"I can guess what weapon was used based on the wound on his body."
"Why… Why, Toki—!"
Yurim cried out and mourned his death.
However, for so reason, I didn't shed tears.
'Huh…?'
It was as if I had already accepted his death long ago.
Instead, it felt natural.
Why is it?
Soone close to had died—so why couldn't I shed tears?
Why did his death feel so natural?
"Your suspicion was correct—there was a traitor within the Veil. Also…"
For the past three years, I've been gathering information. I had thoroughly investigated the suspicions handed to by our informant.
"It has been confird that Jamad was removed from the position of Smiling Face, and his place has been filled by…"
Yoo Hyun closed his eyes and said.
"…a child of the Veil."
Smiling Face Jamad… Even when I was being tortured at his villa, he was clashing with the Veil.
Yoo Hyun had dealt a fatal blow to him, forcing him into seclusion. Now, I had heard that soone had taken his place.
There was sothing I had heard from Yurim before.
- I'm not the only one who learned from Master. There was another child my age.
The so-called child of the Veil.
In the past, the Faces had kidnapped a child the Veil was raising alongside Yurim.
I heard that the child had even greater talent than her.
Perhaps, because of that, they didn't kill him but made him one of them.
And that child's na was…
"Shin Yu. It's that child."
Shin Yu…
It was Shin Yu.
"If we leave Shin Yu alone, things will spiral out of control. The only thing that genius lacks is ti."
Things were getting urgent.
A lot of blood has been shed between the Veil and the Faces. Who knows how much more blood will be spilled?
"The Veil's Master said this situation can no longer be postponed—depending on the outco of the final eting, we may enter a full-scale war."
Our fate depended on this matter."Are you prepared…?"
I looked at Yurim, and she looked back at .
We thought the sa thing.
Nod…
"Very well…"
* * *
Three months since that day…
The eting place and date between the Faces and the Veil had been decided. Now, I was standing in that very location.
"Yurim, Seol, please listen to for a mont."
Before eting with the other mbers of the Veil, Yoo Hyun had summoned us. It seed he had sothing to tell us before joining the others.
"The eting will be broken off."
"What…?
"Master…"
"I've encountered their leader, Angry Face, before. He… won't give up his ambition of dominating the continent—and we also won't abandon our ambition of stopping him." ṛÁꞐốβĚṦ
The eting will be broken off.
'Then what about those gathered inside?'
"There's a chance everyone might die."
"That's…"
"Listen carefully to what I'm about to say. If a clash occurs…"
He placed his hands on Yurim and my shoulders.
And after taking a deep breath, he finally said.
"Run away."
"What…?!"
"Master, there's no way we…"
"Listen to !"
I felt the pressure from his hands.
We had grown strong enough to withstand the pressure, but it was the first ti he was acting like this, so it left bewildered.
"Even if it's both of you, you must run away. Your lives aren't worthy of ending here in vain."
"But why… We're also part of the Veil!"
"I know. But you are Toki’s and my disciples before you are mbers of the Veil…"
He smiled awkwardly.
"You were a child born from the heart of the Veil itself. Even if things go wrong and the Veil is defeated, as long as you survive… the Veil will live on."
"…"
"Please, promise . If a clash occurs, just run away."
Yurim and I were both at a loss.
How could he be sure about what was about to happen?
But he said with certainty.
"Please, Seol. Take Yurim and leave. It's okay to forget us and live on your own."
I had no choice but to respond.
"Understood…"
"Thank you…"
After making the promise with him, we joined the other mbers of Veil.
"Hey! Kid! You've grown bigger!"
"Isn't he bigger than you…? He isn't a kid anymore."
"D-Don't make laugh! He's still smaller than . He's still a kid, a kid!"
"Don't take it too seriously, you idiot."
Kiri and Ziliac were teasing each other.
【Long ti no see! You've really grown so much! As expected, humans grow up like weeds you've forgotten about!】
Agony approached and shook my hand.
Yurim and I laughed softly and hugged Agony.
【Welco…】
We enjoyed that warmth for a mont.
"So you guys are those kids."
"Ah!"
【He's Dae San, greet him.】
Agony introduced him.
His well-built muscles proved he hadn't been neglecting training.
Since he was an agent that operated externally, we hadn't t him before.
The Veil was quite crowded, yet there was still a lingering sense of emptiness.
Normally, Toki and Lian should have been here too.
However, at that mont, soone who could lt away that loneliness appeared.
"Kyahaha—! Long ti no see, you idiots!"
"Karen!"
"Where have you been? I thought you were dead!"
A woman with red hair.
She smiled broadly.
The mont I saw her, I realized what kind of person she was—soone very transparent.
Step…
Step…
'She's strong…'
She was similar to Yoo Hyun—perhaps even above him.
However, she, too, didn't feel unfamiliar.
