Chapter 149
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 149
“Your Majesty. I am coming in.”
The one who opened the door and entered was his guard.
“Demonic beasts have appeared within the Imperial Palace. I will escort you to a safe location.”
Instead of answering, Yi-rim stared piercingly at the guard who had come for him.
Under that long, silent gaze, a single drop of cold sweat rolled down the guard’s forehead.
“Your Majesty…?”
Sshhh—
Yi-rim stepped down from the window ledge and gave a languid tilt of his chin, issuing a command.
“Lead the way.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The guard led Yi-rim to the deepest part of the Yellow Dragon Palace, the Emperor’s residence. It was a place where successive emperors took refuge whenever a rebellion or disaster broke out within the palace.
They passed through an unusually silent corridor, and the moment Yi-rim opened the door and stepped inside—
Crack!
Boom! Bang! Crash—!
Doors in three directions shattered, and demonic-beastified humans poured out.
As they lunged at Yi-rim, an intangible force coiled around them like vines and hurled them outward.
Thump—!
It happened in the blink of an eye, a mere fraction of a second.
Yi-rim turned elegantly to face the guard who had guided him here.
“H-How…?”
The guard’s face, initially filled with panic, quickly hardened into a look of readiness to attack.
“I was quite fond of this child in my own way.”
Without a hint of surprise or alarm, Yi-rim curled the corner of his mouth into a smirk, and then…
Puchi—!
A haze of golden light bloomed in the air and pierced through the guard’s heart.
Thud.
The guard’s body collapsed instantly, without even a final scream.
“So it has come to this in the end,” Yi-rim murmured bitterly as he watched.
“Damn it…”
A curse escaped from between the dead guard’s teeth.
“Do not damage that shell.”
“Ugh, uuuugh…”
As if ignoring Yi-rim’s command, the dead guard’s shell shattered and tore apart.
“My, my. I told you not to damage it.”
A flicker of displeasure crossed Yi-rim’s otherwise expressionless face.
From within the torn shell, a black Peril Beast revealed itself.
It was Do-cheol.
“Yellow Dragon… Gah.”
Yi-rim indifferently stepped on Do-cheol as he tried to stand.
“Where is your master?” he asked, looking down at Do-cheol with chilling eyes.
“Do you… ugh… think I would tell you that?”
“He must be somewhere nearby.”
Yi-rim looked around languidly. Then, in an instant, his gaze turned sharp.
“Is it there?”
Crash!
A folding screen flew through the air, revealing what had been hidden behind it.
It had the body of Ri-ri, but it was not her. It was the Evil, barely moving by feeding on the malicious heart within Ri-ri.
“It has been a long time, Evil.”
Yi-rim twisted his lips into a smirk as he took a step toward the Evil, whose skin was covered in black veins.
“Or should I say, it’s a pleasure to meet you for the first time?”
Whoosh—!
Thud!
Yi-rim’s outstretched hand slammed the Evil’s torso roughly against the opposite wall, choking the life out of it.
“To think you would grace the Imperial Palace with your presence personally. What a delight.”
As he constricted the Evil’s throat, Yi-rim’s pupils split vertically like a reptile’s. From the tips of his elegant, jade-like fingers, something sharp and hard began to grow. They were dragon claws.
Harder than any blade, the dragon claws tore through the Evil’s skin and pierced the black veins.
Skreeeeeeeeee—!
A blood-curdling scream, one that could never be human, erupted from Ri-ri’s throat.
Drip. Drip.
Falling black blood stained the toes of Yi-rim’s shoes. A fishy stench spread thick in the air, but Yi-rim didn’t even furrow his brow as he recited in a low voice.
“Now, perish—”
It was then.
“My Lord! Now!”
At Do-cheol’s shout, the black blood pooled on the floor drew a circular seal of evil arts. The formula activated, flashing with a dark red light.
Flash—!
In an instant, a surging black smoke coiled around Yi-rim’s body, and simultaneously…
Puchi—!
It pierced straight through Yi-rim’s chest.
His head slumped forward.
“Heh, hehehe. Even the Yellow Dragon is nothing special.”
The Peril Beast’s cowardly laughter echoed through the room.
Slide.
Ri-ri’s body, which had been held by Yi-rim until a moment ago, slid down the wall to the floor. From within her, the Evil emerged in the form of a black sphere.
—The… Yellow Dragon’s… Orb…
The Evil cried out in an excited voice.
—Give… me… the… Orb…
“Yes, my Lord. I, Do-cheol, shall offer the Yellow Dragon’s Orb to you.”
Do-cheol chuckled as he walked toward Yi-rim.
When he first infiltrated the palace, he had aimed for the Yellow Dragon’s body, but he soon gave up. The Yellow Dragon’s mental strength was too pure and powerful. There was a risk he would be consumed instead if he tried to take over the body.
Thus, what he targeted instead was none other than his Orb.
The Yellow Dragon’s Orb, which was said to possess a mysterious life force unlike those of ordinary dragon beastkin. If he could just get his hands on it, his master would be able to regain a complete body and be resurrected without having to parasitize other beastkin.
Having made that judgment, Do-cheol had set a trap and lured the Yellow Dragon here.
