Back Of The Head

Boom!!!

A massive impact sound reverberated.
Moon Ha-yeon flew like a kite with its string cut, unable to even resist.

She slammed into the wall and bled from her eyes, nose, and mouth.
The blood was blackened, dead.
It was undoubtedly blood spilled from internal injuries caused by her organs being thoroughly battered.

“Huu…!”

Moon Bora relaxed her stance, still with her fists clenched.
For a moment, a dissonance rang in her head and her cochlea rang with a sharp sensation.

Moon Bora staggered.
It was fine to exploit a gap using an unfamiliar martial art,
But Moon Bora herself was hardly in good condition, even by words alone.

She had raised her rank at once with the cheating power called <Shared>, but ultimately that strength was not one she had built up herself.
That much burden was inevitable.

On top of that, the opponent was her only remaining blood relative and biological older sister, Moon Ha-yeon.

Whatever her purpose or intent, she was the benefactor who had saved her life from the burning mansion.

No matter how prepared she was, she could not be free of psychological shock.

Decisively…

Moon Bora’s heart was not cruel enough to endure such a tragedy.

“…”

But she could not let herself sound weak.
She had to end it here.
Even if she spent her life tormented by the guilt of killing family,
Even if she woke each day sweating from nightmare-like dreams.

‘I have to kill my sister here.’

No longer could she allow a sister who shared her blood,
To go on killing other innocent people.

The hatred and resentment inside her sister would not stop simply because it was locked away.

It would certainly become a blaze that covered the world,
Making countless people cry tears of blood.

This was also the new hope that had formed in Moon Bora, a bond now more precious than family.

‘Ma Hana, Ju Na-young…’

And Yu Seha.
The man she loved.
She would become the future crisis that threatened them.
She had to remove her now, in this place.

Moon Bora brought together her split, blood-dripping hands.
The [Essence of Unification] rising behind her swirled into a stronger purple, supplying the special energy called ‘harmony’.
In accordance, the technique that emerged was her most confident move, Moon Bora’s signature skill.

“[Icicle]!!!”

Moon Ha-yeon stared at the approaching flower of ice.
A flower of cold filled with murderous intent, flying at her with no leniency for being her sister.

She tried somehow to get up, but could not.
Not only the damage to her body, but also…

‘Fuck, what the…!?’

Crucially, her magical energy was not functioning properly.
Beyond mere injury, it felt like something inside her body was separating.

Moon Ha-yeon hastily examined herself.
She realized her output was falling exponentially.
The mana inside her would not listen and convulsed in all directions.
This was not a change that could occur simply from having her mana circuits struck earlier.

Soon, a hypothesis flashed through her mind.

‘No way?’

Like herself who had awakened [All Things],
Moon Bora too had obtained something unique to the Moon family, and acquired an ability?!

It was a plausible possibility.
After all, the opponent was her biological younger sister who shared the same blood.

Moon Ha-yeon stared down the approaching [Icicle].
With a shout, she forced together gathered mana to cast a ritual.

Bang!
The [Icicle] was barely blocked.

As expected, Moon Bora showed no sign of stopping with just that.
As she prepared to cast again,
Moon Ha-yeon, bracing for internal injuries, was about to prepare for the next strike when—

“…?”
“…!?”

They both stopped their magic without either being first to do so.
They turned their heads to the window.

Beyond the transparent glass, the sound of wings flapping was heard.

What could be seen was…
A beauty wearing scales like a pitch-black dragon.
Strange, grotesque wings fluttered behind her.

Moon Bora was bewildered, not knowing who it was.

Meanwhile, Moon Ha-yeon knew perfectly well who the opponent was.

‘Why, why… is that bitch here?’

A suddenly appearing presence, gloomily spying on the sisters’ fight.

She was Ju Yuri.

She had betrayed Dragon Sword Mir,
And defected to Tartarus as an officer.

Moon Ha-yeon blinked in perplexity.
In less than a second,
Her mind ground fiercely.

‘…What.’

Why?
Huh?
Why…?

Ju Yuri was originally not scheduled to participate in this raid at all.
The reason was that she had just become an officer and was to be deployed later after gaining more experience.

