novelraw Chapter 118 : Faith and Loyalty in Reversal (3)
Chapter 118 : Faith and Loyalty in Reversal (3)
Chapter 118: Faith and Loyalty in Reversal (3)
Moonlight softly illuminated the valley.
Sasaha looked down at Gugwi’s group from atop a cliff. The faint glow at the cave entrance revealed their location.
It was a moment of choice.
She slowly descended the cliff and stood before the cave. Gugwi stepped forward, holding his spear.
In that instant, Sasaha threw her whip to the ground. Not only that, she also respectfully clasped her hands in a po-gwon.
Her black hair shimmered silver under the moonlight.
Gugwi’s party looked at her with startled expressions. Why would the Lord of the Ten True Armies, their enemy until just now, do this?
Sasaha released the po-gwon and smiled brightly.
“I have nowhere to go... will you take me in?”
Her voice was low and calm.
What she said was monumental. Yet she spoke as if she were a neighbor borrowing farming tools—casually, as if it were nothing.
Gugwi’s spear tip remained aimed at her.
“That’s sudden. How should I interpret someone appearing out of nowhere in the middle of the night, asking to be taken in?”
His voice was cold.
“Don’t overthink it. Just feed me and let me sleep. You can at least do that, right? Don’t be so stingy.”
She walked over casually.
The moment she saw Gugwi standing inside the cave, a whisper echoed in her soul.
‘Master... will you fight that man?’
It was Baek Hyeokgang’s voice.
Two hundred years ago, his battlefield instincts now issued a warning.
“Why?”
‘That energy... it is not ordinary.’
Baek Hyeokgang’s soul trembled faintly. His very being felt fear.
Most Spirit Summoners cannot speak to spirits. They can’t even communicate. But those who have shared breath for ages, like the Twelve True Armies, understand without words. And when such senses deepen, words become possible.
‘We cannot win. That blue glow... it is the clone of the Manifest Demon Emperor... If we fight, we will be extinguished.’
A cold sensation coursed through Sasaha’s veins.
She had never doubted Baek Hyeokgang’s judgment. Until now, he had predicted every situation without fail. If he said it was dangerous, then it truly was. And never before had he warned her like this.
She also heard Kang Sojin’s voice.
‘The scent of death... not the kind that ends us spirits... but the absolute annihilation of existence.’
“What do you mean?”
Wi Unseo whispered, trembling.
‘There’s no hiding from those eyes. No stealth art works before that gaze.’
Even Jin Mukgyeol trembled in fear.
‘The moment we attack... all is annihilated... all darkness vanishes before that light.’
Sasaha lifted her head.
“Light?”
‘His chest!’
She saw a faintly glowing blue energy in Gugwi’s chest—where the Spirit Flow Core resided.
“If I can’t win by fighting... then I’ll lose.”
This was how one surrenders.
Gugwi had never fought her, so he didn’t know whether he won or lost. But Sasaha knew for certain—she had lost.
“There’s no need to overthink it.”
She reached out her hand.
Ssshhh—
Black energy rose like early dawn mist and began to form a shape in midair. Mist became mass, mass became human form... Condensing and reshaping, the figure slowly took shape.
Jin Mukgyeol appeared.
The robed spirit stood there with limp arms.
Gugwi’s face stiffened.
It was the very spirit that killed Ma Ungyeol. It looked exactly the same.
“How the hell did you use this spirit? It’s never left my side. And yet you say this thing killed Ma Ungyeol?”
There was an edge in Sasaha’s voice.
“I don’t know.”
Gugwi answered honestly.
“You shouldn’t say things like that. You used my spirit.”
“You won’t believe it, but I truly don’t know. Still, you’re right—it looks exactly the same. That spirit definitely killed Ma Ungyeol. I chased it all the way into the Realm of the Threshold, trying to catch it... but it got away.”
Gugwi looked at Jin Mukgyeol.
His eyes were sincere. They weren’t the eyes of a liar.
Sasaha stared straight at him.
Pop!
A sharp glint flashed from her eyes.
It was a gaze that pierced through people.
The cold night breeze scattered their hair. A tense silence hung between them.
