Seeing Grander burning with determination as if she would invade Earth at any moment, Ludger let out a small laugh inwardly.
There was intention behind the part where he had provoked such a fierce reaction from Grander.
It was not because he wanted to tease her for fun.
The Grander he met again after so long had recovered a great deal from her injuries, but even so, she still seemed to hold little attachment to life itself.
She had improved compared to before, but the sense of ennui remained, so deep that it showed outwardly even when she tried to hide it.
Old festering wounds did not disappear so easily.
And the emotions Grander had carried were ones that had stretched on for a span far surpassing a human lifetime.
Thus Ludger had taken extreme measures.
A kind of shock therapy.
A world Grander did not know. A world beyond the sea of stars, governed by laws entirely different from this one.
And within that world existed another mother.
‘Come to think of it, I suddenly ended up with two mothers.’
If he got serious, he could even count the biological mother who had given birth to the illegitimate child called Heathcliff.
‘Three mothers. I am not some kind of reverse Lü Bu.’
He had not planned it, but thinking back, the situation was ridiculous.
But that was not what mattered right now.
Ludger decided to focus on the Grander before him.
She had not given birth to him, but she had taught him how to survive in this harsh world and raised him in truth.
She was the mother who had nurtured him.
She had grown weary of her immortal life and once chosen death.
She had taught Ludger magic and allowed him to live because, using the power of a god, she believed he would someday end her undying life.
One day, he would surely kill her.
That had been the promise.
But Ludger had not fulfilled that promise.
He could not bring himself to kill Grander with his own hands.
And Grander was no different.
She could not bring herself to burden Ludger with killing the teacher and motherly figure who had raised him.
At first, she had taken him in purely out of curiosity, and because of purpose and necessity.
But at some point—
She found great satisfaction in teaching Ludger, and happiness in watching him grow.
That was the mindset of a teacher, and at the same time, the maternal love of family.
Even though she knew she should not. Even though she knew that someday she had to hand her life over to this child—
It was not easy.
No matter how long-lived a vampire she was.
Even if she could create phenomena akin to natural disasters should she desire it—
The strength of the heart far surpassed such things.
‘You took me in so that I would kill you, but in the end, I saved you. I suppose the world truly is full of such ironies.’
But even if Grander lived, she was not wholly alive.
Her body was fine, but the soul that had been damaged had not completely healed even after three years.
Her soul still bore wounds.
No treatment or time could resolve those.
The moment Ludger met her again, he recognized instantly that her condition remained unstable.
Perhaps the only reason she seemed fine now was because meeting him again temporarily eased her state.
In the end, this too was his own karmic burden.
Ludger murmured inwardly.
He was the one who had saved Grander, who should have died.
Saving her did not end the matter—once he made that choice, he bore the responsibility for her future path.
If she were a stranger whose face he had never seen, he would not have stepped in. But she was his teacher and mother.
Thus Ludger presented her with a new path.
“Mother.”
When Ludger opened his mouth, Grander smirked.
“What is it. Are you trying to stop me from going there?”
“Of course not. I was the one who told you such a place exists in the first place. I have no intention of stopping you. On the contrary, I would very much like to recommend it.”
“You wish to recommend it? You?”
“Were the three years of life without me enjoyable?”
Grander shook her head.
“How could they be. Under the pretext of healing my injuries, I spent almost the entire time asleep.”
“Then, since you have awoken, exploring a new world does not seem like a bad idea.”
“Hah. Are you provoking me now?”
Grander said that, but it was obvious to anyone that she had taken the provocation.
Ludger did not bother hiding it and nodded.
“Yes. But it will not be easy to go. Last time I connected the Crystal Corridor, but restoring a collapsed passage will be quite difficult.”
“Did you forget? The ones you call your disciples—calculating the formula to explore the imaginary space you left behind—that was done by none other than me.”
“Was it.”
“That girl called Lene was quite impressive, but without my help it would have taken far longer. I organized many things while reading through the code you left behind. A door to another dimension? If I set my mind to it, I can open one whenever I please.”
“Since you have already built the door, it will not take long.”
Grander’s eyebrow twitched once, then her body sank back into the sofa.
“......Why go so far to keep me alive.”
“I believe I explained that thoroughly that day.”
“And yet you are doing your utmost for me even now.”
“I saved a life, and letting it end there does not sit right with my conscience.”
“Hah! How arrogant. Are you saying you feel guilt toward me?”
“Is that not allowed?”
“.......”
When Ludger asked back, Grander was at a loss for words.
Is that not allowed... there was no rule forbidding it.
But who was she?
An 8th-circle mage and a ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) true-blooded vampire.
Grander slowly closed her eyes.
The entire world had feared her and regarded her with reverence.
Everyone who faced her had trembled in terror, bowing their heads to her endless mana and vitality.
But Ludger did not.
This child had always been unyielding. He never bowed his head before her, and whenever something felt unreasonable, he asserted his opinion unhesitatingly.
He was the only one who looked at her with eyes filled with compassion.
It was something she had never experienced—but Grander did not dislike it.
She slowly opened her closed eyes.
“You do not have to shoulder such a burden.”
“I am the one who caused it. I should take responsibility.”
“All of that is in the past. Everything ended well. You can be free now—why go so far?”
Grander’s voice was calmer than ever.
In her once-clouded pupils, clarity flickered. That alone meant the wounds on her soul had healed slightly.
