0041 : Golden Eagle Guards
Kiiing—
The sound of the flute was low and deep.
It spread through the village quietly, like a mournful animal cry, and felt almost like a melody from the underworld. Having learned Qimen Dunjia, I couldn’t help but think that this flute sound itself was a form of sorcery.
I focused my mind on finding the source of this low-frequency wave. No matter how deep and subtle the sound might be, it had to originate from somewhere. I traced the direction in which the sound was intensifying while observing the pedestrians from the rooftops. The closer I got to the source, the more the people were suffering.
‘This way.’
Pah!
As I leaped from rooftop to rooftop, I seemed to cover at least six tiles in one bound. My lightness of foot could almost be likened to flying. Normally, martial artists would tire and collapse exerting this level of agility, but I possessed infinite internal energy. In this state, I could continue leaping for several time periods without fatigue. Additionally, having received precise training in Thunder Shadow Step from the Azure Dragon Martial Arts School, I had significant confidence in my techniques.
Yet despite such confidence, my mind was complex and troubled.
It was due to the overwhelming power of the flute sound.
‘Can a mere sorcery wield such range and destructive power? This is a force that transcends the laws of nature!’
Qimen Dunjia might seem like a convenient all-purpose method at first glance, but it is far from it. Even Mangnyang, an expert in Qimen Dunjia, couldn’t perform advanced techniques without a sufficient level of supernatural ability; at best, he could only use elementary techniques like Voice Summoning or Dark Cloud Technique. Even with supernatural power, it’s impossible to freely manipulate phenomena like summoning wind and rain without extensive time and effort, followed by a significant price.
To release a powerful large-scale brainwashing signal over a radius of miles without any warning is clearly against the common sense of sorcery. My formidable internal energy allowed me to easily nullify this brainwashing wave, but the truth is that an ordinary person with less than three years of internal energy would lose consciousness within a single time period, falling victim to the low-frequency wave. I had never heard of such a powerful sorcery being cast merely with a flute.
What kind of Grand Sorcerer is this?
I soon arrived at the source of the sorcery. The center of the village, where I landed, made me open my eyes wide.
“……!!”
Hell’s Map!
Pukak!
The people surrounding the Flute Phantom were tearing at their own throats, collapsed from burst blood vessels, or suddenly wielding axes against each other in a struggle for survival. Some were cackling like madmen while others were raping women without reason. There were even those preparing for self-disembowelment as if performing for a talent show. I even spotted a cannibal savoring the flesh of a child’s corpse.
Blood flowed down the streets.
It was a scene of horrific brutality, as though the participants cared not for their own suffering! It was a frenzy of people who seemed to have lost all sense of pain, reveling in their madness. While in other places, people merely fainted, here at the center, such terrifying effects were manifesting.
“… Ugh.”
I felt a wave of dizziness as my head spun. Just a moment of carelessness allowed that low-frequency wave to penetrate my defenses and induce a headache. I realized I couldn’t stand here long without encountering senseless waves of effect.
‘Hmph, fine. I’ll take my time cooking you.’
Without descending from the rooftop, I subtly strengthened my footing. Whether the Grand Sorcerer Flute Phantom sensed my presence or not, he continued to play. With a cold smile on my lips, I kicked two tiles from the rooftop.
Thud!
“……!!”
One tile struck the Flute Phantom’s shoulder, and the other hit his thigh. As the tiles struck him, infused with internal energy, the Flute Phantom stumbled and fell to one knee. Though he did not drop the flute, his frenzied performance paused momentarily.
Instantly, the surrounding madness washed away. The villagers whose minds had been warped returned to their senses, horrified by the horrific scenes they had participated in.
“AAAAAAAH!”
“GAAAAAAAH!”
The residents, realizing the horrific acts committed by their own hands—unimaginable by human ethics—were already mentally exhausted. In just a brief moment of music, a banquet of madness had engulfed their lives. With no time to tend to them, I quickly descended and approached the Flute Phantom.
He was the same as before. Dressed in tattered brown clothes that obscured his body, I couldn’t discern his gender, and in one hand, he tightly clutched a black flute. I crouched down in front of him and asked,
“What’s your name?”
He remained silent. Frustrated, I abruptly yanked aside the yellow cloth that covered his face and was taken aback.
“Ugh…”
This was beyond grotesque.
He was a true monster!
His head was flat and veined, and in his pea-sized eyes, there were no pupils—just a blank white. Furthermore, he had no ears. Instead of a nose and mouth, there were unknown tentacles extending, moving as if alive, with an oval mouth at one end twitching as it consumed food. I carefully observed his hands, which had strange membranes between the fingers resembling those of a frog.
