56th Episode, Extra?1 ― White Snow
Snow fell over the burning village.
It was an untimely blizzard. The snow blanketed the world in white, and the burning village appeared like a red dot on a white canvas.
“……”
A woman stood at the center of that red dot.
She absentmindedly scanned the burning homes and the charred official buildings.
Not large, but beautiful, the residence of the Seol family was now gone. The magnificent tile-roofed houses, once a source of pride, the thatched cottages that smelled of life, were nowhere to be found.
All that remained were heaps of ashes and shattered belongings.
“A… Ahh…”
The woman stumbled along with feeble groans. Shortly, her eyes caught sight of a grand mansion ablaze, and she slowly made her way toward it.
She went past the scorching gate, stepping into the spacious courtyard.
Corpses were scattered everywhere in the courtyard like garbage.
A middle-aged man with his belly pierced. A middle-aged woman, her head severed and rolling aside.
Women of her age lay butchered to death, while a newborn infant, still wrapped in swaddling clothes, soaked in blood.
“Father… Mother…”
From the woman’s mouth came hollow terms of address, calling out to the scattered bodies beneath her feet.
She collapsed. Clutching the severed head of the middle-aged woman, she sobbed.
Inching closer, she approached the mangled bodies of women who had been killed.
“Seol Hwa… Seol Hee…”
The woman helplessly called out their names, tears streaming down her face.
Then she carefully closed the distorted, painful eyes of the women, giving them a peaceful expression.
“A… Ahhhh!”
She clutched her head, tightly shutting her eyes, as tears poured from them.
Wherever she looked, there were only corpses. Everyone she had laughed and cried with was now a cold body, being embraced by the snow.
She was the only one still breathing.
―Gruuuu!
Suddenly, a translucent energy surged from the woman and converged around her shoulders in the shape of a dragon.
Gil-yong Aran, the Ki-gong Spirit who had been with her since she was a child.
―Gruuuu…
Aran nuzzled the woman’s cheek with its own snout, trying to comfort her in its own way.
Though it didn’t understand anything, it simply offered comfort.
‘If only you… if only you hadn’t been here…!’
Suddenly, all her aimless anger and hatred were directed at Aran.
If it hadn’t been for this, she could have died with them. She wouldn’t have felt the tearing pain or the sorrow.
Because of Aran, she survived. Once again, she was the only one left alive.
If only Aran hadn’t been there. If only this hadn’t happened.
“…Haa.”
Yet, the woman soon regained her composure and sighed.
When the master is injured, the Ki-gong Spirit heals and protects them with all its might.
It’s the spirit’s duty. Aran had done nothing wrong. Deep down, even she knew that.
‘That’s right. It’s not Aran’s fault….’
It’s her own fault. She herself, who couldn’t protect anyone, was to blame.
Her own weakness was the real sin.
Crackling loudly, the main hall of the Seol family collapsed suddenly.
Ashes mix with sparks, floating through the air along with snowflakes. Gray snow began to fall from ash mixing with snow.
“…”
The woman—Seop Baek—stared blankly at the scene.
It felt as though her memories and happy recollections were collapsing along with the main hall.
It was burning. Burning brightly until only ashes remained. Cold snowflakes danced above the ruins.
“Hmm? Are there any survivors left?”
And at that moment, as she was drowning in overwhelming self-loathing, a voice suddenly echoed.
The woman turned around. Her eyes widened as she looked at a man standing some distance away.
A towering figure clutching a cruel saber—a gray-haired man with a scarred face. His white beard was rough, with a unique hairstyle that only had a straight line of hair down the center.
A rare hairstyle rarely seen in the martial world. Clearly, he was a foreign barbarian.
“Na Chal Soo Yu Yong Yeon.”
Seop Baek spoke the man’s name.
The man who had deprived her of everything. The man who had slaughtered her family and friends, reducing her village to ruins.
And now, he was standing before her once again.
“You… you should have died. How are you still alive?”
Yet Yu Yong Yeon was also startled.
He had received an order from the Martial Alliance’s Supreme Master to completely annihilate a village tainted by the Demon Sect. Being an obedient enforcer, he carried out the order as instructed.
From infants to elders, not a single one was spared.
That included Seop Baek as well. He had pierced her abdomen with his cruel saber. How could she still be alive and moving?
“Hoo… I didn’t expect to witness this with my own eyes.”
Yu Yong Yeon approached Seop Baek as if entranced, a dangerous smile on his face.
Snap. The snow under his footsteps crackled in protest.
“… Could it be a Dark Sect technique? As rumored, the Master’s words have never been wrong.”
At the word ‘rumor,’ Seop Baek’s eyes widened.
She stared at Yu Yong Yeon with deep resentment. Her despair was so intense that even Yu Yong Yeon hesitated in his steps for a moment.
“What rumors? Why would the Martial Alliance commit such atrocious deeds…?”
“That the second daughter of the Seol family used dark arts of the Demon Sect to conduct immortality research.”
“…!”
“You’re Seop Baek, the second daughter, aren’t you? Did you truly think you could hide the rumors forever? Staying in the main house so blindly…”
Seop Baek felt as if her heart had stopped. Her trembling hands pointed at Yu Yong Yeon.
“Then… why didn’t you punish only me? Why destroy my family…?!
“There is no mercy for matters involving the Demon Sect. You, a member of the martial world, should know that. Not after the calamity of the Black Dragon Demon Tower a hundred years ago.”
“…!”
