Chapter 59: The Mastermind (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 59: The Mastermind (2)
“You... How did you...?”
Mu Ak stammered, staring at me in panic.
As expected, the Illusion Eye had worn off. I didn't expect it to last long, but it had deactivated at a critical moment.
-What now, Un-hwi?
What else? I have to make him confess the rest. I can’t end this until I’ve heard the most important part.
Mu Ak, finally grasping the situation, screamed with a face twisted in rage.
“Did you mock me with your illusions?!”
Well, it was a type of illusion. I had shown him a vision using the Illusion Eye, after all.
I gave him a thin smile. “You fell for it quite easily.”
My sarcasm seemed to push him over the edge, and he scrambled to his feet. His Dantian was destroyed, so every movement must have been agonizing, but his fury seemed to outweigh the pain.
I shoved him back against the wall of the Golden Prison.
Thud!
“Gah!”
“Don’t overexert yourself. Your body isn't exactly in peak condition.”
“To think you would deceive me!”
Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. He seemed completely oblivious to his own past actions.
“It’s your own fault for being fooled. Besides, it’s a bit rich coming from someone who deceived the people of Peerless Fortress for all those years.”
I pressed him harder against the wall. As I applied pressure to his chest and collarbone, he let out a pained groan.
“Grrrgh...”
“Let’s finish our conversation. I’ll start with this: you mentioned the Blood Cult earlier. Who is this ‘Blood Lord’?”
“Heh... Do you really think I would tell you?”
“If you don’t, I’ll grant you a level of agony that makes your current pain feel like a mercy.”
I have a bit of a knack for torture myself.
-You really know how to do all the grim stuff, don't you?
It’s not about being grim. It’s about experience.
One of the things I learned during my days as a spy was how to endure torture. Thanks to that, numerous methods are still etched into my mind.
Mu Ak let out a bloody laugh even through his groans.
“Do you think I fear such things?”
Is he already accustomed to torture? In that case, shall we start with Tendon Severing and Bone Crushing?
Just as I was about to move my hand, he suddenly spoke.
“My suspicion was right.”
“About what?”
“You are also connected to that wench—the descendant of the Blood Demon.”
Is he trying to dig for information from me even in this state? He was certainly a persistent one. However, he was the prisoner, and I was the interrogator.
“That is none of your concern. You’d be wise to just answer my questions.”
I placed my finger on one of his pressure points to begin the Tendon Severing and Bone Crushing. If I injected internal energy here, his qi and blood would twist, and his muscles and bones would shift erratically, causing indescribable agony.
Grip!
I pressed down hard on the pressure point and injected my internal energy.
“Mmmph! Gaaaah!”
He was as stubborn as they said. He gritted his teeth and endured, letting out only muffled groans.
“Who is the Blood Lord?”
“Nngh... Haaah...”
His face turned beet red from the sheer agony, yet he refused to open his mouth. He held out with gritted teeth; it was almost impressive. He bit his lip so hard that blood trickled down, glaring at me with eyes full of murderous rage. His face, already hideous from the burns, now looked like a vengeful demon.
-That’s actually scary.
It doesn’t matter. I have no intention of stopping until the information spills from his mouth.
Finally, Mu Ak opened his mouth.
“Fine... Very well.”
“Are you going to talk?”
“Cut the crap. It doesn't matter anymore.”
“...What do you mean?”
“Everything is ruined because of you. If not for you, everything would have gone according to his will.”
His will? Is he talking about that ‘Nameless’ person?
Even through the pain of the Tendon Severing and Bone Crushing, he continued to speak.
“It doesn’t matter now. I will kill you with my own two hands.”
“What can you possibly do in that state—?”
Bulge!
‘!?’
Suddenly, the veins on his forehead swelled. Since we were pressed against each other, I could feel it—this wasn't just internal energy. I opened my Middle Dantian, and through the Golden Eye hidden behind my eyepatch, I saw his energy shifting.
-What’s happening?
