Chapter 80. Kin, Personality (2)
Hissssss. Snap!
The sound of purification continued from the priest Jungon was holding. Then the thread connected to him snapped.
Thud!
The priest, who had been moving perfectly well just a moment ago, suddenly went limp like a doll whose mechanism had stopped working.
A doll? A doll controlled by threads...
The image of a marionette being controlled by strings suddenly flashed through Jungon's mind. Thinking about it carefully, it was strange that Personality had been able to select specific targets and cause those unusual phenomena.
If the priests are being controlled through those threads, and the one I just touched was severed...
Just as Moses had parted the Red Sea and opened a path for the Israelites to escape, a new possibility had opened before Jungon, one that didn't require him to kill the priests.
BANG! BANG!
Even while the priests continued beating him, Jungon's eyes began glowing white as he searched for the threads.
Some threads were attached to backs, others to the tops of heads, and still others to chests. Their positions differed from priest to priest, but they all originated from the same place.
"You can see them, can't you?"
The moment Jungon turned toward their source, his eyes met Personality's, sending a chill down his spine.
Perhaps because his technique had been exposed, Personality's expression had become considerably more hostile.
"I thought the aura coming from you felt a little different. Did you concentrate aura into your eyes to strengthen your vision?"
At those words, Jungon touched the area around his eyes.
He hadn't been aware of it at first, but now that Personality had mentioned it, he began to feel the change.
I never tried to move aura into my eyes. When did that happen?
It seemed that aura had gathered in his eyes while he was trying to concentrate it by imitating Michael.
I have no idea how this works, but the feeling isn't bad.
Despite losing so much blood, Jungon felt new energy welling up inside him as he sensed the flow of his aura.
Previously, he had always covered his entire body in aura or concentrated it on the part of his body making contact with something. Now, however, he could feel aura circulating precisely through individual parts of his body.
I feel like I only need a little more inspiration. But I'm still not quite there.
The aura he had gathered repeatedly tried to take on a certain shape, but each attempt ended in failure.
Even so, the change would be a great help in solving his immediate problem.
"In that case..."
GRAB!
Jungon caught the wrist of a priest who was trying to strike him with a broken holy water bottle. With his free hand, he grabbed the thread connected to the priest.
SNAP!
He tore the thread apart, and the priest dropped the holy water bottle before collapsing helplessly.
Leaving the priest behind, Jungon looked down at his palm to examine the severed thread.
Rustle.
Having lost the source that supplied it with energy, the thread scattered in the wind like dust.
Nevertheless, even that brief moment was enough for Jungon to identify its true nature.
Demonic energy.
Since it had originated from a demon, that was only natural.
If that was the case, it was a sign of hope and a blessing from God.
The aura that had unintentionally gathered in his eyes, separate from the aura concentrated in his palm, would allow him to save the priests.
Snap! Snap! Snap!
This time, Jungon took the initiative. He charged toward the priests, dodging their attacks and severing their threads in the same way.
Now that he had a clear objective, his movements were no longer restricted by hesitation.
Thud.
Every time a thread was severed, another unconscious priest collapsed onto the ground.
Thud. Thud... Thump.
Before long, Jungon had dealt with all the priests and turned his gaze toward Personality.
He felt that he might finally be able to land a proper blow on the demon.
Step, step.
Jungon brushed off his hands and approached Personality, who also turned his attention toward him.
"You've already finished? How troublesome. I don't want to ruin the mission..."
"The mission?"
Some of the priests still under Personality's control dragged someone over to him.
They threw the person onto the ground, naturally drawing Jungon's attention. When Jungon recognized who it was, his eyes widened.
"Father Sim?!"
Father Sim lay unconscious at Personality's feet, his eyes rolled back.
"I'm sure he escaped with the other priests earlier... Don't tell me."
Looking more closely, Jungon realized that the priests who had brought Father Sim here had also been part of the group that had escaped.
"You planted your puppets among the escaping priests too."
Frowning, Jungon roughly figured out what had happened.
Personality must have connected his threads to some of the priests in the group before they retreated.
"Ah, don't worry about this one. He's the reason I came here in the first place."
Noticing Jungon's gaze, Personality waved a hand, telling him to mind his own business.
He came here specifically to take him? For what purpose?
Jungon didn't know why the demons were targeting Father Sim, but he couldn't allow Personality to take him away.
Step, step.
Gathering aura into his feet as well, Jungon advanced toward Personality with heavy footsteps.
With every step he took, more aura gathered in his fist.
The controlled priests moved to block his path.
"I think continuing this will only exhaust both of us. Why don't we end things here? You should get some rest."
Hearing Personality suddenly suggest retreating, Jungon wiped the blood running down his forehead.
He's trying to leave after coming this far?
Something important must have happened. If that was the case, Jungon had even more reason not to let him escape.
Jungon pointed toward the dead priests.
"Do you even know how many people you've killed?"
Jungon's words were a condemnation, making it clear that he had no intention of letting Personality leave. However, the demon merely let out a disbelieving laugh.
"Pfft. Do you count how many ants you've stepped on?"
Understanding what Personality meant, Jungon frowned.
"Why would I bother considering such things when I'm killing insignificant creatures? Is that enough of an answer?"
"Yes. That's more than enough."
GRAB! SNAP!
As soon as their conversation ended, Jungon moved before his enemies could react. He seized the hair of a nearby priest and used his other hand to tear away the thread connected to him.
"Don't think you can run away whenever you please. I'll send you back to Hell, one way or another."
Jungon was about to reach for another priest, but Personality's next move forced him to stop.
"You seemed quite fond of these insignificant creatures earlier. If you move another step... Well, I don't need to explain what will happen, do I?"
