Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 76

-Tighten!

The eyes of Mo Ha-rang of the Demon Fire Hall trembled.

The faint form of chains enveloping her body looked like an illusion, but when she tried to move, they tightened further and restrained her.

She tried to draw up her internal energy, but Mok Gyeong-un approached her and said,

“The price for seeing what you wanted is quite steep, but are you okay with that?”

A smiling face.

But that smile was truly filled with malice.

There was no killing intent, so how could he smile like that?

In an instant, she recalled a story she had heard before.

[Among thousands and tens of thousands, there are those born with a murderous nature.]

[What is that?]

[It’s a disposition that finds joy, pleasure, and the reason for existence in death and destruction.]

[……..Isn’t that dangerous?]

[It is dangerous. But if they can be properly tamed, they can be said to be the best material for assassins.]

[The best?]

[Yes. Those with a murderous nature have no hesitation in killing someone. That’s why they don’t get swayed emotionally.]

[So that can become a talent.]

That was still when the Demon Fire Hall was called one of the four major assassin groups.

She thought that perhaps Mok Gyeong-un might be the murderous nature her father had spoken of back then.

If that was the case, she might have touched on something dangerous.

But that didn’t matter.

Mo Ha-rang looked straight into Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes and said,

“I will pay any price.”

“Any price?”

“If it means uncovering a secret, I’m prepared for it.”

“Prepared…..but there’s only one life, so can there be any price?”

Mok Gyeong-un still had a smiling face.

But the words coming out were extremely brutal.

-Master. Give me this human’s body.

The Green Spirit, Gyu Soha, said with a greedy gaze.

Hearing this voice, Mo Ha-rang flinched in surprise and looked at Gyu Soha.

At this, Gyu Soha tilted her head and muttered,

-Human. You can hear my voice too?

-Oho.

At those words, the Blue Spirit also showed interest.

That’s because although she deliberately revealed her appearance, she didn’t make her voice audible.

But being able to hear this meant,

-It seems the Spiritual Eye has opened.

“Spiritual Eye?”

-Yes. Unlike you, who has opened the Demon Eye to see the inner essence, it seems you have gained the eye to see souls at the crossroads of life and death.

The Blue Spirit called it the Spiritual Eye.

Perhaps unable to hear her voice, Mo Ha-rang couldn’t take her eyes off Gyu Soha.

Mo Ha-rang cautiously parted her lips.

“Are you……really a ghost?”

-What? Do I look like a mere human to you?

Gyu Soha raised the corners of his mouth.

The fear of living humans was no different from nourishment for vengeful spirits.

However, Mo Ha-rang showed a different emotion than fear.

“Ahhh.”

It seemed elevated somehow.

It was close to the emotion felt when seeing something one had been wanting to find.

At this, Mok Gyeong-un said to her,

“You’re showing an interesting reaction. Is seeing the dead your wish or something?”

“No. No. That’s not it.”

Mo Ha-rang’s voice trembled.

She turned her head to look at Mok Gyeong-un, and then, as if making a resolution, she spoke with force in her neck.

“I will pay any price you want. Even if it means my life.”

“………”

At her words, the interest in Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes faded away.

Having seen countless deaths, he had come to be able to distinguish to some extent between those who were truly prepared for death and those who weren’t, and she was closer to the former.

She was prepared to stake her life if necessary.

To such Mok Gyeong-un, she continued,

“But help me in return.”

“………Hmm. Help you, you say.”

Mok Gyeong-un muttered as if annoyed.

And then, bringing his finger to her throat, he said,

“Why should I do that? It’s just a bother.”

-Press!

His finger pressed into where her Adam’s apple was.

At this, she spoke with unwavering eyes.

“Body…….That ghost said it wants a body, right? If you grant my request, I’ll give you this body as much as you want.”

“It seems like you’re trying to make a deal, but even now, I can take your body without having to do that.”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Mo Ha-rang’s eyes sharpened.

At that moment, a sharp energy spread from her body.

-Clang! Clang!

Then, the chains created by Gyu Soha’s spiritual power were cut off.

At some point, sharp daggers were held in both of Mo Ha-rang’s hands.

