The Wailing Cliffs, where the Dark Mage King's black fortress stands, could very well be described as the edge of the world.
Even with an airship from Stella, one would have to endure a full day or two of constant turbulence caused by irregular air currents and flying monsters just to reach it.
But Ma Yu-Seong had no need to go through such hardship. All he had to do was grasp the necklace hanging around his neck, close his eyes, and recite an incantation to arrive instantly at the fortress.
This was one of the effects of the legendary-grade necklace, [My Beloved Homeland], said to be the most mysterious and valuable artifact in existence. The Dark Mage King handed this priceless treasure to Ma Yu-Seong without hesitation.
And that wasn't all.
The Dark Mage King spared no effort in supporting Ma Yu-Seong, who, being born with the traits of both a dark mage and a human, had the rare privilege of experiencing things no other dark mage could, such as enrolling in Stella Academy. That alone says enough about the extraordinary treatment he received.
Some of the Dark Mage King's children were originally human before becoming dark mages and later being adopted.
Dark mages, those who sang of jealousy and wrath, having abandoned their humanity.
Those who had lived overshadowed by geniuses and fled to the world of dark mages to reclaim their self-esteem. And yet, even here, another genius emerged.
It was obvious how much all the Dark Mage King's children hated Ma Yu-Seong, even without thinking too hard about it.
Ooooooooh—!
"Get lost, Ma Yu-Seong! This is no place for you!"
As expected, the moment Ma Yu-Seong arrived at the black fortress, jeers echoed through the cliffs like a chorus.
Ma Yu-Seong felt a faint suspicion that the insults seemed harsher than usual today, but it didn't particularly bother him.
After all, no matter what they barked—
Ma Yu-Seong didn't care.
Screech—Boom!
As Ma Yu-Seong arrived at the front of the fortress, a drawbridge descended between the cliffs and the gate. Unlike those of humans, this drawbridge was old, rough, and dangerous, though it hardly mattered, no dark mage ever walked on it.
The size of the drawbridge was vast, almost enough to be called a small village. As Ma Yu-Seong stepped onto it with slow, deliberate steps, he encountered someone midway.
"...You've finally arrived."
A figure clad in black armor, identical to that of the Dark Mage King, stood before him, the being known as the Dark Knight.
Once a man who was called a king, the Dark Knight had annihilated his entire royal family and single-handedly destroyed a nation before becoming a dark mage.
If he had been capable of destroying a kingdom as a human, one could only imagine the extent of his power now as a dark mage.
"It's been a while."
Ma Yu-Seong greeted him politely, like a human would.
The Dark Knight stared at him silently.
For someone to return to the fortress of the Dark Mage King, the ruler of all dark mages, and display human etiquette, it was not out of ignorance. The Dark Knight knew exactly what this meant.
Ma Yu-Seong was simply expressing, 'I am different from you.'
"What brings you here?"
"...I've come to see my father."
The slight twitch in Ma Yu-Seong's expression as he said the word father was no mere coincidence.
The Dark Knight observed him carefully before stomping his foot heavily on the ground.
Boom!
"What nonsense. When your father was fighting and bleeding on the battlefield, where were you, and what were you doing?"
"As per his orders, I was carrying out my duties at Stella Academy," Ma Yu-Seong replied calmly.
"You must have known that your father was under attack. Was it not possible for you to think of returning immediately?"
"I believed that the great and mighty Dark Mage King would handle it on his own. I didn't expect him to be injured in the process."
"Injuries? That's not the point here. What matters is that you didn't return. Are you truly thinking of betraying the dark mages, Ma Yu-Seong?"
Ma Yu-Seong, who had been responding eloquently to the Dark Knight's words, found himself unable to give a proper answer to this question.
"Ma Yu-Seong, think carefully. Do you really believe you could live as a human if it weren't for your father? Do you think you could have attended Stella Academy? No, you couldn't have done anything on your own. You were born with a destiny shaped by your father."
