Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 318 – Half-Human, Half-Monster (5)

“I guess you couldn’t find Guardian Jang, no, that old man Mun-no?”

‘!?’

At Lee Gwang’s words, the complexion of Holy Fire Priestess, who had been keeping her mouth firmly shut, darkened.

Seeing her reaction, Lee Gwang’s eyes sparkled.

‘As expected.’

“Finally, there’s a reaction.”

“…It’s a lie. You’re just trying to test me with some scheme, aren’t you?”

The Holy Fire Priestess opened her mouth without meeting his eyes.

Then Lee Gwang snorted and said,

“A scheme? What would we gain by scheming with such a thing?”

“Even with the power of the holy fire…”

She didn’t finish her sentence.

At her words, Lee Gwang let out a hollow laugh and said,

“So it was true. Even with the power of that great holy fire, you couldn’t find that old man Mun-no. Or have you really lost the power of prophecy?”

“…”

At those words, the Holy Fire Priestess trembled her cheeks without giving any answer.

Seeing this reaction, Lee Gwang furrowed his brows with an intrigued gaze.

“Don’t tell me… that rumor was really true?”

Lee Gwang spoke as if surprised.

Although most of the high-ranking members didn’t know, he had been assigned to deal with the Fire Faith Order before, so he knew well where her power originated from.

‘Holy Fire.’

It was a sacred orb called the Holy Fire.

She seemed to receive prophecies or revelations through that orb.

Therefore, he knew that if it fell from her hands, she would no longer receive prophecies or revelations.

But this was unexpected news.

[…The orb might not be the problem.]

‘Was that person’s prediction true?’

If that’s the case, this old woman would have no value whatsoever.

Of course, since she was the spiritual pillar of the Fire Faith Order and the leader who guided the believers along with the sect master, she could be used in a different way, but there was absolutely no need for them to make such sacrifices.

“Well, well. You’re quite something. Even though you really lost that power, you kept it hidden until now.”

“Nonsense! The power of the holy fire is not as simple as you think.”

“Don’t beat around the bush. Then prove that you haven’t lost your power. It’s a good thing. You don’t even need to report it to that person. Just tell me. Where is the orb?”

“…”

“You need the orb to find what that old man Mun-no stole, don’t you? Even if it’s not us, the Fire Faith Order will also try to find it.”

“…”

“You’re going to keep your mouth shut until the end? Ha! Fine.”

-Smack!

As soon as he finished speaking, Lee Gwang pushed his palms towards the ground.

Then his body floated up and flew towards Holy Fire Priestess.

Even though the muscles and tendons in his lower body had not yet recovered, he was still a pinnacle-stage expert of the Transformation Realm who had surpassed the wall, and thanks to the demonic energy of the Imoogi, his close-range movement was completely free.

“Gasp!”

The Holy Fire Priestess was startled and tried to dodge him.

His appearance, with his entire skin transformed like a snake’s scales, was closer to a monster than a human, so she couldn’t help but be terrified.

-Whoosh whoosh whoosh smack!

But Lee Gwang, who had hit the ground with his palms a few times, grabbed her in an instant.

-Thud! Splash!

“Aah!”

Lee Gwang straddled Holy Fire Priestess’s back as she fell to the ground, grabbed her neck, and said,

-Grip!

“I’ll make you confess directly before taking you to that person.”

“L-let go.”

“If I were to let you go easily, why would I do this? Now, I’m going to break your fingers one by one. Of course, that’s just the beginning. Once I’m done breaking your fingers, I’ll pull out your nails one by one. And if you still keep your mouth shut, I’ll cut off your fingers one by one.”

-Gnash!

At Lee Gwang’s threat, the Holy Fire Priestess gritted her teeth.

It was scary and terrifying, but she was someone who had kept her mouth shut until the end despite the torture and threats at the imperial palace.

Even if the torture Lee Gwang was about to inflict was more severe than that, she had no intention of yielding.

‘What the hell is going on?’

Seop Chun couldn’t understand this situation at all.

He didn’t know the identities of these people, so why was his lord suddenly cooperating with them?

The Holy Fire Priestess was an important person the Society Leader had told him to bring.

He couldn’t just leave her to get hurt.

So Seop Chun tried to step in.

“Yo-“

-Just leave it be for now.

But he had to stop due to Mok Gyeong-un’s telepathic message.

Seop Chun looked at Mok Gyeong-un in puzzlement, turning his head to ask for the reason, but,

-Shudder!

The moment he saw Mok Gyeong-un’s face, he couldn’t say a word.

He had never seen such a cold expression without a hint of a smile.

Then,

-Crack!

“Aaah!”

Along with the sound of fingers being broken, a scream burst from Holy Fire Priestess’s mouth.

“Speak.”

“Ugh…”

“Where is the orb?”

“Ugh…”

The Holy Fire Priestess groaned and then bit her lip hard.

Seeing her reaction, Lee Gwang snorted and then bent her middle finger backward.

-Crack!

The finger was completely bent backward and broken.

Seeing this, Lee Gwang grinned and asked again,

“Where is the orb?”

“…”

-Crack!

“Ugh.”

Another one of her fingers was broken again.

Unlike before, Holy Fire Priestess bit her lip so hard that blood flowed from it, enduring the pain.

Seeing the remarkable endurance of the old woman, Lee Gwang clicked his tongue and said,

“You’re quite something, but do you think you can keep enduring? Fine. Let’s see who wins. This time, I’ll break two fingers at a time…”

Before he could even finish his sentence,

“Gyeong-un! Gyeong-un!”

Holy Fire Priestess, who had been enduring the pain, called out to Mok Gyeong-un.

At her cry, Lee Gwang couldn’t hide his puzzlement.

Was she referring to the Sickle-slaying Demon as Mok Gyeong-un?

