CFZ

Chirrrp.
Chirrrp.
The sound of insects crying out was unusually clear tonight.

It felt like it had just been daytime moments ago, yet the moon was already high in the sky.
Under that moonlight, I was climbing a mountain path.
The faint scent of grass and the crisp autumn breeze should have made me feel better.

But—
“Whew…”
The expression on my face as I walked wasn’t exactly pleasant.

How could it be?
‘I’m dead tired.’
It felt like I’d spent the whole day caught in a typhoon.

I hadn’t actually done much, but the circumstances left me so exhausted I could barely stand it.
I’d planned to get so many things done today, but all I’d accomplished was attending a funeral and consuming the White Demon Stone.
Nothing else on my agenda had been checked off.

Was it because I didn’t have enough time? No.
There was only one reason for that.
After walking for a while, I spotted a clearing I’d scouted earlier.

It was far from Hanan, surrounded by steep and rugged terrain, making it a place rarely visited.
After briefly scanning my surroundings, I swung my arm and threw the thing I’d been carrying.
“Ugh!”

A short scream rang out as something hit the ground.
Whirrr—!
“…Huh?”
What followed made me chuckle in disbelief.

The thing that had been tossed through the air spun in mid-fall but stopped before touching the ground, hovering as if defying gravity.
It was the little pest who had been giving me a headache since earlier today.
A brat that looked just like my younger self.

After finishing my conversation with Madam Mi, I immediately grabbed this brat and dragged him up the mountain.
When I snatched him up earlier, he let out a disappointed whimper, but I didn’t have time to care about that.
There were too many things I needed to figure out.

“You can fly?”
Even if he looked human, it made sense that he could still fly since he used to have wings.
As I stared at him in fascination, the brat responded.

“Caw…”
‘Caw?’
“C-Caw! You scared the hell out of me—!!”

“…Hmm?”
I widened my eyes at the sudden outburst.
What the hell?

“Why’d you throw me like that?! What if I got hurt?!”
“What the hell are you?”
What was with this brat?

“You sure talk a lot.”
Just earlier, he’d been stuttering and acting like a clueless, innocent kid.
But now?

His words were clear, and even his eyes had gained focus.
In other words—
“You were pretending?”

“Hmph.”
So this brat had been acting all along.
When I pressed him about it, he scoffed.

“I wasn’t pretending. I was just staying quiet.”
He scrunched up his face like he was annoyed about something.
Maybe it was because he had my younger face, but I suddenly felt the urge to smack him.

I held back for now.
“Why?”
“Why what?”

“Why were you staying quiet?”
I asked why he had deliberately acted so naive.
The brat responded with a sulky expression.

“Because people like that.”
“…What?”
“People like it when kids act innocent. They’re less threatening and seem harmless, right? Though, honestly, I’m not that harmless since I take after my dad.”

“…Hah.”
All I could do was blink in disbelief.
My eyes were filled with exasperation, and my expression was one of utter disgust.

That wasn’t something a child, especially one who looked six or seven, should be saying.
Cunning.
This brat… was far too cunning.

Especially with my face, it made him look even sneakier.
Whoosh… Plop.
The brat, who had been floating, lightly landed on the ground.

At the same time, the red martial robes he was wearing fluttered slightly.
I’d been wondering why those clothes looked so familiar.
“…Is that my outfit?”

“Yeah.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
It was a red martial robe, which meant it had to belong to the Gu family.

Since he’d been found naked earlier, someone must have brought him the clothes.
And as I suspected, it turned out to be my old outfit from childhood.
But…

“…Where the hell did you get that?”
How did he end up wearing something I’d thrown away years ago?
“Who gave you that outfit?”

“This? White Mom.”
“…What?”
I frowned at his answer.

“What did you just say?”
“White Mom gave it to me.”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”

“Hmm? White Mom is White Mom.”
“…Wait.”
I paused mid-sentence and thought carefully.

White Mom.
White…
White?

No way.
“…Are you talking about Namgung Bi-ah?”
“Yeah.”

“And what the hell is with that nickname?”
White for her hair, I could understand.
But Mom?

Why would he call her that?
“Why the hell is she your mom?”
“Huh?”

“That’s ridiculous.”
She was a perfectly normal young woman. Why the hell would he turn her into someone’s mom?
And more importantly—

“I’m not even your dad, so why are you calling me that?”
“Because you’re my dad.”
The brat grinned as he said it.

You know what’s really infuriating?
‘This bastard acted all heartbroken earlier when I said I wasn’t his dad.’
Now he was smirking like he was making fun of me.

This little…
Fine. I get it.
Since he was born after sucking up my energy, I’ll let the ‘dad’ thing slide—no matter how unfair it feels.

But.
“Why the hell is she your mom?”
Where did this nonsense about a White Mom even come from?

When I demanded an explanation, the brat tilted his head.
“Well, she’s not my real mom.”
“Exactly. She’s not your mom.”

