Knowing that this shouldn’t be the case,
and understanding that they had done nothing wrong,
the hatred within Cornelia only grew stronger with each passing day.
At first, she had no way of knowing what kind of life Yoo Jin was living.
A man full of wounds.
A man who had no choice but to become more gruff in order to hide those wounds.
Still, all she knew was that he was kind enough for warmth to seep through that tough exterior.
When Cornelia first met Yoo Jin, he was in a precarious state.
At that time, Cornelia herself barely managed to escape death and was in disarray.
As she got to know the man who had saved her, seemingly strong, perfect, and flawless, she examined his wounds.
These were clearly scars inflicted by people.
Though those wounds may never heal, they could be covered by another.
Cornelia made a determination.
She would be the pillar for this man whose heart was constantly shaken.
She would be the home he could return to.
Yoo Jin accepted this and swore to Cornelia.
He wouldn’t forget that she was on his side.
Even if he got lost, he would return to where she was.
…And then Yoo Jin never came back.
“Didn’t they say a goodbye makes a meeting precious? Indeed, it is true. Cornelia, had I not found the courage from your words, I wouldn’t be here right now. Your wish and your connection have brought me this far.”
“Ugh… Did I say something like that…?”
She had a vague idea about the relationship between Yoo Jin and the Priestess,
but she later found out that it wasn’t just the Priestess, but also a Witch and a Frost Duchess that were involved.
Yoo Jin had many women.
It raised a question of whether he truly had the time to be involved with all those women, but thinking about Yoo Jin made it seem possible.
Even after hearing their stories, Cornelia never once empathized with them.
They were the ones who had once cornered Yoo Jin, insulted him, and even left scars on his body.
And now they claimed to love him?
They were asking for his forgiveness, saying they wished he would come back?
How could a person be so shameless?
So selfish?
The women who had hurt Yoo Jin, whom Cornelia had cursed and hated, stood right in front of her.
Cornelia felt like crying.
“But what should I do…? I still can’t forgive your women. Yoo Jin could forgive them, and that should be enough… but my heart still can’t forgive them. I hate them for hurting you so badly….”
Finally, when Yoo Jin returned,
he reconciled and reunited with those old flames,
but Cornelia still couldn’t understand.
Yoo Jin gently caressed her tear-streaked face and smiled faintly.
While Yoo Jin himself could see all those experiences as trials that had helped him grow,
he couldn’t force the same onto someone who felt a heart-wrenching pain while watching.
There was only one reason all this trouble had come about.
Cornelia’s love was too great.
The chaos had erupted because Cornelia loved Yoo Jin far more than he loved himself.
For that reason, Yoo Jin didn’t dislike the situation all that much.
“I won’t force you to forgive.”
“…”
“They’re not going to beg you to forgive them either.”
“Right…”
“So, how about we just take it slow? Start with being friendly.”
“What?”
“I’m not asking you to become friends in one go. There’s no need to stick together forcibly. Let’s just start by getting to know each other as people.”
After Yoo Jin left,
even though the Alliance was formed and Cologne joined in, Cornelia never deeply engaged with the Priestess, Witch, or Frost Duchess.
There were no opportunities to share, nor was there any thought or will to do so.
She didn’t even try to understand them.
And so, a rift emerged.
Yoo Jin diagnosed it as such.
How about we start by trying to know and understand each other?
Whether Cornelia would come to forgive the three of them by the end of it was uncertain,
but that was a matter for later.
Yoo Jin decided not to worry too much about it.
“I understand… I’ll try once.”
For now, he simply found the woman who cared for him more than himself to be lovable.
As Yoo Jin held Cornelia in his arms and enjoyed the warmth in peace,
suddenly the sound of hooves broke the tranquility.
Riding in was none other than the pale-skinned murderer, Transylvania.
“Friend! I had no doubt you would return alive!”
“Your essence is telling me that’s a lie, though…?”
“Well, I did think you were dead, but what does that matter! It’s been so long since we last saw each other; we ought to celebrate, right? Right?”
Transylvania dashed forward and hugged Yoo Jin tightly.
Seeing her ample chest press against him caused Cornelia’s expression to twist.
