Chapter 374: Orthodox Sect Gathering. (15)

They were red pupils.

It was different from the Vermillion Eye my father possessed. If his was Qi contained and shining red, Jang Seon-yeon’s eyes felt like they shone with a blood-red light.

Even their pupils were slit wide, giving off a bizarre feeling.

‘What the….’

It was surprising enough that Jang Seon-yeon was alive, but.

I had to break out in a sweat from the unknown sense of foreignness I felt from him.

The pain felt in my right arm was painful enough, but.

A discomfort rising from within began to dominate my body.

What is it? What exactly is making me feel so cold?

Chiiiiiiii.

Even amidst this, the pain felt from the side where scales had sprouted seemed to grow stronger.

‘This….’

For the past few months.

I thought I had become somewhat accustomed to pain while training the ‘Two-Clawed Sky Piercing Technique’ taught by the ‘Pinnacle Master’.

This was a different kind of pain.

‘It’s like….’

It feels like it’s slowly spreading. Should I say it feels like the area covered by scales is increasing?

The problem is why this phenomenon suddenly occurred.

Furthermore.

‘He looks like that, yet no one seems to care.’

Jang Seon-yeon’s appearance is one thing.

But his eyes have changed to that state, and no one feels anything strange about it.

‘Does that mean only I can see it?’

Does it mean Jang Seon-yeon’s pupils are only visible to me?

Why…?

As such complex thoughts flashed through my mind.

A familiar voice reached my ears.

-You don’t look well.

My eyes widened as I looked at the owner of the voice.

It was Jang Seon-yeon who spoke to me.

-…You bastard….

-I didn’t intend to surprise you. But seeing your reaction, I like it.

The way Jang Seon-yeon spoke with a grin was quite different in atmosphere from the one I knew.

Why could that be?

His face and voice were clearly Jang Seon-yeon’s, yet.

The sticky sensation felt from his voice.

Though I couldn’t smell anything, my nose felt filled with a fishy scent.

This is definitely a Blood Scent (Hyeolhyang).

‘Blood Scent…? The smell of blood?’

Once I recalled that, I felt like I knew what I was sensing from Jang Seon-yeon right now.

-Blood Demon (Hyeolma)…?

At my words, Jang Seon-yeon’s smile deepened.

Seeing that, I could be sure. Why I felt that sense of foreignness from him.

Even though he was Jang Seon-yeon, I didn’t feel like he was Jang Seon-yeon.

-You….

-You’re quite perceptive.

That guy wasn’t Jang Seon-yeon, but the Blood Demon.

-How… How are you there?

-Are you surprised I’m here?

-Are you kidding me…!

-I just felt stuffy and wanted to get some fresh air. How is it, do you like it?

-…What did you do to Jang Seon-yeon, the owner of the body?

Perhaps, just like Shin Noya, he had descended by borrowing a body.

If Shin Noya could do it.

There was no reason the Blood Demon couldn’t.

At my words, the Blood Demon spoke as if questioning.

-Ah-ya. You horribly burned and killed this child, yet you question why you look for me.

-Don’t spout nonsense. You wouldn’t have contacted me just to joke around, would you?

-Tsk, tsk.

At my growl, the Blood Demon merely laughed as if amused.

Meanwhile, the pain felt in my arm was getting progressively worse.

This isn’t good.

‘Why is it acting up all of a sudden?’

Usually, it was nothing, but.

Such pain appearing suddenly….

‘Could it be. Because of the Blood Demon?’

If there was an anomaly, it was only meeting the Blood Demon. No matter how I thought about it, that was it.

-You seem to be in a lot of pain.

I was enduring it without showing it, but somehow the Blood Demon noticed immediately.

Seeing that, it seemed this pain was indeed related to the Blood Demon.

-…Did you do something to me?

-Tsk, tsk…. You’d want to think that, but unfortunately, Ah-ya. I have no intention of doing such a thing to you.

-Nonsense! Did you forget forcing your energy into me without permission?

-I did. And did that lead to any bad results?

-What…?

Having forced it in without permission, I wondered what kind of bullshit this was.

-You must have used my power when you needed it, right?

-…!

-It is a miracle I personally bestowed upon you. Do you really think you wouldn’t have noticed?

Hearing those words meant the Blood Demon knew I had used demonic energy.

And. Even if the scales sprouting on my arm weren’t the Blood Demon’s doing.

I could also tell that he knew about these scales.

-…What is this, anyway?

When I asked the Blood Demon about the scales.

The Blood Demon looked at me with a strange expression.

In that expression, what should I say.

I felt an unknown pleasure contained within it.

-As expected. Ah-ya, you seem to be the anomaly I was hoping for.

-Stop talking bullshit. What is this?

-You are clearly not my fragment, yet why have you begun to bloom?

-…Fragment?

And blooming (Gaehwa)?

-Even I am not certain, but if that were the case, it would be the first for a human. It is something to celebrate.

-Why do you keep spouting incomprehensible things?

-I mean it’s something to be happy about. Isn’t it good? It means escaping the incompetent and vile lower species and heading towards the top.

Joy permeated the Blood Demon’s voice.

-Please, I eagerly await the day you break out of your shell.

His voice, boiling as if drunk.

