Radiant Blossoms Hall, the residence of Great Madam Seok. With her chin resting elegantly on her clasped hands, Madam Seok gazed at a woman with suspicious eyes. The woman had a truly peculiar aura.
At most, she looked to be twenty-two or twenty-three, young enough to be considered so. But perhaps because one of her eyes was a white eye, she exuded a somewhat heavy and unapproachable air.
‘If it weren’t for that creepy white eye, she would have charmed quite a few men.’
The white eye was quite unsettling. Her guard, Ho-aeng, standing beside her, seemed to feel something similar, as a slight frown was visible on her face. She was that unusual.
But what in the world was that on her shoulder? She wore a shoulder perch made of woven cowhide and oak branches. Usually, such things were made for trained messenger pigeons or hawks to perch on with their talons.
But she had no bird. Not even the scent of one. As she wondered, the woman made a motion of stroking the empty shoulder perch and muttered to herself.
“It’s alright. We’ll be leaving soon.”
Seeing this, Madam Seok inwardly clicked her tongue.
‘It’s hard to find a sane one among these Occultists.’
Why did she seem even less trustworthy than the Occultist named Myo Shin who came last time? She had reported Myo Shin's death, expecting the Ghost Shadow Pavilion, the Occultist collective in Dream City, to send someone more skilled, but this was truly displeasing. However, she did not show it and spoke.
“Did you say your name is Sak?”
“Yes.”
“... If you don't mind my asking, may I know your age? You look younger than I expected.”
“Age is not important.”
“Fine. It seems you cannot disclose it.”
“I am nineteen.”
“What?”
She was even younger than expected. Not even of age yet. Realizing that the woman named Sak was so young, the Guard Ho-aeng cautiously interjected.
“Shall I make another request to the Ghost Shadow Pavilion?”
At her words, Sak silently rose from her seat. Then she held out her hand and spoke. The Guard Ho-aeng frowned and asked.
“What is that hand for?”
“Please provide the travel expenses.”
“... What have you done to deserve travel expenses?”
“Because you are the one terminating the arrangement, not I.” “It is not a termination.”
“It is a replacement of the dispatched Occultist, so I am requesting only the travel expenses, excluding the penalty fee.”
“…”
It wasn't just her aura that was unsettling. Madam Seok snorted as if finding the situation absurd and said, “My family has maintained a good relationship with your pavilion since my maiden days, but this is difficult to accept.
For a matter so serious that the Occultist you sent died a grotesque death, you send a young friend who is not even of age...”
“Occultist Myo Shin was my junior brother.”
“What?”
At Sak’s words, Madam Seok frowned. Myo Shin had looked like a middle-aged man who had practiced the occult arts for many years. Yet this woman, Sak, was merely nineteen.
And Occultist Myo Shin was her junior brother? As she wondered, Sak spoke.
“Occultists receive one of six ranks based on their skill. From the top, they are Divine, Sun, Moon, Adept, Fathomless, and Courier. Junior Brother Myo Shin was a Spirit Courier, the lowest rank, having just completed five years.”
“The lowest rank?”
As far as Madam Seok knew, Occultist Myo Shin was quite renowned in Dream City. But he was an Occultist of the lowest rank?
“Then what about you?”
“I am a Spirit Adept.”
It was the fourth of the six titles, two ranks higher than Myo Shin. At Sak’s words, Madam Seok stared at her for a moment. Her still youthful appearance and her strangely bold and insolent attitude were bothersome, but if what she said was true, she would be better than Myo Shin, not worse.
“Madam. I will go again and...”
Madam Seok held out her hand, cutting off the Guard Ho-aeng.
“Very well. I will entrust the job to you.”
“Madam?”
“Since this Occultist claims to be skilled, let us see for ourselves.”
For now, she decided to entrust it to her. If she failed, just like with Myo Shin, she would save the silver coins. And it would also give her a reason to protest to the Ghost Shadow Pavilion.
Madam Seok rose from her seat.
“There is something I need to show you. Follow me.”
With those words, she went outside and led the way to a warehouse-like place located behind Radiant Blossoms Hall. Upon entering, there was another door. A waiting servant opened it and lit a lamp.
A flame ignited with a roar. As she entered, Madam Seok covered her nose with her sleeve. It was because of a terrible stench.
Madam Seok pointed to a corpse covered with a straw mat, with only its feet showing.
“This is Occultist Myo's body.”
The identity of the corpse was none other than the deceased Myo Shin. She had made it look as though he was burned, but had hidden the body to show to another Occultist. Sak approached the body of the dead Myo Shin.
And she removed the mat.
