Chapter 783: Ghost Journey (9)
Splish, splash!! A boat cut through the dark river water.
A small skiff, just large enough for one person to board.
An unadorned setup, being rowed directly across the river.
But the gigantic bull skull conspicuously hanging from the bow eclipsed all other features.
“The dock keepers. What a pathetic sense of aesthetics.”
Lennok mumbled, gazing indifferently at the Apostle’s skull conspicuously displayed on the bow.
“Or did they just want to subtly express their displeasure?”
The dock keepers, seeing the Apostle’s corpse Lennok brought, immediately built him a boat.
However, in the process, instead of fully recovering the Apostle’s corpse given as an offering, they used it in the boat’s construction.
To be honest, the shape of the skull, crushed and broken at the head, didn’t look particularly good.
[It’s not that I can’t understand their feelings.]
The Shrine Maiden calmly agreed.
[When faced with excessive rudeness, sometimes one simply doesn’t want to deal with it.]
“You too don’t seem to like that I offered the Apostle’s corpse as tribute.”
Lennok chuckled.
“Did you think of it as an asset of the same cult?”
[Though Camlodal’s actions are unforgivable, this individual was a martyr who fulfilled their mission until their death.]
Though there was no emotional tremor, it was clear that the Shrine Maiden inwardly disapproved of Lennok’s decision.
[He deserved a more fitting rest.]
“Well, I think this is a rather fitting end for a cult’s pawn.”
Lennok, who openly mocked the Shrine Maiden’s words, stealthily turned his gaze around.
“Look. The stares pouring in from all sides are so sharp they’re irritating me.”
Among the other boats crossing the Headrain River, it possessed a uniquely hideous appearance.
But even that appearance seemed to make it an object of thorough caution for others.
All those who had gotten a boat and were slowly crossing the river were looking his way as if by prior agreement.
“There’s the madman who offered an Apostle’s corpse as tribute.”
“Look at the ornament hanging on the bow. What terrible taste. Doesn’t he fear the cult’s retaliation?”
“If he killed it himself, his confidence is understandable. Monsters strong enough to fight and defeat an Apostle are rare.”
“Either way, he’s the kind of person you wouldn’t want to associate with…”
“After entering Yorta, I’ll have to look into him. Someone so strong must surely be known in the Central Front as well.”
Here and there, with boats between them, the passengers quietly conversed.
While clicking their tongues as if disgusted by Lennok’s actions, they also seemed to be thoroughly wary and afraid.
This was likely because they knew just how insane Lennok’s act of killing an Apostle and bringing its corpse was, even by the standards of the powerful individuals heading to Yorta.
For them, too, with the inspection for entering Yorta ahead, they wouldn’t want to get caught up in unnecessary trouble.
Lennok chuckled, just as he moved the boat forward.
“Mister. Still, you’d better be careful.”
A man, who had brought his boat right up beside him, suddenly spoke to Lennok.
His head was cleanly shaven, and both eyes were covered with a thick blindfold. A unique appearance.
The man, dressed in antique formal wear, seemed to gauge direction even with his eyes covered, and was rowing quite naturally.
“Just now, you gravely violated a custom set by Yorta. It’s something most people heading to this city avoid.”
“What does that matter?”
“The proportion of superstition and spirituality in Yorta is immeasurably high.”
Despite Lennok’s cynicism, the blindfolded man answered calmly.
“You brought a valuable offering, enough to disregard the prescribed order and sequence, but the act of disregarding the order itself might provoke the wrath of spirits.”
“Monk, leave it be.”
At that moment, a woman passing by the blindfolded man muttered.
The woman, with unusually sharp and fierce eyes, turned to look their way with folded arms and let out a small laugh.
“Those Stania Monastery guys are always so meddlesome. Does he look like an idiot who can’t take care of himself?”
…
“What advice would you give to a guy crazy enough to kill an Apostle? Honestly, it’s just one pathetic guy after another…”
Without even waiting for the man’s reply, the woman’s boat swiftly pulled ahead and vanished.
The blindfolded man also seemed to agree with the woman to some extent, as he subtly tilted his head towards Lennok and continued rowing away.
“Order…”
Lennok quietly repeated the words the man left behind as he departed, and fell into thought.
The Shrine Maiden, also realizing what Lennok was thinking, added her thoughts.
[In the case of rituals or curses, the sequence in which they are performed is exceedingly important. The non-believer’s words aren’t entirely wrong.]
“Perhaps. But it doesn’t matter.”
