It’s different from before. (4)
Yoon Jong stopped dead in his tracks.
His gaze followed his sword. The plum blossom sword, worn by years of handling. The tip of that cold metal, which felt less like a tool and more like an extension of his own body, was lodged in a place that seemed utterly alien.
“…”
The result of his own actions.
Of course, the others had helped, but it was undoubtedly Yoon Jong’s sword that had pierced the shoulder of the demonic being threatening the world.
What Yoon Jong felt at that realization was a brief bewilderment rather than elation. And before that bewilderment had even faded.
“Step aside!”
A thunderous Buddhist chant rang in Yoon Jong’s ears.
“A-mi-ta-bha!”
Hye Yeon’s body was once again enveloped in dazzling Buddhist light, and a powerful punch drove into Heavenly Executioner’s solar plexus. Swept up in the fierce golden force of the blow, his body went flying backward in an instant.
“Ugh..”
Thud.
As though he had poured out every last bit of his strength, Hye Yeon crumpled to the ground. He gasped for air, his breathing ragged and shallow, as if it might stop at any moment.
“M-Monk!”
Startled, Yoon Jong hurried to support Hye Yeon.
“Cough!”
Hye Yeon coughed up blood. Surviving Heavenly Executioner’s attack had been a miracle in itself, and he had then pushed his internal energy beyond its limits, so this was only to be expected.
“Are you all right?”
Hye Yeon wiped his mouth with his sleeve and smiled faintly.
“Thanks to you, I survived, Siju.”
“…”
As Yoon Jong stood momentarily at a loss for words, Jo Geol, who had retreated to avoid the force of Hye Yeon’s punch, limped over.
“That’s what I’m saying.”
“And you…….”
“If you could do that, you should have done it sooner.”
Yoon Jong was about to say something more but stopped, instead rushing urgently to Jo Geol. Everything had been so frantic a moment ago that he had failed to notice, but Jo Geol’s entire body was covered in pitch-black demonic flower.
Even with his limited understanding of demonic flower, Yoon Jong could immediately tell that Jo Geol was in a critical state.
“That… Immortal energy or whatever the hell it is. If I’d known it could do this, I’d have tried to…”
“Don’t talk!”
“Why did you keep it a secret…”
“Shut your mouth and circulate your energy! I’ll help you.”
“Circulate my energy, my foot.”
Even in his agony, Jo Geol managed a crooked grin as he spoke.
“What, you think that bastard’s dead just because we landed one hit on him?”
“…”
“We have to fight. Till we drop dead.”
“All right. I get it, so just shut up.”
Without further ado, Yoon Jong pressed his hand against Jo Geol’s lower abdomen and channeled his energy into him. He had no idea whether this would work, but right now he had to try everything he could.
“I’ll help too, Sahyeong!”
“All right.”
Tang Soso rushed over and pressed her hands against Jo Geol’s back. But Jo Geol chuckled at the sight of her.
“Hey. You’re the only person in Hwasan I can confidently say is less of a Taoist than I am, so what immortal energy could you possibly have…”
“It’s better than doing nothing. Stop rambling and be quiet! Do you really have to joke around even at a time like this?”
“…All right.”
Yoon Jong and Tang Soso’s energy flowed into Jo Geol. Whether it was the pure energy itself taking effect or the immortal energy dwelling within it, the black, tattoo-like traces of demonic energy covering Jo Geol’s body grew a little fainter.
“…It does hurt a little less.”
“Damn it. Even this is no easy task.”
Yoon Jong’s brow furrowed involuntarily.
Jo Geol had them by his side, but how were the others who would have to fight the Demonic Cult supposed to deal with the demonic flower.
“What about Sasuk and Sago?”
At Jo Geol’s words, Yoon Jong broke off his train of thought and turned his head. Sure enough, the two were limping towards them.
“Thank goodn….”
