When the door opened completely, the Blood King walked out.
Having just emerged from the tank that had been filled with blood, he was naked, crimson droplets falling steadily from his body.
The stench of blood was so overpowering that Yang Seok wanted to bolt outside. Never in his life had he encountered such a thick reek of blood.
If liquor had alcohol essence, then this was surely the smell that would come from blood essence.
The Northern Blood Sect Master, on the other hand, stared at the Blood King without the slightest concern for the smell.
He was younger than he had expected.
His face was handsome, his limbs long, and his body was perfect, as though carved from stone.
And then there was that striking red hair that seized the gaze.
The first impression he gave off was more intense than that of any martial artist the sect master had ever seen.
‘He is insanely strong.’
Even though the Blood King had not revealed his aura, that thought came to him from first impressions alone.
Yang Seok, meanwhile, was so overwhelmed by the smell of blood that he could not properly gauge the Blood King. Still, there was one fact he could grasp with certainty.
‘So he’s the one behind everything.’
The fact that he had been hiding in a secret chamber behind the sect master’s hall was shocking.
‘To think Father was hiding a secret like this. He should have told me, his own son.’
Even at this moment, he was filling himself with resentment toward his father.
Tap tap tap tap!
A dozen or so martial artists sprang out from the doors on the left and right, blocking the way in front of the Northern Blood Sect Master. They too frowned at the appalling stench.
Ordinarily, whenever the Northern Blood Sect Master entered through the secret door, he always sent his subordinates away first. But today, he had not known that the man in the secret chamber would come outside, and so he had failed to dismiss them in advance.
The Blood King looked down at the martial artists with indifferent eyes.
The Northern Blood Sect Master felt many things from that gaze. It was not a cold, emotionless stare. It was hot like blood, sticky like blood, and chilling like blood.
There was another sensation as well. Order and logic seemed as if they would not work on him; it felt as though he lived purely by instinct—no, by the pull of blood.
But the Northern Blood Sect Master knew. He knew that was not all there was to him. If he had been a man faithful only to instinct, he could never have spent that long stretch of time in the secret chamber. He possessed a terrifying patience that overwhelmed all else. That was the most frightening thing of all.
At that very moment.
The Blood King slowly extended both hands forward.
Shwaaaaaak!
From the Blood King’s outstretched fingers, red lines shot out all at once.
Thud thud thud thud thud!
One line from each finger, ten lines in all, pierced through the martial artists’ foreheads.
They were not so weak as to die so pointlessly. Yet with that single move, the martial artists all collapsed and died at once.
It was a martial art even the Northern Blood Sect Master had never seen before. It was not finger wind, nor was it some weapon flying through the air.
The Blood King slowly made his way toward the taishi chair. Even as he walked, blood continued to drip down from his body.
The Blood King sat naked in the taishi chair.
The aura and presence he exuded were truly overwhelming. Added to that was the suffocating smell of blood.
The Blood King gently closed his eyes and recited some kind of mnemonic formula, then extended his hand to the side. Though no wound had been made, blood flowed down from his palm.
Drip.
Red smoke began to rise from the blood that had fallen to the floor.
Kwaang!
The Blood King unleashed a palm strike and blew away the ceiling.
The red smoke rising from the floor continued upward through the open ceiling. It looked as though it were sending a signal to someone.
Hearing the commotion, voices began to murmur outside.
The Northern Blood Sect Master shouted with internal energy in his voice.
“Everyone, withdraw!”
Soon the commotion outside subsided, and silence descended.
Seated in the taishi chair, the Blood King looked down at the Northern Blood Sect Master without a word.
The Northern Blood Sect Master knelt where he stood and bowed.
“I greet my lord!”
After becoming sect master—no, since the day he had been born—this was the first time the Northern Blood Sect Master had ever knelt before anyone other than his parents or master.
But he knew instinctively. If he did not kneel now, he would die by this man’s hand.
