By Zephyria “Oh, it looks like it’s about to start.”
“Should we say hello?”
“Don’t. Ju-won hyung will scold us.”
While the children were whispering, one of the main office children nudged Jo Eun-ha, who was sitting next to her.
“Hey, hey- Eun-ha, why do I keep feeling anxious?”
The child rubbed her stiff shoulders with an uncomfortable expression.
“Huh? Why, did your Child Spirit say something?”
“It doesn’t seem like anything serious……”
He keeps telling me not to be surprised. One of the main office children tilted her head in unease as the ‘Purification Ceremony’ finally began. To summarize, it was a ritual to purify the tainted energy and pray for the Mountain Spirit to regain its original power.
After the sound of a gong that echoed loudly through the mountain, Ki Jae-eon appeared wearing a scarlet robe.
People looked at the platform with reverence.
Clang- Jjaeng-!
Ttangttalang-!
Ki Jae-eon drew his sword with a simple motion.
He stretched out his right foot and thrust it into the air, sharply cutting through the air. The clean movements were very precise and skillful. The young man, who was not even thirty, exuded the aura of a hundred-year-old Taoist. People gasped in admiration.
An invisible but visible ability.
Ah, so that’s what talent is!
In particular, those who had witnessed Jo Ma-gu’s public execution swallowed hard, as if recalling that day, while those who had not seen it were lost in a daze, eager to capture him in their eyes.
Swoosh-!
The blade extended powerfully.
Kim Ju-won, with his arms crossed, was also watching the scene with bated breath.
His stiff face was colder and more frightening than usual, but his thoughts were different.
Yes, [stimulation].
Kim Ju-won was realizing the difference in skill in real time.
‘It was like this when we performed the Divine Rite before, but it’s definitely different.’
What should I say about Ki Jae-eon…… is he precise?
No, that wasn’t enough to describe it.
‘The way to please the gods is naturally ingrained in his body.’
Even though it’s an open book, I can’t figure out the answer. I can only wonder, how does he move like that? I tried to copy him in my imagination, but I quickly gave up. It was a gesture that I couldn’t imitate no matter how hard I tried.
‘I’ve seen plenty of people who are good.’
They’re right here if I just turn my head.
Kim Yeong, his Teacher, and Kim Ja-myeong, who is called the elder of the main office.
All of them were undeniably skilled individuals who could not be ignored.
‘But…….’
Ki Jae-eon was fundamentally different from us.
Every part of him was accurate and meticulous, without any flaws. But even so, there was no sense that it was calculated.
Close to instinct, simply innate.
Truly a Genius!
‘Even if I learn, it’ll be a problem. Because only that bastard can do something like that.’
Kim Ju-won rolled his eyes, following the increasingly flashy movements, and glanced around.
‘Ah, everyone’s the same.’
People were so engrossed that they forgot to cheer.
Kim Ju-won himself had been like that until just now, so that said it all.
He let out a hollow laugh.
‘But something’s been bothering me since earlier…….’
Kim Ju-won refocused on Ki Jae-eon and suddenly noticed something strange.
‘Even if he’s taking it seriously.’
The expression on Ki Jae-eon’s face as he performed the ritual contained no emotion.
Kim Ju-won roughly guessed that he was tired.
‘Should I have bought him a vitamin drink?’
It was then.
Ttang- Just as a pleasant breeze seemed to blow in with the sound of the bell.
“……?!”
Kim Ju-won slumped forward with a sudden headache.
Thud!
“Heok……!!”
This was a sensation he had never experienced before.
A strange sense of oppression, as if sharp shards of glass were embedded in the air.
Cold sweat trickled down his spine. Like being hit by Evil Aura… What’s going on? Just as Kim Ju-won, who had burst out his blocked breath, grabbed his chest, he heard a suppressed groan from the side.
Barely turning his gaze, he saw someone who had fallen in place. He was trembling, having soiled himself with urine and with a pale complexion. It was clear that he had lost control of his bladder in fear.
‘What the hell……?!’
That wasn’t all. There were also people vomiting.
Everyone gathered on the mountain was suffering from similar symptoms.
‘Specter? No, that’s not it. I don’t feel any energy.’
At that moment, as Kim Ju-won clutched his throbbing head with both hands, the headache grew stronger over time. Unfamiliar [scenes] were quickly being shoved into his head. It was something he had never experienced before.
