Chapter 121: Choice-2
Chapter 121: Choice-2
After biting his lip for a moment, Seonwoo Jin decided to try persuading her first.
"Lady Dang, I don't think that's it. We still have time, so let's think about it together a bit more. The two of us killing each other is just playing right into his hands, isn't it?"
But Dang Yeoeun, emitting a crimson glare from her eyes, refused to listen.
"There couldn't possibly be any other way! Don't you understand?! If we both die here, Mak Woojeon will learn Gwanggeom's secret manual! Can you not imagine what a great evil that would be for the world?!"
Of course, what she said might have been right.
But Seonwoo Jin could be certain that wasn't the reason she was acting this way.
It was because the crimson glare blazing from her eyes was growing stronger and stronger.
He tried to persuade her with a regretful expression.
"My lady, you must regain your composure. You are currently swept up in madness and unable to make proper judgments. So please, quickly use the Great Calm Mind Technique again...!"
But Dang Yeoeun refused to listen any further.
With eyes that grew ever redder, she screamed as if in desperation.
"Draw your sword, now! If you don't, I'll attack first!"
She was shrieking like a madwoman with the face of a demon.
It was a sight so far removed from the Dang Yeoeun that Seonwoo Jin knew that he could hardly recognize her.
Seonwoo Jin had no choice but to accept that she would no longer be receptive to conversation.
"Hoo."
Seonwoo Jin ultimately gritted his teeth.
It seemed there was no other way.
Ssshing!
He finally drew his sword.
His plan was to subdue her first and then look for another solution.
At that, Dang Yeoeun's eyes sharply flashed upward and she lunged at him first.
"Haaap!"
Swhak!
It was a lightning-swift strike, a thrust with her full intent that seemed as if it would pierce right through Seonwoo Jin in a single blow.
A vivid green sword qi blazed into light from her blade.
It was even a bit faster than the sword of hers that Seonwoo Jin had originally known.
It was probably the effect of the madness state.
But even seeing this, Seonwoo Jin did not move.
He simply stood still and watched as Dang Yeoeun's sword flew toward him.
Seonwoo Jin's eyes half-closed, and his vision began to contemplate the entire situation.
His mind became more and more tranquil.
It was a clear fact that her sword had become faster than before.
But Seonwoo Jin could see it.
Though it had become faster, the sword's path had become that much simpler.
'Fast, but straight. No variation.'
And so, he could do it.
No, he had to do it.
In order for both of them to survive.
The moment Dang Yeoeun's lightning-like green sword qi entered his maai, Seonwoo Jin thrust his sword in like a ray of light.
The ultimate technique of the Sail Sword Technique.
One Strike.
"Hap!"
It was the very same method that Mukrang had once used through his body, piercing the wrist of an attacking enemy to collapse their offense itself.
Judging that he could not afford to waste time clashing swords with Dang Yeoeun for long, Seonwoo Jin had decided to gamble on ending the fight in a single blow.
Shwiiik!
Seonwoo Jin's sword, become a ray of light, pierced precisely into the axis of the sword Dang Yeoeun was swinging.
Except this time, it wasn't the wrist, but the hilt guard.
Taeng!
"Augh!"
Along with a clear metallic ring, Dang Yeoeun's sword was sent flying high into the air.
Seonwoo Jin's gamble had succeeded.
"How could... this be."
Dang Yeoeun was staring at her own hand that had let go of the sword in a single strike with an expression of stunned bewilderment.
It was a look of utter disbelief.
"Hoo."
Having knocked Dang Yeoeun's sword far away, Seonwoo Jin let out a sigh with a conflicted expression, then sheathed his sword and approached her.
Blood was trickling down from her torn hand.
"Let me see your hand."
Seonwoo Jin took out a handkerchief and carefully wrapped it around her torn hand.
He was wary of any sudden actions as her eyes were still tinged red, but she simply stared down blankly at her own hand.
It was the same even when Seonwoo Jin's hand carefully grasped the wrist meridian at her pulse point.
Having subdued Dang Yeoeun's wrist meridian, only now could Seonwoo Jin relax a little.
It was because, having suppressed her wrist meridian, she would no longer be able to muster internal energy to attack him.
"Hoo."
Now somewhat relieved, Seonwoo Jin, still holding her wrist meridian, looked around at the surrounding lava lakes once more.
Now that he was less worried about her, it was time to ponder over this situation.
