Chapter 50: Monster (3) - Event
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 50: Monster (3) - Event
"Young Master So!"
The eyes of the one-armed man reddened as he discovered So Woon-hwi was alive.
He had been carrying a heavy burden on his heart, believing So Woon-hwi had perished.
However, his joy was short-lived.
At first, he thought he was mistaken because of the fountain of blood, but he couldn't hide his shock at the sight of So Woon-hwi’s hair, now stained a deep crimson.
'Th-that appearance?'
Though he had been imprisoned here for a long time, he was of the generation that had lived through the Great Orthodox-Evil War.
Because of that, he was well-acquainted with the appearance of the Blood Cult Leader.
'The Blood Demon?'
That red hair and those blood-shot eyes were the symbolic traits of the Blood Demon.
'Why does Young Master So look like that?'
Seeing So Woon-hwi’s resemblance to the Blood Demon, he couldn't help but feel a sense of doubt.
He had thought the boy was merely the Moon Elder’s grandson, but now he found himself questioning his true identity.
But that wasn't what was important right now.
"Young Master So!"
The one-armed man held a single root of the Evil Fire Herb, which was sticking out of his bundle, high into the air.
He wanted to show it to So Woon-hwi to reassure him.
So Woon-hwi, walking forward with his sword drawn, turned his gaze toward him.
'Huh?'
He hadn't noticed before, but So Woon-hwi had one eye closed.
'Is his eye injured?'
'Ah!'
I felt a wave of relief seeing the one-armed man safely holding the medicinal herb.
'Thank goodness.'
I had barely caught up.
After emerging from that bizarre stone chamber where I had been suspended in mid-air amidst that smoke, I had even utilized the Blood Demon Transformation to move as quickly as possible.
I had decapitated countless monsters on my way here.
My choice had been correct.
If I had been even a moment later, the one-armed man might have lost his life.
At the Lesser Conversation Sword’s question, I shook my head slightly.
My left eye had been throbbing ever since I left the stone chamber.
It wasn't unbearable, but every time I opened it, it felt like it was being pricked by needles, so I kept it closed.
"Grwaaaaaar!"
The monsters let out savage, beast-like howls.
They lunged at me.
They were impressive enough to make one's tongue wag in disbelief. Even after seeing three of their own decapitated, they showed no sign of fear whatsoever.
But I wasn't afraid of these things anymore either.
It might have been different if my internal energy and Innate True Qi were still sealed, but not only had they been released, they were stronger than ever before.
Slash!
In a single stroke, I sliced through the waist of a monster lunging at me.
Because I was in the Blood Demon Transformation state, even their sturdy bones felt like ordinary wood.
Slash!
Simultaneously with the waist cut, I immediately severed the head of the falling upper body.
I cut through the monsters with the force of an irresistible tide.
I didn't even need specific martial forms.
Even if they possessed the movements of first-rate masters, to the current me, there was little difference between them and ordinary men.
"Grwaaaaaar!"
I caught the face of one jumping down from the ceiling with my bare hand.
Where do you think you're baring those teeth?
I hurled the creature, which was desperate to snap its jaws shut, toward the other lunging monsters.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
The two monsters that caught him were tangled together and tumbled to the ground.
I was about to rush over and take their heads, but—
At the Namcheon Iron Sword’s shout echoing in my mind, I spun my body and swung my sword upward at an angle.
Along with the sensation of cutting, the arm of the monster lunging from behind was severed.
"Grwoooooar!"
Despite its arm being cut off, the monster tried to wrap its remaining limbs around me and bite me with its sharp teeth.
I drove my knee into its jaw.
Crack!
With the sound of its jaw shattering, broken teeth showered down.
It was amazing how it didn't seem to feel any pain even then.
I proceeded to slice the monster's throat.
Slash!
'Three left.'
It was the moment I was about to launch myself toward the ones picking themselves up.
Rumble!
I heard the sound of something heavy dragging across the floor.
Naturally, my gaze was drawn toward it.
The sound was coming from a cave, getting closer and closer.
'What's that?'
It was the very cave the monsters had emerged from.
Along with the sound of something massive dragging against the stone floor, someone was stepping out.
The feeling was entirely different from the other monsters.
'What is this?'
My heart pounded as if I were standing before a peerless master.
While I couldn't tear my eyes away, the three remaining monsters rushed at me.
"Grwaaaaaar!"
Annoying pests.
I cut the throats of the lunging monsters one by one.
Dealing with them was no longer a difficult task.
When I turned my head back, I saw the being that had emerged from the cave.
The reason the Lesser Conversation Sword said this was simple.
What came out of the cave was different from the monsters I had seen so far.
In fact, I couldn't even tell if it was a monster.
Its entire head was encased in something like an iron mask, hiding its face, and its hands were attached to massive black iron balls the size of a human torso, causing it to hunch over like a cripple.
But that wasn't all.
It wore black shackles on its legs and waist, and following the connected chains, there were iron balls twice the size of the ones on its hands.
Clang! Rumble!
As this mysterious figure took a single step, the iron balls dragged along the floor.
They were so heavy that the stone floor didn't just scratch; it was gouged out like soft earth.
I didn't know either.
I wondered if I could even move them if I exerted Ten Stars of Internal Power.
Clang! Clang! Rumble!
The iron-masked monster approached my position.
Unsure of its identity, I asked, wondering if it could understand speech.
"Who are you?"
At that, the iron-masked monster tilted its head.
Then, it turned its face exactly toward me and straightened its hunched back.
Crack, pop!
