Chapter 23 – Fly Me To The Moon

Rea​d on Kat​ReadingCafe​

The briefing video ended.  

And then, I bit Mertzel.  

Snap.  

“Gulp.”  

“……?”  

Slurp, slurp.  

After drinking my fill of blood, I stood up and wiped the blood from my mouth.  

“Haa, thanks.”  

“…Huh, what?”  

Mertzel blinked stupidly.  

I could make excuses.  

My body was exhausted, so I instinctively craved blood.  

I just let my body act on its own because of that instinct.  

Honestly, since Mertzel is one of the knights, I thought she’d dodge or counter such a reckless attack.  

But surprisingly, she didn’t try to dodge or counter.  

She just staggered with a confused look on her face.  

‘Well, whatever.’  

Still, I drank enough blood.  

It tasted better than normal blood, so I was satisfied.  

It felt similar to when I drank the delivery man’s blood.  

Even though I drank it impulsively, I felt no guilt, only a slight relief.  

Yeah, instead of smashing her face, let’s call it even with this.  

I waved my hand at Mertzel, who still hadn’t regained her senses.  

“I don’t need you anymore. You can go.”  

“You’re so cold, Vampire Lord. Is it because you’re a Vampire Lord?”  

“It’s fine, I’ve bitten others too.”  

Mertzel only staggered for a moment before quickly regaining her composure.  

Her confused expression disappeared, and she returned to her usual calm demeanor.  

“Well, Cheong-an might notice, so I’ll take my leave now. Even if his eyes are covered, if he’s blindfolded for too long, even an actor would get suspicious, right?”  

With those words, Mertzel disappeared from our side in an instant.  

She spun around like a ballerina and vanished, more like teleportation than moving quickly.  

The rain had weakened to a drizzle.  

The werewolves of the White Wolf Faction, who had been wandering like a swarm in the distance, began to look our way again.  

Feeling the blood flowing beneath my feet, I spoke quietly.  

“So, what do we do now?”  

“Vampire Lord, what will you do? If what you said is true, fighting here is out of the question. We should cooperate…”  

Unfortunately, Cheongung’s mind didn’t seem to be working well right now.  

I lunged at Cheongung as if to kill him and whispered in his ear.  

“Idiot, if we do that, Cheong-an will obviously notice. Don’t you realize Cheong-an is staking his own life on this?”  

That’s right. While I don’t know the extent of Cheong-an’s resolve, there’s a chance he might kill himself, causing all the werewolves of the White Wolf Faction to die.  

If nearly a thousand of the already small number of werewolves die, it would be a massacre.  

“Cheong-an is threatening us with his own life. That’s why you’re here too. If Cheong-an dies, the entire White Wolf Faction dies.”  

So, killing Cheong-an or letting him commit suicide is out of the question.  

“For a powerhouse like you, being pushed this far means Cheong-an has prepared a ‘suicide method’ that even you can’t stop. Whether it’s poison in his teeth or something else.”  

“…You’re spot on. Cheong-an actually hid a silver pill under his tongue.”  

Cheongung’s sword drew a more precise trajectory.  

But since there was no clear intent to kill, I could easily defend by stepping in and striking his upper arm.  

This is dangerous.  

If Cheong-an notices anything unusual about this situation, given his resolve to stake his own life, he’ll definitely…  

“So.”  

We can’t be sloppy.  

As a martial artist, even if his body is weak, he can’t possibly miss the flow of the fight.  

“We need to put on a show. Even if there’s only one audience member.”  

“But I have no reason to. It’s all just acting, deceiving and being deceived…”  

“You seem to be misunderstanding something.”  

Cheongung’s sword grew heavier.  

It was brimming with immense energy.  

I’m tired of this sluggish and clumsy fight too.  

Clear your mind, clear your mind.  

Focus on the present.  

Let’s drive the point home.  

I took two steps back from Cheongung, who had his mouth tightly shut, and said,  

“What I was hired to do was retrieve the sample and deliver it to Eucalyptus Pharmaceuticals. Frankly, handing it over to you would be embezzlement.”  

“…Oh, you’re deceiving yourself.”  

“Not deceiving, more like self-hypnosis. You need to commit too. That’s how it is. I have no reason to step forward for you. In fact, I shouldn’t. To keep my promise to my employer, you need to act with the understanding that I might act arbitrarily at any moment.”  

To immerse myself in the act, I had to force out a setting.  

Cheongung threw his sword.  

“Then, as you said, I’ll have to go all out.”  

I caught the sword spinning toward me.  

And then, I shattered the blade.  

“Sorry, but clashing swords isn’t my style.”  

“From now on, I’ll go all out. Vampire Lord, you should also do your best to stop me.”  

The White Wolf Faction’s martial artists, glowing with red eyes, advanced.  

They moved in perfect formation, as if operating their bodies with systematic precision.  

Cheong-an was also starting to grasp how to utilize his many limbs.  

I saw Cheongung raise both hands above his head.  

“The ultimate technique of the Cheongcheon Divine Sword Style, Heavenly Sword (穹劍).”  

Then, the air began to gather in one place.  

It felt as if the world itself was being moved by a single human hand.  

“I’ll show you everything I have. Go all out. Otherwise, you’ll die.”  

Cheongung held an intangible sword.  