“Are you looking for a fight? Sorry, but it seems difficult for me to control my strength right now. I haven’t stabilized it since gaining my powers.”
“Ha haha! You’re worried about me breaking? Don’t worry! No matter how strong you become, you can’t keep up with my sword-”
Boom!
Judging that showing was faster than talking, Yoo Jin immediately began to concentrate his will within his hand.
As someone who had experience creating martial arts secrets, Transylvania understood the will gathering at his fingertips.
However, what defied her understanding was that this will could be compressed to the degree that it resembled a solid object and take the form of a sword.
“Huh?!”
The will shimmered like a sword’s wind.
It gradually began to shine red, like a sword heated until it glowed.
What was created was a sword that appeared as though transparent will enveloped a glowing red core.
When Yoo Jin swung the sword horizontally for demonstration, the ‘will’ extended endlessly.
In an instant, the vast grass field was uprooted.
When he swung it down vertically again, the earth split, and the fissures reached all the way to the distant mountains.
Transylvania’s jaw dropped.
An attack that couldn’t be replicated with any existing swordsmanship.
And yet, he simply applied slight force and didn’t dump in monstrous mana.
Magic, curses, and any other means couldn’t yield such efficiency.
Transylvania quickly knelt and bowed her head.
“Senior! A foolish junior offers their greetings!”
“Don’t you feel any shame? You call me a friend… and you’ve trained longer and are older than me, so how could you call me senior…?”
“Eh! Isn’t it customary to call someone senior if their enlightenment is deeper and broader! Don’t be so uptight!”
Yoo Jin’s face was etched with confusion.
Surely, last time they clashed, Transylvania had overwhelmed him with her incredible swordsmanship, truly like a massive wall.
Seeing her suddenly kneeling as if to lick his boots left his head spinning.
For the time being, she seemed likely to be obedient, so should he make her do what he had in mind?
Dressing her up in a maid outfit and creating a black-and-white contrast with Belphegor?
Yoo Jin imagined that scene inwardly and was impressed, “Oh…”
“If you still think of me as a friend, please share the teachings of enlightenment a little…”
“First, you need to pass the prerequisite. You need at least three martial arts secrets to smoothly enter the next stage.”
“I already have mastered over ten martial arts secrets, you know?”
“…?”
Confusion once again clouded Yoo Jin’s face.
“If that’s the case, you should’ve already achieved the ultimate technique by now?”
“What?! What do you mean! Are you implying I was already meeting all the conditions?! No way! Because of my lack of talent, I’m stuck again! Uuuaaaah! Oh, heavens!!!”
With that, Transylvania wailed, gazing up at the sky while Yoo Jin turned away.
There stood a small woman wearing a hood, her head bowed low.
As if she didn’t want to show her face, she turned away.
The raging anger and demonic energy typically bursting forth was now subdued.
“Don’t pull back the hood…”
“Why?”
“It would be unseemly. Speak as you are.”
“I wanted to ask how you’ve been doing, but it seems I can’t really do that.”
“…”
Despite her tone still being condescending, Gui Ho’s attitude was clearly different than usual.
Once a former Taesu, she had never bowed her head to anyone.
But, before Yoo Jin, Gui Ho simply looked shriveled up like a pitiful fox.
Even if she didn’t want to show her scarred face, it shouldn’t have been that bad.
She had previously managed to talk without problems, meeting eyes if necessary.
But she couldn’t show it to Yoo Jin.
“I’ve been well. Thanks to you, Seo Gong has grown well. Seo Gong has reached the height of formation casters now. His reputation has spread so far that there are kids in the neighborhood wanting to become curse casters. It seems that securing the position of curses alongside magic isn’t just a dream anymore.”
It was a matter of pride and conscience.
Yoo Jin forcefully pulled Gui Ho out of the casino underground, where she was likely to stay for decades or even centuries, hopelessly aiming for useless retro.
And it was Yoo Jin who introduced her to the joy of being a teacher while nurturing her students.
“All of it is thanks to you, human.”
Because of that, she had gained numerous connections and enlightenment.
What was gained recently, within a few years, was far more dazzling and valuable than her decades of grinding her teeth in solitude, dreaming of revenge and revival.
It would have been nice if it ended like that.
