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Chapter Text

We are Hunters, voices strong. Slaying demons with our song. Fix the world and make it right....when darkness finally meets the light.

This damn song plays in Rumi's mind as she runs. She's a hunter. Her duty is to slay demons. But her voice... It's gone. She's not a hunter anymore. She's a demon. She belongs with Jinu and the Saja boys... Trapped underneath the Honmoon by the hunters. Maybe Zoey and Mira will do a better job without her. She's a hypocrite after all. The Honmoon is falling because of her. Her friends, no the hunters, have found out who she really is. A demon.

Rumi needs help. She thought Jinu would help her but he betrayed her. She was naive to think he understood her. The only one left is... Celine. Her stomach churns just as she thinks about Celine. What will she say? What's going to happen? But then again, if Celine ends up killing her... She deserves it. She's a demon after all.

As the Honmoon cracks while she runs, her memories of her past come up to haunt her.

"Celine, do Hunters kill all demons?" Young Rumi asks as they finish singing. "Yes," Celine says, braiding her hair without a crack of a smile or anything. "So everything that has patterns..?" Rumi moves her sleeve down to look at her purple stripes. She found it pretty. A unique artwork on her skin that symbolises her father's heritage.

Celine frowns and pulls the sleeve up. "Cover those up. You only have those because..." "My dad was a demon?" Rumi asks, her facial expression glancing up at her mother figure.

"You're not one of them, Rumi. You're a Hunter, like your mother was. When the Honmoon is sealed, all demons will be gone from this world. And so will your patterns." Celine says, the brows of hers burrowed further. Those patterns must go. Rumi looks so much like her mother, but that damn purple hair and patterns... It irks her to see such demonic traits on her. If only Rumi was never...

"So these will be gone?" Rumi asks when Celine goes quiet. Celine snaps out of her thoughts. She shouldn't be thinking of such dark thoughts in front of a child. Much less the child she swore to her dying sister that she'll watch over. Celine forced a small smile. "Yes. Those will be gone." It has to.

Rumi stops at the place she grew up in. She made it quite quickly. It was probably thanks to her demon powers. Maybe it could be useful in future fights against demons.

No. She's not a hunter anymore. She's a demon. There is no fighting against her own kind.

Rumi walks through the grave that she has watched Celine clean up a thousand times throughout her childhood. Her mother's grave... Always so clean as if Celine cleaned it in hopes of forgiveness.

"Celine! How long are you going to keep cleaning that grave?!!" Young Rumi whines as she kicks the pile of leaves she gathered while waiting. Celine chuckles. "A little longer, Rumi. Remember, patience is a key to being a hunter too." Rumi huffs and runs up to hug Celine, cheeks puffing as she presses herself onto Celine's torso. Celine freezes as she's never felt the warmth of a hug... Not since Mi Yeong... She takes a deep breath and her face softens, patting Rumi's head.

"Who's the grave for anyways?" Rumi asks and Celine gives a bittersweet smile.

"This Rumi... Is your mother, Ryu Mi Yeong. She was the best hunter and her voice was like the golden starlight of our group. Everyone who heard her voice fell for it," Celine reminisces. "One day, when you become a hunter and sing, you'll be carrying her voice and legacy. Do not disappoint me and her fans, Rumi. Everyone is all looking forward to seeing you on stage and the past hunters all look at you to create the Golden Honmoon."

Rumi sits in front of the grave. "Mom... Why did you fall for a demon? Why would you let me be born? I ruined what you've all worked for. I'm supposed to be a hunter! Protecting humanity and carrying the legacy of the hunters is my duty but... Now I'm a demon who destroys what I tried so hard for. WHY?! " Her hands grip onto the grave as if the cold stone slab could mimic the warm shoulders of a person. The warmth of her mother that she yearned for. The person who could answer her questions. She grits her razor-sharp teeth together. One of her hands now as sharp and as beastly as a demon claw claws onto the name. The wretched name called Ryu Mi Yeong... Her mother... The one who birthed her. All that pain is cause of her!

The sharp nails grate the name, but her other hand that's still human, stops the claw. Ryu Mi Yeong is still her mother. She's the hunter who perhaps saw the good in a demon and wanted Rumi to live on as a symbol of potential peace between hunters and demons.

"Mama..." Rumi sobs to herself as she removes her contradicting hands off the grave, hugging herself into a ball. The cracks of the Honmoon resonate in her ears. To her hunter self, it sounded haunting... Like a thunderstorm raging on... Like branches being torn off a tree and yet, to her demon self, it sounds... liberating. Like the breath of fresh air after being suffocated for so long... Like the chains of her hidden self finally set free. Rumi hates it. She hates how she's torn between her two selves. What even is she anyways?

