THIS DRAMA IS FICTIONAL AND DOES NOT ACCURATELY DEPICT...
ACTUAL PEOPLE, INCIDENTS, OR A SPECIFIC PERIOD.
VIOLENT SCENES MAY APPEAR, SO VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
EPISODE 1
HAMJU FORTRESS
HAMJU FORTRESS: PRESENT DAY HAMHEUNG FORTRESS
TAE JONG YI BANG WON: 3RD KING OF JOSEON DYNASTY
Your Highness.
What we saw at Gaema Plateau...
If they get out of here,
Joseon will be no more.
We must find the leader and behead it.
Leave it.
Give up your lives...
and protect Joseon!
Protect the Majesty!
BE OUR GUARDIAN AGAINST THE MALICE AND TRICKS OF SATAN.
DISAPPEAR!
IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, SON, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT, AMEN.
DEFEND THOSE IN BATTLE.
BE OUR GUARDIAN AGAINST THE MALICE AND TRICKS OF SATAN.
LOOK AT OUR FATHER'S CROSS!
- Your Majesty! - Your Majesty!
Bang Won.
Father?
Your Majesty, pull yourself together.
You must break from the ghost of Azazel.
Do not be stupid.
That is my father.
Your Majesty.
Bang Won.
This is your brother Bang Seok's blood.
LEE BANG SEOK: TAE JONG'S YOUNGEST BROTHER WHOM HE KILLED TO BECOME KING.
Azazel.
You dare insult my father?
I will kill you for this.
Bang Won.
You killed your brother with your own hands.
The same will happen to your sons.
Your Majesty!
Please calm down!
That is not your late father!
Your Majesty!
- Calm down! - Your Majesty!
DEAR FATHER IN HEAVEN.
YOUR NAME SHINES IN GLORY.
MAY YOUR KINGDOM COME,
SO YOUR WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.
GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD.
WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO HAVE WRONGED US.
FORGIVE US OUR SINS,
DO NOT LET US FALL INTO TEMPTATION,
AND SAVE US FROM EVIL. AMEN.
I...
killed the undead.
To save Joseon...
I killed the undead.
10 YEARS LATER
NEARBY UIJU, NEAR THE FRONTIERS OF MING
Your... Your Highness.
- Ji Gyeom. - Your Highness.
- Why is this... - Let... Let go...
Your Highness.
CHANGDEOKGUNG PALACE, HANYANG
Yang Nyung tells me to be strict.
And Choong Nyung tells me to be gentle.
I listened to them both.
They say the father should be strict, and the mother should be gentle.
You are right, Your Highness.
Today is the day my hawk ends its training...
and goes hunting for the first time.
I wanted to go with both my brothers,
so it is a pity.
You can think of today as practice.
If your hawk successfully finishes its hunt,
you can show it to them then.
Okay.
I cannot wait to find out what they have to say about it.
There we go.
Okay, Haedong.
Go fly!
Your... Your Highness! You... You are bleeding!
It is okay. I have been hurt a lot worse.
But still...
My hawk must have spotted a prey already.
Yes! Go on, Haedong!
- Go get it! - Your Highness!
Your Highness!
Go and check what it is that Haedong caught.
Yes, Your Highness.
What is it?
What did Haedong catch?
Is it a rat?
Sa Gi.
Your Highness.
Your Highness, you must go.
What are you doing? Escort his Highness right now!
Your Highness, you must run.
You must run away right now!
Your Highness, you need to go!
Your Highness!
How dare you!
Stay still.
Have you forgotten that I am equivalent to the skies?
If you add...
a stroke to the word "sky", it turns into the word "husband".
Today, I am your husband,
so you can be the one lying down.
Minister of War, you are here.
- Tell him I am here. - The thing is...
You pathetic punk.
You should know what is best for His Highness.
Your Highness, it is I, the minister of war. I will go inside.
What brings my father-in-law all the way here?
Did your daughter tell you to check...
whom I am having an affair with?
I am not here as my daughter's father.
I am here to see you as the minister of war...
and your loyal subject.
Defending the fortress was the first thing His Majesty ordered...
after he became King.
You have been spending the past year pleasing His Majesty.
And now you are suddenly acting like you are my loyal subject?
From how I see it,
it looks like you came to keep an eye on me...
because you are scared she might get pregnant with a prince...
and squeeze out the child that your daughter gave birth to.
Is that correct?
It has only been two days since His Majesty banned everyone...
from holding festivals and drinking alcohol.
You talk as if you have many lives to spare.
If you die while taking His Majesty's side,
do you think anyone will be able to help you come back to life?
