The Jester's Final Act (Chapter 220)
Coming. Coming. Coming!
He is coming!
Gi-gi-gi-gi!
A spatial crack was tearing open, and far beyond it, something vast and terrifying was leaping toward us.
The Wondrous Castle!
Goe-gun's Wondrous Castle was leaping straight into Bongmyeong-ju from afar.
Seo Hyoel seemed to have sensed the familiar aura of Goe-gun's fortress as well. His head tilted toward the spot where the castle's presence grew stronger.
"E-Eo... Ttae... nya...!"
Right now, while Seo Hyoel was still stunned!
If Goe-gun arrived, Seo Hyoel would have nothing left to do.
He couldn't even cast a single spell.
No more schemes. It would be as if he had been completely cooked and simply placed before Goe-gun's front door.
Anyway, in just a few days my entire body would turn into lightning and I would die.
If Seo Hyoel were frozen solid by Goe-gun, it would be a conclusion I could at least be satisfied with for all those who had sacrificed themselves—including Gyuryeon and Seo Hyoel.
Crack!
A spatial rift opened, and beyond it, in the empty space, we saw a fortress made of clanking machinery hurtling toward us.
But even so, Seo Hyoel's expression did not change.
Instead, as if he had grown accustomed to pain, he opened his mouth beside me.
"Bongmyeong-ju... is a discarded land... but it is still a land... still a land..."
For a moment he stared at the Wondrous Castle, forcing a smile while barely enduring the pain.
And then his gaze left the castle.
"If there is no special seal that allows direct entry... even Goe-gun couldn't have entered this place so easily."
"...It seems like he is already entering."
Gi-gi-gi-gi!
As if mocking my words, the enormous Wondrous Castle was slowly closing the distance through space.
Perhaps because of Bongmyeong-ju's influence, it had been blocked a few times in the middle, but it was now shattering every barrier and pushing inward.
Gi-gi-gi-gi!
Watching the Wondrous Castle steadily approach after shattering all of Bongmyeong-ju's resistance, Seo Hyoel fell silent for a while.
No matter how sinister his schemes, no matter how brilliant his strategies... nothing would work against Goe-gun.
Neither logic nor cunning would apply.
And finally.
Gi-gi-gi-gi!
Ki-yi-ing...
With only about ten jang remaining in the empty space before the interior of Bongmyeong-ju, the Wondrous Castle simply stopped.
And the doors of the Wondrous Castle opened.
Ki-yii-iik!
Clang!
A jolt ran through my whole body.
Inside, twenty-eight colossal presences were pressing down.
I swallowed hard, realizing that every single one of those auras was no weaker than the force Gyuryeon had faced during her Integration challenge.
Crack, crack-crack!
Even though the space was ruined, Seo Hyoel's words about the puppets weren't a complete lie.
The twenty-eight puppets still couldn't enter.
But when all twenty-eight extended their hands toward us at once, a gap appeared in the invisible power surrounding Bongmyeong-ju.
Crack-crack-crack!
And finally.
A crack small enough for even a child to barely slip through was created.
Boo-woo-woo-woong!
That was enough.
From beyond, Goe-gun's will directing the puppets was felt.
Countless insect puppets flew in from inside the Wondrous Castle and filled every corner of the tiny gap.
Boo-woo-woo-woong!
The insect puppets crossed the line we were holding and surrounded us, spinning wildly.
A vortex formed around us thanks to the insect puppets, and because of it Seo Hyoel could no longer use his blood art to strengthen the Four Pillars cultivators as reagents.
"Now... what are you going to do, you bastard?"
I grinned viciously while watching Seo Hyoel reach out toward the place where the blood art's energy was gathering.
It was there.
The overwhelming blood art energy from just moments ago was gradually shrinking.
Like many demonic arts, this sacrificial technique had a short duration.
If it couldn't achieve its purpose in that short time, it was completely useless.
Seeing the energy shrink so rapidly, it was clear the blood art Seo Hyoel had created was dissipating.
Moreover, these insect puppets were clearly made to allow spatial leaps.
They would soon use the Wondrous Castle to pull Goe-gun completely inside, and Seo Hyoel would be finished.
