Myst, Might, Mayhem (Novel) - Chapter 260 - Mark (6)
Chapter 260 – Mark (6)
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Translated by Jinmu
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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Last night.
-Tuduk! Tuduk!
Watching pieces of skin fall from Mok Gyeong-un’s body, Blue Spirit could only stare in disbelief.
She had guessed that if he assimilated part of the demonic power of the Golden-Furred Nine-Tailed Fox, the Hundred Faces King and one of the Six Demons said to stand infinitely close to the level of a divine beast, his aura would advance by another step.
But this was beyond the level of simply advancing another step.
Mok Gyeong-un’s body, his muscles and bones themselves, had once again been rebuilt and had evolved.
‘Transforming the bones and replacing the marrow…’
This was what was called transforming the bones and replacing the marrow.
To think she would witness him accomplish it a second time with her own eyes.
This was not merely a matter of impurities being purged from the body.
His entire body had changed into the optimum state to bear that power.
-Wooooooo.
The immense demonic aura coming from Mok Gyeong-un had already moved beyond maturity, no, beyond even the pinnacle of Flowering.
She herself had crossed the wall before she died.
But she had never crossed the wall beyond the wall, nor had she ever witnessed it in person.
So it was difficult for her to judge precisely to what level Mok Gyeong-un’s aura had risen.
Still,
‘…In terms of aura alone, is he not almost at the Dazzling Realm-‘
The Dazzling Realm.
That meant the realm beyond the wall beyond the wall.
It was the realm beyond Flowering, the state in which handling true qi became as natural as breathing, and the highest territory a martial artist could reach.
What she could not understand was this: Mok Gyeong-un had not obtained the enlightenment needed to pass beyond the wall beyond the wall.
Could such a transformation really be possible without enlightenment-
In truth, that should have been impossible.
‘Then how is this happening-‘
A second transformation of bones and marrow.
Normally, any power one could not bear would simply be expelled from the body.
There was a saying that too much was worse than too little.
That was why the body naturally adjusted itself by expelling energies that remained within and would otherwise become poison.
Yet Mok Gyeong-un had forcibly assimilated it.
All of it had become his.
‘This is different from the concept of mere evolution. It is as if sentient being’s body is adapting itself to an extreme situation… ah!’
Yes.
That was the proper expression.
His body was constantly adapting.
Its power of adaptation was so absurd that it would not be an exaggeration to say it had surpassed human limits.
Clicking her tongue, Blue Spirit became certain.
‘As he is now, this brat could even contend with the Eight Stars.’
The Six Heavens and Eight Stars, called the summit of the present martial world.
She was convinced that, even if Mok Gyeong-un’s accumulated power had not yet reached the level of the Six Heavens, he would absolutely not fall behind in a contest with the Eight Stars beneath them.
* * *
-Thud! Clang!
The right hand, still holding the saber, fell to the ground.
The eyes of Gyeom-chang, the Hundred-Household Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, shook as he looked at it unconsciously.
He had unleashed a drawing technique worthy of being called the utmost speed.
Yet how had this man, who had stood wholly unguarded,
“Ah. It looked as though I might get cut if I treated it casually, so I could not help but misjudge my own strength.”
The voice came from behind him.
The bastard was already there, behind him.
-Puhsh!
At that moment, blood burst from the severed stump of Gyeom-chang’s wrist.
The cut had been so perfect that the spray of blood came only afterward.
At once Gyeom-chang hurriedly pressed the pressure points of his right arm to stop the bleeding.
-Tatatatatak!
Then the blood quickly ceased.
-Pat!
Even with the bleeding stopped, the pain of having his wrist severed should have been beyond words.
Yet he did not even groan once as he moved, taking up a stance opposite Mok Gyeong-un.
Of course, his twisted face and pale complexion were poor indeed.
“Ho. You seem to have rather good endurance. If it hurts, you may show that it hurts. No sound is going to escape outside anyway.”
‘!-‘
At that, Gyeom-chang and Superior Commander Sang Ik-seo both rolled their eyes around the office.
He had said he had blocked the sound with true qi, yet there was no special aura to be sensed.
Instead, the room felt strangely cold and eerie.
But that was not the important part.
‘Who in the world is this man-‘
Until a moment before they had truly thought he was Chief Eunuch Ho of the Western Depot.
But Superior Commander Sang Ik-seo had spoken to Chief Eunuch Ho several times and remembered his voice clearly.
The voice of the man before them was not delicate or aged like Ho’s.
Rather, it was very young.
‘…A human skin mask.’
Sang Ik-seo became certain that the face was a human skin mask.
Had he not already known about such masks, he might have been more deeply confused.
But since he knew of them and had even planned to make use of them himself, that part did not shock him much.
What startled him more were two other things.
‘…What in the world is this bastard-‘
The event had unfolded so suddenly that he almost felt stunned.
It was clearly Gyeom-chang who had moved first with a drawing technique.
Yet before anyone even blinked, Gyeom-chang’s wrist had already been severed.
‘Did he not just say that no one short of the Southern Commandant could match him-‘
It had not even been long since those very words were spoken.
The whole thing was absurd.
Of course, Sang Ik-seo did not think Gyeom-chang had been bluffing.
He had seen the man’s martial ability with his own eyes.
If anything, the conclusion was simply that their opponent was an even greater monster.
‘What is his identity-‘
And he knew of the commanding gu.
When the first pair of gu had been brought to him, Gyeom-chang had said:
[While lodged inside the body, it does no harm to the host at all. Rather, because it survives by feeding on bodily waste and residue within the organs, it can even be of benefit.]
