Ch. 364 - Twelve Divine Moons (5)

‘Aren’t you afraid of fire, sister?’ 

It was a question she asked long ago… back in the carefree days of their childhood.

Hong Bi-Yeon had once posed this question to her eldest sister, Hong Erin.  

Her sister, who often experienced spontaneous combustion,  had lived as though she were perpetually wreathed in flames.

But to Hong Bi-Yeon, those flames had always been terrifying.  

At the time, her sister had simply smiled and replied.

‘To me, fire is like oxygen. I can’t live without it… You could even say it’s a part of me.’  

Hong Bi-Yeon hadn’t understood those words back then.  

How could she, when those very flames were slowly consuming Hong Erin’s life?

‘You’ll understand someday.’  

But now, even as she had grown older - her age nearly matching the age Hong Erin had been back then - Hong Bi-Yeon still couldn’t grasp her sister’s words.  

“Ugh...”  

Lately, dreams of her sister had grown more frequent.

Was it because the curse engraved on her heart was nearing its end?

‘So hot…’  

Hong Bi-Yeon felt the overwhelming heat of flames enveloping her entire body.  

Forcing her heavy eyelids open, she strained to look around.  

Her vision blurred.  

It took several blinks before her eyes finally adjusted, allowing her to focus. 

Whoosh!  

"Where is this...?"  

She was surrounded by fire.  

Flames stretched endlessly in all directions—  

And beyond them, there was only more fire.

Scarlet and golden flames churned like a living sea, distorting her vision.

Gripped by primal fear, Hong Bi-Yeon’s face went pale, and her legs nearly gave out beneath her.  

But—  

Clank!  

"Huh?"  

She couldn’t collapse.  

Red chains bound her wrists, suspending her midair.

"What is this…?"  

No matter how hard she pulled, the chains wouldn’t budge, as though anchored to something immovable.  

Where is this? Why am I bound here?  

Her mind was blank. The memories eluded her.

'Calm down, Hong Bi-Yeon.'  

Narrowing her eyes, she looked past the flames. Her gaze was sharp and glowed red like embers.  

"Who’s there?!"

Though the space appeared to be filled with nothing but flames, Hong Bi-Yeon felt something - or someone - was there.  

Raising her voice toward the void, she demanded an answer.  

Suddenly—  

The flames parted.

From within the fire, a man stepped forward, his crimson hair glowing like embers and a sword resting at his side.

"Well, aren’t you quick to catch on?"  

Clapping his hands, he smiled leisurely.

Scarlet Summer Moon.  

The moment Hong Bi-Yeon saw him, her expression hardened.

"Did you bring me here?"  

"Who knows? I didn’t take you anywhere. I simply came to you."  

"I’m not in the mood for word games."  

"Word games? Is that what you think this is?"  

With a sly grin, Scarlet Summer Moon spread his arms wide, gesturing to the endless flames.

"Where do you think this is? What? Did you think it’s my secret hideout? That I kidnapped you and brought you here?"  

"Wrong! Sorry, princess, but that’s not it. Who kidnaps princesses to demon castles these days? That’d just bring some prince in shining armor to come slicing through everything, wouldn’t it?"  

"Stop spouting nonsense..."  

Hong Bi-Yeon was about to snap back, unwilling to hear another word from him, but then—  

She noticed something.  

‘... No way.’  

Slowly, she lifted her head and looked up at the sky.  

Seeing her reaction, Scarlet Summer Moon clapped again.  

"Correct! This is your heart. Or rather—inside your very soul."  

"Ah..."  

A space engulfed entirely by flames.  

Naturally, she had assumed it was Scarlet Summer Moon’s domain. After all, no place could possibly be this unbearably hot.

But now she realized—  

This scorching inferno was inside her own heart.

"Surprised? Your heart is burning this intensely."  

"What did you do to me?!"  

Gritting her teeth, Hong Bi-Yeon shouted furiously.  

Scarlet Summer Moon only laughed.

"I told you, didn’t I? I’m going to live with you. I’ll make you my servant. Abandon that fragile human body, and become like me—become fire. Then, we’ll live together. Forever."  

Hong Bi-Yeon glared at him with eyes that burned fiercely, but Scarlet Summer Moon merely let out a scoff.  

