Chapter 273

Emerging from the Mindscape and awakening to reality, Hongrim looked at me and Yoo Haon with an expression of disbelief.

“It seems you’ve truly succeeded. What became of Soul Enchantress?”

“Not entirely certain, but it appears both her physical body and soul in reality have been annihilated.”

“…I see. Frankly, I thought the chance of success was exceedingly low, but you truly possess the makings of heroes.”

Unlike her helpful demeanor, it seemed she had half-expected the worst outcome, as Hongrim was genuinely impressed and offering us praise.

“…Junior. Are you injured anywhere?”

“No. There was a bit of a crisis, but I’m fine.”

“I kept watch on this side as well, and there were no issues.”

It seemed Arietta had been keeping an eye out while remaining outside, just in case Hongrim tried anything foolish.

In response, Hongrim laughed heartily and spoke to us, who hadn’t fully regained our strength yet.

“I prepared food in advance. Eat and then get plenty of rest.”

“Yes. Thank you for your consideration.”

In the final moment, Soul Enchantress had left behind a curse-like piece of advice: not to trust Hongrim too much.

Of course, in my judgment, Hongrim was a person with her own sense of justice, but it wouldn’t hurt to remember it just in case.

We accepted Hongrim’s hospitality, finished our meal, and then took turns resting to recover our depleted energy.

Just as I was thinking it was about time to leave Jirikok, Hongrim discreetly called me aside.

“I didn’t mention it earlier as the immediate matter was urgent, but there’s something I must convey to you.”

“What is it?”

“It’s about the five Great Specters I mentioned before.”

Having gathered information from Hongrim during the meal, I now knew their identities as well.

First, excluding Soul Enchantress, whom we had just battled, and Hongrim, the Great Chieftain of Sadoopae, there were only three Great Specters remaining.

And Hongrim referred to them as such:

The Specter who wields the Thousand Arts, the Docheol, descendant of the Heavenly Dragon who possesses the power of a Malignant Deity and Evil Specter, and the Bloodrot, said to have been born from a renowned Taoist Master sacrificing his body to a Forbidden Technique, correct?”

“That’s right. I heard back then that you had taken on a commission regarding Docheol.”

That was correct.

Docheol, the target of the commission Seoa and I had taken from the Pyeong Clan. Surprisingly, that creature held a place among the five Specters Hongrim spoke of.

Furthermore, judging from the description, the identity of Bloodrot was likely none other than Yeongwan’s master from Daehwarim, for whom he had requested eternal rest.

However, all of this was information I had heard last time, so I tilted my head and focused on Hongrim’s words.

And what came from her mouth was a truly unbelievable story.

“I also only managed to sense it with difficulty… but I could detect traces of an aura left by one of them on you.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that during your journey so far, you have actually encountered them in person.”

That doesn’t make sense.

If I had met such a Specter, there’s no way I wouldn’t have noticed.

However, Hongrim’s demeanor was so serious that I couldn’t easily dismiss it.

“That’s a very perplexing statement. If that were true, wouldn’t it have been a tremendous crisis for me?”

“The aura was too faint, so I couldn’t infer the details either. They might have been biding their time even knowing, or perhaps they didn’t properly perceive your existence at that time.”

Certainly, thinking of it that way made it somewhat plausible.

Hongrim herself had said it took some time to properly grasp the anomaly even after being affected by Yoo Haon, so it wasn’t impossible for the others to be the same.

Simultaneously, I realized this was a huge clue.

At least one of those three had been directly connected to me in the past.

Therefore, if I could only uncover their identity, it would create an opportunity for us to target them first.

“Thank you for telling me. I hadn’t noticed at all…”

“Don’t blame yourself too much. If they had intended to act directly, you would have known.”

“Yes. I must be even more vigilant from now on.”

Listening to Hongrim, it seemed the Great Specter I encountered hadn’t particularly tried to pull any tricks.

That is, it was highly likely we had a meeting so brief we didn’t even know each other’s identities.

‘What’s certain is that it must be someone I didn’t use my Appraisal function on…’

I carefully retraced my memories, but there were too many candidates to pinpoint a likely suspect.

I stopped pondering at that point and was about to bid Hongrim farewell and leave Jirikok with my companions.

“Wait a moment. I have one request.”

“What is it?”

“Could you please take the youngest with you on your journey?”

The ‘youngest’ Hongrim referred to undoubtedly meant Yeon Jaki, the youngest chieftain of Sadoopae.

“It’s hard to believe… but seeing your consistent reactions, I became certain.”

“……”

“Surely, the youngest is acquainted with you even outside this observed world, isn’t she?”

Her words were filled with such conviction that pointlessly denying them seemed meaningless.

“Yes. In fact, she provided crucial help for us to come to this world.”

“That is another shocking statement. My curiosity is piqued, but it’s probably something I don’t need to know.”

Hongrim chuckled dryly and continued with a somehow wistful smile.

“It seems my wretched life wasn’t entirely meaningless after all… Could there be a more auspicious event than this?”

