Chapter 154: Ghost City (18)
This is
Seol Young looked around with blank eyes.
The Chamber of Horrors.
It was the place where the Devil Lair Lord grabbed him and dragged him with the chains, leaving the skull mask on him.
He thought he was there.
But no. It was the first place he saw.
A deep darkness was swirling around him, and it looked like it would gulp him down any second.
A curse. The most powerful curse which draws life into death.
No
He finally found out what a dangerous situation he was in.
When he was just thirteen years old, Seol Young was on the brink of death.
Just now, deeply assimilated into that memory, he went to the entrance of that place again.
He couldnt do anything and got dragged into this place. At that moment, he heard the sound of the chains on his wrist.
It isnt over yet.
Zahas voice made him raise his head.
He was standing still, holding the Blue Rainbow sword. It seemed like he was telling Seol Young to put an end to it.
Yes. Right.
Seol Young received the sword with his left hand. Turning it behind his head, he grabbed the sheath with his chained right hand and then pulled out the sword.
And he waited for his spiritual qi to rise.
Then he hit the chain, making the taut chain snap. The severed end slapped his temple.
But it was more refreshing than painful.
With that, his bad ties with the past were gone.
The deathly whirlwind that was trying to gulp down Seol Young lost its power. It whirled around like a top and then lost its power.
Phew
Seol Young sighed.
He couldnt get up, as his entire body felt weak. As he was touching his numb right arm, he suddenly thought
Wait
His hand went to his waist and touched it.
At that moment, his face changed.
He thought he didnt have anything on him earlier, so he picked up the claw and used it to fight. But in fact, there was a weapon.
He mumbled,
What did you do with the soft sword?
At least you remember it now.
Zaha said.
What would you have done if I had taken it away from you? You ignore me so much.
No. I really didnt remember it. My thoughts went back to when I was a child
Seol Young was making an excuse.
Looking back now, he could see that Zaha had been thinking a lot to himself. He never forgot about the chain marks, either.
When will Seol Young be chained? He kept trying to find the answer to that. That must have been the reason he brought the soft sword.
If one of his hands was tied up, a wide-ranged attack would have been better for defense.
I was such an idiot.
He dropped his head and looked at the ring that was lying on the floor.
Senior Oni!
He quickly picked it up and put it on his finger. There werent any marks on his right wrist. The influence of the Devil Lair Lord had now completely vanished.
-I am sorry.
Those were the last words that the Lord said to him.
He hated that one more than all the evil things he had done to him.
It was more disgusting than the demonic beings who ran amok and cursed at him.
Seol Young trembled again.
I managed to kill him through all this, but that was what he wanted the most
I didnt know.
Zaha shook his head.
My guess that he wanted an heir was right, but it held a different meaning. The skull mask had an endless curse on it. He needed someone to come and take it away from him.
When I was young, I didnt understand it. I couldnt even properly explain it to Teacher. So I had no other choice but to do so.
Seol Young sighed.
From the moment the chain marks first appeared on my wrist, and I lost my power, his plan was carried out perfectly. Step by step, he was cleverly making us kill him and fall into the trap. We didnt even know that and got hit.
Feeling dizzy, Seol Young fell to the ground.
I swore never to fall for the same trick. Yet, to see this happen again
Look, here, Seol Young-rang.
As if he wanted him to be a stronger Hwarang, he waited for Seol Young to break away from the chains, but this made him frown.
It is a curse that you could have never broken alone. It is a technique that manipulates the soul by suggesting something. A curse that can only be lifted by hearing something from the outside.
True, but
Who told you not to push yourself too hard? Anyway, you can stop since you have done enough. You didnt give up when you were attacked too. You fought until the end and fell into the state of almost losing your life. Yet, until the last moment, your will was unbroken.
An unbreakable will.
Right. That was what Zaha thought was important.
He felt sorry for the young Seol Young when he gave in against his will, and when he found hope, he watched him smile too.
But
Wait.
A wrinkle formed between Seol Youngs brows.
It is really over, but it feels so weird.
What is it, Seol Young-rang?
To come here without getting lost, to arrive on time, to wake up and repeat the same thing my Teacher said. It really is like a miracle
I am glad you realize it. I thought you didnt.
But no matter how much Great Mother tipped me off, it would have been difficult to guess that well
Its been a long time since she was hiding. She cannot just expose herself.
Still, it is questionable. Unless you have the ability to see through the hearts of people
What is so complicated? The reason I was able to live is because the High Governor is truly strong. It was really nice.
Really?
He didnt quite get it, but he wasnt going to argue.
Seol Young, who had some energy now, got up.
We need to find Seo Geom-rang and the ghosts too.
His spiritual power has now fully returned.