He had not come here to abide by Yorta’s laws and bow to their order.
If it was for his desired objective, he was resolved that it wouldn’t matter if he overturned the Military Spirit City said to exist on the other side of the spirit realm.
Even if he was burdened and crushed by all sorts of curses, what would that matter?
Creak!!
He tied the single oar he had just created to the back of the skiff and slowly pulled it left and right.
With just that, the boat began to flow along the dark river water and slowly moved forward.
Creak, creak…
Lennok, who had been concentrating on rowing, turned his head irritably towards the Shrine Maiden.
“Your gaze is bothering me. Are you just going to keep watching?”
[I have no complaints about the joint distribution of tasks, but can I even touch an oar?]
To the Shrine Maiden’s exasperated reply, Lennok calmly retorted.
“If this is the boundary between the material and spirit realms, then a spirit should be able to do something.”
…
“When that time comes, I’ll put you to work, so be ready.”
[For all that, you seem to be handling the task quite comfortably yourself…]
As the Shrine Maiden implied, Lennok was manipulating the oar simply by casting mana threads and pulling his fingers.
Woosh!!
As they drifted downstream, the river water rapidly darkened, changing from deep indigo to almost black.
Along with it, the surrounding scenery gradually grew dim, as if the entire sky were descending into a muffled darkness.
Hwooo…!!
Dark sky and dark river. A river flowed in empty space, and they seemed to be drifting upon it in a skiff.
As if to remind them of the ephemeral flow of time, everything stretched out endlessly slow, decelerating.
A space filled only with a silence so profound it threatened to deafen.
Before they knew it, the skiff was cutting through something other than water, moving forward.
The scattered bushes were no longer visible, and only a wide river stream floated in the midst of the hazy darkness.
Hiss…!!
The chilling air felt like silent screams whispered into one’s ears.
If he gathered his breath inside his robe and lightly exhaled, he felt as though he would immediately see his breath.
“They’re coming…!”
No sooner had someone mumbled those words than the sound of a deep sigh echoed from afar.
Whoosh…!!
Pale-skinned ghosts, hooded in drab cloaks, walked on the river.
The worn scythes gripped in their long, slender fingers hinted at their role.
Without a word, they approached the boats crossing the river and stood beside the passengers.
They floated vaguely above the water, a peculiar behavior that suggested they were waiting for something.
As soon as he saw them, Lennok realized they were the gatekeepers of the Headrain River.
The Shrine Maiden, too, seemed to grasp the situation and mumbled.
[They are Yorta’s Hundred Ghosts.]
“Hundred Ghosts?”
[Souls formally permitted to participate in the Night Parade. They are powerful spirits, strong enough to exert influence over the material world.]
The Shrine Maiden explained.
[They are Military Spirits themselves, and superhumans who have reconstructed their power from when they were alive.]
…
Hundred Ghosts formally permitted to participate in the Night Parade, huh.
Then would the Night Parade they depart on be called the Hundred Demons’ Night Parade?
‘Someone mentioned Yorta’s Thousand Ghosts in the Hanghasa Labyrinth…’
At the time he returned after meeting Jindun at the end of the labyrinth, he remembered confronting strong individuals from various organizations while escaping the collapsing Cradle.
At that time, among the psychics and summoners, there was an entity who introduced themselves as Yorta’s Thousand Ghosts.
A Saint Wizard wrapped entirely in bandages.
Their presence and stealth were so extraordinary that Lennok still remembered them.
If the gatekeepers currently guarding Yorta are Hundred Ghosts, then are Thousand Ghosts, conversely, Military Spirits permitted to operate outside Yorta?
It was a vague guess, but if so, it could explain the oddly faint presence and stealth the Thousand Ghosts exhibited at the time.
At the very least, it seemed certain that within the Military Spirit City, affiliated Military Spirits were categorized and distinguished by numbers.
“Are they classifying the ranks of Military Spirits based on the number capable of forming a Night Parade?”
[I, too, only know so much…]
The Shrine Maiden hesitated before answering.
[However, to my knowledge, I’ve heard that the meaning of the Night Parade within Yorta has changed significantly at one point.]
“Changed?”
[Yes. It’s something I became aware of while personally conducting sacrificial rituals, so it’s likely correct.]
…
Come to think of it, the Shrine Maiden was also a legitimate member of the cult. And what’s more, a key figure overseeing internal cult events and rituals.
Though Lennok had momentarily forgotten due to her surprisingly sane demeanor, she too was one of the forbidden entities involved in human sacrifice.
