Chapter 168

Chapter 168

It won’t be easy.

At the sight of the yokai letting out an indescribable scream, I unconsciously gripped the sword handle tightly and made my judgment. The size of the demonic power I felt was formidable.

‘The corruption has finished. This is strange.’

I hadn’t seen any red aura, so I judged there was no danger yet.

The reason I deliberately gave Seohwa time to make a decision, and spent time talking with the Blood Cult member to assess the situation, was for the same reason. I thought there was still time. Because I had learned that red aura appeared not just for my own danger.

But from what I see before my eyes, the corruption into a yokai has already finished.

‘Perhaps it’s one of two cases.’

Either it’s pointless to watch, or.

It’s not too late yet.

“Wh-what’s happening?”

“Branch Master Jinwoong.”

Jinwoong finally arrived nearby, appearing while gasping for breath and asking me. I slowly spoke.

“You need to evacuate all the people in this area.”

“What on earth do you…”

“A great yokai has appeared. A great yokai that even I rarely see.”

From what I sense, it’s not to the degree that I absolutely cannot handle it. Though the size of the demonic power is overwhelming, the opponent is essentially a newborn who just became a yokai, and we have far more combat experience.

But that’s only if I’m here alone.

“They might get caught up in it. If fear is offered, it could become even stronger.”

“…Is it that urgent?”

“Need I say more?”

When I nodded in agreement to Jinwoong’s words, he waved his hand as if he understood. At the same time, a signal shot up into the air.

Piiiiiiik—!!!

“I prepared for this possibility just in case. People who hear the sound will run away without looking back.”

“That’s fortunate indeed.”

Then, all that’s left is to somehow deal with that yokai.

“Master…”

I raised the Uicheongeom while looking at the stationary yokai staring up at the sky, and Seohwa bit her lip and called out to me. Her trembling eyes followed.

“Choil is…”

“It’s too early to be certain.”

“But if the Divine Maiden has fallen, it means the ‘ritual’ was completed. After the ritual is performed, the person who became the sacrifice…”

“Dies.”

“But can you be certain the ritual was completely finished?”

“What…?”

“I mean it’s unclear when exactly they transform into a yokai.”

When does a person meet death? When they exhale their last breath and close their eyes? When their breathing stops? When their heart stops?

None of those are correct. A person’s death isn’t that simple. There are countless cases where people came back to life even after their heart stopped and breathing ceased.

“The ritual is one that offers fear. But people lose consciousness much faster right before death than you’d think.”

“If you split one-tenth of a moment in half, and split it in half again—that’s about the time limit for saving someone even after their heart stops. If more time passes than that, even an immortal sage couldn’t save them.”

If you reverse that statement, it means if you bring an immortal sage before one-twentieth of a moment passes after the heart stops, you can save them.

Just once. I have a way to summon someone who rivals an immortal sage in medical arts.

Right here in my breast pocket.

“…But that’s…”

“The best path is the most difficult one, Seohwa.”

“It’s the most difficult and hardest path. But if you can succeed, there’s nothing better. That’s why it’s called the best.”

The most righteous choice is always the hardest path. Then considering possibilities when trying to make the best choice is a luxury.

“There’s no time to hesitate. We don’t have much time.”

Don’t agonize over whether it will work or not. Believe it will work and make it work.

When I handed over the pouch I took from my breast pocket, Seohwa received it with trembling hands and looked at me. Her eyes asking if this was really okay.

“Don’t worry. I received this to use in situations like this.”

“…But, no… Yes.”

“Do you know how to use it?”

“You said last time… I just need to break it in half.”

“You know precisely.”

I smiled and gently pushed Seohwa’s shoulder.

“Go.”

“Hurry.”

At my repeated urging, Seohwa bit her lip and started running forward. At the same time, the yokai slowly turned its gaze toward the running Seohwa.

──Uuu.

Kwaaaaang—!!!

“Your opponent is not over there.”

Seeing the yokai showing hostility toward Seohwa while letting out an eerie cry, I immediately unleashed sword energy and struck. Generously speaking, about one shichen until Seohwa returns.

I’ll need to buy time until then.

“I can’t say what will happen, so I’ll hold back a bit. However.”

It’ll still be quite shocking if it hits.

I quietly muttered and drew up my internal energy to infuse it into the sword blade.

“Though we’re meeting for the first time, let’s play for a bit.”

The sword blade was gradually being covered with lightning energy.

I must hurry.

—Nuna. You promised, right?

“Haa. Haa…!”

Seohwa ran through the forest while biting her lip, deploying her lightness skill at full power and tightly gripping the pouch in her breast pocket. Throwing away all her usual cold reason, she searched for Choil relying purely on instinct.

‘I must find him within the time limit no matter what…!’

If I’m late, it’s over. There’s no second chance. Neither Choil nor the Divine Maiden saved—just the end.

Filled with urgency, Seohwa drew up her internal energy to the maximum and kicked off the ground. And before long, a cave entrance came into view.

