As Dae finished recounting his story, he turned away, lifting a hand to wipe the tears clinging stubbornly to his eyes.
Dom watched him quietly, his expression heavy with empathy. "Damn, Dae… I'm really sorry."
Dae shook his head. "It's not like it had anything to do with you… but…" He turned back, offering a weak, tired smile. "Thank you."
Dom nodded, his expression easing just a little.
Dae sat upright on his bed, releasing a long, weary sigh. "After I… buried them," He said, running a hand through his hair, "…I took our emergency funds and left."
His eyes glazed over as his thoughts drifted backward.
"I wandered for a while, trying to figure out what to do… until the money started running out. About two weeks after I left, I took a job as a pig farmer."
Dom's face immediately twisted in disgust.
Dae let out a short laugh when he saw it. "Yes. It was absolutely repulsive. I hated every second of it." He admitted.
The humor faded just as quickly, replaced by something sharp and simmering.
"Why did my family—good people who did nothing wrong—have to die?" Dae muttered. "Why should that… ingrate… get to live a normal life while I suffer like this?"
Dom raised a brow, struck by the raw venom in his words.
"Those thoughts consumed me every day," Dae continued. "A week later, I couldn't take it anymore."
He stared at the ceiling, his anger still lingering beneath the surface.
"I couldn't abandon my family's pride… my grandfather's legacy… or let that man walk away after what he did."
Another slow breath, forcing himself to calm down.
"Luckily, my father wasn't a genius swordsman like my grandfather. He took his time recording and analyzing the Thunder Sword Style in a book, trying to improve himself."
Dom's eyes widened, recalling the old journal he'd frequently seen Dae using. "So that's what you're always reading at night," He said.
Dae nodded. "That diary contains all 121 forms—including the ones my grandfather invented." He commented, staring at his palms. "I used it to train while I took on odd jobs to survive… until I met an old family friend who took me in." My goal was simple: get stronger while searching for him."
He then folded his arms, frowning.
"But as a young orphan with no influence or family name, finding him was impossible. So I chose the one profession that could give a nobody like me the necessary power and reach."
Dom's eyes narrowed. "The Knights," He said.
Dae nodded stiffly.
"But didn't your grandfather say he had enemies?" Dom asked, gesturing calmly. "Won't they come after you?"
"Just like you, I leave my last name blank on official documents," Dae replied, briefly glancing at Sam, still clearly unconscious. "And you're the only other person I've ever told this to."
Dom smiled weakly just as Dae's darkened.
"I know that eventually, once I draw enough attention," Dae muttered, his grip tightened on his folded arm. "… they'll find me. I'm still using the same fighting style, after all. But--"
Dom's eyes narrowed at the ominous weight in Dae's words.
"... as long as it brings me closer to him, I don't care who comes after me."
A beat of silence hung over them.
Dom looked away, his brows knitted in thought.
Dae noticed and scoffed, turning away. "So…" He muttered, his voice now hesitant and hurt. "Are you going to judge me, too? Tell me to let go of revenge and follow my grandfather's last wish?"
Dom glanced at Dae but remained silent. It sounded like the right thing to say, but as he thought about it for a moment longer, a different answer escaped his lips,
"No."
Dae turned, genuinely surprised.
Dom looked up at the ceiling. "We've both killed during Academy training, right?" He asked, his tone just as serious.
Dae nodded quietly.
Dom sat up, folding his arms as memories surfaced. "Since I was a kid," He continued, "I've always known that some bad guys don't deserve redemption. That they're just… better off dead."
Dae's eyes narrowed at Dom's cold words.
"After hearing about this Akito guy?" Dom said, turning to Dae. "Yeah. He fucking qualifies."
"He does," Dae muttered, voice once again laced with fury.
Dom then shrugged. "And as you said, I have nothing to do with your past." He said, rubbing his chin in thought as he closed his eyes to picture it. "Hell, if something like that happened to Pops, I'd probably do the same thing you're doing. So I don't have the right to judge you."
Silence quickly fell.
Curious, Dom turned to find Dae staring at him intensely.
"What?" Dom asked.
"I always thought of you as an impulsive muscle-brain," Dae said slowly, shaking his head in disbelief. "I didn't expect you to be this level-headed."
Dom's brow twitched. "What's that supposed to mean?" He grumbled.
"I didn't mean it like that," Dae said, barely holding back a laugh.
Dom glared—then suddenly froze, once he finally realized something.
"Wait." He mumbled as he looked down, thinking hard on Dae's words. "Lightning swordsman… Hyeon Family… Blade King… the Great Fall…"
His eyes widened as he made the connection.
"Your grandfather wouldn't happen to be—"
Dae nodded, a proud smile spreading across his face. "My Grandfather was Hyeon Jin. Head Captain of the Royal Knight's Second Division and former Monarch."
Dom's jaw dropped. "Are you fucking serious?!" He shouted, trembling in his bed with childish excitement. "He wasn't just any Monarch, he was the Emperor's right-hand man!"
Sam groaned faintly in his sleep, responding to Dom's excited voice.
Dae sighed, rubbing his temples. "Why don't you just announce it to the whole world next?" He said.
Dom waited until Sam drifted back into his deep sleep before speaking again, "So you're telling me you're descended from one of the greatest knights ever?" He whispered, still awestruck.
Dae shrugged.
Dom shook his head. "No fucking way."
Dae raised a brow. "You don't believe me?" He asked.
Dom frowned, sitting back in thought. "As much as I don't want to. It actually explains a lot." He said, recalling his book on the Monarchs all those years ago. "Your affinities, techniques, and spells all match the ones he used. But…" He glanced at Dae. "… didn't the Blade King only use one sword?"