Just as the world went silent, Rumi's hand moved and she hit a small, notebook-sized wooden box right beside the offerings. "What the?" She says as she sniffles. She opens the box gently. It was a picture she had never seen before. The Sunlight Sisters with... a purple-haired guy? Could it be her father? Rumi shifts through the items in the box, taking out the photos and then an envelope. It looked sealed, the paper crumpled and stained with tears. Carefully, she opens the inside of the envelope. It smelled like chrysanthemum and cedar wood, Celine's scent. Pulling out the letter, she sees the handwriting and recognises it as Celine's handwriting, but why is there a letter from her to her mother? Why does the handwriting look so shaken up?

Rumi starts to read the contents.

Dear Mi Yeong, it's been a few years... Don't worry, Rumi is safe and doing well. I have raised her like a hunter. Like we were raised. She carries our legacy, your legacy. I think about that day a lot and I regret what I've done. However, it is for the greater good. I can't let you corrupt anyone any further... I can't let you allow those demons to manipulate you and subsequently manipulate Rumi into believing those monsters deserve a chance. Killing her father was the right choice. He's a demon who eats human souls. What if one day he goes hungry and eats both of your souls, my soul..? Rumi would be fine without a father figure. She doesn't need one. Especially not a demon father, but she is already corrupted by him... The purple hair... It's disgusting to see it the same shade as that damn demon lord Gwi-Ma's flames. She is forbidden from ever cutting her hair short. As long as it is long, it will look like your hair... She will, no, she must only resemble you. 

Rumi has asked me a few times about you. What you were like and what our hunter days were like. Of course, I'd tell her everything. Her eyes light up and sparkle just like yours. I guess your childlike innocence rubbed off on her. Oh, and guess what? She uses the sword just like you do, so I gave her your sword. I hope you don't mind. I mean, why wouldn't you? She's your daughter after all. Her resolve is quite weak, however... I can see that part of her seems to not see demons as a threat... That part is worrying. I can't let her demon self become her weakness. She needs to suppress that part of her. She believes her fellow hunters will accept that part of her... Isn't that ridiculous, Mi Yeong? 

I miss you. To this day, I wonder if you have forgiven me for what I did... Your blood is on my hands. I didn't mean to. I don't know what came over me but hearing and seeing you with that demon... I knew I couldn't let it continue. You were threatening the continuation of the hunters. Our purpose was falling apart because of you. Oh Mi Yeong, why couldn't you realise that before it's too late? Rumi lost her mother because of you. But, I will hold up the promise I made to you when we lost you, to protect your child. I will do what I can to accept her and love her as much as I can. Even if every fibre in my body tells me it's wrong to harbour and raise a child carrying the blood of a demon. 

I once again ask for your forgiveness... I'm sorry, Mi Yeong.

Watch over us,

Celine

Rumi stares at the letter. Things start to make sense, but it also messes up everything she has known about Celine. Celine killed her parents? She doesn't seem to regret killing her father... The fact that Celine killed her mother. That didn't sit right. The Honmoon cracks again and Rumi stares at it. Celine didn't sound like Celine in the letter. Maybe... this is an illusion created by her demon self to deny her human identity. Rumi hopes that it is an illusion, but right now, she's stuck and the only one who can help her, guide her, is Celine.

Rumi gets up from the grave and looks at it. “Tell me… mom… what should I do?” The words felt foreign yet right on her tongue, asking of a woman she’ve never met. She makes up her mind to find Celine. Get answers and the help she needs. She approached where Celine was. As soon as Celine turned around and pointed her weapon, Rumi's heart stopped. Celine thankfully had lowered her weapon, but she didn't take it away. Obviously not when Rumi looks so much like a demon right now. 

"Rumi?" "I thought I could fix it all. Fix me. But I ran out of time. They saw. They know. There's no denying it now. This is what I am." Rumi gestures to her body. She is a demon who needs to be stopped just like her father. Just like what Celine mentioned in the letter. Celine shakes her head in denial, dropping her weapon. She can't let the one thing left of her sister become corrupted by a demon too.

"Rumi, no." Rumi summons her sword and drops to her knees. She bows her head down as she offers the sword to Celine. Celine was capable of killing her parents. She'll have the willpower to stop her. "You knew I was a mistake from the very start. Do what you should've done a long time ago. Before I destroy what I swore to protect. Please. Do it! "Rumi's demon voice resonates and the Honmoon cracks again.

Celine shakes her head, running up to her. "I can't. When we lost your mother, I swore to protect all that was left of her, but I never thought that that would be a child like you," Celine's hand hovers on Rumi's face. She wants to comfort her, but she can't. She can't touch those demonic parts of her. She can't accept it!

