After falling to the ground, Baek Ye-a put away the sword that had emerged from her split leg and rushed toward Lee Hui-hyeon.

"Here I come?"

As Baek Ye-a shouted with the innocent playfulness of a child, Lee Hui-hyeon gritted his teeth and withstood her attack.

"Hui-hyeon, didn't I say I was a prisoner? You shouldn't be pushed back by a prisoner, right?"

After deflecting Baek Ye-a's sword, Lee Hui-hyeon immediately readjusted his grip, stabbed her body multiple times, and cut off one of her arms. But Baek Ye-a merely glanced at her severed arm, smiled, and regenerated it.

Lee Hui-hyeon was unconsciously going easy on Baek Ye-a.

If she hadn't been wearing Baek Ye-a's appearance, he would have ended the fight long ago.

But seeing her in Baek Ye-a's form stirred nostalgia in him, and he couldn't bring himself to fight at full strength.

He should have killed her earlier.

If he had just cut off her head when he first sensed something was wrong, as he normally would have, he wouldn't have been emotionally shaken by seeing that familiar face after so long.

Noticing Lee Hui-hyeon's mental turmoil, Baek Ye-a smiled at him and said, "You still love me even like this, don't you, Hui-hyeon?"

Lee Hui-hyeon didn't respond and just glared at her. Then, commotion began to sound from the surroundings.

"Over there! The sound came from that direction!"

"There's someone collapsed here!"

Exorcists who had gathered after sensing something strange—hearing the ground shake from Baek Ye-a's use of power and Lee Hui-hyeon's slashes—stopped in their tracks when they saw Baek Ye-a.

"Who is that woman...?"

"Isn't that Baek Ye-a who attended the council meeting last time?"

The exorcists froze, unable to grasp the situation.

Annoyed at having her time with Lee Hui-hyeon interrupted, Baek Ye-a glared at the exorcists and muttered, "Sigh, I just want to spend time with Hui-hyeon, but why do these insects keep swarming around?"

Chanting a spell under her breath, Baek Ye-a stretched her hand toward the exorcists. Countless strings appeared, binding and snatching them.

Before they could respond to the sudden attack, Baek Ye-a suspended the bound exorcists in mid-air and then sliced through them all at once.

"Huh?"

With shocked expressions, the exorcists' bodies were cut in half and fell to the ground.

The ominous sound of something spilling onto the floor due to gravity vividly wrapped around Lee Hui-hyeon's ears.

"Exorcists' internal organs aren't much different from ordinary humans," Baek Ye-a remarked briefly, then turned to Lee Hui-hyeon standing before her.

"I actually knew that already."

"You..."

Seeing Lee Hui-hyeon at a loss for words, Baek Ye-a smiled and said, "What's wrong, Hui-hyeon? You're acting like I've done something terrible."

"Even so, how could you... people who had nothing to do with this..."

"Sigh, Hui-hyeon. Let's be honest. You've killed countless people too, haven't you? Whether in this life or your previous one."

"..."

Lee Hui-hyeon couldn't say anything in response to Baek Ye-a's words.

Because it was true—he had done exactly that.

He had committed murder without hesitation when necessary.

"I just did what was necessary, like you. The fun part came after. See? No difference, right?"

"I never killed people for fun."

"Right, you killed when necessary."

"More importantly, how do you know these things?"

At Lee Hui-hyeon's question, Baek Ye-a looked elsewhere and said, "Well, why don't you hear about it with another me who's about to arrive?"

Following Baek Ye-a's gaze, Lee Hui-hyeon looked in the direction she was facing.

"Hui-hyeon..."

Standing there was Baek Ye-a.

<>

I had a dream.

A dream with Hui-hyeon.

The scene was so peaceful and gentle that I unconsciously realized it was a dream.

"Hui-hyeon, try this. It's supposed to be good for you."

Hui-hyeon's hair had turned so white that no trace of black remained.

"Didn't you bring too much? What if there's leftovers?"

"Then there's leftovers. That's not for you to worry about. Now, open wide."

I smiled as I stuffed food into Hui-hyeon's mouth.

Hui-hyeon, forced to eat, began to cough.

"Cough! Cough!"

"Did I put in too much? Hui-hyeon, are you okay?"

