Chapter 362 - Sweet Or Bitter-III

Haneul opened her eyes finding a wet heart that had stopped eating on top of her hand. 

She turned to look in front of her where she saw the late Queen had died once again. She realized that her anger had ate her, causing her catalyst power to work on its own, wiping all the trees around her while leaving her no memories of doing it. 

She dropped the heart to the ground, taking the baby she had safely protected and began to take three steps before snapping her finger. Out of thin air, the body of both Madam Yoo and the late Queen turned to ashes.

Compared to Haneul or her who went berserk out of anger, there was no possibility for the late Queen or Madam Yoo to win, no matter how strong they had gotten and even if they had used the souls as sacrifice to strengthen their power.

Haneul went inside the invisible village. She realized the barrier didn't reject her or propel her because of Yeseul's baby. Walking inside the village, her eyes were bleak.

All her body feel numb, but it wasn't only her body that felt numb from the wounds and injuries all over her body, or the pain in her stomach where earlier the late Queen had staked her. It was her heart that went cold and numb.

Haneul felt as if her entire emotions were in chaos to the point where she could not understand what she felt any longer. It feels as though she had died but here she was, walking.

"Oh," whispered Haneul, "I'm a walking dead, aren't I?"

Walking in the village, she stopped when she saw Yeseul's lifeless body. On beside her was her husband, holding her tight. 

Pursing her lips, Haneul continued to walk. She stopped again when she saw JaeGil. At first, she had only found his body on the ground, headless, before walking on the deeper part of the village to fine the light witches had skewered his head on top of a wooden pole.

"Madam Yoo you are..." said one of the light witches who expected Madam Yoo to come. Seeing who had came, the smile they put of fell at once to fear, "I...It's the Queen!"

"The catalyst!" 

Seeing the blood all over her, the people turned alarmed, "RUN!" They knew by any chance they would never win and had yelled to safe their lives. "The catalyst has come! Escape!"

Haneul didn't say anything but stare passively. She watched in slow motion as the people surrounding her scatter away, screaming for either help or to escape.

Like a person who was in a daze, she languidly took a single step and with the single step she took, a force centered from her feet burst in circle, causing the ground beneath her to break while the echoes of her power caused the light witches surrounding her to be blown away. 

Many of them died on spot when they hit the walls; while those who had been standing near her sliced into halves by her power.

Screams filled her ears, the scream of her enemies. 

The light witches run and escape but Seoyeon had appeared in mere seconds in front of them, killing them mercilessly by their neck.

A few others who fell on the ground felt scared as they saw in each passing second their friends died, "P-Please f-for-give us!"

Haneul didn't answer or think, continuing to raise her hand for their entire body to be caught by fire. 

Once all the light witches had been eradicated, leaving not even a single one, Haneul walked in front of the pole. She raised her hand, taking JaeGil's head from the end of the pole and brought his head to where his body was. She then lift JaeGil's body using her power inside of the prison room, followed by Yeseul, Han Anhye, and finally her husband who she only managed to spent four hours of her life with.

For a good one hour, Haneul didn't move but stare at the four bodies of her dearest people. All of them had died, leaving her alone. She would have spent years doing nothing but stare if not for the small baby on her hand begin to weep, calling from her.

Haneul had felt her entire body cold but when she heard the cry of the baby, she noticed the warmth that started from her arm spreading all over her body. Her heart that felt as if it had stopped beating finally beat again.

Tears covered her eyes, welling up and without holding any of them, Haneul cried aloud, letting all her sadness she had tightly close to express her grief.

The night came by the time Haneul stood in front of a door. She raised her hand before knocking them thrice. An elderly man came out from his house, opening door only to look confuse when he saw a wooden basket with a small baby was placed in front of his door.

"Enhyu! Enhyu!" Called the elderly man for his young daughter to come from her house. "What is it father... whose baby is this?!"

"Someone must have left him here," said the elderly man as he picked the baby while Enhyu took the small paper that was placed inside the basket.

'Please take care of this boy. His name is Han An-Seul.'

"Isn't this great for you, Enhyu?" Her father said, "You lost your husband in the war three years ago. If we leave him to the magistrate, I don't think he would be able to give him a proper life."

