Chapter 114
Chapter 114
Judgment (6)
Se-woon never once entertained the thought that Do Ye-cheon's brainwashing had been undone.
It must have seemed like the manipulation failed, only for them to use Do Ye-cheon to ambush him from behind.
His mind had already prepared for this.
'Brainwashing allies through Sound Arts and launching a cowardly sneak attack using puppets. That's the strategy that brought Pa-eum Bima to where he is now.'
That's why Se-woon had secretly wrapped the Extinction Thread around his fingertip, waiting for this moment of reversal.
Se-woon was already above Pa-eum Bima's head.
This was dangerous!
Pa-eum Bima instinctively sensed a threat to his life as he saw the descending axe and sword aimed to split his skull.
Whoosh!
He abruptly stopped playing and immediately activated the Gongnyeongbo (Centipede Spirit Step), a forbidden movement technique, leaping backward.
Though the movement resembled the grotesque scuttling of a giant centipede, as one of the Ten Elders of the Blood Cult, his mastery of the technique was exceptional.
Swish!
CRASH!
"!!"
The spot where Pa-eum Bima had stood a moment ago was obliterated by sword energy and axe force.
The explosion was like a thunderbolt detonating.
Had he been even a fraction slower—!
Just as Pa-eum Bima's eyes trembled violently at the unexpectedly destructive power—
Thud!
"Ghk—!"
A brutal impact struck his abdomen.
The pain was so excruciating his vision blurred.
"Feels refreshing, doesn't it, you rat bastard?"
"?!"
Se-woon's fist, having closed the distance like lightning, had struck like a storm.
How?!
Pa-eum Bima couldn't hide his shock.
Even while executing his movement technique, his enhanced hearing from the Hwanhonjieumga had been tracking Se-woon's movements.
Yet, the man had vanished from his perception and landed a clean hit.
'...I didn't hear a single sound of movement. How?'
Unless his opponent possessed Sound Arts on par with his own and could emit interference waves, this should have been impossible.
But his thoughts didn't linger long.
"Do Ye-cheon!"
"!!"
Whoosh!
The moment Se-woon spoke, Do Ye-cheon charged in at full speed.
The clarity in Do Ye-cheon's eyes as he rushed toward the enemy was striking.
'My mind has never been clearer.'
Just moments ago, the forced activation of the Heavenly Killing Star's power due to the enemy's Sound Arts had made his blood and qi feel like they would burst. But now, the anti-demon power granted by the Great Master had completely stabilized him.
No—it wasn't just stabilization. His body brimmed with strength, his qi in perfect balance for the first time.
Do Ye-cheon pivoted on one foot, spinning like a top.
Swish!
Blue plum blossoms began blooming in the air.
Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique
Second Form
Plum Blossoms Soar to Heaven
The petals of blue plum blossoms scattered wildly.
What seemed like chaotic movements—
Swish!
—coalesced into a single surge, sharp as a spear, aimed straight at Pa-eum Bima's throat.
'I—I have to block it...!!'
Twang!
Pa-eum Bima frantically plucked his pipa's strings.
His energy spread outward, forming a translucent barrier before his face.
Like the Jianmo (Sword Membrane), the ultimate defensive technique of swordsmen, he had manifested a Eummo (Sound Membrane).
Though the Sound Membrane boasted formidable defense, layered like walls of protective energy—
CRACK!
BOOM!
'This easily?!'
The newly reforged Plum Blossoms Soar to Heaven, infused with blue plum blossoms, tore through the Sound Membrane with terrifying speed.
Already, more than half had been destroyed.
It was baffling. Even when he had fought a retired master from the Mount Hua Sect in the past, it hadn't been this difficult.
Just as he barely managed to hold on—
Slash!
"Let me lend you a little more strength."
"...!!"
Whoosh!
Se-woon, having closed the distance again, swung his great axe this time instead of his fist.
A vicious Yin-Cold Energy raged along the frozen blade.
Swish!
Following the arc of the axe, a crescent-shaped energy storm surged forth.
'Harmony and balance.'
Se-woon focused on this principle as he unleashed his power.
Without disturbing the space dominated by Plum Blossoms Soar to Heaven, his axe energy amplified the force precisely where it was needed.
The two disparate powers harmonized, creating even greater destruction.
CRACK!
BOOM!
Finally, the remaining half of the Sound Membrane was torn apart with pitiful ease.
And then—
"—Ghk!!"
Squelch!
With a gruesome slicing sound, Pa-eum Bima's throat was cut.
Since he had immediately stumbled back after the Sound Membrane shattered, it wasn't a fatal decapitation.
Splat!
But a finger's width of flesh had been cleanly severed, and crimson blood gushed from the wound.
Pa-eum Bima clutched his throat in horror, retreating frantically.
Twang!
Even then, he plucked his pipa's strings with one hand, firing off shockwaves.
With his life on the line, he didn't care about wasting energy.
The sheer volume of shockwaves forced the two to halt their advance—
Slash!
Swish!
—but they successfully dispersed every wave with the great axe and plum blossom sword.
Pa-eum Bima's hair was disheveled, his makeup smeared grotesquely with blood and sweat.
"You damn... vile... bastards...!"
The eerie, androgynous voice was gone, replaced by a rough, bandit-like growl.
Se-woon smirked.
"Now that's a voice that suits your face."
"You...! I'll kill you—!"
Just as the enraged Pa-eum Bima prepared to unleash the final power granted by his master—
Thunk!
A chilling sound of penetration echoed as two blades suddenly burst from his chest.
"Killing is my specialty, you know."
