Chapter 277

Chapter 277

—Did they run away?

In front of the Great Seal.

Confirming the shining teleportation formation fade away, Heukya, who leisurely turned her body, looked around. Corpses lying abundantly in the desert that had been only yellow sand.

Front, back, left, right.

Everywhere she looks, there are only corpses. No living humans or yokai remain. Confirming that even Nakcheon, who had been fighting until just now, disappeared somewhere, Heukya lowered her hand and looked at the Great Seal. Because now she was certain she could break the Great Seal.

‘It was long.’

Thousands of years to make the Great Seal. And thousands of years again to break it.

During that time, Heukya lived solely for one goal. The goal of breaking the Great Seal and exterminating humanity no matter what.

‘I raised a destined opponent, corrupted a divine beast.’

She cooperated with the Blood Cult to pass on forgotten history, made Sinseon Valley, and half-destroyed the Imperial Palace too. All of that was accomplished for the single goal of killing every single human without leaving even one behind.

—Now it begins.

Once she destroys the Great Seal.

The end of this great undertaking she’s waited over ten thousand years for will begin to come into view. If she corrupts the divine beast Sanggwi, so powerful that even she can’t oppose it, and destroys Beijing’s Great Seal, the world will surely rush toward its end.

—But before that, there’s something I must do first.

Organization.

Heukya, who thought briefly, spun around lightly. Ilnachar was there, smiling brightly while looking at Heukya, having approached at some point.

—A human wanting to become a yokai. What brings you here?

“What brings me? I came to say preparations are complete.”

—Preparations.

“I just got contact. All axes of the Great Seal have been destroyed.”

Gahyang, the northern seal’s axis. Oyeon, the southern seal’s axis.

Besides these two axes, there’s one Great Seal axis each in the west and east. Strictly speaking, things that become the axes of the formation surrounding the Great Seal.

“The eastern seal’s axis Gongsak used formation to last quite long, but its time ran out. I confirmed the split body I had on standby completely destroyed the axis, so you should be able to destroy the Great Seal.”

—I see.

“When will you destroy it?”

—I’d like to destroy it right now, but now isn’t the time.

“Time?”

—Right. Everything has something called timing.

Heavenly Energy is stirring. Why?

That’s because her destined opponent, Baek Riyun, died far too futilely. According to Heavenly Energy’s flow, Baek Riyun originally wasn’t fated to die here.

But Baek Riyun died. Far too futilely. That means Heavenly Energy lost its direction and is rampaging here and there.

—Heavenly Energy is fickle. The proof is that even I don’t know how the future will turn out.

—That’s why I must be cautious. Such an opportunity won’t come twice.

As a large part has been twisted, Heavenly Energy also needs time to find its place. If she destroys the Great Seal before Heavenly Energy finds its place, if Heavenly Energy twists in a strange direction during the climax of the battle, won’t it be impossible to respond?

“Well, I understand you can’t move right away, but then what about that?”

—That?

“I mean that divine beast over there. It’ll arrive soon. Can you win if you fight?”

—Fight, you say. You mean fight Sanggwi?

“Shouldn’t you? Either way, it seems you need to hold it here.”

—Foolish words.

At Ilnachar’s words, Heukya unknowingly let out a hollow laugh and quietly shook her head. Because it was absurd.

—Sanggwi is the oldest divine beast. Even including divine beasts in eternal sleep, that’s so.

“You’re saying that’s the first divine beast?”

—Right. That Sanggwi is the very first divine beast born after this world was created. It means Sanggwi is the first divine beast that split off from yokai. Do you know what that means?

—That thing is the will of the world itself.

Most ‘firsts’ disappear quickly. You can tell by how the first yokai ever born disappeared without leaving even a name.

The first of the human species is like that, and the first of the yokai species is like that too. The first of bipeds also didn’t leave a name or hide. It means the beginning has no significance in the world.

However, if that first remains even now after hundreds of thousands of years have passed, that’s a different story. Because.

That means the ‘first’ hasn’t been weeded out for hundreds of thousands of years.

It would mean that existence was perfect from the start.

—The role the world desired from Sanggwi is to reduce the yokai population. That divine beast was made incompatible with yokai.

No matter how much overwhelming yokai power Heukya possesses, it doesn’t change. She could avoid Sanggwi, but if she tries to block it head-on, she’ll surely meet death with her whole body torn to shreds.

—Fighting doesn’t work. Besides, there’s no need to fight.

“…You’re saying there’s no need to fight?”

—Right. Didn’t I say? Sanggwi is the will of the world itself.

Heavenly Energy desires the yokai’s destruction. And she is the messenger to accomplish that destruction.

Then Sanggwi can’t interfere with her. The turtle as large as Mount Tai, who lived too long and forgot even how to properly communicate, merely came here following guidance.

—I just need to remove those on top of its head.

“Those on top of its head?”

—One foolish yokai who doesn’t know her place and is jealous of me, and a few humans struggling desperately to protect their world.

There are no variables.

—I’ll be back shortly. It won’t take long.

Watching Heukya slowly float into the air, Ilnachar tilted her head. A sense of incongruity brushing her nape.

‘Something’s strange.’

If Sanggwi’s reason for existence is to exterminate yokai, there’s no need to corrupt Sanggwi into a yokai either. Anyway, as a messenger of the end, it should follow Heukya’s orders.

‘Doesn’t matter?’

Anyway, it’s not really related to her.

