Nine. And Three.
It was Uhyeok.
Uhyeok, who had been inside the Ice Crystal just moments ago, was holding my hand with his eyes open.
Only, there were some differences.
His long，flowing hair had turned white.
And his pupils were dyed with a blue light.
The moment I saw this, I grasped the situation.
"You bastard...."
What was holding me right now was not Uhyeok.
But the Third Pure Blood. The one called Mang.
Mang, seeing my flustered expression, grinned.
"Your expression is a sight to behold."
Though the face was unmistakably Uhyeok's, the way he smiled was entirely different.
"Just a little more."
A voice brimming with regret.
"...If only I had done just a little more, I could have obtained it perfectly."
His voice was gradually sharpening.
"...To think you would block that fleeting moment."
Pressure surged into the hand he held.
"Fine. This much should be sufficient. Since you are a kinsman I have not met in a long time, I had intended to show mercy."
The corner of his mouth rose.
"But since it has come to this, it wouldn't be bad to capture the distortion in advance. Now, let us see death through a friend's body—"
Boom!
"Gack!"
Mang's head snapped back from the blow of my free fist.
Seeing that, I swung my fists in rapid succession.
Boom! Thud! Boom-boom! Kwaaang!
I battered his face relentlessly, as if to smash it apart.
The distance was close, making it easy to strike.
As I continued the onslaught to the point where the space shook from the impacts—
"You...! You damned bastard...!"
Mang, who had been taking the beating, released his grip and erupted his energy.
Swoooosh-!!
Cold energy burst out, aiming for my body, so I reined in my regret and widened the distance again.
Tap, tap.
As I backed away and brushed the frost from my body—
"Ptooey...!"
Mang spat on the floor. It was filled with blood.
Then he looked at me with an incredulous expression.
And spoke.
"Truly, you are out of your mind. Do you not recognize what this body is?"
"Do I look like I'm blind? I can see perfectly well."
It was Uhyeok's body. How could I not know that? It was impossible not to know.
Whether his hair had turned white or his eyes had turned blue.
At a single glance, that was unmistakably Uhyeok's body.
'Mang has simply taken it over.'
When I answered flatly, Mang's expression twisted further.
"Surely, you came here to save this body."
"That's right."
I had. I surely had.
I had forgotten for a moment, but.
"But to attack without hesitation the moment you saw me? Do you mean you care not what happens to this body?"
At that question, I tilted my head.
"What's the problem with that?"
"What?"
I couldn't understand.
It meant that I had difficulty grasping the intent behind the question.
"Why should I hesitate to beat you up?"
He had taken over Uhyeok's husk.
What reason did I have to hesitate in beating him up?
"You're going to fight me, aren't you."
"..."
See, he couldn't deny it.
"Then what, should I just sit still and get hit? You're a more selfish bastard than I thought."
"No, that's not it...."
"Or did you expect me to hesitate because you're my friend? Are you my friend?"
"...Ha."
"No, you aren't."
I don't know about the body, but that guy is not my friend.
And besides.
"I was already wanting to hit him a bit anyway. That bastard stuck a knife in my gut."
Even if it weren't him, I had planned to thrash Uhyeok after he got his body back.
This worked out better.
While I was at it.
"I can vent my stress too."
After spitting out those words, I accelerated toward him.
Thud-! The ground collapsed as my body shot forward.
Fwoosh.
Wrapping flames around my entire body, I charged straight at him.
And immediately kicked out.
Guyeomtae'arang (俱炎態牙狼).
Fwoooosh-!
Kwaaaa--!!
The flames bursting from the tip of my foot changed form and crashed down upon him.
It was a martial art originally meant to be used with fists, but once you grew accustomed to it, it mattered little where you applied it.
Blaze---!!!
The rapidly erupting flames gradually changed shape.
That form closely resembled a dragon.
Seeing this, Mang furrowed his brow and raised his hand.
Saaack-!
Cold energy burst from his fingertips, erecting a barrier.
Kwaaaack-! The flames were blocked by the barrier and scattered. In that instant, I had already reached Mang's rear.
The flames had been a feint from the start.
When Mang erected the barrier, I immediately circled behind him.
And right there.
'Sim-gwon (心拳).'
I poured my mental image into my fist and thrust it forward.
Drrrrr--!! Intangible force overturned the ground and shot forth.
Had this been Uhyeok's original body, he would have been struck and crushed as is, but—
"...You are hot-tempered."
"...!"
The moment after I thrust Sim-gwon, I instinctively retreated a step.
At that moment.
Swaack-!
Blood splattered.
My chest was slightly cut.
Seeing this, I thought.
'That was close.'
Had I not stepped back, I would have been sliced clean through.
I was injured, but it was not fatal.
Circulating my energy slightly, I looked at Mang.
He was holding a sword in his hand before I knew it.
Seeing this, I couldn't help but feel a bit surprised.
