There was an awful stench of blood and death by the time Yulli reached the gate.
It was slaughter.
Bodies-who were torn, shredded, and discarded like broken dolls-were littered all over the ground. Limbs twisted at angles that made his stomach turn. Blood pooled into thick, glistening puddles, inching through cobblestone cracks and staining the street crimson.
The walls were not spared either. The rotten chunks of flesh, no longer recognizable as that of human beings, were smeared across the walls like some sick and grotesque mural.
And there, smack in the middle-- Basking in the blood of the innocents--
Charlotte.
She hunched over a corpse, claws sunk deep into the man's chest as she chewed a mouthful of his flesh.
She was eating him.
Yulli's throat constricted; he nearly vomited.
This was his mother.
No.
That was not his mother.
Twisted now, warped beyond recognition, her once-gentle face had given way to the ravages of unspeakable evil. Her serrated fang mark, still trickling gore from its mouth, was practically grinning in wicked triumph. Her familiar eyes, once warm with love and affection—
Gone.
Now, only hollow, glowing pits of red stared back at him.
Some survivors remained, huddled and shaking in fear, paralyzed by terror even to defend themselves.
Now it was only him and her.
A mother, and her son.
A beast, and its prey.
But Yulli... Didn't. It was so severe that he didn't scream. He didn't cry. He didn't even lift his sword. Instead, he just stood there, his gaze lowered to the blood-soaked ground, his breath coming out in shaky gasps.
In a voice so soft it barely escaped his lips:
"Why?"
Charlotte froze.
"Why... did you have to lie?"
His voice quivered, shaking with something too painful to swallow.
"Was it because I did it first?" He clenched his fists, nails digging into his palms. "Was it because I lied about being okay, too?"
His breathing turned ragged, his chest heaving as the words he buried for so long started to claw their way out.
"WHY ARE YOU LEAVING ME?!"
His voice cracked, splitting open like a fresh wound.
Charlotte didn't answer.
She couldn't.
Her body tensed, claws twitching, but she didn't attack.
Somewhere-deep inside-was she still fighting it?
Yulli's nails bit into his palm, hard enough to draw blood.
"Everyone keeps telling me why i give up for chasing my." He laughed bitterly, his voice shaking.
"You think I wanted this?! i have no talent! no mark!? I feel stagnant?! Watching my friends succeed while I'm rotting here?! "
"Of course, I'm not okay! I hate that I failed! I hate that people doubt me!" His voice rose, frustration and grief pouring out like floodwater. "Every time I walk down at Gonseng their eyes are eating me alive!"
Tears blurred his vision.
"And I hate that you lied to me..."
His voice broke.
His hands shook.
"I hate it... I hate it! I hate that you lied, and now-you're leaving me here alone!"
Finally, he looked up-
And the face he made wasn't that of a warrior, wasn't that of a man.
It was the face of a boy crying out for his mother.
Charlotte's body trembled, just for a second-something inside her seemed to hear him.
Like something inside her remembered. Then- The gate groaned open.
Reinforcements had arrived.
Hunters poured in, their weapons gleaming under the torchlight.
At the front of them-
Commander Roches.
But before anyone could act-
Charlotte lunged.
Yulli's breath hitched.
She was coming straight for him.
Roches moved to intercept-
But he was too late.
And Yulli-
Didn't move.
Didn't even try to dodge.
Because for a brief moment-
He wasn't standing on bloodied streets, facing a mother who had forgotten him.
He was five years old again.
A backyard.
Sunlight filtering through the leaves.
The sound of a blade cutting through the air.
A younger Yulli stood in awe as his mother swung her sword, each motion precise, graceful-beautiful.
"Mommy, why are you swinging that stick around?"
Charlotte turned, laughing softly, the sun casting a warm glow on her face.
"Oh, this?" she twirled the blade with ease. "Because Mommy is a hunter! I have to train, so I can protect you, my son."
Yulli beamed. "That's so cool! I wanna be a hunter like you, Mommy!"
That same mother, the one who once protected him, was coming to kill him.
Yulli exhaled, breathing steadily.
And in a single instant—
His blade flashed.
"First Style: Counter—Single Thrust."
The world stilled.
Charlotte's charge halted mid-air.
A blade—Yulli's blade—was buried deep into her chest.
