MBOMEN 23

Chapter 23. The Prince of Searow (10)

“No.”

Lyla muttered to herself and slowly stepped back, clenching the ring on her right hand tightly.

How had she connected with Yustar earlier?

— I could even take over your body.

The woman slowly approached. She hadn’t even touched her, yet a chilling cold enveloped Lyla’s entire body again.
There was no going back. But she couldn’t shake her off either…

— You’re tempting… oh, so tempting! A child like you has never come to this place! Give me your body! Hand it over!

The voice echoing in her head grew louder and louder.
Without realizing it, Lyla screamed and swung her clenched right hand.
A stabbing pain shot through her like a needle.
When she opened her eyes, the woman was biting into her right hand, her jaw wide open.

Crunch…

Decayed yellow teeth scraped over the ring on Lyla’s finger.
If she tried to pull away, she would surely be torn apart.
Panting, Lyla stared with bloodshot eyes. What should she do…?

“Lyla!”

Lyla’s head snapped around.

“Yustar! Over here!”

Meeting an angel in the middle of hell couldn’t have been more welcome.
Unable to bear the pain in her right hand any longer, Lyla screamed.
It felt like her fingers would be torn off…

Then—

— BOOM!

With a deafening crash as if the entire wall collapsed, Lyla’s body was pulled backward.
She widened her eyes to see the woman slammed against the opposite wall.

“How…?”

“Did you see the core?”
Yustar asked.
When Lyla nodded, he placed a hand on her shoulder and pointed his chin toward a direction.

“Look again. You have to open the core. But it’ll be painful. Very painful.”

“She showed me her memories.”

“She won’t anymore.”

Pinned to the wall, the woman couldn’t move and flailed helplessly.
Her limbs were splayed wide in an X, with rotting fingers twitching grotesquely.
Her eyes, swollen and white, rolled aimlessly in their sockets.

— You! You dare—! You were made from my blood and you dare defy me?! Let go of me! Let go!

Lyla looked stunned, unable to process what she was facing.
Yustar spoke urgently.

“Hurry, Lyla. We don’t have time. Start the overlay. You must open the core.”

She wanted to answer that she understood, but no words came.
The ghost’s disembodied screams were terrifying.

Lyla quickly closed her eyes and focused on the woman.
She tried to recall the memories she had seen earlier, but they were hazy…
Like prying open a tightly locked box, it took effort.

The difference now was that instead of her fingers and arms, she had to use mental strength—her mind itself.

“It’s not working, Yustar!”

“Do it anyway. It’s okay. Take a deep breath… You’re doing well. Slowly.”

His voice resonated in her ears like a lullaby.
Lyla synchronized her breathing with his—
Inhale slowly, exhale even slower.

Like a deep-sea fish surviving on a single breath, she tried to hold it as long as possible.
Then she forced open the crack of the stubborn lid.

— No…! Stop! Don’t come in! Don’t—!

A blinding headache made her knees buckle.
It felt like someone was drilling into her temples with a knife.
If Yustar hadn’t supported her, she would’ve collapsed.

Enduring the pain, Lyla used the last of her strength to fully open the woman’s “box.”
Scenes she had been shown one by one, like torture, now burst forth like a swarm of bees.

She felt something hot trickling down over her lips—
A nosebleed. She realized it.

Then, Yustar’s voice rang out.

“By cutting away the old shadows with rusted scissors, you can no longer return here.”

— Nooo! That girl—she’s still here! That wench—!

Crack.
The wall split.
At the same time, a thin chain shot out from Yustar’s sleeve like an arrow and pierced through the flailing ghost.

— Khhk…!

As the chain drove through her chest, the ghost let out a human-like groan.
Her rotting, decayed face briefly returned to her appearance in life.
Dark, sticky blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.

The woman whispered,

“This… cursed thing… It’s all your fault… You ruined this place… because you were born…”

Lyla’s breathing grew heavy.
The terrible words were clearly meant for Yustar.
And the woman clearly knew who he was.

The chain piercing the woman’s chest began to tighten, as if to tear her apart.

