Chapter 239

EP.239 The Final Collapse

“Are you ready?”

Sehwa’s question in front of Yuria’s room.

The doctor took a deep breath and nodded.

“Ready.”

Though she said that, she was still nervous.

The truth she had accidentally discovered was that shocking.

Even as her mind shattered and reassembled, she was amazed she could maintain some semblance of reason.

As the doctor clung to her sanity, Sehwa’s serious words reached her.

“I told Yuria not to touch you, so don’t worry.”

Meaning she had given the order…

So, is Yuria of a lower rank than Sehwa?

She was definitely a demon, but it seemed like everything needed to be heard directly to be satisfying.

“….You’re not coming in?”

“I’ll come in, but I’ll just observe until the conversation is over. Ask Yuria directly if you’re curious about her.”

“Will Yuria tell me the truth?”

“She definitely will. If Yuria lies, I’ll correct her. Is that okay?”

Sehwa’s words were trustworthy. Then there was no problem.

The doctor, having finished her preparations, nodded once.

Sehwa then entered the password and opened the door.

At the gesture to enter first, the doctor cautiously stepped into the room.

Inside, it felt like a hospital room with white walls on all sides, just like before.

On the bed, Yuria sat cross-legged, looking at the doctor with a haughty expression.

The atmosphere was on a completely different level from when she was tied up.

The air was so cold it felt like her lungs were freezing with every breath.

‘Were Yuria’s eyes always this sharp…?’

Maybe it felt that way because of the current situation and the realization that Yuria was on the enemy’s side.

The doctor, intimidated, unconsciously took a step back.

After a brief silence, Yuria asked.

“Since when…?”

At those words, Yuria’s cheeks rose.

She snorted and answered.

“Since when have I changed? A long time ago. Long before you called me in Lyon, I was already my master’s servant.”

The doctor staggered, holding her forehead.

Did Yuria just call Tairat her master? The enemy of her parents?

And she lowered herself to call herself a servant?

What kind of being is Tairat? How did he corrupt Yuria like this?

Leaning against the wall to steady herself, the doctor bit her lower lip.

“You had a clear purpose… You were determined to kill Tairat. You had to avenge your parents, your fiancé, and the kingdom…”

“Revenge? No. I hated that my so-called father refused my master’s mercy. Even though he was offered to rule the kingdom, he became addicted to power and drove not only the people, knights, and soldiers but even my mother to their deaths.”

Yuria’s kingdom was suddenly invaded.

So Yuria came to Earth through a portal created by mages to take revenge on Tairat and prevent further innocent casualties.

But for the victim to justify the aggressor…

Calling him ‘master’ earlier, Yuria had fallen further than imagined.

“Yuria… your reincarnated father…? What about Kim Taegon on Earth now…?”

Yuria let out a scoff.

A clear sneer. The doctor, with goosebumps rising on her back, widened her eyes.

“Doctor, let’s stop the unnecessary melodrama, shall we? And do you really believe reincarnation exists? Before being taken in by my master, I firmly believed it, but I thought you weren’t that naive…”

“What…?”

Kim Taegon was definitely a real person.

She had personally checked the information and even verified the business connection with Jihyuk.

She had even seen his face. Kim Taegon was a dignified middle-aged man who looked good in a suit and fedora.

Yet Yuria treated Kim Taegon as if he never existed…

‘Was Kim Taegon a fabricated person…?’

A deliberately crafted existence to approach Yuria under the guise of reincarnation.

No, it must be more complicated than that.

The closest person to Yuria was the reincarnated Kim Taegon.

He had stayed close to Yuria, clearly shaking her values.

And there was only one person who could break Yuria’s steadfast spirit.

“W-wait… is Kim Taegon Tairat in disguise…?”

At the doctor’s mutter, Yuria raised one corner of her mouth.

“You deduced well.”

Yuria directly confirmed the hypothesis.

The doctor, almost collapsing, staggered while thinking of Jihyuk.

