Yeon-ui Yeon (2)
Whoosh…
The emerald flash faded, leaving behind an empty void that had been ripped straight from space itself.
Swish…
A green hand slipped into my back, pulling out the rod.
Ku-gugugugu!
A massive chunk of the castle came tumbling down into the empty space below.
The man in the hood.
Heaven-Sinking Venerable Jang Ik stared at the chunk of the castle with a curious gaze.
[Impressive… You’re running away?]
Ku-gugugugu…
Even though the chunk of the Strange Castle that fell was only a third of the whole thing, it had already been sliced off cleanly like a tail.
And he had escaped right before my eyes.
[What an interesting fellow. If he hadn’t gone mad, I might have shared a drink with him and discussed enlightenment…]
Uuuung!
A small illusion rose beside Jang Ik.
A fair-haired young man with tiny antlers sprouting from his forehead.
It was Seo Hyul’s illusion.
[The Venerable of the Heart Tribe, the General Commander of the Earth Tribe Alliance, Seo Hyul greets you.]
[Earth Tribe Alliance? Has such a thing been created?]
[Yes. In response to the threats posed by the Ghost King, Goe-gun, and the Demon of Slaughter and Thunderclap, the entire Earth Tribe has united for the first time.]
[Hmm…]
[Incidentally, may I ask why the Venerable has released Goe-gun?]
At Seo Hyul’s question, Jang Ik let out a mocking laugh.
[Bai-wun Seongsa prompted me, but she told me to finish the Ghost King first. Goe-gun is a lower priority. Besides, I’m already a clone and I’ve already used up quite a bit of power, so my existence is already fading.]
Uuuuung…
Jang Ik raised his half-transparent left hand.
[The Ghost King is threatening, but he’s no different from a mindless beast. On the contrary, a Goe-gun who has both sanity and madness may grow even stronger in the future, so it would be better to deal with him first, wouldn’t it?]
At those words, Jang Ik looked toward the direction Goe-gun had fled.
[I launched two attacks.]
[…?]
[One shattered his castle, and the other filled one of his disciples’ minds with flames.]
[…I don’t quite understand the Heart Tribe’s secret technique, so could you perhaps explain? And there’s only one disciple, but you said “one of his disciples”…]
At Seo Hyul’s question, Jang Ik glanced at him, flicked his hand, and replied with a wave.
Passt!
At that gesture, Seo Hyul’s illusion wavered.
[The Ghost King is coming this way. Even though his sanity has been burned away, I can still sense stellar power, so he’s probably much closer to the Star Shattering realm than a Goe-gun’s puppets. For something like that, I’ll have to focus, so let’s not contact each other from now on.]
Whoosh…
Seo Hyul’s illusion distorted.
Jang Ik clicked his tongue.
[You saw something dirty. The Earth Tribe has been doomed as well. A scoundrel like him taking the position of General Commander… tsk tsk.]
Ku-gugugugu!
Beyond the horizon, an existence howling at the center of a black cloud began to draw near.
Sring, sring…
Jang Ik pulled out two rods from behind his back and set his stance.
[Hmm. Both Goe-gun and the Ghost King seem less dangerous than this Seo Hyul fellow… Is it really correct that Bai-wun Seongsa said only the Ghost King and Goe-gun should be exterminated first? Well, if the Earth Tribe perishes, the Heart Tribe will benefit from the breathing room… For now, I’ll leave them be.]
He began to dance while holding the rod.
Starting with his small body, a green storm began to blow.
***
Ku-gugugugu…
Even though the Strange Castle had been torn off by a third, its speed did not slow; it advanced rapidly.
Crossing the void, passing over all kinds of strange mountains and rivers, it finally arrived at one place.
Ku-gugu!
A valley similar to the valley where the Strange Castle had once rested for a thousand years.
Goe-gun lowered the Strange Castle there, hurried into the center of the castle to repair [her], and entered.
And I spoke with a glint in my eyes.
‘Now.’
It was the perfect opportunity.
The Strange Castle was not functioning properly, and [her] was only half-complete right now.
This was the right time to escape from Goe-gun.
It was when I transmitted my intentions to Kim Yeon.