“Foolish Yellow Dragon. To walk right into a trap without even knowing—”
—Do… cheol… The Orb… is… not… there…
Do-cheol froze at the Evil’s call.
—I… cannot… feel… the… Orb’s… energy…
Flustered by those words, Do-cheol checked Yi-rim’s chest.
“The Orb… is gone?”
The Yellow Dragon’s Orb, which should have been right there in his hollowed chest, was nowhere to be seen. The Yellow Dragon did not have his Orb.
“That’s impossible. That can’t be…” he muttered in disbelief.
Slowly—
At that moment, Yi-rim lifted his head.
The moment Do-cheol’s eyes, filled with bewilderment, locked onto Yi-rim’s turquoise eyes.
Flinch.
Do-cheol recoiled at the ominous energy that suddenly overwhelmed him. But it was too late. A haze of golden light enveloped his body, and then…
“Die.”
K-Boom—!
Do-cheol’s body exploded where he stood.
* * *
Meanwhile, Sa-eon was struggling with the sudden swarm of demonic beasts… no, people who had taken the form of demonic beasts.
Under normal circumstances, he would have slaughtered the appearing beasts in a single stroke, but…
‘These aren’t demonic beasts. They’re people.’
He assessed the situation quickly.
The black, festering wounds on the bodies of the beastified people were identical to the marks left by the prisoner’s evil arts, which someone had shown during the meeting discussing the Cuckoo’s punishment just a while ago.
He had expected the Cuckoo’s evil arts to bring trouble to the palace, but he hadn't imagined it would be in this manner.
He couldn't harm the people.
Sa-eon tried his best not to provoke them as he slowly backed away. In the meantime, the beastified people swarmed in and surrounded Sa-eon and Ah-yun.
The palace people, including Jeok Yeong, who were a short distance away, were in no position to help them. Some among them had suddenly complained of pain and begun to transform into demonic beasts themselves. That side was also in chaos, trying to defend against the sudden transformations.
“This has become quite troublesome,” Jeok Ah-yun, standing beside Sa-eon, muttered as he glared at the beastified people surrounding them. “Can’t you do something? Like purifying them with flames?”
“Regrettably, I cannot.”
“You really are completely useless.”
The number of beastified people crowding toward Sa-eon and Ah-yun continued to grow.
The rumors that the Cuckoo was the Bride of the Yellow Dragon had led people to visit her in droves, offering gifts and seeking treatment… Looking at this massive number, it seemed the rumors hadn't been exaggerated.
‘Damn Cuckoo. She’s touched so many.’
Sa-eon was swallowing curses and pondering a way out of the situation when—
“Father!”
At the voice coming from beyond the crowd of beasts, Sa-eon’s expression instantly froze.
“Cotton Ball…?”
So-ya was calling him from back there. He could feel the child running toward him.
However, between him and the child were countless beastified people. It was dangerous for her to run this way.
“It’s dangerous—!”
But before Sa-eon could even finish his sentence…
Poof!
So-ya transformed into a small bird and took flight.
“Pya!”
The child cut through the night sky and flew toward Sa-eon.
Beside Sa-eon, Jeok Ah-yun’s eyes shook violently.
Those red feathers of the small bird flying through the dark night sky were…
“Cotton Ball!”
As Sa-eon reached out, So-ya dove into his arms.
“You, that was dangerous—!”
“But I was so worried about you, Father, I couldn't help it.”
Sa-eon let out a chuckle at the chirping sounds of the bird.
“Only my little Cotton Ball worries about her dad like this.”
Poof!
So-ya soon released her beast transformation and returned to her original form. Then, she stood in front of Sa-eon as if to protect him.
“Those people… they’re humans, not demonic beasts, right?”
“Yes. They’ve been contaminated by the Cuckoo’s evil arts.”
Knowing they were human, they couldn't attack them.
“Then there’s only one way.”
“Will you be okay?” Sa-eon asked in a somewhat worried voice. He had realized what So-ya was planning to do.
“You told me before, Father. To run in the direction I believe is right. And that you would be standing there on that path with me.”
So-ya looked up at him and spoke in a clear, steady voice.
“Since you are by my side, Father, I’ll be fine.”
At this, Sa-eon smirked, his eyes crinkling. He reached out and ruffled the child’s hair.
“Right. Dad will be right here.”
With that encouragement, So-ya felt as if she could do anything.
“Yes, Dad.”
So-ya smiled brightly and slowly turned toward the beastified people. There were quite a lot of them. But So-ya wasn't afraid. Because her father was beside her.
‘I didn't plan on revealing it like this, but…’
Having made her decision, she reached out both hands toward the beastified people.
‘Celestial Maiden, please help me.’
A small flame slowly bloomed atop her palms.
‘…!’
And Jeok Ah-yun, who was beside them, stared at it with a face that looked as if his heart had stopped.
In fact, for a few moments now, he had been unable to make even the slightest sound, like someone whose breath had been completely cut off.
While his mind had gone completely blank, only one scene played repeatedly before his eyes.
So-ya. The scene of the baby bird, born with pure white downy feathers, spreading her red feathers and soaring into the dark sky…