HDAAD Chapter 165

“Is it okay to do that?”

“Yeah.”

In the novel, as the party members try to follow each step individually, most of them end up caught by the police and imprisoned. If this were an ordinary Joseon era, the prison would be nothing but weak wooden bars that hunters could easily cut through with their swords. But this isn’t the actual Joseon era, it’s the 18th floor of the tower.

As soon as hunters are imprisoned, their abilities and Infinite Pouches are blocked, and their physical abilities drop to the level of ordinary people who never became hunters.

So when no one could escape and further story progression became impossible while trapped in prison, it was Taeju who cleared the 18th floor.

‘Though he just charged in thinking he just needed to kill the king, regardless of the story.’

In the original work, Seo Taeju slaughtered all the police and government troops that attacked him, killed all the resisting ministers, and then threw the king’s severed head at the site of the rain ritual. Instead of performing the rain ritual, he struck the altar with lightning. Luckily, this lightning collapsed the prison where the other hunters were held.

As the prison collapsed, the hunters regained all their abilities and safely performed the rain ritual, and the tower announced the clear.

In other words, no matter how you go about it, it all ends if you just take out the king and perform the rain ritual.

“So we just need to storm the palace right now?”

“Yes. But before that.”

Shin Sooha tilted his head.

“Could you provide us with clothes to change into first?”

No matter if this world isn’t real, I don’t want to go to the palace wearing a skirt.

***

“The feel of these clothes is really nice.”

“That’s because it’s high-quality silk.”

“Oh my.”

Shin Sooha found not only clothes for us but also noblemen children’s clothes for his younger self’s role.

Myeong-ah seemed to like the silk clothes, continuously stroking his arms.

“Should we buy you one when we go out?”

“Can I wear these clothes outside too?”

“Of course. Since there are places that sell them, I’ll let you wear whatever style you want.”

As Myeong-ah nodded with reddened cheeks, Taeju trudged over to my side.

“Hey. Tie this for me.”

I clicked my tongue at Taeju’s appearance.

If not for his pretty face, he could have been mistaken for a ruffian with how carelessly he had undone his front collar.

“Don’t you have hands or feet?”

“Didn’t you say I shouldn’t do it the way I did earlier?”

“That was because we couldn’t afford to get caught then. It doesn’t matter now, so just wear it however you want.”

“Really?”

I shook my head as I watched Taeju roughly adjust his front collar while saying he understood. Then I turned to Shin Sooha and said,

“I’m telling you this just in case, but you can kill even if they look human, right?”

“That’s possible.”

“Hey, why aren’t you asking me?”

“Because you’re the type who doesn’t need to be asked about such things.”

I already know from the novel that he’ll kill, so why bother asking?

As Taeju made a fierce expression, I was about to turn away pretending not to notice when Shin Sooha asked,

“By the way, where are the purification bird and the seahorse?”

“Ah.”

I had forgotten. Salt and Haegeum.

Come to think of it, why haven’t the kids come looking for us? They should have arrived by now.

“Right. I forgot too. Hey, where did your pets go? Weren’t they with you?”

“Yeah. But it seems they all scattered. I thought they’d find their way here on their own since they have a homing instinct… but they haven’t come?”

I thought they’d cause a scene somewhere if they couldn’t find me. Could it be they couldn’t enter at all?

As if reading my thoughts, Myeong-ah tugged on my sleeve and said,

“They’re here, so don’t worry.”

“They’re here? How do you know?”

“I can see the connection between you and the kids.”

Myeong-ah’s finger moved as if following a thread.

And where that finger stopped was a stone wall clearly different from the common thatched-roof houses and tile-roofed houses visible on either side.

“It’s the palace.”

“It’s the palace indeed.”

The place where Salt and Haegeum were, as Taeju and Shin Sooha said, was the palace.

The palace where the king lives.

***

The police clearly tried to block Taeju’s sword with their outstretched spears. But the SSS-rank sword cut through the powerless spears and even tore into the chests of those in front.

As those blocking the front fell at once, the police standing behind began to retreat in fear.

