TGHD Ch 16

The voice was filled with intense resentment and anger. The grudges of those who had suffered and writhed in pain had coalesced into the creation of the mermaids. Only now did Ryubeom finally realize why these yokai had taken on the form of mermaids.

As Cheon Ryubeom’s face turned pale and froze, the mermaid let out a twisted laugh. The way one corner of its mouth stretched all the way to its ear was eerie. Two short-haired mermaids swam in front of Ryubeom, mocking him.

[Tiger, tiger. You never imagined coming to a place like this, did you?]

[You’ve never paid any attention to us until now, and suddenly, what? You want to stop our evil grudge?]

The mermaids’ laughter echoed chaotically around him, making Ryubeom falter as if he were being hypnotized by their swimming right in front of him.

They whispered that they would kill the humans in the capital, sever the energy of the land, and open the Gwimun, plunging everyone into suffering. The idea of people writhing in a terrible disaster and facing inevitable death made Ryubeom shiver with fear.

[Your mercy is hypocrisy.]

The whisper of the giant mermaid faintly resonated in his ears.

The smaller mermaids didn’t miss the shift in the atmosphere. They swam around Cheon Ryubeom again, making a ‘sound.’

[Aaaah…….]

It sounded like the beautiful song of a mermaid that a sailor might hear in a myth, but also like the wailing of a beast on a fateful day. The high-pitched, thin voices pierced sharply into his ears, causing several scenes to flash before his eyes. Beasts weeping as they watched their friends die, people embracing each other without even knowing each other’s names, facing the terror of impending death.

Cheon Ryubeom’s vision blurred. Already weakened by the smoke and the anesthetic needles, he couldn’t properly respond to the mermaid’s sonic attack.

Whoosh…

Water poured in. Ryubeom, momentarily entranced by the mermaids, lost focus and couldn’t maintain the barrier. During that lapse, the water surged in, heading towards the area where the beasts and researchers were hiding. Another mermaid had secretly destroyed the wall of the research facility from behind.

“Ahhhhh!”

“Kyaaah!”

In an instant, they were swept into the river. Cheon Ryubeom quickly reached out in shock. He tried to expand the barrier to protect them, but the distance had already grown. In the end, Ryubeom had to reduce the protective range of the facility and instead formed a separate barrier around those who had been swept away. In the water, golden spheres formed around them like bubbles.

Everyone except Ryubeom was completely exposed to the mermaids’ malevolent energy for a split second and instantly lost consciousness. Unable to bear the sight of the mermaids through the thin bubble-like barrier, they collapsed.

As Cheon Ryubeom looked at the fallen people with trembling eyes, a mermaid whispered to him.

[You probably think you’re being merciful by saving the beasts here.]

“…….”

[But how shallow is your justice that you think you can save the humans above as well?]

The mermaid smiled silently.

[Let me show you directly.]

Suddenly, foam rushed toward him, filling his vision as if a massive wave had crashed against a rock, breaking into frothy spray.

Cheon Ryubeom faltered, but he tried his best to maintain his spell. If his concentration broke, the barrier would collapse as well. Then not only would the beasts be in danger, but so would the core in the research facility.

However, as the foam cleared, a faint whisper reached his ears.

[Son…]

Cheon Ryubeom’s face turned deathly pale. It was the same whisper from that fateful day, the same voice he had replayed in his mind over the past few days… His father’s voice, coming from beside him.

No, this is just another trick of the mermaids.

Cheon Ryubeom clenched his eyes shut. There were people here he needed to protect. He couldn’t afford to lose focus. Repeating to himself that it wasn’t real, Cheon Ryubeom channeled more spiritual energy into the barrier.

[You won’t even look at your father now?]

“…….”

[I just wanted to keep my promise… Why are you so angry?]

But at those words, Cheon Ryubeom opened his eyes. Though he barely resisted turning his head, his pupils were already trembling uncontrollably. He couldn’t help but react to the words he had replayed his whole life. Blood dripped from his clenched fists.

A promise.

The promise his parents made to protect him from being taken by ghosts. They died, bleeding at the bottom of a cliff, to keep that promise. Most of his memories of that day were erased, but he vividly remembered the warmth of their hands as they held onto him for the last time.

‘Because we promised to protect you.’

The warmth from that moment and the love they whispered at the end were cruelly clear in his mind, staying with Cheon Ryubeom as a lifetime of guilt. If only he hadn’t been so childish, asking them to protect him; if only he had gone out of the cave that day instead.

