Requiem of Subdued Souls

Chapter 22: Nirvana Painting (5)

Seol Young set aside the plaque and ran to where he heard the scream.

The hallway was full of spirits.

“Help Me! HELP ME!”

The people were panicking, shouting, and running, but the spirits were blocking their paths.

Seol Young drew out his sword as he said,

“Go that way if you don’t want to be killed by those things.”

There was no answer.

Instead, the golden spirit qi flashed in all directions with the sound of the spirits disappearing.

‘… he seems happy.’

People who have gone down the path of demons are like that. It was in their nature to constantly kill.

So, was there any need to stop him?

Seol Young continued to cut down the spirits.

He and Zaha had already fought near the tombs once before. So he was already familiar with what he could do.

When the ghosts attacked wildly, Zaha’s sword broke them apart.

And when they attacked from unexpected directions, the Blue Rainbow Sword would wipe them out.

The two of them broke through the horde of spirits.

“S-Save the people!

The people who were gathering in the room were trembling, and the outside was full of spirits, too, so going out wasn’t an option either.

Seol Young and Zaha hurriedly took down the spirits first.

“If you go back there, there is a guardian circle.”

He pointed in the direction he wanted them to go. But one person in the crowd was going in the opposite direction.

“My sibling didn’t come out…!”

The two men let the child go and opened the door. There was a mess inside.

Woong…

There were various illusions of spirits running around, howling, and dancing.

And in the middle, there was a six or seven-year-old girl. She appeared to be too terrified to even breathe.

“Wait!”

Seol Young hurriedly ran and cut the spirits down.

He used the Blue Rainbow Sword to brighten up the place. Eventually, there were no longer spirits, just smoke.

“Let’s go!”

Seol Young helped her stand up, but she fell to her knees. She didn’t seem to have the energy to stand up.

“I cannot…”

Her eyes seemed void.

She had just seen the worst thing a child could see, and she was afraid to move because she would have to see them if she did. She was drenched in fear.

The child was skinny and small, so it would be easy to carry her.

‘But I cannot do that.’

Seol Young shook his head.

It would be difficult for him to carry her and fight the spirits and ghosts at the same time. The child’s life would be in danger.

“You cannot falter now.”

Seol Young told the child.

“Why do you think the ghosts look scary, make odd noises, and constantly try to scare people? That is because they cannot win against you. The dead can never defeat the living. Be strong in your heart and never collapse.”

Zaha, who was pushing the ghosts to the side, glanced in their direction.

“Are you trying to give her confidence or scare her? With that cold face…”

“Then should I say it again with a smile?”

“You know how to smile?”

As they were talking, they both went, ‘Oh?’

The child got up and began to walk on her own two feet.

“See? She doesn’t care what my face looks like.”

A brave child.

Seol Young felt at ease now. He could get the child out, but then he remembered something.

“What is your name?”

“Gwan Sol.”

The child answered bluntly, and Zaha looked at him.

Seol Young asked, ‘What is with that look?’ with his eyes.

“You said if I wanted to be nice, I should ask their name first, right? That is what you said. I just didn’t remember it sooner…”

They walked quickly.

More spirits were gathering. Beyond them, they could see a purple glow from the Black Tortoise Troops.

They brought the child to safety and headed there.

Kik!

The Hwarangs were shouting.

“Seventh! Watch your back!”

“Get out of the way! Both of you! I will handle it!”

They were also doing their best to cut down the spirits with their swords.

Their attacks were strong. They were taking down two to three spirits at a time. It was nice to see others get the tasks done.

“High Governor!”

Everyone was in the circle formation to defeat these evil spirits. The news of their arrival caught the attention of the people inside the Guardian Circle.

“Father!”

“You are safe! Then your brother?”

“Over there!”

The people were happy to reunite with their families.

Seol Young asked,

“Is anyone else missing?”

“No. Thank you so much!”

The Hwarangs could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

On one side, the ghosts struck by Seol Young’s talismans vanished.

It looked like hundreds of holes had formed in the bodies of the evil spirits. This felt odd.

“Just how did those people die like…”

Ji Hae, the seventh Hwarang, mumbled.

“I have seen many sorts of deaths. There were a lot of terrible ones I could not even imagine…”

“Right. How can such cruel things happen in this house…”

Mo Cheon, the ninth Hwarang, was shocked, too.

“But, hyungs, did the painting kill dozens of people before? We have already killed around a hundred of them, so what is all of this?”

“Hundred? We are already hitting two hundred. It is my first time witnessing something this bizarre.”

Beom Hyun shook his head too.

