Chapter 266: Southern Sea Saintess Si Seo-woo-1
Chapter 266: Southern Sea Saintess Si Seo-woo-1
It was Demon Sovereign Man Hak-sung who was left speechless by the Saintess's straightforward acknowledgment.
She, one of the absolute beings of the martial world, had so easily belittled herself as if she had no pride at all.
It was something unimaginable for the Demon Sovereign.
Moreover, the Saintess's abandonment of pride did not end there.
She now looked toward Yong Clan Head Yong Woo-shin and spoke.
"So, as I was saying, since the outcome has already been decided, may I ask the Yong Clan Head to lend me his aid for the remaining fight? I simply have no confidence that I can defeat him alone."
At those words, Yong Woo-shin, who had been unable to look at her face out of guilt until now, stared at her with a startled expression.
At that, the Saintess grotesquely contorted her face toward Yong Woo-shin.
It was an ugly, repulsive sight chilling enough to make a stranger's blood run cold.
But Yong Woo-shin knew well that this was her smiling expression.
She had been smiling brightly at him, as if to say he had no need to feel sorry.
Having understood her words and actions, Seonwoo Jin could not help but be newly impressed.
Far from reproaching Yong Woo-shin for tarnishing her honor, she had simply acknowledged defeat to the Demon Sovereign to lighten his burden of guilt.
It was a sight and consideration one could never expect from most orthodox faction members, who believed face was more important than life itself.
Mukrang suddenly exclaimed in admiration toward her.
- Heoh! How remarkable! Honestly, looking at her appearance, I had wondered why she had been given the epithet Saintess, but now I understand the reason very well. A woman so wise and full of consideration—I hardly saw anyone like her in my lifetime!
At Mukrang's admiration, Seonwoo Jin also shared what he knew.
'In truth, it is said she was a tremendous beauty in her youth. But she was violated by evil fiends who coveted her beauty, and her family was annihilated. Her face was destroyed then, making it as it is now.'
- Heoh! So that is what happened! For a woman who was originally a beauty to end up with such an appearance, her wounds must have been several times greater....
'I think she would have been. After that incident, she built up her strength through over ten years of harsh training and began a revenge journey. There were six enemies in total, and it is said she hunted them down one by one to carry out her vengeance. But she only killed the first three; when she went to find the remaining three, in the end, she could not kill them.'
The reason the Saintess could not kill them was that her enemies had started families.
Seeing that her enemies had become heads of families, she could not bring herself to kill them.
So, she subdued them first and then declared that she would grant them one more chance for the sake of their innocent families.
Even though she had lost both her family and her beauty because of them, she had decided not to return the same suffering she had endured onto them.
After hearing Seonwoo Jin's story, Mukrang asked in a surprised voice.
- ...You mean she gave up revenge despite having the power?
This could only be a decision far beyond the common sense of martial artists who revered revenge like law, something utterly incomprehensible.
So, it was said she had received much criticism at the time instead.
But she paid no mind to others' common sense or criticism.
She simply stayed near her enemies, continuously observing what kind of lives they led, and forced their behavior.
After that, her enemies were divided into two cases again.
Two of the three ultimately committed evil deeds again and were killed by the Saintess, but the remaining one sincerely reformed, and thereafter lived accumulating good karma.
The Saintess then took the child of the reformed enemy as a disciple and began financially supporting all the families of the enemies she had killed.
'People asked, they say. Why, instead of taking revenge, did you add troublesome burdens to yourself? To that question, she is said to have answered thus. She simply chose the path that made her heart more at ease. After that, people began to call her the Saintess.'
After hearing Seonwoo Jin's story, Mukrang was sincerely impressed.
- Heoh, astonishing. A truly remarkable woman.
Seonwoo Jin abruptly turned his head to look again at the Saintess's face as the fight resumed.
She had started her fight with the Demon Sovereign again during that time.
For some reason, Seonwoo Jin felt that her face no longer looked as hideous as it had before.
Perhaps it was because he had told her story.
Now, far from looking hideous, her face somehow felt slightly holy.
Seonwoo Jin abruptly turned his head and approached Yong Woo-shin, who had also been staring at her vacantly, and spoke.
"Since the Saintess has permitted it, shouldn't we also join the fight?"
At that, Yong Woo-shin, quickly regaining his focus, looked at the two fighting in a similar manner as before and said.
"Earlier it was a surprise attack, so it had effect, but now that the Demon Sovereign is already aware of us, is that possible?"
Yong Woo-shin's question was certainly reasonable.
Because once the Demon Sovereign was on guard against the two of them, there was a high probability that a surprise attack would have no meaning anymore.
That was why they had immediately disengaged after striking once earlier.