Would we have been able to be together then?

Even if it were in death.

Ryubeom bit his lip hard, trying to hold on to his sanity. This was just an auditory hallucination. A mere trick. But how could it mention the promise? A story that he had never shared with anyone, how could it dig so deep into his memory?

What if this wasn’t a hallucination? What if his father was somehow connected to the mermaids? Questions trailed one after another in his mind. He couldn’t help it. Thoughts of his father had haunted him endlessly over the past few days, driving him to sleepless nights and relentless searches.

Could it be, however slim the chance, that his father was involved with the mermaids? He was desperate to know. The desire to uncover the secret behind his parents’ deaths had been driving Cheon Ryubeom for more than a decade.

[You must be really angry. You won’t even respond to your father.]

“No, I… I….”

Ryubeom’s voice was thick with emotion. Whether it was an attempt to ignore the hallucination or deny his father’s words, he couldn’t tell. The ambiguous words spilled from his lips.

[So now, you won’t even save your father…]

At those words, Ryubeom’s head snapped around. His father’s voice, as if he were being strangled. And when Ryubeom saw his father, he could no longer breathe. His father was being dragged into the darkness.

“No, no…!”

Cheon Ryubeom immediately started running toward him. His vision suddenly blurred, as if he were back in the cave from the past. The cool air of a stormy night, the loud sound of rain, the smell of blood piercing his nostrils.

All his senses returned to that day.

But no matter how hard Cheon Ryubeom ran, he couldn’t get closer to his father. He kept circling inside the cave, just like that time, pitiful and powerless.

Bang! Suddenly, Ryubeom’s body was thrown to the side and slammed into the cave wall. The impact felt like crashing into a rock, but Ryubeom got up and ran forward again. He tripped over a rock and fell, but got up and kept running.

The mermaids watching this scene laughed gleefully.

Cheon Ryubeom had been completely trapped in a mental curse. Now, he was endlessly running in one spot, calling out for his ‘father.’ The mermaids sneered, saying that in the end, Cheon Ryubeom would choose the illusion of his father over the beasts, revealing himself as the most self-serving hypocrite.

Yet, despite this, the spiritual energy protecting the beasts remained intact.

[Hmm…]

Instead, the barrier surrounding Cheon Ryubeom weakened. Instinctively, he should have protected himself first, but the mermaids wondered whether to call this foolishness or misguided hypocrisy.

Amused by his pitiful state, the mermaids harassed Cheon Ryubeom through the gaps in the barrier. They flung him into walls, tripped him as he tried to run again. They were curious to see how long the tiger cub could last. If they could break his spiritual energy, they could take over the beasts and the core, and perhaps even absorb his energy as well.

Unaware of this, Cheon Ryubeom kept running.

“Gah… No… this can’t… be…”

His body grew heavier with each step. Sharp pains spread through him, making it harder to move forward. The realization that he was still trapped in the cave, unable to escape, horrified him. He had the sickening feeling that even if he went back to that day, he would still helplessly watch his parents die while hiding in the cave.

It felt like his leg was broken, but Cheon Ryubeom tried to drag himself forward.

“Please…”

Just as tears began to fall from Ryubeom’s eyes, a cool scent approached him. It was different from the smell of rain mixed with blood in the cave. The scent, like the calm of a midnight forest, was cold yet vivid… and it embraced him from behind, covering his eyes.

“You can stop running now.”

A soft whisper fell into his ear. The voice was low and subdued but gently comforted Cheon Ryubeom, pulling him out of his despair. The cold, like a night breeze over the river, brought him back to reality.

Crack. As a fissure spread, Cheon Ryubeom finally broke free from the cave. His tear-streaked amber eyes looked blankly at the presence behind him. His face was a mix of shock and disbelief.

Yeohwi.

His eyes, now tinged with a chilling red like blood, stared directly at the mermaids.

“This time, I’m in a pretty foul mood too.”

Yeohwi’s voice was strangely unfamiliar. His usually soft voice had dropped just slightly, but it completely changed the atmosphere. That change felt distant, causing Cheon Ryubeom to blink slowly. Though he had awoken from the curse, his mind remained foggy.

Currently, Cheon Ryubeom was barely clinging to consciousness. Smoke, anesthetic needles, the exhaustion of the past few days, the aftereffects of the curse, and the physical shock from the mermaid’s pranks all intertwined, making his mind flicker. His vision kept trying to blur.