Perhaps it was because he had absorbed the spiritual qi. It seemed like he was stronger now. Seol Young immediately threw something in the air.
A number of talismans flew out like lightning. In this twisted world, he revealed what the real space and the fake space were.
I will take the lead.
Seol Young went out, following the glow of the light.
But then he stopped.
At least, he could see how Zaha had come this far. In the dark, someone stood there, covered in blood.
Seeing that figure, the ring on his finger began to tremble.
It was the person who made this ring.
On So-rang.
Seol Young called out to him, but the man didnt answer. Then, when Zaha came out, he finally said,
[Did you find it?]
His torn lips moved with difficulty.
Other shadows began to appear one by one. All of the Sun and Moon Hwarangs were there.
Some of them were swollen as if they had drowned. Some were poisoned, and their faces were purple. Some had no limbs intact, and some were charred.
But no one seemed to know that they had become that way now.
[Did you find him?]
[The junior?]
They asked Zaha.
Seol Young realized it. When he was trapped inside and called for help, it felt like the Sun and Moon Hwarangs were reaching out to him from within this place.
Whether they were memories, souls, or whatever
Yes. Found it.
Zaha said.
But the words didnt reach them.
[Did you find him?]
[The junior?]
They continued to ask, and the ring on Seol Youngs hand wiggled.
Oni, who had been doing well for a while, probably liked the new junior. But no matter how much fun a child was having, as soon as their parents showed up, they would leave everything behind and run.
At that moment, it seemed they were the only ones Oni could see.
It cannot be of much use.
Seol Young thought so, and he brought Oni out.
The baby dragon appeared on the ground, and it crawled to where the Hwarangs were and touched them with its head.
But the head of the dragon passed through them.
?
Oni seemed a bit shocked. It kept chasing after the Hwarangs and bumping its head.
Lets go.
At Zahas words, Seol Young took Oni and looked at the Hwarangs.
Thanks to their help, he was able to get safely through this. He wont be able to forget that fact.
If they are like this because of the memories of their death, I will hold a ritual as soon as I leave for the Hwarang dorms with the High Governor.
Seol Young bowed to them, and then he followed Zaha.
After coming out, he saw ships in front of him.
Now that the last curse had been lifted, the driving force that maintained this world had completely disappeared.
Smoke was everywhere. And in the midst of that, the ships were sinking one by one.
Seo Geom-rang!
The two of them shouted and looked for him.
He moved between the boats and ships and tripped over a chain that held all of them together.
However, even though Seol Young was half-submerged in the water, he grabbed the chain and pulled himself out without any problem. Somehow, he didnt feel scared of the water anymore.
Blue Dragon ship. We need to find the Blue Dragon ship.
There it is.
The boat with the head of a dragon could be seen in the smoke.
So they went there quickly.
They saw that Seo Geom-rang had fainted and was leaning against the ship. There were numerous plaques around him.
It seemed that before he lost consciousness, he had sealed all the ghosts who worked in the alcohol place.
Seo Geom-rang
Zaha mumbled as he lifted him up.
I didnt think he wanted to be praised this much. I promise you. If we can get out of here safely, I will definitely praise you.
Doesnt that mean that it would be hard for them to get out of here?
Seol Young took the plaques and thought to himself.
Fortunately, the gateway between the human world and the ghost world was open, so he hurriedly sent a talisman ahead to remove any evil spirits that were around, and they ran away.
The moment they crossed the boundary, his feelings went dark, and his head was spinning.
-Whisper
The voices in the market. The sweet taste of sugar and the salty smell of the sea.
All of those things mixed up, and the sound lingered in his ears.
It was surely like that
Suddenly, the noise of the market changed to the sound of the waves.
Seol Young opened his eyes. He could see the moonlit night sky.
It was the sea.
At some point, he was lying flat on his back, facing the sky. Waves crashed under his feet.
Seol Young jumped up.
In a place not too far away, Zaha was also getting up.
Why is it like this every time
He was about to grumble about it, but he stopped talking and looked at the sea.
Seol Young looked at him as well.
In the middle of the pitch-black night sea, colorful lights shimmered.
Countless lanterns and tents. Shadows were running around the stalls, and there was low music.
All of them slowly faded and disappeared.
It was over now.
Looking at that, he suddenly thought,
Seo Geom-rang!
The two looked back, and a Hwarang in blue was lying face down. They rushed to him and turned him over.
Seo Geom was sleeping peacefully.
A faint smile lingered on his sand-covered face. He was holding something tightly in his hand, and when they opened it, it was a small top.
Seol Young looked down at the top for a moment. He didnt know what Seo Geom talked about with his hyung in his memories. He would never know it, either.
But
It seemed that he was able to confront his feelings properly.
Then it was good.
Seol Young nodded and put the top back in his hand again.
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