Subdued Soul Chronicle

Blue Rainbow and Dead Slayer. The light of the two Sword Spirits spread far beyond the stone wall.

Long shadows began to appear from there.

The iron troops, the guardians of the tombs, came again.

These ancient ones weren’t to be looked down on.

If they gave up touching the tomb and walked out, it didn’t seem like they would be going after them, so that was a relief.

“Let’s get ready, Seol Young-rang.”

Zaha looked back at the pile of burial items.

Among them was this ring-shaped blade with a round handle.

The Illusion Blade moved in the direction of his demonic qi. Zaha hid it in a hollow between the stone walls.

“Check the direction of the exit direction again. Grabbing them is fine, but surviving is more important, okay? If your body feels even a little strange, just escape.”

“Yes, yes.”

Seol Young nodded and pulled out a cloth that could tie a wound. And then the two of them covered their noses and mouths with those.

As soon as the knot was tightly tied, the iron soldiers with spears appeared on the side of the chamber.

They immediately attacked the two intruders, just like the last time.

A long spear pierced them in an instant.

There were many soldiers around them, and their spears had a wider attack range than swords.

To avoid being surrounded, they had to kill their opponents with one blow.

‘Speed is important.’

Seol Young flung it lightly, avoiding the sharp spear. And he raised his sword to stab near the neck area between the helmet and the armor.

The spearman went stiff for a moment, and he fell down with blood gushing from his neck.

‘Because they cannot move their shield quickly.’

When they would stab their spears, they had to use sorcery to pull them or use wind skills to push them. So just like that, they were able to knock them down one by one.

“…?”

Zaha looked up and shook his head slightly. He looked a bit frustrated, but he didn’t say anything.

He just continued to slash the throats of several of the staggering spearmen.

With just his left hand, he didn’t have as much control as usual. However, it wasn’t enough to cut through the soldiers surrounding them.

Beyond the iron troops, more soldiers threw their spears at them.

At that moment, something flashed as it flew in and struck the back side of the troops. It was a ringed blade wrapped in a black haze.

The sharp blade was able to sweep through the heads of the troops.

‘Let’s see now.’

Seol Young turned over the body that had rolled up under his feet, and a small cloud pattern decoration on the chest of the armor stood out.

It seemed like the motion of the arms of the soldiers was spraying something from their armor.

‘As expected.’

Seol Young pointed at Zaha, and then he pointed at that.

‘Our theory was on point.’

‘Then it all works now.’

They exchanged such glances. And on the other side of the aisle, the iron cavalry appeared one after another. But as long as they could avoid that powder of paralysis, they had nothing to fear.

Bang! Bang!

The iron troop soldier who ran up fell to the ground.

The two of them engaged in a pincer attack, and the sword with a round head moved between the enemy lines to assist, so no matter how much the enemies tried to attack them, they would be able to defeat all of them.

At some point, no more iron soldiers appeared.

The two untied the clothes that covered their noses and mouths. They finally took a deep breath.

‘Finished.’

Looking around, it seemed that there were around sixty to seventy soldiers that they had defeated together.

Zaha blew a whistle at the giant blade that floated in the air, and the blade, like a puppy, landed in front of him.

“It is fine.”

Zaha mumbled.

Even if he hadn’t said anything about it, he must have been burdened by his right arm injury, but he seemed to have finally shaken off his concerns.

“If one learns anything like this, it will be really helpful. Whether it was sorcery or robbery…”

Seol Young said that and took the lead.

“We might end up inhaling the iron powder, so let us move out of here now. Normally, after placing the ashes in the center, the burial items would follow, and the other things around….”

They couldn’t finish talking. It was because there was a rumble below their feet.

The stone walls on all sides trembled. The air in the heavily buried tomb shook. And a feeling of drowsiness came over them.

Seol Young’s legs gave out, and his head dropped.

“What?”

Zaha also stumbled.

“What is with this?”

“I don’t know…”

The moment he answered, he realized something.

On the other side of the aisle of the stone chamber, he could see the fallen iron soldiers.

‘Because we killed them again.’

They touched the tomb, so they had to pay the price. And the payment for that came right away.

‘I cannot fall asleep now.’

But he couldn’t stop it. Before his eyes closed, Seol Young looked at Zaha, who was falling asleep.

‘This cannot be avoided no matter what. A curse.’

His hands dropped, and a sea of blood appeared in front of him.

[Ack!]

The soldiers of the Moon Palace were fighting in despair. There were just four to five troops, but they all seemed strong. However, with everyone there, they managed to take them down.

The moment they barely defeated them and took a deep breath, dozens more iron troop soldiers appeared. It was the legion that just fell and died guarding the tomb.

[W-What?]

The soldiers of the Moon Palace were terrified. They tried to fight against these unknown enemies, but their bodies wouldn’t move.

‘Cover your nose and mouth…’

Seol Young wanted to tell them that, but he couldn’t convey it. All he could do was watch.

