By Zephyria 
At that moment, Gil-sang, who had been observing the lead group alongside Ho-eun, spoke.
“I don’t think we can chase them any further.”
“Pardon?”
Ho-eun asked immediately. The sound of the rain was so loud that he hadn’t heard him. In response, Gil-sang raised his voice while looking at Ho-eun.
“We should! Go! Back!”
“Ah, yes! I think you’re right!”
Ho-eun shouted back and nodded. It would be better to keep chasing, but even if they did, the hideout they had failed to find thus far wasn’t going to suddenly appear like magic. They might have to ride for another day, or perhaps two or three days straight, and at this rate, it was impossible.
The horses were exhausted from the relentless galloping. The breath they exhaled in heavy pants was becoming thicker. Moreover, galloping through ground that had turned into a mud pit must have been incredibly taxing.
It was a shame, but since they now knew how to lure the Devouring Ghouls, it seemed best to aim for the next opportunity. If they started over from here, they could go further next time.
Then, another rumble of thunder shook the air. The rain grew even more violent. Now, because of the darkness, Gil-sang’s face beside him was barely visible.
“Haa…”
Ho-eun wiped his eyes with his sleeve. He couldn’t open them properly against the pouring rain. Eventually, he had to sputter and spit out the rain, as if he were swimming underwater. His nostrils stung from inhaling the rain, and the water streaming down his spine gave him occasional chills.
As they struggled along, the group gradually slowed down and soon came to a complete halt. Ho-eun and Gil-sang, who were trailing at the end, also pulled their reins and stopped.
The horse shook its head with a loud snort. The sound of its heavy panting was transmitted clearly to Ho-eun.
“Tired, aren’t you? Just hang in there. I think we’re almost home.”
Ho-eun spoke while stroking the horse’s neck. Meanwhile, Byeonguk, who had been guarding Tae-muk’s side, rode back past the soldiers, took a bow from an archer, and returned.
Ho-eun narrowed his eyes, confused by the action. However, his vision was poor due to the darkness. It was an ordeal just to keep his eyes open with the rain battering his face.
Still, through the heavy rain, he caught glimpses of Tae-muk. Mounted on his horse, he was drawing his bowstring toward the front. It seemed he intended to kill the Devouring Ghoul they had been following. They had made good use of it, but that didn’t mean they could leave it alive.
Tae-muk released the string quickly without even aiming carefully. The Devouring Ghoul wasn’t very far away, nor was it rampaging; it was simply running ahead, making it an easy target. The arrow he fired would likely pierce the Devouring Ghoul’s head in one shot.
The arrow left Tae-muk’s hand and sliced through the rain with a sharp shweeek. At that exact moment, a flash of lightning struck! The surroundings, which had been submerged in darkness, turned white in an instant, and his vision became clear.
Through the dense fir trees, he saw the Devouring Ghoul running with a bowl hanging from it. He also saw the arrow flying powerfully toward the creature. Having received the full force of Tae-muk’s strength, the arrow flew straight toward the Devouring Ghoul’s Helmet Bone without wavering despite the torrential rain. And just like that, the arrow pierced the back of the Devouring Ghoul’s head—
“Oh…”
Ho-eun let out a short gasp.
Thump!
The running Devouring Ghoul collapsed onto the rain-soaked ground. However, it wasn’t because of the arrow Tae-muk had fired.
Nor was it that Tae-muk had aimed poorly. The arrow Tae-muk fired had embedded itself exactly into a tree that was in a straight line with the Devouring Ghoul’s head. In fact, it didn’t just embed; it penetrated through, causing the tree to split with a loud crack.
Yet, the Devouring Ghoul had not been hit by the arrow. Still, it had collapsed. And it did not get back up. As if it were dead.
Ho-eun frowned at the inexplicable situation. Why did that happen? Before the arrow reached the Devouring Ghoul, he felt as if he had glimpsed something pitch-black, like a shadow, flashing past the creature, but he couldn’t tell if it was real or if he had imagined it. The thunder had already passed, and the surroundings had turned black again.
“Sergeant, just now…”
Baffled by the strange occurrence, Ho-eun turned to Gil-sang. He wanted to ask if Gil-sang had seen the same thing. But.
“…”
Gil-sang was staring straight ahead with a stiff, frozen expression. Seeing that face, Ho-eun felt his heart drop.
“Don’t tell me…”
Had a Devouring Ghoul appeared? But if one had appeared, the ground should have shaken. There should have been a sound.
Ho-eun hurriedly looked around. There was nothing to be seen or heard. There was only a darkness so thick it felt stifling and rain that beat down with painful force.
