It was news that Shin Su-kyung had been injured.
"Where…!"
Lee Jae-kyung said urgently.
"Where… are you."
The words that slipped out unbidden were honorifics.
Clearly, standing before him was nothing more than a six-year-old boy, Go Yohan.
But the irrational spectacle unfolding before him, the rage constricting his entire body, had drawn out Lee Jae-kyung's instinctive respect.
Creak, creak.
The wooden floor cried out.
Soon enough, Go Yohan emerged carrying the unconscious Shin Su-kyung on his back.
"...!"
Her clothes were completely soaked in blood.
He hurriedly pulled out a potion—one he hadn't used even though he'd been injured, just in case—and held it toward Shin Su-kyung as he laid her down.
But all Lee Jae-kyung could see was a long gash visible over her outer garments.
"…The wound?"
There was no wound at all.
Swish.
Lee Jae-kyung looked at Go Yohan as if he couldn't believe it.
It all felt just like a dream.
"I've healed her. She still needs rest, though."
"…What did you just…?"
Healed?
"W-Wait, did you say healed?"
Healing a Player wasn't something you could speak of so lightly.
The only means of healing Players were potions—and even those couldn't treat serious wounds, serving merely to quickly mend minor scrapes.
"Yes."
Healing was a power equivalent to the Authority held by only three or fewer Players across the entire world.
"W-What in the…."
"The assailants called themselves Rite."
He wouldn't have said it lightly.
The evidence made that clear.
"…Rite."
One of Korea's Five Great Guilds.
The one that had been clashing frequently with Shinseong of late.
"They seemed to be trying to kidnap me. Probably to bargain over gate raiding rights and territorial control."
"Those… insane bastards."
It was then.
Swish.
Go Yohan's hand, which had silently drawn near, felt as cold and inevitable as a blade you couldn't dodge.
"Why did you leave your post?"
Only then did he realize it.
Go Yohan's fury went beyond anything he'd imagined—and that fury and suspicion were directed at Lee Jae-kyung himself as well.
"Answer me."
If he gave the wrong answer.
Gulp.
He could easily picture himself ending up just like the thugs sprawled across the floor.
"Kill me."
Lee Jae-kyung squeezed his eyes shut and said it.
He couldn't comprehend a single thing about what had happened here, or Go Yohan's display, or anything else.
But there was one truth that hadn't changed.
"Failing to protect you is my responsibility. There are no excuses."
It was the fact that his failure in protection had put Go Yohan and Shin Su-kyung in danger.
At that moment.
Swish.
The blade that had drawn close withdrew.
"I'll give you a chance at atonement."
"Haa… haa…"
Lee Jae-kyung bowed his head and let out ragged breaths.
He had just realized that moments ago, he had truly escaped the brink between life and death.
"The Rite ringleader is Director Han Il-ho, or so I heard."
"...."
"How dare they."
The Church of the Goddess had no holy scriptures.
And so Michael had to divine her will and carry it out.
He had tried to do good.
Believing that goodness alone was what the Goddess desired, he had sought to cast aside his own tainted self from the world.
Yet on that day, hurling himself at the gates of the demon realm, Michael had resolved himself.
"My possessions…"
To become a devil.
"Punish those who dared to harm my possessions. That shall be the judgment of the Goddess… of the Goddess's Champion."
And the Goddess had answered as if to affirm that path was just.
Lee Jae-kyung couldn't understand.
Neither the spectacle wrought by the young boy, nor the words spilling from the boy's mouth.
What this Goddess was, or what this "Champion" meant.
Under normal circumstances, he would have dismissed it as the ravings of a lunatic and laughed it off.
Blamed it on puberty and pinched the boy's cheeks.
"I will."
But when he came back to his senses, Lee Jae-kyung had truly become the Sword Ghost.
*
*
*
It was an incident that shook all of Korea.
An assault targeting the youngest son of Shinseong.
Even in the near-lawless world of Players, it was a line crossed.
But what was even more astonishing was that on that very day, Rite Guild's leadership—the ones who had orchestrated it—were discovered as cold corpses.
The culprit: Sword Ghost Lee Jae-kyung.
The incident, which had nearly escalated into all-out war between Rite and Shinseong, was buried on the condition of Lee Jae-kyung's retirement from active duty.
"Yohan, is there anything you want to eat?"
Shin Su-kyung said, stroking Go Yohan's head.
"…Chicken, please."
"Chicken?"
Shin Su-kyung's face lit up.
"Sounds great! Where should we order from? Wait—no, should Mom make it herself?"
"I'd appreciate it even more if you did, Mother."
"Got it! Just wait a bit!"
Ever since that incident occurred, Shin Su-kyung had grown haggard.
Her injuries from the assassins' attack had vanished completely thanks to Go Yohan, but her heart was another matter.
-Because of me.
Go Yohan had been in danger.
Shin Su-kyung tormented herself with the thought that she hadn't been able to protect him.
That was why.
"What brings you here?"
