Chapter IV: Blessing or curse?

In the northern kingdom, the slaughtering of the beast and the continuous spreading of incurable diseases haven't stopped and just continue to spread while monsters prey on people. 

When the time comes that people have begun to accept their faith and have lost all their rays of hope, a prophecy visits the temple and declares that the oracle has been decided. With that, the little town that was supposed to fall began to rise again, but no one knew what the prophesier had told the priest, and he was the only one who knew about it. 

Because of that, people had vowed that they would become loyal to their God, so they started to offer him a gift every year.

"Woah, the sun was so bright today."

The girl looks at the sky as she wipes the sweat from her forehead. She's walking down the grassy field of the mountain after she visits her grandma, who lives outside the town.

"I'm so tired. Let's rest here for a minute."

She puts down the basket she was holding that contains bread that her grandma has made. 

As she relieves her fatigue, she doesn't know that the bread has already lured the beast in her direction.

*Growl!*

The little girl was startled to hear the beast growling behind her; she was afraid to look back as she trembled in fear. Her body won't move while she stares at the beast with a terrified face. 

"H-help…...Help me!" 

The girl shouted, but someone couldn't come. There were no people who could hear her.

She began to shed tears, fearing that she would become the terrifying furry wolf meal. But when she closes her eyes, the hungry growl of the beast is unable to hear. 

As she opens her eyes, she is shocked to see a little boy, or rather, a weird-looking kid, covered in bandages. 

Every time he touches the beast, they turn into ashes, and enters his body...

...She saw everything the kid did.

"Are-are you okay?"

The little boy asks.

She couldn't answer, but tears welled up in her eyes. The boy wanted to reach out his hand, but he knew that he couldn't and that he would never be able to, as he didn't want to hurt her.

"Plea-please don't cry!"

He panicked as she cried loudly.

"Wah~ so scared!"

She shouted.

The little boy froze as he saw his reflection in the pond.

"I'm sorry…" 

He mumbled and was about to walk away, when he suddenly feel the girl was about to hold him, which he avoided quickly.

"You- "

His eyes widened.

"Ah, thank-thank you for saving me." 

Stuttering, the girl who was looking down earlier looked at her and smiled as the sun shone at her face, her golden blond hair glittering in the sun. He was facing an angel rather than a human with a luciform appearance, along with her perfectly shaped lips.

"M-my name."

"Yes?"

"My name is Daisy." 

She flushed as she introduced herself, which euonymously well suited her.

"What's yours?" 

He was startled; it was the first time someone had talked to him and he could feel the amity in her words.

"..."

"Uhmmm..." 

Daisy looks at him without fear, even though he looks more terrifying than the beast she met earlier.

"M-mummie. T-that was my name." 

He avoided her look and scratched the back of his head, as words were ineffable to describe the joy he was feeling right now.

"Then, Mummie, from now on, we are friends, best friends!" 

With a glad smile on her face, Daisy reached out her hand and declared her friendship to confused Mummie.

"…. Yes?" 

Mummie felt moved because of Daisy's sincerity, but he couldn't touch her, so he just nodded.

It's the beginning of the demonic cursed Mummie and the sweet little Daisy's friendship. Their relationship was so pure and sincere that they always played and hung out at the pond where they first met each other. Sometimes Daisy watches Mummie hunt, like how Mummies guide Daisy to climb up the stairs every day to visit her grandmother.

"Say, Daisy, why would you always visit your grandma alone?" 

Mummie asked curiously.

It had already been months since the two had become friends, but Mummie always wondered how Daisy visited her grandma alone every time, even knowing that the beast had resided in this mountain.

"That. Because... I want to."

Daisy responds with a serious tone, but as always, she smiles after every word comes out of her mouth.

"Then what about you? Where are your parents?"

Mummie can't look into Daisy's eyes and is hesitant to answer her question.

 "It's alright; you don't have to answer if you don't want to." 

They were sitting side by side at a distance fearing that Mummie might hirt her.

"T-they're dead."

Daisy's smile fades away.

"It was a long time ago; I almost can't remember their faces, but the only thing I remember is that I was a sickly kid, and my so-called parents let me lay down at a marble table, saying that I would be cured as they started performing an orison. I fell asleep, but once I opened my eyes, I looked like this, and my parents... I don't know what happened to them after." 

Mummie's response as Daisy listens.

"Did they want you dead?" 

Her facial expression stayed serious as she played with the grass.

"I don't know." 

He suddenly feels uncomfortable around Daisy for a second as she smiles brightly again.

"Then, when will you let me touch you?"

Daisy quickly slides herself beside Mummie and stares at him in the face.

"Y-you can't!" 

Mummies flushed as she avoided her..

