A+.

That was the grade given to Baek Seo.

Children born in the factory were graded based on their innate magical power.

Children who received an A+ grade were separately classified and transported to facilities in the forbidden Zero Zone.

Baek Seo was no exception.

In the Zero Zone facility, Baek Seo was held by mechanical devices and forced to repeatedly undergo special training methods.

Later, it was revealed that this was a form of training to awaken their talents, a deteriorated version of the magical power cultivation method designed to enhance the quality of magical power indirectly.

The mechanical devices poured magical power into the children every day.

Every single rough and thorny magical molecule relentlessly enveloped Baek Seo.

Baek Seo screamed every time, but no one came to help.

The children had no freedom.

Neo Seoul's Principal, Lee Doo-hee, knew that performing magical power cultivation in infancy was essential to creating the best talents.

She called it the 'Golden Time.'

If an infant could instinctively grasp the magical power cultivation method during the Golden Time, they could achieve growth unmatched by anyone else.

This was the secret of the so-called new humanity.

Furthermore, this process boasted the highest efficiency and stability.

However, it was impossible to teach infants, who couldn't even speak, the efficient magical power cultivation method in a conventional way.

Only one person had instinctively grasped the magical power cultivation method during the Golden Time.

A man considered the greatest genius in human history, expected to reach Argonaut at an early age—Goliath.

Therefore, the method devised by Principal Lee Doo-hee was to achieve a similar effect to the magical power cultivation method.

This involved forcibly enveloping the children in dense magical power and letting it seep into their bodies.

Considering the survival rate, the subjects were children born with at least A+ grade magical power.

It was tantamount to torture.

To achieve higher efficiency, strong stimuli were necessary.

In the process, many children whose magical circuits were destroyed and whose blood flowed backward were discarded.

To Principal Lee Doo-hee, it was no more psychologically impactful than drinking plain water.

Creating one good talent was overwhelmingly more efficient than raising all the A+ grade children.

To her, it was just an opportunity cost.

Baek Seo survived the Golden Time.

However, what the Principal desired was a talent at the level of Goliath.

Baek Seo didn't come close, but she met half of the Principal's criteria. Thus, she was considered a semi-success.

No more forced training was necessary.

However, Baek Seo's mind was already broken.

In the middle of the facility, she spent her time repeatedly clashing the same toys together, wrapped in bandages and staring lifelessly at the floor, suffering from aphasia.

Then she met Kim Dal-bi.

Baek Seo would look at Dal-bi whenever she heard her voice.

When their eyes met by chance, Dal-bi would smile brightly.

Feeling awkward, Baek Seo would avoid her gaze.

Each time, Dal-bi's smile would seep into Baek Seo's heart.

‘Hello!’

One day, Dal-bi greeted Baek Seo cutely with a smile.

This was after all the other children they had been with were discarded.

‘We know each other, right?’

The two children quickly became close, perhaps because they had survived the same ordeal.

Dal-bi frequently hugged Baek Seo.

That warmth restored the light in Baek Seo's eyes.

The Principal allowed Baek Seo and Dal-bi to play like ordinary children, just like other semi-successful children.

Baek Seo and Dal-bi, for the first time, saw the small but beautiful flower garden outside the prison-like facility.

The desolate area near the Zero Zone.

A place always seen through the window but never experienced.

The blue sky and the view of the flower garden excited the two children for the first time.

That day, Dal-bi picked up a purple peony and said,

According to the book, the flower's meaning was ‘anger.’

Proud of her knowledge, Dal-bi confidently put her hands on her hips.

The reason this moment stood out in Baek Seo's memory was that she realized something.

Like a misaligned gear, something had been wrong since birth.

Being born couldn’t be this painful.

There were so many beautiful things in the world.

‘Ah.’

Baek Seo finally understood the unknown emotion that had been rising within her.

Soon, Baek Seo picked up a purple peony.

Shoo-shaa.

The sound of rain washed away the memories of the past.

Present time. A dark alley.

“Honestly, you really annoyed me….”

Dal-bi's voice, soaked with blood, mingled with the sound of rain.

Despite the aggressive words, Baek Seo remained indifferent.

“Me too. We’re similar.” “Hehe…, we really have no affection for each other….”

Dal-bi stared intently at Baek Seo.

The same kind face that exchanged affectionate glances with Woo-jin overlapped.

Whether in the past or now, Baek Seo always shone brightly in Dal-bi's eyes.

The sense of incongruity Dal-bi felt when looking at Baek Seo became clear.

Suddenly, a new question arose in Dal-bi's mind.

‘That's right….’

Did it really have to be her protecting An Woo-jin?

There was someone strong, bright, and fond of Woo-jin right beside him.

Baek Seo’s bold actions must be to protect Woo-jin’s daily life.

‘What am I… in this mess….’

Compared to that, what about herself?