“I believe you.”
Sasaha spoke.
“But that’s why I have to stay here. That spirit killed Ma Ungyeol and turned me into a traitor. I can’t even protest because I don’t know what happened. If this was your scheme, I walked right into it. But from the looks of it, it wasn’t.”
Gugwi lowered his spear slightly. He hadn’t completely let his guard down, but the hostility had softened.
“Don’t you want to know what really happened? Of course I do. Let me stay until we find the truth. Until then, it’s a truce. You still have to fight the Heavenly Sound Cult, don’t you? In that case, I’ll pick my battles. I’ll help—if I feel like it.”
Her voice was calm, as if stating the obvious.
Shhhk.
Gugwi lowered his spear.
“For now... I want to know about the Silver Soul Pavilion Experiment. Even the Head of the Intelligence Division doesn’t know about it.”
“You already know, don’t you? You guys were panicking about a missing report. Didn’t you take it?”
“……”
“The Silver Soul Pavilion Experiment is the key to reviving the Manifest Demon Emperor.”
Sasaha’s voice rang cold and low.
“You know the Fourth True Army is handling it. Let’s go—I’m hungry. Didn’t even have dinner.”
Sasaha walked deeper into the cave, continuing her explanation.
Her footsteps echoed off the floor. Her long shadow flickered against the cave walls.
“The moment a spirit is infused, the Minor Mastery Body is destroyed.”
Her voice trembled with fury and disgust.
“They abduct children... split open their hearts and stuff in Stray Spirits. How could that turn out okay?”
Jang Unhyeok’s eyes flared with rage.
His fists clenched instinctively. His nails dug into his palms, drawing pain.
“How many experiments have they done?”
“Over sixty.”
Sasaha answered coldly.
“But all of them failed. Not a single success yet.”
Pang!
A tremor rippled from the Spirit Flow Core in Gugwi’s chest.
As the emotion of rage surged, the Spirit Flow Core reacted. A faint blue glow seeped through his clothes.
Jang Unhyeok clenched his fist. His knuckles turned white.
Sasaha leaned against the wall and spoke.
“It’s an attempt to resurrect the Manifest Demon Emperor without the Gatekeeper’s Bloodline... Of course, it keeps failing, but it’s not entirely without possibility. Theoretically, the system is perfectly structured.”
Her gaze darkened.
“That’s why they won’t give up, right? They keep abducting children. Especially those with the Minor Mastery Body.”
Sasaha stood at the center of the cave.
The candlelight illuminated half her face. One side bright, the other submerged in shadow.
“Now! I’ll show you my power.”
She slowly spread her arms.
With a deep breath, she drew out her inner force. A cold energy flowed through every vein in her body.
Ssssht! Ssssht! Sssht! Sssht!
Black energy surged simultaneously from four places.
The air grew heavier. The cave's temperature dropped sharply.
Baek Hyeokgang appeared first.
A tall man’s figure walked out from the darkness. A black vortex began to spiral from his fingertips.
Kang Sojin materialized second.
The form of a slender woman. A green mist of poisonous energy rose around her. The acrid stench stabbed at the nostrils.
Wi Unseo appeared third.
A shadow slithered along the cave wall. Her form repeatedly blurred and sharpened.
Finally, Jin Mukgyeol appeared.
By now, a familiar figure. Still cloaked in a robe, standing silently. Dark stains of blood began to spread beneath his feet.
The four spirits emitted distinct energies from their respective positions.
“My first Spirit Union Martial Artist was Baek Hyeokgang. He was famous for his earth arts. So afterward, I summoned only masters of earth techniques as Spirit Union Martial Artists. I call this fusion of Soul-Summoning Arts and earth arts—Earth-Summoning Technique.”
She snapped her fingers—snap!
All four spirits moved at once.
Baek Hyeokgang stretched out his hand. In an instant, it vanished. A ferocious ripping sound tore through the air. Then—pak! A blow struck Gugwi’s left shoulder from three ja away.
Wind brushed his clothes, the sound whipping by his ears.
Only after did dust scatter across the cave floor.