If they approached clumsily and ended up targeted by the Demon Sovereign, there was even a chance they would hinder the Saintess instead.
But despite such risks, Seonwoo Jin began to explain to Yong Woo-shin in a confident tone.
"From what I sense, the Demon Sovereign's Protective Strong Qi seems concentrated toward the Saintess. So just by us threatening his rear, we can disrupt the bastard's focus. And if we draw closer, then clearly...."
Yong Woo-shin began to listen intently to Seonwoo Jin's words. Though he ranked among the top of the Thirty-Six Stars of the World, he was one who possessed an open mind, able to listen to others' words.
And in his judgment, just like saving the Saintess earlier, this young junior seemed to have keen insight.
Meanwhile, the fight between the Demon Sovereign and the Saintess was unfolding in a pattern similar to before.
The situation was that the Demon Sovereign had been pressing his body against the Saintess while maintaining his Protective Strong Qi.
However, what differed from before was that the Saintess could not easily launch attacks, and the Demon Sovereign looked far more impatient than before.
"Heu-aap!"
Kwaaaaaang!
Driving the Saintess back with a body slam, the Demon Sovereign recognized that he had little time left.
His internal energy was now on the verge of exhaustion.
So now, come what may, he had to prepare a final strike.
It was then.
He could sense two presences approaching his rear.
It was those despicable bastards, Inparang and Yong Woo-shin, who had ruined a golden opportunity earlier and inflicted a wound on him.
'These fucking bastards, again....'
For now, the Demon Sovereign pretended not to notice their approach.
It was to lure them into dropping their guard as much as possible and finish them off first.
Even to deliver his final blow to the Saintess, he needed to deal with those gnat-like bastards first.
"Haaaap!"
Leaving his back completely open, the Demon Sovereign charged straight at the Saintess.
Finally, the gnats began to fly in.
They had shot straight forward to ambush his rear.
'Foolish bastards!'
Grinning, the Demon Sovereign, without even turning his head, simply spun one arm back and fired a Ganghwan.
It was that massive Ganghwan that had rendered Jin Tae-do combat-incapacitated with a single blast.
Shuaaaak!
The Demon Sovereign did not doubt that the bastards would be struck by the Ganghwan.
Because they would be unable to dodge, having flung their bodies into the air.
Even if they dodged it through some incredible luck, they still wouldn't be able to hinder him for a while.
So, without even checking the result behind him, he began to charge toward the Saintess.
It was to unleash his final, reserved ultimate move, Wonryeongsu.
***
Seonwoo Jin and Yong Woo-shin approached the Demon Sovereign's back covertly.
The bastard had focused his entire attention toward the Saintess, not even glancing back once.
At that, the two exchanged glances, nodded once, and then flung their bodies toward the Demon Sovereign's wide-open back.
Pabak!
It was a swift ambush, like two arrows shot simultaneously.
But that was the moment.
The Demon Sovereign, who hadn't even looked back, simply swung his arm and fired a Ganghwan at them.
It was a massive Ganghwan with a diameter larger than a person's height.
Shuaaaak!
Seonwoo Jin and Yong Woo-shin stared at the enormous Ganghwan surging toward them.
They were in mid-air with no foothold.
The gazes of the two met for an instant in the void.
***
After firing the Ganghwan behind him, the Demon Sovereign unleashed his secret weapon, Wonryeongsu.
Wonryeongsu, which required using his own cultivation energy and even True Origin Qi, was a demonic art that drastically shortened the caster's lifespan once used.
The clawed hands of the vengeful spirit that drag the opponent into hell.
The Demon Sovereign had mastered it solely to deal with the Saintess alone.
Uuuuuu!
A black, ominous Energetic Force began to billow out like smoke from the Demon Sovereign's hands.
It was a massive black hand that even obscured the Demon Sovereign's upper body for a moment.
"!"
The Saintess could immediately perceive that the Demon Sovereign's current move was no ordinary one.
So she retreated backward with all her might.
"Haap!"
Pabak!
But in that instant, the Demon Sovereign stretched his hands straight forward.
Then the black smoke stretched out looong, and the enormous hand reached before the Saintess's eyes in an instant.
'What?!'
Realizing she absolutely could not dodge, the Saintess swung her sword at the hand of black smoke.
"Haap!"
Shaaaak!
The Saintess's sword passed cleanly through the hand of black smoke.
But that was all.
As if she had cut real smoke, there was no sensation, and no change occurred in the hand-shaped smoke.
The Saintess had failed to block the Demon Sovereign's technique.
"!"
At that moment, the black hand reached the Saintess just like that and tried to seize her entire body.
***
Just moments before, the massive Ganghwan was about to collide with Seonwoo Jin and Yong Woo-shin, who were suspended in the void.
