Soul Summoning Sword Spirit

Chapter 4: Soul-Summoning Arts (4)

The two ran between the trees.

The mist summoned by Gugwi wrapped softly around their feet. The thick scent of earth stung their noses. Perhaps because of the mist, the smell felt unusually intense.

Shhh!

Yeon Sohye took the lead. Her bloodstained sword glinted under the moonlight, scattering a cold light.

But the footsteps of their pursuers continued relentlessly. The distance between them seemed to close. If she had been alone, Yeon Sohye would have escaped easily, but running while leading Gugwi had slowed her down.

Rustle!

The masked men emerged through the mist. Their torches split the darkness.

"This won’t do. We’ll be caught like this."

Yeon Sohye grabbed Gugwi’s shoulder.

In an instant, her skin turned bluish. Harsh breaths blew twice from her nose.

"Huff! Huff!"

Her hand grew cold as ice and began to tremble.

‘This is… Soul-Summoning Arts that drains warmth… Just like what Father did! This woman, is she a Soul-Summoner?’

The mark of Soul-Summoning Arts that pressed down the heart and made the blood cold.

Since spirits could not reside in a lively body, the body was made cold. A chilling aura radiated from her body.

‘Soul-Summoning Arts. That’s right. This woman is a Soul-Summoner too.’

Gugwi was startled. First, by the fact that the woman was a Soul-Summoner, and second, because his Illusory Name Command had emitted heat, while hers was cold as ice.

"Hold your breath. I’m going to use the Hidden Spirit Concealment Technique."

Whoosh!

The mist coiled around them.

Their figures began to blur.

Yeon Sohye took hold of Gugwi and turned back.

Like the wind, she silently returned to General Madal’s tomb.

Swish!

The masked men brushed past them. The torches swept the mist but failed to reveal them.

So this was the Hidden Spirit Concealment Technique?

Though the masked men had eyes, they couldn’t see. Even with someone passing right beside them, their gaze fixed elsewhere.

Gugwi held his breath, led by her hand. Her touch was like sticky spider silk. He wanted to shake it off, but couldn’t. Yeon Sohye gripped his shoulder tightly and moved in silence.

They reached the tomb again. The moss-covered stone stele shimmered faintly in the moonlight.

Yeon Sohye sheathed her sword and began dismantling the pile of stones. She carefully exposed just one side.

Thud!

A stone rolled away.

A space appeared inside, large enough for a person to enter.

"When did you find this tomb?"

Yeon Sohye asked as she entered the tomb.

"About a year ago?"

Gugwi replied while following her inside.

"Then your father must’ve been preparing for their arrival since a year ago. Why didn’t he say anything?"

"What do you mean?"

"Listen carefully. Your uncle disturbed this tomb for your sake. He’s a Resonator, so he doesn’t need to disturb graves. Touching the tomb to raise Initial Contact is something only a newly budding Soul-Summoner would do. Clearly, it was a gift for you. Make sure to search properly before it’s too late."

She murmured as she took position.

It was a spot where she could keep watch outside.

"But… how does my father know all this?"

Gugwi’s voice was sharp.

"I’m with the Cold Wolf Sect’s Shadow Moon Unit."

Yeon Sohye turned her body.

"You don’t know what the Shadow Moon Unit is, right? We’re a group of martial artists who monitor and eliminate Soul-Summoners."

"You look like a Soul-Summoner yourself. Do Soul-Summoners kill each other?"

"Those Soul-Summoners from the Heavenly Sound Cult or the ones who awaken without guidance. They become possessed by ghosts. It’s better for everyone if they’re killed."

Yeon Sohye caught her breath.

"So how does my father know?"

"Uncle Guun is a former executive Soul-Summoner of the Heavenly Sound Cult. He was under surveillance. I was assigned to him."

She peered out through the gaps in the stones.

"Some surveillance you did."

Gugwi snorted.

"What?"

"If you’d been watching properly, you’d have noticed today’s ambush."

Gugwi grumbled.

"I’ve got nothing to say. Shhh! They’re coming."

The two held their breath.

Thump! Thump!

Footsteps halted in front of the tomb.

"Did you search it?"

"Nothing found."

"Useless fools, caught by the Hidden Spirit Concealment Technique."

One of the men sat cross-legged.

"Spirit Summoner! The Heavenly Sound Cult even brought in a Spirit Summoner? What’s gotten into them?"

Yeon Sohye muttered.

The man called a Spirit Summoner formed a sword seal. His index and middle fingers pointed to the sky while the rest curled inward.

Crunch!

The sound of bones twisting echoed.

His shoulder bent unnaturally, and his wrist trembled.

The painful process lasted as long as it took to drink a cup of tea.

"Huff!"

His eyes suddenly snapped open.

His pupils gleamed pale like shards of bone.

His sharp gaze turned toward the tomb.

Yeon Sohye clenched her teeth.

"We’ve been found."

She grabbed her sword.

"We’re bursting out. The fight will be fierce, so be ready. I won’t be able to protect you. If you see a chance, run."

Gugwi didn’t hear her.

His eyes were fixed inside the pile of stones.

A faint fragment of bone. A skull.

Yeon Sohye’s words echoed in his mind.

‘Raising spirit energy through tomb contact…’

Was this it? Had she led him to directly touch the skull?

‘Father’s work?’

He instinctively knew the skull belonged to General Madal.

He reached out and brushed the bone. The cold sensation pierced his fingertips.

"Madal…."

He whispered.

In that instant, the world disappeared. Into pitch-black darkness.

Thump!

His heart pounded as if it would explode. His consciousness was pulled inward.

"Realm of the Threshold!"

Gugwi felt elated.

