Chapter 278: Holy Fire Priestess (1)

The old woman’s eyes inside the prison cell widened.

From the moment Mok Gyeong-un suddenly drew the symbol and started mentioning the first tier, she thought he was on their side.

However, that was her misjudgment.

-Swish!

-Thud!

‘What?’

She couldn’t hide her astonishment as she watched him suddenly sever Defender-in-Chief Muk Seom’s arms with his bare hands while Muk Seom was clasping his hands together in a salute.

Muk Seom’s severed hands, fallen on the floor, still twitched as if the nerves were alive.

Eventually, startled by his severed arms, Defender-in-Chief Muk Seom was about to let out a scream.

“Aaaaa……”

-Thud!

-Crack!

Before the scream could escape,

Mok Gyeong-un kicked his chin upwards.

With the force of the kick, not only did his head jerk upwards, but his upper body also involuntarily lifted, causing his jaw to forcibly close and his teeth to shatter.

“Ugh.”

-Thud!

Not stopping there, Mok Gyeong-un struck a palm strike at his lifted abdomen.

-Boom!

“Kuh-huk!”

Defender-in-Chief Muk Seom’s body, hit in the abdomen, collided with the cave wall.

-Crash!

Muk Seom, half-buried in the cave wall, vomited blood profusely.

“Kuuuh. Blegh.”

Because he was hit in the location of his danjeon, his true energy was completely disrupted, making him miserable.

Muk Seom’s eyes, writhing in pain, shook crazily.

It seemed his danjeon had been shattered.

His true energy was rapidly dispersing from his abdomen.

-Whoosh!

For a martial artist, the true death could be said to be the destruction of the danjeon.

This was because it meant losing the martial arts and internal energy accumulated over a lifetime.

Blood vessels bulged in Muk Seom’s eyes as his internal energy dispersed.

In the moment when not only nausea but also countless complex emotions surged in, Mok Gyeong-un grabbed his neck and lifted him up.

-Grip!

“Kuuuh.”

“Ah. The bleeding is quite severe. I should show some consideration for this.”

-Tap tap tap tap!

Mok Gyeong-un pressed the acupuncture points near his severed arms to stop the bleeding.

Then, he opened his mouth with a smile.

“I thought the second-tier executive was the adjutant next to the Associate Military Commissioner, but it seems the Imperial Palace is quite important. Seeing that there’s one more person.”

‘Wh-what the .... is this bastard?’

Defender-in-Chief Muk Seom looked at Mok Gyeong-un with trembling eyes.

He considered himself to have excellent judgment, enough to be considered at the level of the first tier.

However, he was deceived in a way that was so absurdly futile.

No, he had no choice but to be deceived.

In the first place, it was more strange not to be deceived when he listed things that only those at the second tier or higher of the organization would know so confidently.

“You…… Who…… are you? Are you…… really from the Fire Faith Order?”

Normally, he would have smirked and said, “Who knows?”

However, since the Holy Fire Priestess of the Fire Faith Order was watching inside the prison cell, Mok Gyeong-un smiled and answered casually,

“So you really thought I was one of them?”

“Kuuuh.”

-Drip drip!

Blood flowed back from his stomach, and blood continuously dripped from Muk Seom’s mouth.

As if not caring about this at all, Mok Gyeong-un stared at him intently and then suddenly smeared a drop of his blood on his index finger with the opposite hand.

Muk Seom was puzzled, wondering what he was doing,

-Swish! Swish!

Mok Gyeong-un then began to carve something on his forehead, throat, and,

-Rip!

He tore open his chest and started carving near his heart.

It was the character for “protection.”

He was forming a talisman using his own blood, imbuing it with curse power.

After writing this, Mok Gyeong-un sealed the hand seal and muttered,

‘The Art of Protecting the Body from Evil Curses.’

“The Great Powerful supreme-ruler of the Northern Dipper, the Heavenly Dog, the Earthly Dog, the Six Ding, the Six Jia, the Commanding supreme-rulers, the Great Power of the Morning Sun, the True Qian and Kun……”

As he chanted the incantation for the protective technique, Muk Seom, feeling an ominous sensation, tried to shake off Mok Gyeong-un’s hand.

However, as his danjeon was destroyed and his true energy was rapidly weakening, it was impossible for him to do so.

-Grip!