"Everything I was taught told me you were wrong, but I made a promise. So I did my best to accept you and help you." "Accept me? You told me to cover up, to hide!" Rumi says, Celine's words are contradictory. Is covering up really accepting her? Rumi starts to see the lies Celine seems to be grasping straws at. Even now, Celine doesn't love her fully...

"Yes, until we can fix everything. And we still can. We can cover those up and put everything right again. I'll tell Mira and Zoey that it was all a lie, an illusion by Gwi-Ma to break us apart." Celine says, desperate, pulling her cardigan onto Rumi but Rumi is sick of it. Her own parental figure can't even love her for who she is. All Celine wants to do is deny her and erase those demon parts of her. Just like how she had read what Celine is really like in the letter. Rumi isn't fully human, nor is she fully demon. She is both worlds. Both worlds that Celine killed with her own hands. The look on Celine's face as she tries to justify herself looked crazy. Did she also look this crazy while killing her parents too?

"No. No more hiding. No more lies!" Rumi clenches her fist, and then she speaks, dropping Celine's heart into her stomach. "Celine, did you kill my parents?" Celine doesn't answer. How did Rumi know? "... Why did you kill my mother, Celine?" Rumi's demon voice cracks the Honmoon once again but this time, it also cracks the facade that Celine has been trying to hold onto and deny for years.

Chapter Text

"Answer me Celine!" Rumi shouts as Celine stands there horrified. How did Rumi find this out? She hid it so well... Unless she found the box near her mother's grave. This is bad. It complicates things now.

"I had no choice Rumi! Your mother fell for a demon. She wouldn't listen so I had to stop your father, but I didn't know... She was going to... I..." Celine looks down at her hands. Blood. Her entire hands were covered in blood, the sound of a wailing baby, the sound of Mi Yeong crying. "No!" Celine covers her ears. 

The voices were getting louder. The sirens from that night repeatedly blaring, the lights from that day, the feeling of her bloody hands, the wailing of a baby, crying, screaming.

~flashback to the last Sunlight Sisters concert~

They were taking a hiatus. Mi Yeong was pregnant and she needed rest. The other hunter was also going to start a new chapter of her life, marrying a guy from the States. Only Celine was the same. Putting her hunter duties first and wanting to ensure that the Honmoon will seal all demons for good. But that can wait. For now. She's got to celebrate with her other hunters. It can't go wrong anyway. 

"So... When are we meeting the father of your baby?" Celine asks as they get off stage, drinking the water that the staffs rushed to pass to them once the concert ended. Mi Yeong smiled. "Soon. He will be coming to meet us tonight. I'm sure you two will love him. Once you put aside a part of him." Celine raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" "I'm just saying... He can be a little... Off putting at first..?" Mi Yeong gives a sheepish smile and Celine nods in confusion. "Uh... Ok. I trust in your taste. It's not like he's a demon anyways." Celine chuckles and Mi Yeong chuckles back nervously. Just then, a man's voice breaks through their conversation.

"Mi Yeong!" Everyone turns their head to see a burly man with purple hair and golden eyes. His smile was like a gentle sun, a presence of someone so innocent you wouldn't expect him to be... A demon. "He's a demon?!" Celine exclaims as she glances at his neck. The purple patterns glimmer as it come and go. Celine looks at Mi Yeong. "Hear me out Celine." "No, I'm not hearing you out! This is crazy! Mi Yeong. A demon! He's everything we're against." Celine then remembered the baby in Mi Yeong's womb. Her eyes look down at the belly and then at the father. "You're raising a half-demon child... You've gone insane Mi Yeong. What are you doing?! You're a hunter!" Celine shakes her friend, hoping to shake some sense back into her. This is wrong. Demons are for them to kill as hunters. Not to make love to! Not to love! They're nothing but soulless monsters. Mi Yeong puts her hand gently on Celine's. "I know what I'm doing. This may seem all crazy but Hyun (yes I named the father) and I love each other. Not all demons are bad. Some of them are controlled by Gwi-Ma and they don't want to hurt innocent humans. Just like Hyun." Mi Yeong says as she goes to his side. Hyun smiles and wraps a hand around Mi Yeong's waist. Celine goes silent. They did look loving if you look past the fact that he's a demon. "Please Celine. Give us a chance. Hyun and I will prove to you that not all demons are bad." Mi Yeong asks, her expression hopeful. Celine's weakness is definitely Mi Yeong.

Maybe she should give in...

No.

What is she thinking? This isn't right.

But then, Mi Yeong looks happy. They all deserve happiness.

She'll cooperate with them for now. 

Unless he tries anything.

