Chapter 21: Fork in the Road

Ep 4.5 The Crossroads

“Hey, carry that corpse.”

The subordinate, who had been dragging the girl’s legs along the ground, paused.

“Are we sending this one to headquarters too?”

The man scratched his head.

The girl’s golden hair was spread messily across the dirt.

“You can tell just by looking. Don’t you know who this is?”

The senior nudged the corpse with his foot.

“Who is it?”

Villains who died during the Evaluation Match were all cremated. Not with any fancy ceremony—just piled up and burned together. Villains weren’t generous enough to respect those who were weeded out for being weak.

But there were exceptions.

And this girl was one.

“It’s her, one of the Peaks of Calamity.”

The 22nd Evaluation Match had an unprecedented number of talents.

Twelve top contenders, who could’ve easily taken the championship in any other round—the “Twelve Strong.”

Crown, who led the Evaluation Match with an unprecedented alliance.

Kizel, who overturned the game by standing against Crown with only a small number of allies.

It was, without a doubt, the most elite and entertaining match in history.

The world beyond Telon watched closely, and everyone kept an eye on anyone who stood out amidst this chaos of monsters.

And when two overwhelming talents put a final exclamation point on the final battle, the world had no choice but to admit it.

That this generation was different.

That these were people born to define an era.

At some point, the world began calling the participants of the 22nd Evaluation Match by a new title:

The Cursed Generation.

Promising figures who might one day engulf the world in chaos—ones to be most wary of.

The junior’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Then this is the Scorched One’s rival?”

At the top of the Cursed Generation stood two figures without dispute.

One, of course, was Yu Hyesun, the Scorched One.

And the other—her rival, Iran.

“You might not know since you were stationed out. But yeah, it’s her. The higher-ups said they don’t care about anything else—we just have to make sure we secure this body.”

“It feels… weird, somehow…”

Now that he knew her identity, the body looked different.

Like a sleeping noble, someone you shouldn’t dare touch…

‘What’s headquarters going to do with a body like this?’

No one knew why HQ collected special corpses like these.

There were only rumors.

That they gave them a proper burial, that they were building a zombie army, that they held cannibalistic banquets…

Of course, all just baseless speculation.

“If your curiosity’s satisfied, then hurry it up.”

“Yes, sir.”

The man carefully lifted the corpse like it was made of glass. A completely different attitude from how he’d been dragging it like luggage earlier. The senior just gave a dry chuckle.

“Up you go.”

After laying the body in the truck bed, the man dusted off his hands. Several other bodies were already laid out in neat rows.

They pulled down the tarp and tightly tied the loading door with ropes.

“Let’s get moving. Once we clean up the western forest, we’re done for the day.”

The men climbed into the driver and passenger seats.

Soon, the truck rumbled into motion.

Inside the cargo hold of the truck.

Among the corpses at rest, shrouded in the veil of darkness—

Iran’s cold, lifeless body twitched.

“……”

Thump. Thump.

Like she’d been hit by an electric shock, her body jerked upright in spasms.

Then, moments later, Iran’s entire body began to shrink.

Black fuzz sprouted along her skin, and claws extended from her hands.

Flick.

A tail rose above her hips and swayed seductively.

“……”

A black cat—Yu Hyesun—looked down from above.

‘It worked.’

Soaking in the moment, Yu Hyesun surveyed her surroundings.

‘I need to get out of this creepy place first.’

Yu Hyesun slipped through the narrow gap in the truck bed and leapt out.

[My liege, can you hear me? My liege!]

Without anyone noticing, a black cat dashed into the forest.

Her head felt fuzzy.
It was like lying on a cloud—light and hazy.
Above the endless ceiling, a soft halo of light shimmered.

Where am I?

More importantly, why did I come here?

Lying still, she retraced her memories.
After a moment, they returned in vivid flashes.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————

The Evaluation Match.
The battle against Yu Hyesun.
And defeat.

‘I died.’

The sensation of her body turning cold in real-time was still vivid.

A fatal wound through the heart.
A wound no one could possibly survive.

Was this the afterlife?

[My liege, are you awake?]

The familiar voice echoing in her ears disproved that theory.

“Cleo?”

It wasn’t like the usual way Cleo spoke within her psyche.
It felt like the entire space was speaking to her…

Suddenly, a warm breeze blew by.
The gentle warmth brushing her face reminded her of Yu Hyesun’s smile.

[Thank goodness. Truly, thank goodness.]

She couldn’t grasp the situation.
Where was this place?
How had she survived?

Sensing the confusion, Yu Hyesun offered a suggestion.

[Try sharing your vision.]

She didn’t need to be told how—it came naturally.

The world before her eyes shifted.
A blurry vision, like she was submerged underwater.
As the pastel haze sharpened, a rat appeared in her view.

‘…!’

Startled, her body jerked, and Yu Hyesun let out a delighted chuckle.

[Don’t you feel your mouth watering? That’s the meal I just caught.]

