241.
The King's Banquet — Shadows Breach the Palace
At the far end of the southern corridor, a single thread of wind passed.
The flame of a lamp trembled, just slightly.
It was an almost imperceptible shiver.
Yet Park Seongjin did not miss such things.
Too deliberate to be mere wind, too calm to be killing intent.
It was a disturbance with direction—
the trace of someone passing through.
He set down his cup.
"…Something's off."
Song I-sul lowered his gaze to the base of the cup and whispered,
"The lamps are swaying against the draft."
Park Seongjin's eyes narrowed.
"Where are the open routes?"
"Only Geumo Gate and the western drainage channel."
"There."
At that same moment—
outside the palace walls, at the western drainage channel beyond Geumo Gate.
Two guards yawned, waiting for the смен of watch.
It was a night when the lingering cold of winter clung to the throat.
They mistook drowsiness for vigilance.
Then a single line of wind passed behind them.
"Ghk—!"
Before the groan could rise past the throat, a neck was pierced.
Only one thin line of blood welled up.
The body slid down as if the ground had claimed it first.
The eyes remained open.
As the other guard began to turn, fingertips brushed beneath his jaw.
A brief warmth passed.
Then—nothing.
In the darkness, shadows split into twenty-eight paths.
Between roof tiles, beneath eaves,
through the layered folds of hanging screens,
they seeped in—
routes no living person would take.
The Shadow Guard.
影衛.
One sent a low signal.
"Infiltration complete."
It was an entry without raised killing intent.
Outwardly, they wore the uniforms of palace guards.
The marks lay hidden—
a red silk knot inside the belt,
a single stroke of 影 on the inner wrist.
The northern corridor of the main hall.
A dull darkness drifted slowly.
A man slipped into the screened passage.
He wore a guard's uniform, but his eyes were already cold.
The captain of the guard asked quietly,
"It's not yet time for the смен."
"Order of rotation."
A brief exchange.
One breath.
The next instant, the dark screen bloomed red.
A dagger as thin as thread brushed his throat.
Blood spread without sound.
Then—
from one side of the banquet hall, an arrow tore through a hanging screen.
The feast was at its height.
The King laughed as he emptied his cup.
"Now even the shadow of the Bu-won faction will fade."
Before the words could settle, Park Seongjin's senses leapt.
The air buckled.
The current shifted.
It felt as though the color of the air itself had turned black.
He rose, instinctively placing himself before the King.
Had it been another, it might have drawn rebuke.
But it was Park Seongjin.
In the recent rebellion, he had proven his worth as shield.
Instead, from behind, the King placed a hand lightly on his shoulder.
At that moment, the sound of the flute broke—
not the note, but the air itself.
The screen tore.
The first spray of blood struck a lamp.
One lantern burst, scattering flame.
Black forms surged toward the King.
"Assassins!"
Someone shouted, but it was already too late.
Dozens rushed in like wind.
"Protect His Majesty!"
Lee In-jung moved first.
His blade flashed like lightning, carving through the shoulder of the foremost shadow.
Park Seongjin pivoted toward the King and Princess Noguk.
He thrust out his arm, driving them toward the rear corridor behind the side wall.
"Your Majesty—this way!"
In that instant, a small metal sphere dropped to the floor.
Tck.
A tiny sound.
Then an even smaller one—
the sound of nothing.
"Poison!"
At Song I-sul's shout, white smoke rose.
An odorless poison mist.
Consciousness slid away as if down a slope.
Officials in the main hall collapsed one after another.
Those who grasped the situation crawled on all fours to escape.
Park Seongjin's body moved before thought.
A shadow rose within the smoke—
as if a black hollow in the floor were standing up.
"The Shadow Guard… 影衛…"
Lee In-jung turned his head.
"So they've come."
Park Seongjin shoved the King toward the stone chamber.
"Behind this door. There are two doors inside.
Do not open them, no matter what."
The King drew a sharp breath.
"Commander Park—what of you?"
"Hold out until I return!"
The door closed.
Before the iron bar could even fall, killing intent erupted.
Three currents exploded at once.
One blade grazed his cheek—
a few strands of hair scattered.
Another struck a pillar, throwing sparks.
The third went for his neck.
Park Seongjin twisted his waist, raised his sword.
"Hah!"
Steel cut the air.
Blood scattered along the current.
A lamp burst, deepening the darkness.
"It's the Shadow Guard! These bastards—!"
Song I-sul's shout rang nearby.
The sinister shadows split into four paths—
the western corridor, the eastern railing, the beams above, the floor below.
They moved almost as one body.
Professionals.
Park Seongjin drew a long breath.
His heart grew still.
Perception spread outward.
The flow of killing intent, the arcs of blades, became sharply defined.
"Left!"
His sword tore through the left.
An enemy dropping from the beam was split at the waist.
"Right!"
He twisted, driving the scabbard up beneath a jaw.
No scream followed.
"These things… they're not human."
Shadows surged from the floor.
The weight of the air itself moved.
"Five-fold formation!"
Song I-sul's shout overlapped.
"Evade!"
Park Seongjin clenched his teeth.
"There's nowhere to evade.
If I retreat, His Majesty is exposed."
He gathered the current at his feet.
The stone floor rang.
"Go!"
His blade thrust straight ahead.
Around the thrusting sword, the air spiraled.
Smoke was sucked into the current—
and at its tip, the air tore apart.
Several shadows burst apart with dull pops.
Two remained.
The last two had changed form—
their bodies wholly black, only their eyes gleaming.
One kicked off the ceiling.
The other dove into the floor.
They came at once, from above and below.
Park Seongjin leapt.
In midair, he laid his body flat and spun.
Two blades brushed past by a hair's breadth.
Between them, he brought his sword down.
The edge split one skull cleanly.
The last hurled a poisoned needle.
"—hk!"
Not hand, not foot.
It had been held in the mouth.
In the sudden closeness, it only grazed—
yet buried itself in Park Seongjin's shoulder.
Blood burst.
He hurled his sword after the retreating figure.
The blade pierced straight through its chest.
Then came silence.
The corridor grew still.
Was it over?
The smell of blood mingled with incense—
poison hidden within the fragrance.
Park Seongjin drew ragged breaths.
"Your Majesty… now—"
At that moment, the stone chamber door opened.
The King stepped out.
"Once again, you have shed blood for me."
"The life of the King is the life of the realm."
Song I-sul ran up.
"It's all been dealt with.
But two are missing."
"Two?"
"They vanished."
The King closed his eyes.
"Search the palace."
The dawn bell rang—
its sound like an announcement of a blood-colored morning.
Park Seongjin set his sword upright once more.
His breathing was still rough.
Dawn had come,
yet the palace lay wrapped in deep curtains of night.
That night was not yet finished.
And at the far end of the corridor,
in a gap untouched by light,
a single fleck of ash drifted slowly down.