“Kuh!”

Rather, Mok Gyeong-un tightened his grip on his neck, making it hard for him to breathe.

Mok Gyeong-un, who had been chanting the incantation while sealing the hand seal, stopped.

Then, this time,

-Swish!

‘!?’

He suddenly brought his finger to Muk Seom’s mouth.

Then,

-Pluck!

“Ugh!”

He pulled out one of Muk Seom’s upper front teeth.

Muk Seom, who had one tooth pulled out, couldn’t understand what this man was doing.

However, Mok Gyeong-un didn’t stop there after pulling out the tooth,

-Pluck!

He pulled out another of Muk Seom’s teeth.

He kept pulling out not just one, but eventually pulled out six teeth.

As a result, with all his front teeth pulled out, Muk Seom’s appearance, bleeding profusely from the empty spots, became pitiful to look at.

-Swish swish swish!

Mok Gyeong-un carved letters on the pulled-out teeth.

They were the names of the Six Jia supreme-rulers.

After carving the names of the Six Jia supreme-rulers,

“The Six Jia supreme-rulers, the Yin supreme-rulers, the Guardian supreme-rulers, the Successful Completion, the Golden Prohibition of the Three Purities, the Imperial Decree of the Jade Emperor, the Swift Response.”

He chanted the Corpse Untying Mantra seven times, inhaled seven breaths, and scattered it to the east.

Then, he took off Muk Seom’s shoes and threw one three steps to the east and the other three steps to the west.

‘what the .... is he doing?’

Even the old woman inside the prison cell couldn’t understand Mok Gyeong-un’s actions.

Then, Mok Gyeong-un smiled as if he had finished and said to Muk Seom,

“Now the preparations are done.”

“What…… are you…… doing?”

“Ah. Nothing much. I’m just taking some precautions against the restriction placed on you.”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Muk Seom showed an expression of incomprehension.

What does he mean by restriction?

Restrictions were originally imposed on those belonging to the fifth tier in the three realms.

Even though they were middle-level executives, those who received the title of executive at the second tier had no memory of receiving such restrictions or being forced to do so.

Then, Mok Gyeong-un said,

“It seems you don’t even know that you’ve been restricted.”

“What are you talking about……”

“Even the adjutant you mentioned died from…… here.”

-Tap tap!

Mok Gyeong-un tapped his head with his finger and said,

“His head exploded when he mentioned the one you serve.”

“…… Don’t say nonsense. We have never been subjected to such restrictions.”

“Then, as a test, try talking about the one you serve.”

“What?”

“You said you’ve never been restricted. So tell me what you call the one you serve.”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Muk Seom closed his mouth.

That was because everything related to that person and everything associated with him must not be divulged.

It was an absolute rule that must be followed in the organization.

However, as Mok Gyeong-un kept making disturbing remarks about restrictions, it became even more difficult for him to open his mouth.

“What are you talking about……”

-Stab!

Before he could finish his sentence, Mok Gyeong-un’s finger dug into his eye socket.

As a result, Muk Seom turned pale and couldn’t move.

‘This…… crazy…… bastard……’

To him, Mok Gyeong-un said,

“I don’t have time, so if you don’t answer, I’ll pull out one of your eyeballs like this. You’ve never seen your own eyeball before, right?”

With those words, he smiled brightly,

-Shiver!

At that sight, Muk Seom felt a chill run down his spine.

By looking into a person’s eyes, one could determine whether they would really do something or not.

Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes showed a gaze that would carry out that action without a moment’s hesitation.

So, Muk Seom spoke in a trembling voice,

“If-if what you say is true, and I’ll die from the restriction the moment I divulge it, do you think I can speak?”

“Don’t worry. That’s why I placed a talisman on your body to block the curse power and created a corpse to substitute you using the corpse untying technique.”

“Corpse?”

“Yes. So feel free to talk. Of course, if you don’t want to talk, you can just keep your mouth shut.”

“……”

“But after I count to three, I’ll pull out this eyeball of yours. And after counting to three again, the other eye. And next, I’ll twist and tear off your nose…… Well, I’m too lazy to mention what’s next, so imagine it yourself.”

“……”

Defender-in-Chief Muk Seom couldn’t say a word with a stiff face.

In this situation, anyone who wasn’t prepared to die would have no choice but to open their mouth.