The monster's muscles swelled with the sound of popping joints.
It was at that moment, as I sensed something was wrong.
Rumble!
'No way!'
As the monster moved its bulging, tense legs, the massive black iron balls attached to the chains lifted slightly and then came flying toward me.
It was monstrous strength.
The iron balls, gaining momentum, looked ready to crush me.
I kicked off the ground and leaped into the air.
Boom! Crash!
As I dodged, the flying iron balls smashed into the floor of the cavern, gouging out the stone.
If I had taken a direct hit, my body would have been completely pulverized.
I didn't know the reason, but there was no doubt this monster had attacked me.
'An enemy!'
If its movements were sluggish because its body was bound by those iron balls, I just had to exploit that opening.
I lunged toward it.
The monster swung its other leg at me.
With the sound of the chain snapping taut, another massive iron ball flew in my direction.
The trajectory was simple enough that it wasn't impossible to dodge.
Swish!
Leaping upward, I vaulted over the flying iron ball.
Then, I swung my sword to take the monster's head in one go.
At that moment—
Clang!
The monster raised the iron ball on its right hand to block the strike.
Perhaps because they were lighter than the ones on its legs, its hand movements were much faster.
'It's hard.'
The density of the iron ball was harder than the stone coffin I had been trapped in.
I had been able to break the stone coffin because my internal energy and Innate True Qi had not only recovered but increased.
However, the iron ball was so hard it made my hand sting.
'What is this made of?'
That wasn't the important part.
The monster tried to crush me with the iron ball on its other hand.
I threw myself backward.
Whoosh! Crash!
The stone floor collapsed, almost completely caving in.
I couldn't tell if it was internal power or raw physical strength, but it possessed an absurd amount of power.
The fact that it could move like this while being restrained by such things was bizarre in itself, but—
Whoosh!
"Urgh!"
I ducked my head, narrowly avoiding an iron ball.
It was attacking me with precision despite not being able to see.
After dodging, I tried to stab it in the chest, but it blocked with the iron ball in its other hand.
Clang!
My body was pushed back from the impact of stabbing the iron ball.
The blade of the Namcheon Iron Sword vibrated intensely.
'It's too hard.'
I didn't know the material of those iron balls, but if it kept using them like shields, I wouldn't be able to do anything, let alone take its head.
Then, the Namcheon Iron Sword’s voice rang out.
It made sense.
The key was to prevent it from using them as shields.
I lunged at it once more.
The monster swung an iron ball at me.
Swish!
Leaning my waist back to dodge the iron ball, I used the brief opening before the other one could fly in to slice the monster's wrist with my sword.
Slash!
Simultaneously with cutting the wrist, I dodged the other iron ball and slipped behind it.
I quickly swung my sword toward its neck.
At that moment, the monster twisted its waist and tried to knock my sword away with its severed wrist.
'Too late.'
I would just cut through the wrist and the neck together.
Or so I thought.
Clang!
'What?!'
My sword was deflected upward.
I hadn't been able to cut through the severed wrist.
As the monster thrust its hand forward in that state, blood splattered onto my face.
My vision was stained red.
Whoosh!
At the same time, an iron ball came flying.
"Damn it!"
I used my body lightening method to try and dodge backward, but the iron ball was so large that part of it struck my body.
With a heavy thud of pain in my shoulder, I was sent flying.
Tumble!
"Kh...!"
I managed to stop after rolling several times across the floor.
My shoulder throbbed.
If I hadn't protected my body with Innate True Qi, my shoulder blade might have been shattered.
"Young Master So!"
At the one-armed man's shout, I reached out a hand in his direction.
It was a signal for him to stay quiet.
If the iron-masked monster's attention turned to him, he would be targeted.
'My eye...'
The blood the monster had sprayed was caught in my eye, making everything look red and blurry.
Even after rubbing it, the blurriness didn't fade.
So, despite the lingering pain, I opened my closed left eye.
"Ugh!"
I could see, but a sharp pain, like being pricked by needles, surged through my eyeball.
It seemed I would have to attack while forcing myself to endure it.
At the Lesser Conversation Sword’s words, I looked at the monster and saw an unbelievable sight.
'!?'
The monster's severed hand was growing back.
Bones protruded from the stump, taking the shape of a hand, and then veins wrapped around them as flesh began to knit together.
Even the Namcheon Iron Sword was dumbfounded by the sight.
It was hard to believe even while seeing it with my own eyes.
It didn't take long for the severed hand to fully regrow.
'How can this be happening...'
Then, the monster used its regrown hand to strike its other wrist.
Its wrist was severed as if it had been struck by a sharp blade.
As the Lesser Conversation Sword said that, the Namcheon Iron Sword followed up.
The Namcheon Iron Sword’s guess was correct.
The severed wrist regrew just like the other hand.
The monster had cut off its own wrist, relying on its eerily fast regenerative ability.
Once the other hand had regrown, the monster fumbled with the iron mask covering its head.
I couldn't tell why it was doing that.
But suddenly, laughter erupted from inside the iron mask.
"Khahahaha... Hahahaha!"
Then, using both hands, it grabbed the seams of the iron mask and violently tore it off.
As the iron mask was ripped away, the monster's face was revealed.
In that moment, I couldn't hide my astonishment.
It was a handsome man with a pale, white face, but a golden light was radiating from both of his eyes.
'Golden Eye!'
The golden-eyed man turned his head toward me.
Then, tapping on the discarded iron mask, he spoke.
"Was it you who removed the talisman that was attached here?"