I genuinely felt it wouldn't be much longer now.
Instinctively, that's what I thought. All my hidden cards had been revealed.
The last thing I had to do was go find Baekdo and Hwangdo.
-Thud.
With each step, my breath stopped.
-Thud.
And with each step, it returned.
My legs trembled like a flickering lantern, almost comically, like a shaking poplar.
Today, the scent of Dowon filling my nostrils was that of blood, not its usual fragrance. The scenery I loved, the wide Dowon viewed from a low hill, had all burned away, disappearing with the warm air of early spring.
This week, the peach blossoms should have been in full bloom. Instead of petals, flames took their place.
-Thud.
The collapsed roof of a civilian house seemed to speak directly to me. Everything you had done has turned to ash. Feels futile, doesn't it?
'I know.'
After all this effort to change the past, what had I actually changed? It had all been in vain.
'But, well.'
-Thud.
My lifeless footsteps continued forward. Flames licking the ground caught onto my pants, but I no longer had the energy to extinguish them.
-Thud.
Fortunately, the flames died down after a short distance. My body stood stubbornly. I was sick of the endless stream of blood that poured out no matter how much I tried to stem it. As I lost my balance and fell, Cheondo, who somehow arrived, caught me.
"Why did you do it… Why."
Even in this situation, Cheondo didn't shed a single tear. With worried eyes, she gently rubbed my cheek with her small hands.
"Get your bloodied hands off me."
"Tch. If you were going to get hurt like this, you should have just run away… Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I'm not going to die anyway."
A baseless confidence. Yet, looking at my remaining magical power and body… It seemed like this might be the last time I saw Cheondo.
"Kekeke."
A low-quality laugh escaped me for the first time in a while.
Ah, Hongyeon. I had wanted to greet her at least once. Overwhelmed with dizziness, I tightly hugged Cheondo with both arms.
"Cheondo."
"…Yes."
It felt like there's something I could finally say now. And… something that old man would never say.
"Can you listen to me carefully?"
"Why… Why would you say that?"
"Just answer. It's a deathbed request. Just listen."
"...Yes."
Cheondo's voice was steeped in anxiety, trembling greatly. The strength in her fingers as they rubbed my cheek gradually weakened.
"I'm going to save your siblings now."
"No… Can't you just lie down and rest now?"
"I have to save them. What if they're scared right now?"
"...I feel like I won't see you again if you go like this."
"Cheondo."
I think I had indulged her childishness enough. Well, to some extent, I sought Cheondo for my own stability. But these last few days, wasn't I truly moving for Cheondo?
We went on outings together and shared peaches.
She was always there when I fell asleep.
"Now, you need to be brave."
"…Yes."
Cheondo's voice was still trembling, as if she harbored unresolved grievances.
"More lively."
"Yes."
"Louder. With a sense of accomplishment."
"Yes… Yes."
A pat on the back. Gradually realizing it herself, she stopped pouting and clamped her mouth shut.
"Let me go now. I must be heavy."
Escaping from Cheondo's embrace, I faced her directly. Her cheek was swollen as if she'd been struck hard. I placed my dwindling power onto Cheondo's cheek.
-Hum.
Green. The power gathered at my fingertips eased the swelling on Cheondo's cheek.
"Look into my eyes."
"Yes."
"…When we part, go to where the sect leader is. It'll be safe there. You know where I've been working recently, right? Just go there."
-Nod.
"If something big happens later, just think of your own safety. In Dowon, you're the most important…"
"Yes."
"That's right. And take good care of our kids. It's not that I'm going to die… It's just that I might need to rest for a bit longer. Baekdo is good at fighting, so just teach her the martial arts we use now… And Hwangdo seems to have a talent for magic…"
Cheondo listened intently to my words, her eyes wide open. I always think she's such a good kid.
"You know how to run a dungeon, right? Succeeding as a hunter means clearing dungeons."
"…I've been with the master before."
