Chapter 5 :

Chapter 5

 

Act Two: Crying-Infant Dragon Steed (2)

 

“Aaaaargh!”

 

A fountain of blood erupted as one of Gwaegeol’s arms flew through the air.

 

The crouching demon revealed itself, and when its overwhelmingly powerful aura—sharp enough to carve flesh—fully emerged, the young Spirit Kin finally realized that they had willingly entered a predator’s hunting ground.

 

This was no mere Child Ghost.

 

The demon before them was far more powerful—

 

“Run!”

 

Gong Woljang trembled beneath the pressure of its murderous intent, while Gwaegeol clutched the stump of his arm and wailed as blood gushed from it.

 

Gong Ilchwi was the only one who retained his senses.

 

He grabbed Gwaegeol and attempted to escape.

 

However, before he could take more than a few steps, he slammed into something with a thud.

 

A barrier resembling an invisible curtain had imprisoned them.

 

As though mocking them, the demon that had lured them there slowly savored Gwaegeol’s severed arm, crunching and tearing it apart between its teeth.

 

Unable either to resist or escape, they could feel nothing but terror.

 

Only now did the adults’ warning flash through their minds.

 

“The immutable first rule of demon extermination.”

 

“Never advance toward an enemy you do not understand.”

 

“A considerable amount of time has passed, but those boys weren’t searching with precise knowledge of the demon’s location.”

 

Night was when demonic energy became denser.

 

Considering the demon’s characteristics, it probably had not revealed itself long ago.

 

Accounting for the boys’ lack of precise information about its location, they might not have encountered it very long ago.

 

If luck was on his side, perhaps they had not encountered it at all.

 

Having completed every preparation, Yise organized his thoughts while running at full speed.

 

Even if he reached them, he probably wouldn’t be of much help.

 

At best, he might be able to buy them a little time.

 

The greater problem was that he did not know the boys’ precise location either.

 

However, he had determined the general direction.

 

He identified the village where the first rumors of a demon crying like an infant had originated.

 

After drawing an imaginary straight line between that location and Spirit-Guarding Temple, he ran diagonally across the surrounding area in a sweeping search.

 

His reasoning was sound.

 

First, this was the territory of the Spirit-Kin Race.

 

Most demons instinctively avoided settling here because they could sense the presence of the Spirit Kin.

 

That meant the demon that had appeared possessed intelligence.

 

If it had approached deliberately, it probably intended to hunt individual Spirit Kin traveling between the village and Spirit-Guarding Temple.

 

At the very least, it possessed the ability to conceal its demonic energy and hide from Mong Ryeon and the other powerful inhabitants of Spirit-Guarding Temple.

 

It was a creature capable of creating barriers with demonic power.

 

Yise reached into his clothing and retrieved an artifact resembling a portable sacred pole adorned with a bell and a talisman.

 

The artifact was called the Barrier-Tracking Talisman.

 

It was a spirit treasure capable of locating spaces concealed behind barriers of demonic power.

 

And if this spirit treasure reacted...

 

Jingle.

 

The bell, which had remained completely silent even while Yise raced at full speed using Dokkaebi Steps, suddenly rang.

 

Defying the laws of nature, the talisman fluttered against the direction of the wind.

 

Yise immediately changed direction.

 

At the end of that path, he sensed dense demonic energy.

 

A demonic barrier.

 

It was a form of territory that prevented anyone from entering or leaving without its master’s permission.

 

Yise first launched a signal flare into the sky.

 

Then he tore open the barrier with the World-Rending Sword and looked inside.

 

His wavering vision immediately cleared, revealing the interior of the barrier.

 

At its center, a demon leisurely tore flesh from Gwaegeol’s body.

 

It possessed a human face, a horse’s body, and a dragon’s horns—a chaotic amalgamation of features.

 

Just as Yise expected, it was one of the two possible species he had identified.

 

A Risk Level Six mid-ranking demon.

 

The Crying-Infant Dragon Steed.

 

“This is dangerous...”

 

Its extraordinarily aggressive nature made it infamous among demon hunters.

