Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 75

“Ah. Don’t mind it and just continue what you were doing.”

Mok Gyeong-un, who was flicking his blood-stained hand and speaking nonchalantly.

At this sight, the boy didn’t know what to do.

He was already happy to be staying in the same room as Yeom Ga from the Vermillion Slaughter Cave even for a short while, but in no time at all, he ended up in that state.

‘Wh-what the hell is that guy?’

He fully acknowledged that Mok Gyeong-un had particularly stood out until the second gateway.

But now, the restriction on internal energy was lifted.

Yet, to do that to Yeom Ga of the Vermillion Slaughter Cave, whose internal energy restriction was lifted, not just anyone else, was that guy a monster?

Mok Gyeong-un paid no attention to the boy’s reaction.

Rather, as if he was done with his business, he grabbed the hair of the unconscious Yeom Ga and dragged him out into the corridor.

“Ah!”

As the boy tried to get up, thinking he should stop this,

“Why? Do you want to follow along too?”

Mok Gyeong-un asked.

At this, the boy faltered and, in his bewilderment, involuntarily shook his head rapidly.

“Th-that’s not it…….”

“You’re wise. Then just stay there.”

-Thud!

As the door closed, the boy slumped onto the bed as if the strength had left his legs.

He had no confidence to follow and help Yeom Ga.

Mok Gyeong-un, who had come out of the room, looked at Yeom Ga’s face and let out a small groan.

“Hmm.”

The face that had been reduced to a pulp was quite prominent.

The moment he saw Yeom Ga’s tattoo glow red, he instinctively felt that the opponent was trying to kill him, so he had made him like this.

-You shouldn’t have been so rough.

“That’s true.”

At the Blue Spirit’s voice, Mok Gyeong-un muttered softly.

He had intended to beat him moderately and make him a teammate, but this went beyond the moderate level.

However, apart from this result, there was one thing that differed from his expectations.

“Was the Peak Realm this weak?”

After the restriction on internal energy was lifted, among the 80 boys, there were 7 who were estimated to have reached the Peak Realm.

One of them was Yeom Ga of the Vermillion Slaughter Cave.

The reason Mok Gyeong-un had chosen Yeom Ga as his first target was not only to have him as a teammate but also to test his own strength against him, who was showing explicit hostility toward him.

But he was weaker than expected.

‘He was slow.’

Even when he was in the Yeon Mok Sword Manor, even if he could see the movements of those called first-class masters, his body’s reaction was slow.

But now, the movements of Yeom Ga, who could be called the Peak Realm, felt slow.

-………

‘That’s what I want to say, mortal.’

The Blue Spirit was also inwardly surprised by the unexpected result.

Although he had opened the middle danjeon through the subtle principles of the Eight Thought-Shattering Techniques and his murderous energy had reached the Pinnacle of Peak Realm in terms of internal energy, she had predicted that he would be on par or slightly ahead because he lacked enlightenment.

However, Mok Gyeong-un had completely overwhelmed Yeom Ga.

‘Is this guy’s martial talent far exceeding my expectations?’

After confirming this, the excitement wouldn’t subside.

Although it was still far off, if this rate of progress continued, it was definitely worth looking forward to.

Inwardly, she wanted to reveal her thoughts, but if the mortal became arrogant and neglected enlightenment……

-Don’t jump to conclusions. Although he subdued him quite easily, this time, that stupid guy’s carelessness played a big part in it.

At the Blue Spirit’s words, Mok Gyeong-un shrugged his shoulders.

There was some truth to her words.

It was too early to determine the skill of a master who had reached the Peak Realm based on Yeom Ga alone.

-But it’s getting interesting.

“What is?”

-I was curious how the energy of death would work, and now it has been confirmed.

At these words, Mok Gyeong-un recalled what Yeom Ga had said.

[If it’s not Scattered Energy Poison, then why is my internal energy scattering whenever I come into contact with you?]