‘His energy is moving.’
The blue energy located near his heart was activating. It wasn't the color of internal energy. It was the Innate True Qi—his Essence—located in the heart.
Usually, martial artists only tapped into their Essence to draw out every last drop of their life force for a final, suicidal strike—to take their enemy down with them.
Since he couldn't manipulate Innate True Qi like I could, and his Dantian was destroyed, I assumed he wouldn't be able to use his Essence. I was wrong. He had been hiding a final trump card.
‘Tch.’
I tried to strike his pressure points to stop the flow of his Essence. But at that moment, a powerful repulsive force erupted from his body, throwing me back from his chest.
Boom! Clatter!
I was pushed back nearly four paces, and a startling sight met my eyes. His internal energy, which should have been scattered throughout his body due to his destroyed Dantian, was now congregating around his heart.
I had overlooked one thing: despite his current state, this man was once known as one of the Five Great Villains. Having once broken the wall and opened the path of Essence, Energy, and Spirit, he was now using his heart as a substitute Dantian.
Mu Ak roared at me.
“Even if I exhaust my Essence and die here, I will take you with me!”
Swish!
Mu Ak’s figure blurred as he lunged forward. He thrust his sword-fingers toward my face, and I hurriedly kicked upward to deflect his wrist.
The moment I struck his wrist, the ceiling of the Golden Prison cracked.
Creeeeeak!
Then, he swung his left sword-finger downward. A sharp killing intent sliced through the air right in front of me, threatening to cleave my body in two.
I hastily crossed my wrists to block. The sharp energy bit into my skin, drawing blood.
Mu Ak sneered.
“The Merciless Wind God isn't here. Who can save you now?”
Satisfied, he relaxed his fingers. He seemed certain that his strike had cut me down.
I uncrossed my arms and spoke.
“You should save the talk for after you’ve actually killed me.”
Mu Ak’s face fell into utter shock when he saw that I was perfectly fine, save for the cuts on my arms.
“You! ...How?!”
“Your internal energy is scattered. It’s certainly not what it used to be.”
If he had been at full strength, that strike would have split me in half. We were at point-blank range, after all. However, because he was forcibly holding his scattered energy together with his Essence, the blow was survivable.
“Who... just what are you?”
Aside from his own weakness, he seemed genuinely shocked that I had withstood a strike that would have previously cut me in two. I suppose it makes sense, considering he had nearly killed me with a single blow before.
“If you push yourself any further, you’ll die. Stop this and tell me who the Blood Lord is.”
Through my Golden Eye, I could see his Essence dissipating rapidly. Since he hadn't trained his Innate True Qi, he would die once it was fully spent.
Grit!
Mu Ak gnashed his teeth, seemingly insulted by my pity.
“I still have more than enough strength to kill you!”
With a roar, Mu Ak lunged again.
Flash!
He unleashed a sword technique. Sharp killing intent surged, creating dozens of lethal trajectories. His desperate technique was a testament to the fact that he was once a master in the realm of superhumans. It felt as if my entire body would be shredded by the sheer pressure.
To think he could still manifest such an exquisite technique in this state.
In that case...
I focused my Mental Focus and opened my Upper Dantian.
Whoosh!
In that instant, I felt a surge of power unlike anything I had felt before. Before I had reached the wall, I couldn't exert more than the fifth stage of the Blood Heaven Great Achievement Art. But now, I could draw out more than the seventh.
‘Blood Heaven Great Achievement Art, 4th Form.’
Forming the finger seal, I unleashed the 4th form: Blood Pore Finger.
A red haze rose from my fingers, weaving through the trajectories of killing intent Mu Ak had created.
“What?!”
The red finger strikes pierced through his technique, causing his killing intent to scatter.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The resulting shockwave pushed both Mu Ak and me backward. We were separated by about five paces, and Mu Ak stared at me with an expression of pure disbelief. He seemed to be reacting to my Blood Demon transformation.