Still, don't relax even now.
But despite having driven Seo Hyoel this far, I grew even more tense.
If I knew Seo Hyoel, he had surely prepared one last trick.
Perhaps another fragment of himself would suddenly pop out from underground.
Or perhaps he had planted a poison trap like Hong Beom's.
I had felt something off ever since I met Oh Hye-seo.
Most likely it was another scheme of Seo Hyoel's.
Even if it was sealed with the Five Elements Blood Curse Flag, I had to stay alert because I was currently caught in his trick.
Actually, there are several ways I could still push him further right now.
But for now I decided to wait until Yu Hwa arrived as reinforcements.
I had to be cautious until a truly certain force stood behind me.
Wait. Until I can strike him with absolute certainty!
Crack, crack-crack!
Beyond the line of insect puppets.
Toward the direction of the spatial rift.
There, the insect puppets had widened the spatial crack a little more.
Good... if this keeps up...
But that was when.
Clunk!
The Wondrous Castle suddenly shook and began to be pushed backward little by little.
What...!
Without losing his smile, Seo Hyoel opened his mouth.
"The lords of the Geon clan... are still playing around..."
Uu-wooong!
I suddenly felt a strange attraction coming from the direction of the spatial crack.
Behind the spatial rift.
The rear side of the Wondrous Castle.
There, the lords of the Geon clan were pulling the Wondrous Castle back outward with pure force to drag Goe-gun away from Bongmyeong-ju.
"Are you trusting in that?"
But I snorted with a grin.
If anyone knew the Wondrous Castle well, it was me.
The Wondrous Castle wasn't using its full power yet.
Ku-gu-gu-gu-gu!
From behind the Wondrous Castle, several cylindrical propulsion units appeared.
And at the same time, enormous spiritual power gushed from the propulsion units.
They resisted the pulling force and shot back to their original position, then clung to the spatial rift as if trying to break through it.
If it had been easy to block or restrain the Wondrous Castle, Goe-gun wouldn't have been able to rampage freely for a thousand years.
It looked slow and clumsy, but the reality of the Wondrous Castle was shockingly fast.
The Wondrous Castle Goe-gun had poured his heart into couldn't be stopped by anything.
"It does seem a little difficult, doesn't it?"
But Seo Hyoel's face remained unchanged, and his mind was still calm.
What is he relying on?
Seo Hyoel.
Seo Hyoel grinned.
And I felt an indescribable unease from that smile.
"I cannot understand the concept of 'emotion,' which ordinary living beings share and discuss."
The pain must have been unbearable, yet... what was this?
Was he already completely numb to suffering?
"Even if I tried to analyze and mimic the emotions of living beings through the vibrations of my chest, I couldn't understand all their behavioral patterns. So I formed a hypothesis while studying Goe-gun's behavioral patterns."
I let his nonsense wash over one ear while keeping my full focus on whatever trick he was about to pull next.
Tick...!
Seo Hyoel reached into his pocket and pulled out a single necklace.
It was a plain, unadorned necklace made of thin linen thread, but its ornament was a beautiful green jewel.
Seo Hyoel wrapped the necklace around his palm so the gem rested on his hand.
"Every individual living being has something called 'precious things'—a purpose in life. Even those called spiritual entities mostly possess such things. And that includes me."
"...?"
I tried not to pay attention to his nonsense, but the words "something precious" made me glance at his eyes for a moment.
"For Goe-gun, it was 'her.' For his descendant Ran, it was 'family affection.' For Baeknyeong I raised, it was 'the safety of the clan.' And for the demonic entity who went to save Baeknyeong, it was probably 'the safety of his disciple'."
Click!
Seo Hyoel extended the hand holding the jade necklace toward the spatial rift where Goe-gun was about to enter.
I have to stop whatever he is trying to do before it's too late!
But I couldn't move.
I still couldn't understand how Seo Hyoel could suddenly act so calmly.
Did he feel no pain from the beginning? No, if that were true, he wouldn't have performed that pathetic act of clutching his head and trying to push back the curse while collapsing.
Then was Seo Hyoel the same as me?
