Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 497.18 – Side Story 6 Part 1

Flame of the Abyss (1)

“That belongs to my son!”

Another person appeared through the torn space and rebuked.

It was a sturdy general with a grizzled beard, holding what looked like a small model pagoda in one hand.

At his appearance, Hong Hae-a raised the corners of his mouth slightly and pointed to the two fiercely spinning wheels with both arms, saying:

“Indeed. I knew you would come.”

“You knew I’d come? You bastard!”

Just as the sturdy general was about to lunge forward with a roar,

The shaft of the Soul-Destroying Trident treasure blocked his path. The sturdy general raised his eyebrows and protested:

“What are you doing?”

“There’s still room to resolve this through dialogue.”

“What? We’ve come all this way, what dialogue—”

“Have you already forgotten who’s responsible for this incident? Lee Jeong.”

At those words, the sturdy general who was about to express his displeasure stared at the black-robed man and took a step back.

Hong Hae-a’s eyes gleamed strangely at this sight.

The black-robed man, who hadn’t noticed this as he briefly turned his head, lowered his spear shaft and turned his gaze back to Hong Hae-a, speaking:

“Hong Hae-a. Regardless of your origins, you too are an immortal who learned immortal arts. So I make this proposal. What you’re trying to do now is a dangerous act that will have a huge impact on the mortal world. Stop here.

If you do, you’ll avoid the worst punishment.”

At these words, Hong Hae-a clutched his stomach and laughed loudly.

“Hahahahaha! Avoid punishment? If I had such an easygoing mindset that I’d give up so easily, I wouldn’t have come to the mortal world in the first place.”

“Practicing the Way and immortality begins with letting go of all worldly attachments. Are you saying you won’t let this go?”

“That seems a bit hypocritical. Didn’t someone come all this way to retrieve his son’s treasure?”

That “someone” referred to the sturdy general.

At Hong Hae-a’s words that didn’t miss a single detail, the black-robed man clicked his tongue.

Seeing that persuasion wasn’t working, the sturdy general who had stepped back spoke:

“Did you really think this could be resolved through dialogue? Let’s stop wasting time and hurry to subdue him.”

“I told you to wait.”

“Huh.”

“Where is it?”

“If you mean that—ah!”

Understanding the black-robed man’s question, the sturdy general held up the small model pagoda in his hand.

Strangely, a faint thumping sound could be heard from inside the small model pagoda.

At this, the black-robed man licked his lips and spoke to Hong Hae-a again:

“If you insist on this, we have no choice but to respond differently.”

“Am I going to see that majesty that once shook heaven and earth?”

“Sigh. Don’t be recklessly arrogant. Do you think you can match me just because you have a few dangerous treasures?”

“We’ll have to see about that.”

“You’re overconfident to the end. But isn’t there something you’re looking for right now?”

At the black-robed man’s question, Hong Hae-a shrugged and answered:

“Well, I’m about to obtain it.”

“I wonder. Will it really be that easy? If someone has already stolen what you’re looking for, you won’t be able to break your father’s seal that you desire so much.”

At these words from the black-robed man, Hong Hae-a’s eyes sharpened for a moment.

And those sharpened eyes turned towards the sturdy general behind the black-robed man.

Or more precisely, towards the model pagoda in his hand.

At this sight, the corners of the black-robed man’s mouth turned up.

“You’re not oblivious.”

“How on earth did you guys…”

“It’s basic tactics to get hold of what the enemy needs first.”

This was unexpected, and Hong Hae-a’s expression, which had been full of composure until now, wasn’t very good.

He had thought they would just focus on capturing him, but the opponent was indeed not to be underestimated.

“To awaken the Great Strength King sealed by the killing stone, you need the Golden Nine-Tailed Fox’s Spirit Demon Great Treasure, right?”

“So you’re saying you want to negotiate?”

“This isn’t a negotiation.”

Bang! Woong!

As the black-robed man stamped his spear shaft on the ground, a shockwave arose and heat was pushed back in all directions.

Even the flowing hot lava rippled.

At the black-robed man’s tremendous aura, Hong Hae-a’s eyes filled with wariness.

Though his face was hidden by the black robe, Hong Hae-a knew his identity.

The opponent was one of the greatest masters among the ancient immortals.

Though he had trump cards like the Heaven and Earth Wheel treasure, it was hard to guarantee victory in a head-on confrontation.

To the tense Hong Hae-a, the black-robed man said:

“I’ll make a final offer. If you hand over all the stolen treasures now, I’ll give you the Golden Nine-Tailed Fox.”

“What?”

Hong Hae-a frowned at this unexpected proposal.

He had thought the opponent would come on strong since he held the card Hong Hae-a wanted and was a peerless master, but this proposal was beyond expectations.

This seemed to be something they hadn’t agreed on, as the sturdy general also couldn’t hide his bewilderment.

“What on earth are you saying? Giving him the Golden Nine-Tailed Fox?”

As he protested, the black-robed man whispered quietly:

“It’s postponing the small for the sake of the great.”

Is this something that can be resolved like this now?

If the Golden Nine-Tailed Fox is handed over, the Great Strength King, who could be called a calamity to the mortal world, will be released from his seal.

If that happens, the lesser demons might run rampant again, causing harm to the mortal world.

No matter how important the treasures were, this had too much risk.

“This is too—”

“Stop arguing, Lee Jeong. I have an obligation to recover the treasures. Those things he stole have a greater impact on the natural order than the Great Strength King being released.”

This conversation between them was not audible to Hong Hae-a because the black-robed man had blocked the sound with immortal power.

However, Hong Hae-a could also tell that their opinions diverged.

Hong Hae-a’s lips twitched as he spoke:

“You’re making quite an enticing offer.”