"Yes," Dae said, staring at his hands. "All Hyeon swordsmen before us did. But I wanted to surpass them… so I created my own style."
"Let me guess…" Dom said, smirking teasingly. "… you thought using two swords would make you twice as strong?"
Dae laughed, a genuinely unfiltered smile spreading across his face. "You're actually right." He said, remembering his younger self. "As a child, I truly believed that wielding two swords would make me stronger."
He laughed again as he recalled his earlier hardships.
"Of course, I quickly realized that using two swords was even harder, especially since I had to modify every single sword form to suit my dual-wielding."
He paused, his gaze fixed on his hands.
"But I was determined to forge my own path as a swordsman." He added proudly, clenching his fists tightly. "Now, it's my trademark."
His gaze remained on his fists before turning to meet Dom's wide grin.
"That's insane," Dom said, beaming childishly. "Maybe I should use swords, too. Since you're using two, I'll use three."
"Where would you even keep the third?" Dae scoffed.
Dom grabbed three flowers from a nearby vase—one between his teeth, two in his hands. "Three Sword Style, Form Four… Something Slash." He swung his arms and head randomly, scattering petals all over his sheets.
Dae shook his head with a tired smile. "That's impractical," He deadpanned.
"You're impractical," Dom shot back, spitting the flower in his direction
Dae laughed, the tension finally gone.
Dom smiled softly. This is the first time he had seen Dae so casual--natural.
Once Dae noticed Dom's smile, his usual scowl returned. "What?" He asked.
Dom's grin only widened. "I'm just glad you finally opened up."
Dae flinched.
Dom chuckled at his now flustered expression. "If I knew near-death experiences worked that well, I'd have tried it years ago," He joked.
"I regret this already," Dae muttered, lying down and pulling the blanket over his head.
"Oh, come on. Don't be like that. We're bonding here." Dom teased.
Dae's brow twitched as he forced his eyes shut. "Good night, Dominic," He said stiffly.
"Dom."
Dae slowly peeked out, confused.
"Call me Dom. Hearing the full thing always sounds so formal." Dom said with a wide grin as he pointed a thumb at his chest. "Only my real friends get to use my nickname. We're brothers now, right?"
Dae stared for a moment, then turned away without answering— despite his cold response, his warm smile betrayed him beneath the covers.
Meanwhile…
Under the cover of night at the very same exam venue, Johan calmly walked through the quiet, eerie forest with a cigarette resting between his fingers. Sandra followed closely beside him, holding a lit lantern that cast long, wavering shadows across the trees.
"Not to complain, sir…" Sandra said as she scanned their surroundings, her voice low. "…but we've been searching for hours and still haven't found anything."
"Our best students barely escaped death because of a mistake we could've prevented," Johan replied, casting her a sideways glance. "I think a little nighttime stroll is the least we owe them."
"I cross-checked the catalog ten times already," She said with a frown as they pushed through a cluster of bushes. "…and according to the surveillance logs, the Reflezard wasn't among the registered beasts. There's no way it could've slipped in unnoticed."
Johan slowed, then stopped once he sensed something. He reached out and pushed aside a low-hanging branch, his eyes narrowing at something several feet ahead.
"There we go," He muttered, stepping forward.
Sandra followed—and froze.
At the center of a patch of grass lay a circular distortion in the soil, the earth hardened and twisted into a faintly spiraling pattern.
"A teleportation circle," She said, recognition flashing across her face.
Johan removed the cigarette from his mouth, exhaled a slow stream of smoke, and crouched beside the mark. He brushed his fingers across the hardened ground formed by the markings.
"With no surveillance in this sector, there'd be no way to track the beast's movement," He said, tapping the circle once. "And judging by the location… and the timing…"
He straightened and pointed toward a specific section of the forest, along the path where it wreaked havoc.
"…it was brought in during the exam. Not before it started."
Sandra's jaw tightened. "Who would do something like this?" She asked.
Johan crushed the cigarette beneath his boot, his gaze never leaving the circle. "I have a pretty good guess."
She caught the look on his face and inhaled sharply. "You don't mean—"
"This land belongs to the Capital, Sergeant," Johan said, turning toward her. "Which means the Council still holds jurisdiction. Even with our request in place, they could easily sneak a beast in without us knowing. And we know of one Reflezard Division 8 captured some months ago."
Sandra's expression twisted with anger. "But I thought they wanted more knights. A Reflezard is an extremely dangerous beast—many more recruits could've died." She muttered, her fists clenched tightly.
Johan folded his arms. "I don't think they sent it to wipe out all the recruits," He said calmly. "…They were targeting one specific student."
She raised a brow. "Who would they want dead badly enough to risk thinning this year's class?"
Johan hummed thoughtfully and surveyed the forest once more.
The timing of the summoning. The precise sector chosen. The fact that Reflezards instinctively hunt those with high mana reserves. And above all, his past dealings with the Council.
Once the pieces clicked into place, only one recruit fit all the criteria.
Sandra noticed the shift in his expression and knew immediately that he had his answer. "Who was their target, sir?" She asked.
Johan remained silent for a moment, then he turned away. "It doesn't matter," He said quietly. "What's done is done."
Sandra frowned, frustration clear on her face, while Johan continued staring at the circle.
"Tell the others to call off the search," He added, then pointed at the circle. "And bring in spatial specialists. I want this analyzed."
She nodded and reached into her jacket, pulling out a thick circular device. With a twist, it unfolded into a small mirror-like surface that shimmered before forming the image of another soldier.
As Sandra relayed the order, Johan lingered a moment longer, his gaze fixed on the disturbed earth.
"You'd better watch yourself, kid," He murmured under his breath.
Then he turned and disappeared into the darkness, leaving the circle behind.