Requiem of Subdued Souls

Chapter 90: Flute Of Foreboding (10)

Seo Geom quickly turned over the body of his uncle and checked his condition.

“Uncle!”

“Seok Hong-rang! Neung In-rang!”

The three Hwarangs from the White Tiger Divine Troops checked the conditions of the other Hwarangs.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like something serious happened to them. All three of them were in deep sleep.

“I think Hyung blew a whistle inside, manipulated them somehow, and then activated the prison…”

Seo Geom’s face turned pale as he was speaking, and he touched Euljae’s arms.

“It is not here!”

“What?”

“The flute…!”

Everyone was surprised.

Euljae had borrowed Seo Geom’s flute to calm Seo Jun down, and now the flute was missing.

Zaha asked,

“Can Seo Jun-rang handle that divine item?”

“Yes. He did for a while right after my father passed away…”

“And if he can escape from here.”

“This way!”

Seo Geom ran out, and as they all ran, a high pavilion came into view.

They could see the back of a person standing there. He had a flute in one hand, and the hems of his clothes were fluttering.

Seo Jun was standing in the wind like that. He looked like a man who didn’t know where to go or what to do.

“It would be best to persuade him to give up the flute, but…”

Zaha lowered his voice.

“He is so unstable that we never know what will happen. You have to prepare by thinking that he might suddenly play the flute.”

“Yes.”

Everyone nodded.

“The whistle is already powerful, but now he’s even got his hands on the flute. The song that can be played on that flute will be too powerful.”

Zaha looked at Baek Eon,

“What should we do to an opponent who can control the spirits to go up against us?”

“Originally, music should just be music, but we don’t have the time to care about that this time. Therefore, we need to suppress him in a short amount of time without falling for the music.”

Baek Eon answered without hesitation.

“It would be better to attack and use a bow, but we shouldn’t provoke Seo Jun-rang right now. Instead, we should use a technique to subdue the spirits quickly.”

“A standard answer.”

Zaha nodded.

“But that will not be enough. Everyone remembers the ‘Harmony Without Strings’ case, right?”

“Yes.”

Everyone except Seol Young answered.

Harmony Without Strings? What was that?

“At the time, everyone fought while blocking off their ears during the Harmony Without Strings case. We were close to being seduced, but we managed to subdue it with the flute. However, the damage was serious. What was strange was that several people were engulfed in flames before we even got close to finishing it. Why did the bodies catch on fire?”

“Because the music was that strong?”

Zaha shook his head at Hyo Wol’s words.

“It wasn’t just that.”

While everyone was watching, Zaha drew out his sword and drew a long line on the ground.

Following the path drawn by his sword, a silver aura rose. It was a technique of the Moon Troops that had now disappeared.

An aura shone like a crystal.

It was an ice ball that used cold energy.

“…?”

Everyone looked shocked.

‘What?’

Seol Young was puzzled.

Just now, they were discussing how to deal with the enemy and his music, but now ice suddenly appeared? Was the demonic qi messing with his head?

‘It looks like a simple mistake that can be quickly fixed.’

He quickly looked at Zaha, but the response didn’t come.

‘Without knowing this happened!’

Zaha’s eyes were fine. He seemed sane. Then, was it intentional?

The three Hwarangs who were there trusted Zaha no matter what he said, so they only looked at him with shining eyes.

Baek Eon spoke on their behalf,

“What role will the ice play in confronting the music? Do tell us.”

“After thinking about the case in the past, I finally realized it. The powerful music wasn’t just audible.”

“Then?”

“You can hear it with your whole body. You can’t only hear the music with your ears. The vibration can be felt throughout your entire body, and that’s why the bodies caught fire. The music Seo Jun-rang plays can be included in the demonic tunes, so you should be wary of that.”

“Aha…”

Now they understood.

“So you are using the ice qi?”

Seol Young only realized it then.

‘This is what he meant.’

He could see how much he had learned from the past. It was like Zaha was no longer willing to be taken down by the same thing twice, and he wouldn’t let anyone get hurt ever again.

With that kind of heart, he felt the sincerity in his words.

“Then…”

He placed his sword with qi on the ice, and it rose like a barrier.

The power gathered and formed a certain shape. Five figures that somehow resembled a snowman were created.

Even if it was an ice ball, it was usually only used for making the body cold or touching something to make it cold.

It was definitely amazing to be able to materialize the ice in such a shape. A light of admiration shone in everyone’s eyes.

“Go through them one by one.”

“Yes.”

Seol Young, who had the lowest rank, passed last. At that moment, he heard piercing words from behind.

“You have to pay me.”