Of course, she had noticed that Tang Seo-ran had left her aside to do some maneuvering, but she didn’t care.

Whether that bitch died or not, was none of her concern.

In any case, the situation with the Sword Ghost was different.
The Sword Ghost was an extreme my‑pace character who wouldn’t even listen to Tang Seo-ran.

A one-sided force that even Tang Seo-ran couldn’t control.
So she said she’d come on her own,
And indeed she came on her own.

But Ju Yuri was clearly excluded from this raid.
A third party who should not be present here.

And…
The one who had clearly said it would turn out that way was, none other than…
The clan master, Tang Seo-ran…!?

“…!!!”

When Moon Ha-yeon thought that far,
She felt her heart tighten.
No way, no way, no way!?

‘From the start, in this operation, me…’

Did they intend to kill me?
Tang Seo-ran?!

Moon Ha-yeon couldn’t hold back her horror at the worst possibility,
And as if proving it, Ju Yuri opened her mouth.

A black substance compressed and coagulated in an instant.
It was magic energy of extremely high purity.
A power that could be used only because she’d fallen into a demonic state.

At the same time, it was the dragon’s power Ju Yuri had long desired: <Breath>.

“Draaaagon Breaaaaath!!!”

Ju Yuri fired the magic-formed Breath without hesitation.
And not at Moon Bora, who might superficially be called an enemy, but at their comrade Moon Ha-yeon.

Thud.
A massive chunk of stone fell,
And the area shook as if an earthquake had struck.

“Krrrrk…”

Moon Ha-yeon barely lifted her eyelids.
She seemed to have been unconscious for a moment.
She could see the Demon King’s Temple literally smashed to pieces.

And some distance away,
Moon Bora lay unconscious, enveloped by the Breath.

“…Tsk.”

Moon Ha-yeon tore her gaze away from her sister.
She had no luxury to finish her off and kill her now.

The most dangerous thing was herself.
Ju Yuri, that damn whore, had clearly aimed at her.

The power of the <Breath> was stronger than imagined and would sweep everyone up.
That bitch’s goal was clearly her.

‘First, get away somehow…’

To buy even a little time to recover mana…

Clack.

“…Huh?”

Moon Ha-yeon was bewildered.
Something was wrong.
Should she say her body wouldn’t obey?
No, more than that…

‘It feels like I’ve lost all sensation?’

Moon Ha-yeon looked down.
She let out an empty breath as if hollowed out by the tragedy that unfolded.

Her legs had been cleanly cut off from the knees down,
Disappearing as if evaporated.

The crackling sound and distinctive mana.
It was undoubtedly the mark of being hit by the Breath and annihilated.

With Tang Seo-ran’s coercive assistance,
Ju Yuri, who had unleashed the Breath, had the attribute <Annihilation>.

Upon contact, it had a powerful additional effect that ignored defenses and wiped the target cleanly away.
As a grim option, its power was undeniable.

“…Fuck.”

Moon Ha-yeon was shaken to the core.
No matter how cruel and ruthless a villain she had been, she was still human.

What person could not be shocked when a body part was gone entirely?

Especially if, at a glance, it was a fatal injury that couldn’t be healed by ordinary means, and moreover if it was the part responsible for mobility, which she needed most now, it hit even harder.

Moon Ha-yeon bit her lip.
Until it bled.
She clenched her fists.
Until they bled.

Using her only intact arms, she crawled along the ground.
Like a worm.
Like in her childhood when she struggled to survive.
She crawled and crawled.

‘Fuck, fuck!!!’

Moon Ha-yeon cursed inwardly.
For fear of being overheard, she didn’t let any words escape her mouth.

‘I won’t die like this in a place like this…!’

To be so hollowly struck from behind,
I did not struggle so hard to live just to die.
I didn’t walk a blood-soaked path for this!

‘This ending…! I can’t accept—’

Crunch!

“Gahk!”

At that moment, she felt a pain as if her waist were being crushed.
Moon Ha-yeon lifted her head.

Ju Yuri,
Having activated [Dragon Form],
And with the demonic eyes characteristic of a fiend,
she was looking down, her foot pressing on Moon Ha-yeon’s waist.

