A knee caught home, and the Gyecheon Gate Lord toppled backward.
Gu Yangcheon clenched his fist to deliver a follow-up strike, but.
“Tch.”
Gu Yangcheon, who had been about to continue the assault, suddenly widened the distance.
A sword scraped past the side of his face.
Even while taking hits, he had been attempting a counterattack.
‘He’s ridiculously tough.’
Taking all those hits and still launching counterattacks—that was some serious regenerative ability.
‘At this rate, I’ll have to tear his arm off.’
Would it still regenerate? Most likely not. If so, then obliterating the body part entirely was the right call.
However.
*Shiiiik.*
The onslaught flying at him was gradually growing fiercer.
‘You seeing this?’
Despite the continuous damage, the Gyecheon Gate Lord did not fall. Watching this, Gu Yangcheon thought.
Was it outstanding willpower? Or was his body gradually adapting?
If neither was the case.
‘Am I the one getting tired?’
He realized it as he felt fatigue in his body.
Pouring excessive power into swollen blood points, the rate at which he tired was becoming too severe.
‘Hmm.’
This isn’t good. It seemed he couldn’t fight for much longer.
‘Subduing him will be difficult.’
If he could use flames, it would be different, but doing so now was impossible.
He just had to kill him somehow.
[Grrrr.]
The Gyecheon Gate Lord began to exert force. His movements were gradually becoming more violent.
One could feel his determination to endure the present moment at all costs.
His opponent seemed to be overexerting himself as well. Watching that, Gu Yangcheon steadied his breathing slightly.
‘Seems like he’s waiting for reinforcements.’
It seemed he was waiting for someone else.
Well, of course. In this vast underground, could there really be no other figures?
‘I killed everyone I saw on the way here, but…’
There were bound to be more. It was only natural. What would happen if reinforcements arrived now?
‘That would be a bit dangerous.’
Objectively speaking, it was.
Namgung Bia needed rest. Wi Seola was here, so she could help, but… the fight would turn in an unfavorable direction.
However, even though Gu Yangcheon knew that plainly well, he wasn’t particularly worried.
‘Reinforcements? If they can come, let them try.’
If there was anyone capable of coming, that is.
He had already made preparations on that front.
So for now, he only needed to focus on the fight before him.
“Suuuuuh—.”
He took a deep breath and twisted his waist.
*Thump-!* The energy residing in his heart spread through his body. His brow furrowed in pain.
Twapacheonmu.
A fierce strike immediately bored into the Gyecheon Gate Lord. The creature hurriedly raised both hands to block, but.
*Rumble----!!!*
The punch touched his hands and exploded, and the creature was pushed backward.
[Krrrr-!!]
Absorbing the shock with his toes, the Gyecheon Gate Lord barely came to a stop.
Seeing that, Gu Yangcheon tilted his head.
‘What.’
It was weaker than expected.
He had clearly imbued it with energy properly, yet the impact was less than anticipated.
It was true that his body was tired, but this was different.
‘Could this be…’
What was the problem? After thinking briefly, Gu Yangcheon narrowed his brow this time.
‘Is internal qi the problem?’
Not demonic qi, but internal qi.
He had momentarily reduced his demonic qi to use Twapacheonmu just now. Could that be the issue?
‘Hmm.’
He wasn’t certain. He needed to test it a little more.
He stepped on the ground and tried to bore in on the Gyecheon Gate Lord—
*Tuk-!*
‘Hmm?’
—but this time, the ground was the problem.
‘Damn.’
The ground was strange. He had moved expecting it to crumble, but the ground didn’t even tremble.
It was different from before.
Fortunately, his movement didn’t falter, but it bothered him.
As he closed in, a sword flew at him. He ducked and avoided the blade.
He immediately drove his fist into the abdomen.
[Keuk!]
It landed cleanly. The Gyecheon Gate Lord’s body, struck by the fist, floated up.
But…
*Shiiiik-!!!*
Once again, the creature counterattacked. Hair sliced off by the sword drifted through the air.
