As Cha Seohu walked toward Ryu Sunghyun and Song Jiwoon, The One Who Walks Above Snow coughed up blood and fell to his knees.
A thick golden rope extended from Ryu Sunghyun’s hand, tightly binding the unconscious demon’s body.
Cha Seohu looked down at him with an unreadable expression, then moved his hand. Gently, he lifted the demon’s chin and checked his forehead.
So I wasn’t mistaken after all.
Back when he’d first encountered The One Who Walks Above Snow amidst the raging snowstorm, he’d caught a glimpse of a green light. That light had come from a gemstone, about the size of a fingernail, embedded in the demon’s forehead.
Like an ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) ornament, a diamond-shaped gem sat between his brows, radiating a foreign, eerie energy.
“Did he always have a gem embedded in his forehead?”
Song Jiwoon shook his head in bewilderment.
“No. This is the first time I’ve seen it.”
“You don’t know when it appeared either?”
“No.”
Biting his lip, he hesitated before continuing.
“...After he changed, I rarely saw him during the past five years. And even then, only from a distance—barely catching the ends of his hair, or just sensing his presence.”
Song Jiwoon had referred to The One Who Walks Above Snow as “teacher.” That gave Cha Seohu a sense of what their relationship had once been.
“I think he was avoiding me on purpose. I never imagined he had something like this stuck in his body.”
Sighing, Song Jiwoon added, almost defensively:
“Honestly, I thought it was just a normal accessory before I felt the energy. He always liked stuff like that...”
“Hm...”
So he liked accessories.
Well, the stronger a monster is, the more it develops intellect and will—and with that, unique personalities and tastes. Some monsters liked showing off, some preferred hiding. Some collected books, others collected accessories.
But that wasn’t what mattered now. His taste didn’t matter. After a brief moment of thought, Cha Seohu spoke.
“I’ve seen this energy before.”
Back when a giant dragon tore through a crimson sky and demons flooded the streets at the front gate of the Royal Palace—he and Eun Woojeong had come across a single flower.
“I think this gem is what destabilized the demon’s mind.”
The cause of the mental collapse had, ironically, been a single flower. And that flower had green petals—just like this gem.
As possibilities formed in his mind, Cha Seohu turned to Song Jiwoon.
“We need to move him. But going back to headquarters is too risky. If he wakes up and goes berserk again...”
Understanding his point, Song Jiwoon picked up The One Who Walks Above Snow in his arms.
“There’s a small cave nearby. Let’s head there.”
A bit further up the mountain slope from where the battle had taken place, just as Song Jiwoon had said, a cave entrance appeared.
Contrary to the word “small,” the interior was quite spacious and ornately adorned with natural ice formations. As he gently laid The One Who Walks Above Snow on the floor, Song Jiwoon explained:
“This was one of the places he came to clear his mind. There are caves like this scattered all over the mountain. He probably wandered between them these last five years.”
As a high-ranking demon, he didn’t need food or sleep. Staying alone in a cave like this wouldn’t have been a problem.
Cha Seohu knelt beside him and closely examined the gemstone again. It still pulsed with an ominous, unstable energy.
“I’ll try using divine power first.”
After all, both the gem and the energy within were essentially contaminants—foreign intrusions inside the body. Maybe purification would work.
A pure white light bloomed from Cha Seohu’s hand as he extended it toward the demon’s forehead.
The moment divine power touched the gem, a crackling sound rang out and sparks flew. The energy within the gem reacted to the divine power and began to resist.
This feeling... something’s off...
Frowning, Cha Seohu pushed more power into it.
CRACKLE!!
But nothing changed. No matter how much divine energy he poured in, the gem continued to resist.
“Ugh...”
Worse, the energy within the gem grew stronger, aggressively pushing the divine power away. Refusing to lose, Cha Seohu kept pouring more energy in.
Seeing him turn pale and start sweating coldly, Ryu Sunghyun and Song Jiwoon realized something was wrong.
Just as Ryu reached out to stop him—
“Stop, hyung.”
A heavy voice echoed through the cave. Cha Sahyeon stood in the darkness, looking down at Cha Seohu.
