Bang! Bang!
Gunshots that shook the earth showed no sign of stopping. The young boy, hiding in the burrow, cried while covering his younger brother's ears.
Bang! With a thunderous noise, the wooden planks above the burrow trembled. Soon, blood flowed down through the cracks. At the sight of the blood dripping, the boy barely suppressed a scream. If they were discovered here, not only he but also his younger brother would face an unavoidable death.
Yaksha showed no mercy. He shot down the legs of the Yokai. He could aim for their heads or hearts to kill them instantly, but he chose not to. Slaughter wasn't his purpose; it was merely a means to an end.
He took pleasure in the agony of the Yokai.
Screams and cries drenched in terror echoed from all directions. The pungent smell of blood filled the air, vibrating with a sinister undertone.
There was no mercy in this catastrophe.
Yaksha, appearing like a calamity, swiftly turned peaceful Songcheon Peak into hell.
Squelch- Squelch-.
Someone strolled leisurely on the planks.
Who could afford such leisure on these perilous boards?
Prey? No, it was the hunter.
A predator.
"Why on earth...cough, why in the world..., haah, is this happening to us... What on earth have we done wrong...!"
The voice of the man who fell after being shot was painfully familiar. The boy, recognizing his father's voice, swallowed back tears with great effort.
Squelch- Squelch-.
The slow footsteps reached just above. And then, abruptly stopped.
Thud-!
Suddenly, a curved sword descended through the planks. The blood-stained blade was right in front. It was just a step, merely an inch away. If the boy had moved his head slightly forward, the curved blade would have pierced through his skull.
"Haah..."
Bending his knees and sitting down, he sighed while resting his chin on his hand. A look of extreme boredom.
"It's a question I've heard too many times."
Chae Yoon-sa spoke.
"Well, alright. Take a break. The rest can be handled leisurely."
"Huh, spare, spare us, please... We don't harm, harm anyone now...!"
The Yokai understood. They understood the reason their kind had to be exterminated - because they harmed humans. It was a fact that in the past, humans, whose souls were taken by Yokai, often willingly gave away their possessions and sacrificed themselves, leading to frequent deaths. It was also true that in resisting the extermination, Yokai killed innocent people to protect their own kind.
The past couldn't be justified.
But now, it was different. Yokai now feared humans and lived in hiding, acknowledging that coexistence was impossible.
"For a lifetime, without causing harm..., we, we'll live in hiding. So please...spare us."
"Well..."
He slowly scanned the fallen prey. More precisely, he focused on the two horns on its head and the yellow eyes. It was a clear physical evidence of being a Yokai and the source of his madness.
YOU ARE READING
Daldal: Main story
General FictionIn the secluded solitude of Mount Moak, 19-year-old Eun-oh has spent his entire life following his late mother's dying wish-to "live alone." However, fate takes a chilling turn when desperation leads him to steal from a mysterious man entering the...