Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Friend - Gale Blade (End)
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A battle both tragic and noble was unfolding.
Beneath the black moon, they vented their pain, fighting with all their might.
Gwiyeong unleashed the anguish she had endured, swinging the pure white blade.
White flower petals fluttered in the wake of her blade, leaving afterimages that instantly dispelled the surrounding blood energy.
Seeing the pure white aura that blazed with life force, erupting with ferocious power, Preta Path attacked even more savagely.
"Submit! Collapse before my overwhelming power!"
He roared as if in agony, attacking with tentacles and blood energy spewing from his entire body.
*CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!*
The ground, struck by the blood energy and tentacles, shattered and cracked.
The floor of flesh, blood, and energy began to break apart.
But even against such a formidable foe, Gwiyeong remained calm.
With Gale Blade by her side, she feared nothing.
Gwiyeong's power was inherently dark.
The pain in her heart was infused into her internal energy.
But in this moment, a pure white energy mingled with it, and a brilliant aura, a mix of black and white, flowed like an afterimage.
The crimson blood energy didn't dare to stand against it and scattered.
Despair and frustration are powers born from burning oneself out, thus they have clear limits. But joy and hope are powers born from sharing with others, and so they are endless.
Wi-ak revealed his burning insides as he shouted.
"It's all mine! Everything! I must have it all!"
Preta Path fired tentacles lined with teeth, cornering Gwiyeong.
He applied relentless pressure from all sides, trying to amplify her sense of powerlessness.
As the tentacles of blood energy attacked Gwiyeong, they took on the faces of those she missed.
A tentacle with her father's face opened its mouth, his expression resentful.
"It's because of you. The reason this father was cast out of his sect."
*Thump.*
Gwiyeong dodged the tentacle, but next, one with her mother's face appeared and spoke.
"You were always alone. No one ever looked at you. Do you know why? Because you're weak. Didn't you abandon me back then, too?"
*Thump.*
Gwiyeong squeezed her eyes shut and dodged the tentacle with her mother's face.
This time, the face of a young subordinate who had once followed her loyally appeared.
"Why did you abandon me? Why did you let me die? If you keep this up, Guild Leader, no one will be left by your side."
*Thump.*
Gwiyeong kept retreating, dodging the whispering tentacles.
*Screeeech.*
The black moon let out a bizarre sound and cracked.
Red blood dripped from the cracks before they opened like eyes, revealing crimson pupils.
The black moon shed blood like tears as it stared intently at Gwiyeong.
A moment later, a grim and miserable voice echoed throughout Preta Path's domain.
*Give up. You can do nothing alone. You will fall.*
*Join us, become a preta, and fall into the abyss.*
*One more step. Just one more step forward. You stand at the edge of a cliff.*
The voice from the black moon was not just words.
It held a demonic power that truly disturbed Gwiyeong's mind.
Had she been alone, she would have crumbled long ago.
She would have knelt before Preta Path's despairing power.
But she was not alone.
*Swoooosh.*
Countless white plum blossoms bloomed, their petals swirling around Gwiyeong, protecting her from the black moon's whispers.
[Gwiyeong, you are not alone. I am with you. Fear nothing and advance toward your goal.]
Gale Blade, no, the pure white blade, spoke to Gwiyeong, his voice filled with firm resolve.
Hearing his words, Gwiyeong smiled faintly and replied.
"You're right. Together, we can overcome anything. Shall we do what we always do?"
[Of course. But you no longer need to give me your power, so be bolder. Pour everything you have into the enemy.]
The words "no need to give me your power" gave Gwiyeong a sense of déjà vu, but the battle was so frantic she couldn't dwell on it.
"How dare you chatter in front of me!"
Preta Path imbued his massive glaive with blood energy and swung it mercilessly.
A torrent of blood energy shot toward Gwiyeong at high speed.
She imbued the pure white blade with her aura and swung it wide, and plum petals flew forth, scattering the blood energy.