Celine sighs as the conflict in her swirls. "... If he makes you happy."

~Time passes by~

Celine was starting to accept Hyun. He is a great guy. If he weren't a demon, Celine would've said Mi Yeong struck gold finding Hyun. They got along pretty well. Hyun was good at taking care of Mi Yeong which Celine appreciates greatly because she can't look after a hormonal pregnant friend on her own. 

"Hey Celine!" Hyun smiles as he sees her coming up to the mountain forests. Rumi's parents had moved up there to hide from the prying eyes of fans and reporters who wanted all information about who they are and what the pregnancy is looking like. Celine pants a little as she puts the bag of hallabong she bought on her way on the table. "The mountains are so high. I swear there's not enough oxygen up here. Is Mi Yeong even getting enough air for your daughter? You're not planning to make her lose oxygen and turn her fully into a demon, right? No, in fact, what if Mi Yeong is a demon now and I don't know about it?" Celine accuses and Hyun chuckles. "Explanation 606, I am not intending to turn my daughter or wife into a demon. I don't want them to suffer the same fate that I faced due to my reckless behaviour as a human." Hyun smiles bitterly. Celine raises an eyebrow. "You were human? I thought all demons were born demons." Hyun shakes his head. "No, I was a human but I wanted more money, more possessions, so I took Gwi-Ma's offer to become a demon. I had all the riches in the world but at the end of the day, I was alone. I had no family, no real friends and all I had... was what I desired." Hyun's downcast eyes look at the hallabongs on the table. "I had to obey Gwi-Ma's every order. He was in control of me. Right now, I could control what I want, which is why I haven't gone back to the demon world. I got a family now. People to keep me company. It's what I was truly seeking back when I was human." Celine puts a hand on his arm. "I'm glad you have that now." Hyun smiles wryly. "Yes. I am thankful for it every day." The two look at each other before Hyun takes one of the hallabongs to eat. 

"Celine, I have a favour to ask you." He says as he peels the skin, his tone has changed. The air was thick, almost like a demon was about to strike. Celine tensed up and looked at him. "What favour?" Her hands clenched into fists as she readied herself. He's a demon after all. She'll strike him down as soon as he tries something.

"I need you to kill me if I ever fall back into Gwi-Ma's control." The thick air stiffened and the two looked together in silence.

"You want me to what?" Celine says, shocked. If it were another demon, she wouldn't hesitate but this is Mi Yeong's husband and their unborn daughter's father. She could but she also can't just kill him. She can't face Mi Yeong if she does that. Celine's knuckles turned white as she spoke up. "No. Hyun, you can't just let me kill you when the time arises. You should fight back." Hyun sighs. "I know and I will but... If I really can't, you're the person other than Mi Yeong I trust to take me down." He smiles and Celine closed her eyes as the conflict in her rose up again. 

"... You have my word. I will kill you if you hurt Mi Yeong or your daughter." She says determined.

Chapter Text

"AHHHH!" Mi Yeong screams as her contractions start to begin in less than three-minute intervals. Her hands clutch her belly as she tries to hold it in because now's not the time. Not now when Hyun's struggling. Not when Celine is about to kill her husband.

Mi Yeong watched as Celine stood in front of her and Hyun. Celine is shaking slightly as she points the curved blade at Hyun, Hyun breathing heavily as his hands transition back into his demon claws and his demon features reappear.

This shouldn't be happening.

Not right now when the baby is about to come.

"JUST DO IT CELINE!!!" Hyun growls as he clenches his hands onto his head.

"No, don't do it Celine!" Mi Yeong says back as she grits and doubles over in pain. Celine is stuck between two choices.

Help Mi Yeong deliver the baby or fulfil her promise to Hyun. 

It all started an hour ago. Mi Yeong's delivery date was approaching so the three gathered to have a celebration. Celine and Mi Yeong were sitting at the table, having seaweed soup and rice cakes, waiting for Hyun.

"So, what's the baby's name?" Celine asks as she sips on her cup of tea. Mi Yeong chuckles. "Well, Hyun and I picked out a name for her." "Her?! OMG you're having a GIRL?! We're going to have to raise her to be a hunter. What will her weapon be? She's going to be an amazing hunter Mi Yeong!" Mi Yeong chuckles. "Calm down Celine. Hyun and I aren't going to force her to be a hunter. We're going to let her decide her own path." Mi Yeong says as she rubs her belly, a gentle smile on her face while Celine stares at her like she's lost her mind. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You heard me." Mi Yeong deadpans back. "No, why is she choosing her own path? We were born as hunters. Our bloodline and generations before us are meant to hunt these demons. She has to be a demon hunter." Celine splutters. Mi Yeong sighs. "I understand the sentiment Celine, but... I can't make my daughter fight a side of her own identity. Fight her father's side. We want her to embrace both her human and demon side."

