A Tale Of A Scribe Who Retires To The Countryside [EN]: Chapter 365

365. The Great Devil Cauldron

The grotesque figures, resurrected from death, approached slowly with gleaming red eyes. They were a ghastly and repulsive sight, like living corpses.

“Eek.”

Seorin recoiled in horror. Sasooyeon frowned and aimed Myeong [her sword] at the grotesque figures.

Dang Worah’s expression was hidden behind her veil, but she, too, couldn’t hide her unease. Only Geomhee remained expressionless.

“Tch.”

Nogun clicked his tongue. He drew Soryeong [his sword] and guarded against the demon in front of Sonbin. But the demon was slowly retreating.

“Struggle in vain.”

The demon spoke in a metallic voice, concealing itself in the darkness of the ruined palace.

“This land, and everything under the sky, will belong to Him. And only then will you…”

The demon’s red eyes glowed in the darkness.

“Regret today’s choice.”

It was like a curse. With those words, the demon vanished completely into the darkness.

“W-what do we do?”

Seorin’s voice was filled with panic. It was a natural reaction for Seorin, who had never experienced anything like this before. Sasooyeon, Dang Worah, and even Geomhee were the same.

No, who in the world could have experienced something like this?

“What do you mean, what do we do?”

Nogun was also experiencing this for the first time. But he frowned and shouted without hesitation.

“Just blow them away!”

Nogun’s resounding shout instantly awakened the shaken group. Sasooyeon, Dang Worah, Geomhee, and Seorin immediately charged towards the black grotesque figures.

Pa pa pat.

Sasooyeon flew towards the grotesque figure in front of her. Even with the blade of Myeong, shimmering with blue energy, before it, the grotesque figure merely sneered.

“Kekeke.”

Swish.

The grotesque figure’s pale hand slashed through the air. It was an empty hand, but Sasooyeon could clearly sense the danger emanating from its fingertips.

Whoosh.

Sasooyeon’s slender body twisted lithely in the air, and at the same time, a tremendous force tore through the air.

Kwaaaang.

It struck the ruins like an invisible spear. The earthen walls crumbled instantly, and even the remaining roof collapsed.

Swoosh.

Meanwhile, Sasooyeon’s sword, Myeong, emitted a blue aura and fell towards the grotesque figure.

Even in the face of Myeong’s terrifying sword energy, the grotesque figure didn’t flinch. Just as it seemed the grotesque figure would be split in two.

Whoong.

The grotesque figure disappeared. It didn’t move quickly, nor did it deceive the eye. It simply vanished before Sasooyeon’s eyes.

‘What!’

Sasooyeon’s eyes widened. And she felt a chilling sensation creeping up behind her.

There was no time to assess the situation. Sasooyeon immediately twisted her body and scattered her sword in the air.

Kakakang.

A sharp sound echoed as the grotesque figure’s pale bare hand collided with Sasooyeon’s Myeong. Surprisingly, the grotesque figure had blocked Myeong with its bare hand.

Moreover, the repulsive force transmitted through Myeong’s blade was incredibly heavy, comparable to that of a supreme master.

But there was no time to be surprised. The grotesque figure was already raising its other hand. There was no preparatory motion, no feeling of gathering internal energy.

Kwaga Kwang.

The tremendous destructive power erupted without fail with just a light gesture.

The spot where Sasooyeon had been standing was instantly shattered, and dust filled the air. But Sasooyeon was no longer there.

“Keke, keuk.”

The grotesque figure let out a rough, metallic laugh. But it couldn’t finish its laugh. Because Myeong’s blade was already embedded in its chest.

Skeok.

Myeong split the grotesque figure in two. A moment ago, Sasooyeon had avoided the grotesque figure’s energy and instead burrowed into its embrace.

Thud.

There was no blood, no scream. The grotesque figure collapsed on the spot. Even though the grotesque figure possessed tremendous destructive power, it couldn’t defeat Sasooyeon, who had reached the realm of extraordinary skill.

But that wasn’t the end of it. Black demonic energy slowly gathered towards the grotesque figure and began to restore its body.

