Chapter 37 - Act 5. Iron Sun Thunder Sect (7)

Running at full speed, Yise glanced back. He saw a sphere swelling at much the same rate as the first lightning bolt. Hall Master Hong Mihui's preparations had allowed them to survive once, but surviving another such attack looked like a distant hope.

Yet even on death's doorstep, his will to live never faltered. Yise thought.

'He hasn't come down from the cliff, even after we blocked his first attack.'

When the defensive ritual implement blocked the first bolt, the man could have immediately closed in and pursued them. That he had not suggested two possibilities: either he had no means of flight, or one too inefficient to let him abandon the high ground; or he was utterly convinced they could never block his second attack.

'If it's the former, he'll only grow more impatient. The farther away we get, the greater the chance he'll lose us.'

'Even if it's the latter, he can't afford to take his time anymore. He'll attack quickly, even at the cost of power.'

'If we block just one more attack, he'll have no choice but to come down and pursue us.'

'Once we draw him off the cliff and limit his view, we'll have a chance to escape.'

'That lightning lit up heaven and earth. Surely... he saw it.'

Even now, the gathering lightning was flashing ostentatiously. That explosive surge of Demonic Energy was powerful enough to sense from beyond a mountain. A Foundation Establishment Cultivator on a mission in the same area could not possibly have missed it.

'We can survive.'

Another glance behind him showed the demonic practitioner's lightning taking shape, nearly ready to fire. Its preparation was certainly shorter than the first spell's, and it was smaller. His mind raced, weighing the power he had just witnessed, the reduction in its strength, and the total energy he could bring to bear in a complex calculation.

He made his decision.

"Stop."

Though puzzled by Yise's order, the three quickly halted.

"Pi Garam. Can you set up the disruption formation from the covert operative primer?"

Pi Garam gave him a look that said, How do you know about that? But he asked a different question instead.

"How wide?"

"Enough room for four people to stand."

"I'll have it up within half a quarter-hour."

"Hong Wonseo, help Pi Garam. He'll need a hand."

"Yes."

The instant the words were spoken, Pi Garam pulled a small metal cylinder from his sleeve. Inside was a brush the size of a forearm. As he swept it through the air like a calligrapher, a formation began to inscribe itself on the ground.

"Seol Ryeong, find us a path to survival."

"What?"

"Look carefully. There has to be one."

"You can't just tell me to..."

Seol Ryeong broke into a cold sweat in her bewilderment, but Yise's expression was utterly serious.

"I told you, it isn't an ability I can use whenever it's convenient..."

"Please. You're the only one we can rely on. Our lives are in your hands."

"I really shouldn't have come..."

Despite looking close to tears, Seol Ryeong held a talisman between her lips. From appearances, it seemed to sharpen all five senses considerably, though Yise could not tell for certain. She lifted her head and turned her eyes toward the sky. Gradually, they lost focus, their dark centers shrinking until white showed all around them.

He was grateful for the trust that made them follow his orders without argument, moving as one, but it weighed on him, too. The most important part was still his: stopping the coming catastrophe. If he failed, all these preparations would be worthless.

Yise turned and put a little distance between himself and his companions. Pouring all his Demonic Energy into the Twin-Banner Spirit-Domain Sealing Standard, he planted it to seal the Demonic Energy within that space. Then he stepped outside the barrier. Standing in front of the novice disciples, he raised his black iron shield and gathered his spiritual energy into it. Soon, both kinds of power within his body were utterly drained.

Place a barrier in front of him to cushion the blow, take cover behind it, and block with everything he had. He had to manage it, even if it cost him every last scrap of strength.

He stared at the flashing lightning.

A brilliant, saw-toothed streak of light seared itself onto his retinas as the lightning passed through the domain he had created. The barrier did not serve as the bulwark he had hoped for. Apparently, it could not fully neutralize Demonic Energy already converted into spell power. Yet it did disrupt a portion of that energy.

That tiny difference drew the line between life and death.

His vision went black. Pain came a beat later, together with the thunder. It felt as though his brain were burning white-hot. His whole body convulsed, his teeth clacking together.

"Yise!"

Someone shouted. Realizing his hearing still worked, Yise concluded that he was alive. A moment later, he registered that the black iron shield in his hand had vanished without a trace.

It was not the only thing missing. His left arm was gone below the elbow. Where it should have been, only a charred stump remained.

'That's the second time I've been roasted whole.'

He had lost an arm, but at least the rest of his body was only crisped on the outside.

Yise turned his eyes toward the clifftop. The demonic practitioner seemed bewildered, merely staring in their direction instead of preparing a third attack. Yise would be more than grateful if the man kept floundering even a little longer.

He asked the most urgent question.

"The formation?"

"Ready."

The moment Pi Garam answered, Yise pulled up the Twin-Banner Spirit-Domain Sealing Standard with his remaining right hand, turned, and pressed close to him.

"Your arm... Are you all right?"

"Yes. Start it. Hong Wonseo will put it back on."

"I'm not at that realm yet."

