Chapter 178: Hope
Chapter 178: Hope
Turning back time to a few days before Seonwoo Jin and Dang Yeo-eun confirmed their feelings for each other.
Hae Cheong-yeon, who was walking a tightrope while accompanying Guyueumma Ji Gi-eum who had come to kidnap her, originally had the confidence to send Na Seo-yu and Sak Mu-heun back safely.
This was because she thought that if she stalled for time appropriately and then exchanged herself for their safety as if conducting a hostage exchange, she could send them back safely.
But before she could even think she had stalled for enough time, she found herself facing a completely unexpected situation.
Hae Cheong-yeon called his name in a stunned voice.
"...Blood Demon?"
It was.
He was the very Blood Demon she had seen during the Great Blood War.
The Slaughter Blood Demon Jeon Mu-gwang had appeared before Hae Cheong-yeon, accompanied by two subordinates.
He looked at her with a somewhat pitying gaze and said,
"So you are Hae Dae-hyeop's daughter. It is a pleasure to meet you."
Hae Cheong-yeon could no longer maintain her composure.
Because she felt she knew what his appearance here already meant.
She asked the Blood Demon in a trembling voice,
"My father... surely not?"
The Blood Demon slowly let out a sigh and answered while avoiding her eyes,
"Your father was a martial artist one could not help but respect. I am deeply sorry to have to deliver such news to you."
Thud!
Hae Cheong-yeon's legs gave out without her realizing it, and she collapsed to the ground.
But she was so devastated that she could not even perceive her own state.
The Blood Demon used telekinesis to lightly take the sword she had been holding to her own neck from Hae Cheong-yeon's strengthless hand.
Then he carefully sheathed it back into her scabbard.
Shring!
But Hae Cheong-yeon could not even register that.
Tears began to stream down from her dazed eyes.
Tears she had not shed even once since infancy were now flowing ceaselessly, as if everything that had been pent up was bursting out all at once.
She murmured blankly,
"Father."
Suddenly, her father's face, always laughing cheerfully, came to mind.
"Father."
To her, who had been a little different from others since childhood, who struggled to adapt to relationships and even felt out of place among family, her father had always showered her with far more special affection than anyone else.
"Father."
He was the first and last hero in Hae Cheong-yeon's life.
He was stronger than anyone, more upright than anyone, and more admirable than anyone.
So she had thought he would always be by her side.
That no matter what happened, he would always be there...
"Father!"
He had always said this whenever he saw her.
'Aigo, my pretty and lovely daughter. You came looking for your father again because you missed him!'
She wanted to see that sight.
She wanted to hear that voice.
She missed him so much that her heart felt like it was being torn apart.
She could not possibly imagine a world without him.
"Fatheeeeeer! Aaaaaaaaagh!"
Hae Cheong-yeon screamed.
As if she would faint from crying, she desperately cried out her father's name over and over.
The Blood Demon simply watched her with a complicated expression.
***
After waiting for a long while, the Blood Demon took Hae Cheong-yeon, who had barely calmed down to some degree, to a secluded room in a building located near a massive mountain.
The Blood Demon placed tea he had brewed himself in front of Hae Cheong-yeon and said,
"I do not know tea very well, so the taste may not be great, but drinking something warm might help a little."
But Hae Cheong-yeon only stared at the teacup with an expressionless face.
The Blood Demon smiled gently and asked,
"I do not know if you will believe me, but you need not worry whether I put something strange in it. In truth, there is no need for that, is there?"
His words were clearly true.
Hae Cheong-yeon was now completely in the palm of his hand.
Now she could not even use herself as a hostage, and even if she attempted suicide, it was obvious she would not succeed.
Hae Cheong-yeon suddenly asked him,
"What do you want from me?"
At her question, the Blood Demon, who had been moistening his throat with his own tea for a moment, slowly opened his mouth.
"In the past, there was someone called the Yeokcheon Blood Demon. Have you ever heard of her?"
It was a completely unexpected question.
At his question, Hae Cheong-yeon's eyes briefly showed a peculiar light before she nodded.
"I remember her as the cult leader of the Blood Cult who was defeated and killed by the Thunder God and the Sword God."
At her words, the Blood Demon smiled.
"Yes, you know well. Everyone remembers her as the sacrificial lamb of the Thunder God and Sword God legend. But from the Blood Cult's perspective, it is a little different. She was a very special cult leader even in the long history of the Blood Cult."
"...Special?"
"Yes, very special. First, she was a master believed to have nearly reached the mythical realm, having fought fiercely until the end against mythical realm masters like the Thunder God and Sword God. And more than anything, she was even more special in that she was a being who awakened again after five hundred years."