Yang Seok, who had been standing awkwardly, quickly knelt as well.
He was truly shocked. He had sensed that the naked man was strong, but he had never imagined his father would kneel. And without even exchanging a single word, at that.
‘My lord?’
The words from his father’s mouth sounded utterly unfamiliar.
Only then did the Blood King speak. His voice was low, yet carried a deep resonance.
“How did Ha Gyeol die?”
Had he heard the conversation outside from within the secret chamber? Or was he connected to Ha Gyeol by blood? He knew that Ha Gyeol was dead.
“We do not know yet either. We only just received the news.”
The Northern Blood Sect Master answered respectfully.
The Blood King rose from the taishi chair and walked forward.
With every step he took, the hearts of the Northern Blood Sect Master and Yang Seok pounded violently. Even the Northern Blood Sect Master, who had experienced every kind of hardship, felt fear.
This man possessed an aura incomparable to that of Ha Gyeol from before. He truly had never imagined that such a terrifying person had been in the secret chamber.
The one the Blood King approached was Yang Seok.
Seen up close, the Blood King’s eyes felt even more terrifying, and the thickened smell of blood made Yang Seok feel as if he would suffocate.
“You were there when Ha Gyeol died, weren’t you?”
It was not a question. It was an interrogation.
Yang Seok’s vision went dark. Terror swept over him, but he desperately denied it. If he told the truth, he felt as if he would truly be killed in a painful manner.
“No.”
But the Blood King was not merely probing.
“I smell Ha Gyeol’s blood on you.”
“!”
Yang Seok’s heart dropped. Since he had watched the fight, perhaps a few drops of Ha Gyeol’s blood might have splashed onto him.
But he could smell that? Was that even possible?
The Blood King glared at Yang Seok with cold eyes.
“Who killed Ha Gyeol? Was it you?”
He should have said he did not know, but the light in the Blood King’s eyes was so terrifying that Yang Seok squeezed his eyes shut and shouted.
“No, no! I didn’t kill him.”
“Then who was it?”
Yang Seok answered truthfully without hesitation.
“The Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult.”
A faint blood qi seeped from the Blood King’s body as he placed his hand on Yang Seok’s head. The moment his hand touched the crown of his head, Yang Seok cried out as if begging.
“Please! Spare me.”
He felt a strange energy entering his body through the crown of his head. But he could not resist. His entire body trembled like an aspen leaf, afraid that the energy would burst with a pop inside his skull.
“Please!”
The Northern Blood Sect Master did not step forward to help his son. Even if he did, it would not stop him anyway.
More importantly, he was extremely angry at Yang Seok right now. He had been present where Ha Gyeol died, yet had lied to him with a perfectly innocent face. He had even acted shocked at Ha Gyeol’s death.
The Blood King removed the hand he had placed on Yang Seok’s crown.
“Haa, haa.”
Yang Seok had no idea what that energy had been, but at the thought that he had survived for the moment, he panted roughly in relief.
“What happened to the one with the Extreme Cold Physique?”
When the Blood King asked again, Yang Seok answered without hesitation.
“The Drunken Demon took her.”
At the words Drunken Demon, the Blood King’s eyes narrowed into long slits, and his pupils turned red. When Seo Nak had died, he had made a resolution inside the tank. He would kill the Drunken Demon no matter what. And now that very Drunken Demon had once again blocked his path.
Having lost both his subordinate and the Extreme Cold Physique, the Blood King was unrestrained.
“Tell the Young Cult Leader to meet me.”
The red pupils between those slit eyes were beyond terrifying.
“In the meantime, I will kill the Drunken Demon and retrieve the Extreme Cold Physique.”
* * *
“He’ll target you, hyung.”
At Geom Mugeuk’s words, the Drunken Demon, who had been looking out the window, turned his head.
“Since you killed Elder Seo and took the Extreme Cold Physique away. He’ll definitely try to get revenge on you.”
