Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 463 – Karma (2)

Shadow Spear King Gyu Jong-sin and his three retainers, who had served him for a long time, frowned at the strange scene unfolding before their eyes.

This was because Gyu Jung-sun, the family’s heir, was behaving strangely all by himself.

He seemed to be attacking someone invisible, then suddenly writhed in pain as if his body was being constricted by something.

He even coughed up blood.

As they tried to help him,

“Kek kek. You… you damn girl! You’re… fake. Gyu… So-ha is… dead.”

‘!?’

They stopped at Jung-sun’s unexpected words.

What on earth was he saying?

Why was this child suddenly mentioning the dead So-ha?

“Family Head! The Young Master is still…”

“Wait… Leave him be for a moment.”

At the Family Head’s order, they left Jung-sun alone for a while.

But what followed was even more outrageous.

Though they couldn’t see anyone, Jung-sun seemed to be conversing with someone. Later, he unleashed a bizarre evil technique, then lunged at something invisible, making a strangling gesture, before uttering shocking words:

“You wench! How dare you try to take revenge on me!”

‘Revenge?’

“Stop? Stop? Kuhahahahaha!”

A laugh filled with madness.

The Family Head was left speechless at this side of Jung-sun he had never seen before.

Jung-sun’s face was the very embodiment of evil.

He had always shown a gentle demeanor, even maintaining his dignity after becoming the heir.

How had he hidden such a side?

As he wondered about this,

“I don’t know how you survived with your face crushed, but So-ha, you’re really stupid.”

‘!?’

At these words, the retainers were at a loss, shocked.

They had just heard something terrible that they shouldn’t have known.

What on earth was going on?

The confused retainers looked at the Family Head, but,

Osik!

The Family Head’s gaze towards Jung-sun was no longer that of a father looking at his child.

Unaware of this, Jung-sun continued to speak provocatively, completely disregarding his surroundings.

“Why, are you frustrated? You tried so hard to get revenge, but you couldn’t even do that properly, and now you’re about to die by my hands again.”

Gyu Jong-sin could no longer just watch Jung-sun.

Gyu Jong-sin aimed his personal weapon, the famous spear Han-wi, at Jung-sun’s neck and asked:

“Just now… Repeat what you said.”

At these words, Jung-sun’s expression, which had been revealing his madness without regard for anyone until just a moment ago, froze.

Jung-sun slowly raised his head, scanned his surroundings, and couldn’t hide his bewilderment.

“F-Father. Something…”

“Did you kill So-ha?”

“…”

He should have denied it immediately, but meeting the eyes of his adoptive father Gyu Jong-sin, whose face was calm but eyes burned with anger, Jung-sun was momentarily at a loss for words.

Jung-sun was at a complete loss for how to navigate this situation.

He was supposed to secure ‘that’ under His orders and then escape from the Heaven and Earth Society, but he didn’t know how to explain this.

Time was running out, and even if he tried to persuade them, would it work?

After all, he had said those things.

After considering numerous options in a split second, Jung-sun finally spoke.

“Father… This is a trap.”

“A trap?”

“I don’t know what kind of trick this is, but I seem to have fallen under some sort of evil spell. That’s why I might have said things that could be misunderstood, but it’s absolutely not true. You know, don’t you? How much I cared for… my elder sister.”

“…Didn’t you say you didn’t know how your elder sister died?”

“What?”

“It was a matter of that child’s honor, and I didn’t tell you because I was worried you’d be shocked. So how do you know about it?”

Gyu Jong-sin was one of the Five Kings of the Heaven and Earth Society.

Because of this, he had turned the Corpse Blood Valley and the Primal Killing Pavilion upside down to find out how his daughter Gyu So-ha had died.

However, because she had been killed so horribly, he had kept silent about it to Jung-sun.

‘Damn it.’

Jung-sun realized in an instant.

No matter what he said, there was no way to explain this.

There was only one option left.

‘I need to escape.’

Fortunately, he was still in the state of using the Exploding Acupoint Skill that he had taught him, so at this moment, even the Shadow Spear King Gyu Jong-sin wouldn’t be able to easily…

Puk!

At that moment, Shadow Spear King Gyu Jong-sin’s famous spear Han-wi pierced through his neck.

Jung-sun’s eyes widened, his mouth gaped open, and then his head drooped.

Even though his power had more than doubled due to the Exploding Acupoint Skill, he was merely an expert who had reached the peak of the transcendent realm, while Shadow Spear King Gyu Jong-sin was one of the Eight Stars called the highest experts in the martial world and had reached the realm of Transformation.

There was no way to escape from such a person when his neck was already targeted.

As Gyu Jong-sin glared at Jung-sun who had just breathed his last, a single tear fell from one of his eyes.

‘Ah, So-ha.’

Gyu Jong-sin’s heart ached terribly.

He was overwhelmed with sadness, remembering his only daughter who had died in agony, her face crushed by none other than her adopted brother.

As he shed tears,

Seureuk!

A strange thing happened before his eyes.

Right in front of him, the dead Gyu So-ha was looking at him with a loving expression.

“You… you…”

-Father.

His dead daughter called out to him.

If not for his wife’s last wish, he would have wanted to raise her as his daughter.

He wanted to raise her more beautifully than anyone else.

But he couldn’t.

He even sent her to the Corpse Blood Valley, which he didn’t want to, leading to her death.

Guilt and longing simultaneously enveloped his heart.

“I’m… I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry. To you… As a father, I… I only did terrible things.”

Gyu So-ha shook her head at him, who was choked with anguish.

Then she smiled brightly.

It was as if she was saying she was fine.

For a moment, Gyu Jong-sin’s lips trembled, his eyes reddened, and with a flushed face, he reached out towards his daughter.

