388 – Flower, Name

Do you know the sensation of being dyed?

Little by little, along the edges, do you know about the black that dyes me?

Man is a social animal. From the moment they belong to a certain community, that individual is gradually colored by the community’s hue. The red-haired girl who lived in Sanjeobi Village was the same.

The children gathered in small groups, three or five at a time, chattering away. Barely old enough to brandish twigs and run wild in innocent play, they were plotting a crime.

“Old Joan’s getting senile. Probably can’t even fight back. We could just bash her head in with a rock, be done with it. Everyone in the village knows she’s on her last legs… Even if we get caught, no grown-up would really say anything.”

“Ooh, I saw a sparkly glass bottle in her drawer! I really wanted it! I tried to steal it once but I got my finger cut, it was so annoying…”

“Let’s take some meat from her thighs too. Winter’s coming soon, gotta stock up.”

“Ugh, it’ll probably be tough. Better off taking the soles of her shoes!”

“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”

Listening to their matter-of-fact discussion, the girl tilted her head. She was born and raised in this village too, knew that this was, in its way, normal.

Still.

Could something be…wrong? She couldn’t shake the thought.

Parents can do whatever they want to their kids. Kids can do whatever they want to their parents. Suspect the family you sleep under the same roof with every night, live in fear that they might kill you, strike first if the mood takes you—all acceptable.

Only the most cunning, down to the very dregs of their soul, earn the right to navigate this world.

“Clumsy Selvier. The man next door ate the rabbit you were raising.”

“Stupid Selvier. If a fight breaks out, break their bones. That way, they won’t sneak up on you in the night.”

“Pretending to be nice won’t change the world. You’ll just end up getting the short end of the stick.”

Was that really it?

Was the world truly so merciless? Were blood relatives potential enemies, friends just tools to be exploited? Was the gnawing loneliness she felt every night just…how things were?

Was the moonlight always this cold?

The very edge of humanity. Selvier clung to it with a desperate, instinctive longing. But her grip was weakening. She felt it slipping.

That realization filled her with dread. She didn’t know why. This thing, this feeling that everyone called useless, felt so precious.

But now, it was at its limit.

The bruise blooming blue on her eyelid throbbed. Malnutrition left her weak, and the cold was numbing her limbs. More than anything, her heart ached.

The solution was simple. Kill her violent father, break into the home of a weaker child and beat them until they could no longer resist, then take their food.

That was all she had to do.

Let go. Let go of this, and let her heart be stained as black as her ‘family’ and ‘friends.’ Let go, and say goodbye to this throbbing pain.

Then.

Just as her heart was finally about to die.

A boy appeared, black hair framing red eyes. Bearing a maturity beyond his years and an innocence that defied adulthood.

“Hello. We haven’t met before, have we?”

“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”

“No big deal, really. I managed to grow some sweet potatoes. They’re nicely roasted. So I came to share. I was wondering if you’d like to eat together. What do you think?”

Thump.

Just like that, casually.

A single sentence, tossed off like it was nothing. A warmth that seeped into his heart. It resonated.

“⋯⋯Hwaaah.”

“Eh, eh?! Are you crying? N-no, I didn’t mean to threaten you or anything… if you don’t like sweet potatoes, how about potatoes? Spring potatoes are delicious, you know. Even if it’s winter now…”

And thus, their connection began. They shared long stories and exchanged names. In Selvier’s heart, which was growing cold in a harsh, dark world, the sun finally rose.

That kindness. How dazzling it was…

—

*Fwoosh──!*

“『*Affectionate Flame Serpent*』!”

A colossal serpent of fire materialized, lunging forward. In response, the Sword Saint used his blade as a brush, drawing strokes in the air. One, two, three.

*Slice-*!

Though the longsword was as small as a toothpick compared to the flaming serpent, the *Affectionate Flame Serpent* was cleaved into three pieces and scattered. 『*Strike Essence*』cuts through the core, so thick skin and size were meaningless.

If one breath is conceded like this, it comes.

“『*Falling Star*』.”

*Swooosh──!!*

A downward slash from above. But the phenomenon it triggered was akin to a natural disaster. The white line etched from the heavens to the earth bisected everything in its path. Including the flame mage, who had lost her name.

“Ghh…”

A pain as if seared with a red-hot iron pierced her. Her body of fire split in two, then rejoined with a *fwoosh*.

It was cut. Something was cut away.

She didn’t know what had been severed. But she felt that something essential to her being had been lost. Was it power? No. The output hadn’t decreased. Then, perhaps… memories.

This, she could exploit.

