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**

The surroundings fell silent. Everything was swept away at Eungmin’s center.

From there, Guqcheong raised his body.

Blood surged back through every vein. Even if he vomited blood, the nausea wouldn’t vanish.

Ignoring the situation around him, Guqcheong spat out the True Blood embedded in his body.

It was an unimaginable moment of stepping beyond the limit.

A sword forcibly thrust into a body that was breaking apart right before his eyes.

That one act…

That ridiculous act ruined everything.

It shouldn’t be possible. To surpass a boundary in such a short moment.

What in the world is this? What is that…

How…?

“No…!”

The true blood scattered. Cracks appeared even in the energy center that served as the source.

The side effects of forcibly surpassing the limit rushed in late. Blood flowed out endlessly, scattering his roots.

But even so, he couldn’t gather it back. If he swallowed all the true blood in this weakened state, he’d be consumed by it.

To avoid being swallowed, he had to discard it. To survive, he had to lay everything he had on the ground.

What remained after being scattered and lost…

Was only a nameless sword buried in the dust.

“…Ghh…!”

But he had seen it once.

Since he had once seen it, he could recreate it.

Fortunately, the aftermath of destruction swept everyone away. No one was left standing around.

Even those most bothersome scumbags were nowhere to be seen. So he could go out.

Fortunately, as the true blood scattered, the sanity that was crumbling returned to his hands.

Rising to his feet, he walked toward the exit. Yet inside, someone called out to him.

“Guqcheong.”

A familiar voice.

Persistent and unyielding, a voice he could never shake off.

“…Muuu…!”

He turned to face the opponent. The one who rose amid the dust was panting.

The state didn’t look good either. His limbs seemed unharmed, but the regeneration he had seen before wasn’t happening.

He was running out of strength. That one was crumbling too.

“…Yeah. There was something left unsaid.”

He drew his sword. Gripping it with shaking hands.

“It’s a simple story… to find the answer, we just need to duel.”

“…….”

“Draw your sword! Everything that existed between us will now come to an end! Come! Warrior! The one who will clash swords with me, the inheritor of the Blood Demon! Reveal your true name and stand before me!”

The opponent coughed, blood mixed in with the sound.

Yet that growling voice remained calm.

“…Jeok-un.”

He gripped the sword. Not the lost white sword, but a plain, sharp sword.

The red Blood Sword faced the world.

“It is Jeok-un.”

“…Red cloud…”

The techniques of the soulless Heaven Blood Sword coiled around the fingertips.

Guqcheong stepped forward.

“I am the one who will look down from above, surpassing all…! I am the Blood Demon!”

Had he not walked only for that? Did he not bow and obey, staining his sword’s tip with blood he didn’t wish to shed?

So… now grasp it tightly.

To not tremble in fear! To survive!

Stand above! Look down upon all!

Become!

Blood Demon!

“Come! Jeok-un! I, Guqcheong, the Blood Demon…! Acknowledge you as my rival!!!”

. . .

—KAAAN!!!

The swords clashed without any energy affixed to them. Fire sparked at the point of impact.

He turned his body. They clashed and pushed away. In that flow, the opponent aimed for an opening.

He countered it. Twisting his body, he aimed for the side. His raised sword intercepted.

They exchanged blows. The chaotic mix of sword paths hit his wrist.

He swallowed the blood rising in his throat.

Focus. Don’t collapse. Bring the story to an end.

His energy ran out. The strength he had revealed itself entirely, even Cheongeop could not fulfill its role.

…But.

It was the same for the opponent.

—KAAAN!!!

Sweat droplets flew from the sword swung. Shallow injuries were added along with the grazes.

If he took one hit, he wouldn’t remain idle. Without fear, he stepped into the gaps of the enemy.

One injury for another.

The glowing sword tip returned the strikes.

“Uwaaaa!”

The opponent screamed. The sword’s tip looked oddly heated.

There was no blood in it. No blood qi either. But the strangely curved sword path aimed for his waist.

He barely countered it. The shock left his body unable to cope, crashing against the wall. But he quickly escaped and plunged into the enemy.

