The Great Escape
The pale-faced middle-aged man, the Yagwi City Lord, ground his teeth. *Grit.*
"I know not what trickery you have employed, but was dying once not enough for you? You should be grateful just to be breathing. Do you truly wish to bury your bones here?"
"Hmph. I wonder. Aren't you being a bit too confident for someone who has only managed to kill a single fragment of me?"
"Your habit of speaking to me as if I were a mere child remains unchanged."
"Is that not all in the past? Forget it cleanly. Besides, we have far more pressing matters at hand. Rather than nursing an ancient grudge, we must first remove the blade pressed against our throats."
Simultaneously, Ryeo-ah and the City Lord turned their gazes in the same direction. There, an old man wrapped in a hazy shroud of clouds stood leisurely, wearing a peculiar smile.
"Hoho. Please, carry on. Yagwi City Lord, and you, mysterious cultivator."
"Who would be foolish enough to let you reap the spoils of our conflict? Yagwi City Lord, is it not time to let go of our old grudge? Neither you nor I are in perfect condition, so we must make up for it with numbers. Do you not know that grudges are but fleeting illusions that naturally appear and fade over the course of a lifetime?"
Ryeo-ah, borrowing Hayun's body, menacingly flashed the countless pupils that had sprouted all over his flesh. To think that with a borrowed body and an incomplete soul, she could make the skin of **Creation Realm** experts crawl. Just a casual glance revealed dozens of eyeballs. None of them were mere decorations; a sinister, wicked authority was undoubtedly coiled within each one.
The Yagwi City Lord and Sahabaek wore grim smiles. Perhaps the one to be feared most among them was not Sahabaek, who was physically whole and commanded the full might of the human forces, nor the Yagwi City Lord, who held his ground within his own domain of Yagwi City. Perhaps...
"Disgusting. Truly disgusting. Since when did Yagwi City become so pathetic that such foul creatures could trample over it with their filthy feet?"
Ultimately, the one most frustrated here had to be Sahabaek. He had marched all this way in a single breath to plunder Yagwi City and wipe out the Dokkaebi race, only for another mysterious Creation Realm master to suddenly appear. Just moments ago, he had been worrying that this unidentified powerhouse might be a rogue cultivator summoned by the Yagwi City Lord.
Even if his body was broken, the City Lord—Gang Gwol, who had reigned as the guardian deity of the Dokkaebi for ages—was still a force to be reckoned with. If this mysterious Creation Realm master joined forces with him, and every remaining Dokkaebi in the city fought to the death using all the arrays and treasures at their disposal...
"All of you, get the hell out of my city!"
"Fufu. I would love nothing more than to leave, but that old man has played a bizarre trick. Thanks to him, the teleportation array won't even activate. See for yourself."
*Thud!* Ryeo-ah irritably tapped on the crystal wall, which had lost its light and turned dull. The teleportation array's control mechanism, which had been working perfectly just moments ago, now sparked with static electricity and fell silent.
"I will not mince words. Sahabaek, was it? If you open this for me, I shall leave quietly."
"Hmm... But what if the Yagwi City Lord takes that opportunity to escape through the teleportation array with you? Why not ally with me instead to safely dispose of him? We can split the spoils fifty-fifty."
"My, that is a bit difficult. If the Yagwi City Lord dies, what guarantee do I have that I won't be next?"
"You ask too much. Does a mere half-wit parasitizing someone else's body truly believe they can negotiate with me on equal terms?"
At this point, the Yagwi City Lord, who had been watching silently, let his lips curl up. It was not a smirk born of amusement at the situation. It was anger. He was absolutely furious.
"I've been watching you two, and you are both acting like absolute clowns."
"Mmm."
"Yagwi City Lord. From what I can see, you look like you have one foot in the grave already. Why don't you just behave yourself?"
Ignoring the remark, the Yagwi City Lord gathered his power. Instantly, fine cracks began to spiderweb across his body, which had previously looked like that of an ordinary Dokkaebi. *Crack, crackle—* Hairline fractures split open, venting a chilling, eerie spiritual energy. Yet, it did not feel as though his body was collapsing. Rather, it felt like he was shedding a suffocating husk or breaking free from shackles that had bound him until now.
This was his true form, which he usually kept tightly sealed to conceal his overwhelming presence. I recalled the rumors I had heard from Ryeo-ah and during my own cultivation. Upon reaching the Creation Realm, one transcends the limits of mortal biology and gains a Creation Body (Johwa-che) that defies the laws of nature.
It was the first step toward becoming a true immortal, shedding the suffocating, restrictive vessel of flesh. A declaration of war against the heavens, made by a lowly creature born crawling on the earth as it finally stepped into the celestial realm.
