Requiem of Subdued Souls

Chapter 97: Flute Of Foreboding (17)

Of course, Seo Geom’s voice didn’t reach Seo Jun.

Because it was obviously all in the past.

“…”

Seo Jun’s gaze was fixed on the report that was drawn.

‘That was what the Hwarangs recorded to submit as a report?’

He remembered what Hae Cheon said.

“Sigh…”

He felt despair. And then he thought,

‘No, it isn’t late. Before the symptoms appear…!’

Seo Jun hurriedly took out a whistle with trembling hands and blew into it. But the hut was on a remote mountain outside the capital, so there was no way the Hwarangs could pass by this place.

Besides, the sound of the rain completely blocked everything.

“Haa…”

Seo Jun was devastated.

At that time, his waist was moving a little, and he was startled.

“NO!”

He firmly pressed his stomach, but nothing happened. He wriggled to climb out.

“Calm down! Calm down!”

He didn’t know what to do, and then a thought came.

Seo Jun hurriedly pursed his lips and whistled.

The Thousand Waves of Peace song.

It was music to calm the evil. It was the one thing he managed to surpass his younger brother in.

Although it was not a flute but a whistle, the melody flowed out with precision.

The wriggling, human-faced sore became quiet. Seo Jun looked around and found a pocket knife, which he hurriedly picked up.

“He is thinking of cutting it out.”

Zaha said,

Indeed, Seo Jun took the knife and lifted his clothes with his other hand.

But then the bottom of his clothes moved and began to go up to his chest in an instant.

Seo Jung’s face turned pale.

“Why so soon…”

He put down the dagger and blew the whistle. He finally managed to calm it down again, but it wasn’t going to last for long.

Seo Jun and those who were watching his past knew.

“It ended up like this.”

Seo Jung mumbled.

“Anything I do ends up like this.”

His face was full of complex emotions. He turned to the hut.

The old door wasn’t locked and was slightly open.

“Go out!”

Seo Geom shouted.

“Get out of there at once! Cover your face! Use a letter and ask for help!”

The voice that didn’t reach him resounded.

Seo Jun mumbled.

“I don’t think it will work.”

He looked at his fallen comrades, covered in blood.

“I am the same now. I will turn into a madman and attack anyone.”

He shook his head.

“Then this evil disease will spread out of control. So I will end this here.”

He staggered to his feet, and the tune of the whistle resounded in the hut.

Seo Jun walked away while desperately suppressing the evil energy wriggling in his body. Among the bloody objects on the ground, he picked up the paper, set fire to it, burned it, and scattered the ashes with his feet.

“One is done.”

He felt exhausted and sat down.

“All that is left is…”

His trembling hand grabbed his sword, and he pointed it at himself.

“Come out!”

Seo Geom shouted.

Seo Jun looked at his colleagues one last time. It was clear that all of them had been killed with the techniques of the Blue Dragons.

“It will be a mess.”

He mumbled bitterly. But it couldn’t be helped.

“Hwarang Seo Jun carried out the last mission.”

“DON’T! COME OUT! COME OUT AND ASK FOR HELP!”

Seo Geom shouted.

However, Seo Jun’s sword pierced through his chest.

“NO! HYUNG!”

Seo Geom cried out.

“AHHHH!”

A scream rang out. It was the voice of a monster.

The pain of death.

It was the greatest pain a soul could feel. The moment one thought about it, which was a hard moment to bear, one’s soul would be shocked and shattered.

Ping!

The five strings of the pipa broke at once.

The Memory Projection ended.

Everything vanished, and now there was only darkness.

“Hyung! Where are you? Hyung!”

Seo Geom shouted.

“Seo Geom-rang, Seol Young-rang. Both of you close your eyes.”

Zaha said quietly.

“Seo Jun-rang is now at his limit. He cannot stand it any longer. His face will soon change.”

“But..!”

“Close your eyes!”

The sound of a sword falling to the ground could be heard, and Zaha said,

“Seo Jun-rang, are you there?”

Silence passed.

“Yes…”

Came the answer.

“I remember everything now.”

Seo Jun stuttered and struggled to answer.

“I went insane and killed all the other Hwarangs and then committed suicide… No, I wanted to let you know, but… My head… My head… Hurts…”

“Right. Right.”

“It kept on spreading. I had to sing the Thousand Waves of Peace song. Even if everyone… Hated….”

“No one hated.”

“I-I didn’t… know. Now that I have changed… I can no longer sing for peace… I wasn’t putting evil to sleep, but waking it up… I had no idea… forgive me…”

“Don’t worry about that. Everyone handled it well, and nothing happened.”

“T-Thank God… I-I…”

Seo Jun continued.

“The report. The report I couldn’t…”

He cleared his throat. It felt like he was trying to speak as clearly as possible.

“I, Seo Jun and Hae Cheon, Jae Tae, Nap Oh, Cheon Jin, and Juk Hyung. The six of us Hwarangs went to the Bihwa region to find out the cause of the landslides ordered by the Governor. Fortunately, it wasn’t because of an evil spirit but just a natural problem. But on our way back…”

Silence fell.

“On our way back, we encountered this strange human-faced sore in a village where farmers lived.”

“Human-faced sore….”

“Yes. It is very similar to a plague, but what was odd about it was that it wasn’t contagious through touch but through sight. It aims to spread around the human body and reach the face.”

Seo Jun was doing his best to remember.

“The process put a lot of strain on the normal bodies, such as the villagers, so they all died in fear. But there was one person alive among them… An old man with whom we got infected from. And so… We were unable to return.”

“…”

“The other Hwarangs died in my hands. And I… I couldn’t let the disease spread outside… So I took my own life. How much will I be blamed for this, and how much will I be a disgrace to my family…”

“Seo Jun-rang.”

Zaha stopped him.

“I know what your intention was. You don’t have to explain so hard.”

“Yes. I-I…”

“You must have known that committing suicide right there would make people point their fingers at you. Even so, you chose to accept it so that the disease wouldn’t spread and people wouldn’t die. Seo Jun-rang, you sacrificed your life to stop it.”

“….”

“Seo Geom-rang and Euljae finally know the truth. So do not worry.”

“Yes…”

Seo Jun let out a long sigh.

“The child and my uncle too… I hope they will not be bothered too much because of me…”

“…”

“I should have worked hard, but I couldn’t do anything right, and in the end… I died. The Governor should know it too—that there was no other way to do it right.”

“…”

“But this time… I will do it right.”

No one answered.

“Please.”

Seo Jun said, and took two steps forward.

“Any last words?”

“None.”

“Then I will do it. Seo Jun of the Blue Dragon True Troops was a very wonderful Hwarang.”

“Thank you.”

Seo Jun looked genuinely touched.

Puak!

And the sound of a sword being pierced could be heard.

Seol Young was confused.

Weird. He shouldn’t be human, so what was that sound?

After a while, a monster’s scream rang out. The scream lasted for a long time, then slowly subsided.

And then it vanished.

Seol Young opened his eyes.

They were in the middle of the ancestral rite building with nothing else. It was just Seo Jun with a red sword stuck in his chest.

Zaha looked at him.

Seo Jun’s face was calm.

Those who left all of their emotions behind and found peace made such expressions.

They couldn’t take their eyes off his face for a long time.

Seol Young turned to one side.

‘Was I the only idiot who closed his eyes for this long?’

It seemed like Seo Geom had already opened his eyes a long time ago. His eyes were red, and blood was dripping down his lips.

In the silence, no one said anything.

Seo Geom lowered his head.

Tears dripped down his blue clothes.

Drop. Drop. Drop.

It was dyed red.