Great Core Formation Cultivators possessed monstrous abilities that could restore even other people's missing limbs. Even without the Hall Masters, Daemudo's Medicine Hall had spiritual medicines with comparable effects. Surely Daemudo would not leave a novice disciple without an arm lost on a mission... would it?

If necessary, he could always go to Master. There were plenty of ways to restore it. He just had to stay alive.

As the disruption formation activated, the surrounding air shimmered. To the demonic practitioner's eyes, the four of them would probably seem to have vanished abruptly. Sure enough, the man leaped off the cliff astride a Deathwind Black Tiger, apparently flustered. He must have intended to come check the spot himself.

At last, the chase could take place at a fair eye level.

Heaven favored them. By Foundation Establishment, Cultivators generally acquired at least one flight technique or flying ritual implement. Against an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator, escape would scarcely have been conceivable. But their opponent was a demonic practitioner, liable to be shot down immediately if he launched a flying ritual implement in Daemudo territory. Moreover, he was a demonic beast tamer with a beast to ride, and thus had little need for flight techniques. Those circumstances had given them this sliver of hope.

"Seol Ryeong, which way do we go?"

"..."

"Seol Ryeong?"

At his call, her eyes regained their focus. Looking uncertain, she pointed southwest, away from the direction they had come, away from Aegul County and the Daemudo outpost.

"Let's run. Seol Ryeong, lead the way."

Yise did not ask why. Now was the time to trust her instincts. Pi Garam supported him while Hong Wonseo ran alongside, administering first aid to the wounds inflicted by Demonic Energy.

"Keep this in your mouth. It'll ease the pain."

"Don't you have any elixir pills?"

"Not so much as a crumb."

"How heartless."

Still, the treatment was far better than nothing. The painkilling herb Hong Wonseo had put in his mouth was particularly effective.

They raced through the mountain forest toward the southwest, where Seol Ryeong had pointed. They pushed through dense stands of trees, crossed a stream valley, and plunged through undergrowth.

'He's fast.'

The ferocity of the Demonic Energy approaching from behind pressed against the back of Yise's skull, making it prickle. They were fleeing for all they were worth, yet the distance was closing rapidly.

"We have to go faster."

Even without Yise urging them on, the others could feel death's shadow drawing closer by the moment. The killing intent was chillingly distinct, with not the slightest attempt to conceal it.

At last, the demonic practitioner came within sight. At that very instant, something skimmed past the four of them, followed by the splitting of the air. A massive sword spun through the air and struck straight at the demonic practitioner's body. The earth gouged open, and dust rose in billowing clouds.

"You held out well, juniors."

It was Gwak Chan. He leaped down from a tree, retrieving the massive sword he had thrown. Then he planted himself squarely between the demonic practitioner and the novices, like a wall.

Without looking back, he said, "Return to the outpost. You'll only be a burden here."

"Yes, Senior. Stay safe."

Yise did not stop. He merely left that brief farewell, changed direction, and kept running. Gwak Chan glanced at the four retreating backs and chuckled.

"They really aren't even looking back."

His smile soon faded as he looked ahead. The demonic practitioner's face emerged from the dust, twisted in a fierce grimace. Comparing it with the wanted notice, Gwak Chan murmured, "Yes, you're the one. Here. A present."

He took three Deathwind Black Tiger heads from his storage pouch and tossed them in front of the man.

"I can't return the bodies. I tore them to pieces and gave them back to nature."

Chuckling, Gwak Chan looked at the demonic practitioner's now-expressionless face, then raised his massive sword as though disappointed by the lack of a reaction.

* * *

The four ran until the sounds grew distant. Behind them, explosions rang out intermittently as spiritual energy clashed with demonic qi. Tremors traveled through the ground beneath their feet, as though the entire mountain were shaking.

The gulf between their realms was immense. The battle behind Yise proved just how far he still had to go.

"Is it really all right to just leave?"

Seol Ryeong's voice was anxious. Of course, her legs never stopped moving. While Yise remained lost in thought, Hong Wonseo snapped back in his place.

"What difference would staying make? Just as Senior said, we'd only be baggage if we were taken hostage. Not that he'd bat an eye over hostages as insignificant as us, but an insect joining a fight between a dragon and a tiger changes nothing."

"But still..."

It felt somehow wrong to leave so coldly while a senior Cultivator from their own sect fought for them. Of course, remembering the living hell they had just endured left her with not the slightest desire to go back.

Yise kept running, but the demonic practitioner's face was etched into his mind. The face that had looked down from the cliff. That expressionless face firing bolt after bolt of lightning. A demonic beast tamer who controlled demonic beasts. He had released Demons in the area to disrupt Gwisu Temple's territory, hunted down Yise's fellow disciple, and tossed him to his beasts as food.

Perhaps it was a leap, but the thought suddenly struck him that this man might be connected to his family's enemies.

He would remember him. If the man survived, Yise would make him spit out the truth.

But not now. He had learned restraint. He had learned to retreat. Throwing himself into a fight he could not win was suicide, not revenge. Master had taught him that.

Another explosion rang out behind him. Yise did not look back.

Cultivate even more relentlessly. Advance through the realms even faster. Growing stronger was the only thing he could do now.