Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 107 – Lord of the Western Sea (4)

“Cough, cough… It’s really hard to grab a hand.”

Mok Gyeong-un, whose mouth was covered in blood, smiled sardonically and muttered.

He had contemplated in an instant how to approach this being called a Spirit Beast.

‘How can I approach it?’

The being had seen him absorbing energy.

That’s probably why it tried to control him in a detached state through demonic energy and attacked.

In this situation, by what means could he make it approach?

It was a suspicious being, so unless he drew his last breath, it would never come close…

‘Ah!’

The method he came up with as a last resort was none other than this.

‘Lucky me.’

This method was a kind of gamble with his life on the line.

The being regarded him as an insect while also considering him the key to getting out.

So he was certain that it would try to keep him alive in any way possible.

And that certainty was confirmed.

Demonic energy beyond imagination was being sucked in through the palm by the Ritual of Binding incantation.

It was incomparable to fierce beasts or monstrous beasts.

The concentration and vastness were beyond imagination.

It was hard to believe that this was a weakened state after being sealed for thousands of years.

Then, at its peak, just how powerful would it be?

Cheong-ryeong, whose spiritual energy had been drained and weakened, staggered and looked at Mok Gyeong-un with a haggard face.

She always felt that he was a fellow who surpassed expectations.

Who in the world would risk their life and do such a crazy thing?

‘Only that mortal is capable of it.’

It was the result of combining cunning, insight, and the boldness to make it a reality.

That Spirit Beast had to keep Mok Gyeong-un alive no matter what.

Only then could it get out of here.

‘This won’t do.’

Although she had reached a perilous state by having more than 80% of her spiritual energy drained, helping Mok Gyeong-un now would increase the chances of survival even more.

A bloody light flowed from her near-dead eyes.

Right at that moment,

“Stop it right now!”

The white-haired middle-aged man urged Mok Gyeong-un.

His hair, which had been flowing down alluringly, was standing on end as if his anger had reached its peak.

‘These insect-like beings!’

How dare they deceive him and aim for his demonic energy?

He had to detach the fellow’s hand somehow.

The white-haired middle-aged man nodded his head to detach Mok Gyeong-un’s adhered hand and invoked demonic energy.

However,

‘Damn it…’

After adhering to the human fellow, the energy wasn’t being controlled properly.

It seemed to be escaping too quickly.

‘In that case.’

At this, the white-haired middle-aged man tried to forcefully detach Mok Gyeong-un’s adhered wrist with his other hand.

But at that very moment,

The cavity transformed into a space filled with blood.

“This is…”

It was Cheong-ryeong’s realm of ghostly intent, the Blood Realm.

The white-haired middle-aged man turned his head and made an absurd expression.

Cheong-ryeong, who was on the verge of death, created a realm of ghostly intent by detonating all her remaining spiritual power.

The blood that had opened the Blood Realm flew in like whips and seized the white-haired middle-aged man’s left arm and both legs.

The sticky blood whips turned tough like leather and restrained the being.

“You evil spirit!”

The white-haired middle-aged man, exploding with rage, tried to forcefully shake it off.

The blood whips stretched due to the immense force.

However, Cheong-ryeong’s Blood Realm, which was prepared even for extinction, was not to be taken lightly either.

More blood transformed into whips and seized the body of the white-haired middle-aged man, who was trying to shake it off.

“Aargh!”

The white-haired middle-aged man’s anger reached its peak.

If he had regained even 30% or 10% of his strength from before being sealed, he could have exterminated such insects with a single gesture.

But now, he couldn’t do that.

He didn’t know what this insect-like human fellow was doing, but the demonic energy within his body had become unstable and couldn’t be properly controlled.

Even in the midst of that, the demonic energy was continuously being drained.

It had already exceeded 30% of what remained.

At this rate, it might become difficult to even maintain his current form.

‘Damn insects.’

It was a situation where he was caught between a rock and a hard place.

If his life wasn’t in danger, he could have detached his hand first, but if he did that, this weakened human fellow would draw his last breath.

However, if he didn’t detach from this fellow, his demonic energy would continue to be drained.

‘If only that damn evil spirit wasn’t interfering…’

He could stop it by tearing off the energy-absorbing arm with his other hand.

But that evil spirit wasn’t budging an inch, as if it was prepared for extinction.

At this, the white-haired middle-aged man decided to take a bit of risk.

“Fine. If so…”

The only part he could move was the hand and arm holding Mok Gyeong-un.

The white-haired middle-aged man lifted Mok Gyeong-un up.

And then he struck down Mok Gyeong-un’s head to hit the floor first.

‘I’ll knock him out.’

He was about to knock Mok Gyeong-un out to stop the absorption of demonic energy.

However,

“This insect…”

Even though he slammed his head hard enough to break the floor and blood was flowing out, Mok Gyeong-un didn’t lose consciousness.

