Editors: Ytho, LaidBackGuy
This kind of enlightenment was not new to him. Lee Sungmin had gained enlightenment multiple times until now, and he thought it was likely because of the black heart. Perhaps this enlightenment was also something like that. The black heart embedded inside Lee Sungmin may have forcefully evolved his body to resist death.
However, even if he was familiar with the enlightenment, he was unfamiliar with the feelings that he felt at that moment. His mind, body, and heart that were tangled until now had stabilized. Lee Sungmin had experienced an overhaul once before, but his body after that time was incomparable to his body now. After getting a taste of this kind of agility and freeness, he would never be able to go back to the previous state.
“How did you get back up?”
Baek Museon said as he glared at Lee Sungmin.
“Did you drink an Elixir? Potions are really something… aren’t they?”
Even though Lee Sungmin was back on his feet, Baek Museon was not wary of him. He had already confirmed the fact that Lee Sungmin was weaker than him through previous fights. Rather, it was Crazy Heavenly Demon’s presence that irritated Baek Museon. It might have been possible if it was a night with a full moon, but it was not possible for Baek Museon to kill Crazy Heavenly Demon at his current level right now.
The spear in Lee Sungmin’s hands felt weightless. It was the same with his body.
‘Who pushed my back?’
It wasn’t just his imagination. Someone had definitely pushed Lee Sungmin’s back. Was that also the black heart? No… There was no evidence, but he was sure that it happened. It was a strange feeling for him.
‘I’d like to kill them all if I could, but… ’
He could not do that. Geniela’s orders were absolute. Although he had become a vampire at the height of power, he still had to pay the price for giving up his humanity.
‘I’ll ignore the Crazy Heavenly Demon. As for that bastard, I will cut off one of his arms, and if possible, a leg or two as well… Once that’s done, I’ll leave.’
Baek Museon decided. He laughed at Crazy Heavenly Demon’s stupidity. He mocked Lee Sungmin too. It would be much easier if the two had joined hands to work together. Why did they insist on fighting him separately?
“You’re not even running away while you can… ”
Baek Museon smiled and raised his hand. Red mist rushed over and accumulated on top of his palms. Lee Sungmin looked at Baek Museon through narrowed eyes. Bloody Heavenly Demon Martial Arts, was it? Lee Sungmin did not know the name of the move he was performing, but the martial art he was performing was completely different from his usual style.
‘It’s quite strange.’
Lee Sungmin stretched his foot and stepped forward without lowering the spear.
‘I don’t know what that is but… I’m not scared.’
He had barely escaped death mere moments ago. But his mind was quite calm considering that. He felt like all the martial arts he had learned so far had finally come to fruition.
The 2100 years of training allowed Lee Sungmin to reach a level that he could not have possibly reached even if he trained for his entire life. However, that was not much of an advantage for Lee Sungmin. As a result of those 2100 years of training, Lee Sungmin’s mind, body, and heart had become more tangled up. As a result, Lee Sungmin was unable to fully apply the results of his arduous training.
But not anymore. His heart, mind, and body had stabilized, and he was able to bring together all his experiences and enlightenments together.
And now.
When Baek Museon’s red mist came across to attack him, Lee Sungmin could swing the spear without any alarm. The strange aura surrounding the entire spear changed its flow through the Ran technique. The red fog that swooped over Lee Sungmin was pushed back along with the spear’s rotation.
Before Baek Museon could even feel surprised, a foot stretched out forward, and Lee Sungmin appeared instantly in front of Baek Museon’s face.
“Argh!”
Baek Museon stepped back in alarm. He tried to shake off Lee Sungmin, swinging his right and left arms at the same time, but Lee Sungmin’s body simply disappeared like fog and evaded all of the attacks.
‘One Thunder!’
Where was he? Baek Museon turned back, following his instincts. His judgment was right. Lee Sungmin was there. Lee Sungmin’s eyes looked like a bottomless abyss. The moment they made eye contact, Baek Museon felt like his consciousness was being pulled into Lee Sungmin’s eyes. His body froze. It was not even a whole second, but it was enough time for Lee Sungmin to reach out.
Thud.
Lee Sungmin’s hand spread out widely in a palm strike, pushing Baek Museon’s chest back. It was not a spear, it was a hand. There was no doubt about that.