As Lennok inwardly shook his head at that fact, the inspection began up ahead.
Swoosh…!!
The Hundred Ghosts floating on the river climbed onto the boats and began to scrutinize the passengers, pressing their faces close.
Gripping their scythes with pale hands, they twisted their elongated bodies grotesquely and stared from inches away.
Only the faint mist of their breath exhaling into the hazy darkness hinted at their feelings and reactions.
What they saw inside their pitch-black hoods, only the individuals themselves would know.
The results were not long in coming.
=Disqualified.
Thwack!!
The Hundred Ghost, taking its gaze from the passenger’s face, suddenly struck the back of their neck with the tip of its scythe.
“Aargh!!”
It impaled the screaming passenger, flesh and all, and flung them into the riverbed.
“No, please…!!”
The passenger desperately swam along the riverbed, clutching their profusely bleeding neck.
But soon, something surged up from the riverbed, grabbed them by the ankle, and they vanished beneath the water.
“Gurgle…!!”
Along with the bubbles of their last exhaled breath, there was no sign of them resurfacing.
Beneath the river water, where not an inch could be seen, something lurked, waiting for the disqualified.
…
As Lennok frowned at the stranger-than-expected method, others also began to stand one by one before the approaching Hundred Ghosts.
“Here… is the ritual item.”
They showed the ritual item brought to cross the boundary of the spirit realm to the Hundred Ghosts and had their eligibility to pass judged.
Since it was said that the judgment would determine which tier of Yorta they would be assigned to, it must be an extremely important process.
Unlike the first disqualified individual, those quickly passing the inspection began to appear everywhere.
=Pass. Farm District. Single Ghost Recruitment.
=Pass. Administrative District. Ten Ghosts Assignment.
=Disqualified.
=Pass. Training District. Ten Ghosts Assignment.
=Pass. Combat District. Hundred Ghosts Escort.
Those who showed their ritual items and passed received the name of the tier they would be assigned to and crossed to the other side of the river.
“It seems like a word that designates the assigned tier and authority within Yorta.”
So, they divide the tiers based on the number preceding the name, and assign authority based on the grade of the ritual item?
Amidst that, Lennok listened to the judgments being made around him and quickly found a pattern.
“There’s a strange rule… Most are assigned to Single Ghosts and Ten Ghosts, with Hundred Ghosts appearing occasionally. The judgment methods also vary.”
While some were decapitated and thrown away the moment their ritual item was seen, others had their boats overturned after long deliberation.
Even if it appeared to be a chaotic and disorderly assessment, their actions clearly had a standard.
The unique laws and order that only the Military Spirit City, Yorta, alone maintained.
Ancient rules existing in the oldest city-state on this continent.
As Lennok watched the assessment from behind with interest, the first passerby who received a different rank from others appeared.
=Welcome. Command District. Thousand Ghosts Appointment.
Whoosh!!
The fierce-eyed woman who had passed Lennok earlier.
The Hundred Ghost, looking at the ivory figurine she offered, slowly nodded and then turned around on the spot.
At the same time, it hooked its scythe to the bow of the skiff and began to personally tow the skiff to the other side of the river.
Hwooo…!!
Even under the gaze of others still undergoing assessment, the woman didn’t bat an eyelid.
Her reaction was as if she had known this outcome from the beginning.
Her posture, with folded arms and a slight tilt of her nose, was as natural as if she were commanding Hundred Ghosts as her servants.
Lennok, who had been intently watching the woman, mumbled.
“She has a deep understanding of Military Spirit magic. It’s highly likely she’s either affiliated with Yorta or has relatives there.”
If he were to enter Yorta, he might encounter her again.
At Lennok’s monologue, the Shrine Maiden spoke, as if suddenly remembering something.
[There’s a saying that living beings are essential for the Night Parade of ghosts.]
…
[It’s no coincidence that this city has a foot in both the material and spirit realms.]
Did that woman just now have something to do with the adage the Shrine Maiden mentioned?
As he fell into thought, a Hundred Ghost finally boarded Lennok’s skiff.
The Hundred Ghost sighed coldly from beneath its hood.
From the scythe in its pale hand, hot blood dripped.
It must have already completed the assessments of several individuals before Lennok’s, and delivered their verdicts.
At the sight of the blood wetting the floor, the moment Lennok frowned with displeasure.
Whoosh…!!
The Hundred Ghost thrust its face abruptly close to Lennok’s.
…
…
The Hundred Ghost’s head, visible inside its hood, was not properly attached to its neck.
