By Zephyria 
Ban No-ah was flustered.
The mental and curse-type abilities he had unleashed vanished in an instant, like bubbles popping.
He immediately realized what had caused it. An Ga-hyeon had his hand in his pocket and was smirking.
Even though he looked like a ghastly, pale-faced living corpse from excessive blood loss, his gaze was chilling.
That expression that said, ‘You’re going to die soon, you’re going to pay the price.’
‘He actually used the red bead containing nullification…!’
Damn it. He had hoped that, of all things, it wouldn’t activate.
Ban No-ah, who was using his ability to obscure vision and speak in the voice of the person the target most wanted to hear at that moment, heard the sound of glass shattering.
“…Ah.”
Clang, clang.
From his neck, ears, wrist, fingers….
The red beads embedded in the accessories he wore were breaking one by one.
“Ah, no!”
Everything that was breaking was a type of ability that disturbed the five senses of others, inducing carelessness.
‘If I don’t have these, I, I…!’
I can’t escape!
Ban No-ah desperately hoped that the red bead that made his face and bone structure look like a completely different person would be safe, but.
Clang-!
The red bead, stained with Ban No-ah’s touch, shattered his expectations and turned into useless shards of glass.
Seeing that, An Ga-hyeon smiled with satisfaction, as if he found it amusing, and then fell backward.
“Y, you…!”
Ban No-ah, about to lash out at An Ga-hyeon, barely calmed himself.
‘N, no. Right now, I have to steal the Resurrection ability from that guy….’
The moment Ban No-ah reached out to the spear embedded in An Ga-hyeon’s heart as he fell backward.
Thwack!
“Kuaaack!”
A powerful blow struck Ban No-ah’s head, slamming him into the collapsed wall.
Crash-!
With a tremendous roar, he was slammed headfirst into the wall.
Drip, drip.
Ban No-ah, sliding down with his face a mess, fainted on the spot.
Ban No-ah, who had lost his stolen abilities, was easily dealt with.
“Ah, ah… No, no! No way!”
Hyeon Jae-ha, who had blown Ban No-ah away, paid no attention to him and rushed to An Ga-hyeon.
Beneath his feet, the red beads that had turned into transparent shards of glass crunched.
Hyeon Jae-ha hugged his partner and shed tears like rain.
“No…. Ga-hyeon, you’re joking, right?”
“…….”
There was no response from An Ga-hyeon.
“Director….”
Samoa, Geum Na-ro, Ha Ri-ra, and others gathered around him hesitantly.
Jo Jae-chan sighed sadly.
“It’s difficult to say…. But he has already passed away.”
“…No.”
“Director.”
“No! Ga-hyeon, Ga-hyeon didn’t die….”
Hyeon Jae-ha repeated the same words like a madman, pulling the black spear shaft from An Ga-hyeon.
“Jo Jae-chan, quickly heal this wound. Ga-hyeon has the ‘Resurrection’ ability, so he’ll wake up soon if the wound just heals.”
“…Director.”
“Hurry. Why are you dawdling? Ga-hyeon will die like this.”
“…It’s a truly unfortunate thing, but you must accept it.”
Ha Ri-ra barely managed to continue Jo Jae-chan’s words.
“That person… Guide An Ga-hyeon has passed away.”
“…….”
“He has already breathed his last. Using healing on someone like that—”
“Shut up!”
Whooong.
“Kueuk!”
The White Tiger Unit members were pushed back and fell by the energy wave emanating from Hyeon Jae-ha.
“D, Director!”
“Ga-hyeon didn’t die. He didn’t die….”
Hyeon Jae-ha, muttering, was gradually turning white and blue.
As if engulfed in will-o’-the-wisps.
The White Tiger Unit members had seen that sight once before.
They were aghast and shouted to the management bureau staff and the survivors.
“Everyone, evacuate!”
“The Director, Esper Hyeon Jae-ha, is about to go berserk. In a little while, this area will be completely devastated. If there are any Ability Users with teleportation abilities, please evacuate quickly!”
The blood drained from Director Shin Yun-hui’s face as well.
