Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Six Paths Blood Demons (3)
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The Ghost Demon and the Sword Demon.
If one were to discuss the difference in skill between the two, two major points could be made.
The Ghost Demon's overwhelming amount of internal energy.
This was purely her innate talent.
Born with a talent that marked her as a genius among geniuses, she possessed an overwhelming amount of internal energy.
Furthermore, after she became a Blood Demon, that amount had only increased, meaning the Sword Demon stood no chance in a prolonged battle.
And the second point.
The Ghost Demon was not simply skilled in the art of the blade.
The Sword Demon, true to his name, had prioritized training his swordsmanship.
When he learned other martial arts besides swordsmanship, such as movement techniques or footwork, he exclusively focused on those that would aid his swordplay.
He knew a little about kicking and fist techniques, but only as a contingency for when he was without his sword. He was not deeply versed in them.
Therefore, in situations with many variables, it was highly likely to work against the Sword Demon.
And both the Sword Demon and the Ghost Demon knew these facts better than anyone.
*Claaaaang!*
Fierce energy sparked as they tore into each other's domains.
But that was only for a moment. The red eye of the Soul-Severing Sword flashed, and it began to greedily devour the Ghost Demon's energy.
"What is this..."
The Ghost Demon was quite taken aback to see her energy being absorbed by the demonic sword.
[My master, Unmyeong, you may face two enemies, but you are not alone. Am I not here?]
Hearing this, Unmyeong let out a smirk and replied.
"Right. Two against one is tough. But I'm not alone."
He had always been alone.
Though he had subordinates, he could never form a mental connection with them.
But now, he was feeling a 'camaraderie' he had never experienced before.
The ability to trust and rely on something.
That alone lifted a burden from Unmyeong's heart.
*Tap.*
As her blood energy was continuously absorbed, the Ghost Demon retreated for a moment, creating distance.
"A mysterious martial art. Where did you learn it?"
As far as the Ghost Demon knew, there was only one martial art that could absorb another's internal energy.
The Star-Sucking Great Art.
A demonic art that absorbed internal energy through physical contact.
But the Ghost Demon could tell for certain.
What Unmyeong had just done was quite different from the Star-Sucking Great Art.
'There was no physical contact. Only our weapons touched... Wait. That sword.'
The Ghost Demon narrowed her eyes, staring at the demonic sword Unmyeong held.
Putting aside its bizarre appearance, she could feel a strange aura emanating from the sword, which should have been a mere lump of iron.
"Why... do I feel life from that sword? Could it be..."
The Ghost Demon's usual impassive expression vanished, replaced by a frown that clearly showed her displeasure and bewilderment.
"Sword Demon. What is that you're holding? That thing in your hand. It isn't a weapon, is it?"
Unmyeong scoffed at the Ghost Demon's words and replied.
"Hah, don't play dumb. You're the ones who made it, so why pretend you don't know?"
"We... made that?"
"It's useless to deny it. My demonic sword... no, my companion, told me so directly."
"..."
The Ghost Demon was puzzled; according to her memory, she had never heard of such an abomination.
'Did we ever create something like that?'
To create an object of that caliber, she should have at least heard a whisper about it, but there was no information at all.
'...It must have been a secret operation. Did the Blood God do this?'
However, she quickly accepted the fact that the Blood Cult was behind it.
She knew full well that they were the only ones in the Central Plains capable of such a mad act.
"To use it even after knowing what it is... Unmyeong, your obsession with power is truly overwhelming. And yet you still refuse my offer?"
"You seem to have misunderstood something. My relationship with this one isn't as one-sided as you think."
Unmyeong glanced at the eye of the Soul-Severing Sword in his hand as he spoke.
"We are companions."
"...You're different from usual."
Just then, the Hell Path, who was manipulating blood energy behind the Ghost Demon, spoke up.
"It's ready. Let's begin."
In that instant, the condensed blood energy shot out from the Hell Path's hand, heading for the Sword Demon.
Realizing something was amiss, he immediately tried to evade, but the Ghost Demon closed in at incredible speed, obstructing him.
"You cannot escape."
*Clang!*
It was not easy to dodge the crimson blood energy while clashing swords with the Ghost Demon.
"Kugh...!"
Believing he would be hit by the blood energy at this rate, Unmyeong swung his demonic sword wide, momentarily creating distance from the Ghost Demon.
Then, he immediately changed targets and leaped toward the Hell Path, who was manipulating the blood energy.
*Shing.*
The blade glinted sharply as he was about to unleash a strike at the Hell Path.
"You acted too hastily."
*Claaang!*
The Ghost Demon did not let him go, lunging forward to block his sword's path.
With his charge broken, Unmyeong's body was struck by the blood energy the Hell Path was manipulating.
*Swaaaaaa.*
As the blood energy began to seep into his body, he felt himself growing heavy.
[Are you all right?]
"So far... no problem."
