A Family Reunited in Ash

Jigok-do—the Hell Path.

Crack. Snap.

His entire body contorted in a grotesque, unnatural manner, San Ireong slowly crawled toward his family on all fours.

"K-krrk... krrk..."

Because his neck was severely broken, the sound that escaped the boy's throat was no longer human, but a bone-chilling rattle.

"S-sister... D-dad..."

His pitch fluctuated wildly, cracked and disjointed like the voice of a demon.

His black-and-red eyes gleamed as he stared at his lifeless sister and father. Though he had become such an ugly monster, he would finally fulfill his wish. According to the God's words, if he gave them his blood, their bodies would move again. He could easily endure this hideous form for that.

Using his newly elongated claws, San Ireong slashed his emaciated arm and shared his blood with his father and sister. Slowly, their cloudy eyes began to stain with crimson, turning entirely blood-red. Not black-and-red like his own, but pure, solid red—the hallmark of a Blood Jiangshi raised by demonic blood.

San Suhwa and San Dogang creaked as they stood up. Seeing this, San Ireong's face—now a gaunt, terrifying skull with skin tightly clinging to the bone—split into a wide, grotesque grin.

"S-sister! D-dad!" he rasped, struggling to call out to them. But even after a long moment, they showed no reaction.

"Dad? Sister?"

Sensing that something was terribly wrong, San Ireong slowly raised his emaciated, unnaturally elongated arms to caress their cheeks.

They were freezing cold.

The moment his hands touched them, he knew instinctively: they had no wills of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠their own. He was the one who controlled their bodies.

"Ah... aah...?"

San Ireong had become the master of two Blood Jiangshi. The Blood Demon had only shown him how to reanimate their flesh; he had never promised to bring back their souls.

"Ah... ah..."

As the realization set in, San Ireong curled his hunched back and began to tremble. This wasn't what the boy wanted. Even if he had to become a monster, he had wanted his family to live again just as they were before. He hadn't wanted to create mere puppets that only wore his family's faces.

"Haaaaah! Haaaaah!"

A metallic, pain-filled rasp escaped his throat as a crimson aura began to seep from his body. San Ireong slowly covered his father's face—disfigured and festering with wounds—with a mask forged from his own blood. Because his father's clothes were torn in places, exposing bruised and necrotic flesh, San Ireong draped a discarded black cape over him to hide the decay.

"Dad... I'm... sorry..."

With his skeletal frame, he embraced the father who had become his puppet. After holding him for a long time, he slowly pulled away and looked at his sister. Unlike their father, her body was intact, but her right eye had been brutally gouged out.

"Sister..."

If only he had been strong. If only he had warned them more about those demons. If only he had taken his family and fled from the Red Fang Gang sooner. Then his sister's beautiful eye would still be whole. Her eye, which once shone as if holding the stars, was now filled with a sinister red light. A torrent of intense guilt and rage flared deep within San Ireong.

Ever since he became a Blood Ghoul, San Ireong's body had shriveled and stretched unnaturally, his joints bent out of shape so that he could barely move. Yet, even so, he wanted to be with his sister. As if screaming at his own tragic fate, San Ireong let out a monstrous howl.

"Haaah! Haaah!"

Then, he slowly brought his skeletal hand, tipped with long claws, to his own right ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eye.

Squelch.

San Ireong carefully gouged out his own right eye and slowly pressed it into the empty socket of his sister, San Suhwa.

Squish.

Once the eye was fully set, San Suhwa's right field of vision became San Ireong's. San Suhwa's left eye was pure red, but her right eye was now a black-and-red ghoul's eye. Now, the boy would see the world with his sister forever.

"H-haha... Sister... Let's... go... together."

The boy's sanity was gradually consumed by rage and madness. Crimson demonic energy leaked from his body, spreading rapidly into the surroundings. Staring at his father and sister for a long time, the boy sobbed miserably before bursting into laughter.

"K-krrk... krrk... Our... family... will... be... together... forever..."

His body shook as he slowly raised his head, an ominous light filling his remaining left eye.

"Graaaaaaaaah!"

The rage-filled roar of the Blood Ghoul, Jigok-do, whose humanity had been completely devoured, echoed throughout all of Wuyuan County.