At this, a light of surprise formed in the eyes of Hae Cheong-yeon, who had been listening.
"...She awakened again after five hundred years?"
"Yes. It may be hard to believe, but it is true. She was a master who nearly dominated the world about six hundred years ago. And she preserved her body and soul, then awakened after five hundred years to once again scheme for the world. Though of course, she failed again."
Hae Cheong-yeon shook her head at the sound of such a preposterous claim.
"...That is impossible."
The Blood Demon smiled.
"Is that what you think? Yes, perhaps so. But the Blood Cult followers do not think that way. And I too came to believe it is true after seeing the records she left behind."
At those words, Hae Cheong-yeon could no longer simply deny the story.
Because the Blood Demon she saw did not appear to be a fanatic who believed in unverified, preposterous legends.
Rather, he seemed like an extremely rational and reasonable person.
Yet if such a Blood Demon had come to believe it was true...
The Blood Demon continued speaking.
"According to the records, that Yeokcheon Blood Demon was killed by someone in the final battle. There is talk that the Thunder God and Sword God combined their attacks, and also talk that she was actually defeated by a different master, not those two. Well, such things are not important. Anyway, the Yeokcheon Blood Demon who died that way left behind yet another special achievement in the history of the Blood Cult."
Hae Cheong-yeon frowned and asked,
"A dead person... left behind an achievement?"
Then the Blood Demon, who had smiled, answered with gleaming eyes,
"Yes, a truly special achievement. Because she returned from death."
At those words, Hae Cheong-yeon let out a hollow laugh.
Returning from death — what kind of nonsense was that.
She was now on the verge of doubting whether she had been overestimating the Blood Demon all this time.
But whether he knew her thoughts or not, the Blood Demon simply continued speaking.
"She apparently ordered her subordinates at the time to prepare for what came after death. So she had them summon her soul back through the Descending Spirit Art. And she had that soul possess a young body."
At this, Hae Cheong-yeon, who had been listening with a sharp expression, coldly opened her mouth.
"If that had succeeded, another legend of the Yeokcheon Blood Demon would have remained in the martial world. If it failed, then it would have been meaningless."
Hae Cheong-yeon was pointing out the fact that no legend of the Yeokcheon Blood Demon remained after that point.
Thus, it was merely a fanciful legend.
But the Blood Demon merely smiled faintly.
"That may be so. But... what do you think of this case? A case where the possession succeeded, but the new physical body could not withstand the Yeokcheon Blood Demon's caliber."
"Could not withstand... her caliber?"
"Yes. According to the records, they succeeded in implanting her soul, but the young physical body could not endure her caliber and soon collapsed. And the subordinates who had conducted the great ritual were soon killed by the pursuit squad that arrived."
Hae Cheong-yeon gazed silently at the Blood Demon for a moment.
Then she asked.
"Why are you telling me this?"
At that, the Blood Demon's eyes flashed dangerously in an instant.
He was smiling and speaking with an expression like that of a true demon head, not the refined demeanor he had shown until now.
"That Yeokcheon Blood Demon was said to have been a great genius and a beauty from a young age. And... one of her eyes was blue and the other black, her eyes being of different colors. Just like Lady Hae, who stands before me now."
Hae Cheong-yeon swallowed hard without realizing it.
Now she fully understood the Blood Demon's words.
The Blood Demon was telling her that he intended to possess her physical body with that Yeokcheon Blood Demon, the worst monster in the Blood Cult's history.
Hae Cheong-yeon asked again with tense eyes.
"Why are you informing me of this fact?"
Then the Blood Demon, his expression once again refined, smiled faintly and answered.
"Well, the biggest reason would be because you, sojeo, are the Sword Saint's daughter. You may not believe it, but I genuinely respect your father. And the second reason... is because I wish for you to have the will to live."
Hae Cheong-yeon, whose eyes had flickered for a moment when the Sword Saint was mentioned, slowly retorted at the next statement.
"The will to live?"
"Indeed. Frankly speaking, I need some time to prepare the great ritual. Furthermore, for the ritual to succeed, you, sojeo, must be healthy and, if possible, in a state of heightened martial prowess. So from my standpoint, rather than simply confining you, I must make you continue training of your own volition."
At those words, Hae Cheong-yeon let out a hollow laugh and asked again.
"So you are telling me to take care of my body in order to become a vessel for a monster. Why do you think I would comply?"
Then the Blood Demon smiled faintly and answered.
"Are you not, frankly, thinking that this great ritual will fail? That it will be impossible. So if, as you believe, the ritual fails, you would be able to raise your martial arts and look toward the future. And even if the ritual succeeds and the Yeokcheon Blood Demon possesses you, it is the same. That great ritual is one that places two souls into a single body, allowing the soul with stronger spiritual force to claim the body. So if..."