“I’m showing mercy by making this offer partly because you once tried to walk the path of an immortal. So be grateful.”

“There’s nothing to be grateful for.”

“What?”

“Do you think I wouldn’t know that you’re trying to put out the urgent fire first because fighting here would have a big impact on the mortal world? It’s troublesome to use a move with such obvious intentions.”

Grr!

At Hong Hae-a’s words, the black-robed man’s mood twisted.

In truth, he had planned to soothe the bastard and recover the treasures, then destroy the pagoda to eliminate the Golden Nine-Tailed Fox so he couldn’t achieve what he wanted.

But even that wasn’t easy.

Is it because he’s a lesser demon who learned immortal arts? He’s quite clever.

As the bastard said, he also wanted to avoid fighting carelessly because of the big impact it would have on the mortal world.

But now it seemed meaningless to consider that.

It might be better to quickly subdue the guy who couldn’t move carelessly because of the Golden Nine-Tailed Fox.

“You insist on making a bad move. Lee Jeong. If he tries to counterattack me, destroy the pagoda and eliminate the Golden Nine-Tailed Fox.”

“You bastard!”

At Hong Hae-a’s somewhat flustered cry, the black-robed man snorted.

“You should have just accepted the offer nicely.”

Snap!

The black-robed man raised the Soul-Destroying Trident, aimed the tip at Hong Hae-a, and then flew forward.

The black-robed man’s figure split into several as he tried to cross the air.

It was at that moment.

Boom!

The black-robed man’s figure rushing towards Hong Hae-a was suddenly trapped in a pillar of light that erupted from the ground.

The black-robed man tried to break it by swinging the Soul-Destroying Trident infused with immortal power.

But the moment he swung the spear, the part that passed through the pillar of light disappeared and then reappeared.

At this strange phenomenon, the black-robed man gritted his teeth and shouted:

“You bastard, did you steal even the Primal Origin Golden Dipper treasure?”

The Primal Origin Golden Dipper.

It was one of the three treasures of the Three Immortals Way, a treasure that could completely seal off the caster’s space and then send it to a desired location.

Its power was so absolute that even the strongest immortal, if sealed by this, couldn’t escape from the disconnected space for a long time.

This could be hundreds or thousands of years.

It would be difficult to escape until the immortal power contained in the Primal Origin Golden Dipper ran out.

Hong Hae-a sneered at the black-robed man.

“Did you think I wouldn’t have any precautions against pursuers? I expected they would send an immortal at least capable of facing me.”

“A lesser demon using his wits, huh. But you’ve overlooked something too. Lee Jeong!”

The black-robed man hurriedly called out to the sturdy general.

It was to threaten him with the pagoda containing the Golden Nine-Tailed Fox.

But at that very moment,

Bang!

The pillar of light thinned and was sucked into space.

As the black-robed man disappeared instantly along with the pillar of light, Hong Hae-a shouted towards the sturdy general:

“Hey! Lee Jeong! If you do anything to even a speck of that pagoda, you should be prepared to be annihilated right here.”

At this cry, the sturdy general hesitated and stopped trying to grab the pagoda.

This was because tremendous energy was emanating from Hong Hae-a, and as the surrounding heat intensified, it affected even him.

Hong Hae-a continued speaking to the sturdy general who seemed intimidated by his aura:

“Hand over the pagoda. If you do, I’ll send you back nicely.”

“Do you think I’d comply with your demands?”

“You’ll have to. The Heaven and Earth Wheel treasure and Nezha are inseparable. If you don’t take the treasure, Nezha will never wake up.”

“You bastard…”

“Hand over the pagoda. Otherwise, I’ll destroy the Heaven and Earth Wheel.”

At this threat, the sturdy general hesitated, then closed his eyes as if defeated and sighed.

Seeing this, Hong Hae-a said triumphantly:

“A wise choice.”

Then he held out his hand.

“Don’t come close, just throw the pagoda.”

At his demand, the sturdy general finally threw the model pagoda he was holding.

Hong Hae-a caught it with a smile.

He couldn’t help but be happy as things were going smoothly according to his wishes.

Hong Hae-a injected immortal power into the pagoda in his hand and spoke in a voice filled with killing intent:

“Can you hear me, you fox bitch? You’ll finally pay for what you’ve done. If you want to keep your life, you’d better hand over your Spirit Demon Great Treasure, the Fox Spirit Bead.”

At these words, no sound came from the pagoda.

He should be able to hear the inside since he was focusing his immortal power, but all he could hear was a thumping sound.

It seemed the fox woman was desperate to come out.

But it was useless.

As far as he knew, only one being had ever broken out of Lee Jeong’s pagoda.

‘The stone monkey.’

No other being had ever escaped this pagoda.

In the end, if she didn’t want to die, she’d have no choice but to submit.

Let’s see how the fox woman is struggling.

Hong Hae-a focused his immortal power and put his eye close to the part of the pagoda inscribed with the character for “view.”

Then he could see inside the small pagoda, and,

“Aaaargh! You damn fox bitch!”

He saw the sturdy general, covered in blood, pounding on the pagoda walls with his bare fists.

‘What on earth?’

At that very moment,

Whoosh!

One of the two wheels of the Heaven and Earth Wheel beside him rolled through the air with a friction sound, blocking someone who was targeting Hong Hae-a from behind.

That someone was the sturdy general.

“You?”

“Ah. All that acting was for nothing.”

‘!?’

A woman’s voice coming from the sturdy general’s mouth.

Soon, the sturdy general’s appearance rippled, his hair turned golden, the lines of his face thinned, and he transformed into the form of a beautiful woman.

Seeing this, Hong Hae-a raised his voice with a terribly twisted expression.

“You fox bitch!”