Requiem of Subdued Souls

At that moment, the spell that had been absorbed into the floor was activated.

The letters flew and stuck to the body of the Princess. They immediately turned into a rope that tied around her.

“Ack!”

Zaha grabbed the body of the Princess, who was screaming. Together, they quickly tied a rope around the wrist of the Princess, and Seol Young said,

“What did the rightful owner of this body do wrong? Do not harm innocent children, and come out!”

“Are you going to come out after so much pain inflicted on you? Or will you come out and experience less pain? It is for you to decide.”

Zaha raised his sword. A golden aura flashed on it, and in an instant, it rushed for the body of the Princess.

“Ack!”

Seol Young also raised his Blue Rainbow to pressure the evil spirit from the other side.

The evil spirit was being pressured from both sides.

“Ackk! AKKK!”

A series of screams erupted from the Princess.

Her eyes were wide, as if they would pop out at any moment. Black veins were swelling up around her face, and she coughed out a black lump.

“…!”

Those who were watching were shocked.

But they couldn’t make any sound since they promised not to. They all held each other’s hands and watched everything happen.

“Ack!”

Her mouth kept puking black lumps onto the floor, all her joints were being twisted in all directions, and there was a sound similar to walnuts being cracked.

‘So stubborn.’

The biggest problem here was the body of the child.

Sel Young carefully calculated it and added a little more spiritual power to his sword.

It was then…

[Om—]

Amidst the roar of the demon, a sound echoed in all directions.

Was it a hallucination?

There were cases where evil spirits used such means. So he turned to Zaha to confirm it, and he was also frowning.

‘It is not a hallucination.’

The strange sound spread out.

Following the sound, his eyes flashed, and then the Princess suddenly vanished.

“…?”

Seol Young immediately stopped his hand. The body of the Princess was bound by his spell, and she disappeared for a brief moment but reappeared tied up.

[Om—]

And then came the sound that vibrated again. It spread for a long time, and it is more distinct now.

Eventually, it turned into a language.

[Om Amoka Salvadara Sadaya Sibeum]

It was a mantra.

With the mantra echoing around, the image of the Princess appeared and disappeared repeatedly. 𝚋𝚎𝚍𝚗𝚘𝚟𝚎ｌ.𝚘ｒｇ

“…?”

The ones watching were shocked, Zaha asked,

“Are you trying to run? To where?”

“The old palace.”

Seol Young said.

“Isn’t it an evil spirit that broke the rules and got stuck there? If things don’t work right, it will run away and hide back there.”

But he didn’t understand why the evil spirit was mumbling a mantra…

The power it was holding seemed to only get stronger and stronger.

Seol Young strengthened the rope around her.

“We cannot miss this chance.”

Zaha nodded and raised his sword.

A dazzling light covered the small body of the Princess, and the rope around her wrists began to tremble. The bells connected to the rope were frantically jingling.

“…!”

Another commotion rose among those watching as the face of the Princess changed.

Something like a mask began to form on her face. The evil spirit was unable to stay inside her and wanted to get out.

‘Now.’

Seol Young drew a talisman with his hand.

“Get away from that body!”

With a shriek, the blue, glowing plaque hit the Princess’s forehead.

Then the mask snapped off her face.

“AHHHHHHH!”

A shrill scream rang out. A clumsy figure climbed out of the rope and was driven away in an instant.

Did they get rid of it?

While everyone watched this by holding their heads, the rope suddenly broke, and sparks flew.

At the same time, a powerful force erupted from her body.

The evil spirit that was about to escape got caught and was dragged back into the body of the Princess.

‘What is this?’

Seol Young couldn’t understand what had happened, and the entire place began to flash and flicker.

In the midst of that, the face of the Princess could be seen changing again. Another mask overlapped the one that appeared earlier. Just as an actor changes masks, countless masks appeared in a short moment.

Zaha’s expression changed.

“It wasn’t just one?”

“Eight Ghost Stories…!”

Seol Young finally realized it.

