Chapter 339: Eighty-First Floor, Monstrous Might and Malevolent Spirits (7)

Sorcerer Ichon didn’t break easily.

Whether he feared Starfish or felt some pathetic sense of pride and loyalty, I couldn’t say. Ha-Seon and I tried numerous methods, but we only received meaningless groans.

Despite his rat-like appearance, he proved far more stubborn than expected.

Maybe I am just wrong about him.

Perhaps rats were more resistant to pain than I would have assumed.

Do rats have high pain tolerance?

I racked my brain, but nothing came to mind.

It wasn’t surprising. In my nearly twenty-five years of life, the only time I had ever given a rat any real thought was during my childhood, while watching Jerry and Tom.

I shook my head. My thoughts had drifted into nonsense territory, so I forced the useless thoughts away.

“

Aaaargh!

”

Six small wind spirits were latched onto Sorcerer Ichon, pecking away with razor-sharp beaks. They were targeting all of his vulnerable spots, starting under his fingernails and working their way inward.

Unfortunately, we still gained nothing.

The man simply kept screaming.

Even so, Ha-Seon remained expressionless, lips pressed into a firm line as he stared at the yokai. The fury stirred by the state of his people clearly hadn’t subsided.

Hmm.

Dragging this out wasn’t ideal, but a clear solution hadn’t presented itself. Neither of us really knew how to torture someone. We knew pain could break someone, but we lacked the finesse to shatter someone’s mental defenses.

Should we just give up and head to the Fourth Division?

While I was still debating internally, Yoonie, who had been flitting nearby, landed gently on my shoulder with the help of a breeze. “Su-Hyeok! I think you need to target that gem.”

“The one emitting energy? We already tried that.”

I had channeled divine energy into the gem when we first captured Sorcerer Ichon. He had howled in agony then, too.

Even that hadn’t loosened his tongue, however. It had been the same ever since. Yoonie had seen it for herself.

I raised an eyebrow and turned to her.

She shook her tiny head fervently. “No, not to hurt him! I think we need to remove it!”

“Remove it?”

Come to think of it, we had been able to hurt him with it, but it hadn’t occurred to me to actually detach it.

Strange, isn’t it?

The gem looked like part of him, but it didn’t make sense that I hadn’t even considered pulling it off.

I wasn’t trying to make excuses for my oversight. If I missed something, I always admitted it.

This time, something definitely felt off. Even though Ha-Seon had been standing right beside me, he hadn’t noticed it either. It was as if our perception had been clouded, and only now were our eyes beginning to clear.

Some kind of mental suggestion?

The gem likely had an influence of its own. It didn’t just contain the power of the Great Yokai, but also had safeguards to prevent others from tampering with it.

Whatever it was hiding, we would only find out once we took it off. Perhaps, we would also get some answers while we were at it.

I stepped forward. Sorcerer Ichon was still shrieking, while Ha-Seon silently continued to control the wind spirits.

“Ha-Seon. Hold on a moment.”

“

Ah

, yes.” His voice cracked.

I could hear the sorrow beneath it.

As he took a step back, the wind spirits also pulled away, rising into the air. I muffled the sound around Ichon using my wind spirit, then turned to Ha-Seon.

“That gem. It can be removed, right?”

“

Huh

?

Oh!

” A beat late, his eyes widened.

“It has to be Starfish’s power.”

“That makes sense. I couldn’t even recall what I already knew.”

One of the things I had come to realize on this floor was just how unprepared I was for mental attacks. I resisted illusions, yes, but I had nearly walked into disaster just entering the castle.

All because of this rat.

Even now, I had almost overlooked something again. I needed to be extremely careful when facing the Great Yokai. Even with divinity, the gem alone had been enough to place me under its suggestion.

I would have to research some countermeasures when I returned to the waiting room.

Belatedly, Ha-Seon added, “We can remove the gem, and if we do, he’ll start talking.”