Moon Ha-yeon ground her teeth, about to say something.
But…
She quickly realized Ju Yuri’s state was abnormal.

“…What?”
“…”

There was no light in her pupils.
And drool dripped from her parted mouth…
She was definitely not in a normal state.

Thanks to that, Moon Ha-yeon realized Tang Seo-ran had done something.
Probably something using his specialty—poison, or some other trick.
Moon Ha-yeon said with clear mockery.

“You dumb bitch…I told you so?”

You barged in without knowing your place.
You grabbed a rotten lifeline without realizing it.

“A worthless bitch who comes in unable to curb her greed even though it’s obvious you’ll just be used and die like an idiot… If it were me, I would’ve licked my cousin’s feet to get a chance.”
“…”
“I’m different from you, I will never be used…! Never, never! I’m the one who uses others!”

Moon Ha-yeon screamed and poured out curses.
Regardless, Ju Yuri slowly bent her waist.

She put her hand on Moon Ha-yeon’s torso and tore at her breast with her hands.
Naked flesh was soon exposed.
She confirmed the Soul Stone embedded in the center of her chest.

Moon Ha-yeon had placed it in her own body, not the temple center, to strike Tang Seo-ran from behind,
An item embedded in her body instead of the temple’s center.
Ju Yuri ripped it out with unbelievable monstrous strength.

“Grrrgggh!”
“…”

The pain of skin and flesh being torn away.

With even the Soul Stone stolen, Moon Ha-yeon gasped for breath.
A torrent of blood ran down her cleavage.

For a moment, Ju Yuri’s grip on her legs loosened.
A gap revealed because she had completed her orders.
The complacency of a meat puppet with no true self.

Moon Ha-yeon arched her body and crawled again.
She struggled like a worm to live once more.

‘I can’t die!’

I can’t die.
I can’t!
I haven’t accomplished anything yet!

Moon Ha-yeon still remembered clearly.
Their inhuman smiles,
Her mother and father injecting an unknown liquid into her body.

They took photos of her foaming at the mouth and writhing in pain,
And the two demons using those for experimental records.

She killed them and escaped to the slums.
Adults who preyed on a newly twelve-year-old, taking no care in selection.

The scene of children her age being mercilessly exploited and killed without legal protection.

A garbage dump piled high with corpses.
The harsh years she had lived in silence there.

Surviving, trampling others down,
Moon Ha-yeon, who rose up, made a vow.

To the hunters who spat glossy words and thought themselves righteous beneath a glittering city, she would show what a proper world truly was.

‘I’ll be free.’

She would make a world with no one bound to another.
Even if countless rivers of blood flowed.
She would create a world without hypocrisy.

As those desires clashed,
after the whole world burned.

A world left only in ashes.
And those who survived all those tragedies.

Only then would they be able to understand each other.
At that time, she would be willing to die.
To die miserably in a neatly cleansed world was acceptable.
Moon Ha-yeon was not without conscience to the extent of wanting to commit such acts and survive.

‘But!’

Not now.
Not now.

Fortunately, she had stored enough ritual in the Soul Stone.
Even if it fell into Tang Seo-ran’s hands, it wouldn’t matter much.
She could take it back later.

‘I must survive no matter what!’

If she could just live,
If she could somehow escape and recover,
Another chance…
A chance…!!!

Crunch!

But then,
Pain flared on the back of her right hand.

Looking up at the shoe planted there,
Moon Ha-yeon raised her head.

She saw a girl with bleach-white hair.
Of course, that was only the shell.

What could be seen inside her was the accumulated evil of many years lived.

No doubt about it.
She was the clan master of Tartarus,
And the very one who had put Moon Ha-yeon in this state.

“…Tang Seo-ran! You fucking bitch!!!”
“Oh, long time no see.”

Tang Seo-ran smiled as if pleased by Moon Ha-yeon’s curses.
She lowered her head and murmured.

“Ha-yeon, Ha-yeon… huh? Do I look that stupid?”

You were planning to stab me in the back,
continuously preparing for it…

“Did you really think I wouldn’t know?”
“…You fucking bitch!”