The Dark Knight stepped closer to Ma Yu-Seong, pointing a finger at him as he continued.
"If it weren't for your father, you would be nothing but trash. You wouldn't even have been human, you would have lived as worthless refuse and died as such!"
Despite the Dark Knight's heated words and raised voice, Ma Yu-Seong remained silent, unable to offer any rebuttal.
"Do you enjoy living as a human? Is pretending to be human that much fun? If so, then you should devote yourself even more to your father. Everything you've been able to do as a 'human' is thanks to him."
"...That is true," Ma Yu-Seong acknowledged. There was not a single lie in the Dark Knight's words.
However—
"My father is truly a harsh man. By his command, I experienced life as a human, and in that life, I discovered a glimmer of light. Having seen such a radiant world, why must I now return to darkness? Why does he impose such suffering on me?"
"Do not call the life of a dark mage 'darkness,' Ma Yu-Seong."
"No, it is darkness. You are selfish and consumed by your pursuit of strength, driven by savage instincts to slaughter. That is not a radiant life, it is a wretched existence, led by vile darkness, endlessly wandering like a ghost. I do not wish to take even one more step toward that life."
"I see."
Hearing Ma Yu-Seong's words, the Dark Knight nodded in understanding.
In another sense—
"Stella Academy, the place where young but brilliant geniuses gather, correct? You… you've seen only the brightest fragments of light in human life and ended up deceiving yourself."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Do you know that your father also attended Stella Academy?"
"I…"
Ma Yu-Seong's expression hardened. It was a fact he had never known.
"Dark mages are darkness. But because we lack light, the ugliness you see on the surface is all there is to us."
"That's exactly what I said..."
"No, you're wrong. Humans, unlike us, have radiant, shining stars. But because of that, the darkness on their opposite side is even darker and more repulsive than ours. You've never truly seen how terrifying the hidden side of humanity can be."
Ma Yu-Seong shook his head. He had never seen anything terrible in humans.
To him, humans were always beautiful and pure.
That was the conclusion Ma Yu-Seong had reached.
"The Dark Mage King made a mistake."
The Dark Knight scoffed.
"Your father attended Stella Academy and grew up witnessing the ugliest sides of humanity. At the same time, he realized his limits. He came to the conclusion that there was nothing more to learn or gain there."
"Are you seriously saying my father attended Stella Academy? I find that… impossible to believe."
"Abeline Starberg."
...
A name too familiar, even frequently mentioned in history books.
Fifty years ago—
The very time when Ma Yu-Seong's father became the Dark Mage King—
He had vanished from Stella Academy and fallen into the path of the dark mages.
The man who fled from Stella Academy and established his own dark kingdom, that man was none other than Abeline Starberg.
"That is your father's name."
Ma Yu-Seong instinctively took a step back. The most famous archmage of the past… was his father?
If so, why?
Why would his father, a human, abandon his humanity?
Could it be true that his father had seen the full extent of humanity's ugliness, something Ma Yu-Seong himself had yet to witness?
"Elthman Elwin… as expected of a clever man. The moment he noticed you had enrolled, he purposefully began to plant shadows within Stella Academy."
"...Are you talking about dark mages?"
"Yes. Starting with Vice Principal Archie Hayden, countless dark mages infiltrated Stella Academy without resistance. At first, I thought he was just a careless man, but he's far more cunning than I expected."
"Why would he do something like that...?"
"Why? Because by planting dark mages, he could conceal humanity's own ugliness. Elthman Elwin wanted you, too."
Ma Yu-Seong clenched his fists tightly.
Even after hearing all this, he couldn't understand.
"Why… why are you doing this to me? I'm nothing, just a nobody. I just… I just want to live a quiet life…"
"You cannot live quietly, Ma Yu-Seong. Your father has passed down to you the most dangerous and powerful talent in the world."
As Ma Yu-Seong stepped back, the Dark Knight closed the distance.