Conversely, if she surrendered the portions of her flames that held memories, she could withstand the Sword Saint’s attacks without diminishing her combat abilities. She began to sort through the memories she would relinquish.

“Why not give up, then?”

“⋯⋯『*Flame Wings*』!”

*Fwoosh-*!

Wings of fire unfurled, embracing her body. *Flame Wing*, an application of *Flame Angel*, could be used for both offense and defense.

She had acquired this skill thanks to her ‘brother.’ Although she couldn’t remember the exact trials she had endured… she hadn’t forgotten how to use it. She ejected the burning feathers forward.

*Paba-ba-ba-bat-*!

“An explosive attack, is it. I will cut and erase it.”

Two noiseless swings. The preemptive strike carves out the magical explosive embedded in each feather, and the follow-up eliminates the feathers themselves.

The fire-feathers dissipated into shimmering particles.

The attack repelled, now the Sword Saint’s counter would come. Selvière tried to shield herself with her wings, bracing for the strike – but then…

“『Sword-Fist』.”

“⋯⋯Ugh, kkeuk⋯⋯?!”

*Kooong-!*

Though wielded as a blade, the impact felt like being struck by a colossal hammer. An almost grotesque, meticulous manipulation of mana. She coughed out the stale breath remaining in her lungs, propelled backwards.

Flapping her Flame Wings, she managed to halt her trajectory mid-air, but a gaping hole now marred her abdomen. *Hwareuk, hwareureuk.* Flames coalesced, reforming the ravaged flesh.

With that last hit, she had lost something else. Memories of the Academy were fading further away.

The Sword Saint spoke.

“Prolonging this is futile.”

“⋯⋯No.”

She denied it, the nameless girl shaking her head vehemently.

She wasn’t merely stalling for time. She had a plan, a thought. The way ‘Big Brother’ sealed the Black Dragon Crown had been through the utilization of a name. Stripping away the ID, preventing login altogether.

And the Black Dragon’s strength was on par with that of ‘Big Brother’. So, would the Black Dragon, freshly resurrected from a seal, be able to completely subdue and seal ‘Big Brother’ without any preparation?

She didn’t think so.

But ‘Big Brother’ was currently unconscious.

Therefore, she could formulate a hypothesis. Had the Black Dragon perhaps recycled the seal that once contained him within ‘Big Brother’, simply reflecting it back?

*Wooo-oong.*

Her heart, or thereabouts, and ‘Big Brother’ were connected by lines woven from light. A peculiar phenomenon brought about by 『Flame Heaven Apostle』. Thus, it came to her. She could perceive it. With fervent focus, she could see.

The image of her Big Brother, trapped within a black dome.

If that was the case, then the seal could be undone in the same manner. By simply calling out ‘Big Brother’s’ name. She could release him.

Until now, she hadn’t been able to recall ‘Big Brother’s’ name. Locked away with the Black Dragon, bound by the seal. But now⋯⋯ perhaps it was possible.

Remember.

Think, remember!

The condition for victory wasn’t stalling for time. Just as Big Brother had called out *her* name, this time, she had to call out *his* name.

What name was it? What sound did it carry? How did her tongue move, and what emotions did she infuse into its pronunciation? Think. Please!

“I too once refused to surrender, young maiden. I believed there was a path to escape our cruel fate.”

*Seogeok-!* An arm was severed.

“But after all this time, I have come to realize. Some things must simply be accepted. One cannot move the heavens. Nay, one cannot even move one’s own heart at will.”

*Seogeok-!*

My waist cleaved.

“I knew… when I realized all my efforts would be for naught. I finally resigned myself to it. That’s just how the world is. So, to avoid injury, one has no choice but to give up… wouldn’t you agree?”

*Shhk–!*

My head flies off.

Consciousness flickers out for a moment. But then, grit in her teeth, she moved.

“Give up? No way, I won’t!!”

She headbutted the Sword Saint, who had approached to deliver a follow-up strike, square in the forehead.

*Thwack!*

“I won’t give up. Not on love, not on humanity, not on anything… Even if it’s unrewarded. Even if I get hurt. Even if I embrace the sun and my body turns to charcoal!”

*Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh–!*

Flames raged like a storm. A miniature sun orbited her, distorting space with heat haze as it spun wildly. The Sword Saint hurriedly initiated evasive maneuvers.

“Because, because… This very feeling is precious! I will recall my brother’s name. And I will awaken my brother from his deep slumber. So, go ahead, keep trying–“

*KWA-A-A-A-NG–!!*

*Swish.*

The Sword Saint retreated, swinging his blade to lessen the impact. But a sizzling burn mark remained on his forehead. He traced the wound with his fingertip, then stared at the nameless mage.

