Requiem of Subdued Souls

Chapter 85: Flute Of Foreboding (5)

Baek Eon, Song Ok, and Hyo Wol all went pale.

What is this? Where did Seol Young go, and from where did this monster come?

While they looked shocked, the monster attacked.

Long sharp claws cut through the wind and attacked. The three of them raised their swords and struck back.

It wasn’t an ordinary monster. It seemed like the monster was using both its hands and feet, but there weren’t any loopholes.

It wouldn’t be so difficult to surround it if they hadn’t mistaken it for Seol Young.

‘Just what…?’

The three were shocked and attacked, and their swords began to encircle the monster.

Like a tiger attacking its prey, holding it tightly in front of its paws, they overpowered the monster and knocked it down in an instant.

The moment they barely took a breath…

“Eldest-rang! Second-rang! Third-rang!”

Seol Young was surprised and ran.

He heard the voices of his hyungs and ran to see them.

How nice!

Besides, it seemed like the three of them were able to catch Seo Jun, so without waiting, he swung the Blue Rainbow sword.

Seo Jun screamed.

Hearing that, Zaha ran over, and a golden aura flew like a whip and hit Seo Jun. No matter how tough he was, he couldn’t remain unscathed after receiving such blows in succession.

“Hooo…”

Seo Jun’s body staggered. At that moment, Seo Geom ran.

“Where?!”

“Here!”

The Hwarangs of the White Tiger Spirit Troops’ eyes widened.

‘What is this?’

The place was a mess, and one thing was certain—this was miles different from what they were thinking.

First, Seol Young wasn’t alone here; Zaha was here too. Second, Seol Young wasn’t being chased by the Blue Dragons; he was chasing something with them.

And the target was a monster dressed in the robes of the Blue Dragons.

Baek-Song-Wol finally understood.

Seol Young came to help catch the monster. The reason the troops closed the doors to their hall was not to let the monster out.

“…”

The three knew nothing.

“We made a big mistake…”

Song Ok’s face was red, while Hyo Wol wanted to crawl under a stone.

Baek Eon was so embarrassed that his earlobes were all red.

“…”

Seo Geom looked at them. They thought Seol Young was being imprisoned here and came in without another thought…

In the end, it was a good thing.

Seo Jun was very familiar with this place. He knew every corner since he grew up here, so he could run wherever he wanted. He had an idea of where the holes and side roads around the place were.

His family was a mess because he managed to sneak out every time.

And while they struggled to catch him, the three Hwarangs from other troops were able to catch Seo Jun. Thanks to them, he was caught.

“Thank you.”

Seo Geom bowed his head and greeted them. Entering through the closed gate was something no one should do.

The three were relieved only then, and Hyo Wol stood tall.

“Well, this… why is this place a mess? How did this happen? What monster is that? Allow us to take a look at what it is.”

Silence fell.

The Hwarangs of the Blue Dragon Troops had a complicated expression.

What was wrong with what he said?

Hyo Wol was puzzled.

Seo Geom’s sword was raging with spiritual qi, and it turned into a flame and wrapped around the blade. It was a technique that Seol Young had never seen before.

“What?”

“You don’t know that yet?”

Zaha said.

“Look at the center.”

As instructed, Seol Young looked at the center of the flame.

And he was surprised.

“Is that clear qi?”

Clear qi was the essence of the soul. It was the most precious form of spiritual qi.

“Right. That is the Asura Flames of the Blue Dragons. It is a technique that requires sacrificing one’s life to burn down the opponent. In terms of its principle, it is like giving flesh to burn down bone. Do you know what that is?”

“…”

Of course, he knew.

He had seen it in Zaha’s memories. It was a technique of luring evil spirits and imprisoning them inside one’s body, then committing suicide. It was a way to annihilate enemies by giving up one’s soul.

This was the same.

Zaha said.

“Of course, Seo Jun-rang isn’t even up to the level of the God of Cataclysm. Even if he uses the Asura Flames, he will be able to recover it back.”

However, for those who consumed their clear qi, it was not something that could be easily resolved. Everyone wants to continue living, so who would want to shorten it?

It would only happen when one hated the opponent.

“…”

Seo Geom pointed the sword at his brother with a face of resentment.

Both Seol Young and Zaha opposed what he was planning, but they just watched him.

The tip of his sword was trembling.

At that time, Euljae came running and cried out in shock,

“No!”

Seo Geom barely managed to pull it out.

Baek Eon and the others were shocked.

‘What is happening? Who is that monster?’

They looked at Seol Young.

“Do not be surprised.”

Seol Young said.

“It might be someone you would’ve never imagined.”

