Chapter 38 : Cousin (3)

“Hey, Sophia.”

“Y-Yes, yes, yes!!”

“Where is the dragon?”

“I-I don’t know…”

Before them stood the remains of a colossal, crumbling fortress—the Grand Mage’s mansion.

The test subjects had all vanished in an instant.

The mages who had aided him—gone, every single one of them.

Only a massive crater remained in the empty space.

The Grand Mage, gazing at the vast hole, suddenly let out a sinister grin.

“…Khuh.”

“M-Master?”

“Haa…”

Letting out a deep sigh, the Grand Mage’s eyes gleamed as he turned to Sophia.

“Hey, Sophia.”

“Where is the dragon?”

Unlike his previously expressionless face, he now wore a crazed expression.

Terrified by the sight, Sophia stumbled backward, but the Grand Mage paid her no heed.

He turned away, looking up at the sky, spreading his arms wide.

Then, with an ecstatic expression, he spoke.

His deep voice was now intertwined with an alluring feminine tone, creating an indescribable eeriness.

[Khuh, Khahaha!!!]

[So fun! This is too much fun!!]

[Ahlan!!!]

[Karha!!!!]

[More, more!!! Won’t you entertain me further?!]

As the Grand Mage spoke, the once-clear sky darkened.

A massive full moon, appearing from nowhere, rose above him and Sophia.

The surrounding space turned pitch black as if shrouded in darkness.

Sophia could feel it—this place was completely cut off from the outside world.

But that no longer mattered.

The being that had ceased to be the Grand Mage continued to raise its voice.

[Revenge!!!!]

[Upon you who betrayed me!! Revenge!!!!]

[Upon you who defied expectations—purging!!!!]

With every word, cracks formed across the surface of the middle-aged man’s body, as if his shell was peeling away.

From the fractures, a radiant sky-blue light began to seep through.

[The sea, life itself! Fire!! Trees! Earth! Air!! None could escape me.]

[Even the moon and desire are no different!]

[The stars, the stars!! They will never forget you!!]

[My revenge will bear fruit in the end! I will sever your lifelines! Without fail!!]

At that moment, the full moon began to glow brilliantly, like pure gold.

[…ōt!]

—Resist endlessly.

—Struggle until your body is torn apart.

[I will struggle and cling on until the very end…]

[Starting with your creations, one by one…]

[Humans have already fallen…!! Next, the demons? The dragons?!]

[Kuh, Kahah!!]

[Try and stop me!! If you can!!!!!]

The Grand Mage’s body finally began to collapse.

A dazzling sky-blue light exploded outward, scattering like stardust in the deep purple darkness.

[…This body… is at its limit…]

[Kuh, it doesn’t matter…]

[I have already grasped… the half-moon in my hands…]

—Fwoooosh!!!

“…Hiiik?!”

Sophia gasped and stumbled back as she moved toward her crumbling master, trying to grasp the situation.

What had once been her master was now turning to dust and disintegrating before her eyes—it was a sight too shocking to comprehend.

—Child.

—Do not crumble.

—Child.

—Do not be deceived by the stars.

—Child.

—Do not lose yourself.

“…What…?”

A man’s voice echoed in Sophia’s mind.

A mysterious, holy, and warm voice resonated, making Sophia feel that it was doing its best for her.

But—

[It’s already too late!!!!]

“Khuh?!”

As the voice of the stars had said, it was already too late.

[…I will give you a choice.]

[Will you come with me, or will you die?]

“I… I will go with you, Master…”

[Kuh.]

The light in Sophia’s eyes faded, and at that moment, her soul was torn apart into the abyss.

“I’m sorry, but I’ll take good care of you.”

As her focus returned, Sophia murmured those words and waved her hand.

“Let’s go together—to the Demon Realm.”

From the tip of her fingers, a small star bloomed.

As it exploded, it drove away the descending darkness like a curtain being pulled aside.

“A star shines the brightest and most beautifully at the moment it bursts.”

With a mad smile, Sophia—no, the Star—vanished from the empire.

With my cousin’s permission, I took the liberty of opening the door.

“…I’m coming in…”

As the door creaked open, a dark room welcomed me.

The cold moonlight seeped in, making the atmosphere eerily chilling.

It felt as if even time itself had frozen still.

The temperature of the room wasn’t actually low.

It was just the oppressive air that made it feel so heavy and dark.

In the midst of it all, my eyes caught sight of something reflecting the moonlight—a smear of red liquid on the wall.

Bright crimson.

Fresh blood, not yet dried, stained the marble floor and the stone walls.

The sight left me speechless.

At the same time, a deep sense of pity welled up inside me.

How much pain must she have been in to attempt suicide in the plaza?

How much suffering had she endured to still harm herself even after being brought back to life?

Emptiness, loss, sorrow—these words resonated deeply with the past me.

Losing my parents, losing the strength to stand again.

That past version of myself overlapped with the half-dragon before me.

I knew I could never truly understand her pain.

Everyone experiences suffering in different ways.

What kind of life she had lived, what kind of hardships she had faced—

Those things shape the way pain manifests.

