novelraw Chapter 102 : Hidden Soul Infiltration (3)
Chapter 102 : Hidden Soul Infiltration (3)
Chapter 102: Hidden Soul Infiltration (3)
When Gugwi lifted Jang Geunsoo in his arms, the boy leaned on him limply like a paper doll. His body was lighter than a feather. It felt as though only bones remained—there was no flesh clinging to them.
Jang Geunsoo’s head drooped against Gugwi’s shoulder.
A faint breath brushed against the nape of his neck. It was weak, but warm.
That’s when it happened.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Footsteps echoed from the far end of the corridor.
Heavy, rhythmic steps. The clinking of weapons. Signals exchanged between soldiers.
The footsteps grew closer.
‘We need to hide.’
Gugwi’s expression hardened. He couldn’t fight properly while holding Jang Geunsoo in both arms.
Then he spotted a slightly open door.
He had no idea what was inside, but it looked like he could at least conceal himself. However, he also had to prepare for the possibility that someone was already in the room.
“Un Serim, General Madal!”
He summoned the two spirits.
He wouldn’t enter spirit contact with them. He sent them into the room first. If there was an enemy inside, they were to deal with them.
Sssht! Whoosh!
The two spirits slipped into the room… and only then did Gugwi push the door open and enter.
Thankfully, the room was empty.
Tap-tap-tap! Tap-tap-tap-tap!
Urgent footsteps rushed past the door.
He could hear the guards talking.
“What the hell? Who came in here?”
“The Minor Mastery Body was stolen! Find it, fast! If we don’t find it, we’re all dead today. Hurry! Find it!”
They moved in a frenzy.
‘It’d be dangerous to go out now…’
Once the guards passed, Gugwi looked around the room.
There was a thick book placed on the desk. On the cover, in golden letters, were the words: “Manifest Demon Emperor Consciousness Transplantation Plan.”
Gugwi’s heart began to race.
“Consciousness Transplantation of the Manifest Demon Emperor? What is this?”
Curiosity surged within him. Just what were these people doing?
As he opened the book, he found detailed illustrations accompanied by densely packed writing.
“The heart of a Minor Mastery Body is a vessel for souls. Even without a Spirit Flow Core, a spirit can be forcibly injected.”
Gugwi’s hands trembled.
“Test Subject No. 27. Low-grade spirit injected into heart. Result: failure. Subject deceased.”
“Test Subject No. 28. Mid-grade spirit injected into heart. Result: partial success. Subject survived three days, then died.”
Each turn of the page revealed increasingly horrific records.
Dozens of Minor Mastery Bodies had been sacrificed as experimental subjects.
“What kind of demonic acts…!”
Gugwi clenched his teeth.
Just reading these experimental records gave him a rough idea of the Heavenly Sound Cult’s true intentions.
His fingertips trembled. He couldn’t help but shake as he turned the pages.
“Method of reviving the Manifest Demon Emperor without a Spirit Flow Core—direct use of Minor Mastery Body’s heart.”
Each word pierced his eyes.
“The Minor Mastery Body dies instantly, but the Manifest Demon Emperor obtains a complete physical form.”
Gugwi’s face turned pale.
His mouth went dry.
If the contents of this book were complete nonsense, his mouth wouldn’t be dry. But given that he possessed a Spirit Flow Core himself and had been directly pressured by the Manifest Demon Emperor… there was a basis for belief.
He looked down at Geunsoo.
The boy was still unconscious, breathing shallowly. The red pattern engraved over his heart matched exactly with the illustrations in the book. As if it had been stamped.
“To use the Minor Mastery Body as a vessel…”
His voice cracked and turned hoarse.
Fwoom!
The Spirit Flow Core in his chest quivered violently. Anger surged through his body in waves of blue light.
He pulled out another book from the room and began to read. This one contained even more detailed plans.
Gugwi’s eyes widened.
“Optimal conditions for reviving the Manifest Demon Emperor: a boy between ten and fifteen years of age, possessing Gatekeeper’s bloodline.”
“Heart tempered in advance. Resistance built by repeated injections of low-grade spirits.”
“Expected survival duration: unpredictable. Death during revival ritual.”
His hands trembled violently.
The pages fluttered in his grasp.
Sixty or more Minor Mastery Bodies had died to produce these books. Whether or not they truly possessed the Gatekeeper’s bloodline didn’t matter. Anyone suspected of being a Minor Mastery Body was seized and had their heart opened.
The children here were disposable vessels for reviving the Manifest Demon Emperor.
What was even more absurd… was that out of those sixty or more, not even ten were genuine Minor Mastery Bodies.
Even the Twelve True Armies and the Cult Leader of the Heavenly Sound Cult had failed to distinguish the real ones. If they seemed even remotely close, they were taken by force, and only during experimentation was their authenticity confirmed.
Gugwi clenched his molars tight.
“One day… I’ll destroy this place. I’d heard the Heavenly Sound Cult was vile, but… this is beyond anything.”
A cold killing intent gleamed in his eyes.
“Ugh…”
Suddenly, Jang Geunsoo groaned.
Was he regaining consciousness? No. It was a groan from unconsciousness. But it was enough to sharpen Gugwi’s vigilance.
‘Now’s not the time for this. Our lives are in danger. We must get out of here, fast.’
Gugwi took a deep breath and cracked open the door to check the situation outside.
He spotted the iron grate leading to the drainage path on the far wall. It was the route he had taken to enter.
Darkness seeped through the rusted bars.
It seemed no one had noticed the broken lock—no one was guarding the grate.
‘If I can just get there…’
Gugwi tucked the thick book from the room into his clothes. He would study it thoroughly when he had time later.
As much as he wanted to expose the Heavenly Sound Cult’s atrocities to the world… it would be useless. Compared to everything they had already done, this was nothing.