Gakgwi, the Shadow Pavilion Leader of the Red Fang Gang, hurried toward Wuyuan Pharmacy with his men. The reason for their hasty departure was a report from a subordinate that two white-haired demons had appeared at the pharmacy.

"Is that truly the case?!"

"Yes! I came back alone to report, but my comrades are holding them back as we speak!"

"Move faster! We head to Wuyuan Pharmacy immediately!"

Approximately thirty martial artists from the Shadow Pavilion dashed toward Wuyuan Pharmacy at breakneck speed. As they ascended the ridge, the Red Fang Gang members felt an ominous shift in the atmosphere. The sky was strangely crimson, and the moon, which should have been a pale blue, was dyed a deep, blood-red, casting a sinister glow. Furthermore, as they drew closer to Wuyuan Pharmacy, an eerie red mist began to seep up from the ground.

Sensing that something was terribly wrong, Gakgwi considered turning back. However, knowing he would surely be executed by the leader of the Red Fang Gang if he fled, he grit his teeth and pressed on.

Just then, an unidentified, monstrous roar echoed across all of Wuyuan County.

Graaaaaah!

Gakgwi and the Shadow Pavilion martial artists flinched, frantically scanning their surroundings. But there was no one around.

The blood-red sky, the crimson energy flowing along the ground, and the sudden, terrifying roar—everything felt deeply ominous. One of the Shadow Pavilion martial artists, thoroughly unnerved, spoke up hesitantly.

"U-Um, Pavilion Leader? Are we going to be alright?"

Gakgwi was also deeply unsettled, but the fear of their gang leader's wrath far outweighed his current dread. Closing his eyes tight, he barked at his men, "If we turn back now, the leader will have all of our heads anyway! Who are we? Are we not the brave warriors of the Red Fang Gang? Get a grip!"

Masking his anxiety, Gakgwi shouted to bolster his men's morale. He marched forward with forced confidence, and before long, they arrived at Wuyuan Pharmacy.

Upon arrival, they saw the pharmacy—now a half-collapsed heap of black ash—leaking a thick, crimson aura.

"They must be hiding in there."

Gakgwi swallowed hard, kicked open the courtyard gate, and stormed inside.

"Show yourselves, you vile demons! Stop hiding! You are surrounded by the Red Fang Gang!"

The moment Gakgwi's booming voice echoed through the ruins, a massive surge of demonic blood energy erupted from the ashes. The Shadow Pavilion martial artists hastily drew their weapons, their palms sweating as they swallowed hard, unable to hide their tension.

Amidst the heavy, gloomy silence that followed, a sign of movement came from the ruins.

Snap.

A charred pillar of the pharmacy crumbled, revealing two figures behind it. Gakgwi narrowed his eyes, watching intently as the two figures stepped forward, slowly emerging from the ashes.

Standing beneath the crimson moonlight, the two figures cut a grotesque silhouette. One was completely shrouded in a black cape, wearing a bizarrely shaped black-and-red mask. The woman standing beside him appeared relatively clean, but her left eye was a lifeless, solid red, while her right eye was a black-and-red ghoul's eye with a crimson pupil.

Gakgwi studied them for a moment before instantly recognizing the woman. He couldn't tell who the cloaked figure was, but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the woman was undoubtedly the pharmacy owner's daughter—the very one whose eye he had gouged out with his dagger.

"Y-You... How are you..."

Panic-stricken, Gakgwi stammered, blinking rapidly to make sure he wasn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠seeing things.

Just then, San Suhwa's right eye—the black-and-red ghoul's eye—rolled in its socket and locked onto Gakgwi. The moment Gakgwi and his men met that chilling gaze, her mouth slowly opened.

"I told you."

Her voice was utterly cold and devoid of emotion.

Thump.

Gakgwi's heart leaped into his throat. He frantically screamed to his men, "A-Attack! Kill her now!"

Yet, despite his desperate command, his men could not bring themselves to move. They, too, clearly felt the terrifying aura radiating from San Suhwa.

In that frozen moment, the expressionless face of San Suhwa—no, the Extreme Blood Jiangshi—split into a wide, unnatural grin.

"I will kill you... with my own hands."

Beneath the crimson sky, the blood-red full moon rose completely.