"At this point, most people would be cursing at me. But you’re surprisingly patient. So proud and defiant, huh? It makes me want to break you."  

He stepped closer and gently brushed his hand through her silver hair.  

"Lately… Ever since Baek Yu-Seol did something to you, your heart’s been too quiet. So I had no choice but to come here myself. Don’t worry. This won’t take long."  

WHOOSH!  

Suddenly, a violent storm of cold air blasted through space.  

CRACK!  

Shards of blue ice crystals and icicles rapidly formed, swallowing up the flames and extinguishing them almost instantly.  

"Well, well... Looks like your knight in shining armor has arrived."  

Scarlet Summer Moon smirked confidently and snapped his fingers.  

Immediately, the flames roared back to life, surging higher and stronger as they melted the encroaching ice.

"Agh...!"  

"Sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you. But your fake prince is being annoying, so what choice do I have? You do understand this is all Baek Yu-Seol’s fault, right? If he had just stayed out of it, you wouldn’t be suffering right now."  

Scarlet Summer Moon’s mocking words filled the space, but Hong Bi-Yeon remained silent, her head lowered.  

"Hmm?"  

Since this was her mental world, losing consciousness wasn’t an option.  

Noticing her shoulders trembling, Scarlet Summer Moon’s smile faded.

"... What’s so funny?"  

Hong Bi-Yeon slowly raised her head, her gaze locking onto his.

Both of them had red eyes, but only one pair of those eyes burned like flames.  

"You’re finished." 

"Finished? Ha! You must not understand—I’m one of the Twelve Divine Moons. You do realize what that means, don’t you?"  

"So what?" Hong Bi-Yeon shot back without hesitation. "Do you think being one of the Twelve Divine Moons means you can escape even death?"  

"Hah."  

Scarlet Summer Moon blinked, momentarily thrown off by her audacity.

"Fine, you’re right. We may be ageless, but we’re not immortal. So what? Do you actually believe that kid can kill me?"  

Hong Bi-Yeon closed her eyes briefly, recalling a memory.  

A summer day.  

She had gone on a journey with Eisel and Flame to uncover Baek Yu-Seol’s secret.  

During that journey, they had learned the truth about him—  

Countless cycles of repeated lives.  

If it were the Baek Yu-Seol of the past, perhaps even the Twelve Divine Moons could have been slain by him.  

"... Of course."  

But now?  

She didn’t know for sure.  

Even so, she chose to believe in him.  

Her crimson eyes blazed with clarity and determination as she stared directly at Scarlet Summer Moon. 

"A coward like you, playing hostage games, is no match for him."  

"... What?"  

Scarlet Summer Moon’s face contorted in rage, his emotions surging out of control.

In his fury, the chains binding Hong Bi-Yeon turned red-hot, glowing with an intense heat.

WHOOSH!  

‘Damn it!’  

Power in this mental world was different from the real world. Abilities manifested through thoughts and willpower alone, requiring careful control… yet he had slipped up.

And yet—  

"... What?" 

The flames that had been burning Hong Bi-Yeon’s body began to die down.  

Was this another trick from Baek Yu-Seol?  

No. It wasn’t.  

Scarlet Summer Moon was certain of that.  

Even in this space which was drenched in red flames, Hong Bi-Yeon’s eyes shone with an even deeper crimson, proving something undeniable.  

The Lone Red Dot. 

A term used to describe a single red mark standing out among many.

Strangely enough, no words appeared to fit Hong Bi-Yeon better at this moment.  

***

‘Why…?’  

The Progenitor Mage had given the Twelve Divine Moons their distinct colors and attributes.  

For Scarlet Summer Moon, it was the red flames—  

The color red was meant to symbolize him alone.

Then why…?  

Why did Hong Bi-Yeon stand out even more vividly red in this space?  

‘Could it be… Is she truly a child born of destiny?’  

Scarlet Summer Moon recalled a fleeting conversation with Fawn Prevernal Moon about the so-called children of destiny.

At the time, he had scoffed at the idea.

After all, what could humans, no matter their destiny, be but vessels for the power of the Twelve Divine Moons?  

But now—  

‘This is dangerous.’  

The Twelve Divine Moons were meant to hold the strongest presence in the world.  

The red flames should have represented Scarlet Summer Moon alone.

If that symbol were taken from him, his very existence would be threatened.

"I see it now."  

"See what?" 