‘…I see.’
Only upon seeing that did Gu Yangcheon become certain. This was, no doubt.
‘Internal qi doesn’t work.’
Internal qi itself seemed to be the problem. Realizing that, he immediately overlaid his attack with demonic qi.
He struck the creature’s left shoulder hard.
[Krrgh!]
This time was completely different from before.
The face furrowed in pain and the sensation of impact were the exact opposite.
It was as expected.
‘Demonic qi works, but internal qi works less.’
It didn’t seem to be completely ineffective, but the effect was considerably dampened.
‘And.’
*Crack.*
He stomped down on the ground with his foot.
Unlike before, it broke this time.
‘Is this space the same way?’
He didn’t know the exact principle, but it seemed clear that internal qi was the problem.
‘Tch.’
It was a truly troublesome space. But knowing was enough.
Gu Yangcheon immediately released all his energy and filled himself with demonic qi.
Close-quarters combat began again. Though it was called close-quarters combat, the situation was the same.
It was violence.
*Boom!*
When the sword lashed out, he dodged and drove his fist into the opening.
If it tried to widen the distance, he caught up and struck. If it tried to counterattack, he blocked it and struck again.
Break it. He added more force to shatter the entire body.
*Boom-! Boom boom-! Boom-!!*
The heaviness didn’t sound like someone pummeling with fists.
Which meant it was a method just that powerful and savage.
‘What a load of bullshit.’
Yet the expression of Gu Yangcheon, who was relentlessly pressing the attack, was not very good.
Honestly, it was a bit hard.
‘His speed is gradually catching up.’
Even as he kept attacking and breaking him, the recovery was too fast.
He could only use simple attacks, so it couldn’t be helped.
At this level, he should be using stronger firepower, but since he couldn’t use fire arts, he had only Twapacheonmu.
‘But this isn’t enough.’
Demonic qi could be mixed into any martial art, so he could do it if he wanted.
Twapacheonmu was insufficient. It was a martial art with fierce recoil; whether his blood points could endure it was uncertain.
If it came to this, all he could do was endure and keep attacking.
[…K… Hehe.]
A sudden burst of laughter was heard from ahead.
At that sight, Gu Yangcheon moved his fist and asked.
“What’s so funny. You wanna die?”
[Heheh… It’s because it is amusing.]
*Srrrng-!* The sword moved.
Gu Yangcheon hurriedly tilted his head back. The blade passed by a hair’s breadth.
[I had a feeling something was strange… Now I understand a bit.]
Gu Yangcheon leaped high and greatly widened the distance.
[You. You’re tired, aren’t you?]
“…”
At the Gyecheon Gate Lord’s words, Gu Yangcheon silently caught his breath.
[Your fists are gradually growing weaker. They are still like thunder, yet markedly different from the comet-like force from before.]
Damn, caught. Gu Yangcheon finally smirked, as if disappointed.
[Furthermore, seeing that you are not using your main weapon, the fire arts… there must be some problem.]
The old man was perceptive. Gu Yangcheon loosened his shoulder slightly and bit the edge of his lip.
Yeah, it was about time he noticed.
[As expected… heaven is on my side.]
“Old man. If you spew such bullshit, it won’t end with just being ugly.”
He hid his ragged breathing.
How much internal qi remained? It seemed about ten percent was left.
Was it because his main weapon, fire arts, was sealed? He had wasted too much unnecessary strength.
It was an incomparably difficult situation.
Despite knowing that, Gu Yangcheon didn’t show it.
“So what. What of it.”
He couldn’t unleash flames.
The creature’s body seemed to be growing stronger; if this dragged into a prolonged battle, he might be pushed back.
But.
So?
“That doesn’t mean you’ll win.”
[Are you trying to struggle desperately? You and those girls should never have come here.]
“Bullshit.”
He had caught his breath.
The problem was that during the time he was stabilizing his breathing, that thing had recovered more as well.
