I’m Trying to End This Possession Chapter 173

Epilogue

 

It was after the dimensional gate disappeared.

 

“Dana.”

 

Raios called her name, just in case. But Dana didn’t respond.

 

“Dana.”

 

There was no answer. It was understandable, since Dana wasn’t here. What remained was the empty shell of Danae Windsor. That was all.

 

The moment Dana stepped into the blazing dimensional gate, her body instantly lost its soul and collapsed. Dana’s soul had departed. She was no longer in this world.

 

Raios stared blankly at the body. Perhaps, as a final act of kindness before leaving, the land that Raios had corrupted had now been completely purified. Dana had purified it before she left. He picked up Dana with his only remaining arm, then slowly walked away.

 

“…”

 

It was after they left. Carl Windsor appeared there. He walked to the spot where the dimensional gate had burned. There lay the ring of the deputy head. The same ring Dana had clung to until the very end.

 

Carl slowly bent down and picked up the ring. The amber gemstone was now about half the size it had been when it was on his finger. He brought the ring close to his nose. It still carried Dana’s scent.

 

* * *

The night he arrived at the Windsor mansion, Carl fell into a deep sleep. As always, he dreamed of her. It had been a long time since he dreamed only of Dana whenever he slept, both when she was by his side and now that she was gone.

 

Tonight, too, Carl dreamed of Dana. It was a nightmare. Or rather, something that had already happened in reality. He groaned, clutching his blanket. Tears streamed down his cheeks. He was drenched in cold sweat.

 

While he was tormented by nightmares—

 

“Uncle.”

 

Carl’s eyes flew open. That voice just now…

 

“Uncle.”

 

No, he hadn’t heard wrong.

 

Carl jumped out of bed.

 

Dana. It was definitely Dana’s voice. Dana. Dana. Dana, Dana, Dana, Dana, Dana, Dana…

 

But it couldn’t be Dana. She was gone.

 

Carl stared at the door. A hallucination?

 

“Uncle?”

 

No, it wasn’t a hallucination!

 

Carl nearly tumbled out of bed and ran to the door. “Dana!”

 

The short distance from the bed to the door felt like a thousand years. The moment he flung the door open—

 

“Uncle!”

 

A sweet warmth rushed in. She threw herself into his arms. Carl instinctively hugged her tightly. For some reason, he felt like he could finally breathe at that moment. He almost sank down in relief he couldn’t understand.

 

“I missed you, Uncle.” Her voice whispered in his ear.

 

Dana. It really was Dana.

 

Carl checked Dana’s face. The cheek he’d always wanted to kiss, her nose, and…

 

“I missed you so, so much.” Dana rose up on her tiptoes, wrapped her arms around the back of his head, and pulled him toward her. Then she closed her eyes, as if asking for a kiss.

 

Carl’s gaze traced her long eyelashes, the tip of her nose, her pale cheeks. But he never looked at her lips. Not even a glance.

 

“Uncle?” Dana lifted her eyelids. Her eyes, burning with longing and desire, looked at him. “Why are you like this?” Her gaze trembled, and her voice was hot as she asked. “Hurry… please?” As if she couldn’t bear it any longer, Dana whispered, stroking his broad chest and muscular arms almost as if caressing them. “It’s okay, Uncle.”

 

“…”

 

“I know everything.”

 

“…”

 

“I love you.” Then, she gently pulled the tie on his pajamas. His robe opened, revealing his naked body underneath. “Ah…” Dana looked at his body with a gaze full of ecstasy. Admiration and desire mixed in her eyes, blazing like fire.

 

Carl sighed. Then he grabbed Dana’s hand as it reached down. “Don’t do this.”

 

“Huh?”

 

Carl backed away. He closed his robe tightly and muttered, “Dana wouldn’t do this.”

 

“W-What?”

 

“Dana hates me.” With those words, Carl’s eyes reddened with pain. “Dana really hates me.” Saying this, he grabbed Dana’s neck and squeezed tightly.

 

Dana’s face turned red, her eyes bulging as if about to pop out. White foam formed at her mouth. But Carl’s face remained expressionless. He didn’t feel even a hint of pity. Because this wasn’t Dana, after all.

 

Carl felt no pity for anyone except Dana. No sorrow, no affection. In this world, there was only one person he cared for—only Dana. Not these empty shells scattered all over the sanctuary that looked just like Dana. Only Yeon Dana.

 

“Gasp!”

 

Only at the brink of death did Carl release his grip. The woman wearing Dana’s face collapsed as if falling apart. She gasped for a long while, then her appearance slowly began to change. It was a woman Carl knew.

 

“Gasp, gasp.”

 

It was Miona.

 

Miona, sobbing, grabbed his ankle. “P-Please spare me, Lord Carl. I was wrong.”

 

“…”

 

Miona.

