A living human can never touch a soul.

That was a fact my grandmother drilled into me again and again.

Even being able to see a soul that had already left the body was twisted.

Having eyes that violated reason was already something the world shouldn’t allow—

so actually touching a soul was something the world would never permit.

That was what Grandmother used to tell me, like she was carving it deep into my bones.

Souls on a higher tier—ones classified as gods—sometimes influenced the human world.

But that was by stirring up chaos in the natural world and harming people indirectly.

There weren’t cases where they “directly” touched living beings and caused problems.

Possession was a separate matter.

I mean direct contact.

That was how filthy-wide the gap between life and death was.

And Grandmother used to tell me that it was a law you could never escape.

I lived like that for years.

Then I lived for even more years, buried under those goddamn bastards until I was sick to death of anything that had to do with souls.

And only when time had been worn down to the point of breaking did I finally understand.

When Grandmother said a living human could never touch the soul of the dead—

she wasn’t teaching me a rule.

She was trying to stop me.

‘So that I wouldn’t do it.’

Because she was afraid I might put my hands on a soul.

I didn’t realize that until the day I finally ripped the head off a disaster deity.

*****

—GUUOOOAAAAAA—!!!

The malicious ghost screamed. I watched it, and my hand moved.

CRUNCH—!!

—Ghhh...!!

I seized the malicious ghost by the collar.

A revolting texture met my fingers.

It was nothing like touching a human. A disgust I couldn’t even describe surged up—like grabbing a fistful of maggots.

Some people called it “transcendent,” or “noble,” or whatever other bullshit.

What I felt was simpler.

It was just disgusting.

Filthy. Ugly. Something I never wanted to touch.

That kind of feeling.

—Wh...at... ghh... uhh...

The bastard’s face said it couldn’t understand what was happening.

I didn’t care.

“......That doesn’t matter.”

Its reaction meant nothing to me.

“Now. Starting from here, think hard.”

I stared into its eyes.

“You remember what I said earlier?”

I asked, but—

—Ghh... uhh...

I didn’t get the answer I wanted.

Didn’t matter.

“I’ll ask again.”

HUM.

I loosened what I’d bound inside me a little more.

SSSSSHHH—.

A shallow knot sliding loose—

and at the same time—

—GUUOOOAAAAHHH—!!!

The malicious ghost’s screams grew louder.

[......Hah.......]

Yoo Cheongil let out a suppressed sound as he watched.

[Kid.]

I heard him calling me, but I wasn’t about to answer.

I looked at the malicious ghost and asked again.

“What’s HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE’s goal?”

The question I’d asked earlier.

—Uhh... uhh...

“Answer.”

CREEEEAK—!!!

—GHK!

I tightened my grip. The bastard’s body jolted with a hard CLUNK.

Shaking like it had gone insane.

—Wh... why... why is this...?

“I told you.”

Fear gathered in the bastard’s eyes at what was happening to its body. I let out a small laugh as I spoke.

“I warned you it’d be better to talk than suffer even after you die. You’re the one who didn’t listen.”

—...You... what the hell...?

“Now. I’m asking again. What’s HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE’s goal?”

I put force into my gaze as I asked. It wasn’t to threaten.

SSSSSHHH....

Power gathered around my eyes.

It wasn’t the opening of Moon Eyes.

If I had to be exact, it was Ghost Eyes.

And beyond that, something closer to divine sight.

There were a lot of names for it, but the meaning was always the same.

Eyes that could see ghosts.

And further—

‘Something that can reach the realm of death.’

Something that could tear down the boundary between me and the dead.

Eyes meant for that.

And a soul meant for that.

Don’t interfere.

Don’t see it. Don’t hear it.

Don’t even touch it.

I’d ignored all of that, and the karma of it had piled up in my flesh.

So—

‘I wasn’t going to do this in this life.’

Don’t touch it if I could help it. Don’t tangle with my past life.

That was how I wanted to live.

And yet, ridiculously, I ended up here anyway.

‘They called it the karma of having eyes, didn’t they.’

Even if I changed lives, these cursed eyes still dragged me back to this place.

‘Or maybe not.’

Maybe I wasn’t being dragged.

Maybe I was coming here on my own two feet.

‘Either way.’

I was still the one making this mess.

—Ghk....

‘Good thing the soul is weak.’

For a malicious ghost, it was flimsy.

Low vitality. Low resentment. Nothing inside except cheap, vulgar impulses.

A vengeful spirit at this level—

‘Easy.’

It wasn’t even funny.

I looked at it—

and I touched the soul directly.

—Ghk....

I shackled it.

“What’s HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE’s goal?”

The third time.

Only then did I finally get a real answer.

—A... god....

“A god.”

—A god... we have to... serve...!

“Hm.”

I nodded. That part confirmed something immediately.

‘These bastards.’

It really did look like they were connected to the heretics.

Calling a god?

‘Same thing those bastards used to say.’

That line the heretics kept in their mouths like it was glued there.

It sounded like insane nonsense, but the fact they’d really tried to do it was what pissed me off.

Then—

“I heard you kidnapped the Plum Blossom Swordsmen. Where did you take them?”

I asked the next thing again.

The kidnapping of Mount Hua Sect’s Plum Blossom Swordsmen.

When I asked about that—

—......Flowers....

“Flowers?”

—Need... flowers....

“Flowers.”

Is there some connection between Plum Blossom Swordsmen and “flowers”?

