By Zephyria 
“I’m just a mascot who only knows how to do cute things; will I actually be of any help in a fight?”
Kim Si-baek answered seriously.
“Do you know how much energy I get from your cute antics? Being cute all the time is the hardest thing in the world.”
“Hyung…”
“Un-ah…”
Biyendwe endured the sight of them, amidst an atmosphere overflowing with gentle, heart-wrenching emotion.
‘I can bear this uselessly pink atmosphere since it’s only been a few days. Si-baek, your god is truly this merciful…’
Seeing such generosity, it seemed the day he would finally become an adult was not far off.
“Oh, by the way, we’re sleeping together tonight, right? In the meantime, I asked Han-gyeol to have some delivered from Daejeon.”
At Tae-un’s excited voice, Kim Si-baek’s expression turned stern. It was obvious what he had received from Daejeon. Condoms. His eyes, sparkling with anticipation, were as beautiful as the Milky Way, but Kim Si-baek shook his head firmly.
“What day is tomorrow?”
Setting aside the dragonfish raid, he didn’t know what Edokus might pull, so he needed to get plenty of sleep and gather his divine power.
Feeling sorry for Tae-un, whose spirit was crushed by a firmness that left no room for negotiation, Kim Si-baek patted his backside.
“Do it when we go back to Daejeon. When we go back.”
“I can use a whole box in one day, right?!”
“That’s a bit…”
Was it realistically possible to use an entire box of condoms in one night? But why did he have the feeling that if it were Tae-un, it might actually be possible…
Kim Si-baek cleared his throat to gloss over the conversation, leaving Biyendwe blinking, unable to grasp what was being discussed.
The mages deactivated the dome protecting the royal capital. Airborne warships flooded into the now-defenseless open sky. The appearance of the flagship meant that even the Air Force Commander, who had remained loyal to the King until the end, had finally joined hands with the revolutionary army.
A network of fire from the airborne warships poured down upon the royal palace. Layer upon layer of Barriers were shattered, and the palace, built upon blood and tears, collapsed miserably. The dynasty met its end.
This was the reason why Edokus, back when he was human, spent his entire life in flight.
Just before the palace collapsed, the Queen and the Crown Prince’s family committed suicide, and the King was taken prisoner. The scene of the King’s execution by firing squad was broadcast nationwide, and the second prince, discovered while attempting to flee, was caught and beaten to death by an enraged mob.
Princes and princesses who had been quick-witted enough to flee overseas, like Edokus’s mother, the youngest princess, had to make a choice. They could survive by revealing the identities of other hidden siblings, or survive by handing over the royal family’s hidden assets or secrets.
Edokus’s mother could choose neither. She couldn’t bring herself to betray her siblings, and being the youngest, she knew nothing of the royal secrets. Thus began a flight that collapsed within three days.
The one who betrayed her was not a sibling, but her husband. They managed to shake off their pursuers, but in the chaos, Edokus’s younger sibling went missing.
〈■■■.〉
His mother clung to Edokus, calling him by a human name that he could no longer remember.
〈You must not resent the world. What you should resent is your grandfather, who should never have become king, and your mother, who failed to stop such a grandfather.〉
The flight that began in his ignorant childhood was very long. If his mother hadn’t been an Awakened, Edokus would have died long ago. Crossing and hiding in the territories of magical beasts where few people ventured, and sometimes evading bounty hunters who sought to kill the mother and child, the young Edokus learned exactly what terror was.
Years passed. The madness fueled by the flames of revolution, violence, and slaughter cooled.
The youngest princess, who had neither presence nor value, was sentenced to death in a trial in absentia. In reality, it was an exile from the country.
Only when the new government’s position became clear—that they would let her live as long as she did not return—did a helping hand finally reach her. Edokus and his mother were given new identities and managed to settle in a city within the Atrebatum Empire.
However, settling down did not mean the fear dissipated.
The collapse of the dynasty was news that shook the entire world and an event that would be recorded in history. He learned about it in school, and visual media depicting the revolution were produced.
