novelraw Chapter 188 : Phantasmal Dream Awakening
Chapter 188 : Phantasmal Dream Awakening
Chapter 188: Phantasmal Dream Awakening
On the outskirts of Du’an County, at the site of a ruined temple.
The interior of the abandoned temple, long since forgotten by human footsteps, felt less serene and more eerily desolate.
A roof with shattered tiles collapsing down, crumbled walls, and a courtyard grotesquely overgrown with weeds—over all of it, the evening mist was slowly spreading.
Yet more chilling than any of that scenery was the lingering afterscent of sorcery permeating the entire area, cold enough to freeze one’s blood.
“……It’s vicious.”
Do Hayeong muttered quietly.
“That’s what I’m saying. To think that all the inner grounds beyond the mountain gate are covered in Defeated Slaughter Divergence (敗殺分岐)…….”
Tang Serin replied, letting out a low groan.
While concealing herself and overlooking the temple grounds, she could clearly see the Defeated Slaughter Divergence densely spread everywhere—something that would show horrific illusions to anyone who stepped upon it.
“Hmph. The place where the sorcery formation is installed is the central Great Hall. The moment we enter, suffering damage from the Defeated Slaughter Divergence is unavoidable.”
Nameless said, snorting as he exhaled through his nose, mimicking the tone of a warrior from the Beast Palace.
“Hm, what if we interpret the Thousand-Jin Weight principle in reverse and try to make our physical bodies as light as possible?”
“It’s pointless. The activation of the Defeated Slaughter Divergence has nothing to do with weight. The demonic spirit of the Defeated Slaughter Divergence simply follows the aura of any living being who steps inside.”
“Ah.”
At Nameless’s firm words, Hayeong let out a short sigh.
The battlefield at Du’an County was under Nameless’s command.
In a way, it was only natural.
As the greatest assassin of the Gate of Assassins, possessing an immovable mind (不動心) that did not waver before any illusion, Nameless was the most optimized existence for breaking through the Defeated Slaughter Divergence.
‘Tch. If it were up to me, I’d like to break through alone and slaughter every last sorcerer of Heaven-Piercing Gang…….’
But in the end, that was impossible.
According to Sewoon, dismantling the sorcery formation installed in Du’an County required three people to simultaneously destroy the core (核) of the spell.
Unless Nameless could use clone techniques, it meant that three people had to break through together all the way to the Great Hall.
“Then…… there’s no choice but a frontal breakthrough.”
“Yeah, it seems unavoidable. Pata Myeong, please focus.”
“Fine. Focus only on my voice. I’ll hold you steady so you don’t fall into a phantasmal dream.”
“Hoo, moments like this really make me envy the divine arts of the Beast Palace.”
“This is the foundation of the thousand-year Beast Palace.”
“I see.”
“…….”
Listening to the two of them, Hayeong somehow held back her words.
But only for a moment.
Pa-bat!
Three shadows leapt out from their hiding place at high speed and charged toward the inner grounds beyond the mountain gate.
Suaaah!
Chwaaah!
The instant they stepped onto the ruined grounds, sinister energy swept over them, and an unbearable sense of exhaustion washed in.
It felt as if they were being dragged down into a bottomless pit beneath their feet.
Hayeong clenched her teeth and endured it.
‘The power of this sorcery formation is stronger than I thought……!’
[Your mind must never waver. The moment your attention is stolen by the voices you hear, you’ll be dragged straight into a phantasmal dream.]
Unlike her, Pata Myeong’s calm telepathic voice rang clearly in her ears.
It truly seemed as though he was unaffected by the sorcery formation.
His voice continued to ring out like a warning bell.
But with every step forward, the power of the Defeated Slaughter Divergence intensified, and other voices began to echo in her ears as well.
–Sa, Senior Sister. Save me! Kyaaah!! Senior Sisteeer!!
The pain-filled scream of her junior sister, Cheong Yeon, resounded.