His snow-white face stood out starkly against his jet-black hair. Though he bore a clear resemblance to Cha Seohu, his expression was cold and disapproving.
“This won’t work. The energy isn’t being touched.”
His words hit the mark, and Cha Seohu stopped the skill.
“You have to find the source of the energy first. Handle that, and then your skill will work.”
There was no point asking why he hadn’t said this earlier.
Cha Sahyeon didn’t care whether the demon lost control. He only intervened because he didn’t like seeing Cha Seohu wear himself out.
“The source?”
“It depends.”
He turned his eyes toward the cave entrance.
“The source isn’t far. If you want to find and destroy it, I’ll guide you.”
“Then I—”
“No.”
Just as Song Jiwoon, who knew the mountain terrain, stepped forward, Cha Seohu grabbed his arm and shook his head.
“I’ll go. Please wait here, both of you.”
Ryu Sunghyun looked like he wanted to follow, but Cha Seohu ignored him and stood.
It was too risky to leave only Song Jiwoon behind—if The One Who Walks Above Snow woke up again, they’d be in danger. And more importantly...
This is Sahyeon’s proposal.
If he wanted to help the demon, he had to follow Sahyeon. He couldn’t refuse.
Maybe it was for the best. Cha Seohu had a lot of questions for him anyway.
“...Will you be alright?”
Ryu Sunghyun asked with concern, glancing between Cha Seohu and Sahyeon.
It was natural for him to be confused. Sahyeon’s sudden appearance must’ve been disorienting.
Especially since Ryu had already met “Cha Seohu’s younger sibling” multiple times—seeing Sahyeon like this now would only deepen the confusion.
“Yes, don’t worry. I’ll be back soon.”
Understanding Ryu’s feelings, Cha Seohu deliberately smiled brightly, trying to seem carefree. If he had to go, he at least wanted to ease their worry.
Leaving Ryu Sunghyun, Song Jiwoon, and The One Who Walks Above Snow behind, Cha Seohu stepped out of the cave with Cha Sahyeon. Sahyeon followed, stepping silently through the thick snow.
“Hyung.”
Just as Cha Seohu had expected, once they were far enough away, Sahyeon spoke up.
“Why are you staying here? You really want to help that thing?”
“...”
“Why? Why do you want to help him?”
Cha Seohu kept walking, saying nothing. A sharp gust of wind howled between them.
Sahyeon shouted again, his voice cracking.
“You’re really just going to keep ignoring me like this?”
There was pain buried in his voice. Finally, Cha Seohu stopped and turned around to face him.
“What if I don’t want to see you?”
“What?”
“What if I don’t want to see you—what would you do then?”
Sahyeon’s eyes widened in shock, frozen in place. Seeing his reaction, Cha Seohu let out a bitter laugh.
His fear of Sahyeon wasn’t just about appearance.
Sahyeon had changed—in every way. No one knew that better than Cha Seohu himself.
The way he skillfully used high-level abilities. The way he made lightning-fast combat decisions. The way he found mysterious items that concealed energy. The way he immediately knew how to deal with the demon’s condition.
And most of all—
User Info: Sahyeon (Villain)
Age: 22
Main Skill: Living Shadow (L-rank)
Title: The Master of Shadows
Attack Power: L-rank
Attack Speed: L-rank
Movement Speed: L-rank
Agility: L-rank
Special Note:
▸ Seed of Catastrophe: 62% progress
▸ Synchronization: 60% progress
That word—“synchronization”—bothered Cha Seohu.
As the seed’s progress advanced, so did the synchronization. But what did it actually mean?
If... if my suspicion is right...
After a moment of hesitation, Cha Seohu finally spoke.
“Who are you?”
Cha Sahyeon slowly closed his eyes, then opened them. Beneath his long lashes, his cold green eyes glinted faintly.
“That little boy I knew... you’re not him anymore.”
“...”
“You...”
His chest tightened. Even though he’d prepared himself, it still hurt.
Clenching his fists, Cha Seohu forced the words out.
“Are you... the Catastrophe?”

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