Step. Step.
Lee Taeseong looked utterly exhausted.
It was no surprise—he had been searching for Oh Haeyoung for a staggering 160 years.
It had been a long time. He had faced many things.
He had fought alongside his comrades on the battlefield during his time as a soldier, battling the monsters of the hidden world.
He had met his mother and father.
He had even crossed swords once more with a man who had spent his entire life wielding a blade for the woman he loved—and through that, he had learned much.
For fifty years, he had been trapped in the formation of the Heavenly Pillar Earth King, Magunak, one of the two deities of the Eastern Continent’s Three Gods, experiencing every conceivable pain the human body could endure.
It took him thirty years to defeat the sworn knight bound by countless restrictions.
If that knight had managed to break free from all his constraints, it would have taken even longer.
Even though he knew these were fragments of memories, they had felt real—too real.
Even with his transcendent mental fortitude, Lee Taeseong found himself exhausted before the onslaught of illusions.
Around the hundred-year mark, he sensed that Oh Haeyoung’s mind was deteriorating.
She no longer responded when he called out to her, and whenever he glimpsed her fleeting illusions, they screamed in agony.
He knew that her shattered mind was the result of past memories, and that knowledge only made him more anxious.
“Get up, Oh Haeyoung. Just how long do you plan to stay down?”
“……”
A blood-red abyss.
At its deepest point, Oh Haeyoung’s body was encased within a membranous cocoon, globe like shape.
It glistened, its surface slick and smooth, while thick, vein-like strands pulsed in rhythmic motion, beating in time with a distant heartbeat.
Taeseong clicked his tongue, irritation slipping into his voice.
“Hah… Do you have any idea how much hell I went through to get here?”
Of course, there was no response.
Oh Haeyoung had given up on everything. This place—this hollow realm—was nothing more than a fabrication of her collapsed psyche.
The “voice of her heart” had simply granted her wish.
“…Are you really going to give up on everything?”
“……”
“Didn’t you say you wanted to avenge your family?”
“……”
“Didn’t you want to learn the truth about that day?”
“……”
“Haven’t you ever wished, just once, to live a happy life?”
A faint twitch.
The body trapped within the membrane trembled ever so slightly.
Seeing this, Taeseong smiled.
“I get it. You’re tired. You’re exhausted. You want to give up on everything and run away. That’s probably true for every human. We all live with pain, and the easiest way to escape it is to flee.”
“……”
“But…”
“……”
“There is no paradise in the place you run to.”
“……”
“Tell me. Does this place you’re in now feel like paradise?”
“……”
“If you can’t answer, then respond the way you just did. I told you, didn’t I? If you ever reach for help, I won’t hesitate to extend my hand.”
“….”
Twitch!
“…I see. That’s answer enough.”
Lee Taeseong raised both hands. The twin swords he held crossed in an X.
“Get up. It’s time to wake up from this dream.”
Slash!
The crossed swords traced a breathtaking arc through the air. As they soared, the membranous cocoon surrounding Oh Haeyoung began to crack.
It was an awe-inspiring sight—like a chrysalis breaking apart as a butterfly emerged after a long slumber.
At last, as the last remnants of the shell crumbled away, Lee Taeseong stepped forward and lifted Oh Haeyoung into his arms.
Her eyelids fluttered open, revealing dazed eyes that gazed up at him, confused and unfocused, like someone just waking from a deep sleep.
“Team… Leader?”
“Did you sleep well?”
“Why am I…?”
At some point, the blood-red sea surrounding her had vanished without a trace, as though it had never existed—like a mirage luring in the desperate and thirsty.
“I… I…”
Tears spilled down Oh Haeyoung’s cheeks, endlessly. She buried her face in Taeseong’s chest, sobbing.
“This wasn’t what I wanted… I just wanted to live happily with my family… I never wanted this kind of life… It’s been so hard, and so terrifying…”
She poured out the words she had kept buried deep inside, her long-suppressed emotions surging forth like an unrelenting waterfall. There was no order to her words—no logic, no coherence. She spoke as if she were a child who had just woken from a nightmare, rambling without sense.
Watching her, Lee Taeseong spoke in a calm voice.
“That’s right. You don’t have to force yourself to smile anymore. If you want to cry, then cry.”
“Huaaang!”
[470 years have passed.]
[480 years have passed.]
After sobbing in Taeseong’s arms for what felt like an eternity, Oh Haeyoung finally started to regain her composure. When she did, embarrassment crept in, and she mumbled softly.
“…Can you put me down now?”
Taeseong gently set her down—then promptly flicked her forehead.
Smack!
“Ow! What was that for?!”
“You finally look like yourself again.”
Lowering her head, Oh Haeyoung murmured.
“…Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For not giving up on me… for saving me like this.”
She let out a quiet sigh before continuing.
“I remember everything. In the end, I couldn’t withstand the weight of time here—I broke. I let myself get trapped in the illusions of the past, and I was ready to give up on everything.”
