42. Isolation (2)
Dark Mages do not train.
Only through real combat and the absorption of blood through slaughter do they achieve faster growth, and in the world of the Dark Mages, that was the most natural thing in the world.
In that sense, Ma Yuseong could truly be called an anomaly.
-…Is he training right now?
-What a disgusting bastard.
-Just what you’d expect from an inferior half-blood. Even the way he acts is lowly.
-I kind of find it entertaining.
Because it stood atop a cliff where black winds blew, this place, known as the Black Castle, was clearly not somewhere just anyone could enter.
Even among the Dark Mages, where class hierarchy was faint, only those of the highest rank—beings close to what one might call “nobility”—were permitted to set foot in the Black Castle.
Most of those who lived in the Black Castle were supreme Dark Mages who had inherited authority and blood from the Dark Mage King, or else his children.
As the child of the Dark Mage King, Ma Yuseong could be considered one of the highest-ranked Dark Mages in the Black Castle in his own way, but unfortunately, he was a half-blood.
A half-blood between a Dark Mage and a human.
The very act of drawing such a distinction was utterly laughable.
To begin with, there was no such thing as a “pure Dark Mage.”
Only after Elves, Dwarves, humans, and various other races handed over their souls to the hidden world could they finally become beings called Dark Mages.
But perhaps that was exactly why they rejected Ma Yuseong even more.
To those who had become Dark Mages by willingly abandoning their own race, Ma Yuseong—who was neither human nor Dark Mage—was nothing more than a mongrel with filthy blood.
And on top of that, such a mongrel was doing something as vulgar as “training,” so how could they possibly look upon him favorably?
-Ridiculous. Even if he keeps that up for the rest of his life, he’ll never truly possess black mana.
So it would be best not to expect warm looks from his “brothers.”
The sight of him meditating in place to train his mana, simulating combat against imaginary enemies, sharpening his concentration in order to cast magic more quickly, and even studying so he could employ various tactics and spells—
As a mage, it was deeply admirable.
But to the Dark Mages, it was nothing more than disgusting flailing.
Unable to possess the same power they had, he was forced into those vulgar acts—that was how they saw it, and some even felt a kind of superiority because of it.
Yet in truth, there was one thing his “brothers” did not know.
Ma Yuseong’s potential had already surpassed theirs long ago, and the reason he trained was to erase the black mana within him.
Black mana was not something Ma Yuseong could control on his own.
When his body was exhausted, it leaked out naturally and sent him into a berserk state.
At that moment, Ma Yuseong lost all emotion…
And he hated that sensation more than anything.
Boom!!
With a massive fireball, Ma Yuseong blew away one side of the castle wall, then wiped the sweat from himself and looked up.
His eyes met those of his brothers.
Wearing an easygoing smile, he spoke to the brothers staring at him with hateful eyes.
“Brothers. Would you care to come down and spar with me?”
But—
-Ahem, I’ll pass.
-I have no desire to cross hands with some half-blood.
-What, are you avoiding him because you’re scared?
-I’m avoiding him because he’s filthy.
His brothers avoided sparring with him.
Certainly, Ma Yuseong was weak.
But if he entered a “berserk” state, then the nature and power of the blood of the Dark Mage King—which ran thicker in him than in anyone else present—would come out…
And in that state, no one could stop Ma Yuseong.
If they fought normally, his brothers would absolutely crush him.
But if, by some tiny chance, they ended up losing to a mere half-blood, it would remain the greatest humiliation of their lives, so they had no reason to indulge him.
Ma Yuseong stared silently at them for a moment, then raised his wand again.
It was a thing the Dark Mages did not use, a tool belonging solely to mages, which only made him feel more attached to it.
However, he could no longer continue his training.
“My son.”
…Because the Dark Mage King had suddenly appeared.
He glanced at the section of castle wall Ma Yuseong had destroyed, then brushed the matter aside as if he did not particularly care and said:
“Return to Stella.”
“You told me to remain here until summer vacation ended.”
The Dark Mage King spoke in a flat tone.
Ma Yuseong stared at him.
Neither father nor son was smiling.
For a while, the Dark Mage King felt Ma Yuseong’s gaze on him.
There was not a single trace of emotion in those eyes looking at him, and yet how could they resemble her eyes so much?
That resemblance filled him with resentment, yet at the same time he could not help but feel grateful that his son had been born with eyes so much like hers.
Because now, not a single trace of her remained in this world anymore.
“That was true. The schedule has changed.”
“May I ask the reason?”
