When the Black Moon Rises - Chapter 172
Chapter 172
‘They’re late…’
Choi Jangmyung paced anxiously around the room.
Baek Giha and Sehwa hadn’t returned, even though it was long past the time they had promised.
Where were they? It had been a while since they had erected the barrier, what was happening outside?
Since the barrier completely blocked any outside contact, he couldn’t sense anything.
Everyone in the Ju Clan must have noticed the barrier by now. Was the Mystic Ruler perhaps attacking them with his warriors?
‘What if they’ve been captured…?’
Choi Jangmyung had been training with Ju Myoungyoon to control the immense spiritual power he had gained through his transformation.
But even so, he wouldn’t be able to face the Ju Clan warriors alone.
‘If they’ve been captured, I have to rescue them, even if it means sacrificing my life.’
Just as Choi Jangmyung clenched his fists, steeling his resolve…
Thump!
“!!”
Something struck the barrier he was maintaining.
Startled, he looked up and saw the vases and porcelain on the table rattling, the entire building shaking.
And that wasn’t the end.
Thump!
“!!”
Thump!
Choi Jangmyung tightened his grip on the Divine Beast Spirit Orb, his hands trembling, afraid of dropping it.
‘This is bad.’
Someone was outside.
As the barrier shook, his senses sharpened, his eyes gleaming.
It wasn’t his master.
His masters hadn’t returned yet, so who was outside?
And how would they be able to return if someone was attacking the barrier?
Thump! Thump!
As the attack continued, the Spirit Orb in his hand began to dim.
The barrier flickered, its color fading, then returning to its original brightness.
Crack.
“!”
An ominous cracking sound, signaling the barrier's imminent collapse, echoed through the room.
“Continue!”
“Yes!”
One of the Mystic Ruler’s guards, following the order, channeled his spiritual power.
A surge of fiery spiritual energy struck the white barrier.
Kaboom!
The shockwave shook the old building.
The servants, their spiritual power weak, stumbled, but they gritted their teeth, enduring the tremors, afraid of incurring the Mystic Ruler’s wrath.
“He must have noticed by now, but this isn't enough?”
The Mystic Ruler’s face darkened.
His feigned composure crumbled, replaced by anxiety.
A while ago, he had visited the Corrupt Dragon to obtain some spiritual power, which he might need to face Baek Giha.
A Divine Beast's spiritual power could only be countered by a similar level of power.
But instead of sharing his spiritual power, his master had greeted him with a menacing glare.
‘—It seems you’re up to something interesting…’
And then he had attacked him with his sharp claws.
‘Ugh!’
The claws had pierced his shoulder without hesitation, a sharp, searing pain, and a wave of spiritual power, filled with killing intent, had washed over him. The Mystic Ruler, more terrified than hurt by his master's unexpected attack, had turned pale.
‘—Don’t even think about consuming her. She’s mine. Do you understand?! Mine!!!’
He had repeatedly nodded, his response to his master’s furious warning, before barely escaping and treating his wound.
‘So even he finds her a tempting morsel. Well, who wouldn’t?’
His master had been biding his time, accumulating power, but he still seemed to need more time to reach his desired level.
‘He’s not acting now because he’s recovering from his failure in the Human Realm, but he’ll soon try to capture and consume her. This might be my last chance…’
Just the thought made his blood run cold.
He couldn’t let that happen. He needed her spiritual power for his own transformation, first into a Spiritual Beast, and then a Divine Beast.
‘But to subdue her and face the Baek Clan’s opposition without my master’s help, I need a valid reason. That way, they won’t be able to act rashly.’
This barrier was a perfect excuse.
He could accuse them of trying to sabotage his inauguration ceremony without actually disrupting it.
That way, even with his weakened authority, he could punish them justifiably.
But the barrier was holding up longer than he had anticipated.
‘I was going to accuse them of disrupting the ceremony by erecting a barrier within my territory, but what if they maintain it until the ceremony begins?’
His master had said that the Baek Clan Head wouldn't be able to maintain the barrier for long with his weakened body, but he was a Divine Beast.
‘No one noticed his condition even after he used so much power during the war, so perhaps he can maintain it…’
The inauguration ceremony had to be held on the day of the rising red moon, at the specific time when the moon was at its highest point in the sky.
If the barrier lasted until then, he wouldn’t have a chance to act.
“Should we continue the attack?” a warrior asked, seeing no reaction from the barrier.
“Move!”
The Mystic Ruler, growing impatient, stepped forward, forgetting his current inability to transform. He channeled all his spiritual power and struck the barrier himself.
But it was at that moment.
A servant rushed in, his face panicked, and bowed before the Mystic Ruler. “Mystic Ruler! It’s terrible! There’s a fire! Several buildings are on fire!”