Celine goes silent. That goes against what she is taught. Their mothers, grandmothers, great-grandmothers, and past hunters will definitely not want to hear that. But Celine will try to forgo what was drilled in her brain for now. Since Hyun is a great guy despite being a demon.

That's until it all went wrong.

"Celine! Get Mi Yeong away from me!" Hyun shouts as the sound of broken pottery rings through. Celine stands up in alert with Mi Yeong. Celine rushes out first and when Mi Yeong joins, that's when the two see it. Hyun's patterns glow as his skin turns purple, his teeth sharpen, and his hands back into demonic claws. 

"What's happening?" Mi Yeong asks as she tries to rush to Hyun's side but Celine pulls her arm back.

"Gwi-Ma. He's... trying to control me again. He found out about the baby... He wants me to take her back with me." Hyun pants as his drools start to leak out of his mouth. "And, he wants me... to KILL YOU TWO!" He grunts and almost lunges at the two when he stops himself. Celine summons her hunter weapon, standing in front of Mi Yeong to protect her. 

"Mi Yeong, run. Get out of the forest." Celine says and Hyun agrees. Mi Yeong shakes her head. "No... I can't just leave him like this." Mi Yeong looks back at Hyun. "Mi Yeong, just listen to Celine. It's for you and Rumi's safety."

Rumi... So that's the baby's name. Celine thinks before shaking her head. That's not important right now.

The issue now is that a demon is trying to kill them both right now.

"Hyun, this isn't you." Mi Yeong says as she tries to approach Hyun. Hyun steps back and Celine pulls her back again. "Don't be crazy. He can't control himself right now. A demon's a demon. They will one day showcase their ugly self again. Just like now." Celine says as her view of Hyun twists back to seeing him as a demon again. But a part of her wants Hyun to fight it too. He is her friend's husband after all.

Mi Yeong doesn't want to listen though.

This is Hyun.

Her husband.

Her daughter's father.

He's more than a demon.

He's someone who has a soul as pure as others.

He's not a soulless demon. 

"Mi Yeong, listen to Celine." Hyun pants as he clutches his head. Gwi-Ma's voice echoes louder and louder as he tempts Hyun to give in. 

"Give me the half-demon girl. Look at Celine and Mi Yeong. The two hunters will raise her to kill us all. The first one your daughter will kill is you. Bring her to me and we can prevent that."

"You are a weakling, Hyun. Remember why you became a demon. Those humans will betray you and you will end up lonely. You've lost your senses. Come back to me. Don't forget what you've done. You don't deserve this happiness. I will save you and keep you happy." 

"AHHH!" Mi Yeong clutches her belly in pain and it snaps Hyun back to reality. Everyone looks at her as they watch the water flow down her legs. 

The baby's coming.

"Screw this." Celine says and throws her weapon to the ground. She pulls Mi Yeong into the hut. "We have to deliver the baby now." Celine helps Mi Yeong get comfortable. Mi Yeong doubles down in pain as Celine helps her deliver the baby. Hyun stands outside pacing. He managed to hold it back for now. He calms down as he suppresses his demon side. "Please be ok..." He mumbles as he hears his wife screaming in pain as she delivers their baby girl. 

A long silence rang out before a baby cried from the hut.

Hyun sighs in relief. Rumi's born.

He watches as Mi Yeong comes back out with Celine and their baby. A healthy baby girl with purple hair and the cutest button nose ever.

Hyun moves slowly to meet his daughter. 

Oh, his sweet Rumi.

"Hello, my baby girl." He cooes as he approaches. Celine's guard was slightly up but judging from how Hyun looks, she relaxed and let him hold Rumi for a little bit. Once Hyun was ready to let go, he passed Rumi back to Celine. Mi Yeong smiles. "Isn't she perfect, Hyun? She has your hair."

Hyun smiles and nods. "She is."

Everything about Rumi is perfect.

"Yes, she is perfect. Give her to me." Gwi-Ma's voice rang through again. Hyun's eyes widen as he tries to resist Gwi-Ma, but this time he is stronger. Hyun can't fight it for long. Hyun's demon claws try to reach out to take Rumi.

He has to take Rumi to Gwi-Ma.

Celine catches on immediately and passes Mi Yeong Rumi before pulling her back into the hut, shutting the door. "NO!" Mi Yeong shouts as she tries to pry the door open. Celine had sealed the door by putting a broom between the door handles. 