He tried to shake his head, thinking he couldn’t let this happen, but a cool hand once again covered Ryubeom’s eyes. The gentle touch, as if telling him to rest, made him momentarily forget to breathe.

“Just close your eyes for a bit.”

A soothing voice whispered in his ear. Through the now-darkened vision, he saw a faint red light. As his tension melted away, Ryubeom’s body collapsed, and Yeohwi easily supported him. Yeohwi then laid the sleep-cursed Ryubeom onto a chair behind them and turned his head.

The mermaids looked down with stiff expressions. Just moments ago, they had felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck the river. Something sharp and piercing had flown in, invading the space before the mermaids had time to react.

The sensation of the split water touching their skin tingled.

[What in the world is that…?]

The yellow-lit mermaid shivered. An instinctive fear rose within them, but they let out a hollow laugh when they saw who it was. The aura of spiritual power coming from the man in black robes was so faint, it was puzzling how he had even entered the space.

The bracelet on their wrist felt oddly disquieting, but the mermaid ignored the feeling. As long as they were in the water, a being from the land posed no threat. The river was a perfect environment for the mermaids born in it.

[You will also become our prey!]

Even if his spiritual power was faint, devouring him would surely quench their rage. How dare he startle them? He deserved punishment. The mermaid, eyes wide with malice, rushed toward him. With Cheon Ryubeom’s exhaustion weakening the barrier around the lab, one more hit would shatter it.

The man in black robes did not react at all. He just stood there, as if frozen in shock, while the mermaid aggressively flapped its fins, preparing to break through the barrier and strike him.

Thwack.

With a simple wave of Yeohwi’s hand, the mermaid’s fin was cleanly severed. A spray of dark blue blood splattered as the mermaid screamed.

[Aaaahhhh!]

They hadn’t even seen the spell unfold. In an instant, spiritual power, as sharp as a blade, sliced off their fin. As the other mermaids froze in shock, Yeohwi merely muttered, as if disappointed.

“I was aiming for the neck…”

Perhaps there was no helping it. He calmly looked down at the bracelet, seeming utterly at ease, as if neither being underwater nor the mermaids approaching him was at all surprising. The mermaids felt a distinct dissonance at his reaction.

It was as if the barrier made of spiritual power was protecting them instead.

A strange smile appeared in Yeohwi’s eyes, tinged with a sense of absurdity at how he had ended up involved in closing the Sagwido (a demonic path). He had thought that to get closer to Cheon Ryubeom, he would inevitably get caught up in the Sagwido, but to think it would turn out like this…

But this situation was getting on his nerves in more ways than one.

Bang! At that moment, a mermaid with green fins lunged at Yeohwi. It didn’t like the look on his face, as if he was thinking of something else in their presence. The barrier shook as if it would break, and water surged in, but Yeohwi lightly dodged to the side. His black robes fluttered elegantly.

From his outstretched fingers, a thin red thread of energy unraveled, seemingly forming a character before it fell to the ground. The mermaid persistently chased after him, convinced that his spiritual power was too low for him to cast proper spells now.

Now was the time to strike, but the man dodged as if it were a game. He moved dangerously close to the barrier, as if he were simply out for a stroll.

The mermaid’s fury boiled to its limit.

[How dare you…!]

Swoosh! But before the mermaid could finish its shout, a red net surged up from the ground, wrapping around the mermaid. Every seemingly careless step he had taken had been laying a trap.

The mermaid struggled, but the net tightened around its body as if it were caught in a spider’s web. Its high-pitched screams echoed through the water. After glancing at it briefly, Yeohwi began crafting a new spell.

He was currently mixing spells in a way that wouldn’t draw too much of his powerful spiritual energy. Yet even a few simple spells, when layered together, produced undeniable power.

Sensing this, the yellow-lit mermaid rushed at Yeohwi once again. Its fin, still bleeding, had just barely been healed with demonic energy, and its eyes were bloodshot with rage.

“Ryeong!”

The moment Yeohwi’s shout rang out, the very air seemed to buzz with electricity. The mermaid turned its head ominously, feeling the entire water vibrate. And before it could react, something massive bit down, sweeping it aside.

[Aaah!]

Sharp fangs pierced the fin and slammed the mermaid into the ground. As murky mud swirled up, blood spread through the water.

The mermaid writhed and barely escaped, but its lower body was already shredded beyond repair. Black blood poured out in even greater quantities. Watching this, the nine white tails of the fox spirit swayed gracefully.

