242.
Twenty-six bodies, the breath of two
He had killed dozens, yet two remained.
He knew it with certainty, traced clearly through his sensing of intent.
The palace was soaked in the stench of blood.
The remnants of the banquet had been cleared away, and the blood-stained hangings replaced with new ones.
Still, the smell would not leave.
The more incense was burned, the sharper the scent of blood became.
What is hidden seeks the surface.
Yi In-jung led the soldiers through the palace, inside and out.
They searched the beams above, the backs of corridor pillars, the gaps between drainage stones, even the layers of papered screens.
No place fit for hiding was left untouched.
Twenty-six bodies of the guards were recovered throughout the grounds.
"Twenty-six?"
When Park Seong-jin asked, Song I-sul lifted his head.
"Yes. Twenty-eight came in. Two are missing."
At those words, the great hall went cold.
The number—two surviving shadows—quieted the palace.
"And the ones we caught?"
"They won't speak."
"Torture?"
"Three times already."
Song I-sul spoke bitterly.
"Some bit through their own tongues and died."
Yi In-jung ground his teeth.
"Beasts…"
The king's expression hardened.
"I will withdraw to the detached palace for now.
Leaving this place is the wiser course.
You are to pursue every trace to the end."
Park Seong-jin bowed.
"I obey."
That night, the king and Empress Noguk were moved to the southern palace.
One by one, the palace lamps were extinguished.
Moonlight spread over courtyards and roofs.
The empty palace felt larger, and colder.
When people depart, something else takes its seat.
Park Seong-jin and the warrior unit headed for the rear annex.
His body had yet to recover.
The poisoned wound in his shoulder was deep.
Each breath sent pain stabbing into the bone.
When his breathing lengthened, the pain lengthened with it.
When his breathing shortened, the pain grew sharper.
"Hah…"
He steadied his breath and spoke.
"Master Song, it seems my strength has finally run out."
"You need medicine. You need rest."
"There are times when rest itself is a luxury."
He smiled.
It was not a light smile.
A dark knot of veins stood beneath his lips.
When he opened the annex door, cold air rushed in.
Though it had once been lived in, it smelled like an abandoned house.
Park Seong-jin lit a fire and hung his sword on the wall.
The sound of metal rang once through the room.
Song I-sul stepped outside for a moment.
The remaining warriors dispersed to hold their posts.
Park Seong-jin was left alone in the annex.
Moonlight flowed between the pillars.
Then—
The floor breathed, faintly.
It was neither vibration nor sound.
The grain of the air changed.
It was the instant when the air that had been there suddenly emptied.
Park Seong-jin's eyes flashed.
His hand clenched the empty air by instinct.
"So you were here…"
In that moment, two lines of shadow rose from the floor at once.
They did not rise like men standing up.
It was as if the shadows themselves gained flesh and burst forth.
"There!"
Park Seong-jin drew his sword and hurled himself forward.
But his injury stole a beat from his response.
A dagger from the left pierced his shoulder again.
"Ghk—!"
Hot blood poured out.
The sensation of the wound tearing open was vivid.
His arm refused him for an instant.
The two shadows attacked together.
One came in low.
The other leapt upward.
The one above ran along a pillar, spinning as he struck downward.
The one below skimmed the floor, sliding in to stab at his abdomen.
Park Seong-jin twisted his waist, evading one.
The blade cut empty air and bit into a stone pillar.
Sparks flew.
In that brief flare, the faces of the two shadows were revealed.
They were not faces.
Where flesh should have been, a pressed layer of black, leather-like skin clung tight.
Only the eye sockets were grotesquely deep.
From within them, a red light flashed once.
Park Seong-jin's breathing grew ragged.
His wound split again.
Blood ran down his arm.
His vision dimmed slightly.
He felt poison coursing with his blood.
The blades were coated with it—there was no doubt.
His breathing faltered.
His inner strength failed to connect.
A man's vitality cooled, rapidly.
At that moment the door burst open and Song I-sul rolled inside.
"Get back!"
As he tumbled across the floor, he hurled a short iron spike.
It bounced once, ringing low.
"Too late—!"
Before his words could finish, a shadow's blade lunged toward Park Seong-jin's throat.
Park Seong-jin gathered his last strength.
His meridians ignited like flame.
A resolve rose that forced the pain aside.
"Hah—!"
His sword swept in a half circle.
Steel met steel.
The clash tore through the room.
The shock traveled up his wrist and into the bone.
Sparks burst.
In that instant, both shadows' eyes burned red.
It was the light of command.
Their blades struck toward Park Seong-jin together.
He twisted his body and seized one man's wrist.
The other's blade sank into his back.
"Kuh—!"
The sound of breath breaking escaped him.
It was human—and not human.
The sword slipped from his blood-slick hand and fell.
Yet his hand did not release the arm it held.
Gasping, Park Seong-jin gathered what breath remained and turned the current at his fingertips.
He did not cast the force outward.
He folded the current inward, into his own body.
His breathing shortened.
His heart dulled, as if sinking into water.
"Die—!"
A lightning-like explosion erupted.
The air split.
Both shadows were hurled backward at once.
The wall cracked and dust billowed.
A pillar rang out.
One fell with his neck twisted.
The other spat blood and crawled across the floor.
Bloody foam burst from his mouth.
Poison lay hidden inside.
His body moved first to close his jaw.
Song I-sul rushed in and crushed the man's jaw down.
"Don't let him bite—"
Too late.
The shadow convulsed, as if burning himself from within.
The red light in his eyes flashed once, then went out.
Only one corpse and blood hardened black like ash remained on the floor.
Park Seong-jin dropped to his knees.
His breath came in gasps.
Poison tore through his bloodstream.
Cold climbed his veins and touched his heart.
He stared down at the blood-soaked floor.
"The Empress… in the end, was it that woman…"
Song I-sul supported him.
"Are you all right?"
Park Seong-jin tried to lift the corner of his mouth, but his face would not obey.
"I'm fine. For now."
Even as he spoke, his body was collapsing.
From afar came the drums announcing dawn.
Between the beats, Park Seong-jin felt a gaze.
The shadows were gone.
The darkness that summoned them remained.
His fingertips trembled.
Whether from poison or from rage, he could not tell.
Slowly, he let consciousness slip.
It felt like falling asleep.
That sleep was colder than survival, quieter than death.