Chapter 52
No one could deny that Yeomwang Chaeju’s face showed a complexion overflowing with greed.
It had always puzzled me why a man like him would meekly follow the words of an underworld emissary.
No matter how fearsome an emissary’s appearance, a person’s greed cultivated in life doesn’t vanish that easily.
“So that’s the reason.”
The screams of the gathered vengeful spirits carried to us.
Kill him.
Kill him!
Diieee!
Watching that scene sent chills down my spine. At the same time my brow automatically furrowed — not at the spirits, but at Yeomwang Chaeju trembling in front of them.
“How many innocent people did you hurt?”
‘Innocent? Actually I’m the one who’s wronged! Dying and killing — that’s just how life in the rivers and valleys goes!’
It wasn’t a line I liked, but it wasn’t entirely false. The martial world was built like a tower on the deaths of countless people. I wasn’t naive enough to call that process purely righteous. Still, Yeomwang Chaeju’s example was off.
“Do you see them all as nothing but fighters?”
From children to women who looked like mothers — about half of the people in front of us didn’t look like fighters in the slightest. No excuse could be made.
‘That is—!’
Still, just as Yeomwang Chaeju opened his mouth to offer another excuse—
‘I can’t listen to this anymore.’
A black figure flashed beside Yeomwang Chaeju and kicked him aside in an instant.
Whump!
Aaaah!
Yeomwang Chaeju screamed and rolled on the ground. If it had been an ordinary kick, the lingering spirit might not have been affected. But the kicker was the underworld emissary Sahun. Perhaps he’d held back with his hand. The man who had been rolling suddenly jerked upright and demanded of another underworld emissary who was calmly watching him.
‘I bargained to have you protected up to the Three-Path River in exchange for giving up all my wealth!’
The emissary — despite his fearsome face — nodded calmly and said to Sahun,
‘So it is.’
Short, almost blunt. Sahun’s response was the same.
‘I understand then.’
It was as if Sahun had no intention of striking further. Yeomwang Chaeju trembled, but because Sahun was an underworld emissary, he dared not press his case. I, too, lost interest in Yeomwang Chaeju. He was clearly bound for one of the deepest pits of hell; nothing more for me to worry about. Besides, Sahun had already given him a good hit for me. It would have been better if the emissary hadn’t stopped Sahun. That made me curious about the relationship between Sahun and that other emissary.
‘They don’t seem like strangers to each other.’
From my perspective, the two appeared more than acquaintances — perhaps quite close. There was a reason.
‘If they weren’t close, the emissary would have stopped Sahun when he moved to attack Yeomwang Chaeju.’
I had seen it. When Sahun moved to strike Yeomwang Chaeju, the emissary’s eyes were already on Sahun. Sahun’s unwillingness to use force after the emissary spoke also reflected their closeness. And apparently my hunch was right.
‘Taeryeok, you came down to handle such small fry? Quite something.’
That was the moment the emissary’s name was revealed. Taeryeok — the characters for “great” and “power” combined. His name felt as extraordinary as his presence. Calling these small fry anything when standing before a master seemed odd. The emissary wouldn’t waste flattery like a human would.
‘A man of that caliber, then.’
Now I was even more curious. But then an unexpected line came from Taeryeok.
‘You’re not the sort to be running errands for someone else, are you?’
Taeryeok spoke highly of Sahun. It didn’t seem like mere courtesy.
‘Have you given up the position of top-tier emissary completely?’
‘Top-tier emissary?’ I had never heard the term before. But its meaning wasn’t hard to grasp — among emissaries, a “top-tier” one. In other words, the best of the emissaries. Sahun shook his head.
‘I have no interest in titles emissaries toss about for fun. You do as you please.’
Sahun’s words suggested Taeryeok also belonged to that top tier. So they were peers. When I stared at Sahun, he asked,
‘Why are you looking at me like that?’
“Nothing.”
‘It doesn’t look like nothing to me.’
“No, really.”
No matter how I looked at it, Sahun didn’t seem on par with Taeryeok, but I kept that to myself.
‘Top-tier doesn’t necessarily mean just strength. It could be for other reasons — something else he’s good at. No need to make a fuss.’
‘If you say so.’
Sahun briefly made a sullen face as if he’d noticed something, then looked back at Taeryeok. Taeryeok watched the two of us with an intrigued expression and did not hide it.
‘You two seem close.’
Sahun snorted instead of denying it.
‘Why? Jealous?’
Taeryeok nodded.
‘Honestly, I’m a bit envious of you right now.’