They both let go of their swords. Both were the same. Entangled, they fell apart once more.

He swung a fist. His fingertips trembled.

He caught the punch. The cheek shook.

“To live…!”

The opponent stepped back, bleeding.

“To live…! I raised my sword…!”

“…….”

“That was the Sword of Life! It was my one and only path to survive! I had no choice but to do what I didn’t want to survive! To live!”

He kicked the thigh.

They rolled across the ground.

The descending blow. He barely dodged it by a hair’s breadth. He immediately kicked the ground, striking the opponent’s chin.

The opponent, spitting blood, staggered and wiped his mouth. A mouth stained red spat out blood.

“The Sword I wielded was a sword to save me! Jeok-un! Is that so wrong?!”

Their hands intertwined. While wrestling for dominance, they struck each other’s chests simultaneously.

—KWAANG!

Their bodies slid helplessly. In the midst of that, he spat blood again. Spitting out, he rose once more.

“I fought as much as you did with my sword! I put in just as much effort! Yet…”

Guqcheong, clearing his blocked nose, clenched his fist again.

“But…damn it…why…why is yours so…heavy?!”

Divided here. A hand dusting off the dirt.

“Come…!”

He clenched his fist once more.

They slammed against each other.

A once of crumbling. A once of clashing.

Flesh was torn. Muscles quivered.

The strength within each punch gradually weakened. The body was the same.

Guqcheong struck, and he too struck back.

When Guqcheong hit, he too hit back.

In their crumbling bodies, they endlessly charged at each other.

Splattered blood stained the ground. Parts that fell scattered everywhere.

An endless brawl that felt like it would never end. Their crumbling bodies rattled, as if about to collapse at any moment.

The first to crumble was him.

The outstretched fist could not go further. The eyes that could not surpass the limit could not catch the opponent’s graceful techniques.

…But.

Even so, there was something left.

The edge of his line of sight brushed against the Blood Sword that had fallen. Rising once more with his crumbling body.

“I was so glad there was someone like a Gongja inside me.”

His goal was the Heavenly Demon.

But it was his deceased friend who pointed the way.

He wanted to be like that.

Reaching out first, even in hell.

Caring for others before himself.

“Jeok-un.”

He recalled Ilma, who had silently hidden her sorrow. Correcting his collapsing lower body.

“Crush!”

He silently endured the torrent of techniques pouring in. Calming his breath. Grasping onto the consciousness that seemed about to shatter.

“Crush!”

He clenched his fist. Gathering strength within that singular blow to pierce through.

“Crush!”

Pain poured in. The things he clashed against obscured his vision.

“Please…!”

The vision from his injured left eye vanished. In an instant, darkness hid his sight.

“Please, I say crush!!!”

Even the flickering sensations rolled into the abyss. In the agonizing pain, his consciousness snapped for a moment.

…Yet.

He still retained a sense in his hand.

“Jeok-un.”

Unfold it.

What he had built up.

In the end, there always remained one thing.

He had invested in himself.

Not skipping a single day.

While others sneered at his lack of talent.

Struggling before death.

Screaming fiercely.

Endlessly repeating the beginning and the end.

To surpass once more.

To once again surpass.

To do so until the very end, tightly grasping onto…

**Nine Heavens Blood Demon Technique**

**First Form**

**Ilma (鬼囚一魔).**

**Effort.**

—KUAAN!!!

The stubbornness that broke through countless techniques pierced through the opponent’s abdomen in an instant.

Guqcheong’s body stopped trembling. From his open mouth, stomach acid mixed with blood erupted forth.

He retreated. Stumbling, he took a few steps back and then slumped down.

Blood gushed forth endlessly from his open mouth. His weakened legs ceased movement altogether.

“…Hah…hah…”

Amidst the mumbling, even the voice scattered.

“Damn…for basic skill… you’re a persistent bastard… how… can something so basic be this…?”

“…….”

“Cough-hah…but…so that’s why… come closer…”

He stepped forward.

Guqcheong grabbed his shoulder, pulling him close.