Yoon Jong closed his mouth before he could finish. The words had come out reflexively, but no matter how he looked at them, they were in no condition for him to possibly call this fortunate.
Baek Cheon seemed to have suffered severe internal injuries, vomiting blood repeatedly even as he walked, while Yu Iseol’s face was so blackened and swollen that the mere sight of it was enough to horrify anyone.
He knew instinctively. Neither of them could fight any longer.
“S-Sago! Are you all right?”
“…..Yes.”
“You can’t just keep saying you’re all right!”
Horrified, Tang Soso rushed over to Yu Iseol.
“What the hell! Your arm is crushed!”
“It’s bearable.”
“How can you possibly… Ah.”
Giving up on trying to reason with Yu Iseol, Tang Soso tore a strip from her own clothes, took a short splint from her sleeve, and began winding the cloth around Yu Iseol’s wrist.
When Yu Iseol briefly winced and tried to pull her arm away, Tang Soso roared at her with the ferocity of a demon.
“Hold still!”
“We still have to fight……”
“I know, so I said hold still!”
“…..Yes.”
Staggering towards them, Baek Cheon groaned at the sight.
“Soso, how about me, too…?”
“Wait!”
“Cough! Cough!”
“I know, so I said wait!”
“…All right.”
As Baek Cheon’s shoulders slumped, Yoon Jong took a piece of cotton cloth from inside his robes and held it out to him.
“Wipe the blood off your mouth, Sasuk.”
“……Thank you.”
Baek Cheon weakly accepted the cloth Yoon Jong offered and wiped his mouth.
“Can you fight?”
“I’d like to say I must even if it kills me……but.”
A faint sigh escaped Baek Cheon’s lips.
“I don’t think I can.”
“That’s what I thought.”
That was how it looked to Yoon Jong too. This went beyond merely being in poor condition. Even Yoon Jong’s senses could detect something churning violently within his body.
If anything went wrong here, the damage inside him could become so severe that he would be unable to lift a finger.
“And you, Monk?”
“Life is suffering by its very nature.”
“So that’s a no.”
“That’s not what I……”
“Enough.”
Yoon Jong cut Hye Yeon off without hesitation. Even with all his limbs severed, that man would readily prattle on about ’Amitabha. Even a beast can fight with its teeth alone, so how could a human who has transcended the realm of beasts cling to a physical body.’
“And Geol obviously can’t.”
“What are you talking about, Sahyeong! I can still fight!”
Without paying the slightest attention to Jo Geol’s words, Yoon Jong turned to Tang Soso. Seemingly recognizing what he meant to ask, she quickly shook her head.
Her wrist, broken in Heavenly Executioner’s grip, barely counted among her serious injuries. The places where Heavenly Executioner had struck her directly and her internal injuries were far worse.
“…..This isn’t going to work.”
Yoon Jong shook his head with a resolute expression.
“Sasuk.”
“…..I know.”
Baek Cheon bit his lip lightly.
‘We can’t go on.’
However powerful the enemy was, they would have tried to buy more time if they had any strength left to fight, but the cold truth was that they had nothing left.
If they gave up their lives without even managing to delay the enemy, wouldn’t that quite literally be a dog’s death?
“…We retreat.”
“Sasuk! We still……”
“I know. But dying here just to put ourselves at ease would ultimately be nothing more than running away.”
“…”
Baek Cheon clenched his fists tightly and continued.
“Because those who don’t get to die, have to keep fighting that monster.”
No, perhaps even worse monsters than that one.
Unable to refute his words, the disciples of Hwasan fell silent.
“Let’s retreat.”
“Easy to say.”
Jo Geol gave a hollow laugh and glanced to one side.
“The question is whether that bastard will let us.”
Kwwwwwaaaaaaa!
At that moment, a colossal storm of demonic energy erupted from where Heavenly Executioner had been sent flying. The faces of Hwasan’s disciples, who had struggled to gain even a moment’s respite, stiffened in an instant.
