Chapter 82

Chapter 82

As soon as Koo Hui-seo finished speaking, a dismal feeling settled in the atmosphere between us. Simultaneously, a more pungent scent erupted from the conjoined tree and man alongside the stench of the black fruits.

That smell...The more I smelled it, strangely, the more I felt like I was being suffocated; I had no desire to get any closer; some instinctive wariness emerged from within.

However, unlike me, Seo Dawon stepped forward. He grabbed the man's half-exposed forearm and swept his hands across it, as if he were surveying furniture. A faint light appeared when Seo Dawon's hand passed over Koo Hui-seo's arm; before I could take a close look, that light sunk into him.

I was nervous, wondering what skill Seo Dawon had used on Koo Hui-seo or what changes would appear in the chimerized man, but the two did not talk or react even after the gleam of the light had faded.

"You received this curse from Koo Hui-seo's mother?" Seo Dawon finally broke the long-lasting silence. As expected, the light seemed to be some diagnostic tool.

[...Mother seemed to think it was a 'cure.'] Koo Huiseo answered the Mage's question obediently. However, his mild tone could not hide the hatred that accompanied the word, 'cure.' [It would have been better if I had gone to a psychiatrist. She believed that she could solve things on her own.]

"What happened?"

[At first, mother considered Hui-seo's mental schism a small misfortune. That's why she treated it as a 'Witch'-it started with a 'Baptism.']

'...Is he speaking about *that* Baptism?'

I've heard of a skill called the [Witch's Baptism].

High-level Witches often received large sums of money in return for casting the [Witch's Baptism] buff on Users; the buff was known to chase away misfortune or calamities that would persistently cling to the victim.

Therefore, the effectiveness and results prescribed by each testimony of the baptized Users were quite different. Some purport immediate relief from chronic headaches, and others swear they've returned alive from an accident that had almost killed them.

'How was a skill that drives away misfortune supposed to treat something like Dissociative Identity Disorder?'

Koo Hui-seo continued, as if he had read my mind.

[Of course, a severe mental illness like a personality disorder could not be alleviated by a baptism. From then on, mother began suspecting Hui-seo and began feeding him truth serums.]

"She suspected him?"

[She suspected that we may have been lying about our illness-that we may have broken the Witch's designated taboo.]

He also explained the taboo.

As the son of a witch, Koo Hui-seo's mother wanted to keep him under her protection. That's why she created a 'taboo' that changed daily; dozens of conditional blessings hung upon that taboo and would be maintained if Hui-seo did not commit the taboo.

A witch's skill set usually consisted of restrictions and rewards-the stricter the restrictions the higher the rewards...and the more severe the price would be for breaking them.

And at first, Koo Hui-seo would break the taboo several times.

If there were only one or two taboos, he may have been able to maintain that balance, but his mother cared about her son very much. She devised protective skills every day that wouldn't allow even a scrape from a shaving razor.

In the blink of an eye, dozens of restrictions were placed upon him; Koo Hui-seo thought that he couldn't live any longer while conscious of so many taboos. However, Koo Hui-seo's mother neither backed down nor compromised. Her son's rebellion fell on deaf ears.

[Hui-seo lost one thing with each taboo he broke. He may lose his sight for a few days; other times, he might lose his voice.]

"That kind of..." I couldn't help but curse at her style of discipline.

No matter how much you may want to protect him, how could anyone do that to their own child? It's a perfect environment for breeding obsessive disorders... Such mental illnesses could form even in their absence in a sound mind.

According to him, the taboos were strange and tricky as well.

His shirt must always be buttoned to the very last button; he must only check the time five times a day; he must not be alone in a room with a red lamp; don't step on white thresholds; etc... There were dozens of restrictions with no consistent rules; it was far too difficult to memorize. I felt suffocated just imagining myself in Koo Hui-seo's position.

Furthermore, he had to endure more than his mother's obsession with taboos and baptisms.

[Funny thing is, the protections didn't really work through his father.]

"His father?"

[He never liked Hui-seo. We would often get beaten up or verbally abused.]

He was abused by his father.

And, the level of abuse was quite severe: hanging upside down for an hour while being hit by a bat or breaking bones while blocking a golf club.

[Mother's 'protection' never worked against father.]

"Why...?"

[Because father's violence was designated as neither escapable nor preventable. To summarize, Hui-seo had to live without violating rules for a protection that was ultimately useless when he needed it the most. Wasn't this the perfect environment to go insane?] Koo Hui-seo said mockingly. [However, mother believed that Hui-seo wouldn't have developed this disease if he kept to the rules. She believed that he had fallen ill after deceiving her and breaking taboos.]

"......"

[So, Hui-seo often tried to kill himself...That didn't go his way either. When he tried to hang himself, the rope broke; if he fell off the roof, his fall would be stopped in the middle, and he'd only break his leg.]

The baptism was cast by one of the nation's foremost witches in an effort to protect her child. No matter how hard he may have tried to die, he wouldn't have been able to succeed.

'Did Koo Kyung man, perhaps, seek out Seo Dawon to end his brother's pain?' I thought.

He had only asked for Seo Dawon to kill his brother.

Seo Dawon, who happened to be looking at me, silently shook his head, signalling for me to keep mum. He might have thought the same but had decided that it would do no good to mention Koo Kyungman to the corpse-like man. Or maybe Seo Dawon wanted to bring the matter up on his own.

Anyway, I kept my mouth shut at his cue and decided to continue to listen.

"Hmm...I'm sorry to hear that-the fact that you've been abused by your family." Seo Dawon said.

"......" I couldn't help but feel embarrassed at the drivel that left the Mage's mouth.

How could he give his condolences with an expression that brokered no feelings of comfort or sympathy...? What was he thinking?

[It seems I've bored you?] Of course, Koo Hui-seo would reply in an understandably jilted way in retort-his voice sounded different from the polite tone used earlier.

However, Seo Dawon answered without hesitation, "A little?"

[......]

"Anyone would be able to guess that you've suffered through some rough times just by looking at you." Seo Dawon added sarcastically, "After all, chimeras don't normally decay while alive."

This social interaction burned me from the insides. Is he the devil? What if Koo Hui-seo becomes uncooperative because of your words...

[I guess that's true. I've said something useless.]

However, the atmosphere did not turn perilous as I had expected. Koo Hui-seo bowed his head and closed his mouth, as if he agreed with the Mage. He looked as if he no longer wanted to talk. He shrank back into the crack in the tree that housed his face.

Maybe some of his expectations for our visit had vanished. I stared at Seo Dawon, asking through my expression 'What are you going to do now?' The Mage, though, stayed calm.

Before Koo Hui-seo could fully bow his head, Seo Dawon asked arrogantly, "I'm curious-If we completely restore your body, would 'Koo Hui-seo' come back to life?"

The chimera immediately stopped moving as soon as he heard Seo Dawon's words.

TL: Sorry if this chapter is rough, I had to PR it in a hurry!

RIP Koo Hui-seo.