By Zephyria 
The anomaly had vanished. It had even devoured the spreading Contamination. If so, where was the next meal? Humans. Human livers. Human livers that could serve as a substitute for the brother who had burned the fox demon.
Sssss. The Aberration’s gaze swept toward the humans surrounding the area. Even though they were far enough away to be invisible to the naked eye, its gaze locked onto the eyes of every human present. Not just those in front, but the Agents positioned in the rear as well—everyone.
The eyes of that thing, which resembled a human, were certainly only a single pair. Yet, a sinister sensation of being scrutinized in every detail—far worse than when they had been watched by the countless eyes embedded in the sky—chilled their spines.
Just as its gaze reached in all directions, it would devour them all in a single swoop. And as if that were not enough, it would roam the world, devouring everything it encountered, devouring and devouring, until—like the tale of the foolish man who grew so hungry he tore into his own flesh—it would devour itself and meet its own destruction. When that time came, would there be any being left on this earth that could be called a whole human?
Jeong Ing-bar let out a low groan, aiming his trembling muzzle at the creature. Over a decade of experience being possessed by and hunting Aberrations became meaningless in this moment. He had never encountered an Aberration that could instill such a helpless sense of being prey through a mere glance.
The air, which had slackened while witnessing the divinity of the spirit and the liberation of the Vengeful Spirits bound to the flute, tightened until it felt suffocating. In a fierce silence that forbade even an exhale, only that thing remained, facing the humans with a coarse, rattling breath.
“Huu…”
Beside him, a rookie agent in the formation groaned and gasped. Extreme tension sometimes triggers impulsive actions. Just as he was about to carefully call out to the agent, fearing a misfired shot could lead to disaster—
“Sunbae.”
Kang Suk-young, who had stepped out of the command vehicle, approached the clearing without any protective gear. The ominous gaze that had seemed ready to pounce on the humans at any moment was withdrawn. It produced a voice identical to the one it had when it was human.
「Suk-young, please. I can’t suppress it any longer.」
Though its lips barely moved, the voice it emitted reached everyone surrounding the clearing with the same volume.
Kang Suk-young bit her lower lip until it bled. The operation Jeil Heon had personally devised was proceeding without a hitch. That was why it was so painful.
〈Sunbae, you don’t have to do this! Just isolate the Ten Thousand Waves Flute!〉
To her, who had raised her voice unable to accept his plan, Jeil Heon had calmly replied.
〈Isolating it won’t solve anything when the grudges haven’t been resolved. What if an accident happens and it’s released someday? Could the company handle it then? The only opportunity is now, while I am still alive as a human.〉
〈Even if you smash that damn flute, you can’t undo Contamination once it’s spread! Do you think you can purify contamination that’s festered for a thousand years?! Even if that fox brat stops it for now, it’ll eventually spread!〉
〈That is why I am needed even more.〉
Jeil Heon had answered dispassionately, his tone unchanged.
〈Because once I become an Aberration, I will devour that Contamination as well.〉
He, who had desperately wanted to remain human, who had wished to live as a human until the very end, abandoned the path of humanity to save Yoo Jiha from his fate.
Kang Suk-young’s hand rose high in the air. Unaware that a thin stream of blood from her lip was wetting her chin, she lowered her arm.
“…Commence operation.”
As he watched the bullets flying toward him, a conversation from some time ago flashed through Jeil Heon’s mind. A conversation with Mae-gu, who had visited Pilgyeongdang.
〈You said there was a way for me to remain human. What is that method?〉
What answer had he given then?
〈If your younger brother’s comfort doll enshrines the Ten Thousand Waves Flute and plays the flute by your side, you could live as a human for about 200 years, until the comfort doll draws its last breath.〉
Haha… A hollow laugh, just like back then, leaked out. As expected, this was the only way.
He couldn’t tell Yoo Jiha until the end. He didn’t have the confidence to face those kind eyes that whispered how they loved a human like him. He ultimately turned away from the desperate wish that the boy would not suffer because of him. The fact that this was the only way to save Yoo Jiha was no excuse. It was a selfish decision made regardless of the child, a complete fulfillment of egoism.