I am not the person you should be trying to kill.
If you want to inherit the throne and become the king,
you need to kill those who have disappeared from Bakseok hill.
A monstrous being...
that sucked the blood of its own child has appeared in Bakseok hill.
MONSTROUS BEING: AN UNKNOWN CREATURE THAT IS HARD TO EXPLAIN IN WORDS
They are dead but alive,
so the commoners call it the "undead".
"The undead"?
That is not all.
The mother and children who got bitten by the undead...
also turned into the same creatures.
They eventually sucked the blood of their neighbors...
and turned the entire area into a place filled with the undead.
Father.
Father...
Seok Joong.
No one...
should know about what happened here today.
Yes, Your Majesty.
The first order my father gave after returning...
was the reinforcement of the fort security?
Yes, Your Highness.
Lord Choong Nyung sneaked out after him...
and was nearly harmed.
Why on earth would he...
So how is he? Is he all right?
From what I hear, His Majesty ordered him to Uiju.
Uiju? Why there of all places?
It probably has to do with the undead.
What do these so-called "undead"...
look like anyway?
- Goodness. - Gosh.
- My gosh.
- Was someone hurt? - Goodness, me.
Are you all right?
You imbeciles must have a death will.
Have you forgotten who occupies this carriage?
Forgive me, sir.
But the carriage kept getting heavier.
He's right.
I'd say we were carrying a mountain.
You idiots.
Only the lady and her newborn are in there.
Who could have added more weight to it?
Lift it back up this instant!
- Yes, sir. - Yes, sir.
All right. Here we go.
1, 2, 3.
SOOKCHUNG GATE
- Where are you coming from? - Yangju, Your Highness.
Where in Yangju?
Gupabal, Your Highness.
Gupabal right next to Bakseok Hill?
Yes, but why do you ask...
I am the butler for Minister Ha.
His daughter-in-law went to her parents' to have her child...
and we were escorting her back.
Her condition worsened though, so we were hurrying.
Even the noble are subjects of the nation.
Forgive me, Your Highness, but the lady is tremendously sick
and her child's life is touch and go.
Please let us hurry through.
Ha Won Ik is the son of Lord Ha, a founding contributor,
and a supporter of your abdication.
They should be let through.
If that is the case...
Thank you, Your Highness. Thank you.
Don't just sit there. Carry the lady in.
- 1, 2, 3. - 1, 2, 3.
All right.
Stop right there.
This is the smell of a corpse's blood.
Why would it be dripping from this carriage?
Lower the carriage.
Your Highness, please.
Move! Your Highness!
- Your Highness. - What are you doing here?
The Queen ordered your return to Changdeokgung Palace.
My mother? What for?
His Majesty announced the beheading of Lord Kang Nyung.
What?
Keep this carriage where it is...
and escort Eo Ri home.
- Yes, Your Highness. - Come.
But Your Highness!
What will we do now?
My lady, bear a few moments.
I'll notify the Lord beyond the gates.
- Gi Bok. - Yes?
Find the lord within the castle...
and notify him of the lady's severe condition.
Ask him to make a path for her. Hurry.
Yes, sir!
Father!
Please spare my life.
This is not because I do not love you.
But to save the entirety of Joseon,
this must be done.
Now, let me proceed.
No, you cannot do this, Your Majesty.
My Queen.
Mu Gu, Mu Ji, Mu Hyul, and the youngest Mu Ui.
Has killing my brothers not been enough for you?
Must I witness you killing my youngest son too?
You know very well what happens to those...
bitten by the undead.
Now, move.
Look at him, Your Majesty.
In what way does he look like an undead to you?
See it with your own eyes!
Show her your hand.
Show her the back of your hand.
Mother, it is not true.
I was only scratched by Haedong.
When I set Haedong into the air,
it accidentally scratched the back of my hand.
Mother!
Mother, I do not want to die. Mother!
Look, Your Majesty.
He was injured more than two hours ago.
All he has are bruises though. He's fine.
The undead is something you can't possibly fathom!
You're wrong!
Back in 1408, I heard there were people...
who did not transform after being exposed to the disease.
Am I wrong?
Your Majesty,
we will soon be in the heart of winter.
Please give him until early spring.
We will have Choong Nyung bring the western exorcist to the palace...
and have him cure our son.
If you cannot allow that,
then kill me first if you wish to end his life.
Go through me first!
You have only until Choong Nyung gets here.
Thank you for your boundless generosity.
Mother...
It is all right, my son.
It will be all right.
My son.
Bring ice from the seobinggo to slow down the progression of the disease.