Carefully, Gugwi cradled Geunsoo and crept toward the door. He pressed his ear against it to listen for sounds outside.
The hallway was quiet. No footsteps.
Fwoom!
He released the Spirit Flow Core to scan the surroundings.
Blue energy spread through the walls. It seemed the guards had moved elsewhere.
Now was his chance.
Gugwi cautiously opened the door.
Creak.
A faint sound echoed down the corridor.
The hallway remained still. Only the torches on the walls burned quietly. The flames flickered, casting shifting shadows.
But something felt off.
Gugwi's eyes flashed sharply.
Mirrors were installed throughout the corridor. They were meant to eliminate blind spots. Additionally, small bells were hung at every corner of the ceiling. They would ring from the slightest vibration if anyone passed by.
Even the floor was sprinkled with a fine powder.
He had seen such devices elsewhere, but not on his way in… It seemed the Heavenly Sound Cult had installed them while he was in the room. They were meant to detect intruders.
‘The security net is incredibly thorough. There's chaos happening outside, yet these people aren’t shaken at all. No, they don’t care about what’s going on beyond this place. Even if the world collapses, they won’t leave here.’
Gugwi marveled inwardly.
The Heavenly Sound Cult’s meticulousness was enough to send chills down his spine.
He held Geunsoo more tightly and carefully moved forward, making sure only the tips of his toes touched the floor.
He moved quietly along the wall.
He hid in the shadows and advanced step by step. He kept his body as low as possible, moving only through the blind spots and avoiding the mirrors.
The bells on the ceiling swayed slightly in the wind.
Each time, Gugwi held his breath and waited until the sound faded.
The bells were triggered by the wind. They detected the slightest breeze—thus capable of sensing human movement. Now it was clear why there were no guards stationed here.
Only twenty or so paces remained to the drainage path.
Geunsoo was still unconscious. Only his faint breath brushed against Gugwi’s neck… He hung limp in his arms.
It was a relief that the boy was alive.
‘We’re almost there. Just a little more…’
That’s when footsteps approached from around the corner.
Gugwi instantly pressed himself against the shadow of the wall. Quietly, he calmed his breath and observed the situation.
Step. Step.
With echoing footsteps, a martial artist of the Heavenly Sound Cult appeared.
Clad in black, a hood covering his head, his movements were light and sharp—not ordinary by any means.
The martial artist walked slowly, scanning his surroundings.
His razor-sharp gaze glanced briefly toward Gugwi. As if he knew Gugwi was there.
In that moment, the Spirit Flow Core projected a faint illusion.
His body vanished, leaving only a perfect illusion of the corridor’s shape. A flawless concealment effect.
It mimicked Yeon Sohye’s mist and hid only his form… The Spirit Flow Core responded well. It cloaked him completely.
The martial artist tilted his head, then passed by without stopping.
The sound of his footsteps gradually faded.
‘So the Spirit Flow Core can do this too… Since I accepted the power of the altar, the Spirit Flow Core has been steadily evolving. Hah! I don’t even know anymore. It wants to grow stronger—what am I supposed to do?’
Relief and anxiety washed over Gugwi at once. He let out a quiet sigh.
Ten paces later, another martial artist appeared.
This time, there were two. They were patrolling while chatting.
“Who the hell came in here? Did that bastard just walk out on his own?”
“Judging by the broken cell door… I think the Head of the Intelligence Division came in.”
“The Head of the Intelligence Division? He must have a death wish…. Hah! I don’t know. But someone definitely came.”
Gugwi stuck close to the wall.
Fwoosh!
The Spirit Flow Core erupted in blue light and enveloped him.
The blue mist billowed like the fog Yeon Sohye used to emit, shrouding only his form. It was an unexpectedly advanced concealment art, gained in an unplanned moment.
Step. Step.
The martial artists passed right in front of him. Their robes brushed against the wind.
“Did you feel anything strange?”
“No. Nothing special. Why?”
“I don’t know. It felt odd. Like something was right beside me.”
“You’ve got me, don’t you?”
“Not you. It just feels off…”
Their conversation faded into the distance.
Gugwi resumed moving. Fewer than ten paces remained to the drainage path.
He was about to turn the final corner when—
Ding! Ding! Ding!
The bells hanging from the ceiling suddenly rang out.
‘Damn!’
Gugwi’s brows furrowed sharply.
The bells rang with the wind, but at critical points, they had embedded sensors in the walls too. When Gugwi’s robe brushed against the wall, the ceiling bells began to chime.
Ding! Diiing!
Sharp metallic sounds filled the underground passage.
“South corridor drainage path!”
A shout rang out from afar. The sound of dozens of footsteps followed in unison.
The corridor descended into chaos in an instant.
‘A mistake like this, right at the end!’
Gugwi held Geunsoo even tighter. The boy was still unconscious, his small face pale.
Now they were truly in danger.
Swoosh! Swish! Fwip!
Martial artists in black began appearing from all directions.
Their movements were swift as flowing water. Even without using Soul-Summoning Arts, they moved like first-class experts.
“There he is!”
Someone ahead spotted Gugwi and shouted. A finger pointed directly at him.
Tap-tap-tap-tap!
Gugwi was already running toward the drainage path. Cradling Geunsoo, he sprinted like the wind. The stone floor beneath his feet was slippery. But Un Serim, bonded through Spirit Union, balanced him smoothly.
“Stop right there! We must capture him!”
Voices shouted behind him. The sound of pursuit grew louder.
He heard swords being drawn one after another—shwick! shwick!—sharp metallic tones slicing the air.
The drainage entrance came into view. But it was still a ways off.
“Just a little more…!”
Gugwi clenched his teeth and pushed his speed to the limit.