Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 497.5

Chapter 497.5 – Side Story 1 Part 5

Samadhi’s True Flame (5)

A mountain with few plants and trees, Mount Soham.

This was Mount Soham[1], which was incredibly steep and treacherous.

On a desolate cliff of Mount Soham, an Imaemangyang, with a body that seemed to be a mix of dog and ox, horse hooves, and a horned head resembling a dragon, was suffering with its lower body charred black.

-Kiririri.

This Imaemangyang was Alyu, the familiar beast of the Heavenly Demon.

Why was this Imaemangyang, which would take dozens of skilled diviners to barely handle and even top martial artists would find challenging to face, gasping for breath in such a state?

It was because of the two wheels burning within the shadow in front of its eyes.

-Whooosh!

The wheels of flame spinning at high speed were extraordinary in their momentum.

The heat was so intense that even the surrounding cliffs were melting.

The reddened surroundings were truly a land of fire.

-Kiriri… Damn it… I heard it had disappeared… long ago.

Alyu looked at the wheels of flame as if in disbelief.

Although connected by a bond, it had barely gained freedom and returned to Mount Soham where it was born, only to face this situation after just a year. It was like a bolt from the blue.

The being before it… was truly comparable to the Six Demons.

It wanted to call for help from its master, the Heavenly Demon, but for some reason, it felt surrounded by something invisible on all sides, preventing its thoughts from being transmitted.

Then, a voice came from behind the wheels of flame.

-I’ll ask once more. Where is the White-Faced King?

-Kiriri… I don’t know… Haven’t I said I don’t know?

-Sigh.

A sigh was heard.

Along with it, the fiercely rotating wheels rolled forward, causing friction with the ground, and crushed Alyu’s two lower legs.

-Whoosh! Crunch!

-Kiriririririk!

Alyu howled and writhed in such intense pain.

Where the wheels had passed, only black ashes remained, crushed and burned beyond recognition.

After the wheels returned to their original position, the voice was heard again.

-This is the last time. Where is it?

At this question, Alyu was bewildered even through its pain.

It was already upset about being suddenly attacked and put in this state, but why was this being looking for the White-Faced King from it?

If it were looking for its master, the Heavenly Demon, instead… Ah!

‘Could it be?’

Alyu’s eyes trembled as if it had just realized something. Come to think of it, it vaguely remembered hearing from its master that the Great Strength King[2] of the Six Demons had been sealed into stone.

‘It’s not just any stone.’

It must be a Killing Stone[3].

It had heard that the Fox Spirit Bead[4], the great spiritual demonic treasure of the White-Faced King, the Golden Nine-Tailed Fox, could create stones with strange and deadly poison crafted from demonic power.

‘I see. So that’s why.’

Now it clearly understood why this being was looking for the White-Faced King.

Even for a being said to be comparable to the Six Demons, only the White-Faced King, the Golden Nine-Tailed Fox, could break the seal of the Killing Stone.

It didn’t know how this being, thought to have disappeared, had reappeared, but it made sense that it would try to break the seal on the Great Strength King.

This damn…

-Your loyalty is quite impressive.

-Kiriri. What?

-Did you think that bond wouldn’t be visible to me?

‘The bond? Can this be seen?’

Upon becoming a familiar, it was connected to the Heavenly Demon by a red bond.

No matter how strong one’s demonic power, the bond was a spiritual connection that shouldn’t be visible without special methods, but this seemed unusual.

However, this wasn’t the problem.

-Kiriri… Wait, I think there’s been a misunderstanding. I’m not connected to the White-Faced King.

-You’re trying to deceive me.

-Kiriri. It’s true. I serve a different being as my master, not the White-Faced King.

-A different being? You speak as if you’re from a different race than us.

-Kiriri. That’s exactly right.

-Whoosh!

As soon as those words were spoken, an even more intense heat poured out from the two wheels, melting not just the cliff but the ground as well, causing Alyu’s body to sink as if into a swamp.

-I-it’s true!

-Nonsense. In this world where the immortals disappeared thousands of years ago, you’re saying some being other than our kind could bind you with a bond?

-Chiiiii!

As its body was being sucked into the ground that had turned like lava, Alyu hurriedly shouted.

-Human! It’s a human!

-…Human?

At that moment, the surging heat suddenly subsided.

Along with it, between the two fiercely rotating wheels, a beautiful young boy with flowing red hair and a flame-shaped tattoo burning from his right forehead to his cheek appeared.

The beautiful boy spoke with an intrigued expression.

-You’re saying that not a leader-class spirit king, but a mere human is connected to you?

-Kiriri… It’s not a mere human.

-Not a mere human?

-If it were just a mere human, do you think I would serve them as my master? You’ve been away for so long… Kirik… You don’t know how the world has changed.

-Huh?

-My master has even transcended those Six Demons.

Alyu deliberately provoked him.

It was to stimulate his pride and escape this situation.

The best option was to pit him against its master.

Considering his comparison to the Six Demons and his relationship with the Great Strength King, he wouldn’t let this provocation slide…

-Hmm. Has another twisted being been born again?