"Then I'll just find a way to touch you. Uhm, maybe someday I will!"

Daisy stood up and looked at Mummie with confidence.

"….."

"The offerings will be tomorrow; I'll be turning 15 then. So now let's have fun!" 

Daisy ran while Mummie rushed and followed her from behind.

With all the fun, Daisy began to feel tired and decided to stop under the big tree.

As they both sat down, she suddenly fell asleep carelessly while Mummie watched her smile even in her sleep. She just looked so innocent with a quiescent soul that made the cursed Mummie's heart begin to beat fast... that he tried questioning himself, that maybe they ran too fast earlier, or that what he feels is rather affection towards her. 

Mummie felt his heart become heavy. He doesn't want to expect too much because he's already content with being her friend.

While watching her sleep from a little distance, Mummie hears the footsteps of two people walking down the street; based on their appearance, they look like hunters from the village.

" Who do you think is the offer this time?"

The bald guy asks.

He watched them from afar, but he could hear them.

"It's already been decided; it was a girl this year."

"Remember the orphan? Who always visits her grandma? She will turn 15 tomorrow."

Mumie hears everything but can't understand a thing.

He was about to follow the hunters, but then he stopped when Daisy had already woken up.

"What's the matter?" 

Daisy's head tilted as she rubbed her eye off with a dozing face.

"Would you not attend tomorrow?"

"Why?"

She asked with a confused expression.

"UHM…." 

Mummie can't seem to answer Daisy's question, as he is not so sure about everything.

Daisy chuckled.

"Of course, I would not if you don't want to."

"Is it okay?!" 

Mummie smiled.

"Of course, silly, my parents don't care, so it's fine."

The bright Daisy once again forms a galad smile that already becomes the weakness of the cursed Mummie.

"Parents?" 

He confusedly asked; she never told him about herself, so he still didn't know everything except that she climbed up to the mountain to visit her grandma every day.

"Didn't I tell you?" 

Mummie nodded as Daisy told him about her gambler-addict father and an abusive stepmother. 

He feels pity for Daisy, even though knowing that his life as a human was much more miserable when he remembers the day, he vomits blood every time he is still alive.

He was left in silence while Daisy stretched out.

Her eyes suddenly widened when she heard a group of people march in her direction.

"Mummie, hide!" 

Daisy shouted, fearing that the people would harm his friend.

He rushed to hide behind the bushes as the group of kids walked towards Daisy.

"So, you're hiding here, huh?" 

The chubby-looking kid pointed at her.

"Come on, Fitz, you're just here to pick on me, aren't you?" 

She frowned, but you could still feel and see the emotion in her eyes.

"So what?!"

 Fitz suddenly commands him to hold her as she stumbles on the ground, forcing her to eat some insects.

"Freaks should eat this!"

As he watches from afar, he grits.

"Who were you playing again, freak? Another freak?! Hahaha!!" 

They started laughing while forcing her to open up her mouth as Daisy struggled to fight back because she was lying on the ground with two boys holding her and Fitz forcing her to feed insects.

'Stop...'

 'Please, stop it.'

"Stop it!"

Mummie was furious; he wished for the three to stop, but they didn't. It was already too late when the wind began to let out a strong breath, and Mummie furiously devoured the three in anger in front of her.

When Mummie looked behind him, he was startled as his eyes widened to see Daisy's expression, which was unable to describe whether what he saw was either fear or worry.

"D-daisy I-"

He stopped mid-sentence.

"Fitz, my boy, where are you?"

As they heard a call from another person, Mummie's eyes trembled.

"Go…." 

Daisy's expression has gleaned; she can't look at Mummie and stare at the grassy field beside the pond.

"But I was just protecting you from them."

"Please just go!" 

Daisy begged as she dusted off herself, then stood up as she watched him disappear from her sight.

The offering that should be celebrated tomorrow has been postponed due to the incident, and Mummie couldn't hear anything nor see Daisy after that.

Just weeks passed, and while Mummie's hunting for a beast at night when the moon was so big and round, the voice of people protesting and reciting an orison can be heard, and the fire can be seen at the near foot of the mountain.

"Burn the witch!" 

Many protest as Mummie watches the girl tied up at the stake with the fire under her feet. It was then that he hurriedly came down from the mountain with his two eyes widening to see the pure innocent Daisy become the reason for people's protest.

 As he swiftly ran down, the dust followed, and the leaves fell as the trees and flowers he was walking through died.

Mummie felt uncontrollably angry that he wanted to kill them all for Daisy, but whenever he remembered her expression back then, he stopped, knowing that he could never do such things that could disappoint her. 

The wind has become stronger, and the fire has grown. Mummie looks at her, and he is startled to see Daisy, who was looking down earlier, now smiling at him as she reaches out her hand.

