Dust filled the air and the vision grew hazy. In the midst of it all, the demons had lunged all at once toward Hwi like wild beasts snapping their jaws, and Hwi, without any hesitation, caught them barehanded.

Only then did Yunseo finally understand why the warriors called this place "Hell." In this battlefield, there was not a single ounce of artistry, not a single technique or purpose — the demons simply tore apart whatever stood before their eyes, and Hwi merely took hold of whatever came to his hands and killed them.

What was most bizarre and terrifying was how silent it all was. The demons flying and scattering over there made not a single sound, and even more chillingly, the demons vanishing from Hwi's hands disappeared mercilessly without a word.

He was standing on ground, and yet inexplicably this space did not feel like reality. Hwi's fingertips grazed the sacred sword and drew it inward. Yunseo was overwhelmed to the point of being unable to gauge even the degree of Hwi's movements. The taste of iron flooded Yunseo's mouth as he bit down roughly on his lips.

He could now understand, bone-deep, what it was he had left behind and fled from. What these people were protecting, and what they had been fighting.

"Why did you…… come alone?"

A trembling voice rang out faintly. Yunseo waited for an answer without taking his eyes off Hwi.

"At Geumsan, I alone have the power to punish the evil without the authority of the Hwang. This is the one ability that is mine alone among those who serve the Emperor. If Geumsan steps forward alone, the warriors can use that time to rest and I will properly trample them underfoot."

"That day…… was that why you left in such haste?"

The moment Jungju's message arrived and he had decided to return to the palace — Hwi had departed, leaving only a brief note. Hwi, who had returned reeking heavily of the smell of mugwort, burning with fever. The warmth of his body from that day was so vivid it was as if it were seared into Yunseo's fingertips.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"You received a wound…… did you not?"

"I received a wound but it was not a sufficient amount."

A distant ringing erupted in his ears. Yunseo could not suppress the welling sensation and brought his fist down on the sacred sword. The sob pressing up behind his lips was swallowed deep.

Hwi drew a sword from its scabbard. The motion of swinging the sword was so composed and graceful that it was as if watching a dance, and each time the sword passed through, the demons crumbled ceaselessly — he was a hero descended from the heavens.

But he was not a hero from a novel. He too was one living, breathing person truly alive in this age.

Even so, as time wore on, Yunseo grew gradually accustomed to the sight of Hwi fighting amidst the blizzard. Yunseo felt a fleeting wave of stillness. He thought that someday, amid this harsh and grueling battle, a hollowness would settle in and his sense of purpose would go numb.

"Are you alright?"

At the quiet murmur, Yunseo barely managed to shift his gaze. Hyeonbi was approaching, pushing back his hair that fluttered in the wind behind his ear.

"He called you here out of concern for Your Majesty, to keep watch by your side."

His eyes took in the sight of Hyeonbi dealing calmly with the situation in this hellish landscape. How much time must have passed for everyone here to have grown this accustomed to the chaos — and how much time would it take for him to adapt without letting it show. The question filled him with a sinking weight, and in the same breath it floated away.

"Hyeonbi, what were you thinking when you first climbed up here?"

Far off, a tall peak — Yongrimbbong — was visible. It barely gave off any fullness, and the rocky cliff face was exposed one by one, so the peak held a bizarre and grand presence that seemed not of this world. Meanwhile, in the vast field spread out before it, countless wildflowers bloomed, and right in the center, Hwi stood alone gazing up at Yongrimbbong.

At first glance the young man seemed small and solitary in that vast and desolate place. In his heart rose a desire to stand beside him and keep watch. Suddenly, stems bent low and roots settled at the base of Yongrimbbong grew even more deeply buried.

A breathless, incorporeal energy enveloped the top of the fortress walls. It was an omen. Not to mention fighting a war — even Yunseo, who had never been anywhere near a battlefield, could feel the sharp air of that moment.

And soon something poured out from the end of the ravine. Goosebumps rose crawling up his spine so fast he went pale, and a chilling sensation seized his entire body. The blood draining from Yunseo's face left him pallid, close to fainting.

He had heard countless things about the demons of Hell. Some said they were like a pack of dogs frothing at the mouth, others said their hands and feet split open into ten, others said they ran faster than arrows and were more terrifying monsters than any creature in the world. But all of that was wrong.

Yunseo exhaled one thin breath of air along with a sense of hopeless dread. His fingertips trembled and shook, and he had to grip the hem of his robe to hold on. The demons of Hell were darkness. A darkness without any light, without any color, swelling up like a wave while consuming all existence, herding toward humans in order to devour them.

