The Bond from the Past is Eternal - 2
Except for Do-ol's appearance, the excavation of the Seocho Paewang's tomb went off without a hitch. I couldn't help wondering if it had really been necessary to mobilize so many Hwa-gyeong masters for this. The grave goods were meticulously sorted by category under the collective expertise of the specialists, the bamboo slips presumed to be martial arts manuals were personally safeguarded by Grandfather, and the spirit elixirs that would drive any martial artist insane were divvied up among the kings for safekeeping. We'd gotten what we wanted, and it was a flawless wrap-up—safely transported all the way to the opening. But I'd momentarily forgotten that nothing's truly over until the fat lady sings. That disaster strikes precisely when you let your guard down.
Whether you could call this a disaster was debatable, but no sooner had we stepped out of the tomb than the anomaly hit.
— I've waited sixteen hundred years!
— Solely to purify your existence!
What the hell?
A resounding voice echoed through the air. Unlike Do-ol's low, guttural growl, this one was clear and resonant. I whipped my head toward the source, and there it was—a bird the size of a man plummeting down with ferocious momentum. Straight toward Do-ol, who was shambling out with a rope around his neck.
— Y-you maniac! What are you doing here?!
— Didn't I tell you? To purify you!
Do-ol spotted the diving bird and let out a horrified yell. His violent reaction told me everything. The being Do-ol feared, the talking bird that had endured sixteen hundred years just to kill him.
So that's Bonghwang.
From the context, that had to be Bonghwang. The king of winged beasts like Kkieak, and—like the Kirin-Do-cheol dynamic—a mortal enemy of Do-ol among the sa-ryeong.
Fast.
Thanks to his nemesis Do-ol being sealed away for sixteen hundred years, Bonghwang's aura was intensely sharp and overwhelming. Exaggerating a bit, its dive speed was like a missile strike. Unlike someone who'd spent sixteen hundred years as a shut-in in a tomb, this was a true-blue sa-ryeong tempered by roaming the Central Plains. No contest compared to Do-ol.
— Death to the fiend tiger!
— Graaaaaargh!
Ah.
Maybe the gap was just too wide. The swiftly diving Bonghwang clawed straight into Do-ol's eye. It happened in an instant—no one could react. Do-ol was too battered from the group beating by four Hwa-gyeong masters to defend himself, and for the Hwa-gyeong masters, Bonghwang's energy felt too sacred and gentle to interrupt.
It was the kind of vibe that made you think blocking it would be rude.
— Humans! Step away from this wicked fiend tiger! I'll take responsibility and deal with it!
Bonghwang was so fixated on grabbing Do-ol that it showed no hostility toward us humans—quite the opposite, actually.
"Fall back. This isn't for humans to meddle in."
"Indeed. Human affairs for humans, beast affairs for beasts."
What could we do? We'd been pondering how to handle the hulking Do-ol ourselves, and here comes Bonghwang offering to take care of it. Perfect. Unlike the diminutive Do-cheol or the docile Kirin, Do-ol was neither small nor tame. We couldn't just release him into the palace or the wild, so handing him off to Bonghwang was the right call.
As we backed away from Do-ol and Bonghwang with those thoughts in mind, Bonghwang redoubled its ferocious assault.
Bad timing.
Seeing Do-ol get pummeled one-sidedly again, I almost felt sorry for him now. Sixteen hundred years without venturing outside, suppressed by the Kirin's horn, beaten black-and-blue by four Hwa-gyeong masters all over. And now Bonghwang shows up—how could he fight back? He just had to take the hits.
Poor guy. If he hadn't had that Kirin's horn on him, or if he hadn't gotten caught in the Hwa-gyeong beatdown, he wouldn't be getting thrashed like this. At this point, it felt like heaven itself wanted Do-ol to respawn.
— You petty bastard! Fight fair if you dare—don't pick on the weak! If you've got any pride, come find me once you're reborn!
Do-ol wailed in pathetic fury at this insane piling-on.
— My pride is purging you by any means necessary! If you're salty, get reborn as something good for once!
It didn't faze Bonghwang one bit. Such resolute conviction was almost admirable. Prioritizing crushing the enemy over ego or face? That's the mark of a fine soldier.
"He's right. Who notices a fair fight that ends in death? Win first, any way you can."
"If you worry about face and let the villain survive, who's accountable? Better to swallow your pride and wipe evil from the world."
The kings, idly spectating the beast brawl, nodded in satisfaction—clearly sharing the sentiment. These war veterans despised the old murim for posturing nobly then going silent when it mattered. Bonghwang's pragmatism over pride must've resonated. Hell, they probably wanted to join in beating Do-ol themselves.
