The Intended Miracle (1)
Absolutely not the result he had wanted. Cheon Hyeok looked down with trembling eyes at the girl cradled in his arms. Her skin was pale and lifeless, red blood streaming from the massive hole torn through her small, branch-like frame. A black void that should never have existed. It felt as if his gaze itself was being sucked into it.
The moment the specially reinforced wall collapsed, he ran inside as though possessed, ignoring every voice around him. The corridor stretched like an eternity. He forced the sealed door open, only to find everything already over. Just like in the past, he was always too late. No matter how desperately he reached out, the only things he ever grasped were cold flesh and the metallic scent of blood.
The girl hung limp in his arms like a marionette with its strings cut. Faces from the past flickered across his vision, overlapping her motionless form. His clothes had turned crimson, soaked through, and his hands were slick with her blood. A dark pool spread across the white floor beneath them.
With that much blood loss and trauma, there was no hope. The faint spark of life still flickering inside her would soon gutter out and vanish. Looking at her pale, sweat-drenched face, Cheon Hyeok could not hide his despair. How much pain had she endured? Even if he had never intended for this to happen, the fact remained that he had allowed the experiment to proceed. Crushing guilt pressed down on him until he could no longer lift his head.
While he stood drowning in that sorrow, movement stirred in the thick smoke across the room. The woman who had been slammed into the wall by his surprise attack was slowly rising again. Her face twisted into a demonic mask, red light blazing from her eyes. The sight tore something open inside Cheon Hyeok’s chest. The memory of her innocent smile from years ago surfaced unbidden.
Why did it have to be you? Out of everyone, why you…? The despair he thought he had buried clawed its way back to the surface. He forced it down. The woman before him was no longer the person he remembered. She had lost all reason and was now nothing more than a dangerous entity driven by instinct. Still, he could not completely extinguish the complicated emotions boiling inside him. Hatred would have been easier, but the warmth of old memories only deepened his sorrow.
For the sake of his own composure, he had to subdue her quickly. He knew better than anyone that he was the only one capable of restraining her inside this facility. If he failed here, more victims would follow.
Feeling her killing intent intensify, Cheon Hyeok steadied himself. He gently laid the girl down on the floor, handling her as carefully as fragile glass. At the very least, he prayed she could pass in peace. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, then reached out to close her slightly parted eyelids.
“...!!?”
His eyes flew wide open. His outstretched arm froze mid-motion. Every thought in his mind came to a halt. All his attention locked onto the gaping wound in the center of the girl’s chest. At first he thought it was a trick of the light. But as seconds passed, the impossible became undeniable. The catastrophic injury was slowly, steadily closing. The flesh knitted itself back together with a precision that defied every law of nature he knew.
He had seen countless healing spells cast by mage-type hunters over the years. None of them could regenerate damage this severe. Even the Saintess, his acquaintance, would have shaken her head at such a wound. This was not healing. This was regeneration—each destroyed cell rewinding time to reconstruct itself perfectly.
The same impossible restoration was occurring at her neck. Through the torn fabric, clear teeth marks had once been visible. Now only flawless white skin remained, without so much as a scar. Cheon Hyeok stood petrified, unable to comprehend what he was witnessing. He carefully pressed two fingers against the girl’s throat.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
A strong, vibrant pulse beat against his fingertips. It was the heartbeat of someone very much alive. Color was already returning to her previously ashen face. It was nothing short of a miracle.
Even as this impossible scene unfolded, the situation inside the room continued to escalate. Having recovered from the shock, the disheveled woman emerged from the smoke. Cheon Hyeok, whose attention had been entirely elsewhere, belatedly noticed and looked up. She was still radiating intense killing intent toward them. He moved to intercept her, but the expected clash never came.
Ziiing—
Clack!
Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting!
Pajijijijik!!!
“!??..... Keuuu!! Aaaaaah!!!!”
Dozens of pillars dropped from the ceiling in a perfect circle around her position. They discharged a powerful electric current, locking her in place. Amidst the blinding blue flashes, she thrashed and struggled, but thick steel structures soon rose from the floor to encase her completely. Finally, a massive barrier wall descended, sealing the area off from the rest of the facility.
“…The emergency response system arrived right on time. Though it was only possible because you sent her flying over there.”
Cheon Hyeok turned toward the voice. As expected, Ha-yeon was approaching, hands tucked into the pockets of her white coat. She walked up to them and immediately lowered her gaze to the girl’s chest, where the wound had almost completely closed.
