King Shura

No one knows when it was made, or who made it, but the book contained stories and information regarding all the mystical beasts, gods, and demons in the world.

The book also contained information about the beings known as “Imugi”.

When Cho Ryu Hyang heard that his teacher, Jo Gi Chun, was injured, he ran to his teacher with a pale face.

Um Seung Do, while following the boy, began thinking.

‘He looks ordinary.’

The heir the Pope had chosen. In his world, the heir was the child of God.

That was why all this was so hard to understand. The boy’s skeleton was small, so it wasn’t suited for martial arts, and the boy didn’t seem that talented in it either.

But his suspicions ended there. Um Seung Do didn’t get any more suspicious.

He wasn’t the one to choose the heir. The Pope was. The strongest under the Heavens, and the representation of God. A person like that chose this boy, so the boy must have a special quality no one can see.

And that was enough to erase all his suspicions.

That was a good enough reason to satisfy everyone else in the Heavenly Demon Church. The Pope had that much of an influence over the people.

“Huff, huff.”

Um Seung Do looked at the tired boy with a straight face. Come to think of it, this boy was a person he would have to guard for a lifetime.

So he had quite a bit of time. He had a lot of time to see if the Pope’s decision was indeed correct. So he wasn’t really hurried to check the boy’s true potential.

“Teacher!”

“You came?”

Gongson Chun Gi, who was inside the room, looked at Cho Ryu Hyang and opened his mouth. He greeted the two guardians next to Cho Ryu Hyang.

But Cho Ryu Hyang was no longer looking at them. His eyes were looking at Jo Gi Chun, who was laying down on the bed with a pale face.

“W, what happened?”

“Let’s talk outside. The man just went to sleep. It would be troublesome if he were to wake up.”

Gongson Chun Gi dragged Cho Ryu Hyang outside. And instead of saying what had happened, he simply began thinking.

Cho Ryu Hyang waited patiently for his teacher to speak. He knew rushing things here wouldn’t do anything.

But his body revealed how anxious he truly was. Gongson Chun Gi slowly opened his mouth as he stared at Cho Ryu Hyang’s trembling arms.

“There seems to be problems with the formation.”

“What do you mean?”

“That guy saw something strange in there, apparently.

“Something strange……..”

Gongson Chun Gi stroked his chin, and grinned.

“He says that he saw a dragon (龍), or an Imugi in there.”

“………What?”

What does that mean? Cho Ryu Hyang made a dumb face.

“You can’t believe it, right? I can’t, either. But since the words came from his mouth, it should be the truth.”

That’s right. Jo Gi Chun despised jokes. According to his personality, he wouldn’t lie in a situation like this.

Cho Ryu Hyang tried to see if Gongson Chun Gi was actually lying or not, but soon gave up, and opened his mouth.

“So whatever was in the formation hurt teacher?”

“Seems like it. But since I didn’t see what it was myself, I find it hard to believe……..”

Cho Ryu Hyang’s eyes turned serious.

“How’s teacher doing?”

“He’s a little dehydrated, and a little unstable. But since you can recover from those, there’s not too big of a problem……..”

Gongson Chun Gi, who had stopped talking for a bit, scratched his cheeks and spoke.

“There seems to be a little problem with his arm.”

“What problem?”

“According to him, that dragon thing took his arm.”

Cho Ryu Hyang’s eyes widened. He tried to get back in the room to check, but was stopped by Gongson Chun Gi.

“Don’t worry. It’s not what you think it is.”

What else would it be, then?

“His arm looks fine on the outside. It’s just that he can’t move it.”

“……..!”

“Seeing that he’s under a pretty strong spell, there does seem to be something in there…….”

Gongson Chun Gi made a troubled expression.

“We could destroy the formation, but since that would destroy the object inside, it puts us in a troublesome situation.”

Cho Ryu Hyang adjusted his glasses, and spoke.

“I’ll go.”

“You?”

“Yes.”

Gongson Chun Gi stared at Cho Ryu Hyang, who had a serious look on his face, and shook his head.

“I know your Godly Eyes are from a different branch than mine, but this is still too dangerous. I cannot allow it.”

“I can do it.”

A stubborn face.

Gongson Chun Gi stared at his disciple’s determined face for a long time. He seemed to think of something, and smirked.

“You’re going to do it even if I say no, aren’t you?”

“……..”

“I guess disciples not listening to their teacher’s commands is a long tradition of the church. It indeed has a long history.”

When Gongson Chun Gi jokingly said this with a smile, Cho Ryu Hyang made an apologetic face.

But he had to do it. If there was something in there, only he, who learned a little about formations, could do it.

And Cho Ryu Hyang was actually quite confident of his survival. After all, he had a secret weapon, known as mathematics.

Gongson Chun Gi spoke up.

“Disciple.”

“Yes, teacher.”

“You are the disciple of that guy in the room back there, but you are also my disciple.”

“Yes…….”

Cho Ryu Hyang’s eyes shook a bit. He could feel that Gongson Chun Gi was truly worried about his disciple, through the man’s eyes. This kind of an emotion was exceedingly hard to resist.

