NOVEL WEB Chapter 901
“How can one be cautious? It’s said that one should not forget to treat guests well; there are those who have unknowingly welcomed angels!”
The voice echoed inside the cave.
If I feel the damp moss in the cave shiver, is that just my imagination?
“Though I seek hospitality, there are those who come bearing blood and poison in bottles, and I cannot welcome them.”
Park Jinseong grinned as he asked the soldier.
His words carried an inexplicable weight, as if pressing down with an oppressive force, making it feel like heavy stones were piling up in my chest.
The echoing sound not only disoriented my ears but also sent strong vibrations through my entire body, making me wonder if this was truly a cramped cave or perhaps a classroom-like space.
My tongue stirred.
My tightly shut mouth wanted to open, and my vocal cords seemed ready to vibrate and let sounds escape.
Yet, the time spent training through sweat and blood restrained my mouth from moving on its own.
My body, which felt like it could make a foolish mistake, was under the control of an indomitable will.
Instead of answering, the soldier responded to Park Jinseong with silence.
But although he didn’t speak, he raised both hands to show he was empty-handed and then sat down on the floor.
As if to declare that he was a guest who deserved hospitality.
He seemed to imply that according to the ‘custom of hospitality’, he should not harm any guest.
Park Jinseong chuckled at the sight of the soldier.
Was it just my imagination?
As Park Jinseong smiled, it felt as if the darkness was warping.
The moss stirred, and it almost seemed like the cave itself was vibrating…
…A delusion?
No. This is not an illusion!
I wasn’t disoriented, nor was I bewitched.
The cave was actually changing physically!
The soldier jumped up in shock.
Perhaps because he had trained rigorously, his movements were incredibly swift, making it feel like the transition from sitting to standing was instantaneous.
But it was too late.
It wasn’t that his actions were slow.
The delay was in his judgment.
He should have claimed his status as a ‘guest’ when Park Jinseong mentioned ‘guest’ and ‘hospitality’.
Instead of dismissing Park Jinseong’s words as trivial, he should have listened closely, reflecting on what the best option was in the current situation before making a decision.
But he did none of that.
He remained silent and acted belatedly.
Moreover, it felt like his actions were ambiguous.
What does ambiguity mean?
It means it can be interpreted in either direction.
This ambiguity could benefit him, but at the same time, it could also benefit his opponent.
It can be a double-edged sword, so if the situation isn’t in his favor, it’s not an approach to be taken lightly.
“Those who refuse hospitality are foes. How can one ignore this saying passed down through the ages? How can one turn away from this lesson written in blood?”
This is Park Jinseong’s domain.
Park Jinseong entered first and has already claimed this space as his own.
Yet, the soldier has stepped into this domain and maintained an ambiguous attitude?
To top it off, he had been sneaking around with optical equipment and only reacted when criticized?
Chirp.
Chirrp, chirp, chirp.
Sounds like stones are being scraped together.
The pitch-black darkness begins to bury the moss.
The darkness distorts as it starts to reveal shapes.
It appears.
Only now can I see them moving.
“Insects?”
Little bugs hiding in the dark begin to fly out all at once.
Pests hiding beneath the moss start to crawl out, covering the walls entirely.
And the scratching sound of stones.
The scratching sound…
“Ah.”
The soldier catches sight of a man smiling among the swarm of insects.
Mastery of qi cultivated through training!
Like a waterfall, qi pours down, violently erupting from the Yongcheongyeol.
But.
What forms beneath the soldier’s feet is an immense rebound.
The explosion of qi occurring between his foot and the ground propelled him, and he took that momentum to leap backward.
So naturally, the soldier whirled 180 degrees, as if he didn’t care about tearing his blood vessels or shredding his muscles, the ferocious qi began to accelerate his body.
Flee!
As soon as the soldier sensed that he was dealing with something beyond his capacity, he opted for escape.
A soldier’s worst idea, yet it was the best judgment for a soldier engaged in special operations.
But it was already too late.
Once the soldier rejected the role of a guest, this place transformed from a residence into a throat.
A throat full of delectable bait named Park Jinseong.
Yet, once inside, there was no chance of slipping back out, it was a trap of certain death.
The angler lures in prey with fake bait.
If that’s the case, the soldier now found himself inside the angler’s mouth, likely confused about where he was even up until the moment the jaws closed.
Squish.
The soft flesh piercing sound.
The soldier, hearing the too-familiar sound nearby, glanced down with a look of disbelief.
And he saw it.
A white hand.
A hand so pale it seemed like it had been kneaded with flour, was embedded in his abdomen.
“Why?”
The soldier’s first thought upon seeing that was sheer confusion.
Why was a white hand lodged into his belly without any warning?
Why had his gear, hardened through training, been so easily penetrated?
Why was his abs, reinforced through so much effort, as vulnerable as a piglet’s belly?
And why had his personal defense systems failed to activate?
Amidst a storm of questions, a jarring pain surged through him.
A violent agony that felt as if his brain was being fried.
“a.”
And that was his final utterance.
It was too pitiful of a sound to even classify as a last breath.
A tiny noise escaped with his breath.
That was the soldier’s end.
Thud.
Then a severed ankle appeared near where the soldier had fallen.
The ankle walked over as if it were a ghost, appearing next to the corpse, as black smoke trailed up and began assembling into a human shape once again.
Then it spoke.
“Since you’re no guest, you’re an enemy. Who could have sent such an awful thing? Ah, those without homes are sorrowful, and wanderers have no place to anchor their hearts. With thieves and robbers everywhere, where can I rest my weary body?”
And then it shuffled away with a crunching sound, as if to say it had no further business here.
Or perhaps, as if it had found another purpose…
* * *
Chirp.
[ Since you’re no guest, you’re an enemy. Who could have sent such an awful thing? Ah, those without homes are sorrowful, and wanderers have no place to anchor their hearts. With thieves and robbers everywhere, where can I rest my weary body? ]
Chirp.
[ One, one, one, one. One head, but two hands, and each of those fingers split into five. How many of these uninvited foes are there? ]
Chirp.
[ When the sun is up, I prayed to the goddess, and she rewards me with such gifts. The arrival of enemies is undeniably unpleasant, yet fortune and misfortune are two sides of the same coin, aren’t they? Although I have to put in some effort, it’s not bad to gain materials, so I want to share this joy with my goddess, even just a little. ]
Chirp.
Sounds of leaves cracking.
The sound of branches snapping under weight.
The sound of a beast approaching, then startled, running away.
The buzzing of flies rushing in, as if smelling the scent of a corpse.
Each small sound rings clearly in the ears, and as clear as they are, vivid images of what’s happening unfold in my mind.
A mysterious man.
A soldier.
In the forest.
The man, gripping the ankle of the dead soldier, wanders through the dark woods, muttering strange phrases like a deranged lunatic, dragging the corpse somewhere.
Is it perhaps to offer up to the pagan goddess Baigel Hatan, as if worshiping?
“I’ve gotten caught by a madman. Damn it.”
The agents listening in sensed that things had taken a turn for the worse.
“An unhinged shaman who goes around killing people while babbling about guests… This is madness.”
They heard it all.
That this shaman had made contact with their target, Viktor, that he went into the woods to gather herbs, then separated and entered the forest alone, that he had spoken of ‘guests’ to the soldier before killing him, and now, even at this moment, was dragging the corpse through the woods.
They heard every sound that dripped from that shaman’s lips.
“What the hell is wrong with that crazy gypsy shaman?”