“But she likes it when I call her that.”
“…What?”
“She likes it, so what’s the big deal? Yellow Mom liked it too, and so did Green Mom. Black Mom seemed to like it the most, though.”

“What is this, some kind of color game?”
Green, yellow, black—
The funny thing was, I could more or less guess who he was referring to.

And the fact that he said they liked being called that?
“So you knew exactly what you were doing?”
“It’s just... good vibes, you know?”

Thump!
“Ack!!”
I swung my fist down on his little head, giving him a sharp flick right on the crown. The brat immediately grabbed his head and wailed.

“Ow! Ow ow! What the hell! Why’d you hit me?!”
“Because you deserved it. Who gave you the right to turn people into moms? You wanna die?”
“Deserved it my ass! That’s just violence!”

“Oh?”
Not only was his speech clear, but now he was talking back too.
It made me want to hit him even more.

“Didn’t you just say I’m your dad?”
“Yeah, so what?”
“Then this isn’t violence. It’s education. Think of it as discipline.”

“That’s ridiculous!”
The brat quickly backed away, glaring at me like he’d been wronged.
“You didn’t grow up getting hit like this!”

“And how would you know that?”
“I just know! I know everything!”
He shouted with complete certainty.

“…”
I didn’t have much to say to that.
Because he was right.

‘It’s true. I never grew up getting disciplined like this.’
My father was scary as hell, but he never hit me.
If anything, it was closer to neglect than discipline.

So yeah, I didn’t grow up getting hit.
But—
“That’s exactly why I know better.”

I smirked and took a step forward.
Before the brat could react, I was already right in front of him.
“Eek!”

He flinched and tried to back away, but my hand was already reaching out.
I knew from experience.
“Kids who don’t listen need to be smacked around a little.”

Maybe I turned out like this because I didn’t get that kind of discipline.
As that thought crossed my mind and my hand almost touched ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ him—
“No!”

Fwoooosh—!
“Hmm?”
The brat shouted, and flames erupted around him.

It was a familiar blue flame—the same as my own energy.
It looked just like the aura of the Nine Flames Firewheel Technique.
Curious about what he was planning, I watched as the flames began to grow, swelling in size until—

Grooooowl—!!
A low, guttural roar shook the air.
“Oh.”

What stood before me was the form I recognized—the monstrous beast with an enormous body.
The brat had reverted to his original form.
‘So he can change back.’

Thank god.
‘I was worried he might be stuck in human form.’
If he couldn’t switch back, I’d have no idea what to do with him.

But fortunately, it seemed his human shape wasn’t permanent.
The only difference was that he was about half the size he’d been before.
‘Not a big deal. He can shrink and grow, so size isn’t the issue.’

What mattered wasn’t the appearance but the density of his presence.
If my energy had affected him and caused this change, then what about his monster form?
‘Yeah, it’s different.’

On the surface, he looked the same, but the aura he gave off was completely different.
It wasn’t even comparable to those low-level red-ranked monsters.
‘He’s not quite white-ranked… maybe just below that?’

In monster classifications, he was right below the white rank—
Just slightly weaker than his original, sealed form.
Even that level of strength was no joke.

Groooowl—
The brat bared his fangs and let out a deep growl.
I looked him up and down, taking in his stance.

He wasn’t trying to fly away.
He must’ve known I’d catch him if he did.
Letting out a quiet sigh, I called out.

“Hey.”
Groar?”
“Can you change back to human form?”

Groar…
That was a yes.
“Then do it.”

The brat hesitated, his massive frame trembling slightly.
I clicked my tongue.
“You think I won’t hit you just because you’re big? Hurry up and change back. I won’t hit you.”

Groar?”
“I mean it. I won’t hit you.”
Not that I was planning to beat him up in the first place.

The flick to his head earlier had been an impulse.
Honestly, part of me still wanted to smack him a few more times, but—
‘It’s hard when he looks like a younger version of me.’

And the bigger problem was—
‘I can’t control my strength right now.’
Even earlier, my hit had landed harder than I’d intended.

What was supposed to be a light flick could’ve cracked the skull of a second-rate martial artist.
It was only because this brat was unexpectedly tough that nothing went wrong.
“…Just come back. If you don’t, I really will hit you.”

Groar…
Finally, the brat started moving.
Fwoooosh—!!

The flames wrapped around his body and began to shrink.
When the fire died down, the small human figure stood before me again.
“…You swear you won’t hit me?”

“I won’t.”
I let out a sigh as I looked at him.
No matter how much I stared, he looked exactly like me.

“Hey.”
“Yeah, Dad.”
“I mean… never mind.”

What did it even matter what he called me at this point?
I decided to let it slide.
“So how the hell did you end up like this?”

I asked what I’d been wondering since earlier—how he’d taken this form.
“You don’t know?”
“Would I be asking if I did?”

“Then how the hell should I know? If I knew, I’d have told you already.”
“…”
This brat really had some nerve.