But perhaps, I could reach out—just a little.

Just because things aren’t identical doesn’t mean they are completely different.

Like a square and a trapezoid—

Different shapes, yet both fall under the category of quadrilaterals.

The pain of that half-dragon and the pain I had suffered in my past life must be similar.

It was no coincidence that I saw my own reflection in her.

Loss, sorrow, and anger—those emotions, at least, I could embrace.

[Yes, that’s it… That’s why the moon brought you here…]

A child’s voice, one I had never heard before, rang beside my ear.

I couldn’t tell if it was a boy or a girl.

It wasn’t the GM.

It wasn’t my golden-haired sister either.

But now wasn’t the time to dwell on it.

“…Hello.”

As I greeted her, my previously playful expression softened into something more serious.

The half-dragon, shivering under a white blanket, turned to look at me.

Her trembling eyes locked onto mine without a word.

‘Cousin, please open her status window.’

[Entity Name: Emila Laskaris]

[Race: Half-Dragon]

[Lv.: -]

[Strength: -]

[Magic: -]

[Intelligence: -]

[Stamina: -]

[Titles: Child of the Moon, The Most Unfortunate Lucky One, and 2 more]

[A Saint has been identified.]

[Entities who serve the same god or are favored by the same deity can generate synergy!]

[The Saint wishes to grow closer to you.]

“You want to be friends with me?”

Looking at the status window, I couldn’t help but feel puzzled.

Even though I had greeted her, she didn’t respond at all.

She just kept trembling.

Her ruby-like eyes, which kept staring at me, were incredibly beautiful.

Unlike my sister, whose eyes sometimes had a slight brown hue due to her instability, this girl was a true half-blood.

That must be why.

As I was wondering what to do with her—

“…Th-Thank you…”

She was the first to speak.

After suddenly saying those words to me, she burrowed into her blanket again, as if something had frightened her.

“Are you scared?”

Seeing that, I smiled gently and asked.

“What are you scared of?”

“…Everything. Everything is scary…”

Just how much pain had she endured?

I couldn’t leave her like this.

Maybe it was because she reminded me of my past self.

“…Am I scary too?”

“…A little.”

“It’s okay. I won’t hurt you.”

“…I know. The god told me.”

Emila hesitated for a moment, then looked at me with slightly sparkling eyes.

“Even if the god hadn’t said it… I already knew.”

“Because… you saved me.”

“…But still, I’m scared.”

“If I start to care about someone, I might lose them.”

“…Or worse, they might betray me.”

I kept a little distance from Emila and just smiled warmly without saying anything.

“…I understand that feeling too.”

“You’re young. You wouldn’t know emotions like this…”

At this point, I decided to borrow the name of the god.

“…The god showed me. About you.”

“…”

“It must have been hard, right?”

When I asked that, Emila’s eyebrows twitched slightly, and she looked surprised.

“…Would you tell me about it?”

“Pain lessens when it’s shared.”

“…But if I tell you, it’ll hurt you too…”

“It’s okay.”

When I smiled and reassured her, she hesitated for a moment, then lifted the blanket.

“…It’s a long story.”

“I don’t mind. I slept a lot during the day.”

“…Okay, then…”

The blanket had a faint scent of blood, but I ignored it and snuggled in beside her to listen.

She told me everything.

How she was treated in the kingdom.

How she was treated after leaving the kingdom.

How she had trusted a great magician too easily, only to be betrayed.

And the reason she ended up here.

When she whimpered, I patted her back.

When she trembled, I gently placed my hand over hers.

I reassured her with a warm smile.

“…That’s my story.”

“You must hate me, right? Seeking revenge against the kingdom… Even though all of this happened because I was weak and pathetic…”

As she spoke with a bitter expression, I pulled her into a tight hug.

“…!!”

“…Minho.”

She seemed a bit startled, but then she hugged me back tightly.

“…Minho, my arms hurt.”

“Oh, sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

About ten seconds later, Emila finally broke down in tears.

“I feel so guilty toward my uncle…”

“I was about to give up on everything…”

“I was about to destroy everything…”

“…He was the only one, besides my parents, who was kind to me…”

“…Do you think he’d forgive me if I apologized now?”

At that moment, I finally understood the root of Emila’s fear.

She seemed to know that my father had treated her well.

But unlike the other family members, she was afraid of him.

That felt strange.

“You were scared that my dad might reject your apology, weren’t you?”

Emila didn’t respond. Instead, she just hugged me tightly.

I whispered softly into her ear.

“…It’s okay. I’m sure he’ll be happy.”

“…Really?”

“Yes, really.”

“…Okay.”

Finally, a small smile appeared on Emila’s face.

Tears welled up in her eyes and trickled down her cheeks.

The moonlight made them glisten, making her pale skin and beautiful red eyes shine even more brilliantly.

“You look pretty when you smile.”

“…Thank you.”

“Tomorrow, let’s go see my dad and apologize.”

“…Right away?”

“Yes. I’ll go with you.”

“…Okay. If Minho is with me, I don’t mind.”

At that moment, I decided I would sleep in Emila’s room tonight.