“I don’t understand why the spirits started acting crazy all of a sudden.”

“Anyway, it is certain that they are going after innocent people. We need to get them out of here.”

The third member, Ji Oh, took the lead.

But it didn’t take long before he stopped.

There should have been a sliding door leading down the hall to the front yard, from which everyone had entered.

But there was no more sliding door now. It seemed like a lot of what had existed before had vanished, and there was just fog. The entire place ahead was covered in a bluish fog.

“Death Gate?”

Several of the Hwarangs asked at the same time.

“Why would it appear so suddenly? Has the entire mansion been taken over?”

“Then we just need to find the Life Gate.”

“Wait.”

Seol Young blocked Ji Hae, who was speaking.

“Something feels odd. Why do the ghosts keep appearing? If their intention is to cover our eyes and ears by doing this, it might be better for us not to head that way.”

Everyone went stiff.

But they couldn’t trust Seol Young’s words either.

They looked at the people who were all anxious.

“If Seol Young-rang has the duty to solve these supernatural calamities, then it is our duty to save and protect the people here.”

Ji Oh, the third member, looked at the other Hwarangs.

“Everyone realizes that, right? If we stay here and move toward the Death Gate, we will all die. But if we go to the Life Gate, we will all live. From what I know, we have to go to the Life Gate in order to stay alive.”

“Yes.”

When they said they would do that, Seol Young no longer had a say. Wasn’t that their intention?

“Then we will leave first.”

The Hwarangs spoke to Zaha.

At that time, the spirit plaque in Seol Young’s sleeve vibrated again.

Ah, right. He thought of talking to it once he saved the people.

Seol Young put the plaque on the floor and summoned the soul of the painter.

The soul felt restless. His hands and feet were shaking as if he were trying to say something.

But his presence was so weak that his voice couldn’t be heard.

At that time, Zaha came back and said,

“Now that everyone is saved, shall we talk with the ghost?”

“Why do you seem so happy?”

“It should be obvious. Is the soul of the painter who drew such a thing still normal? Please, if you do something reckless and come into contact with an evil spirit or die going crazy…”

“That won’t happen, don’t worry.”

Seol Young pulled out the pouch he always carried on him.

“Even if the opponent is an evil spirit, with these, I can block them for a while.”

“And what are those?”

“Talismans.”

Seol Young made up his mind and trusted his intuition. He had already listened to the painter earlier.

Holding the pouch tightly, he summoned the soul, and at that moment, unknown emotions flooded him.

‘Dangerous!’

His consciousness was screaming at him.

At the same time, something passed before his eyes.

‘This…?’

Seol Young removed his hand, surprised, and without saying anything, he turned and ran.

“What is it? What did you see?”

Zaha followed him.

“There! Where they are going now…!”

He could see the Hwarangs ahead. They were walking in search of the gate while protecting the people.

But in the end…

….was no door.

Seol Young shouted,

“Stop! Don’t go!”

Everyone looked back at him with faces that said he was crazy.

At that moment, an incredible force rose ahead.

Things that looked like they were part of the house vanished, and in their place was a huge wall.

A vivid picture appeared, shining brightly.

This shocked everyone.

The painting of paradise, which was thought to be immovable because the soul of the painter was tied to it, defied everyone’s expectations and appeared in front of them.

The hundred-year-old painting made by a genius came to life.

Flowers were blooming, and birds were flying. There were animals walking, and little kids were playing musical instruments and dancing around.

In the middle of it was a dazzling halo on the back of a head. Numerous hands spread gracefully along the light. The huge Buddha was engulfed in light.

No, it was the picture of Avalokiteshvara.

But it couldn’t be.

A Buddha shouldn’t smile like this.

Does the smile have to be very subtle and calm when people are being trampled on?

And with such a face, it stretches out its arms to the people?

“Move!”

Seol Young shouted.

But it was too late.

No one thought that this painting would come to life.

“Ack!”

Its numerous arms grabbed the people and tried to put them in its mouth.

“No!”

The Hwarangs tried to pull them out.

At the same time, several arms from the other side using long blades moved, but the Hwarangs failed to avoid them.

Swish!

Blood splattered with a ghastly sound.

But it wasn’t their blood.

Beom Hyun and Mo Cheon looked back in shock. The several arms of Avalokiteshvara holding the long blades were cut off.

Seol Young ran and cut them down.

He knew something bad would happen in advance, so he was on guard.

But he couldn’t completely block every attack. He managed to cut down nine arms, but the last one slashed Seol Young’s left arm.

His white robe turned red.

“…!”

Beom Hyun and Mo Cheon were too surprised to even scream.