“That’s what I want.”
The Drunken Demon was not frightened at all. He possessed the skill to be that way.
However, he had to fear the Blood King’s Self-Destruction Art. The Drunken Demon’s alcohol qi would not be able to block even that.
“I have a favor to ask.”
“What favor?”
“You have to grant it.”
“No. I refuse.”
At that, Geom Mugeuk said nothing.
“What is it?”
“You said you refuse. Ah! As expected, hyung is hyung. To think you’d refuse this favor.”
In the end, the Drunken Demon could not endure his curiosity.
“I’ll at least hear it first.”
The Drunken Demon said this while filling the cup set before him.
“As long as you don’t tell me to quit drinking, it’s fine. I realized it when I quit this time. Without alcohol, the joy of life disappears.”
“So anything except that is fine?”
“And don’t come to see me last when you return after leaving the cult. Also…”
To think he could be so relaxed even in this situation. Geom Mugeuk smiled and took out the Black Demon Sword at his waist, sheath and all.
“It isn’t a difficult favor…”
For some reason, feeling reluctant, the Drunken Demon shouted loudly.
“I don’t know what it is, but no! I refuse!”
* * *
Watching Geom Mugeuk approach from far away, Yang Seok’s heart pounded as if it would burst.
—You must hold him there as long as possible. If you fail, you die.
He recalled the Blood King’s cold warning.
‘He really will kill me.’
The Blood King was different from Geom Mugeuk. He would truly kill him without the slightest hesitation.
And his father would not help him either. Not if he thought back to the look in his father’s eyes when the Blood King gave the order.
In the meantime, Geom Mugeuk arrived before him.
“You’ve come?”
Yang Seok bowed at the waist. His attitude toward Geom Mugeuk was now completely different from before.
“I apologize for contacting you so urgently.”
“Why did you ask to see me?”
“I found information about the person behind this.”
“What kind of information?”
“Shall we walk for a moment?”
Yang Seok began walking together with Geom Mugeuk.
The place where they met was a sparsely populated field a short distance from the Northern Blood Sect.
As they walked in silence, Yang Seok spoke cautiously.
“I went to see my father. As you told me, I spoke honestly. I said I wanted to be of help to him. Then my father told me. I truly had no idea that speaking honestly could wield such great power.”
“Where is the one behind this?”
“He said that person is at the Ice Sword Sect.”
The Ice Sword Sect was one of the three great powers of the Northern Sea, along with the Northern Sea Ice Palace and the Northern Blood Sect.
‘Even if things go wrong later, I can pin everything on Father.’
The Blood King was truly terrifying, but the opponent here was the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult. He had to dig an escape route for himself.
Geom Mugeuk, who had been quietly watching Yang Seok, suddenly asked.
“Is the idea that he is at the Ice Sword Sect your own, Young Master Yang? Or did that man tell you to say it?”
Yang Seok forced himself to ask back calmly.
“What do you mean?”
Yang Seok could not tell whether Geom Mugeuk was testing him or had truly noticed that he was lying.
“Well, I suppose it would have to be somewhere like the Ice Sword Sect to buy time. Which means the one behind this has revealed himself in front of you.”
Even if he truly tried not to be surprised, it was impossible not to be when he was with Geom Mugeuk.
“You fooled me once, and that should have been enough. Yet you’re deceiving me again.”
He felt that he could no longer hide it. Yang Seok had been so afraid of the Blood King that he had resolved to take his side.
But now that he was actually seeing Geom Mugeuk again, he realized there was another kind of fear. A person who seemed to look straight into his heart; before Geom Mugeuk, he became naked.
“I was wrong. Please spare me!”
Yang Seok immediately prostrated himself on the spot.
‘You sharp-eyed bastard! Even so, I’ll survive no matter what!’
Kneel here, kneel there. He would kneel and kneel again until his knees could no longer bend if it meant he survived.
