After absorbing the Unkillable, Baek Ye-a had no enemies.

Sensing Lee Hui-hyeon approaching, Baek Ye-a opened her closed eyes and looked at him.

"Ah, Hui-hyeon. You came. I knew you would."

With a languid smile, Baek Ye-a stood up and approached Lee Hui-hyeon.

"You even knew where to find me. Clearly, you and I are destined for each other. Don't you think so too?"

Baek Ye-a's body had somehow taken on the form of a mature woman.

This was the result of the stolen and absorbed power of the Unkillable combining with Baek Ye-a's body.

"Hui-hyeon. Nothing can stand in our way now. It's just us. Aren't you happy?"

Despite Baek Ye-a's words, Lee Hui-hyeon showed no reaction and simply said:

"I've come to get Ye-a back, Unkillable."

Hearing Lee Hui-hyeon's words, Baek Ye-a no longer looked hurt.

Now Baek Ye-a knew that his words were just a tantrum.

Surely it stemmed from resentment toward Baek Ye-a for not being able to stay with him.

So Baek Ye-a smiled and said to Lee Hui-hyeon:

"That again? I am Baek Ye-a, I tell you. Look, this body is mine now. There's no other 'me' anymore."

Baek Ye-a caressed her body as she spoke.

"I can give you everything. This body, the world I'll create with this power—all of it for you, Hui-hyeon."

Baek Ye-a showed several openings, but Lee Hui-hyeon couldn't bring himself to attack rashly.

As Baek Ye-a said, her current body belonged to the Baek Ye-a that Lee Hui-hyeon loved.

So if there was any chance Baek Ye-a was still alive, he couldn't carelessly attack or hurt her.

Even though injuries would heal instantly, Lee Hui-hyeon couldn't bear to hurt Baek Ye-a.

To him, Baek Ye-a was the most precious person.

So to shake off his final hesitation, Lee Hui-hyeon said to Baek Ye-a:

"Let me ask you one thing."

"You can ask me anything, Hui-hyeon."

"Ye-a... Is the Ye-a I knew really gone?"

At Lee Hui-hyeon's question, Baek Ye-a put on an expression as if she had to deliver sad news.

"I'm sorry, Hui-hyeon. I know you must have grown attached to your pet."

"Just answer me. Is Ye-a really gone?"

To Lee Hui-hyeon's question, Baek Ye-a nodded and said:

"Yes, I killed and absorbed her. That stupid, immature Ye-a you knew is no longer in this world."

"I see. That's all I needed to know."

With those final words, Lee Hui-hyeon sliced through Baek Ye-a's neck.

<>

Life with Hui-hyeon and my daughter Ye-ji was incredibly happy.

Cooking meals with Hui-hyeon, feeding Ye-ji her baby food, going on picnics nearby when we got bored—an ordinary but gentle daily life together.

It was the life I had always wished for.

"..."

But somewhere in my heart, I always felt an inexplicable sense of discomfort.

A strange feeling that maybe I shouldn't be here.

"That's because Ye-a has been through so much."

"Been through so much?"

Hui-hyeon said while feeding Ye-ji her baby food.

"Yes, you've experienced all sorts of things most Exorcists never go through. So you've suffered a kind of psychological trauma. That's why you feel uncomfortable even in this normal life."

"Is that so? You really are smart, honey."

"I just happen to know random bits of information."

"Daddy smart?"

"Yes, Ye-ji. Your daddy is the smartest person in the world."

"Daddy amazing!"

Ye-ji said as she threw her arms around Hui-hyeon.

Hui-hyeon responded with slight embarrassment:

"Aren't you praising me too much?"

"We should praise what deserves praise. That's how children learn."

"Is that really something to learn from?"

"Of course it is!"

"Right! Right!"

Ye-ji had already grown enough to speak.

Perhaps taking after Hui-hyeon rather than me, Ye-ji learned and adapted quickly.

Every time I looked at Ye-ji, I felt relieved thinking she wouldn't have to go through what I did.

If the parents are the generation of war, the child is the generation of peace.

That miraculous product was in our arms.

"I'm going to head into town for a bit."

"Going shopping? I'll come with you."

"No, honey, just rest at home. I'll be back soon."

After saying that to Hui-hyeon, I headed to town to do some shopping.

How long had I been walking?

Someone with their face wrapped in cloth stood by the roadside, leaning on an old sword.

I tried to pass by without paying much attention, but the person spoke:

"Are you happy?"

From the voice, I could tell it was a woman.

"Pardon?"

"Are you happy right now?"

"...Yes, I am. But who are you?"

Instead of answering my question, the woman blocked my path and said:

"You shouldn't be here like this, 'Enlightened One.' This is false happiness. The task at hand is still not finished."