As Moon Chae-yeon said, Dal-bi was just a stumbling block for Woo-jin.

She had become a woman clinging to the past like mud.

Dal-bi's lips curved into a faint smile.

Her intelligent eyes and cunning smile faced Baek Seo’s ruthless face.

Her thoughts had been organized.

“Why are you here…? No, let me guess. You’re here to deal with the disciplinary committee head's followers this time, right…?”

Coming all the way to the Zero Zone, it was clear she intended to deal with Moon Chae-yeon.

Baek Seo did not deny it.

“You, you picked the wrong time…? Today, it would be better to do nothing…?”

You should leave here now.

“By looking at your ragged state, I can tell. There must be several people of the Principal around.”

Baek Seo spoke.

The Zero Zone had minimal surveillance by the Principal.

That’s why Baek Seo and Dal-bi could talk freely.

“You seem to have been beaten like a dog for defying the Principal.” “Hey, that’s too harsh…. There are better comparisons….”

Dal-bi laughed, “Hehe.”

“I have something to ask you.”

Baek Seo spoke firmly.

“What is it…?” “Why did you leave me? I haven’t heard your reason yet.” “Oh.”

Dal-bi thought for a moment before smiling.

“You mean that time? When we were asked to decide who would leave between us….”

Baek Seo nodded.

During their childhood, a Spartoi, a subordinate of the Principal, proposed to Baek Seo and Dal-bi.

─ ‘One of you become my dog. In return, I will let the other go outside.’

The decision was left to the two children.

The one who spoke first would be given the choice.

Baek Seo and Dal-bi promised not to betray each other.

But after Baek Seo woke up,

─ ‘Kim Dal-bi chose first. She left at dawn.’

Hearing this from an AI robot, Baek Seo’s mind went blank.

She confirmed Dal-bi's empty room. Her eyes darkened.

It was a memory Baek Seo could never forget.

“I told you before…. It would be meaningless to tell.” “It’s important to me.”

Baek Seo couldn’t shake off the words that Dal-bi had left her.

She didn’t resent Dal-bi for it.

All the blame was on the Principal.

Only the question of ‘why?’ repeated in her mind.

Why did Dal-bi leave first without saying a word? Baek Seo wanted to know.

“…Let me ask again. Did you want to escape here so badly that you left me?”

“……?”

After a moment, doubt filled Dal-bi’s eyes.

“What do you mean…? That I escaped here?” “What?” “I was the one who decided to become the dog…?”

A sense of dissonance.

A peculiar feeling of incongruity hung in the air as their conversation diverged. Both realized their conversation had gone awry.

In her childhood, Dal-bi recalled secretly visiting the Principal at dawn and saying,

─ ‘We won’t follow your orders. We know you intend to keep us here anyway.’

─ ‘I see…. You’re clever. So, what do you want?’

─ ‘Please set Baek Seo free.’

Dal-bi bowed.

─ ‘Please.’

After a while, the Principal remained silent, so Dal-bi raised her head.

The Principal was laughing.

It was an extremely unpleasant and grotesque smile, like seeing a ridiculous scene.

Deep wrinkles folded as he laughed.

At dawn, the Principal’s subordinate took Dal-bi away.

Thus, Dal-bi and Baek Seo parted without even saying goodbye.

“……?”

Dal-bi’s expression of confusion left Baek Seo puzzled.

With her trained ability, Baek Seo read the subtle changes in Dal-bi’s expression. There was no unconscious change in expression indicative of lying.

Finally, an alarm went off in Baek Seo's mind.

The sound of realization.

She understood the vague suspicion she had vaguely guessed.

“Haa….”

A deep sigh escaped from Baek Seo's lips.

Dal-bi tilted her head, still looking at Baek Seo with puzzled eyes, as if unaware of Baek Seo’s activity as a hunting dog.

It was definitely.

‘It was a ruse.’

The Principal wanted obedient children.

Thus, he made the two children his dogs with a simple and cowardly trick.

The Principal had no intention of giving up either Baek Seo or Dal-bi. Both were precious experiment subjects and semi-successes.

The two children in their youth couldn’t possibly know that.

Baek Seo's thoughts were organized.

The remaining questions too.

The sense of loss that had haunted her thinking Dal-bi had abandoned her was also cleared.

Swoosh!

The blade of the white wheel sword was pulled out from Dal-bi’s thigh.

“Ugh…!”

Dal-bi bit back a scream.

Baek Seo immediately attached a medical magical tool to Dal-bi’s thigh. The pierced area was sealed, compressing and stopping the bleeding.

It was for emergency treatment.

“Why suddenly…?” “I heard that you left me.”

“What…?”

By now, Dal-bi couldn’t help but understand.

She had always thought Baek Seo was living freely.

But it seemed the person in question had perceived it differently.

“It was strange. Even after you left my side, you became a terrorist. So, I had to confirm with you directly….”

