chapter_0071

Chapter 69: Do you love me to the point of dying?

The magic circle woven from illusion was a type of magic that didn’t exist in Seria’s memory.

It was not a magic learned from memory, but one recorded in her inscription.

It wasn’t magic Seria had acquired, but rather the specialty of the witch whose motif became the basis for the inscription.

“Shut up.”

The illusion-based magic didn’t exist.

Even mages who were sensitive to magic couldn’t recognize what she created as magic.

Seria’s illusion magic wasn’t about casting spells—it was about creating magic.

She didn’t just cast magic; she created it from nothing.

She gave form to something that didn’t exist in reality, bypassing the normal processes required for magic and simply bringing forth the completed result.

It wasn’t something that truly existed, but she made others believe that it did.

Seria’s crimson eyes gleamed with light.

The inscription etched into her body began to glow, filled with magical energy.

Watching this, Yoon Ga-eun smirked as if amused, sending magic into the shadows.

“That’s a sign of reawakening.”

It wasn’t something a mere academy student could comprehend.

Reawakening was the implantation of experience.

It wasn’t just forcibly injecting talent and skills; it was a process of embodying all the knowledge stored in the inscription, including the reasons behind the creation of a technique, the process it underwent, and the theory behind it.

The process was something no ordinary Hunter could withstand.

It was a culmination of the knowledge accumulated over a lifetime.

Even if brief, it was impossible for the human mind to instantly absorb decades of knowledge.

Thus, Hunters who had undergone reawakening advanced beyond mere physical enhancement.

“They inherit that knowledge.”

Yoon Ga-eun, facing the magic circle Seria had completed, spread her shadows.

Even with her knowledge, she couldn’t understand the magic circle Seria had created.

Not only that, but she couldn’t even feel the usual flow of magic that should have been evident in any other magic circle.

Even though she was witnessing the magic unfold with her own eyes, it was impossible to believe.

The magic circle Seria had completed was beyond what Yoon Ga-eun could understand with her knowledge.

The structure of this magic circle was unlike any other, closer to a miracle than a technique.

There was no magic flow to be felt, no signs of magic being used.

It was as if it was a miracle granted simply by wishing for it.

Seeing Seria draw the magic circle, Yoon Ga-eun clicked her tongue.

“Of course, the woman by Siwoo’s side couldn’t be ordinary.”

“Didn’t I tell you to shut up?”

Creeeak—!!

The magic circle triggered a phenomenon.

Seria’s magic circle, answering the wind of malice and destruction, had a predetermined effect.

Crack—! Crunch—!!

Annihilation.

It would burn everything that existed before her eyes.

Secondary attributes and additional effects weren’t necessary.

She poured all the resources extracted from the illusion into bringing down her enemies.

Yoon Ga-eun’s expression didn’t change even when she faced the light of destruction.

She was surprised, but for Yoon Ga-eun, such miracles weren’t that extraordinary.

From within the shadows, endless hands of corpses began to emerge.

Even though it was a fake magic created from illusion, it couldn’t continue endlessly.

No matter how deceiving the technique, any ability wielded by a human would have certain conditions.

Just as the hands of the corpses Yoon Ga-eun summoned couldn’t be infinite.

The darkness, which began from a small table, began to stain the room.

It seemed as though it would devour even the light of destruction.

The hands that emerged from the shadows disintegrated as soon as they came into contact with the light Seria created, but Yoon Ga-eun continued her summoning as if she didn’t care.

“Did you think I’d let my guard down?”

“Ugh!!”

The first to kneel was Seria.

If she had completed her reawakening perfectly, perhaps there would have been a chance.

But Seria, still in the early stages of reawakening, couldn’t defeat Yoon Ga-eun, who had fully gone through reawakening and a complete transformation.

From the shadows filling the room, Yoon Ga-eun continued to summon more hands of corpses.

Seria’s magical energy had long been depleted.

Her stamina was low, and it was only a matter of time before her willpower ran out.

If the hands of corpses continued to be summoned like this, her spirit would soon be broken, and she’d be rendered powerless.

‘This time… I shouldn’t kill her, right?’

Even though Yoon Ga-eun had no interest in other Hunters, she knew Seria’s name.

The Guild Master of Akines, and the biological daughter of Kang Hongyeon.

No matter how obsessed with love she was, she didn’t plan on touching the offspring of a mad dog.

‘Maybe I’ll just subdue her lightly.’

The hands of the corpses advanced toward Seria.

