Apocalypse Hunter

Once the Reavers left, the Heavenly Power Castle reactivated the Heavenly Power Stone, and the ghosts were no longer attracted to the place. But many that had managed to escape the grasp of the Godly Fighters still remained, both at the top and at the bottom of the castle where Cho-yul had been working to get rid of them.

“You don’t look like the rock-climbing type. How did you manage to get up there before? Do you have a spell to make you fly?” Leona asked Cho-yul.

“I weaved a basket that carried me up,” replied Cho-yul with a smile. Leona soon found out what he meant. As soon as Cho-yul finished chanting a spell, a giant basket appeared at the top of the Heavenly Power Castle and made its way down. “I’d been thinking about it since I got here, so I finally had to come up with a new spell.”

Since the Heavenly Power Castle was a spiritual place that made spells more powerful, Cho-yul could create a spell for a makeshift elevator that was both primitive and ingenious.

The rope that was attached at the top of the castle would progressively get shorter and carry the basket up along with the person inside it. Cho-yul made four of these baskets, one for each of them, and they all climbed in.

Of course, when Ramphil got in his basket, his hefty weight stretched the rope to its max. But the basket, made by the high-level sorcerer, didn’t break easily. Compared to the previous time, they reached the top of the Heavenly Power Castle relatively easily and quickly.

“Spells are so useful. Can you make anything you want?” asked Leona, her teeth chattering from nervousness.

“Technically, this is fake. It doesn’t last very long,” said Zin.

If it were real, it would be a creation. This kind of spell was possible only because they were at the Heavenly Power Castle; even here, however, it wouldn’t last long.

When the basket arrived at the top of the mountain, everyone climbed out and looked toward the dark forest.

“What’s going on? What is that noise?”

They had anticipated the place to be quiet and subdued after the recent attack, but they were greeted with a cacophony of sounds.

——-

At the top of the Heavenly Power Castle, a shamanic ritual was in progress. Some of them were quiet, some were loud, but the the scene at the moment was of near pandemonium.

Bells, gongs, and various instruments were playing a dizzying tune. At the center, was a giant fire pit, and men and women dressed in white were performing a chaotic dance around the fire.

“W-what is this? Have they lost their minds?”

‘Bong, bong, bong, bong!’

During their first visit, the place had been very calm and peaceful, but now they couldn’t imagine a place louder and more disorderly than here.

The villagers passed the rice cakes around while watching the performance.

It almost seemed like a festival. Leona thought it was no time for a festival.

“They’re performing a dance to cleanse the evil energy left by the ghosts that were here. The ritual is on a bigger scale because they’re doing it for many ghosts, not just one.”

“… In another words, you’re saying this is sorcery.”

“That’s right, Leona.”

Even though Cho-yul was a sorcerer himself, he seemed fascinated by this kind of sorcery and couldn’t keep his eyes off the dance.

Upon realizing that Zin was back, the lord stood up from his seat and walked toward him.

“When I saw the storm, I knew you were with the Emperor’s successor.”

Thanks to Cho-yul’s thoughtful arrangement, the top of the Heavenly Power Castle was minimally affected by the storm. The grounds were wet, but none of the structures were destroyed. Zin smiled bitterly.

“Exorcism rituals are a rare sight, but I believe we have more important matters to discuss.”

“Yes, I believe so.”

The lord had a worried look on his face. They not only needed to talk about what had happened, but also about the future of the Heavenly Power Castle.

Zin turned to face Leona and Ramphil.

“You guys stay here and enjoy the ritual.”

“Uh, are you sure?”

“Ha, I feel like you’re treating me like a kid.”

“This discussion isn’t appropriate for you guys anyway.”

Ramphil was hesitant, but since a part of him wanted to stay and watch the dance, he didn’t insist on joining them. Leona didn’t even try to hide her excitement and nodded enthusiastically.

They sat in a corner and watched the ritual dance being performed to the head-spinning music. There was a huge age difference between the two, but both shared a child-like innocence.

Ramphil wasn’t a child anymore, but since he never had a childhood, it seemed as though he was becoming more like a child every day.

“Shall we head out?”

“Yes.”

The lord led the way to the temple.

—-

The lord was curious about Cho-yul, whom he had previously thought of as a bum but now seemed refined. In contrast to the rags he was wearing at the time he came to demand the Heavenly Wind, he now looked as elegant as any nobleman.

The lord talked about Asura’s visit and Zin shared with him how he met Cho-yul at Weedle.

“Two pupils… I didn’t expect that. But, I understand your situation.”

“I apologize for my behavior last time. I’m sure my misjudgement created some concerns here.”

Taking the Heavenly Wind was the right move at the time, but there were some consequences. Cho-yul lowered his head in sincere apology.

“No, no. If you hadn’t done that, the master hunter would not have found you; therefore, it was the Will of the Heavens.”

“Ha… is that so?”