I nodded.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Sorcerer Ichon still writhed on the ground, battered and pitiful.

The robes he wore were torn to shreds, his tail limp and lifeless. The whiskers near his nose had been burnt by lightning, shriveled and curled. Blood ran in thin streams from his nose and mouth.

“

Gghhh, ughh.

”

He had screamed for so long that even his groans had become hoarse and unstable. His voice rasped with every breath.

I kicked him, rolling him over. His curled-up frame flipped, revealing his face to the sky. The blue sky and scattered clouds above reflected dimly in his dull eyes.

I crouched beside his head. “All right. Listen closely. I’m going to remove the gem from your forehead now.”

“

Hiiiik!

”

The man who had looked completely drained moments ago suddenly flinched in horror, but he barely moved ten centimeters. His arm twitched, then flopped helplessly to the ground.

So this had been the answer all along.

What have I even been doing?

I couldn’t help but laugh dryly.

With my left hand, I pressed his head firmly against the floor. “Talk now, and I’ll make it painless.”

“I-I’ll talk! Please, just not the gem!”

“Really? That’s too bad. You should’ve said that sooner.”

His pupils trembled violently.

I raised my right hand to the gem on his forehead, gathered my divine energy, and then sharpened it into an immaterial knife. The stone was so saturated with a yokai’s energy that touching it barehanded posed a risk.

Like a sharpened claw, divine power pierced his skin and drove toward the gem. A scream tore through the pavilion, then echoed far beyond.

***

For once, Yoonie had more than earned her keep. Once I pried the gem from Sorcerer Ichon’s forehead, we got plenty out of him.

As a reward, I tossed her two of the gemstones resting inside Mung-chi. She seemed quite pleased with the trade.

In the end, the conclusions I drew were surprisingly straightforward. Although Sorcerer Ichon didn’t know everything, he had some key pieces.

The situation is more or less what I expected.

Starfish was targeting Celestial Bell. As for why, Ichon didn’t have the details. He said Starfish had brought along a small yokai, and he suspected it had something to do with that creature.

It was only a guess, though. I would have to see for myself to be sure.

I had a strong feeling Starfish’s connection to the small yokai was similar to the king’s and Ha-Seon’s.

Also, as far as Sorcerer Ichon knew, the king hadn’t been captured yet. That confirmed my suspicion as to why Starfish and the other yokai weren’t here.

Thought, just as I feared, he did know about the Fourth Division.

That shocked Ha-Seon. After all, it was a royal secret, passed down through generations.

Of course, not all yokai knew. Originally, only Starfish had been aware, but apparently, he shared this information with others for this operation.

The more we heard, the clearer it became. Everything had been orchestrated from the beginning. Even the deployment of monks and soldiers to the border was all part of Starfish’s scheme.

He led his yokai forces through the gap to strike the capital, all to claim the Celestial Bell.

Anyway, since their search hadn’t progressed, they were now occupying the area around the Fourth Division, waiting for the king to appear.

It wasn’t too late yet. We needed to reach the garrison as quickly as possible and regroup with the king. Even Ha-Seon let out a quiet breath of relief at that thought.

We had also learned the story behind the gemstone. It wasn’t just some random gem Sorcerer Ichon had latched onto.

Moreover, it doesn’t just contain the Great Yokai’s power.

The moment we pried it from him, he reverted to a massive rat.

At first, I thought something had gone wrong and flinched in alarm. Thankfully, he could still speak in that form.

Is he a spirit beast?

No, in this world’s terms, the more accurate label would be “demonic beast.” In other words, Starfish had used his power to reshape him into a humanoid yokai.

So he didn’t have a high pain tolerance; the gem just suppressed his mind.

Specifically, it had kept him from speaking about Starfish.

With that, the interrogation came to an end. There was no need to stain my hands further.

Whether it was due to the cursed stone or something else, he died less than ten minutes after it was removed. He spat out everything he knew, begged for his life with pathetic sobs, then died.