“Shall we go now?”
Kim Yeon looked at me.
I was startled.
Her eyes were glittering.
“…Why?”
Crack… crack…
I used the chaotic situation of the Strange Castle to create countless errors using the puppets, then drove them toward my face and said.
“Yeon… Ah… What… meaning…?”
“…Eun-hyun oppa. If we just escape from this madman now, he will repair [her] again and grow stronger by using today’s defeat as nourishment.”
“Yeon… Ah…”
“It’s not escaping. We have to kill him now.”
A faint anger could be felt in her eyes.
No, it wasn’t faint anger.
It was hatred like molten lava.
“Yeon… You… want… to… take… revenge…?”
“…Yes. Maybe. No, it’s true! I swore it! Before the Ghost King, I’ll shatter [her] into pieces! We became like this because we were caught by that madman, yet that madman is probably enjoying his world forever while playing with his puppets!”
Ku-deuk…
“Eun-hyun oppa. Now! Now! I can seize control of the Strange Castle with my consciousness and take [her] away from the Ghost King in front of him…!”
Kim Yeon shouted with a broken expression on her face.
“This is the only chance that comes! Today, right here, I’ll take that madman’s life and pay for the sin that made us like this! If I don’t…”
Kwaak!
She raised her puppet arm and clutched her chest.
“Where exactly do we have to repay the hatred that’s accumulated in our chests? Huh?”
I looked at the Strange Castle.
She was right.
I also had more than enough grudges against that madman.
“Eun-hyun oppa, if we escape from this Strange Castle… then we promised to properly talk about our feelings, didn’t we?”
Yes.
After I properly communicated with her, after I became free from Goe-gun’s gaze, I had promised to return the feelings she gave me.
“After I shatter [her] to pieces and burn the Ghost King to ash, we’ll hold a proper wedding here. Today is the day!”
“…”
I looked at her.
After the Strange Star-Mind Scroll reached its peak, her madness had improved greatly from that day onward.
But I had noticed something strange blooming in her—something resembling obsession rather than madness.
Ever since the Strange Star-Mind Scroll reached its peak, Kim Yeon had developed a strange attachment to me and to this Strange Castle.
The attachment to me didn’t matter.
I understood it.
But the attachment to the Strange Castle was sometimes a little hard to understand.
Even I, who understood the essence of the Strange Star-Mind Scroll better than she did, sometimes couldn’t fully understand it.
Perhaps because I had reached the realm of Yang Su-jin and perfectly controlled the mind, I was better at shaking off the Strange Star-Mind Scroll’s obsession than she was…
‘Somehow, it feels off.’
“Yeon… Goe-gun is crazy, but… he’s also a person who possesses sanity at the same time. He probably didn’t expect us to betray him.”
“…It’s okay, oppa.”
Uuuuung!
Swish…
Her consciousness unraveled like a thread.
Sarak, sararak…
In an instant, the puppets that had been controlled by the Strange Castle began to lose control to her.
The thread-like consciousness flowed into the puppet’s spiritual power circuits and instantly took them over.
“Goe-gun doesn’t understand my true ability. It’s not just because my consciousness is large. Eun-hyun oppa, from the day I confirmed your heart, from five hundred years ago, I think I finally understood my fate. And…”
She smiled faintly.
Somehow, I felt an eerie madness in her smile.
“My ability is related to my fate. Probably yours and my comrades’ abilities are the same. Once you understand your own fate, you’ll understand the essence of your power to some degree.”
Ku-gugugugu!
Power that was gradually becoming impossible to ignore began to gather in her consciousness.
“…Heavenly Silver Puppet Body? Ghost Echo Sound Painting Line Root? One Sword Saint Body? Those are stupid physiques… The ‘true’ authority we obtained when we fell into this world is… because the levels of those who confirmed our talents were too low, they were just empty words…”
Uuuuung!
Paaat!
Her consciousness spewed light.
Her consciousness, bright enough to be seen with the naked eye, enveloped the entire Strange Castle.
The Ghost King’s castle was being swallowed by the white threads.
[Goe-gun is definitely a great man. When I saw that the Strange Star-Mind Scroll he created took a similar form to my authority at its peak… But that’s the end of it. Eun-hyun oppa, please help me.]