It seemed Jihyuk’s recent strange behavior was also because of Kim Taegon.

He was Jihyuk’s business partner, so they spent a lot of time together.

It was clear he had sweet-talked Jihyuk into it.

As the doctor struggled to process her thoughts, Yuria spoke.

“Doctor, shall I give you some advice?”

“….?”

“Don’t try to think and draw conclusions on your own. It’s hard to handle when what you believed in crumbles. Just ask me. I said I’d answer, didn’t I?”

What I believed in crumbles? It was hard to understand.

But she understood the advice not to indulge in delusions.

Indeed… it was better to ask Yuria and hear the answer, so the doctor, drenched in cold sweat, nodded.

“….Okay.”

“Next question?”

“Do you… have a true form like Sehwa?”

At that, Yuria jumped off the bed and stood directly in front of the doctor.

Then, with a wicked smile, she focused her power.

Soon,

Whoosh-!

A fierce energy rose from Yuria’s feet, beginning to transform her entire body.

Just like Sehwa, a demon gate appeared on her lower abdomen, her nails grew sharp, her lips turned deep red, her irises turned purple, her pupils split vertically…

It was a violent transformation, intense enough to feel aggressive.

Completely different from Sehwa’s gentle transformation.

Though she transformed in a similar manner to Sehwa, there was one difference.

Her hair.

Unlike Sehwa’s light purple hair, Yuria’s hair was as dark as the abyss.

Like her current heart.

‘Scary…’

Unlike Sehwa, she was truly terrifying.

It felt like she could pierce through enemies’ heads without blinking.

Trembling as she watched Yuria’s true form, the doctor, feeling a familiar sensation from the dark energy Yuria emitted, opened her eyes wide.

It was the same feeling as with Sehwa. What is this?

Even in her dazed state, the doctor tried her best to focus and grasp the energy.

But as Yuria immediately reverted her transformation, the energy disappeared, making it impossible.

“That’s enough for now. Any more questions?”

It was a shame, but there was no choice. Yuria held hostility, not goodwill, towards her.

Even if she asked Yuria to stay transformed, she wouldn’t comply.

Suppressing her fear, the doctor asked what she truly wanted to know.

“Why did you play with me…? If you planned to bring me here, you could have kidnapped me from Lyon. Why follow me around and help me? To see how much I could figure out?”

“You’re quite sharp. Because of your meddling, my master was really troubled. Even after coming here, you kept trying to escape? So the plan kept getting disrupted.”

“Plan disrupted…?”

“Originally, the plan was to keep acting to drive your mind into a pit. But well… it doesn’t matter now. The process to accept the demonic energy has progressed enough.”

At the terrifying words, the doctor’s body trembled.

“Demonic energy…? Process…?”

“How did you discover me?”

The circumstances… She had been trying to contact Jihyuk when she heard faint footsteps and hid.

She shouldn’t have heard that sound at all.

She had thought it strange at the time, but judging by Yuria’s question…

“Am I… changing now?”

“Correct. I believe you know the reason well.”

Blood… Sehwa’s blood was changing her, and it seemed her senses had become more sensitive because of it.

Moreover, judging by the mention of demonic energy, Sehwa’s blood seemed to contain the unique demonic energy of demons.

So, had she gained new power?

As the doctor tried to sort out her tangled thoughts, Yuria’s next words startled her.

“If you had kept the incident in Lyon to yourself, you would be living a very comfortable life right now. But because you kept chasing after us, we had no choice but to make you my master’s retainer.”

“Retainer…? Me, Tairat’s…?”

“The rest, ask Sehwa. My role ends here.”

With that, Yuria waved her hand in the air.

Then, the demon portal she had loathed appeared before her eyes, opened its maw, and swallowed Yuria before disappearing.

Stunned by the unbelievable sight, the doctor stood gaping before snapping back to reality.

There was something more important now.

The fact that she was becoming Tairat’s retainer… She needed to find out about this urgently.

“Sehwa…!”