Meanwhile, Yeohwi’s spell was complete. He reinforced the barrier around the lab and pulled the creatures floating in the water into the lab’s protection. After checking on the triplets, Yeohwi turned to Ryeong and said,

“Why are you so late?”

[You need to understand that I hate water.]

“You’re not a cat, stop whining. Besides, that actual feline over there was swimming just fine in the water.”

[So now you’re siding with the tiger cub?]

Ryeong frowned at Yeohwi’s playful tone. Being suddenly dragged into a connected consciousness and summoned here, only to find it was underwater.

The yellow-lit mermaid, watching their conversation, seethed with rage. How dare they talk so casually in their presence? It was deeply insulting. Yet, ever since the fox spirit called “Ryeong” appeared, the mermaid had been too petrified to move.

Gumiho. A famous land-dwelling creature they had heard of.

The mermaid, trembling as it tried to staunch the bleeding from its lower half, stealthily observed the two. The beastman, who seemed friendly with the gumiho, was no ordinary being either, a terrifying realization that sent chills down the mermaid’s spine.

A massive shadow soon loomed over Yeohwi and Ryeong. It was cast by the largest of the three mermaids, a blue-hued one, whose presence brought a deepening gloom. With a simple gesture from the mermaid leader, the net was torn apart, allowing the green-hued mermaid to escape. The smaller mermaids quickly checked each other’s wounds.

The blue-hued mermaid spoke, its voice low as it recounted the story of the suffering beastkin who had been abducted and died in agony in the lab.

[Do you not agree with our anger?]

The resonance of the mermaid’s voice showed Yeohwi a glimpse of the past, just as it had done for Cheon Ryubeom earlier. It had expected Yeohwi to react the same way the tiger cub did upon learning the truth, with hesitation and doubt.

Moreover, he seemed to be part of the fox clan, which puzzled the mermaid further.

[Does your clan think it can remain free from such suffering? Why aren’t you on our side?]

The mermaid asked, its voice tinged with bitter resentment and fury. However, Yeohwi only nodded slightly in response.

“It’s simple. First, you tried to eat these children.”

[They had already consumed poison, so…]

“Second, why should I care about your anger?”

[…What?]

The mermaid’s eyes widened in shock. It exuded a killing intent, as though it was ready to tear its opponent apart, but Yeohwi’s face remained calm.

“I understand that you harbor resentment toward humans, but that doesn’t mean I can allow the gates of hell to open in this world.”

[More self-righteous justice…!]

“Did I ever mention justice? Whether humans die or not doesn’t concern me. No… Let me rephrase that, because someone might dislike my phrasing.”

Yeohwi muttered to himself, shaking his head as if deep in thought. His demeanor suggested he wasn’t standing before a malicious spirit but rather contemplating some inner emotion.

His gaze fell on a wooden rosary.

“I have something I need to find.”

The mermaid remained silent.

“And if this world falls into chaos, it’ll get in the way.”

His voice had an oddly detached quality. It wasn’t just the fact that he sought to prevent the calamity because it would hinder his goals. There was an eerie calm, like the brittle energy of a withered old tree—fragile, as though it would crumble at a touch. But instead of feeling precarious, it sounded more like the faint farewell of someone heading toward their end, sending a chill through the air.

As the mermaid froze and simply watched, a faint smile formed on Yeohwi’s lips.

“Besides, you act like you’re only going to kill humans, but in reality, you don’t care if the beastkin die, do you?”

[…What did you say?]

“If the gates of hell open, the spirits will seek power, and the beastkin will inevitably become their prey. In a world like that, even if the beastkin survive, they’ll eventually suffer discrimination. What are you going to claim—that you’re cutting them down now to spare them future pain?”

Yeohwi tilted his head slightly.

“Don’t pretend you’re planning some grand act of revenge.”

The mermaid’s argument had a flaw from the start. The beings that crossed over from the underworld wouldn’t distinguish between humans and beastkin. They would try to kill any living creature indiscriminately, as weakening the boundary between the two realms would expand their territory.

The mermaids surely knew this. But they didn’t care. In fact, they were banking on this chaos. It was the only way they could become the new center of the world.

The key to dealing with evil spirits was never to be swayed by them.

“I’ve been through too much to be swayed by a grudge as petty as yours.”

Yeohwi smirked. The mermaid didn’t bother to refute his pointed words. The large blue mermaid simply stared at him, as though contemplating the strange feeling they’d sensed from him earlier. In the depths of their ocean-like eyes, Yeohwi’s reflection shimmered.