Though the sword’s form was invisible, its overwhelming presence was evident through the density of the air and the waves it created.  

A sword without length. A martial art that wields the sky as a weapon.  

So, am I fighting against the sky?  

It’s embarrassing to put it that way, but my heart started racing.  

I feel alive.  

How long has it been?  

After drinking Mertzel’s blood, my entire body was filled with exhilaration.  

My heart was pounding madly, radiating heat.  

My brain had already forgotten everything about the past and future.  

All I saw was the overwhelming force before me.  

The White Wolf Faction’s martial artists, moving as one body, with Cheong-an as their core.  

They were no longer like the zombies from before.  

The wings were arms, the rear was legs, the front was the head and body. A complete system, a single entity.  

I looked at Cheongung’s Heavenly Sword, glowing amidst the thousand werewolves.  

I quietly raised my leg.  

If it’s about opposing the sky, then it can be called “Shattering the Heavens” (破天).  

Also, it’s one of the few things I know about martial arts.  

‘It’s a bit forced, but whatever.’  

Still, I like it.  

Immersing myself fully in the situation is a good thing.  

I stepped forward with all my might.  

If I had to name it:  

“Heavenly Demon’s Sovereign Step (天魔君臨步).”  

The principle is quite different, but so what?  

There’s no technique, just brute force.  

The ground began to ripple like waves.  

It cracked and spread like a tidal wave.  

The overwhelming power was indistinguishable from magic.  

It overlapped with the night of my first meeting with Cheongung and his sword dance.  

Unlike then, this time we were truly evenly matched.  

Boom, boom!  

The ground rose, and Cheong-an’s wings began to shatter from the base.  

Cheongung exhaled evenly, preparing his sword strike.  

“It’s too grand a name for a simple step, but it’s beyond imagination. It seems much has changed since you left the martial world.”  

“I wouldn’t know.”  

I don’t care about what happened across the sea.  

The two figures disappeared.  

It felt as if time had stopped, their speed was so fast.  

“Ugh!”  

Cheongung’s sword technique was flawless.  

It was too fast, too heavy, and too sharp to follow.  

Even with my heightened senses, the next moment, my neck, waist, or thigh would be completely severed.  

But I wasn’t just taking hits. Sparks flew when my fist clashed with his sword.  

Blood flowed over my skin like veins.  

This is my essence. No matter where I go, it’s always with me.  

“Raaaah!!”  

“Hah!!”  

Thud, a long blade pierced my chest.  

I swung my right arm at Cheongung’s arm with all my might.  

Crunch.  

The sound of bones breaking was clear.  

But with his remaining arm, Cheongung raised his sword.  

“Cough, ugh.”  

Slash!  

The Heavenly Sword cut from my chest to the back of my neck.  

I twisted my head to avoid being completely split in half.  

“Ha, hoo, haa.”  

I was gasping for breath.  

In just five seconds, Cheongung and I had exchanged hundreds of blows.  

The rain had completely evaporated.  

Steam rose from our bodies and the ground, radiating intense heat.  

Cheongung’s left arm and right leg were shattered.  

Fatigue was building up, and my eyes were starting to burn.  

“This is a bit tough. How about you? Can you keep going?”  

“No need for words!”  

At Cheongung’s words, I stepped forward, continuously stomping the ground.  

Cheong-an’s limbs, which had maintained some order, were now scattered in all directions.  

The rain mixing with blood swirled around us.  

The Heavenly Sword, radiating its overwhelming presence, finally began to hum quietly.  

“The ultimate technique of the Cheongcheon Divine Sword Style, Heavenly Strike (天擊).”  

The sky hung at the tip of the sword.  

The blade held the sky itself.  

It was no longer just a sword—it was the sky, the pinnacle of the Cheongcheon style.  

Cheongung’s eyes glowed gold.  

They shone like the sun through the sunset.  

The sky began to move.  

It was unbelievable.  

Is something like this even possible?  

It felt as if time itself had stopped.  

The rising steam seemed to slow down.  

“Well, I can’t back down now.”  

Heavenly Demon.  

No, since I’m a vampire, shouldn’t I call myself a Blood Demon? But Heavenly Demon sounds cooler.  

Yeah, whatever!  

The path of domination—an unstoppable advance.  

Even if it’s the sky itself.  

Shattering the Heavens (破天). For the Heavenly Demon, it’s only natural.  

My heart was racing.  

I took my stance.  

I can’t claim to be a Heavenly Demon, but I can at least mimic one.  

I’m too timid to talk about domination.  

I spread my legs at an appropriate angle and planted them firmly on the ground.  

My gaze was fixed on the sky.  

What I needed to destroy was the sky.  

The will of the sky itself, contained at the tip of the Heavenly Sword.  

I’ll shatter it. That’s all.  

If it’s just pure force, then…  

With the one thing I have, it might be enough.  

“Hoo.”  

A single strike to shatter the Heavenly Strike.  

Heaven-Shattering (破天) Strike (擊).  

A single strike to shatter the sky.  

Heaven-Shattering (破天) Strike (擊).  

‘It’s wordplay, but…’  

I steadied my breath.  

This isn’t a dance.  

It’s just duty.  

“Heaven-Shattering Strike (破天擊).”  

My fist clashed with the compressed air.  

And then, a massive shockwave shook the heavens and the earth.