The horrifying cry, close to a shriek, shook her mind violently, but she barely managed to endure it.
Then, another voice followed.
–……Hayeong. Are you really going to abandon your master…… and go on like that? Please, look back at me.
It was the voice of her master, Geumhwa Satae.
Her master, who had always shown only a strong figure before her, was now pleading with her in a dying voice.
Hayeong clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her flesh, forcing herself forward, step after step.
But then—
–Hayeong, he, lp me.
“……!!”
Crunch.
At a single voice, her steps halted, and she stood frozen in place like a stone statue.
‘……Sewoon?’
It was Sewoon’s voice.
She realized too late what had happened, but—
[Didn’t I tell you not to!!]
At the same time as Pata Myeong’s shout rang out—
Hwaak!!
The shadows (陰影) on the ground surged upward and engulfed her.
Black mist seized her tightly and dragged her downward, and after the sensation of falling somewhere far below—
‘……Where am I?’
She had done nothing more than blink once.
Yet she had already arrived in a completely different place.
An unknown space filled with nothing but pitch-black darkness.
……Somewhere else?
‘……What was I even saying just now?’
At some point, her thoughts had grown muddled, and she had already accepted this place as reality.
As she slowly took a step forward—
Degurur.
Something rolled to her feet.
Hwaaak!
At the same time, the darkness that had obscured her vision cleared away, revealing a shocking scene.
“……Ah, ahh!”
Startled out of her wits, Hayeong trembled violently.
Lying before her feet was the severed head of her master, Geumhwa Satae, her eyes still open.
When she looked around with a deathly pale face, the mountain gate of the Mount Emei Sect unfolded before her.
And there—
“……Sewoon?”
Tang Sewoon stood there, gripping a sword, his entire body drenched in blood.
Suaaah!
His eyes were covered in thick bloodlust, and from his whole body surged a ferocious aura, savage and rampaging like that of a beast rather than a human.
‘A rampage……!’
It was identical to the rampage she had seen in the past.
Kuuurrr—!
From his body, which had lost all reason, blood and qi churned violently.
A horrific demonic qi that tore at the insides spread through the air like waves.
Paaat!
At the very center of it, Sewoon exhaled a single breath and moved his body at the same time.
A streak of dark radiance flashed, and his sword swept down upon someone.
Slash—!
‘No!’
Her scream failed to reach him.
Without knowing anything, the shoulder of a Mount Emei Sect disciple who had been training was severed.
Flesh, bone, and muscle were cut apart at once, and a red rain scattered through the air.
At the sight, someone screamed, and that scream continued without end.
‘Sewoon, stop! Please, please come to your senses……!’
Do Hayoung screamed like a madwoman, but only her lips moved—no voice escaped her throat.
Wrapped in an aura so grotesque it defied description, he moved as if dancing.
Slash!
Srrrk—!
At the mountain gate of Mount Emei Sect, her sisters piled up like falling flower petals.
With every step he took, someone’s abdomen was cleaved, someone’s neck was cut.
There was no hesitation or doubt left in his sword.
Thud.
At the moment when Hayoung, swallowed by despair, finally dropped to her knees.
Even the Subduing Tiger Divine Physician, who had been protecting Mount Emei Sect to the very end, had her neck struck down.
In the end, she failed to stop the slaughter calamity.
Tears streamed endlessly down her cheeks.
-……How delightful.
Sewoon, his entire body drenched in blood, looked at her.
Yet his eyes did not recognize her.
That was Sewoon, yet it was not Sewoon.
Step, step.
His footsteps approached her.
It was all because of me.
Because I knew that monster would awaken, yet I failed to stop it.
Srrrng!
At that moment, the monster thrust his blade toward her.
-All things shall become offerings upon the path of Reverse Heaven.
“……!!”
At those words, her entire body trembled as if struck by lightning.
She slowly rose to her feet.
Srrrng!