 

Although this individual was considered one of the weakest of its kind, it was a demon that had once reached an advanced realm, only to be repeatedly hunted and forced to flee until its rank deteriorated.

 

Judging solely by their respective combat strength, Yise could never defeat it.

 

Its tremendous demonic energy seemed to slice into his body, warning that a single mistaken step would reduce him to its next meal.

 

“Stay calm.”

 

Yise steadied his mind, repeating the words to himself.

 

Six years ago, he had not attacked the Snail-Headed Scholar because he possessed any real chance of victory.

 

His life had already been discarded.

 

He had merely acted with the resolve to make that life pay its price.

 

The Crying-Infant Dragon Steed glanced at Yise before returning its attention to its meal, as though it did not care whether another piece of prey had entered.

 

It appeared to have judged that Yise posed no threat.

 

“It’s already too late for Gwaegeol.”

 

There was no way to save Gwaegeol when he was already being devoured.

 

Instead, Yise had to rescue the remaining two Dokkaebi while the creature was distracted by its meal.

 

Gong Ilchwi lay collapsed, black blood pouring from his abdomen.

 

Gong Woljang had urinated on himself and was completely incapable of fighting, his unfocused eyes rolled almost entirely white.

 

Moving slowly to avoid provoking the demon, Yise approached Gong Ilchwi and placed a medicinal pellet in his mouth.

 

To a human, it was practically a miraculous elixir.

 

Even for a Spirit Kin, it was a treasure capable of stopping the bleeding and reinforcing an injured body.

 

“Get up. You must escape on your own feet.”

 

Perhaps because the medicinal pellet’s effects had begun spreading through him, Gong Ilchwi’s eyes gradually regained focus.

 

“W-Why are you here...?”

 

“Can you walk? Just nod.”

 

“......”

 

Gong Ilchwi slowly nodded his trembling head.

 

“Gong Ilchwi, do you see the opening in the barrier where I entered? Walk through it as quickly as possible. Gong Woljang, when I give the signal, take this and run in the opposite direction. Tear through the barrier, escape, and then carry your brother back to Spirit-Guarding Temple.”

 

Yise seized Gong Woljang by the jaw and stared directly into his eyes.

 

The crushing strength of his grip gradually dragged Gong Woljang’s vacant mind back to reality.

 

Gong Woljang slowly nodded.

 

“Wait. Then what about you...?”

 

“If you’re too slow to escape, I’ll die as well. Don’t look back. Run with everything you have. Understand?”

 

As though sensing the unusual atmosphere, the Crying-Infant Dragon Steed stopped crunching Gwaegeol between its teeth.

 

“Now!”

 

Yise immediately pulled Gong Ilchwi to his feet and practically threw him toward the opening through which he had entered.

 

Gong Woljang instinctively kicked off the ground as well.

 

The Crying-Infant Dragon Steed, which had ignored them until now, furiously launched itself forward.

 

Its target was Gong Woljang, who appeared relatively uninjured.

 

It moved so quickly that following it with the naked eye was nearly impossible.

 

Its charge was like a bolt of lightning.

 

But then—

 

Thud!

 

A shield intercepted it and struck one of its horns.

 

Yise had placed his shield diagonally across the Crying-Infant Dragon Steed’s path and smashed it aside.

 

His prediction proved correct.

 

The creature had allowed prey to enter willingly, but it would never permit that prey to leave.

 

It had also attacked the less-injured target first.

 

Although Yise was sent flying from the collision, he had at least prevented the creature from impaling Gong Woljang with its dragon-like horn.

 

“I could barely see it.”

 

Yise raised his shield tightly before him, his entire body tense.

 

This was not an opponent whose attacks he could evade or counter after seeing them.

 

However, the small axe and shield he carried were treasured artifacts that Mong Ryeon had personally commissioned for him.

 

She had said they were made from precious materials favored by cultivators, and the shield was indeed remarkably durable.

 

His best option was to follow the creature’s movements as closely as possible with Dokkaebi Senses, absorb the impacts, and endure with the power of his artifacts.