Resolving her madness state was urgent too, but that was something they could only talk about once they had survived.
It was at that moment.
Dang Yeoeun, who had been looking down dejectedly with her head deeply bowed, murmured.
"I'm sorry, Seonu Gongja."
At that sudden apology, Seonwoo Jin smiled and answered.
"It's nothing. Right now, Lady Dang's condition is not good..."
It was then that Dang Yeoeun raised her head and looked at Seonwoo Jin.
He saw her eyes, incomparably redder than before, and the bewitching smile spreading across her face.
At that unfathomable, eerie sensation, Seonwoo Jin could no longer continue his words.
Then, she smiled bewitchingly and spoke again.
"The reason I said I'm sorry is precisely because of the formless poison."
Formless poison?
Poison, she said?
Seonwoo Jin's expression hardened stiffly.
Dang Yeoeun continued to smile as she murmured.
"All direct descendants of the Tang Family carry a little bit of formless poison on them to protect themselves in the very, very last resort, you see."
That was the moment.
A violent pain struck Seonwoo Jin's stomach.
"Kuk!"
The pain, which had started as a sudden stinging sensation, was quickly becoming agonizing, as though his insides were being severed.
Seonwoo Jin looked at Dang Yeoeun with a stunned expression.
"Eueuk! Da... Lady Dang?!"
At that, Dang Yeoeun, with her bewitching smile, said.
"Formless poison is a lethal toxin with no color, scent, or taste. The only antidote is what I've already taken. I'm sorry, but now Seonu Gongja won't be able to survive."
Seonwoo Jin's complexion went pale.
He too could now feel it clearly.
That he had been poisoned.
And that he had been poisoned with a fatal, lethal toxin at that.
His vision was gradually blurring.
Seonwoo Jin couldn't believe that death was creeping up on him so suddenly.
In a place like this, dying at Dang Yeoeun's hands, of all things.
He looked at her with a blank stare.
At that, tears streamed down her face.
Dang Yeoeun murmured.
"I'm sorry, Seonu Gongja. I'm truly sorry."
Her expression was incredibly strange.
On one side of her face was a bewitching smile, and on the other was a regretful expression. It was as if two contradictory emotions, joy and sorrow, existed on her face simultaneously.
As if she was maintaining a single thread of her original mind while being possessed by madness...
Seonwoo Jin suddenly looked down at his own hand, still holding her wrist meridian.
As long as her wrist meridian was suppressed, her life was essentially still within his grasp.
If he wished, he could kill her right then and there, instantly.
Rather, she could have died first before his poisoned self.
But the fact that she poisoned him even though she must have known that, seemed to mean she was utterly incapable of rational judgment.
"Lady Dang..."
After staring at his own hand for a moment, Seonwoo Jin ultimately just let go of Dang Yeoeun's wrist meridian.
Then, a look of surprise rose on her face.
He had let her go without taking any revenge on the one who had caused his death.
At that incomprehensible action, Dang Yeoeun stared at Seonwoo Jin's face with a bewildered expression.
Then, Seonwoo Jin, even through his fading consciousness, forced a smile and spoke to her.
"Lady Dang, this action right now wasn't done by you. You were simply swept up in a bad energy and couldn't come to your senses. Like having a bad dream. So... don't... blame yourself... too much. Please..."
As he was speaking, blood streamed from Seonwoo Jin's nose.
Blood also surged up from his throat, and he couldn't continue his words any further.
Thud!
Seonwoo Jin ultimately collapsed to his knees on the spot.
It was because he no longer had the strength to stand.
As his body fell to the floor and his mind faded, Seonwoo Jin prayed.
That she wouldn't come to hate herself too much because of his actions just now.
That she would, please, overcome the madness and live on with strength.
And finally, his breath ceased.
It was the second moment of death he had ever experienced.
There was no feeling of fear.
Rather, it felt as if his heart was slightly at ease, at the thought that he could now rest.
And then, with a blank face, he muttered.
"What... just happened?"
Seonwoo Jin examined his own body with a bewildered expression.
He couldn't understand what had happened or how.
Until just moments ago, he had certainly been dying.
No, he had definitely thought he died, but the very next moment, he was suddenly standing in his place with a perfectly fine body.
The change in the situation was so abrupt that he couldn't possibly collect his thoughts.
What was certain was that he didn't seem to be a ghost after dying.
It was very clearly his own living, healthy body.