Ilnachar, who roughly erased the hypothesis that suddenly came to mind, looked at the brilliantly shining Great Seal. Varicolored energies moving here and there inside the Great Seal.

‘As long as I can shed this human shell, it doesn’t matter.’

Whether Heukya wants to destroy yokai or humans, it doesn’t matter. Even if she dies, it doesn’t matter.

‘I’ll die as a yokai.’

Ilnachar, who wore a sticky smile while stroking her forearm at the surging sense of disgust, felt it.

The Great Seal was writhing.

The yokai Toehui hates Heukya more than anything else in the world.

That’s not simply to surpass Heukya. After feeling the difference in status as fellow yokai, Toehui began to envy Heukya, and once she started envying, she wanted to interfere with everything Heukya did. Even if that action would help her.

This matter is like that too. Destroying the Great Seal is a boon for all yokai, not Heukya, but considering that, Toehui wanted to interfere with Heukya’s actions. Because it’s what Heukya is doing. 

“Wh-what is that…!”

For Toehui, the current situation was flowing in a not very good direction.

Because it was right before Heukya’s goal was achieved.

“You vermin! Wake up already!”

“U-uueueueu…”

On top of Sanggwi’s head.

Toehui, who was about to gather yokai power and strike the humans sprawled here and there once each, then considered the aftermath her attack would cause and gritted her teeth, erasing the yokai power before lightly slapping their backs to wake them. Humans exhausted from traversing a tremendous distance in two days.

“Y-yokai… stop… I think I’m going to… throw up…”

“Isn’t it obvious? Look at that right away!”

“Uuuueuk.”

“Don’t throw up on me! Kyaaaak!”

At the sight of the man puffing up his mouth, Toehui fell back in horror, then gritted her teeth looking at the humans who couldn’t come to their senses. Because she thought they would be helpful and brought them alive, but they weren’t being very helpful.

—Toehui, why have you come all the way here…

A few days ago, when she followed the explosion that rang out from the middle of Sanggwi’s shell.

Toehui learned that the humans they were looking for had climbed quite high. And that they couldn’t climb any higher.

That’s natural. Hearing the humans’ story, they climbed threading the needle through gaps between territories based on the beasts’ paths, but the higher you go, the narrower the beasts’ paths become and eventually disappear.

What rises above the clouds is Sanggwi’s shell. It’s no different from climbing one enormous mountain range. But the humans climbed without proper preparation and ended up encountering one great yokai and fighting.

Finding those humans and guiding them to a place where they could talk with Sanggwi was good. That means up to there was according to plan.

But what is this scene before her eyes?

“The Great Seal is already revealed…!”

Heukya’s plan is to destroy the Great Seal.

Though Heukya also reads Heavenly Energy and is wary of her actions being revealed to Heavenly Energy so the plan after that can’t be known clearly, just looking at it, you can tell the first button is about to be fastened. If given just a little more time, it’s obvious Heukya will achieve her plan.

“Wake uuuup—!!!”

“You shouldn’t shake them like that, Toehui-nim. Those people have their insides completely shaken from your overwhelming yokai power.”

At the voice that suddenly reached her, Toehui reflexively turned her head and drew up yokai power to split the opponent in half, then flinched in surprise. A white-robed human waving their hand, revealing their form at some point though they weren’t there until just before.

“Who are you again…!”

“Ah, I’m human.”

Briefly dazed at the incomprehensible answer, Toehui soon frowned and raised her voice. She didn’t ask about species, did she?

“I know that! I’m asking what kind of human!”

Knowing her name. Reaching here without getting caught in her sense.

None of these things are ordinary. Toehui, who raised her wariness to the extreme and took a battle stance while shouting, saw Baek Riseon shrug his shoulders. And the words that follow.

“A human doing their best to thwart Heukya’s plan… Would you understand if I put it that way?”

“What?”

“I also have some connection with the people lying over there.”

“If you stay like that, you’ll just watch Heukya achieve her goal unable to do anything, so won’t you listen to what I have to say?”

“…Hmph. Fine. Suspicious fellow. I’ll listen to what you have to say.”

At Baek Riseon’s words, which have strange persuasive power, Toehui, who released the collar of Seomun Cheok she was gripping and shaking, frowned while looking at Baek Riseon. A human from whom truly no power can be felt, unlike other humans or divine beasts who have some power.

“What are you?”

“I’m Baek Riseon. A human sorcerer… something like that. Though I only learned sorcery superficially.”

“You climbed here through sorcery you learned superficially? That’s not even funny.”

“That part is roughly classified as trade secret, so for now, may I wake these people up?”

“Do as you please.”

“Then.”

Perhaps she could see Baek Riseon’s ability.

“Uueuk.”

“Ugh…”

Thinking that while looking at Baek Riseon, Toehui widened her eyes at the scene that soon unfolded. Though neither internal power nor yokai power moved, the humans’ condition clearly improved just from Baek Riseon waving his folding fan once.

“That’s done.”

“…What are you really?”

“Are you asking three times? I’m Baek Riseon.”

“I’m asking what that power is!”

“It would be too long to explain, so it’s not suitable to explain right now. More than that, there’s something we must do.”

“Something we must do?”

“Yes.”

Looking at his companions shaking their heads trying to come to their senses, Baek Riseon felt the sensation from far away and wore a grinning smile. And the words that follow.

“First…”

Seeing Baek Riseon suspiciously wiggling his fingers, Toehui let out a hum.

“Let’s run away. Toehui-nim. And everyone.”