It was a tremendous crisis, but the two were not very flustered.
In an instant, they exchanged glances and kicked off each other's feet in mid-air.
Pabak!
Then, in the next moment, the Ganghwan passed uselessly between the two as they split apart to either side.
Shweaeaeak!
This was Seonwoo Jin's countermeasure, having already anticipated that the Demon Sovereign would respond this way.
And Seonwoo Jin, who had been controlling his speed to keep pace with Yong Woo-shin until now, kicked off the ground and charged at the Demon Sovereign at maximum speed.
Shwiiiiik!
It was a speed almost like a ray of light.
Toward the back of the Demon Sovereign, who had closed in before his eyes in an instant, Seonwoo Jin struck down with the greatest sword strike he could muster.
The first move of the Mukrang Sword Technique.
Opening Heaven.
It was the Heavenly Demon's sword strike that tore space itself apart.
Chwaaaaaak!
Just as the Demon Sovereign was about to seize the Saintess with Wonryeongsu, he could perceive from the spine-chilling sensation felt on his back.
That if he continued to unleash Wonryeongsu, he himself would die.
"Kuuuk!"
He had no choice but to retract Wonryeongsu and hastily turn his body to defend against Seonwoo Jin's sword strike.
Kwajijijijijik!
Though deployed in haste, his full-power Protective Strong Qi was being torn apart helplessly.
Puhwaak!
"Uuk!"
The Demon Sovereign's chest was cut, and blood spurted out.
Fortunately, it wasn't very deep, but it was a moment that chilled his chest.
And following behind Seonwoo Jin as he unleashed Opening Heaven and slipped aside, Yong Woo-shin flew in and struck down with his dao.
He had targeted the point where the Demon Sovereign's Protective Strong Qi had been split apart.
"How dare you!"
The enraged Demon Sovereign swung his arm and deflected Yong Woo-shin's dao.
Teooeong!
And he tried to attack him immediately.
But at that moment, ice radiating coldness surged up from the ground like a wall, obscuring his vision.
It was the second move of the Seolang Sword Technique, the Heavenly Ice Wall.
Shushushushushuk!
"!?"
It could only be a bizarre technique, unlike any he had ever seen in his life.
It was when the Demon Sovereign faltered for a moment at that strange technique.
The Saintess, who had retreated to avoid Wonryeongsu, charged at him once more.
"Demon Sovereign!"
"This—!"
The Demon Sovereign stopped his hand from smashing the ice wall and turned his body toward the Saintess.
The gnats were merely a bit annoying, but he had to give his all against the Saintess.
While bracing for the Saintess flying at him from the front, he did not relax his attention on Yong Woo-shin and Seonwoo Jin either.
Through his senses, he felt Yong Woo-shin retreat to the rear, and Seonwoo Jin flying at him from the side again.
"Annoying bastard!"
Without looking, the Demon Sovereign hurled a Ganghwan at Seonwoo Jin.
It was the same massive Ganghwan.
At that, the approaching presence, startled, screamed and dodged.
"Ueek!"
'Huh?!'
Hearing that frivolous scream, the Demon Sovereign's eyes twitched, and he urgently turned to look to the side.
Because the frivolous voice he had just heard was not the voice of Seonwoo Jin he knew.
Then, a small, withered middle-aged man came into his view, frantically flinging his body to dodge the Ganghwan.
It was Jeung Chil.
"!"
The Demon Sovereign was taken aback.
Because he had naturally assumed that the presence was Seonwoo Jin.
'Then where is the bastard?!'
It was the moment the Demon Sovereign rushed to expand his senses to catch Seonwoo Jin's presence.
Puuuuk!
"!"
A transparent ice sword, utterly devoid of presence, pierced through his back and burst out through the front of his chest.
It was a surprise attack that Seonwoo Jin, who had concealed himself behind the ice wall, had launched by exploiting his opening—the technique of the Absolute Ice Sword, the fourth move of the Seolang Sword Technique.
The Demon Sovereign was horrified.
Because he could not believe that he had felt absolutely nothing as the sword pierced through his back.
It was because the ice sword had not stabbed him but had been generated from the void, but he could never know that reason.
It was when he was staring with a dazed, despairing look at the transparent ice sword that had pierced through his chest.
The Saintess, having approached before he knew it, brushed her sword past his neck.
Shwiiiiik!
The Demon Sovereign let out a hollow laugh and lamented.
"I've been bitten by a tiger cub after all. I was toyed with by that bastard from start to finish."
The next moment, a red line was drawn on his throat, and blood gushed out.
Puhwaaak!
It was the death of the absolute being who was one of the Four Demons of the World, Demon Sovereign Man Hak-sung.