"Forgive me, Mi Yeong. This is for both you and Rumi's safety." Celine says bitterly as she pulls out her hunter weapon again. Hyun looks at Celine with a sorrowful nod. "Thank you for letting me see and hold Rumi before I die Celine. I owe you big time. Please protect my family for me." Hyun says with a small smile as his human facade cracks for good and succumbs to Gwi-Ma's control. Celine's grip on the weapon tightens. "You deserve to see and hold your daughter." Celine says, equally as sorrowful as she watches Hyun lose himself. She knows this will hurt Mi Yeong, but a promise is a promise and she is a hunter.

She lives to kill demons like Hyun.

Celine lunges forth and slashes Hyun. 

She didn't.

The blade.

It didn't hit Hyun. Hyun was knocked to the ground and unconscious.

It was Mi Yeong who was slashed.

"NOOOOOO!" Celine shouts as Mi Yeong falls to the ground. The bloodshed was big, the blood seeping onto the grass and soil.

There was no way Mi Yeong could survive this. The wound was too big. A gaping wound that runs down her left shoulder to her right waist.

Celine drops her weapon to the ground as she rushes to Mi Yeong. Mi Yeong coughs out blood as she's picked up by Celine. Celine could feel the warm blood seeping onto her clothes, warming her up in the cold autumn night. "Why?! Why did you do that? You idiot!" Celine cries out as she watches the colour in Mi Yeong's eyes slowly dull. "I have to protect my husband. He can overcome it. I know he can." Mi Yeong says and Celine shakes her head. "He can't. I have to kill him Mi Yeong. He's a demon. He is trying to kill you and Rumi." Celine justifies as she holds Mi Yeong close. Mi Yeong really is stubborn til the end. 

Celine cries as she holds her close. "We gotta get you to the hospital. We have to save you. There should be a way!" Celine's voice shakes as she scrambles to find a way to call the ambulance but she can't leave. Especially with the time with Mi Yeong running out. Mi Yeong smiles and puts a hand on Celine's. "It's fine, Celine. It's too late. We both know I can't make it." Mi Yeong smiles. She stops talking for a while as Celine's voice becomes muffled with just cries. "Remember when we first started out as hunters? We were so ambitious, chasing fame and hunting demons. The countless nights we spent producing songs and dancing, and the amount of training our mothers would put us through to make sure we're perfect? Those were the best days of my life. Other than Hyun and Rumi's arrival, of course.

Celine couldn't stop her tears as her entire body ached in pain, watching her best friend, her sister, dying in her arms.

"Celine, where did you go? I can't see you." Mi Yeong mumbles as her eyes slowly lose their colours. "I'm right here. I'm right here." Celine holds Mi Yeong to her chest. "It's strange. It doesn't even hurt at all anymore... Maybe it's because my body is dying." Mi Yeong says and she closes her eyes. "Please promise me, Celine. Protect Rumi for me. If you have to raise her as a hunter, I hope she becomes a splendid hunter in your care." Mi Yeong's voice fades away slowly as she says her last words. Mi Yeong stops moving as her body tenses slightly as if it wants to try moving one last time before it relaxes into its final position.

Ryu Mi Yeong died on November 28, 2001.

"Mi Yeong? Hey." Celine shakes her dead body before reality finally sinks in.

Mi Yeong is dead.

Celine reluctantly sighs as she puts the lifeless body on the ground. She can hear Hyun waking up. Something in her snaps slightly. The voices start to intermingle. The voices were repeating the same words over and over again. She can hear it. The voice of her mother. The voice of the hunter ancestors. They are all speaking to her now. Telling her what to do.

This was his fault.

It's this demon's fault. 

You have to kill the demon.

This demon killed Mi Yeong.

You killed Mi Yeong.

He made you do that.

How dare he?

You have to kill him.

He made you kill Mi Yeong.

Hyun stirs awake and sees Celine approaching him. "Celine, where's Mi Yeong?" Hyun asks as he looks around. He then spots the body behind the approaching Celine. His eyes widen as he sees it. His wife is dead.

"Mi Yeong's dead and it's your fault. You. You demon. You killed my sister! I will eradicate you all. You demons don't deserve a chance. I will make sure... Rumi doesn't turn out like you."Celine says, her voice sounding abnormal. There was something else in her eyes. Bloodlust. This isn't the Celine that Hyun knows. This is a demon hunter. Ready to go in for the kill.

"He forced me to be in love with him, Celine. Look what he did! He made me die in your hands! He made you do this to me!" Mi Yeong's twisted voice echoes as Celine gets closer. It was this demon's fault. "He corrupted me, Celine. He tore us apart. He is trying to tear our hunter lineage apart. He made Rumi a half-demon." 

"Celine?" 

That was the last words of the demon who caused her family pain. He's finally gone. He can't hurt any of them anymore.

