Chapter 39 - Episode 7. Master of Gorgon (1)
Chapter 39: Episode 7. Master of Gorgon (1)
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「When the heavens opened, lightning poured down,
and a north wind swept in with rain and storms.
Every Gorgon maiden’s skirt was flipped upside down.
If only I could see that sight one more time...」
From 「Hard Stab」 by the poet Euphrates
* * *
Geumcheon.
The implication was so obvious that the Anti-Evil Squad Commander’s mustache trembled.
“I never thought Geumcheon Hall had extended its reach into the Fortress itself.”
Without hesitation, the Anti-Evil Squad Commander drew his sword. The majestic spiritual power of a Fifth Adapter burst forth.
Along with the Shadow Corps Commander, he was considered one of the strongest Corps Commanders. Even if the Folding Horn Corps Commander and the Guarding Horn Corps Commander attacked together, they could not defeat him.
Until now.
“The Outer Fortress lot has grown bold. Do you even know who you’re picking a fight with?”
“Anti-Evil Squad Commander, it would be a mistake to think we’re still the same as before.”
The Anti-Evil Squad Commander’s expression stiffened.
As far as he knew, the Folding Horn Corps Commander and the Guarding Horn Corps Commander were at the level of Fourth Adapters.
Yet the spiritual power pouring from them now was in no way inferior to his own as a Fifth Adapter.
“How...?”
Jaehwan narrowed his eyes. The strange aura around them was exactly the same as the one Janya had shown earlier that day.
Power resembling that of a Deadman.
The battle began immediately.
Even the Anti-Evil Squad Commander could not handle two Fifth Adapters rushing him at once. The support from the Folding Horn Corps and Guarding Horn Corps, waiting for openings, was formidable as well.
In the end, the Anti-Evil Squad Commander staggered back, coughing up blood. He stepped in front of Jaehwan and shouted.
“Benefactor! Run away. I’ll somehow handle this place...!”
“Hold this for me.”
“Pardon?”
The Anti-Evil Squad Commander was startled by the sudden weight on his back. The snoring Divine Doctor had somehow been placed there.
Jaehwan rolled his wrist and stepped forward.
“I told you, I’m no good at saving people. That’s the old man’s job.”
Caught off guard, the Guarding Horn Corps and Folding Horn Corps hesitated for a moment before surrounding Jaehwan.
The Corps Commanders at their head nodded to each other at the same time.
Jaehwan quietly drew Dokbul as he watched them.
“But if we’re talking about killing, that’s another matter.”
* * *
The Underground Prison of the Inner Fortress.
Yulhen, the Chief Internal Administrator, stood with a troubled expression as they looked into the depths of the prison.
The Divine Doctor was late.
The prison bars, made from horned beast horns, had been shattered and strewn across the floor. An evil aura flowed out from the doorway leading inside.
Yulhen knew exactly what was in there.
The former Fortress Lord of Gorgon. A man who had come closer to the title of king than anyone except Chaos’s Sole King.
Yet he was now a monster who might become the worst Deadman in Chaos.
That being was inside.
Yulhen looked around. The people gathered in the underground Inner Fortress were all the Fortress’s highest-ranking officials.
Led by Yulhen, the Chief Internal Administrator, and Maihan, the Outer Chief Administrator, all ten Horn Lords responsible for the lower organizations of the Inner and Outer Fortresses had arrived.
Yulhen studied each of them carefully.
Why had the Fortress Lord gone berserk now?
The Fortress Lord’s soul was currently too severely contaminated to be restored even with the Divine Doctor’s 「Deadman Slash」. Still, the technique was not completely ineffective. After undergoing Deadman Slash once, the Fortress Lord could endure for at least a week.
It was thanks to the Fortress Lord’s immense mental energy.
The contamination was too advanced for a complete recovery, and the Fortress Lord had only barely avoided becoming a Deadman. Then, without warning, something had gone wrong.
“It has not even been a full day since the last Deadman Slash...”
The Divine Doctor had come that very morning. They had confirmed that the speed of Mutation had slowed and the Fortress Lord’s aura had settled.
So why?
No matter how much Yulhen thought about it, there was no answer.
Yulhen bit down hard on their lip.
If they could hold out for just one more month, the Fortress Lord could be cured.
A plan that should not even have been possible had only been formed that day. It was all thanks to the mysterious man named Jaehwan. The Divine Doctor had said:
“It’s impossible for now. That brat’s Deadman Slash is still only an imitation. But in a month, it may be worth hoping for.”
Yulhen gave thanks for the miracle that had come to Gorgon.
“I’ve never tried it before, but it might be possible with two people. Especially if it’s him...”
All Yulhen had to do now was buy time. Somehow, they had to secure one month against the pressure from the Outer Chief Administrator and the Horn Lords.
But they had not even managed to buy a full day.
Yulhen glared sharply at the Horn Lords.
Could one of them possibly know about Jaehwan?
Yulhen had already been certain that there was a traitor within the Fortress.
More precisely, they had been certain since half a year ago, when the Fortress Lord had suddenly been brought back suffering from soul contamination during an inspection of the Outer Fortress.
“Chief Internal Administrator, is there something you wish to say?”
Maihan, the Outer Chief Administrator, spoke after noticing Yulhen’s gaze. They had served the Fortress Lord longer than anyone here except Yulhen, and they were the person closest to becoming the next Fortress Lord.
The Outer Chief Administrator’s expression was unreadable.
“No. It’s nothing.”
At the bland answer, the Outer Chief Administrator’s lips twitched.
“Everyone, stay alert. This is a critical moment.”
The Horn Lords, who had only been watching the Chief Administrators’ reactions, swallowed. They were all notable Adapters in Gorgon, but their tension was obvious now.