“Euek!”
Baek Museon’s mouth opened wide and dark blood gurgled out of it. His body flew back and rolled on the ground. Lee Sungmin slowly lowered his palm. Baek Museon yelled while holding his chest, coughing.
“Wh-why didn’t you use your spear?!”
Baek Museon roared through his bloodstained mouth. Lee Sungmin picked up his spear again and replied.
“… It would be a waste.”
“What… ?”
“I have many things that I want to try… That wouldn’t be possible if I only used my spear.”
Lee Sungmin said emotionlessly. Baek Museon’s body trembled. He was being mocked. A bright blood-red glow spread out from Baek Museon’s eyes. Lee Sungmin’s strike had shaken Baek Museon’s insides even though he hadn’t perfected the technique yet. Lee Sungmin himself was amazed at the power in his palm.
“Arghhhhhh!”
Baek Museon ran toward Lee Sungmin with a roar. The red fog overflowing from his whole body contained a terrifying murderous intent. It swarmed over Lee Sungmin and rushed in from all sides. Lee Sungmin pushed back against it with a two-handed grip on his spear.
Swoosh!
The strength from having tempered his body and Blood Ring Martial Arts’ force covered the entire spear. The spear shot forward in a straight line using the Chase Soul spear technique. A large hole was drilled into the part of the mist that it struck.
“I-!”
Baek Museon quickly swung his left arm with saliva and blood spewing out of his mouth, but Lee Sungmin’s spear was still faster. His spear shot forward using Blood Ring Smithereens. The purple aura swirled and struck Baek Museon. Baek Museon extended his left arm around the red mist without any intention of avoiding it.
Kwaaang!
With a loud noise, Baek Museon’s left arm broke away from his body and was flung away through the air.
“My… arm…!”
Baek Museon screamed, looking at his severed arm. However, he still continued wielding his right arm as usual without stopping. He drank blood. What did he become a vampire for? He wanted the invincibility to be able to recover from his wounds by simply drinking some blood. He never wanted to endure the pain and despair of losing his limbs again. Other than that…
What else did he become a vampire for?
Lightning Strike and Blood River Predation met and combined. The multiple illusions of the spear made by Lee Sungmin’s spear were strengthened using multiple techniques in harmony. It resembled dozens of meteors with purple tails flying across the sky and struck Baek Museon.
Resentment against the Minor Heavenly Demon. His thirst for revenge. His grudge against Lee Sungmin. The feelings because of which he became a vampire had all faded away under Geniella’s command. Now, Baek Museon was no better than a puppet at Geniella’s beck and call. There were many ways a human could give up their humanity, but the results were all the same.
(T/N: both of the techniques at the beginning have similar names in the raws. They’ve got the common word ‘chase’ in both. One chases to kill with lightning, and the other with blood ^^)
There was always something to gain, but also much to lose from becoming non-human.
Baek Museon swung his right arm with a cry. Bloody Heavenly Demon Martial Arts’ first move unfolded with an explosion. Even so, it was unable to block the attack born of two high-level techniques. Red mist scattered in all directions and blood spewed out of Baek Museon’s left side.
“Ahhhhh!”
Baek Museon’s scream lasted long and soared up high. Lee Sungmin continued to walk forward. He wanted more. He moved forward with the desire to unfold all of the martial arts organized in his mind. Lee Sungmin’s Nine Dragon Annihilation was executed smoothly and powerfully. Baek Museon desperately tried to gather the fog to create a barrier, but the Nine Dragon Annihilation move immediately destroyed the condensed fog. What next? Baek Museon performed several of his martial arts techniques in rapid succession while trying to get a hold of his mind, but it was useless. Lee Sungmin performed Void Clearing, and it destroyed all of Baek Museon’s moves. There was nothing blocking the path between the two of them. Baek Museon leapt into the air.
“You!”
Rising up to a high spot, Baek Museon shot a downward blow to the ground with his only remaining hand. Red fog cascaded down along the hand, following his gesture. Lee Sungmin put his spear down and performed Skill-stealing. It pierced through the distance between him and Baek Museon. On the other side of the fog, Baek Museon’s face was distorted. His right hand that fell down disappeared without a trace.