Sreuk, sreuk.

The grotesque sight of the sticky demonic energy writhing was enough to evoke an instinctive sense of disgust in Sasooyeon.

The same was true for Dang Worah and Geomhee. Sowol and Binggeom had split the grotesque figures in two, but again, a black mist-like demonic energy was gathering towards the grotesque figures.

At this rate, the grotesque figures would soon rise again. The grotesque figure’s sneer probably meant this endless battle.

“Get out of the way!”

It was then. Nogun flew towards Sasooyeon, or rather, towards the grotesque figure that Sasooyeon had cut down.

Thwack.

Without the slightest hesitation, Nogun kicked away half of the severed grotesque figure.

It was a gruesome sight, but perhaps because of the awareness that the opponent wasn’t alive, Sasooyeon merely frowned slightly.

Whoong.

The grotesque figure’s remains flew through the air at tremendous speed. And as it passed through the boundary of the black mist surrounding the peak, something strange happened.

Whoosh.

The grotesque figure disappeared completely. Not just the coat it was wearing, but the grotesque figure’s body itself vanished as if melting into the black mist.

“Damn it.”

Nogun grimaced and muttered, then looked at the other half of the remaining grotesque figure.

Whoooooong.

The sticky black demonic energy writhed and began to reconstruct the grotesque figure’s body. It was creating the missing parts anew.

“Hmm, is it a little slower than before?”

As Nogun said, it was definitely slower. But if this continued, defeating the grotesque figure would be meaningless. It would keep rising again.

“I’ll try.”

Sonbin stepped forward. His Baengno [sword] had cut through the demonic energy of the abyss. It would surely inflict serious damage on these grotesque figures as well.

“No, right now, that vanished demon is more of a problem than these things.”

Nogun said with a serious expression. Even the terrifying grotesque figures that revived even after being killed were merely ‘these things’ to Nogun.

“That guy, his sudden disappearance is suspicious. Besides, if we don’t cut off the root, this matter won’t end anyway.”

“The root…?”

At Sonbin’s question, Nogun twitched his eyebrows.

“The place where this damn demonic energy is flowing out from. It’s also the direction that demon disappeared in.”

Nogun glared at the inner part of the palace ruins where the demon had disappeared. Black demonic energy was flowing out like a mist from there.

“Let’s go!”

With those words, Nogun kicked away the remaining grotesque figure’s remains. And he immediately tried to fly into the palace ruins.

“W-wait a minute. What about me?”

The voice that grabbed Nogun’s leg belonged to Seorin, who looked like she was about to cry.

Seorin’s Hongjinmanri [Taoist martial art] was more effective at overwhelming the grotesque figures than others due to the nature of Taoist martial arts, but she couldn’t finish them off.

She simply had no means to sever the grotesque figures.

“Just tear them apart with your hands, then?”

Nogun’s words were merciless.

In fact, with Seorin’s Jogon (爪功) [claw technique], tearing the grotesque figures in two would be simple. Wasn’t she Seorin, who had mastered the authentic internal martial arts of Wudang and inherited the teachings of Hwanghak Jin-in [a master of Wudang]?

“I can’t! I don’t even want to touch them.”

Whooong, kwaaaang.

Seorin, looking like she was about to cry, dodged the grotesque figure’s attacks with flexible movements and wielded Hongjinmanri. The grotesque figure, swept away by Hongjinmanri’s energy, lost its balance and fell to the ground.

She was toying with the grotesque figure as if twisting a child’s arm, but she couldn’t deliver the final blow.

“Ugh.”

Nogun rubbed his forehead, when suddenly a streak of white sword energy soared and cut the grotesque figure in half.

Swish.

With a single strike, the grotesque figure was easily separated into its upper and lower body. The grotesque figure, which had been trying to rise, collapsed without a scream or groan.

“Oh…”

Seorin’s eyes widened. The sword energy was Geomhee’s. Geomhee, who had split the grotesque figure in one go, looked at Seorin with her characteristic cold expression and said.

“No time to play.”

It was clearly a sharp scolding, but Seorin was rather touched.

“T-thank you. Sis.”

