Requiem of Subdued Souls

Chapter 2: Evil Moon (2)

It was a rule that a bloodthirsty evil spirit could be attacked. The first way to subdue them would be to use a sacred object or relic, such as musical instruments, to lure them.

But the situation now was too urgent.

The Hwarang man stood in the way between the evil spirit and the girls. It was as if he was putting himself and his life into the mouth of the evil spirit which was like a mad dog.

Swish!

The girls gasped in surprise. They thought that the Hwarang man would be torn apart. But that didn’t happen.

Unlike his noble and handsome appearance, his hands were wild and unrelenting. In an instant, he took an advantageous position and swung the sword as fiercely as a tiger.

Blue Rainbow.

The clear blue light caused a blue rainbow, just like its name. The sword spirit, which was the spirit that resided in the sword, flashed, and the Yin-Yang plaque of the Hwarang man shone.

‘Just like the rumors.’

All the girls looked like they were in shock. In the past, general Kim Yu Shin was called Hwarang’s Magnificent Dragon Disciple.

And the Silla people imitated that concept and created the Immortal Clans.

There are now five Immortal Clans for the Hwarang Group: the Blue Dragon Troops, the White Tiger Troops, the Black Tortoise Troops, the Vermillion Bird Troops, and the Golden Ring Troops, which represent the sun.

This was how it worked, and the man who suddenly appeared and saved them was from the White Tiger Troops and was called Seol Young.

If one were to make a list of all the demons and evil spirits he has killed up to this point, the list would be as long as the pillars of heaven. And he was the protagonist of such a famous rumor.

“Kuak!”

As the evil spirit was driven to a corner, it became more and more ferocious. Somehow, it attempted to get away and tried to attack the girls.

Seol Young pressed against the evil spirit with his sword to make it immobile. At the same time, he looked around coldly.

“Do not stand there.”

As he waved one hand, a number of shiny blue dots formed on the ground.

He wants them to stand there?

The girls went quickly and stood in that area. They didn’t know that it was a circle.

Sun, Moon, and Five Stars.

It was a basic method that mimicked the arrangement of the Sun, Moon, and Five Stars.

Once inside, the girls would be safe from the evil spirit. And Seol Young began his onslaught as soon as the circle was complete.

The girls stared in disbelief.

Because the evil spirit possessed a human body, it couldn’t be cut down by the sword. So Seol Young tried to drive the evil spirit away by hitting it.

Puak! Puak! Puak!

The sword moved as fast as lightning and struck the vital points of the girl, who was possessed. The energy of the sword spirit blazed like a blue fire.

And someone whispered,

“I heard that he is someone who is born with strong spiritual powers and one of the best in the Hwarang Group.”

Actually, it did appear that way, and the girls’ eyes throbbed at what they witnessed.

“Kwak!”

The evil spirit screamed and fiercely resisted. The hands and feet shattered everything they touched.

Seol Young continued with his onslaught, not caring about anything. All the attacks hit the center of the forehead of this evil spirit. There wasn’t even a second of hesitation in his attacks. He was determined and precise.

‘It is wonderful…’

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Their eyes looked captivated due to his powerful aura, and the girls couldn’t even blink their eyes as they watched.

It was then…

“What is this fuss?!”

There was a noise outside. When the barrier created by the evil spirit broke down, the sounds from inside leaked out.

The Hwarangs of the Golden Ring Troops, who were preparing for the ancestral rites, were all shocked at the noises and ran here. The guards of the royal palace and the crown prince had rushed in too.

And everyone was shocked at what they saw. Everything was shattered here and there as if a wild boar had attacked the place. The door broke off, and there were all sorts of broken things everywhere…

It was clear that something powerful had attacked the young girls. Still, should they consider it lucky that the girls were within a protective circle?

The Golden Ring Hwarangs shouted and asked,

“What happened here?”

The girls, who were still shocked, pointed to one side. All the Hwarangs’ eyes widened at the situation they had just noticed, and only then did they see Seol Young.

Even in the midst of all this commotion, Seol Young was still tapping down the forehead of the young girl he was holding without hesitation. And his spiritual power was high.

‘No way….’

At this great feeling that took over them, they all stood silent. Eventually, the screams subsided, and the evil spirit stopped struggling.

Thud!

The possessed body drooped down like a broken toy. And the bizarre mask on her face fell off, revealing a pure white face.

The mask shattered right away as it touched the ground.

“Yeom!”

The girls immediately ran to their friend.

“How is she? Is she breathing?”

“The pulse?”

They were looking here and there, but something touched the girl’s toe, and they picked it up.

It was a jade ornament attached to the belt. This was the object that the man threw when breaking the barrier.

“…”

The girl looked down for a moment. The metal ring hanging from the jade was flattened. It was because it was pulled out and thrown.

The man did appear to be quite elegant, but this showed how much he rushed to get this done.

“What are you all staring at her like this for? Say something. What just happened?”

The Hwarangs of the Golden Ring asked.

“I… that… while we were all getting together and choosing a mask, our colleague, Yeom, ended up being possessed by an evil spirit. She lost her temper and then attacked us. We really thought we were going to die…”

The girl who was explaining paused for a moment.

The crumbled metal ring had to be pressed several times before it was fixed, and she bowed politely as she handed it back to Seol Young.

“Thank you.”

Then again, she said to the Hwarangs of the Golden Ring,

“If this man hadn’t come to recuse us in time, a very terrible sight would have unfolded. At least half of us would have been dead.”

“Right. Right.”

All of them were pretty scared.

The Hwarangs of the Golden Ring were silent. Just looking at the situation, they could make a rough guess, and the girls’ words only confirmed it.

‘This was almost like a disaster.’

