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Chapter 37
Wol and Saryeol returned to their encampment as quickly as possible. Shouts and the sounds of blades being swung could be heard from all around. Frowning, they pushed through the bushes and looked toward the camp, where everyone had drawn their swords and was facing off against the Gwi. And in the middle of it all, Sohwa was trembling violently, anxiously darting her eyes around.
“Young miss!”
Sohwa shouted when she spotted Saryeol.
“Run away!”
“You’re saying that again.”
Saryeol drew her sword. Wol had already drawn his and rushed inside. Saryeol paused briefly, standing still as she surveyed them. The Gwi—whose limbs had been crudely stitched together to make them resemble human spiders—seemed to have lost all reason, twisting grotesquely as they tried to tear into them with distorted teeth. On their patchwork arms and legs were claws made of blades attached in place of hands and feet.
‘Those are….’
Saryeol furrowed her brow.
“Do not attack their heads!”
Shouting, Saryeol leapt into the battlefield. Those were spider-Gwi modified and created by the Blood Palace; their heads were filled with poison, making them difficult to deal with. At times, they could even spit poison from their mouths, so caution was required.
Saryeol went straight to the center of the area where they were fighting and stabbed her sword into the ground.
Thud!
Immediately, she poured her inner energy into the ground where the sword was embedded and began to deploy a formation. They had only just engaged the Gwi. Before the situation worsened any further, she needed time to separate them and explain.
Hwahak!
With golden inner energy, a formation spread out centered on the spot where the sword was planted, and the Gwi let out shrill screeches as they retreated. There was a time limit to maintaining a hastily deployed formation without materials. That was why Saryeol spoke quickly to them as they panted for breath.
“Do not attack their heads. Do not cut off their heads either. Poison will spray out instead of blood.”
“Th-then what should we do?!”
“Target their limbs. Once only the torso and head remain, I will take care of the rest.”
“U-understood!”
“Young miss, will you be all right?”
“I’ll be fine. So prepare yourselves again.”
Saryeol looked at the Gwi pushed outside the formation and soon pulled her sword out. The moment she did, the formation vanished, and the spider-Gwi once again leapt off the ground and rushed toward them.
Kaang!
Their long claws collided with swords, producing a ringing noise that hurt the ears. Saryeol and Wol stepped to the very front, mercilessly severing the spider-Gwi’s limbs. Sword energy flickered along their blades. Dowi, following them, also drew out his inner energy and formed sword energy. However, the remaining disciples were still unable to freely wield sword energy and were barely managing to defend themselves.
“Wol, faster.”
“Got it.”
The two of them increased their speed further, each taking on two spider-Gwi—for a total of four. Dowi took charge of the remaining one. The collateral-line elders surrounded the area to protect the rest of the disciples.
Kagak! Thud, thud!
Under their blades, the spider-Gwi’s limbs were brutally severed, and only their unsightly bodies remained, writhing on the ground. The other disciples stared blankly at Wol and Saryeol’s movements. They themselves struggled just to defend, yet those two moved like lightning, skillfully cutting off the spider-Gwi’s limbs. It was a level of prowess that stood in stark contrast even to Dowi, who had only managed to sever two arms so far.
“…How can they do that?”
“I can’t even see their movements clearly.”
After finishing their share, Saryeol and Wol joined Dowi, who was still facing off against a Gwi, and cut off the remaining limbs. Now, all that was left on the ground were grotesquely wriggling limbs and torsos. Looking at them, Saryeol said to Wol,
“Gather only the torsos.”
“Alright.”
As Wol gathered the bodies, Sohwa ran up to her.
“Young miss! Are you all right?”
“There’s no reason I wouldn’t be.”
“As soon as the two of you disappeared, they suddenly attacked us…”
“They deliberately lured us away. It’s fortunate we realized quickly and came back.”
“I see. Then who on earth… Could it be that the Blood Palace has opened its gates?”
Instead of answering, Saryeol gently patted Sohwa’s head.
“For now, go rest with the other disciples.”
“Yeees…”
Saryeol then approached the pile of torsos Wol had gathered. If one carelessly cut the neck area, poison would burst out. In truth, these were closer to a type of aberration than true Gwi. They were merely called Gwi because they used the dead. The Blood Palace often took corpses and did strange things with them.
“Step back.”
Saryeol raised her sword and ignited sword energy. Then she poured in even more inner energy, creating something like golden, burning fire. Dispelling their poison was simple—draw the inner energy outward and burn the poison away. She stabbed her sword into the center of their bodies, and soon golden flames began to consume them.
Hwaaak!
The disciples—and Dowi as well—stared blankly at her golden conflagration. They could not even define what that flame was, shining more brilliantly than the stars adorning the sky.
They watched the Gwi until the flames died down, and only after everything had completely turned to ash did they gather their belongings and mount their horses. It felt like it would be a night they would never forget.
They rode without sleeping and arrived at the nearest village. With utterly exhausted faces, they went to a nearby inn and put their horses in the stable. Hastily securing rooms, they each entered their own and fell asleep as if they had passed out. Sohwa, too, had been so tense that she collapsed straight onto the bed. The only ones who did not sleep were Wol and Saryeol.
“So the Marquis of Mawol is making his move.”
“…Do you know why he’s doing this?”
“First of all, Wol, this isn’t your fault.”
“Why do you think that?”
“He wants to possess me.”
“……”
“Since he can’t obtain love, he wants to obtain hatred instead. He’s twisted to the core.”
“…I see.”
“You said it before.”
“Said what?”
“That the Marquis of Mawol stole something precious from you.”
“…That’s right.”
“The Marquis of Mawol believes that a hundred years ago, when the Heavenly Demon disappeared, the Blood Palace closed. Then how did you end up entangled with him?”
At Saryeol’s question, he instead asked one of his own.
“Then why are you entangled with him in such a twisted affection?”
“……”
Saryeol closed her mouth. He answered her question with a question because he could not answer it, and by throwing back a question she likewise could not answer, he conveyed his meaning. Saryeol nodded as if she understood.
“As long as we each take only what we want, that should be enough.”
“…Yes.”
“I’ll leave the Marquis of Mawol to you. There’s something I need to find through him—once I find that, it’s enough.”
The two sat on a bench outside the inn, gazing up at the sky. There was no trace of Gwi to be felt, and the people walking around looked lively. It was because they had arrived at the village in broad daylight after riding without rest. Though the others had fallen asleep without even feeling hungry, the two of them felt a slight hunger.
“Let’s eat.”
“Sure.”
They simply filled their stomachs with somyeon and then went up to their respective rooms. Saryeol slept in the same room as Sohwa, while Wol sat cross-legged on the bed in his own room. And then he began to wait for someone.
Time passed, and after the sun had set—
Creak.
Someone entered, opening the paper sliding door without making a sound. The moment the man came in, Wol moved his inner energy and formed a qi barrier. After confirming the barrier, the man bowed deeply to Wol and said,
“I have taken care of all the Gwi along the way.”
“Good. What about the Marquis of Mawol’s location?”
“It is believed he is in the Blood Palace, but infiltrating the inside of the Blood Palace is difficult.”
“…Leave the Marquis of Mawol for now.”
“Yes.”
“Just deal with the Gwi along the way and wait for the next order.”
“At your command.”
The unidentified man disappeared out the window like that, and Wol withdrew the qi barrier.
“Hoo…”
His blue eyes gleamed strangely as they caught the moonlight.
