Kwan and Major Pak agreed. Even knowing that they would keep Taejo as safe as possible, Kira felt a pang of worry.
“Dokkaebi army!” Kira shouted. Immediately the dokkaebis appeared, some one hundred of them. “Protect the prince no matter what.”
“And you,” Kwan said sharply.
Kira stared at him.
Kwan waved her protest off. “You need to be protected too. Don’t argue with me. Half with the prince, half with you. Agreed?”
Kira nodded.
“Good luck,” Taejo said.
“You too,” she replied.
Taejo led the saulabis to secure the perimeter. Meanwhile, Kira led her fighters to the edge of the forest nearby. They dismounted and left their horses.
As Kira led her unit toward the black building, her nose was assaulted by the overwhelming stench of demon.
“Demon attack!” she shouted, preparing for the onslaught.
Hundreds of half-breeds poured out of the tents that stood between them and the black building. Before they reached Kira and her soldiers, the dokkaebis appeared, whipping their cudgels so hard they were smashing half-breeds into the air. Even as this first pairing clashed, the thundering approach of more troops brought the Second Division infantry screaming into the mix. So thick were the bodies that Kira’s unit had to move around the perimeter of the battle to approach the black building.
And then amid the chaos, the ground rumbled and a huge tremor shook them all. In the middle of the plains, a large crack formed across the battleground. From deep underground a massive imoogi erupted, bigger than any Kira had ever seen before. It scattered both armies and killed indiscriminately.
Upon sighting the imoogi, Kira and the Dragon Fighters stood in stunned surprise.
“Heavenly Father save us! How are we to fight that?” Jaewon said.
Nara was agitated. “How arrogant! He has appeared in the human world, against all laws of nature,” Nara said.
“What do you mean?” Kira asked.
“The Demon Lord!” she spat out. “He has taken an earthly form. Kill the imoogi and the Demon Lord will be destroyed forever.”
Kira stared at the imoogi. The Iron Army was in full attack, but with a sweep of its tail and a bite of its savage jaws, it was slowly destroying their advantage.
“We need help,” she said. “Dokkaebi army!” She called out. Within seconds the dokkaebis appeared, Gom in the lead, bringing them to her. With a happy grunt, he disappeared again, returning to the prince’s side.
“Dokkaebis!” Kira shouted. “There is the enemy. Destroy the imoogi!”
They surged as one across the plains and toward the imoogi. They pounded and bashed and ripped at flesh in an all-out attack. But a swoosh of its tail crushed many in one movement. And yet the dokkaebis pounded the imoogi with their cudgels and bit it with their mouths. The monster screamed in fury, its tail lashing at its tormentors, while its massive jaws snapped at them. But the dokkaebis had become wise to the imoogi’s movements and now avoided them with ease.
“Now we must find the daimyo,” Kira said grimly.
They trekked across the remains of the once proud Kudara command central. The tents had been trampled as the fighting raged around them. All that was left was the black building.
“He has to be there,” Nara said. “He must stay near the imoogi to keep it in this world.”
From around the corner, a large group of half-breed soldiers and demon-possessed humans descended upon them. While only Kira could detect their scent, anyone could see what they really were. They had been in their host bodies for too long and the rotted flesh had worn through, showing the demon underneath. It was a revolting sight.
This time Kira led the Dragon Fighters into a frontal assault. The battle had narrowed to this point of immediacy. Sword met sword as the half-breeds howled at them like the monsters they were. They clashed hard, Kira’s soldiers quickly overwhelming the half-breeds. But within minutes, more appeared.
“Where are they all coming from?” Jaewon asked.
“The daimyo!” Kira knew this must be the army left to protect the daimyo. They had to be close.
Before they could be overtaken, Taejo’s saulabis attacked. Kira saw Kwan and Major Pak, cutting down half-breeds from atop their horses. She spotted Taejo ordering his men, yet staying within their protection, as he’d promised. It took her a great force of will to leave him, but she had to find the daimyo and end all this.
She ran past the battle and around the destroyed Kudara communication centers. Not far away, she met with a squad of ten frightened Kudara soldiers.
“We surrender!” their commanding officer yelled. “He’s turning my men into demons! This is not what we agreed to! We don’t protect demons!”
“Then fight with us!” Kira commanded.
They agreed immediately, swearing fealty to Taejo. The Dragon Fighters made the Kudara soldiers take off their distinctive red helmets and tie on the dragon headbands.
Kira grinned. “Now we won’t kill you accidentally. Where’s the daimyo?”