Episode 435: Return of the Demon Cultist
Clang!
Jaunryong dropped his sword as if entranced.
“Jeong-ah…?”
“Aooo… Oaao…!”
As Yujeong tilted her head with a vacant expression, tears that had gathered in Jaunryong’s eyes finally spilled over.
“It’s me, Jeong-ah. Do you recognize me?”
Jaunryong took a hesitant step forward.
Step… Step…
As he slowly approached, Yujeong began to retreat, her expression growing wary.
“Aaah? Uuuh?”
“Jeong-ah…”
Swallowing his sobs, Jaunryong took another step.
When they were just a few paces apart,
“Aaaaaah!”
Yujeong suddenly let out a scream, retreating as she unleashed a swarm of dark arthropods from her body.
Chitter-chitter-chitter!
The black insects swarmed towards him, and Jaunryong stood frozen in shock.
Just as the insects were about to engulf him,
“Shield!”
Whoosh!
Sabigang appeared beside Jaunryong, extending his hand. The insects, like a downpour, collided with an invisible barrier and were repelled.
Thud-thud-thud!
“Jeong-ah…”
Jaunryong, still in a daze, muttered to himself.
The shattered remains of the insects writhed on the ground, oozing green liquid.
“Ugh!”
Yujeong collapsed to her knees, retching violently.
Thud!
Jaunryong’s legs gave way, and he knelt on the spot.
His entire body trembled like a leaf.
He had never seen Yujeong like this before.
Tears streamed down his face uncontrollably.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry! I did this to you! Sob!”
He finally broke down, sobbing on the ground.
Sabigang approached him.
“Think about what you desire more than your current sorrow.”
Jaunryong flinched and looked up at Sabigang.
With bloodshot eyes, he pleaded.
“Help me. If you can bring her back, I’ll do anything.”
Sabigang studied him intently before asking,
“Are you sincere?”
“I’d stake my life on it.”
“Good. Because what I want is your life.”
“Are you serious?”
Sabigang looked at him with a grave expression.
“Deadly serious. I don’t forgive those who deceive me. If there’s a threat, I root it out.”
Jaunryong stared at Sabigang with a determined look, then stood up abruptly.
He reached out, and the sword lying on the ground flew into his hand.
“Understood. Keep your promise.”
With a resolute expression, Jaunryong raised the sword to his neck.
Or at least, he tried to. But just before he could,
Clink.
Sabigang caught the blade with his fingers and smirked.
“Just kidding. You’ve passed the second test.”
“What…?”
“I wanted to see how much you truly care for her. Only then could I trust you.”
“Then, about her…”
Jaunryong began hesitantly, and Sabigang nodded.
“Let’s try to bring her back to normal.”
“Really? Is that possible?”
“Well, we have the best sorcerer on our side.”
At that moment, Murang emerged from the shadows, speaking nonchalantly.
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
“Of course, I don’t plan to leave everything to the master. We also have a medical expert.”
Sabigang finished with a sly grin.
**
“Achoo!”
Jinbaek sniffled as he looked out the window.
“Is someone talking about me? I have a bad feeling about this.”
**
“Bad feelings are never wrong.”
Jinbaek muttered with a disgruntled expression, glancing around.
The room was starkly simple.
No decorations or furniture.
It was the underground training room of the Gwanju Hall.
It closely resembled the training room Sabigang had built in the depths of the Blood Cult.
In the center lay Yujeong, unconscious and unclothed.
Jinbaek and Murang stood on either side, facing each other.
Sabigang approached Yujeong’s head and spoke.
“Don’t worry. My good feelings are always spot on.”
“Strangely, your good feelings never bode well for me.”
“Don’t be like that. We’re trying to save a life here.”
“As I always say, saving one life can sometimes cost two.”
“Not something I’d expect from a healer.”
“It means to be cautious with life.”
Sabigang replied with a grin.
“No matter how much you protest, you have to help this time.”
Jinbaek sighed in resignation.
“If I die because of this, make sure to hold a funeral.”
“Will a three-day wake suffice?”
‘This heartless fellow…!’
Jinbaek felt a pang of disappointment and shouted.
“What’s a three-day wake? It should be three years!”
“Hmm. Then we’ll have to delay the funeral until the demons are dealt with. Please forgive us if the body decays a bit.”
Jinbaek shook his head, exasperated.
“Enough. Where did the obedient Sabigang of old go?”
“He died long ago.”
A bitter smile flickered across Sabigang’s face, and Jinbaek dropped the banter.
Murang stroked his beard and spoke.
“This is truly dangerous. As Jinbaek said, trying to save this child could put us in greater peril.”
“Don’t worry. We have Cheonhaegyeong with us.”
“Well, you’ll be fine. But we might not be.”
“Trust me.”
Sabigang looked at Murang intently and spoke.
“I’ll make sure your funeral is taken care of.”
“Ugh.”
Murang grimaced, wishing he hadn’t heard that, and spoke gruffly.
“In any case, timing is crucial for this. We’ll be walking the line between life and death.”
“Understood.”
