Myst, Might, Mayhem (Novel) - Chapter 20 - Possessed by Evil (3)
Chapter 20 – Possessed by Evil (3)
===================
Translated by Jinmu
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
===================
[The fifth, Blue Spirit…..extremely dangerous. At least ten occult practitioners are required for exorcism. A resentful spirit that has existed for over a hundred years. It exerts influence great enough to affect a fixed radius and can even inflict pain through phantom sounds and hallucinations.]
That was what was written in the Foundation of the Yin-Yang School from the Overview of the Hundred Schools.
And the latter half of it went on to say this.
A resentful spirit that has existed for more than a hundred years loses its human elements from that point on and enters the realm of a true strange phenomenon.
A true strange phenomenon meant nothing less than a monstrous demon and spirit in itself.
‘Ha……’
A seal.
It literally served to confine something.
Old prayer beads.
The bizarre spectacle that unfolded the instant those were compressed and shattered.
-Kwaaal!
Blood poured like a waterfall from the ceiling and the walls of the entire cavern, filling every direction with blood.
The flowing blood quickly covered the floor and made it wet and sloppy.
At this, the corner of Mok Gyeong-un’s mouth climbed to his ear.
His anticipation surged.
‘A strange phenomenon…….’
This was undoubtedly a strange phenomenon.
And one that could not even be compared to the Demon Monk.
He had hoped for something around the level of a Green Spirit, yet something beyond that had appeared unexpectedly.
For an occult practitioner, this would have been the moment to grow flustered.
-Thump! Thump!
‘A pulse.’
Within the cavern, which was steadily filling with blood, he heard the sound of a heart beating.
Then something bizarre happened.
From the middle of the place where blood streamed everywhere, the sound of the pulse emerged, and then from the center of it a heart took form.
-Shururururuk!
Blood gathered around that heart.
The blood became one organ, then two, then three.
Then bones rapidly wrapped around those organs, and muscles attached themselves around the bones.
-Tatak tatak!
Soon, pure white skin sprouted over the surface of the muscles.
The entire process was wondrous, as if witnessing the birth of some being.
-Chwaaaaaaaa!
The blood surged upward in reverse, becoming an upside-down waterfall and wrapping around the being whose skin was forming.
And the moment the blood-waterfall was sucked into the ceiling,
-Kkadeuk.
That being revealed itself.
It wore a crown, yet beneath it unkempt long hair spilled down over a pale face of delicate beauty.
The being, wearing red inner robes and a black outer garment, held a long pipe in its mouth.
Its appearance was even more natural than the Demon Monk’s.
-Hooo.
The being drew deeply on the pipe with red lips and exhaled smoke from its mouth.
Judging by appearance alone, it looked at most to be in its late teens, and because of its clothing one could not even tell whether it was male or female.
Of course, Mok Gyeong-un did not care about such things.
“You are making quite a grand appearance. May I ask who you…..”
It was before he could finish speaking.
Before he could even continue, Mok Gyeong-un was dragged by a powerful force and pulled directly in front of the being.
-Chwaaaaaaaa!
The rolling blood had already risen to his thighs.
The being, holding the pipe and exhaling smoke, thrust its face toward Mok Gyeong-un.
Then it looked him over from head to toe.
“What are you doing?”
-………
After staring for a long while, the being raised the corner of its mouth in a soft smile.
Then it erased that smile and, turning serious, lightly waved its hand.
At that moment,
-Whiriririk! Bang!
Mok Gyeong-un’s body rose into the air and slammed hard into the ceiling of the cavern.
Then he dropped back down into the blood-filled cavern.
-Splash!
Mok Gyeong-un, soaked all over in blood, staggered as he raised himself up.
“Puha.”
Mok Gyeong-un swept his blood-soaked hair back with one hand.
Watching this, the being opened its mouth.
-Foolish living being. Empty your hun soul and offer that po soul to this seat.
The voice was heard clearly.
Unlike the Demon Monk, who had been no more than a mutter, the sound rang out distinctly.
No, rather, it felt as though it echoed from everywhere.
Mok Gyeong-un scratched his head and said,
“The Demon Monk was like this too, but all resentful spirits seem to covet other people’s bodies. Can you do nothing without someone else’s body?”
-Tsk, tsk.
The being clicked its tongue and let out a cold laugh.
When the being lightly struck the blood with the pipe,
-Chwaaaaaaaa!