If only he could somehow replenish his depleted energy… What should he do? Gu Yangcheon continuously racked his brains even as he spat out words.
“I obviously know what kind of shit you’re scheming, but there’s a limit to pretending I don’t.”
[Ha.]
The Gyecheon Gate Lord let out a hollow laugh.
[You already knew?]
“Well, not all of it. But I could tell there was a filthy stench coming from your side. A stench caked layer upon layer with desire.”
[Do not insult me…!]
The Gyecheon Gate Lord exploded in anger.
[How dare you, who knows nothing…! This is all for the sake of heaven.]
“That’s exactly the kind of thing lunatics obsessed with weird cults say.”
Heaven, my ass. Did those bastards even know what they wanted, what they themselves were?
It was incomprehensible, but.
‘But looking at that body alone, it doesn’t seem trivial.’
The Gyecheon Gate Lord had completely changed from before. He didn’t know what method had been used, but it couldn’t be ignored if it had reached that state.
Even at Gu Yangcheon’s response, the Gyecheon Gate Lord only spat out words filled with fury.
[You don’t know. The paradise we dream of. And the treasure prepared for it.]
“Of course I wouldn’t kno—”
The moment he tried to brush it off because he didn’t want to hear it.
“Paradise?”
Gu Yangcheon latched onto the peculiar word from the Gyecheon Gate Lord’s mouth.
‘Did he say paradise?’
Paradise. A word that looked merely beautiful on the surface, yet in Gu Yangcheon’s mind, it became a word bristling with thorns.
It overlapped with something the Blood Demon had once said.
‘I think that guy also said he dreamed of paradise.’
Could it be pure coincidence? He felt a premonition that it wasn’t.
[The elders will arrive soon. When they do, it will be your end as well. I will never let you go.]
The Gyecheon Gate Lord seemed to have found hope and was spirited again. Gu Yangcheon looked at him and asked.
“…Is that ridiculously stupid body of yours right now also something bestowed by the great heavens?”
It was a question thrown out to probe, but the Gyecheon Gate Lord took the bait immediately.
[Ha… To say such a thing even after witnessing the greatness of the Yeouiju. Have you still not realized reality?]
‘Yeouiju?’
Yeou… ju (bead)?
At the Gate Lord’s words, Gu Yangcheon furrowed his brow. For some reason, he felt like he knew something.
And then he took something out from his bosom and showed it to the Gyecheon Gate Lord.
[What are you… huh?]
The object he showed was none other than a bead. It was a pure white bead about the size of a fist.
The Gyecheon Gate Lord’s eyes widened at the object Gu Yangcheon produced.
[You… how do you have that!]
“Is this the Yeouiju you spoke of?”
He had probably obtained it when he first arrived here and killed that huge old man.
When he showed it off gently, boundless flames of rage surged in the Gyecheon Gate Lord’s eyes.
[You—! Did I not ask where you obtained that!]
Perhaps enraged beyond measure, the Gyecheon Gate Lord charged at Gu Yangcheon.
That appearance, steeped in madness, was truly terrifying, but.
“Hmm…”
Even in that situation, Gu Yangcheon was quietly staring at the bead.
For now, he couldn’t feel anything from it no matter how he looked.
‘Probably shouldn’t be eaten, right?’
It seemed likely that this was what the creature had spoken of, but it was an object he knew nothing about.
Consuming such a dangerous thing now would be a gamble.
He should put it away and resolve the fight first. Just as he finished that thought.
“St-stop!”
As if having seen something, the Gyecheon Gate Lord shouted urgently.
“Stop wha—*gulp*…?”
At his throat moving on its own, Gu Yangcheon stiffened.
“Huh?”
He rolled his eyes and looked at his hand.
The bead he had been holding until just moments ago was gone.
He swept his hand over his chest.
And realized.
“…This is insane.”
He could feel something going down.
He had swallowed the bead. Not of his own will.
Just as Gu Yangcheon was dumbfounded by the absurdity of the situation.
*Thump-!*
Along with a heartbeat, change began.