Requiem of Subdued Souls

Seol Young looked up and wrapped his left hand around his right arm.

Among the crowd, a man with a skull mask stood tall.

“Devil Lair Lord…!”

.

But then he felt something strange.

A strange shape was fluttering in front of the Lord. It seemed like he was facing himself.

‘What is that?’

He looked at it again, but it vanished quickly. At the same time, the Lord also vanished.

“Are you going to continue running like that?”

Seol Young hurriedly followed him, but he bumped into someone coming from the other side.

It was Zaha.

With Seo Geom next to him.

“What? Weren’t you with Seol Young-rang?”

As they stopped, all of them felt a sense of relief.

“I just saw the Lord! He tried to use his technique to kill me. But then he stopped, and there was this…”

He was talking in a hurry, but the two looked at him with strange faces. Their gazes were directed at his arm—his shoulder injury.

Seo Geom asked,

“Is Seol Young-rang sharp or dull?”

“He has to be both.”

Zaha replied.

Seol Young covered the wound with his hand.

“It just brushed past.”

“Still, shouldn’t we treat it before we talk? Seeing the blood makes my own wound hurt. Wait, do you not see this? Are you going against the High Governor and the head of a troop?”

“No.”

Seol Young removed his hand from his shoulder.

There was a lot of blood, so he had to wipe it off and sprinkle some powder to stop the bleeding.

Zaha was talking as if he wouldn’t touch the wound, but seeing how Seol Young couldn’t tie it with a bandage with one hand, he clicked his tongue and tied it tightly.

“I know you are thankful. If I hadn’t fed you, you would have fainted.”

“Ah. Yes…”

Wasn’t Zaha the one who asked them not to bring up the food topic? Yet wasn’t he the one talking the most about it?

Seol Young brushed that thought aside.

“Anyway, the Lord set up a trap for me.”

Seo Geom would not know, so he explained while looking there.

“The Lord uses the power of causality. It isn’t what happens, happens. But what happened, happens.”

“What happened, happens?”

“For example, something like this. First, shoot an arrow into a harp box and kill someone. After that, if that person goes inside the box, they are pulled to the past and die right away.”

“What are you talking…”

“If you don’t understand it, think. He needs something to use that power. In the last case, he used the harp box. It could be a condition the same as when someone entered the harp box.”

“Then this time?”

“The snake pattern on the floor.”

Zaha said,

“Is that the information you found out in exchange for blood?”

“Yes…the Lord showed me some memories of my past and pulled me to a certain place. And that place had the snake pattern that I stepped on, and it attacked me right away.”

Seol Young explained as he drew the pattern on the ground.

“The only difference is that maybe it isn’t a place that is as tightly shut as the harp box, so it doesn’t have the binding strength.”

It reminded him of the first time he was captured by that guy. At that time, the demonic beings would kick him for being rude. There was probably a snake on the ground at that time, too.

“Unlike the harp box case, we can avoid this if we want to. So we will avoid it. Even if you get caught and dragged by your memories, you need to come back to your senses.”

“Being caught and dragged with the memories… What is he planning?”

Zaha and Seol Young looked around, and Seo Geom too.

“After the curtain went up, I came to my senses and found myself alone in the fog. But then the High Governor found me, but Seol Young-rang was nowhere to be seen. Then I heard a sound and rushed here…”

Seol Young remembered something from what he said.

“Ah, Blue Rainbow vanished. And even Senior Oni. I don’t know where they went.”

He looked around. He made a mess, but he couldn’t find anything. People were just buying and selling things.

Zaha’s eyes stopped at a certain place.

“Is that it?”

Something was shining. It was the ring!

“Ah!”

Seol Young was so glad to see it that he approached it, but then he stopped.

There was a Hwarang sitting behind a shelf. And he had this training robe with gold patterns and a silver belt. It was something he was seeing for the first time, but then he noticed it…

‘Sun Moon Troops.’

In addition to the ring, there were several other things, such as bells and horns, on the counter. And with that, Seol Young could guess who it was.

“On So-rang…?”

Seo Geom mumbled, shocked.

“…”

Zaha looked at On So and slowly approached him.

On So-rang, who was sitting with a puzzled face, looked at Jaha.

“Governor!”

He woke up in shock.

“What happened? I fell asleep while doing work. Why am I in such a place…”

Zaha picked up the ring without saying a thing, and On So’s appearance became bloody. It was as if he was struggling to hold on to something, and then his body vanished.

‘May you be reborn.’

Despite knowing it was an illusion, Seol Young still mumbled it.

“…”

After looking down at the empty chair, Zaha moved.

“Is that what it means to be stuck in a memory?”

“Yes.”

Seol Young replied.

“There seems to be a lot of people from memories here. So I thought this was a Market of Memory.”

“Or Market of Oblivion.”

Zaha mumbled.

“I had forgotten about reality for a brief moment. It was as if my body and mind had gone back to the past. Wouldn’t it be easy to fall into such a thing? We need to bring each other’s senses back.”

Silence fell.

In the end, this Heavenly Demon World seemed a lot more difficult than the ones before.

However, they had to work.

Somewhere in this place, the Lord was hiding. In addition, they must get the bracelet that had Seol Young’s spiritual power and Blue Rainbow.

And the three of them had to work together to get through that.

