Shadow of the Hidden World: Dark Lord Geusundae (Complete)

I had met Geusundae before, but the memory of our conversation was faint, as if hidden behind a thick curtain. So I asked the question that had been bothering me.

"Do you know me?"

"Of course I do. You are Miho, are you not?"

"Have we ever spoken before?"

"Precisely three hundred and seventy-five days ago, in the Hidden World."

"...Did you erase my memories?"

"I cannot answer that."

So he had erased them. I prayed that this time, at least, he would leave my memories alone as I continued my questions. The first was the one I was most curious about.

"Are you a spiritual beast?"

I had judged Geusundae to be a spiritual beast for two main reasons. First, I couldn't sense any yokai energy from him. Second, he was a being of such overwhelming power that he could stand shoulder to shoulder with Sangun.

A powerful being with no detectable yokai energy? The only possible answer was a spiritual beast.

"No."

But the word that left his mouth was a flat denial.

"I am a yokai."

"Then why don't I feel any yokai energy... Actually, never mind that. If you're not a spiritual beast, why do you oppose goblins?"

Geusundae had deliberately taken the shadow form of Dalki, the so-called natural enemy of goblins. The reason was obvious. He was keeping them in check. This fake Hidden World was probably one of his tools for doing exactly that.

Goblins were the enemy of every spiritual beast.

I recalled what Sangun had once told me.

With his grave tone, Sangun had made it clear that fighting goblins wasn't something a spiritual beast could avoid. That part made sense. But here was a yokai, not a spiritual beast, who had created this enormous fake Hidden World and even assumed the form of Dalki, the goblins' natural enemy. Why?

"Did Sangun ask you to do this?"

"A request? How presumptuous. This lady is not so soft-hearted that she would grant just anyone's favor."

This yokai called Geusundae apparently took on not only the shadow form but the personality that came with it. I'd never seen Dalki in person, but her arrogance truly seemed to pierce the heavens.

He continued in that same haughty manner.

"Little one, it is not only spiritual beasts who stand against goblins. Goblins are beings that must be hostile to yokai like this lady, spiritual beasts like yourself, and even humans."

"Why? Humans I understand. Have the goblins done something to you?"

"I cannot tell if your head is simply slow or if you are trying to guide my answer. Are you truly asking because you do not know?"

"..."

Geusundae's next words finally made it click.

"Goblins used the Supreme Divine Record to deceive yokai like this lady."

"Ah."

I understood now why he hated them. The moment the Supreme Divine Record was mentioned, I grew excited and pressed him further.

"Then you also..."

"This lady, too, received the Supreme Divine Record from the goblins."

He continued.

"Like the other yokai, this lady was captivated by the path of truth the Supreme Divine Record promised and sought to achieve ascension."

"The qualification for ascension..."

"Indeed. The qualification for ascension. To think that mere goblins would dare speak of ascension. Looking back now, it is utterly detestable."

"So you were one of the yokai who failed to ascend..."

I nodded. I understood. I understood perfectly.

In the past, Geusundae, like the other yokai granted the qualification, must have slaughtered humans indiscriminately to reach ascension. But right before he succeeded, something went wrong. The dark half of the demigod Dueoksini, Eoduksini, had awakened.

Eoduksini had slaughtered every yokai on the verge of ascension for his own reasons. But Dueoksini's interference ruined that plan, and the duty of slaying those near-ascension yokai fell to the Taoist master Jeon Woo-chi, the force master King of Yuldo, and the other humans.

Yes, that was the key point. How had Geusundae survived them?

From every document and eyewitness account I had gathered, the Taoist master Jeon Woo-chi and the force master King of Yuldo had been so overwhelmingly powerful that the yokai on the verge of ascension were nothing before them.

The fact that Sangun had followed the King of Yuldo was proof enough of their strength.

No. Surviving them wasn't the important part. How had Geusundae, a yokai on the verge of ascension, managed to move openly without hiding from their sight? Every other yokai who had been close to ascension had stayed hidden like dead mice for five hundred years. The blue fox had done so. The weasel had done so. Even the formless shadow had done so.