The head was severed as if by a sharp blade, and the neck was clumsily reattached.
Its face and expression, unable to endure the agony of death, were horribly contorted and frozen.
Only then did Lennok realize the true nature of the Hundred Ghost and let out a bitter laugh.
“Are they forcing those who failed the assessment and died to serve as the city’s gatekeepers?”
Those who had just failed the Hundred Ghost’s assessment and died by decapitation.
Have they trapped their souls back in their corpses and forcibly conscripted them into the Night Parade, assigning them the role of gatekeepers?
“If the word ‘Night Parade’ means this, then I’ll have to consider it a much broader concept…”
Lennok calmly mumbled, ignoring the Hundred Ghost that was staring intently at him without a word.
In fact, as soon as he confirmed the Hundred Ghost’s true nature, he felt he had a rough idea of what ‘Night Parade’ meant in Yorta.
What could it mean that those who failed the assessment and died were being forced to serve as Hundred Ghosts, and yet were considered to possess legitimate qualifications to participate in the Night Parade?
Could it be because the Night Parade isn’t a specific plan or schedule that one voluntarily participates in, but is also used as a concept close to forced conscription?
Perhaps each Night Parade has vastly different purposes and methods.
If so, what purpose and method did the Myriad Ghosts’ Night Parade use, which Yorta attempted for ascension?
The moment Lennok thought that far, and fiddled with the Guide’s Ring.
[Your Excellency. I am ready.]
“Alright.”
The moment the Shrine Maiden vanished, Lennok slowly extended his hand and showed the ring to the Hundred Ghost.
As he rolled up his robe sleeve and removed his glove, the ring, radiating a vivid glow even above the river water, became visible.
The Hundred Ghost, facing the brilliant glow of the ring with its transparent gem directly, stopped dead in its tracks.
“Ah?”
For the first time, the Hundred Ghost let out a vocal sound, a single groan of response.
At that moment, dozens of Hundred Ghosts, who had been assessing other passengers throughout the river, all abruptly turned their gaze.
“What?”
“Where are they going? It’s not over yet!”
…
Swoosh!!!
As if by prior agreement, they abandoned the subjects they were assessing and glided over the river towards him.
Dozens of Hundred Ghosts, abandoning all other passengers, surrounded Lennok’s skiff and stood motionless.
They bent their elongated bodies like totem poles and began to gaze intently at the ring beneath their hoods.
Hwooo…!!
“Wh-what on earth is this…”
Other passengers, who had been watching the Hundred Ghosts with exasperation, all turned their gazes towards Lennok.
“I’ve never seen anything like this while traveling to and from Yorta…”
“That madman who displayed the Apostle’s corpse. Did he cause trouble again?”
“Stay away. The Hundred Ghosts’ fights are incredibly nasty and vicious.”
Some quickly assessed Lennok, while others recognized the commotion at the dock and exchanged information.
But Lennok had no time to pay attention to the sudden gazes and conversations.
Because the Hundred Ghosts, now densely surrounding Lennok, were touching the Guide’s Ring with their pale hands.
“Ah, ah…”
“Ha…”
“Whoosh…”
Each letting out unintelligible groans and sighs, they stumbled with movements that defied description.
Their eager gestures seemed to be an attempt to examine Lennok’s extended Guide’s Ring for even a moment longer.
They seemed to want to feel something within the ring, but it wasn’t coming, leaving them in anguish.
After touching the ring for a long while, the dozens of Hundred Ghosts all simultaneously bowed their heads deeply and raised their scythes.
“What?”
Thud!!
Dozens of scythes simultaneously struck down onto the bow of Lennok’s skiff.
Abandoning all other assessments and to guide only one person, the Hundred Ghosts moved in perfect unison.
Three Hundred Ghosts hooked their scythes to the bow and pulled.
Six Hundred Ghosts cut through the water ahead, opening a path.
Nine Hundred Ghosts surrounded Lennok as if escorting him, gliding serenely.
Seeing the Hundred Ghosts guiding the boat without any judgment, Lennok asked.
“Where are we going?”
=…
At his words, the ghost at the forefront swiveled its head and said.
=Judgment Withheld.
Following that, other Hundred Ghosts successively uttered different messages.
=Authority Acknowledged.
=Overreach.
=Judgment Impossible.
After all the surrounding Hundred Ghosts each uttered a word as if stating their opinion, the Hundred Ghost standing closest to Lennok declared, as if delivering a conclusion.
=Guidance. Judgment District. Myriad Ghosts’ Night Parade.