Possession

“Ah… it hurts!”

Namgoong Soyeon, who had rolled backward several times, jumped to her feet.

The Heavenly Demon, impressed by her unexpectedly quick recovery, nodded and took a step forward.

“You can’t be hurting from just a simple fist strike.”

With a shuk sound, the Heavenly Demon vanished and reappeared behind Namgoong Soyeon.

Feeling the presence behind her, Namgoong Soyeon turned around and looked up, only to have the Heavenly Demon’s fist slam directly into her face.

“Gerk!!”

Like a frog hit by a rock, she was sent sprawling onto the ground, limbs outstretched.

It was less like a martial arts fight and more like a brawl in a marketplace.

“Get up.”

The Heavenly Demon, grabbing her red-tinged hair, smacked the back of her head.

Namgoong Soyeon rolled across the dirt ground like a ball until she reached Youngma and Inho.

“Gang… Gang Gongja…”

Namgoong Soyeon, her eyes glazed over, reached out a hand towards Inho and called his name pitifully.

“Gang Gongja… Aaaaaaaaargh!!!”

The Heavenly Demon, who had swiftly flown to where she was, pierced Namgoong Soyeon’s right eye with a finger.

Chiiiiik

A black flame briefly flared from her eye socket.

“Who did you dare to look at without my permission?”

Her voice devoid of emotion, she resembled a messenger from the underworld.

“Aaaaaaaaargh…!!!”

The sensation of her eye burning, the unpleasant smell, and the pain caused Namgoong Soyeon to cover her face and roll around.

The shriek of a wounded beast echoed across the battlefield.

Namgoong Soyeon staggered to her feet, one hand covering her pierced eye.

“Grrrr.”

A low growl. She lowered her stance and bared her claws.

Red Inner core gathered, forming deadly beastly claws.

One of Namgoong Soyeon’s eyes, ready to pounce at any moment, targeted the Heavenly Demon.

The Heavenly Demon scoffed at her murderous appearance.

“Hooh… coming at me? Then come.”

“Kuaaaaaaaaargh!!!”

A red bullet shot out in a straight line, rapidly approaching the Heavenly Demon.

The Heavenly Demon slightly shifted her right leg back, placed her right hand on her hip, and extended her left hand.

As the Heavenly Demon’s hand met Namgoong Soyeon’s, the Heavenly Demon rotated her hand clockwise.

Absorbing all the momentum of the straight-on attack, she spun Namgoong Soyeon once in the air, then raised her right foot high into the sky.

“You’ve become more interesting than before, but now, die.”

The Heavenly Demon’s heel fell, aiming for Namgoong Soyeon’s nose.

Kung!

As if a small explosion had occurred, dust billowed up.

The aftershock of the wind swept over Youngma and Inho, and Youngma shielded Inho from the dust.

Within the dust that stung their eyes and throats were three people.

“I was wondering when you’d show up. You’ve finally arrived, Martial Arts Alliance Leader.”

Behind Namgoong Soyeon, someone had blocked the Heavenly Demon’s foot.

The current Martial Arts Alliance Leader, Dokgo Nam.

The Heavenly Demon used his arm as a springboard and retreated.

She dusted off the dirt from her clothes and opened her mouth towards the Alliance Leader.

“Appearing only now? Did you see some chance of winning? If so, you’ve underestimated me too much.”

“……”

“I can hear you scheming from all the way over here. Well, you must have been clever to take the position of Alliance Leader despite being so pathetically weak.”

When he remained silent, the Heavenly Demon taunted him further.

The Heavenly Demon gestured with her chin towards Namgoong Soyeon behind her.

“To think you’d succeed in creating a Blood demon.”

“It was an unfortunate accident.”

“Lies.”

The Heavenly Demon smirked.

“You can deceive the heavens, but you can’t deceive me. Do you think I don’t know your dark secrets?”

The gust of wind created by the Heavenly Demon’s fist grazed the Alliance Leader’s ear.

“Martial Arts Alliance Leader Dokgo Nam.”

Slowly, the Heavenly Demon occupied the space, applying pressure.

“Did you think I didn’t know about your experiments after the Sacheon Blood Calamity, trying to artificially create Blood demons by combining Elixir and Inner core?”

“……”

“You must have exploited that young child’s desperation. Promising to make her stronger, you specially provided her with the Martial Arts Alliance’s Elixir and Inner core. Heh.”

She laughed, but her eyes were fixed on the Alliance Leader.

“And then, the collision of the ingested Elixir and Inner core turned her into a Blood demon… How did you win her over?”

“Don’t slander me with your forked tongue, Heavenly Demon.”

With each step the Heavenly Demon took, the Alliance Leader retreated a step.

The Heavenly Demon, who had only been smiling, suddenly hardened her expression.

“Enough with the bullshit, Alliance Leader.”

Black flames devoured the battlefield. The flames spread thickly and widely.

“You have a secret prison where you lock up those who rebel against the Martial Arts Alliance, don’t you?”

“!!!”

“You deceived that child by telling her that the people there were ‘criminals.’ That it was okay to absorb Energy Absorption from villains to become stronger. That there was no need to kill innocent people.”

“But were there any criminals among the people there?”

“…Disrupting the order established by the Martial Arts Alliance is against justice…”

“Is the justice you established truly justice?”

As the Heavenly Demon reached out to grab the Alliance Leader by the collar, the Alliance Leader hurriedly picked up Namgoong Soyeon and jumped back.

The Heavenly Demon sighed in disbelief at his pathetic state.

“Then how righteous are you, Heavenly Demon!”

Dokgo Nam shouted, as if wronged. The Heavenly Demon stopped approaching at his protest.

It was a signal to continue talking.

“You were the successor of Yomryun Skill, one of the three inherited Martial arts that support the orthodox faction. But look at you now! Intoxicated with power, killing your master and disturbing the world!!”

Dokgo Nam, his neck veins bulging, paused to catch his breath, then spat out each syllable filled with hatred.

“Namgung Soyu. The traitor of the Namgung family.”