Those words had been quite puzzling.

“Can you tell why that is?”

-It seems to be offset by the energy of death.

“Offset?”

-Yes. You said you experienced the phenomenon of energy dispersing when others injected true energy to occupy your acupoints or check your body’s condition, right?

“Yes.”

-The energy you possess is completely opposite to the energy of living humans.

“So you’re saying that energy was offset because it’s completely opposite?”

-That’s how it should be seen. The energy of yang and life will invigorate vitality, but your death energy rather brings death.

Perhaps that further caused the energy to disperse.

That had been the assumption so far.

Since this was unprecedented in the history of the martial world, even she couldn’t know exactly how this death energy would affect things in the future.

But if this energy could really play the role of scattering the opponent’s energy like Scattered Energy Poison, it was as if a tremendous natural enemy had appeared for martial artists.

“It seems quite useful.”

To Mok Gyeong-un, who was pleased, the Blue Spirit said,

-Just in case, make sure to control it.

“Control?”

-Yes. If it becomes known that you can scatter the opponent’s energy, you may face the vigilance of everyone before you fully mature.

“Hmm. That could be the case.”

As she said, martial artists might become wary.

If they were to fight Mok Gyeong-un, their internal energy would scatter during the fight, putting them at a significant disadvantage unless they possessed superior strength.

“How do I control it?”

-………Phew. Your learning order is really a mess.

The Blue Spirit clicked her tongue.

If he had reached the Peak Realm through the normal path, he would have properly grasped the method of transmitting energy.

But despite being at the pinnacle, Mok Gyeong-un couldn’t even perform the external meridians, which transmit energy directly, or the internal meridians and foot meridians that send energy within the body.

‘I’ll have to keep beating it into him whenever there’s a chance.’

Now that the order was already messed up, there was no other way.

While that was happening, they arrived at the lodging room.

There was no one in the room.

While everyone else was using a room for two, Mok Gyeong-un was an exception.

Everyone unanimously refused to share a room with Mok Gyeong-un, but fortunately, there was a vacant room, so he ended up using it alone.

“Ugh.”

Just then, Yeom Ga, who had been unconscious, woke up, letting out a groan.

At this, Mok Gyeong-un looked down at him as if it was fortunate and made eye contact.

-Flinch!

Yeom Ga, who saw Mok Gyeong-un’s face as soon as he woke up, momentarily felt nauseous.

That’s because while being beaten by Mok Gyeong-un to the point where his face became like this, he had fallen into extreme fear that he might die.

As a result, he couldn’t help but react like this.

“Have you come to your senses?”

“You….what the hell……ugh. Ptooi.”

Yeom Ga felt pain and a foreign sensation in his mouth and spat something out.

It was his broken tooth.

His entire mouth was numb and filled with the taste of blood, as if he had bitten his tongue several times.

“Does it hurt a lot?”

“……..”

Is that even a question?

Yeom Ga looked at Mok Gyeong-un with an absurd expression.

To him, Mok Gyeong-un scratched his head and said,

“I hit you a bit too hard even though I wasn’t going to kill you. But it doesn’t seem too bad since you’ve gotten a more manly face.”

‘This bastard now……’

Is he toying with him?

Even slightly moving his facial muscles hurt as if it was being burned by fire.

He had made his face like this to the point where it was difficult to even open his eyes, yet the words he was saying sounded like he was provoking him.

To such Yeom Ga, Mok Gyeong-un said,

“How about it? Do you want to join my team?”

Yeom Ga gritted his teeth and barely squeezed out his voice.

“F…..uck off!”

He would rather die than ever be with this bastard.

Although he knew he was no match, Yeom Ga didn’t want to submit to his opponent just because he had lost.

At this, Mok Gyeong-un lightly clapped his hands and said,

-Clap clap!

“An unyielding will that doesn’t submit.”

“……..”

“What a pity. I thought you would be quite useful, so I wanted us to be on the same team.”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Yeom Ga, who had been inwardly tense, let out a sigh of relief.