Suddenly, Ho-eun found the darkness and the sound of the rain incredibly oppressive. Despite being in a vast open space, he felt as if he were trapped in a very narrow box.
If he couldn’t do anything about the rain, he had to drive away this darkness. Only then would he feel like he could breathe.
“I… I brought a flashlight…”
Ho-eun searched his saddlebag with trembling hands. However, the rain-soaked bag was stubborn, and his hands were so frozen that his senses were dulled, making it difficult to find the flashlight. Nevertheless, Ho-eun managed to dig it out. And the moment he clicked it on.
Rumbleeee!
The thunder’s footstep, which had provided the light a while ago, arrived two beats late.
“Hiek…!”
Already on edge, Ho-eun jumped in terror, his shoulders twitching. In the process, he dropped the flashlight. He flailed his arms wildly, but he couldn’t catch the flashlight, which felt like a heavy piece of iron.
The stray beam of light spun around, haphazardly cutting through the dark forest, before finally plunging upside down into the mud.
Everyone looked at Ho-eun at the sudden, silent commotion. That everyone included Tae-muk.
“I’m sor—sorry…”
A flustered Ho-eun apologized, his breath puffing out. But even that voice was swallowed by the rain, and no one heard him.
Ho-eun’s eyes wandered uncertainly before landing on the flashlight buried in the mud. He… felt like he should pick it up. Only then could they find the Devouring Ghouls or the path in this darkness.
Chilbok had once mentioned:
‘The Captain sees everything there is to see and hears everything there is to hear.’
Indeed, Tae-muk saw and heard everything, but he couldn’t see what was invisible or hear what was silent to begin with. In other words, no matter how good his eyes were, he couldn’t see the invisible things in this pitch-black darkness.
Therefore, he had to give the flashlight to Tae-muk. No matter how omnipotent he was, he couldn’t light a torch in this torrential rain, nor could he clear the dark clouds hiding the moonlight; that was the only way.
Ho-eun swallowed hard and shifted his body to dismount his horse.
“Young Master.”
Gil-sang, who had approached him unnoticed, grabbed Ho-eun’s elbow and pushed him back onto the horse.
“…Yes?”
Whether from the cold or from fear, Ho-eun, whose face had turned pale to the point of looking blue, looked at Gil-sang stiffly. Gil-sang looked him straight in the eye and spoke.
“Just keep riding.”
At those words, Ho-eun held his breath for a moment, then immediately pulled the reins without asking why. Just as he was about to kick the horse’s flank.
“Hwaaaaagh!”
“Aaaaagh!”
“Agh!”
Sharp screams erupted from all directions. He caught a glimpse of sleeves fluttering, and a wind blew. Then, the surroundings suddenly felt empty.
It was because dozens of soldiers had been launched into the sky.
“What… is this…”
Yes. They had soared into the sky. As if someone from above had plucked them up. The horses, suddenly losing their riders, neighed and whinnied.
“…”
Faced with an event that was beyond strange and bordering on the grotesque, even Gil-sang, who had been about to follow Ho-eun, froze like a stone.
The soldiers who had been screaming as they soared upward suddenly stopped all at once. Instead, amidst the pouring rain, intermittent sounds of crunch, crackle, pop, rip could be heard.
And suddenly, the rain became warm. No, it became hot. As the warmth touched his frozen skin, it stung as if he were being pricked by needles.
Ho-eun wiped his face with a trembling hand. Then he looked down at it. He knew he couldn’t distinguish colors in the dark, but he looked anyway.
Whether the heavens were trying to help or mock him.
In an instant, flash! Lightning struck, and the surroundings brightened again. Thanks to that, Ho-eun could see. His palm was stained bright red.
However, before he could even blink once in the heavy rain, his hand became clean again.
“…”
Had he seen a hallucination? Or had he been bewitched by a ghost? Ho-eun blinked rapidly, breathing in short gasps. Then, he instinctively looked forward. He was searching for Tae-muk.
“…General?”
But in the place where Tae-muk had been, Tae-muk was gone. Instead, dozens of pitch-black Devouring Ghouls were gathered in a swarm, writhing. Tae-muk was completely hidden, vanished beneath a mound of Devouring Ghouls that had clung together in double and triple layers.
The moment Ho-eun gasped.
“Above! The Devouring Ghouls are above!”
Someone screamed.
At those words, Ho-eun snapped his head up to look. He saw nothing. But he could feel it. Hundreds of Devouring Ghouls were hanging in clusters from the trees.