Or even worse?
Then how was he so normal?
I glared at Seo Hyoel's mind with disgust.
"What I want to say is that if you figure out what each object wants, you can easily control every different object by slightly controlling those desires. For example, to protect the disciple's safety you send him far away to another land, making support take forever... or you offer your own soul like Baeknyeong did for the safety of the clan."
Wi-yi-ing!
Green light burst from the jade necklace in Seo Hyoel's grip, illuminating Baeknyeong's projection.
That's...!
Baeknyeong!
It was Baeknyeong!
That...!
Seo Hyoel was extracting Baeknyeong's soul fragment and implanting it into the necklace to command it.
"Baeknyeong. Activate the Cheoksan Piece."
[...Yes, Master.]
At the same time, the extracted soul fragment combined with Seo Hyoel's power and his own soul fragment to manifest his will.
Seo Hyoel smiled gently and said, "Heaven, Earth, and Geon cultivators look down on only those who have reached the third level of the Heart Demon Gongbeop. But the possibilities for Geon cultivators are infinite. Just as you can fuse the three—Heaven, Earth, and Geon to rival the power of the Four Pillars... if you use a Geon cultivator's power well, you can do this..."
Ku-gu-gu-gu-gu!
The will of the Cheoksan Piece controlling Baeknyeong's "weight."
And the gravitational force gushing from Seo Hyoel's hand combined to begin an insane amplification.
That's...!
Exactly like when my Void Shattering Sword merged with my Nascent Soul and showed an enormous amplification rate.
The gravitational force exploding from Seo Hyoel's hand was amplified insanely.
And then.
Pa-a-a-ang!
With a sonic boom, the gravity from Seo Hyoel's hand instantly turned into repulsive force and slammed into the Wondrous Castle.
Ku-gu-gu-gu-gu!
If the Geon cultivators' ability was multiplication, Baeknyeong's ability was addition.
Seo Hyoel already had power rivaling the Integration peak.
And now, with Baeknyeong's power to control "weight" added to his will, even his gravity reached the Integration peak.
Behind him, the lords pulled; in front of him, Seo Hyoel pushed.
In the end, the Wondrous Castle was pushed back and vanished into the darkness of the empty space.
"By using Geon cultivators so well, you can accomplish truly useful things. But strangely, magic tools or artifacts created with Geon cultivators don't come out often. Isn't it strange? The probability of hatred toward Geon cultivators is overflowing because you read minds or add karmic terms... Why didn't even the residents of Gwanghan-gye think of using Geon cultivators? Did they simply avoid it because of hatred?"
He asked with a grin, "Doesn't it feel like someone in Gwanghan-gye deliberately planted that hatred? Do you, my lord Seo Dou, know anything about it?"
"..."
"You won't tell me?"
"...I see. You aren't without pain."
I finally understood how Seo Hyoel was enduring this insane pain.
Seo Hyoel had split his own mind.
He had sliced his soul fragment into pieces and reattached them without fully joining.
In that state, it looked like he had fainted.
In other words, the thing speaking to me in front of me wasn't Seo Hyoel's original body—it was the actions Seo Hyoel had pre-programmed into his body before decomposing his soul.
At the moment Goe-gun appeared, he had abandoned resistance through his own pain and temporarily split his mind, then pushed Goe-gun away.
Since he had successfully knocked Goe-gun down, he would probably restore his mind and return now, following his programming.
What Seo Hyoel says is meaningless.
All his words are lies.
He was just babbling nonsense to hide the fact that he had lost consciousness!
Then.
Now is Seo Hyoel's opening!
Swish!
From beside me, my Jeomuldo rose.
It wasn't a simple Jeomuldo.
It was a special Jeomuldo capable of holding living beings.
One of the Taoyuan Tu type.
Swish-swish-lak!
And from inside it walked out an old woman in tattered robes.
Gyubaek.
Goe-gun had retreated, but that was fine.
Anyway, he had shown his opening!
[Gyubaek-nim!]
I sent my intent directly to Gyubaek through thought transmission.
Gyubaek nodded and extended one hand.
Ki-yi-ing!
Golden light shone from her hand.