Even without searching, traces of the revolution were found everywhere. Every time he saw them, Edokus ran. He was afraid that if it were revealed he was a descendant, people would try to kill him just as they had in the past.
〈It’s okay, ■■■. If you’re scared, come to Mother as much as you like.〉
His mother’s embrace, as she held him while weeping, was the only place where he could erase his fear. Thus, when his mother died young, Edokus had no choice but to flee endlessly. Like a shadow clinging to the soles of his feet, fear never left him, no matter where he ran.
「Your vessel is not too bad.」
A layered voice came to find him.
「Originally, we desired a vessel that had overcome the fate of death, but we failed to bring one this far. Let us try a vessel that flees eternally from death. For it shall become good nourishment later.」
The oldest ancient filth, pooled at the bottom of the world, rose and looked directly at him.
「Child. What is your true heart’s desire?」
Thus, the last descendant of a fallen nation became a follower named Edokus by chaos.
Edokus opened his eyes in the habitat of the dragonfish. He didn’t even know when he had fallen asleep. It seemed fatigue had accumulated after spending time circling the individuality field and meeting S-class magical beasts one by one.
While yawning and stretching, he accidentally bumped the waist of the dragonfish lying beside him. The dragonfish, sprawled on the ground, opened its eyes.
“Have you eaten?”
“Kkuruk.”
There was no hostility, but there was no affection either. Not only ordinary magical beasts, but even S-class magical beasts with strong chaotic energy were indifferent to him. He didn’t know how the Servants of Chaos in this world treated magical beasts, but it was certain that they were, at the very least, neglected.
‘What kind of human is he?’
Edokus mused, stroking the mane of the unresponsive dragonfish. His mother had begged him, until the moment she closed her eyes, not to resent the world or life, and Edokus had faithfully followed those words. Above all, the dynasty truly deserved to fall, so he had no reason to resent the revolutionary army.
However, Edokus, upon becoming a chaos grand warrior, destroyed a metropolis of 500,000 people as his first act. He had been overflowing with nothing but resentment and hatred, believing the world crafted by god must be annihilated.
Now, having been cast out as a fragment, he seemed at a glance to have recovered his past personality, but that corrupted and fallen essence would never return. While he understood intellectually that massacring innocent humans was a terrible sin, he felt no guilt toward the humans sacrificed in those acts.
‘No, is he even human anymore?’
Edokus was curious about the Servant of Chaos who was staying unnervingly silent.
One must know the enemy to be able to flee if necessary. If there were any humanity left, there might be some angle to exploit, but…
“Uaaah, I don’t want to dieeee…”
Edokus clutched his head and buried his face deep into the dragonfish’s side. It didn’t embrace him like his mother’s arms, which slept beyond distant memories, but it was warm.
✽ ✽ ✽
Inside the SUV, where a boisterous excitement lingered ahead of the raid, Kim Si-baek had been staring only at his phone. When a message finally arrived, he checked it quickly. Soon, his face brightened.
“The in-flight meals look great, don’t they?”
Tae-un, leaning his head on Kim Si-baek’s shoulder, also read the message. It was a text from Cloud, who had arrived at a layover. Tae-un’s eyebrows arched slightly.
“He takes after you.”
“What? The in-flight meal does?”
“Si-woon hyung. I feel like you’d also give regular progress reports if you went on a long trip.”
He hadn’t known Cloud was such a meticulous person—someone who, after meeting a few times and having his heart ripped out a few times, would send photos of in-flight meals to show he was doing well on his way to America. The expression on Kim Si-baek’s face, smiling continuously while reading a trivial message, scratched at Tae-un’s heart coldly.
His deepest intimacy had belonged to me. That alone was mine.
He knew the laboratory and the house where Cloud worked. Killing him would be easy. He could even create a perfect alibi for Kim Si-baek. Before that, Kim Si-baek wouldn’t even suspect him.
The fingers resting in Kim Si-baek’s blind spot twitched. The weight of a heart curled in his palm. A ferocious impulse blazed.