Pat… pat…
Kim Yeon’s whole body began to boil white along with her consciousness.
She looked like a ghost made of gathered white threads.
[Please help me. Kill that madman and live happily with me.]
“…Al…right.”
I thought for a moment, then said slowly.
“After this is over, I’ll properly tell you my feelings.”
[Thank you.]
She smiled faintly and entered the inside of the Strange Castle.
I took control of the puppets around me.
Uuuuung!
All the spiritual power circuits beneath General Seo’s body came under my consciousness control.
Not just General Seo’s circuits.
The puppet networks of the Ghost King.
The spiritual power flows that connected those puppets were also like invisible spiritual power circuits.
Those spiritual power flows resembling thoughts began to come under my will.
Kikikiki!
A portion of the Strange Castle’s control rights was placed under my consciousness.
The Strange Castle resisted with a flood of billions of “woong” sounds, but I smiled while looking at the Strange Castle.
“For a thousand years, I’ve been watching you.”
An insane forge that was infinitely close to a lifeform.
A madman’s workshop that wove the waves of pseudo-thoughts spewing from countless artificial souls, gathered them at the center to create real thoughts, and fabricated souls that were infinitely close to true souls.
Operated solely by madness.
But I, too, endured for a thousand years, secretly took control of the circuits, and observed his madness.
“I… will… not… yield… to… you…!”
Uuuuuung!
I took control of the Strange Castle, and Kim Yeon took control of the puppets.
A thousand years.
Today, after being caught by Goe-gun for a thousand years, we had finally begun the rebellion using his weakened gap.
***
Cheok… cheok… cheok…
Inside Goe-gun’s forge.
Goe-gun was repairing the broken body of [her] and roughly forming a shape.
“Oh, thank goodness. The combat functions are broken, but the important ones are mostly intact. Thank goodness I’m not injured…”
Goe-gun stroked [her]’s head and let out a sigh of relief.
At that moment.
Ku-gugugugu!
The Strange Castle vibrated, informing Goe-gun of his disciple’s rebellion.
“Hmm?”
Tap!
With a finger snap, the machinery inside the forge moved, and a mirror appeared before Goe-gun.
Spiritual energy rushed into the mirror, distorting it, and gradually showed Kim Yeon who was taking over the puppets and climbing toward the upper floors.
Kim Yeon’s appearance was strange, covered in white light with consciousness stretching in all directions like white threads.
Goe-gun watched her for a moment, stroking his beard.
“Um, coming here without running away means you came to take over the Strange Castle?”
It seemed sanity had returned, though not quite enough to make madness disappear.
He smiled faintly while looking at Kim Yeon.
“The temptation of the Strange Star-Mind Scroll and the hatred toward me weren’t enough?”
Goe-gun closed his eyes for a moment while staring into the mirror.
“…Even after the Strange Castle is half-destroyed and you’re in this state, you’re trying to take it over now… I thought you were already mad, but you still have sanity left?”
Goe-gun held [her]’s hand with his wrinkly hand.
“It’s a shame. If you’d tried to recapture the Strange Castle in a better situation…”
Well, there was no helping it.
Suddenly, he was wearing a smile that I had never seen before.
“If this is the best, then so be it. It took a long time…”
Goe-gun tightly embraced [her]’s body.
“Finally… today… the Strange Castle… will be completed.”
Goe-gun, who had been embracing [her] for a moment, looked up at the ceiling.
The very center of the Strange Castle, the highest floor.
The upper floor of the forge, the last floor that had never been opened even to Kim Yeon until now.
Cheok… cheok… cheok…
With his gesture, a spiral staircase descended from the ceiling toward the last floor.
Goe-gun held [her]’s hand and slowly climbed the last floor.
Even while climbing, he did not remove the staircase.
***
Kwaaang!
Having taken control of the puppets and transferred control of the Strange Castle to me, Kim Yeon began to operate the entire Strange Castle with her consciousness.
“It’s been a while. This feeling…”
Kim Yeon handed over the Strange Castle’s madness and woong sound to me instead.