“Haa… Haa…”

Instead, he was staring intently at him with rough breathing.

That gaze was extremely irritating.

How dare a being no different from an insect look at him with eyes filled with such malice?

Was he looking down on him?

“Fine. Let’s see who wins.”

The white-haired middle-aged man lifted Mok Gyeong-un up again and slammed him onto the floor.

This time, he made his entire body collide.

The white-haired middle-aged man slammed him down so hard that cracks appeared and the stone floor caved in.

“Cough… Cough…”

The complexion of Mok Gyeong-un, who had been slammed onto the floor, turned pale.

And blood didn’t stop flowing from his mouth.

His internal injuries were already severe, so naturally, his wounds worsened when he was slammed down.

The white-haired middle-aged man repeatedly threw Mok Gyeong-un onto the floor.

Cheong-ryeong tried to stop this by pushing herself even harder to create blood whips to restrain the white-haired middle-aged man’s right arm as well, but…

The blood wrapping around the right arm liquefied and melted away, perhaps due to the Ritual of Binding incantation.

Therefore, there was nothing she could do about this.

“Kuhk!”

For the first time, a cry of pain escaped Mok Gyeong-un’s mouth.

As he continued to collide with the stone floor in a defenseless state, not only his internal organs but also his bones were breaking, and his body was being torn apart.

At this point, he should have lost consciousness, but…

The white-haired middle-aged man looked at Mok Gyeong-un with absurd eyes.

His gaze didn’t die in the slightest.

With a bloody and near-dead face, he was glaring at him intensely, and for a moment, he even felt a chill down his spine.

‘A chill down my spine?’

Instantly, the white-haired middle-aged man’s expression distorted frighteningly like an evil spirit.

Was that the emotion of fear?

Did he feel such an emotion towards a mere human being no different from a lowly insect?

‘Impossible. It can’t be.’

Even thousands of years before being sealed, there weren’t many things that made him feel fear.

No, rather, those things possessed unimaginable strength.

Didn’t even the Immortals of ancient times and those called heroes fear that golden fox and monstrous divinerey?

But compared to those beings, this fellow was an insect, no, a parasite, so how did he make his spine chill?

Had he become so weak after being sealed for thousands of years?

The white-haired middle-aged man ground his teeth forcefully.

The energy the fellow had already sucked in was close to 50%.

Now it was truly perilous.

At this, the white-haired middle-aged man suddenly pulled Mok Gyeong-un, who was glaring at him, towards himself.

“You parasite-like insect. It’s all your own doing.”

Then he headbutted Mok Gyeong-un with his forehead.

What kind of act was this?

At that moment, something strange was captured in Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes.

Something hazy suddenly flowed out from the white-haired middle-aged man’s body.

It was as if…

‘A spirit body?’

It had a form similar to a soul.

But that form wasn’t like the appearance of humans during their lifetime, but rather like a star with light protruding and jutting out.

Then that spirit body, which was assumed to have suddenly popped out…

It penetrated through Mok Gyeong-un’s forehead.

“Huh.”

The moment it penetrated, Mok Gyeong-un threw his head back as if his head had been pierced by something sharp.

“Ah, no!”

Cheong-ryeong, who saw this, shouted.

Unfortunately, she saw the moment it penetrated Mok Gyeong-un’s head from behind.

It was undoubtedly…

‘Out-of-body experience.’

It was the out-of-body experience of the Spirit Beast.

All living beings possess a spirit body, which can be called a soul, in addition to a physical body composed of molecules. After the physical body dies, the will is transferred to the spirit body, whereas in a living state, the will cannot be placed in the spirit body.

However, there are occasionally beings who awaken to this and make it possible.

‘Is it trying to possess and control the body?’

It seemed that the Spirit Beast was trying to directly possess Mok Gyeong-un with its spirit body through out-of-body experience and interfere.

‘I have to stop it.’

Cheong-ryeong tried to shake and tilt the Spirit Beast’s physical body to disrupt this.

However…

The white-haired middle-aged man’s body didn’t budge at all.

Rather, it was maintaining a tense state by exerting force.

‘How can this be?’

How could it simultaneously grant will to both the spirit body and physical body?

It wasn’t called a Spirit Beast that had lived for thousands of years for nothing.

While they were doing so, convulsions occurred in Mok Gyeong-un’s head.

‘Mortal!’

It seemed that the Spirit Beast’s spirit body and Mok Gyeong-un’s soul had collided.

Her expression darkened.

She wanted to help somehow, but she had consumed so much spiritual energy that her body was becoming hazy, putting her on the verge of extinction.

Holding onto the being was her limit.

‘Ahhh.’

Could Mok Gyeong-un really endure this?

No matter how special Mok Gyeong-un’s constitution was, the opponent was a Spirit Beast that had lived for thousands of years.

There is also a level to souls.

That being was infinitely close to a god, so its will was on a different dimension from that of a human like Mok Gyeong-un.