The voice, as if it would break at any moment, reached his ear.

“I… I was… afraid… knowing that if I don’t stand above, I die… So I… bent… even if I didn’t want to… I thought it was right… that’s why… I became light… to live… I had to throw away myself… to become light… thus I ended up abandoning being human… so it makes sense…”

“…….”

“I’m so scared of dying… I’m so scared of dying… but… right now… yes… maybe… you… are my end…”

Guqcheong smiled.

“You bastard… you were supposed to be devoured…”

“…….”

“Thank you… for feeding me… it was the first time I received something without a price…”

“…….”

“Be careful… behind you… the Blood Sect… isn’t over…”

The trembling body of Guqcheong stilled.

“The Blood Sect… isn’t over… don’t die… Jeok-un… you’ve defeated the Blood Demon…”

His power drained from his eyes lost its light.

A hand that fell with a thud dropped to the ground.

“…Become the Heavenly Demon…”

The completely powerless body collapsed. The cooling body found its end.

He laid him down, closing the eyes that hadn’t shut yet.

“……”

He was a villain. Anyone would say so. I certainly believe it too.

How many had died because of him? Were not even innocent civilians swept up in it?

But…

Could it be said so simply?

His sword was real. His desperate effort hung on its edge.

Above all…

There was a weak desire at the end that he didn’t want to do this.

A person pushed by the world. Someone who accepted what he didn’t want as his nature.

He rummaged through his pockets. Took out the gold he had received before and placed it into his hand.

“……”

I remember the time I fought the Lord of Demon Valley.

When the two characters written as ‘Ordinary Person’ changed to ‘Exemplar’.

The truly ordinary person who wanted to change, became a warrior writing new rules.

Someone who, while others deem foolish, walks that path, wanting to be a model.

And within that, perhaps… your story is now intertwined.

“…Me too.”

Watch me, Guqcheong.

Even if I can’t become the Heavenly Demon, one day I will surely surpass her.

So…

Rest your eyes in peace.

The one who killed you was the man who would even bring down the Heavenly Demon.

“It was a pleasure. That place on that day.”

He stood up.

He turned around.

The red sky cleared, and the sun that had vanished returned.

The end of the long battle descended before him. Yet his heart was uneasy.

“Behind… the Blood Sect… is not done…”

What did those words mean?

The end of the rising sun was still red.

Everything looked as though it had ended yet promised not to be over.

…As if.

As if this was just the beginning.

. . .

The center that had collapsed quickly restored itself.

All the captured members of the Blood Sect were handed over to the Naksal Clan. It became a bit noisy, but the end of that story did not reach me.

The Nine Heavens Jade Woman, bandaged in injuries, waved at me. Lying on the sickbed, she spoke languidly.

“Disciple. It will become as you wish. Many will have seen you, but the situation wasn’t relaxed enough to see you clearly, no one will remember you. Even if they do, I will control it.”

“Thank you.”

“You’ve surpassed it. In that brief moment. Have you even shed your skin once?”

“Skin… as in…?”

“I’m talking about metamorphosis.”

I touched my still recovering body. Now that I think of it, I had changed a bit in appearance.

My facial features had become sharper, and my body felt lighter overall. My body had become firmer, and the features became more distinct.

It felt as if I had transformed into someone else. The Nine Heavens Jade Woman nodded several times.

“Well, your looks are becoming more appealing. Indeed, the best self-care is metamorphosis. But those scars weren’t erased. Did you want that?”

“Probably… yes.”

It was a mark that symbolized my weak past. I was used to its existence, and I could remind my restless heart every time I looked in the mirror.

I probably didn’t want it to disappear.

The Nine Heavens Jade Woman patted my shoulder.

“Your growth makes me happy as a master.”

“You haven’t taught me anything; why are you saying nonsense… Ugh!”

The Huachun Qunma, lying on the sickbed, gasped. The bandages wrapped around his upper body only made his brutish appearance look even more brutish.

“Damn it! What the hell is the Heart Sword…! Why is the wound that should’ve let me jump up like this…!”

