Chapter 75
【Huh? Who's that?】
【Hasn't it been a while since Gangrim took care of him?】
【I saw him from the previous room.】
【That's Ju Hyereong, a trainee of Zone Four. She had a fight with Seo Gangrim.】
Ju Hyereong, the leader of Zone Four where the murderer Nam Yoojun was associated. Back then, Nam Yoojun had falsely accused Seo Gangrim of being a murderer, and Ju Hyereong believed him. Seo Gangrim didn't know if she still thought of him that way, but for now, he needed to proceed here.
"Hello. We et again."
Seo Gangrim jumped down and looked around. This place was probably the Sura Hall, which ant it was part of the palace's kitchen. This stage was composed of nurous rooms, each serving a specific function. Consequently, spaces for dining and relaxation were popular among the trainees. It seed that people had gathered here to eat now.
Ju Hyereong looked at Seo Gangrim with a guarded expression. "I didn't expect to run into you again."
"I don't think I'm welco here, so I'll leave now. Just one thing I'd like to ask."
"What is it?"
"Do you rember the people from our zone? Have you ever encountered them?"
Seo Gangrim wasn't sure if the X marks ant he shouldn't co this way or that they hadn't co here.
Ju Hyereong stared at him and said, "Why should I tell soone who might be a murderer?"
"I'm not a murderer. Nam Yoojun was the murderer."
"I don't believe that either. Then why did Yoojun disappear?"
"Maybe he ran away because he was a murderer."
Of course, he didn't run away, but it was fortunate that only a few gods witnessed the incident at the ti.
While Ju Hyereong and Seo Gangrim were engaged in a silent standoff, soone awkwardly interjected. "Co on, stop it. There's no clear evidence that this person is a murderer."
"...Fine."
"Since we've t after a long ti, let's hear your story. You haven't eaten either, right? Let's wait a bit and have a al together."
Seo Gangrim had no intention of eating, but he sat down anyway. Steam was rising from a cauldron, indicating that cooking was in progress.
As he sat down, Ju Hyereong also sat across from him, giving him a defiant look. "You have sothing on your neck."
She was looking at the Geohae's Shackle around his neck. Ju Hyereong had a similar shackle on her right wrist. Seo Gangrim covered his neck with his collar and said, "Are you left-handed?"
"No, I'm right-handed."
"It would be a big problem if your right hand got cut off."
In response to Seo Gangrim's words, Ju Hyereong chuckled as if she found it absurd.
"Worse than getting your neck cut? Lucky people sotis have it on their fingers or ears. Neither you nor I have luck, it seems."
As she said, the Geohae's Shackle was attached to different parts of each person. So had it on their wrists like Ju Hyereong, while others had it on their ankles, calves, fingers, or ears. By comparison, there were many people with shackles on their ears or fingers, followed by hands and feet. However, there was no one like Seo Gangrim with the shackle around their neck.
"So, you asked if I saw people from Zone Two?"
"Yes. Did you see them?"
"No, I haven't. But if I run into them, I'll let you know. In return..."
Ju Hyereong looked at him with the eyes of a shrewd rchant.
"You should give information too. If you find a plaque of soone from our zone, then record its location."
Currently, Seo Gangrim's top priority was finding Shin Sooah, but the mission in this stage was to find one's own plaque.
He pretended to be ignorant and asked, "Can't I just pick it up?"
"If you're not the owner, you can't touch it. Destroying it is also impossible. So, recording the location of a plaque is a good idea."
"I'll keep that in mind."
They exchanged the necessary information, but Seo Gangrim did not get up from his seat yet. He, instead, roughly searched the room for the next mark. Unfortunately, there was no mark in this room. There was no way that Shin Sooah and the others had just left this place. In that case, the most likely scenario was that they didn't have the ti to leave marks. This ant that everyone, including Shin Sooah, was in a dangerous situation. The scattered bloodstains around seed to confirm this. They must have hastily fled from here during a battle. If it had been a minor skirmish, they would have retreated and returned to leave marks. The absence of marks indicated that the situation was still dire. Seo Gangrim recalled the picture of Shin Sooah covered in blood. Then, a strange sound started coming from a distance.
"Duwoong... Duwoong..."
It was the sound of a drum, but the slow and echoing beat made it impossible to determine its direction. With it, however, the faces of the people in the room instantly tensed.
"Damn, already?"
"They won't even let us eat a al."
People started getting up one by one, holding their weapons. Ju Hyereong's face was also tense with alertness as well.
"You should get up and prepare to fight too."
Seo Gangrim knew what was about to happen. As he raised his sword and assud a defensive stance, the drumbeats abruptly ceased without any lingering echoes. Simultaneously, black shapes began to appear throughout the room.
