Chapter 170 - Chapter 166: Episode 164 - Sobbing
This was the second time Min-ah had witnessed Seon-ah being kidnapped.
'I have to save him.'
She lunged forward to rescue Seon-ah, but someone blocked her path.
She looked closely at the person's face.
Those sharp eyes—they were just like her own.
A body that looked to be in its early twenties.
It was Yena, the girl who resembled both her and Seon-ah so beautifully.
However, Min-ah realized that the aura radiating from this Yena was completely different from when she had rescued Seon-ah from the remote areas of Gangwon-do.
She spoke to the succubus sisters and Yu-rin with a casual, informal tone, ordering them to get to the car quickly.
It was identical to the persona she was currently mimicking as Sophia.
No, it was an even more perfect match than her own performance.
The realization hit her: when they met last time, Sophia had borrowed Yena's memories to lure her into lowering her guard.
"It really wasn't Yena... You monster... You actually took over your own daughter's body... How... How could a person do something like this?"
"Ha... That's rich coming from you, Lee Min-ah. Violating the child you raised with such care with your own hands... Do you really think you have the right to judge me?"
The insults flew, and the atmosphere turned increasingly hostile.
Unable to hold back any longer, Min-ah swung her fist at Sophia, who was currently wearing Yena's body.
She intended to take Sophia down right there, knowing she was only an obstacle to chasing Seon-ah, but Sophia dodged the strike with ease.
Then, she fired an ice spear at Min-ah's legs.
The spear didn't pierce her, but as the magic detonated, the surface of Min-ah's legs and the ground froze together, locking her in place.
To Min-ah, it felt as if she were trapped in shackles of ice.
An uneasy feeling gnawed at her.
Between Sophia's deliberate attempts to stall her and the fact that Seon-ah was being taken away, the purpose of this fight became clear.
She was just buying time.
If she didn't catch up to the car, she would have to watch him get kidnapped all over again.
Min-ah poured her magic into her legs, struggling with every ounce of her strength to break free.
Seeing Min-ah struggle, Sophia knew her spell was working perfectly.
'As expected, she's completely ignorant of magic...'
Since the spell's duration actually extended the more magic power was poured into it, and Min-ah was a layman who didn't know that, Sophia decided it was time to finish stalling and go join the others to see Seon-ah.
With that thought, Sophia used stealth magic to vanish.
She made sure Min-ah wouldn't even know which direction she had fled.
Leaving Min-ah behind with her legs frozen, Sophia disappeared.
"Seon-ah! Ah... No!"
Min-ah, left alone in the yard, wailed.
It was a scream that could have been the cry of a mother who had lost her son again, or perhaps the lament of a woman who had lost her lover.
A pension that looked like a seaside villa.
This was one of the villas owned by Yu-ra.
Upon reaching their destination, the three of them reflected on the situation.
First, they were safe thanks to Yena keeping Min-ah occupied.
Second, Seon-ah was finally in their hands.
Even though it was a victory, their hearts grew heavy at the thought of the competition that lay ahead.
They all shared the goal of taking Seon-ah away from the Demon King's embrace, but the real challenge was what came next.
Since each of them wanted Seon-ah for herself, their temporary alliance had already dissolved into rivalry.
Seon-ah, oblivious to the tension, asked with his eyes still covered.
"Where is Yena?... I'm sure I heard her voice in the yard..."
The three women, who had only come to see Yena because of Bianca's provocation, hid their true intentions as they waited for her arrival.
"Yena will probably be here in a little while."
Honestly, they couldn't be sure.
Since Yena had volunteered to stall for time and hadn't returned yet, Yu-rin was growing worried.
However, footsteps echoed outside.
The door opened slowly, and Yena stepped inside.
Just like the saying—speak of the devil, and she appears.
Yena snorted as she looked at those who had helped her earlier.
The others were confused by her sudden change in attitude, but when she spoke to Seon-ah, the truth became clear to everyone in the room.
"It's been a while, Seon-ah... Do you recognize me?"
Yena didn't speak to Seon-ah with her usual tone.
As Seon-ah sensed, the voice was Yena's, but the inflection was entirely different.
Even so, it was a tone he knew all too well.
Familiar enough that a specific name immediately came to mind.
Trying to deny the reality, Seon-ah stammered.
"N... No way... Sophia was with me in that house, wasn't she?... Who are you?..."
"I am the real Sophia, Seon-ah. Yena made a contract with me and handed over her body. Though it's only for half the day."
The three women watching were dumbfounded.
It was shocking to realize that the one who had actually helped them rescue Seon-ah from the Demon King's grasp was the real Sophia herself.
That surprise lasted only a moment.
Fear quickly took hold as they realized the crazed Demon King was standing right in front of them.
However, Seon-ah's mind was more confused by the revelation than by fear.
"Sophia... Why... Didn't you say you wouldn't have to enter Yena's body?... Didn't you?..."
Seon-ah reprimanded her.
"I'm sorry... There was a very urgent situation..."
He had every right to be angry; the Demon King had promised never to touch Yena, the child they had created together, yet she had broken that promise.
Furthermore, a horrifying thought occurred to him.
"If that's the case... Then the person I'd been living with for over a month... Could it have been Mother?..."
"Yes... That's right. It was Lee Min-ah..."
Seon-ah felt as if he'd been struck in the head with a hammer.
Tears welled up, but they couldn't spill from his ruined eyes.
The realization burned: 'The month I spent sharing my body... the times I was violated... all of it... it wasn't Sophia...'
A tidal wave of disappointment, betrayal, fear, and the crushing weight of his situation buried him.
He was in agony.
His chest felt tight, suffocated by the knowledge that his own mother—the person he trusted most—had deceived him.
His eyes were tightly closed, leaving him in total darkness, but that darkness now mirrored the shadow cast over his heart.
It was sickening to realize he hadn't recognized his own mother, and that he had mistaken her for Sophia and surrendered his body to her.
And when he recalled that he had just given his body to Hyun-ah moments ago, he saw how foolish he had been.
Suddenly, his legs gave out.
A splitting headache left him without the strength to stand.
Seon-ah, spiraling into a panic, just sat there blankly.
Sophia watched him, desperate to hold and soothe him, but she was bound by the contract and couldn't move.
In the end, the one who ran to him first was neither Yu-rin nor the bound Sophia.
It was Bianca.
Bianca pulled Seon-ah into her embrace and poured out her apologies.
"I'm sorry, Seon-ah... We didn't even dream that the Demon King Sophia was inside Yena's body... We just brought her here to show you your daughter."
It was a rare moment of genuine comfort from Bianca, devoid of her usual games.
At her words, Seon-ah finally snapped.
He began to sob, his body wracked with dry heaves.
The realization that it was his mother, not Sophia, who had lusted after and violated him tainted the only happy memories he had since being born into this world.
His time with Sophia was now stained by the memory of being passed around to other women.
And learning that even his daughter Yena had been possessed by Sophia was the final blow; he had no strength left to hold on.
He didn't know whose arms he was in, but he wailed, clinging to the only comfort he could find.
The four women watched him with pity.
Bianca, holding him tight, felt a flicker of satisfaction, remembering the 'good way' she had in her pocket to ensure he wouldn't have to feel pain anymore.
After all, the opportunity to taste Seon-ah again was coming soon.