"'Enlightened One'...?"

"You must wake up. Your other half is in danger right now."

Despite my confused questioning, the woman continued saying it wasn't over yet, and she raised her gaze to look at me through the gap in her cloth.

"You must wake up, 'Enlightened One.' You must wake up now."

They were black eyes with red rims, just like Hui-hyeon's.

Those "Eyes" I had seen when I tried to pass on the Path to Hui-hyeon before.

"Those eyes..."

Eventually, the cloth slipped away, revealing a woman.

A woman with jet-black hair and black eyes rimmed with red.

Yes, I had seen this woman before.

This woman was the "Destroyer," Hui-hyeon's ancestor.

Surely the strange woman I had met briefly when I was trying to pass on the Path to Hui-hyeon before.

But how did I know that?

"What do you mean I need to wake up?"

To my question, the Destroyer pointed behind her and said:

"It's simple. You need to wake up from this world. From this false happiness that binds you."

"False happiness..."

"We don't have time for more questions and answers, 'Enlightened One.' Did you have a child? If so, since when? When did you marry Lee Hui-hyeon? Do you remember all of that?"

"Well..."

That's right, when was it? When did I marry Hui-hyeon and give birth to Ye-ji?

At that moment, I felt all the memories awakening in my mind.

Right, I never had a child.

I hadn't even married Hui-hyeon yet, and even during our closest period, we weren't married.

This whole world was an imagination, or a dream.

I had been daydreaming.

Coming to my senses, I looked at the woman before me.

She was still standing there, looking at me.

"It seems you've realized everything."

"Yes, so how do you know me, and who are you?"

To my question, the Destroyer replied:

"Didn't I ask you before where you left your other half? I've been watching you since then."

As she spoke, the Destroyer had somehow moved behind me.

"I am the thought-form of the Destroyer within Lee Hui-hyeon. Right now, Lee Hui-hyeon is fighting the Unkillable and pouring crimson energy into your body without restraint. That's why I was able to intervene."

"Then the true nature of that crimson energy..."

"It's a mixture of the power I originally possessed and the thought-forms of the ancestors."

Hearing the Destroyer's words, I could understand what she meant.

So the reason Lee Hui-hyeon was stronger than the previous Destroyer was because the thought-forms of the ancestors were mixed in?

But there was something more important.

According to the Destroyer, Hui-hyeon was fighting outside right now.

I needed to hurry and get out of this place.

But...

"They are not your true connections, Enlightened One."

The Destroyer spoke as if she knew my hesitation.

"Your true connections are all outside. You must wake up now."

After briefly looking toward where Hui-hyeon and Ye-ji were, I bit the inside of my mouth and turned my head away.

Yes, the Hui-hyeon and child here aren't real.

Forcing myself to think that way, I asked the Destroyer:

"So how do I get out of here?"

"You want to leave this place?"

"Yes, I need to help Hui-hyeon quickly. Please tell me how."

Hearing my words, the Destroyer looked at me with an expression of pity and said:

"You cannot go outside. Because you have already died once."

"But didn't you tell me I needed to wake up?"

To my question, the Destroyer nodded and said:

"That's right, Baek Ye-a. Do you know this saying? 'What cannot be destroyed from the outside must be eaten away from within.' That is how you will wake up."

<>

Lee Hui-hyeon glared at Baek Ye-a with blood flowing from one ear.

The situation had now reversed.

From the moment she absorbed the Unkillable, Baek Ye-a had no equal in the Human World.

If he was going to kill her, he should have done so before she escaped, but Lee Hui-hyeon had already missed that opportunity, and thus the current outcome.

Lee Hui-hyeon could not defeat Baek Ye-a.

This was an obvious truth.

Even so, Baek Ye-a couldn't choose to go easy on Lee Hui-hyeon.

Having lost Baek Ye-a, Lee Hui-hyeon was more enraged than ever before, and thus his attacks were challenging even for the current Baek Ye-a.

As a result, wounds and injuries were gradually accumulating on Lee Hui-hyeon's body.

At this rate, Baek Ye-a might accidentally kill Lee Hui-hyeon someday.

So Baek Ye-a desperately said to Lee Hui-hyeon:

"Hui-hyeon, let's stop this fight now. I don't want to hurt you anymore."

Despite Baek Ye-a's words, Lee Hui-hyeon silently swung his sword.

The crimson energy reflected his mental state, rougher than ever before.

As he continued to use his power recklessly, Lee Hui-hyeon's body gradually began to disperse like rising smoke.

But even though Lee Hui-hyeon knew he was disappearing, he didn't care at all.

Kill. Kill the Unkillable that took Baek Ye-a.

For that, Lee Hui-hyeon didn't mind facing eternal death.

Even if it meant his own complete destruction.