【They're finally here!】
【Looking forward to Seo Gangrim's initiation ceremony!】
【Hold on tight, Gangrim!】
"Gagaga!"
These eerie sounds accompanied the ergence of humanoid black masses. At first glance, they resembled human shapes, but they had no facial features. Instead, red lines were drawn all over their bodies. They seed more like sculptures made from twisted shadows, and unlike the demons Seo Gangrim had seen before, these demons were ard, holding weapons in their hands.
"Gagak!"
The demons moved like broken dolls, rushing toward the people. As the black masses swung rusty and toothless swords, Ju Hyereong brandished her spear and sliced through them.
"Everyone, run to different rooms! We'll regroup at our gathering spot!"
It seed like they had chosen to retreat rather than fight. It was a wise decision considering the substantial number of demons crowding in, around twenty or so.
While Seo Gangrim was assessing the enemy's numbers, a shadow that had been attached to the ceiling suddenly dropped right above him.
"Gagak!"
"Kyarrk!"
At that mont, a fiery object the size of a fist soared in and severed the demon's legs. When the burning demon fell to the ground, Yorn pounced on it, tearing at its throat.
"Gagagak..."
The demon quickly disintegrated into ashes. Yorn grinned, and black liquid spread like bloodstains around his mouth.
"W-What is that? A demon?"
"A dragon?"
"It's a bit short for a dragon..."
"He's carrying around a dragon?"
People were surprised at Yorn's appearance, as they hadn't expected to see a dragon in the first place.
"Gagagak!"
anwhile, the demons continued their relentless assault without hesitation, even though their comrades were falling. Another demon rushed at Seo Gangrim.
"Seogeok!"
The Seven Branches Sword (Chiljido) sliced through the demon's body, cutting it in half. Seo Gangrim thrust the sword back into the collapsing shadow, causing it to completely crumble. While he dealt with the ones in the front, Yorn was also darting around, tearing apart the demons. Although it felt like cutting living creatures, their blood didn't splatter. In no ti, the demons were cleared out.
"It seems like it's over."
There was no need to run away. The fallen demons dissolved into nothingness like lting ice, leaving no corpses behind. Ju Hyereong looked at Seo Gangrim with surprise.
"You... were you this strong?"
He didn't respond. Yorn, anwhile, was kicking at the disappearing demons. Linie, with an expression of disgust, remained hidden in a corner. The other people seed bewildered.
Ju Hyereong surveyed the people and asked, "Is anyone injured?"
"No, everyone seems fine."
"We've never gotten rid of them this quickly before."
With the imdiate task completed, he needed to move on. While Seo Gangrim pondered which way to go, Ju Hyereong approached him hesitantly.
"Um... thank you. Thanks to you, I'm still alive."
Her expression had softened compared to just monts ago. She then continued with a sowhat odd expression, "I've received a lot of help from you. I feel like I should do sothing in return..."
"It's fine. I was just trying to protect myself anyway."
"That's true, but you still helped . Let give you so information about this place."
Seo Gangrim already had information about this stage, but there could have been so changes, so he nodded his head and took a seat.
Ju Hyereong spoke up. "It seems like this stage is a gathering of all the zones. I haven't seen the people you ntioned, but I frequently encounter people from other zones."
If all the zones were gathered, it ant there was a significant number of participants. The fact that he hadn't encountered them yet ant they had gone deeper into this place, had been eliminated, or had passed through.
"Just like you saw earlier, when the drum sounds, demons appear. We call them 'Shadows' for convenience."
Shadows. It sounded quite fitting.
While Seo Gangrim remained silent, she continued explaining, "The timing of when the drum sounds is random. Fortunately, they don't chase us into other rooms, so you can escape safely by running to the adjacent room."
"And then?"
"Well... that's about it."
It was useful information for a newcor, but Seo Gangrim already knew it. What concerned him more was the unease he sensed behind Ju Hyereong's troubled expression. It seed like she was hiding sothing.
"For now, please have a al. Luckily, the pot is still intact..."
One of the mbers of Zone Four quietly handed Seo Gangrim sothing. It was a bowl filled with a porridge-like substance that looked like rice and vegetables had been boiled together. Linie approached, sniffing at it, but Seo Gangrim quickly took the bowl before she could try to eat it.
"Please enjoy your al."
He took a spoonful and put it in his mouth. It wasn't particularly delicious, but there was sothing appealing about warm food. Seo Gangrim was about to take another spoonful when he looked at Ju Hyereong watching him with a nervous expression.
"Why aren't you eating?"
"Huh? ? I'll eat later. First, we should treat our benefactor."
The term 'benefactor' sounded sowhat ironic. Seo Gangrim put down the bowl he was holding and said quietly, "Are you giving poisoned food to your benefactor?"
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