At that moment, I shouted towards the police,

“We won’t take the lives of those who flee!”

The police exchanged glances and then ran away.

“What’s with that cringeworthy line?”

“Then when are we going to cut down all these people?”

“They’re not monsters, so it’s just a warm-up at best.”

“I know. I know, but… somehow I feel uneasy.”

My heart started beating anxiously as soon as I learned that the kids, who I thought would naturally come looking for us, hadn’t come and were in the palace.

Knowing that the prison here had the ability to block hunters’ powers, I was worried that Salt and Haegeum might be there. If their abilities became useless like the hunters’, Salt would be just a sparrow and Haegeum just a seahorse.

‘I hope they’re not being subjected to anything strange.’

If they really were sparrows and seahorses trapped in prison, it would mean the palace people had sensed Salt and Haegeum’s extraordinary nature.

They might just keep Salt locked up since he’s in the form of a sparrow, but Haegeum is a seahorse.

To Joseon era people, especially those inland, Haegeum as a seahorse would undoubtedly be a fascinating creature. They wouldn’t leave Haegeum alone.

‘If only there were some kind of shamanic belief about seahorses, I’d feel a bit more at ease.’

I pointed at the palace gate where all the police had fled and no one was left guarding the front.

“Taeju. Get rid of the gate.”

“Am I your dog? Always ordering me around.”

Though grumbling, Taeju cut down and collapsed the gate, and the commander in the midst of the soldiers shouted,

“Do you dare to set foot here knowing what this place is! Show these filthy rebels who dare invade the palace what fear is!!”

“Uwaaaaah!!”

Seeing the soldiers charging, Taeju whistled.

“They’re coming in droves to die. Hey, Shin Sooha! Want to make a bet?”

“No.”

As if not wanting to wait, Shin Sooha and Taeju sprang forward.

I put Myeong-ah down on the ground and changed my bracelet into a gun.

“Baby. You don’t need to stain your hands with blood.”

“I just want to finish this quickly. The kids are still in the palace, right?”

“Yes.”

After patting Myeong-ah’s head, I fired mana bullets at those aiming bows from the palace walls.

“This is getting frustrating. Hey! It’s okay to use abilities, right?”

Without waiting for an answer after asking, Taeju immediately stretched his palm towards the sky, then clenched his fist.

At that moment, lightning branching out in multiple forks struck down on the soldiers from the sky.

“Li-lightning!”

“There’s someone using sorcery! We must kill that one first!!”

As the commander shouted angrily, Shin Sooha turned his head to look at me and asked,

“Is it alright to use abilities?”

“Yes. It’s fine.”

“Then.”

As Shin Sooha raised his hand and swept it to the side, the soldiers split like the Red Sea and slammed into the palace walls.

‘I should have told them they could use abilities from the start.’

I stuck out my tongue at Taeju and Shin Sooha who had defeated the soldiers and commander in one go.

“Hey, where’s the king?”

“Since he’s the king, he should be in the very center. But wait a moment. Let’s stop by the prison first.”

“The prison?”

Without answering, I ran towards where the prison was located.

I had no real basis, but I was certain that even if not Haegeum, Salt, being a sparrow, would be in the prison.

But.

“Why the prison? There’s nothing here.”

The prison was really empty.

‘If they’re not locked up in prison, where on earth are they?’

In my anxiety, I unconsciously looked at Myeong-ah, who met my eyes and pointed his finger at the royal hall visible right ahead.

“They’re connected over there.”

“Over there? Isn’t that where the king is?”

“It seems so.”

If not the prison that blocks abilities, how is the king keeping Salt and Haegeum?

‘Is there some separate device set up?’

Even in the novel, only the prison was mentioned, with no mention of anything else.

‘We should proceed cautiously.’

“Let’s be careful as we go, just in case.”

“What’s there to be careful about with these small fries?”

“You never know.”

Ignoring Taeju’s immature retort, I said to Shin Sooha,

“The kids might be captured, so I might move separately. Shin Sooha, please focus on capturing the king for now.”