"So you're those kids."
"Yes…"
She had been so reclusive that even Yurim had barely seen her.
"You know, I… Hmm? Ah, now that I think about it, I don't think I need to know you. Okay, let's skip introductions!"
Just as I had heard, she acted as she pleased.
However, there was no doubt that she was strong.
She walked forward.
"Let's go to the eting place."
Splash…
Splash…
We stood at a castle perched on a cliff where waves crashed relentlessly against its base.
Even though it wasn't very large for a castle, it still had a considerable size, considering the number of participants in the eting.
"I'm here! Open the door!"
Creak…
At that seemingly ignorant request, the door creaked open.
Thud…
"Hmph."
Although we were calmly walking in, in reality, we were carefully scanning the surroundings.
We were led into a grand VIP room.
No light entered the room—only candles illuminated the surroundings.
People wearing strange masks were lined up, sitting at the dining table.
"Kyaha… Looks like you handled the hospitality. Hey, Angry Face! Co out. Isn't this supposed to be a eting?"
Swoosh…
The darkness spread, and before we knew it, soone was sitting directly opposite Karen's seat.
"Ur…"
Why was it that the nas and faces of everyone in this place felt familiar? The hallucinations, the pain, and the déjà vu that refused to let go.
The eting didn't proceed well.
"We won't give up."
"What nonsense is that?!"
TAANNG—!
Everyone except for Karen and Ur didn't say a word.
They all knew the eting would break off.
Yurim's hand trembled.
I held her tight.
Soon, a clash would take place.
And at that mont.
Slash—!
Thud—!
"Ugh…"
"Kk…"
Karen and Ur's hearts were pierced simultaneously… they had pierced each other's hearts at the sa ti.
Karen's black sword burned as it pierced Ur's heart, and Ur’s magic had cut a hole in Karen's chest.
Her hair stood on end.
This was a signal the eting was broken.
Once they realized what had happened, everyone began to move the mont they could.
"Iyaaaa—!"
Slash!
Slaasshh—!
Swords and weapons were drawn simultaneously, and the necks of those who were too slow flew into the air.
Everything proceeded slowly.
No, only to . The world seed to have stopped.
[[This is a bloody eting! Everyone has lost their sanity, and they're pointing their swords at each other! What will you do?]
1. Join Yoo Hyun.
2. Check Karen's status.
3. Protect Yurim.
4. Escape.
…]
'A familiar sensation.'
Even in the chaotic VIP room, my senses were awakened.
A creepy feeling washed over —soone was targeting Yurim and .
'A fist…?'
What was flying toward us was a heavy two-section staff.
It wasn't even from soone on the opposite side, but from the Veil.
'Ugh…'
It was the traitor.
'I must react…'
Thud—!
At that mont, the two-section staff was blocked by soone's sword and returned.
At the sa ti, all of my choices disappeared, and soone was shouting at .
"Seol! Co back to your senses!"
"Ah…!"
"Didn't you promise ?!"
Promise…
'Yes, that's right!'
I suddenly rembered the promise I made with Yoo Hyun.
"Are you thinking of protecting them?"
"Dae San… Why?"
"The Veil was never my ho from the start."
"Don't tell …"
Regardless of what conversation they were having, I took Yurim and left the place.
"Seol! Stop!"
I couldn't stop.
My senses were screaming at .
Even if we joined the battle, the Veil's defeat was certain.
I had to protect Yurim.
Crack—!
After breaking a window with my elbow, we ran out of the castle.
Fortunately, the drawbridge was down.
'We must run!'
We must run.
We needed to get away from here.
"Where do you want to go…?"
"…"
At Yurim's words, I stopped at the edge of the cliff.
Splash…
Splaasshh…
The violent sea was crashing against the cliff face.
If we left the Veil, where should we go?
Step…
Step…
At that mont, I heard steps.
Was it soone of the Veil?
"Long ti no see…"
This voice… It didn't belong to a mber of the Veil.
After looking back, I saw soone wearing a smiling mask—Smiling Face.
'Shin Yu!'
Shin Yu, the Veil's child.
"Long ti no see, Seol."
"You know …?"
Shin Yu tilted his head upon hearing my answer.
"Don't tell … You still haven't realized?"
"What are you talking about…?"
At that mont, I rembered Lucia's dying words.
- Déjà vu… I had forgotten… You mustn't… forg…
Shin Yu firmly said.
"Where this place is."
Shin Yu took off his mask.
"…"
His face was unfamiliar.
"Ah, this is the first ti you've seen my face, right? Well, this is also my first ti seeing my grown self."
"What are you talking about…? You are part of the Faces and…"
"Faces? Veil? Who cares about that? After all, it's all an illusion."
"An illusion…?"
Bzz…
[Interdiate Insight activates.]
[You couldn't find anything.]
[Interdiate Insight fails.]
