At this sight, the corners of Mok Gyeong-un's mouth curled up to his ears. His anticipation heightened.
'A monster...'
This was undoubtedly a monster, far beyond comparison to the evil spirit from before. He had hoped for a green-level spirit, but unexpectedly, an even more powerful being had appeared.
A Shaman would typically be flustered in such a moment.
In the chamber gradually filling with blood, the sound of a heartbeat could be heard.
Then, a bizarre event unfolded. In the center of the blood-drenched chamber, a heart materialized from the sound of the heartbeat.
The blood gathered around the heart, forming one organ, then two, then three. Bones quickly enveloped these organs, followed by muscles attaching to the bones.
Finally, pale skin sprouted on the surface of the muscles.
The entire process was as awe-inspiring as witnessing the 'birth' of something.
With a whoosh, the blood reversed its flow, becoming an inverted waterfall that enveloped the newly formed being. As the blood waterfall was sucked back into the ceiling, the being revealed itself.
It was a beautiful entity with a pale face, wearing a crown, yet with long, unkempt hair falling down. Dressed in red undergarments and a black outer garment, it held a long pipe in its mouth.
The being took a deep drag from the pipe and exhaled smoke.
Mok Gyeong-un, unfazed, began to speak, "That was quite a grand entrance. May I ask who-"
Before he could finish, Mok Gyeong-un was forcibly pulled towards the being by an invisible force.
The being, still holding the pipe, leaned in close to Mok Gyeong-un's face, examining him from top to bottom.
"What are you doing?" Mok Gyeong-un asked.
After a long stare, the being's lips curled into a smile. Then, its expression turned serious as it waved its hand.
Instantly, Mok Gyeong-un's body was lifted and slammed hard against the chamber's ceiling. He then fell into the blood-filled chamber with a splash.
As Mok Gyeong-un struggled to his feet, drenched in blood, the being spoke:
"Foolish mortal, empty your soul and offer your spirit to me."
The voice was distinctly clear, unlike the mumbling of the previous evil spirit. It seemed to resonate from everywhere at once.
Mok Gyeong-un scratched his head and replied, "Just like the evil spirit before, do vengeful spirits always covet others' bodies? Can't you do anything without someone else's body?"
The being clicked its tongue and snorted. It lightly tapped its pipe in the blood, causing it to surge up and bind Mok Gyeong-un's arms and legs like whips.
Mok Gyeong-un smacked his lips, looking troubled. He now understood why the Book of Yin and Yang had warned that such beings were extremely dangerous and required more than ten shamans.
The being then made a gesture with her pipe, causing a burning pain across Mok Gyeong-un's chest as his clothes were stained with blood in the shape of the character for "one."
Despite the intense pain, Mok Gyeong-un's expression remained unchanged.
The being raised an eyebrow, seemingly surprised by Mok Gyeong-un's resilience. "You have quite the tolerance, child," she remarked.
"I'm used to it," Mok Gyeong-un replied.
"Used to it? Then can you endure this?" the being challenged, raising her pipe.
Instantly, the blood filling the lower half of the chamber surged upward, completely engulfing the space. Mok Gyeong-un's body floated in the blood-filled chamber.
The being approached Mok Gyeong-un, who was unable to move, and grasped his chin. "This emotion you're feeling now is fear..." she began, but couldn't finish.
The being had expected to see a face contorted with fear, suffocating in the blood. However, Mok Gyeong-un's eyes remained steady, staring back at the being without a hint of trembling.
"You... are peculiar. For a living human to have such eyes," the being remarked with curiosity.
At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un, who had been holding his breath, flicked his tongue.
'This taste...'
The taste on his tongue was undoubtedly blood. The blood filling the chamber was even redder than mashed ripe dogwood berries. The sticky feeling was exactly that of blood.
All his senses told him this was blood. However...
'It's different. This is just death.'
Mok Gyeong-un snorted. As the one called the Sickel Demon, how much blood had he seen? When he touched that blood, he could feel something alive, but what he saw now felt like nothing but death.
'This isn't real.'
Therefore, even if all his senses perceived it, everything was a lie.
Suddenly, all the blood visible to Mok Gyeong-un began to disappear as if it had never existed.
In exorcism, this is called 'breaking the illusion.' It involves denying the perceived reality itself, escaping from all hallucinations by deceiving one's own senses.
The theory and explanation might sound simple, but even highly trained exorcists/shamans found it difficult to escape such illusions. This was because nothing was easier to deceive than human senses.
The being's eyes flickered with intrigue. She had expected Mok Gyeong-un to struggle and show weakness like other mortals as time passed and he couldn't hold his breath. Yet, he had broken free from the illusion on his own.
"You're more interesting than you look," the being said, her red lips curling upward.
She then approached Mok Gyeong-un and tapped his shoulder with the pipe.
Instantly, Mok Gyeong-un was forced to one knee on the ground. Though it seemed like just a light tap, the force with which his right knee hit the ground indicated how much power had been applied.