With an angry expression, the doctor approached Sehwa and asked.

“Is what Yuria said true? The reason you gave me your blood… was to make me Tairat’s retainer…?”

“Doctor. Calm down first.”

“Explain to me…! I need to hear the explanation to calm down…!”

“….Alright. Yuria only told the truth.”

“Ugh…!”

“But I have no intention of forcing anything on you. The choice is entirely yours. Think about what I said before.”

What she said before…?

Ah, she remembered Sehwa saying that if she wanted to become family, she could say so anytime.

Sehwa’s family meant demons.

And Sehwa had left this choice to her.

The betrayal that had consumed her entire body faded significantly, and tears streamed from the doctor’s eyes.

“Then… I won’t be forced to change…? Right…?”

“Yes. Of course.”

“Ugh…!”

The old her would never have believed Sehwa’s words.

But with the blood fully infused and her heart tamed by Sehwa, the doctor saw her as someone to rely on.

Did Sehwa notice the doctor’s feelings?

Sehwa slowly approached and hugged the doctor.

“We love you so much, Doctor. So don’t worry too much. I’ll leave everything to you.”

The doctor nodded hurriedly, but she was curious about the use of ‘we’ again.

As she hugged Sehwa for a long time, about to ask about it,

Whoosh…!

A dark energy seeped into the room from somewhere and began to swirl around the doctor.

Noticing this, the doctor stepped away from Sehwa and examined the energy closely.

Then she flinched.

The familiar feeling she had when seeing Sehwa and Yuria’s true forms was emanating from the dark energy.

No, it was much stronger. It felt like a connection between souls.

If this feeling were divided into high, medium, and low, Yuria’s energy was low, Sehwa’s was medium, and now this dark energy was high.

The doctor, stepping away from Sehwa, pointed at the energy and asked.

“Can you… see this too…?”

“I can.”

“There’s something I need to check… Is that okay?”

“Of course. But… before you go, there’s one thing you should know. That energy is your true sanctuary. Just remember that. Okay?”

“True sanctuary…?”

“Yes. Keep that in mind.”

That energy is her true sanctuary.

Imprinting Sehwa’s words deep in her mind, the doctor nodded and left the room.

The dark energy led to the end of the corridor.

And at the end was her room.

Thump!

Her heart raced again.

It wasn’t the unpleasant feeling she had before facing the shocking truth.

This was longing.

A longing for something she felt attached to…

The doctor’s steps quickened.

At first slow, then at a jogging pace, and by the time she passed a third of the corridor, she was running like an athlete.

Soon, she arrived at her room, calmed her ragged breath several times, and grabbed the doorknob.

Then she opened the door.

Click!

As soon as she carefully opened the door, she saw the room filled with black smoke, as if there had been a fire.

In the midst of the relatively faint smoke, a figure stood.

Though not clearly visible, it seemed like a tall, well-built… male figure.

“…..”

It must be Tairat. No one else could emit such energy.

But why did she feel longing for Tairat? Because of Sehwa’s blood?

Sehwa and Yuria had said they infused her with blood to make her his retainer, so it must be true.

‘Just stay sharp…! Don’t be bewitched!’

In a short time, she reminded herself hundreds of times, and as she pushed through the smoke, she slowly moved forward.

The closer she got to the figure, the more her heart raced.

Tairat, whom she had been searching for but could never find.

Finally, she could uncover his identity.

‘I can’t see…’

Even though she was almost within reach, Tairat was still shrouded in smoke, indistinct.

She could tell he had short hair and a muscular build… but she wanted to see his face quickly.

As the doctor’s curiosity and anxiety peaked, the smoke covering Tairat completely cleared.

And… seeing his appearance, the doctor’s eyes widened, and her body froze.

Again. Another person who shouldn’t be here was standing right there.

And it was the person she loved and missed the most.

“Hello, noona.”

And the moment she heard the voice she had missed so much,

“Ah…!”

The doctor completely lost consciousness.

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