“What an ironic twist,” Zin said. Had Cho-yul not come to the Heavenly Power Castle in search of the Heavenly Wind, he would’ve never met the high-level sorcerer who was even more valuable than the Heavenly Wind. A charm was just a charm. In the end, a brilliant sorcerer was more helpful.

In addition, without his timely arrival and the Great Rain and Storm spell that drove out the Reavers around the Heavenly Power Castle, the castle would have been either destroyed or taken over.

Everything was interconnected and every action led to a result. Cho-yul’s actions saved the Heavenly Power Castle.

If the castle had been destroyed or taken over, Asura would’ve gotten the Great Charm of Heavenly Wind. Contaminating the Heavenly Wind had seemed like a foolish decision at first, but in the end, it had produced positive results.

“Hmm… The Will of the Heavens?” as he reflected, Cho-yul smiled bitterly. One thing had led to another, and everything had worked out in ways he couldn’t have imagined.

Does the world really operate according to the Will of the Heavens?

Everytime he came upon realizations like this, he felt uneasy.

“But how could the Emperor’s pupil do something like that? That’s hard to believe.” The lord couldn’t believe that a devil hunter of such caliber could do such a thing, but Zin nodded in understanding.

“The devil hunter types are susceptible to falling to their dark side, especially now that there is no karma in the world. It’s only natural to want more power.”

Asura would return with her large army. She would block the sorcery and would try to destroy the Heavenly Power Castle. She would destroy it unless they surrendered. Zin was deep in thought as he tried to figure her out.

“She’s not just greedy for power, and that makes her even more dangerous.”

“May I ask what you mean by that?” asked Cho-yul as he scanned Zin’s face for clues. If a maniac who wanted to be king was not motivated by greed for power, then what?”

“You guys trained together, yet you can’t figure her out?”

“Uh, th-that’s because…”

“That woman has a strong belief in something.”

“…”

“Often those with a desire to make things right in this word have that look in their eyes.”

“A desire to make things right?”

“Yes, a so-called ‘great cause.’ The fools who believe that they can make the world a better place.”

That meant that SoSeoLan wasn’t just about grabbing power by becoming the king of the looters. And as Zin had said, that made her even more dangerous.

“People like that don’t know when to stop. And that’s why they’re dangerous.”

People with great faith were hard to predict. Power-hungry pigs just wanted more power. They didn’t put themselves in danger. But this was a different case.

“They are the toughest to deal with because they’re not afraid of sacrificing themselves for the cause.”

The ones willing to sacrifice themselves for the great cause would willingly walk into the fire pit of hell. Zin had known many of these types.

‘Jayeon… I don’t know how you died, but the person who came to power after you is just like you.’

Zin had no idea how the leadership had changed within the group. But what an idealist brought forth was always the same. A group that had been led by an idealist was again under the control of an idealist. He saw that clearly in SoSeoLan’s eyes and her righteous demeanor.

He had seen many like this.

As well as their ends.

—-

The group would return, and that would be the end of the Heavenly Power Castle. First off, they were considerably outnumbered.

Second, Asura had enough men and resources to counteract any and all attacks and defense measures coming from the Heavenly Power Castle.

There was no point in even thinking about the possible outcomes as the situation was hopeless.

As for Zin, what he had to do was simple. He could have the high-level sorcerer fend off the Treacherous Spirit to get to the Sealed Orb. Since his original goal was to get the Sealed Orb, once he got it, he could leave.

But the situation was different for the people at the Heavenly Power Castle.

“Our clan exists to protect the Seal. Whatever happens to the castle, we need to face it, head-on.”

Even if they couldn’t protect it, they would never give it up. That was why they remained there, living in peace, for a very long time.

The Emperor’s successor was planning to destroy what the Emperor had built. The lord’s face turned grim. The lord didn’t expect Zin’s help. How could he ask him to join a losing fight that would surely lead to death?

Besides, Zin’s mission was even more important than protecting the Sealed Orb.

Given the gravity and reality of the situation, Zin should not join the fight. Even with him, they would lose the fight for sure. Everything, including supplies, military strength, and conditions, was not in their favor. Zin knew it was foolish to even consider it.

All things considered, it wouldn’t be wise to fight against a group that was the size a small country. He had earned the chance to extract the sealing force from the Sealed Orb and leave since he had already driven off the Reavers once.

‘I can’t let this opportunity go to waste.’

“Let me discuss this with my team,” said Zin to buy some time. The lord nodded in agreement.

Staying there would be suicide, so it was easy to guess what the team’s decision would be.

Zin stood up from his seat. His face was rigid. Cho-yul didn’t look any better as he stood up.

For now, they had to get to the Sealed Orb and take care of the urgent matter at hand.

———–

Cho-yul, the lord, and Zin started their walk down toward the Sealed Orb located under the castle.