No one is to be near him.
Anyone...
who goes against my words will be heavily punished regardless of rank.
Yes, Your Majesty.
I came as soon as I heard of Kang Nyung's accident.
I ordered you to reinforce the security of the fortress,
but you are still drunk on wine, women, and dice.
How pathetic.
That is right.
This pathetic son indulged in a drink.
The undead surface out of nowhere...
to threaten the fate of this nation,
but its crown prince...
is kept in the dark defending a mere fortress.
The humiliation manifested into anger, so I drank.
Is that not allowed?
The undead that made it into Changdeokgung Palace.
It was a military officer from Yangju.
If you had done your job securing the gates,
this wouldn't have happened!
Your younger brother was attacked by an undead!
If you had told me what the undead are,
I would have made sure nothing got past me.
So today's event happened...
because I did not inform you of the danger?
I am your son and the crown prince of the nation.
Even if all I do is drink, chase skirts, and hunt,
I should have at least been the first brother to know...
about a danger that may threaten this nation's existence.
That is one lousy excuse coming from someone who fooled around...
with his grandfather's concubine and with a noble's concubine...
named Eo Ri.
Also,
whom I inform first is my choice to make.
Guard.
Yes, Your Highness.
Find whoever opened the South Gate...
out of the guards who were on patrol last night.
The same goes to anyone who was involved or turned a blind eye.
I will slay...
each and every one of them.
This is Father John who was sent by Pope Gregory XII...
upon the request of Father Nicholas...
and the King of Joseon.
I am the interpreter Marco.
FATHER.
And this is a letter sent by Pope Gregory XII himself.
Thank you for making this long and exhausting trip.
I dare express my gratitude...
on behalf of the King and Joseon.
HE'S GRATEFUL.
- Is that it? - Their language is kept simple.
He wants you to tell him about the recent events.
At a place called Bakseok Hill, monstrous beings...
who suck the blood of people emerged.
How is it that they wake up after dying...
and suck the blood of the living? Please ask him.
I see you people call them "monstrous beings".
How dare you.
You will speak with respect when addressing His Highness.
How dare you!
You are the one who is showing disrespect!
Father John and I are messengers of the pope...
and have traveled miles across land and sea...
upon the request of your king to perform exorcism.
So who do you think you are pointing your sword at?
Can I assume you are acting as the King's proxy?
How dare you!
You dare yell at him?
Ji Gyeom.
The interpreter is right.
You will apologize, Ji Gyeom.
I am...sorry.
- Is that it? - What?
I asked if that is all you have to say.
He is an exorcist of the Vatican who traveled miles across land and sea.
Your Highness?
MARCO.
THAT'S ENOUGH.
PLEASE TELL HIM THAT WE SHOULD HURRY TO HAMJU FORTRESS.
Tell him that we should go to Hanyang, not Hamju Fortress.
Hamju, Hanyang, or what not.
Do you really think you will get away after treating...
the western exorcist like this?
I am finally here.
I will be partying with a couple of gisaengs by my side tonight.
FATHER,
LET'S HURRY IN. COME ON.
I am here. It is me, Mak...
I mean, it is me, Marco!
Here, here!
Is anyone here?
Did they all go for a walk?
Come hither!
Call my mother.
I said call my mother!
Mother!
Choong Nyung!
The eunuchs and court maids that were bitten.
Were there any other witnesses?
Fortunately, they were the only ones.
Seok Joong.
What do you think?
I am sorry to say this...
HONG SEOK JOONG, CHIEF ROYAL SECRETARY
But behead Lord Kang Nyung before it is too late.
The undead on Bakseok Hill were eliminated swiftly,
so we were able to prevent word from spreading.
But if you let Lord Kang Nyung live, how will you control...
the numerous witnesses within the palace?
It is only a matter of time before rumors that the plague is back...
spreads within Hanyang.
Let us wait only until Choong Nyung returns.
Your Majesty.
Do not think you can do what you did at Hamju Fortress in 1408.
These undead...
are different.
Do you have wine?
My mouth turns dry if I do not have wine each day.
Your Highness. I heard Western exorcists are like Buddhist monks.
They do not marry and stay away from women and drink.
Could these two be frauds?
I am not sure about women,
but I heard they drink alcohol made with western grapes.
That interpreter called Malko or Marco...
would even enjoy a gisaeng's company.
Shall I teach him a lesson?
He has been wandering foreign countries after he lost his own.
How could he be favorable towards us?
Let that slide.
But how can you,
a prince, enter a gisaeng's room with that interpreter?