Hong Bi-Yeon smirked, lifting the corner of her lips.

“You’re here in your true form, aren’t you?”  

“Ha! My true form is resting in the depths of Alamanca. What nonsense are you spouting?”  

“Then what is the soul standing before me if not your true form?”  

“...What?”  

Scarlet Summer Moon’s eyebrow twitched.  

Had he misunderstood the definition of a true form?  

For the Twelve Divine Moons, was the physical body their true form?  

Or was it their spirit, which governed the mind, that truly defined their essence?  

The Twelve Divine Moons could abandon their bodies and exist as spiritual forms at any time.  

Wasn’t Soft Green Spring Moon a prime example? Having lost her body, she embedded herself into nature and formed a new vessel?  

In essence, the spirit mattered more than the body.  

And yet, Hong Bi-Yeon, who appeared to be clueless about such matters, spoke as if she could see through it all.  

“So… What does that even matter?”  

Scarlet Summer Moon’s expression twisted in irritation.  

The fact that a kid—who hadn’t even lived 1% of his lifetime—was standing up to him made his temper rise.  

“What? Did you think you could trap me in your mental world? Just by stirring up these flames a little? Huh? Don’t you think you’re getting a bit too cocky? You’re starting to look so adorable that I almost feel like this is some cute act of yours.”  

“You’re talking too much.”  

Hong Bi-Yeon tilted her head slightly, curling her lips into a smirk.  

“What? Are you scared?”  

Her tone carried an uncanny resemblance to Baek Yu-Seol’s, though she wasn’t even aware of it herself.

“You…”  

Scarlet Summer Moon gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead as if he were ready to explode.

But then—  

CRACK... CRACK...  

Tiny fractures formed in the sky above, spreading like veins of lightning across glass.

Seeing this, Hong Bi-Yeon flashed the same victorious smile that Scarlet Summer Moon had worn earlier. 

"He’s here."  

Scarlet Summer Moon’s eyes darted toward the crimson cracks rippling through the sky, his expression darkening.

An ominous chill crept over him.

‘This is bad…’  

His instincts screamed at him—he needed to escape this place immediately.  

But—  

"Trying to run? I won’t let you."  

Flames surged, binding Scarlet Summer Moon’s body, as Hong Bi-Yeon smirked with confidence.  

His pride wouldn’t allow him to back down.  

Gritting his teeth, Scarlet Summer Moon looked up at the sky.  

The sky was now completely dyed red, split apart, revealing a single blue light descending like a comet.  

It was Baek Yu-Seol.  

He was shooting down toward them like a meteor.  

"Fine… Come, you damned nuisance."  

Scarlet Summer Moon clenched his fists.  

This would be the last time he allowed himself to look so pathetic.

He had never imagined Baek Yu-Seol would invade Hong Bi-Yeon’s mental world, but perhaps this was better.  

This was the mental world.  

Yet it was a space where real-world power still applied.  

The principle behind it was deceptively simple—  

No one could imagine a version of themselves stronger than what they had already achieved in the real world.

For example—  

If someone was at Class 3, they couldn’t envision themselves casting Class 4 magic, as they had never experienced it before.  

Even for the Twelve Divine Moons, this rule was absolute.  

Scarlet Summer Moon couldn’t wield power beyond what he had in reality.  

And this applied to Baek Yu-Seol as well.  

Knowing that Baek Yu-Seol’s real power was barely Class 7, Scarlet Summer Moon felt a smirk tug at his lips. 

BOOOOM!!!  

Scarlet Summer Moon almost laughed—  

Until Baek Yu-Seol landed with a thunderous crash.  

"... What the hell? What is that form?"  

The Baek Yu-Seol who appeared in Hong Bi-Yeon’s mental world was nothing like the one Scarlet Summer Moon had seen before.  

Clutching a radiant white sword, as if it had been forged from moonlight itself, Baek Yu-Seol’s piercing blue eyes radiated a fierce and ominous glow.  

There was no way this could be the same Class 7 mage Scarlet Summer Moon had once known.  

‘What… What is this…?’  

Baek Yu-Seol remained silent.

He spoke no words—

Only raised his blade.

A legendary weapon from his distant past—  

[Flash of Tribute].  

He pointed it directly at Scarlet Summer Moon.  

No words were needed. 

Comments