The daggers were imbued with flickering killing energy, which was honed much sharper than that of Yeom Ga of the Vermillion Slaughter Cave.

-Step back.

The Blue Spirit warned.

At this, Mok Gyeong-un stepped back about half a step and slightly shook his head to the side.

At that moment, several trajectories drew lines in front of his eyes and narrowly grazed past Mok Gyeong-un.

If he had been a little late, a part of his body, including his chin, would have been cut off.

No, it was slightly cut.

-Trickle!

A drop of blood flowed down where the trajectory had passed.

‘Thread?’

It was much thinner than thread but had elasticity.

This thread-like thing tied behind the hilt of the dagger embedded in the floor surrounded the area to prevent movement.

Mo Ha-rang spoke in a chilling voice.

“Don’t underestimate me too much.”

Killing intent was emanating from her voice.

At this, Mok Gyeong-un smirked and said,

“You had a hidden trick up your sleeve.”

While that was happening, the Blue Spirit’s voice was heard.

-I thought I had seen that dagger technique somewhere before, but she has inherited the lineage of the Killing King.

“The lineage of the Killing King?”

As soon as Mok Gyeong-un’s question ended, a glint appeared in Mo Ha-rang’s eyes.

She spoke in a tone of incomprehension.

“What are you?”

Mo Ha-rang was genuinely amazed.

She never thought the words “lineage of the Killing King” would come out of Mok Gyeong-un’s mouth.

-It would be stranger not to think of the Killing King after seeing the Linked Kill and the Flash Shadow Flying Dagger Technique.

Mok Gyeong-un directly repeated those words of the Blue Spirit.

“It would be stranger not to think of the Killing King after seeing the Linked Kill and the Flash Shadow Flying Dagger Technique.”

‘!?’

At those words, Mo Ha-rang’s eyes widened.

Many people knew about the Linked Kill, so there were few who didn’t know about it.

However, the Flash Shadow Flying Dagger Technique was different.

This was a secret technique that only the sect leader of the Demon Fire Hall could learn.

It was literally a secret technique, and since it was not used unless the opponent had to be killed or was too difficult to handle, it was hardly known.

And,

‘The Killing King is the predecessor of our sect. It’s a story passed down only orally within our sect, known only to the sect leader and the successors, so how does he know that?’

It was in that moment of her confusion.

Mok Gyeong-un strongly stomped on the floor.

Then, the floorboard was pressed down, and the part where the dagger was embedded rose upward.

At the same time, the thin threads tightly surrounding the area loosened.

-Swish!

In this instant, Mok Gyeong-un flew toward her in one breath and grabbed her neck.

Of course, Mo Ha-rang didn’t just stand still either.

The moment Mok Gyeong-un charged, she immediately came to her senses and stabbed the dagger toward Mok Gyeong-un’s heart, as she had practiced thousands and tens of thousands of times.

No, to be precise, only the tip of the dagger slightly penetrated.

‘Fast.’

-Grab!

If Mok Gyeong-un hadn’t grabbed her wrist with his left hand, it would have penetrated even deeper.

That’s how fast her movements were, making it difficult to respond even when seen with the eyes.

It was clear that Mo Ha-rang was much stronger than Yeom Ga of the Vermillion Slaughter Cave.

-Crack!

-Tremble!

As Mok Gyeong-un applied more strength to his hand, she frowned at the pain that felt like her wrist would break.

Even in the midst of that, seeing her not let out a single moan, Mok Gyeong-un chuckled.

“You’re strong. When did you put this around my neck?”

-Slide!

A silver thread was somehow wrapped around Mok Gyeong-un’s neck.

The dagger that had been embedded in the floor and bounced upward was hanging from the ceiling, and if Mo Ha-rang pulled her hand, his neck would have been tightened.

“Why aren’t you pulling it?”

“You’re not…squeezing…my neck…either.”

Just as she said, Mok Gyeong-un was gripping Mo Ha-rang’s neck with his right hand but wasn’t applying strength.

That’s why she hadn’t pulled the thread either.

Honestly speaking, if she pulled this, Mok Gyeong-un’s neck would be cut off, so she had refrained from doing so.

Beyond this point, it was truly the territory of killing each other.