Unlike the red plum blossoms, they didn't explode or rage violently.
They simply fluttered beautifully in place, dispersing the negative power within the blood energy.
As if it had never existed in the first place.
But the more its existence was denied, the more ferociously Preta Path's attacks and blood energy bared their fangs.
The tentacles, wearing the faces of Gwiyeong's precious connections, reappeared, whispering and attacking her all at once.
*Don't deny us.*
*We are the bonds you abandoned. Don't turn away.*
*Are you trying to reject even the people who died because of you?*
*Will you forsake me even in death?*
Facing the wicked whispers, Gwiyeong raised the pure white blade and spoke.
"I won't be swayed anymore. Someone too precious for me to feel powerless is by my side."
She could not retreat now.
She could not fall, for the one she loved was right beside her, giving her strength.
[Just like we always do. You haven't forgotten, have you?]
"Right! Of course not!"
She smiled boldly and threw the pure white blade.
He shot toward the tentacles, and amidst a swirl of white plum petals, his body transformed from a weapon into a man.
He reached out his hand in mid-air, and the white plum petals rapidly gathered, forming a white sword.
He swung the sword powerfully, slicing through the tentacles in a single strike. The severed tentacles dissolved into white plum petals and scattered into the air.
Gwiyeong stared blankly as the evil voices that had whispered to her became white petals and flew away.
A moment later, the petals quickly gathered before Gwiyeong, forming a large saber.
A voice seemed to reach the bewildered Gwiyeong from the white saber.
*Gwiyeong, we never once blamed you.*
The wills that had succumbed to the preta's power and threatened Gwiyeong had united, riding the pure white petals to become her sword.
*Don't endure it all alone anymore. Hasn't the time come to overcome it?*
It wasn't their actual souls that remained and spoke to Gwiyeong.
It was the guilt, powerlessness, and fear in her heart, now transformed into courage and hope, manifesting as voices.
Gwiyeong nodded, then slowly approached and took the white saber.
"Yes. It's time to overcome this."
At that moment, the black energy Gwiyeong had been emitting turned gray and flared up.
It was the moment she, who had always seen only the dark side of life and chosen to be alone, gained enlightenment and took a step forward.
The pain of Gwiyeong's life, a symbol of darkness in black.
The positive power Gwiyeong had newly realized and obtained, a symbol of hope in white.
These two mixed together, achieving harmony.
She had leaped over the wall of her current state and stepped into the Harmony Realm.
She had reached the stage where she could perceive her own shadow and now face it squarely.
Gray energy flowed from Gwiyeong's hand and began to envelop the white saber.
She slowly condensed the energy in her hand, creating a gray sphere. It was an Aura Sphere, a technique usable only from the Transformation Realm onward.
Holding the Aura Sphere that illuminated the surroundings with its brilliant light, she followed Gale Blade and charged at Preta Path.
Seeing them, Preta Path ground his teeth and created a storm of blood and energy.
"You've entered the Transformation Realm?! It's useless! This body has defeated a master of the Profound Realm and will go on to devour the Deva Path. No, even the Blood God himself! You cannot stand against me!"
He was completely consumed by madness, now coveting the position of the Blood God who had granted him power.
The red storm rapidly expanded, raging fiercely around Preta Path, Gale Blade, and Gwiyeong.
It was a clear declaration that no one would escape until one side was annihilated.
Preta Path let out a foul laugh.
"Kekek, you two are truly incredible. More tenacious than the Lord of the Heretic Alliance! That makes me look forward to the strong obsession I'll gain when I devour you!"
Hearing this, Gale Blade, no, the pure white swordsman, spoke to Preta Path.
[This looks like a pitiful struggle. Your suffering ends today.]
Gale Blade imbued the white sword with immense energy and swung it wide.
A thick scent of plum blossoms rode the petals and swept over Preta Path.
It is said that the swordsmanship of a Mount Hua swordsman is beautiful yet cruel.