 

Yise cautiously peered over the upper edge of his shield to inspect the Crying-Infant Dragon Steed.

 

As a precaution, he had scattered Tiger-Killing Poison over it when they collided, but the poison appeared ineffective.

 

“They said it could kill even a tiger instantly...”

 

He had brought the poison in preparation for the other possible mid-ranking demon.

 

As expected, it had no effect on the Crying-Infant Dragon Steed.

 

At that moment, the demon’s body vanished in a flash before reappearing directly in front of him.

 

The Crying-Infant Dragon Steed reared at point-blank range and kicked his shield with a hoof overflowing with demonic energy.

 

Yise used every ounce of his strength to hold on to the shield’s handle.

 

He flew through the air for a considerable distance before crashing into the barrier.

 

His vision flashed, and his body trembled from the impact.

 

Blood flowed from his ear, ran down his cheek, and gathered at the tip of his chin.

 

The pressure felt like an enormous bull slowly crushing his entire body.

 

“I need to stay conscious.”

 

Yise had deliberately positioned himself so the attack would send him toward the opening in the barrier.

 

He lowered his stance again and crawled backward through the opening.

 

His body trembled from the impact, and dark blood flowed from his mouth, suggesting he had suffered internal injuries.

 

“At least I made it outside the barrier.”

 

Sinister demonic energy shone from the two horns upon the Crying-Infant Dragon Steed’s head.

 

It released a bestial growl, as though longing to ram the troublesome insect before it, shatter his bones, and chew through his organs.

 

The next moment, its body vanished in another flash.

 

Yise braced himself for another impact, but nothing struck his shield.

 

Dokkaebi Senses sent a prickling warning through the back of his head.

 

Sensing danger, Yise immediately rolled sideways.

 

Boom!

 

The Crying-Infant Dragon Steed appeared behind him and smashed down upon the spot where he had stood moments earlier.

 

A huge crater formed as a mushroom cloud of dirt and dust rose into the air.

 

The Crying-Infant Dragon Steed’s tail then curved around and struck Yise as he sprang away like a frog.

 

“Guh!”

 

He heard something inside his body break, and a fountain of blood burst from his mouth.

 

The blood he had shed soaked the ground, and his vision shimmered like a heat haze as he approached his limit.

 

He could probably withstand only one or two more attacks.

 

“It should be about time—”

 

Just as he began thinking that any further delay would be dangerous, an adult Spirit Kin suddenly appeared and struck the Crying-Infant Dragon Steed’s head with an iron-studded club.

 

Clang!

 

A sharp noise rang out as though metal had collided with metal, and Yise’s body was lifted into the air.

 

“Damn it. I’m sorry we’re late.”

 

Goecheon and the two Spirit Kin assigned to patrol Spirit-Guarding Temple had seen the signal flare and arrived almost simultaneously.

 

While being carried over Goecheon’s shoulder, Yise delivered his report in a murmur.

 

“Gwaegeol had already been eaten. I sent the other two back to Spirit-Guarding Temple.”

 

Even while Yise seemed to be struggling merely to remain conscious, he still had the tenacity to report the safety of the others.

 

Goecheon clicked his tongue in disbelief.

 

Just what was this boy’s will made of—

 

“Do we have any chance of winning?”

 

But that was not what mattered to Yise at the moment.

 

The two Spirit Kin had launched a surprise attack against the Crying-Infant Dragon Steed, but they did not appear to have inflicted even a single wound.

 

When Yise compared the strength of the Spirit Kin he had previously witnessed with that of the mid-ranking Crying-Infant Dragon Steed, the balance of power tilted hopelessly against them.

 

“Hold on tightly.”

 

As though fully aware of that fact, Goecheon seemed focused solely on rescuing Yise from the Crying-Infant Dragon Steed.

 

Goecheon immediately kicked off the ground.

 

The sounds of fierce combat behind them gradually faded into the distance.

 

Before long, however, the demonic energy behind them began approaching at a terrifying speed.

 

The Crying-Infant Dragon Steed was rapidly closing the distance like an arrow, carrying the heads of the two Spirit Kin in its mouth.