There’s a Monster Inside Me Chapter 27

There’s a Monster Inside Me

Chapter 27

Thanks to the silver wolf demon, the food spirit demon was full, and thanks to the orb it spat out, my spiritual power greatly increased.

Now that the demon hunt was finished, it was time to return with a happy heart.

However, life is always unpredictable, as it has been even in my second life.

I thought something was strange when one of the seniors from the Thousand-Year School called Gurumi aside.

The senior who took Gurumi away glanced at me in a way that didn’t seem normal.

“…absolutely don’t let Bada Maru, know…”

When I sharpened my hearing, the senior’s words flowed into my ears.

“WHISPER, WHISPER!”

Secret conversations were exchanged that only I was kept from.

Suddenly, an unplanned schedule was added to the demon hunting team’s itinerary.

The packing work was also halted.

The seniors announced they would divide into three groups and search the area.

We had already searched and finished the barrier repair work, so why start searching again? Support personnel were also drafted into the search party.

Gurumi and I were given a special mission to go down the mountain and purchase necessary supplies.

I pretended to know nothing and obediently followed the senior’s instructions.

I accepted the shopping list and went down the mountain valley. When I was alone with Gurumi, I grabbed him by the collar and shook him.

“Are you really going to keep your mouth shut?”

He flinched when I glared at him angrily.

“I was going to tell you when we reached the marketplace in the lower village.”

He removed my hand from his wrist, acting nonchalantly.

“You’re quick-witted. Anyway, how did you know Princess Eun-deok disappeared?”

That was it. That was what the senior had pulled Gurumi aside to tell him about. Princess Eun-deok’s disappearance.

“Why suddenly?”

“They said she seems to have left to meet you… She disappeared alone secretly without telling anyone. But I don’t understand. No matter how immature she might be, the princess isn’t the type to do something like that, is she?”

“You’re right. Something’s strange.”

Though Princess Eun-deok was stubborn and immature, I had come to understand her during our time together.

While she can be obstinate, she is definitely not the type to do something irresponsible.

Gurumi told me everything he had heard from the senior.

Based on Princess Eun-deok’s last mutterings, they suspected she had headed toward the demon hunting grounds.

Orders had been transmitted to the demon hunting team to search the surroundings until experts were dispatched.

Along with instructions not to tell me.

I found it difficult to understand.

Why keep Princess Eun-deok’s disappearance a secret from me? What, do they think we’re lovers planning to elope or something? That’s not even funny.

“Gurumi, I have somewhere to go, so do the shopping alone.”

“Do you have a plan?”

Gurumi’s face was full of worry.

“I’ll have to look for one.”

“Is there anything I can help with?”

“No, it’s better if I check this out alone. I’d prefer the seniors not know.”

“…Alright. Then let’s meet in the lower village. I’ll wait there until you come.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

I left Gurumi behind and ran like crazy.

I didn’t think this was an ordinary matter.

Princess Eun-deok didn’t just have ladies-in-waiting helping with her daily life. The best spiritual warrior was protecting her from the unseen shadows.

Though they concealed their body and presence so no one would know, I could sense the existence of the secret guard protecting Princess Eun-deok.

The princess’s disappearance meant that even the guard had lost track of her.

Either the situation was so urgent that the guard couldn’t leave a message, or they had been killed. One of the two.

This was no ordinary matter.

“Sir Baek Eun-ok!”

Alone, I called for the serpent. Baek Eun-ok manifested in the form of a Taoist master.

“Please help me!”

His obsidian-black eyes were slit vertically for a moment.

“Is there a way to find Princess Eun-deok?”

To my desperate request, Baek Eun-ok pondered briefly.

“…If she crossed water, it’s possible.”

“Water?”

“Yes.”

Baek Eun-ok transformed into a white snake and entered the flowing stream.

His shimmering silver scales dove into the cold water.

A serpent is originally a divine beast that manipulates water. From birth, they awaken in damp, shady places, and after birth, they live in deep valleys or water-filled caves.

Water is the source of a serpent’s divine power and also the space where its power is fully exhibited.

In the transparent water, white mist coiled around the white snake’s body. From this starting point, Baek Eun-ok’s energy spread through all connected waterways.

The serpent’s nerve fibers, which spread instantly, trembled.

Thousands of connected neural pathways searched for the small girl.