The priests were each gripping their own throats.
Judging by the strength being applied by their hands, they were prepared to cut off their own breathing at any moment.
"...Go ahead and try."
"You'll regret it."
"If they die, they won't have been killed by me. They'll have fallen in battle against a demon. Besides, hostages are most effective while they're still hostages."
Once they were dead, they would no longer be hostages.
GRIP!
"Ghk! Khk!"
At those words, the priests' hands tightened around their throats, making them groan in pain.
Even so, Jungon didn't so much as blink. Instead, he swallowed his anger and carefully watched Personality's movements.
"You've thought things through a little, but don't assume that means I won't kill them."
"...If they die, I'll tear you in half and offer it as a tribute to their souls."
"Watch your mouth..."
RUMBLE!!
Before Personality could finish speaking, roots suddenly burst out of the ground.
Personality watched the roots, which seemed to possess wills of their own, before turning toward Namsan Tower.
"It's still too early. Did something happen?"
The Hungry Tree wasn't supposed to begin moving until it had consumed more blood as nourishment. However, it had revealed its roots much earlier than Personality had expected.
"I'd better finish this quickly and return."
It was acceptable for Personality himself to become entangled in a troublesome situation, but he couldn't allow his master, Marbas, to suffer the same inconvenience.
Just as he was about to leave after using the priests to hold Jungon back, Jungon's furious shout struck his ears.
"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?!"
While Personality's attention had been elsewhere,
RIP! RIP! RIP!
Jungon had severed every thread connected to the priests.
The priests collapsed face-first onto the ground without so much as twitching. There was now no one left to serve as a shield between Personality and Jungon.
"Tsk. Useless creatures. I suppose it would be better to finish this quickly."
Snap! Snap!
As Personality clicked his tongue, the stitches around his mouth began breaking apart.
"One death gives birth to another."
Countless writhing threads began rising from the dead bodies.
At Personality's gesture, the threads rushed straight toward Jungon.
If they had connected to an ordinary person, that individual would have been overwhelmed by extreme anxiety and driven to take their own life. However,
"Do you think I'm foolish enough to fall for the same trick twice?!"
The white glow in Jungon's eyes allowed him to follow the paths of the threads as they coiled toward him like snakes.
He met the incoming threads with fists covered in a faint layer of aura, erasing their demonic energy. Whenever he managed to grab one, he simply tore it apart.
Tap!
Having destroyed every thread, Jungon concentrated aura into his legs and closed the distance between himself and Personality in an instant.
"Let's see whether that hard face of yours can withstand another punch."
"You insignificant creature!"
Jungon reached Personality in the blink of an eye and pulled back his right arm, swelling its muscles to their fullest extent.
"Stop calling everyone insignificant. The more you say it, the smaller you look."
WHOOOOOSH!!
More threads shot out from Personality, but all of them crumbled against Jungon's fist as it cut through the air.
The fist continued forward with tremendous force, aiming directly for the area beneath Personality's nose.
BAAAAAANG!!!
Jungon's fist struck Personality beneath the nose, snapping his head backward. Unable to withstand the force, Personality's waist bent backward as well, and his eyes lost focus.
However, at the same time,
SHLIIIICK!
Personality's chest split open, and something long and thin shot out, piercing Jungon's shoulder.
Even then, Jungon had managed to minimize the damage by instinctively twisting his body.
"I didn't want to reveal this much... But now that you've seen it, I'll have to kill every insignificant creature here to calm my anger."
What had emerged from Personality's chest was a long, sharp thread. Worse still, it wasn't made entirely of demonic energy, which made it difficult to destroy with aura.
"What are you, a matryoshka doll? Another body hidden inside your body... Is that your true form?"
Another demon had been hiding inside Personality's body.
Jungon examined the interior of the opened chest.
He could see countless threads made of demonic energy. All of them were connected to a single being suspended in the air.
"That's right. And now that you've learned something you were never supposed to know, I'm sure you understand what fate awaits you."
The voice came from the demon inside rather than Personality's outer body.
The true body, which spoke in a languid, decadent voice, had both eyes sewn shut. It possessed neither arms nor legs, and only its head and torso hung suspended by threads.
The threads binding it from every direction seemed to exist for the sole purpose of protecting it.
"My fate? Heh. Cough!"
Jungon coughed up dark blood.
It was already remarkable that he was still standing after enduring such severe blood loss. Now that his shoulder had been pierced and Personality's demonic energy had entered his body, it was a wonder he was still alive.
"Actually, this has worked out in my favor. Revealing your true form was your greatest mistake."
Despite the unfavorable situation, Jungon's expression showed that he hadn't lost hope.
His sharp eyebrows were drawn together fiercely, and his clear eyes remained fixed entirely on Personality.
GRAB!
His gaze shifted toward his shoulder. He grabbed the thread piercing it and held on with all his strength so that Personality couldn't withdraw it.
"Now you won't be able to run away either, will you?"
"Don't think a threat like that will work on me."
Several more threads began writhing out from Personality's opened chest.
They looked exactly like the one that had pierced Jungon's shoulder, so their strength and destructive power were probably the same.
Even knowing that he might be pierced by all those threads, Jungon decided not to let go.
"Heh. Why don't you let me hit you first and then decide whether it's a threat? You poor demon, who can't do anything by himself."
Smiling slyly, Jungon raised his fist and prepared a powerful blow filled with aura.
WHOOOOSH!
The threads rushed toward Jungon.
"HRAAAH! IN THE NAME OF GOD, RETURN TO HELL!!!"
Jungon's fist surged toward Personality's true body, beyond the oncoming storm of threads.
