Chapter 62
Around the time the Demonic Cultists had transformed into Goema.
Besides the butchering of the escort guards and Bang Dupil’s stunned horror, there were others who had witnessed the whole thing.
Whoooosh—
It was Sodam, flying high above the river, with a child dangling from its feet.
The child had been hanging there for quite a while, yet showed no sign of fatigue.
After all, the body was only that of a child on the outside. The bones, muscles, and blood making it up belonged to a Goema.
And naturally, the strength contained within that body was nothing a normal human could possess.
On top of that, maybe it was because of the mind art Geom Mujin had taught him.
The child’s body was more vigorous than usual.
Hanging in midair for an hour?
That was like eating cold clam chowder.
"..."
The child, who had utterly ignored the order to go back to the lodging, silently looked down.
Meanwhile, Sodam, the one keeping the child aloft, was staring off into the distant hills.
"Kkiii..."
Shit. What am I supposed to do now?
In Sodam’s eyes were mixed regret for its wrongdoing, remorse, and a tangled mess of anxiety and self-reproach.
Anyone who didn’t know better would’ve wondered how a bird could wear such a rich, complicated expression.
But whether the child noticed or not, Sodam felt like it was slowly drying out from the inside.
Flying through the wind like this had always made it feel light as air, but now it was as if a huge boulder sat on its chest.
And the reason was the child currently clinging to its ankle.
—Sodam, take the child and go back to the lodging.
Its master had given that order, and Sodam had intended to obey.
Yes, that was absolutely what it meant to do.
—This.
But then what was this?
The newest member of Geom Mujin’s party had offered it a plump peppermint candy.
Lately, its master had been so wrapped up in this newcomer that the ratio of soup in its blood and the amount of peppermint in its system had both dropped dramatically.
It had been right on the verge of withdrawal, so Sodam hadn’t hesitated and had immediately tucked the candy into its beak.
Total win!
—You want more, don’t you?
—Kkii!
It had nodded at once, seduced by the taste of mint after so long.
That was the mistake.
The child had dangled the bait, and Sodam had swallowed it whole.
—Then do as I say.
No matter how much of a spiritual beast it was, most spiritual beasts were fundamentally animals.
Unless it was one of those spiritual beasts that had spent ages in cultivation, a rookie beast like Sodam could sometimes be ruled by instinct—and that was exactly what happened.
—Chomp!
Swayed by three peppermint candies, Sodam had become the child’s airborne taxi.
But the sweetness of the candy was as brief as a dream.
Once the candies in its beak had all melted away, Sodam returned from beast-mode to spiritual-beast-mode.
The very first thought it had after emerging from that period of instinct and indulgence was this:
What the hell did I just do?!
It had blown off its master’s order for a few measly candies, and the master’s temper was pretty damn awful, too.
—You dare ignore my orders?! Should I boil water!? Ask Lady Moyong for the recipe!?
It vaguely remembered ignoring the master somewhere in the middle, too...
Bubble-bubble—
The sound of water boiling furiously in the stove flickered in its mind.
"Kkii, kkieee!"
It had to get back right now.
It needed to take this candy demon of a newcomer back to the lodging and then do the old Korean cheer said to have drunk the Khitans stupid with humiliation and defeat.
Sodam’s face had gone paler than its own feathers as it tried to turn around.
But then—
Grab!
"Kkii?"
The hand holding its ankle tightened.
What the hell was going on? Sodam lowered its head.
"..."
The newcomer was staring downward with a face as if possessed.
At the end of that gaze was the chaos of the Goema rampage on the deck.
—Aaaagh!
—My arm!
—Kruaaaar!
The Goema that Sama Ryeong had called Goema Soldiers were tearing through the escort guards.
Arms and legs were ripped apart by claws and teeth; skulls were crushed by fists.
Thud-thud-thud!
Blood and chunks of flesh sprayed across the deck.
Sniff-sniff—
At the same time, the child’s tiny nostrils twitched.
The scent of blood staining the deck red was riding the river wind upward.
That thick, sweet aroma.
"...Gulp."
The child swallowed without even realizing it.
For the past month, the child had been suppressing its thirst for blood with pig’s blood soup.
...or so Geom Mujin had assumed.
It wasn’t entirely wrong, but there was a small catch.
The craving hadn’t been resolved. It had merely been suppressed.
The pig’s blood soup that had acted as a substitute had left the child’s inner self like parched earth.
And the blood sausage with most of its true blood already drained away was no different from sprinkling a single cup of water onto that dry ground.
If you’d never known the taste, maybe it would’ve been fine.
But for someone who did know it, this scent of blood was maddeningly hard to endure.
"...Smells good."
At first, it had only been a small rebellion, a reckless act born from the desire to help him.
But now that thought was vanishing from the child’s mind.
There was a feast laid out right before its eyes. Why should it resist?
Rustle—
The child’s eyes filled with a red gleam as it loosened both hands.
"Kkiiik!?"
When the child’s body dropped straight down, Sodam was shocked out of its wits.
That damned candy demon!?
As far as Sodam could tell, its master treasured that newcomer quite a lot.
And if that newcomer died because Sodam had ignored the order?
That was one nightmare it did not want to imagine.
Sodam flapped its wings at once.
Fweeeeng!
Its body shot after the falling child like an arrow.
It tried to seize the child with its talons, but—
Smack—
"..."
"Kkie!"
