Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 4
>Chapter Title: Demon Monk
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It had been trapped in that flesh body for a long time.
The owner of that body possessed a far stronger will and resolve than it had anticipated.
As it tried to seize control of the body swiftly, he blocked his own meridians and shut off his consciousness.
-Even if you hold out, it's pointless.
Stealing his consciousness was only a matter of time.
No matter how strong his will, he would eventually submit.
Once it claimed the weakened body and mind, it could take over the flesh.
-It won't be long now.
It thought everything was proceeding smoothly.
But then, an unexpected variable appeared.
It had been just a little closer to breaking through the blocked consciousness when an obstacle arose.
-Who are you?
Ordinary humans couldn't sense its presence.
Yet this being knew how to control it with some bizarre sorcery.
-Are you trying to drive me out?
And so, the being began a battle of strength.
It was a fight over whether it would be expelled or claim the body.
In the midst of it, the being was tricked by the one wielding this strange sorcery and drawn into a wooden doll.
-How dare you deceive me.
Filled with resentment, the being grew even angrier.
It had to reclaim that body and wring the neck of the one who tried to banish it to soothe this rage.
But it was interrupted midway.
So the being targeted not the body it sought, but the interferer instead.
-A fine body indeed.
A young flesh.
Unlike the original body it wanted, it wasn't brimming with vital energy, but it was skewed toward yin, making it all the more suitable for its rampage.
This body was worth possessing.
Younger and more immature than the previous one, its ego and will should be weaker too.
-I'll take it swiftly.
All it had to do was erase the boy's consciousness.
By stimulating and confining his mind, his ego would weaken in time.
But then,
-This is...
The being couldn't hide its astonishment.
What in the world was the owner of this body?
A primal desire stabbing at its core.
It was the desire for murder.
-Is this brat really a living being?
Death.
Darkness.
Rage.
Killing intent.
All of it mingled into a yin energy overflowing with malice.
For the being, this desire filled with death and killing intent was an irresistible instinct.
-Perfect.
The being felt ecstasy in this desire.
But soon, disappointment followed.
If left alone, this exquisite desire that could bloom spectacularly was being suppressed by something, unable to fully flower.
-I'll remove whatever is suppressing your desire.
Since the desire hadn't fully bloomed yet, it was better to release it completely.
The finest body required a perfect mind, after all.
But then, the unbelievable happened.
'What are you?'
The boy had become aware of it.
It had tried to lock him in reality by invading his consciousness, but failed.
-This can't be.
How did he sense it?
It was impossible for a living being to directly perceive or contact it.
'I asked what you are.'
No choice then.
Even if it had to be rough, it would force the erosion.
The possession of the body was already underway; if it devoured his will and consciousness too, he would have no choice but to yield the body.
-Slither...
-!?
For the first time, it felt flustered.
The erosion was reversing.
The energy that had infiltrated the body was being absorbed by the boy instead.
It happened at a speed beyond imagination.
-Stop.
'What are you babbling about?'
-Stop, I said.
'Shut up.'
-No.
'I said shut up.'
-I'll give up. I'll leave, so stop.
At this rate, it might get completely devoured itself.
It tried desperately to escape.
But now, the boy was holding onto it.
* * *
"Hoo."
Sorcerer Myo-sin let out a weary sigh before picking up the sword that had fallen to the floor.
He had thought it would be light, but the blade felt surprisingly heavy.
Gripping the sword with both hands, Sorcerer Myo-sin looked at the Clan Head with a tense expression.
'Can I do this?'
He had exorcised things like monsters before, but he had never killed a living human.
So now that the moment had come, he felt nervous.
But he had to do it.
'I have to kill him.'
Only then could he complete Great Madam's commission and pin everything on this guy.
He would claim that the monster possessing the Clan Head caused him to rampage and kill the Clan Head.
With that, he could naturally rely on Great Madam's help to deal with this guy.
'Do it.'
He had to hurry.
If the guy's escort warrior outside came in, everything would be ruined.
Sorcerer Myo-sin took a step toward the Clan Head.
At that exact moment.
-Flinch!
Sorcerer Myo-sin halted mid-step.
Seized by a chill that made goosebumps erupt, Myo-sin slowly turned his stiffened face toward it.
'!?'
Myo-sin couldn't hide his bewilderment.
He doubted his own eyes.
A hazy, massive figure that seemed to have two more heads than an ordinary adult was glaring at him with eerie, menacing eyes.
'Th-this... this is...'
A giant monk clad in blood-soaked robes, skull prayer beads around his neck.
The monk's face was devoid of any color or vitality.
It was a,
'Monster?'
Myo-sin could tell this being was undoubtedly a monster.
Sorcerers like him called them monsters or vengeful spirits, but common folk called them ghosts.