“For the peace attained through countless spilled blood, we will do anything.”
Ah. Aaah.
Seop Baek felt her strength drain, and she collapsed right there.
She looked around again. The horrifying carnage overwhelmed her with immense despair.
‘All of this… is it because of me?’
The existence known as a Ki-gong Spirit.
Even in the martial world, where various fighting techniques and legacies were passed down, the Ki-gong Spirit remained unfamiliar. Such an elusive entity could hardly be found in any literature. Of course, it would have been easy to mistake it for the dark arts of the Demon Sect.
“Like a fool… like a fool, I…!”
Seop Baek sank to her knees and wept bitterly.
If she had detected the ominous signs sent by the Martial Alliance earlier. If she had refused the Ki-gong Spirit from the start, which had dogged her like a curse. If she had realized the danger sooner and decided to leave home earlier.
No, if she herself hadn’t been so weak.
If she had possessed the strength and wisdom to endure all these threats.
Wouldn’t such a tragedy have been avoided?
Countless regrets tormented her mind.
Clang! A sharp metallic sound shattered her thoughts.
As Seop Baek looked up, Yu Yong Yeon was standing close, his cruel saber raised.
“I don’t know how extraordinary the Demon Sect’s dark arts are, but if you won’t die… I’ll just keep attacking until you do.”
“…”
“For the peace of the martial world.”
Seop Baek silently lowered her head, like a condemned prisoner awaiting execution.
Seeing her completely submissive posture, Yu Yong Yeon paused for a moment, silently staring down at her.
But soon, all hesitation vanished from his hand gripping the sword.
“… I won’t ask you not to resent me.”
Thud. A dull sound was heard.
The final sight in Seop Baek’s vision was the snow, now stained crimson.
Somehow, she absently thought it was beautiful and faintly curled her lips into a smile.
―Gruuu… Kiing… Gruuuuu!
Seop Baek stared blankly at the sky with lifeless eyes, while a translucent baby dragon circled around her.
It was her Ki-gong Spirit, the Ki Dragon Aran.
―Gruuuuuu!
Aran continuously poured emerald energy into Seop Baek’s body.
But the energy only swirled around Seop Baek for a moment before dispersing into the air. The fleeting vitality in her face soon faded completely away.
All that remained was a cold corpse lying on a pool of blood.
―Gruuuuu…
Aran rubbed against her lifeless cheek with a mournful gaze, licking her face as snow began to accumulate on it.
A gentle breeze swept away the snow that had settled on her.
Snow accumulated, Aran brushed it off. This repeated endlessly for a while.
―Guuuuu!!
At one point, Aran let out a high-pitched roar to the skies.
At last, it had accepted the reality—its master was gone. It had failed to protect its master.
―Kiing… Gruuu…
There was nothing around.
Smoke billowed from the burnt remains. The smell of charred flesh permeated the air. No sound could be heard. It was an oppressive silence, like a graveyard.
Right in the middle of this devastation:
“With a Heavenly Butcher’s Karma… this is impressive. There must be some truth to the rumors.”
A rare beauty with dark golden hair, seldom seen in the martial world, appeared.
Clad in pristine traditional robes, adorned with hairpins, she possessed an indescribable charm. But beneath it lay a sinister, unfathomable depth.
―Gruuuu! Kiiiiik!
Realizing the woman’s presence, Aran bristled its scales and unleashed a threatening roar.
However, the woman simply grinned mockingly and approached the corpse of Seop Baek.
“A Heavenly Butcher’s bloodline having a Ki-gong Spirit too… It’s like giving a needle to a butcher.”
PUHWAH!
Suddenly, Aran opened its mouth wide and spewed something.
A tremendous flow of energy enveloped the golden-haired woman. A shockwave erupted, scattering the snow violently.
When the fierce storm subsided, the golden-haired woman was still standing there, completely unscathed.
―Gruuu?
Aran emitted cries of confusion.
Meanwhile, the woman had already reached Seop Baek’s corpse.
“It’s tricky to make a contract when the target is already dead. In cases like this…”
The woman whispered as she stroked Seop Baek’s cheek, her gaze then turning to Aran.
Aran bared its mouth and assumed a threatening posture.
―Kiiik! Guuuuu!
But the Ki Dragon was an intelligent creature.
It had already realized that the being before it was beyond its ability to handle. Thus, its threat lacked conviction.
Had the woman noticed this? She stepped closer and spoke to Aran.
“I’ll need the protector’s permission, I guess.”
―…Gruuu?
“Don’t you want your master to live?”
―Gruuuuu!
“I can bring your master back to life. Will you trust me once? Or will you let your master remain dead?”
Let it be said again: the Ki Dragon was wise and discerning.
It clearly understood the golden-haired woman’s words and their implications.
As golden eyes glinted with interest, the golden-haired woman extended a contract to Aran.
“Here. Read it and sign. You’ll become an adorable Elemental Dragon of the Alternative World.”
What choice did Seop Baek’s Ki Dragon make, you ask?
Only the golden-haired woman and Aran might know, but it’s quite evident what happened as a result of that choice.
Seop Baek was reincarnated in the Alternative World called Gaiarant.
Falling into the Halsenberk territory, where a crazed maid was massacring amateur heroes.
All the heroes were killed except her.
Thanks to Aran, who had lost his master once and was determined not to lose again, Seop Baek survived, albeit being captured.
And a few years later, she would meet the 163417413th hero protecting the immortal Demon King.