“Of course, I am fine. It has been a long time since I have been liberated from the past.”

Zaha said.

‘Such a lie.’

Seol Young thought to himself.

“I have decided not to be bound by my memories.”

After he said that, he looked at Seo Geom, who was also a problem.

Why did that guy come into this place in the first place? Didn’t he see his dead brother and chase after him? His heart was full of remorse.

Zaha asked.

“Seo Geom-rang, are you fine?”

“The reason I followed my brother after seeing him was to check if he was a spirit or not. You don’t have to worry.”

Seo Geom answered.

“Then I trust you.”

Contrary to what he said, Zaha didn’t seem to believe him.

“Let’s try it.”

“Yes.”

The three of them moved between the markets on either side. Where could their opponent be hiding?

While walking carefully, Seo Geom pointed to the front.

“High Governor, it seems to have started.”

His gaze was fixed on a shelf.

“I saw it.”

There was something there. A top.

As the merchant spun the top around, a pattern appeared on the body of the top. It had the face of a dragon with its eyes wide open.

“Seo Geom-rang!”

Seol Young touched him.

At that moment, snow began to fall from the sky.

When did it fall? White snow had already piled up on the branches of the trees.

Then a bright light shone from a tightly closed door. A shadow of someone sitting with a crown on their head could be seen.

This was the Blue Dragon Troop’s main hall. Two kids were on their knees in the yard.

The older one looked around ten years old, and the little one was five years old. Even though they had different faces, they had similar features, so they seemed to be brothers.

The brothers were on their knees. It looked like they were being punished, and even though a lot of time had passed, no words could be heard from that place.

Snow had piled up over the bodies of the siblings, making them wriggle a little.

At that time, the older one tapped the snow-covered ground, and the younger one looked there.

The face of their father, looking grumpy and funny, was drawn.

“…”

The younger one turned his head to the side, but it could be seen that he was smiling.

The older one tapped him again.

The younger one put on a calm face, as if he didn’t want to see it. But unlike his face, he turned and looked ahead.

It was not a drawing this time.

The older brother took out a top and spun it around. It had a dragon face with its eyes open. It is nothing special, but it was also amazing at the same time.

The younger brother forgot his boredom as he was watching it.

After a while, the lights went out, and the older one said,

‘Let’s run away.’

The younger brother shook his head, but the older one got up and ran away.

“Wait, hyung! Let’s go together!”

Seo Geom shouted.

Seol Young watched the scene. And then he came to his senses.

“Seo Geom-rang! You cannot go!”

He tried to catch him.

“Move!”

But Seo Geom pushed him with all his might, making Seol Young collapse to the ground.

“Seo Geom-rang! Get yourself together!”

Zaha hit him.

And he had come to his senses only then.

“…?”

He looked puzzled and realized what had happened with a pale face.

“I have nothing to say.”

Then, with a shocked expression, he looked at Seol Young and said,

“It wasn’t on purpose. I did it without…”

“Yes…”

Seol Young hesitated as he answered. After being here together for a while, he knew his attitude towards Seo Geom had changed a bit.

However, when such emotions came out, he would be on alert.

‘To say it confidently and then get possessed right then. Seriously…’

Seol Young turned his head, and at that moment, he saw something.

It was a well-made silk cloth.

It was a cloth for children. Clouds and stars were embroidered with silver thread on a blue cloth.

Why was that here?

Seol Young was dazed.

In the next moment, he was back in the past.

The demonic beings brought in new clothes.

“This is the outfit Elder Chun Gwang will wear for the birthday of our Lord. It will suit you very well.”

“…”

Seol Young didn’t answer.

He didn’t want to see, talk or think about anything.

After parting ways with Baek Eon, he couldn’t control his mind. He regretted not following him, and if Baek San was dying, he wouldn’t be able to bear it.

But the next moment, he saw visions of Baek Eon, Song Ok, Hyo Wol, and the White Tiger Troops coughing blood and dying.

A colorless, odorless poison.

Needless to say, it had to be the work of the Devil Lair Lord who hurt Baek San.

What if this would bring death to the entire troop?

Seol Young clenched the hem of his clothes, and the demonic beings, which he had hated from the start, now seemed more horrid to him.

‘I need to get out.’

His vision went blurry. At that time, a demonic being who did errands came in, and Seol Young wiped away his tears.

“What is it?”

“Another group surrendered near Mount Geumo. See if there are any useful ones.”

“I get it.”

Seol Young headed to the training ground, and his subordinates got up and stood at the side.

The five tomb spirits.

“Elder.”

They bowed their heads and saluted him.

Since the last time, those who served the Lord were assigned to the western side, and Seol Young belonged to the eastern side.

So they didn’t have to meet. Even if they did meet each other by chance, they just ignored each other.

“…”

After they left, Seol Young looked back.

“Let’s go.”

In his words, his subordinate took the lead. Then the training ground became noisy.

The number of demonic beings has increased since a year ago. Recently, due to the Hwarangs hunting them, more monsters have been entering this place to avoid being killed by them.

“…”

Seol Young didn’t even want to look at them. He was just standing there blankly when he heard an angry voice.

“Get out of the way! Do you want to die?”

The voice made him turn his head. The one who had just shouted had shaggy hair and a black face.

But that voice…

The growl was so familiar.

Seol Young was shocked.

‘Song Ok-rang…?’