Betrayal (9)

p>What in the world had happened?

p>First, let me sort out the situation.

p>My eyes refused to move.

p>My consciousness refused to stir.

p>I used the technique I had honed at the peak of my prime to amplify every sense and began probing the surroundings.

p>And then I heard Hong-guk’s footsteps coming from behind.

p>“Senior Seo Hyul, I, I have carried out everything you ordered. Hehe…”

p>Ah, I see…

p>I had used Hong-guk to locate the connection between Seo Hyul and Blood-Empire.

p>But Hong-guk had been seduced by Seo Hyul from the very beginning.

p>I had thought he had gone out to another place, but he had been hiding right under my nose.

p>I had assumed he was only at the early Four Pillars stage, but he had already completed all the preliminary rites in the lower realm and was simply accumulating spiritual energy.

p>He had even hidden in the lowest depths of Bongmyeong-ju, avoiding Gyu-ryeon’s eyes.

p>How many of the words and actions he spat out were not lies?

p>I pondered while listening to the hidden breaths and heartbeats of Cheon-ryang and the other anti-Seo Hyul demons.

p>The others besides Hong-guk had not been on Seo Hyul’s side…

p>The situation was gradually becoming clear.

p>The moment I met Hong-guk, everything had gone wrong.

p>It was not because Cheon-ryang had made a fool of himself and dragged Gyu-ryeon’s farm into the beast king’s hands at this hour.

p>Hong-guk had probably been egging him on from the side.

p>And Seo Hyul could have wiped us out even before Gyu-ryeon arrived.

p>Yet why had he waited for her to come and then ambushed her?

p>That reason…

p>“More… is there still more?”

p>I asked while choking Seo Hyul and breathing heavily.

p>Seo Hyul smiled faintly.

p>“Answer only the question I ask.”

p>“You, are too, overdoing it…”

p>“Senior Gyu-ryeon really…”

p>Thud!

p>My left arm was twisted behind my back.

p>Yet I did not cry out. I only grinned.

p>“I, may not be one to speak, but you, are too, easily swayed by feelings, aren’t you?”

p>“Hm… Can you not feel pain? Or is your tolerance strong… You seem to have strong tolerance. As expected, you are truly strange.”

p>Crack, creak…

p>Seo Hyul began to crush my left arm with spiritual energy.

p>I merely grinned in response.

p>“As I expected, no matter how many times I see it, the willpower of a human who hasn’t even lived fifty years is pitiful. Hye-seo-ssi had no tolerance for pain at all. What are you, then, as her colleague?”

p>“…What, did you do to Oh Hye-seo?”

p>How could one claim tolerance for pain?

p>“It is nothing. I simply performed a few experiments.”

p>…

p>I closed my mouth upon seeing Seo Hyul’s pupils.

p>Seo Hyul was merely trying to raise my emotions.

p>If he learned I was interested in Oh Hye-seo here, I would be finished.

p>Instead…

p>At that moment.

p>“Seo Hyul…”

p>Thud… thud…

p>Gyu-ryeon rose from her spot again.

p>Even as she bled from every inch of her body and her limbs remained unscathed despite Seo Hyul’s attack, she wept like a girl.

p>“Why, why are you doing this? I, I loved you…”

p>…

p>Seo Hyul smiled and glanced at her.

p>“I loved you! I liked you! Yes, I wanted you to look beautiful, and I hoped you would only see my good points. I hoped you would only look at me, and holding your hand felt wonderful…”

p>“Then why, why with me…”

p>“Ah, Senior Gyu-ryeon. It is, that is…”

p>Seo Hyul tossed me aside and approached her.

p>He still wore a kind face while whispering into her ear.

p>“It is merely that your breeding instinct awakened, and you wished to mate with me. There was nothing else to it.”

p>“No! It is not lust! I really, I really…”

p>“Senior Gyu-ryeon.”

p>Slick…

p>Seo Hyul’s hand stroked her cheek.

