Episode 372: Return of the Demon Cult
A canyon flanked by sheer cliffs stood resolute, with a cold, damp wind sweeping through its narrow passage.
Flap, flap!
Followers of the Demon Cult, clad in red priestly robes, pulled their hoods tightly over their heads and fastened their collars against the chill.
Dozens of cultists were preparing for a ritual within the canyon, following the instructions of the Ashen-Faced Man, whose face was painted a ghostly gray. From above, they formed an inverted pentagram, with the southern point as the base.
Surrounding this formation, cultists in black robes stood in a large, circular pattern, as if encasing the pentagram.
Once everyone was in position, the Ashen-Faced Man leapt up the cliff with remarkable agility, a feat that would have left any observer in awe.
Reaching the canyon’s summit, he gazed at the sky, where clouds drifted lazily past the stars.
How much time passed in this stillness?
Finally, his eyes gleamed with anticipation. He looked down into the canyon and shouted, “The time has come! Begin the ritual!”
His voice, imbued with power, echoed through the canyon, prompting the red and black-robed cultists to sway and chant in unison.
“Suramunhaalthamta, Iduhsagaryultahalra, Sallalbuloh…”
The incantation, rhythmic and eerie, filled the air with a sinister energy, growing louder and more intense as time went on. The overlapping chants created a strange, new language, mingling with the wind’s howl, like the wailing of spirits.
A normal person entering this narrow canyon would have been overwhelmed by the eerie, almost grotesque atmosphere.
How long did the ritual continue?
Gradually, subtle changes began to occur within the canyon. The first sign was the sudden disappearance of the fierce wind, leaving an unnatural stillness, as if the entire canyon had become a vacuum, with only the cultists’ chants breaking the silence.
Then, as the echoes faded, each voice became distinct and clear.
A low hum resonated, and grains of sand within the circle began to rise into the air, followed by pebbles, defying gravity.
Crack… Crack!
A circular fissure formed around the black-robed cultists, oozing crimson liquid, as if the earth itself wept blood.
The Ashen-Faced Man’s expression was one of ecstatic delight.
‘At last… it begins!’
Soon, the vibrations intensified, and the cultists’ hair stood on end, yet they continued their incantation without pause.
The chant, seemingly endless, was memorized in its entirety by the cultists, who now began to float into the air.
Their voices rose to a crescendo.
“…Balhasayigutam! Alseontahalajima!”
As the final words of the lengthy incantation were uttered,
Swoooosh!
A brilliant beam of light shot up from the inverted pentagram, reaching skyward as if to pierce the heavens.
The Ashen-Faced Man’s face was bathed in the red glow.
“At last… at last…! Change is coming to this land!”
From the moon’s vantage point, one could see similar beams of light rising from ten locations across the realm, forming the points of an inverted pentagram.
Suppressing his excitement, the Ashen-Faced Man leapt down into the canyon.
Meanwhile, the cultists, having completed the chant, fell to the ground, coughing up blood.
“Gah!”
“Ugh!”
They struggled to their feet, looking around in confusion.
As they attempted to leave the circle,
Swoosh!
Another beam of red light shot up, forming a translucent barrier.
Thud. Thud.
The cultists, bewildered, pounded on the barrier.
“What is this…?”
“What’s happening?”
The Ashen-Faced Man approached the barrier, speaking calmly.
“Your sacrifice is not in vain.”
Realizing something was amiss, the cultists cried out, pounding on the barrier.
“Master! No! Spare us!”
“Let us out!”
Their desperate pleas were met with a silent shake of the head.
“Every great endeavor requires sacrifice. The cult will remember your contribution.”
“No, no! Master!”
“Aaah! My hand…!”
“No! Please, save us…!”
The cultists staggered, screaming, as their fingertips turned to ash, scattering into the air.
The Ashen-Faced Man remained until every last cultist had turned to dust, savoring a profound sense of fulfillment.
The acceptance of the sacrifice signified the ritual’s success.
**
“……!”
The Taoist master, Mu Rang, who had been lying as if dead, suddenly opened his eyes.
His usually hidden eyes, covered by long white eyebrows, were now wide open, his breath ragged as if he had run for miles.