He was battered and broken, yet the power of the demonic energy pouring from Heavenly Executioner had not diminished in the slightest since the very beginning.
Realizing this, the disciples of Hwasan recoiled in sheer dread.
Kwwwaaaaaaa!
The vortex of demonic energy, raging as fiercely as before, no even more savagely, vanished in an instant like an illusion. But that did not mean anything had changed.
In the space where the vortex had disappeared. Heavenly Executioner stood tall at its very center, glaring at them as he radiated a vicious killing intent.
“…You worthless unbelievers!”
A killing intent that felt like a short dagger [소도(小刀)] slicing relentlessly at their flesh. But even more overwhelming than that killing intent was the tremendous fury Heavenly Executioner unleashed upon them.
Merely facing that fury head-on made it feel as though the world had been bleached white.
“How dare you! You vermin!”
Perhaps rage had robbed him of his reason, for Heavenly Executioner kept roaring like a beast. He looked less like the Bishop of the Demonic Cult they had seen until now and more like a single demonic cultist who had lost all reason.
“I will kill you! I will slaughter every last one of you, in the most gruesome way possible!”
Just as pitch-black demonic energy began to coil around his body again.
Spluuurt!
Suddenly, an enormous amount of blood gushed from Heavenly Executioner’s mouth like a fountain.
It happened so abruptly that even the disciples of Hwasan, who had braced themselves for his charge, were momentarily startled.
“Ugghh…”
Heavenly Executioner clamped a violently trembling hand over his mouth.
But only for a moment, as another gush of red blood burst from his mouth while he doubled over, all traces of his usual arrogance gone. Dark red blood streamed through the gaps between his fingers.
The disciples of Hwasan, who had been watching the scene with wary eyes, cautiously glanced at one another.
“He looks a little…..”
“….Like he might keel over if we so much as poke him.”
“Hmmm.”
The disciples of Hwasan adjusted their grips on their swords.
A trap? Hardly. That haughty Bishop of the Demonic Cult pretending to be weak just to catch the likes of them? That simply didn’t make much sense.
“Shall we watch a little longer, Sasuk?”
“Shall…. we?”
Baek Cheon narrowed his eyes and examined Heavenly Executioner’s condition.
“Cough.”
Even then, Heavenly Executioner was still coughing up blood.
‘Damn it. The wounds that bastard left me with…’
His body could not hold out. Their attacks had not dealt him any fatal injuries. The problem was that their attacks were aggravating the injuries he had sustained in his battle with Chung Myung.
It might have been different had he subdued them without getting hurt. Having failed to do so, this outcome was inevitable.
He could move no longer. To push himself any further and damage his own body would be to stray from his purpose. From that point on, he would not even dare call himself a follower of the faith.
Heavenly Executioner’s shoulders trembled slightly.
Overcome with both bitter self-reproach and fury towards the disciples of Hwasan, Heavenly Executioner spat out in a harsh voice.
“So… you think this ends here?”
But they were in no better condition themselves.
And Heavenly Executioner still had one move left.
“Devour them.”
Heavenly Executioner spoke as though muttering to himself. Then his voice began to rise, growing louder and louder.
“Tear them to shreds and devour them without leaving a single scrap of flesh! All of them! Kill every last one of them!”
No sooner had he finished speaking than monstrous cries erupted from every direction like the howling of beasts. At the same time, demonic cultists who had been holding their breath until now charged towards the disciples of Hwasan.
“Uh……?”
“Ah…. Wait a moment.”
They all went pale at the sight of the cultists surging towards them like a black tidal wave.
“Right. Forgot about them.”
“Is this really the time to be saying that so casually!”
“R-Right! Retreat! Quickly! Run without looking ba… W-Wait for me you bastards!”
The disciples of Hwasan began to flee with all their might, not even glancing behind them. And on their heels, demonic cultists – their eyes burning red – pursued them like vengeful ghosts.
________
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