A

 memory from long ago cam

e flooding into his mind

. What he remembered most clearly was a woman

. Before he was sealed,

 she was the first and final person he made a contract with. However, she wasn’t just someone he 

formed

 a contract with. She was the 

first being

 he met right after his birth, 

his precious friend, 

and 

someone who 

showed Nowem a whole new world.

Yet, their ending was tragic.

In

 his desire to protect and 

form

 a more special relationship with her, he unconsciously 

formed a contract with her

. However, a magical beast’s special mana 

was the same

 as poison to a normal pe

rson

. Succumb

ing

to

 the immense power of the earth, she began to grow ill like crac

ked

, dry soil; and because 

her body rejected his 

mana, she began to lose her mind and went out of control from time to time.

Soon, she became a symbol of fear among humans. However, it was impossible to break the contract. It was an absolute contract, decided from his birth, and it could only end if one of them died. Still, she didn’t resent him.

On the other hand, Nowem tried to kill himself many times. He thought he 

should

 be the one to die if one of them had to di

e

, but she stopped him. She threatened him 

and said that

 if he 

died, 

she would 

kill herself right after. 

Thus, the two traveled all around the world to find a way to break the contract.

After 

they went through all kinds of

 suffering and trials, they finally found a method: it was a seal; an immensely strong one that could cancel the contract that bound them together. Although sealing himself meant 

their 

separation was unavoidable, that was the only method they could find

. Moreover, 

they didn’t have enough time—

h

er skin 

was like

 an old, oak tree

, 

her hair

 was

brittle,

 and her eyes

 were

 muddy. There was no trace of the 

vibrant and bright energy

 she used to carry herself with

. The only thing that was the same was her smile while she

 patted him.

[It’s time for 

us to separate

.]

She didn’t have much time left. She was against the sealing, but Nowem insisted. He wanted her to enjoy a peaceful time, even if it was for a short period. While she shed her tears, the smile on her lips didn’t disappear.

[You will definitely meet your soulmate in the future.]

She 

whispered to

 him.

[You won’t meet someone 

who lacks

 skills like me. 

A

 person who 

will be able to

 accept all your powers will definitely appear in front of you. So don’t give up. Please 

find

 your happiness.]

Her sincere feelings touched Nowem’s heart. She hugged Nowem and felt his soft fur, small body, and temperature that was slightly higher than a human’s as if she was trying to imprint 

these senses 

on her body. Then she sang a soothing song. They didn’t know when it began, but there was a song spreading across the world. The song denounced Nowem and the lyri

cs 

were filled with fear and resentment towards him.

[If we solve this issue, let’s travel around the world. We can do a lot of good deeds and change the lyrics of the song.]

A

fter listening to the song, she said this to him. However, 

they

 failed. Just 

like it was before

, she and Nowem 

remained

 symbols of fear. It wasn’t a long one so the song soon 

ended

, but

 she spoke again with a mischievous tone

.

[Although I couldn’t change the song about you, I am going to let people know that you 

aren

’t just a scary being. Since a song about your horror is spreading, I will also 

use 

a song to 

tell people about you

.]

Then, she made an oath with her hoarse voice

.

[Even if people don’t believe me or the song doesn’t spread, I will continue to try. If I get a family and have children, I will teach them this song. So, even if there’s only one person left to sing this song, I will make sure 

that there

 is 

a song that invokes love and hope 

in your

 name. And 

this song

 will ring all over the world!]

Then 

she began singing again

. 

Her song 

was the 

opposite

 of the song that talked 

of

 his horrors. 

It

 was so dreamlike 

that its lyrics 

seemed to capture all of his emotions and hope, and with her smiling face, the song 

embedded

 itself into a deep corner of Nowem’s heart. Like that, Nowem was sealed.

While he was asleep, he 

dreamed 

the same dreams. It was a 

bittersweet

 dream that 

pictured what

 would happen if he wasn’t sealed and continued to live a peaceful life with her; and while he was dreaming, he was fully aware that he was in a dream and knew that it was a future that 

would never 

come. That was probably why…

[You won’t meet someone 

who lacks

 skills like me. 

A

 person who can accept all your powers will definitely appear in front of you. So don’t give up. Please 

find

 your happiness.]

…

T

hese words echoed inside his mind.

*     *    *

The redness in Nowem’s eyes began to disappear. His sharp teeth and toenails sucked back in, and he stopped his constant 

growling

. Nowem just stared at Snoc who was helplessly singing a song on and on.

Although many parts

had changed 

over the 

years, 

Snoc’s song

 was definitely what Nowem 

had 

heard before his sealing. The beginning part of the song was the same as what people had sung in their resentment and fear at Nowem.

It was a song he couldn’t ever get used to. Thus, even while he 

lost his senses,

 he felt a familiar sense of loathing and gro

wled

. However,

 the amplification of his

 loathing stopped as the song continued. The song wasn’t like he remembered; the lyrics and melod

ies of the song

had been 

altered. Yet, it was like the song she sang before his sealing: the general melody, lyrics, and the sense of attachment towards him were the same.

[Didn’t I promise you?]

E

ven though it had been a long time since her death, it was as if she was still talking to him. 

Like a 

mischievous

 child who succeeded 

with

 her prank, she seemed to smile upon him. However, that smile would soon change into a soft one—just like the one she 

specially reserved for him.

[I told you that I would spread 

it

 even if I have to use my children.]

The violent energy that poured out all over his body soon began to wane. His mad eyes soon began to 

reflect

the 

figure 

in front of him:

 Snoc. He was the human Nowem met after h

e broke out of his 

seal and 

the person who 

possessed the same energy as him. 

From

 his blurry vision, Nowem saw Snoc

 overlap with the images he had of her.