“Junior Brother.”
Sak stared intently at the dead Myo Shin's face with trembling eyes. It was said that there was little affection among Occultists, but the death of someone she knew was bound to be unpleasant. Madam Seok asked her, “How do you think he died?”
A direct question. To this question, Sak answered in a low tone.
“The cause of death is not judged by what is seen. One only listens to the dead.”
Then, she brought her hand to the dead Myo Shin’s face. At that sight, Madam Seok and the Guard Ho-aeng frowned and turned their heads slightly. They didn't have the courage to touch a stinking corpse with their bare hands.
Sak touched Myo Shin's face and closed her eyes. And then, she formed a hand seal with her left hand.
‘All! Battle! Forward!’
The outer binding seal, the External Binding Seal, and then the seal of the soldier. Having formed the seals of the Nine Syllable Vitality Art, Sak recited something in a small voice.
“Three Names Recognition Art. The Northern Emperor has granted me authority. Therefore, reveal all that you have experienced. By my command, act with haste.”
The atmosphere was unusual. The air seemed to grow heavy. What in the world was she doing?
Both Madam Seok and the Guard Ho-aeng held their breath and watched her. Soon, a strange sight unfolded before their eyes. The entire body of the dead Myo Shin began to tremble on its own.
‘The, the corpse is moving by itself?’
So startled was the Guard Ho-aeng that she covered her mouth and unknowingly took a step back. Madam Seok, on the other hand, only frowned at such a sight and was not greatly frightened. Rather, since she was not watching the process of the occult art from afar, she focused on how it was proceeding.
“Reveal all. By my command, act with...”
Sak bit down hard on her lip, her expression distorting for a moment.
‘Just as I thought.’
Her prediction was not wrong. When Sak pulled back the left hand that was maintaining the seal, the dead Myo Shin’s mouth opened wide and then closed. After that, his movements ceased.
Sak opened her eyes slightly and released the hand seal.
“What happened?”
Sak did not say a word to that question. Then, she opened her eyes, removed her hand, and spoke.
“I asked my junior brother.”
“Asked? Did the dead person really answer...”
“Of course not. Unless the soul remains in the spirit, he cannot answer directly.”
“…”
Is she playing with words now? Didn't she just say she asked? As if reading her thoughts, Sak continued.
“All the dead carry their traces.”
“Traces?”
“In the spirit of a corpse that has not passed forty-nine days, a spiritual trace remains. If you awaken that trace, you can see how the owner of the spirit met his death.”
“Then did you see who did it?”
“I could not see.”
“What does that mean? Just a moment ago you clearly said that before forty-nine days…”
“When a life is taken by a killing curse, only a fragment of the final moment remains, making it difficult for even a skilled Occultist to confirm exactly how he died.”
‘Fear…’
The final fragment of Occultist Myo Shin that she saw was extreme fear. It was its influence that made her bite her lip. This in itself was not special.
But would a man living as an Occultist be so terrified just because he was struck by a killing curse? Of course, if it was a Yellow Spirit-rank vengeful spirit, it might have been too much for someone with a mere Spirit Courier title to handle, so it was certainly possible. Madam Seok asked, “...
So you couldn't find out anything?”
“That is not the case.”
“What do you mean?”
“To die by a killing curse means it was a death by an anomaly. Seeing how hideously the veins on the corpse have risen, this is no ordinary vengeful spirit.”
At those words, Madam Seok's gaze sharpened. This was precisely the point she had been questioning.
“So it is true that he was killed by an anomaly?”
“Yes. A very strong vengeful spirit.”
“I knew it. It was that child's doing. Ahhh.”
The answer she wanted had come. That means that fiend Mok Gyeong-un used an anomaly to kill Occultist Myo Shin and even threatened the life of her maid, So-hwa. As everything became clear, she trembled with rage.
What kind of person was he that even a vengeful spirit would help him? Madam Seok spoke sharply, her voice filled with anger.
“You can solve this, can't you?”
At her question, Sak asked in return, “It is possible, if you can promise me one thing for certain.”
“What is it?”
“Not all anomalies are the same. A vengeful spirit is the antithesis of life-nurturing, so it cannot be used as a Spirit Guardian in the first place. Therefore, we must assume he is possessed.”
“So?”
“If what was stated in the request is correct, the Young Master named Mok Gyeong-un may have already had his spirit taken by the anomaly and lost his soul. Considering this, during the exorcism...”
Madam Seok cut off the complicated explanation.
“Just get to the point.”
“... There is a high probability that he will die. Is that acceptable?”
