By Zephyria 
19
How much further did they travel like that? Just as the sky was densely dyed with the colors of sunset, the sound of water reached them from somewhere. The moment Ho-eun perked up his ears at the sound, the densely packed trees parted, revealing a path. At the same time, the sunlight burst in brilliantly.
Ho-eun frowned. The sun had shone in the forest too, but the sun here felt different. It was much whiter and more intense.
Ho-eun, who had been blinking his eyes narrowly, soon faced the scene before him.
“Ah……”
Large and small white rocks were piled up in layers, filling one side of the mountain. The large rocks were the size of houses, and even the small ones were bigger than Ho-eun’s head. The round, worn rocks looked as if they had been there for a very long time.
And between the rocks, the strong current of a mountain stream flowed down in torrents. It was so clear that it looked like liquid glass was pouring down. Indeed, the inside of the water was clearly visible.
It was truly a magnificent sight.
Ho-eun was blankly admiring the scenery that he couldn’t see inside the capital, when Tae-muk and the soldiers began to cross the stream. No one cared whether their shoes or pants got wet. Ho-eun’s horse, too, followed them, bobbing its head as it entered the water.
The stream wasn’t very deep. It reached the soldiers’ shins, or knees if it was a little deeper. Of course, there were deeper spots. The water between the gathered stones was black, suggesting it was quite deep, but it was impossible to estimate with the naked eye.
Splash, splash, chab chab chab chab, swaaaaaa……, splosh, splosh, swaaaaaa…….
The sound of horses’ hooves and soldiers’ footsteps mingled with the stream water. The sound was strangely pleasant to hear, so Ho-eun was watching the pouring stream.
But suddenly, something dark mixed into the water, which had been so clear that the bottom was visible. Was it muddy water? But the color was strange.
Ho-eun stared at it for a long time before realizing that it wasn’t dark, but red.
Something red.
Red water.
Red…….
“……Blood?”
Ho-eun raised his head sharply. Where did the blood come from? Was someone hurt? Who? He hurriedly looked around, but all the soldiers were standing there unharmed. Then, did someone other than the Crimson Rain Brigade get hurt? Just as that thought crossed his mind.
Something sticking out between the rocks in the distance caught Ho-eun’s eye. It was a person’s foot, wearing straw shoes. It was definitely a person’s foot. Judging by the fact that it was lying flat on its back, it seemed like the person had collapsed.
Ho-eun quickly called Gil-sang.
“Corporal, there’s someone over ther…….”
But he couldn’t finish his sentence. That was because the person, no, that ankle, came rolling down in the strong current. The cross-section of the ankle was uneven, as if it had been torn off by a strong force. Fortunately or unfortunately, before Ho-eun could examine it in detail, it slipped between the horse’s legs.
“…….”
Ho-eun looked at Gil-sang, wondering if he had seen what he had just seen. But Gil-sang was staring somewhere else. Ho-eun followed his gaze, but he couldn’t find anything other than a large rock.
So, next, he looked at Tae-muk, who was standing in front. But Tae-muk was already off his horse. And he, too, was staring at something. Soon, the other soldiers followed him off their horses, or took out their weapons.
“…….”
Ho-eun was confused. He couldn’t see anything, so what were they all looking at? Was the Crimson Rain Brigade a unit that caught ghosts as well as Devouring Ghouls?
But Ho-eun felt with his whole body that something had happened, no, that something was about to happen. The scenery, the sky, the wind, the fluttering leaves were telling him.
He gripped the reins tightly. Splosh, Gil-sang, who had gotten off his horse, approached Ho-eun.
“Young master.”
“……Yes, yes?”
“Please get off.”
“Now? Here? Ah, yes.”
Realizing that arguing in this situation was meaningless, Ho-eun quickly nodded. As he awkwardly tried to get off his horse, Gil-sang helped him. Soon, Ho-eun’s feet also fell into the shallow stream with a splash.
“Ugh…….”
The cold water ruthlessly penetrated his skin without asking for permission. A shiver ran down his spine in an instant. While Ho-eun bit his lip and endured the unfamiliar coldness, Gil-sang and the other soldiers connected the reins of the horses to the horses in front and behind. Of course, Ho-eun’s horse was included as well.
And when all the horses were connected, Tae-muk, who was at the very front, hit his horse’s rump. Then, the horses began to run one by one, and together they rushed into the forest.
The ground trembled from the heavy movement of the horses. Ho-eun saw an illusion of the rocks wriggling and the stream water surging.