The seal of the Gwanju Saja—
One of Gyuryeon's authorities that allowed free passage inside and outside Bongmyeong-ju.
With that authority, I could instantly connect any designated place to the interior of Bongmyeong-ju.
A spatial door opened.
I didn't use it earlier because I didn't know what Gyubaek would face in front of Goe-gun...
"Yu Hwa!"
If I was calling Yu Hwa, I had to use it now.
"Baeknyeong is here. Come over!"
And through the spatial door, a river of bright crimson light rushed toward us at high speed.
Ki-yi-ing!
Even after completely pushing Goe-gun away, the projection of Baeknyeong still flickered in Seo Hyoel's hand, and Yu Hwa immediately captured the scene.
Baeknyeong, the disciple Yu Hwa cherished, had his soul fragment extracted and was being used as a magic tool by Seo Hyoel.
Seeing this, Yu Hwa said nothing.
Instead, she revealed her true form, placed her guqin in front of her, and began plucking the strings with an expression I had never seen before.
Zi-yi-yi-ing―
The entire space seemed to resonate.
Yu Hwa's Resonance Technique focused solely on Seo Hyoel, dragging him deeper and deeper into the depths of his decomposed consciousness.
Even though it was clearly a tone meant only for him, it was so hypnotic that I felt myself growing drowsy just from hearing it.
But both Gyubaek and I maintained our focus and watched Seo Hyoel stagger.
Somehow, I felt this might be a nightmare I would never experience again if Yu Hwa put me to sleep this time.
I looked at Gyubaek and said, "I will use a curse. Yu Hwa will use sleep. And Seo Hyoel himself is the opening created by temporarily splitting his mind."
Gyubaek clenched both fists tightly.
"Have you made up your mind?"
"...Yes."
Her mind had been shaking ever since she saw Seo Hyoel.
But one thought remained unshaken.
An unbreakable vow.
Even so, her Cheoksan Piece, which showed unparalleled power against specific targets, activated.
"I will repay Gyuryeon's grudge."
Woldoipcheon.
Seogyojeongpyo.
Just for ending Seo Hyoel.
The mark of the promise I had once made with him.
The Woldoipcheon based on the Gwanghan Covenant had now activated.
Clang, clang, clang!
Brown chains identical to Gyubaek's clothes flowed from her hands.
At the same time, the chains naturally passed through Seo Hyoel's heart and wrapped around his major organs and every vital point.
I see...
I realized the chains were connected to Gyubaek's heart and everywhere else.
Just like the chains were linked to Seo Hyoel's heart, major organs, and vital points.
In short, the Woldoipcheon that would kill Seo Hyoel together.
Gyubaek's Woldoipcheon, Seogyojeongpyo, was simply realizing the content of the Gwanghan Covenant, which made them die at the same time.
Clunk, clunk, clunk!
I pulled out countless generals from the Jeomuldo and had them open their mouths behind me.
And I had prepared to offer my own body and explode with curse and the Invisible Sword at any moment.
Even if Gyubaek couldn't kill Seo Hyoel, he would still be finished like me if I self-destructed.
Even if he survived, he would at least be injured enough to give us time to deal with Goe-gun again.
What a turbulent life.
I had come under Seo Hyoel to dig up his foundation.
Actually, while watching him from underneath, I had gained much, but I hadn't learned everything.
Instead, too many bombs had exploded.
Was there no regret in this life?
Whether I would regret it in this life would be known only when I swung my final blow and looked back at the life review.
Don't relax even to the very end.
Seo Hyoel is Seo Hyoel.
Looking at his mind, it was clearly his original self.
Who knew what trick he would pull next, where, or how.
Watch him with full concentration until the very last moment!
Never relax...
Puuk!
"Eh?"
Boo-woong!
Before Gyubaek could even activate Seogyojeongpyo.
A crimson hand pierced through her back and stabbed straight into her heart.
Ki-ri-ri-lik!
The chains that had come out of Gyubaek's body began to scatter as yin and yang spun wildly.
And the crimson hand was shot straight toward me.
Cheong!
I crashed to the ground without moving, struck by the overwhelming power contained in that hand.
