Scyllia has always been alone.

As soon as she was born, she was abandoned on the outskirts of the Holy Land with her umbilical cord left intact and uncleaned.

A priest eventually saved her from becoming a monster’s meal and brought her to the nursery.

It wasn’t such a bad environment.

The nursery was old and shabby, but the atmosphere was harmonious.

Sometimes she was hungry, but it wasn’t a place where she should be hungry for affection.

But there was a problem with Scyllia.

Only Scyllia, she was the only flaw.

“Priest! Scyllia is about to become a monster again!”

Bright sunlight-like hair, milky skin, and deep, tranquil eyes like a light jade.

Scyllia easily won people’s favor because of her lovely appearance. And as much as she easily gained favor, she was quickly hated by many too.

It was because of the stigma surrounding her due to the curse on her left shoulder.

The people in the nursery murmured that her beautiful appearance was meant to bewitch people and carry the curse.

“She must be a witch or a monster.”

“That’s right. I heard that witches have pretty faces. She’s trying to kill us with a curse.”

When she heard her friends whispering, little Sycllia thought:

‘Right. That’s why my parents abandoned me.’

Scyllia felt sick at the hands of the priest who was nice to her, although it was against his own will.

She knew it wasn’t true, that’s why she felt her heart breaking.

Especially on days when a seizure came to her, they made a fuss, saying that Sycllia was finally trying to become a monster.

“Scyllia!”

The priest screamed, calling her name.

The children’s buzz.

Scyllia wanted to hide under her bed every time.

If it weren’t for the burning pain in her left shoulder, she would have hidden. But it was so painful that all she could do was nothing but struggle.

Not only did the curse somehow hurt others, but it also hurt Scyllia herself.

“Argh! Arghhhhh!”

Her cute face was hideous, and her limbs convulsed violently like an upturned spider.

The pain was expected.

But no one knew the pain.

Nobody.

Both the priests and children just found Sycllia’s flounder gross.

When Scyllia began to ruffle, the adult priests clung and harshly persecuted her. They crushed her head relentlessly on the floor, suppressing her wet body with force, and took off her torn top.

Then the scar of the black curse was revealed on the left shoulder.

“It hurts! It hurts so much!”

The priests ignored Sycllia’s tearful appeal and poured holy water into the curse. Sycllia thrashed even more, like a bug struck with an insect repellant.

Dozens of pairs of eyes would peek at her squirming down the window.

“Look at that.”

“Oh, I feel bad.”

Scyllia understood her friends who hated her. Even the priests who could not hide the contempt from their faces also understood this.

Those who tried to spread bad rumors about Scyllia or were mean to her must have been angry, as some did fall down the stairs or worse, died from her curse.

The curse is real. Sycllia is really a cursed child.

Thus it was natural to hate her.

“Scyllia is a cursed child. You must take her evil life away.”

“Sycllia has holy powers. It is our duty to raise all children with holy powers safely and send them to the Holy Land.”

Although the priest insisted so, Scyllia knew.

They are just afraid.

They are trying to close their eyes on the pretext of her possessing holy powers, in fear of Scyllia’s curse harming them.

“Scyllia, you’re a curse, but the merciful Solar gave you his power. We, who are members of his will, do not know his will, but we shouldn’t be complaining about His power. If you want to protect your life to the end, behave yourself.”

She thanked the priest for not kicking her out anyway.

“If we won’t let you join us in playing tag, will you curse us?”

“It was very gruesome when you received the holy water. The struggle! You were like a crushed caterpillar!”

Even if Scyllia was teased and harassed, she was grateful to her friends who tried to put up with her anyway.

Hate and more hate, even if dagger-like words were shot like a swarm of bees… she can still live.

Because she wanted to live.

“I don’t have to play tag. I’ll play with dolls instead.”

She just wanted to live.

Scyllia realized early that she was in no position to grieve. So, she was grateful that she could live.

The power of Solar, the God of the West, was used as a shield to withstand evil.

She was naturalized in the Holy Land because she didn’t want to die, but she didn’t feel safe, so she became a knight.

The nursery on the periphery where she grew up was shut down shortly after, because it was situated in a difficult area to raise children.

Those who remained tight-lipped in fear of her curse, spread throughout the Holy Land and disappeared like a mirage.

Scyllia, who became a knight, hid the curse by covering her body with armor.

She put on a cold mask and didn’t let anyone in.

So until then, she was alone.

Never cried,  never leaned on someone.

Never fallen down, never made a weak sound.

Alone.

Only by herself.

All she knew was to hang in there, so she’s just ignorant.

Loneliness was repressed by training, sadness by monster subjugation, and pain was suppressed by gags.