His own karma.

The gem hadn’t twisted his personality; he had been rotten from the start. If that weren’t the case, I would have possibly felt a shred of pity.

To be honest, his death felt too peaceful for someone like him.

Afterward, I handed the gem over to Ha-Seon. Skilled monks were capable of handling items imbued with a yokai’s power to some extent.

It is similar to the gauntlet.

They were essentially both portable energy reservoirs.

Since I didn’t need it, I didn’t keep it; it was as simple as that. Moreover, even if I knew how to use it, that would risk the yokai’s energy corrupting me. I didn’t possess the same power that monks had, either, so it wasn’t suitable for me.

It was unlikely, but it could taint my mind.

Technically, a yokai’s power is a weaker counterpart to divine power, with a far higher risk of harm.

Sure, I had once purified and used corrupted divine energy, but this eerie yokai energy didn’t sit right with me. There was something off-putting about it, something that made me hesitate.

When my instincts were this insistent, they were almost always right.

Still, I couldn’t help but worry that the stone would reveal our location.

Ha-Seon said it is highly likely, too.

Even so, we didn’t discard it. We agreed it was better for Ha-Seon to use it, even with the risks. Moreover, the moment we took it from Sorcerer Ichon, Starfish would have sensed it.

The fact that our opponent knew about us didn’t matter much. As long as they didn’t find the king, we would have time.

In a way, my mindset came from my confidence.

Whether he comes to me or not, I will have to fight Starfish eventually.

The sooner that happened, the better for both of us.

Thus ended our dealings with Sorcerer Ichon.

We had planned to head for the Fourth Division immediately afterward, but Ha-Seon asked for a brief delay. He needed time to manage the citizens who had been released from the spell.

The chaos had been overwhelming.

In the end, it has turned out okay.

Well, not entirely alright. Calming down people who were sobbing and vomiting with vacant eyes was no easy task. Some even took their own lives.

Fortunately, Ha-Seon’s identity as a prince helped him bring things under control.

I also conjured a divine light to draw attention and soothe the crowd, while Doppy cast large-scale holy spells to provide healing and stabilize their emotions.

We heard the people cheer, but it didn’t feel good. An undercurrent of sorrow and heartbreak filled the elation.

***

We left the capital and raced toward the Fourth Division at full speed. Since we had spent too much time tending to the citizens, we had to move fast.

Although we couldn’t pinpoint the king’s exact location, the more I thought about it, the more I realized it didn’t matter. We didn’t have to find him.

The real problem is Starfish and the yokai.

If we wiped them all out, perhaps the king would reappear.

Ha-Seon had fully recovered, but he was still riding a shadow chair. Neither he nor Doppy could keep pace with me, and both had used too much power in the capital. They needed time to recuperate.

Doppy dozed off, comfortably reclined in the chair, while Ha-Seon examined the yokai stone in his hands. He remarked that it was his first time handling one directly.

Then, out of nowhere, he asked, “Mr. Kwon, would you like to see that earth spell I mentioned before?”

“Earth spell?

Oh

, you mean the step-summoning technique. Last time, you said it wasn’t possible because you were too low on energy. Does the stone have enough?”

“Yes, and I thought it would be a good chance to test the stone as well.”

“But aren’t you risking corruption? You said it could taint your mind.”

Ha-Seon smiled brightly upon hearing my concern. “This much is fine. The real danger is when I try to push past my limits in combat.”

“Is that so? Then go ahead.”

Ha-Seon lifted the yokai stone and began murmuring an incantation. A fresh wave of monkly energy swirled around me.

In an instant, it felt as if the earth itself had folded. The ground I had seen far in the distance suddenly appeared beneath my feet, then once more, and again.

It wasn’t spatial teleportation. It was as if the land itself had bent and drawn us forward.

“

Whoa.

”

“How is it?”

“This is insane.”

Taking the risk to keep the stone had definitely been the right call.