"Ghk?!"
Moo-myeong had emerged from the shadows, twin daggers buried deep in his foe's chest.
While Pa-eum Bima had been distracted by Se-woon and Do Ye-cheon, Moo-myeong had moved unseen in the blind spot of his awareness.
'My... energy... it's vanishing...!'
Fsssh!
The demonic energy stored in his dantian was dissipating at an alarming rate.
Moo-myeong's daggers had precisely pierced his energy core.
"Ghk...! Ggrk...!!"
Excruciating pain wracked Pa-eum Bima's body.
For a demonic practitioner, losing one's dantian was a torment worse than torture.
Even the Cheoncheon Unit members watching trembled in horror.
Whoosh!
But Se-woon didn't let his guard down for even a second.
'Total suppression.'
After the lesson of the Gaebonghyeolsa incident, Se-woon no longer underestimated his enemies.
With the gaze of a Yaksha, he unleashed a rapid Twin Slash.
Slash!
Slice!
Like lightning cleaving through ice, something soared into the air.
Thud!Thump!
Pa-eum Bima's severed arms rolled across the ground.
'That's two down.'
After Baek Yakcha Heo So-chang, Se-woon had subdued another of the Blood Cult's Ten Elders.
"Ghk... Grk..."
The agony of losing his demonic energy had turned Pa-eum Bima's hair stark white.
Though they had stopped the bleeding and temporarily halted the energy dissipation to extract information, it was clear he was no longer sane.
"Great Master, it seems half his mind has been lost to the pain."
"Hmm... This makes it difficult to get information about their backers."
"Perhaps... we could take him to the Alliance and seek help from the Chief Strategist or the Divine Maiden Sect Leader?"
Peng So-hye cautiously suggested, but Se-woon shook his head.
"We're a unit erased from the Alliance's records. We can't rely on their support."
"...!"
"But being erased also means there are things only we can do."
Se-woon retrieved something from his pocket.
Hiss.
A small golden pill, shimmering with an eerie light.
'A Golden Pill?'
'What is that...?'
As the unit members, including Moo-myeong, tilted their heads in confusion—
"Ghk!"
"G-Great Master?"
Se-woon forced open Pa-eum Bima's mouth and shoved in a Thousand Blood Gu wrapped in the Extinction Thread.
'Now you get to suffer the Gu's torment too.'
Once it slid down his throat, Se-woon swiftly retrieved the thread.
The Thousand Blood Gu began its work.
Squirm...
Nurtured by Se-woon's Reverse Heaven Energy, the Gu finally hatched inside Pa-eum Bima's body.
"GAAAHH!!"
"!!"
Pa-eum Bima clutched his stomach and writhed on the ground.
The whites of his eyes swallowed his pupils, foam bubbling from his mouth. His veins bulged grotesquely under his skin, transforming him into a monstrous sight in seconds.
The Cheoncheon Unit's expressions darkened.
They instantly realized their Great Master had used the same torment he had endured here on their enemy.
As orthodox martial artists—no, as righteous warriors—this was a power they should never wield. But none could stop him.
Without such methods, they would never uncover the truth hidden in the shadows.
"......."
Then, abruptly, Pa-eum Bima's convulsions ceased.
He looked eerily peaceful, as if all pain had vanished.
A sign the Thousand Blood Gu had fully rooted itself in his heart.
Se-woon spoke in a calm voice.
"Answer me. Who are you?"
The Thousand Blood Gu had two powers.
The first: without periodic infusions of specific energy, it would explode the host's heart.
The second: the host would answer any question from the Gu's master with absolute truth.
"I am... one of the Blood Cult's Ten Elders. Pa-eum Bima, Dong Won-pyeong."
"!!"
Blood Cult.
Shock flashed in the unit members' eyes.
They had finally glimpsed the darkness they had been chasing.
"The Blood Cult? A branch of the Demonic Cult?"
Se-woon feigned ignorance.
Pa-eum Bima shook his head.
"We are nothing like the Demonic Cult. We serve not the Heavenly Demon, but the supreme master of blood—Blood Demon-nim...!"
But then—
The moment he uttered Blood Demon's name, Pa-eum Bima's face twisted violently.
"GAAAHH!!"
Blood tears streamed from his eyes as he convulsed like he'd been electrocuted.
"Forgive me...! Forgive me...!! Great Master, I— Ghk!"
Instantly, Se-woon and the Cheoncheon Unit realized—
A taboo curse had been placed on Pa-eum Bima, and it had just activated.
As the others reeled in shock, only Se-woon's eyes remained eerily calm.
'If this continues, his head will explode.'
Whoosh!
Se-woon immediately placed a hand on Pa-eum Bima's head.
Hiss...
He channeled a mix of Yin-Cold Energy and Reverse Heaven Energy into him.
The two opposing energies—Blood Demon's rooted Reverse Heaven Energy and Se-woon's—clashed, each trying to consume the other.
Had this been before his regression, Se-woon's energy would have been obliterated instantly.
'Not this time.'
After his return, having reforged himself through countless trials, Se-woon's Reverse Heaven Energy was now something else entirely.
Crunch!
Gulp!
It was reminiscent of the legendary demon Tam (Gluttony), said to devour all existence until only void remained.
Blood Demon's energy was being crushed under the relentless assault of Se-woon's power.
Pa-eum Bima's body convulsed as screams of agony tore from his throat.
And finally—
Pop!
'Did you really think I'd fall for your tricks again, Blood Demon?'
For the first time—across both lifetimes—Se-woon had shattered one of Blood Demon's schemes.
Chapter 115