#57
“Please… take me to heaven now.”
“What?”
“The people I met before said that heaven is a place without pain or sadness. I don’t want to hurt anymore… so please, take me there, angel. Okay?”
Before he realized it, the child was crying. Her big eyes, brimming with tears, seemed to say she didn’t want to stay in this world for even a moment.
Allen was at a loss for words. It was impossible to imagine the pain inflicted on a child who looked no older than five.
This wasn’t a mere exaggeration. The child truly seemed to be yearning for salvation.
At that moment, Allen remembered his own difficult childhood. Even while silently crying, he had never wished for death. He just wanted to live, to seek revenge.
Seeing Allen remain silent with a stern expression, the child hesitated and stepped back. Yet, she gently held onto his sleeve, as if afraid he might run away.
“I’m sorry. You didn’t like being touched, did you? My mom doesn’t like it when I touch her either.”
Only then did Allen learn the child’s name: Sohee. A familiar gesture made him relax and smile.
She didn’t look like Roni, yet her actions reminded him of Roni. Allen bent down, held Sohee’s hand firmly, and said:
“I don’t mind.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Then… can I keep touching?”
“Sure. As much as you want.”
“Yay! Angels are the best!”
Sohee’s face brightened as if she had never been sulky. When she snuggled into his arms, Allen hugged her tightly in return.
He even lifted her up high. Hoping she would smile, he was rewarded with a sunshine-like grin from the child.
Sohee was incredibly light. Her cheerful laughter and delight made Allen feel a twinge of pity. He could see she was mistaken, thinking she was about to ascend to heaven.
Allen pretended to caress her head, using it as an excuse to hide his cold expression.
‘Could her mother be the cause?’
Allen reflected on Sohee’s words and thought of his own mother, whose face he barely remembered. When she abandoned him at the Romanit Mansion and ran away, she had been crying.
Recalling the desperate moment when he had begged her not to leave brought an involuntary sigh.
Allen also remembered the happy times with his mother before joining Romanit. He still didn’t understand why she had abandoned him. Perhaps he had been lacking in some way.
He realized he and Sohee were alike. Neither of them had been loved by their parents.
As he lingered over this thought, unable to put Sohee down, someone opened the door with a creak.
As if on cue, Sohee disappeared from his arms. In the sudden darkness, Allen gripped the sword at his waist.
The light returned, and Allen found Sohee trembling on the floor. In front of her stood a woman reeking of alcohol, shouting cruelly.
“If only you weren’t here! I… wouldn’t have had to live like this.”
“Mom… it’s Sohee’s fault. Please…”
Sohee’s hands were raw from pleading, her calf bleeding as if cut by something. Her eyes were full of fear and sadness.
Allen froze in shock when he saw the utility knife in the woman’s hand, stained with blood—probably Sohee’s.
He felt his blood run cold. Her own mother was attacking her child.
Thinking of Sohee, who had been smiling just moments ago asking to be held, made him dizzy. The knife looked sharp and unfamiliar. He had never seen a dagger of this kind.
Allen decided he had to separate Sohee from the woman. He tried to grab the woman’s shoulder but his hand passed through, as if she were a ghost.
‘I could touch her just a moment ago…’
Indeed, neither of them seemed aware of Allen’s presence. It felt as if he had become invisible.
The woman shouted at Sohee to stop begging, then collapsed. Her wrists bore multiple self-inflicted scars.
“Fine, maybe we should just die together?”
“M-Mom…”
She muttered to herself, laughed, and acted like she had lost her mind. Sohee trembled but stayed, unable to abandon her mother, afraid of losing her forever.
“Seeing you reminds me of that horrible past.”
The woman threw the knife and grabbed Sohee by the hair, lifting her head. Tears filled the woman’s eyes, and Sohee cried quietly, terrified. She seemed desperate to avoid provoking more anger.
Allen could no longer stand by. Channeling magic into his sword, he slashed the illusory scene before him.
The abusive scene vanished, replaced by a pure white space, smelling strongly of disinfectant. A small bed stood in the middle.
Sohee lay there, her head wrapped in bandages. The woman, seeing her unconscious child, seemed to be talking to someone.
Allen touched Sohee’s hand and this time felt her warmth. Seeing her sleeping peacefully, he felt an inexplicable irritation.
Why did Roni not appear, yet this child kept showing up in his dreams? He needed to find the source of this poison quickly, but only confusion repeated.
The woman finished her conversation and approached Sohee, holding her hands tightly. Her companion disapproved but did nothing. She whispered, tearfully:
“Sohee, I’m sorry… really…”
Then, Sohee’s warmth disappeared again, as if she had vanished like a ghost.
Soon, Sohee opened her eyes. Trembling at the sight of her mother, she broke into fearful sobs.
“Waa… waaah…”
“S-Sohee, what’s wrong? D-Does it hurt?”
“Waaah!”
She rejected her mother’s touch, crying out. Someone intervened.
“We’ll protect Sohee from now on.”
“What do you mean? She’s my daughter! Why separate us?”
“You call her your daughter, but you neglected and abused her. She almost died.”
Sohee paused, tears slowing, looking between her mother and the strangers. Her mother held her hands again, saying:
“Sohee, I’ll be better from now on. Really. You’re all I have.”
“Mom…”
“I’m truly sorry. I must have lost my mind again. I won’t do it again. Please forgive me…”
Allen scoffed at the woman’s despicable attitude, but Sohee seemed to believe her.
Clear tears streamed down Sohee’s face as she hugged her mother tightly. Someone watching from behind sighed and rubbed their forehead.
“Mom… I only have you too.”
Allen, frustrated and irritated, forcibly separated Sohee from her mother. When he touched her again, Sohee looked at him with wide eyes. Before she could say anything, the scene vanished.
Allen continued wandering in the dream, trapped. Time was running out, yet Roni did not appear—only the strange child and woman kept appearing, driving him mad.
Allen had disliked Sohee’s mother from the start. She blamed the child and wanted to die together, which he could not understand.
Her behavior was contradictory—sometimes acting insane, laughing and crying, then suddenly tormenting Sohee as if to kill her.
She asked for forgiveness, then locked Sohee up at home. She cursed and screamed at the empty air, kicking Sohee and raging about how she could be abandoned. Later, she would calm down and beg forgiveness again. The woman seemed unstable, as if her personality were split.
Finally, Allen could not endure it and repeatedly struck her down, eliminating the scene. He gripped his sword, ready for anything that might appear.
“Allen?”
“…Roni?”
Allen froze, seeing Roni. She smiled, and he ran to embrace her.
Roni did not resist, wrapping her arms around him and gently touching his hair.
“You came to save me. How kind.”
“Where have you been? I’ve been looking for you.”
Allen scanned her to make sure she was okay. Then, Roni kissed him unexpectedly.
“!!!”
Startled, Allen paused. Roni, undeterred, held him closer, smiling with a chilling air. She muttered coldly:
“Coming to save me and yet letting your eyes wander to some strange girl… you deserve punishment.”