It was a voice full of resentment.

The look Seol Young sent him earlier seemed to have left the wrong impression on Zaha.

“I was worried that everyone would think it was strange.”

Seol Young didn’t answer much. The moment he passed through the figure that looked like a snowman, a cold aura wrapped around his body.

In the dark, everyone silently surrounded the pavilion.

Seo Jun was still standing there. As they got closer to him, they could hear him muttering,

“The whistle is not enough. The whistle is not enough. I need something more powerful. I need something…”

“Seo Jun-rang.”

Zaha called out to him, but there was no answer.

The energy around Seo Jun was fluctuating and becoming unstable.

“Ack!”

He suddenly groaned and brought the flute to his mouth. A bloody mist leaked from the flute, and the music being played resonated.

The song was known to call for peace.

However, because the person playing it was dead, the qi, which should have been positive, is now negative.

The tune was having the opposite effect. The dead awoke in the bloody mist. As they staggered around with a bloody appearance, they saw Zaha and approached him.

[Governor… Why did you kill me?]

[It hurts… It hurts a lot…]

[Why did you kill…]

The Hwarangs who had died during the Harmony Without Strings case were asking Zaha this. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, but he immediately swung his sword and cut them down.

Baek Eon and the others also dealt with the spirits right away, and Song Ok exclaimed as he slashed all of them,

“That strangely stuffy feeling when dealing with that demonic music is gone! It must be because of the Ice Arts!”

Zaha had a look as if he was thinking, ‘As expected.’

If he hadn’t come back from the grave, he wouldn’t have had the chance to test this out.

‘Is his resentment gone?’

Seol Young thought as he swung his sword. Despite the sound of the flute pressing them with great force, everyone slayed the spirits and cleared the way.

The more Seo Jun played the flute, the more qi he infused into it.

Wooong!

A thick fog rose. The spirits were blocking their vision.

Ghost’s Path.

A space of ghosts was created surrounding Seo Jun. The flute controlled the space freely and blocked everyone’s path.

When the melody’s pitch was raised, the waves began to roar more, and when the pitch was lowered, it was like the hum at the Sword Tomb. He could feel the deep emotions with every change in the melody.

“…?”

Seol Young’s hand suddenly stopped.

“Be careful!”

Baek Eon’s voice could be heard.

“Should we cover our ears?”

“No. Not that…”

Seol Young said that while using talismans against the spirits.

“It is unfortunate that Seo Jun-rang got the flute and became more powerful… thanks to that, it seems like we have gained something on our side too.”

“And what is that?”

Zaha asked.

“The Divine Dragon Flute is not a miraculous technique. It requires thinking to play the flute. As a result, it seems like Seo Jun-rang’s thoughts have also blended into the melody of the flute.”

Seol Young answered right away.

“He will be gone for a while.”

As he said that, he used some talismans to clear the path and jumped up to the roof of the pavilion.

Soon, another shadow landed there.

“Why are you following me?”

“Our conversation isn’t over. The sound of the flute contains his thoughts, his will, and now his energy. So now what?”

“I am curious what Seo Jun-rang’s thoughts are.”

Seol Young listened to the flute and said,

“The best way to find out the story behind someone’s death is to look directly into the thoughts of the deceased. However, his Sword Spirit and his belongings were discarded, so his side of the story can’t be uncovered….”

“It’s quite frustrating.”

“But all of a sudden, I had a thought. What is the theory behind seeing someone’s memory? Isn’t it to read the thoughts of the dead with spiritual power?”

“Probably?”

“Following that train of thought, there is no rule that requires only certain things to be used. So, for example, it can be music too…”

“Music?”

Zaha asked as if he couldn’t understand.

“I know how it is done from watching you until now, but isn’t Memory Projection done by touching something? How can you touch a formless thing like music?”

“There doesn’t appear to be any other way.”

Seol Young gathered spiritual power at his fingertips, like he always did when doing Memory Projection.

With that, he flicked Blue Rainbow’s blade.

Ping. Pong.

A sound of ringing was heard.

The sword contained spiritual power. A bluish hue spread out from the vibration of the sword.

And he looked at Zaha.

“Music Arts?”

Handling music with music.

That was Music Arts.

However, what Seol Young tried wasn’t normal Music Arts.

‘This is the only way.’

Seol Young gathered spiritual power in his hands and…

Tung! Tung! Tung!

…. He flicked his sword again three times.

The sword made a sound that collided with the sound of the flute. It seemed like the melody of the flute had stopped, but it soon succeeded in playing again on its own.

This is it…!

Seol Young jumped up.

“I need an instrument!”