As if to prove this, Preta Path's body and tentacles were torn to shreds, spraying blood, while beautiful flower petals danced around him.
"Kuaaaargh!"
Preta Path immediately tried to counterattack with a slash of blood energy, but he was struck by the Aura Sphere Gwiyeong launched, and his body exploded.
*BOOOOOM!*
His arm was blown off, scattering blood and flesh in all directions.
"You damn bastards...! Why! Why won't things go my way?! Even after gaining such immense power. Why am I still the same!"
His pulverized body parts regenerated quickly, but as they did, the number of Blood Pretas at the bottom of the stairs rapidly decreased.
The number of Blood Pretas represented the amount of life force Wi-ak had stored; they were sacrificing their lives in his stead whenever he suffered a fatal blow.
Preta Path swathed his hand in a tremendous amount of blood energy and slammed it down.
Gwiyeong and Gale Blade quickly moved aside to dodge, but they couldn't completely escape the shockwave.
*RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE.*
The floor of blood split open, and a massive tremor erupted.
The red structure crumbled, falling into the pool of blood below.
Preta Path continued with several more of these attacks.
*BOOM! CRASH! BOOOOOM! CRASH!*
Though the attacks were incredibly powerful, his enraged state made them quite straightforward.
The force behind them was overwhelming, but with a calm response, they could be dodged.
Thus, Gwiyeong and Gale Blade evaded them all and quickly closed in on Preta Path.
Gwiyeong and Gale Blade looked at each other and smiled faintly.
As if they had planned it beforehand, they took positions in front of and behind Preta Path.
Gwiyeong faced Preta Path and said.
"Just a moment ago, you felt like a colossal wall, but now I see that's not the case."
Gwiyeong and Gale Blade each gripped their pure white blades and charged toward Preta Path.
Two white flashes shot toward each other, aiming for the darkness between them, Preta Path.
Seeing the two flashes aiming for his neck from the front and back, Preta Path hurriedly attacked with blood energy and tentacles.
*Swish-swish-swish-swish.*
But as soon as the tentacles and blood energy touched the two flashes, they dissolved into brilliant plum petals.
The foulest, most wretched greed was crushed by the dazzling light, losing its power beautifully.
Witnessing this, Preta Path screamed in agony.
"How! How is this possible...?!"
When his attacks failed, Preta Path hastily formed a barrier of blood energy.
*CLANG! CLANG!*
The two pure white flashes struck the crimson energy barrier, and a fierce clash erupted.
*SCREEEEEEECH.*
Gwiyeong, exhausting nearly all of her internal energy, shouted.
"This is the end!!!"
The blood energy barrier was gradually dyed white before scattering as white petals.
Watching this, Preta Path panicked and screamed.
"No! No! Noooo!!!!"
Finally, the part of the barrier blocking the blades vanished completely, and in an instant, the white flashes sliced through Preta Path's neck.
*Flash!*
Afterward, countless pure white slashes rained down on Preta Path.
He was endlessly cut and regenerated, a chaotic mess of blood and petals flying everywhere.
Preta Path's severed head was cut off again the moment it regenerated.
But strangely, even as his entire body was being diced, he felt a sense of comfort rather than pain.
The fear born from endless greed and powerlessness, the craving to control everything by possessing it all, seemed to be fading.
And this comfort and peace were a negation of Preta Path's very existence.
If he were to realize that his choice was wrong, after giving up everything to come this far...
Could he possibly endure it?
'No, this can't be.'
He repeatedly denied it, continuing his final, desperate struggle.
He whipped tentacles and blood energy in all directions, forcing Gwiyeong and Gale Blade to retreat.
But Gwiyeong couldn't evade Preta Path's explosively increased speed and was about to be hit when Gale Blade stepped forward and took the blow for her.
*CRUNCH!*
Struck in the shoulder by the blood energy, his body scattered into a flurry of white petals.
Seeing this, Gwiyeong cried out in shock.
"Are you okay?!"
Gale Blade nodded and replied.
[Don't worry. I am unharmed.]