[That is unusual for something called gu poison.]
[That is this thing’s advantage. Because it does not harm the body and remains long enough, even the organs cease to recognize it as a foreign thing.]
[And that means-]
[It means that although the gu is inside the body, it is not recognized as a foreign substance, so whether it is a physician or anyone else, no one will be able to detect its presence in the belly.]
[Oh!]
Gyeom-chang had said that no one would ever be able to discover either the gu poison or the commanding gu.
He had declared it with such confidence, so how had this man figured it out-
While Sang Ik-seo was still struggling to understand, Gyeom-chang, his right hand severed, extended his left.
-Wooooong.
Astral qi gathered over the left hand, taking on the form of a saber.
Since he was a master of Flowering, controlling true qi with great freedom was no difficult feat for him.
Only,
“Huu… huu…”
Now that he knew his opponent was no ordinary master, he could not move recklessly.
The fact that the man had severed his wrist despite Gyeom-chang launching the fastest drawing technique available to him clearly meant that the opponent was one full step above him.
At that moment, Superior Commander Sang Ik-seo cautiously opened his mouth.
“Who are you-”
At this question, the mysterious man wearing the face of Chief Eunuch Ho smiled and replied,
“As you can see, I am Chief Eunuch Ho.”
“………”
Did he truly think they would believe that now-
Then the man in Ho’s face looked toward Gyeom-chang, who had formed an astral saber and stood ready to respond at any moment, and said,
“By now, surely you have understood the difference between us.”
“Huu… huu…”
“If you wish to keep even your remaining arm intact, then move aside.”
The attitude was unbearably arrogant, and Gyeom-chang ground his teeth.
It was infuriating, but if the opponent possessed strength of this level, then he had the right to speak that way.
Yet there were situations in which one could step aside for a stronger opponent, and situations in which one could not.
This was clearly the latter.
Glancing sideways at the Superior Commander, Gyeom-chang spoke.
“Huu… huu… I do not know who you are, but since you mentioned the commanding gu, you are naturally connected to Thousand-Household Commander Mara, yes-”
“Who knows.”
It was an answer that was neither confirmation nor denial.
Yet even such a vague answer was enough for Gyeom-chang to be certain of the connection.
“In that case, do you also know that if the man carrying the commanding gu falls into danger or faces death, then trouble will come to both sides-”
“Both sides-”
“If the host dies, the commanding gu dies too. And when that happens, the male parasitic gu paired with it will also kill its own host. You understand what that means, yes-”
It meant that Mara Hyeon, the Thousand-Household Commander currently hosting the parasitic type, would die as well.
“………”
Mok Gyeong-un gave no outward reaction.
But the fact that he had stopped smiling and no longer replied meant he had certainly understood.
Here Gyeom-chang struck while the iron was hot.
“It would be best if you did not move. Threats aside, I can also kill the commanding gu of my own will. If I do, then Mara Hyeon dies.”
Gyeom-chang believed he had seized the initiative and issued his threat.
As if the threat had worked, the face behind Chief Eunuch Ho’s skin stiffened noticeably.
And rather than facing them, his gaze had dropped downward.
‘Downward-‘
Where was he looking-
Until a moment earlier his gaze had been on Superior Commander Sang Ik-seo.
Now it had dropped to the floor.
There lay the severed right hand.
No, more precisely, the Sharp Flat Blade gripped in that severed right hand.
Why was he looking at that-
Just as Gyeom-chang wondered, Mok Gyeong-un stretched out a hand toward it.
Then,
-Whirr!
The saber, still held in the severed hand on the floor, flew up and was drawn into Mok Gyeong-un’s grasp.
Why had he taken his weapon-
That question had barely arisen when
-Pak!
Mok Gyeong-un dropped the severed hand that had been holding it and stared intently at the tip of the saber.
Seeing this, Gyeom-chang’s eyes widened.
‘Could it be-‘
And in the next instant,
-Swoosh.
Mok Gyeong-un’s figure vanished, only to appear behind Gyeom-chang the very next moment.
-Flinch!
‘Fast.’
Though he was tense and focused, Gyeom-chang was thrown off by the speed and hurriedly tried to dart forward to create distance.
But the moment he kicked off the floor,
-Slash!
Something sharp cut past his left shoulder, where he had formed his astral saber.
It was none other than his own Sharp Flat Blade.
In the next instant his severed left arm fell to the floor, and as his balance gave way, Mok Gyeong-un seized him by the head and smashed his face into the ground.
-Boom!
“Mmph.”
And that was not the end.
Keeping hold of his head, Mok Gyeong-un dragged his face along the floor toward the far end of the room.
-Kugugugugugugu!
The force was so savage that Gyeom-chang’s face seemed to be ground away whole, and a grotesque scream burst from his mouth.
“Ughegegegek.”
-Papapak! Kwajik! Kwadeuk!
His teeth all shattered, and wood splinters and stone fragments stabbed into his eyes.
The pain was so great it felt as though his mind might break apart.
Then, after he had writhed in torment, his hair was yanked back and his head jerked upward.
‘Hik!’
At the blood-soaked ruin that had become Gyeom-chang’s face, Superior Commander Sang Ik-seo was left speechless.
To proceed like this even after hearing the warning, did it mean he truly did not care in the least whether Mara Hyeon lived or died-
Then Mok Gyeong-un, with a chilling smile stretched nearly to his ears, said,
“At last, I have found it.”
At the tip of the saber held in Mok Gyeong-un’s left hand was engraved a peculiar symbol.
It was the same mark that had been left as a scar on his dead grandfather.