How could she not be grateful to Geomhee, who had saved her from her predicament? Seorin put her hands together and looked up at Geomhee with tears in her eyes.

“Sis, you’re a good person…”

Geomhee blinked silently at the sight of the large, gentle puppy looking up at her with tears in its eyes.

‘Huh? She’s flustered?’

Sonbin could somehow sense the change in expression that Geomhee had just shown. Sasooyeon seemed to feel the same, as she gave an awkward smile.

“What are you doing? Let’s go quickly!”

Thwack.

Nogun kicked the grotesque figure’s remains. Seorin also shuddered and wielded Hongjinmanri to send the remaining parts of the grotesque figure flying far away.

Whoooooong.

The sticky black demonic energy that was gathering from all directions began to rapidly reconstruct the grotesque figures’ bodies.

But Sonbin and his party were already running like they were flying towards the palace ruins. Seorin, in particular, didn’t even look back.

Tak.

“Which way do we go?”

Sasooyeon, who was the first to enter the ruins, looked around and asked.

The palace ruins were smaller than expected. This was probably unavoidable, as it was built on the summit of Hwangtosan Peak. Moreover, it was covered in collapsed debris, making it difficult to find the way quickly.

‘Ugh.’

Sasooyeon frowned without realizing it. The already eerie black mist was thick, and if they had to go underground, anyone would hesitate.

Thud.

But Nogun immediately flew towards the underground stairs. Sasooyeon bit her lip and followed Nogun.

Geomhee, Dang Worah, and Seorin also didn’t hesitate. Seorin, in particular, ran without looking back, perhaps because she thought the grotesque figures would follow from behind.

Pa pak.

The underground stairs were deeper and darker than expected. Ordinary darkness couldn’t blind them, but this darkness was demonic energy.

No matter how skilled they were, it was difficult to find their way properly in such a place. But the group narrowly avoided hitting the walls with their incredible reflexes and sprinted down the underground stairs.

The underground stairs passed through many other floors and led deep beneath the ground. But the group didn’t even glance at the other floors. The demonic energy was starting from the deepest bottom.

Tak.

How deep had they gone? At some point, the stairs suddenly ended. And the group found themselves standing in the middle of a large underground space.

“Where did that guy go?”

Nogun said, looking around with sharp eyes.

There was no sign of human movement. Only dim lamps were lit sparsely, illuminating the surroundings.

Sonbin also got out of Nogun’s arms and looked around. Seorin quickly approached and pushed away the demonic energy from Sonbin’s side.

‘Is this the royal inner palace…? No, is it like a banquet hall?’

The walls around, illuminated by the dim lamps, were filled with murals that told of the former glory of this place.

Not only were there the explicit Thangka paintings [Tibetan Buddhist paintings] unique to Tibetan Buddhism, but also the dancing figures of the kingdom’s nobles, envoys from other countries, and beautiful women, all depicted in splendid colors of gold and silver.

Judging from the colorful and flamboyant style of the paintings, rather than solemn, it seemed to be a royal inner palace or a banquet hall.

‘This is really amazing.’

Not only Sonbin, but anyone would have been impressed. There was once a royal palace that enjoyed such tremendous wealth and glory in the desolate Moonlit Valley.

Among the envoys depicted in the murals were people wearing the attire of not only India but also Persia. Potala Palace [a famous Tibetan palace] was also a great building, but this palace was truly a secret wonder.

As Sonbin looked at the murals with shining eyes, Seorin, who was standing next to him, frowned and muttered.

“Ugh, it really smells terrible.”

That was probably because the demonic energy here was very strong. The surroundings were filled with sticky demonic energy to the point that it was meaningless to look for a place with more demonic energy.

That was why Nogun couldn’t find the direction quickly. In addition, everyone was emitting their energy to push back the demonic energy, so even Nogun’s senses were bound to be confused.

—Kuaaaa.

“There!”

With a chilling scream echoing around them, Nogun flew off. He seemed to have no fear of what might be there.

“Seorin, take care of Young Master Son!”

Sasooyeon shouted as she followed Nogun. Seorin immediately picked up Sonbin and kicked off the ground.