This ritual that they organized—what would happen if the courtiers didn’t survive? It was a terrifying sight.

‘It is a shame that someone else came to help them and not us…’

They turned to Seol Young. The white hem of the robe with a black pattern swayed in the wind. He stood upright as if this wasn’t a big deal. It looked as if he was an old man who saw through everything beneath those garments.

The White Tiger Spirit Troops were known to have great spiritual power and outstanding performance—the kind of people anyone would want to get close to.

But this man’s personality wasn’t so easygoing. More than anything…

Several people’s eyes were drawn to one spot.

Seol Young’s sword.

They all glanced at the Yin-Yang plaque that hung from the sword.

The Yin-Yang plaque was a sacred item that every Hwarang gets bestowed. A piece of a divine mirror from heaven, and each of them must have this.

However, there was a difference between theirs and Seol Young’s plaque.

Spirit Jade.

They were told that the jade containing the spiritual power of someone strong was hung there.

“…”

The Golden Ring Hwarangs just stared at it. The sight of it reminded them of their past. How much the Hwarangs hated Seol Young and how much Seol Young despised them.

That man with the icy expression must be thinking a lot inside right now.

‘You people, who didn’t even know there was an evil spirit present, do not deserve the title of Hwarangs!’

When they imagined such a thing, the minds of those people shrank. But they still had to thank the man, so they opened their mouths.

“Seol Young…”

It was then…

“Why are you leaving a mark within Hwarang?”

The sharp voice of a girl echoed around, prompting everyone to look at the source.

It was Yeom, the girl who lost consciousness and collapsed.

She jumped up.

“Supernatural calamities will continue to happen one after another! It will be a catastrophe in the end!”

Yeom pointed at Seol Young and shouted. Soon later, her eyes turned white, and she was back to being unconscious.

Everyone fell silent as they were all too shocked to speak.

How could she curse the man who helped her?

On the other hand, the hall was turned into a mess with so many people speaking.

“T-That is… surely…!”

“Isn’t this the same? How did this happen?”

Everyone mumbled, with faces turning white as paper.

The Hwarangs felt this was odd and asked,

“What do you mean ‘same’?”

“T-That…”

The workers looked at their superior when their high priest said,

“Well, it was said that it would be announced soon. It is something the Hwarangs have to know.”

The Hwarangs felt strange hearing this tone of voice. It was true that the Hwarang Group and the Heavenly Hall weren’t on good terms. But there had to be more to it.

Yeonjae, the Golden Ring’s seventh Hwarang, asked,

“What could it be?”

“The Great Heavenly Hall received a revelation this morning.”

Said the high priest.

“A black mist surrounded the Ten Thousand Waves Clearing Flute, and a voice came from the sky, and it shouted ‘Why are you leaving a mark within Hwarang? Supernatural calamities will continue to happen one after another! It will be a catastrophe in the end!’ And when the head of the hall woke up at this and ran for the flute, well, it was already blackened to the core.”

This left the Hwarangs shocked.

Ten Thousand Waves Clearing Flute.

The mysterious flute was obtained from a dragon during the days of the king. It was one of the items that calmed the worries of the nation.

It wasn’t uncommon for the flute to have some trouble.

“No one other than His Highness knows about this, so how did that young courtier know and recite it in the same manner?! Couldn’t this be the voice of heaven?!”

Said the high priest, making everyone turn to Seol Young.

“What nonsense.”

Seol Young uttered that and turned around.

Right now, Great Rang, Second Rang, and Third Rang were now in the Mingzhou region, so he had to get back to the front gate and do his duty.

However, the priests stood in his way.

“How is that nonsense? Think about it. If there is an evil spirit in such a holy place, then whose responsibility is that?”

The man shouted,

“It is yours, Seol Young-rang. You used your energy to cast evil spirits!”

A cold wind blew in the hall. This was a taboo topic that everyone knew about but didn’t speak of.

“Since I entered the Immortal Clan, never once had I done such a thing.”

Seol Young responded.

“No, you couldn’t use it. That is because young master Baek San of the White Tiger Spirit Troops had placed a seal over it. Did you think we didn’t know?”

He pointed to the jade plaque, which was hanging alongside the Yin-Yang plaque.

But then, the Yin-Yang plaque shook violently.

‘…?’

Seol Young felt a strange sensation spread, and he immediately reached out to check it. But it was too late.

Clack!

There was a sharp clicking sound, making everyone look down at the ground.

The Yin-Yang and Spirit Jade.

The two items that were intact until just now shattered and fell apart.

‘How did this happen?’

Everyone’s faces turned pale. Such holy items couldn’t just break on their own. Even if it did break, it couldn’t shatter like that.

As a result, they watched the seal, which had lasted for seven years, break.

Blue light shone on Seol Young’s hand. The spiritual power which had been sealed within was soaring up.

And Seol Young immediately hid It.

But the priests who saw it weren’t going to stay silent.

“Now that the holy items broke, you have lost your qualification to be a Hwarang!”

“…”

Seol Young didn’t respond.

The monster who would bring chaos. Of course, he wasn’t like that.

Surely there was a time when it would have happened due to the huge conflict, but now he was a Hwarang, and he was getting along fine.

So why was he being framed like this?

‘Isn’t this someone’s plan to get me kicked out?’

At that moment, he thought of his three hyungs. The four of them promised to live and die together. So how shocked would they be to realize he got kicked out once they came back?

If they realize Seol Young lost his qualifications to stay….

That couldn’t be. But he was sure of one thing.

‘I will not be taken lightly.’

Seol Young made up his mind.

TL/N: A mythical item of Silla time known to drive out evil energy.

TL/N: Rang is a title for an adult male like Sahyung.