p>His fingers slowly traced her jawline, then her neck, then her collarbone, descending gradually, as if playing a delicate instrument.

p>“Emotions, they exist here.”

p>Seo Hyul’s hand reached her chest.

p>“Right here.”

p>And it slid lower, touching her ribs.

p>Fuuuk!

p>Seo Hyul’s hand forcefully pried open her ribs.

p>“What happens inside the lungs is emotion itself.”

p>Seo Hyul gently stroked her hair and continued.

p>“When an external stimulus arrives, the brain recognizes it, the diaphragm descends, air enters the lungs. Then the vibration of the inhaled air is organized and expressed outwardly through body movement, gaze, and so on. That is emotion. That is the end of it.”

p>“Kuh…”

p>I vomited blood and tried to rise.

p>“You, you cannot say such things…! What you are describing is not emotion…”

p>“It is not emotion? This is the entirety of emotion.”

p>“What you are describing is, not true emotion, but acting!”

p>That is right.

p>He was merely acting out emotions on stage, like a clown or an actor.

p>Not real emotions!

p>Seo Hyul looked at me as if to ask what was so funny.

p>“An interesting remark, Seo Dow. This world is a play under fate, and we are merely actors playing inside the play. How can acting, then, not be emotion?”

p>…

p>For a moment, without knowing why, I felt the presence of Goe-gun in Seo Hyul’s figure.

p>The two of them had radically different philosophies.

p>The very attitude toward emotion was opposite.

p>Yet somehow, both madmen were drawn in the same direction.

p>“As an actor, one simply fulfills one’s role. Otherwise one is chased off the stage. That is why you must die, Senior Gyu-ryeon.”

p>Seo Hyul gave her a pitying look and smiled faintly.

p>Yes, if he was truly an actor, his performance had been flawless.

p>But his inner nature remained hard and cold darkness.

p>In my eyes, he was not an actor, but a monster imitating an actor.

p>Seo Hyul’s hand began to tear through her body starting from the lungs.

p>“You were useful. You could have continued appearing on stage by showing just enough jealousy toward Hye-seo-ssi, helping me just enough, and contentedly playing your small supporting role in the corner…”

p>“But you overdid it. Jealousy toward Hye-seo-ssi? Possessiveness toward me? In any case… if Senior Gyu-ryeon truly became an Integration Grand Completion queen and took me…”

p>“…Seo, Hyul…”

p>“Do not worry, Senior. The cunning anti-Seo Hyul demons gathered here today will summon the Blood-Empire’s devil here, in collusion with Blood-Empire. You will try to stop them and die at the hands of that cunning Blood-Empire devil. It is a sad fate. I will gather all the beasts with sorrow at the loss of my lover and fight against Blood-Empire.”

p>“Seo Hyul…”

p>“It is all a beautiful story that will be born because you died today. Senior Gyu-ryeon, sleep now. For the glory of the beasts.”

p>“Seo Hyul…!!”

p>Thud, thud…

p>Gyu-ryeon burst into tears.

p>Uuuung!

p>Golden light erupted from her body.

p>“I, I really, really loved you…”

p>“Did I not tell you? Emotion is nothing but the amount of air coming from the lungs. Ah, the lung corresponds to metal in the five elements, so perhaps emotion is a metal attribute. Hoo hoo…”

p>“You made a Gwanghan Covenant with me, Gwanghan… I, I, I…”

p>Gyu-ryeon, lost in confusion, pushed Seo Hyul away forcefully.

p>Her eyes wide with panic, she raised one hand.

p>Fwaaat!

p>The seal on her palm blazed.

p>At the same time, spatial cracks opened and the entire farm entered a pitch-black space through the rift.

p>Bongmyeong-ju’s lowest depths.

p>The management zone of seal-user Gyu-ryeon.

p>Fwaat!

p>She shot into the air to fly to the upper floors of Bongmyeong-ju.

p>“I have been waiting. I knew you would transmit me if I pressured you.”

p>Ta!

p>Seo Hyul grabbed her ankle and hurled her downward.