‘“Right now”? Sounds like there’s more to that.’
‘Think whatever you like.’
A flicker passed through Sahun’s eyes. Having watched their exchange, I felt it too. Something was going on. A sudden image popped into my head: Taeryeok standing by my side like Sahun did. I shook my head.
‘No way they’d give me not one but two of them.’
Underworld emissaries aren’t idle things, and these were supposedly top-tier. That would be worse, not better. The conversation that followed was significant.
‘By the way, haven’t I already asked why you’re here?’
‘If I say I just wanted to meet once beforehand, will that do?’
To say “wanted to meet beforehand”? There was no ambiguity about whom he meant.
‘You give favors and even gifts — how could I not know?’
From what Taeryeok said, it seemed he’d come down from the Underworld voluntarily to meet me. How he knew of me and why he came remained a question, but one assumption surfaced.
‘Someone from the Underworld — either Enma or the emissary I met — met with him.’
And it was nearly certain one of them had told Taeryeok about me. If one of them mentioned me, it wasn’t idle gossip. Two possibilities sprang to mind.
‘They might leave him to help me, like Sahun, or place him beside me to watch me.’
Which was it?
‘Maybe both are true.’
The puzzle resolved itself easily. As if he hadn’t tried to hide it, Taeryeok answered my curiosity.
‘I’ll introduce myself properly. Not right now, but I’m Taeryeok, appointed to aid the Golden Prince in a future battle. Unlike Sahun, I’m affiliated with the Enma Realm.’
“Affiliated with the Enma Realm?”
“You can think of it as an organization that acts only on King Enma’s orders.”
Ah. In short, he was directly under Enma. That meant Taeryeok’s presence here was due to Enma, not the emissaries. If Enma trusted him enough to send him, he had to be capable. That again raised a question about Sahun being called a top-tier emissary, but I let it slide for now as I watched Sahun with vacant eyes. Meanwhile—
“Fine, but shouldn’t we deal with that first?”
I pointed toward the cave entrance. Restless spirits who had died wronged still swarmed there, now turned into vengeful ghosts. Taeryeok and Sahun seemed to have used their power to prevent them from coming out further, but their restraint was reaching its limit. Grief and rage thrummed there. The vengeful spirits tangled and clung to one another, forming a thickening, massive darkness. Finally, the mass focused into a single point and took shape.
It became a monstrous corpse giant, terrifying enough to be called a corpse colossus. It was strong too; it started to push back the aura of Mijungyu that had been blocking the cave entrance, and—
Crack!
It swiftly shattered Mijungyu’s aura completely. Yet Sahun and Taeryeok still did not move; the only one panicking was Yeomwang Chaeju, who had been hit earlier.
‘P-please deal with that! Keep your promise!’
Sahun’s brow tightened at that. He looked like he intended to strike again, but Taeryeok blocked him.
‘Sorry. A promise is a promise.’
Sahun didn’t object. Instead he stated one thing plainly.
‘I won’t help a man like that. Deal with him yourself.’
‘I will.’
Taeryeok nodded calmly and stepped forward. By then the corpse giant had almost reached them, aiming to take revenge on the ones who had wronged it.
Return it… my life…
My family…
My revenge…
Their screams made me want to rush out and punch Yeomwang Chaeju myself. If not for what Taeryeok said next, I would have.
‘I know you are wronged, but to ensure criminals pay for their sins properly, they must be taken to the Underworld. Doing this here only benefits the criminal. If you become vengeful ghosts and accumulate karmic retribution, you will suffer forever. So trust me once. I will take responsibility: I will punish him and defend your grievances in the Underworld.’
It was a sincere plea. The sincerity seemed to reach even the corpse giant — it stopped. But at that very moment something unexpected happened.
‘Wha, you want me to go save those wretches? Bring all my wealth for them? You expect me to look at that?’
I turned and saw the black aura swell around Yeomwang Chaeju. I couldn’t help snort at the sight.
“Become a vengeful ghost here?”
What did he think he’d done? My throat tightened as if a lump had formed. Was I the only one thinking he shouldn’t be left be? Apparently not—Taeryeok seemed to feel the same. What happened next made me see Taeryeok in a new light.
‘If you’re so dissatisfied, handle it yourself.’
Taeryeok, who had suddenly appeared behind Yeomwang Chaeju, hoisted him up and threw him straight in front of the corpse giant.
I had assumed from his talk about proper punishment that he might be the dour type. Not at all.
‘He’s got some spirit, huh?’