While Baek Seo was speaking.

Suddenly, the air became heavy, and a wave of powerful magic brushed past Baek Seo and Dal-bi’s skin.

“!” “!”

Their eyes widened.

Crash!!

Suddenly, between the rooftops of the buildings, an arch-shaped ice barrier formed, covering the night sky.

Beautiful and large snowflake-shaped patterns floated on the magical ice chunks.

At the same time, the path leading to the opposite side of the alley was completely frozen, blocking their way.

Baek Seo and Dal-bi looked up simultaneously, guessing the situation.

For some reason, someone they shouldn’t meet had appeared here.

Click-clack.

The sound of high heels echoed clearly.

Baek Seo and Dal-bi turned their heads in the same direction.

Flowing with hazy cold air like a melody, a silver-haired male student in a white uniform approached.

An eerie sensation enveloped Baek Seo and Dal-bi.

The man's cold eyes seemed to freeze everything.

“Why…? I thought he had left for something…?”

Dal-bi looked at the white-haired man in disbelief.

The man who had subdued Dal-bi as a consequence of defying the Principal.

Thinking he had assigned the task to Hong Kyu, one of the six sinners, and left, but he had unexpectedly appeared.

“…….”

Baek Seo composed herself and assumed a combat stance.

There was no way her movements had been detected.

In other words,

“You knew I would come here….”

The Principal must have known that Baek Seo would act.

The reason why Han Seo-jin, one of the six sinners, had been monitoring Baek Seo.

The aftermath that would follow if An Woo-jin was taken through Moon Chae-yeon.

The Principal had anticipated everything and set the trap.

“It’s been a while, Baek Seo.”

The person known to be the strongest after Goliath in Neo Seoul.

The strongest among the Principal’s subordinates.

Spartoi of the 7th rank.

Cold air flowed from the lips of the white man, Seo Kang-jin.

It was highly unnatural for him to be here after releasing Dal-bi and withdrawing.

Even Baek Seo had been more vigilant about Kang-jin’s movements than anyone, like a landmine.

Kang-jin’s appearance here could only be seen as the Principal’s ploy.

It was hasty. She moved too hastily.

However, Baek Seo showed no signs of bewilderment on her face.

She only refined the magic circulating within her body.

“…Hello.”

Baek Seo gathered her magic.

Even though the future ahead was clear.

Meanwhile, An Woo-jin was running around, repeatedly making space leaps.

He had searched every place, including Aseong High School, where Baek Seo might be, but her whereabouts were nowhere to be found.

The past of running frantically to find Kim Dal-bi filled Woo-jin's mind repeatedly.

The helplessness from back then gripped Woo-jin's mind and drove him to run madly.

Woo-jin gasped for breath and struggled with penalties, unable to even contact Golden Sheep. Pain couldn’t stop his steps.

Before long, the rain clouds receded, and the sun began to rise over the horizon. The dim sunlight cast over the gray city.

The Zero Zone. On the debris of several collapsed buildings.

“Ke…ugh….”

Baek Seo was frostbitten all over her body and covered in blood.

Baek Seo barely lifted her heavy eyelids and looked at Kang-jin with thinly opened eyes.

In her blurred vision, she couldn’t make out anything properly.

Dal-bi had already been knocked unconscious by Kang-jin.

Seeing Dal-bi trying to help Baek Seo, he had made her lose consciousness beforehand.

“The Principal was wary of you too, Baek Seo. Knowing you would target him someday.”

A female student in a nun’s outfit, Spartoi Son Ye-seo, said while supporting the unconscious Dal-bi.

“But… you were too hasty, Baek Seo. Did you think the Principal would only target Woo-jin?”

“…….” “Kang-jin. Dal-bi should be locked up until she calms down. I’ll take her with me.”

Kang-jin gave no response.

Ye-seo nodded lightly and left with Dal-bi.

Kang-jin quietly observed the defeated Baek Seo. She struggled to move her body. However, her already battered body did not respond to her will.

Soon, the light faded from Baek Seo’s eyes. Her consciousness went black.

Drip.

Cold blood trickled down Kang-jin’s cheek. It was from the wound Baek Seo had inflicted.

Wiping his cheek with his gloved hand, the red blood smeared on the glove.

Kang-jin took off the glove and threw it at Baek Seo before turning around and walking away.

Heading in the direction where Moon Chae-yeon was standing, looking indifferently at Baek Seo.

“The Principal ordered me to. Extract Unsa’s ability. Starting today.”

Moon Chae-yeon asked Kang-jin.

“I’m struggling with penalties right now, so it’ll take about a week.” “Do it as soon as possible.” “So, Baek Seo is to be disposed of?”

Kang-jin walked away without answering.

He showed he didn’t want to talk.

Chae-yeon let out a bitter laugh and shook her head.

[…….]

The small goblin hiding in the alley turned to smoke and disappeared.