-Drip...
Cold sweat trickled down Myo-sin's forehead.
Had his spirit eyes suddenly sharpened?
It was the first time he had seen a monster take such a clear form with his own two eyes.
'Damn it!'
Myo-sin cursed inwardly.
There was no way his spirit eyes had suddenly improved.
This monster had to be of a level he couldn't handle, with an overwhelmingly powerful vengeful spirit.
That was why it could manifest its form so boldly.
-Clang!
Tossing the sword aside, Myo-sin formed hand seals.
-Pah!
'Lin (臨)!'
-Pah!
'Bing (兵)!'
-Pah!
'Dou (鬪)!'
-Pah!
'Zhe (者)!'
-Pah-pah-pah!
Along with sword mudras and Diamond Fist seals, Myo-sin chanted toward the monster.
"Du-zhen-wei-ling ta-ren-bing-zhang-jian-wu-jing wu-he-yi-xing-zhu-fu-zheng yao-sha-gui-guai-chu-wai-xiang..."
He was midway through the incantation.
At that moment, the monster in the form of a demonic monk moved like mist toward him.
-Slither...
'Useless!'
He had the Seven Stars Descent Talisman affixed to his chest for protection.
Exorcising it might be tough, but this monster couldn't directly affect him...
-Thud!
"Urk!"
In that instant, struck across the face, Myo-sin had to stop chanting.
It hurt, but more than that, the flustered Myo-sin blinked in confusion.
"H-how?"
The one who struck him was none other than Mok Kyung-un.
The boy, possessed by the monster in the Clan Head's body, shouldn't have been able to control himself—yet he moved.
He should have been suppressed by the Pressure Talisman.
As the puzzled Myo-sin stared, his pupils trembled upon discovering something.
From Mok Kyung-un's chest, a faint black thread-like something flowed out, connecting to the demonic monk monster.
Seeing this, Myo-sin realized something was wrong.
'......How could this be.'
It meant only one thing.
The souls were linked, which signified a shikigami.
A shikigami was, literally, binding a supernatural entity to one's service.
But the reason Myo-sin was shocked was simple.
'How could a monster become a shikigami?'
That monster was a vengeful spirit.
A soul knotted with grudges, seeking to resolve its resentment—they didn't serve humans.
They were calamities that wouldn't be out of place to call evil.
Occasionally, exceptional sorcerers handled shikigami, but those were ancient 'things' or benign lesser spirits.
'Impossible.'
Yet how could such a malicious monster brimming with killing intent become a shikigami?
Moreover, that boy wasn't trained in sorcery or Taoism.
It was incomprehensible.
For ordinary people, being possessed by a monster of that caliber meant losing their body or life.
'How......'
"Is this what I need to peel off?"
"What?"
-Pah!
At that moment, Mok Kyung-un reached out and peeled something from his chest.
The fluttering yellow paper was none other than,
"Huh?"
The Seven Stars Descent Talisman.
Myo-sin's eyes widened.
That talisman had been protecting him from the monster.
Peel it off, and...
-Slither...
The pale giant demonic monk approached with a sinister smile.
Flustered, Myo-sin hurriedly formed seals to chant a guardian spell in its place.
But,
-Thud!
"Keuk!"
Mok Kyung-un kicked him in the gut.
Struck in the abdomen, Myo-sin curled up like a shrimp from the pain of his organs churning.
Suppressing the urge to vomit, he tried to form seals again, but,
"Gah!"
Myo-sin's back bent backward.
His face darkened, veins bulging prominently.
-Drip! Drip!
Myo-sin knew.
The monster was entering him, trying to kill him.
If he didn't form seals and cast sorcery soon, he might lose his life to the erosion.
Myo-sin strained with one hand to form a mudra.
But,
-Squish!
Mok Kyung-un stepped on that hand.
Rendering him utterly helpless.
The panicked Myo-sin gasped for breath and pleaded desperately.
"Hah! Hah! Y-young master, spare me, please..... Just let me live..... I'll do..... a-anything....."
"No need."
"Th-then, because I tricked you......"
"No."
Mok Kyung-un shook his head.
"You did it to survive, so what can I do? But you heard where the seal and manual are, didn't you?"
'!?'
Myo-sin was speechless.
Regardless of his deceptions, it meant Mok Kyung-un had already intended to kill him.
Staring at the incredulous Myo-sin, Mok Kyung-un smiled faintly and said,
"So just die."
-Chill!
His lips curved in a smile, but his eyes were motionless like those of a corpse.
The sight was more eerie than the monster itself.
"Gah! Gah!"
Blood trickled from the mouth of Myo-sin, whose entire face was swollen with bulging veins.
Then, his convulsing body gradually stilled.
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