“Is there a reason why you need to separate the sealing force from the Sealed Orb after weakening it?”

Since Cho-yul could do powerful sorcery, they wouldn’t have to separate the Sealing Force. Cho-yul could use the sealing force to achieve what Zin wanted.

“I’m not going to stop you if you want to come along, but I can’t guarantee that you’ll live until the final showdown.”

“Well… that’s not very pleasant to hear.”

“Think of it as a practical insurance policy.”

If something were to happen to Cho-yul, no one else would be able to seal the immortality of the White Witch. In that case, the only card left would be using the sealing force itself.

Despite Zin’s comment, Cho-yul was becoming more and more convinced that there would be no turning back for him. SoSeoLan was up to something, and the world was under a much bigger threat than he had previously thought. Knowing what he now knew, it would be impossible for him to return to the idle life of an alcoholic. Since he had already started, he had to move forward. He was realizing that not utilizing his powerful sorcery skills would be a sin. If there was a reason why that power was given to him, then he must act.

Cho-yul’s mind was already made up.

This time, Zin had a lantern instead of a special torch. Cho-yul defended them against any threats in the darkness. With just a wave of his hands, the spirits cowered and retreated.

“I have to ask. What is the Darkborn?” Cho-yul had been curious about it since SoSeoLan had mentioned it.

“It’s kind of a special weapon only the devil hunters possess.”

“A weapon?”

“Yes, it operates by consuming the blood of the devil. Then, it becomes as powerful as the devil.”

“Oh… is that so?”

“That’s why only the devil hunters can hunt devils.”

“But… the devils are not around anymore.”

“Chips work, too, although it’s weaker. If I have enough chips, I can continue living even if my physical body dies, so I guess that’s a plus.”

Zin’s physical body had died a long time ago. He was extending his life forcibly by using the energy of the Darkborn.

The reason why the devil hunters trained students, even though the devils were not around anymore, was simple. They needed chips in order to extend their lives after the death of their physical bodies. Supplying chips longterm like that was no easy task.

Of course, Zin wasn’t the only devil hunter without students. Cho-yul stared at him, so Zin continued, “Compared to how strong I used to be, I’m pathetically weak now. Your fellow apprentice probably has a higher power output than me.”

“If that’s the case, couldn’t you just use the blood of the Immortals?”

There was an Immortal sealed in the temple, so Zin could absorb its blood.

Cho-yul thought that if Zin could regain his strength, then it might be possible for him to defend the Heavenly Power Castle.

“Those stick figures don’t have any blood left. I would’ve done it a long time ago if that was a viable option.”

“Oh, I see.”

If things were that easy, Zin would not be working as a witch hunter for chips. Anything that had any useful blood left had all been sucked dry.

Cho-yul also thought about Leona.

There was devil’s blood right in front of his nose, but Zin acted like it didn’t exist. Since Cho-yul didn’t have the Darkborn, it was hard for him to imagine what Zin was thinking.

“What’s under here is just an empty shell of what it was. Right now, it’s nothing more than a glob,” the lord explained, and Cho-yul nodded in understanding.

The Immortals had everlasting life and could not be killed. They would come back to life again and again even if they were killed. That’s why the devil hunters chose to seal them inside an orb.

How was it sealed? Cho-yul had heard stories, but he didn’t exactly know how it all worked.

When they reached the center of where the Treacherous Spirit roamed, Cho-yul focused his attention and started to chant the spell of Pharma. As he chanted the mysterious spell made up of Buddhist sutras and incantations, the Darkness in all directions started to react.

‘Grrrrr!’

As if frightened, the Darkness retreated. The lord needed a special torch to do this, but Cho-yul was able to do the same with just a few incantations.

Even the Treacherous Spirit was no match for a high-level sorcerer. The air felt cool, and the three continued their descent. With the Treacherous Spirit out of the way, they reached the entrance to the Sealed Orb without much trouble.

“The Darkness is gone.”

“The Treacherous Spirit can’t come near the Sealed Orb.”

Luckily, the Treacherous Spirit only blocked the path and did not affect the area near the Sealed Orb. Not only was the Darkness gone, but there was light emanating from where the Sealed Orb was.

When the three reached the space at the center of the Heavenly Power Temple, they saw the Sealed Orb.

Surrounded by numerous charms, a perfectly round boulder stood at the center. The boulder was completely transparent. The cave was lit by the boulder reflecting the rays of light emanating from the many charms that surrounded it.

The surreal scene looked more like a giant art installation than a Sealed Orb.

“Uh… is that a diamond?”

“Yes, it is.”

At the core of the Sealed Orb was an enormous diamond. The diamond boulder was as big as a house.

Cho-yul stared at the shapeless beings swimming inside it. What seemed spirit-like and ephemeral was wavering inside.

He sensed that the world inside the enormous diamond was much bigger than its actual volume, seeming as though there was an entirely different universe trapped inside.