By Zephyria 
Gu Yeong-min is a demonic terrorist.
An extremist terrorist who believes that the ecosystem where magical beasts, appearing after the Great Cataclysm, reign supreme is the correct and righteous way, and that the human civilization built up until then was flawed and must be entirely destroyed.
Just as humans hunt animals for food, magical beasts hunt humans for food. If so, is it not a proper law of nature for magical beasts to become the new dominant species of the next generation?
Driven by such beliefs, Gu Yeong-min attempted acts of terror, and some of them were successful. However, it was not enough. Human society, which had achieved a relatively successful coexistence with magical beasts, did not collapse easily, and the standing of demonic terrorists like him gradually dwindled.
This cannot continue. He needed a great achievement that would capture the world’s attention. While preparing a terror attack in the heart of Daejeon, the center of Korea, Gu Yeong-min met a boy. A youthful boy dressed in black.
〈To get attention, you must use a new method. A method that no one on Earth knows.〉
The boy delivered the revelation in such a manner.
“That person told me. The method to germinate a magical beast seed. You’ve seen the news, haven’t you? About the Management Center and the amusement park.”
Edokus groaned softly. It had become completely clear from his words that a Servant of Chaos was present on this Korean soil.
“……The boy’s appearance probably isn’t his true form. It’s likely a shell he donned to mimic a human.”
“It doesn’t matter what the true form is. I have gained the power to change the world for the better.”
“You’ll have to deal with the apostle first, won’t you? Right now, your magical energy is too weak for them to notice, but as you build power, the apostle will be the first to come and kill you.”
“If the apostle you’re talking about is Seven Guild’s Kim Si-baek, that would be troublesome. Since the Seven Guild Master is right by his side.”
“Is that human really that strong?”
“Among the hunters who have made a name for themselves, I doubt there’s anyone who can confidently claim they can suppress the Seven Guild Master.”
“So you’re saying he’s the strongest?”
Edokus sighed deeply as he compared Kim Si-baek to himself before his core was destroyed and he became a fragment. He felt even more miserable.
“The apostle has grown weaker due to a lack of divine power, but if the human beside him is that strong, there’s no answer. Want to run away with me?”
“I don’t know. It all depends on how you think about the method.”
Gu Yeong-min chewed on some jokbal with a contemplative expression.
“Carrying out terror attacks using internal information is my specialty, after all.”
The claim that he was corrupted by magical energy after consuming a magic stone was a lie. The first infiltration occurred at age five, and he realized it was the energy of chaos at age fourteen, immediately after Kim Si-baek disappeared.
〈Child, it has been nine years by human time. In times like these, is it not customary to greet one another, saying it has been a long time?〉
It was also the moment when the infinite nightmares of childhood, which he thought had been completely erased upon meeting Kim Si-baek, were revived.
Tae-un, staring blankly at the empty space where Kim Si-baek had been, took a staggering step.
His faltering foot caught on the rooftop railing, and the boy’s body fell backward. The moment he opened his eyes, Tae-un was standing on the rooftop again. On an empty rooftop where Kim Si-baek did not exist. He could hear the screams of people and monsters.
Tae-un could not fathom whether this was reality or an illusion. His feet were planted on the rooftop, he could feel the hot summer air on his skin, and he could hear the screams, yet there was no sense of reality. It felt as if his senses were dissociated from the world.
Give my brother back. Even his own voice, screaming desperately, felt as if it were emerging from someone else’s throat. Brother is gone. Brother has disappeared. Why am I still alive in a world without my brother?
〈Very well. Since the one you call brother is the human who allowed us to enjoy a delicacy nine years ago, I shall grant your request. I make a covenant.〉
What covenant?
〈I believe the number 7 generally signifies luck to humans. After 7,777,777 days, you will no longer be alive. Therefore, I declare that on the 7,777th day, I shall surely bring that person back. This is the covenant of a god, originating from the opening of light and darkness in the beginning.〉
Surely.
Without even knowing what that meant, Tae-un agreed.
“Si-baek hyung?”
Kim Si-baek was nowhere to be seen, perhaps having gone to work early. His absence felt empty, but for now, it was a relief. Tae-un breathed heavily and released the magical energy he had been suppressing.