The iron troops spread out and began to kill them.

[Hmm…?]

The Great Heavenly Pavilion officials, who were heading somewhere, stopped. Screams and suffering rose in all directions.

[What is this noise?]

At that moment, the troops went beyond the yard, and they immediately went for the officials who were there and struck them with their spears.

[Guys!]

The head of the Great Heavenly Pavilion was shocked. She shouted for the young disciples,

[Run away!]

She took out her sacred bell and shook it.

The sharp sound of a bell spread across the yard of the Moon Palace.

At this time, the Blue Dragon True Troops Hwarangs were just passing in front of the place. Everyone below Seo Geom wore ceremonial robes.

It seemed like they were taking part in a ritual. They walked, making a lot of noise, and they all stopped at the same time as they heard the sound of a bell.

“Isn’t that the sound of the bell from the Great Heavenly Pavilion? Something seemed to have happened!”

Seo Geom’s face turned serious right then.

[Go quickly and inform the Governor!]

[Yes!]

The Hwarang ran back all the way they had come, and the rest of them drew their swords and ran across the garden. Soon, their feet stopped.

On the other side, soldiers wearing black helmets and clad in iron armor were rushing in. After that, a terrible scene appeared in front of them.

All of the officials were dead, and their bodies were scattered everywhere. The body of the head of the pavilion was also there.

[Miss?]

Seo Geom and the other Hwarangs were shocked. Just then, the iron troop soldiers brandished their spears and attacked.

The Blue Dragon True Troops responded immediately.

As several swords flashed, the iron soldiers fell.

And the next moment, the bodies of Seo Geom and the other Hwarangs suddenly stopped moving. Spirit swords began to drop from their hands, which were going numb.

‘It is because of the iron powder! Cover your nose and mouth!’

Seol Young shouted. But his words couldn’t reach them.

Spears flew in from all directions towards the numb Hwarangs.

The spears pierced through their chests in an instant. and they all collapsed.

“…!”

Seol Young sighed and opened his eyes as he inhaled.

The cold air of the cold walls touched his back, and in the darkness, a faint light shone from Blue Rainbow.

When its owner regained consciousness, it turned bright again to shine on the tomb.

On the other side, Zaha opened his eyes.

“….”

The two sat for a while without saying anything. The vision they had seen felt so vivid that it was hard to believe it was just an illusion.

Everything spoke.

Because of you. Because of you. All because of you….

Darkness rose within their hearts.

If he took another step, it felt like death would be on the way.

Because of you…

‘No.’

Seol Young got up, not listening to the voice in his head.

“After passing through all the stone chambers with the piled up burial items…”

As if nothing had happened, he continued to speak.

“How the dead died and what status they had while they were alive will be revealed one by one.”

“From now on, you need to look closely.”

Zaha also got up, and neither of them spoke of what they had witnessed as they walked down the chamber.

Zaha’s sword glowed in gold. There was something on the aisle wall. As they got closer, they saw a mural.

A huge Buddha was sitting on a lion while giving a sermon, and a huge crowd was listening to it.

“A painting of the sutra.”

Zaha looked up at the mural, and Seol Young asked.

“What is this?”

“A painting depicting the contents of the sutra….”

Zaha pointed at the opposite wall with his sword, and at the end of the golden glow, a huge lotus flower was revealed.

“It is called the Field of the Lotus World.”

“What is this now?”

At Seol Young’s question, the Dead Slayer sword shone downward this time, and it showed a huge wheel that generated wind.

Zaha raised his sword and swept it from the bottom to the top.

“At the bottom of the world is the Wind Wheel, and above is the Scented Sea, an ocean of fragrant water. The huge lotus flower blooms in the middle of the sea, and each of its thousand leaves has ten billion nations. Each of them has a Buddha sitting under the bodhi tree.”

“It’s similar to the Three Thousand Worlds?”

Seol Young looked around.

“Is this just a coincidence?”

“Well.”

The two walked slowly along the aisle where the painting was. The ones painted to be listening to the sermon were the Gaya people, and they were all covered in blood.

But after passing the part where the Buddha chanted, its appearance changed to a calm manner.

There was something beyond.

Purification and extinction. Their two swords shone.

At the end of the passage, there was a dark red wall blocking the path. There was no way out.

“In the end, we need to break down the wall…”

Seol Young looked through the wall with his sword.

“It feels so ominous.”

“Still, we need to do it.”

Zaha took his Dead Slayer sword.

“What more are you waiting for?”

Gathering energy, he tried to break the wall down, but Seol Young stopped him.

“Wait, I will do it.”

“Why?’

“It feels like I should.”

It felt ominous yet strange. Could it be that he was being possessed again?

Seeing Zaha’s suspicious gaze, Seol Young reached for the wall. When he pressed it with pressure, some part of it crumbled down.

He carefully worked through it, while gently rubbing it. And then his palm touched something.

Seol Young looked at what was under the mud wall.

And the next moment, he flinched.