p>Kuuuung!

p>A thunderous boom echoed as the entire farm crumpled.

p>And I clenched my teeth and formed a circuit.

p>Giiiiing!

p>At the same time, lights flashed across the farm, Goe-gun’s circuits activated, and attacks poured toward Seo Hyul.

p>“Oh, puppet circuits… When did you lay these down? I have always wondered. How could Goe-gun have disciples? Where did you learn this circuit? It resembles Goe-gun’s closely.”

p>Kwaduk!

p>But the moment Seo Hyul exerted force, the farm began to collapse.

p>‘It is practically the same as an Integration stage!’

p>As expected, revealing Four Pillars ability in front of Goe-gun a thousand years later had merely been acting.

p>In truth, with a thousand years, he could have recovered the title of dragon king.

p>“Run…!”

p>Flash!

p>Cheon-ryang and the other demons tried to flee, but Seo Hyul grabbed the void and crushed them into a handful of flesh and blood.

p>Seo Hyul approached the rising Gyu-ryeon and crushed her throat again.

p>Kwad!

p>“I thank you, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Senior. The lowest depths of Bongmyeong-ju are dark space, so no one cares what happens here. We cannot leave traces outside…”

p>“Ku… ghu!”

p>“By the way, what kind of bug is this? An interesting stealth technique.”

p>Tap!

p>When Seo Hyul snapped his fingers, Yu-hwa flew out from behind him.

p>“Oh, it is you, the demoness. You were a shimdok too? Haha, indeed, the Shimdok Art is Giamokcheong.”

p>Yu-hwa tried to play with eyes wide open.

p>But the next instant, Seo Hyul snapped his fingers and her arms snapped.

p>“…!”

p>“At Yeoseon-ru, the rumor of you and Seo Dow’s affair spread far and wide. Was it truly special? Even on this day, you came with Seo Dow…”

p>Seo Hyul reached out to Yu-hwa.

p>And the next instant.

p>Fwaat!

p>A golden thread shone between Seo Hyul and Gyu-ryeon.

p>Seo Hyul trembled and looked at her.

p>“This is…”

p>“You made a Gwanghan Covenant with me, Seo Hyul… We, we…”

p>She repeated “I am not myself” in panic, realizing she had been betrayed by Seo Hyul.

p>“Ah, Senior Gyu-ryeon. Do you still have any mind left?”

p>“The Gwanghan Covenant… we, we made the Gwanghan Covenant…”

p>“Hoo hoo, Senior Gyu-ryeon. You like the Gwanghan Covenant.”

p>“The Gwanghan Covenant requires that we die at the same time…”

p>Seo Hyul smiled and knelt before the confused, collapsing Gyu-ryeon, gently stroking her head.

p>“Senior Gyu-ryeon, you know as well. Why the Gwanghan Covenant was replaced by the Baekhong-ju ceremony… It is indeed a somewhat frightening technique that forces two people bound by a marital bond to die simultaneously, drawing on the force of destiny. But… the Gwanghan Covenant is a long-lost law technique that has lost its effect against ancient enemies. It requires specific conditions, but in this age, the conditions for activation cannot be known by anyone who is not a True Immortal.”

p>Crack, creak…

p>Seo Hyul snapped her horns.

p>Holding her horn in his hand, Seo Hyul smiled.

p>“It is useless now. When I first received the Gwanghan Covenant from you, I did not know what kind of technique it was and was taken aback. Once I learned it was a meaningless law, it became merely amusing. Hoo hoo… How fitting for someone like you, Senior Gyu-ryeon.”

p>“No, Seo Hyul…! Seo Hyul…! Do not abandon me…! I, I really loved you… Seo Hyul…! I, I…”

p>Blood tears fell from her eyes.

p>She collapsed, feeling an unfamiliarity with the kind smile on Seo Hyul’s face.

p>“Then… as I explained earlier, when you die, I can gather the beasts based on the role of a young, innocent Gwanghan-gye person who fell victim to the cunning schemes of Blood-Empire and lost his lover. Then withdraw…”

p>The next instant.