“My arm, my arm… !”
Baek Museon muttered without rest. Normally, after suffering these many injuries, it would make sense to flee right away. However, since he had become a vampire, Baek Museon’s vitality was incomparably great and much more tenacious than that of a human. Thanks to Geniella’s special powers, he could also revive from critical damage if he drank blood.
However, Baek Museon did not give up. He could not give up. It was because of Geniella’s orders. Baek Museon had not pushed Lee Sungmin to the point of despair yet. Baek Museon, who had lost both of his arms, fell down with trembling legs. Lee Sungmin stretched out his spear toward the falling Baek Museon. With a small flick of his wrist, he sent vibrations travelling through the spear. The vibrations separated the spear into many parts and pierced Baek Museon’s body.
“Keueueu…”
Baek Museon collapsed to the ground in a miserable state. During his fall, one of his legs was pierced by the spear and flew off his body, and his other leg was also broken. There were many spear wounds littering his body. With that much damage, any other person would have already died, but Baek Museon was still alive.
“N…No… ”
Baek Museon tried to drag his blood-soaked body to stand up. But it was impossible.
“Geniella… the Queen’s orders… ”
But death was near. There was neither blood nor a full moon to restore his wounds. Lee Sungmin pushed away the severed leg on the ground and coldly looked down at him.
“You’ve reached such a state, and you still want to carry out the Queen’s orders.”
[He is Geniella’s blood bridge after all.]
Heoju muttered, sounding annoyed.
[To vampires, the hierarchy among blood bridges and their leader is absolute.]
“I don’t think it’s just that.”
[It is the power that he gained by giving up his humanity. Did you think there would be no cost?]
“This is making me want to become a Yokai even less now.”
[Vampires and Yokai are fundamentally different. Well… I admit that it’s reasonable for you to be unwilling. Abandoning your humanity to become a Yokai means that you would have to throw away what you have now.]
“What do you mean?”
[Your way of thinking as a human. Your actions as a human. It means that most of the things you do because you are a human will be replaced. If you become a pig, isn’t it only natural for you to do what a pig would do?]
Heoju chuckled as he said.
[I can understand why you don’t use my Yokai powers. Since you were born and lived as a human, it isn’t right to force you to become a yokai. However, if what you pursue is truly genuine, you wouldn’t necessarily lose them by becoming a yokai. However, there will surely be differences in your methods. The method you use to reach your goals as a human, and the methods you will use as a yokai will be completely different.]
Lee Sungmin sighed as he listened to Heoju. His powers were too uncertain and sinister, and becoming a Yokai would mean that he would have to wield that kind of sinister power. So, he didn’t want to become one. Baek Museon had lost everything that had made him a human and only lived to execute Geniella’s commands. Heoju said that vampires and yokai were different, but it was all the same for Lee Sungmin. In the end, both ways would require him to give up his humanity.
“That idiot… ”
Crazy Heavenly Demon drew closer. He looked down at Baek Museon, who had collapsed on the ground with a grave expression. He recalled Baek Museon from back when he was still human, and he also thought of his ambitious and passionate image from that time.
“Let him go.”
Crazy Heavenly Demon sighed as he turned away. Lee Sungmin nodded and approached Baek Museon. Baek Museon opened his mouth as he stared at Lee Sungmin approaching closer. He revealed his blood-stained fangs. He no longer tried to say anything anymore, and Lee Sungmin had also made him no longer able to speak.
Baek Museon’s head was smashed, and he could no longer move. Lee Sungmin shook his spear that was stained with sticky blood to get rid of it.
[Let’s go south.]
Heoju tempted him.
[Wouldn’t it be great if you could find a way to use my powers while maintaining your humanity? Perhaps my purpose in leaving the woods was to guide you south.]
“… We should get going.”
Lee Sungmin nodded slowly. Why did Geniella attack him through Baek Museon? If Geniella had come directly, Lee Sungmin would not have been able to resist at all. He looked back at Travia through doubtful eyes. A city that had been reduced to rubble overlooking the collapsed city wall. He murmured softly while staring off into the distance.
“It’s a place that I never want to come back to.”
Leaving behind such words, Lee Sungmin turned away.
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