They were multiple spirits in one body. Judging from the faces that changed, they must have been the ghosts that took over her body.

Now he understood it.

It wasn’t like the sword that went after people in the fake monk case. It was an actual spirit, not just a sword.

That was why the pain of being buried alive felt real to them because it was not just one who suffered but many.

‘But did all the spirits die in the same way and time…?’

It was strange.

‘Besides, if they are the eight ghosts, then they need to appear at some point.’

He had seen the child twice, but he hadn’t noticed it until now.

These souls were so perfectly fused inside her that Seol Young was tricked. It was as if they were one soul now.

‘But is that possible?’

He was in a daze for a moment there.

“Om Amoka Salvadara Sadaya…”

The spirits began to chant again, and those who were scattered came together. The waves of their chant were stronger.

‘They need to be pulled out again.’

Seol Young threw talismans at Princess Ajin.

But then Zaha, who was holding the body of the Princess on the other side, nodded slightly. When their eyes met, he pointed with his eyes.

‘…Princess Ara?’

Seol Young continued to use talismans and looked back. The Princess was burying her face in her nanny, maybe in fear.

But…

[Om Amoka…]

As the mantra was being chanted, a certain wave moved around Princess Ara.

Normal people wouldn’t notice it. Even Zaun, who was there, didn’t seem to notice it, but Zaha and Seol Young did.

‘Is it because they are twins? Or is there some other reason?’

At that time…

“Ack!”

With a shriek, the body of Princess Ajin was violently thrown into the air.

[Om Amoka Salvadara….]

In line with the terrifying mantra being constantly repeated, the body of the Princess was jerked back. Her little body was folded in half.

“Let’s see…”

Zaha immediately released his spiritual power. The evil power of the evil spirit was pushed, but it didn’t retreat.

The two sides were fighting in the air.

Their side was powerful, but so was the other one. The Princess’s little body was caught between them.

“Ack!”

The Princess’s face contorted like a monster. Black blood was pouring out of her mouth.

“We have to stop.”

Seol Young said.

If it were an adult, he would have taken a risk, but she was only a six-year-old child.

“And we obtained a good clue.”

He reached out and scattered the talismans.

Zaha also raised his spiritual power. His golden aura swept everywhere like a whirlwind, dispelling the evil energy.

Everyone had crossed the limit, even the eight ghost stories. So the moment the evil spirit found a way to escape, it hid.

Thud.

Princess Ajin’s body fell onto the blanket.

“Princess!”

A nanny ran over and hugged her.

“Ah…”

The Queen collapsed from exhaustion. Zaun quickly rushed to her aid and clenched her hands.

And she asked, looking at the men,

“What happened? It seems like there were several souls in…”

“Several?

The Queen asked, shocked.

“Yes.”

Seol Young looked at the Queen.

“Do you remember what I asked last time? The smell of dirt and the symptoms of being possessed. To investigate…”

“Ah, of course I did, but it wasn’t enough. I couldn’t find out anything.”

“Since then, we have found additional information through Memory Projection. Judging by the sensation of suffocation, the monk’s cause of death must have been because she was buried alive. And the clot of blood on white cloth…”

“Clot of blood?”

“And I’ll add some of the things I just found out. The evil spirit isn’t just one. There are many of them moving together. And that some mantra was being chanted again and again.”

Seol Young looked at everyone.

“I am sure you all heard it. Looking at it earlier, it seems to be a mantra that can gather evil energy, but it cannot be just that.”

“Right.”

The Queen nodded.

“That mantra holds a good meaning. Isn’t it for the fulfillment of life?”

“You are right.”

Seol Young answered.

“Now we have a good number of clues. We will have to take a look at all of this. What kind of incident is related to those evil spirits…”

When he said that, someone among the ladies-in-waiting jumped up, making everyone look at her.

The old lady-in-waiting had a shocked face, and the Queen asked,

“What is it?”

“I remember!”

She said that in a trembling voice.

“It has to be those children!”

Then everyone asked,

“Children?”