Zaha also added, and he strode over and brushed off the scattered hair of the monster, which had fallen to the floor. His face was revealed through his hair.

“…?”

Baek Eon, Song Ok, and Hyo Wol were shocked. As if they had been hit on the back of their heads. A familiar face appeared so suddenly that it gave them a headache.

The name was buried deep in their memories.

“… Seo Jun-rang?”

Zaha nodded at the strangely muttered name.

“Right. It is Seo Jun-rang.”

“Uh, how…”

The eyes of the three looked helpless. Then they headed back to Seol Young.

“What happened?”

Seol Young sighed lightly.

“I will explain everything.”

They went back to the library to talk about what happened.

How they had run into Seo Jun, how they caught him, how he was running berserk…

Baek Eon, Song Ok, and Hyo Wol couldn’t keep their mouths shut.

They were the same. Until now, they knew that Seo Jun-rang was killed by an evil spirit on his way back from a mission.

“I cannot believe this…”

Baek Eon expressed his sincere regret. Killing five Hwarangs and then committing suicide.

He couldn’t imagine what it would be like to go through something like that. He thought Seo Geom had become too violent and cruel for some reason.

But such a horrid thing happened.

Baek Eon opened his mouth.

“When we briefly ran into each other, I didn’t think Seo Jun-rang was a human…”

“Yes.”

Seol Young replied.

“Even though he acts like a living person, at some point, he loses his reason and runs out of control. Even then, when he wakes up, he is fine.”

And he carefully voiced out what he had been thinking,

“Looking at this, he doesn’t seem like a Disfigured Spirit.”

“…”

“In order to become a Disfigured Spirit, the soul needs to change completely, right? And no matter how we look at it, Seo Jun-rang’s condition goes back and forth between being normal and not. If he is a Disfigured Spirit, is that possible?”

“But…”

Seo Geom spoke with a strange look on his face.

“Unless it’s that, my brother’s condition cannot be explained.”

“In what way?”

“First, his sword skills. It is impossible for him to stab five Hwarangs to death. It would only be possible if he had been possessed by a spirit that gave him strength.”

Seo Geom spoke in a calm tone.

“Second, at the time the five Hwarangs were stabbed by my brother after a fierce confrontation, my brother wouldn’t have been able to endure the injuries. It can be explained that his nature changed after being possessed.”

“…”

“And if he isn’t a Disfigured Spirit, then aren’t we talking about a bigger problem? Do you think he could kill five people on his own? That is a delusion!”

“Seo Geom-rang.”

Zaha called out.

“Just because we want it doesn’t mean that it is the truth. The more you look into it, the more you think there is more to it, right? We need to find the truth behind this at all costs.”

He was in deep thought.

“At that time, a total of six people, two from each troop, left for the mission. I remember that it wasn’t a difficult task…”

“Yes.”

Seo Geom, who clearly remembered those times, nodded.

“The mission was to head to Bihwa and find out the cause of the frequent landslides. And as feared, it wasn’t some spirit but a natural occurrence.”

“But it happened on their way back…”

Silence fell again. Then, suddenly, the sound of a flute flowed through the wind. The melody was very calming and pleasant to listen to.

“Is it Master Euljae?”

Seol Young understood it right away. In the past, when he fought with the Blue Dragon Troops, he heard Euljae play the flute many times.

“Did you give the Divine Dragon verse to your uncle?”

At Zaha’s question, Seo Geom nodded.

“Yes, Uncle requested it. As the High Governor knows, I am not great when it comes to playing soft notes, so he said he would do it. Judging by the sound, it seems that the transfer has just finished.”

“Transfer.”

“The confinement. A prison for the most serious crimes, where there will be no escape.”

Seo Geom stood up.

“Then let’s go to Uncle.”

He greeted Zaha and looked at Baek Eon.

“Shouldn’t the White Tiger Troops also come?”

“How can we not?”

Baek Eon shook his head.

“This isn’t an incident that only concerns the Blue Dragons. It is for the entire Hwarang troops. In order to reveal the truth behind Seo Jun-rang’s death, I think it is right for the White Tiger Troops to do everything in their power to help.”

And he sighed lightly.

“At that time, our people weren’t selected for the mission because of our small number, and so the others had to send in two. However, if the circumstances were different, then it would have been us and not your troops who might have gone through it. Then Seo Geom-rang would have come to help us, right?”

He showed his intention to help fully. Seo Geom’s pride wasn’t touched.

Seol Young, who was listening, remembered something.

‘Wait.’

The words that Baek Eon-rang just said. They contained meaningful information that he hadn’t thought of before.

‘Right. That’s what it was.’