"Right. If you end up going, make sure to bring enough food. And stuff like electricity and flashlights."
"Yes."
"Well done."
I raised my hand and stroked her head. Her soft hair made me laugh. It really was the last time I was seeing this young one.
I smiled.
"We'll see each other soon."
Time flew. It's an irresponsible thing to say, but as she was my master, I believed she would be able to endure that time.
"Seeing you not crying even now, you're really amazing. Kekeke, I admit defeat."
"…That's right. I am amazing."
"Come here. Let's hug."
-Embrace.
From today on, she would the Young Demon Cheondo. Roughly moving my hand, her crimson hair fluttered softly.
Cheondo, gentle and cute like a retriever, firmly tightened her arms around me and rubbed her cheek against mine vigorously.
"We'll really see each other again, right?"
"Of course. Is there something you want to do when we meet again?"
"Together… watch Precure. In a big theater this time. With cola… and a big popcorn, the kind couples eat."
"Kekeke. When did you learn to say such things?"
"Hwangdo told me… Hehe."
Cheondo forced a smile.
I removed my face and stood up. The height difference between us. She still needed to grow more. If I hadn't delayed the destruction of Dowon… she might not have been able to withstand the harshness of the world.
"…Let's go now."
"Yes."
I turned my back, waiting silently until Cheondo ran to me. Knowing that staying any longer would only leave more regrets, it wasn't even a minute before I heard her running.
-Pitter-patter-pitter-patter-
The sound of her steps faded into the distance.
I looked down at one of my ruined arms. Could this really be fixed?
"Ah, whatever."
Since I had already pushed myself this far, let's see it through to the end. That's just who I was.
I took a heavy step forward.
"Damn it, seriously… If I knew this would happen, I should have taken out my ex first."
Jin Saeyang's ridiculous monologue continues.
The joy soaked in her voice. Then, blood gushed forth from her mouth consecutively. The daggers embedded all over her body quickly illustrated Jin Saeyang's predicament.
"Be quiet… Be quiet."
"The smell of blood… It's driving me crazy. You, just shut up for a moment. Baekdo, cover her mouth."
Inside the building, embracing both Baekdo and Hwangdo, the realization that she's the only one left to protect Cheonma's children made her vision go dark.
Reminded of her place, Jin Saeyang wiped away her tears, or rather, the blood in place of tears.
"Don't move at all. Don't make a sound. Just keep hiding under the bed."
"Stop, don't go… Please don't go."
"Hwangdo, that's enough."
Baekdo silenced Hwangdo's desperate voice. Even Baekdo, who managed to maintain some rationality, had fear written all over her face.
Jin Saeyang took one look under the bed and let out a bitter sigh.
"That crazy old man. If he can't even take care of his own daughters… Did he live all these years for nothing?"
Grinding her teeth, she sensed the approaching touch of death.
-Bang!-
The sound of the door.
Jin Saeyang slowly gathered her magical power. Hwangdo, who had been crying, suddenly stopped and froze.
-The door slid open-
As soon as the door opened, Jin Saeyang's hand shot out, the dagger she held aimed straight for a hunter's forehead—
"Ugh! This bastard…"
Her wrist was caught, and she was overpowered.
After a brief struggle, the hunter's sword pierced Jin Saeyang's chest.
-Crunch!
With the attack, it felt as if her lungs were punctured, making it impossible to breathe. The intense pain prevented her from even flailing.
She crumpled to the floor, her head dropping. A foot aimed at her abdomen.
"This crazy, who are you trying to kill!"
"Cough, ack."
'Please, don't come out. Just stay still.'
…She'd rather die alone.
Jin Saeyang glared and repeatedly cursed death itself. The pain was so intense, it felt like she was about to lose her mind.
It would be easier if she just died.
At the edge of her vision, a brat that only caused trouble flashed before Jin Saeyang's eyes.
'…Pull yourself together.'
She suppressed even the thought of wanting to die. Jin Saeyang wrapped her legs around the hunter's lower body, disrupting his balance and throwing him to the ground.