He was already worried that this crazy bastard might kill him regardless of the rules if he was in a bad mood.

But it seemed he wasn’t that impulsive.

That was fortunate at least.

‘Let’s not associate with him.’

He had clearly realized it through this incident.

This bastard was a crazy one who possessed ominousness itself, just as he had first felt.

He knew that nothing good would come out of getting involved or provoking him.

-Tremble tremble!

Yeom Ga tried to get up to leave the room as soon as possible.

But then, Mok Gyeong-un placed his finger on Yeom Ga’s forehead and lightly pushed.

It wasn’t much force, but Yeom Ga, who was trying to get up, fell back down.

-Thud!

“What…..are you…..doing?”

“Who said you could go?”

“What?”

What is he talking about now?

He had just spoken as if he was giving up on having him on his team, hadn’t he?

Then there was no reason for him to stay here.

But what was he doing now?

-Swish!

At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un took out a wooden puppet from his bosom.

And then, with one hand, he formed a hand seal and chanted an incantation.

“The origin of fate, the cycle of reincarnation, release (解)!”

‘!?’

What did he do just now?

Yeom Ga, who didn’t know much about sorcery techniques, couldn’t hide his bewilderment at Mok Gyeong-un’s strange behavior.

So he tried to draw out the energy from his danjeon,

‘Damn it!’

He hadn’t noticed, but at some point, his acupoints had been occupied.

No wonder he couldn’t put any strength into his body.

While that was happening, a sudden eerie sensation sent chills down his spine.

-Seep seep!

It felt like something was seeping into his body, and the sensation was so unpleasant and chilling that it was hard to endure.

“Urgh. You….you? What are you doing to me? Ugh.”

-Twitch twitch!

Yeom Ga’s lower back curved like a shrimp.

To him, Mok Gyeong-un smiled and said,

“I’ll make good use of that body.”

“Wh-what the hell is that…..ugh!”

-Thump thump!

Black veins were bulging out all over Yeom Ga’s neck and face, and his appearance was nothing short of hideous.

But it didn’t last very long.

Yeom Ga’s body, which had been twisting and turning, his eyes rolling back and convulsing, had somehow returned to normal.

Of course, when he opened his eyes, someone else had taken residence inside.

“How is the body? Demonic Monk.”

“It seems usable.”

The vengeful spirit that had possessed him was none other than Demonic Monk.

Demonic Monk, who had obtained a young body that had reached the Peak Realm, showed a satisfied expression.

“You should have given it to me in a more intact state.”

At those words, Demonic Monk touched his face a few times, and the broken nose bridge straightened, and the face somewhat returned to its original form.

“Oho.”

This seemed quite interesting.

While the broken parts couldn’t be greatly fixed, it had improved considerably.

At Mok Gyeong-un’s reaction, the Blue Spirit said,

-Adjusting the possessed body to a desired state to some extent is not a difficult task. Unlike humans whose souls are bound, we can freely manipulate the bodies we occupy.

“It seems so.”

There seemed to be a way to make use of this as well.

While that was happening,

-Thump thump!

At the sound of approaching footsteps, Mok Gyeong-un looked toward the door.

Someone was approaching the room he was in.

The footsteps were light in weight, but judging from the somewhat unnatural sound, the condition of the approaching person didn’t seem too good.

-Knock knock!

At that moment, someone who had arrived in front of the door knocked.

“Come in.”

At this, the door opened, and an unexpected person revealed themselves.

It was none other than Mo Ha-rang of the Demon Fire Hall.

Although she had received treatment, he thought she would be focusing on restoring her body while circulating energy and refining her breath due to her injuries, so why had she come here?

At that moment, the Green Spirit Gyu Soha’s voice reached Mok Gyeong-un’s ears.

-Master! Master! Give me that human’s body!

It seemed he liked Mo Ha-rang’s body.