Gongson Chun Gi put his hand on Cho Ryu Hyang’s head.

“You might not know this, but I really like this new disciple of mine. That’s why if that disciple were to get injured in any way, I might just go crazy.”

“……..”

“Do you truly have to go?”

Cho Ryu Hyang opened his mouth, then closed it again. Like what Teacher Gongson Chun Gi had said, going into the formation would be very dangerous and reckless.

But he was too angry at himself to only be patient and wait here. What was he doing while his teacher was getting injured? He was just enjoying his time as he became the heir to the church.

Cho Ryu Hyang’s regret and sorrow was simply telling him to go into the formation.

“Damn it, he was right.”

Gongson Chun Gi massaged his shoulders, and started complaining. When Cho Ryu Hyang sent his teacher a curious look, Gongson Chun Gi told the boy what happened.

“Aah. That guy told me to not tell you about what happened before he passed out. He probably said that so that you wouldn’t go into the formation, but I made a mistake. I don’t know what to tell him when he wakes up.”

“……..”

“The formation’s that dangerous. But you’re still going in it, am I correct?”

Cho Ryu Hyang nodded.

“Good. When a man makes a choice, he should stick to it till the end, even if the results of his choice may seem bad.”

Cho Ryu Hyang got his teacher’s consent.

He looked at his teacher, and said his goodbyes.

“Disciple, don’t look so happy like that. This teacher’s feeling very complicated inside right now.”

“There shouldn’t be anything you should get worried about.”

“Of course there shouldn’t be. You can get out on your own when it gets dangerous, right? You should’ve learned a bit about formations from that guy.”

“Yes.”

“Normally. I would restrain you, but…….”

“Since your Godly Eyes are a bit special, I’ll believe in you.”

“Thank you.”

Cho Ryu Hyang thought while adjusting his glasses. He would definitely finish everything with his own hands.

* * *

“Gyum, I said all that to the boy before, but I don’t think I can let him go off on his own. I feel like a father that pushed his own child into a river right now.”

Lim Hak Gyum faintly smiled. He was always a little touched by the displays of humanity that the Pope kept showing him every now and then.

[This one will go.]

Gongson Chun Gi shook his head.

“No, the boy will notice if you go. His eyes are a bit special, you see.”

He was worried. Lim Hak Gyum would be seen through by his disciple, no matter how good Lim Hak Gyum’s stealth technique was. If his disciple managed to find Gyum, the boy would also realize that Gongson Chun Gi was trying to help. If that happened, the boy would think that Gongson Chun Gi didn’t believe in his own disciple, and had to send a person to guard him.

‘That wouldn’t be good.’

When he thought this much, Gongson Chun Gi began regretting saying the things he said before to look cool. Gongson Chun Gi began to contemplate on what to do. He opened his mouth a while later.

“Hnn, I don’t really want to do it, but I guess we’ll have to call in the old men.”

[…….This one will bring the Guardians here.]

Lim Hak Gyum switched places with one of his underlings outside, and disappeared.

And a little bit later, two people could be seen outside running at frightening speeds. It was Guardian Wu and Guardian Ju.

“Your Holiness!”

“Yeah. I’m not deaf. Speak more quietly.”

“What happened? Did the enemy invade?”

“I’d be happier if that happened instead.”

“Huh? It’s even worse than that?”

When Guardian Wu asked this with a surprised face, Gongson Chun Gi responded.

“It has to do with my disciple.”

“Did something happen to the young lord?”

When Guardian Ju, who had been quiet till now, asked a question with a surprised face, Gongson Chun Gi spoke.

“Something really big happened. It’s quite troublesome.”

“This one will take care of it.”

When Guardian Wu stepped forward, Guardian Ju pushed him away and opened his mouth.

“You stay out of this. Your Holiness, leave this to me.”

“That is a good attitude. Who should I choose…….”

Gongson Chun Gi thought about who to choose as he looked at the two expectant Guardians. But he soon thought of something, and made his decision.

“I think you would be more suited at doing this, compared to Guardian Wu.”

When Gongson Chun Gi nodded at Guardian Ju, Guardian Ju put on a mirthful face, and Guardian Wu put on a face of despair and sadness.

“Y, Your Holiness.”

“What?”

Guardian Wu spoke with a desperate face.

“This one can complete whatever Your Holiness throws at him faster than that guy.”

Gongson Chun Gi shook his head.

“Not this time.”

“Kuhahaha! You idiot, didn’t you hear His Holiness? I’m better than you.”

“Keuk!”

Gongson Chun Gi simply stared at the two men without saying anything, then spoke up.

“Guardian Wu, you’re body is just too big for this mission. So don’t be too sad.”

“What?”

When Guardian Wu put on a face of curiosity, Gongson Chun Gi grinned.

“Since Guardian Ju is so small. he’s suited for a mission like this. Kuhehehe.”

Gongson Chun Gi’s laugh made Guardian Ju feel that something bad was going to happen. That feeling would soon become a reality that would strike against Guardian Ju.