“Even if there are Ability Users with teleportation abilities, the number of people they can take is limited. Besides, there’s a limit to the distance they can go.”
She had read all the Red Code files recorded about Hyeon Jae-ha and knew them well.
“…Is there really anyone here who can escape the range of an S-Class Esper who has even achieved Second Awakening?”
Everyone was silent at that question.
Because they knew there was no way out.
When Hyeon Jae-ha lost An Ga-hyeon and went berserk 20 years ago, he had only completed his First Awakening.
Even so, it caused an aftershock that completely blew away and destroyed the surrounding research facilities.
Now, the damage would be greater, not smaller.
Director Shin Yun-hui was sweating profusely.
‘This isn’t just a matter for this management bureau. The entire city might be engulfed in the flames of the rampage.’
There had never been a case of an Esper who had undergone Second Awakening going berserk.
So it was hard to even imagine how much damage would follow.
‘Was this what Ban No-ah wanted? That if he was going to be caught, everyone would follow the Grim Reaper together?’
He had found too many companions to go to the afterlife with.
Shin Yun-hui glared at the collapsed Ban No-ah.
“To think we’re all going to die like dogs because of that bastard!”
Even in that moment of frustration, the overwhelming power wave was inflicting minor injuries on them and pushing them back little by little.
‘This is bad.’
At this rate, the ending is obvious: everyone will be annihilated.
But no one dared to approach Hyeon Jae-ha.
In that moment when despair was engulfing the surroundings, a glittering golden butterfly fluttered its wings and flew towards Hyeon Jae-ha.
“…A butterfly?”
What butterfly suddenly in this season, from where…?
Leaving behind the gazes of the wondering people.
The golden butterfly landed on Hyeon Jae-ha’s forehead, just before he was about to wipe everything out with his rampage.
At the same time, the voice of a little child echoed through the air.
[ Listen carefully, Hyeon Jae-ha. ]
“…What?”
A naive child’s voice that he had never heard before.
The owner of that voice, Potato, was choked with tears as he barely pronounced each word.
[ An Ga-hyeon, my master, is not dead. ]
“……!”
At that one word, Hyeon Jae-ha’s eyes regained their light.
His focused pupils turned to the golden butterfly fluttering its wings.
[ To be exact, I can say that I’m saving him by disappearing. ]
“…What are you?”
At Hyeon Jae-ha’s question, the butterfly smiled softly.
[ I am my master An Ga-hyeon’s ability. An ability that separated and gained self-awareness following his will when An Ga-hyeon died, ‘Resurrection’. ]
Everyone was shocked at those words.
“An ability gained self-awareness and separated?”
“How could such a thing….”
Whether everyone was amazed or not, Hyeon Jae-ha, who had reduced the blue flames, listened intently to Potato’s words.
“So, what can you do?”
[ I originally belong to my master An Ga-hyeon. So if I am absorbed into An Ga-hyeon’s heart, he can come back to life. ]
“…Did Ga-hyeon know that?”
[ No. That kid didn’t know. He was worried about you going berserk until the end and only asked me to stop you. ]
“You disobeyed your master’s orders.”
[ That’s right. But I have no regrets. ]
The golden butterfly fluttered its wings and landed on An Ga-hyeon’s heart, which was soaked in blood.
[ If I can save my master, and if you and my master Ga-hyeon can be happy. ]
“…….”
[ I have nothing more to wish for. Even if my self disappears, I will always exist with Ga-hyeon. ]
Just like it always was-.
Hyeon Jae-ha did not stop the golden butterfly’s actions.
The golden butterfly seemed to have expected it and soon seeped into An Ga-hyeon’s chest.
The golden butterfly, becoming a golden liquid and seeping into the hole in his heart, emitted a tremendous light.
Everyone except Hyeon Jae-ha covered their eyes, fearing they would be blinded by the light.
“…Rest in peace.”
Hyeon Jae-ha alone stood firm and watched the scene of the golden butterfly being absorbed into An Ga-hyeon.
Soon, a miracle occurred.
Bones and flesh filled the gaping chest.
The stopped heart began to beat again. The blood that had been shed was restored and flowed through the blood vessels.
