The Death Walker's Seal

Chapter 10

Park Hwan told them about the spider forest. About how Baekho killed the water spirits. About the red light and the black marks.

"That sounds like dark magic," Ryu Heewon said quietly. "My grandmother told me stories about people who use death energy. They are called Reapers. They can absorb life from others and make it their own."

"Reapers are just myths," Jung Beom said.

"Are they? Then how do you explain what he did?"

No one had an answer.

"We should follow him," Park Hwan finally said. "We cannot get out of this Gate without clearing it. And we definitely cannot clear it ourselves. He is our best chance."

The others agreed. They followed Baekho deeper into the bone cave.

The cave got darker as they went. Strange sounds echoed from the shadows. Whispers. Crying. Laughter. None of it was human.

"What is this place?" Kwon Dahye whispered.

"A graveyard," Baekho said. "A very old graveyard. These bones belong to people who died a long time ago. Hundreds of years, maybe thousands."

"How do you know?"

"The style of the armor on those skeletons. It is from the Three Kingdoms period. That was over a thousand years ago."

Jung Beom pushed his glasses up. "You know history?"

"I read books."

"What kind of books teach you how to fight like that?"

Baekho did not answer. He stopped walking and raised his hand. Everyone froze.

Ahead, the cave opened into a massive chamber. And in the center of the chamber was something that made everyone's blood run cold.

A throne made of skulls. And sitting on the throne was a skeleton king.

It was huge. Three meters tall. Its bones were black instead of white. It wore a crown made of gold and jewels. In its hand was a sword that glowed with purple light.

Around the throne stood twenty skeleton warriors. All of them looked stronger than the ones they fought before.

"Grade B," Baekho said quietly. "The king is Grade B. The warriors are Grade C."

"We are dead," Park Hwan said. "We are so dead."

"Not yet."

"How can you be so calm?! There is no way we can fight that thing!"

Baekho looked at the skeleton king. Then he looked at his team. Five people total, including himself. Four of them were injured and scared.

This was going to be difficult.

"Listen carefully," he said. "I will fight the king. You four deal with the warriors."

"Are you insane?!" Ryu Heewon hissed. "You cannot fight a Grade B monster alone!"

"I can. But I need you to keep the warriors off my back. Can you do that?"

"Twenty warriors against four of us? How?!"

"Use the environment. These bones are sharp. Break them and use them as weapons. The cave has narrow passages. Lead the warriors there and fight them one at a time. Do not try to fight them all at once."

Jung Beom nodded slowly. "That could work. Maybe."

"It has to work. Because if it does not, we all die here."

Kwon Dahye looked at the skeleton king. "What if you cannot beat it?"

"Then run. Do not wait for me. Just run."

Before anyone could argue, Baekho stepped out into the chamber.

The skeleton king's head turned toward him. Empty eye sockets stared at the small human who dared to enter its domain.

Then it stood up.

The ground shook. The skeleton warriors turned as one and looked at Baekho.

Baekho pulled out his knife. It looked pathetic compared to the king's glowing sword.

The king raised one bony hand and pointed at Baekho. The twenty warriors charged.

"Now!" Baekho shouted.

Park Hwan, Jung Beom, Kwon Dahye, and Ryu Heewon ran in different directions. They screamed and made noise, drawing some of the warriors away.

But ten warriors still came straight at Baekho.

He ran toward them. At the last second, he slid between the legs of the first warrior and came up behind the group. He grabbed a long bone from the wall and used it like a spear. He stabbed one warrior in the back. The warrior collapsed.

Nine left.

They surrounded him. Baekho fought desperately. He dodged and blocked and attacked. But there were too many. A sword cut his shoulder. Another cut his leg. Blood ran down his body.

The skeleton king watched from its throne. It had not moved yet. It was waiting. Testing Baekho.

Baekho gritted his teeth. He was losing. He needed more power.

But if he released the seal again, it would drop even lower. Below 30%. And then bad things would happen.

A sword came at his head. He ducked. Another sword came at his back. He rolled away.

He could not keep this up.

The skeleton king stood up from its throne. It had seen enough. It walked toward Baekho with heavy steps. Each step shook the ground.

This was it. The moment of truth.

Baekho made his decision.

[Seal release authorized.]

[Current seal strength: 25%]

[Warning: Critical level reached.]

[Side effects will now manifest.]

Red light exploded around Baekho again. The wounds on his body began to heal. Black marks spread across his skin like living tattoos.

His eyes turned completely red.

The nine skeleton warriors stepped back. Even the mindless undead could sense that something dangerous just happened.

Baekho moved. His speed was incredible. He appeared behind one warrior and touched its spine. The warrior crumbled to dust. He moved to the next one. Touch. Dust. Next. Touch. Dust.

In ten seconds, all nine warriors were gone.

The skeleton king stopped walking. For the first time, it looked uncertain.

Baekho walked toward it slowly. Blood dripped from his healing wounds. The red light around him grew brighter.

"You should have stayed on your throne," he said quietly.

The king roared. The sound was so loud that pieces of bone fell from the ceiling. It raised its glowing sword and swung down at Baekho.

Baekho caught the sword with his bare hand.

The king tried to pull the sword back. It could not. Baekho's grip was like iron.

"My turn," Baekho said.

He pulled the king toward him and grabbed its ribcage. The king tried to fight back, but Baekho was too strong now. He activated his power.

[Death Absorption]

The skeleton king began to crack. Purple light leaked from the cracks. The king struggled and fought, but it was useless.

With a sound like breaking glass, the skeleton king shattered into a thousand pieces.

Purple energy flowed into Baekho's body. He felt it fill him with power. So much power. More than he had ever absorbed before.

But then something went wrong.

The energy was too much. Too strong. It began to change him.

His skin started to turn gray. His fingers grew longer and sharper, like claws. The black marks spread across his entire body.

[Warning: Corruption detected.]

[You are absorbing too much death energy.]

[Transformation beginning.]

No. This could not happen. If he transformed, he would become a monster. A real monster.

Baekho fell to his knees and screamed.

Across the chamber, Park Hwan and the others had just finished fighting the last of the warriors. They turned and saw Baekho on the ground, his body changing.

"What is happening to him?!" Kwon Dahye screamed.

"He is turning into a monster!" Jung Beom said.

Ryu Heewon took a step forward. "We have to help him!"

"How?! What can we do?!"

Baekho's screaming stopped. He stood up slowly. When he turned around, his face was different. His eyes were black holes. His mouth had too many teeth. His hands ended in sharp claws.

He looked at the four students like a predator looking at prey.

"Run," a voice came from Baekho's mouth. But it was not his voice anymore. It was deeper. Darker. "Run before I kill you all."