WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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Chapter 5: Episode 2: Infant-Cry Dragon Horse (2)

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“Argh!”

A spray of blood burst forth, and one of Goegeol’s arms flew into the air.

The crouching demon revealed itself. Once its true form emerged, along with the overwhelming aura that seemed to slice through flesh, the young dokkaebi finally realized they had walked straight into a predator’s hunting ground.

This was no mere Child Ghost.

The demon before them was far stronger than that.

“Run!”

Gong Woljang trembled under the crushing killing intent, while Goegeol clutched his spurting arm and sobbed.

Only Gong Ilchwi still had his wits about him. He grabbed Goegeol and tried to escape.

They did not even make it a few steps before slamming into something.

An invisible barrier had trapped them inside.

As though mocking them, the demon that had lured them in slowly gnawed at Goegeol’s severed arm, crunching through it as it savored each bite.

With no way to fight back and no way to escape, there was nothing left but terror.

The adults’ words came back to them in flashes.

‘The first unchanging rule of demon hunting.’

‘Never approach an enemy you know nothing about.’

* * *

‘It’s taken too long, but they won’t know exactly where the demon is either.’

Night was when demonic qi grew dense.

The demon could not have revealed itself long ago.

Considering that they did not know its exact location, they might have encountered it only moments ago. If he was lucky, they might not have encountered it at all.

Ise finished his preparations and ran at full speed, sorting through his thoughts.

Even if he got there, he would not be much help. At best, he might buy them a little time.

The bigger problem was that he did not know where the young dokkaebi were either.

Still, he had narrowed down the direction.

He headed toward the place where rumors of a demon that cried like a child had first begun. Drawing a straight line between that location and Gwisu Temple, he ran while searching diagonally across the surrounding area.

His reasoning was sound.

This was dokkaebi territory.

Most demons instinctively avoided the area because they could sense the dokkaebi’s aura.

That meant this was an intelligent demon.

If it had approached deliberately, it likely intended to hunt individual dokkaebi traveling between the village and Gwisu Temple.

At the very least, it could conceal its own demonic qi and hide from Mongryeon and Gwisu Temple’s strongest fighters. It was something capable of wielding a demonic-qi barrier.

Ise pulled an object from his clothes, a portable spirit totem with a bell and talisman hanging from it.

Its name was the Boundary-Seeking Talisman, a sacred relic that could track spaces concealed by demonic-qi barriers.

And if it reacted...

Jingle.

Even as Ise used Dokkaebi Steps to run at full speed, the silent bell rang.

The talisman fluttered against the wind, as though defying the laws of nature.

Ise immediately changed direction.

At the end of that path, he sensed thick demonic qi.

A demonic-qi barrier.

A kind of domain that barred entry without its owner’s permission.

Ise first fired a signal flare into the sky.

Then he tore through the barrier with the Realm-Rending Sword and looked inside.

The wavering view brightened at once, revealing what lay within the barrier.

At its center was a demon leisurely tearing apart Goegeol’s body. It had a human face, a horse’s body, and dragon horns, a grotesque mixture of forms.

Just as Ise had expected, it was one of the two possible demons.

A level-six threat, a mid-ranking demon.

An Infant-Cry Dragon Horse.

‘This is dangerous...’

It was one of the most notorious demons among demon hunters because of how aggressive it was.

It might have been considered the weakest among its kind, but it had once reached a higher realm. After being hunted and fleeing time and again, its rank had fallen.

By any objective measure, he could not possibly win.

The tremendous demonic qi that scraped at his body screamed that one wrong step would turn him into the next meal.

‘Stay calm.’

Ise steadied himself.

Six years ago, when he hunted Snail-Headed Scholar, it was not because he had believed he could win.

He had already thrown away his life. He had only acted with the resolve to pay its price.

The Infant-Cry Dragon Horse glanced at Ise, then returned to its meal as though it did not care whether new prey had entered.

It seemed to have decided Ise was no threat.

‘It’s too late for Goegeol...’

There was no way to save Goegeol when he was already being eaten.

He needed to rescue the remaining two dokkaebi while the creature was distracted by its meal.

Gong Ilchwi lay collapsed, black blood pouring from his abdomen. Gong Woljang had wet himself and was in no condition to fight, his eyes completely unfocused.

Careful not to provoke the demon, Ise slowly approached Gong Ilchwi and placed a Restoration Pellet in his mouth.

It was almost a spiritual elixir to humans, but it was still a precious medicine that could stop bleeding and heal wounds for dokkaebi.

“Get up. You have to run on your own feet.”

As the Restoration Pellet’s effects spread through his body, focus gradually returned to Gong Ilchwi’s eyes.

“Y-you, why are you here...?”

“Can you walk? Just nod.”

“...”

Gong Ilchwi slowly nodded, his head trembling.

“Gong Ilchwi, can you see where the barrier was torn open, in the direction I came from? Get out through there as fast as you can. Gong Woljang, when I give the signal, take this and run in the opposite direction. Tear through the barrier and escape. Once you’re outside, carry your older brother back to Gwisu Temple.”

Ise grabbed Gong Woljang by the jaw and stared directly into his eyes. The force that nearly crushed his jaw pulled his vacant gaze back to reality.