“Remember, it’s not you who will be in danger. Jinbaek and I might be at risk.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“You’ll enter the Dream Realm again, but the time will be very short. You’ll have to go in and out like lightning. And as always, there’s only one chance. If you miss it, this child will be lost forever. In the Dream Realm, you can’t afford even a moment’s hesitation.”
“I’ll remember.”
Murang took a deep breath, his expression serious.
“Let’s begin.”
In the next moment,
Thud!
Murang struck the ground with his staff and began chanting an incantation in an incomprehensible language.
As time passed, his voice resonated throughout the underground chamber.
The words he spoke first mingled with those that followed, creating a strange echo.
As the incantation reached its climax and his voice rose, the magic circle drawn on the floor began to glow brightly.
When Murang’s chanting, which had been accelerating, suddenly stopped,
Whoosh!
A brilliant light erupted from the floor, engulfing the four of them in an instant.
**
In a vast meadow deep in the mountains.
Yujeong looked at a single flower blooming on one side of the field and asked Jaunryong,
“Master, look at this flower. Isn’t it beautiful?”
“It is.”
“Do you know what it’s called?”
“I’m not sure.”
“It doesn’t matter. That’s why it’s a wildflower. Master, if I’m reborn, I want to be a wildflower in the deep mountains. To hear the whispers of the sun, feel the touch of the wind, and breathe in the scent of the earth.”
Jaunryong smiled gently at Yujeong.
“You are a child full of surprises.”
“People say I’m simple.”
Yujeong turned with a bright smile.
But then…
“Master?”
Jaunryong, who had been conversing with her just moments ago, was nowhere to be seen.
“Master? Where are you?”
Then, the voice came again.
“You are a child full of surprises.”
“Master?”
Yujeong spun around, following the voice.
But Jaunryong was still nowhere to be found.
Rumble.
The sky, which had been clear just moments ago, darkened, threatening to weep.
Plop. Plop.
Raindrops began to fall.
“Master! Where are you? Master! Master!”
Yujeong’s voice grew increasingly desperate.
But Jaunryong never appeared.
“Master…!”
Yujeong, calling out in vain, flinched and looked at the rain on her hand.
‘Blood…!’
To her shock, the rain falling from the sky was blood-red.
Through the crimson mist, a shadow approached, step by step.
It was Jaunryong.
“Master!”
Yujeong started to run towards him but stopped, taking a step back.
Something about Jaunryong was different, unsettling.
“You are a child full of surprises.”
“Master?”
“A child full of surprises… is a bad child. And bad children must be punished!”
With a sudden shout, hundreds of arthropods burst from Jaunryong’s body.
Chitter-chitter-chitter!
“Ahhh!”
Startled out of her wits, Yujeong spun around and began to run.
Chitter! Chitter! Chitter-chitter-chitter!
The arthropods pursued her with terrifying speed.
**
“We’ve got a reaction! Prepare to enter the Dream Realm at any moment!” Murang shouted, pressing his palm against Yujeong’s lower abdomen.
Squirming.
The arthropods were visibly writhing beneath the thin skin of her abdomen.
Chitter. Chitter.
Some of the creatures tore through the skin, only to crawl back inside moments later.
“Ugh… that’s revolting,” Jinbaek muttered under his breath, watching the scene unfold.
Hundreds of worm-like arthropods squirmed and began to move along her skin.
“It’s fascinating how these tiny things grow so large when they emerge,” Jinbaek remarked, shaking his head in disbelief.
He had already heard the explanation from Sabigang: they temporarily harness energy to grow rapidly. But for Jinbaek, who was witnessing these creatures for the first time, it was all too strange.
As the swarm of arthropods moved, sweat beaded on Murang’s forehead.
“These things are hard to control!” he exclaimed.
Just as Murang said, the creatures were moving from beneath the skin of her abdomen, up her chest, past her collarbone, and climbing up her neck to the area behind her ears.
Finally, when they bulged near her temples, Murang shouted, “Master Jin! It’s your turn!”
Jinbaek quickly pulled out needles and began to insert them into Yujeong.
First, he pierced her temple to a depth of one-tenth of an inch, then the crown of her head to half an inch, followed by her nose bridge, eye corners, and forehead.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud!
As the pathways were blocked, Yujeong’s face contorted grotesquely, swarming with hundreds of insects, a sight too horrific to behold.
Jinbaek shouted as he inserted the final needle into her neck, “It’s done!”
For now, they had stopped the soul-sucking insects from reaching her brain.
Only then did Murang withdraw his hand and quickly began drawing talismans.
Glancing at Jinbaek, Murang asked, “How long do you think we have?”
“Just a brief moment!”
Murang’s hands moved even faster.
Finally, as Murang completed the talisman, he flung it towards Sabigang’s forehead, shouting, “Go now! Remember, if you don’t resolve this quickly, both Jin and I will be dead!”
With a flick!
The talisman adhered to Sabigang’s forehead, releasing a burst of bright light.
Murang called out, “Once you’re in the Dream Realm, find Yujeong’s sanctuary first! I can’t stress enough how quickly you need to act! If you miss the timing, everyone will be…!”
But Sabigang was already engulfed in the light, unable to hear the rest of Murang’s warning.