A snow-white paw held the squirming rat tightly.
Each time the rat struggled, puffs of dirt rose.
Fresh green blades of grass trembled nearby.

A forest.
Yu Hyesun was in a forest.

At last, she began to piece together the truth of this place.

[This space is my psyche.]

Just as Yu Hyesun once nested within her own psyche, now she had entered Yu Hyesun’s.

But how was that even possible?

[My liege. Doesn’t your body feel… strange?]

Now that she thought about it, her clothes had changed.
A black uniform favored by martial artists.

Not just the outfit—her body felt noticeably smaller.

And most importantly—

She reached up to touch her hair.
Silky, jet-black strands flowed through her fingers.

Her thoughts stalled.

[That is my human form.]

Yu Hyesun’s body.
Then what about her own?

A breeze blew from behind.
Turning toward its direction, she saw a girl lying far off in the distance.

“……”

Dreading the truth, she approached—and her worst fears came true.

A girl with a hole in her chest—her.

[Your body is dead.]

Yu Hyesun’s voice darkened, her psyche settling into stillness.
Iran did her best to stay calm.

“Then… how was I revived?”

Rationally speaking, her death had been inevitable.
The real mystery was how she’d survived—even if in another’s body.

[Witnessing the Phoenix’s resurrection helped.]

A familiar bond—servant and master sharing one soul.
It was said that the Phoenix, when Yu Hyesun died, had transferred her soul into its own body to bring her back.

[Even with a contract, two souls in one body will inevitably clash.]

The Phoenix overcame this by transforming her soul into an orb.

Yu Hyesun had read and understood that entire process in vivid detail with her clairvoyance.

[Unlike the Phoenix, I do not possess the skill to turn my soul into an orb. But fortunately, I had two bodies.]

Before her soul completely left her original body, Yu Hyesun guided it—just as the Phoenix had done—and infused it into this one.

[From now on, my liege must live using this body.]

Yuryeon had been resurrected by the Phoenix, who could recreate the same body. But that was a power unique to the Phoenix. Yu Hyesun could not replicate that.

“I see…”

It made sense. But her heart didn’t accept it as easily as her mind did.

“Then my original body…”

[It was yours, so I brought it here. But it’s already a corpse.]

Iran knelt before her lifeless body.
Seeing her own dead body—it was a strange feeling.

She reached out and gently touched her own face. As expected, there was no warmth.

[…I’m sorry.]

Yu Hyesun’s psyche radiated guilt, and Iran quickly shook her head.

“Thank you for saving me.”

She was supposed to be dead.
Surviving—even like this—was already a miracle. To want anything more would be greedy.

“I’ll just say I got plastic surgery.”

And honestly, this body was beautiful. Way more stunning than the old one, which had always been called plain. A hundred, no, a thousand times better.

Yes—this isn’t a bad thing at all.

…And maybe, someday, who knows?
Maybe she’d find a way to bring that body back to life.

Having convinced herself, even if forcefully, Iran looked again through Yu Hyesun’s vision. Past the squeaking rat, through the bushes, and the tall trees beyond.

“Where are we?”

[Between Nova and Telon.]

Her eyes widened in surprise.

“We’re outside Telon?”

Why?
Dozens of question marks floated above her head.

[My liege.]

Yu Hyesun asked, her tone suddenly serious.

[What do you think of your sister?]

Her sister. In other words, Seoran.
What kind of question was that all of a sudden?

“Why do you ask? I’m supposed to be punished by Reminis…”

But her words trailed off.
For some reason, the next part was hard to say.
Something in her gut resisted finishing that sentence.

[If you still resent your sister, we’ll turn back to Telon right now.]

“……”

[What does your heart say?]

She opened her mouth right away—but no words came. Just silence.

Seoran.
She still resented her. Wanted to make her feel the pain of regret. Wanted to bring her to despair.

But…

Was that really how she felt?

Those emotions were the result of brainwashing. Manufactured feelings.

It wasn’t a new revelation. She had always known that.

But the rage she felt was too real to ignore. It didn’t matter if it had been implanted—she hated Seoran that much.

Still—

—“Big sis deserves an award.”

That moment of clarity when she died once before.
It clung to her like a weight.

Those feelings weren’t truly hers.
She knew Seoran hadn’t done anything wrong.
She was just being selfish.

A part of her scolded the other, the one trying to blame Seoran for everything.

“……”

Before her eyes, she saw a vision of two paths.

One led back—returning to Telon to continue her vengeance as a villain.

The other led forward—toward new possibilities.

[Whichever you choose, I will remain by your side to the end.]

Those were words she could believe in.
Even if she chose the wrong path, she wouldn’t be alone.

She closed her eyes and thought deeply.

---

Seoran.
Yuryeon.
Dohyeon.
Durek.
Ellie.
Class 8…

Faces flashed through her mind.

“I…”

---

Ep 4.5 – Crossroads (End)