YCHW Ch 75

About a quarter of an hour later, he felt the palanquin’s movement slow considerably, so he cautiously opened the window. Beyond the wide moat, a very high, ash-gray city wall came into view. The heavy gates, built along with the layers of surrounding walls, opened one by one.

Geumju Castle, unlike other castles, was quiet and peaceful, which paradoxically created a sense of unease. People were living their daily lives, but even at a glance, the population was very small and the houses were clustered in one area, making the interior feel even more vast.

Passing through several more layers of gates, they entered the inner castle. Inside, Yongrin and Yeongchunhwa were coming and going. Even though the Hell Picture must have opened, this place too was peaceful. However, a solemnity and a sharp tension that could not be glimpsed in the outer castle hung in the air.

As he stepped out of the palanquin, smoke rising beyond the city walls came into view. One beacon meant a normal state with no issues, two meant the Hell Picture had opened, three meant the emperor’s holy power was needed, and four meant an unprecedented state of emergency, which had never once been lit.

Three beacons. He could see the figures of the Yongrin standing guard on the wall between the crenels. The Hell Picture must be out there. Yoonso was about to head directly to the stairs connected to the wall, but Jeong-ju blocked his path.

“Your Majesty. You may wait within the castle until the Hell Picture closes.”

“What are you talking about? His Majesty the Emperor is leading the campaign himself, and you want me to stay here?”

“It is not a critical situation, so it will be sufficient for you to perform the treatment when His Majesty returns.”

That was absurd. At a time when even the young Gwi-ins were witnessing the Hell Picture, being told to wait here was nothing short of telling him to hide like a coward.

“Is that His Majesty’s will?”

“Yes, and my will is the same. It is unnecessary for the Gwi-ins to bear the calamity of the Hell Picture as well.”

“I am not just any Yeongchunhwa. You know that too. As long as I am in a position I cannot escape from, I cannot avoid it forever. And I shouldn’t.”

“If you had the chance to escape, would you do so?”

Unreadable, placid eyes stared directly at Yoonso. From the man with an amiable impression, who looked endlessly gentle when he smiled, emanated a damp energy that only one who carried sorrow could exude.

Yoonso tried to discern whether Jeong-ju was testing him out of loyalty to Hwi or showing him human compassion. At that moment, the ground rumbled, rumble, and a vibration spread from under his feet. He could delay no longer.

“At least, not now.”

Giving a firm answer, Yoonso walked past the towering Jeong-ju and climbed the stairs. As he stepped on the hard stone floor, his heart pounded, thump, thump, heroically.

When he finally stood on top of the city wall, the Yongrin gave a concise salute. However, captivated by the scene revealed beyond the wall, Yoonso could not show any reaction.

Far in the distance, he saw the towering Yongrim Peak. The peak, where not a single blade of grass grew, revealing every detail of the rough rock texture, held a strange magnificence that seemed not of this world. Meanwhile, in the vast field spread out before it, countless Yeongchunhwa were in bloom, and in the very center, Hwi stood alone, looking at Yongrim Peak.

The man who had always seemed so large looked small and lonely, standing alone in such a vast place. He took a step forward, wanting to go to him and stand by his side. Just then, the ground rumbled again, and the cave at the base of Yongrim Peak grew blacker, as if a mouth were gaping open.

In an instant, a formless energy swept over the top of the wall. It was the air of battle. Even Yoonso, who had never experienced war, let alone been near a battlefield, could immediately sense that sharp air.

Presently, something poured out of the cave. Goosebumps, like a snake slithering up a tree, quickly prickled up his arms, and a chilling sensation took over his entire body. The color drained from Yoonso’s face, turning it as white as wax.

Many stories circulated about the beasts of the Hell Picture. Some said they were like a pack of wildly rampaging dogs, some said they were grotesque demons with more than ten hands and feet, and some said they would be monsters with horns, sharp fangs, and bodies the size of a house.

But they were all wrong. Yoonso let out a despairing groan with a single breath. His fingertips trembled so much that he had to grab his clothes as if to tear them.

The beasts of the Hell Picture were darkness. Darkness, devoid of any light or color, that seemed to suck in all existence, was rising like a wave and surging forward to wipe out the humans.

This was a heavenly calamity that a mere human could not oppose. Instinctive fear spread from deep within, screaming at Yoonso to run away. Unconsciously taking a step, then two steps back, Yoonso saw Hwi standing firm in his place and instead rushed forward, placed his hands on the crenel, and shouted.

