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Chapter 103
An hour before the present moment, Jeok Soya had made a request of Seol Yo.
[Say, Seol Yo. By any chance, can you transform into the appearance of a Divine Beast as well?]
When they first met on Horim ‌‌‌Mountain, Seol Yo ‌‌had ‌‌been in ‌‌‌‌the form of a Divine Beast.
If Seol Yo could shift into any animal, perhaps he could also take on that Divine Beast form just as he had then.
[A Divine Beast, you mean... like this?]
Seol Yo tilted his head once before transforming with a soft pop, mimicking ‌‌‌‌the other Divine Beasts throughout the Underground Palace.
[Incredible, Seol Yo! You look just like a real Divine Beast!] ‌‌‌‌‌
As Jeok Soya clapped her hands ‌‌in praise, Seol Yo's nose twitched with laughter, as if to say he'd never been frightened or tearful at all.
Then he concealed Jeok Soya ‌‌‌‌within his plush fur and entered deeper into the Underground Palace.
"Success!"
"Well done, Seol Yo!"
"Hehe."
Delighted by the successive praise, Seol Yo wagged his tail enthusiastically.
At that, other Divine Beasts passing by cast suspicious ‌‌‌‌glances toward him.
"Seol Yo. Your tail...!"
"Oops."
Seol Yo quickly drooped his tail downward and began to slink along, imitating the gait of the other Divine Beasts.
Though the mimicry was somewhat clumsy, the other Divine Beasts soon averted their gaze from him.
"Phew."
Jeok Soya released her grip on Seol Yo's fur, which she'd been clutching tightly with both ‌‌‌‌wings, and collapsed in relief.
"I thought we ‌‌‌were about to be discovered."
"I'm sorry, Jeok Soya. I'll be more careful."
Seol Yo rolled his eyes apologetically toward ‌‌Jeok Soya, who sat perched upon his head.
"But where should we go now?"
"First, let's search for the Sacred Shrine of the Hyunmu Clan."
"Okay!"
Seol Yo moved with nimble grace, as if to make up for his earlier mistake, and made his way toward the Sacred Shrine.
Typically, such shrines were kept in the deepest, most secluded corners of an estate.
Outsiders were not permitted to approach them carelessly.
Seol Yo discovered the black Sacred Shrine without difficulty in a remote section of the Underground Palace.
Creak—
As he gently nudged the decrepit wooden door open with his head, the interior of the shrine came into view.
The broken wooden door, collapsed roof beams, scattered cobwebs, and dust-laden old wooden structure showed signs of prolonged neglect and poor condition.
As Jeok Soya hopped down and entered, Seol Yo followed cautiously behind her.
Across the hazy dust, small bird footprints and plump Divine Beast paw prints were imprinted.
'The Divine Beast's sacred relic is supposed to be a black shield ‌made of iron.'
Jeok Soya glanced around before fluttering upward.
Yet nowhere could she spot anything resembling a shield.
As Jeok Soya trotted across the dust-covered altar, she tilted her head slightly upward.
My gaze fell upon a torn black tapestry hanging on the wall.
It was the Banner of the Black Tortoise, embroidered with the forms of a black tortoise and a serpent.
From the deliberately shredded tapestry, I could sense the hatred and fury directed toward the Divine Beast.
I recalled that Hyun Rabaek had ‌‌severed all ties of his direct ‌bloodline by his own hand.
'Why did Hyun Rabaek harbor such profound hatred for the ‌Divine Beast?'
The ‌‌‌Divine Beast was a sacred and ‌‌‌‌righteous being who had protected the continent long ago. Thus, all revered and honored it.
Then I discovered another ‌‌‌tapestry beside it, embroidered with the symbols of the Seven Tribes.
Among them, the image of the black serpent tribe caught my eye.
It appeared slightly larger than the serpent I knew.
―That is not a serpent, but an Imugi.
"An Imugi?"
―A great serpent that failed to become a dragon. Yet among those who inherit the blood of the Imugi, once in a thousand years, a true dragon is born.
"I see." ‌‌‌
I nodded lightly and turned my gaze ‌‌‌away.
What mattered was not the Seven Tribes or the Imugi, but the sacred relic of the Black Tortoise.
Yet there was nothing here that resembled a shield.
The Divine Beasts had also said they sensed no trace of the Black Tortoise's ‌aura.
'Perhaps it lies elsewhere.'
If that man harbored such hatred for the Divine Beast, it was quite likely he had not enshrined the relic in the Sacred Shrine.
'But it is impossible to destroy or eliminate ‌‌‌the relic. It was forged ‌‌from the Divine Beast's spiritual form.'
I fell into ‌‌‌‌deep contemplation.
'If I were that man, what would I do? Since I cannot destroy it, I would bury it somewhere and seal it with dark magic... Wait, dark magic?'
I paused.
I sniffed the air, my nostrils flaring, and my expression suddenly shifted to one of alarm.
"What is it, Soya?"
"Seol Yoya, can you smell this?"
"Smell?"
"Yes, it's the same as three years ago at the Mountain Lord Festival..."
Even Seol Yoya, whose sense of smell was ‌‌so keen he could detect the scent of malevolent beasts, merely tilted his head in confusion.