That’s how she lived.

‘Raise this little fox.’

How suffocating.

There was a moment of silence as Scylia looked at the iron cage covered with cotton cloth.

She woke up in the middle of the night and proceeded doing this.

The beautiful blond hair was tangled like a straw, but she was not in the right mind to tidy herself up.

It was because of the strange dream that made her feel restless.

‘Who is that man?’

A dream with her being tightly held by a man.

Scyllia was a person who had no history of being held by anyone since her days in the nursery.

Even the man’s appearance was not easily forgotten because he looked like a beautiful woman that she could cry.

‘I’ve never seen a man like that.’

She had never seen such a man that looked so alluring with his hair down.

Throughout her life, she has only dealt with monsters and knights. She has never seen such a bewitching man, ever since she was born.

‘I don’t  have a good imagination. I can’t believe that such a person appeared in my dream…’

Scyllia came to her senses and shook her head.

“It’s not the time to be like this. I have to think about what to do.”

She sat for long, then eventually faltered and approached the cage.

‘Should I look at its condition?’

When she took off the cloth, she found the gumiho, who was severely injured, unconscious.

Scyllia was stunned when she saw that.

‘How can I cure it?’

Treatment.

She’s the cure.

‘Oh my God…’

How can a cursed human cure a young life?

She would have died if she were in her own hands.

The fox was on the verge of running out of breath. If Scyllia didn’t take action, it was going to die tomorrow.

“Grrrr…..”

A tearful cry broke Sycllia’s panic.

“I’m- I’m sorry.”

She awkwardly apologized and pulled the gumiho out of the cage.

‘You’re a monster, so holy water won’t work right?’

She covered the wounds with the herbs from the healing priests, but she was not sure if she had done it properly.

Looking down at such a sick fox, she was mesmerized again.

“Woo, eung…..”

The fox started grunting while unconscious.

Animals and monsters seemed to have nightmares rather than crying in pain, because they hide their spirits when seriously injured.

“Shhh…”

Scyllia held the gumiho wrapped tightly with a bandage in her arms.

The warmth of the skin gave her goosebumps. The energy of life other than her own was strange and awkward.

‘What should I do with you?’

Scyllia sighed and fell into agony when she suddenly thought of a healing priest.

She was eccentric and outspoken, but she’s not a bad person.

‘If you leave it like this, the gumiho might die. I have to ask for help.’

The healing priest would be displeased, but she would not be able to ignore a life hurting.

She was a woman who had a sense of duty in her job and had no lies in expressing emotions. Everyone avoided her because of her rough personality, but she’s trustworthy because she’s honest.

‘Besides, for some reason she seemed to like me.’

Scyllia wondered about that quite a bit, but it was a relief that the situation had come to this.

‘I’m sure it’s okay to get help.’

It was her first time asking someone for help. She felt a sense of skepticism as she was about to do something she hasn’t done in her life.

“I’m gonna have to raise you and get you out of here. So grow up. Huh?”

Sycllia whispered like a song, scurrying over the little fox in her arms.

“When you grow up, you’ll become independent. When you become an adult, I will let you go. Then fly like a butterfly.”

Freely.

Unlike herself who can’t get out of this curse.

“You’re a monster now, but since you’re a child of heaven, you can be a spiritual creature if you train.”

“…….”

“Become a spiritual creature and be loved. Make a lot of friends. Meet a pretty fox and share your love. Be free and happy.”

Scyllia sang a lullaby, telling the fox all the dreams and wishes she had.

Meanwhile the fox, who had nightmares, fell asleep.

It happened that moment when Scyllia put the quiet fox back inside the cage.

“Ugh!”

A sudden stabbing pain began from the scar on her left shoulder.

Scyllia, accustomed to groaning, went deep into the bedroom and muzzled her mouth.

“Ugh….”

Now she knows how not to cry and how to hold back the groans.

She knows everything, but…

This pain.

She hasn’t gotten used to this terrible pain that eats her life.

A quiet night while the fox is asleep.

Scyllia’s distressing time to repress her pain began to flow quietly.

The next morning, Scyllia finally called the healing priest because of the feverish fox.

As soon as the priest heard Scyllia’s request, she replied, “What’s going on for the Captain to request something?”

Nevertheless, she took her things and followed Scyllia carefully.

She had a rather excited face.

“Are we finally getting a little closer?”

She mumbled something alone, but it was far too fast for Scyllia to understand.

Anyway, Scyllia showed the fox, thinking it was relief that she was in a good mood.

The priest stopped humming excitedly and grabbed her cheek.

“Monster!”

It was a scream equivalent to that of a dolphin’s.