Episode 201

“She is here.”

Seol Young got up and drew his sword. The screams of the zodiacs changed into something else.

It was a high and sharp screech that would make even the sanest people go insane.

“Right….”

Zaha’s eyes shone in gold. The pitch-black demonic qi that was hiding within his body rose.

“You really came.”

He looked down at the fragment of Mita’s bone in the middle. The two of them were able to perform a powerful summoning technique.

They drew her out of the darkness, and now the darkness engulfed the entire place.

This was no longer the Old Palace where the ritual was happening. It was now a spirit world that transcended space.

The light shook inside. It was just like in the space of Dohwa’s dice game…

And the evil spirit appeared in front of their eyes.

“….!”

In the midst of the powerful shock wave, the zodiacs screamed again.

The God of Cataclysm appeared.

In the midst of the summoning circle, her long clothes fluttered, and beneath her hair was a face covered with talismans.

At that moment, darkness exploded from the body of the evil spirit. At the same time, a blinding light shone too.

Before he knew it, Zaha had pulled out his Dead Slayer sword and was blocking it.

The powerful energy of the two rose, and they attacked each other. Then a huge, grim face appeared.

It opened its eyes and let out a roar.

-How dare you?!!

At the command of the Tree God, who had been protecting this land for a long time, the entire world shook like it would collapse.

The moment the two energies collided, the mandala of darkness, which had been expanding, stopped.

Woong…

The spiritual body shook. And the darkness began to flicker and try to spread again.

But…

Pat!

The sound of an explosion came, and the Dead Slayer sword struck the force this time.

And now the darkness couldn’t move any longer. Like a frozen lake, it went stiff.

‘It is suppressed.’

Seol Young was looking at it with wide eyes.

‘We succeeded.’

Beyond the bright light created by the spiritual qi and demonic qi, the eyes of the two met.

For now, they had crossed a hurdle.

They summoned the God of Cataclysm and succeeded in subduing her. It was a different situation in many ways than in the past.

‘First, thank you.’

Seol Young looked at the floor, where the fragments of her ashes that were used as a medium to call her were.

The ashes were pulsating like a heart as they received the qi of the summoning circle, and exerted a force that couldn’t be shaken off.

‘And…’

Seol Young looked at the place where the wall had existed before.

Another sound filled the place where the light was fading. It was a humming sound.

[According to the words of the Great Buddha, the Great King prepared one hundred lion seats and invited one hundred monks to read the <Pajna Pramita Sutra>, and all the disasters which are causing havoc to the nation will disappear.]

A scene unfolded before their eyes.

A hundred lanterns were lit on the seats, a hundred flowers were placed, and a hundred sticks of incense were burned, with everyone singing the same sutra.

[Oh, Great King, the countless ghosts of this land and the countless incidents under their control will listen to this sutra and protect the land.]

The chant was accompanied by vibrations since many monks were performing it, and it moved beyond space. The echo strangely suppressed the energy of the God of Cataclysm.

Seol Young and Zaha wanted this to happen. They did what they had to.

‘Right now.’

Seol Young turned his gaze to the evil spirit. Even though she had been greatly suppressed, she was better than the other spirits.

And the words didn’t seem like they would work.

‘But we have to do it.’

Seol Young made up his mind once again. Everything he had prepared so far felt right.

A chance like this would not appear twice. Something could go wrong again, so they had to hurry.

‘So…’

Seol Young turned his head and looked at Zaha.

Both forces continued to push each other with all their might. It may look like everything was calm, but it was a rough clash.

Because of the aftermath, Zaha’s face also flashed with light and darkness. As if standing on the edge of a cliff, his hair and clothes were fluttering.

Even so, he continued to look at the God of Cataclysm.

‘Please continue to suppress her like that.’

Seol Young asked him with his eyes.

This was something that everyone’s fate depended on. Such thoughts rushed to his mind, but he quickly pushed them away.

‘I am just doing my work.’

He took a deep breath and pushed his sword forward.

The aura, which had been blazing from his blue sword, disappeared, and his eyes went dark.