“You do not need to know.”
That was the end of the conversation.
Judging that there was no need to waste any more time here, the Dark Mage King turned around.
‘There’s no longer any need to keep him here.’
They said no child could be bitten without pain, but the Dark Mage King was different.
He loved Ma Yuseong more than anyone.
The problem was that his way of loving… was nothing like a human’s.
He knew it.
He knew that Ma Yuseong was currently being treated poorly in the Black Castle.
Even so, the reason he had summoned his son here in the first place was because the “fragmented soul” he had hidden inside Stella was supposed to awaken.
That fragmented soul was a fragment of himself, yet after its last memories from fifty years ago, it had gone on to form another ego.
In other words, that “other me” would not recognize his son.
Fearing that “the other me” might harm his son, the Dark Mage King had summoned Ma Yuseong back to the castle, and in the end, that had been a very correct judgment.
After all, news of the devastation that had taken place in Stella had spread even all the way here, thousands of kilometers away.
‘But… it failed.’
He had known that one day, the Child of the Stars would be born and would enroll at Stella, so he had made preparations in his own way—
And yet he had failed completely.
He had thought the plan was perfect, so what variable had intervened?
Or perhaps the arrogance had begun the moment he believed that a plan of his could ever work against the Child of the Stars.
The Black Castle, the Pitch-Black Tower.
Standing at the highest point atop the Black Castle’s Pitch-Black Tower, above even the Screaming Cliff, the Dark Mage King lifted his head.
The Milky Way glittered overhead as though it might pour down from the night sky, but to him it looked as precarious as a candle flame that might go out at any moment.
‘As Master prophesied… is the world racing toward its end?’
It was a very special generation.
The descendants of the Twelve Disciples of the Progenitor Mage had begun to awaken their “blessings,” and the Child of the Stars had been born.
‘At most… ten years.’
Whether he himself would even still be alive by then was uncertain…
But his son would surely live to face that day.
Praying only that the future his son would encounter might be a peaceful one, the Dark Mage King quietly closed his eyes.
That way, he would no longer be able to see the constellations.
When one thought of the palace of the Adolevit royal family, one would naturally imagine a grand, splendid castle.
But reality was different.
The fortress built atop a coldly carved cliff was closer to a stronghold than a palace, and the frigid winds that blew there all year long made every day feel like winter.
Arriving in Tehallan, the capital of the Adolevit Kingdom, Hong Biyeon rode in a carriage and felt the unnaturally cold temperature, utterly mismatched with the season.
One of the Twelve Disciples of the Progenitor Mage, the Flame Mage Adolevit, had established her base in the harshest and coldest northern region and founded the House of Adolevit there, but why she had chosen to do so remained an unsolved mystery even now.
“Princess. We’ve arrived.”
At the words of Yae Taerin, Princess Hong Biyeon’s personal guard knight, Hong Biyeon nodded.
She raised her head and looked at the vast palace spread before her.
‘The Frost Cliff Palace.’
That place, cold even in name, was the cradle where Hong Biyeon had been born and raised—her hometown.
“…Princess.”
“Have you prepared yourself mentally?”
“I’m only returning to my own home. Why would I need that?”
“I suppose that’s true… That’s a relief.”
There was no one in the royal palace she could trust.
At best, there was Yae Taerin and a few attendants she had personally taken in.
Even now, the hundreds of knights escorting her carriage were not her people.
Tormented by the unease that any of them might point a wand at her at any time, she could not even breathe easily.
‘Get a hold of yourself.’
She closed her eyes and cooled her mind.
She must never show weakness in the Frost Palace.
She had to become stronger than anyone.
By the time she steeled her resolve, the carriage had crossed the one and only great bridge connecting the cliff and the royal castle—the Sun’s Causeway—and at last arrived at the Frost Palace.
Without even a moment to rest, she was made, according to protocol, to enter the Red Hall and pay her respects to the king.
“Princess Hong Biyeon presents herself before the face of the great Sun.”
Boom!
The drum rang out to announce the princess’s arrival, and the doors, tall enough to seem like they touched the sky, opened as the immense hall revealed itself.
And at its far end sat a single woman.
That woman, with reddish hair close to pink and eyes redder than anyone else’s…
Was the king herself, Hong Seryu Adolevit.
Hong Biyeon walked along the red carpet.
Step by step.
With each step she took toward the king, the pounding of her heart gradually subsided.
The gaze fixed on her was hot and painful.
Was it because the king was a great 8-Class mage who could burn a person with her eyes alone if she so chose?