“Even if it was a shoddy version, it was still the Heart Sword. Actually… it wasn’t even a shoddy version, but I think it was probably about 30% Hyun-kyung? Hey, where are you?”

Wolhyang called for me. As I got closer, she hugged me tightly.

Her entire body was bandaged to the point she could barely move. The physician had been horrified at the state he had revived.

She rubbed her cheek and motioned with her chin. Each time she moved her body, pain must have flooded in, yet she was smiling brightly as if it meant nothing.

“Go buy some meat. A lot of delicious stuff. My mouth is a bit sore, but… I guess I’ll get better while eating?”

“The physician said to eat what won’t hurt you. Senior.”

“Eh, would that even satisfy? It’s no good. No good. Just go buy it. Quickly. Got it?”

“…Yes.”

“Get mine too!”

“I don’t need it. I can’t make my disciple do something shameless.”

“Don’t be calculative! You filthy girl!”

“I need to see your hands… kugh.”

“I am the Huachun Qunma… ugh.”

Leaving those moaning beings behind, I left the room.

In the other room, there were patients gathered as well. Likewise, three in this room.

The three suffering injuries, not so different from the previous room, welcomed me.

“Mu Gongja. I feel like I’m going to die, and you’ll recover in three days… isn’t this a bit strange?”

Black Wind. He had even tied down that Right Scholar to the end and had fought, throwing himself into battle after losing all his charms.

As a result, he had gained full-body fractures. I sat in front of him.

“If there’s anything you need, I can fetch it.”

“Just your information…”

“Black Wind. Could you not bark beside me? It’s noisy.”

Black Danhwa. She wasn’t in a good state either. After exhausting all her Mussuoh, she had even pulled out her trump card to fight…

Her entire body bore wounds, and her face was ripped. Looking again, she seemed down and began fidgeting with her hands.

Black Danhwa smiled.

“Why do you look like you’re about to cry? Don’t worry. You know? Man-sa-shin-ui is coming directly here. The Master ordered him to treat those who blocked the Blood Calamity. So you don’t need to worry about injuries. Man-sa-shin-ui is a divine healer who can even save those on the verge of death. He will also treat the scar on my face from suppressing the Blood Sect.”

“No one would have considered that the famed Seob Honyohee is in such a plight.”

“Because I saw you were the most disappointed when my face got hurt? Anyway, I absolutely loathe people like you.”

“Eh! If I expected something, I might have been a bit disappointed? But we’re friends, right?!”

“Me? With you? Ha. What a joke…”

Something hung from my back. Turning my head, I found Ju Ryeongryeong’s face close by.

The only warrior who had received the least injuries among the three. I was quite surprised by her appearance, not expecting her to come to Eungmin. I was also a bit pleased to hear that she had aided Black Danhwa in winning.

“Ryeongryeong, how are your injuries?”

“I’m fine. You can drop the formalities.”

“I’ll drop them once I’m comfortable.”

“What? If we aren’t comfortable, how can we be comfortable? Huh? I told you to drop the formalities.”

The hanging Ju Ryeongryeong was supported, making sure she didn’t fall.

Black Wind was foaming at the mouth.

“Lady So! Mu Gongja is fondling your buttocks right now! Be careful! He seems indifferent on the surface, but he’s definitely harboring vile intentions!”

“…Ju Ryeongryeong? Isn’t it a bit embarrassing in front of everyone? I think it’d be better not to do that.”

“I’m good! What’s wrong with touching my butt? Feel free to touch!”

“Th-then me too…”

“You’re excluded. Only Mu Myung. Right?”

“I only supported your thighs. I didn’t touch at all.”

I asked the others if there was something they wanted before I left.

I lightly memorized their requests and exited the room.

Ju Ryeongryeong hung onto me and wouldn’t fall.

“Let’s go together.”

“Then I’d like to come too… ugh.”

“Lady So. I will go too… cough.”

Leaving behind the two who clutched their waists, I took Ju Ryeongryeong out with me.

Lastly, before leaving, I casually entered the last room.

“Lady Yeon.”

I opened the door.

She turned to look at me.

 

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