Gong Woljang slowly nodded.

“Wait, then what about you...?”

“If you escape too slowly, I’ll die too. Don’t look back. Run as fast as you can. Got it?”

As though it sensed the strange shift in the air, the Infant-Cry Dragon Horse stopped chewing Goegeol’s body.

“Now!”

Ise pulled Gong Ilchwi to his feet and shoved him toward the opening he had torn in the barrier.

Gong Woljang also kicked off instinctively.

The Infant-Cry Dragon Horse, which had ignored them until now, launched itself from the ground in fury.

It targeted Gong Woljang, who looked less injured.

Its movements were too fast for the eye to follow, a charge like lightning.

But then, thud!

A shield cut in and struck one of its horns.

Ise had stepped into the Infant-Cry Dragon Horse’s path, raising his shield and deflecting its charge at an angle.

He had guessed correctly. The creature might tolerate prey walking into its hunting ground, but it would not allow them to leave. It would also attack the healthier target first.

Ise was sent flying from the collision, but he had at least stopped the dragon-like horn from striking Gong Woljang.

‘I could barely see it.’

Tense, Ise raised his shield close to his body. This was not an opponent he could evade or counterattack by watching with his eyes.

Still, the hatchet and shield he carried were treasure artifacts Mongryeon had carefully made for him.

They were fashioned from materials prized by cultivators, and the shield was as sturdy as expected.

His best option was to track its movements as much as possible with Dokkaebi Senses, absorb as much of the impact as he could, and endure with the strength of his artifacts.

He cautiously peeked over the top of his shield to check the Infant-Cry Dragon Horse’s condition.

When they collided, he had scattered the Tiger-Slaying Poison he had brought just in case, but it did not seem to be working.

‘They said it could kill even a tiger instantly...’

He had brought the poison in case he faced the other mid-ranking demon, but it was useless against the Infant-Cry Dragon Horse.

Then the creature flashed out of sight and reappeared right before him.

Its body surged, and this time a horse hoof brimming with demonic qi slammed into the shield.

Ise squeezed every last bit of strength from his body and clung to the shield’s handle.

He flew back for a long distance before crashing into the barrier. His vision flashed, and the impact shook his body. Blood flowed from his ear, ran down his cheek, and gathered at the tip of his chin.

The pressure was like a giant bull grinding his body beneath its hooves.

‘Stay conscious.’

He had deliberately positioned himself so that the attacks would send him toward the torn opening in the barrier.

Lowering his stance again, he backed away and crawled out of the barrier.

His body shook from the impact, and blood trickled from his mouth as though he had suffered internal injuries.

‘I made it outside the barrier, at least.’

Demonic qi glowed ominously around the Infant-Cry Dragon Horse’s two horns.

It let out an animalistic cry, as though it wanted to gore this annoying insect, shatter his bones, and chew through his organs at once.

The next moment, it flashed out of sight again.

Ise braced for another impact, but he felt nothing strike his shield.

Dokkaebi Senses sounded a sharp warning at the back of his head. Sensing danger, he immediately rolled to the side.

Thud!

The Infant-Cry Dragon Horse appeared behind him and smashed down where Ise had been only moments before.

A huge crater formed, and a cloud of dust billowed upward.

Then its tail curved around and struck Ise’s body as he sprang up like a frog.

“Ghk!”

He heard the sound of something breaking, and a fountain of blood burst from his mouth.

He was nearing his limit. Blood had soaked the ground beneath him, and his vision wavered like heat haze.

He could probably endure one more attack. Maybe two.

‘It should be about time...’

Just as he began to think any further delay would be dangerous, an adult dokkaebi appeared from nowhere and struck the Infant-Cry Dragon Horse’s head with a Gold Chain Staff.

Clang!

The harsh sound of metal striking metal rang out, and Ise’s body lifted into the air.

“Damn it, sorry we’re late.”

Goecheon, the guard on duty at Gwisu Temple, and two other dokkaebi had spotted the signal flare and arrived almost at the same time.

Carried over Goecheon’s shoulder, Ise gave his report in a murmur.

“Goegeol had already been eaten. I sent the other two back to Gwisu Temple.”

“...”

Even while struggling to stay conscious, Ise still made sure to tell Goecheon that the other dokkaebi were safe. Goecheon could only marvel at his tenacity.

What kind of resolve did he have...?

“Do we stand a chance?”

That was not what mattered to Ise right now.

The two dokkaebi had ambushed the Infant-Cry Dragon Horse, but they did not seem to have inflicted even a single wound.

Comparing the dokkaebi’s strength with that of a mid-ranking demon like the Infant-Cry Dragon Horse, the scales were hopelessly tipped.

“Hold on tight.”

As though aware of that, Goecheon seemed focused solely on getting Ise away from the Infant-Cry Dragon Horse.

Goecheon immediately kicked off from the ground. The sounds of fierce battle behind them gradually faded.

Not long after, the demonic qi at his back closed in with terrifying speed.

The Infant-Cry Dragon Horse was rapidly gaining on them with the heads of the two dokkaebi clamped in its mouth.

Footnotes:

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