Came the voice.
"I want to be a pillar of strength for Mother."
Go Yohan replied.
Off in one corner of the room, leaning quietly against the wall, stood Lee Jae-kyung.
Shinseong's freshly retired active-duty knight, Lee Jae-kyung.
The wound from that day was etched vividly across one side of his cheek.
It was known as a mark from Rite's rankers, but in truth, Lee Jae-kyung had inflicted it upon himself.
"You made the right call. Madam's been in high spirits lately."
A vow to never forget that day's failure.
And so Lee Jae-kyung had volunteered as Go Yohan's protector.
Rite hadn't raised any objections to that much.
"You should do something about that way of speaking, too."
Lee Jae-kyung said.
"What kind of six-year-old talks like that?"
He was the first.
The first to glimpse even a sliver of Go Yohan's secret.
"Just… like that scar on your cheek."
That day's events had brought change to Go Yohan as well.
"Atonement?"
"Something like that."
Michael's world had changed.
And yet the past he had gripped so tightly remained unchanged.
Of course, he still had no intention of letting it go even now.
"Aren't you going to ask?"
Go Yohan said toward Lee Jae-kyung.
"Ask what?"
"Who—or what—I am. What I'm hiding."
And then.
"Do whatever you want. You think I'm hanging around here because I chose to?"
Lee Jae-kyung said.
"Like this scar on my cheek."
Atonement. For the fault that had nearly gotten the young boy—the one he served—killed.
"I see."
Footsteps were drawing closer.
"Yohan, chicken time! Half seasoned, half fried!"
Shin Su-kyung thrust out a plate piled with chicken, her face full of eager anticipation.
"I'll dig in."
Past and present.
There was only one thing that never changed.
"Mom."
Faith in the Goddess. Hatred for devils.
"Yohan… you…!"
*
*
*
"Yohan's an elementary schooler now, huh?"
Shin Su-kyung said, caressing Go Yohan's cheek.
"Anything our handsome Yohan wants?"
After the incident at the Incheon villa, Go Yohan had changed.
'These people are precious bonds granted by the Goddess, as well.'
If he shackled them too tightly to his past, even robbing them of the happiness and joy they deserved by right, it would be tantamount to sinning against the Goddess.
"Nope."
He had changed his speech.
"…Mom."
Changed how he addressed her.
That simple shift alone had Shin Su-kyung beaming with utter bliss.
"Our Yohan was always so mature for a kid—it worried me—but even now…"
Shin Su-kyung, rubbing her cheek against his.
"Mom's just so happy right now."
But even for a Go Yohan like this, some things remained difficult.
"Pretty Yohan, kissy-kiss."
"...."
Shin Su-kyung pursed her lips as if expecting a smooch from Go Yohan. He shot to his feet.
"The enrollment ceremony's coming up soon, so I'll go get ready."
"You little rascal… getting all shy."
On the way back to his room.
"Is one little kiss really that hard?"
Lee Jae-kyung said. He was leaning against Go Yohan's door.
"She lights up just from the new way you talk and call her—don't you think giving her one wouldn't hurt?"
A strange note of amusement colored Lee Jae-kyung's voice.
Two years had passed already. Two years that Go Yohan and Lee Jae-kyung had spent together.
From Shinseong's standpoint, it was regrettable to lose Lee Jae-kyung from gate raids, but having such talent dedicated to protecting Go Yohan was cause for joy.
"Why don't you accept Guild Master Go Jae-han's offer, Uncle?"
Lately, Go Jae-han had been urging Lee Jae-kyung to return to Shinseong.
Shinseong had grown strong enough now that Rite was no longer a concern, and talent like his couldn't be wasted on protection duty forever.
"The Guild Master would be over the moon."
With that, the two stepped into the room.
"No."
Lee Jae-kyung said.
"…Guess you could say I've glimpsed too vast a world—lost all motivation? Something like that."
As he spoke, Lee Jae-kyung glanced at Go Yohan.
"Do you get how an ordinary mortal feels when facing a towering wall?"
"Spouting nonsense again."
There was more than twenty years' age gap between them, but by now the two were practically friends.
"A bit early, but congrats on starting elementary school. Want anything? How about I get you a backpack?"
"Quit teasing."
Lee Jae-kyung, who knew just how extraordinary Go Yohan was, apparently found the idea of him entering elementary school hilarious.
"If I had my way, I'd go independent."
"I can already hear Madam bawling."
Which was why.
"Only through elementary…"
In line with Shin Su-kyung's heartfelt wish for Go Yohan to live as normal a childhood as possible.
"Starting middle school, I'll take the equivalency exam."
He would attend school up through elementary.
"Smart choice."
These were ordinary days, just like always.
He no longer prayed, but out of habit, he would invoke the Goddess's name.
Fwoosh.
Each time, memories of the past—which had grown hazy—would sharpen vividly.
It was then.
[You possess sufficient Karma Points.]
[Black Gate detected.]
The voice of the Goddess rang out.