“What? Just put it out. Why are you making such a fuss?”
“But… it won’t go out!”
“What?!”
“It just keeps spreading! We can’t put it out!”
This must have started when the First Corps Commander brought the servants and started throwing artifacts into the garden.
“......”
“......”
Sehwa and Baek Giha, back in the annex, were watching the scene from the roof, their presence concealed.
Seeing him acting so blatantly, he must have been desperate.
Now that they knew what he was doing, it wouldn't be difficult to counter him. They were waiting for him to finish planting the artifacts and leave, when the Mystic Ruler himself appeared.
And then he started attacking the barrier.
The two white tigers’ faces turned grim.
It was Choi Jangmyung, not Baek Giha, who was maintaining the barrier.
“Heung, kyu. Kyungkkyung.” —It's dangerous. Choi Jangmyung won’t be able to withstand that attack for long.
“Krrr…” —If the barrier is forcibly broken, the shockwave will be massive. If the annex is destroyed, the Mystic Ruler will surely use it as an excuse to attack the Six Clans.
—We have to divert their attention somehow, so they can't attack the barrier any longer.
—But how? The Mystic Ruler’s residence is protected by special spiritual power, so ordinary attacks won’t work.
—So we can’t use spiritual power?
—That’s… right?
—Then I have an idea. Come here, I need your help.
The small white tiger, concealing her presence, quickly made her way to the kitchen.
Numerous servants were busily preparing food for the banquet after the inauguration ceremony.
They didn't have time to steal anything better, since the barrier could collapse at any moment.
So the baby white tiger focused on grabbing a spark from the hearth.
“Kyu kyu!” —Let’s go!
The large white tiger shielded the spark from the wind, and the two white tigers raced through the hallways.
The Mystic Ruler’s residence was filled with flammable materials: ceremonial curtains, robes, and decorations.
And the hallways were crowded with servants, making it difficult to avoid them.
So they randomly set fire to empty rooms and storage rooms.
They also made sure to imbue each spark with spiritual power so they wouldn’t be easily extinguished.
The barrier surrounding the residence prevented the fires from spreading, but…
‘If it won’t spread, we’ll just start more fires.’
But something unexpected happened.
She had only imbued the sparks with spiritual power to prevent them from being extinguished, but…
Whoosh!
Boom! Boom!!!
“!?”
“!!”
The spiritually charged sparks, despite the barrier’s resistance, blazed brightly.
Flames quickly engulfed a room, melting the paper doors and spreading into the hallway.
“......”
Sehwa blinked, surprised.
She had only wanted to create a distraction so they could return to the barrier, she hadn’t intended to start such a large fire.
—This… isn’t going out… Is it because of my mixed spiritual power…?
—…It seems so.
Just as Baek Giha was staring at the rapidly spreading fire with a grim expression…
Sehwa suddenly transformed back into her human form.
Baek Giha also reverted, worried that something might be wrong.
But Sehwa, seemingly oblivious to her transformation, was staring at the flames, lost in thought, then murmured, “…This… isn’t good… what should we do…?”
“Why? What’s wrong? Are you alright?”
“No, it’s not that…”
“……??”
She was staring at the flames, her expression a mixture of laughter and tears. “…I feel… good…”
“What?”
“I… should have burned this place down long ago…”
Sehwa chuckled softly. “Haha… this feels so good… Oh my god… what’s wrong with me…?”
The room where she and her family had been dragged away like livestock…
The hallway where people had pointed and mocked her…
…were all burning before her eyes.
A chilling mix of elation and bloodlust flickered in her eyes.
“Hey… how about we just… burn it all down?”
Sehwa bit her lip and turned to Baek Giha.
“The inauguration ceremony will proceed as planned, even if this place burns down. The Mystic Ruler's inauguration must be held on the most auspicious day for the Dragon Clan, and the next one isn’t for another two months.”
A sly smile played on her lips, a hint of impatience in her voice, as if she were asking for permission to do something forbidden. “I’m not patient enough to wait two months. So…”
“Ju Sehwa.”
“......”
Baek Giha leaned down, meeting her gaze.
He saw her anxiety, the complex mix of emotions swirling within her.
His eyes softened. “You don’t have to convince me. Do whatever you want.”
This was the place that had caused her so much pain.
He himself had wanted to burn it all down.
Baek Giha grabbed a ceremonial robe that was about to be consumed by the flames and walked out of the room.
He swung the burning robe like a whip, imbuing it with spiritual power, and tossed it into the next room.
Boom!
The flames, fueled by his spiritual power, flared up.
Sehwa’s smile widened.
The next room, and the next…
“Do whatever you want.”
Engulfed by the flames, fueled by Baek Giha's words and her own joyous laughter.
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