The place Nogun headed to was like a round corridor. After passing through a short corridor filled with strange decorations and colorful murals, a large underground space appeared.

No one cared why there was such a large room deep underground, or what this place was originally for.

Thump.

Because demonic energy was constantly flowing out from a huge black incense burner in the very center of the underground space.

“That…”

Even if Nogun hadn’t said it with a frown, everyone could tell. That black incense burner was the source of the demonic energy.

“This place is.”

A sinister, metallic voice echoed.

Woong.

Nogun immediately drew Soryeong. Soryeong emitted a blue aura and made a sound.

The same was true for Sasooyeon, Dang Worah, and Geomhee. Seorin drew Hongjinmanri and stood guard in front of Sonbin.

“The Dharma Hall [a Buddhist hall] of the old king who ruled the forgotten kingdom.”

A demon appeared from behind the black incense burner. He was still wearing a black coat, but his red eyes were burning with an eerie intensity.

“In this deepest and most secret Dharma Hall, the king erected a Buddha statue just for himself. And he declared this place to be the center of this land, a supremely pure land [淨土 – Pure Land].”

At the demon’s words that the king had erected a Buddha statue here, Sonbin glanced upwards. But perhaps because of the thick demonic energy, he couldn’t see anything.

There was no trace of a Buddha statue, and he couldn’t even see the ceiling. But at least there must be an end. This was underground, and there must be a ceiling.

“The king did not leave this Dharma Hall. He desperately wanted something to soothe his fear of having been chased to the distant border.”

The demon, who had been speaking, suddenly laughed. A laugh darker than darkness, more empty than empty space.

“Isn’t it funny? To build a Buddha statue in this place, made with the blood of countless people, to save himself from fear.”

Sonbin could understand what he was saying.

Historically, it was common to mobilize the people for harsh labor. And it was also common to grant undue authority to buildings built on their blood.

“In the end, the Great Devil Cauldron (大魔鼎) was placed here, so he failed to avoid what he feared so much.”

The demon’s burning red eyes stared straight at Sonbin.

“The fate of endless reincarnation, bound to the realm of desire and suffering forever.”

“Enough with the nonsense.”

Nogun, who had dismissed the demon’s meaningful words as nonsense, said casually.

“So, in the end, this Great Devil Cauldron or whatever is the culprit that made the monsters run wild, right? Right?”

Whirr.

The red light emanating from the demon’s eyes flickered intensely. Nogun smirked at the sight.

“You’re getting angry just because I interrupted you… More than that, there’s something I’m really curious about.”

Nogun shrugged and continued.

“Why did you run away to a place like this? Even the five of you couldn’t handle our Bin, so what are you going to do alone? You don’t think that Great Devil Cauldron or whatever can do anything to our Bin…”

As he spoke, Nogun had an ‘aha’ expression. Another possibility, no, the sight he had already seen before entering this place flashed through his mind.

The gruesome sight of the black mist mutating the monsters once again.

“…The Great Devil Cauldron is merely a vessel.”

As expected? The demon’s red eyes looked at Nogun with a clear sneer.

“A very rare object in this world that can withstand the demonic energy of the abyss, but that’s all it is. But when this Great Devil Cauldron is filled with the demonic energy of the abyss.”

—Kiiiiiiiiing.

The Great Devil Cauldron began to wail. The moment that eerie sound echoed, Nogun couldn’t help but groan.

“Keuk.”

A ghostly cry that was not of this world.

Perhaps it was like countless screams, or like the laughter of countless children, the ghostly cry was echoing throughout the Dharma Hall.

In that ghostly cry, the demon spoke. With a twisted and distorted smile that was no longer human.

“The power of the Demonic Heaven (魔天) descends upon this land.”

In an instant, a storm of black demonic energy erupted from the Great Devil Cauldron, filling the forgotten king’s Dharma Hall.

(Author’s words)

Demon: Kekeke, this is the second evolution!

Nogun: (Annoyed) Hurry up and turn off the microphone? It’s causing feedback!

Demon: Ah, sorry.