Perhaps his father was here. But it was different. The cold stench of mist pricked his nose. His hand trembled. Hot energy churned through his body. The present world and the Realm of the Threshold overlapped.

Flaash!

A light flickered in the distance. White light.

A single flicker in the darkness.

Sss!

The light floated closer.

Gugwi held his breath. That light—it had to be stopped. It felt too strong to accept.

Flaash!

The light seeped into his chest.

Thump!

As the darkness brightened, a battlefield unfolded. The thunder of hooves, the clash of spears, the stench of blood stung his nose. Arrows and blades flew menacingly. The screams were vivid.

A stage without spectators, filled with blood and agony.

His hand shifted into a sword-gripping stance. Veins of blue energy coursed down his arm. A massive presence filled his bones and muscles.

"Madal…."

The whisper echoed through the darkness.

Light wrapped around his entire body. The intense energy clenched his heart.

Thump!

His pupils began to blur.

Thump!

Outside, the masked men broke through the pile of stones.

Rocks tumbled down.

"Let’s go!"

Yeon Sohye shouted and sprang out. She swung her sword at the man in the lead.

Whoosh! Cold Wolf Sect’s Moonwater Sword Technique. The sword curved like moonlight and deflected the scimitar.

Clang! Sparks flew as the man staggered. She spun her body and struck again.

Whoosh! The man’s arm was severed and blood splattered.

"This way!"

One of the men shouted.

They surged forward—around twenty of them. Scimitars gleamed.

Yeon Sohye swung her sword like a dance against the twenty.

Clang! Clang!

Sparks flew as she deflected dozens of blades. But there were too many enemies.

"Huff!"

Her breathing grew rough.

A scimitar grazed her shoulder, spilling blood.

"Get out now! You’ll die if you stay there!"

She shouted.

Gugwi did not emerge from the stones. As if he hadn’t heard her.

Sss!

Suddenly, Gugwi opened his eyes and slowly walked out from the pile of rocks.

His eyes sparkled like fire.

His steps were calm. Even when a severed arm lay on the ground, he was unfazed. No—he bent down and picked up the bloodstained scimitar dropped by a masked man.

In that instant, veins of blue energy covered his skin. His pupils grew as deep as an abyss. A sense of inhumanity radiated from him.

Whoosh!

The sword sliced through the air. Sharp as a swallow cleaving the sky.

Thud!

The man's chest split open, blood spraying. Though blocked by the scimitar, the sword had slipped through to slash his chest. At the same time, Gugwi turned his body. A movement as smooth as flowing water.

Whoosh!

Another arm was severed.

"Arghhh!"

The man screamed.

Gugwi did not stop. His sword danced. Like a general sweeping through the battlefield.

Clang!

The scimitar clashed. Gugwi’s sword shattered it and struck the man.

Thud! Thud!

Two fell. Blood soaked the earth.

"That’s... General Madal’s Flying Swallow Slash!"

Yeon Sohye murmured.

The Flying Swallow Slash was a martial art lost four hundred years ago. She only recognized it because she knew the tomb belonged to General Madal. Without that knowledge, she wouldn’t have identified it.

"A sword art buried four hundred years ago looks that natural...?"

Yeon Sohye blinked in astonishment.

"A Soul-Summoner who’s only just begun is already a complete Spirit Union… So he really is Gatekeeper’s bloodline? Damn… to see the Gatekeeper’s bloodline like this. But this Spirit Union… is just too different. It’s unfair."

Gugwi’s sword weaved freely among the masked men.

"Retreat! Retreat!"

The Spirit Summoner growled.

"We can’t handle the spirit of someone just awakened!"

‘Awakening’ referred to the moment a Soul-Summoner first opened their eyes to the art and summoned their first spirit.

A newly awakened Soul-Summoner was violent. They wielded the spirit’s power ruthlessly, unaware of the harm to their own body. Once that power erupted, no one could stop them.

The masked men retreated. The torchlight receded into the mist.

Gugwi stood in the darkness of the Realm of the Threshold.

General Madal’s spirit glowed beside him. A faint white light carried the remnants of the battlefield.

Within that glow, the silhouette of a sword-wielding general faintly appeared.

He gazed at the spirit.

Sss!

As if its duty was done, the spirit turned into white light.

Gugwi placed his hand over his chest. The hot energy gradually cooled, and he released the spirit.

The white light floated off into the darkness.

General Madal remained in the Realm of the Threshold. Now, whenever he called, the general would come. It was only a feeling, but... he sensed they had become one.

"Soul-Summoning Arts… It’s not something to perform before a tomb, but within the Realm of the Threshold. The true Illusory Name Command…"

He murmured.

He returned to the present world. The blue energy vanished from his body.

"Hoo!"

Gugwi gasped for breath. His hands trembled violently.

He threw away the scimitar. The bloodstained blade fell to the ground.

He collapsed.

The stench of blood filled his nose.

Strange scenes tangled in his memory. Moments of slicing heads, stabbing chests. Too many killings. People slain with the power of General Madal’s spirit. The brutality weighed heavily on his heart.

The burden of the first kill suffocated him.

Yeon Sohye approached.

"You, you’re a born Gatekeeper, aren’t you? Uncle Guun was one too, but he wasn’t like you."

She said as she sheathed her sword.

"There’s a reason the Heavenly Sound Cult is after you. Come to the Cold Wolf Sect. Learn properly. If you’re careless, the spirit will consume you."

"I have one request. Find out what happened today, why they killed my father, and who my enemy is. Then I’ll go to the Cold Wolf Sect."

A cold resolve shone in his eyes. She reached out and helped him up.

"Let’s go. To the Cold Wolf Sect."

Pale dawn light spread across the distant mountain ridge.