But at that moment, Gyu So-ha’s body brightened, and then scattered like hundreds of fireflies flying away.

“So-ha! So-ha!”

Gyu Jong-sin waved his hands towards the scattering lights and then broke down in tears.

He had hoped she would resent him, but how could she leave with such a bright smile?

Ah, So-ha. So-ha. My one and only child.

‘Family Head.’

The three retainers looked with pity at the Family Head who was overcome with sorrow and weeping.

But then,

Pak!

Suddenly, the head of Jung-sun, who had just died, exploded.

‘!?’

The retainers couldn’t hide their bewilderment at this sight.

Although his neck had been pierced, it didn’t seem like the Family Head had specifically sent true qi to his head.

What on earth was happening?

***

In a dark hall.

Mok Gan, the leader of Secret Society, hidden in the shadows, shook his head as if disappointed.

The Heaven and Earth Society was the first place he had intended to unleash to inflict pain on him.

The Six Demons, the pinnacle of Imaemangyang and infinitely close to divine beasts, are each a disaster and calamity in themselves.

But it seemed things hadn’t gone as planned.

“Lord Mok Gan?”

The man with long hair and red lips cautiously called out, sensing his discomfort.

Just moments ago, he had been anticipating that a catastrophe would soon unfold at the Heaven and Earth Society.

Something seemed to have gone wrong.

Then Mok Gan waved his hand and said:

“We’ll give up on the Assassin King of the Sea.”

“What?”

“It doesn’t matter. The Restraining Badger was just the vanguard anyway. Now that even that has fallen into my hands, the tide has completely turned.”

The red-lipped man knew well what Mok Gan meant.

How many years had Mok Gan spent trying to obtain that?

Although it had been sealed for a long time, it was once considered the strongest Imaemangyang, unrivaled in demonic power among the Six Demons and comparable to the monstrous monkey that had transcended the natural order.

***

Paaaaang!

Someone was flying through the air at an incredible speed.

The one using the Sky-Traversing Void Technique[1], cutting through the air so fast it was difficult to perceive with the naked eye, was none other than Mok Gyeong-un.

Mok Gyeong-un, who had already awakened to the Supreme Sword, was traveling at a speed that far surpassed the level of ordinary lightness skill.

Flinch!

As he flew so quickly, Mok Gyeong-un suddenly furrowed his brow.

This was because,

‘Just now, that was?’

This sensation was unmistakable.

One of the connections linked to him had been severed.

Mok Gyeong-un had felt a similar sensation when he lost the spirit servant Wi Maeng-cheon.

This was completely different from when Cheong-ryeong’s connection was severed.

‘Could it be?’

Had one of the spirit servants been annihilated?

But it was quite different from that sensation, as there was almost no backlash that usually came with a severed connection.

What could this be?

As he was wondering,

Someone’s thoughts were transmitted into Mok Gyeong-un’s mind.

-Master.

The voice belonged to none other than the spirit servant Ma-seung.

-Ma-seung.

-The wooden box has been safely retrieved, and as you said, they came for it.

-…So what happened?

-The remaining pawns have been dealt with. However.

-However?

-Gyu So-ha resolved her grudge in the process.

-…

The severed connection wasn’t due to annihilation?

Then does it mean she attained enlightenment after resolving her grudge?

This was a situation he had never experienced before, even though he had spirit servants.

Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes took on a subtle look as he learned this.

Then, Cheong-ryeong’s voice echoed in his ear.

-What’s wrong?

-Pardon?

-What happened to make you have such an expression?

Cheong-ryeong had become able to read Mok Gyeong-un’s state of mind to some extent even from subtle changes in his expression.

Mok Gyeong-un didn’t answer her question.

This was because an unexpected new conflict had arisen in his mind.

The place he was heading to now was where Mok Gan’s main body was located.

-Mortal?

‘…’

As expected, Secret Society’s target was the Six Demons, who could be considered the pinnacle of spirit beasts.

Fortunately, they had prevented the Assassin King of the Sea sealed in the main hall of the Heaven and Earth Society, which could be considered their base, from being unsealed, but if Jin Ye-rin’s information was correct, there were still three more.

However, these three Six Demons were scattered in the northern, southwestern, and eastern parts of the Central Plains, so it was practically impossible, beyond just being rushed, to stop them in time.

Therefore, the most ideal method Mok Gyeong-un could take was only one.

‘Strike the head.’

Mok Gan, the leader of Secret Society and the source of everything.

If he could just kill him, the mastermind and root cause, all of this might naturally be resolved.

Including his and Cheong-ryeong’s revenge.

But a new worry had arisen.

What if… What if Mok Gan’s main body dies and Cheong-ryeong’s deep grudge, accumulated over a hundred years, is resolved?

Would she also unexpectedly attain enlightenment like Gyu So-ha?

For Mok Gyeong-un, who had never considered this aspect before, his mind couldn’t help but become complicated.

It might be better, even just in case, to first settle Cheong-ryeong into Wi So-yeon, who held her soul, so she could reincarnate, rather than targeting Mok Gan’s main body first, as he had planned to do.

However,

Kwak!

Mok Gyeong-un’s fist clenched.

If he didn’t deal with Mok Gan now that he knew the location of his main body, it might lead to the catastrophic outcome that he desired.

He was about to reach the location where he was, and he needed to make a decision.

Should he prioritize reviving Cheong-ryeong? Or should he prioritize eliminating him first?

As he was conflicted like this,

Flinch!

‘Oh no!’

Mok Gyeong-un’s gaze suddenly turned downward.

At that moment, a blindingly intense light surged up from the ground, enveloping him without giving him a chance to avoid it.