Chapter 41

Chapter 41 – Lion Dance (9)

The fake monk was furious.

A fake sacrifice?

And a mask that attacked him right away?

“Monk! Right now!”

Seol Young shouted, and Do Cheol’s living soul came out through Suan Ni’s crown.

At the same time, the spell cast onto the mask was activated, and it turned into a trap that attracted the fake monk.

……?

The fake monk was shocked. In the blink of an eye, he was trapped in the lion’s mask.

Until just now, his body was light and swift. But now the lion swallowed him. It transformed into a huge, heavy, hairy lion.

It wasn’t just a lion—it was a five-headed lion that slayed evil. That was what this lion meant.

Suan Ni tried to bite into the evil spirit, and it succeeded.

Seol Young’s eyes shone.

A forced possession—that was his plan.

If the opponent was taking the form of a sword, they were at a disadvantage. So he had to make sure that there was a handicap placed where the harmony that the sword sought was missing.

Kuak!

Inside the lion, the evil spirit roared. He struggled to get rid of the huge, heavy body.

From then on, everything relied on Seol Young.

“Monk. Calm down.”

Zaha slapped the monk’s face. It seemed that his soul was back in his body.

Good.

Taking a deep breath, he drew Sa Daham’s sword and raised it. And he felt that the spirit of Sa Daham was clearly gone from this world.

But at that moment, he could feel the pride and hatred that were within the sword.

‘Please help out this junior.’

Seol Young infused spiritual energy into the sword. Sa Daham’s spirit and his power merged together perfectly.

The mysterious aura immediately covered Seol Young’s body. At that moment, the pain of the wounds on his hand vanished. Seol Young’s face and body began to look like Sa Daham.

“…!”

The fake monk felt agitated at this.

Did Sa Daham appear?

The Hwarang who mercilessly defeated him in the past. The one who pushed him to the ground and stabbed him numerous times to death.

Sa Daham once again stood in front of him.

Was this possible?

But what the sword was wielding was surely the sword technique of Sa Daham. Just like in the old days, he came to besiege him without giving him any time.

[Sa Daham!]

All five heads roared, and the lion attacked.

Its front paws cut through the wind. Wherever its huge body collided, thick trees crashed down.

But it was not as fast as before. At least for now, the path of its attack can be seen.

Where was it?

Seol Young used Sa Daham’s sword technique and calmly drove the opponent into a corner.

Bang!

The old tree between the two was crushed by the lion’s paw. The mess in the area increased.

The fake monk certainly wouldn’t be able to get rid of the trauma he received from Sa Daham. Every time he launched an attack, the monk panicked.

The spirit was extremely defensive. Seol Young noticed and attacked it more boldly.

“Be careful!”

Do Cheol, who had come to his senses, shouted.

At that moment, Seol Young’s sword pierced the chest of the lion.

The last form was completed.

Puak!

The lion barely managed to dodge the sword with its paw. At that moment, Seol Young lost his balance and staggered back. The final attack failed, but he wasn’t swayed too much. He immediately changed the path of the sword to strike the lion’s leg.

[AHHHH!]

The fake monk screamed.

Its body was hit by an attack loaded with spiritual energy. Seol Young stabbed the lion in its crown without giving it time to recover.

The moment the sword pierced it, the form of Suan Ni vanished.

“…?”

Seol Young’s sword pierced nothing.

“Where is it?”

Do Cheol cried out.

Seol Young suddenly remembered. This guy was a monk—a fake monk.

“Sorcery!”

Inside the lion mask, Seol Young had inscribed something. Breaking through the restriction that trapped him there, he managed to cast sorcery at the risk of being exorcised.

Rather than die, it seemed like the spirit wanted to escape.

But it didn’t last long.

The trees in front of him fell right then, and the lion rolled over them.

‘What?’

Something like a golden light shone around its body, and this sight wasn’t so unfamiliar.

Seol Young ran toward the lion to take a look.

‘As expected, he did something when he arrived before us.’

He looked back, but Zaha put on an innocent look, and now wasn’t the time to question him either.

Kuaaaak!

Suan Ni ran away again, screaming in pain. It was heading to the other side of the forest.

Seol Young stopped, as beyond this, the sound of drums was resonating, and the Sword Dance festival must have started.

Do Cheol gasped.

“They might be in the middle of the ritual!”

“It will be fine. I deliberately led him in that direction.”

“Why?”

“Think about it, monk.”

Zaha said.

“At that time, the bereaved family accused the spirit of Sa Daham of being the murderer. All of the Hwarangs know that, right?”

“Ah!”

The fake monk was sly.