But soon, a brighter light covered his body. Raising the spiritual power to the maximum, Seol Young stepped ahead.

In the middle of the distorted space, more changes occurred, and he slowly approached the form that looked ominous.

And he said,

“Dead one, listen to me.”

There was strength in Seol Young’s voice. While appeasing countless ghosts, he had learned how to speak to them.

Still, the closer he got to her, the more he felt his voice drown. Then a star’s light shone from the center of that shape.

It pierced through the barrier and shook every part of his body. After shaking it off, Seol Young realized that his body wanted to collapse.

But he held on.

Seol Young stepped forward with difficulty.

Mita’s figure was surrounded by a frozen darkness like a halo.

He knelt down in front of her. He bowed his head and his back. He lowered his entire body in front of her.

Puak.

A strong force slammed his head to the ground, and it felt like his head was being crushed. Tears flowed from him from the shock of it. And yet, he had to hold on.

Seol Young gathered all his strength and bowed to her. Even doing this was exhausting for him.

But he couldn’t help it, nor could he get up. Then he tried to raise his head toward the one in front of him.

“I know you.”

Covered in talismans, the face looked like it held no emotions, and Seol Young said,

“High Priest Mita.”

The moment he called her name, the frozen mandala shattered in the air with loud exploding sounds.

Puak!

Once again, this strong force hit Seol Young’s head. It was like being pressed to crush it. But Seol Young pushed his head up again.

“Oh, great priest and sorcerer. King of Gaya.”

The mandala that had stopped on the other side shattered again.

And then he continued,

“I know your past.”

The intense pressure was about to crush not only his head but also his entire body. It was as if he were being made into a pulp.

But Seol Young didn’t give in and spoke.

“Your anger and your grudge are all justified.”

The darkness in front of him shattered, and small fragments flew in all directions as smoke moved.

“But let go of that anger now. Stop, you already… killed a lot of people, right?”

Seol Young was struggling to speak now.

This thing in front of him was resurrected under Mita’s name, and the records of its countless terrifying acts were present. On top of that, the faces of his master and parents alive in the other world were on his mind.

The Hwarangs, Seo Jun-rang, Zaun’s husband…

Everything this world had to lose.

Seol Young didn’t like that.

“As opposed to a nation losing its people… Even if it cannot be compared…”

He raised his head and continued,

“We are all hurt too.”

The shape of the darkness broke again. At the same time, another gush of power hit Seol Young. Then a desperate scream that came from the God of Cataclysm pierced his body.

It was like he was swallowing a burning sword. Tears were falling down his face, but he still had to hold on.

Until either one of them ran out of power, they would cause pain and suffering to the other. Even if his body was broken, Seol Young had no other choice.

‘The problem is…’

Seol Young thought
.
‘Until then, the God of Cataclysm’s power has to be suppressed.’

Meanwhile, Zaha didn’t know how things were going. Come to think of it, it was quiet.

He felt anxiety rise.

‘If something happened…’

The moment he barely turned his head, breaking through the tense confrontation between him and the evil spirit, someone’s hand came in.

“I cannot watch this any longer.”

The hand grabbed Seol Young and picked up his body that was pushed down.

Zaha’s face was visible in his blurred vision.

“You are still bad at talking.”

He said that as he extended his hand. The tip of his fingers brushed Seol Young’s tears. And only then did Seol Young notice something red and realize it wasn’t tears but blood.

… But that didn’t matter.

‘Why?’

The sight of the Dead Slayer sword stuck in the ground caught his eye. Instead of the owner, the Sword Spirit was handling the darkness alone.

‘Why are you doing this? Are you sure you don’t intend to take over this? I said, you cannot…’

His anxious hand reached for Zaha’s collar.

Zaha looked down and then put Seol Young back in his place.

“Stay still.”

Seol Young tried to reach out his hand, but his body wouldn’t move.

‘Wait….’

He couldn’t speak despite trying to, and through his blurry vision, he could see Zaha getting close to the God of Cataclysm