Or because…
She hated Hong Biyeon?
Hong Biyeon did not know the reason.
But there was one thing she did understand.
‘You still dislike me.’
Simply being hated by the king was enough to place a towering wall in Hong Biyeon’s path, but she paid it no mind.
Because the king had valid reason to resent her.
“So, you’ve come.”
Princess Hong Biyeon knelt before King Hong Seryu and lowered her head.
Without permission, she could not dare look upon the Sun.
“I permit it.”
Hong Biyeon lifted her head and met her eyes.
The gaze was displeased.
That kind of person had summoned her back to the palace out of concern?
What a joke.
“Yes. Have you been well all this time?”
“Thanks to the Sun’s generous protection, I have lived in peace and safety.”
“Your words are polished enough.”
Resting her chin on one hand with her elbow propped against the armrest, Hong Seryu made no effort to hide how clearly tiresome she found this audience.
“Though you are not my blood daughter, my daughter loved you, and so I, too, tried to love you.”
Hong Biyeon lowered her head.
“And yet, you reject my love. May I ask why?”
Why.
Did Hong Biyeon really need to be the one to say it aloud?
The reason was obvious.
‘Because you hate me.’
After the death of the king’s biological daughter and first princess, Hong Erin, the Sun had raged.
That death had been inevitable, but the king had sought a cause.
No—
She had created something to hate.
Unfortunately, Hong Biyeon resembled the dead Hong Erin far too closely.
The beautiful appearance of silver hair like moonlight and blazing red eyes.
Her overwhelming talent with flame.
Even the beautiful nature that made everyone love her.
All of it.
And yet, why—
‘Why did my daughter have to die?’
The queen asked the princess:
“Do you remember that child?”
“…Yes.”
“I see. Then do not ever forget her.”
Only then did Hong Biyeon finally manage to lift her head.
Not because she felt relieved.
Rather, it was because the anxiety she had always felt had finally become reality.
“I summoned you back to the palace because I wished to love you. Since you are living in place of my daughter, it would not do for you to die in some worthless place.”
“So until this situation calms down, remain in the palace.”
“…Understood.”
“Since the weather is warm, what do you say to taking a vacation together?”
“A vacation…?”
“Ah, yes. The coast of Leviang would be nice. It should be cool there.”
“…Thank you for your grace.”
“What is there to thank me for? I shall be resting there as well. This audience is over. You may go.”
Hong Biyeon rose from her place and left the Red Hall.
Even until then, she was not in her right mind.
Dizziness coiled around her head, and she could not even properly remember whether she had walked straight or staggered as she left.
She had expected it, but had not wanted to think about it.
And now that the thing she had refused to face had become reality, she could do nothing at all.
‘The coast of Leviang…’
The sea of eternal winter.
For members of the royal family, that place was little different from exile.
She felt so miserable she thought she might cry, but she clenched her fists and endured it.
Her nails dug into her palms until blood ran, but she felt no pain at all.
Now it was certain.
The queen had absolutely no intention of ever making her king.
On top of that, she intended to lock her in a cage for life and never let her out until she burned herself away and vanished.
A hollow laugh escaped her.
She had expected to be shut up in the Frost Palace, but she had never imagined it would turn out this extreme.
It felt horrible.
Why was she so powerless?
“Haa…”
She walked along the Mountain Frost Wall.
Whenever she was stressed, it had always been the place where she used to stroll with Hong Erin.
Back then, there had been nothing she loved more than looking down at the flower fields in full bloom below.
But now, not even the flowers were blooming.
She walked, and walked.
And when she began to grow tired of walking—
She sat on the wall and looked down over Tehallan, the capital of Adolevit, spread below her.
It was sunset.
The hour when the city was most crowded, when countless people moved through the streets, making it impossible to examine each face one by one.
And yet, for some reason—
One single figure came into sharp focus.
The reason she could see him was simple.
While everyone else moved busily about, he alone remained completely still, standing atop a tall building and looking this way.
‘Huh…?’
He was too far away for her to be sure who he was, but the moment she thought he resembled someone…
The figure vanished in an instant.
She jumped to her feet and hurriedly searched the surrounding area, but with a human’s poor eyesight, it was impossible to see that far.
“…What am I even doing?”
Someone had come to mind, but it could not be him.
There was no reason for him to come all the way here.
Because she had been driven so far to the edge that she was now indulging in futile fantasies, she turned her head away in disgust with herself.
It really felt…
As though it would be a very long night.
