The Whisper of Corruption
In a quiet corner of a café on Handae Street, Sehwa and Yuria met early that morning.
"Sehwa. Have you been well?"
"Yes, sis."
A strange tension flowed between the two women seated far from the counter in a secluded corner. It was like the lingering awkwardness between friends who had fought and reconciled but still carried a scar in their hearts.
"Sehwa, just act. This isn't the time for that."
"Sis, is something bothering you?"
Sehwa's question. She had noticed how Yuria had hesitated awkwardly when sitting down. She knows everything and still asks like that… What a fox. It’s suffocating.
"No? Why?"
"Nothing. But why did you call me here?"
"I have something I’m curious about. I might ask something a little rude… but I’d appreciate it if you answered."
"Sure. Since it’s you, sis, I’ll answer."
"Thank you. I’ll ask right away. You… what do you think of humans?"
At those words, Sehwa tilted her head.
"Humans?"
"Yeah."
"Why are you suddenly asking that?"
Ah… I saw a lot of sexually harassing comments on the internet. I was worried it might have upset you… Of course, Yuria didn’t mention that she had secretly eavesdropped on the conversation in the lab.
"I absolutely hate them."
The immediate answer made Yuria let out a small sigh.
"Because of the malicious comments?"
"Yes. They don’t even seem to realize who’s protecting the peace right now. Instead of being grateful, they only leave comments that make you frown… It’s pathetic."
Sehwa sipped her coffee with clear indignation. Yuria looked at her with an understanding expression. Sehwa continued.
"There’s more. Some people from the World Coalition approached Jihyeok and the Doctor. They said they’d give all kinds of benefits in their countries if we prioritized dealing with monsters when they appear."
"R-really…?"
"It’s true. But those two things aren’t why I started hating humans. There were plenty of good people in the world, after all."
"Then…? Why did your heart change?"
"Do you know about what happened in Syria…?"
"Syria? What about it?"
Sehwa stared intently at Yuria’s bewildered face for a moment, then began to speak. She told her everything about the terrorist group in Syria that had conducted human experiments. As the story progressed, Yuria’s expression gradually hardened. In the middle, when Sehwa mentioned how Jihyeok had nearly become a test subject, Yuria turned pale with shock. By the end, she clenched her fists and exploded with rage.
After revealing the full story, Sehwa said nothing and simply drank her coffee. She was giving Yuria time to process everything.
……
Yuria, completely frozen, remained lost in thought for a long time. It seemed difficult for her to believe that humans could have committed such an act against the natural order. After staring at the coffee table for a while, Yuria finally spoke.
"So the reason you started hating humans was because of what happened in Syria…"
"Yes."
"But you still… have the desire to protect them, right? That’s the power of Aether. If your heart breaks, you might never be able to transform again."
"No. While Aether is certainly tied to the desire to protect, its essence is the power to punish evil. As long as my resolve remains firm, I can transform just fine. I believe we must dominate humans so they can never defy us again."
Oh ho. Before Yuria could even ask about the assignment, she took the initiative. She’s so adorable I could die. I should give her a reward.
A rather wicked gleam shone in Sehwa’s eyes. Yuria, reading that look, was horrified.
"W-wait a second…! You don’t mean…"
"I’ll be going now. Talking about this put me in a bad mood. I’m sorry, sis."
Sehwa pushed her chair back with a scrape and stood up without hesitation, leaving the café. Yuria stared blankly at her retreating figure for a long moment.
— Yuria’s Inner Thoughts —
“Haa…”
On her way to the lab, Yuria struck her own chest in frustration. In the café, Sehwa had tried to label humans as evil. No, it wasn’t that she was trying—she already saw them that way. And when she said they must be dominated so they could never defy “us,” the word “us” had sounded strangely like it came from the perspective of the monsters. That can’t be true, though.
Normally, she would have sharply scolded Sehwa for saying such things. But Yuria couldn’t. Because she herself had begun to see humans as wicked.
What had been decisive was the Syria incident. People who had tried to transplant monster body parts into humans. She couldn’t even imagine it, yet they had done something so horrific… She didn’t want to believe it.
Perhaps… her father’s words were right. Maybe absolute domination through overwhelming power wasn’t so bad.
That’s right… The monsters… risk death itself to follow Tyrat’s orders from somewhere here. I’ve never heard of them causing any problems…
In front of Tyrat, no matter how powerful the monsters were, they displayed absolute loyalty. The power of the name “Demon King” bound their hearts and bodies.
If humans were the same, they wouldn’t even think of doing such terrible things.
While lost in these thoughts, Yuria arrived at the lab. She lifted her head and scanned her face on the sensor. With a heavy whirring sound, the incredibly thick door slid open to both sides.
"You’re here?"
The Doctor, who had been developing equipment, greeted her warmly.
"Yes. Hello?"
"Your voice didn’t sound good when I called earlier… but you seem okay now? Why did you want to see me?"
"I have something I want to ask you."
The Doctor took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. She took a sip of the energy drink beside her, then pointed to the chair next to her.
"Sit."
When Yuria sat down obediently, the Doctor smiled brightly and asked.
"Want some coffee?"
"No. I already had some."
"Really? Then let’s get straight to the point. What are you curious about?"
"Actually… this is a personal question…"
"Mm."
"If you had the power to rule the entire Earth, Doctor, what would you do?"
At Yuria’s question, the Doctor’s eyes widened before she burst into a chuckle.
"Just thinking about it feels good."
"Really…?"
"If you were powerful enough to rule not just a ‘country’ but the entire ‘Earth,’ there would be no hostile nations… no need for political power… You could maintain peace for a very long time."
"You think so…?"
"That’s what I think. It’s a consequentialist view, but yes."