p>Gyu-ryeon broke the ground beneath her with tears, fleeing from Seo Hyul’s words, and threw herself toward the pitch-black space.

p>I and Yu-hwa were pulled along with her.

p>“Where are you going? If you exert force at the lowest depths without care…”

p>Fuuok!

p>Seo Hyul shot something sharp.

p>It was a drop of water.

p>The droplet shot from Seo Hyul’s fingertip targeted her dantian precisely, shattering Gyu-ryeon’s dantian into pieces.

p>But at the same time, Gyu-ryeon grabbed the void and tore open space.

p>Giiigigik!

p>Spatial cracks widened.

p>An entrance toward the lower realm opened at the lowest depths of Bongmyeong-ju.

p>Seo Hyul watched her open the spatial crack, then chased after her, realized where it led, and stopped with a light smile.

p>“Choosing to descend from the stage yourself is a fine decision.”

p>I was drawn by Gyu-ryeon’s spiritual energy and the strange attraction emanating from her and pulled into the spatial crack along with her.

p>Beyond the spatial crack, the last thing I saw was Seo Hyul smiling while looking this way.

p>At the same time, his eyes were not smiling in the least as he watched us to the end, observing our final moments.

p>* * *

p>“Hm… It is a pity I missed Seo Eun-hyun. I wanted to study what the Heavenly Chosen ones do, but… there is no need to regret, for I can study Oh Hye-seo more. I am satisfied. Do you not think so as well?”

p>Seo Hyul smiled and turned around.

p>There, Hong-guk bowed to Seo Hyul with an obsequious expression.

p>“It goes without saying. It all proceeded according to Senior Seo Hyul’s plan. Truly, you are magnificent! How could you possibly know that leaving Seo Eun-hyun behind would allow him to gather the anti-faction! Having eliminated the anti-faction and obtained the justification of losing his lover to a wicked Blood-Empire devil…”

p>“Yes, that is right. Your contributions have been tremendous until now.”

p>“Not at all. It is all thanks to Senior Seo Hyul’s superb strategies. I merely…”

p>“I know. Help me evolve into a Blood-Empire devil!”

p>Hong-guk smiled with joy, as if about to leap.

p>“Thank you! Haha, actually, even while fighting Blood-Empire devils seven hundred years ago, I felt that they fought too conveniently. If I could only evolve into such noble heavenly demons…”

p>After forming a circuit with Seo Hyul, the anti-Seo Hyul demons, who had been Seo Hyul’s enemies, gathered in front of him, their flesh and blood emitting sinister energy.

p>Seo Hyul gathered their blood qi and chanted a vow.

p>A short while later, something black emerged from the mass of gathered blood qi.

p>“Here, take this. Eat it and you will become a member of Blood-Empire.”

p>“Ah, thank you. Even after going to Blood-Empire, Senior Seo Hyul’s grace will…”

p>“Kuueeeek!”

p>And the next instant, the black thing stuck to Hong-guk’s face.

p>“Kuueeeek! Kuueeeek! Seo, Seo Hyul, Seo… Hyul…!”

p>Hong-guk tried to peel it off, but the black thing remained stuck and would not fall.

p>A short while later, Hong-guk screamed and his head was torn off by a creature from Blood-Empire and he died.

p>A short while after that, the black thing that had eaten Hong-guk’s head settled on his head, transforming into the exact appearance of Hong-guk’s head and taking possession of his body.

p>The being that had taken Hong-guk’s body spoke.

p>“Go to the human realm and create justification for humans who wish to wage war against Jinma-gye. After leaving Bongmyeong-ju, tell the Black Dragon King that you have obtained a host for the Black Dragon Sea Command.”

p>“Al, right, I will.”

p>“And exert force at the lowest depths to leave a trace that you killed Senior Gyu-ryeon. After all, the oldies of the Jinryong-maeng will consider Blood-Empire’s law techniques to be Giamokcheong at the shimdok level. As long as only the law technique of Blood-Empire remains, they will think it was just that.”