“The former me, I struggled just to keep running forward. I thought I had to do that to achieve my goal.”
Of course, he had not only looked ahead.
Sometimes he looked to the side, sometimes he stopped to take the hand of someone struggling.
But in one corner of his heart, he always carried the goal of returning to Earth.
“For that, I thought it was fine to burn everything I had. I did not think about what came after. Firewood does not fear becoming ash once it has chosen to burn.”
Ludger let out a faint, self-mocking laugh and shook his head.
“But I was wrong. I thought it was fine to burn myself completely, but I never considered the people who approached because of that light.”
Those who were lost in darkness gathered when they saw the light.
That was the result the firewood that had chosen to burn had never intended.
He had simply wanted to burn completely and achieve what he sought.
He even thought it was fine if not even ashes remained.
But the people watching did not feel the same.
Ludger remembered those people from within imaginary space.
Those who had been drawn by the light he emitted.
He drew all their faces in imaginary space so he would not forget.
People he must not forget.
People who had come toward his light.
Thus Ludger repeated those thoughts and reflected on the past.
In a place where no one else existed.
For three years.
When he closed his eyes, the sight remained vivid.
A girl who approached him as he sat silently before the mural, unable to bring himself to carve his own face—
And now that girl was an adult, the disciple who had come to save him.
Though he had spoken casually that day, the one who had felt the greatest surge of emotion had been Ludger.
“I thought everything had burned away and only ashes remained. But people gathered the ashes and planted a new spark.”
When Ludger followed Lene and finally returned to the original world, what he saw were familiar faces.
And he realized something—
The people who had been drawn to the light had now become people who guided the light themselves.
The burned ashes thus received a new spark.
Not like before, but a spark that could once again glow faintly.
“I am grateful for that. So I intend to use this new chance at life to do the things I could not before.”
Ludger stared directly at Grander.
“You are the first recipient of that kindness. Mother.”
Grander’s eyes widened, then she smiled, revealing her characteristic fangs.
“How arrogant.”
“After experiencing so many crises, this is what I became.”
“But if my disciple and child shows such sincerity, refusing it would not be the duty of a mother.”
There was a certain relief in Grander’s smile.
“A different world... At the very least, I will not be bored for some time.”
“Yes. That world has more to enjoy than this one, so I am sure you will be satisfied.”
“Will you come with me?”
Ludger gave a faint smile and shook his head.
“As much as I would like to, I still have many things left to do.”
Until now, he had wished only to move toward the future.
Now it was time to look back at the past and face people once more.
“You live such a tiresome life. You need not go so far.”
“I do it because I want to.”
“If you say so that firmly, I will not stop you.”
Grander rose from the sofa and went to the window.
“I shall go on a trip. It will not take that long anyway. Whenever I feel like it, I will drop by.”
“Yes. If you get bored, please visit often.”
“You say that, but you will not hide, will you?”
“If you set your mind to it, even if I were on the opposite side of the continent, you would find me.”
“You really do have a sharp tongue! Well, do not worry too much. I have no intention of causing trouble in that other world.”
“I did not worry about that even a little.”
“You are even more sly than before.”
Grander clicked her tongue at Ludger, then let out a quiet laugh.
“Well, your current appearance is far better than before.”
“You as well, Mother.”
“Good. It was enjoyable to meet again. I shall be off.”
The window opened wide, and Grander’s white bare foot stepped onto the frame.
Behind her back, wings made of blood spread open.
She flew like a bird taking flight.
Ludger watched her quietly, then slowly closed the open window.
It was a night bright with moonlight.
* * *
The next morning.
While conducting routine equipment checks, a dimensional gate maintenance employee experienced something shocking.
“H–Huh? Why are there signs of activation?”
Last night, traces showed that someone had activated the dimensional gate.
But that was impossible. How much mana was required to activate it?
The last time it had been used, the remaining mana reserve had not been enough to activate it again.
And yet there were signs it had been opened—completely illogical.
He could not even assume someone had brought in a massive external energy source.
If such an immense energy storage object had been brought into the palace, it would have been detected instantly.
‘Could the gate have been activated using someone’s own mana?’
It was the only possibility, but that made even less sense.
One needed mana dense enough to blow away an entire city.
Even if one drew from the leyline beneath the ground, recharging it would take at least a month. To think a single person used that—
‘Whatever it is, if this trace gets found, I am writing a report.’
He sighed in relief that he was the only one who had checked it, and decided to pretend nothing had happened.
* * *
“So this is Earth. The air alone is terribly murky.”
Floating in the sky as she looked down at Seoul’s night view, Grander curled her lips slightly at the faint scent from one particular place.
“How curious. A scent similar to that child’s.”
Grander followed the scent.
Before long, she stopped in front of a certain fortune-teller’s shop.
It looked old and shabby, but that was only the exterior.
Grander pushed the door open without hesitation.
At this hour it should have been closed, yet the door opened easily—as if someone had known a guest would come.
Passing by assorted items inside, Grander entered a room deeper within.
And there she faced a woman sitting inside.
“My fortune today spoke of a strange visitor, and indeed, a peculiar being has arrived.”
The moment their eyes met, Grander understood.
Truly, she resembled that child.
“I have heard the story.”
Grander sat down before her without asking permission.
The woman smiled with a provocative air and spoke.
“My son owes you a great deal, does he not?”