And the moment the horses disappeared between the dense trees, a pillar of water shot up not far away with a whoosh. The pillar of water soon scattered like rain. A few drops splashed on Ho-eun’s cheeks. But there was no time to wipe them off.
Kaaaaaak!
The Devouring Ghoul that appeared from between the pillars of water opened its mouth wide and screamed. A pitch-black body, bloodshot eyes, a wide helmet bone covering its head, and two Leaf Type horns, or antennae, shaped like overlapping leaves, embedded in the middle of the helmet.
“…….”
Ho-eun’s face turned pale in an instant. A living Devouring Ghoul. All he had seen so far were the corpses that Tae-muk had pulverized, but this one was clearly alive.
Kakak, kak, kakakak!
The Devouring Ghoul, with its bloodshot eyes reflecting the Crimson Rain Brigade, screamed again. The Leaf Type antennae on its helmet twitched. And a few seconds later, pillars of water shot up from all directions. They were Devouring Ghouls. Some were lowering their bodies behind the rocks before revealing themselves.
There were dozens of them that appeared like that. Judging by a rough estimate, there seemed to be twice as many as the Crimson Rain Brigade. The white rocks were covered with the Devouring Ghouls’ wet footprints.
“…….”
Ho-eun stared at them, barely able to breathe. Gil-sang snatched Ho-eun’s elbow. Then, he strode towards a nearby rock, pulling him along.
“Stay here.”
“H, here?”
“Yes. Absolutely, you must not run away. You must not be alone. You must stay where we can reach you.”
Gil-sang warned Ho-eun while constantly looking around. Then, he drew the sword he was carrying at his side. Ho-eun blinked his eyes rapidly, then nodded his head, trembling slightly.
“Yes, yes. I understand. I will never, ever run away. I will fight too.”
Ho-eun fumbled with his clothes. The Pistol that his father had given him was here somewhere, at his side, surely……. But before he could find the Gun, Gil-sang made strong eye contact with Ho-eun. His wide-open eyes shone brightly.
“I’m not telling you to fight.”
“Th, then…….”
As Ho-eun made a flustered expression, Gil-sang pushed him back. There was a gap created by a house-sized rock and a small rock tangled together. Gil-sang practically shoved the already small Ho-eun into that space.
“Hide here, lower your head, don’t make a sound, and stay put.”
“Yes, yes! Yes!”
As if understanding, Ho-eun bent his knees as much as possible to make his body small. He also hunched his neck tightly. The moment Gil-sang nodded as if to say that was right.
Splosh.
A soaking wet Devouring Ghoul jumped down in front of Gil-sang. It lunged with its mouth open before Gil-sang could even aim his sword. The grotesquely shaped teeth came right up to Gil-sang’s nose.
Kaaaaaak!
But Gil-sang didn’t easily give up his flesh. Lightly jumping up from his spot, he kneed the Devouring Ghoul’s jaw. And the moment the Devouring Ghoul tilted its head back from the force, he plunged his sword deep into its exposed neck. Red and viscous blood slowly flowed down Gil-sang’s sword.
“Ha…….”
Ho-eun, who saw that, let out a sigh of relief, thinking that the Devouring Ghoul had died. But.
Kakak, kak, kaaaaak!
Far from dying, the Devouring Ghoul lunged at Gil-sang, pushing its face forward. It also waved its hands with sharp fingernails at Gil-sang. It didn’t care that the sword was digging deeper into its neck. Its appetite seemed to be greater than its fear of death. It truly was a terrible beast.
The saw-like teeth protruded further forward, as if to eat Gil-sang’s flesh. At that, Gil-sang turned his sword to the side. Then, shouting, “Ueooeok!” he slashed the Devouring Ghoul’s neck with his sword. Teudeudeuk, the Devouring Ghoul’s shell-like skin split.
“Keuik…….”
The Devouring Ghoul, with half of its neck cut, didn’t die, but it couldn’t maintain its balance. Since it was wearing a heavy helmet bone on its head, its head tilted diagonally along the cut part of its neck due to the weight. The cut surface of the severed neck was clearly exposed, and blood poured out like a waterfall. But even in that state, it opened its mouth wide and staggered towards Gil-sang.
At that, Gil-sang cut off the remaining part of its neck. Its head fell to the ground with a thud, and Gil-sang raised his sword high and stabbed it into the middle of the helmet.
Ppeogeok! There was a sound of something hard breaking. Only then did the Devouring Ghoul’s biting stop.