At this, the Blue Spirit said,

-You brat. You insisted you were a man, so why are you clamoring for a woman’s body?

-………

Gyu Soha shut her mouth.

Not paying attention to their conversation, Mok Gyeong-un said with a light smile,

“What brings you here?”

-Swish!

At that question, Mo Ha-rang’s gaze turned to Demonic Monk, who had possessed the body of Yeom Ga of the Vermillion Slaughter Cave behind Mok Gyeong-un.

At this, Mok Gyeong-un nonchalantly said,

“Ah. This person has agreed to join our team.”

At those words, Demonic Monk nodded his head, pretending to be Yeom Ga.

Seeing this, Mo Ha-rang turned her head toward Mok Gyeong-un and said,

“……..What did you do?”

“What do you mean what did I do?”

“That’s not Yeom Ga.”

At those words, one of Mok Gyeong-un’s eyebrows slightly rose.

What confidence did this woman have to say such a thing?

Mok Gyeong-un nonchalantly said,

“What are you talking about?”

“…….That guy with a strong sense of pride wouldn’t easily submit to you. And Yeom Ga is not the type to go under someone else.”

At her words, Mok Gyeong-un smirked.

Come to think of it, he recalled that she was quick-witted enough to quickly deduce his purpose just by seeing his actions during the flag battle.

And,

‘Didn’t she say their eyes met?’

Mo Ha-rang had said that her eyes had met with the Green Spirit Gyu Soha.

At that time, he didn’t pay much attention to it, thinking it could have been a coincidence.

But if that was true, could this woman also have the talent of a diviner?

Mok Gyeong-un, who had become interested, pointed at Yeom Ga with a hand gesture and opened his mouth.

“Then, if this person is not Yeom Ga, what is he?”

“…….I don’t know.”

“If you don’t know, why did you say that?”

“I saw it.”

“Saw what?”

“That…….”

“That?”

“Ghost-like thing that was wearing chains next to you.”

She spoke as if she herself was half-believing whether this was true or not.

She wanted to know if what she saw was real.

If it was true, then this man could be said to be manipulating a ghost, a strange being.

“Ghost-like thing, you say…….”

“At that time, my mind was hazy, but I saw you conversing with it.”

Even as she said these words, she trailed off as if she herself wasn’t confident about what she had seen.

At this, Mok Gyeong-un stared at her with a smiling face.

Mo Ha-rang became confused by that sight.

As someone from the Demon Fire Hall, known as one of the four major assassin groups, she had undergone numerous training, which included the skill to read people’s psychology through their expressions and eyes.

‘…….I can’t read him.’

However, Mok Gyeong-un’s expression and eyes were impossible to gauge.

She could read simple emotions, but anything beyond that was impossible.

At this, she bit her lip tightly.

‘Is it a misunderstanding?’

She was telling him about her speculations and what she had seen, but Mok Gyeong-un showed no particular reaction.

Rather, he only showed eyes that seemed intrigued.

Because of this, she thought that she might be doing something unnecessary.

Therefore, in the end, she said,

“Sorry. I must have been seeing things because of the severe bleeding at that time.”

With those words, she tried to turn around and leave the room.

But then,

-Papapak!

“The origin of fate, the cycle of reincarnation, release (解).”

A sound resembling chanting an incantation was heard from behind.

At this, Mo Ha-rang stopped in her tracks and slowly turned her head.

-Shudder!

As she turned her head, goosebumps rose all over her body.

Next to Mok Gyeong-un, she saw a translucent and blurry figure of a girl with half-white hair, wearing chains.

‘Ah!’

What she had seen at that time was real.

While she was feeling amazed, the Green Spirit Gyu Soha stretched out her hand, and chains swiftly wrapped around Mo Ha-rang’s body.

As her body was restrained by the chains, Mok Gyeong-un spoke with a smile filled with malice.

“The price for seeing what you wanted is quite steep, but are you okay with that?”