But I could smell it clearly.
This ‌‌‌was unmistakably ‌‌the same fragrance as the sachet Eun Siyo had worn three years ago at the Mountain Lord Festival.
'The scent of Northern Lands dark magic...'
Having quickly reached my conclusion, I leaped onto Seol Yoya's head and shouted into his ear.
"Please, Seol Yoya! Go right when we exit!"
"Y-yes!"
"Turn left ahead!"
Seol Yoya quickened his pace in the direction I indicated.
Then, deep within the palace, a cave revealed ‌‌‌‌itself.
A dozen malevolent beasts stood guard before it.
They stood as though protecting something of great importance.
Jeok Soya and Seol Yo exchanged a glance, and in the next instant....
Boom!
The ‌‌moment Jeok Soya released her beastkin form and drew the Baekho Sword, Seol Yo swelled his body to enormous proportions and crashed down upon the demonic beasts.
The creatures shrieked at the sudden assault, ‌‌utterly defenseless against the onslaught.
Jeok Soya and Seol Yo swiftly annihilated the demonic beasts before venturing deeper into the cave.
The interior, illuminated ‌‌sporadically by candlelight, emanated an eerie atmosphere as if some sinister ritual had been performed within.
Jeok Soya traced the scent of ‌sorcery, advancing toward ‌‌‌‌the depths of the ‌‌cave.
"Jeok Soya, there's a shield over there!" ‌‌‌
Within the darkness, atop an elongated black box, she discovered ‌a shield bound tightly in chains and sealed with sorcery.
―The Yeom Wang's shield, little bird!
―Sealed with dark magic. How infuriating.
Jeok Soya approached the black shield bearing the Hyunmu Clan's insignia.
'So this is the divine artifact of the Northern Lands—the Hyunmu Iron Shield....'
As Jeok Soya cautiously extended her hand.
"Jeok Soya!"
―Danger, little bird!
Screech—!
Jeok Soya swiftly dodged the sudden attack that came hurtling toward her.
Whirl!
Turning around, ‌‌‌she beheld a dark silhouette in the form of a woman, wielding a crescent-shaped scythe aimed directly at her.
"Do... not... approach...."
The voice grated like rusted metal.
"I am... the shield guardian... protecting the divine artifact... of Hyeon To Yeom Wang... the Northern Divine Beast...."
'A shield guardian?'
Jeok Soya's eyes widened in shock.
It was common knowledge that the Hyunmu Clan's shield guardian was chosen from among the Seven Tribes' leaders.
'But the direct bloodline of the Hyunmu Clan was completely severed by Hyun Rabaek's hand. So there shouldn't be any of the Seven Tribes' leaders remaining.'
Moreover, this form was unmistakably not human.
Yet as Jeok Soya stood bewildered by a figure too human to be ‌‌a demonic beast, yet too otherworldly to ‌‌be mortal. ‌‌
―It's a thought-form.
Cheong Hae Yong Sin offered a terse explanation.
"A thought-form?"
―Yes. The spirit of the deceased remains tethered to this realm, unable to ascend. It awakened in response to an object imbued with the desires of the living.
"An object imbued with desire? Are you referring to that shield?"
―It's impossible for a mere human's desire to dwell within a divine beast's ethereal form. There must be something else....
―More importantly, a thought-form wielding such power means its true body is nearby. Find it, little bird.
"Nearby? But...."
As Jeok ‌‌‌‌‌Soya glanced about, the elongated black box came into view.
'Could it be....' ‌‌‌
As Jeok Soya turned her gaze toward it, the thought-form's attack came once more.
"Soya!"
Seol Yo swiftly snatched Soya away, evading the attack.
Boom!
A long scythe came crashing down where Soya had been standing moments before, carving out a massive crater.
"Seol Yo, I'm counting on you."
Soya entrusted the specter to Seol Yo and rushed toward the black ‌‌box.
The specter sensed Soya's intention and swung its scythe, but Seol Yo blocked it immediately.
"Grrrrr...!"
While Seol Yo held back the specter, Soya removed the lid from the black box.
Inside lay the corpse of a ‌‌‌‌‌woman.
What I had thought was merely an elongated box was ‌‌‌actually a coffin containing the dead.
'The spirit core...!'
The woman in ‌‌the black coffin had a spirit core so severely ‌‌‌‌corrupted that half her body had transformed into a beast-human form, while the other half twisted grotesquely black like a demonic creature.
Soya spread her hands, summoning purifying flames.
Fire ignited from her fingertips, blazing brilliantly as it engulfed the woman's corpse.
"Ah... Ahhh...."
The specter that had been wielding its scythe at Soya and Seol Yo suddenly froze, releasing an anguished ‌cry.
As the corrupted woman's spirit core was ‌‌‌‌‌purified, her grotesquely twisted body gradually ‌‌‌restored to its original, pristine form.
And in that same moment, the specter's dark surface peeled away, revealing a ‌clear, translucent soul in human form.
'The specter has been purified.'
Soya gasped as she witnessed this transformation.
"Ah...."
After a brief silence, the woman's soul slowly blinked her eyes ‌and let out a gasp of wonder.

---------------
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly ‌‌‌‌‌on our official site: valirscans.org
---------------