‘If I kill him, it’s a violation of the restriction in this gateway.’

And she still had something she wanted from Mok Gyeong-un.

That’s why she couldn’t kill him….

-Swish!

At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un released his hand from the neck he was holding and lightly touched her thread with his finger.

In that instant, the taut thread soon became limp.

‘!?’

Mo Ha-rang’s eyes widened.

She was definitely sending true energy through the thread, but as if it had dispersed, the thread no longer obeyed her.

‘What is this?’

She couldn’t understand.

While she was doing that, Mok Gyeong-un said,

“You seem quite useful.”

“What?”

“I was going to give you to Soha as a body, but it doesn’t seem bad to just use you myself.”

“What are you talking about now……”

“You said you would pay any price for what you want, right?”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Mo Ha-rang momentarily hesitated.

She had definitely agreed to that, but perhaps because of Mok Gyeong-un’s suddenly changed attitude, she found herself hesitating for a moment.

But then, Mok Gyeong-un suddenly grabbed her collar and pulled her.

“Ah!”

-Crack!

And then, he forcibly moved her wrist that had stabbed the dagger and twisted it in the direction he was in.

She wanted to draw up her energy to block this, but the true energy she sent to her wrist kept dispersing, draining her strength, and she couldn’t do anything about it.

-Crack!

At some point, the dagger she was holding was pointed toward her face.

Was he really trying to kill her?

While that was happening, something fell and wet her lips.

It was none other than a drop of blood.

-Drip drip!

Mok Gyeong-un’s blood, which had been on the tip of the blade, was about to fall into her mouth.

When she tried to close her mouth, Mok Gyeong-un said,

“Open it.”

‘!?’

What was he talking about?

She couldn’t understand why he was doing this.

However, judging that he wasn’t trying to kill her, she soon opened her mouth without questioning it.

Then, the drop of blood that had been on the tip of the dagger fell into her mouth.

“Swallow it.”

She did as she was told.

The moment she swallowed the drop of blood that had entered her mouth,

“Haah!”

Her chest became extremely hot.

A burning pain was engulfing her body, and it was so agonizing that she forcibly shook off the hand Mok Gyeong-un was holding and immediately tried to sit cross-legged.

‘Poison…..it’s poison.’

A pain that twisted her internal organs.

She was convinced that this was poison.

As a descendant of the Demon Fire Hall, known as one of the four major assassin groups, she was somewhat well-versed in poisons and had even ingested some deadly poisons to build up resistance to them.

However, Mok Gyeong-un’s blood was incomparable to that.

‘How can blood have such poison……’

The poison was too strong, as if numerous poisons had been concentrated.

The word “deadly poison” was insufficient.

‘If I don’t circulate energy quickly…..’

-Smack!

As she tried to sit cross-legged, Mok Gyeong-un kicked her stomach with his foot.

“Ugh!”

The pain of her internal organs twisting was already agonizing, and being kicked in the abdomen made her so distressed that she felt like killing Mok Gyeong-un right away.

“You!”

-Smack!

At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un pressed down on her shoulder near the collarbone with his foot and said,

“You said you would pay any price. Then, from this moment on, I’d like you to become a faithful dog.”

“You don’t have to go this far…..”

“Ah ah ah. No, that won’t do. I never trust people.”

Mo Ha-rang’s eyes trembled.

She felt like she had made a huge mistake.

This person was more twisted than she had imagined.

It couldn’t be defined as a murderous nature or whatever, it was truly evil itself.

***

The boys who had given up even circulating energy and resting in order to gather teammates and were going around the rooms.

They couldn’t hide their surprise when they saw a group walking down the corridor.

‘Oh?’

‘…….Is this for real?’

‘What? No way.’

They doubted their own eyes.

The two, a man and a woman, followed behind Mok Gyeong-un on both sides.

They were the descendants of the Vermillion Slaughter Cave and Demon Fire Hall, who were called the most promising in this gateway trial of Corpse Blood Valley.

Now that the restriction on internal energy was lifted, everyone had expected that each and every one of them would naturally become the team leader and lead others.

But what was this?

Could it be that those two team leader-level individuals had joined under that guy?