And the words spoken with excitement muddled my head.

The more that happened, the more the intense pain rising in my arm worsened.

It felt like I wouldn’t be able to hold back and would scream any moment now.

Watching this, the Blood Demon spoke with a face full of laughter.

-You look like you’re in a lot of pain. Ah-ya. This time too, I shall bestow mercy upon you.

-What…?

-This also carries the meaning of celebration, so do not forget it.

The moment the Blood Demon uttered those incomprehensible words.

The demonic energy stored in my dantian suddenly felt like it surged UP!

It was even violent.

It violently fluctuated, as if obeying someone’s command.

I didn’t feel pain, but the energy starting to move on its own was a problem.

I tried to suppress it somehow, but the rampaging demonic energy erupted from my dantian and began to consume my body.

‘Crazy!’

It took mere seconds for the demonic energy to permeate my entire body.

The problem was.

‘What the…?’

The pain I felt afterward had subsided in an instant.

Could it be, the aftereffect of the demonic energy?

So, did the demonic energy put the pain to sleep?

I checked my throbbing arm.

I couldn’t bring myself to roll up my sleeve here, but the pain was definitely gone.

If it’s like this, no matter how I look at it, it’s difficult to see the current situation as unrelated to the Blood Demon.

-Tsk, tsk….

Even in this situation, the Blood Demon was busy laughing at me.

-That child seems to dislike me quite a lot.

-…Dislike me?

-Ah-ya, the pain you felt originated from hostility towards me.

At the Blood Demon’s words, I had to frown.

That meant the scales sprouting on my arm were also something extraordinary, didn’t it?

Feeling hostility towards the Blood Demon.

What on earth could this be?

-It’s instinct. That’s just how it is. They are arrogant creatures who do not wish for other equal beings to exist under the same world.

What could be so enjoyable, that satisfied tone of voice.

And that face full of laughter.

Even that feeling of anticipation.

I couldn’t understand anything.

More than anything.

-Why are you telling me these things?

I needed to know why the Blood Demon was doing this to me.

I knew he was showing me goodwill.

Whether this was truly goodwill or a calculated and intentional action, I didn’t know.

At the very least, it meant there was no reason for the Blood Demon to be acting like this towards me right now.

-You, what exactly do you want from me?

-Nothing. I don’t want anything from you.

-Is that what you have to say, appearing before me in that state?

It’s absurd. You want nothing?

While showing so obviously that you want something?

-If I had to find something I wish for, it would be for you to be able to do much more than you can now.

-You still speak incomprehensible words. And it makes me feel like crap.

-Ah-ya, the day you come to understand these words is not far off. When you eventually understand, you will seek me out yourself. I will simply wait for that day.

-You think I’ll come find you, a disaster? You expect me to come looking to kill you? Is that what you mean?

The moment I uttered the word ‘disaster’, the Blood Demon’s laughter deepened.

-It seems you’ve figured out quite a lot faster than expected. Not bad.

-…Tell me clearly. What is your goal? Why are you doing this to me?

-A goal.

The Blood Demon paused for a moment. He seemed lost in thought, but.

Soon, he spoke to me again.

-To break free from what is predetermined. If that’s a goal, then it can be called a goal.

-What is th….

-Originally, I had planned to move a bit earlier to find my fragment. But seeing you begin to bloom, I think I can change my mind.

Blooming (Gaehwa).

At his words, whose meaning I couldn’t grasp, I could only frown.

The fact that he changed his mind meant he had an intention to do something in the first place.

I didn’t know how, but it was clear the Blood Demon had donned Jang Seon-yeon’s guise.

Does that mean he had a purpose to commit something while disguised as Jang Seon-yeon?

‘…Then, as expected, the reason Jang Seon-yeon’s traces weren’t visible even after returning from the Demon Realm.’

Was that also something the Blood Demon had done?

How, exactly?

I still couldn’t easily guess the Blood Demon’s intentions or what kind of being he was.

Just based on the words he spoke.

At least, I could only know that the Blood Demon was not human.

No, I knew that from the start, but I just became more certain now.

-I will move a little slower. So that you can realize things gradually.

-Who gave you the right, what are you going to do…!

Wiing-!

Just as I was about to speak to the Blood Demon.

I suddenly felt my consciousness blur.

Dizzy.

-Do not worry. It’s just the backlash from suppressing the hostility.

-…What did you do to me again….

-As I said earlier, I have done nothing untoward to you. Look. Isn’t the master of the Abyss within your body also remaining still?

As the Blood Demon said, the beast who often growled and bared its fangs.

This time, it wasn’t showing any reaction.

Recalling that ever since I embraced the Divine Sword within my body, not only Shin Noya but also the beast rarely showed themselves, I wondered if that was the reason.

But now was not the time to ponder such things.

-Today, I truly only came to greet you.

-However, separately from that, it is a great harvest for me. As I could see a clear path.

-Please, I will await the day you come to find me on your own feet.

As the Blood Demon’s telepathic message continued to echo, my consciousness grew fainter.

I tried to hold onto my consciousness somehow, but.

In the end, I couldn’t hold on and the thread snapped.

And then.

By the time I came to my senses later.

The Orthodox Sect Gathering had already concluded.