Hyun's body misted into thin air as he succumbed to his injury from Celine's kill. 

Hyun, Rumi's demon father, died on November 28, 2001.

Chapter Text

Celine puts down her weapon and picks Mi Yeong's dead body up. She digs up the ground, placing Mi Yeong's body inside before she takes a stone tablet to carve out the words for the grave.

Suddenly, a baby cries. A baby?

Oh right. Rumi.

That demon's baby that Mi Yeong was forced to carry for nine months.

Celine dusts off her clothes and goes back into the hut. There Rumi was. Crying as the patterns on her skin glow.

It irks Celine. It triggered the voices even more. Rumi's existence is a mistake.

The hunters are telling her to get rid of Rumi. 

Celine picks the purple-haired baby up. She sighs as she sees Rumi. How pitiful, a demon baby stranded by her parents. The baby with purple patterns stops crying as Celine wraps her up in a golden blanket, the blanket's patterns similar to the honmoon's design. Was this made by Mi Yeong? Celine wondered as she walked with Rumi in her arms.

Wait, why did she think this baby was even related to Mi Yeong?

Get rid of her. 

A demon baby... End it before it can grow. 

Bury it with its foolish mother who fell for a demon.

Celine cringes as the voices ring through. Something doesn't feel right. Why is she discarding the baby? Why did she feel like she shouldn't be doing this?

Celine shakes her head and places Rumi into the grave beside the perished hunter's body. The hunter's face was askew, distorted as if the hunter's face were a watercolour painting that someone had spilt water on. Who is this hunter?

A hunter who fell for a demon.

A failure. 

The voices spoke to her.

Curiosity took hold of Celine, so she took another closer look at the hunter's body, and then her eyes widened. Mi Yeong? She could feel a panic attack rising within her. How did she not remember what happened to Mi Yeong?  How could she not recognise her face earlier? She looks at Rumi, who was clinging to a strand of her hair. Why did she try to bury the baby she swore to protect? What is she thinking? 

Celine sat down on the floor as she put Rumi aside. She clutches her head as the images of what happened prior flash through her head. She killed Mi Yeong and Hyun. She killed Rumi's parents. Rumi starts to cry again from feeling the cold surface floor as Celine curls herself up into a ball, hot tears running down her face as voices, crying, and reality blend in at once. She can't stop the voices telling her to do things she's not willing to do. Who are these voices? Celine thought they were her fellow hunters and ancestors but who in their right minds hear such things?

"Celine?" A voice called out to her and she didn't want to look up. This is another trick of her mind. "Celine!" The voice says and then she felt someone or something shaking her. Celine looks up as her voice trembles. It's the other hunter. "Celine, are you ok?" The other hunter asks and Celine shakes her head, feeling relieved to see a familiar face amid her disruptive mind. 

It was silent before the other hunter saw Mi Yeong's dead body. She stares in horror and back at Celine, who nods before breaking down again. Without words, the other hunter went to work, finishing the burial process and praying for Mi Yeong's journey to heaven. Celine just watched in silence, her stance transgressed into that of a small lost child. 

"C'mon, let's head to a warmer place." The other hunter says and gently pulls Celine up. One arm supporting the vulnerable Celine and the other, the patterned skin baby.

The two then moved into the hut since it was late at night. Rumi had fallen asleep in a crib and the patterns had faded from her skin. Celine breaks down as she confesses everything to the other. "She what? He what? Rumi is WHAT?!" The other hunter exclaims as she stares at Rumi. Celine nods solemnly. "Yes... Rumi is a half-demon because Mi Yeong fell in love with Hyun, a demon." Celine says, thankful that she's in her right mind with the other hunter around.

The other hunter runs a hand through her fringe. "Wow... To think that Mi Yeong was such a punk." She grins and Celine gives her a pointed look. "More like a troublemaker... How the heck do we raise a half-demon baby?" Celine grumbles slightly. The other hunter giggles a little and nods. "Yeah. I wonder if there's an instruction manual somewhere..." The other hunter then strays to the other rooms. Celine was once again alone with her thoughts.

Suddenly, she sees a purple flame slowly sparking in front of Rumi's crib. Gwi-Ma.

Gwi-Ma appears before her. The purple flames are recognisable, the same colour as Hyun and Rumi's hair. Celine watches him go towards Rumi's crib. "Come to me, rightfully mine." His sinister voice calls out to Rumi. She watches in horror as he touches Rumi's soft baby cheek. 

"Get away from her!" Celine shouts and summons her hunter weapon. Gwi-Ma looks up at her with a sinister grin and his flames grow large. The large flames flicker against the wooden walls, they start to burn as smoke fills the air into Celine's lungs and Rumi starts to cry again. Gwi-Ma snickers as he watches Celine double over in a cough. "Humans... so weak. I will train Rumi better than you will Celine." He taunts and in a swoop, he takes Rumi away with a villainous laugh. 