Because the one who pulled Gui Ho out of the depths was Yoo Jin, she wanted to show him nothing but her better side.
She didn’t want to show him this seemingly pitiful state of falling into despair.
She didn’t want him to discover that she was a wreck—her self-esteem, mana, and character all destroyed beyond repair.
She simply wished for him to pass by without noticing.
“Thus… thus…”
She wanted someone like her old self to hide behind.
She wanted Yoo Jin to enjoy the glory and praises due upon his return.
She didn’t want to make his heart heavy because of her.
“Don’t worry, I’m doing well… Ah?!”
“Let’s look into each other’s eyes and talk.”
Swish!
As the hood was pulled back, a shriek escaped Gui Ho’s lips.
But it was already too late.
Gui Ho was already pinned in place, with Yoo Jin’s hands gripping her shoulders.
Ugh…
With her fox ears and tail drooping,
her skin was so pale — almost like a Blood Ghoul.
And those pale features made the red cracks stand out even more.
The cracks began from Gui Ho’s forehead, mercilessly traced down her face, across her eye, and down her cheek.
The left eye of Gui Ho, burned white and ruined, locked onto Yoo Jin.
Feeling that gaze upon him made an inexplicable smile form on Yoo Jin’s lips.
For some reason, Gui Ho felt that Yoo Jin wasn’t just observing her surface but was looking deep within.
It seemed as if some warm light was seeping into her.
“Thank you for all your hard work. You dedicated yourself for Seo Gong and got hurt badly. It truly is commendable to see you standing like this, still wielding demonic energy despite being in tatters.”
“I… I couldn’t stand up… I am a worthless master… Everyone feels uncomfortable and… dislikes me…”
“That’s not true. Who would hate such a beautiful Taesu?”
“…”
Swish.
Gui Ho’s face turned red, and her hand holding onto her clothes balled into a fist.
Shame surged through her.
In front of this brat, Gui Ho felt as if she were completely bare.
“Is that so…? In the eyes of your gaze that sees through my essence, I haven’t changed much, have I…?”
She had forgotten something important, or rather, basic.
How could she be so concerned about superficial appearances while walking the path of curses?
Why had she laughed and cried over such trivial changes?
What truly mattered was what was inside, wasn’t it?
No matter how her appearance had changed, wasn’t that the only thing that counted?
She hadn’t changed at all and yet had demeaned herself.
As Gui Ho gained enlightenment, her ears and tail began to regain vitality and perked up.
With renewed spirit in her eyes, she looked up at Yoo Jin, and at the same time, admiration arose in her.
“I was just saying that even a scarred face is beautiful…”
Yoo Jin concluded that this sentence needed to be kept hidden forever.
Sometimes, it was better not to know the truth.
With Gui Ho’s fox ears trembling from the tears of her heartfelt emotions, Yoo Jin turned his eyes to the side.
“The monster you were chasing was actually Yoo Jin.”
“Oh my, really? No wonder the circumstances seemed strange…”
“It’s fortunate things went awry. We almost faced a big issue.”
Alicia laughed along with Yerina’s words.
But Yoo Jin felt a sense of dissonance in her smile.
Alicia was currently hiding her true self and deliberately concealing her thoughts.
She had just been joyful, saying it was great that he returned alive.
It was nothing but sincere emotions pouring out.
But it didn’t seem she was showing all of her earnest sentiments.
What was she hiding?
The moment Yoo Jin stretched out the light of the ultimate technique towards Alicia,
“Ugh?!”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing… just suddenly got goosebumps…”
Alicia flinched in surprise and dodged the light.
Could she sense his ultimate technique without having reached that level yet?
Was it some animalistic instinct or something?
Yoo Jin let out a weary smile.
Even though he didn’t know what she was hiding, her willpower was quite remarkable.
As he persistently stroked the trembling ears of the fox, his gaze shifted to the opposite side.
“Nameless! Come over here! I once taught that girl the curse arts, did you know? I was terribly annoyed at her lack of talent…”
“…”
“Nameless! Where are you going?! The master is calling!”
“…”
Nameless avoided Yoo Jin’s gaze and turned her back, slipping away.
This caused Yoo Jin to smile wryly.
That side seemed to be in its own turmoil as well.