My great-great-grandfather King Mokjo...
eloped to Samcheok for the love of a gisaeng.
His blood flows in my veins.
Are you saying...
I can never come to power.
Before I get on Yang Nyung's bad side,
I am considering taking up on alcohol and women.
Will you teach me a few things, Ji Gyeom?
I am not an expert, but I know pretty much...
I apologize. This is my first time also.
Father. What are all those things?
The one who knows that is coming to Uiju.
You will get the answer from him.
Am I allowed to go...
instead of Yang Nyung?
It is not a task...
for the Crown Prince.
I understand.
I will bring that man safely to Hanyang.
Where is the next course?
Is there not enough food?
Why are you so old-fashioned?
Hey.
Call the head gisaeng.
HEAD GISAENG: THE GISAENG WITH THE HIGHEST RANK
What are you doing? Come on out.
Who is it?
Is the man who went to get the gisaeng playing house with her?
Hey. You go and get her.
"Monstrous beings".
What does that mean?
Confucius said one must not speak of monsters or insurgents.
A wise ruler should not...
speak of beings with strange powers or those who disrupt order.
That is Confucius' teaching,
and that is why we call strange entities by that term.
"Pater"?
Pater? Do you speak Latin?
That is what you say to him,
so I assumed he's called "Pater".
So I said it.
I see. Anyway,
you have a very quick mind.
He thinks they are spirits that came to Goryeo...
through merchants from the west.
Then if we catch the spirit,
can those who were possessed return to normal?
- Of course. - Is that true?
Then the people who were bitten by the undead at Bakseok Hill...
can all be saved.
That is good. That is very good.
Hey. If you got what you wanted,
you should satisfy me now.
Since no one will help, I must find her myself.
Not you. The pretty one.
LOOK AT OUR FATHER'S CROSS. I COMMAND YOU.
UNCLEAN SPIRIT, DISAPPEAR!
Right now!
SHOW YOURSELF, YOU DEMON!
WHO ARE YOU?
DEMON! SHOW YOURSELF!
I COMMAND YOU IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST,
YOUR IMPURE SOUL DOES NOT BELONG TO YOU!
LEAVE THIS BODY RIGHT NOW.
Is this the same creature from Bakseok Hill?
Yes, it seems so, Your Majesty.
How did it manage to come this far?
MY LORD, THE CREATOR AND PROTECTOR OF MANKIND.
HAVE MERCY ON YOUR SERVANTS WHOM YOU HAVE CREATED IN YOUR OWN FORM,
AND PROTECT US FROM THIS BATTLE.
I COMMAND YOU IN THE NAME OF GOD, LEAVE THIS WOMAN'S BODY!
GO BURN IN HELL!
Did you see that?
This is what you call exorcism.
Father John is a top-class priest from the Vatican,
and it is something that only he can perform.
Your Highness.
Your Highness!
What did you just do?
Why did you behead this woman?
I saved you from trouble,
and you are asking me why?
You fools.
You should have thought of a way to save her!
Beheading them is the only way to kill them.
You talk as if you know another way to save them.
Your Highness! Your Highness!
His Majesty is here.
Father.
I am scared, Father.
Take the shaman away.
She is Mu Hwa, the official shaman of the palace.
I asked the best shaman in Joseon to cure him.
Why would you tell them to take her away?
If the best shaman in Joseon could get rid of them,
we would have done so already.
Then are you saying...
Do not do anything...
until Choong Nyung comes back.
What are you doing?
Escort her back to her palace.
Yes, Your Majesty.
Let us go, Your Majesty.
What did you do to the bodies of the court maids and eunuchs...
who got bitten in Changdeokgung Palace?
We beheaded everyone and burned their bodies...
regardless of whether or not they were still alive.
Then I ordered them to bury their bodies 10km away from the palace.
As of this moment,
I want you to shut all the city gates...
including the gates of the palace.
Do not let anyone inside...
until Choong Nyung returns.
If anyone disobeys this order,
I will behead you first.
So you had better keep that in mind. Do you understand?
But Your Majesty, if we ban the city from letting in goods from the suburbs,
the people in the city will not be able to last three days.
What is it that is inside Lord Kang Nyung's body?
Why must you give such strict orders?
By any chance,
does this have anything to do with the court maids and eunuchs...
that got bitten and lost their lives inside Changdeokgung Palace?
Do not ask any more questions.
The fate of Joseon lies in this matter.
I must go to Mount Samgak.
Hong Seok Joong, I want you to come with me.
As for the chief state councilor and Jo Hae Ryung,
I want you to strengthen the security of the fortress.