*     *     *

The day was bright. As if the fierce battle that 

took place last night had all been a lie

, birds chirped, and the sky was bright blue and filled with clouds. However, in contrast to nature that began its morning 

routine like usual

, the humans were noisy and 

chaotic

. It was because of the 

mysterious 

roaring sounds from last night.

Basically, no 

one in Suol

 had a pleasant sleep last night. A support team 

was

 quickly established and sent to investigate the mine. Several government employees, experts, and troops went up, and those with strong nerves and curiosity followed them from behind. Of course, the investigation team blocked the mine’s surroundings, so outsiders couldn’t go inside the scene of the incident and stroll around the area.

The mine was blocked for the time being. Even if mining was the city’s most important business, they couldn’t push ahead 

with mine

 work while the remains of an intense battle

 were still present

. Considering the city’s position, they couldn’t block it for long, and the city mobilized a great number of resources and manpower into 

investigating last

 night’s incident.

If they knew Zich and Snoc were involved in th

e

 case last night, things would get 

extremely 

bothersome for both of them. People could even 

rally against

 Nowem

 and 

treat 

him

 as 

a

threat

to

 the city’s safety. Thus, Zich 

made his decision

 without any hesitation

—to 

act like they didn’t know anything.

“

Sir, w

e came back!”

“We

 came

 back.”

The entrance opened and Sam and Hans 

came

 inside. As if they 

spent

 a lot of their energy, they looked 

weary

, but both of their expressions looked 

relieved

.

“How was it?”

“I just kept saying that I didn’t know anything about what happened last night

,” 

Sam answered. Hans nodded his head strongly as if he just 

completed

 a mission.

“Will this really be all right?”

The investigation team had requested 

for

 their cooperation. Unlike Zich or the assassins, Sam and Hans had gotten permission from the gatekeeper la

st night

 to 

go past the

 fortress’s gates, so there was even evidence that they were at the mine during the time of the incident. Th

is was the reason why 

the investigation team 

requested

 Sam and Hans

’ help as 

possible witnesses.

And although 

they

 “requested” help, it wasn’t 

a request

 that they could refuse—especially for Sam who had to continue living in the city. Therefore, both of them

cooperated with the investigation but didn’t tell the truth

 as they already 

promised Zich that they would keep their mouths 

shut.

“

Did you tell them 

what I taught you?”

“Yeah. I told them that I heard a loud noise while climbing, so I stopped walking in the middle of the mine. I also told them that I hid in a bush until the noise stopped because I was scared.”

“That’s good. 

O

ut of hope

, they asked you guys just in case 

anyway

. I don’t know about Hans, but why would they suspect someone with a definite identity like a miner? And Hans went to guard you anyways. I cleaned up after us well too.”

He might not have been

able to erase all traces of battle, but it was an easy task for Zich to tamper with

 his 

surroundings. 

He had a lot of experience with this

 before his regression.

“I guess so.”

“I scattered the corpses of the guys who caused this incident. And I also used Drew’s corpse that I found by accident to create a plausible scenario. They can’t follow up 

on

 us.”

After Zich explained his work in detail, Sam felt relieved. However, 

he wasn’t completely relieved and

 took out a chair and sat on it w

ith his shaking

 legs.

“I don’t want to do something like this ever again.”

“It’s fun if you get used to it.”

The investigation team would probably also come to Zich. Since he left Drew’s corpse sprawled out 

at

 the scene of the incident, they would probably find out about the trouble with Drew

, 

Zich, Snoc, and Sam. Yet, even if they did that, Snoc and Sam had been the victims and were ordinary miners. 

T

hey would probably be only suspicious of Zich.

“Don’t think I am like you. I am going to live a normal life where I just 

have to dig

 mines.”

“Peasant bastard.”

“That’s the perfect life I want.”

As they shared this useless conversation, Sam’s anxiety began to fade away completely. He began to laugh more and stopped shaking his legs. Seeing that Sam calmed down, Zich went onto the next topic.

“Okay then, let’s talk about those guys.”

Zich’s eyes landed on Snoc who was sitting with a slight hunch with Nowem in his arms. Nowem’s eyes rolled around and 

felt

 the surrounding atmosphere. His sensitive senses, which were the characteristics of magical beasts, 

deciphered

 the mood of his surroundings, and 

he could sense

 that a conversation that would be very important to him would soon take place.

Koo.

While letting out a low cry, he looked up at Snoc who was hugging him. He saw Snoc’s determined face as if Snoc had firmly decided on something.

“First of all, it doesn’t seem like Nowem will get out of control anymore. What’s left is the bitter feelings between you two, and 

your plans with Nowem

.”

“I already told you before that I forgave him.”

Sam spoke without any hesitation in his response. As if

 he finished

 organiz

ing

 all his thoughts perfectly, there wasn’t even a slight trembl

e

 in his tone.

“Yes, I am impressed by your

 response

, but the problem is both of your emotions.”

True to

 Zich

’s words

, Snoc’s face wasn’t bright. Guilt was 

written

 all over his

 face like it would rub off if

 someone

 wiped it with a white cloth.

“I am really grateful for Sam’s words of forgiveness, but it’s true that Nowem caused our fathers’ deaths. So, I also don’t think we can get over it with just our words.”

Snoc’s voice was so soft and tiny

—

it sounded 

like a mouse crawling on the floor. However, everyone understood what he meant. Sam looked awkward, and although he didn’t feel any regret for saying that he forgave Nowem, 

he could also

 understand Snoc’s feelings. 

H

uman emotions were extremely compl

ex

.

It was at that point 

Zich intervened

, 

“

Then, h

ow about doing kind acts from now on?”