“Your Majesty!”

Yoonso’s voice faded into the void. The dark tidal wave was rushing toward Hwi, and Yoonso, not knowing what to do, stamped his feet on the spot and then hastily looked around.

“What are you all doing! Go and protect His Majesty at once!”

However, the Yongrin merely watched the events unfolding before them with solid faces, showing not the slightest change. A sob escaped Yoonso’s lips.

It was when Yoonso’s body was leaning out over the crenel as if to dash out at any moment.

“His Majesty’s holy power is sufficient to conquer it, so please do not worry.”

Jeong-ju, who had approached at some point, calmly soothed Yoonso.

He could not comprehend how they could all remain so calm. The moment Yoonso contorted his face and opened his mouth to speak, Hwi knelt on one knee and placed both hands on the ground.

Rumble, rumble, rumble, the ground vibrated, and the earth where Hwi’s hands touched bulged upward. The ground, which had seemed firmly packed, cracked in an instant and rose like a turbulent wave, and the momentum of the fiercely charging beasts began to falter at that battle array.

The beasts, which had looked like a single connected darkness, were individual beings in the shape of four-legged animals. Even so, the intimidating aura that induced primal fear did not disappear. Not only were they large enough to easily take down a grown man, but they were also so numerous that they could cover this vast field.

Hwi did not flinch at all in the face of the incomprehensible and merciless beings. The battle array that blossomed from his hands overturned the earth, collapsed the ground beneath the beasts’ feet, and engulfed them one by one.

A dust storm arose, blurring the surroundings. In the midst of it, the beasts rushed at Hwi all at once like starved demons, and Hwi, without a single weapon, caught them with his bare hands and tore them apart.

Only then could Yoonso instantly understand why the Yongrin often referred to the Hell Picture as a ‘free-for-all.’ On this battlefield, there was no discipline, no rules. The beasts, without any law or purpose, just tried to bite and tear at Hwi who was before their eyes, and Hwi just tore, cut, and killed them as they came into his hands.

The strangest and most eerie thing was that the area was as quiet as a dead mouse. The beasts, rampaging so vividly, made no sound, and even when they disappeared mercilessly at Hwi’s hands, there was silence.

Even though he was clearly standing on his feet, this space did not feel real. Yoonso’s fingertips scratched the crenel and curled inward. Yoonso bit his lip so hard that he could taste blood.

What he had left behind and run away from, he could now realize it to the very marrow of his bones. What they had been protecting, and what they had been fighting against.

“Why… did he lead the campaign alone?”

A trembling voice flowed out faintly. Without taking his eyes off Hwi, Yoonso waited for an answer.

“The current emperor can conquer the power of three beacons alone, and this is a holy power that is unique even looking back at previous generations. When the emperor goes out alone, the Yongrin can rest that much, so he occasionally bestows his grace.”

“That day… did he leave in a hurry because of this?”

Hwi, who had left after receiving the news from Jeong-ju, leaving only a promise to return within three days. Hwi, who had returned covered in the smell of tobacco, a ball of fire. The body heat he had felt that day came back to life so vividly that his fingertips felt like they were burning.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“The treatment… did he receive it?”

“He received it, but it was not a sufficient amount.”

A distant groan burst out. Unable to overcome his aimlessly surging anger, Yoonso struck the crenel with his fist. A suppressed cry boiled between his lips.

Hwi drew his sword from its scabbard. His movements as he wielded the sword were disciplined and elegant, as if watching a dance, and each time the sword cut across, the beasts fell helplessly, truly a figure like a hero descended from heaven.

But he was not a hero from a novel. He too was a person actually living in this era.

Nevertheless, as time passed, he gradually grew accustomed to the sight of Hwi fighting in that chaotic battle. Yoonso felt a sudden chill. He felt a shiver of fear that he might one day become indifferent to Hwi struggling alone, to this cruel sight, and the back of his neck grew stiff.

“Are you all right?”

Hearing a low question, Yoonso barely turned his gaze. Hyunbi approached, tucking her hair, which was fluttering in the wind, behind her ear.

“His Majesty the Emperor was concerned for Your Majesty and commanded me to come and stay by your side.”

She took in the situation of the Hell Picture with a casual expression. How much time would it take to adapt to this free-for-all as nonchalantly as everyone else here? His future looked bleak, and Yoonso slowly closed his eyelids, then opened them and asked.

“Hyunbi, when you first stood up here, what did you think?”