A girl with ornaments dangling on her head, green eyes, and shimmering silver hair.

In an instant, white mist dominated the waterways. The serpent’s energy thoroughly searched through mountains, valleys, mountain ranges, lakes, streams, and rivers.

At some point, the white snake’s eyes were slit sharply.

“Found her!”

At those words, all the fine hairs on my body stood on end.

***

The flying horse raised its two front legs.

“NEIGH! NEEEEIGH!”

Princess Eun-deok almost fell off the horse’s back.

She instinctively grabbed the horse’s neck tightly and came to her senses. Somehow, it felt like waking up from a distant dream.

“Why am I… here…?”

Princess Eun-deok looked around.

In the deep forest, a stream was flowing through a place filled with grayish rocks.

She remembered falling asleep normally, but why had she awakened in this strange place?

She couldn’t understand at all.

“What… did I do?”

As she struggled to torment her small head, dreamlike hazy memories surfaced.

Leaving the Thousand-Year School without saying a word, flying on Bima, and landing in the valley…

A series of actions she had done but couldn’t understand at all… All of this wasn’t a dream.

“Is this… really Nine Dragon Mountain?”

“Yes, Princess.”

She thought it was an empty space, but as if waiting, someone appeared from under the shade of a tree.

The moment she saw the figure wearing a pitch-black cloak, goosebumps covered Princess Eun-deok’s entire body.

“One princess would be enough, but to bring such a precious gift too. KHUHUHU…”

The pitch-black eyes gazed greedily at the winged Bima.

Black smoke curled from the fingertips of the suspicious figure.

“NEIIIGH!”

Bima shuddered at the approaching black energy.

“Fly, quickly!”

At Princess Eun-deok’s cry, Bima moved.

CLATTER!

The refreshing sound of hooves rolled across the rocks.

The streams of water that had been splashing under the cascading waterfall sprayed in all directions.

Bima took flight but couldn’t rise higher, circling around before landing back on the ground. This was because an invisible barrier surrounded the area.

Nothing could escape the space without the sorcerer’s permission. That wasn’t the end.

“GROOOWL!”

A massive monster appeared in front of the cliff where the waterfall fell.

“NEIIIIIGH!”

Princess Eun-deok tightly hugged Bima’s neck to avoid falling off.

“What is that?”

A giant as tall as the cliff stomped its foot!

The raised eyebrows, protruding fangs, and fierce eyes were terrifying just to look at.

BOOM!

The giant slammed the massive iron club it was holding into the ground.

The floor shook as if an earthquake had occurred.

The length of the iron club appeared longer than a hundred-year-old zelkova tree.

“Princess, that is a yaksha. The gatekeeper of hell. Unfamiliar with the laws of this world, it harasses without regard for status. If you stay still, nothing will happen. Nothing at all.”

The sorcerer with black eye patches smiled, raising his ink-black lips.

The grotesque smile was horrifying.

“You dare threaten me? Don’t be ridiculous! I’ll forget this happened, so just back off. This is your last chance to beg for mercy!”

Princess Eun-deok was trembling, but she gritted her teeth and shouted.

She swallowed her fear and tried not to show it.

“Oh my. That’s a bit difficult.”

“I am the only legitimate daughter of Grand Duke Sudeok! Do you think I’m alone? The shadow knights who protect me will catch you and cut off your head!”

“Oh, is that so?”

The sorcerer shrugged as if not surprised at all.

The eerie smile remained above his ink-black lips.

“But why haven’t they come yet? Do you really not know the reason, Princess?”

“…!”

How could she not know?.

From the moment Princess Eun-deok regained consciousness, she realized how strange it was that she had come here.

Grand Duke Sudeok had placed several top shadow warriors and sorcerers while Princess Eun-deok stayed at the Thousand-Year School.

Though not visible to her, they always monitored Princess Eun-deok’s every move.

It made no sense that she had left the Thousand-Year School without them noticing.

What happened to those who protected her? They were clearly the best in Saehwan Nation. It was hard to believe they had been defeated, but… she couldn’t disbelieve it either.

“Is it money you want? Name your price.”

The sorcerer smiled as if seeing something amusing.

After realizing that the threats wouldn’t work, the young princess immediately shifted to persuasion. She knew how to handle people, didn’t she?

“I’ll give you twice the amount you’re getting, no questions asked. I can even erase your past records, including today. I’ll let you live a new life!”