Lee Taeseong listened in silence.
“I felt a momentary sense of relief within the illusion I created. It was a bit eerie, but… still, I was happy to return to that time, even if just for a little while. Eating meals with friends without a care, attending classes, chatting about trivial things and laughing brightly…”
Lee Taeseong said nothing, simply looking at her. Oh Haeyoung continued speaking.
“Honestly, I think I never wanted to wake up from that dream. In that place, I wouldn’t have to suffer anymore. I wouldn’t have to risk my life fighting terrifying entities like I do now… I wouldn’t have to keep pushing myself relentlessly to avenge my family and uncover the truth… Well, in the end, that place was just another kind of hell.”
Perhaps her mind had yet to fully recover, as to Lee Taeseong, she still seemed to be rambling.
It was as if she herself couldn’t clearly sort out her emotions.
“Accept it.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t overthink it. Just accept it all. The Oh Haeyoung who longs for the past, the Oh Haeyoung who suffers because of it, the Oh Haeyoung who wants to turn away from reality, and the Oh Haeyoung who still chooses to move forward—all of them are you. They’re all a part of you. All those pieces come together to make you who you are now. So just accept it.”
“…How can you think so simply about something like this, Team Leader?”
“I know. Words are easy. But I’m no different from you. I’ve struggled too. I’ve carried my own burdens. When I first fell into another world, I thought about dying every single day. There were times when I just cried my heart out. But I endured, driven by nothing but the determination to return. It’s just… that’s how it was.”
Before he knew it, he had spoken more openly than he intended. Running a hand through his hair in mild embarrassment, he added,
“Let’s just live like that. At the very least, let’s not run away—let’s keep looking ahead as we live. If we do that, then maybe… one day, we’ll have the right to use the word ‘happiness.’”
“Pfft.”
“…Why are you laughing?”
Oh Haeyoung grinned brightly.
“I never expected you to comfort me like this. You really can’t judge people by appearances, huh? You’ve got an unexpected side to you.”
“Who knows? Maybe I’ve lost my mind after being here for so long.”
“Don’t say scary things like that. If a monster like you went crazy, our entire branch would be wiped out.”
“The Alpha-rank administrators are here. What’s the problem?”
Oh Haeyoung stared at him for a moment before speaking seriously.
“…Honestly, I can’t imagine you losing to anyone, Team Leader.”
Lee Taeseong tilted his head.
“You’re saying foolish things. You saw with your own eyes how many times I was killed by the illusions I created.”
Heavenly Demon-Slaying Blade, Han Yugwang.
The number of times he had been cut down by that man easily exceeded ten thousand. And the time it took to defeat him? A hundred years. Oh Haeyoung had witnessed every bit of it.
In fact, she might know the inner workings of Lee Taeseong’s body better than even he did.
“But in the end, you still won, didn’t you? You know what, Team Leader? When we first met, you were at Epsilon rank. But now, you’re already at Beta rank. On top of that, you’re the first-ever special task force captain in Tree’s history. Be honest with me. You’re not human, are you?”
She asked playfully, but Lee Taeseong couldn’t immediately answer. The more he recalled his past, the more he questioned whether he truly was human.
[490 years have passed.]
“I don’t know.”
“Huh? Come on, don’t take my joke so seriously. You’re obviously human… right?”
“You don’t sound too sure.”
“N-No! I really think you’re human! And even if you’re not, so what? There are plenty of non-human administrators in Tree. Right?”
“…Yeah. Thanks.”
[500 years have passed.]
Hearing that voice, Oh Haeyoung smiled.
“Wow, it’s already been 500 years? Only 200 years left. Hehe.”
“…Do you think you can endure it?”
She hesitated for a moment before answering in an uncertain voice.
“Honestly, I don’t know. I’m barely holding on as it is. But I’ll try my best. It’d be a waste to give up after coming this far… And besides, if I lose myself again, you’ll just show up like this and save me, right?”
“There won’t be a second time. So—”
It happened then.
A crack formed in the space around them, followed by the sound of approaching footsteps.
Click. Click.
As soon as he heard that sound, Lee Taeseong’s expression twisted.
“…How persistently you keep following me.”
Through the crack, a woman stepped into view, slowly making her way toward them.
An elegant figure.
Her graceful movements were reminiscent of a noblewoman from the medieval era, but the moment she appeared, Oh Haeyoung began trembling violently, convulsing as if she were having a seizure.
“U-Uuh! Uuuaaaaaah! Ugh, aaahhh!”
The woman wore a long, frilled red dress. A fan concealed everything but her eyes, and in her other hand, she held an ornate parasol.
Lee Taeseong recognized her from his memories.
【??-Rank Entity Containment Report】
No. ????
Entity Name: The Woman in the Red Dress (Tentative).
Rank: ??
Threat Level: ??
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