At first, there were no signs that magical energy was infiltrating, but once the line was crossed, it progressed rapidly. Tae-un looked down at his hand, where the magical energy was clearly visible even on the skin.
Due to the aftereffects of over-suppressing his magical energy to avoid losing consciousness, combined with the reagent he had drunk, he had ultimately been discovered by Kim Si-baek. He felt a bitter taste of belated regret that he should have dealt with Edokus as soon as he learned of its existence. It would have been a much more difficult situation if Kim Si-baek hadn’t accepted the lie that he had swallowed a magic stone.
On the other hand, he was happy. He was so incredibly happy.
When Kim Si-baek’s divine power dwelled within him, his twisted senses returned to their proper place, if only for a moment. With restored senses, he could see his figure, hear his voice, and smell his scent.
His own vision was a mangled mess. He couldn’t distinguish the shapes of objects, nor could he discern colors. Only by suppressing his magical energy and concentrating his consciousness could he barely see blurred forms. He could read text since it was mostly black letters on a white background, but no matter how hard he concentrated, photos remained blurred images that would not sharpen.
But it changed when Kim Si-baek’s divine power dwelled within him. He was so happy to take him in with a clear and bright field of vision. The fact that his sense of touch became excruciatingly sensitive was merely a secondary issue.
Sex became the goal, used as a means to carve the moment deeply into his crushed senses and into Kim Si-baek’s memories. He wanted to caress his skin, kiss him, and fill everything inside himself with him.
He lied to Kim Si-baek again, saying it was because he had consumed a magic stone. It was more painful that Kim Si-baek believed him without suspicion. The deception deepened once more.
Nevertheless, he loved it intensely—the fact that he could be even closer to him.
✽ ✽ ✽
Because Kim Si-baek possessed a textbook personality where his inside and outside matched, and he had nothing to be ashamed of even if his inner thoughts were exposed, he rarely asked Biyendwe not to read his surface psychology. One of those rare occasions was when it would have a severely negative impact on a minor’s mental health.
‘No way……’
Biyendwe’s pupils trembled slightly. Kim Si-baek had asked him not to read after he had purified Tae-un’s magical energy last night and left the bedroom. And this morning, he had woken up before Tae-un and rushed out of the office building without even eating. Almost as if he were escaping.
Biyendwe was extremely curious about exactly what had happened, but he couldn’t force his way into asking. Biyendwe writhed painfully atop Kim Si-baek’s crown.
Seeing this, Lee Han-gyeol asked worriedly.
“Is the crow sick?”
“It’s because of his age.”
“Aha, he looks like a chick, but he’s actually very old, right?”
“No. He’s at an age where he’s prone to eighth-grader syndrome.”
“Oh dear……”
[I protest that this has nothing to do with the Black Flame Dragon dwelling in the left wing of your god of death and beauty.]
Lee Han-gyeol wore an understanding expression, imagining some ambiguous signature pose, and Biyendwe denied it with a divine utterance.
Kim Si-baek was currently in the guild’s laboratory, waiting for the Head of Research. The Head of Research had requested to analyze what the power of faith was using magic. There was no way divine power could be analyzed with magic, but since it wasn’t harmful, Kim Si-baek had readily complied. Lee Han-gyeol had simply followed along because he wanted to hang out with Kim Si-baek.
“By the way, what is the crow’s identity? If he can even draw magic circles, he’s no ordinary crow. Can he actually use magic? A crow mage?”
“He has no magical power, so he’s not a mage; you can think of him as a magic scholar.”
Lee Han-gyeol was impressed.
“If he studies magic as an academic discipline, does he actually possess intelligence? Maybe he’s even smarter than I am?”
“Hmm, it’s difficult to apply human standards.”
Kim Si-baek hesitated but decided to answer honestly without hiding it. If no one else, he didn’t want to layer any more lies upon the younger siblings from the orphanage.
“He is the avatar of the god I serve.”
“…….”
Lee Han-gyeol, blinking blankly, asked cautiously.
“……That, the god you said was death and beauty?”
It was understandable if he didn’t believe it. Just as Kim Si-baek smiled faintly and was about to continue, the laboratory door opened without a knock, and a shadow larger than the door itself cast over them.
“Si-baek hyung, you were here. I’ve been looking for you for a while.”