And when the light had completely disappeared.
“Heok, cough!”
An Ga-hyeon opened his eyes.
Hyeon Jae-ha hugged the awakened An Ga-hyeon and shed tears of joy.
“Thank you for coming back to life.”
Hyeon Jae-ha kissed An Ga-hyeon while shedding tears.
“I love you, Ga-hyeon. I always wanted to tell you these words.”
“…You, cough, said it last time, too.”
“There’s never enough saying ‘I love you’.”
“…I know that too.”
“What?”
“That I love you.”
“Ga-hyeon.”
“I love you, Hyeon Jae-ha. I was most sorry that I couldn’t properly answer you at the moment of my death.”
“It’s enough that you answered me.”
It’s okay now.
The ominous white and blue flames disappeared without a trace.
Hyeon Jae-ha’s rampage had stopped completely.
Everyone who confirmed that was relieved.
The sound of a siren was heard outside the window.
Quite a bit of time had passed since the Ban No-ah incident.
Everything went back to normal.
Ban No-ah was arrested by the management bureau staff who had been freed from Brainwashing and the Hunters who had come back after resolving the Dungeon Break.
Just confiscating all the red beads and locking him in prison was enough to cause him severe anxiety.
“L, let me out of here! Hyeon Jae-ha is going to come and kill me!”
He was in constant fear every day.
“Mother! Father! Why aren’t you coming to pick me up! Why!”
He looked for his parents like a madman.
According to Director Shin Yun-hui, Ban No-ah had gone half mad due to the shock of returning to being an Inability User.
He was scheduled to receive the maximum sentence because the evidence of his parricide and past misdeeds remained irrefutably in the red beads.
I, who was hospitalized, listened to that story with applause and satisfaction.
But when I heard the story of the golden butterfly that saved Hyeon Jae-ha and me, I couldn’t help but shed tears.
“Potato….”
Even if I grabbed my heart and called out his name, Potato no longer appeared in front of me or answered me.
20 years ago, when I died, Potato wandered around for that long, following my energy. In order to reunite with me.
From the moment I entered Yeon Yu-jin’s body and opened my eyes, Potato was by my side.
Thanks to Potato, I was able to adapt to this life more quickly, and sometimes just his presence was a source of strength.
Somehow, I couldn’t shake off the uneasy feeling that day.
Potato, who had completely seeped in and become one with me again, had fallen into eternal sleep. I probably won’t be able to see him again.
That fact was heartbreakingly painful.
Because I was fine from the time I was hospitalized due to the ‘Resurrection’ ability, I was discharged quickly.
A lot had changed in the meantime.
Ban No-ah was sentenced to death, and the White Tiger Unit members who had been unfairly framed as deserters all regained their original status.
The management bureau underwent a major overhaul, led by Director Shin Yun-hui.
I decided to temporarily suspend my idol activities as ‘Yeon Yu-jin’.
Originally, I was going to quit altogether, but the agency and Secrety members strongly opposed and tried to persuade me, so I decided to postpone the decision by taking a break.
So, the agency announced that ‘Secrety member Yeon Yu-jin will be suspending activities for the time being due to health problems and is scheduled to join later’.
The fandom, Guardian, was disappointed, but expressed their intention to wait for him to return someday.
The small changes in daily life were more touching than the big changes.
Jae-ha was now able to walk proudly in the sunlight with me.
Jae-ha and I received ample compensation from the state and Ban No-ah’s family, so we had nothing to be economically lacking.
We held hands and walked side by side down a street filled with warm sunlight. Not as partners, but as a couple.
Towards a small tomb in a quiet park.
“…Potato.”
Standing in front of that tomb, we clasped our hands together and tried to smile brightly.
“I will definitely use this life that you saved well.”
I will live happily for a long, long time and go to see you later.
Because I need to have a good excuse when I go to see you.
“Let’s definitely meet again later.”
Jae-ha kissed my tearful eyes.
“It’s okay, we’ll meet again someday.”
“…Yeah.”
I also responded to Jae-ha’s kiss and carefully kissed his lips.
It was a peaceful time, no different from what any couple would spend.
–