At his words, Hae Cheong-yeon's eyes gleamed as she spoke.
"If my spiritual force is stronger, I could drive her soul back out?"
The Blood Demon smiled a provocative smile with a peculiar look and answered.
"How about it? If you believe in yourself, is it not worth a try? At the very least, it would surely be far better for you than being confined with sealed acupoints, unable to do anything."
Hae Cheong-yeon fell into thought for a moment.
But in truth, there was not much to think about.
If she could move freely and train, she could create far more variables than merely being confined with sealed acupoints.
If things truly went wrong, she would need her body to be free even to take her own life later.
But that very point was all the more strange.
The conditions were far too favorable to her.
It was highly suspicious that someone who was the very Blood Demon would offer her terms this advantageous.
'Was it because he was certain the great ritual would succeed?'
For now, she could not know.
But the conclusion had already been decided regardless.
Hae Cheong-yeon eventually looked the Blood Demon straight in the eye and spoke.
"Fine. I will do as you say. However, I have a condition."
At that, the Blood Demon nodded.
"Speak."
What Hae Cheong-yeon demanded was the safety of Na Seo-yu and Sak Mu-heun.
"Please send the two people who were captured with me back safely. If the two of them return without incident, I too will follow your will, Elder."
At her words, the Blood Demon nodded briefly, then spoke toward outside the room.
"Gi-eum, bring them in!"
Then soon, the ghost-like man Guyueumma Ji Gi-eum, draped in the Blood Wind Robe, lightly carried in Na Seo-yu and Sak Mu-heun, who were still under acupoint sealing.
The Blood Demon spoke to him in a stern tone.
"I intend to send these two back safely. So release them at an appropriate location and ensure they can return. And as this is my command as the Blood Demon, all Blood Cultists must absolutely not lay a hand on these two."
Having said that much, he looked at Hae Cheong-yeon again and spoke.
"This seems to be the extent of what I can do. However, these people must return to the Flying Dragon Squad as quickly as possible. I can do nothing if they return to rescue you again, or if they wander the jungle and are attacked by demonic beings."
At his words, Hae Cheong-yeon nodded and looked at the faces of Na Seo-yu and Sak Mu-heun.
Unable to speak due to their sealed acupoints, they were looking at Hae Cheong-yeon with earnest eyes.
The Blood Demon suddenly asked.
"Do you wish for me to release their acupoints?"
But after thinking briefly, Hae Cheong-yeon shook her head.
And she spoke to them just as they were.
"I have decided to make a wager with the Blood Demon. If I win, we may one day meet again safely. So please, believe in me and simply go back. Do not let my efforts be in vain. And look toward the day we meet again... Thank you for everything until now."
Having said that, Hae Cheong-yeon looked at the Blood Demon and nodded.
That was the final farewell Hae Cheong-yeon conveyed to them.
***
After Ji Gi-eum sent a subordinate to release Na Seo-yu and Sak Mu-heun, the Blood Demon left Hae Cheong-yeon alone and came outside, strolling slowly through the garden.
Then, Ji Gi-eum, who had been guarding his side from the shadows, suddenly asked him.
"Is it alright to leave her alone, Supreme One?"
The Blood Demon smiled faintly and asked in return.
"Are you worried?"
"Although she has made a promise with the Supreme One, she is still a young girl. Left alone, might she not suddenly entertain extreme thoughts?"
It was a reasonable concern.
A promise was, after all, only words, and there would be nothing to be done even if she broke it.
Ji Gi-eum could not help but feel uneasy at the fact that they were leaving her alone and vacating the premises.
But the Blood Demon merely smiled and answered.
"Do not worry. That child will do her utmost to live from now on."
At the Blood Demon's confident declaration, Ji Gi-eum did not raise any further words.
"If the Supreme One says so, it shall come to pass."
The Blood Demon smiled faintly again.
When people spoke of the Blood Cult's soul-possession art, they always recalled the Black Blood Illusion Demon, Du Dang.
But they did not know.
They did not know that the Blood Demon was as well-versed in the soul-possession art as the Black Blood Illusion Demon Du Dang, and as skilled in corpse refinement as the White-faced Corpse Demon Gu Woo-jeol.
In particular, the Blood Demon was fond of using the method of implanting suggestions without the other party noticing.
Making the opponent believe they themselves wanted something and thereby breaking them down was another of the Blood Demon's specialties.
Even during this conversation, the Blood Demon had planted a suggestion in Hae Cheong-yeon that she herself could never detect.
And the content of that suggestion was none other than "hope."