"NO! NOOOO!" Celine yells, trying to get up but her limbs were frozen as if Gwi-Ma had tied her to the ground. Hearing Celine's screams, the other hunter runs out in a hurry. She seemed unhurt by the flames as she made her way to Celine, her face in confusion. The hunter shakes Celine. "Celine! What's going on? Hey!" "Gwi-Ma! He took Rumi!" Celine exclaims and the other hunter got up to check the crib. The next moment, Celine watches the hunter take Rumi out of the crib and soothe Rumi from crying. "But... the hut, everything is burning cause of Gwi-Ma." Celine says even more confused while the other hunter looks around. "Celine, the hut isn't burning." Celine blinks and like the hunter said, everything was back to normal.

The other hunter then looks at Celine. "I think... we need to get you help."

"Based on the results... We think you had a psychosis episode." The psychiatrist says as he clicks his pen, jotting it down on Celine's medical records. The other hunter and Celine look at each other. "But, how? I'm pretty sure I've never suffered from such things." Celine justifies and the psychiatrist takes off his glasses. "How it started is most likely due to the trauma you recently faced. You said you watched your friend die? That counts. Plus, your family history as you mentioned, seemed quite tough on you. The pressure and trauma could've factored into this." He says calmly while Celine chews on her bottom lip. Damn it. He sounds right.

"So, for now, the course of action would be to learn to differentiate an episode and reality. Medication will also be provided as well since your episodes seem quite intense." The psychiatrist spoke and for a second, Celine thought she saw him as Hyun before she realised it was her mind playing tricks on her again. 

The two left the office in silence. Rumi was in a stroller, sleeping peacefully with a derpy eye looking blue tiger plush. They sat outside the office doors where the waiting room sofa was at as they needed to collect Celine's medication to control her paranoia.

"I'm in no position to take care of Rumi right now," Celine says as she digs her nails into her fists. The other hunter bites her lips. "Then, what should we do? I don't think my husband is willing to harbour a half-demon baby." Celine sighs as she looks at Rumi. "... Then we hide it. Let Rumi grow like a normal human being. This is so that we can protect her... Protect the honmoon." Celine says and the other hunter smiles slightly, happy to see Celine clearer and more like the leader she has known for years. "Ok. Please take care of yourself, Celine. Remember to call me if you need anything, ok?" Celine nods and the two part ways after a week.

~ a year later~

Celine was sort of doing better. She had gotten into a routine of cleaning Mi Yeong's grave and practising her hunter skills while also recognising when there is another psychosis episode. She was healing in her own way, and meditating became a big part of her daily routine. 

It was the same as usual when a phone call broke the silence in the forest Celine lives in. She had taken over the hut that Mi Yeong and Hyun live in as she feels guilty for leaving the place where she killed them. It's her punishment. Celine gets up from the floor and picks up the phone. "Hello?"

"Celine, it's me." The other hunter's voice rings through the tone. She sounded like she was crying. "... Rumi suddenly was acting up. She didn't like the baby food we gave her and she started crying. Her cries were strong and they knocked back the nanny. When I came back, the Honmoon managed to have a slight rupture from her cries. My husband saw Rumi with her patterns and called her a monster. He freaked out and refused to let us come back until Rumi is gone... I'm... currently on the plane with her. I... I have to give her back to you. Our marriage is honestly quite shaky now, so I hope that I can patch it up by leaving Rumi in your care for a bit." Celine's eyes widened. "No. You know I'm unstable for this. What if I hurt Rumi?" The other hunter sighs. "No, you won't. You've progressed and I doubt you'd hurt Rumi if you're now aware. Rumi needs someone who understands what she's going through. You watched Mi Yeong and Hyun. I'm sure you'd know what to do." The line cuts off, leaving no room for arguments. Celine looks at the phone before she puts it back. 

The issue now is what she just heard. Rumi's cries were able to rupture the Honmoon? That's bad. Celine sighs as she thinks about how she'll handle Rumi in the future. She sat back in her meditation spot and hummed the hunter song. That's when an idea came to her. She's not sure if it's her actual idea or not, but it sounded right.

She will make sure Rumi suppresses her demon side to ensure the Honmoon won't rupture and that Rumi will be able to shut out Gwi-Ma's voice.

Another idea came to mind when she thought about the Honmoon. Golden.

Where did she remember seeing a Golden Honmoon? 

A Golden Honmoon.

It's a Honmoon and it's golden. That could work.

That can seal Rumi's demon side.