At Sak’s words, the corners of Madam Seok’s lips curled up slightly. It was what she wanted.
“I don’t care.”
Seeing her like this, Sak sneered inwardly. It was truly laughable how a family could covet each other's lives for the sake of a succession struggle. But it was not her business to care.
She drew a wooden dagger from the leather belt at her waist.
“What are you trying to do?”
“First, I will return the killing curse to weaken the vengeful spirit and its host.”
“How?”
“To be struck by a reverse killing curse is a pain so agonizing you would wish for death. Just watch.”
Sak took out a talisman from her robes. On the talisman, the character [逆 (Reverse)] was written in red ink. Wrapping it around the wooden dagger, she unhesitatingly plunged it into the chest of the dead Occultist Myo Shin.
Stab!
“Northern Emperor's Evil-Striking Incantation! By my command, act with haste!”
(The Northern Emperor has granted me the authority to use this talisman to strike down evil spirits! By my command, act with haste!)
Crack!
At that moment, the body of the dead Occultist Myo Shin contorted.
“Haa. Damned mortal.”
Smoke drifted from the Blue Spirit's red lips. With a displeased face, she circulated her energy and glared at Mok Gyeong-un. What in the world was that guy's identity?
If one reverses the flow of energy circulation, it is normal to suffer qi deviation, become a cripple, or even die. But he was gathering the aura of death, death energy. Those who could be influenced by or sense death energy were the dead, vengeful spirits like themselves.
But Mok Gyeong-un was a living human. Was this even possible? …A living human gathering the aura of death. It was an unprecedented sight.
But she didn't know yet. It was an unknown territory that no living human had ever entered, so it was difficult to guarantee that he could circulate and handle death energy like the energy of life-nurturing, just because he was gathering it. To handle the aura of death was, quite literally, no different from entering the realm of the dead.
“Hoo.”
A hint of curiosity appeared in her blood-red gaze as she exhaled a thick cloud of smoke. Could a living human truly gather and even control the aura of death? This was quite interesting and provided a great stimulus.
But then, something slithered through the air. The Blue Spirit, who had been watching Mok Gyeong-un, raised an eyebrow.
“This is?”
The Blue Spirit stared in a northeasterly direction. Then the Demonic Monk also flinched and looked to the northeast, and soon stood in front of Mok Gyeong-un, who was gathering death energy, as if to act as his guard. Tension filled the Demonic Monk’s gaze.
At that moment, the Demonic Monk clutched his chest and his body was pushed back. A cascade of energy washed over him. As if under some immense pressure, the Demonic Monk crossed his arms and contorted his face.
Wounds began to appear all over the Demonic Monk’s large body. Even his veins bulged hideously. At that, the eyelids of Mok Gyeong-un, who was concentrating on the reverse energy circulation with his eyes closed, trembled.
At this rate, he would be struck by the killing curse. Seeing this, the Blue Spirit's blood-red gaze deepened.
“How dare a mere mortal.”
The Blue Spirit, who was on the ceiling, descended gracefully as if spreading her wings. Then she swung her long pipe towards the direction from which the reverse killing curse came and parted her red lips.
“Begone.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the gray smoke flowing from the Demonic Monk's wounds gathered into one and surged towards the northeast.
Stab! Stab! Stab!
Sak, maintaining the hand seal with her left hand, was frantically stabbing the corpse with the talisman-wrapped wooden dagger. Madam Seok, feeling a strange thrill at the sight, trembled. The thought that that devilish Mok Gyeong-un would be in agony was so exciting she couldn't calm down.
‘More! More! Suffer more!’
Stab! Stab!
As the corpse was savaged, she felt a sense of release. Sak, who had been stabbing the body indiscriminately, now raised the dagger to stab the dead Myo Shin between the eyebrows. It was at that very moment.
Sak's body was thrown back and collided with the warehouse wall.
Crash!
“Ack!”
Sak, who had crashed into the wall, let out a groan and dropped the dagger. Looking at her palm after dropping the dagger, she saw it was red and swollen in the shape of the dagger, as if she had been burned. Then, black blood trickled from her mouth.
“Occultist Sak!”
Startled, Madam Seok supported her. It was difficult to understand what had just happened.
“What’s wrong?”
"........."
Sak could not answer her question. The shock she suddenly received was so great that she was suffering the pain of her five viscera and six bowels twisting.
‘The reverse killing curse… to counter the reverse killing curse…’
Sak’s mismatched eyes trembled. This was a completely unexpected situation. Something terrifyingly evil and powerful had intervened.
‘…This is not just a Yellow Spirit-rank.’
It was a vengeful spirit of a higher rank.