Although the light had weakened, the illusion still existed in reality, so the hands of the corpses quickly perished.

However, if even more were poured into the attack, that would be the end of it.

No matter how many times they were knocked down, they wouldn’t disappear.

To anyone who didn’t know, it would seem like an endless despair, one that was almost infinite.

The light in Seria’s eyes flickered.

She bit her lower lip hard, and despite her collapsing legs, she forced herself to stand, putting strength into her body.

Her magic and stamina had already run out long ago. Seria, who was only holding herself together through sheer mental strength, squeezed out a strained voice.

“If someone like you exists… Siwoo can’t… be happy…”

“Everyone says that. That I’m the one who’s stopping him from being happy.”

Despite the struggle, Seria managed a small smile at Yoon Ga-eun’s reply.

Yoon Ga-eun furrowed her brows at that smile. What part of what she said was supposed to be funny?

“Sorry, but… it’s not just you.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“You… ugh…!! It’s something you don’t need to know…”

There was no reason to explain.

Seria had realized that what Yoon Ga-eun wanted wasn’t the happiness of the one she loved, but simply love itself.

“Siwoo said he doesn’t like you…!!”

“And that’s why you came as a doll, not in your real form.”

Was that even worth saying?

Yoon Ga-eun and Lim So-yeon.

The two of them acted similarly.

Driven by selfishness, they intruded on the homes of the ones they loved and, under the pretext of love, satisfied their own desires.

However, they had completely different “goals.”

What Yoon Ga-eun desired was to be loved, and her own happiness.

But what Lim So-yeon wanted was to love, and the happiness of the one she loved.

She understood that love wasn’t something you could receive back just because you gave it unilaterally.

The end result of actions born from selfishness wasn’t yourself.

That was why Seria could acknowledge Lim So-yeon’s love.

“But… you’re not like that…”

But what Yoon Ga-eun desired was reciprocation.

She wanted to be repaid for her love.

In a mutual relationship, it’s understandable to want reciprocation.

However, the love Yoon Ga-eun held was one-sided.

Even though she had been warned not to come closer, Yoon Ga-eun had disregarded that warning and stepped forward, pushing the accelerator on her own terms.

It was already hard to bear that she had intruded with dirty feet into a place that had been explicitly told to be off-limits.

And yet, Yoon Ga-eun was now saying, since she came as a guest, Seria should at least offer her some tea.

“So… explain properly.”

“I think I’ve given you enough already.”

“…!!”

It was then that she realized.

She hadn’t noticed before, but now, she saw it clearly.

Siwoo, who had been standing there, had a sword resting on his shoulder and was looking down at the doll, which carried Yoon Ga-eun’s soul.

She hadn’t detected it.

No, she had sensed it, but too late.

‘I thought she had gotten stronger…’

Through her reawakening, Yoon Ga-eun’s senses had sharpened, surpassing those of many Hunters’ detection abilities.

Deceiving such a finely-tuned perception was a skill only a Hunter born with an assassin’s mark could hope to achieve.

Yet, Siwoo had done something even more absurd.

He hadn’t hidden himself. He had simply moved too fast.

With purely physical speed, he had surpassed Yoon Ga-eun’s detection ability.

“I don’t really care that you ran wild in my room.”

But don’t touch my partner.

Siwoo’s light brown eyes flickered with a new gleam.

When Yoon Ga-eun faced the emerald-like gleam in his green eyes, she quickly stepped back in panic.

A chill ran down her spine.

It was like facing a natural enemy.

A sudden overwhelming sense of helplessness washed over her, and for a moment, her breath stopped.

The mark on Siwoo’s body reacted.

Bring death to it.

A dark energy spilled over, forming around the sword.

It wasn’t magic, nor aura; it was a separate, unique energy.

Something born from someone’s obsession, this energy poured toward Yoon Ga-eun.

“Wait, wait…!!”

She had to avoid it.

Yoon Ga-eun, her survival instincts triggered, hurriedly severed the link with the doll.

Despite the incomprehensible situation, one thing was clear to her.

She would die.

It was merely a puppet she inhabited.

As long as the original body wasn’t killed, there was no reason she would die.

She denied the common sense she had understood in her mind.

If she took that strike, there was no doubt she would die.

In the end, her love proved to be insufficient to overcome the fear of death.

Thud-!

Her doll fell to the ground.

Without a single mark from the sword, it tumbled across the floor.

The doll would never move again.