Chapter 219 - Light and Darkness

The warm floor reverberated as footsteps came towards her.

"Nhg…" Ye Rim tried to turn her body and see, but it was painful. 

At that moment, she remembered the things her mother told about the events at Eun Ha's parents' ranch. And also what the Hunter Shin said.

"All magic is corrupted by nature. The seed of chaos that exists in the core of any magic requires it. From the weakest to the most powerful, there's some entropic law, a deep root that will subvert magic..."

"Sorry, Professor Shin. I don't know if I understand," she had said.

"Er… There's always a weakness hidden in each spell. A point that can be exploited. It has to do with the energy of the caster himself. In the Devourer's case... For several reasons, a human child has the power to stop him. He cannot kill this human because of another fairy's blessing. And this human is you, Ye Rim. But you can end his existence…"

"How?"

The Devourer was looking for her.

He was afraid of her, and he wanted her destroyed.

Shin had said it was better not to think about it. That she should only try to escape the Devourer when she saw him. And use the weapon as a defense, if needed.

She touched the necklace on her neck, with the tip that was once the thorn in her mother's hand. If that was what connected her to the Devourer, as Shin believed, she didn't care.

What Ye Rim knew was that the Devourer would not stop. The next ones would be Shin ... 

And Eun Ha.

Tears streamed from her swollen eyes, and a feeling of revolt and worthlessness overwhelmed her.

Why didn't she have the strength to get up?!

But the humming voice asked Dae Won, sounding annoyed.

~ Why didn't you kill her? ~

"Ach Ach ..." Dae Won seemed to have difficulty breathing. "He's coming ... I know Jun Hyeon's coming... I want her to die because he didn't save her..."

~ Oh! I see. You are really obsessed with causing people pain... This man, especially.~

"...! COFF COFF COFF!" Dae Won responded to the magician's provocation with a coughing fit.

Ye Rim saw when the white-clad figure stopped just above her, with his feet planted on either side of her legs. She saw his face.

He really looked like Chang Mi… And at the same time he was different. He was cold and scary.

There was a huge shadow behind him, twisting horribly like a timelapsed storm in the sky.

~ But, if you haven't done your part of the deal, I don't have to do mine either... ~

"No! She will die, anyway! Why do we need to get our hands dirty?!" Dae Won protested.

Ye Rim was very scared. The floor where I was lying was getting hotter and hotter.

"Please ... COFF COFF!" She tried to grab the maddened fairy's boot with one hand, coughing. To his surprise, it was not tangible. The Devourer looked at her, puzzled.

~ Wouldn't you be happy, Ye Rim, to learn that even if you die, this sick human will also be excised? I can do this for you. I'll make it up to you for the inconvenience of having to get this out of you… ~

"Wait. You can't… I did what you asked," Dae Won argued, nervous. But the Devourer raised his face in the direction of the musician, who was out of Ye Rim's view, away from her.

~ Not everything ... But you have a point, too. And it seems that even if you haven't tried very hard, she will soon die. I think I need to hurry, to have the best of her! None of us will get our hands dirty with her death. ~

"This... Now do your part, and get me out of here."

~ But, Dae Won ... I didn't have that deal with you. You should leave this place by your own means... ~ revealed the Fairy Eater, indifferently.

"What are you talking about?! I already said, Hong's men betrayed me, that scoundrel betrayed me! They left me here to die too! They locked the door!"

~ And how is this my problem? I already helped you, but ... You still owe me.~

"Owe you?"

~ Yes. Do you remember Chang Mi? You shouldn't have involved Chang Mi in your dirty affairs. ~

"Chang ... Mi? The boy? You…"

~ You have no regrets… ~ The corrupted monster interrupted the Musician, tired of so much talk. ~ Then the wraiths won't feed on you ... But poetically, the fire will consume you... ~ The indifferent tone was consumed by the scorn. 

And with a snap of the Devourer's fingers, Ye Rim heard the roar of flames, without really seeing. She only heard Dae Won's dreadful, excruciating pain cries! 

"Not! Not! NOOOOOO!" 

Ye Rim closed her eyes, trying not to panic. 

She put herself on her elbows, trying to get up. The insane fairy didn't stop her, in fact, he held out his hand so she could grab and stand. This time, she felt it. He was tangible.

Feeling her legs weak and blood running from her nose and mouth, she steadied her feet on the floor and stood up, grabbing his arm.

