Chronicles of the Reincarnated Demon God Chapter 19
The hazy fog filled the training hall in an instant.
The spirits sensed the energy coming from the fog and began to rampage.
I too knew all too well what this was.
A type of sorcery that forcibly dulls the senses and cognitive abilities.
It was mainly used to erase the caster’s presence and carry out secret assassinations.
It seemed that at last, Namgung Sanyeong had made her move.
The place where she had fed me poison.
'Oh. You finally took the bait. That took you long enough.’
I forcibly swallowed the smile that was about to slip out from between my lips.
Did they really think I wouldn’t have considered the possibility of being exposed while releasing the spirits outside?
The giant spider was a kind of bait.
To fish out the ones who would be hiding like rats.
If I could uncover the enemies’ identities without being caught?
That would be the best outcome. Good.
But if I were discovered?
I only needed to drag them out this way.
No matter what happened, there was no loss on my end.
The giant spider had been sacrificed, but since he had betrayed me first, I felt no pangs of conscience.
Of course, he had worked harder than I expected, so I had a separate reward in mind for that.
I laughed as I watched Tang Gyujin, who had already lifted the ghost mask onto his face.
“Could you help me a bit?”
A question clouded Tang Gyujin’s face.
Well then, shall I prepare a magical tool after a long time?
Mok Ga-il was the sageomsa that Heukgol Gwigok proudly boasted.
The sageomsa were a kind of practitioner who drank specially crafted yosu to strengthen the body, and summoned the souls of dead masters as sikshin to possess them and steal the techniques they had in life.
“It feels like I’m being told to clean up afterward, so I don’t like it, but since this is a hunt I’m going on after a long time, I hope it’s worthwhile! Heh heh!”
Such sageomsa, from long ago, took pleasure in killing unaffiliated sorcerers and stealing their magical tools.
Thanks to this, Mok Ga-il was already burning with excitement.
The necromancy he had seen just moments ago was, as his master had said, quite a high-level spell.
There was no way such a skilled sorcerer would be deployed to such a shabby estate, so it was assumed that the opponent must be wielding a rather high-ranking magical tool.
If he could just get his hands on that, he could greatly improve his own abilities—
‘Perhaps I might even aim beyond sageomsa, to the level of a spirit swordsman like Master…!’
Before long, he appeared atop the roof of the main hall, overlooking the white battlefield at a glance.
“Gujo, Gujo. Stir up the Ghost Fog with your cry.”
The eagle perched on his forearm let out a long, piercing cry.
Gujo was originally a monstrous bird said to survive by feeding on corpses in graveyards.
Its cry was said to shatter the senses of the living, entrance their minds, and lure them toward the graveyard.
Hypnosis, brainwashing, sorcery. Even outstanding combat ability.
With such diverse supporting abilities, it was one of the highest-ranking beasts in Heukgol Gwigok, with only four of them in existence.
Mok Ga-il planned to use this to trap the white battlefield within the Ghost Fog, then secretly approach Woon-hwi, poison him again with the venom, and drag him back to the shrine.
Fortunately, he didn’t need to worry about being discovered by other masters.
Hyeonghyeong Gwimujin.
A formation devised to allow Gujo to easily stir up the Ghost Fog was already activated over the entire white battlefield.
As long as this was in place, the masters would not notice the intruder’s presence, and even if they did, by then he would have already finished everything and disappeared.
Once Mok Ga-il felt the Ghost Fog had thickened enough, he lightly leapt toward the white battlefield.
Together with the finest stealth technique that Heukgol Gwigok boasted, Mok Ga-il was able to slip quite naturally into the inner courtyard.
‘As expected, he’s confused.’
Mok Ga-il smiled coldly as he looked at Woon-hwi, who was trapped in the Ghost Fog and flustered, not knowing what to do.
“What on earth is going on? A formation?”
Woon-hwi jabbed his spear here and there around him.
But instead of clearing, the Ghost Fog only grew thicker.
‘Keep trying all you want. See if it changes anything.’
Unlike Mok Ga-il, Woon-hwi probably couldn’t even distinguish more than an inch (3 cm) ahead.
His dulled senses left him floundering about like a rat fallen into water—it was nothing short of laughable.
Mok Ga-il silently moved behind Woon-hwi.
Just as he was about to place his hand on Woon-hwi’s back to strike his vital point—
“Heeheehee! Got you!”