And she made the puppets of the Strange Castle move to reach a new realm.
Since when had such a situation occurred since piercing the Seven-Star Ceremony back in the distant past?
Although this time it wasn’t to pierce a new realm, it was time to take a leap toward a new life.
Kwaaang!
The puppets that received Kim Yeon’s command began hammering at Goe-gun’s forge.
“Finally…”
Kim Yeon stared beyond the forge while controlling her consciousness.
The center of the Strange Castle could not be detected even by consciousness.
It wasn’t because of a special formation; it was because the pseudo-thoughts were so real that they churned the surface madly, so simply extending consciousness would cause madness.
“This annoying forge is finally ending.”
Kwaaang!
Finally, a hole was pierced in the forge.
“And now… this place will be our home…”
Deep anger and pain surged from Kim Yeon’s chest.
Although Seo Eun-hyun was still barely inside the puppet.
What pain had there been when he first became a puppet?
It felt like the world was collapsing.
And he had been half-mad for hundreds of years.
Moreover, Goe-gun had even modified her body to help control the Strange Castle.
“I… can’t… forgive… you.”
Hatred blazed in Kim Yeon’s eyes.
“The madman who ruined my love with Eun-hyun oppa will pay by destroying the thing he loved the most.”
Keudeuk… keudeuk…
Kim Yeon entered Goe-gun’s forge and looked around.
“That… hah.”
A spiral staircase leading to the ceiling.
The last floor of the Strange Castle, a hidden space.
“You hid in the innermost part of the Strange Castle like this to face me, master? No matter how many parents and grandparents of [her] you bring, this board cannot be changed anymore.”
Keudeuk… keudeuk…
She gritted her teeth and climbed the spiral staircase left by Goe-gun.
“From today on, the Strange Castle is mine. Here, we will share love.”
Keudeuk…
And when she reached the end of the staircase and stepped onto the upper floor of the forge, she was startled.
“…What is…?”
***
Uuuung!
Outside the Strange Castle, I who had transferred control to Kim Yeon and taken the Strange Castle’s madness looked at the center of the Strange Castle.
“The connection… has become faint…”
Kim Yeon’s consciousness thread was still connected to mine.
We were communicating in real time while controlling the Strange Castle through our connected consciousness.
But suddenly, the thread of the consciousness connected to her became faint.
It was like when you can’t hear a friend’s voice if you’re far from them in a very noisy place.
Intense waves of pseudo-thoughts were interfering with my connection with her.
“…I… have… to… help… her…”
But right now, dealing with the Strange Castle’s madness was already more than enough.
Right now, I thought General Seo’s head was going to be smashed.
If I forced it any further from here, General Seo’s head would explode and my soul would scatter and die.
“…No matter what happens, stay alive!”
I gritted my teeth and looked toward where Kim Yeon was.
***
“…What… is… this?”
Kim Yeon looked at the floor Goe-gun had hidden with puzzled eyes.
“You’ve come, disciple?”
Goe-gun was greeting Kim Yeon with eyes clearer than ever.
The madness that had been in his eyes had completely disappeared.
“…Your complexion looks quite good, master. After receiving proper education from the Ghost King and that green dwarf, I see your mind has been healed.”
“Hahaha, that’s not possible. Your disciple healed my mind.”
Goe-gun said with a bitter smile.
“…Eh?”
“It was long. Long indeed. You went mad with madness, stole my Strange Castle with that huge consciousness, and waited to recapture it.”
“What…?”
“But unexpectedly, you seem sane. You attacked me only when I was weakest and the Strange Castle was completely broken…”
Kim Yeon glared at Goe-gun.
“…Was creating me part of your plan?”
“That’s right. I was waiting to truly complete the Strange Castle.”
“What…? What does that mean…?”
She threw away even the minimal respect she had for Goe-gun.
“Until I found you, I thought it was okay while you were mad, but when sanity returned, I always felt uneasy. To truly complete the Strange Castle, I needed to reach at least Star Shattering stage, the number of puppets had to exceed a hundred billion, and I would need enormous resources… But I don’t know how happy I was when I found you. With you alone, I wouldn’t need such enormous resources, puppets, or realms.”
