18. A Chaos in the Temple
Starting November 2023, The Korea Daily is excited to publish the fantasy novel series “Sword of Malta – Lightning in 72 Years” on our website. This new captivating series follows a trio of young adventurers on their quest to uncover the mysteries of ancient civilizations, including the Maya and Inca. In an exciting development, Netflix is currently adapting the novel’s storyline into a film.
The ‘Sword of Malta – Lightning in 72 Years’ is the latest novel authored by Jeeyoon Ha, who created the “Pangaea series.” Ha’s debut novel, “The Pangaea: Finding Xibalba,” was selected by the Korea Creative Content Agency in 2022 as part of their initiative to support the global export of fantasy literature.
Readers can eagerly anticipate the online publication of two installments each month, with new chapters appearing bi-weekly, offering a regular escape into this magical realm. *Mark Oh translated the Korean novel into English.
A lightning bolt shot out of Sabi’s pocket.
Fluttering lightly like a butterfly, it whispered to a Torwayne, then returned to Sabi and whispered to him.
“The lightning bolt warned the Torwayne of our danger,” Sabi said, as he caressed the bolt.
“How?… How did it do that?”
Maru expressed his doubts.
Suri shared Maru’s skepticism.
The wizards were magic experts who had managed to install a barrier on the star Sirius, to block the first lightning in 72 years.
It was hard for them to believe that the lightning bolt could warn them of danger without being detected by those wizards.
“It’s the echo. We are the Bahaas. Bahaas can transmit and receive sound through echoes, and wizards can’t decipher our echoes. You might say it’s like the random number broadcasting that humans use. Although it is a primitive method… sometimes primitive methods can overcome ultra-advanced science,” the lightning bolt explained.
“The lightning bolts can interpret any language in the world. I want to give the lightning bolt a name. It’s Alice,” Sabi declared as she placed Alice onto her shoulder.
“Let’s go deeper. We have to reach the location of the prophecy before they do. Only then can we save Dad. Let’s hurry.”
Suri moved with urgency, almost running. The temple, apparently abandoned for a long time, was overgrown with bushes here and there.
Suri carefully made his way through the bushes.
Some of them were blanketed with snow.
The stones and trees surrounding these snow-covered bushes were also partially buried.
“It’s snow… But Malta has a Mediterranean climate…” Suri muttered, puzzled.
Just then, the entire barrier of the temple began to crack, causing everyone to tense up and grow nervous.
“Eridan had defeated the wizard Moloch, hadn’t he? I hope Eridan shows up. But Eridan can’t leave the library, according to Malta…”
Suri desperately missed the reassuring blue eyes of Eridan, a member of the dragon race.
“Shouldn’t we start by looking for Helix? You said that sword was only meaningful to you, Suri, right? Then, in a dangerous moment like this, that sword could have been helpful…”
Maru was so frustrated that he was nearly beside himself.
“…If I am the owner of the Helix sword, the wizards cannot use it even if they stole it from me. So, I don’t think you need to worry about it… When I looked down from the Bolt Rider, this temple was moving. It was changing direction little by little. That’s to greet the first lightning strike in 72 years from the star Sirius… I don’t know if we can stop the barrier between the Sirius star and this temple, but we may be able to find some clues in this temple. That’s what Dad told me, anyway. After that, we have to go to Sirius to find Dad,” Suri explained, scanning the area with eagle eyes.
“But there is an unresolved question. They say the Nova Empire hates magic. They drove out the tribes who possessed magic and tried to punish them harshly… Meanwhile, Sansuna came to Malta with the Altima-39. But why are the wizards attacking the Sirius tribes and attacking us?”
Sabi already knew that no one could answer.
A strange, eerie crying sound echoed from deep inside the temple.
Sabi and Maru cowered in fear.
The Torwaynes each put Maru and Sabi on their backs.
Their black cloaks billowed around them.
“It seems… I’m starting to resemble Ms. Golly more and more. I mean, the intelligence of dinosaurs to be more specific… I only have one thought right now… I just want to go back to the classroom, even if I get hit by the Outrageous Hammer.” Maru was actually just talking nonsense out of fear.
“But why is the fate of our fathers like this? They are always abducted and disappear… They are runaways, in a way,” Maru grumbled.
“Because our fathers have such great abilities. That’s why they’ve been abducted. Besides, they are not abducted by run-of-the-mill criminals. Their abductors are beings from an ultra-advanced civilization. This time, we are exploring the Sirius civilization, which no one on Earth has accessed. We should be proud… don’t you think?” Suri asserted, unwilling to succumb to his fears.
Suddenly, a large flame erupted under the pillar on the right side of the temple, but it quickly died out, leaving only a pile of ashes.
Something sparkled within the ashes.
Suri immediately ran to the pile.
It was Helix.
The sword’s torch handle was spinning and emitting light.
“The sword was waiting for me. Sorry. I will never lose you again.”
Suri grasped Helix tightly.
At that moment, he could feel the pillars of the temple moving noticeably.
“I pray to you, God Sirius. Help me, help me save my dad,” Suri whispered, kissing Helix.
As the pillars rotated, growing faster with each turn, flames soared from the ground like wildfire.
When the pillars momentarily halted, the flames went out, leaving behind only ashes.
It was a tradition and history of the temple, long-hidden until now.
Suri’s gaze traveled up the pillar.
In its midst, a mini portal shifted, and as he climbed to the top, a moving silhouette became apparent.
At that moment, the obelisk outside the temple began to release the lightning it had been absorbing.
The entire world turned white.
Atop the pillar, the figure, which had appeared as a shaky mirage, revealed itself.
It was a thin streak of red, blue, and yellow lightning—Sirius lightning.
“Suri… Sword… Sword…” Maru pointed to Helix.
The blade of the sword became as transparent as crystal and connected to the thin streak of red, blue, and yellow lightning emanating from the pillar.
This streak of lightning continued to move forward, spinning like a whirlwind, mirroring the shape of Helix.
From the top of the pillar, the lightning bolt embarked on an endless voyage into space, heading straight for the star Sirius.
Just then, the barrier surrounding the temple collapsed, and wizards poured in. The clanging sound of metal filled the air as well.
*Random number broadcasting—a method of sending messages using a list of numbers, letters, words, etc., mainly used for communicating covert instructions to spies.
[To be continued…]