 

Carl looked at Allice’s friend. Miona had appeared wearing Dana’s face. He recognized this magic. It was a very complicated magic. Only the highest-ranking barbarian demon worshipers could use such magic. In other words, a high-ranking demon worshiper had possessed Miona. And their target must have been Carl Windsor himself.

 

Carl knew what they wanted. And Miona had been dominated by the demon worshipers in the process.

 

How pitiful. Carl felt sorry for her. Poor Dana. Even after death, Daana was still being used. Those demon worshipers used her. That good, pitiful girl.

 

Carl sat on the bed, burying his face in his hands. Poor Dana. How hard must it have been for her to cut off my finger? How much she must have suffered planning to betray him? Thinking about the hardship she endured, his heart ached unbearably.

 

After a while, Carl looked at Miona with reddened eyes. Miona was completely out of it.

 

“Lady Miona.”

 

It seemed she had been mentally manipulated. The demon worshipers had likely amplified some desire deep in her heart to control her. That desire was probably for Carl Windsor.

 

“Lady Miona, you’re Allice’s friend, right?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“And as you know, I’m Allice’s father. So, this isn’t right.” When he gently reproached her, Miona pouted as if she had been insulted.

 

“I know what I did wasn’t right. But please don’t blame my love.”

 

“I only mean that I’m not the right person for Lady Miona.”

 

“The right person? Who decides that? And you, Lord Carl, do you want the right person for yourself?”

 

Carl smiled awkwardly. “Lady Miona, I recently got divorced. I don’t have the energy to think about such things.”

 

Miona shot back sharply, “Lord Carl, do you know how I turned into Dana?”

 

“You must have gotten a forbidden potion or help from a demon worshiper’s spell. So it was you who stole my things and hair all that time.”

 

“That’s right. But do you know what kind of spell it was?”

 

Carl stared at Miona without a word.

 

Miona said rebelliously, “I didn’t know I’d turn into Dana either. Who I turned into depended on you, Lord Carl.”

 

“…”

 

“It’s because of you that I turned into Dana.”

 

Miona continued to speak. But Carl did not reply. He said nothing. For a long time, he just stayed silent. After all, it was something he could never accept or acknowledge.

 

* * *

Miona was handed over to Viego Windsor. The rest would be handled by Viego since he was the patriarch, and Miona was an intruder.

 

A few days later, Danae Windsor was officially declared dead. After her funeral, her inheritance process began. Carl Windsor inherited all of Danae Windsor’s assets. Among the vast piles of gold and jewels that everyone coveted, Carl sought only one thing. A navigational map to the sanctuary.

 

Before leaving, Carl put on the ring she had held until the very end. Then he packed his things and left his room. Finally, he set out for the sanctuary. It was a journey he had waited for a very long time.

 

* * *

Upon arriving at the sanctuary, Viego headed straight to the most secret place. It was a lake with a frozen, cold surface. He stood at the lakeside, looking down beneath the ice.

 

Under the frozen surface, a woman slept. Her hair, once jet black, was now completely white. She had a gentle face, like a lamb.

 

“Dana.” He murmured her name.

 

Dana was gone. By now, she must have arrived in her own world. She would be taking in the air of that world after such a long time. Perhaps she was even happy. But before long, she would definitely return. Because the real one was here, in the sanctuary.

 

“Leader.”

 

Viego turned around. A priest of the Daiana Church bowed his head.

 

“Leader, the senior priests have been gathered.”

 

Viego slowly followed the priest. Step, step. The regular sound of footsteps and his cane echoed together.

 

“Ah, Leader, we have discovered believers performing an orgy ceremony.”

 

“Expel them.”

 

“But some of the senior priests and high priests are among them…”

 

“Expel them.” Viego kept walking and spoke firmly. “Rank does not matter. Expel all those who perform ceremonies I have forbidden, according to the church’s rules.”

 

“Yes.”

 

With that, Viego stopped in front of the great sanctuary doors. Creak—the doors opened. A long corridor was revealed. Hundreds of cylindrical tanks lined both sides of the hallway. Inside, hundreds of Danas were submerged in water, sleeping like mermaids. Just empty shell dolls, without any souls.

 

After passing through that bizarre and endless corridor, Viego finally reached the chapel.

 

“Leader.”

 

As he arrived, the senior priests rose to greet him. Viego nodded perfunctorily and sat in the head seat.

 

As soon as he sat down, the priests anxiously asked, “Leader, is the rumor true?”

 

“We’ve received information that he is coming here.”

 

“Please, tell us it’s false!”

 

Viego slowly scanned their faces. There were faces tense with anxiety, faces in denial, and faces full of resentment. And all of them were terrified.

 

“It’s true. So prepare yourselves.” Viego Windsor, the leader of Daiana Church, commanded. “Carl Windsor is coming.”

 

* * *

Yeon Dana opened her eyes.

 

To be continued in Season 2