To call this being human was an utter misnomer. It could only be regarded as an aberrant monster. No wonder Liu Cheon-ho had been horrified and called it a monstrosity.
Yet, that was that, and this was this.
I immediately snatched the black flute from his right hand. The creature didn’t utter a word as it relinquished the flute, merely rolling its white eyes to look at me. Just to test, I decided to give him a few hits.
Thwack! Bam! Thwack!
Incorporating martial arts techniques, I unleashed a flurry of punches, knee strikes, and kicks. Infusing about ten strikes with internal energy, he wriggled and staggered, appearing in pain. I thought, while I was delivering blows that would nearly incapacitate an average person, that it was remarkable he had yet to faint.
‘This creature has extremely high durability. Is it inherently strong without having practiced martial arts?’
His body was on par with someone who had significantly trained external martial arts.
In any case, I couldn’t afford to waste too much time here. Unsure if my blood coagulation technique would work on him, I delivered a final heavy kick strong enough to make a human vomit their intestines.
Puk!
[ @&$&@$….]
Only then did he emit a pain-filled groan. Even that sound was so strange that a human vocal cord couldn’t possibly produce it, causing me to shiver. The creature before my eyes had a humanoid shape but was definitely not human. As he vomited blue blood and lost his wits, I finally seized him by the nape and took off in another direction.
Sweeek!
‘What have I done? It’s done now.’
I chuckled bitterly as I flew off to another location. Initially, I had intended to wait until I saw him performing human sacrifice rituals, but recalling the girl I had met in the forest days before, I couldn’t hold back. Knowing that innocent human sacrifices were increasing and that the horrors were escalating at the village center filled me with a sense of dread.
It might have been premature, but I had no choice. For now, I needed to hide myself and gather as much information from this creature as possible. Afterward, I would decide whether to confront the Golden Eagle Guards or assassinate them.
I ran for a while before exiting the village and heading toward a cliff in the northwest. Gripping the Flute Phantom by the nape, I leaped over the cliff in barely two or three bounds. After descending the slope, I searched for a secluded mountain and discovered a natural cave. Given the distance, it would be at least twenty miles, so the Golden Eagle Guards wouldn’t catch up with me any time soon.
Thud!
I threw him forcefully onto the cave floor. This was so hard that an ordinary person would bounce off and die from the impact, yet he merely trembled, spitting blue blood, and seemed to have no significant injuries. His kind was innately resilient.
I shook the black flute as I spoke.
“Is this your magic tool? It seems that without the flute, you can’t do anything. You haven’t practiced martial arts at all.”
[ &@#%…]
His white eyes appeared slightly enlarged, as if in anger. Somehow, I felt he understood my words, yet I couldn’t comprehend his in return, which frustrated me. So, in a fit of anger, I kicked him again.
Thud!
[ (!(#%(@#….!!]
“What did you say? You monster, speak human language.”
Thud!
[ ……!!]
Seeing him roll on the cave floor in pain somehow pleased me. The number of humans he had killed must have exceeded ten thousand, and compared to their suffering, this was nothing. If I had the luxury, I would have taken my time dealing with him, but since I did not, I looked down at him and spoke.
How long had I been assaulting him?
Suddenly, he extended his palm with membranes and gestured with his hand. Then, suddenly, I heard a voice in my mind, that of the creature.
[Stop it. This will only bring about your destruction.]
Was it telepathy?
However, I thought it wasn’t. Through my training in the Azure Dragon Martial Arts School, I had learned to use telepathy, but this was entirely different.
Telepathy involves whispering one’s will, blending it with the wind so that it resonates softly in the ear. But what he had done was more akin to the legendary Heart Speech. It transcended language, directly making one comprehend the intention in their mind—something no extraordinary master could achieve.
I smirked a little.
“Is this also your magic? Why are you performing human sacrifices and summoning demons?”
[ ……]
“If you can speak human language, then do so. I just want to knock you out in one blow.”
As I subtly raised my fist, he appeared frightened, inching backward. He likely thought he would die if I hit him more, and so he quickly spoke to me.
[Wait a moment, human. If I tell you, will you let me go?]
“Let’s hear it, and I might let you go. You seem to still have some use.”
Of course, that was a lie. My plan was to gather all the information I could and then tear him apart. But to prompt this creature to divulge information, I needed to leave him with some hope. The creature couldn’t read my mind, so it slowly conveyed its message to me.