She offered gold and promised to clean up all his past crimes as a bonus.

“Oh my, what a pity.”

The sorcerer’s eyes curved like crescent moons.

“It’s a tempting offer, but what can I do? I’ve made a blood contract, so my life is at stake.”

A blood contract… meaning he had taken the commission with his life as collateral. If he betrayed it, he would pay with his life.

“Besides the contract money, the winged Bima will also be mine, so this is more profitable.”

The sorcerer snickered, grimacing his pitch-black lips.

“Don’t be ridiculous!”

Princess Eun-deok quickly blew a whistle.

TWEET!

Though only as small as a knuckle, the whistle was powerful.

Just before blowing the whistle, the princess formed small barriers on both palms.

Born with divine power but never having dedicated herself to training, a barrier the size of her palm was her maximum.

With it, the princess covered Bima’s ears.

CLATTER!

Recognizing the signal, Bima soared into the sky.

The ear-splitting whistle sound shook everything as if an earthquake had struck.

Both the yaksha under the sorcerer’s control and the barriers surrounding the area trembled, unable to maintain their positions.

A powerful force that disrupted the spell was activated.

Princess Eun-deok didn’t miss that moment.

CLATTER!

Bima’s hooves struck the ground hard.

“FLAP, FLAP…!”

Snow-white wings soared into the empty air.

“Well done!”

Black smoke extended like a snake from the sorcerer’s hand and wrapped around Bima’s ankle.

“NEIIIGH!”

Bima wobbled back and forth with its ankle caught.

“No!”

Princess Eun-deok’s hands slipped from around the neck. She tried to grab the mane but wasn’t strong enough.

Gritting her teeth was useless.

Princess Eun-deok, flailing in the air, fell straight to the ground.

“AAAH!”

Her shoulder and arm made a cracking sound as they hit the rocks. Her face plunged into one side of the stream.

Shame and pain surged through Princess Eun-deok’s entire body.

BOOM!

The giant iron club fell right in front of Princess Eun-deok’s face.

CLANG!

The whistle that had been breaking the barrier shattered into powder with a sharp sound.

The yaksha with bloodshot eyes glared down at the princess from the top of its head.

“The yaksha loves human flesh, so you’d better be careful. If the princess’s life flies away, my position becomes awkward too.”

The sorcerer spoke leisurely while binding Bima’s four legs with black smoke.

“NEI… NEIGH…”

The black smoke now wrapped around Bima’s neck. The poor Bima could only roll its eyes in terror, unable to move.

“The request is only to hand over a living princess. Whether limbs are broken or missing doesn’t matter. It would be far from enough as a snack for the yaksha, but well, what do you think? If that makes the princess quiet.”

“You, bastard…!”

“If you want to keep your limbs intact, you’d better behave, PRIN-CESS!”

The sorcerer was smiling, but his pitch-black eyes were ice cold. It meant his words weren’t just empty threats.

Eun-deok gritted her teeth.

To be captured so helplessly.

If it were just Eun-deok’s life, that would be a small matter. But the enemies were hoping for something bigger with her life as collateral.

It was clear they intended to manipulate Grand Duke Sudeok and shake the royal family and country using the worthless young princess’s life as leverage.

Her teeth ground together.

‘How did I end up like this?!’

A taste of blood filled her throat. She had only wanted to stay by the side of the person her heart was drawn to. Was that such a great sin?

She had been taught not to call good things good or bad things bad when coming and going from the palace. She learned to wear a mask in expression regardless of what thoughts were inside.

Should she have lived that way? Was it wrong to be stubborn because she was still young? Regret welled up for that foolish heart that pretended not to know while knowing.

“I’m sorry, Father… I’m sorry, Maru…”

Though she gritted her teeth and endured, Princess Eun-deok’s vision blurred.

Just as regret washed over her so strongly she wanted to bite her tongue, the area outside the barrier shook.

WHOOSH!

The leisurely voice of the sorcerer turned sharp.

“Who is that?!”

A crack formed on one side of the barrier. Through it, something snow-white squeezed in.

A sleek white serpent passed through the crack. Riding on its back was a boy in blue court attire wearing a red hat!

That was the Thousand-Year School uniform.

The moment she confirmed this, tears welled up in Eun-deok’s eyes.

“Princess Eun-deok!”

A familiar voice reached Eun-deok’s blurred ears.