“I saw it through the internal cameras, but… I still can’t believe it. I really don’t understand.”
With a dazed expression, Ha-yeon crouched down and lightly placed her hand over the newly regenerated skin visible through the torn clothes. After a moment of gentle pressure, she withdrew her hand and stood up again.
“It’s not just the surface. The internal blood vessels and even the heart have regenerated perfectly.”
Even after confirming it herself, she stared at the girl in disbelief. Cheon Hyeok, who had witnessed the entire process, felt the same. While the two of them stood frozen, the girl’s body finished returning to its original state. Judging by her closed eyes and steady breathing, she had lost consciousness.
In the midst of relief, confusion, and shock, the mysterious girl who held the answers to everything slept peacefully, oblivious to the turmoil around her.
“…As expected, my guess was correct. There are no abnormalities anywhere in her body. That injury from earlier should have been instantly fatal.”
Inside a dimly lit room filled with heavy silence, Ha-yeon spoke first. Cheon Hyeok, who had been staring into the darkness with a grim expression, slowly raised his head. The only source of light came from the rectangular medical device where the unconscious girl lay. Seeing her brought back the memory of a few hours ago—the flood of blood, her broken form. His brow furrowed involuntarily, and the anger shifted toward the woman responsible.
“Now… how about you explain? Why did that happen? You’d better give me a proper answer. Evasion won’t work.”
His voice sounded calm, but it carried an intense, barely restrained fury. Ha-yeon, who had known him for years, understood it perfectly.
“…I know what you want to say. But this incident was never intended, and I didn’t anticipate it either. Her suddenly displaying that level of power, and the child surviving those injuries—none of it was part of the plan.”
Even under the weight of his killing intent, Ha-yeon answered calmly. There was no trace of her usual playfulness. Her eyes were cold and rational—the face she wore when she refused to lie.
Knowing this, Cheon Hyeok asked quietly instead of pressing further.
“Then why did it happen? That wall was specially designed to withstand her power.”
“I’m wondering the same thing. The only plausible explanation I can think of is that the child acted as some kind of trigger.”
“A trigger…?”
“Yes. The only variable introduced into that empty space was the child entering. It’s the simplest and most reasonable conclusion.”
She stroked her chin thoughtfully. Her answer only deepened Cheon Hyeok’s confusion. Seeing his unconvinced expression, Ha-yeon gave a small, wry laugh and shook her head.
“…Even with that look on your face, I genuinely don’t know what happened either. It’s been a while since I’ve felt this uncertain. Still, at least one thing has been proven. We’ve confirmed the child’s innocence.”
Cheon Hyeok nodded slightly, a faint sense of relief flickering across his face. This had been the purpose of the additional experiment from the beginning. Years ago, the woman had been transformed by a mysterious curse into something else entirely. Through repeated tests, they had discovered she harbored extreme hostility toward humans and other Earth lifeforms, yet showed no reaction whatsoever to monsters. The reason remained unknown despite extensive research. If used correctly, however, this trait could serve as a litmus test to determine whether other mysterious entities posed a threat to humanity.
That was why they had risked conducting the experiment. The result had been decisive: the moment she faced the girl, her killing intent had been overwhelming. If even she reacted this strongly, other monsters would likely respond the same way.
“It’s a good outcome, but we subjected that child to an unforgettable nightmare in the process. I don’t even have the face to look her in the eye. I promised to protect her, yet I broke that promise from the very start…”
Cheon Hyeok lowered his voice and dragged both hands down his face. Watching him from a short distance away, Ha-yeon turned her gaze aside and spoke quietly.
“You did nothing wrong. If there is any fault, it’s mine alone. Experiments always produce unexpected outcomes and demand sacrifices. The responsibility belongs only to the one who initiated it. One villain is enough.”
Her voice carried weight. She had devoted nearly half her life to this field of research. It would have been stranger if there had been no casualties. In the process, her emotions had gradually dried up. Cheon Hyeok did not pity her, but he could understand. They both worked under the same banner of protecting humanity.
A brief silence fell between them. It did not last long. The most important matter still remained.
“Then… shall we talk about what we just witnessed? About that ‘miracle’ we saw with our own eyes.”
Ha-yeon spoke first. Both of their gazes naturally turned toward the girl sleeping deeply on the examination table.