“But how did you know I was lying?”
“When you asked me to walk with you.”
“Why that?”
“If you had found information, you would have been busy showing off what you learned the moment you saw me. But you asked me to walk with you? That was strange, wasn’t it?”
Geom Mugeuk had grasped exactly what kind of person Yang Seok was.
“That man forced me, so I had no choice.”
“Where in the world is there such a thing as having no choice? There are only things you chose wrongly. Today is the same. The moment you saw me, you could have said, ‘This is the situation.’ You could have told me honestly, couldn’t you?”
Yang Seok had no excuse to offer.
“What else did that man say?”
“He only told me to meet the Young Cult Leader.”
Geom Mugeuk quietly looked into his eyes and suddenly said.
“He said he would kill the Drunken Demon while you stalled for time, didn’t he?”
Geom Mugeuk saw the unmistakable agitation in Yang Seok’s eyes.
“So in the end, you were stalling like this so he could kill the Drunken Demon.”
Startled, Yang Seok waved his hands.
“No, that’s not it.”
“If not?”
“I only…”
He tried to make an excuse, but the words caught in his throat. This was not an opponent excuses would work on.
Yang Seok knelt again.
“Please forgive me. If you see that bastard, you’ll understand me. He isn’t human!”
With his head lowered deeply, his true thoughts were far from his pleading cries.
‘Forgive me. You high-and-mighty types get pleasure from forgiveness, don’t you?’
He thought that only because he did not know what kind of gaze Geom Mugeuk was looking down at him with. His sins were already too great, and his death had been decided. It was only a question of when.
“Please go quickly. Shouldn’t you go at once and help the Drunken Demon?”
Geom Mugeuk was not worried about the Drunken Demon at all.
“Why are you worrying about a Demon Venerable? The only person in this murim qualified to worry about a Demon Venerable is the Heavenly Demon.”
It was a statement that upheld the pride of a Demon Venerable, and it also meant that he trusted the Drunken Demon that much.
Of course, Geom Mugeuk’s composure and trust were not solely because he believed in the Drunken Demon’s skills. The opponent was far too strong for that.
The supreme-grade Heavenly Silkworm Thread that had been wrapped around the Black Demon Sword in Geom Mugeuk’s hand was nowhere to be seen.
Geom Mugeuk’s request had been for the Drunken Demon to wrap that very supreme-grade Heavenly Silkworm Thread around his body.
Though the Drunken Demon had insisted he would not wear it even if he died, Geom Mugeuk had ultimately made him wrap it all around himself. Not only around his heart, but also several times around each vital point. A fight with the Blood King was a fight in which one never knew when or where something might erupt.
And there was one more thing he trusted.
He had the Swift Step that could bring him back before it was too late.
“Get up now.”
Yang Seok rose and tried in any way he could to put Geom Mugeuk in a good mood.
“I believe in you. The Young Cult Leader will eliminate him. You’ll eliminate him in the most satisfying way.”
“You won’t get to see it.”
Geom Mugeuk vanished from before his eyes in an instant.
Yang Seok, who wore a puzzled expression, did not know. He did not know that his face and entire body had turned red in an instant.
Kwaaaaaaaang!
He exploded through the Self-Destruction Art. A tremendous force of blood qi swept forward, but Geom Mugeuk had already entered the Space-Time Transposition Art.
Geom Mugeuk appeared again.
Yang Seok was dead, a huge hole torn through his chest.
The bastard had mercilessly used the young sect master of the Northern Blood Sect as a tool for the Self-Destruction Art. Even though the target was the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult.
Geom Mugeuk finally felt that the Blood King had emerged into the world.
He likely had not expected Yang Seok to kill him when even Ha Gyeol had failed. If so, this was the Blood King’s greeting.
Looking down at the gaping hole, Geom Mugeuk said softly.
“Yeah, nice to meet you too, you lunatic.”