“You... That appearance... what are you? All the remaining descendants of the Blood Demon were supposed to be women...”
“You’re wrong.”
Step!
I lunged toward him, aiming a finger strike at the space between his brows.
“You brat...!”
Mu Ak hurriedly tilted his head back and thrust his left sword-finger toward my throat. I struck his wrist upward to deflect the blow.
Smack!
Then, I kicked him squarely in the stomach. Mu Ak was sent flying backward.
“Urgh... You...”
Even weakened, a superhuman was still a superhuman. He had managed to endure what I intended to be a finishing blow. The way Mu Ak looked at me changed. Before the transformation, he hadn't even acknowledged me as an opponent, but now his eyes were filled with wariness.
He bit his lip hard and muttered, “Dangerous. You are too dangerous. I must kill you here and now for the sake of the Cult.”
As soon as he finished speaking, an intense aura erupted from him. He was concentrating all of his remaining Essence to face my transformed state. The energy wavered with a sharpness and ferocity that far surpassed anything he had shown so far. He truly intended to take me down with him.
Through my Golden Eye, his body glowed brilliantly, like the final flare of a dying candle.
‘Can I block this?’
He seemed to have staked everything on this one move.
It was then.
Crash!
The iron door of the Golden Prison shattered, and someone burst inside. It was none other than my father, the Merciless Wind God Jin Seong-baek.
“I knew it.”
He had said he would wait upstairs, but he must have noticed the commotion of our fight. Mu Ak, who had been gathering a terrifying amount of energy, shouted at my father as if he had found an ally.
“Merciless Wind God! Was I not right? A descendant of the Blood Demon has infiltrated Peerless Fortress! Do you intend to just stand by and watch?”
He was trying to pit my father against me by using my identity. I couldn't help but let out a short laugh. As Mu Ak frowned in confusion, my father replied nonchalantly.
“He is my son.”
“What?”
Mu Ak, who had been condensing his energy, was momentarily stunned. He had been unconscious when I was first revealed as the Merciless Wind God’s son.
This was the chance.
“Father!”
As if reading my mind, my father lunged toward him. His figure split into several afterimages. I also charged, unleashing the 7th form of the Blood Heaven Great Achievement Art, the ultimate technique: Blood Rivaling Finger.
“You bastards!”
Mu Ak, forced to act, hurriedly unleashed his final technique.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
The moment he thrust his sword-fingers, dozens of streaks of killing intent erupted like a violent tidal wave, consuming the surroundings. It was the final strike of a former member of the Five Great Villains, burning through every last drop of his life force.
However, his opponent was one of the Eight Great Masters, the Merciless Wind God—and I, too, had reached a new level of power through my transformation.
Rumble! Boom!
The techniques collided, and the sound of shattering air filled the prison. As the cell was nearly leveled, the area became thick with dust and smoke.
“Huff... Huff...”
The sound of heavy breathing echoed. As the smoke cleared, Mu Ak was visible, leaning against a broken wall. His right arm was gone, and his chest was riddled with holes as he struggled to breathe.
I approached him to ask my question before his breath failed him.
“Th-Those eyes!”
Mu Ak gasped in horror as he looked at me. Ah... I hadn't realized, but my eyepatch must have been torn away during the clash.
“Never mind that. Tell me who the Blood Lord is, now—!”
Before I could finish, he whispered.
“Why... why do you have the same eyes as him...?”
‘The same eyes as him?’
Is he talking about Nameless?
I stepped closer to Mu Ak to press him further, but his head slumped forward. He had exhausted all his Essence and passed away.
My father, Jin Seong-baek, stepped up behind me.
“Why did he say such a thing?”
“Sigh.”
I hadn't intended for this, but given the situation, I had to tell my father the truth.
“I hope you won't misunderstand or be too shocked.”
“Misunderstand? What are you talking about?”
I slowly turned my head. My father’s expression froze the moment he saw the Golden Eye in my left socket.
Well, it looks like I’ve shocked him again.