"I cannot agree to awaken the guardian. If what you say is true, the power of the guardian must be at a level that a mere human cannot contend with. How can the four of us here possibly capture it? Moreover, the problem is that the Law Enforcer will break through the barrier soon."
Seosan Daesa's words were logical. However, Mihyo, who had been listening, crossed her arms and said bluntly,
"Hmph... So you're saying we should just sit here and wait to die? Surely you don't think that Law Enforcer will leave quietly if he can't find the ruins on the ground?"
"That's..."
"He might try to destroy a mountain if he gets angry. We are not in a safe position. What we need to think about now is not giving up because it's impossible, but how we can survive."
"You're right."
That was true.
Logically, it was absurd for a human to destroy a mountain alone, but if the Law Enforcer could manipulate the elements, it wasn't impossible. Moreover, given the nature of Manisan, which had become a ruin, a massive shock from above could cause the entire ruin to collapse. We could be buried alive in this ruin if we weren't careful.
At that moment, the young monk Yujung, who had been listening quietly, spoke up.
"What if we do this?"
"Do you have a plan?"
"It's called 'using the barbarians to control the barbarians' (以夷制夷)."
Mihyo frowned.
"That might be the only way. However, there's no guarantee it will work as we hope. We need to plan carefully."
I asked Yujung,
"Do you mean to make the Law Enforcer and the guardian fight each other?"
"Yes. If we do that, we can aim for mutual destruction, and then we can deal with the weaker survivor."
"You're right. It sounds difficult."
I sighed.
Making the Law Enforcer and the guardian fight each other!
It would be the best scenario for us, but the problem was how to create that situation. We could lure the Law Enforcer to the altar and make him spill blood to confront the guardian, but there was a possibility that the Law Enforcer would not fight the guardian and would return to the surface calmly. Moreover, he might ignore the guardian and kill us instead. There was no guarantee that the Law Enforcer would fight the guardian as we hoped.
Seosan Daesa, who had been quietly chanting, said,
"... I have one question, Gumiho."
"What is it?"
"If you were to obtain the Moonlight, what would you do with it?"
"Hmph, what do you think you can do with that knowledge?"
"It's important, so please answer."
Seosan Daesa didn't seem to be asking a pointless question. Mihyo, noticing this, thought for a moment and then said,
"I was originally in the position of serving the Queen Mother of the West. I plan to use the power of the Moonlight to ascend to the Heavenly Realm. I have no other desires."
"Indeed... If that's the case, there is a way."
"What do you mean?"
"Let's try this."
And so, the plan began.
I sat quietly in the darkness, my fingers pressed into my acupuncture points. The space was comfortable to sit in, so I could focus on gathering my strength. My gaze was fixed straight ahead.
Silence filled the air.
Thud. Thud.
Footsteps echoed inside the ruins. However, the footsteps were clearly intentional, meant to instill fear in those who heard them. In reality, the owner of the footsteps could run a hundred paces without making a sound, thanks to his mastery of lightness techniques.
The owner of the footsteps, after walking for a while, seemed to be surveying the surroundings. Then, a muttering voice was heard.
"Are they hiding? Pathetic creatures."
He seemed to have already detected that we were hiding. However, he appeared to believe he could withstand an ambush, and he began to examine the altar with interest. To him, the ruins seemed very peculiar, and he was examining them meticulously.
"Hmm... Interesting."
Rustle
"Interesting, huh? Enjoy it while you can."
At that moment, Mihyo's illusion appeared from the darkness. The Law Enforcer, recognizing it as an illusion, glared at it without attacking.
"Do you think hiding will save you? You are already cornered."
"Hehe. Maybe. But there's something I want to know first."
"What is it?"
"Do you know the legend of the Seven Treasures?"
Mihyo's words made the Law Enforcer silent. Then, he seemed to catch on and looked surprised. He glanced at the altar and said,
"Indeed, that's it. The Seven Treasures are here."
"Yes. They are treasures sealed since the Age of the Gods."