For some reason, the mermaid found Yeohwi’s presence deeply unsettling. It wasn’t just a feeling that he wasn’t an ordinary being. To the spirit’s eyes, he appeared as if he was a mass of darkness, tightly coiled around himself. The stench of long-harbored resentment clung to him like the scent of blood.

[So, you too are riddled with horrible grudges.]

The mermaid slowly swam in front of Yeohwi.

[Stagnant and reeking.]

“Such harsh words from a creature born from stagnation,” Yeohwi said with an eerie smile.

At that moment, the smaller mermaids charged towards the research facility. While the massive blue mermaid held Yeohwi’s attention, distracting him, the others exploited the lapse in defense.

Splash! The yellow mermaid burst through the water, launching an attack on Ryeong, the nine-tailed fox. It seemed bent on revenge for the earlier bite, its aggression more savage than before. Ryeong swiftly dodged and prepared for battle once more.

Meanwhile, the green mermaid lunged at Yeohwi. Clicking his tongue, he leaped back, a crescent-shaped burst of red energy cutting through the air, slicing into the mermaid.

As Yeohwi and Ryeong each dealt with their respective opponents, the blue mermaid abruptly moved forward. Only then did Yeohwi realize why the mermaids had staged this ambush. From the start, their target had been something else.

“Ugh…”

Cheon Ryubeom had been caught by the dark blue aura of the mermaid. Even in his exhausted state, he instinctively struggled to free himself, but the mermaid’s power was overwhelming. The dark aura surged like waves, pulling Ryubeom deeper into the water.

[If you want to stop us from taking the core, I’ll just devour this tiger cub instead.]

The spiritual power of a tiger was potent. Especially Ryubeom’s, which was imbued with pure, righteous energy. Devouring him might grant the mermaids even greater strength than the core. The mermaid’s mouth stretched into a sinister grin.

Swoosh! Crash!

The entire space shook as if caught in a whirlpool. The river surged violently, threatening to fully collapse the already half-ruined research facility. The ceiling crumbled, and debris swirled through the current, battering everything in its path. Ryubeom was swept up in the torrent along with it.

The mermaid opened its jaws, ready to consume Ryubeom. His vision darkened, overtaken by a deep, primal fear.

Since Yeohwi had appeared, Ryubeom’s thoughts had been disjointed, as though his mind had been forcibly cut off. His body, too, was limp, like a marionette with severed strings, devoid of strength. The accumulated fatigue from his ordeal in the research facility hit him all at once, and on top of that, he had been fully exposed to the mermaid’s dark energy.

His body was riddled with the mermaid’s toxic energy, and there was no way to escape. It felt as though his entire body was wrapped in sharp, suffocating vines.

“Ah…”

Ryubeom let out a soft, despondent sigh as the darkness closed in on him. Just then, from behind, he heard a quiet sigh, followed by the sensation of his shoulder being firmly grasped.

“That won’t do.”

A soft voice murmured as his cheek was gently cradled.

“He’s mine.”

And then their lips met. Ryubeom, in his dazed state, had no time to react to the unfamiliar sensation. His eyes flew open wide in shock, the only indication of his state of mind.

Amid his foggy consciousness, Ryubeom thought Yeohwi was drawing out his breath. As if coaxing him to breathe, Yeohwi tilted his head slightly, taking in a deeper breath. Yeohwi’s red lips pressed against Ryubeom’s pale ones, slowly blending their colors together.

Gradually, all of Ryubeom’s senses began to sharpen.

The intense knot of pain in his gut, twisted and contorted beyond recognition, began to settle. Warmth spread through his cold body, and the fog clouding his mind lifted, leaving it clear and focused. The soft, warm energy coursed through every corner of his being.

As their lips parted, Ryubeom let out a brief sigh, immediately enveloping his body in a golden aura. Regaining his senses, his first instinct was to break free from the dark energy that had ensnared him.

With a burst of spiritual power, Ryubeom shook off the dark energy and landed on solid ground.

Although he had regained his senses, the situation was far from ideal. In fact, it had only worsened.

[Finally…]

The core was now in the giant mermaid’s hand.

Although they had failed to drag the other shapeshifters into the whirlpool, the mermaids weren’t disheartened. They would first absorb the core’s power and then move on to claim the shapeshifters, including the tiger and fox, if possible.

As Ryubeom assessed the situation, Yeohwi glanced at Ryeong, silently mouthing, “What were you doing?” How had the mermaids managed to steal the core? Even considering the limited movement in the water, wasn’t this a bit too much?