What?

-I thought the natural order would no longer allow such beings, but I guess there are still variables in everything.

‘This guy, instead of falling for the provocation, what is he saying…’

-Swish!

At that moment, the red-haired beautiful boy stretched out his hand towards the cliff that had been heated and was now cooling.

What is he trying to do?

-Crackle!

As Alyu wondered, the boy waved his hand, and large characters began to be engraved on the cliff face by demonic power.

Alyu’s eyes widened as it saw the characters being engraved.

‘This guy is now…’

Crunch! Swish!

The hand that had been engraving characters on the wall suddenly turned towards Alyu.

Then,

-You tried to be clever, but what should I do? You didn’t move as I wanted. Well, thanks to you, I guess this will provide some light entertainment.

-Kirik… Do you think you can manipulate my master as you please?

-Well, we’ll see if I forcibly break that bond connecting you, won’t we?

-Whoosh!

Then, with a smile full of malice, flames poured out from the red-haired beautiful boy’s hand.

***

Half a day later, Mount Soham.

Two figures gently descended from the air between the melted cliffs that still retained a strange heat.

They were the Heavenly Demon and his wife, Cheong-ryeong.

Cheong-ryeong frowned as she looked at the cliffs that had solidified in a melted form and spoke.

“This seems to be the right place.”

They had flown directly to where the bond had been severed.

How much heat must have been applied for the surrounding air to still be so warm?

Noticing Cheong-ryeong’s slightly flushed face as she fanned herself, the Heavenly Demon lightly waved his hand.

-Whoosh!

Cold air rose from his hand, completely cooling the remaining heat.

In the process, mist formed from the frost and heat, but that too disappeared completely with just one gesture from the Heavenly Demon.

“Thank you.”

The Heavenly Demon smiled lightly at her thanks and then walked between the cliffs.

As he walked, he noticed some traces.

They were wheel-like marks left on the ground.

‘Wheel marks?’

The wheel marks were quite large and mixed with blackened scorch marks. Despite the stone floor having melted, for traces to remain, it seemed considerable pressure had been applied.

‘Not just one.’

And there were two wheels, not one.

As he was examining the traces on the ground,

“Dear…”

At Cheong-ryeong’s call, the Heavenly Demon moved his steps to approach her side.

She was looking at the cliff face.

The Heavenly Demon’s gaze turned cold as he saw it.

It was at that moment.

Words were engraved on the wall.

[It’s still breathing. If you find the White-Faced King and bring him to the Lava Cave, I’ll hand it over. The White-Faced King knows the location of the Lava Cave.]

“Dear, this seems…”

“Using barbarians to control barbarians.”

It means using barbarians to control barbarians, implying using one enemy to control another.

Whoever it was, they were trying to use the Heavenly Demon by capturing the demonic beast Alyu.

However, their purpose was hard to guess.

Asking to bring the White-Faced King, whoever did this, their exact purpose couldn’t be determined from just this.

“I don’t know what their intention is, but this is clearly a trap.”

“I know. But…”

The Heavenly Demon didn’t finish his sentence.

If it were his past self, he might have ignored this.

He had been emotionless, and everything except himself was no different from chess pieces.

But now it’s different.

Now he can feel emotions no less than ordinary humans.

Therefore, he couldn’t just abandon his familiar, which he had used like a limb and was still breathing, to avoid the enemy’s scheme, as if abandoning a rabbit after hunting or boiling a dog after hunting.

Although she loved this change in the Heavenly Demon, she felt a strange uneasiness.

“…Why are they asking to bring the Golden Nine-Tailed Fox? They’ve led us to have no choice but to find her somehow.”

It was written that the White-Faced King, the Golden Nine-Tailed Fox, knew the location of the Lava Cave.

Whether this was true or not was unknown, but they had no choice but to find her, if only to verify it.

The problem was that she had disappeared a few months ago.

He didn’t know why, but she had been annoyed by the constant attacks, so the Heavenly Demon had forgotten about her for a while.

It was at that moment.

-Master!

A familiar voice transmitted thoughts in his mind.

It was,

-Go Chan.

It was Go Chan, the Great Commander of the Guards, another familiar.

-What is it?

-May I ask where you are?

-Why?

-The diviner Miss Yeo Surin is looking for you.

-If it’s not urgent, tell her to wait…

-Someone has killed the diviners and taken away the sealed Killing Stone statue of the Great Strength King.

‘!’

***

A gate of crimson smoke appeared, and soon the diviner Yeo Surin emerged.

Behind her, Go Chan, the Great Commander of the Guards possessed by Jang Neung-ak, and a seductive woman with linked arms followed.

The woman was none other than Ha Chaerin, the current generation’s Flying Killing Assassin and the leader of the Flying Killing Sect.

Seeing their linked arms, Cheong-ryeong looked at them curiously, and Go Chan scratched his head sheepishly and said with a grinning face:

“Haha… It just happened.”

‘!?’

Didn’t she say she would torment him like a slave for life because he was the culprit who caused her death?