“Gyeong-un! Help me!”

The Holy Fire Priestess rolled her eyes and asked for help from Mok Gyeong-un, who was just watching her.

He was a disciple of the Shadow Clan Master of the Fire Faith Order, so he was a believer of the Fire Faith Order.

Naturally, he had the duty to protect her, the Holy Fire Priestess.

‘!?’

But why wasn’t he responding to her call?

It was strange enough already.

She couldn’t understand why Mok Gyeong-un, who was supposed to protect her, was just watching as this man threatened and intimidated her.

She thought he might have some plan, but now it seemed that wasn’t the case either.

So she shouted,

“Believer Gyeong-un!”

She had kept their relationship hidden for the sake of each other’s safety, as the members of the Heaven and Earth Society with Mok Gyeong-un seemed unaware of their identities.

But if he was trying to betray her for some unknown reason, there was no reason to do so.

“Believer Gyeong-un?”

At those words, Lee Gwang, who was straddling Holy Fire Priestess’s back and pressing down on her neck, furrowed his brows and turned his head to look at Mok Gyeong-un.

“What the hell is this about? Believer Gyeong-un?”

To that question, Mok Gyeong-un shrugged.

Then he casually said,

“I told a little lie to bring her along obediently when I took her out of the underground prison, so she has been regarding me as a fellow Fire Faith Order member all along.”

“Oho. I see. No wonder this stubborn old woman followed you meekly without being restrained. It seemed strange to me.”

‘What the hell…’

The Holy Fire Priestess was dumbfounded.

If she were to die here or be captured by their organization, the rebuilding of the Fire Faith Order would become even more impossible.

But that bastard Mok Gyeong-un was just watching, saying such things. Was it really a lie?

But how did he know about the existence of the Shadow Clan Master?

Then did he also betray the Shadow Clan Master?

Her mind became confused, and all sorts of thoughts came to her.

Then,

-Grip! Thud! Splash!

Lee Gwang turned her raised face to the side and slammed it into the ground.

Then he whispered in her ear,

“Too bad. Old woman. You must have had some hope, but…”

“Ugh…”

“Just give up now. You’re too old to suffer like this. Don’t you want to live out the rest of your life in peace?”

“…”

“Truly stubborn. According to the prophecy, aren’t you nothing but the root of evil that the Fire Faith Order must eliminate? But why did that old man Mun-no hide it without your knowledge? No matter how much I think about it, I don’t understand.”

-Squish!

Lee Gwang pressed the Holy Fire Priestess’s face even harder.

Then she shouted in a pained voice,

“I don’t know! I know nothing!”

“Still making excuses until the end. Either you told that old man to hide it, or that old man betrayed you and the Fire Faith Order and hid it. It has to be one of the two, so why are you trying so hard to keep it a secret?”

-Squish!

-Tremble tremble tremble!

As Lee Gwang pressed her face even harder, the Holy Fire Priestess trembled and spoke with difficulty.

“Why…are…you…so…obsessed…with…the prophecy?”

“…”

“Your…leader…is…supposed to be…an omniscient…and omnipotent…being…so why…is he…afraid of…the prophecy…”

-Crack!

“Aaah!”

Before she could even finish her sentence, Lee Gwang broke all her remaining fingers.

Then Lee Gwang spoke with an angry face,

“That person is not someone you can judge recklessly. That person fears nothing.”

“Ah…k-kuk…kekekeke.”

She suddenly started laughing like a madwoman.

At her sudden, insane laughter, Lee Gwang frowned.

Regardless, she continued to laugh and then opened her mouth.

“Do you…really…think…your leader…is obsessed with it…because he has no fear?”

“What? You wench, really…”

“No matter…how great…your leader is…in the end…he’s just…a parasite…in a human body…”

-Bam!

Before she could finish her sentence, Lee Gwang slammed her face into the ground.

He slammed it so hard that the rainwater pooled on the ground gradually turned red with blood.

She seemed to have lost half her mind from the pain, her eyes unfocused.

To her, Lee Gwang whispered in a voice filled with anger,

“If you don’t want to follow that old man Mun-no, don’t you dare…”

-Swoosh!

‘Wh-what?’

Lee Gwang’s expression soon hardened.

An immense murderous intent was engulfing the surroundings, making him feel like he was about to lose consciousness.

-Thud! Thud!

The masked individuals nearby collapsed to the ground, convulsing.

It was no different for his allies.

“Haa…haa…my Lo-Lord…”

Seop Chun also staggered back, gasping for breath from the unimaginable murderous intent.

Murderous intent is said to be the materialized energy of murderous will.

The murderous will engulfing the surroundings made everyone feel death while alive.

‘That…wasn’t…it…earlier?’

Lee Gwang’s eyes shook like crazy.

If there was a god of death, could they emit such murderous intent?

Right at that moment,

-Roar!

Lee Gwang’s body, which had been straddling the Holy Fire Priestess’s back, gradually floated into the air.

Lee Gwang tried to resist by raising the demonic energy within his body, but it was meaningless from the start.

His body was slowly being pulled towards the center of the storm of murderous intent.

It was right in front of Mok Gyeong-un.

In Lee Gwang’s crazily trembling eyes, Mok Gyeong-un was not the being he had been looking at until just now.

-Shudder!

Covered in black demonic energy and murderous intent, his appearance was the embodiment of fear, dread, and death itself.

Seeing that, Lee Gwang, who was terrified for the first time in his life, stuttered and opened his mouth.

“W-why are you doing this…”

“He was…very…very…close.”

“S-Sickle-slaying Demon, I don’t know why you’re doing this, but…first, calm down. If there’s some misunderstanding…”

“The person who killed Mun-no.”

“What?”

“That’s the person I was looking for.”

‘!!!!!!!!!’