Suddenly, a sinister aura surged from behind Mok Ga-il.
The moment he instinctively whipped his body around, the Ghost Fog split wide open, and a streak of light grazed past where he had just been.
“…Qi-script Sword Qi!? Not a necromancer, but how could a Taoist of the Cheongseong Sect be here—”
“Like I’d have any reason to explain myself to a sneak like you?”
Following Woon-hwi’s instructions, Tang Gyujin lay hidden, waiting for the assassin to appear. Though a smile lingered on her lips, her eyes gleamed sharply.
She had instinctively realized that Mok Ga-il was someone sent by Namgung Sanyeong.
Tang Gyujin swung her sword relentlessly.
Each time, the blade flashed, and the storm of sword energy split apart the Ghost Fog, even threatening Gujo.
Mok Ga-il quickly sent the troublesome Gujo flapping into the air and leapt back.
Deep holes were gouged into the ground where he had just been.
“If you’re a Taoist of the Cheongseong Sect, then you must be Lady Tang Gyujin! But how could you possibly be here, in the white battlefield! Surely you can’t be the necromancer as well!”
“Heeheehee. I’ve no idea what nonsense you’re spouting. Let’s finish talking after you’re dead, shall we?”
The sword energy came flying again toward his neck.
Mok Ga-il swiftly drew the sword from his back, covered all over with yellow talismans, deflecting the strike, and in that instant tried to widen the distance again.
No—he tried to. The problem was that Tang Gyujin was doggedly pursuing him, as if refusing to let him escape.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Pung, puh-puh-puh-pung—
Mok Ga-il swung his sword wildly in desperation, trying to shake Tang Gyujin off.
It was the Bongma Sorcery Sword, a sword style mixed with sorcery that sageomsa mainly practiced.
However, Mok Ga-il could not activate any offensive sorcery beyond deflecting the sword qi.
In any case, the patron behind this matter was Namgung Sanyeong.
Who could predict what disaster would unfold if her daughter were harmed?
For a master who treasured patrons more than creators, it would be no surprise if he flew into a great rage.
The longer the fight went on, the more Tang Gyujin’s solemn face began to twist.
The glee at the corners of her eyes was filled with a single obsession: to somehow catch and kill Mok Ga-il.
By now Mok Ga-il could no longer simply endure.
“Ei! I’ve spared you until now for the sake of Lady Namgung’s face! But if this keeps up, I can’t sit idle any longer!”
For a brief moment, Tang Gyujin’s sword faltered.
‘Mother… after all…!?’
The sageomsa didn’t miss that instant of hesitation and tore away the bundle of talismans that had been covering his sword.
At once, a pitch-black blade was revealed, hungrily sucking in the Ghost Fog.
The Hyeonghyeong Gwimujin didn’t just erase the sageomsa’s presence.
It also had the property of amplifying the spiritual power contained in the sword severalfold.
It looked as if the dark phantom of a giant had appeared behind the Four-Sword Master.
Ghost-Augmenting Demon Technique (幽靈增鬼法).
The Four-Sword Master’s unique inner power amplification art.
It had the characteristic of strengthening the soul of a master forcibly summoned and possessed into the body during refining with Descending City.
Mok Ga-il struck down fiercely with his sword.
Each slash carried the monstrous strength as if a giant himself were swinging the blade.
Perhaps because Tang Gyujin had once lost the initiative, she was instantly and helplessly driven back.
Her Bluesteel Sword bent violently, as if it might break at any moment.
‘What are you hesitating for, Tang Gyujin? You already knew Mother would be like this! What’s important now is to seize this bastard and crush the force behind him. You must stop Mother from straying any further down the wrong path!’
Tang Gyujin steadied her wavering heart.
If it was enough to stir up Demonic Arts that even the Cheongseong Sect regarded as heretical, then it was certain that the faction her mother had allied with possessed no small amount of power.
The problem was, it was unclear how the Namgung Clan might also be entangled in this.
Before being the heir of the Nine Dragons Branch Family, as a Taoist of the Cheongseong Sect, this was something she could never overlook.
It might be that the Demonic Path had already stretched its claws far deeper into the orthodox factions than she had ever imagined.
“I will erase Lady Tang’s memory shortly with the Forgetfulness Technique. So it would be best if you stay quiet.”
“Try it. If you can.”
Mok Ga-il furrowed his brow.