This selfishness, surely, could not be love.
The ominous sky, which no one in the skies of Seoul—neither human nor Aberration—could see, and which had been reflected only in Yoo Jiha’s eyes, vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
[■]
Along with it, the proof of the Aberration that had lingered before their eyes was erased without a trace.
“Ah…”
Yoo Jiha slowly blinked his eyes, which felt a stinging pain. He could sense it intuitively.
The true eye was gone.
As if it had fulfilled its mission to protect him.
And the original owner of those eyes, as well.
* * *
As the daughter of Yi Seong-gye, who had purged Choe Yeong and become the undisputed supreme power of Goryeo, the girl held a grand wedding. Several years later, appointed as Princess Gyeongsun, the daughter of the King, she slowly opened her eyes in the Gung-ga (the residence where the children of the King lived after leaving the palace).
She had simply fallen asleep as usual, but today was different from yesterday. Until yesterday, she believed the land she lived on was Gaegyeong and Hanyang, but today she knew it was the Aberrant Realm containing the true form of Mae-gu. Her returned soul reflected upon the grudges of her lifetime and the hundreds of years that followed, and conveyed the realization of her father, who had let go of resentment and hatred.
Ah. So many people suffered.
Princess Gyeongsun let out a low groan and closed her eyes. Perhaps awakened by her presence, the Aberration beside her—who was imitating her husband, Lee Je—sat up.
It was early dawn, and the Aberration asked with concern if she had had a bad dream. Princess Gyeongsun looked back at it with a bittersweet gaze. This Aberration, which perfectly mimicked her husband, was said to be as tender as he had been in life.
“Even though my brother, the Crown Prince, and Lord Muan (Yi Bang-beon) had died, I intended to visit my brother’s private residence to plead for your life. Had you not refused, I would have surely knelt before my brother and implored him.”
〈My Lady, no matter how you pleaded, Lord Jeong-an (Yi Bang-won) would not have let me live. I pray that you do not remember this wretched man for too long, and that you take care of your health.〉
Because of that, even her husband had left her side. She had tried to beg the enemy who killed her brothers to spare only her husband. It was no different from having abandoned her brothers, as she, the only full sister, had also been ruthlessly murdered. This guilt was also a grudge that had bound her.
“I am sorry. For asking a difficult choice that disturbed your resolve to face death. But even so, I wanted to save you.”
Princess Gyeongsun sighed, overlaying the words she couldn’t deliver to her husband in life onto the Aberration that resembled him. The Aberration merely looked at her with a sad expression, just as the living Lee Je would have.
“Until the moment my breath stopped, I missed you so, so much.”
As the low sigh fell, the Gung-ga that had been her dwelling and the Hanyang fortress where she had lived scattered away like a dream.
Princess Gyeongsun gazed for a long time at the vast space filled only with bright light, then quietly spoke.
“Fox, are you there?”
「You called.」
The Aberration, which had stared at her with a pained expression—almost like a human—as she sobbed in regret and breathed her last, tilted its soft face toward her.
“You looked after my spirit so that it would not be clouded while bound to the flute. Thank you.”
「I merely satisfied a gloomy desire; it is not something for the Princess to be grateful for.」
“Even if what you say is true, thanks to you, I had a long and happy dream.”
「On the contrary, I hindered the Princess, who sought to resolve her grudge even if it were through the descendants of her enemy. I could no longer bear to see your soul in a place so distant that even I could not reach.」
Just as the legends of the fox demon have been recounted for thousands of years across Northeast Asia, Mae-gu’s power is superior to that of the Ten Thousand Waves Flute. However, if it had broken the flute by force, the grudge of the Vengeful Spirit bound to it would not have been resolved.
To set her soul free, not the crude power of an Aberration, but a human heart capable of understanding a Vengeful Spirit was required.
Just like a certain man who refused to let go of his humanity until the very end.