Perhaps it would be a futile resistance.

And as if that prediction was precisely fitting…

Black blood vessels bulged on Mok Gyeong-un’s skin, and a phenomenon of his body being dominated by possession occurred.

‘No.’

This was the worst.

The moment Mok Gyeong-un’s body was seized, everything would be over.

His rolled-back eyes were trembling madly, and black blood flowed from his mouth.

Was it indeed impossible for human will to withstand the will of a Spirit Beast that had lived for thousands of years?

At that moment, the blood whips she had been maintaining with all her might were severed one by one.

She couldn’t endure any longer as most of her spiritual power was exhausted.

Now there was no hope.

It was a moment so despairing that everything felt futile.

Right at that moment…

The black blood vessels that had been bulging all over Mok Gyeong-un’s face began to subside.

‘Could it be?’

While she was thinking that…

The rolled-back eyes that had been trembling wildly soon returned to normal.

At that instant…

The spirit body in the form of starlight that had penetrated Mok Gyeong-un’s forehead popped out and penetrated back into the white-haired middle-aged man’s head.

Then, the white-haired middle-aged man suddenly let out a scream.

“Aaaargh!”

What on earth was happening? While she was puzzled, the white-haired middle-aged man opened his mouth with eyes filled with tension, no, fear, his arrogant expression nowhere to be seen.

“W-What in the world are you?”

“Haa… Haa… What… are you… talking about?”

“That thing inside you…”

Before he could finish his words, the white-haired middle-aged man suddenly made a pained expression.

Then he began to writhe violently.

‘!?’

What in the world was happening?

Suddenly, the white-haired middle-aged man’s skeleton began to change rapidly.

What was this phenomenon?

As the skeleton rapidly grew, fur even sprouted all over his face, no, his entire body.

The speed was so fast that the fur seemed to tear through his clothes and cover his entire body in an instant.

Even a tail sprouted.

The skeleton and fur that had grown large enough to reach the ceiling of the cavity.

It was becoming a form that could no longer be seen as human.

As if…

‘A raccoon dog?’

That’s right.

The white-haired middle-aged man transformed into a giant raccoon dog about twice the size of a human.

Was this the true identity of this Spirit Beast?

As the body grew, the hand holding Mok Gyeong-un became much larger and took the form of grasping.

Because of that, the hand unleashing the Ritual of Binding incantation felt like it would break.

“Ugh!”

The white-haired middle-aged man, no, the Spirit Beast that had turned into a monstrous raccoon dog, spoke in an enraged voice,

“You bastard. I will definitely…”

At that moment, the eyes of the Spirit Beast that had turned into a monstrous raccoon dog trembled.

That was because something made of faint light was somehow filling the Spirit Beast’s neck, arms, and legs.

The Spirit Beast turned its head with trembling eyes.

There, the scroll it had escaped from was floating in the air, and white string-like things were coming out of it, connected to the light shackles restraining the Spirit Beast’s neck, arms, and legs.

Seeing this, the Spirit Beast shouted in a perplexed voice,

“T-This can’t be. I clearly broke the seal and came out…”

Before those words could even finish…

In an instant, the white string-like things pulled the Spirit Beast that had turned into a monstrous raccoon dog at a tremendous speed, and its body began to be sucked into the scroll.

“No, nooooo!”

In response, Mok Gyeong-un hurriedly withdrew the Ritual of Binding incantation and kicked the being with his foot.

“You bastaaaaard! Let’s go together!”

The Spirit Beast being pulled by the white strings tried to grab Mok Gyeong-un’s ankle, but…

At that moment, something grabbed Mok Gyeong-un’s wrist and pulled him.

It was none other than Cheong-ryeong.

‘!!!!!!’

The eyes of the Spirit Beast, who had lost Mok Gyeong-un in an instant, widened as if they would tear.

However, it was no longer a situation where it could do anything.

“Aaaaaargh!”

With a mad scream, the Spirit Beast was eventually sucked into the scroll.

As the Spirit Beast was completely sucked in, a large raccoon dog that wasn’t originally there was now depicted on a cliff in the landscape painting of the scroll, howling.

The scroll that had imprisoned the Spirit Beast fell to the ground as if it had finished its job and rolled up on its own.

Seeing this, the hazy Cheong-ryeong spoke with difficulty,

-The seal… wasn’t completely… broken. It seems like… true luck… Mortal?

At that moment, her expression stiffened.

The skin on Mok Gyeong-un’s wrist that she was holding onto was crumbling.

When she let go, his arm fell as if it had lost strength.

“You…”

The cracks spread throughout Mok Gyeong-un’s collapsed body in an instant.

Like the bare branches of winter, no, like a dying tree, the outer shell shattered and scattered.

And from within that shattering shell,

A new skin filled with luster was rising.

Looking at this, Cheong-ryeong couldn’t hide her excitement and muttered,

-Rebirth through transformation.