- Yes, Your Majesty. - Yes, Your Majesty.
Father!
GWANGHWAMUN GATE
What do you think you are doing?
Your Highness.
Are you okay?
What?
Do you think your men will help you?
What have you done?
What happened to our men?
By any chance, are they the creatures that appeared ten years ago...
at Hamju Fortress?
I heard those who suffered from the plague...
sucked the blood of humans just like they did.
Who are you people?
We saved your life,
so let us take Wang Yu.
You just need to stay out of it.
That will solve everything.
What are you talking about?
Have you lost your minds?
He is not Wang Yu.
He is Lord Choong Nyung, the third prince of His Majesty!
Cut the nonsense!
Do you think the king is dumb?
What kind of king...
would send his own son off to chase those monsters?
You are being absurd, you punk.
Listen to that fool talk nonsense.
What nonsense.
Did you not hear what I just...
Ji Gyeom.
Put your sword down. They have a point.
I am here because I am the third in line.
My eldest brother is the crown prince who is courageous and brave...
and in the next line to take the throne.
And my second brother is Lord Hyo Ryeong, a brother who has a generous heart.
Therefore, as His Majesty's third son,
my job is to make sure the crown prince stays safe...
so that he can safely take over the throne.
That is my duty,
and I will be discarded after that. That is why I am here.
Does that answer your question?
How could you say that, Your Highness?
You are breaking my heart.
That is merely the truth.
If you are looking for Wang Yu,
you must be looking for the child that was born between...
King Gong Yang and his concubine.
I am sorry to tell you that I am not the man you are looking for.
Judging by what he just said, he must really be a prince.
Do you not agree?
Hye Yum.
Is there something wrong with your eyes?
He looks nothing like Wang Yu.
I apologize.
We saved your life, so I hope that makes up for this.
Watch how you speak to His Highness.
That is enough.
He is right. We owe him for saving our lives.
We were able to live thanks to you.
Thank you.
Thank you for your boundless generosity. Your Highness.
- Thank you for your boundless generosity. - Thank you for your boundless generosity.
Thanks.
We will go back to where we belong, Your Highness.
Come on!
- I can't believe this. - Unbelievable.
What is he blabbering at a corpse for?
Let's go.
Ji Gyeom.
IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, SON, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT...
Brother.
Don't you worry.
I'll figure out a way.
Please. Please do so.
Yang Nyung, I'm terrified.
Your Highness, there seems to be an incident at Sookchung Gate.
What?
Marco.
DEFEND THOSE IN BATTLE.
BE OUR GUARDIAN AGAINST THE MALICE AND TRICKS OF SATAN.
"Our guardian"?
Don't just stand there. Hold him down.
SHOW YOURSELF, DEVIL.
WHO ARE YOU?
MAY THE EVIL SPIRIT SHOW ITSELF.
We are 1 and 10...
as well as 100 and 1,000.
ENOUGH WITH THE NONSENSE. SHOW YOURSELF!
DEVIL, TELL ME YOUR NAME.
We are the soldiers of Azazel.
"The soldiers of Azazel"?
Your Highness, are you all right?
Guard.
Yes, Your Highness.
Minister Ha's daughter-in-law is missing.
IN THE NAME OF GOD, I ORDER YOU TO LEAVE HIS BODY!
GO BURN IN HELL!
Did you see that?
This is what we call the "grand exorcism".
GRAND EXORCISM: AN EXORCISM THAT ONLY THOSE SELECTED...
BY THE BISHOP CAN PERFORM
I think I heard the word "Azazel."
What exactly is that?
Azazel is the alpha of western evil spirits...
also known as the Devil of the Wind.
"The alpha of evil spirits"?
How did it make it to Joseon?
How did a western evil spirit...
make an appearance in Joseon?
The answer to that...
will be better explained...
by your grandfather and your father, the current King.
JOSEON EXORCIST
WE THANK KIM ROI HA, AHN KIL KANG, KIM JUNG HO, AND DAVID MCINNIS...
FOR THEIR SPECIAL APPEARANCE.
Rumor has it that His Majesty summoned the undead.
Is that vile rumor actually true?
And still you expect to be respectively treated as the crown prince?
Who would ever question Lord Choong Nyung being chosen...
as the heir instead of you?
You must regain His Majesty's trust first.
The alpha of evil spirits?
What kind of a being is it?
It's the alpha of all evil spirits that command the dead...
as well as the living.
I am sure you recognize this blade.
I do not follow. I am Kang Nyung, Father.
An undead seems to have gotten beyond the gates.
TOMORROW NIGHT 10PM