“If we can have her assistance, we welcome it. If you wish, she can join us.”

“Good. Although the youngest here is also merely an observed existence, that must be the proper providence.”

Thus, I accepted Hongrim’s final request and took the Yeon Jaki of the past as a companion on our journey.

I’m not entirely sure, but I feel the goals here are also gradually catching a favorable wind.

The reunion of scattered companions is almost complete, I’ve met the Celestial Guide Master Hochoong, and I’ve gathered quite a lot of information about this era.

‘About half a year left…’

It’s not a very generous amount of time, but it’s sufficient to somehow achieve our objectives.

Reorganizing several future goals in my mind, I left Jirikok, where we had stayed for a short period, with my companions.

Resolving to use the coming half year as efficiently as possible.

“So, the Great Chieftain didn’t give you any special instructions?”

“…No. The Great Chieftain only told me that this is the path I must take.”

It seemed Hongrim hadn’t explained all the circumstances to Yeon Jaki, yet Yeon Jaki followed us willingly without any questions.

That alone allowed me to grasp what kind of existence Hongrim was to Yeon Jaki.

“I will sincerely assist in your journey, so if there’s anything you need, please let me know.”

“Yes. Thank you for your cooperation.”

Although she maintained a businesslike attitude, the Yeon Jaki of the past had a much fresher, more youthful side compared to her modern counterpart.

The way she subtly checked our reactions, perhaps feeling a bit awkward, and the fact she always wore a mask, never showing her bare face to us, were examples.

Yet, when it came to setting up camp or preparing meals, she would diligently follow and help.

“…It feels strange thinking she’s the same person.”

“I find it refreshing.”

Yoo Haon muttered with a somewhat awkward expression, while Arietta, seemingly intrigued, kept sticking close to Yeon Jaki and initiating conversation.

Our next chosen destination was the dwelling of the Hawon Clan, where the other three had headed.

It was quite a distance from Jirikok, requiring a long journey, and during that time, I conversed with Yoo Haon and relayed the events that had transpired.

“So, we need to find the two who haven’t joined us yet and then gather information about Polar Night within this era.”

“Summarized, that would be it.”

And in the process, we must shake off any covert moves by the Great Specters targeting us and, if possible, obtain information from them.

“It’s by no means an easy task… but it’s positive that our objective has become clear.”

“I think so too. Although the part about ‘information on Polar Night’ is still quite broad.”

After pondering deeply upon my words, Yoo Haon soon clapped his hands together and began speaking again.

“Speaking of which, when I was with Soul Enchantress, after she discerned my purpose, she said something.”

“What was it?”

“That Polar Night is an extremely bizarre and special existence, she doesn’t know its true nature, but it likely holds a secret no one could imagine.”

“……”

“Soul Enchantress said she had actually met Polar Night in the distant past. It probably wasn’t an idle remark.”

Hearing that, it really piques my concern.

Soul Enchantress herself could be considered a Specter with tremendously bizarre power from my perspective, yet even she described Polar Night as an ‘exception’ to the norm.

Perhaps we are fundamentally misunderstanding something about Polar Night’s true nature from the start?

There’s no way to know now.

I also asked Hongrim about Polar Night, but she said, surprisingly, she was relatively young among the Great Specters and her active period didn’t overlap with Polar Night’s.

Feeling my worries pointlessly deepening, I let out a small sigh.

The anomaly occurred right then.

Piiing—!*

The moment I felt a certain energy piercing into my mind, I didn’t hesitate to gather the group.

“The Shikigami I entrusted to Seoa has been destroyed. It seems they are in crisis.”

“…Junior, do you know the location?”

“Yes. Coordinates were just transmitted to my mind.”

There was still over a day’s distance remaining to the Hawon Clan’s dwelling.

However, with things having come to this, no matter what, we had no choice but to pursue them as quickly as possible.

“I’ll increase our speed from now. If we push a bit, we should be able to reach the transmitted coordinate point within half a day.”

“Okay. No problem.”

“I’m fine too.”

Thus, the three of us rose into the air with the help of Black Bird and Black Yin, and Yeon Jaki also increased her speed to follow behind us.

Repeatedly moving while disregarding meals and rest, the distance began to shrink rapidly, and eventually, we managed to arrive at the coordinates where the Shikigami was destroyed in less than half a day.

“Mostly erased, but… traces of battle remain.”

As Yeon Jaki said, there were indeed signs of a considerable-scale battle having taken place nearby.

For all I know, the enemy must have been no pushover either, as there was no indication that one side had completely overwhelmed the other.

“Senior, do you sense any presence in the surroundings?”

“Faintly, from afar, heading straight for this location.”

“It seems they’ve noticed us.”

Given it was Arietta, who among us had the widest detection range, it was undoubtedly true.

Whatever the case, thinking we’d confront it first, we shared a glance and gradually shifted into Combat Posture.

And soon, from a corner of the dense forest, a group of figures began to reveal themselves.