“Mother and daughter alike—both are equally infuriating!”
As Mok Ga-il absorbed even more Demonic Energy, the phantom behind him gradually swelled in size.
With a tremendous explosion, distance briefly opened between the two.
『Seize her! Leave only the head and heart—everything else you may devour as you wish!!』
To hasten the end, Mok Ga-il gave the order to Gujo, who had been circling in the sky to avoid the Strange Gate Sword Energy.
Unhui had only been standing blankly in a corner all this time, making no move to help Tang Gyujin. It seemed he had been struck with fear.
Letting out a pleased cry, Gujo folded his wings and began a dive.
Like a hawk snatching its prey.
「Oh!! Let me step forward! Put me at the vanguard!」
The phantoms had been making a racket for some time, each insisting they would seize the quarry.
They probably wanted to impress me, fearing they might end up like the dead Giant Spider.
But I did not command them. I simply watched the battle with my arms crossed.
I wanted to see whether Tang Gyujin could truly display her full skill even in real combat like this, and also to confirm whether she would indeed take my side in her conflict with Namgung Sanyeong.
Above all, I wanted to know who was behind the assassins.
Fortunately, uncovering their identity was not difficult.
For there was only one place that handled both the Four-Sword Master and Gujo.
Heukgol Ghost Valley, it was Heukgol Ghost Valley!
It felt like catching an unexpectedly huge fish.
At most, I thought it might just be the Namgung Clan. Who could have predicted I’d catch the tail of the Seventy-Two Demonic Sects here?
Even while the Divine Cult was in the midst of a civil war, the fact that these people had come out into the Central Plains clearly suggested some sort of secret connection with the Assembly.
Especially since even back in the days of “Yeon Woon-hwi,” there had been both favor and enmity with Heukgol Ghost Valley. I had to think carefully about how to handle them so it would be said that I had dealt with them well.
But suddenly, they sent Gujo ahead to hunt me.
It seemed they thought I was too paralyzed with fear to move.
「Hm, but of all the targets to pick—」
「That’s almost pitiful.」
Razor-sharp claws, raised high, came flying toward my face.
"That's what I'm saying. Didn't the cost to create and raise one Gujo equal almost several years' operating expenses of Heukgol Ghost Valley?"
I unclasped my arms. At that moment, purple beams of light sprouted around my eyes like whiskers.
"Hmph?" "If I were to blast that clean away, wouldn't it sting a little?"
As Gujo filled my field of vision, I fully unleashed the spell power I had stored in the upper formation.
With a tearing, eerie wail, an evil ghost saturated with venom revealed itself behind my back.
Violet Demon Eye Single-Strike Technique
Evil Ghost Appearance
Until now, the Gujo, who had been acting so ferociously, suddenly went pale.
As if it had encountered a natural predator.
It drove its head straight into the surface at the same speed it had been descending.
Oh. I didn’t mean to go that far. Doesn’t its head hurt?
“No. It stings more to have it snatched right in front of your eyes. All that effort cooking up a feast, and then it’s just gobbled up in an instant!”
“True enough. Heh heh heh! To the Jiangshi, the Ghost King is practically a natural enemy! What could they do? They’re just fools who don’t know the Young Sect Master. What a pity, tsk tsk.”
The phantoms shook their heads as they looked at the Four-Sword Master.
The Jiangshi born from Heukgol Ghost Valley were all strange beings that originated from the dead.
Because what was contained within it was a type of phantom, it was naturally nothing more than one of my subordinate minions.
The reason Heukgol Ghost Valley had been so thoroughly beaten by me in the past, unable to put up much of a fight, was all because of this.
Whenever I gave an order, they would tremble in fear.
So why should Gujo be any different?
To Gujo’s eyes, I probably appeared as a massive beast capable of tearing it apart at any moment, wearing a devilish mask.
“W-What… is happening…?”
Of course, the Four-Sword Master, completely unaware of this fact, stared at me in shock.
I, still smirking, tapped Gujo’s legs lightly with my toes, where it was trembling, and called out.
“Hey! Don’t you want to live?”
At my call, Gujo slightly lifted the head it had buried.
Its eyeballs rolled upward.
Its face was completely drenched in cold sweat.
“Then, I’ll give you a chance.”
“Fetch that thing before I count to three. One, two—"
In an instant, Gujo dashed toward the Four-Sword Master like lightning.
Chronicles of the Reincarnated Demon God