‘Screw it. Should I just hit him?’
Damn.
Not only did he have my face, but now he even sounded like me.

Is this what people felt like when they talked to me?
‘No wonder they always got pissed.’
I’d always wondered why conversations seemed to end with people getting angry at me.

Now I sort of got it. I’d have to hold back more from now on.
Anyway—
“So you’re saying you don’t know the reason either.”

“I was just eating, and when I came to, I looked like this.”
“And you ended up in my quarters because?”
“I shrank and didn’t have anywhere to hide… and White Mom was there.”

“…”
So he ran into Namgung Bi-ah, of all people?
Why was she even in my quarters?

I’d have to ask her later.
For now, the real issue was—
‘He doesn’t know either.’

He transformed when something changed in me.
But why would a monster turn into a human?
Also—

‘Damn it. He got caught.’
The bigger issue was that someone had already seen him.
If he could stay in monster form, I could’ve just told him to hide.

‘And it’s too late to take it back.’
I’d already spoken to Madam Mi and set things up for him.
It’d be hard to change plans now.

“Hmm.”
“Dad?”
No matter how much I racked my brain, no answers came to mind.

So what should I do?
‘What do you mean, what should I do?’
There was only one choice.

“You’re moving out.”
“Huh? Moving where?”
“Remember the lady from earlier?”

“Yeah.”
“Go live at her place.”
“…What?”

The brat’s face froze in disbelief.
“I’m supposed to live there?”
“Yeah. You’re living there. It might be a bit uncomfortable, but—”

“Okay.”
“…What?”
His quick agreement threw me off.

“…You’re okay with it?”
“Yeah.”
The brat didn’t seem to care at all.

“Why?”
“Why not? Should I not be okay with it?”
“No, but…”

Maybe it was because he used to be a monster.
As someone who used to be human, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy about it.
“It’s fine. It actually seems pretty nice there.”

“…Are you sure you’re not mistaken?”
“Huh?”
Did he really think he’d be comfortable living with Madam Mi?

I couldn’t wrap my head around it.
Just walking with her felt suffocating, and he thought living there would be fine?
‘Then again, Madam Mi’s probably busy and won’t be home much.’

She only agreed to this to keep an eye on him, so she wouldn’t be around all the time.
Right. Surveillance.
That’s the only reason she told me to send him there.

I’d basically offered him up as a sacrificial lamb, but—
‘I can always pull him out if it comes to it.’
Give and take.

That’s all I could do right now.
“Anyway, just stay there quietly starting tomorrow.”
Act as clueless as you did earlier.

When I said that, the brat nodded.
“Got it.”
“And just so you know—if you cause any trouble, be ready for some ‘education.’”

“…Tsk.”
“Tsk?”
“Nothing.”

His disappointment was obvious.
It was like he’d already been planning to stir up trouble.
What the hell is wrong with this kid?

Who does he take after to be this damn troublesome?
I fought the urge to smack him again.
‘Not yet… Not yet.’

I held back with all my might.
At least for now.
It wouldn’t be too late to deal with him afterward.

‘…But first, I need to check.’
I left the brat to stand by and turned my focus back to the reason I’d climbed this mountain.
The sudden change in my energy after consuming the White Demon Stone—

I needed to figure out how much I’d changed.
Whirrrrr—!!
As soon as I released my Qi perception, information flooded in from all directions.

The range had easily doubled.
The area I could sense was big enough to cover the entire mountain, and it made my stomach churn.
“Hoo…”

I steadied my breath and let my energy flow.
Even in this isolated mountain, it felt overwhelming.
I’d definitely have to keep my senses closed most of the time.

‘I’ll work on refining it later.’
I moved my hand slowly.
The perception increase was important, but the bigger issue was—

Fwoosh.
A blue flame bloomed in my palm.
Aside from the heightened senses, there was one more thing I noticed.

‘The firepower’s stronger.’
Even if my energy reserves hadn’t increased, the density of the flames had.
It was instinctive.

I also knew that I wouldn’t be able to control it properly right now.
If I unleashed it carelessly, I’d probably burn down the whole area.
That’s why I’d climbed up here to test it.

‘Let’s see.’
How much stronger had I gotten?
I’d been holding back my curiosity all day.

‘If I’m lucky, maybe a 30% boost?’
Even that would be huge.
But realistically, I figured it wouldn’t be that much.

I focused my energy into the flame.
The blue fire grew brighter.
“…Let’s start with something small.”

I aimed at a nearby boulder and released a thin stream of fire.
The plan was for it to burn lightly and then fizzle out.
I focused on maintaining control rather than causing an explosion—

Woooooom—!
Suddenly—
KRRRAAAAAAA—!!!

“…What?”
Fwooooosh—!!!
What came out wasn’t a thin stream.

It was a massive fireball the size of a house.
The blue flames devoured everything in front of it.
The boulder I’d been aiming at melted instantly.

“…?”
I stared blankly at the scene, my face melting into disbelief.