"I'm sorry, Ye Rim… That it has to be this way. But I want what's inside you…" he whispered, touching her face with his cold hand. 

She understood now why he was tangible.

He needed this to consume the power within her!

Ye Rim could see, however, the shadows that dominated him like a puppet, gathering like a cloud of tentacles around them.

His voice was soft and gentle, almost pleasant in its honest threat. And she was so tired and in so much pain that she could accept the invitation to let herself be sacrificed, to get some relief... The creatures around them stirred like restless and hungry dogs.

The Devourer exclaimed close to Ye Rim's ear, while a hand boarded the singer's skull, almost lovingly. "Can not wait!"

The Devourer pulled her hair back, and Ye Rim felt her insides seethe. She looked down and at her chest. Something was throbbing and stinging inside, and she felt herself start to be sucked, feeling a strange numbness in the back of her head, where he supported her.

Something inside her was being drained to the Devourer!

Was it the magic they talked about?!

She looked into Chang Mi's father's eyes, and he returned the look, looking delighted and consumed by the ecstasy of gluttony. His lips slightly parted as his body began to emit a fluorescent glow.

"YE RIM!" Jun Hyeon's scream made her look back. She had no idea how, but Jun Hyeon was there.

The doctor hesitated only a moment, assessing the horrible events on the terrace, and fixing his gaze on Ye Rim, in the Devourer's arms.

~ OH! So full of regrets! My children will feast on these pains... It will be a merciful act, after all ... ~ the crazy creature smiled maniacally, raising his hand. The shadows acted like trained dogs ready to attack, just waiting for the order. 

Ye Rim struggled to gain strength, even though she was continually drained. She watched as the long thorn formed in the Devourer's palm, and the horrible wraith shadows went for Jun Hyeon.

The Devourer didn't expect that someone he considered so consumed by his faults and failures could come upon him, so furiously, brandishing an ax, ignoring the shadows completely.

The doctor's focus was just to get Ye Rim out of the hands of that thing. The ax hit the creature, which fell back on impact, as did the singer. 

The link between Ye Rim and the Devourer wasn't broken, though. The numbness in her body at least served to keep her from having any more pain. Ye Rim saw the two struggling in battle.

The shadows that Shin and Eun Ha called Wraiths ruthlessly attacked Jun Hyeon from behind, while he and the Devourer fought. 

Jun Hyeon had taken advantage of the surprise and used it. But Ye Rim knew that, even if Hunter Shin, who was a warrior and a fairy too, couldn't defeat the powerful Devourer, it was only a matter of time for a flip of tables...

But she couldn't allow that ... Reminding of what to do, Ye Rim grabbed the necklace, pulled it off her neck, and concentrating as Shin taught her, she let the magic flow through her body ...

Everything started to turn white around her.

The light was too bright even for his eyes. She felt her body go light and felt that her feet were not touching the ground.

The Devourer looked away from Jun Hyeon for a moment, and Jun Hyeon himself turned his torso to see the source of the light. The creatures made of darkness spread out as if fleeing their worst enemy.

Ye Rim saw the long thorn stuck in Jun Hyeon's chest.

Her fury was so legitimate that she found herself reflected in the Devourer's eyes, like an avenging ball of light.

She wouldn't stop until she destroyed him!

Pushing Jun Hyeon, the Devourer raised his hand, invoking the darkness he commanded... But it was too late.

Ye Rim had thrown himself against him, with the enchanted thorn in her clenched fist. 

She felt it when the object in her hands plunged into the angelic faced monster's chest. And Ye Rim saw in his eyes all the surprise, all the horror... and all the relief, as the creature began to dissolve in rags of black smoke. 

He seemed so smile when it happened.

The shadows that flew over the sky like crows made of smoke, also dissipated with grotesque and scary shrills.

"YE RIM! YE RIM!"

In the midst of all that smoke and noise, she saw Eun Ha appearing in a rescue basket at the end of a turntable ladder. Chang Mi and his brother were going up the precarious fire escape stairs, also shouting her name.

Hunter Shin was also on the rooftop, and she had no idea how he got there.

The singer just felt a wet, cold hand reach for her, at her side.

"Ye Rim ... Ye Rim ..."

Then she looked down and saw her own body on the floor. Jun Hyeon was leaning over Ye Rim's body, holding her hand and touching her face, trying to wake her up.

~ Did I… did I die?~