‘This is…!’
His eyes darted around before he sprang to his feet.
“This is no ordinary matter…!”
The ever-calm master’s fingers trembled slightly as he quickly donned his robe and stepped outside.
He looked up at the night sky.
To the untrained eye, it was a typical, serene night, with the occasional shooting star streaking across the sky.
But Mu Rang searched the heavens intently, reading the celestial signs.
Finally, he spoke in a trembling voice.
“The world is changing…!”
**
At that moment, Sa Bi-gang was receiving a report from the Ghost Shadow Unit on the top floor of the Guanju Pavilion.
“I’m sorry. We followed the trail but found nothing unusual. It seems….”
“It was a decoy.”
Sa Bi-gang finished Hong Yeom’s sentence.
Hong Yeom bowed his head apologetically.
“I’m sorry.”
The Ghost Shadow Unit had been tracking the Demon Cult’s movements.
Sa Bi-gang had urged them to proceed with caution.
Yet, they found no trace of the cult.
Every lead turned out to be a dead end.
The Demon Cult had vanished without a trace after the Great War of the Sects, as if it had never existed.
This only heightened their concern.
They were surely plotting something in secret.
‘I knew it wouldn’t be easy…’
Sa Bi-gang murmured to himself, moving to the window.
The cult was operating so covertly that even the Ghost Shadow Unit’s intelligence couldn’t detect them.
They must be preparing something monumental.
“I have a bad feeling about this.”
Sa Bi-gang muttered, unusually troubled, when the door suddenly burst open and Mu Rang strode in.
“There’s a problem.”
Both Hong Yeom and Sa Bi-gang were taken aback, looking at him in confusion.
“How did you get in here…?”
Mu Rang glanced at Sa Bi-gang and replied nonchalantly.
“Those barriers are nothing. All things follow the same principles. They’re no obstacle for me.”
The Guanju Pavilion, like the Newborn Pavilion before it, was fortified with various barriers.
Yet, they were ineffective against Mu Rang.
Sa Bi-gang, impressed yet curious, asked about his purpose.
“What brings you here?”
“The thing we feared has happened.”
“The thing we feared…?”
“The realm may no longer be as we knew it.”
Sa Bi-gang’s expression darkened at Mu Rang’s words.
He had a good idea of what Mu Rang meant.
“It’s faster than I thought. The summoning sites are already established?”
Sa Bi-gang’s brow furrowed deeply.
**
A young girl stood, gazing at a flower for a long time.
Since before dawn, she had been motionless, staring at the flower until the sun was high in the sky and began to set in the west.
Anyone who saw her might have thought she was a wax figure rather than a living person.
As the sun dipped below the western hills, casting long shadows, a voice broke the silence.
“Have you waited long?”
The girl finally straightened and turned around.
Behind her stood the cult leader, who had been standing as still as she had, controlling his breath.
“No.”
The cult leader replied in a calm voice.
In truth, he had been standing behind the girl since morning, yet it didn’t feel like much time had passed.
Whenever the girl became utterly absorbed in something, he too would focus his energy and concentrate his mind, a practice that had become second nature to him.
The girl gave a faint nod.
“Your skills have improved.”
“You flatter me.”
“Soon, summoning sites will begin to appear across the land. At first, there will be ten, and then gradually more.”
“Finally…!”
“It may start small, but it will end in greatness.”
The leader clenched his fist tightly, his body trembling slightly. It signified that the rituals conducted across the land last night had been successful.
With a trembling voice, the leader asked, “What should we do now?”
“Nothing.”
The girl shook her head gently, eyes closed. As she smiled softly and extended her hand, a butterfly fluttered over and landed on her fingertip.
“Just wait. Quietly.”
“I will wait.”
“When the time comes…”
The butterfly fluttered away, disappearing into the distance.
Moments later, a mysterious energy radiated from the girl’s entire being, sending butterflies and bees from the flower field into the air, creating a magnificent spectacle.
“The land will tremble on its own.”
A faint smile played on the girl’s lips. Watching the butterflies and bees swirl chaotically in the air, she murmured softly to herself.
“Chaos is the most beautiful order in the world.”