The answer was too vague.

I needed it cleaner.

“Can you answer like a person and not spit out garbage?”

—Ghh... uhh....

The malicious ghost twisted.

It was obviously unstable.

—Th... the god... wants... flowers....

“What kind of diseased bullshit is that.”

A god wants flowers. Dumb as hell.

“A god wants flowers—”

And right as I was about to keep pressing—

—GUUOOOAAAAHHH!!

The malicious ghost screamed a shriek that didn’t even compare to before.

At the same time—

TSSSSSS—!!!

Smoke rose, and the body evaporated—vanishing into nothing.

“...Damn.”

I narrowed my eyes.

‘Exorcism?’

It wasn’t the kind that looked like release or passing on.

It was violent. Destructive.

The soul warped, then thinned out—

and finally erased itself without leaving a trace.

I frowned at the energy scattering through the air.

“...This?”

The sensation in my hand was gone.

I turned my head, feeling the soul completely vanish.

‘The god wants flowers.’

It erased itself right as it tried to say anything beyond that.

Was that a line so dangerous it could destroy the soul?

‘No. It’s outside pressure.’

Like there was a mechanism on the soul itself to shut its mouth.

‘...Is that even possible?’

My eyes narrowed harder. Irritation climbed up my spine.

‘The information’s thin.’

It wasn’t nothing, but it wasn’t anything that hit clean either.

The only thing I could say for sure—

‘They’re connected to the heretics.’

That much was certain.

KRRRICK.

I stood up.

[Kid...!]

Yoo Cheongil—who’d been trying to speak—froze.

Normally, Yoo Cheongil would’ve asked what the hell I was doing.

But he couldn’t, now.

Because my mood made it obvious.

‘...Heretics.’

Those annoying, rotten bastards were in this world.

Just that fact alone was enough to grind my mind down.

*****

After disposing of the malicious ghost, I moved.

Mount Hua Sect was probably still busy interrogating the one they’d captured—

but I didn’t have time to care about that.

I kept moving on tired legs.

[Where are you going?]

Yoo Cheongil asked.

“There’s someone I need to meet.”

[......You.]

From my words, Yoo Cheongil seemed to realize who. Wrinkles formed at the corners of his eyes.

“Don’t worry.”

[That’s not something you can say. You’re full of impatience right now. What happened?]

“What happened? Nothing like that.”

[Sure it isn’t. If it’s showing on your face, doesn’t that say everything?]

“Heh. Maybe. But.”

I turned my back and looked at Yoo Cheongil.

“I don’t have to tell you everything.”

[.......]

Yoo Cheongil had secrets.

And I did too.

We both understood that implicitly. And we weren’t asking.

I thought that was the most fitting thing for our relationship.

When I pointed it out, Yoo Cheongil shut up.

Because Yoo Cheongil knew exactly where Yoo Cheongil stood.

I looked at Yoo Cheongil, then turned my head forward again.

“Anyone nearby—”

I swallowed the question.

No reason to ask.

If there was, Yoo Cheongil would’ve told me.

I kept moving, heading downward.

The location was the cliff.

That same cliff I’d come to before.

“...Hah.”

After a deep breath, I climbed down.

The Small Moon Unit Leader wasn’t here today. I’d come alone this time.

I threaded into the cliff face with precarious movement art.

“...Hah....”

I made it.

Thankfully, I didn’t slip.

If I’d slipped, I’d have fallen to my death. Lucky.

I looked toward the cave and stepped forward.

The traps had already been dismantled. No problems.

I cut into the darkness.

HOOOOOO—!!

The moon gathered in my eyes and lit the path.

I didn’t need a lantern.

This was probably the best thing about having these eyes.

Slowly. Calmly.

I cooled the head that had burned hot.

I forced the trash thoughts out of my mind.

I walked, and walked, passed the first cave, and entered deeper inside.

The ground where the stake had originally been driven.

When I stepped into that space—

“.......”

Someone was there.

As expected.

‘...I figured.’

Today.

And if it was him, he’d be here right now.

That was why I came.

More precisely—

‘If I were him.’

I did what I believed he would do if I were him.

And that belief was right.

STEP.

I deliberately let sound out.

And in that instant—

THUD—!!!

The figure who’d been prone slammed forehead into the ground.

“I’m sorry for forcing you to take such a precious step...!”

“.......”

“Please kill me...!!”

THUD—! THUD—!

I pinched the bridge of my nose.

Ah, please. He’d done this last time too, and now again.

I couldn’t stop the disgust from showing.

THUD—! THUD THUD—! THUD—!!

Why was he slamming his forehead like he meant it?

I honestly couldn’t understand.

He looked like he was about to split skin and bleed again, and I sighed as I spoke.

“...Stop.”

STOP.

At my words, the figure froze.

“You knew I’d come?”

When I asked, Strange Demon lifted that bowed ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ head.

“If you are the brilliant little heaven, I only believed you would surely come find me.”

Like I’d felt before—those eyes were terrifying.

There was some kind of faith and madness buried in them.

Just looking at him made me not want to get close.

Honestly, I hadn’t wanted to approach at all—

but here we were.

“Yes. That’s right. I came looking for you.”

“Ah....”

At the words came looking for you, he looked moved.

That expression was truly disgusting.

I forced myself to ignore it and continued.

“I have something to ask you.”

At that—

the man,

Strange Demon of the Eight Demonic Ones,

lit up his eyes.