Wak!
My body, already over eighty percent turned to lightning, looked like it would disperse at any moment.
Only two tenths of flesh left, and red blood was flowing out and spreading around.
"You..."
I looked at the face of the one who had ambushed Gyubaek and me with a bewildered expression.
"Won-ryup...?"
The enormous power Seo Hyoel had gained by turning all Four Pillars cultivators into blood art.
I had thought it had completely dissipated.
It hadn't.
It had all been absorbed by Won-ryup.
And then, as Won-ryup opened his mouth, I felt a hollow despair.
"How strange. You took the light of the Prism Monarch, yet you still recognize me?"
From Won-ryup's mouth came a voice I knew all too well.
Oh Hye-seo's voice was flowing out.
"You really are too strange, Seo Eun-hyun. The eerie fog that protects you. Because of that fog, I can only read surface-level things about you."
Tu-tu-tu-chut!
Only then did I finally understand the strange disharmony that had been bothering me in my mind.
My memories were distorted by the Prism Monarch's light, but the Mansang Inyeondo I unconsciously operated was showing the truth.
I hadn't met Oh Hye-seo and then received the Prism Monarch's light when I "returned."
When I "went to meet" Oh Hye-seo, I had been ambushed by the Prism Monarch's light.
Everything—the conversations I had with her after meeting, the times I had read her mind, the sequence of the time I took the Prism Monarch's light... all of it had been mixed and distorted by the Prism Monarch's light she had first cast on me.
Stagger, stagger...
Yu Hwa, too, had staggered under Oh Hye-seo's power of white light pouring from Won-ryup's body, and her Resonance Technique had stopped.
At the same time, Seo Hyoel was standing up, restoring the mind he had previously split.
Oh Hye-seo in Won-ryup's body walked slowly to Seo Hyoel's side, and Seo Hyoel smiled kindly, very friendly, as he had always been, and patted Won-ryup's shoulder.
Tap-tap―
"Won-ryup learned how to create blood bodies from ancient ruins and thought they were his own secret technique. But who actually passed the ancient ruins' blood body creation method to Won-ryup was me, Seo Dou."
Tap-tap―
"If you had obediently learned the laws mixed with the Hopyungseong Hyeolbyeon from the Blood Underworld as I instructed, you would have noticed what I did to the blood bodies... but it's unfortunate."
Tap-tap―
Oh Hye-seo avoided Seo Hyoel's hand patting her shoulder again and again as she spoke.
"If one knows the exact method to activate blood bodies, touching a blood body allows access to the memories recorded in it. The activation method for the secret technique... was probably raising the blood body's life force in extreme environments?"
"Oh my, Hye-seo. Revealing such a huge secret carelessly is troublesome."
"What? It doesn't matter, does it? After all, Seo Eun-hyun is going to die, and in my position, it's more important whether I can shake those eerie fogs by shaking Seo Eun-hyun's emotions."
"Hmm..."
It had been true.
Somehow, in this life, Seo Hyoel had tapped my shoulder unusually often.
And most of those taps had happened when I was wearing the Blood Body Armor.
Activating blood bodies in extreme environments is part of the secret technique?
He had kept tapping my shoulder friendly-like ever since we first met.
I had thought he was just acting friendly.
It hadn't been that.
Seo Hyoel had been trying to figure out from the very beginning how someone who had Won-ryup's blood body could have beaten me in a one-on-one fight.
He had tapped my shoulder before the preliminary blood fusion, activated the blood body properly after, and probably checked its records.
After realizing how often Seo Hyoel had tapped my shoulder like a friend, I felt hollow.
"...I was nothing but a jester dancing in front of you."
I had thought he had been watching me through Goe-gun's circuit.
But it was actually me who had been under constant surveillance through the blood body.
In short, it had been nothing but one act of a jester's performance.
Yes. A jester's performance.
And the absurd jester's performance had ended like this.
"...Yes, I lost."
With a hollow laugh, I looked at Seo Hyoel and Won-ryup's faces looking back at me in front.
"Since it has come to this..."
I clasped my hands together and closed my eyes.
And murmured.
"...I am a ghost king."
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