Requiem of Subdued Souls

Chapter 42 – Lion Dance (10)

At first, Baek Eon, Song Ok, and Hyo Wol were mistaken too.

They met Seol Young early in the morning, and so they thought that he was the one who summoned the spirit of the lion that was now fighting Sa Daham.

But no.

“Didn’t Great-rang teach him the sword technique of Young Master Sa Daham? If that is the case, then Seol Young should be able to use it.”

Song Ok said.

It didn’t matter what he looked like, but the more they watched, the more convinced they were.

“Seol Young learned it.”

“The others don’t know, but we do.”

Even at this moment, when the Hwarangs were throwing their shurikens, Seol Young was dodging them well.

But it was only a matter of time before they hit him.

The key was to repeat the sword forms, which flowed like water. But with so many weapons being thrown at him, how could he finish the sword technique?

At that time, Hyo Wol discovered something.

“Great-rang! That!”

He pointed Baek Eon to one side, and that was where the musicians were seated for the ritual.

“Ah, right.”

The three left their positions and hurried over there. Hyo Wol flashed them a friendly smile and quickly reached his hand out.

“I will borrow this for a moment!”

He snatched the drums from the musicians.

At the same time, the lion engaged in the battle was rushing forward and relying on its senses, and then its head emerged from the flags and fluttered in front of him.

The flag poles were being crushed, and the flags were torn. Seol Young didn’t waver and calmly continued the sword technique.

The weapons of each troop came for him and…

Tung!

At that moment, a powerful vibration rang in everyone’s ears, making them all shocked.

Baek Eon, the head of the White Tiger Spirit Troops, was standing in front of a drum. He raised one hand and struck the drum, and the force broke the stick off.

A drumstick should be used according to the size of the hand and the strength of the person holding it. And it didn’t fit him because he was in a hurry.

“Great-rang, over here!”

Knowing this would happen, Hyo Wol prepared another long black stick, which he got from one of the musicians.

“Thanks.”

Baek Eon threw the broken one away and beat the drum again. The powerful vibration continued and made everyone surprised again.

This time, they realized it. The two energies were clashing fiercely, so no one could intervene, which is why they were throwing their weapons from a distance.

But Baek Eon was intervening by hitting the drums. It was impossible for anyone who didn’t have strong spiritual power and experience.

“As expected of Baek Eon-rang.”

Everyone was amazed, but it was only for a while.

“…?”

Everyone was in doubt. This powerful sound, which vibrated in their ears, was intended for Sa Daham.

But it didn’t hurt at all. He just kept missing at crucial moments in the fight.

What happened?

They looked at Baek Eon, puzzled, and Seol Young also glanced at him.

‘He knows.’

Baek Eon had a calm face as he hit the drum. Song Ok and Hyo Wol were guarding either side of him, so no one could intervene.

Their meaning was clear.

‘Do not worry about other things and do what you need to do.’

The weapons that were flying toward Seol Young fell due to the vibrations that came from Baek Eon.

Even from a distance, they could feel it.

‘Thank you.’

Seol Young attacked the fake monk again with all his might, and Seo Geom, the head of the Blue Dragon True Troops, frowned.

“Even Baek Eon-rang’s drumming couldn’t stop it? This is not normal!”

“Here it is!”

The Golden Ring Troops rushed in and offered their longbows with both hands.

Seo Geom took out the Dragon Arrows that he always carried and began to move. As the name suggested, it was an arrow holding the power of a dragon.

Right at that moment, Seol Young completed the sixth form. He failed to do it the last time, but this time, it felt like he would succeed.

Sa Daham’s technique, which was well-known to his generation, was perfectly unfolded in Seol Young’s hands.

He stabbed the lion with all his might.

At the same time, an arrow shot by towards the sword in an instant. It was like a dragon moving through the clouds with the momentum of an arrow.

The Dragon Arrow pierced the barrier that Baek Eon unfolded and went straight forward.

‘Seo Geom-rang did it!’

Everyone thought so, but the next moment….

Puak!

Came the sound.