But the Geusundae before me was different. According to Depo, Geusundae had already been living in the Hidden World two hundred years ago when Depo first entered it.

There was only one possible reason Geusundae could have survived them.

It had to be that Sangun had saved him...

"Wrong."

"...Pardon?"

"I said you are wrong."

"What exactly is wrong?"

"This lady... No. I have never failed to ascend."

"...?"

"In the past, I reached ascension. Though it did not take me long to realize it was a false ascension."

I was speechless. Mangtae Grandfather had definitely told me that not a single yokai had ever achieved ascension.

"Did Mangtae Grandfather lie to me?"

"How could you accuse such a kind-hearted yokai?"

"..."

"It is natural that you do not know. Because the moment I achieved ascension..."

"My existence was erased from the world."

"Uh..."

I didn't quite understand. Erased from the world... Did that mean he had died once...?

Suddenly, an immense aura that reminded me of Sangun pressed down on me. After releasing that pressure for a long moment, he finally calmed and leaned back into his throne.

"If I had not received help back ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠then, I would probably still be..."

"S-Sangun helped you, right?"

"Wrong again."

"The one who helped me was not Sangun."

"It was a goblin."

"...Excuse me?"

"Though I am not even certain that being was truly a goblin."

"Enough. That is not important."

Not important? That was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the most important information in the world to me. Whether I was curious or not, he kept speaking.

"What matters is you, fox spiritual beast Miho."

"...Me?"

"Yes. Did I not tell you? Dalki is the natural enemy of goblins. Which means..."

He pointed at me with a pitch-black hand.

"You, a fox yokai like her, are also the natural enemy of goblins."

"Ah, yes..."

Shit. First the humans, now the yokai. Everyone seemed determined to pile responsibility onto me.

"Until very recently, Sangun and I could not tell whether you were an evil fox like Dalki or a sacred fox."

"..."

So that's why they erased my memories.

"But the current you has stepped onto the true path of ascension as a sacred fox. You have already slain one goblin. This proves that Sangun and I were not mistaken."

"Um. I don't think I ever told you I killed a goblin. How did you know?"

"All darkness in the world falls under my domain. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I cannot interfere, but I can observe."

"So you were eating popcorn and watching my legs get crushed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in real time."

"Ahahaha! What an amusing fox yokai you are."

"...I'm a spiritual beast right now, actually."

Swish!

Out of nowhere, he unfurled a fan and continued.

"Miho."

"Gather your strength."

"Gathering power as quickly as Dalki did may be impossible."

"But until you manifest all nine tails, train without cease."

"Even if your body breaks."

"Even if you suffer unbearable pain."

"Even if your mind completely collapses."

"You must not stop training."

"That is your destiny."

"...Do you realize how fucking terrible that sounds?"

"I am aware."

Sangun had never forced sacrifice on me. But the Geusundae before me was openly demanding it. His tone truly fit the title Shadow of the Hidden World.

"Enough. I have said all I needed to say. You may leave."

"...I don't know how to get out."

Snap!

The moment he flicked his fingers, my vision spun. The next thing I knew...

Growl.

"...Oh, fuck."

A house-sized tiger was standing right in front of me. I had returned to the Hidden World.

Wait. I felt like I was forgetting something...

Oh. Right. Lee Ha-neul.

"Miho! Miho, where did you go?!"

Lee Ha-neul felt like crying. She couldn't see anything. There was no exit. And now even Miho had disappeared.

She wasn't the type to scare easily, but complete darkness was enough to plant fear in even the bravest human heart.

Sniff. Sniffle. Sniffle.

Just as tears were about to fill her eyes, a sharp snap! of fingers echoed from somewhere. Her vision changed in an instant.

What appeared before her was a squirrel.

"Squeak?"

"A c-cute squirrel!"

"Who are you, squeak?"

"...Eaaaaack! The squirrel is talking!"