“Understood.”

After getting Shin Sooha’s confirmation, we headed towards the royal hall where the king was likely to be.

Perhaps they had evacuated while we were fighting the soldiers, but the royal hall was strewn with all sorts of papers and desks in disarray, with no people in sight.

“Looks like they’ve already fled.”

“Seems so.”

Not just the royal hall, but the king’s bedroom was the same.

The bedroom was also empty, as if all the soldiers who had attacked us were all there was.

“What’s going on? They couldn’t have escaped the palace, right?”

“No. Probably not.”

“If there’s a place to escape from here… it would be near the rear garden.”

I nodded.

The most secluded place in the palace is the rear garden.

More precisely, it would be a small building near the rear garden.

And all the remaining soldiers, police, and royal guards including the inner palace guards would be gathered there.

“Shin Sooha, if they’re all gathered in one place, just sweep them away at once.”

“Alright.”

As expected, when we opened the small door connected to the rear garden, we saw soldiers and police gathered so densely that the ground wasn’t visible.

“Stand back!!”

A man who looked like a commander, dressed in red, shouted angrily.

“Do you know where this is, that you dare to set foot here! If you don’t retreat immediately, you won’t return with your limbs intact!!”

At the commander’s shout, Taeju raised one corner of his mouth and said,

“Why do these guys always have the same lines? The ones who won’t return with their limbs intact are you guys, aren’t they? If you just leave the king and run away now, we won’t kill you, so why don’t you just get lost?”

“You! Insolent fools!! Kill all these traitors and protect the king!”

As the trembling commander raised his hand to the sky, with a roar, the soldiers began to surround us.

And archers appeared between the roof and walls, aiming arrows at us. And then,

“Prepare the cannons!”

Between the split ranks of soldiers, old-fashioned cannons appeared.

“Shin Sooha.”

“What?”

“Up or down?”

Shin Sooha looked around and said,

“I’ll take the lower-“

“I’ll take the lower part, so you take the upper!”

Why did he ask in the first place if this was how it would turn out? While Shin Sooha closed his mouth, seemingly dumbfounded, Taeju, who had arbitrarily taken the lower part, charged towards the cannons.

“Fire the cannons!!”

“You idiot. Do you think I’d just stand here watching you fire that?”

Taeju’s SSS-rank sword precisely split in half what looked like an iron-cast cannon.

And he began a massacre of the dumbfounded soldiers.

Sword, lightning, and even electrocution through the ground. Seeing him kill people using every means possible, the soldiers standing far away became frightened.

“Mo-monster!”

“Run away!!”

“Those who flee will be executed by military law! Now! Protect His Majesty!”

The commander shouted at those escaping over the walls, but no one returned.

Shin Sooha was no different. After gathering the soldiers aiming bows into one place with telekinesis, Shin Sooha threw the clump of soldiers outside the palace like throwing a ball.

By the time the sound of those flying through the air faded with a thud, there were no soldiers standing on the ground, neither above nor below.

“That was easier than I thought.”

“Indeed.”

Since it was such an obvious outcome, I moved towards the building where the king was likely hiding without any unnecessary praise.

Inside, unaware of the situation outside, people were arguing loudly with each other.

“…therefore, understand… us…!”

“Disaster…. innocent…! All of this.”

“Myeong-ah. Are Salt and Haegeum in there by any chance?”

I asked Myeong-ah in case they might be in the rear garden instead of here, and Myeong-ah nodded.

“The thread is connected to that room.”

‘So that bastard king is holding Salt and Haegeum captive.’

I flung open the sliding door.

“You bastard! Where are our kids!”

“Oh great being! Please save us!”

The shouts of ministers dressed in red and blue, all prostrating themselves, were drowned out by my voice.

But what was even more surprising was that the person presumed to be the king, wearing dragon-patterned robes, was bowing his head along with the ministers, kowtowing to someone.

And that someone was…

“…Salt?”

It was Salt, standing with his arms spread wide and chest puffed out like one receiving worship.