Hyun Mu-gak stood on the balcony, his hands gripping the railing so hard the stone began to crack.
He's gone.
The general a same man who had title strongest man in the kingdom. The warrior who had slaughtered hundreds with a single swing of his greatsword. The man who had never lost a battle in twenty years.
Gone. Killed by... what? That thing with no qi?
Hyun Mu-gak's breathing grew heavy. His teeth ground together. The dark veins on his neck pulsed.
Fine. If that's how it is.
He turned from the balcony and walked to a stone altar in the corner of his chamber. On it lay a set of silver needles that's longer than normal, their tips blackened with poison. Beside them, a vial of black liquid that swirled like living smoke.
He sat down. Rolled up his sleeve.
If raw power won't stop him, I'll take power that shouldn't exist.
He picked up a needle, dipped it into the vial, and plunged it into his own arm.
The effect was immediate. His body convulsed. His eyes rolled back. The external life force in the room the natural energy that surrounded all living things began to twist. Instead of the warm, positive glow that Gaon used, this energy turned black.
It poured into Hyun Mu-gak's body through the needle. His muscles swelled. His veins turned black. His fingernails lengthened into claws.
He pulled the needle out and drove another one into his shoulder.
More. I need more.
The black energy enveloped him like a second skin. His qi [that already dark] merged with the corrupted external force, creating something new. Something wrong.
Hyun Mu-gak stood up.
***
The corridor leading to the final door was long and lined with paintings portraits of past princes, battle scenes, images of the Black Lotus Sect's victories. The torches on the walls had burned low, their flames casting dancing shadows across the blood-red carpet. Bodies of servants and guards lay crumpled in doorways, killed not by Gaon, but by their own master's hand. Some had their throats slit. Others looked as if they had simply collapsed from terror.
Gaon stepped over them without looking down. His tunic was stained with blood that was not his own. His hands were still wet.
He reached the last door. Heavy oak, reinforced with iron bands, carved with the symbol of the Black Lotus. The handle was warm to the touch.
This is it. The prince's chamber. There's no way he's not in there.
Gaon kicked the door.
It flew off its hinges and crashed into the room, splitting in two as it skidded across the marble floor.
Inside, the chamber was vast. A canopy bed large enough for four people. A golden chandelier hanging from the ceiling. A balcony at the far end, open to the night sky, the moonlight spilling across the stone floor.
A man stood on the balcony, his back to the room, his hands resting on the railing. He was looking up at the moon.
He did not turn around.
"I've been waiting," the man said. "You took so long to come here."
Gaon walked across the marble floor. His footsteps echoed in the quiet room.
"Are you the prince? Or a king? Who are you?"
The man turned around with his dark eyes and it's not just the irises, but the whites as well, swallowed by shadow.
"I'm probably the one you've been waiting for," he said.
Gaon stopped a few paces away. "Yeah. You're probably the one who sent one of your people to kill me."
"Hmph." The man's jaw tightened. He was trying so hard to stay calm, but a vein pulsed at his temple. "I had no idea who you are. And I am certainly not interested in killing you."
"Well, one of your assassins did try to kill me. I live in the mountains. I kinda forgot her name though. But she talked about curses. Are you that Hyun Moon-gak?"
The man's composure cracked. His voice rose, sharp and furious.
"IT'S HYUN MU-GAK!"
Hyun Mu-gak forced himself to breathe. His hands, still resting on the railing, trembled slightly. The dark energy inside him pulsed with every heartbeat, screaming to be released, but he held it back.
Calm. Stay calm. This is not a normal man.
He straightened his robes and turned fully to face Gaon.
"Who are you?" he asked, his voice measured now. "And what are you even talking about? I don't know anything about an assassin."
Inside, his thoughts raced.
At least try to talk. Offer him something. Gold. Land. A position. Anything to make him leave alive. This man... his external force is enormous. I've never seen anything like it. Fighting him directly would be suicide.
He kept his eyes locked on Gaon, studying the blood on his tunic, the calm expression, the way he stood like someone who had already won.
Make no mistake. This guy is not usual.
Gaon tilted his head. "The girl. Black robes. Mask. She showed up at my place with daggers. Said she was from the Black Lotus. Said someone named Hyun Mu-gak sent her to kill me because I removed a curse."
Hyun Mu-gak's face remained still, but his fingers dug into the stone railing.
"She talked about curses," Gaon continued. "How they let you hear through people. See through them. And yeah I did remove one. Recently. A woman... The curse was eating her from inside. I took it out."
He shrugged.
"Didn't know it belonged to you. But if you're sending assassins to my home, I guess it does."
Hyun Mu-gak's jaw tightened. His dark eyes burned behind his calm mask. Inside, his thoughts were a storm.
That girl. The one I sent to kill him. She's supposed to be dead or finished. Instead, he's standing here. And she's not. She told him everything. She betrayed me.
His breathing stayed even. His lips did not move. But his mind screamed.
She will pay! After I deal with this one, she will pay.
"I can hear your thoughts," Gaon said
For a moment, Hyun Mu-gak froze. His calm mask cracked. His lips parted.
Then his face twisted.
"DIE!"
He threw his arms wide. Dark energy exploded from his body.
A cloud of curses poured from his palms, filling the chamber with swirling shadows that whispered and screamed at the same time.
The torches on the walls went out. The moonlight from the balcony dimmed, swallowed by the spreading darkness.
Gaon stood in the middle of the room as the black cloud rushed toward him. The whispers grew louder. Hundreds of voices the cursed victims Hyun Mu-gak had used over the years crying, begging, cursing.
"Everyone I've marked!" Hyun Mu-gak shouted, his voice echoing from all directions. "Everyone I've broken! They're all here now! Inside this cloud! Let's see if your precious external force can push back an army of the damned!"
The black cloud reached Gaon.
It wrapped around his arms. His chest, throat. Trying to dig into his skin, find a way inside.
Gaon did not move.
His external force flared pushing back against the darkness as the cloud hissed where it touched his light.
But it did not retreat.
Gaon's thought cut through the chaos.
This can only be attacked with qi... and external force, I think. Then let's scale up now.
He closed his eyes.
The golden light around him dimmed for a heartbeat. Then
BOOM.
Scale fifteen.
His external force exploded outward with a light erupted from his body in all directions, blasting the black cloud apart. The cursed shadows screamed hundreds of voices rising in a single, agonizing wail then dissolved like mist before the sun.
The walls of the chamber cracked. The marble floor split beneath his feet. The canopy bed splintered and flew across the room. The chandelier crashed down, its candles scattering.
Hyun Mu-gak was thrown backward. His body slammed into the balcony railing, snapping the stone. He tumbled over the edge, caught himself with one hand, his dark energy flickering weakly around his fingers.
Gaon stood in the center of the destruction, his golden aura still blazing, his clothes torn, his eyes calm.
"Fifteen," he said quietly. "That's enough for now."
To Be Continued.