The blood shot up in several streams, then stretched out like whips and bound Mok Gyeong-un’s arms and legs.
-Craaack!
He put strength into himself, but the force restraining him was far stronger.
Mok Gyeong-un smacked his lips as though troubled.
He could certainly see why the Foundation of the Yin-Yang School had said it was extremely dangerous and required more than ten occult practitioners.
‘What should I do?’
He had read the Foundation of the Yin-Yang School, but still did not yet understand occult arts well.
At that moment, the being made a gesture with the pipe, drawing a straight line toward Mok Gyeong-un.
Then,
-Slash!
With a burning pain in his chest, his clothes were dyed red in a straight line.
It seemed he had been cut, and the pain was considerable.
Even so, Mok Gyeong-un’s expression did not change much.
Perhaps expecting a scream of pain to burst out, one of the being’s brows lifted.
-You are a child with strong endurance.
“I’m used to it.”
-Used to it? Then shall we see whether you can endure this as well?
With those words, the being raised the pipe upward.
And the instant it did,
-Chwaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
The blood that had risen to Mok Gyeong-un’s lower body surged backward upward.
Then in an instant it completely filled the cavern.
Within the cavern full of blood, Mok Gyeong-un’s body floated.
‘Hup.’
Mok Gyeong-un held his breath.
It was no different from being dropped into water.
The being watched Mok Gyeong-un like this, openly mocking him in amusement.
The sinister light in its eyes made one recall that this being was a wandering spirit.
-Srrr.
The being approached Mok Gyeong-un.
Then, seizing the chin of the motionless Mok Gyeong-un, it said,
-That feeling you now feel is what fear……
The being could not finish its sentence.
What the being had wanted to see was a face choked by blood and seized by terror.
If one could not move in a sealed space and could not even breathe, anyone would be afraid.
Yet Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes stared at the being without the slightest wavering.
-You…….are unusual. For a living human to possess such eyes.
The being showed curiosity.
At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un, who had been holding his breath, flicked out his tongue.
‘This taste……’
The taste he felt on the tip of his tongue was certainly blood.
The blood filling this cavern was redder than even crushed cornelian cherries.
Its slimy feel too was precisely the stickiness of blood.
All five senses told him that all of this was blood.
However,
‘Different. This is nothing but death.’
Mok Gyeong-un gave a snort.
As one called the Twin-Murder Demon, how much blood had he seen?
When he touched that blood, he had felt something alive in it, but all he felt from what he saw now was death.
‘It isn’t real.’
That was why, even if all five senses said it was so, all of it was false.
Then,
-Srrr.
All the blood that had filled Mok Gyeong-un’s sight vanished as if it had never been there from the beginning.
In occult arts, this was called releasing sensation.
By denying the perception itself, one deceived one’s own five senses and escaped every illusion.
The theory and the words were simple.
Yet even highly trained occult practitioners found it difficult to break free from this.
For there was nothing easier to deceive than the five senses of man.
-!?
A strange light entered the being’s eyes.
It had thought that as time passed, Mok Gyeong-un would eventually fail to hold his breath, suffer, and show the same appearance as all other living beings.
Yet he had realized it himself and escaped from within the illusion.
-More interesting than you appear.
The red lips of the being curled upward.
Then it came before Mok Gyeong-un and lightly tapped his shoulder with the pipe.
At that instant,
-Boom!
Mok Gyeong-un was forced down onto one knee on the floor.
It had felt like nothing more than a light tap, but judging from the fact that his right knee had sunk into the ground, one could tell how much force had been applied.
The being drew in on the pipe and exhaled smoke toward Mok Gyeong-un as it said,
-Living being. If you offer that po soul of your own accord, I shall grant your wish.
“My wish?”
-Yes. For one not yet even of full age to possess such eyes, you cannot have lived an ordinary life. Hand that po soul over to me. Then I shall tear your enemy into five pieces and even erase his spirit.
“……You’re full of confidence.”
At those words from Mok Gyeong-un, the being burst into wild laughter.
-Ahahahahahahahahahaha.
-Kurururururur!
The entire cavern shook even though the being had only laughed.
It was a being on a completely different level from the Demon Monk.
A Blue Spirit rank was something that had already passed beyond ordinary resentful spirits and entered the domain of true demons and monsters.
After laughing for a long while, the being smiled viciously and said,
-The reason you remain unharmed despite speaking arrogantly to this seat is only because I mean to take your po soul. So be grateful while I show mercy.