Just then, Preta Path, whose body was scattering into white petals, clutched his face and muttered.
"I... I can't end like this... What was I even trying to do...?"
At that moment, the black moon in the sky stared intently at Preta Path.
Seeing it radiate an ominous wave, Gwiyeong and Gale Blade intuitively sensed the danger.
"I can't end like this. I have to prove that I was right."
Just as Preta Path tried to rise, someone came up the stairs.
Gwiyeong, Gale Blade, and Preta Path all turned their gazes to see none other than Jinseon.
Her body covered in wounds, she struggled up and spoke to Wi-ak.
"Let's... let's stop now."
"Jinseon..."
A faint flicker of the humanity that should have been long gone returned to his eyes.
His precious former lover, the very reason he had become so greedy.
"Let's stop and go back. You don't have to do this anymore. Okay?"
She slowly extended her hand, forcing a smile.
"It's been hard, hasn't it? I'm sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. So let's go back together now. Let's go back to how things were. I'll give everything up and live with you."
"I... I..."
Wi-ak mumbled with difficulty, not in the monstrous voice of Preta Path, but in the voice of the young man who once loved her.
"How... did I... become... like this?"
When had it all gone wrong?
'It wasn't like this from the beginning. When did it start?'
He slowly raised his hands and looked at himself.
Hands with hideous teeth and sprouting tentacles, and on his legs and torso, all covered in the ghastly maws of greed.
He could no longer be considered human.
He slowly lowered his gaze to the Blood Pretas submerged in the blood pool at the bottom of the stairs.
They were all the resentful spirits of those he had absorbed.
The moment he saw them, he realized he had come too far to go back.
"Keuk, keuk. This wasn't... this wasn't why I became a Blood Demon."
The reason he had sought power so desperately was none other than Jinseon.
He had hated himself for being so pathetic and weak that he had no choice but to let her go.
That was how it was. But after becoming a Blood Demon, he had forgotten why he craved power so much.
Only upon reaching a dead end did he finally look back.
'I'm a fool.'
Wi-ak looked at Jinseon, who was reaching for him so earnestly, and spoke with a crumbling expression.
"It's no use now. I've come too far."
"No, even now..."
"My story ends here. It's too late to go back."
He fell to his knees and covered his face.
"This isn't the ending I wanted power for. Why am I so...?"
His body began to melt and collapse.
And at that moment...
*Zzzzzzzing.*
A crimson light shot down from the ominous eye of the black moon and enveloped Preta Path's body.
In that instant, his body erupted in violent flames.
"Kuaaaaaaaaargh!"
As his pain-filled scream echoed, Jinseon tried to rush to him.
"Wi-ak!"
Just then, Preta Path's body melted into the beam of light from the black moon.
A moment later, the black moon, having absorbed Preta Path's power, slowly revealed itself before Gwiyeong and Gale Blade, its eye glowing.
There was no turning back now.
He had been completely devoured by the hell in his heart, unable to return.
The black moon emanated a dark light, concentrating immense blood energy in its eye.
*Zzzzzzzing.*
Seeing the ominous formation of crimson light, Gwiyeong muttered softly.
"What... what in the world is that...?"
[So that is the source of the power.]
As he said, it was the very essence of the Blood Demon's power within Wi-ak's heart.
The black moon glared with hatred at Gwiyeong, Gale Blade, and Jinseon, who had brought down its master.
As if to avenge its master, the black moon gathered all of Wi-ak's power, preparing a destructive force.
*Kiiiiiiiiing.*
All of Wi-ak's life force was being sucked out, and the Blood Pretas below the hell turned into red smoke and were absorbed into the black moon.
*BOOM! RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE.*
A tremendous shock and vibration spread out, and the throne of blood and the stairs collapsed. Jinseon, Gwiyeong, and Gale Blade fell into the pool of blood.
A crimson flash erupted, and a destructive force burst out like lightning.
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.*
An enormous amount of condensed blood energy was shot at Gwiyeong.