"I will kill all of you and obtain the Seven Treasures."
"Whether that will happen as you think is questionable, hahaha."
Mihyo laughed and said,
"Let's see how it goes."
Swish
At that moment, the container Mihyo had moved with a teleportation spell poured out in the air. A moment later, a clanging sound was heard, and sticky blood flowed over the altar. The Law Enforcer, standing right in front of the altar, felt a massive vibration under his feet and was taken aback.
Rumble
"No..."
Boom!!
Darkness surged up from the ground. The boundless darkness suddenly emitted hundreds, thousands of spirits, and the souls swirling in the air flew toward the Law Enforcer. Although he easily repelled the spirits with his martial arts, he seemed to have a vague sense of the tremendous entity being summoned.
Boom!!
The darkness, which had almost engulfed the underground ruins, eventually broke through the ceiling. It rose into the sky, and the dark mist began to form a shape, as if it were alive.
The noble darkness began to stir under the moonlight. The Law Enforcer tried to leap into the sky to escape, but the darkness seemed to recognize him as an enemy. Tentacle-like things flew out from the dark mist and attacked the Law Enforcer.
Boom
"Ugh... This thing!!"
The Law Enforcer, realizing the dark entity was attacking him, became angry. However, he quickly regained his composure and shouted,
"I can see through your tricks, foolish ones!! Do you think I will fight such a thing? I will kill you first and leave this island!"
There was no response. The Law Enforcer, trying to avoid a collision with the dark entity, used his lightness technique to fly into the sky again. However, he suddenly stopped mid-air, turned a somersault, and landed on the ground.
He seemed to be in extreme confusion.
"What...? Who are you, and why are you speaking to me?"
Then he shouted as if he were going mad.
"Shut up! Don't try to control me! I won't be eaten by the likes of you!!"
Boom
In the next moment, a massive whirlwind and tornado erupted from the Law Enforcer's body, creating a dragon vortex. Then, he began to attack the dark entity, the guardian, which was hundreds of paces in size. The sight was like a clash of monsters, and I, watching from a distance, could only hold my breath.
With a sound like the collapse of heaven and earth, the dark entity began to take shape, its mist dissipating. It was a creature from another world, the most alien of all the monsters I had ever seen. It was so bizarre and terrifying that even the monsters summoned by the Jinyiwei in the past would seem tame in comparison.
Rumble
The black tree seemed to have its roots in the ground, but its trunk and leaves were covered in eyes. Most terrifying of all was the giant eye in the center of the tree, which sent shivers down my spine. The dark tentacles and a sinister voice echoed through the air.
The moonlight was swallowed by the darkness, flickering.
Aaaaah -
The guardian reacted to the Law Enforcer's attack and began to counter.
Aaaaah -
Space distorted. Demons poured into the world.
Mysterious powers from unknown deities gathered in the sky and began to emit beams of light toward the ground. Explosions and blasts raged, and shockwaves erupted continuously. The Law Enforcer seemed to be fighting the guardian head-on.
Mihyo, who had been observing, pulled in her tail. She was trembling with fear.
"What... What kind of existence is that?"
"The Law Enforcer is truly formidable. To manipulate the elements to such an extent..."
As I commented, Mihyo, pale with fear, said,
"What are you talking about?! I'm not talking about the Law Enforcer, but about Izanaginomikoto!! To think such a monster exists in the world... Can't you feel the power of that entity?!"
"......?"
I looked around. It seemed that Mihyo wasn't the only one thinking this way; Seosan Daesa and Yujung's faces were also pale. They seemed to be more intimidated by the power of the guardian, Izanaginomikoto, than by the Law Enforcer's divine might. It appeared that there was a power that only sorcerers could sense.
Our plan was as follows.
We deliberately opened the entrance to the ruins to lure the Law Enforcer in. After confirming that he had definitely entered the ruins, the three sorcerers combined their powers to use a teleportation spell to leave the ruins. Mihyo would create a clone with her tail and drop a container filled with my blood on the altar.