That’s how terrifying Mok Gyeong-un’s every word and action was.

Under this pressure, Defender-in-Chief Muk Seom finally opened his mouth.

“If-if I just tell you what we call him, will that be enough?”

“If you answer a few more questions, I’ll guarantee your life at least.”

“……”

Muk Seom fell into a momentary dilemma.

Even if he was worse than dog shit, would it be better to at least save his life since this world was better than the afterlife?

-Swish!

Then, his eyes fell on his severed arms and destroyed danjeon.

Even if he survived, he would be no different from being dead.

‘Sigh.’

Moreover, the organization would surely kill him to silence him anyway, as he had become useless as a martial artist.

In the end, Muk Seom decided to keep his loyalty to the organization.

“Just kill……”

“I’ll restore your severed arms and danjeon as well.”

“What? How can that be……”

“If you can’t believe it, I can’t help it, but I’m just letting you know it’s possible. However, the longer you delay, the less likely it will be restored, so it’s better to hurry.”

“……”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Muk Seom, who had been determined to keep his loyalty, changed his mind.

“I’ll talk.”

“That’s a good choice.”

Mok Gyeong-un had instantly read what kind of mindset he had by looking at how he stared at his arms and his determined eyes.

“Now, speak.”

“…… Alright. We call him the third……”

-Splat!

Right at that moment,

The shoe placed three steps to the east exploded with a splat.

“Wh-what is this?”

Muk Seom couldn’t hide his surprise.

On the other hand, the corners of Mok Gyeong-un’s mouth slightly rose as he watched this.

As expected, his prediction was correct.

In sorcery, a curse could only be lifted if the target paid a price.

So, Mok Gyeong-un had created a fake corpse of Muk Seom using the corpse untying technique to deceive the curse.

Of course, it looked like a simple shoe, but magically, it was his corpse.

Just because it was a corpse didn’t mean it could escape the curse.

-Swish!

Mok Gyeong-un held out his hand, gesturing for Muk Seom to continue speaking.

Then, Muk Seom, who had flinched at the exploded shoe, swallowed dry saliva and continued,

“We call him Mok-gan (目艮, The Third Eye).”

-Splat!

As soon as he finished speaking, the shoe placed three steps to the west exploded.

Seeing this, Muk Seom let out a sigh of relief with trembling eyes.

“Phew……”

Was there really a restriction or something in place?

He didn’t know if it was this man’s ploy, but the moment he spoke the name of that person, he felt his whole body tremble and the blood in his head surge in reverse, so it seemed to have been really dangerous……

-Splat!

At that moment, Muk Seom’s head exploded.

Mok Gyeong-un, who had been holding his exploded head, wiped the bloody flesh with his sleeve and muttered,

“…… It failed.”

He thought he had succeeded in deceiving and diverting the curse power.

However, the curse was so strong that this man’s head couldn’t endure it and eventually exploded.

He had considered it a clever trick, but the curse power of the one who placed the restriction was much higher than his own.

Seeing that even the corpse untying technique, which deceived death, couldn’t ultimately avoid the curse, it seemed the sorcery had reached a truly high level.

‘How annoying.’

Mok Gyeong-un clicked his tongue inwardly.

If he could overcome the curse, he thought he could extract more information, but it turned out to be regrettable.

Of course, even so, he had clearly found out one thing.

It was that their leader was called the “Third Mok-gan (目艮).”

‘The Third Mok-gan……’

Why did they call him that?

Literally translated, it meant “opposing the third sight.”

It was difficult to understand what this meant.

However, it seemed there was no time to speculate on this meaning now.

-Thud, thud!

Mok Gyeong-un turned his steps and approached the prison cell, saying,

“You’ve waited a long time.”

“……”

“I wanted to find out more, but as you can see, they are in no condition to answer. So I hope you, the Holy Fire Priestess, can tell me. Why are these people after you and that treasure you mentioned?”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, the old woman, no, the Holy Fire Priestess opened her mouth.

“You…… I’m not sure if you’re really a follower of our order.”

“Why do you say that?”

“The doctrine of our order is to revere the holy fire, practice good, and eliminate evil.”

“And?”

At that question, the Holy Fire Priestess pointed at Mok Gyeong-un with her finger and spoke in a cold voice,

“But no matter how I look at you, you are evil itself.”