He pressed a finger firmly against Ma Yu-Seong's chest and said,
"You must have been good at everything from the moment you were born. Whatever you wanted, you could achieve with ease. Enough to render even the hard work of so-called human geniuses meaningless."
"Did you think that was your own talent? No, not even close. That talent is the result of your father's decades of refinement, painstakingly honed into a flawless gem. You've simply been handed a fully realized gift and lived your life with pride as though it were your own… Tell me, if you didn't have that talent, would you have still found human life enjoyable?"
A life where no matter how hard you try, there's no light at the end of the tunnel. A life where no matter how much you study, you can't even step into the shadow of geniuses who are always ahead. A life where everything you've worked for is invalidated by a mere wave of a genius's hand.
"If you had ever experienced limits while living as a human… would you have still enjoyed that life?"
Ma Yu-Seong couldn't answer.
How could he?
To think that all the happiness he had felt at Stella Academy, all the joy he had experienced, was only possible because of his father.
And yet, he had spent his entire life denying his father.
"I… I…"
"Go see your father, Ma Yu-Seong. Bow your head to him and beg for forgiveness. Bang your forehead against the ground until your worthless head cracks open and apologize!"
After shouting these harsh words, the Dark Knight took a deep breath. Then, placing a warm hand on Ma Yu-Seong's shoulder, he spoke gently.
"And then, become my… our king. That is the only way you can atone to your father."
Ma Yu-Seong's eyes widened in shock.
The path to becoming the Dark Mage King.
It was a path that contradicted every value he had lived by so far. Yet, those very values had been shaped by his father.
Thus, he had no choice but to follow his father's will.
A truly ironic situation.
Ma Yu-Seong stood frozen, unable to move or speak, his lips tightly pressed together, his head bowed. He couldn't even bring himself to meet the Dark Knight's gaze.
"I will give you some time to think it over. Once you've sorted everything out, come inside and meet your father."
Satisfied that Ma Yu-Seong had been given enough to consider, Dark Knight dissolved into smoke and disappeared. Now, only Ma Yu-Seong remained, standing alone.
The echoes of the jeers that had filled the air earlier were now gone.
Even the crows, which dared not cry in the presence of the Dark Mage King's youngest son, had fallen silent.
As Ma Yu-Seong stood atop the silent cliffs, lost in thought, a faint vibration buzzed in his pocket. It was his portable alarm clock, ringing at the appointed time.
When he reached into his pocket to retrieve it, a small notebook slipped out and fell to the ground. Without thinking, Ma Yu-Seong glanced at the date written on the notebook.
[October 4th, 6:27:39 PM!]
[The day to find the best restaurant!]
It was written in Eisel's handwriting.
Why had she insisted on meeting at exactly 6:27:39 PM?
The reason was as ridiculous as it sounded.
Originally, Baek Yuseol had suggested meeting at 6:00 PM, but Eisel had said she couldn't make it because of class and asked to push it back by 30 minutes. However, that wasn't convenient either.
After negotiating down to the very minute and second, the final result was:
'Then let's meet at 6:27:39. You know what happens if you're even one second late or early, right?'
'Hah, you better stick to the time, too. I'm always on point. Ma Yu-Seong, don't be late either.'
The voices of Baek Yuseol and Eisel echoed in his mind. His wristwatch showed the current time as 6:20 PM.
Ma Yu-Seong gripped the necklace around his neck.
The teleportation function of the necklace could be used a maximum of two times when fully charged, and he had already used it once.
Using the remaining charge would require at least a month to recharge.
Should he honor his promise to Baek Yuseol, or meet his father?
Standing at this crossroads, Ma Yu-Seong found himself unable to make an easy decision.
This was, perhaps, the most difficult and agonizing moment of his life.
But in the end, he made his choice.
"…I'm sorry."
Clenching his teeth, Ma Yu-Seong gripped the necklace tightly.
Flash!
The small frame of the boy vanished in a burst of light, leaving nothing behind in the Wailing Cliffs.