Yulhen stopped the Outer Chief Administrator, who began walking forward without hesitation.
“It’s dangerous. We should enter once the Divine Doctor arrives.”
“If we delay any longer, Gorgon will be finished.”
“Without the Divine Doctor, we cannot perform Deadman Slash. Are you planning to kill the Fortress Lord?”
“Kill the Fortress Lord? You know well that even if all of us attacked together, we could not defeat him.”
“Then why...?”
“There is a way.”
A way?
Several Horn Lords murmured at those words. Most of them, though, remained calm, as if they already knew what was about to happen.
“We will perform 「Deadman Sealing」.”
“No! That is the last resort!”
“If we wait any longer, there will be no turning back.”
「Deadman Sealing」.
It was a final measure used to preserve at least the spiritual power of a powerful soul when it became contaminated and was about to turn into a Deadman. Deadman Sealing was a secret art said to be possible only for the Nokmyeong Great Family.
“But we do not have a Soulstone to seal the Deadman in.”
“Chief Internal Administrator, everyone already knows. Stop hiding it now.”
The Outer Chief Administrator spoke in a hard voice.
“We already know that you possess a Soulstone.”
Yulhen’s expression changed drastically.
...How?
A moment later, several people appeared from outside the prison carrying a black box. Yulhen recognized it.
It was the box Jaehwan had given them during the day, the one containing the Soulstone.
To avoid the contaminating aura flowing from the Soulstone, the box was being carried while floating in the air through spiritual power.
Yulhen immediately recognized the face of the one moving it.
“Shadow Corps Commander?”
They had never imagined that the trusted subordinate who carried out their orders was the traitor.
Avoiding Yulhen’s gaze, the Shadow Corps Commander handed the Soulstone to the Outer Chief Administrator.
“Gorgon’s future is at stake. How could you hide something like this and keep it for yourself?”
Yulhen wanted to say that it was because they suspected all of them, but they had no grounds to do so now.
The Fortress Lord had gone berserk, and the Divine Doctor had not come. The only remaining option was the last resort, 「Deadman Sealing」. The Outer Chief Administrator’s argument was justified.
“You know well what will happen if the Fortress Lord truly becomes a Deadman.”
The Fortress Lord of Gorgon was among the ten strongest beings in Chaos. If the Fortress Lord became a Deadman, today would be the final day in the glorious history of Gorgon Fortress.
“You are not planning to turn the Fortress Lord into a Colossal Deadman, are you?”
Colossal Deadmans. Monsters called the calamities of Chaos. They led countless Deadmans around as their underlings, and wherever they swept through, everything became ruins.
“W-We have to prevent that from happening!”
Perhaps persuaded by the Outer Chief Administrator’s words, several Horn Lords who had remained neutral also raised their voices.
Yulhen struggled to remain calm.
“「Deadman Sealing」 is a secret art that only the Nokmyeong Great Family can perform. Possessing a Soulstone does not mean just anyone can do it.”
“Do not worry about that. I happened to bring people who have learned the secret art.”
Figures with deep hoods and bandages wrapped around their faces appeared behind the Shadow Corps Commander. Each of them radiated an eerie Spiritual Pressure.
“They are not from the Nokmyeong Great Family.”
“No, but performing a sealing will not be a problem.”
Yulhen bit their lip.
Something was wrong.
If Deadman Sealing was performed like this, the Fortress Lord’s sealed spiritual power would be drawn entirely into the Soulstone.
The problem came afterward.
Who would possess that Soulstone?
There was no hereditary succession of titles in Chaos. Factions seeking the Fortress Lord’s Soulstone would emerge, and conflict would break out among the Horn Lords as well.
Inheriting the Fortress Lord’s unique spiritual power did not simply mean joining the ranks of Chaos’s strongest or gaining the title of Fortress Lord.
Whoever possessed the Fortress Lord’s spiritual power would become the master of Gorgon, the Guardian Horned Beast.
If Gorgon fell into the hands of the wrong person...
At that moment, one of the bandaged figures stepped forward and picked up the Soulstone. Murmurs rose around them.
If someone who was not from the Nokmyeong Great Family could hold a Soulstone, there was only one conclusion.
Those who could control contamination? Surely not...
The Fortress Lord’s final words flashed through Yulhen’s mind.
“Those who can control soul contamination have appeared.”
The Fortress Lord had been brought back with a contaminated soul while investigating them.
Yulhen looked at the Outer Chief Administrator.
Could it be the Outer Chief Administrator?
Yulhen surveyed the situation. Aside from two or three Horn Lords who looked resigned, every Horn Lord wore a calm expression.
Only then did Yulhen realize there was nothing they could do anymore.
Ah, now Gorgon will...
The Outer Chief Administrator entered the depths of the prison with the bandaged figures and used a skill to illuminate the underground.
A bright Sphere of Light spun through the air and settled against the ceiling of the Underground Prison.
The Fortress Lord came into view, a miserable figure reduced to skin and bones.
Black veins writhed wildly across the Fortress Lord’s darkened skin. It was the final sight of the man who had once been Gorgon’s legend.
Yulhen felt like crying.
I’m sorry, Fortress Lord.
Then, in the next instant, a terrifying blast of wind threw Yulhen forward.
There was light, and both walls of the Fortress exploded outward at once.
Yulhen could not think straight.
The explosion was so violent that the bandaged figures caught in its aftermath screamed as they were thrown across the floor. The startled Horn Lords and the Outer Chief Administrator shouted.
Someone was descending through the massive hole in the ceiling.
Only Yulhen recognized the figure through the swirling dust.
“Jaehwan?”
Jaehwan stood there with Cheongheo on his back.
Footnotes:
Chapter discussion