The being took another drag from her pipe and exhaled smoke towards Mok Gyeong-un. "Mortal, if you willingly offer your spirit, I'll grant your wish."
"Wish?" Mok Gyeong-un asked.
"Yes. For someone not even of age to have such eyes, you must not have lived an ordinary life. Give me your spirit, and I'll dismember your enemies and erase even their souls."
"...You're quite confident," Mok Gyeong-un remarked.
The being burst into laughter at these words. Her mere laughter caused the entire chamber to shake, demonstrating how she was on a completely different level from the previous evil spirit.
After laughing for a while, the being said with a sinister smile, "The only reason you can speak so impertinently to me and remain unharmed is because I want to take your spirit. So be grateful for my mercy."
"Is this something I should be grateful for?" Mok Gyeong-un asked.
"You truly have no fear," the being remarked.
She lifted Mok Gyeong-un's chin with her pipe and continued, "At least your face is to my liking. It's not bad for the spirit to be beautiful."
"You seem quite eager for my body," Mok Gyeong-un said.
"Once I've decided, your spirit belongs to me," the being declared.
"And if I refuse?" Mok Gyeong-un challenged.
The being sneered at this. "The spirit might be slightly damaged, but I'll take it by force."
"You know, there's another monster right above us who tried to do the same thing and failed," Mok Gyeong-un pointed out.
The being chuckled at this. "You dare compare me to such a lowly spirit? If I so choose, it would be no difficult task to extinguish your soul and seize your spirit."
"If you're so confident, why don't you try?" Mok Gyeong-un taunted.
"How insolent. If that's what you want, I'll take it by force," the being declared.
As soon as it finished speaking, the being removed her pipe from Mok Gyeong-un's chin and was about to raise it above its head.
At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un, who had lowered his head, shrugged his shoulders.
Seeing this, the being curled her lips and asked, "Have you suddenly become afraid?"
"No, I just thought of something interesting," Mok Gyeong-un replied.
"Something interesting?" the being questioned.
In response, Mok Gyeong-un grabbed something and lifted it with both hands.
The moment she saw this, the being's eyes flickered with uncertainty. She had sensed what Mok Gyeong-un was holding even without seeing it.
It was the book made of human skin.
The book, soaked in the blood of the deceased Jo Il-sang, seemed to gleam even more than before.
"You..." the being uttered.
"The Book of Yin and Yang mentions that older monsters often have a medium that connects and anchors them. I guess this book is for you?" Mok Gyeong-un said.
"...You're doing something foolish," the being warned.
"Judging by how cautious you've become, it doesn't seem so foolish," Mok Gyeong-un retorted.
"You're determined to anger me," the being growled.
As soon as these words left its mouth, Mok Gyeong-un's body was lifted into the air and slammed against the ceiling.
But it didn't end there. Mok Gyeong-un's body was then thrown violently to the floor.
With a flick of its hand, the being sent Mok Gyeong-un flying up again, this time smashing his head against the ceiling.
Blood trickled down from the impact on his head.
Not content with this, the being proceeded to hurl Mok Gyeong-un against the chamber walls repeatedly.
"Gah!" Blood spurted from Mok Gyeong-un's mouth as he was battered against the walls.
After several more impacts, Mok Gyeong-un's half-limp body floated in the air.
The being extended her hand towards the battered Mok Gyeong-un and commanded, "Put that down immediately."
"cough cough... Why don't you just take it? Why go through all this trouble?" Mok Gyeong-un questioned.
"Foolish mortal, I'm giving you a chance," the being replied.
"A chance?"
"Yes."
"...Or is it that you can't touch it directly?" Mok Gyeong-un asked pointedly.
The being remained silent at this significant question.
This response confirmed Mok Gyeong-un's suspicion. It seemed this ancient vengeful spirit couldn't directly touch the book made of human skin.
If she could, she would have simply taken the book from the start, instead of trying to inflict pain on Mok Gyeong-un to make him let go.
"You're determined to bring about your own death. Even if you have that, you can't do anything with it. What can someone who's neither a Taoist nor an exorcist do? Fine, I'll give up on your spirit. I'll just kill you-" the being started to say, reaching out her hand to do something.
But at that moment, something completely unexpected happened.
With a crunch, Mok Gyeong-un bit into the cover of the book.
The blue spirit couldn't hide its shock at this sight.
In all its encounters with numerous exorcists, Taoists, and monks, no one had ever attempted such an act. They had tried to seal or burn the book, but never this.
"You! You!" the being exclaimed.
This was because the book's evil energy was so strong that it couldn't be damaged by ordinary means.
The same was true for Mok Gyeong-un. While being battered against the chamber walls, he had futilely tried to tear the book with brute force, to no avail.
Then, by chance, he discovered that only the outer cover of the book was made of human skin.
'If that's the case...'
Mok Gyeong-un's choice was very simple.
He tore off the outer part of the book made of human skin and began chewing it in his mouth.
At that moment, the blue spirit clutched its heart, its beautiful pale brow contorting in pain.