Kang Sojin opened her palm. Was it a palm technique? No—it mustn’t be forgotten that she, too, was a master of earth techniques. From her open palm, green smoke seeped out.
The smoke crept across the floor, curling beneath Gugwi’s feet.
Poisonous mist. When the smoke touched a nearby rock, the surface bubbled and melted. A deadly poison! The sharp stench stabbed his nose... and a prickling sensation grazed his legs.
Wi Unseo moved swiftly.
Using the Silver Spirit Technique, she disappeared into the shadow of one wall and leapt out from the opposite side. Her fingertip aimed for Gugwi’s neck from two ja away.
Her nails reflected the torchlight with a sharp gleam. Gugwi reflexively turned his spear shaft to block it.
Taang!
A short metallic clang rang out as nail met spear shaft.
He was well aware of Jin Mukgyeol’s martial arts. He had seen firsthand how Ma Ungyeol was killed.
Jin Mukgyeol jabbed at a rock with his finger.
Papak!
Of course, it punched a hole through the stone. But... from within, black liquid oozed out. A foul stench like blood...
His finger extended toward Gugwi’s chest. Gugwi twisted his body to evade, and the nail grazed his collar, tearing the fabric slightly. The sound of tearing pierced his ears.
The four spirits' attacks flowed in perfect harmony.
Baek Hyeokgang’s wind hindered Gugwi’s movements, Kang Sojin’s poisonous mist stifled his breath, Wi Unseo’s swift assault disrupted his balance, and Jin Mukgyeol’s strike aimed directly for his heart.
The cave was filled with the sound of wind, the stench of poison, and the screeching of claws.
Snap!
At Sasaha’s finger snap, all attacks ceased instantly.
“This is the power of the Lord of the Ten True Armies.”
Jang Unhyeok muttered under his breath.
The combined assault of the four spirits was more proficient than that of living warriors. Perfect synchronization! Not even a moment to breathe—each attack was nearly a finishing blow.
“This is my power. For now, I’ll use it for your sake. Against the Heavenly Sound Cult, selectively. But once we cross the river—completely. Until I figure out how you used Jin Mukgyeol, and prepare a way to return.”
Sssht.
Sasaha retrieved the spirits. Their forms vanished like smoke.
“I should at least earn my meals, right? So? Will you let me stay?”
“Alright!”
Gugwi completely lowered his spear.
Yeon Sohye exited the cave.
Using Silver Spirit Illusion, she erased her presence and melted into the darkness. Silver mist enveloped her, swallowing even her footsteps. It was an hour’s journey to the Heavenly Sound Cult’s main stronghold. She moved quickly using the Flowing Willow Storm movement technique.
She reached the forest near the main compound.
Climbing a tall tree, she looked down at the sect grounds. Torches flickered here and there. Though it was late, the cult members bustled about. Something felt off.
Yeon Sohye crossed the wall and slipped into a hallway. Silently waiting, she eavesdropped on passing members’ conversation.
“They say the Lord of the Ten True Armies betrayed us?”
One cultist whispered.
“They’re searching everywhere. Where would she even go? She can’t have gotten far.”
“But isn’t it strange? For her to suddenly flee like that?”
“Shh, watch your mouth.”
Yeon Sohye’s eyes flashed coldly.
What Sasaha had said was true. The situation was even worse than described.
She moved deeper to overhear the executives' conversation.
“This is the first time the Lord of the First True Army failed to seduce a woman, isn’t it?”
“They say he harassed her night after night... You know his methods. She must’ve been thoroughly disgusted.”
“So she ran away?”
“She probably figured she’d be killed if she stayed. That’s how things went down.”
There was no need to hear more.
Sasaha’s change of heart seemed trustworthy. More than her dire situation, what truly infuriated her was that it had stemmed from Lord of the First True Army Guun’s lechery. Men like that exist everywhere.
She quietly exited the stronghold.
On her way back, she overheard another exchange.
“What about the Lord of the Ten True Armies' subordinates?”
“They were executed for collaborating in the betrayal.”
Yeon Sohye’s chest turned cold. She realized the utter despair Sasaha was facing.