“…”
“I’m grateful that you grew this far, disciple. I waited and waited for the day you would recapture the Strange Castle. With your huge consciousness, the Strange Castle would properly operate… and finally the Strange Castle would be completed.”
The words that had never crossed Goe-gun’s mind until now burst from his lips.
“I’m sorry. I ask you to resent this madman.”
“…You…”
Kim Yeon smiled coldly while glaring at Goe-gun.
“According to you, if I just smashed the Strange Castle with the puppets, you would suffer, right?”
“Haha, the puppets were set not to attack the Strange Castle. If I changed even that setting and made them attack, you would have to take control of the Strange Castle, and completely taking control means you would have to activate the Strange Castle perfectly first.”
Kim Yeon bit her lip.
If he simply returned the Strange Castle here and left…
Then Goe-gun would become mad again, recapture the Strange Castle, and modify her once more.
After a moment of silence, Kim Yeon glared at Goe-gun with glittering eyes and said.
“You have a misunderstanding. You don’t know what my talent is.”
“Indeed. I know. No matter what document I searched, there’s no one with a consciousness like yours. But didn’t you forget? That my consciousness after reaching the Strange Star-Mind Scroll and your consciousness are similar… Even if it’s a talent I haven’t seen before, I can infer to some degree from the realm I’ve reached.”
“…So… you inferred…?”
“…Well, why don’t you verify it yourself.”
Before Goe-gun’s words could finish, Kim Yeon’s consciousness spread in all directions, beginning to seize control of the Strange Castle even more fiercely.
“I don’t know what you want to do with the Strange Castle, but if you activate anything before I completely control the entire castle, it will end.”
Kiiieeing, cheok… cheok… cheok…
At the top floor of the Strange Castle.
Countless waves of thought from artificial souls were being sucked in.
And the puppets that received Kim Yeon’s command flew madly toward the top floor of the Strange Castle.
The strange battle between the two puppet masters had begun.
Kim Yeon took control of the Strange Castle, and Goe-gun began manipulating the puppets in the depths of the Strange Castle.
Uuuung!
Kim Yeon tried to take the puppets from Goe-gun, but the puppets did not listen to her commands.
“These puppets have a slightly special manipulation method. Once you completely take the Strange Castle, I’ll slowly take the control rights from you.”
And the puppets on the top floor began to move.
But Kim Yeon did not lose her smile and drew up her spiritual power.
“You haven’t forgotten, have you? Although you reached the Four Pillars, my ability is already comparable to Integration… You won’t be able to stop me with these ordinary puppets.”
And Goe-gun smiled meaningfully.
“I know. They were never combat puppets to begin with.”
At the same time, the puppets began to move.
“…?”
Confusion appeared on Kim Yeon’s face.
“Well, then shall we begin.”
Goe-gun stood up with [her].
And.
Gradually, shock appeared on Kim Yeon’s face.
“…What… are… you… doing…?”
And she said in a trembling voice.
“The purpose… was not… to… make… a soul…?”
Goe-gun did not answer.
He only looked at [her] with eyes full of infinite love.
Kim Yeon’s face gradually distorted.
“No. Don’t laugh… You shouldn’t… do… that…”
Ku-gugugugu!
Kim Yeon’s consciousness gradually took control of the Strange Castle.
And finally, at the moment she completely took the Strange Castle.
Kim Yeon was able to understand Goe-gun’s goal.
And at the same time, because she had activated the Strange Castle in place of Goe-gun, or rather, because she had pulled out all the ‘power’ of the Strange Castle that even Goe-gun could not control, the scene that Goe-gun had truly wanted to create was being created in front of her.
[Don’t… laugh! Don’t… laugh…!]
Kim Yeon screamed madly and shed tears.
But no matter how much she tried to stop the scene in front of her through the Strange Castle, the scene did not disappear.
Goe-gun’s achievement built over thousands of years.
A masterpiece created by a madman.
Goe-gun opened his mouth while holding a fan.
“Strange Castle Final Stage. Yeon-ui Yeon. Activate.”
On that day.
The work that Jo Yeon, Goe-gun, had truly wanted to create was born from Kim Yeon’s hands.