The true form of a Creation Realm expert, also known as a fragment of a god.
This is insane.
I snapped myself back to reality as a mysterious wave of consciousness forcibly jolted my fading mind.
"Watch closely, Hayun."
"Ryeo-ah, you..."
"For that is the first ideal you must reach, and a meaningful step toward godhood."
*Rumble—!*
Before we knew it, dark, heavy storm clouds had gathered thick in the sky. As if to set the stage for this grim showdown, not a single ray of light could pierce through the heavens where blue skies and white clouds had drifted just moments ago. It was a deeply irreverent thought to direct toward the heavens, but... it looked almost as if the sky was locking its gates tight to keep something out.
"Excellent imagination. Think broadly. Never place limits on your mind."
Ryeo-ah let out a soft chuckle, seemingly pleased with my observation. Soon, the Yagwi City Lord, having completely shed his outer shell, flashed lightning from his eyes.
"Grrr... All of you. You die here today."
Having cast off his fleshy husk, the Yagwi City Lord was on an entirely different level. His physical size had ballooned to that of a multi-story pavilion, and blue currents of electricity coursed through his body like veins. His eyes crackled uncontrollably with wild, lashing arcs of lightning that would clearly prove fatal upon the slightest contact, making one wonder if his entire being was made of pure thunder.
"First... Sahabaek, who dared covet my clan's domain. I will kill you first."
*Sshhk—*
As he drew the lightning armaments embedded like thorns in his back, the dharma treasures in my own hands felt utterly pathetic. Setting everything else aside, I doubted I could withstand the power of even a single one of those weapons. Had it not been for the pair of horns on his head, his appearance was so radically transformed that no one would have guessed he was a Dokkaebi.
"What! Why are you targeting me first?!"
"I have wanted to kill you since long ago, whenever the opportunity arose!"
*Rumble—!*
A bolt of lightning crashed down like a roaring beast. It was a terrifying strike, as if the heavens themselves were delivering divine punishment, but Sahabaek was also a Creation Realm powerhouse.
"Fine! Since your body is already broken, I shall put you out of your misery once and for all!"
Sahabaek's body shimmered, and two additional pairs of arms sprouted from his ribs and shoulders, while a gem resembling a sacred jewel embedded itself in his forehead. His beard grew longer, and clouds shimmering with a mystical light bloomed behind his back.
The power of two beings who could no longer be classified as mere mortals clashed. A spear and a flail charged with lightning. An imugi taking shape and rising from the clouds. And the focal point where all these forces converged was...
"Insolent fools."
It was Ryeo-ah, who had been quietly observing the situation. A mandala of bizarre patterns bloomed around her, refracting the cloud imugi and severing its body. The Yagwi City Lord's flail and spear managed to pierce halfway through the mandala, but as the snake-like eyes sprouting from her body flashed fiercely, he recoiled in horror and hastily withdrew his weapons.
"Hmm..."
"Miserable bitch."
The faces of the two Creation Realm experts who had attacked us darkened. Through that brief exchange, they had realized that Ryeo-ah was no easy opponent.
"Damn it."
The Yagwi City Lord spat out a curse. At the same time, the other armaments embedded in his back caught my eye. Swords, scimitars, hand claws, banners... every single one of them was either chipped or broken. From the sparse, hollow sockets where weapons had once been, lightning leaked out like blood. Looking at it now, it wasn't that he preferred using the spear and flail; those were simply the only weapons left in decent condition.
*Crack. Snap.*
That wasn't all. As if to show the toll of his exertion, a crack began to split the Yagwi City Lord's left horn. Was that the injury they spoke of?
"Oh? It seems your body is in even worse shape than I anticipated, City Lord. To think you cannot even properly maintain your Creation Form."
"I still have more than enough strength to drag you down to hell with me."
"And what do you plan to do about that one over there?"
"I'll worry about that later."
The spear, carrying the fierce momentum of a thunder god, shot toward Sahabaek. The spiraling tip of the spear swept away the clouds gathered for defense, but that was all. Instead of counterattacking the City Lord, Sahabaek sent another cloud imugi hurtling toward Ryeo-ah, as if refusing to let her remain a mere spectator.
"Fufu. Troublesome pest."
*Slash. Slash.*
Ryeo-ah sliced her fingernails across several of the pupils on her body.
*Screeech—!*
The eyeballs thrashed in agony, weeping tears of blood.
*Tap.*
Ryeo-ah's fingernail, stained with blood like ink, tapped the imugi once more. Then...
"This... this is impossible."