[...]
As the Soul-Severing Sword's eye turned toward him, Unmyeong smirked and replied.
"Don't worry. Have you forgotten our goal? Failure is not in my vocabulary."
Unmyeong decided that any further delay would be truly dangerous and prepared his ultimate technique.
*Shwaaaaaaa.*
Demonic energy swirled like a vortex, condensing into his sword.
A single strike.
His intention was to end everything in one blow.
The surroundings began to tremble, and the air wavered.
The Ghost Demon glanced around, surveying the area.
'Now that the Hell Path's blood energy has touched him, he'll collapse soon. This must be his last desperate struggle.'
Realizing she only needed to block Unmyeong's prepared strike from reaching the Hell Path, the Ghost Demon immediately released a tremendous amount of blood energy, forming a massive sword barrier.
*Rumble-rumble-rumble.*
The ground shook from the swirling demonic energy.
Unmyeong's body was overloading, and cold sweat trickled down his skin.
[Are you all right?]
The Soul-Severing Sword asked in a worried tone, and Unmyeong forced a smile as he replied.
"Don't worry. I've never once taken my eyes off the target. I never have. And I never will."
[You...]
As Unmyeong's blade blazed fiercely, completing the sword energy, he struck down with all his might.
"Ghost Demon, let's settle this here and now. Who is the stronger of the Seven Demons! Annihilation Slash!"
*Kra-boooooom!*
A tremendous blast of demonic energy, bright enough to illuminate the night, shot forth, heading toward the Asura Path and the Hell Path.
Unmyeong's furiously extending energy took the form of a wolf and sank its fangs into the sword barrier the Ghost Demon had deployed.
A flash of white light erupted as the two energies collided.
*Krrrr-ack.*
The demonic energy desperately gnawed at the sword barrier made of blood energy.
Preparation time, finesse, unpredictability—
Unmyeong's ultimate technique abandoned all of these, maximizing only its lethality and range.
Had it been met head-on, a body would have been torn to shreds without a trace, but the one blocking it was none other than the Ghost Demon—the greatest grand demon of the Seven Demons, the one granted the name Asura Path among the Six Paths Blood Demons.
Unlike her usual self, she frowned, seemingly struggling as she poured strength into the sword barrier.
Even the Hell Path, who was watching from behind while manipulating blood energy, showed a hint of alarm, his glowing eyes wavering for a moment.
He had not expected the Sword Demon's ultimate technique to be this powerful.
A fierce gust of wind swept through the area, kicking up a cloud of dust.
For a long while, their energies clashed.
*Crack.*
A crack began to form in the Ghost Demon's sword barrier.
"...Hah, ridiculous."
*Crrrack.*
After receiving the blood energy, the Ghost Demon's internal energy had increased even more.
She had judged that she could block the Sword Demon's ultimate technique without issue, but that was a miscalculation.
*Crrraaaack.*
Unmyeong's sword energy bared its fangs with menacing force at the Ghost Demon and the Hell Path.
*Shatter.*
Sensing danger, the Hell Path momentarily stopped manipulating the blood energy and hastily moved away, while the Ghost Demon also gave up on maintaining the barrier and immediately retreated.
*Sha-sha-shatter!*
A moment later, the Ghost Demon's crimson sword barrier shattered to pieces, and Unmyeong's energy laid waste to the surrounding area.
It looked as if a dark purple wolf was charging toward the ground, and immediately after, the earth exploded, and a pillar of dark purple fire made of demonic energy erupted upwards.
*Kwoooooosh.*
An ordinary martial artist would have vanished without even leaving bone dust, but his opponents were the Six Paths Blood Demons.
He could not let his guard down.
After the pillar of fire surged up once, its power began to wane and die down.
Unmyeong gasped for breath, watching the situation unfold.
"Hah... hah... is this the end?"
The moment Unmyeong spoke.
*Rustle.*
Someone stirred amidst the blackened debris.
It was the Asura Path, her clothes burned away, her upper body almost bare and revealing burn marks, and the Hell Path, whose mask was half-shattered, exposing his face.
It seemed the Asura Path had taken more damage while protecting the Hell Path.
But the problem was that his enemies were not human, but Blood Demons.
With enough time and life force, such wounds would quickly regenerate.
"Sword Demon, your skills have improved again."
"Kugh..."
The thread of blood energy connecting Unmyeong to the Hell Path remained unbroken, and because of it, Unmyeong's vision grew darker.
"Your strategy to annihilate us in a single blow wasn't bad. But you lacked the power to execute it."
Then, the thread of blood energy between the Hell Path and Unmyeong shone more vividly, completely stealing away Unmyeong's consciousness.
*Thud.*
Dropping the Soul-Severing Sword, Unmyeong fell into unconsciousness.
Looking down at him, the Ghost Demon offered her final words.
"You did well, Sword Demon. Now, we will make good use of your power."