She too aimed the sword of Mount Emei, which she had upheld her entire life, at her opponent.
For the sake of the jianghu, for the sake of peace.
That monster had to die.
Just as she clenched the hilt and was about to charge at her opponent—
[Come to your senses, Do Hayoung!]
“……!!”
Suddenly, Pata Myeong’s voice rang out.
[Everything before your eyes is ‘fake’.]
At the continuation of those words—
Clang!
With the sound of glass shattering into pieces, everything spread before her eyes began to crumble and vanish like mist.
The scene of the blood calamity, filled with blood, flesh, and despair, disappeared.
Hwaaak!
“……!”
Before her eyes appeared the sight of being only a few steps away from the main hall.
Tang Serin, who seemed to have escaped the Phantasmal Dream before her, was swinging a pure-white folding fan in front of her.
‘……So that was an illusion.’
Only then did reality sink in.
Yet her heart was still pounding madly, beating as if it would burst.
The unfamiliar expression Sewoon had worn as he joyfully smiled at her after committing that horrific slaughter refused to leave her mind.
[You’re losing focus again! Are you trying to fall into the Phantasmal Dream once more!]
“……!!”
Sensing her mental strength scattering again, Pata Myeong sent a transmission.
Hayoung clenched her teeth.
‘That’s right, it’s all a false illusion created by the enemies. Absolutely, absolutely something like that can never happen…….’
Pa-bat!
Forcing the nightmare out of her mind, she charged toward the enemies.
……However, the seed of unease that had sprouted had already taken root deep within her heart.
“Stop them!!”
“They must never break through to the main hall!”
“You bastards, pour out every curse and sorcery you have!!”
The sorcerers of the Heaven-Piercing Sect were shouting at the top of their lungs, veins bulging in their necks.
Thick bewilderment was etched across every one of their faces.
It was because of the three intruders who had broken through the mountain gate.
No—more precisely, because of the lone man among them.
Having received reports that an attack by the Sichuan Tang Clan was possible, they had done everything they could to prepare their defenses.
They had poured even greater effort into reinforcing the Defeated Slaughter Divergence, one of the strongest sorcery formations, and had meticulously added layers so that not the slightest gap remained within the mountain gate.
They were filled with confidence that they could block even an expert of the Manifestation Realm if one were to barge in.
And yet, why…….
‘No, how can there be someone who isn’t affected by the Defeated Slaughter Divergence at all?!’
‘Just who in the world is that lunatic?!’
Screee—!
Paaat!
Before their eyes, Nameless was freely traversing the interior at a speed so great it was hard to even follow with their gaze.
That was right. The moment the two intruders trespassed, they fell into the Phantasmal Dream and floundered helplessly, while one being alone remained completely unaffected.
And that was not all.
“Tut, tut. Do you really think you can deal with me using such pathetic spells?”
Kwaaang!
Puuung!
Gripping his dual daggers, Nameless destroyed every single long-range interception-type sorcery that flew toward Hayoung and Serin as they were trapped in the Phantasmal Dream.
‘……Those dual daggers. Just what in the world are they?’
‘He’s nullifying sorcery and curses with nothing more than weapons??’
The single cause behind all these anomalies was one thing.
The Twin Polar Fang(雙極牙) that Sewoon had gifted to Nameless.
At that moment, as he watched spells vanish without leaving a trace at his fingertips, Nameless curled the corners of his lips upward.
‘So Master’s words were true. This really can cut through anything.’
When he gifted him these dual daggers, Sewoon had added a single remark.
That the Twin Polar Fang, strengthened through its owner’s ‘killing intent’, could cut through anything.
Yes—even if that thing was a formless spell or curse.
Ssss!
At that moment, a strange glint appeared in Nameless’s eyes as he caught something.
Like a raging whirlwind, Nameless’s figure vanished.
“So you were hiding here, you rat bastards.”
“?!?!”
Slash!
A chilling sound of severing spread through the surroundings.