"That was your power?"
A sharp sword made of ice.
He wasn't wearing armor, but this was the martial art that Yuseon had used.
That was definitely—
'I thought it wasn't an Authority?'
How could he use it so nonchalantly?
At this question, Mang smiled faintly.
"What is so strange? From the very beginning, the abilities used by the bloodline of the Northern Sea originated from me."
"...Hm?"
The ice arts of the Northern Sea originated from Mang? Seeing my expression, he continued.
"Did you not find it strange?"
Mang, wearing Uhyeok's face, asked me.
"Why that lacking Apostle tried to wield a sword so clumsily."
The doubt I had felt during my fight with Yuseon came to mind.
Though he was clearly a martial artist, the image of Yuseon trying to fight with a sword.
"It is simple. Because that power was attuned to me."
"...Because you use a sword, its form merely took the shape of a sword. Is that what you mean?"
"Ninth one. You were originally a worthless race. Have you never thought it strange even once?"
"Hm?"
Hwirik-!
Mang moved his sword a few times and continued.
"Setting fire. Pouring out ice, or summoning thunder. Do you truly believe these are things a human can accomplish alone?"
"What?"
At Mang's words, my senses were briefly shaken.
At that moment.
Shiiik-!
"!"
Seeing Mang's movement, I hastily lowered my head.
A sharp momentum brushed over my head.
Swoooosh---!! A loud sound came from behind me.
It was the sound of something being sliced apart.
I immediately kicked out.
Wrapping flames around my entire body, I charged straight at him.
Guyeomtae'arang (俱炎態牙狼).
Furrowing my brow, I moved my hand.
Flames rapidly gathered in my palm.
After creating a Flame Prison, I hurled it at him with all my might, as if throwing a ball.
Hwaak-! The Flame Prison shot quickly toward him.
The moment the Flame Prison touched him, before it could explode—
Slice!
Mang swung his sword and cleaved the Flame Prison apart.
The bisected Flame Prison hurtled toward the wall behind Mang.
Kwaaaaang---!!
It struck the wall and erupted in an explosion.
Hwirik.
Having completed his movement, Mang swung his sword a few times, then casually rested it on his shoulder.
For some reason, his expression looked full of dissatisfaction.
"...As expected, it seems that moment was insufficient. This body does not move as I will."
His discomfort was evident. Looking at such a Mang, I asked.
"What did you mean by what you said earlier?"
"Hm?"
"The words about it not being something a human could do."
At my question, Mang laughed.
"It is nothing particularly surprising, is it?"
"It is an extremely surprising thing to say."
"Hm, yes. From your perspective, it may be so. However."
As he spoke, Mang pointed the sword resting on his shoulder at me.
"Why must I tell you that?"
"...Haha."
I let out an exclamation at the words he spat with derision.
"You really know how to piss people off."
"It pleases me that things are going my way."
"Why did you drag off a perfectly fine guy and turn him into this? Did you get the owner's permission?"
"This body? Hm, it was a body I found pleasing. Above all, the fact that it is a fragment of the Dragon Lord pleased me the most."
"...Fragment?"
Words I had heard before as well.
A fragment of the Dragon Lord.
What did those words mean?
"Do not worry. Once I find my original body, I intend to release it."
"It must have been hundreds of years. Where would you find your body?"
"What is there that cannot be found?"
Tap, tap. As he spoke, Mang touched the debris scattered on the floor.
They were fragments of the shattered Ice Crystal.
"Inside these, you see, I had stored my energy."
"...!"
"Because it was the energy I was stripped of in the fight with the Dragon Lord, it took quite a while to replenish."
The vitality that the bloodline of the Northern Sea had poured out in the past to hold back the extreme cold.
Did that mean it had all gone to become his energy?
'Wait. If that's the case....'
At the thought that occurred to me, I immediately spat out words to him.
"...If your energy was here, then your physical body is—"
"Oh. As expected, you are quick-witted."
Mang responded to my question with an expression of pride.
"In the other Ice Crystal, my physical body is contained."
"But I'm certain I couldn't see anything...?"
"Form is not important. What matters is only the fact that it is there."
Whether those words were true or false.
That doubt would not last long.
Because I, too, had already seen it.
'An egg and a heart.'
To the extent that I could recall it as such, I knew that an enormous energy was permeating the Ice Crystal.
Did that mean that inside it was none other than his physical body?
"This much is equally unsatisfying. It cannot compare even slightly to the energy I originally possessed. Still, it is fine."
He looked at me and spoke.
"If I reclaim my physical body as well, I should be able to sufficiently fill this lacking part. Then."
I could see killing intent sprouting from the tip of the sword aimed at me.
"I should be able to devour even the somewhat weakened Dragon Lord."
It seemed his fury toward the Dragon Lord, or perhaps the Blood Demon, was genuine after all.