This was something a single person could not confront. Instinctive terror spread from somewhere deep within him and he let out a scream toward Hwi that reached before his thoughts did, and without knowing it himself, Yunseo stepped back two, three paces before planting his feet firmly, looking ahead at Hwi's back, then leapt forward instead, gripping the sacred sword and crying out.

"Your Majesty!"

Yunseo's voice rang out hollow and thin. The darkness's advance toward Hwi was midway, and Yunseo, not knowing what to do, was stamping his feet in his place when he turned urgently to glance around him.

"What are you doing, go and escort His Majesty!"

But the warriors watched what was unfolding before their eyes with unchanged, firm expressions, merely observing. From between Yunseo's new lips came a surge of sensation.

Yunseo's body leaned as if about to run out toward the sacred sword.

"With the Hwang's power it is sufficient to punish them — do not be alarmed."

Before he knew it, Jungju who had drawn near looked at Yunseo with concern.

It was impossible to accept that this could be maintained with a single person's strength. At the moment Yunseo lifted his face and parted his lips, Hwi bent one knee to the ground.

Urr — the earth trembled, and the ground where Hwi's hand touched swelled up abruptly. What had seemed like solid, packed earth split in an instant and erupted like a crevasse, and the momentum of the demons that had been charging ferociously began to waver into disarray.

What had appeared as one solid mass of darkness were individual existences, each taking the form of a many-legged beast. Even so, the spell that induced the terror of the deep did not disappear. They were so unrestrained and nimble as to nearly trample even a name of standing, and furthermore they could lay claim to this vast field.

Before this impossible and merciless existence, he could not shrink back at all. From Hwi's hands bloomed a fissure that overturned the earth and shattered the footholds of the demons, felling them one after another.

At around mid-hour, it seemed the movements of the palanquin had slowed somewhat and he sensed their approach, so he gently opened the window. Beyond the wide bamboo blind, the tall stone walls of the fortress glinting in the twilight entered his eyes. Alongside the layered stone walls came the sight of a sturdy wooden gate, which opened in sequence.

Geumsan Fortress was different from the other fortresses — quiet and at ease, with a modest guard rotation. People were each living out their daily lives, and though at first glance the population appeared very small, all the warriors were gathered in one place, making the interior feel all the more expansive.

Once more, he passed through several gates and entered inside. Within, warriors and flower spirits were coming and going. Although Hell had been opened, this place too seemed peaceful. Only the tension that had not been visible from outside the outer walls had now, up close, lifted and dissipated.

From the palanquin, smoke rising above the walls came into sight. One signal fire meant the situation was normal, two meant two gates of Hell had been opened, three meant that the Emperor's power was required, four meant it was the Emperor's exclusive emergency state — four had never once been lit.

Three signal fires. Between the sacred sword, the warriors guarding the walls could be seen. Hell must be open out there. Yunseo made to head straight toward the walls and the connected stairway but Jungju blocked his path ahead.

"Your Majesty, you need only wait inside the fortress until Hell closes."

"What kind of talk is that? The Emperor himself has been summoned and I am to simply stay here?"

"It is not an urgent situation — it is sufficient to return to His Majesty's side and carry out the executions."

Absurd words. While even the noble attendants were heading to watch Hell, waiting here simply amounted to nothing more than hiding in cowardice.

"Is that Your Majesty's meaning?"

"Yes, I believe that is so. It is unnecessary for the noble attendants to depart all the way to Hell's entrance."

"I am not a mere flower spirit gathering. As I have taken a place I cannot escape, I can no longer flee at any time. Even so."

"If there is an opportunity to flee, will you do so?"

Eyes with an unknowable depth stared intently at Yunseo. The man whose straightforward impression when dressed in military robes had seemed brusque — there emanated from him a quality that carried sorrow and yet was sufficient to hold one's ground. Yunseo discerned whether Jungju was moving toward his own ends or showing human compassion toward him. Just then, the earth rumbled — urr — the tremor spread beneath his feet. He could hold back no longer.

"At least, not right now."

Throwing back a firm answer, Yunseo stood up abruptly and passed Jungju, ascending the stairway. The higher he climbed on the solid stone steps, the more his heart thudded — thump, thump — racing violently.

When he finally reached the top of the wall, the warriors saluted briefly. But with his gaze seized by the scenery revealed beyond the walls, Yunseo could not give any response.