The imugi crafted from the old man's clouds was sucked directly into one of her pupils. It writhed across the surface of the eyeball like a painted dragon on a canvas, but like any painting, there was no sign of it ever escaping. Just as a painted flower can never release a fragrance.
"...She has grown stronger."
The Yagwi City Lord muttered, as if measuring Ryeo-ah's power. Ryeo-ah let out a feverish sigh and looked indifferently into his eyes.
"I shall create a favorable situation for you."
"What?"
Action spoke louder than words.
*Rip, rip, rip, rip, rip.*
A total of five eyeballs were torn from Ryeo-ah's body. A stench of blood far worse than before filled the air, accompanied by horrific screams. Wrapping her hands in the blood that gushed like a spring, Ryeo-ah formed a hand seal.
"Stop, you wretched wench!"
Sensing danger, the hazy cloud Sahabaek rode began to shimmer with five brilliant colors, but the Yagwi City Lord's spear flew in instantly.
*Crunch!*
The spear pierced deep into the heart of the clouds. It was inevitable that the harmony of the five-colored clouds, which had been gathering formidable power, would be shattered.
"Yagwi City Lord!!"
Heohwan-gyeong
And with Ryeo-ah's incantation, the surroundings began to warp.
Blink. Blink, blink.
My eyes blinked. It was not the blinking of the countless pupils that had sprouted on my body. Those were all rotting away, weeping trails of blood, or had closed their eyelids tight like clams as if asleep.
"Ryeo-ah?"
Within this bizarre world that warped, shattered, and reflected in all directions like a kaleidoscope, I quietly pondered amidst my distorted senses. This was not some grand phenomenon like the world itself warping. It was simply that all of my senses, including the five basic ones, had been extremely distorted. It was just that the intensity of this distortion was so immense that even Creation Realm entities were ensnared by it.
I quietly closed my eyes and felt a warm guidance from within. It was a sort of signpost Ryeo-ah had left for me. It was safe to call it a map she had prepared in advance, showing me exactly what to do and how to act in this situation. In this place where everything was twisted and warped, where senses and emotions cascaded like a waterfall, I was the only one who could remain sane.
*Boom!*
A bolt of lightning as thick as ten tree trunks bound together crashed down right beside me. It was not an attack aimed at me. It was a blind strike from the Yagwi City Lord, who was flailing in a nightmarish illusion, unable to distinguish friend from foe. Yet, I could see him.
"You bastards! Once I tear down this illusion, I will slaughter you all!"
I could see his gait, the trembling of his body, and his shattered senses slowly returning one by one. His steps, which had been staggering as if drunk, began to steady, and reason gradually returned to his unfocused, spinning eyes. The same went for Sahabaek.
"..."
Instead of staggering around to realign his senses like the Yagwi City Lord, he wrapped himself tightly in clouds, gradually regaining his consciousness within the warped world.
The only reason I wasn't falling prey to this absurd illusion was simply because Ryeo-ah had permitted it. Even so, I could barely withstand the aftereffects and had to follow her map. But that was more than enough. Ryeo-ah's illusion seemed to go beyond mere phantoms, interfering with something far more fundamental.
The mysterious force that had been interfering with the teleportation array had long since dissolved, tricked by the dense illusion that even fooled Creation Realm masters.
As I manipulated the teleportation array, I looked at Kang Baek-jin, whose consciousness had been completely bleached away, turning him into a mere doll. I couldn't save him. Ryeo-ah had not permitted Kang Baek-jin to bypass the illusion. What we stood to gain was the wealth of his clan; what we stood to lose was a suspicious figure who might stab us in the back at any moment.
*Drip—*
My own body was also slowly melting within this warped world. It was only natural, considering I was hosting a being far beyond my capacity. However, the melting was far less severe than expected.
*Slide—*
Instead, Kang Baek-jin's body began to melt and collapse onto the ground like candle wax. He had become a voodoo doll—a scapegoat to bear all the backlash in my stead.
"..."
I locked eyes with the unfocused Kang Baek-jin and activated the teleportation array. Then, whether by his own will or not, I bowed twice to my second father, who was crumbling away for my sake.
"You have worked hard, Father."
"..."
"I will take good care of Mother, the other mothers, and your daughters. Very good care indeed."
"..."
*Flash.*
The teleportation array, shining like starlight, enveloped everyone from the Kang family, including myself, in a brilliant light. Feeling my body crumble into particles, I looked up at the sky, which was still choked with dark storm clouds.
"Farewell. In your next life, I hope you have a smart, obedient son and daughter, and live a long, healthy life."
"..."
I closed my eyes, feeling a comfortable sensation of floating.
Thus began the long, arduous flight of the Kang family.