He could distinctly feel every single flow of qi coursing through his interior.
"Then what was that just now...?"
At that moment, a voice suddenly sounded from behind.
"It was a gate. My second and third gates, that is."
"!"
He whipped his head around to look in that direction.
And there, he was standing.
The Broad Hero Sword Ghost, Jeong Myeonggang.
"Se... Senior?"
Seonwoo Jin stared at him with a horrified gaze.
He was unmistakably Gwanggeom.
But it felt as if he was seeing him for the first time. Seonwoo Jin couldn't close his mouth at his unfamiliar appearance.
"Se... Senior, what in the world...?"
Gwanggeom Jeong Myeonggang clearly had the exact same face as before, and was wearing the exact same clothes.
But he had changed so much from how he had been until just moments ago.
It was because he had completely withdrawn the tempest of killing intent he had been emitting, and was smiling as he looked at Seonwoo Jin with a benevolent face.
He spoke in an affectionate tone.
"I'm sorry. I deliberately showed an excessively harsh demeanor in order to test you. Please, forgive my rudeness."
"P-pardon? Ah, yes. W-well, of course..."
It was truly so bewildering.
'That was all acting and a test?'
To see Gwanggeom apologizing for rudeness, Seonwoo Jin was so unaccustomed to it that he didn't even know how to react.
But soon, having collected his thoughts, Seonwoo Jin urgently asked Gwanggeom.
"Th-then, what about Lady Dang, who came here with me...?"
After he had come back to life, Dang Yeoeun's figure was nowhere to be seen.
If everything he had just experienced was a test as Gwanggeom said, then she probably...
At that, Gwanggeom beamed and nodded his head.
"That woman from just now was merely an illusion created using your unconscious mind. The real her is unharmed. And... she passed through all the gates. Just like you."
Hearing those words, Seonwoo Jin's face brightened radiantly.
"Ah! So that's what it was!"
Seonwoo Jin felt deeply relieved.
It was truly fortunate.
The fact that she hadn't actually fallen into madness, and that she was safe, felt even more joyful to him than the words that he had passed all the gates.
Gwanggeom was looking at Seonwoo Jin with a pleased smile.
It was a smile as if he knew exactly what was in his heart.
He abruptly stepped one step aside from where he stood, then snapped his fingers and spoke.
"Now, seeing it directly is better than words, I suppose."
Snap!
Then, she suddenly appeared opposite him.
It was Dang Yeoeun.
Her expression was almost entirely absent.
A blank look, as if she could not comprehend the current situation at all.
She turned her head this way and that, seemingly bewildered by the sudden change in her surroundings, until she finally spotted Seonwoo Jin.
And then, she suddenly flinched and covered her mouth with her hand.
"Hup!"
Her pupils, as she looked at Seonwoo Jin, were trembling incessantly.
It was a complex gaze mixing wariness and gladness, joy and resentment.
Seeing that adorable reaction, Seonwoo Jin was certain.
That this person, indeed, was the real Dang Yeoeun.
"Lady Dang!"
Seonwoo Jin called her name as he ran to her.
At that, Dang Yeoeun watched him with anxious eyes, as if wary, and asked cautiously.
"Is it really... Seonu Gongja?"
At her question, Seonwoo Jin tore off the human skin mask from his face and smiled brightly.
"Yes, that's right. It's really me, Seonwoo Jin! Lady Dang, you've been through so much!"
At that, Dang Yeoeun's eyes grew redder and redder, until eventually tears streamed down her face.
She then weakly struck Seonwoo Jin's chest with her fist and sobbed.
"This is too much. It's really too much."
Seonwoo Jin silently watched her like that with a warm gaze.
Just looking at her reaction now, he felt he could tell how much mental anguish she had suffered.
And while it would not be exactly the same, Seonwoo Jin could sufficiently guess what she must have gone through.
If she had passed through the same gate as him, then she probably must have encountered a Seonwoo Jin who was trying to kill her as well.
And probably, she too gave up on killing him and simply accepted death.
Suddenly, he felt so proud of her for having made that choice, and so grateful.
Seonwoo Jin slowly raised his arms.
It was because he felt a powerful urge to hold her tightly as she cried.
But having hesitated midway, he raised his arm higher and simply patted her on the shoulder as he spoke.
"You've been through a lot. And thank you, Lady Dang."
For now, and at this moment, this was all he could do.