Myst, Might, Mayhem - Chapter 400
Chapter 400 – Grand Divination Master Myeong-ryul (5)
Boom! Boom!
As the sky was covered with firecrackers, the interior of Heaven and Earth Society began to stir and become noisy.
This was because everyone knew what these red signal flares meant.
It was something no one had expected.
Because of this, all forces and crowds within Heaven and Earth Society, each guarding their own positions, began to move.
-Boom! Boom!
“Ah?”
Though he could hear the sound of firecrackers, Grand Divination Master Myeong-ryul, unable to see them, only had Mok Gyeong-un’s voice ringing in his head.
“That’s right, I am the Heavenly Demon.”
Those brief words revealing his own identity.
Though spoken in a low voice, the pressure contained in them was tremendous.
His heart was beating so violently that it wouldn’t calm down.
[To collapse Shaolin’s One Hundred and Eight Arhat Formation in one step and single-handedly force the closure of Sichuan Tang Clan… For an urgent report, its reliability seems a bit low.]
[It’s hard to believe, but it seems to be true.]
[However, to accept it at face value…]
[If even the Righteous Alliance is moving, it means they too see the gravity of this situation as significant.]
[…Does that mean He is also paying attention to this?]
[He’s showing great interest.]
[He… To the extent of showing interest…]
Despite having achieved numerous merits, making a Spiritual Beast his familiar, and becoming strong enough to compete with Profound Realm martial artists through Human-Monster Unity techniques, He had never shown much interest, let alone in his own realm.
Yet for Him to show interest to this extent.
[The seventh heaven… What did you say they call him?]
[Rather than being called, it seems he referred to himself as the Heavenly Demon.]
[The Demon of Heaven?]
-Grip!
“Kuk.”
Grand Divination Master Myeong-ryul suffered as the force around his neck tightened.
While numerous thoughts flashed through his mind, the most prominent one was why no one had known this person was the Heavenly Demon?
Or is it stranger that anyone would have noticed his identity in the first place?
Come to think of it, he truly is a bizarre fellow.
When he was first brought as a hostage to the righteous Yeon Mok Sword Manor, he hadn’t received any attention at all.
The most he became known was after Corpse Blood Valley, but even then he was only at the level of a late-stage Qi Refinement.
Who would have thought such a person would be the seventh heaven, the Heavenly Demon, currently the most renowned in the martial world?
-Squeeze!
“Kuuuh.”
“You certainly have good endurance.”
“Uuuh.”
“Then shall I tell you? Eldest Young Master Na Yul-ryang said he absolutely needed something, what was it?”
“Th-That… I won’t… say…”
“You’ll talk when you wish for death.”
“It’s… futile… K-Kill me…”
“Well, I didn’t expect you to open your mouth easily.”
-Pop!
Mok Gyeong-un grabbed his left shoulder.
“Wait, what are you doing now…”
“If I had time, I’d start with a single fingernail, but since I don’t, we’ll go in order of arms, then legs.”
No sooner had those words ended than Mok Gyeong-un tried to pull off his left arm.
It was at that moment.
The part of the Diabolic Beast Yual’s body that was in armor form on his shoulder shot out like a tentacle and grabbed Mok Gyeong-un’s hand.
-Swish!
‘!?’
Simultaneously with that grab,
-Pop pop pop pop pop!
The spines densely covering its entire body sprang out as if they had been waiting for this moment.
The spines were so small that it was hard to count their number.
It was the Diabolic Beast Yual’s trump card, having become one with its master through Human-Monster Unity and waiting for an opportunity to protect him.
But then,
-Sizzle!
The moment those numerous spines sprang out, they melted away as if oxidizing.
The Diabolic Beast Yual couldn’t hide its bewilderment.
-Damn it!
An aura of death surrounded Mok Gyeong-un’s body.
As he was approaching Grand Divination Master Myeong-ryul, who had achieved Human-Monster Unity with a monster, he had kept this aura around him as a precaution, which is why it didn’t work.
“That’s unfortunate. You must have been waiting for that chance.”
-Crack!
As soon as he finished speaking, Mok Gyeong-un ripped off Grand Divination Master Myeong-ryul’s left arm from the shoulder.
“Aaaaaargh!”
-Kak kak kak kak!
As a result, screams of pain erupted simultaneously from Myeong-ryul and the Diabolic Beast Yual.
Even for Myeong-ryul, who had strong endurance against pain, it was hard to bear having his left arm torn off after his right.
In fact, being unable to see, his other senses had developed more, making him more sensitive to pain than ordinary people.
However, he had endured it with his unique tenacity, but as the pain of having his arm torn off continued, he felt like he was about to lose his mind from the agony.
Mok Gyeong-un whispered in his ear:
“You can be as comfortable as you want if you just give the answer I want.”
“Kuuuh… Y-Young Master is…”
-Squeeze!
“Kup!”
Just as he was about to say something,
The flesh of the Diabolic Beast Yual, which was protecting his body like armor, suddenly began to constrict Grand Divination Master Myeong-ryul’s body.
“Yu, Yual… St-Stop…”
-Squeeze!
Despite Myeong-ryul’s cry, the constricting force of the Diabolic Beast Yual did not weaken.
Rather, it applied even more severe pressure.