"Ugh!"
She climbed onto the hunter's body, spitting blood. Pulling out the dagger embedded in her shoulder, the hunter's face turned pale.
"Oh, oh wait—"
"Shut the f*ck up!"
The sharp metal pierced the hunter's throat. The man convulsed violently, his body gradually ceasing to tremble. He was dead.
"Huu… Huh. Ha. Haha. This is crazy. I can't even breathe properly."
"…Be quiet. Be quiet, be quiet!! Sob, uaaah."
"…Really. This sucks."
"They say you can't speak if your lungs are pierced. Is that a lie… or did it just barely miss?"
Jin Saeyang fell to the floor, powerlessly, as if her strength had suddenly drained away. Unable to contain herself any longer, Hwangdo buried her face in Jin Saeyang's embrace.
-Swish, swish.
Air leaked from Jin Saeyang's mouth.
"…If I knew I was going to die like this, I should've just gone crazy eating rice cakes."
Was it her naturally cheerful disposition? Even as she was dying, she didn't have many thoughts. It was
just… leaving behind someone who was like a younger sister that felt like a regret.
Jin Saeyang, with lifeless eyes, patted Hwangdo on the shoulder.
"Kid… you. Get ready to run. Baekdo."
"…Yes."
"Take care of this kid for me."
Baekdo, clenching one hand, crawled out from under the bed and looked at Jin Saeyang. Baekdo's hand, which she held, was dripping with blood, a result of being attacked by a hunter before Jin Saeyang could assist.
'That's… going to leave a scar.'
It seemed right to worry about others rather than oneself when dying. For Jin Saeyang, who had few companions, Hwangdo and Baekdo were like her real family.
Hwangdo, despite the age difference, shared deep hobbies enough to be called a close friend. She also got along well with the mischievous Baekdo.
"Sob, uuuuaaah… sniff."
Maybe saving these kids and dying was a kind of blessing?
It had been a long time since she lost her parents. She drifted apart from her friends, partly because she wasn't proactive, but that's secondary.
She once told Hwangdo that no one would cry or mourn at her funeral.
'There was one person.'
Was her life not entirely in vain?
Jin Saeyang smiled bitterly. Her eyelids felt heavy.
"Hwangdo… get up."
"Sob, sniff, sob."
Crying with a face like a doll, wow, she's still pretty. Truly the chosen one. She had no profound words to impart, no wisdom that could be engraved in the hearts of these kids growing up.
Just this one statement should be enough.
"…Find a good man. Both of you."
-Bang!
The voices of men bursting into the house. She wanted to help but her body wouldn't move anymore.
Jin Saeyang tilted her head to look at Hwangdo and Baekdo. Hwangdo was still crying, always the crybaby until the end. Baekdo, ever vigilant, picked up a dagger from the floor as if to protect Hwangdo at all costs.
"Don't die."
Just as Jin Saeyang was about to close her eyes, the neck of the approaching hunter was severed.
"…Cough."
Looking at the blood-soaked man who appeared in the corridor, Jin Saeyang smiled. She had wished he had come a bit earlier, but now she just wanted to rest. The Young Demon… Hwangdo's brother, wasn't he?
Seeing him in that state, he must have fought desperately to protect Dowon. A perfect match for their Hwangdo. Remember, if he made her cry, she'd have to come back to life and he would have to deal with her.
She wanted to say that, but her voice wouldn't come out anymore.
"…Can't speak."
Jin Saeyang took one last look at his face and let her consciousness fade.
Suddenly, she remembered the song she used to sing with Hwangdo.
"Pinky promise, lock it tight. You promised not to tell anyone I showed you this, right?"
"Then, sister~ Can I look at it now? Seriously!"
To think her life would flash before her eyes like this. Even a child would laugh.
"Snicker."
"...."
Jin Saeyang's eyelids turned cold and stiff.
The approaching man gently closed them.