He knew that if the real Sa Daham were there, then he would be framed for the murders he had committed. And that was why he chose to lure Seol Young, who looked like Sa Daham, to those Hwarangs.

“The goal is to keep them from coming after me. But if I go there, the entire Hwarang troops will turn on me. It will be another bad situation.”

Zaha turned to Seol Young.

“What will you do? Will you step back now?”

“As if.”

Seol Young bit his lip.

If he was planning to step back, he wouldn’t have even tried this.

If done well, this could be the best chance. The chance to prove the true identity of the murderer to everyone who knew about the murders.

‘This has to be done.’

Seol Young ran after the lion.

The word ‘martial’ was included in the Sword Dance, but it was different from the court dances.

There was a melody before and after the ritual, but none played during it. The drums would only be played when the rites were being read.

And the rites would be read by the Governor himself.

“Metal, water, flame, and wind harmonize and rule with rain, air, snow, and sun so that there will be no evil spirits in spring, summer, autumn, and winter for…”

A voice with spiritual power to give it a holy effect resounded from afar. The Sun in the center, the Blue Dragon in the east, the White Tiger in the west, the Black Tortoise in the north, and the Vermillion Bird in the south.

Each of the clan’s troops was in their respective positions, with their own meaning, in perfect order. The swordsmen displayed the spirits of the Hwarangs who protected the land.

Dum! Dum! Dum!

And the drums played accordingly, with sharp blades of light moving. It was like a white rainbow, with the sky parting and cold winds.

But…

A cracking sound was heard in the middle of this ritual. The form of the troops shattered, and something appeared from the flags they put at the corners.

A big head. Then another head. A lion with five heads.

“Suan Ni?”

It was a Sword Dance, not a lion dance, so why did a lion jump in? Was that a real lion?

Everyone was shocked.

And at that time.

More people appeared and chased after this lion with terrifying speed.

A beautiful Hwarang in green clothes, and even though it was their first time seeing this person, he wasn’t unfamiliar.

The Hwarangs were shocked.

“Sa Daham!”

“Young Master Sa Daham’s spirit! Is here!”

Right in the middle of their Sword Dance ritual, two beings appeared.

“How can this happen?!”

The Governor was shocked, but he didn’t move and just watched.

The fight that was happening was fierce, and there were two powerful energies that were mixed.

So no one could carelessly jump in. If they made a mistake, they would be gravely hurt.

And he was sure one of the energies was very evil. The flag pole was cut, and the sword moved.

They clashed several times, but neither side gave up, and Suan Ni was slowly being pushed back.

“What?”

The Hwarangs were shocked.

They didn’t know what was happening, but it was clear who should win this fight. Suan Ni was the beast that drove away evil.

And the spirit of Sa Daham was said to have killed an innocent person, and all the Hwarangs felt bad despite being suspected themselves.

“Is that really Sa Daham?”

Hwa Un, the leader of the Vermillion Bird Star Troops, asked.

“But I need an explanation!”

A sharp shuriken in the shape of bird wings flew.

It was difficult for him to intervene, so he threw a weapon.

“Ah!”

Do Cheol, who was secretly watching this, was surprised.

“Shhh. You cannot do anything more here.”

Zaha stopped him.

A golden light shone in his eyes. It was clear that even those who couldn’t feel spiritual energy could see it.

‘Right. The High Governor will do something.’

Do Cheol sat quietly and watched the situation unfold.

The shurikens that were thrown were going, swish swash, continuously. And during the attack, Seol Young twisted his body slightly to avoid them.

In the eyes of the Hwarangs, this ghost was nimble.

“Try avoiding this!”

The Golden Ring Troops also threw their weapons. They were small cartwheel-like things with hooks on the sides.

‘Right. Continue.’

Seol Young thought.

He couldn’t tell them not to throw, so he had to constantly dodge them. His top priority was defeating the lion.

Kwang!

While attacking fiercely, he was preparing to do something else, and the lion with a huge body was at a disadvantage.

Taking advantage of Seol Young being attacked by the Hwarangs, the lion tried to escape. It tried to throw away the lion skin that was stuck to it and go back to its demonic sword form.

Besides sorcery, something more powerful was gripping his body, and it wasn’t just one but several.

The fake monk used all his might to throw them away.

Kwaaak!

Suan Ni struggled.

And the Hwarangs who were unaware of who was inside the lion’s body, felt pity watching this.

“Make sure to hit the evil spirit!”

Everyone took out their weapons, but only the White Tiger Troops were still.

‘No.’

Baek Eon, Song Ok, and Hyo Wol looked at each other.

‘This isn’t right.’