Yes, it was clearly [someone’s] [memory]!
“I, I don’t want to!”
“I don’t want to die, heueu, I don’t, I don’t want to!”
As [someone’s] [memory] played, the process of people being brutally murdered was quickly shown. Among them were those who had to watch their own deaths in real time.
For example, the one who had wet himself would have his limbs torn apart one day, and the one diagonally in front would die with his head crushed. It was all shown without any censorship. It was no use closing his eyes tightly because he didn’t want to see it.
People being mercilessly slaughtered.
Kim Ju-won’s pupils widened.
Forgetting the pain, he scanned the people. Soon, most of the people had died in his head.
“……Heok! Heok!”
Just as blood was dripping from his nose.
‘Exorcist.’
A familiar face appeared.
It was Ahn Seo-myeong.
He had grown up a lot.
But he didn’t look so good.
‘Ju-won hyung touched forbidden Art of Magic to protect us-.’
It was all just incomprehensible words.
But he figured out that the [Ju-won hyung] they were talking about was him. Oh, so I died too? Kim Ju-won thought blankly from a third-person perspective.
And then the memories flowed quickly again.
‘If I die, it’s because I’m weak-.’
Kim Ju-won looked at the real Ahn Seo-myeong with eyes that had burst blood vessels. He was also stiff, clutching his head. Ah, this made it clear. Everyone here was seeing the same thing.
‘Damn memories……. No, is it the future?’
And soon, Ahn Seo-myeong also died.
His body was cut in half, and he died without even screaming.
——!
“What, what is this!”
“Kyaaaa!”
“Please, please stop!”
The main office children burst into tears at Ahn Seo-myeong’s miserable appearance.
It was a natural reaction because it felt more real than reality.
However, the memories flowed without interruption despite the people’s screams.
‘Please save me! Please save me. Exorcist!’
‘My parents are over there-!’
‘Hang in there a little longer!’
‘Ah……. Can I finally rest easy?’
‘Finally……. Heueuk.’
A world that had moved away from death.
Kim Ju-won belatedly realized who the owner of this [memory] was. No, not just Kim Ju-won. Heavenly Land, the main office…… They had realized it. Because in the forcibly shoved memories, everyone was shouting only one name.
[Ki Jae-eon]
That’s right. It was him.
The owner of the memory was Ki Jae-eon.
Of course, I don’t know if I should call this a memory.
Anyway, Ki Jae-eon, who had saved the hellish world and was catching his breath, didn’t show his face until the end. After muttering, ‘……It’s over,’ he twisted a rope with what could hardly be called a human hand.
There wasn’t a single word.
Soon, in the long silence, there was only the sound of something hanging and shaking.
Then, the scene changed in an instant.
It was a place where many people were crowded together, just like now.
‘Heok, heok……! Eu, ueuk!’
Ki Jae-eon started with a gasp of breath as if he was flustered, and ended up vomiting.
Again, a sea of flowing memories.
‘No……. No!’
A voice screaming and denying reality.
It was the sound of the century’s Genius collapsing.
“Heok—!”
Kim Ju-won gasped for breath like someone who had been submerged in deep water and pulled up. Haa, cough! He coughed involuntarily.
‘What…… was that I just saw…….’
The headache disappeared as the [memory] ended.
Everyone was dumbfounded and blinking in a daze at the sudden situation that had taken their souls away. People didn’t come to their senses for a while like broken robots. But as soon as they realized it wasn’t a dream, a heated reaction poured out.
“He is here!”
Starting with someone’s shout, people were very excited and spewed out fanatical belief.
Please save us! All sorts of prayers were rampant. They reached out to Ki Jae-eon, shedding tears. Their fingertips were desperately trembling. Please, don’t abandon us. Their voices were even desperate.
“Is that really the future to come?”
“Only you can save us…….”
“I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die.”
“Exorcist, please give me your blessing.”
“To me too! Please don’t abandon me.”
“I will follow your holy will. However-.”
“Exorcist Ki Jae-eon!”
“Exorcist!”
Their appearance was exactly the same as the memory, no, the future they had just seen.
A group’s mad prayer for one person.
The sight looked more like [prayers for a sacrifice] than [prayers to a god].
In short, it was uncomfortable to see.
Amid the somewhat extreme reactions, the center of the topic, Ki Jae-eon, was…….
“……Ki Jae-eon?”
Was crying.