p>“Com, man, ded.”

p>The being that had spoken awkwardly with Hong-guk’s mouth bowed to Seo Hyul and lowered its head.

p>Seo Hyul looked at the sight with satisfaction and turned to the other side, his eyes smiling.

p>“I kept my promise. The Hong-guk you knew is now eaten down to his soul by a Blood-Empire devil. Until he reaches the underworld after death, he will suffer. Is it not a sufficiently cruel death?”

p>And then, Baek-nyeong appeared from the void.

p>Baek-nyeong stared at Seo Hyul for a moment, then closed his eyes.

p>“…Please save my fellow demons.”

p>“When have you ever seen me lie?”

p>…

p>Baek-nyeong let out a sigh and knelt before Seo Hyul.

p>Seo Hyul looked at the darkness with a satisfied smile.

p>“It is truly a pleasant night of betrayal.”

p>* * *

p>Where… am I?

p>Swaaa…

p>The sound of rain.

p>I opened my eyes and regained my senses.

p>The sky was visible.

p>A sky filled with thick dark clouds poured rain as if punctured.

p>‘This place…’

p>The heaven and earth spiritual energy felt extremely thin.

p>If Gwanghan-gye was underwater, this place felt like a vacuum.

p>“The lower realm…?”

p>I swallowed the thin heaven and earth spiritual energy, twisted my broken arm, and staggered to my feet.

p>And I trembled.

p>A body as vast as a mountain range surrounded me.

p>Gyu-ryeon.

p>“Ah…”

p>When she fell to the lower realm, she had transformed into her true body to protect me from the pressure of space.

p>“Senior, Gyu-ryeon…”

p>I ran toward the place where her head was.

p>“Senior Gyu-ryeon!”

p>And when I arrived at the place where her head was.

p>I realized…

p>…

p>[Seo Hyul… Seo Hyul… Seo Hyul…]

p>She was lost, her eyes blurry, endlessly repeating Seo Hyul’s name.

p>And even that, because her dantian was shattered, her gaze gradually blurred.

p>“Senior Gyu-ryeon, at least perform a self-immolation! I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠will somehow heal your wounds! Senior Gyu-ryeon!”

p>But her mind had completely collapsed, perhaps because she had been betrayed by the one she loved most.

p>She muttered endlessly about Seo Hyul, then at some point the light left her eyes.

p>Gyu-ryeon was dead.

p>“Senior Gyu-ryeon…”

p>I looked at her corpse with a heartbroken heart.

p>The next instant.

p>Crack…

p>Something rolled out from inside her mouth.

p>Waaak!

p>It was a piece of flesh and blood.

p>“…!”

p>Inside the blood-red flesh, I saw something moving.

p>“That is…”

p>I hurriedly ran toward the moving flesh and blood.

p>And what I found was…

p>“Senior…?”

p>Gyu-ryeon.

p>In human form, she crawled out of the flesh and blood and muttered with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a lost expression.

p>“Seo Hyul… Seo Hyul… Seo Hyul…”

p>“Senior Gyu-ryeon…!”

p>From the Four Pillars body-testing stage onward, one could revive by consuming one’s own cultivation.

p>The spiritual ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠energy I felt from her was no different from the culprit’s.

p>But I decided to be grateful that she was alive and looked at her.

p>“It is fortunate you are alive…”

p>“Seo Hyul…!!”

p>And I felt that something was wrong with her state.

p>“I will kill you!!”

p>Thud, thud…

p>Blood tears flowed from the corners of her eyes.

p>Swaaa…

p>Rain poured from all sides, washing away her blood tears.

p>And within it, her cry of despair echoed like thunder in a storm.

p>“I will definitely, definitely kill you, Seo Hyul…! I will kill you…!”

p>That day, on some nameless land in the lower realm.

p>The being who had been shattered in heart after being betrayed by the one she loved cried out for revenge while shedding blood tears.