
Crackle. Crackle.
Flas burned—unyielding, unextinguishable.
But...
She couldn't see where the fire was.
She couldn't even feel it on her skin.
— It's the fla of Adolevit that has been dormant inside your heart. It will make your fire the strongest in the world... But at the cost of your lifespan.
"... Ah..."
It was a pain unlike anything she had ever experienced.
Having only just turned eighteen, she had never fully felt the tornt of the brand.
— And now, I've added even greater fuel to that fla.
"... What?!"
Hong Bi-Yeon snapped her head up in shock, only to see Scarlet Sumr Moon smirking.
— Even with tears in your eyes, you're beautiful. The old Adolevit was famous for her beauty, but you... You're so stunning that she doesn't even compare.
"What... What did you do to ?"
— What did I do? I made you stronger. In ten years, there won't be a single being in this world that can stand against your flas.
But then, he added with a grin—
— If you survive until then, that is.
Hong Bi-Yeon's face turned pale as she felt the raging fire within her chest.
Her vision blurred.
If the flas were already this intense, she wouldn't last another half year, let alone two years.
She would die—consud by fire—just like her eldest sister.
No.
There was sothing even more disturbing that clouded her thoughts.
'Hong Erin and Hong Si-Hwa... Have they been enduring this pain all along?'
She couldn't believe it.
The mories flooded back... Hong Si-hwa, who always carried herself with poise, had often looked pale, her mask of composure cracking just enough to reveal cold sweat beading down her face.
— Do you want to live?
Hong Bi-Yeon lowered her head, unwilling to reveal the tear-streaked agony carved into her face.
— I have no intention of killing you. You're more beautiful than anything I've ever seen in this world. Look at the fla slumbering within your chest. How could I harm soone who carries such a magnificent fire?
— It's simple. Just take one step—fall into my arms. If you do, I'll remove Adolevit's brand completely. Easy, isn't it?
A honeyed whisper... words more seductive than any spell.
Scarlet Sumr Moon's lips curved into a faint smile, confident that no one could resist such an offer.
How fragile humans were. How easy they were to break.
"Go to hell..."
— ...What?
But Hong Bi-Yeon didn't give him the answer he wanted.
Even as pain wracked her body, she raised her head. Her ruby-red eyes, blazing with defiance, fixed on him like twin flas.
"So this... Is how you plan to get your bride?"
— What are you implying?
"You inflict pain, threaten, and demand submission in exchange for life? Ridiculous. It's pathetic and outdated."
Supporting herself with her staff, Hong Bi-Yeon forced herself to stand.
Sweat poured down her pale face, and strands of silver hair clung to her skin, shimring under the flickering firelight.
"The noble bloodline of Adolevit doesn't bow to cheap threats like that."
— Hah. If you stay like this, you won't even last six months.
"I'd rather bite my tongue and die right now than fall into your arms."
— Unbelievable.
Scarlet Sumr Moon swept his fiery red hair back, clearly frustrated.
— Tsk. I was trying to make this easy for you, but I see that's not going to work.
Losing what little patience remained, he reached out to seize her—
Sizzle...!
Suddenly, the lake covering the cetery froze once more.
Scarlet Sumr Moon's expression darkened.
This ti, the power felt different.
It wasn't just the protective force of the Twelve Divine Moons surrounding Hong Bi-Yeon.
— Who's there? What are you?
He was a strange boy.
He stepped forward, his jet-black hair and dark eyes exuding an unsettling calm.
A magic sword was planted firmly at his feet, its blade pulsing with the essence of the Blue Winter Moon. From it, waves of icy mana spread outward, freezing everything in their path.
Fwoosh...
The cold was so intense that it smothered Scarlet Sumr Moon's flas, rendering them dormant.
'When did he get here?'
Scarlet Sumr Moon hadn't sensed his presence until the boy appeared right before his eyes.
Just monts earlier, there had been only the faintest ripple of mana... hardly enough to raise alarm. Yet now, the boy stood in plain sight, as if he had always been there.
Ordinary humans didn't move like that.
"What do you an 'what'? I should be asking you the sa thing. Who are you?"
— Hah... So it's you. The arrogant human who supposedly earned the love of the Twelve Moons.
Scarlet Sumr Moon's expression hardened.
He could feel it—
The presence of countless other Twelve Moons lingering faintly around the boy.
— Those fools... Always getting deceived by humans.
The boy, Baek Yu-Seol, lowered his gaze to examine the scene.
The cetery was subrged in a bizarre lake.
Its acrid stench of sulfur and saltwater reeked of sothing ancient, sothing torn straight from the Alamanca's Abyss.
Baek Yu-Seol's Sentient Spec analyzed the surroundings in less than a second, projecting the results into his mind.
— This lake... It's been ripped directly from the Alamanca's Abyss and relocated here.
The answer was clear.
"Scarlet Sumr Moon?"
— Heh. Quick on the uptake.
Baek Yu-Seol's sharp gaze shifted to the red-haired man.
He analyzed Scarlet Sumr Moon's condition carefully.
'His true body is cursed—dood to burn for eternity, unable to extinguish its flas. There's no way it could manifest here physically.'
That could only an one thing—
Like the other Twelve Moons, Scarlet Sumr Moon was using an avatar.
Judging from the strength of the flas he had displayed earlier, this clone could likely wield Class 7 magic.
It was impressive.
But even so—
"Still, cutting off its head shouldn't be too difficult."
As Baek Yu-Seol leveled his sword at him, Scarlet Sumr Moon's face twisted into an incredulous smirk.
— ... Are you serious? You know I'm one of the Twelve Moons, don't you?
"If you're so confident, why not bring your real body here? Oh, wait—you can't. Too scared, are you?"
Scarlet Sumr Moon's expression soured, the taunt hitting its mark.
— You... What are you? How do you know that?
"I just do."
— Our avatars are practically extensions of ourselves. No human should be able to tell the difference.
"I'm just that amazing. I even scored 24 points in math this ti."
Scarlet Sumr Moon fell silent.
He stared at Baek Yu-Seol, uncertain whether 24 points was a boast or a confession of incompetence.
After a brief, stunned silence, he let out a dry laugh and took a deliberate step back.
— I see now. Your connection to that girl...
Fwoosh!
Flas engulfed Scarlet Sumr Moon's body as he began to fade away.
After a brief, stunned silence, he let out a dry laugh and took a deliberate step back.
— The bond between you two is touching—so touching, in fact, that it almost brings tears to my eyes. But... Fate cannot be defied.
He extended a finger, pointing directly at Hong Bi-Yeon's chest.
— The Adolevit brand burning inside her heart... Can you extinguish it?"
As his body almost completely vanished, his face lingered within the flas for a mont longer.
With a sly smirk, he left one final remark.
— Baek Yu-Seol... In the end, you'll have no choice but to give that girl to with your own hands.
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