Enhyu stayed quiet while taking An-Seul to her hand, "I shall take care of him," the woman decided.

Haneul continued her journey to eradicate the rest of the dark witches, making sure none is alive. On that one night thousands of lives fell on the single hand of her. When she had reached her limit, she came inside the prison room and laid bedside Min Hyuk, slowly feeling death as it comes to greet her.

Haneul placed her hand above Min Hyuk's cold ones that was set above his chest. She closed her eyes, whispering slowly, "Let's meet again."

Seoyeon thought it was the end. The tragic story of Haneul had ended up until here until she noticed that when Haneul breathed her last breaths, a white light started from underneath her palm, growing on its own.

That was then when Seoyeon finally realized that Haneul hadn't resurrect her friends out of her own will, it was the catalyst ability that had granted her last wish.

The scene before Seoyeon vanished and scattered away when she saw herself, now she was standing in the middle of the forest. Looking around, Seoyeon was quick to study that the first was the same forest where she had visited during her first lucid dream. She knew it because there were the same people with the striking red armor and the coffin.

Walking closer, Seoyeon saw a girl was sleeping inside the coffin as it was opened, "We should notify this to the Queen— she opened her eyes!"

"That's not possible—" the men was in shock when they saw the girl who was sleeping woke up again. 

She opened her eyes, raising her hand to slaughter the men in the forest. Bloods once again filled Seoyeon's sight so much that she started to get used to it in an crooked method.

"W...Why am I alive?" The girl looked confused and she immediately run from the forest as if she was afraid of someone who was chasing her.

From where she stood, Seoyeon then heard Haneul's voice from behind her, "You have seen it all. Welcome, Seoyeon."

When Seoyeon turned her face her surrounding melted into a paper white scene. She found Haneul sitting on the lone wooden chair, resting her back and her dress was still the same wedding gown she had worn until her death.

Seoyeon felt her throat dry to talk with Haneul after she had just seen her past earlier. "What was happening on the last scene?"

"That was the second catalyst. The person who inherit my power three years after I died. Her parents found out that their daughter had a very odd power and for the fear, they bury her alive. All under the order of the reigning Queen," explained Haneul and as she spoke, a mirror formed beside her.

Seoyeon saw the flashes of scenes of the girl she had just seen earlier. 

"The Queen? You have eradicated all of them, Yoo In-Joo and the late Queen. It isn't them, so who was it?" Seoyeon questioned, confused as she thought her enemies should be gone until her death.

"I shared the same thought of you, once, that is," during the entire talk, hall had an extremely calm expression that was chilling to Seoyeon. "But I missed one thing. While I had killed the late Queen along with Madam Yoo and burned their bodies, I didn't manage to entire burn her to ashes."

Seoyeon frowned, trying to remember, she frowned, "The late Queen's heart..."

"Correct," answered Haneul. "I have killed her but the effect of her black magic to bring herself back to life caused her to be immortal. I had made sure to stop her heart from beating but she is alive."

"Then the Queen from earlier.."

"It is the same Queen who had used a different body. It appears she knew that there would be more people like me once I died. Now that person is you..." Haneul shifted her eyes to meet Seoyeon's black one where a smile that didn't reach her eyes came on her lips. "I need your help Seoyeon. It is something that I cannot do. All the vessels of catalyst never tried to understand me nor I was able to communicate to them. But it is different for you. You are special and maybe it is because of your soul..." whispered Haneul.

Seoyeon cannot say she didn't feel close to Haneul after seeing her past. Instead it felt as though she had just seen a long lost friend where nostalgia and sadness surround her heart.

"What help do you need?" Seoyeon questioned. It was only right for Haneul to finally have her peaceful end. Her soul was wearing away and she was tired.

Haneul pulled a small smile toward Seoyeon, "That woman is still alive. Because of my disconnection with my vessels, they end up going on the cycle of tragedy. I believe that you would be different because you strive to be different. I want you to kill the Queen for good before putting me to sleep. Forever. Of course you won't be alone. My friends would be with you and.... Min Hyuk too."