Ryeong returned the look, her eyes practically screaming, “What about you?!” She understood he’d been draining the dark energy from Ryubeom, but that method? Sure, it was the fastest, most effective way, but still!

A silent but intense exchange passed between them before Yeohwi finally sighed and turned away. “Never mind. I’ll just kill them all.” He muttered softly, his expression shifting in an instant as he approached Ryubeom, his eyes filled with concern.

“Are you all right, young master?”

“Ah… y-yeah.”

“I came here with help from the Guil and the spiritual beasts, but I failed to deal with all the mermaids…”

Yeohwi’s tone was filled with guilt as he admitted that he’d almost let the young master be eaten by a mermaid. And on top of that, they had let the core be stolen. His face looked genuinely sorrowful, and Ryubeom could only open and close his mouth wordlessly.

The memories of the past few minutes were so faint that Ryubeom couldn’t fully recall what had happened after Yeohwi arrived. But a nagging feeling kept tugging at him.

Wasn’t he about to cut my throat…?

A voice, barely a whisper in his mind, echoed faintly. Yeohwi had felt so different from usual…

“I managed to remove it, but you’ll still feel dizzy for a while.”

But before Cheon Ryubeom had time to process it fully, his thoughts stopped the moment Yeohwi’s hand touched his shoulder. The memory of what Yeohwi had done when he grabbed his shoulder earlier resurfaced. Everything else was hazy, except for that one thing—it stood out shockingly clear.

As if soothing the frozen Cheon Ryubeom, Yeohwi spoke softly.

“Rest a little longer. Actually, I know a secret technique that’s been passed down in my family.”

With that, Yeohwi turned and approached the barrier. The large blue mermaid was using the core’s energy to heal the wounds of the smaller mermaids first. During the process of extracting the core earlier, it had been severely injured while clashing directly with the two foxes on behalf of the larger one.

Such admirable loyalty.

Yeohwi sneered and raised his arm. He briefly grabbed the prayer beads but then, instead of removing them, bit his index finger with his fang. Strangely, the blood that dripped down collected in midair. Then, one by one, it began to form symbols.

With a hum, the crimson symbols glowed and soon flew around Yeohwi’s hand, swirling. Three strings of symbols rotated menacingly.

[You’re no big deal now!]

[I will tear you apart, piece by piece…!]

The small mermaids, who had absorbed part of the core, charged at Yeohwi. Since it would take time for the large mermaid to fully absorb the core’s energy, they aimed to exact revenge in the meantime.

Though more threatening than before, as soon as Yeohwi extended his hand, a loud crash reverberated, and they were pushed back. The mermaids’ eyes filled with disbelief. They had grown so much stronger, so why?

Taking advantage of their confusion, Ryeong joined in the battle. Fierce blasts echoed continuously.

Thud!

Yeohwi’s spell shot up like a sharp spear and pierced through the yellow mermaid’s body. At the same moment, Ryeong snapped its neck, ensuring that one of them was dead.

The green mermaid, trembling, grabbed the corpse of the yellow mermaid while blood dripped from beneath its eyes.

[I swear, I will avenge you…]

The mermaid swallowed the yellow one’s corpse. At that grotesque sight, Yeohwi sneered.

“You weren’t really that loyal after all, were you?”

By consuming its companion’s body, the mermaid’s energy grew stronger. It seemed to be inheriting its power, with its scales becoming denser and its body larger. Yeohwi and Ryeong exchanged a glance, silently agreeing to eliminate it before it fully absorbed the power.

The spreading red energy was menacing, and the air tingled with tension, but unexpectedly, it all stopped with a shout from Cheon Ryubeom.

“No, stop, Yeohwi!”

“…?”

Just as Yeohwi was about to complete the spell, he hesitated and turned to Ryubeom, confused as to whether the command was really directed at him. But Ryubeom didn’t correct himself.

Cheon Ryubeom slowly walked up to the barrier. His eyes briefly gleamed with a silver light.

For the past few minutes, Ryubeom had been on the verge of losing consciousness. But he hadn’t collapsed. He seemed ready to faint at any moment, but somehow, he clung to his senses and endured. The reason? For a brief moment, when the mermaid’s energy entered his body, he had seen ‘them.’

He saw their desperate cries, their sorrow, and their suffering, embedded in each of the mermaid’s scales. It wasn’t something the mermaid had shown him. For a brief moment, his consciousness had connected with theirs, and he could faintly sense their existence.