Most of her turned to black dust and disappeared, but a small cube—no bigger than a fingernail—remained.
When Yustar picked it up, Lyla could see that its surface still faintly bore the woman’s facial features.

“Ah…”

Yustar staggered and stepped back from her, exhaling a shaky breath.

“Yustar!”

Lyla moved to support him, but he raised a hand to stop her.

Dark smoke shimmered above his slumped shoulders like an exhausted porter.
Lyla narrowed her eyes, trying to see its form.
What was it?

Crack.

The smoke wrapped around Yustar’s hand.
A faint scream of pain followed.

He’s feeding it again, Lyla thought.
But what exactly was that?
Was it attached to Yustar—or something that came from him?

What kind of being could consume the very essence of a human soul, a refined core?

After the “meal”—if one could call it that—Yustar finally straightened up, looking pale.
His long hair was a tangled mess, and sweat beaded on his forehead.

“Are you okay?”
He asked.

Lyla nodded.
He exhaled again and brushed his damp hair back in a frustrated gesture.

“I told you this place was dangerous, Lyla.”

“I didn’t come here on purpose! I was in the garden.”

Yustar tilted his head with a furrowed brow.

“Is that true?”

With frustration, Lyla replied,

“Why would I lie? I’m not into reckless risks. I don’t jump into things beyond my abilities. I was in the garden… Then I heard her voice. Maybe she cast a spell on me or something.”

Some people can’t see ghosts but are highly sensitive to their presence.
They may find themselves in strange places or doing bizarre—even cruel—things without knowing why.

Lyla had likely been one of them.
Yustar sighed and looked at her, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

“You need a fitting protective gear as soon as possible, Lyla. And a weapon, too. I didn’t expect… I honestly didn’t know you were this sensitive. It’s not just your eyes. You’re… innately a medium.”

Lyla frowned.
She glanced back at the wall where the ghost had been slammed.
It had been badly cracked—on the verge of collapse—but now it looked perfectly fine.

Yustar said,

“Still, I should thank you. That ghost—my grandmother—was honestly a problem. I couldn’t deal with her because I couldn’t see the core. If I didn’t disarm her first, I’d be the one in danger.”

Lyla stared at him.

“Is she really gone now?”

Yustar blinked once in confirmation.

“Yes. I hoped she’d realize her mistakes one day… but it ended this way. Still, no more people will go missing.”

After a moment of hesitation, Lyla cautiously said,

“That woman… your grandmother. She did horrible things. Did you know?”

Yustar paused, then gave a vague nod.

“I’d heard… bits and pieces passed down through others. I wasn’t sure how much was true. But when you opened her core earlier, I caught glimpses. I guess those terrible rumors weren’t lies.”

“She killed a child.”

Lyla staggered briefly from the lingering headache but stood upright before Yustar could help.
Her face was pale.

Yustar said,

“That kind of thing… happens in places like this.”

“Do you have any half-siblings?”

A short silence passed before Yustar answered.

“No. Just my older brother. The one you’ll meet tomorrow—His Majesty, King Ord Hyenmorik.”

Only then did Lyla remember what she had forgotten.
She narrowed her eyes.

After all that, she had to meet the king tomorrow…?
Unbelievable.
Her life, once dull but peaceful, had taken an unimaginable turn.

As if reading her mind, Yustar draped his cloak over her shoulders and said,

“For now, return to your room and get some rest. The Marquis of Himierd probably had the servants prepare your bed. If you can’t sleep, ask for some warm wine.”

“What about you?”

Yustar smiled faintly.
He looked just as tired as Lyla, but oddly, not as shaken.

He didn’t seem like someone who had just torn his grandmother’s soul apart.

“I’m going to my room too. I need sleep. Tomorrow will be busy. If you need me, use the ring. Just tap it like this.”

He lightly tapped the back of his hand in demonstration.
Lyla nodded in understanding.

Yustar gently wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“Come on. I’ll take you to your room.”

Lyla followed him obediently, but a deep unease lingered.
No—it had only grown stronger.

That woman, his grandmother, had said something as she vanished…

You ruined this place. Because you were born…

What are you, really?

Feeling the warmth of Yustar’s hand on her shoulder, Lyla hid her trembling lips.