…
"Ugh…"
[Interdiate Insight activates.]
[You couldn't find anything.]
[Interdiate Insight fails.]
…
It felt like my brain was being torn apart.
I was waking up from a hallucination.
"Smiling Face… Shin Yu… You…"
"Smiling Face? What are you talking about, Seol?"
Smirk…
Shin Yu shook his mask.
"That's not the na of this mask. Don't you rember?"
"What…?"
"You know it too. Rember it. The na of this mask… No, maybe you don't need to?"
Whir—!
Shin Yu's mask rotated and flew in our direction.
Thud…
And then, after hitting Yurim's chest, it fell to the ground.
"That's originally yours, isn't that right?"
I instinctively sensed that sothing was wrong—no, I felt that things were falling apart.
"No… Don't pick it up."
Yurim bent down and picked up the mask.
You shouldn't do that.
You shouldn't pick that mask up…
mories flashed past my mind.
The talent of seeing through the movent of others and imitating them…
The hell that she would have experienced if I hadn't pulled out of that fate…
"I'm not standing here because I like it, Seol. Everything got twisted."
"Twisted…?"
"If the original owner of that mask didn't have their fate twisted by the mixed dreams… It wouldn't have been wearing the mask but her. Then, she would have lived in hell. That's how it was born."
Stop.
Don't make her wear the mask.
"No! Yurim! Drop the mask!"
Yurim slowly gripped the mask.
The mask with a smiling face… Why hadn't I been able to rember its na?
"Sob… Sob…"
Yurim was crying.
"It's a dream… Seol. All of this. Everything you've experienced and felt so far has happened inside a dream!"
Shin Yu scolded .
Dream.
All of this is a dream.
However, it wasn't my dream.
The souls I knew had appeared because my dream got mixed in.
The hell I've experienced, the pain I went through, it wasn't entirely mine.
The Veil and the Faces were things I had never heard before.
This… was hers.
Yurim muttered.
"A girl found in a garbage dump in the dockyard."
"Yurim, stop."
"I never had a friend like you to begin with."
"Please… Stop…"
"Although the Veil took , I ended up being subjected to human experints by an evil Magician."
"This isn't funny…"
"With my mories and thoughts twisted, I wore the Faces' mask."
Yurim looked down at her ivory-like hands.
"With these hands… I've killed them all. The family I found in the Veil… and the Faces who used . It's a scary story, right?"
Her ho didn't exist anywhere.
I wasn't the protagonist of this world.
This was a story that had already ended once.
Shin Yu said to .
"Seol, listen carefully. Even though you realize this is a dream, you can't wake up. There's a problem."
"…"
"It's Yurim, the owner of the dream. She has trapped us here!"
[Interdiate Insight activates.]
[You couldn't find anything.]
[Interdiate Insight fails.]
…
Bzz…
[You've uncovered nurous secrets!]
[Interdiate Insight’s proficiency has greatly increased.]
[Interdiate Insight’s proficiency has reached the maximum.]
['Interdiate Insight' has improved to 'Advanced Insight.']
[Insight activates more frequently.]
[Insight's accuracy has increased.]
[The area of the Insight's activation has widened.]
[Insight describes the phenona a bit more clearly.]
[Advanced Insight activates.]
[You are currently inside soone's dream.]
…
Everything ca back.
The Seol here wasn't the real Seol.
"Seol…"
Yurim looked at .
Her eyes were moist, as if tears were about to drip at any mont.
"Why did you save …"
"…"
"Your souls… all of you are fools. You should have left …"
She grabbed the hem of her chest's garnt.
"You shouldn't have taught happiness… You should have left living in hell… If you had just done that…"
Tears fell from her eyes.
"I wouldn't be feeling like this now…"
I had entered the second gate of the Pitch Black Labyrinth.
Here, we wander through a soul's dream.
Here were Lucia, Belian, Beldre, Shin Yu, and lastly, the nurous souls of Seol.
And… one soul Seol hadn't expected ca along.
There was one more person… One more drear.
Swoosh…
Yurim put on the mask.
The mask, as if it had been made for her, fit her face perfectly.
"Seol, there was one secret I hadn't told you yet."
A mask with a smiling face.
Its eyes were slit, and the corners of the mouth were raised high.
Yoo Hyun said.
- Yes! He said that all strength follows a story. Hmm… So, for example…
To beco stronger, a story was always needed.
"Seol, I…"
This dream was a story about how she was able to beco so strong.
"Am I smiling now?"
Although the mask was smiling, tears stread down through the eyeholes.
[Many things got distorted due to a lucid dream.]
[You recognize Yaksha.]
[Sudden Adventure 'Yaksha's Dream' is active.]
…
Yurim wore the mask and made an expression.
Seol couldn't tell what kind of expression she was making behind the mask.
"I'm Yaksha…"
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