Requiem of Subdued Souls

The wet letters were quickly erased.

“…”

Su Ryun turned her head as if nothing had happened. Some scenes became faintly visible.

Collapsing from smoke while trying to get out of the fire and pillars collapsing everywhere.

This young lady didn’t seem to remember her death and was working in this place again. Seol Young felt odd.

‘Her face is cold, but her heart is warm.’

He made up his mind to take her soul and send her to peace…

‘Shouldn’t I ignore it for now?’

He averted his gaze and felt very grateful for her thoughts and warning.

However, he was infiltrating this place to destroy it.

To run away now…

“…”

Seeing how Seol Young didn’t respond, she frowned.

What? Was he stupid?

She seemed angry, and then the owner called her.

“Su Ryun, when you are done teaching, come here and manage the place again.”

“Yes.”

Su Ryun went there.

At that time, a bell rang, and an errand boy came in as he gave an order.

The old laborer yelled,

“Newbie! What are you doing? There is an order!”

“Ah, yes.”

Seol Young went there, picked up a wooden plaque, and looked at it.

‘One Flower in Prison to the seventh room on the left.’

It seemed like they were asking for alcohol called ‘Flower in Prison’ to be delivered to the seventh room.

This was his chance to naturally observe things.

Seol Young first put the wooden plaque down, then went to look at the alcohol jars lined up. He lifted one and put it on the tray.

‘Since there is just one order of alcohol, I can handle it.’

As Su Ryun had taught him, he picked up the jar and lifted it.

All the workers there were busy running around, and they didn’t seem to notice anything.

Seol Young went out with the jar and asked,

“Where is the Black Lotus?”

But no one answered.

They just stared at him like they were judging him.

‘Maybe asking for help isn’t a good idea.’

Seol Young went out to the street. Beneath the paper lanterns that were hung in the tent, the things that were piled up glowed.

Ghosts and demonic beings gathered to buy something, and people were casually selling things to them.

He was looking around and found it. Each tent had a small mark on it, and all of them were in the same spot.

Blue monkey…

‘Aha…’

Now he knew it.

What was called Black Lotus must also have something similar to its tent, and he carefully looked at each one to find such a tent. Seol Young took the jar and moved to another area.

It wasn’t long before he found it. It was a pavilion.

There were rows of rooms with their doors closed.

“Seventh room on the left.”

Seol Young counted them one by one and looked for the seventh room on the left.

As he stood in front of it, a warrior with a sword came forward and opened the door.

“The drinks are here.”

Inside, there were ghosts and demonic beings playing something. Looking at their clothes, they seemed to be nobles.

“…”

They stopped talking when they looked at Seol Young.

‘…?’

Why did this feel so embarrassing?

He was on alert.

Without saying a word, he put the alcohol on the table and turned around. At the same time, he observed the presence behind him.

“Get out through there.”

The warrior pointed in the other direction.

Why was he asking Seol Young to leave through the other side?

Seol Young continued to walk down the hallway while being alert, and after a while, he felt this faint presence behind him.

It was keeping a certain distance, but it was following Seol Young. A huge shadow hung in the dark hallway.

‘Right.’

Seol Young walked calmly, like he didn’t notice it, and then a door to one of the rooms opened.

Seeing Seol Young pass by, someone hurriedly closed the door. It was for a short movement, but he saw that the floor was covered in blood.

Seol Young touched the ring on his finger as he continued walking. The shadow on the wall began to get closer, and it almost touched Seol Young’s shadow.

‘Where do I lure it?’

In front of him was an empty room with its door open, so Seol Young naturally went there.

The opponent took the bait and followed him.

Tak!

At the same time, the door closed, and something flew in the wind without making a sound.

“….!”

Seol Young had lost his spiritual power, but there was no problem with his body.

He immediately twisted his upper body and avoided it, and he quickly reached for the flying object and swung it away.

Puak!

It turned out to be a scythe. It was firmly embedded in the huge body of the opponent. However, the opponent didn’t seem to care and continued to attack Seol Young.

Its eyes were directed at him, and a huge number of its teeth were visible.

‘Monster!’

Seol Young leaned back and grabbed the horns on its head.

In that state, the jewel on the ring activated, and darkness appeared before his eyes.

Senior Oni sighed and bit the monster.

In an instant, the monster fell down with just half its body remaining, and blue blood gushed from it.

‘It was asking for it.’

Seol Young lowered his hand, but then there was this black whirlwind beneath his feet, and it was the same as when they passed through the gate earlier.

“…?”

He looked confused.

The wind was sucked into the card hanging around his neck, and the lower part of the ID card was stained black.

‘What is this?’ 𝑏𝘦𝘥𝘯𝑜𝘷𝘦𝑙．𝑜𝑟𝘨

If he killed an enemy, would the card turn black? Did it have something to do with the levels?

It seemed like it.

Seol Young lifted the card and observed it.

But then he could feel something else outside. It seemed that it had no intention of hiding its presence.

“…?”

Seol Young looked nervously at it.

“It’s me.”

The door opened, and Zaha stepped inside.

“The Great Mother told me to move quickly, so I came…..”

“It is over.”

Seol Young pointed to the half-remaining part of the monster.

“Then you don’t need this?”

Zaha pulled something from his sleeve. There were several wooden shields. Black smoke rose thickly, as if evil spirits were sealed inside them.

“I brought it in case Senior was starving.”

“Please have this.”

Seol Young presented it to Oni like it was some lunchbox.

“But, what was the fight about?”

“It was more like a hunt than a fight. The nobles asked for a drink or something, and when they looked at me, their faces changed, and one of them came to attack me.”

“As I thought…”

Seol Young nodded.

“This town is for nobles, a place of entertainment and hunting at the same time. By determining the identity of those who come, they are considered as meat.”

“And the leveling system makes it easier to know who to hunt. Everyone is prey to the higher one.”

“Yes. Through hunting, you can raise your rank and enter a new area.”

As they were talking, something popped into his mind.

“The monsters are the same.”

“Even the monsters?”

“Yes. It is a hunting ground for weak meat.”

It was slowly trying to level up.

Seol Young looked at the monster on the floor. As he approached it, there was something in its pocket.

When he opened it, it looked like this ghost had 20 coins.

Zaha looked at it wide-eyed.

“What is that?”

“Money.”

Seol Young was surprised at how Zaha looked shocked.

“It is something being used here. The first time I saw this… Are you saying you killed them and didn’t even look at their bodies?”

“Seol Young-rang. I did not search their bodies. We are Hwarangs that have some dignity.”

“But this is different. You caught three nobles, which meant a lot of money. What if there were over 100 coins…”

Even if it was someone else’s money, he couldn’t let them go to waste.

Zaha asked,

“What can you even do with the money?”

“Buy things in the city.”

“What would you even buy?”

“I don’t know about that, but I need to rank up. Next time, do not forget to search the bodies. I cannot believe I am saying this. Do you get it?”

“… I do.”

At that time, there was another presence outside.

The two went silent, and Seol Young lifted Oni off the ground and disposed of the debris and waste that had been scattered.

After the baby dragon returned to its place, the door burst open.

“Who are you?”