Gwiyeong was already completely drained of energy; she had nothing left to block or evade an attack of this level.
Just then, Gale Blade stood before her and deployed a white sword barrier.
The pure white plum petals burned away helplessly, vanishing into the vicious obsession and poison.
Gwiyeong cried out as she watched Gale Blade take the full force of the blood energy.
"You... you!"
There was no way he could block it alone.
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.*
A despairing amount of power roared as it tried to crush Gale Blade.
Except for the area around the white sword barrier, everything was consumed by the crimson power, and nothing else was visible.
Jinseon had already lost consciousness and collapsed, unable to offer any help.
'I have to help him...!'
But she too was out of strength, unable to give him any energy...
'Wait, how has Gale Blade been using his power?'
A thought she hadn't been able to grasp until now swirled in her mind.
How could Gale Blade act in a human body without her energy?
And where in the world did this level of power come from?
"Wait, you...!"
As she cried out urgently, Gale Blade turned his head slightly and said.
[Gwiyeong, didn't I tell you before? I was already a dead man.]
The surrounding terrain was annihilated as Wi-ak's world collapsed.
*RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE.*
He was enduring the merciless destruction, unleashed at the cost of all the blood energy and life force, all by himself.
"What are you talking about! Wait! Hold on...!"
Gwiyeong tried to approach him, but the powerful shockwave made it nearly impossible.
"Please! Please wait! What are you trying to do...?!"
Despite the difficulty, she pushed forward, chasing after Gale Blade's back.
[Gwiyeong, you have a long life ahead of you. But I have already died once.]
"What are you talking about! Stop the nonsense and stop right now!"
Gwiyeong approached him, practically wailing.
To her, Gale Blade continued speaking in a wistful voice.
[If not for you, I would never have been saved. But you taught me the true meaning of life. From now on, instead of a lump of iron like me, find a proper... ]
"Shut up!"
Gwiyeong finally grabbed his back and hugged him tightly.
Even with the immense blood energy blasting in front of them, she held on with all her might, refusing to let go.
"You promised! That you would never leave my side again...!"
As she screamed in anguish, he turned his head slightly and replied.
[I'm sorry. Though I may leave, my will shall remain in this weapon and continue to protect you.]
"What... what good is that...?! I just found you! I just found the love I can be with!"
Love.
A word she could never easily say, but sensing this was the end, she shouted it without a second thought.
"If you leave, I...!"
Despite Gwiyeong's cries, he only smiled warmly and replied.
[Gwiyeong, this is farewell. It was a short time, but I enjoyed being with you.]
With those last words, he slowly began to fade into white petals.
"N-no! Don't leave me! Without you, I... what am I supposed to...!"
Gwiyeong tried to hold on tighter, but she couldn't stop him from becoming countless petals.
The black moon, too, had exhausted its power and was fading into red smoke.
Preta Path's dark domain gradually crumbled and disappeared, returning them to the real world.
Gwiyeong embraced the empty air, as if clutching his vanished body.
The sky, as if nothing had happened, sent not a grim and ominous light, but the warm light of dawn.
In a reality she didn't want to face, she held onto a small hope and slowly opened her eyes, but all that remained was a single pure white blade.
It was stuck firmly in the ground, as if wanting to protect its master to the very end.
Beneath the red light of dawn, Gwiyeong looked at the blade that left a noble white gleam, slowly approached it, and carefully opened her mouth.
"You... this is a joke, right? Right?"
Gwiyeong spoke in denial, but there was no reply.
In truth, she knew.
She knew that he had perished along with the black moon to protect her.
She knew all too well that she would never see him again.
She slowly knelt before the pure white blade and sobbed.
"You damn bastard... How could you just leave like that? Now I'm all alone again..."
As if to comfort her, the pure white blade simply stood its ground, silent and firm.
Gwiyeong was twenty-eight years old.
She had just bid farewell to the true friend who had taught her, for the first time, what love was.