Blood spilt onto him, hot and thick, staining his skin.
Her body collapsed forward, landing heavily on his shoulder.
Her warmth—the warmth that once held him, comforted him, told him bedtime stories—
Was fading.
Yulli stood there, blade still in his grasp, his body trembling from the sheer force of what he had just done.
He couldn't move.
He couldn't breathe.
Charlotte coughed.
A wet, broken sound, like something crushed inside her chest. Blood bubbled past her lips, trickling down her chin.
"Yulli…" she whispered.
Yulli's eyes widened.
His breath hitched.
Her skin, once marred with fiery corruption, faded back to its natural warmth.
Her eyes, once glowing pits of red, softened—human again.
For the first time since this nightmare began, his mother was looking at him.
Not the beast. Not the monster.
Her.
A strangled sound ripped from his throat as he dropped his sword and caught her before she collapsed.
"Mother—!"
She was so much lighter than he remembered.
Too fragile. Too weak.
He lowered her onto his lap, hands gripping her trembling arms as though holding her tight enough would stop the life from spilling out of her.
"Don't talk, just—just stay awake, okay?" He turned his head frantically, shouting into the night, "SOMEONE HELP ME! PLEASE!"
Nothing.
The hunters stood back, silent.
"Commander," one of them muttered. "We—"
"There's nothing we can do," Roches said, voice grim. "The sword… it went through her chest."
Yulli felt his stomach drop.
Roches didn't need to say it. He knew.
It was too late.
Charlotte smiled weakly. "It's… okay, Yulli."
No, it's not.
It's not okay.
None of this is okay.
Tears blurred his vision as he gripped her hand tighter.
"Just hold on, okay?! I'll fix this—I can fix this!" His voice was cracking, words tangled with sobs.
Charlotte lifted a shaking hand and brushed his cheek.
Her fingers were warm.
But not for long.
"You finally look like your old self…" she murmured, voice so soft. "No holding back this time, okay?"
He shook his head.
He didn't want this.
He didn't want to be that old self if it meant losing her.
"You can finally achieve your dream now…"
Yulli stilled.
He stared at her, chest heaving.
"What…?" His voice came out as a whisper.
Her eyes softened. "The three fundamentals of being a hunter…"
His breath caught.
"If you're able to kill a beast—even if it's someone you love."
A violent shudder ran through him.
He remembered.
Roches standing before them at the exams.
"A true hunter must have the resolve to strike down even those they love—because once someone becomes a beast, they are already gone."
Yulli felt sick.
She… let this happen?
His lips trembled. "You—you did this on purpose?"
Charlotte smiled.
It was gentle.
It was kind.
And it shattered him.
"I couldn't bear to see you suffer," she whispered.
"Your dream, your hope… crushed."
Her voice grew weaker.
"But you kept lying to me. Smiling. Pretending you were fine."
A tear slipped down her cheek.
"It hurt me, too, Yulli."
Yulli squeezed her hand.
Tears poured from his eyes.
Her fingers trembled as she lifted them to cup his face.
"So this…" Her lips curled into a broken smile. "This was the decision I came up with."
His heart cracked open.
"This is my last gift to you, my son," she whispered.
"So please…"
Her hand, once strong, was barely gripping his.
"Live the life you want."
Yulli's whole body was shaking.
She was slipping away.
She was leaving him.
"And don't stop chasing your dream…"
Her voice faded.
Her warmth faded.
Yulli's eyes widened.
Her fingers—slack in his grasp.
Her lips—parted, mid-breath.
"…Mother?"
No response.
His breath hitched.
"Mother?" His voice was weaker this time.
Still nothing.
Then—
A broken sob.
Yulli's whole body collapsed over her, his forehead pressed against hers, his entire frame shaking.
"MOTHER!"
The scream ripped through the night.
Raw.
Ugly.
The hunters looked away.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
Because what could they even say?
A child had just lost his mother.
Yulli's shoulders quivered.
Tears soaked her chest, but she was too cold to feel them.
"Please wake up," he whispered, voice breaking.
"Please… don't leave me."
He clutched her like a child, his arms tight around her still frame.
As if holding on hard enough would bring her back.
As if calling for her loud enough would make her answer.
But Charlotte…
Was gone.
And Yulli was left, kneeling in a pool of blood, completely, utterly alone.