"Cough... Yes, I'm fine. But I'll eat with my own mouth from now on."

It was truly a wonderful day.

People were regaining their vitality, and everything was being rebuilt.

No longer having to fear the clutches of monsters had restored people's peace of mind.

"I wish every day could be like today. Don't you, Hui-hyeon?"

"...Yes. It would be wonderful if every day could be like today."

Hui-hyeon gave me a gentle smile.

And the next moment, Hui-hyeon was lying down.

A dying Hui-hyeon, and me watching him with tears in my eyes.

Hui-hyeon firmly grasped my hand and said, "Ye-a, I'm so sorry... for not being able to stay with you until the end..."

Hui-hyeon spoke with difficulty, pausing between words.

"Please, promise me you'll live happily even without me...?"

"Stop saying strange things and think about getting up. It doesn't make sense for an Exorcist to die like this. You're just temporarily weakened."

Even though I already sensed that Hui-hyeon's death was imminent, I kept denying it.

There's no way Hui-hyeon could die. How could someone as strong and excellent as Hui-hyeon be dying?

"I can't... see anything anymore... Ye-a, are you still there?"

"Hui-hyeon, Hui-hyeon, Hui-hyeon. I'm right here."

"Stay by my side."

"Of course. Where would I go without you?"

Hearing my words, Hui-hyeon's expression became more peaceful.

"...That's good. Can you hold my hand?"

I took Hui-hyeon's hand.

It was a rough hand with many calluses.

Hui-hyeon squeezed my hand with his last strength and said, "I no longer fear the things I couldn't do. I've already completed everything I was born to do. If I have one lingering attachment... it's you."

Hui-hyeon brought my hand to his face and rubbed it.

"I'm so glad it's you who's with me at the end."

With those final words, Hui-hyeon exhaled deeply.

"...Hui-hyeon?"

I shook Hui-hyeon's body.

"Hui-hyeon, please wake up. Please don't do this to me. Hui-hyeon? Hui-hyeon?"

My vision gradually blurred, and tears began to fall from my eyes drop by drop.

"Hui-hyeon, please. Please don't do this and open your eyes. We were going to have a child together. Are you breaking your promise? Hui-hyeon, please. Please..."

Sometime later, I buried Hui-hyeon alongside our children.

After that, I always visited Hui-hyeon's grave.

I would sit by the grave and tell him about the day's events.

I didn't think I was talking to myself.

Hui-hyeon was always by my side.

I just came to the grave to talk so he could hear better.

Some people whispered that I must be crazy, but I didn't care.

People in reality pray and talk to things that don't even exist, so why couldn't I? Especially since Hui-hyeon was real.

Days passed, one after another.

Time flowed on and on.

And I made a decision.

To go find Hui-hyeon myself.

"Hui-hyeon. I'm so happy thinking about seeing you again."

All dressed up to see Hui-hyeon again, I smiled toward him.

Hui-hyeon was smiling back at me.

As if urging me to come to him.

So I took a knife and plunged it into my neck, believing I would soon be by Hui-hyeon's side.

Aren't you curious about what happens next, Baek Ye-a?

"...Huh?"

When I came to my senses, I was somehow separated from my body.

I was definitely at the grave just moments ago.

Looking ahead, I saw another me standing there.

"You..."

"Come to where I tell you. Then you'll find the answers."

The other me smiled and told me.

"Wait a moment...!"

When I woke from the dream, my body was soaked with sweat.

The dream was too vivid and ominous to be just a simple dream.

Was that dream... something from the past shown to me by another me?

I quickly got dressed and rushed to the place the other me had shown me.

And there was Hui-hyeon, facing off against another me who was talking about the murders Hui-hyeon had supposedly committed...

"The star of today has arrived."

The other me smiled and said to me.

"Hui-hyeon, do you know why I disguised myself as Hwayun?"

Hui-hyeon looked at me with surprised eyes for a moment before turning his gaze back to the other me.

"It was actually for this moment. I got caught in the middle because of a slip of the tongue... but I wanted to do it in front of Hui-hyeon.

Before Hui-hyeon, who seemed to have realized something, could swing his sword, the other me said:

"I've stalled for time quite well, haven't I?"

The other me, who had been smiling leisurely, suddenly began rushing toward me.