As his familiar disobeyed even his own command to act like this, something flashed through Grand Divination Master Myeong-ryul’s mind.
‘A prohibition spell?’
He was a master of sorcery worthy of the title of Divine Diviner.
Especially, his most outstanding field was prohibition spells.
Grand Divination Master Myeong-ryul, who had established a unique realm in prohibiting things, had even managed to break His prohibition spell.
Although he had sworn loyalty, he didn’t want to stake his life as collateral.
But,
‘Huh?’
To think He would have placed a prohibition spell even on his own familiar.
He thought He wouldn’t have noticed since he had kept his mouth shut, but it was right on top of his head.
-Crack!
“Kup.”
As he was suffering with his ribs cracking from the pressure,
“You’ve been abandoned.”
“Kuuuh.”
“Shall I save you?”
‘!?’
Save… me?
At Mok Gyeong-un’s sudden proposal, Grand Divination Master Myeong-ryul fell into deep thought for a moment.
The fact that He had taken such measures meant that He could detect any betrayal from him at any time.
Perhaps He even knew that he had dabbled in the soul transfer technique, a notorious evil person’s prohibition spell from long ago.
That’s why he hadn’t feared even death.
However, if He knew about his own measures, everything might end regardless of any prepared techniques.
-Crack!
“Kuuuh!”
More bones were crushed under the pressure of the Diabolic Beast Yual.
After numerous considerations in a split second, Grand Divination Master Myeong-ryul finally shouted hurriedly:
“S-Save… me!”
At his cry, the corners of Mok Gyeong-un’s mouth turned up.
***
In front of the main compound where the Society Leader of Heaven and Earth Society’s inner city resides.
Numerous people were rushing there.
The reason they were gathering like this was only one.
-Boom! Boom!
It was because of the red firecrackers that were still embroidering the sky.
Young Master Na Yul-ryang, who had arrived first at the square in front of the main compound as he was already heading there, had a strange expression.
And for good reason,
“Is it really the Society Leader who called?”
“……”
At Mo Yak’s question, Eldest Young Master Na Yul-ryang exhaled a long breath without answering.
The meaning of those red firecrackers, those signal flares, was the Society Leader’s emergency assembly.
When seeing that, regardless of who they were in the association, everyone had to gather in one place by the authority of the Society Leader.
‘Has his condition improved?’
According to the Elder Council’s information, the Society Leader had reached a state where recovery was nearly impossible.
But how could there be an emergency assembly?
Even if he had miraculously regained consciousness, it was impossible to recover so quickly in such a short time.
Then could this also be a ploy by the Elder Council?
If so, it was quite excessive.
No matter what, how could they exploit the Society Leader’s situation like this when he was practically unconscious…
-Creeak!
It was then.
The main gate of the main compound opened.
As a procession began to come out from there, Mo Yak called out to Young Master Na Yul-ryang in a surprised voice:
“Y-Young Master, is that?”
At the forefront of those coming out in a procession was none other than a severed head impaled on the end of a long spear.
-Murmur murmur!
The society members under Na Yul-ryang, who had gathered first, stirred.
What on earth was going on?
The main compound’s guard corps was coming out in lines as if to display the severed head.
Their number was quite large, and while everyone was puzzled, a sect leader of an upper sect opened his mouth with surprised eyes, looking at one of the heads impaled on a spear tip:
“E-Elder In?”
‘Elder In?’
At this cry, one of Young Master Na Yul-ryang’s eyebrows raised.
That head with its tongue sticking out and eyes wide open was Elder In Jigu.
He was someone who had retired 12 years ago, and as a former grand branch leader with excellent martial arts and many achievements, he had entered the Elder Council.
Na Yul-ryang also knew his face.
But for Elder In to be displayed like this,
‘…Something has gone wrong.’
It seemed that the plan the Elder Council had said they would prepare in advance had failed.
Otherwise, there was no way such a procession of displayed heads would continue.
Na Yul-ryang’s gaze sharpened as he looked up at the top floor of the main compound building where the Society Leader resided.
“Young Master?”
“It seems both the Elder Council and we have underestimated too much.”
Na Yul-ryang’s eyes could see someone’s silhouette looking down with hands behind their back through the wide-open window.
That silhouette was so familiar that he could recognize it at once.
“…Master.”
It was none other than the Society Leader of Heaven and Earth Society.
Unlike the last time he had seen him, he wasn’t even bandaged.
Along with Young Master Na Yul-ryang’s gaze, the eyes of the gathered Heaven and Earth Society warriors and various sect members naturally turned upwards.
“A-Society Leader?”
“Is the Society Leader safe?”
“Look! The Society Leader is safe!”
“Waaaaaaah!!!!!”
Rumors had spread that the Society Leader’s condition was not good.
Because of this, the interior of Heaven and Earth Society had been in turmoil, but when the Society Leader not only called an emergency assembly but also showed himself in good health after a long time, the square in front of the main compound was filled with cheers.
The forces under Eldest Young Master Na Yul-ryang couldn’t be too pleased with these cheers.
It was then that a group entered the center of the square in five rows.
Seeing them, exclamations of surprise flowed from here and there.
“It’s the Earth Vein!”
“The Earth Vein has returned to the association!”
Those entering the center of the square like victorious generals were none other than the faction of the Earth Vein, one of the two pillars leading Heaven and Earth Society.