[I made a contract. In exchange for offering tributes to the gods, I help you. I am proceeding with the plan according to your demands, and only two more tasks remain for the contract to conclude. You must be an emperor’s subordinate, so why are you torturing me?]
He seemed to take offense, his tone suggesting he couldn’t fathom the Golden Eagle Guards would betray him.
It sounded like something significant was afoot. Moreover, this creature, contrary to its monstrous appearance, seemed to possess considerable intelligence and appeared quite clever. Despite the confusion, I wanted to extract more information and asked,
“What does that mean?”
[That is…]
Cough!
Cough!
He suddenly coughed up blue blood and could no longer continue speaking. It seemed he had reached the limits of his stamina. Realizing I had hit him too much, I pondered if there was any more information to extract. Then a very clear and good question came to mind.
‘Ah, right!’
I pulled out the Cheonam Biseo, which I always carried with me. Then I showed him the first page.
“Look at this! Can you interpret this script?”
Mangnyang had said that the script of the Cheonam Biseo was almost identical to that of the Nameless Sacrificial Text. If this creature could interpret the Nameless Sacrificial Text, then naturally, it should be able to interpret the Cheonam Biseo as well. When the monster saw the Cheonam Biseo and recognized the characters, its tentacles came to an abrupt halt.
[ ……]
“Why? Can’t you interpret this?”
[Th-this is… how can a mere human possess this…?]
He appeared truly shocked. Despite being abducted and dragged into a cave, and even enduring punishment, he had appeared unfazed until now, but clearly, he was shaken. The way his tentacles stopped moving and his whole body trembled like a aspen leaf revealed this.
“Shut up and just answer. What does this say?”
[No way… have you become the owner of that item?]
“Just answer. What is the content of the Cheonam Biseo?”
[Huh… Ha ha ha… How could this be… I never expected such a trap… I…]
Suddenly, it wailed in despair. Its body began to turn red, emanating a sinister glow. I withdrew the Cheonam Biseo and took a step back, as the creature coughed up blue blood and shouted.
[Sacrifice! I mourn for your nightmare!]
“……?!”
At that moment, I felt the world tremble as if it were being shattered. Not only the cave but the mountains, the streams, and even the sky were all vibrating. Simultaneously, I sensed a terrifying energy pouring down from beyond the heavens.
Boom!
This was serious. It felt like something tremendous was about to happen.
I grabbed the creature by the collar and shouted.
“You bastard! What have you done?!”
[Heh heh heh… You really don’t know what happens when your consciousness is interrupted, do you…]
“What do you mean?”
[I was calling them in order to feed them… And they have all been summoned… Now they will rampage in search of living sacrifices… This is destruction.]
Boom!
With a colossal explosion about thirty feet away, a mound disappeared. Swallowing hard, I saw a massive entity emerge from the mound.
“A demon…”
This was a demon I had seen before. The only difference was that back then, it had been about three times smaller, but now it had grown to a staggering ten times larger. It wouldn’t be strange if it devoured entire mountains. Its grotesque mass quivered, stretching out hundreds of eyes and tentacles, appearing akin to a nightmare.
Boom!
That wasn’t all. From all directions, demons began erupting from the ground. There were dozens of these colossal creatures that had come to this place for the human sacrifice.
The creature grinned widely.
[Farewell… you and I are now dead men…]
“Are you kidding me? Do you think I’m scared of those things?”
In a direct confrontation, I might have felt threatened, but I was confident in my ability to slip away while toying with them. The fact that they were in search of food meant I wasn’t the only target. I attempted to seize an opportunity to escape the cave, but at that moment, I sensed an overwhelming murderous intent converging from all around.
“……?!”
The gazes of the demons scattered throughout the heavens were fixed on me.
It was clear they were solely targeting me.
What the hell was going on?
I could hear the creature behind me chuckling sardonically.
[They clearly know who interrupted their consciousness…]
Boom!
The demons surged towards me at an incredible speed.
I wanted to escape, but I had no idea where to run. Even at my maximum speed, I was uncertain if I could evade their straight-line attacks, and dozens of gigantic monsters were about to bear down on me.
“Ah! No! Aaaah!!”
Screaming, I summoned every last ounce of strength to perform my martial arts technique. I kicked off the ground, soaring through the air. Thanks to that, I managed to dodge the first demon’s charge and descend from the cliff cave to the ground.
“Gah…!!”
In an instant, the wall of darkness came into view.
Dozens of demons were crossing and charging at me one after another.
Boom!
In the next moment, another demon’s charge slammed into me, shattering my body as it passed.
I felt a tearing pain, and everything faded to white.
That marked my fifth death.