The child swung an arm and knocked Sodam’s talons aside.
With bloodlust blurring its vision, Sodam was nothing more than an obstacle.
That ungrateful little—!
The hand strike carried more strength than expected, forcing Sodam back.
In the meantime, the child’s falling speed had already been reduced by the struggle, and it dropped straight onto the deck.
Thuuud—!
"!"
"What now!?"
The impact of the crash rocked the ship.
For a brief moment, the fighting stopped.
Never mind the Goema Soldiers who had lost all reason; even the escort guards thought, What the hell is this now?
Flash—!
Then, for just an instant, red light flared in the dust.
"...Kruaah!"
The nearest green-skinned Goema shouted and stomped down.
Thoom—!
The Goema’s huge sole slammed into the floor, but the child wasn’t crushed under it.
Just before the sole came crashing down, the child moved.
Shashashak—!
Taking full advantage of its small frame, it slipped in between the Goema’s legs and seized its back in one smooth motion.
The green-skinned Goema tried to turn immediately, but the child jumped first.
The child landed on the Goema’s back.
"...Haaah."
Crack—!
Then a pair of fangs drove into the Goema’s back.
The fangs pierced through the thick back muscles as if they weren’t even there.
Slrrrp—!
Blood was sucked from inside the body through the embedded fangs.
From the sky, the thing the child had watched most hungrily was not the escort guards, but the Goema Soldiers.
Compared to the Goema Soldiers, the escorts were nothing but husks.
"Kruaaar!"
The Goema, struck by a vampire out of a clear blue sky, thrashed wildly, but it was useless.
The child’s physical abilities were already formidable to begin with, and now they were amplified by the mind art it had learned.
Though it had only been worn for one day, the Northing Spirit Art was still a true rising martial art.
The original purpose of suppressing its thirst for blood had been a little questionable, but its physical capabilities had definitely improved.
Slrrrp! Slrrrp—!
The child clung on with hellish strength in its limbs and drank blood like a mad thing.
And it did all of that without knowing who was watching.
* * *
"Ugh, my head..."
Seeing the child piggybacking a Goema made me suddenly grab my throbbing temples.
The little brat had ignored me when I told him to go back to the lodging, and now the whole mess had blown up exactly as expected.
"A-are you all right..."
Startled, Dang Seorin lightly tugged at my sleeve.
Flinch—!
"...!"
No one else noticed, but the child, who caught that in its vision, flinched.
Still, it was probably just my imagination, since it was in a state of total blood-drunk madness.
Probably.
"Mm... I’m fine. Don’t worry about it."
Quickly calming the headache, I quietly scanned the area—more precisely, my group.
...They still haven’t noticed.
Unlike me, the others hadn’t discovered the child’s presence.
That made sense; the child was near the far edge of the deck, at quite a distance.
With my excellent eyesight, I could see straight through the chaos, but not everyone was capable of that.
"More importantly, all of you head to the rear of the ship. There’s a small boat there, so take that and escape."
As soon as we boarded, I’d already checked where the dinghy was.
Given the situation, this was the perfect time to bail.
"What, all of a sudden? Why the hell are there so many Goema? Is it always like this outside Sichuan?"
"Of course not," I replied.
The group moved as I instructed.
"M-Master... what about you?"
"Go on ahead. I still have something to do, so I’ll catch up later."
Even as the others headed for the stern, I held my ground and spoke.
If I was going to leave, I was damn well taking the fire-element party member with me.
"...All right."
"Thank you, benefactor."
"T-thank you!"
Seeing that, the others looked vaguely moved.
Why were they acting like that?
I was a little baffled, but this was the martial world.
This was a place where lines like, Leave the back to me! actually worked.
To think I’d be playing that role while Goema were running wild.
It was the very model of a warrior, a man among men.
"Hurry up and come too, Seorin!"
"B-but... mmmph!"
"If you keep staying here, you’ll only get in the benefactor’s way."
Dang Yulin and Hayoung dragged away the hesitant Dang Seorin.
Are they all gone?
Once the others had left, I was left alone, and I flexed my foot.
Flash!
My two feet shot forward as if wrapped in wind.
My footwork avoided the corpses, the wreckage, the fighting escorts, and the Goema, never once slowing down.
In a single breath, I reached the place where the green-skinned Goema was.
My quickly thrust hand shot toward the Goema’s back.
Come here, you little shit!
Snatch—!
I tore the leech—no, the child—off the back of the Goema, whose previously bulging muscles had shriveled tight.
"You bastard, what—"
"This escort’s guard—"
Sama Ryeong and Bang Dupil both gaped when they saw it, but my opponent didn’t look like it had any intention of listening.
"See you around."
That was all I said before tucking the child under my arm and retracing my steps.
Shuush—!
"Kyaaah! Kyaak!"
Having had the table kicked over while it was still eating, the child squirmed in protest.
"Hah... right. Discipline doesn’t have to be verbal all the time."
I thought even Master O Daehyeop, the grand master of child psychology, had said something like that. (Not my responsibility.)
Watching the child flail its arms and legs, I nodded.
And conveniently, its plump little backside was sticking out.
My hand rose high enough to block the moon.
Mujin Sword Style
Empty Hands, Open Palms
Smack-smack
My palm sliced through the night air and struck the peach.
Slap—!!
"...!!"
The child’s blurred eyes sharpened again from the love-filled swat to the rear.