The arrow, which moved fast, wanting to take the target down, collided with something and fell.

“…”

Silence fell.

Baek Eon was silent. There was no longer a stick in his hand. Everyone could guess what had happened. Baek Eon threw his stick and made the arrow fall.

Seo Geom frowned.

“Why…”

Right then.

The huge lion crumbled, and then they realized.

The sword of Sa Daham pierced the head of the lion, and a sharp sound of its body crumbling could be heard.

Clack!

Sa Daham was standing tall, and his appearance changed as if a fog had been lifted.

Everyone was shocked.

“Seol Young-rang!”

Seol Young kicked the lion, and a sword was stabbed in its place. It was a very old sword.

It was mottled with tangled marks and bloodstains.

What?

While everyone was shocked, the Governor, who watched this, said,

“Seol Young-rang, what is this?”

“The murderer.”

Seol Young said.

“The Demonic Sword that went to the citizen’s house and killed him. Inside of it was an evil spirit of a fake monk whom Sa Daham had killed and sealed.”

The identity of the murderer was a Demonic Sword? Everyone was shocked.

“Amitabha. Seol Young-rang is right.”

A monk with broad shoulders and gentle eyes stepped forward.

“I am Do Cheol, a monk of the In Hyesa Temple. When I was younger, I stayed at the Jang Insa Temple with the deceased man.”

Then several Hwarangs remembered the story of what had happened.

‘Ah, that monk.’

When they confronted the family, they all saw and heard about it. This monk was the one that Seol Young went to protect.

“That Demonic Sword is terrifying, and the fake monk was sealed inside of it. He killed all of the monks of the temple to gain great power, and when everyone was dead, the place became empty and I was the only one left, so Seol Young-rang tried to protect my life.”

Do Cheol said without pausing. In this way, he released the feelings he had kept bottled up.

“But the problem was huge. Seol Young-rang was trying to find out the identity of the evil spirit and was injured by it. The evil spirit became one with the sword, and it moved like a Sword God. ‘How could it be defeated?’ I wondered.”

‘Certainly, that is a difficult task.’

Everyone thought so. And then they all turned to look at Zaha.

He shook his head, saying,

“I had a hard time too.”

This wasn’t about winning. This was a battle where they had to protect someone from a Demonic Sword.

Jin Rim looked at Seol Young again.

“Is this why this happened?”

“Yes, Governor.”

Seol Young answered.

“I decided that it would be impossible to win if the fake monk was in its sword form, so I had to force him to possess something else, and that was Suan Ni.”

“And Seol Young-rang became Young Lord Sa Daham?”

“Yes. The only person the fake monk feared was him, so I tried to subdue him by taking the form of the person who installed fear in him.”

“Then why do it here? You must know that the Sword Dance is underway right here today.”

The Governor asked. He wasn’t scolding him or anything, and from the tone of his voice, he roughly guessed why too.

“Can I speak again?”

The monk asked.

“Seol Young-rang didn’t deliberately disturb the Sword Dance. He did it to preserve the life of this poor and frail monk.”

Skimming past the words ‘poor and frail,’ Jin Rim asked,

“To save the monk?”

“Yes. He said if he summoned the fake monk and fought in the Sacred Forest, where the Sword Dance was happening, other Hwarangs would be able to protect my life even if he failed.”

“As I thought.”

The Governor nodded. Of course, the ritual was important, but so was human life, and this was what Hwarangs were taught.

“The fake monk had taken advantage of Seol Young-rang’s intentions. If he appeared in the form of Sa Daham, everyone would think of him as an evil spirit and attack him, right? And that is how it happened.”

Silence passed as the Hwarangs were motionless.

How could they have ever guessed that this was the situation?

They saw the family of the victim point to Sa Daham, and during a fight that they couldn’t intervene in, they had to take the other side.

It wasn’t like they wanted to blame him. They just felt incompetent.

‘It was like everyone came forward for the evil spirit wrapped in their own thoughts!’

And this was confirmed again.

From the time they had entangled with the Ghost Demon King eight years ago until now, they have been constantly humiliated.