"@#$@" 

Daisy had left a word, but he couldn't hear it from a distance, and it was already too late when the fire devoured her, but still, her luciform smile and eyes locked up on him, reaching her hands from Mummie... She dies without looking at anyone except for him.

He has lost himself to see the person he cherishes lose her breath before he can do something. Because of his range, Mummie's hatred ate up the whole of him, feeling his throat closing up. 

As he felt an overwhelming power running through him. 

Mummie covered his ears as if he had lost his mind before he let out a deafening scream with his sonorous voice. 

The caligo of smoke and the massive dust covered up the wind and devoured all the villagers and houses in a pit of murklins. It was the darkest night and the beginning of people's nightmares.

The night ended with the cries and screams of people, and when the day comes, he won't be able to see her bright smile. 

He walked towards the scene where Daisy was tied up and burned; her body wasn't there anymore; instead, it was just ash that followed the air when it blew a breath. His heart tightens as he gently picks up Daisy's fragment from the ground, showing his warmth.

Back then, he didn't know everything that had happened. He couldn't think about anything but Daisy's bright smile. He was in range for weeks as the only ray of his Elpida would never be back, and before everything could have gone worse, Mummie was completely sealed by a brave holy knight without knowing that the day he would wake up, a nightmare would come to hunt him.

'Back then, I didn't know what was behind those words.' 

Mummie's memory of Daisy flashed right before his eyes.

"Then I'll just find a way to touch you."

*Smile*

Every time he thinks about Daisy's words, the more he feels the pain in his chest.

"But now I know..."

Remembering what has happened so far, Daisy's grandma has decided to let the beast eat Daisy as she chooses to kill her granddaughter from the beast instead of being people's sacrifice.

Daisy's last words popped out of his mind, and he started to feel regret.

"Come…" 

That was the last word Daisy had said. He regretted the time Daisy wished for the two of them to be together. 

'Then I'll just find a way to touch you. Maybe someday! ' 

Daisy, who seeks his salvation, only sees her as a bright kid without knowing that she has known everything from the start. 

Her grandma's plan, knowing that she was the next offering: that she would become a sacrifice and that her parents didn't care. 

The day Daisy met Mummie, she was sure to die in his hands. She would rather die with Mummie than become a sheep sacrifice for the crazy people in the village who were blinded by the priestess's words.

"Her smile was always filled with warmth, which became the reason for my dull world the day she was gone." 

He affirmed it in the elegiac tone of his voice.

The image of the smiling Daisy that was reaching out her hands for him hunts him every time. He had a chance to hold her, but then why didn't he do it? Mummie's eyes watered. Is it because he was scared, or is it just because he doesn't want to see Daisy vanish from his hands?

He let out a sigh with a teary eye.

"Back then, I couldn't reach her hand."

Mummie has storytell about everything to the man who was standing in front of him. 

They're facing each other at a great distance.

It was when Lee Hyun stared at him blankly as he listened for an hour. The cursed mummy that had devoured him earlier was now standing in front of him with a child of a human body, a doll-faced noble kid with a cat-looking face. He looks like an adorable kid that everyone wants to have.

"It was the second time someone wanted to hold me."

Mummie continued to speak as he looked him straight in the eye.

"Everyone who does that seeks my salvation." 

Remembering the smile of the girl he once loved and forever be his last, being scared of facing reality, he chooses the latter instead.

"Thank you, mister." 

Mummie has bowed down with a hint of grace.

"Why me?!"

Lee Hyun shouted at Mummie, which made him look straight at him with a mocking face. 

He then replied.

"Because Mister is a kind person." 

He says this and touches his lip with his index finger.

"HA! Don't make me laugh." 

He gave an interjected response with a hostile glare in his eyes.

"Lee Hyun."

He flinched; no one knew his real name, and he hadn't talked about it to anyone since the day he possessed Khalid's body. 

Out of curiosity, Lee Hyun asked the little boy.

With a nonchalant expression, he asked. 

"How did you know?"

But Mummie's following answer left him speechless.

"Because, mister, life was too pitiful." 

He chuckled and left a smile as if it were mockery or a smile made out of pity.

 Lee Hyun didn't say a word and left unspoken because everything he heard from him was clear enough to understand everything.

He who has freed the demon Mummie became the substitute for his misfortune. With that, the light illuminated Lee Hyun as he watched the two kids holding hands with one another as they both looked into each other's eyes before they disappeared from his sight. 

Who could have ever known that even a demon could find a person who showed adamancy and became a warmth of agape that was so sweet until it turned into a venom that no one could survive?

Just then, Lee Hyun once again woke up from the nightmare to experience the other nightmare of reality, where he wouldn't be able to wake up.