Yuria was quite surprised that the Doctor also gave a positive assessment of the idea. But she didn’t realize that her question had been flawed. She should have asked what she thought about iron-fisted rule through power. If she had, the Doctor would have cited communist states like the Soviet Union as examples and opposed it.
However, after listening to Kim Taegon and Lee Sehwa’s opinions, Yuria’s mindset had slowly changed. She also revered Jihyeok, and she had framed the question under the assumption of what it would be like if he ruled the Earth. The Doctor had simply answered without grasping her true intentions.
"Why did you suddenly want to know that?"
"Ah… just because. It came up while I was talking with my father."
"I see."
"By the way… Doctor. Do you know about the human experimentation incident in Syria?"
At those words, the Doctor’s smiling face suddenly turned deathly pale. She let out a sigh and said,
"You heard it from Sehwa."
"Yes."
"Yeah… horrific human experiments were being conducted there. Song, who found it suspicious, secretly infiltrated and got caught. He called for help. He nearly died. Fortunately, we captured them all… but Sehwa was so traumatized she suffered for days."
The Doctor subtly avoided Yuria’s gaze. Seeing that, Yuria became certain there was something even more shocking that she didn’t know about.
"I see…"
"Let’s stop talking about Syria. It’s already over."
"Ah, understood…"
"Anything else you’re curious about?"
"No. I’ll be going now."
"You came all the way to the lab just to ask that? You have a bit of a fourth-dimensional side to you too. Just like Song."
Hearing that she resembled Jihyeok made Yuria feel secretly pleased. After saying goodbye to the Doctor and leaving the lab, she took a flying taxi and fell into deep thought.
Excluding Seunghyeon, all three of them viewed rule by power positively. As for Seunghyeon, he was too idealistic, and since she wouldn’t be seeing him anymore, treating him as nonexistent… the result was unanimous.
“Huu…”
Yuria let out a frustrated breath. She began to think that she was the one who was wrong. Everyone else saw the topic in a good light… It seemed her resentment toward Tyrat had narrowed her perspective.
Suddenly, she remembered Jihyeok’s appearance from yesterday. How he had caught her on a date with Seunghyeon and punished her in Uijeongbu. When he had swung the whip at her, it had hurt so much, yet she couldn’t even think of resisting. She had only sincerely reflected on her own fault.
Jihyeok had been terrifying. And admirable. The saying that respect is born from fear resonated deeply with her. He truly embodied the figure of a tyrant. A perfect example of a powerful ruler was not far away—it was right beside her.
♡ Yuria’s Heart ♡
‘Huaa…♡’
Just thinking about Jihyeok made her body burn. Seeing his attitude had filled her with admiration, and now she had come to want to submit to him unconditionally. It was only natural to submit to a predator. And it even felt happy.
If that was the case… wouldn’t humans also be happy if they were ruled by power? Instead of resenting the ruler as a tyrant, they would probably praise him as a wise king. Just as she now worshipped Jihyeok.
Yuria had made the mistake of imagining her own position as that of humanity. But she didn’t realize she had erred. She simply felt reverence for Jihyeok.
Yuria closed her eyes and organized the assignment Jihyeok had given her.
Tyrat and Jihyeok were tyrants of the same kind. Jihyeok might be a little more merciful, but their natures were identical. Merciless rulers who desired submission through power.
Did Tyrat invade in order to peacefully rule a kingdom full of trouble…?
Come to think of it, some nobles had been dissatisfied with her father’s rule. On the surface they had obeyed, but perhaps deep down they had been plotting discord. Tyrat might have known about that human tendency and launched his conquest to preserve peace in the Erandel galaxy.
Perhaps… if we had not resisted and had submitted, he might have only killed the scheming, treacherous humans who hid their true intentions and made the rest vassal states.
Had the kingdom resisted to protect its power? Her father had sought peace and desired submission, but he might have been momentarily deceived by the dark nobles’ schemes and lost his reason.
It wasn’t that she no longer resented Tyrat. But… after hearing various opinions, she could understand the reason for the invasion.
Just look at Earth. There were many countries, and those countries caused problems openly or in secret. All the wars that had occurred so far had been caused by the greed of those in power. To prevent that… they had to press them down with power so they could not plant the seeds of discord.
To pursue peace, one needed power. Only by ruling with ferocious and overwhelming power like Jihyeok, like Tyrat, would problems disappear.
It felt like she had finally broken through a thick fog. Her thoughts were becoming firm at last. She needed to report the assignment Jihyeok had given her as soon as possible.
The moment Yuria reached that conclusion—
Crack—!
The fissure that had formed in Yuria’s heart due to Jihyeok’s arrangements widened. Malice seeped through the crack, slowly devouring her pure heart and body.
Even though her inner self was in tremendous turmoil, Yuria simply thought her body was heating up from thoughts of Jihyeok.
Sssss…
At that moment, dark malice rose from Yuria’s body and flowed down to her lower abdomen, where a stigma was born.
If Sehwa’s stigma keyword had been a sacred love confession, Yuria’s was assimilation. By tearing down the wall in her heart that had stood in opposition to Jihyeok and Tyrat and assimilating into his tyranny, this obscene and wicked mark had appeared.
This stigma, hidden by Jihyeok’s tricks so it could not be seen, would grow darker the more depraved acts Yuria committed.
It’s cold…
Yuria rubbed her arms briskly. She felt a chill, and it seemed like she could hear eerie screams coming from somewhere. Wondering what it was, she looked around and noticed the air vent above her in the taxi.
Whooooosh!
Cold air blasted out powerfully. It was the air conditioner making it cold. The sound of the wind was annoying too. Yuria irritably closed the vent.
Only then did the inside of the taxi become quiet. She smiled pleasantly, took out her phone, and sent Jihyeok a message.