‘I found it…!’

Found it.

Seohwa reflexively tried to enter the cave but pulled out a fire starter at the dark entrance and immediately hardened her expression. That’s because.

The cave entrance wasn’t just one.

“Where should I…”

Three branching cave entrances.

Seohwa stopped before them and gritted her teeth. She couldn’t clearly determine which way to go.

‘There’s no time to agonize…!’

She’d already used up a lot of time getting here. If she entered the wrong path, she truly couldn’t guarantee Choil’s life at that point.

‘Which way, which way…’

A one-in-three chance. Which way should I go? How should I decide?

Seohwa gritted her teeth and started moving toward the left cave without even thinking. At that moment, she saw something.

“Blood traces…?”

Blood traces continuing from the central entrance, stretching in a straight line.

Seohwa unconsciously approached the blood traces, confirmed the blood wasn’t yet dry, and followed them. It clearly seemed someone had left them intentionally.

Left. Right. Left. Left. Center. Down. Up.

Complex paths flashed by in an instant. Paths so complicated that she never could have found them in time alone were rapidly shortened with the help of the blood traces.

When she reached the end of the blood traces, Seohwa could tell who the owner was. That’s because.

At the point where the blood traces ended, the village chief lay collapsed with his blood-soaked wrist placed at the end of the trail.

“…He’s dead…”

“Not dead yet.”

“Hik.”

Seohwa flinched and stepped back as the chief, who had been lying down, suddenly opened his eyes wide and spoke. But ignoring that, the chief pointed inside with his pale face.

“Choil is inside. Go in quickly.”

“Why on earth…”

“Because this was all I could do.”

What you receive, you must give back in equal measure.

The chief had always operated on that principle. Because the Divine Maiden kept the village safe, anyone from the village was indebted to her. So even offering one’s life was an extension of that.

But what was the reality?

“It wasn’t the Divine Maiden who made the village safe. No one received grace from the Divine Maiden.”

“Only I received grace. Only I gained peace from the Divine Maiden.”

Was it wrong?

No, at this point he didn’t think it was wrong. He simply acted according to his beliefs, and there was no other way at that time. If they hadn’t performed the ritual, the village would have been destroyed eventually.

But now that all the facts are revealed, he can’t maintain the same approach. That would go against the chief’s ‘standards.’

“You must give back what you receive. I too must return what I received. But this is all I can give back.”

“…Village Chief.”

“Go inside.”

Seeing the chief gesture inside while looking at the blood continuously flowing from his wrist, Seohwa bit her lip and bowed her head.

“I don’t think your way is right, but… thank you for everything until now.”

“I also think your way isn’t realistic. It’s irrational. But I’ll accept that greeting. So.”

Don’t waste any more time and go inside already.

Watching the chief slowly lower his head, Seohwa entered deeper into the cave with sunken eyes and faced a stone door. A clearly heavy-looking stone door.

‘Inside here, Choil is.’

Preparing mentally is a luxury. It’s an urgent situation.

Geugeugeugeugeuk!

Seohwa immediately drew up her internal energy and pushed the stone door.

The moment she entered inside and lit the fire starter, Seohwa had no choice but to freeze.

Because the sight before her was truly horrific.

“…Can I even save this…?”

A split abdomen. Blood pooling on the floor. A completely pale complexion. Stopped breathing and an unbeating heart.

Anyone could see this was already a dead person. Thinking she was far too late, Seohwa collapsed to the floor. This was clearly not a situation where saving or not saving applied.

‘Was it because I was too slow…?’

One-twentieth of a moment.

Thinking she could save him if she arrived within that time was arrogance. In the first place, she should have assumed the Divine Maiden fell the moment Choil died to barely make the time work.

If there was a brief grace period after Choil stopped breathing, even arriving within that time wouldn’t be enough to make it on time. She should have run even faster, as if her legs would break.

But Seohwa couldn’t do that. Not that she didn’t—she couldn’t. Because her lightness skill level was low. Because her internal energy was weak.

Because her ability was insufficient.

Kadeuk!

“…I’m sick of this now.”

How long must I just watch from behind?

She’s the grand disciple, yet utterly powerless. Though she should be helping others, she only received help. And now she can’t even properly handle one assigned task.

What kind of grand disciple is that?

“I need to become stronger…”

I must become stronger. Enough not to be a burden anymore. Enough to support Baek Riyun from behind.

Seohwa steeled her resolve and slowly approached Choil to recover his corpse.

“…Sorry. Because I was late…?”

The next moment.

As Seohwa held Choil’s body and offered words of apology, she saw blood still flowing from his wounds.

“…Blood is still flowing…?”

Ah.

After thinking briefly, Seohwa realized something and immediately took out the pouch to break its contents.

The moment she broke Shinui’s medical token.

Kwadeudeudeudeuk!

The air.

“F-fuck…”

Tore open.

“Wh-why are you calling me now, you damn brat…”