“Is that really something I should be grateful for?”
-You truly have no fear.
-Tak!
The being lifted Mok Gyeong-un’s chin with the pipe.
Then, as though appraising him, it said,
-At least that face is pleasing. There is no harm if the po soul is beautiful as well.
“You covet my body to a ridiculous degree.”
-Once this seat has decided, your po soul belongs to this seat.
“What if I refuse?”
At that, the being sneered.
-Though the po soul may be somewhat damaged, I shall simply take it by force.
“There is already a strange phenomenon above that tried to do that and failed, you know?”
At those words from Mok Gyeong-un, the being gave a small laugh.
-You dare compare this seat to such a stray spirit? If I wished, destroying your soul and stealing your po soul would not be difficult at all.
“If you’re that confident, then go ahead and take it.”
-Arrogant thing. If that is what you wish, then I shall take it by force.
No sooner had it finished speaking than the being removed the pipe from Mok Gyeong-un’s chin and lifted it above his head.
At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un lowered his head and his shoulders trembled.
At the sight, the being lifted the corner of its mouth and said,
-Have you finally grown afraid?
“No. I just thought of something interesting.”
-Something interesting?
At the puzzled question from the being, Mok Gyeong-un grasped something and raised it with both hands.
At that moment, the being’s ghostly gaze shook.
The instant Mok Gyeong-un took hold of it, the being knew without even looking.
It was that book made of human skin.
The book, soaked in the blood of the dead Jo Il-sang, even seemed to shine with gloss now, unlike before.
-You………
“The Foundation of the Yin-Yang School said that the older the strange phenomenon, the more likely it is to have some medium through which it is connected and remains. This book is that, isn’t it?”
-………You are doing a foolish thing.
“Judging by how cautious you’ve become, it doesn’t seem like a foolish thing.”
-You truly mean to anger this seat.
No sooner had the being finished speaking than Mok Gyeong-un’s body rose into the air and slammed into the ceiling.
-Bang! Bang!
That was not the end.
Mok Gyeong-un’s body was hurled violently to the floor.
As the being crooked its finger, he rose once more, and this time his head was smashed into the ceiling.
-Bang!
Blood streamed from the place where his head had struck.
As if it had no intention of stopping there, the being then hurled Mok Gyeong-un repeatedly against the cavern walls.
-Bang bang bang bang!
“Kgh!”
Fresh blood burst from Mok Gyeong-un’s mouth as he was slammed into wall after wall.
After striking him several more times, Mok Gyeong-un’s half-limp body floated in the air.
Stretching out a hand toward him, the being said,
-Put that down at once.
“…….Cough cough…..Then just take it. Why go to all this trouble?”
-Foolish living being. I am giving you an opportunity.
“An opportunity?”
-Yes.
“……..It’s not that you can’t touch it directly, is it?”
-………
At that meaningful question from Mok Gyeong-un, the being gave no answer at all.
From that silence, Mok Gyeong-un could be certain.
This ancient resentful spirit appeared unable to directly touch the book made of human skin.
If it could, it would have simply seized the book from the beginning, but instead had tried to make him let go by inflicting pain on him.
-You truly invite death. In any case, even if you hold that, you can do nothing with it. What can one who is neither Daoist adept nor occult practitioner accomplish? Very well. I shall simply give up on your po soul. I shall kill you like th…..
It was just as the being stretched out its hand to do something.
Something wholly unexpected occurred.
-Crunch!
At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un bit into the cover of the book and tore it away.
-!!!!!!!
The Blue Spirit being could not hide its bewilderment at what it saw.
It had encountered many occult practitioners, Daoists, and monks, but no one had ever done such a thing. They had only tried to seal or burn the book.
-You! You!
That was because the demonic aura of the book was so strong that it could not be damaged by any ordinary means.
The same was true for Mok Gyeong-un as well.
While being slammed around the cavern, he had tried simply tearing the book with brute force, but it had been useless.
Then by chance he had realized that only the outer cover of the book was made of human skin.
‘In that case….’
So Mok Gyeong-un’s choice was very simple.
-Chew, chew!
Mok Gyeong-un tore off only the outer part of the book, made of human skin, and then stuffed it into his mouth and chewed it.
-Hahk!
At that moment, the Blue Spirit’s pale and beautiful brow twisted as it clutched its own heart.
────────────────────────────────────
────────────────────────────────────