“Are you aware, maiden? The name devoured by the Dragon… never returns. Just as my own once was.”

“…What?”

“His name was erased long ago, I say.”

“…”

Her heart plummeted, heavy in her chest. A fear filled her: that perhaps her brother would never awaken.

But then, the voice of a young boy, heard long ago, brushed her ear.

“…No.”

She realized. It wasn’t over.

The thread of hope wasn’t broken yet. Because, her brother had ‘one more’ name.

[I’m from a place far, far away. It might sound strange. I have a name given to me in Sanjebi Village, but I also have a name used way over there, in a land called South Korea. This is a secret, just for you–]

A name he had confided in her, only when they were alone, a secret.

A name the Evil Dragon could not devour, an other-world name.

So, not yet, nothing was over.

—

How long had passed?

⋯⋯⋯⋯.

The flame gutters low. Repeatedly cleaved, and cleaved again, each time her fragmented self is rejoined, the very essence of her is whittled away.

“『Flame Javelin』⋯⋯.”

The fire she scatters for a counterattack is now so weak, the Sword Saint barely needs to deflect it. But the nameless girl does not yield.

Another sword strike descends. Another loss is endured.

The Tower of Trials. It was fun, wasn’t it. Truth be told, it started with wanting to be acknowledged by my brother⋯⋯ But conquering it together was joyful.

Shhk-

I’m sorry, Snow White. I don’t want to, but I must forget you for a moment. You were a bit twisted, but I think you were a good friend.

Shhk-!

Ah. That trip I took alone with my brother, it was lovely. If we had entered the Scarlet Magic Tower side-by-side, would every day have been filled with such happiness?

Shhk.

“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”

The Sword Saint’s expression hardens with each passing moment of the fight. Astonishment, shock, jealousy, a whirlwind of complex emotions churns beyond his eyes.

He seems to be asking, why do you resist even to this point?

It’s obvious, isn’t it. People live by exchanging hearts with one another. I received so much from my brother, so I want to give back just as much.

Alright. Let’s do our best.

This is like finding a needle in a mountain of sand. No matter how hard I try to recall, my brother’s name escapes me. But I believe that somewhere in my heart, his name remains.

Because it is the name of someone I love.

So, in truth, this battle is the Sword Saint helping me find my brother’s name. He is erasing countless grains of sand. Sand that, though truly glittering, is more precious to me than a thousand gold pieces.

It’s alright.

Just hold on. If I can just hold on, I can do it.

The last word that remains after I discard everything will surely be my brother’s name.

—

The battle continued.

Far, achingly longer than the Sword Saint had anticipated.

“Why, why can you⋯⋯ go this far⋯⋯?”

Though it was the young knight who was clearly unleashing a one-sided assault, his face was etched with desperation. He trembled as he cut the girl, as if each blow struck himself.

Only the smallest embers of the girl’s flame remained.

Her eyes were nearly closed, most of her vital functions lost. She had forgotten how to breathe, how to move.

And now.

Deep within the nameless girl, only one thing remained.

She staggered, swaying, toward ‘Oppa’. The Sword Saint aimed to cut her down, to end it with a single swing. But his fingers simply wouldn’t obey.

He was overwhelmed. Her will, it broke the Sword Saint’s blade.

Soft thud. Soft thud.

Black hair, crimson eyes. She carefully settled beside the man she loved. For the last time, she gazed upon his face, before gently pressing her lips to his ear.

And with her final breath, she released the most precious name.

“Hanyul Oppa.”

⋯⋯⋯⋯.

Crack. She heard the sound of something fracturing. The girl smiled faintly. She couldn’t quite recall, but it felt like a good omen. A feeling of having succeeded.

Her strength drained away. Without resistance, the girl collapsed onto his chest. She could hear his heartbeat… and smell his comforting scent. It felt peaceful.

I did it. Oppa.

Yeah.

Will I be praised?

Of course. Hearts are meant to be shared.

If Oppa could give back as much as I gave…

⋯⋯I hope we can hold each other like this again, next time.

That would be enough. More than enough.

⋯⋯⋯⋯.

The flame, having finally achieved its desire, flickered precariously.

Whoosh.

It extinguished.

—

Inside the Mental World.

I had been trapped within the black dome that once held the Black Dragon, but finally broke free. Emerging, I found the 『Promise』 module waiting for me.

I had prepared contingency plans for situations like this. But the escape was scheduled to take another day or so; Selbierre helped me break out early. I gained precious time.

Not a single player had died yet.

『Promise』 gave my face a quick glance, then asked,

“…Did you cry?”

“You were crying too.”

Acting like they weren’t a sobbing mess themselves…