— Fine! I'll be reborn—but you won't die alone!
— Wha—
Bonghwang's cry seemed to strike a deep chord. Do-ol, who'd only been taking hits, suddenly steadied himself and lunged at Bonghwang. It happened too abruptly for anyone to intervene.
An awkward silence descended.
"A draw, then?"
No one spoke until Gu Gangwang finally broke the ice.
"Heavens."
"What in the world."
Dong-gu Wang and Yangyang Wang, equally silent until then, could only sigh once the floodgates opened. I got it—I felt the same. How the hell were we supposed to process this?
Mutual destruction.
I sighed at the sight of Do-ol and Bonghwang sprawled cold on the ground. It really had happened out of nowhere. Do-ol, bleeding from every pore, suddenly tore into Bonghwang's throat and collapsed, breathing his last. Unbelievable. A near-dead Do-ol pulling off mutual destruction against a fresh Bonghwang? Was Do-ol's combat power that insane?
— Kkeee-eak... Kkeeeeee-e-e-e-e-e-eak...!!!
But I didn't have long to ponder. Kkieak, who'd just lost its king before its eyes, went berserk. Even Kki-ing-i and Kki-ong-i had been shaken seeing the dying Kirin, but Kkieak had witnessed Bonghwang's death firsthand. It wailed like a patriot mourning its fallen homeland—or a sibling seeing a hole ripped in its hard-rescued brother's gut.
— Kki-ing, kki-iiing...
— Kki-ooong...
Pitying Kkieak's cries, Kki-ing-i and Kki-ong-i licked its body. No effect, of course. Who'd be consoled after losing a king, mentor, parent figure right in front of them?
This is madness.
I roughly rubbed my dry face and sighed again. Bonghwang had dealt with Do-ol. But it'd gotten dealt with too. How the hell do you clean up this mess?
No legends about Bonghwang, right?
I racked my brain instinctively. The Kirin had that ominous legend: seeing its corpse was a harbinger of doom—even that certain duke died two years after viewing one. Bonghwang? Nothing like that. No tales of calamity from killing it or seeing its body. No death-related lore at all.
So we're good?
I exhaled in relief without thinking. Bonghwang's death was tragic, but sa-ryeong and sa-hung resurrect anyway. And it died honorably in battle—no regrets. Fine, sorted. It'll revive when the time comes.
— Kke-eak, kkeeeee-e-e-eak...
With no harm to us confirmed, time to soothe the sadly sobbing Kkieak—?
"Hm?"
"Well, now."
"Nothing ever goes smoothly, does it."
The corpses of Bonghwang and Do-ol began crumbling to dust.
The beasts by the lake had started wailing, so the napping Kirin and Do-cheol bolted off somewhere—I hurriedly followed. These kids usually lounged around lazily. If they were rushing like this, something big was up.
"Heavens."
Trailing Kirin and Do-cheol to where the beasts were staring, I beheld a bizarre sight. The grass and flowers in Gonghuwon began weaving together into small shapes. Like tiny beasts.
"Kirin, Do-cheol. What's going on?"
— ...Looks like one of the sa-ryeong or sa-hung died.
"What?"
Not something to brush off lightly. Sa-ryeong or sa-hung dying? What the—
— No need to panic. Us killing each other is par for the course. Though two dying simultaneously and reviving at the same spot and time? Rare.
Do-cheol glanced around at Kirin and Mu, then sighed softly.
— With sa-sin, sa-hung, and sa-ryeong crammed in this tight space, the aura must've drawn them to revive here.
I eyed the increasingly defined grass clumps. Drawn by the energy to revive here. With Mu, Kirin, and Do-cheol in Gonghuwon, didn't that mean allsa-ryeong and sa-hung would come back here?
And assuming the new ones stuck around Gonghuwon too... This'll be their turf, not ours.
Might have to rename it Sa-huwon soon. Perfect for the afterlife spot where sa-ryeong and sa-hung respawn.
— Ah, it's those two.
After staring at the clumps a while, Do-cheol sighed in realization.
"Who?"
— Do-ol and Bonghwang. No more quiet days ahead.
— Ki-ri-ring...
Kirin nodded with a delicate cry at Do-cheol's words.
Got it. Do-ol and Bonghwang this time.
A brawler and the symbol of peace, both at once. What a freakish combo.
— Do-ro-ro-rong!
— Boo-oo-oong!
Finally, the grass-and-flower lumps transformed into a tiny tiger and a tiny chicken—Do-ol and Bonghwang. They let out their own unique, adorable cries without fail.
Ah.
The moment their eyes met, they started fighting.