Chapter 74: Blood Rain
Chapter 74
Blood Rain
As the crimson calamity began to fall from the sky, Se-woon's eyes filled with both shock and confusion.
'...The Blood Rain ritual!'
The Blood Rain—a forbidden sorcery that summoned a downpour of blood capable of dissolving all living things.
The range of this cursed technique was vast enough to engulf an entire city.
It was also a nightmare Se-woon could never forget.
'This was the very thing that wiped out a third of the Martial Alliance's forces in the Sichuan Blood Incident...!'
The horrific scene, forever etched in his mind as an inescapable nightmare, now overlapped with reality.
Memories of the past resurfaced vividly before his eyes.
Rewinding time.
Before the regression.
The Blood Cult's main stronghold.
Inside the grand hall of the Blood God Palace, two battered martial artists knelt, bound by ropes.
Their identities were unbelievable—high-ranking figures of the orthodox faction.
One was Yi Hoseong, the fifth disciple of the Sword Emperor Yoo Jin-hak, recently hailed as the "Azure Dragon of Qingcheng," a rising star among righteous warriors.
The other was Son Woon-gon, who had risen from the ranks of the Huryongwi to become the leader of the Martial Alliance's newly formed elite combat unit, the Dragon Defense Unit.
Trembling under the murderous gazes of the Ten Elders, they suddenly raised their voices in desperation.
"Spare us! Just spare our lives!"
"Y-Yes! We'll tell you everything we know!"
"Allegiance to the Blood Cult! Eternal allegiance!"
"E-Eternal allegiance!"
Without a shred of shame, they raised their hands and screamed the Blood Cult's name at the top of their lungs.
Never before had any captured warriors of the Martial Alliance behaved so disgracefully. The demonic cultivators filling the hall sneered in contempt.
But the laughter died quickly.
"...Everything, you say?"
The Blood Demon, seated upon the central throne, murmured softly as he gazed down at them.
Instantly, all noise in the hall ceased.
Under that terrifying pressure, Yi Hoseong and Son Woon-gon gulped dryly before scrambling to speak first.
"R-Right now, the Martial Alliance is secretly gathering a massive force to retake Sichuan!"
"They've stationed nearly a third of their total forces there! If you spare us, we'll tell you their exact location!"
"I-I can also give you details about the concealment formations they've set up!"
The two captives betrayed their sect and comrades without hesitation, divulging critical intelligence—the location where the Martial Alliance's main force was stationed for the Sichuan campaign.
Yet the Blood Cult's elders remained skeptical.
"Your Majesty, do not trust them! They would never reveal such information so easily!"
"W-What?! No, it's true! I swear!"
"They're definitely lying! The Alliance must have set a trap there!"
The Sword Demon, deputy leader of the Blood Cult, voiced his suspicion.
The information was simply too valuable—too convenient. It had to be a ruse.
Then Qilian Demon, the master of the Jiangshi, licked his serpentine tongue and spoke.
"Your Majesty, just hand them over to me. They'll make excellent materials for my new hybrid Jiangshi experiments."
"N-No! I'm telling the truth! This is top-secret intelligence only the inner circle knows—! G-Ghk—!"
Yi Hoseong, who had been shouting in panic at the mention of becoming Jiangshi fodder, suddenly clutched his throat and collapsed.
All it took was the Blood Demon's gaze shifting toward him.
'I—I can't breathe!'
His face turned blue as he writhed on the floor.
As silence reclaimed the hall, the Blood Demon's eyes turned to a young demonic cultivator standing slightly apart.
"What does the Demon Smith think?"
Every gaze in the hall followed.
Yi Hoseong and Son Woon-gon also instinctively looked—
"—!!"
The moment they recognized the man, their eyes trembled uncontrollably.
'D-Tang Se-woon?!'
'H-How is he here?!'
It was the last descendant of the fallen Sichuan Tang Clan—betrayed by them and slaughtered by the Blood Cult.
Yi Hoseong shuddered in despair.
Given their past enmity, he was certain Se-woon would slander them to ensure their deaths.
But as Se-woon stared at them with hollow, lifeless eyes—
"...I also believe it's a trap."
—he answered exactly as Yi Hoseong had feared.
Yet Se-woon wasn't lying to condemn them.
He knew Yi Hoseong was telling the truth.
He lied because he wanted to spare the innocent warriors of the Martial Alliance.
But—
"So it's true, then."
"...!"
The Blood Demon saw through everything.
Se-woon's head snapped up in shock.
The Blood Demon smirked faintly at him.
'...He already knew they were telling the truth.'
From the start, the Blood Demon had read their minds with his terrifying demonic eyes.
This entire spectacle was orchestrated solely to torment Se-woon.
"Baek Ya-cha."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"Prepare the Blood Rain ritual. Plant the ritual artifacts in the enemy's camp."
"By your command!"
"G-GAAAH!"
Rain—the rain! M-My body is melting—!
It hurts—IT HURTS!
The endless screams of Martial Alliance warriors dying under the Blood Rain echoed in the distance.
Sizzle!
Sizzle!
Even as the crimson droplets seared his own flesh—
'I have to save them. I have to.'
—Se-woon, his expression twisted with madness, soared into the air toward the cursed artifacts spewing demonic energy.
Clang!
Clang!
He swung his twin daggers with blood-soaked hands, again and again.
Forced into the Blood Cult's vanguard, Se-woon had broken away the moment chaos erupted.
He had been sneaking through the battlefield, destroying the ritual artifacts unnoticed.
Crack!
The moment his Reverse Heaven Energy touched an active artifact—
'It's working—!'
Hope flickered in Se-woon's eyes—
BOOM!
CRASH!
—only for the situation to spiral in the opposite direction.
"—!!"
Instead of being destroyed, the artifact absorbed the Reverse Heaven Energy and began raging even more violently.
In that instant, Se-woon realized.
'...I've been played again.'
The Blood Demon had anticipated this.
He had rigged the artifacts to strengthen when struck by Reverse Heaven Energy.
The Blood Rain intensified.
"GAAAAH!"
"K-KILL ME—!"
As the screams of the dying filled his ears, Se-woon finally collapsed to his knees.
His mind was breaking.
"It's my fault. I..."
"...Tang Se-woon?"
A voice called from behind.
A woman's voice.
Se-woon turned to see Do Ha-young, her body bearing the marks of fierce battle, staring at him in shock.
"Why are you—?!"
Her words died as she noticed the Reverse Heaven Energy surging from his body.
The violent, monstrous demonic energy—and the rampaging artifact behind him.
Countless emotions flashed in her eyes.
"...So this is the choice you made."
Regret. For failing to save the Tang Clan.
"If you wanted revenge, you should have taken it on us alone. Sacrificing the innocent makes you no different from the Blood Cult's monsters."
Sorrow. For witnessing a once-righteous warrior turn to darkness.
"Traitor, Tang Se-woon. In the name of the Alliance, I will execute you."
Rage. For her comrades dying under the Blood Rain.
Her sword, bathed in moonlight, gleamed with tragic resolve.
'Damn it.'
Shaking off the memory, Se-woon returned to the present.
He forced himself to focus.
There was a fragment of the past he hadn't known—
Hwangbo Geon had been the one supplying the Blood Cult with materials for this very ritual.
'His name wasn't on the list of Blood Cult collaborators. That means this idiot sold them out for money without even knowing what it was for.'
He wanted to tear Hwangbo Geon apart right then, but he suppressed the urge.
That wasn't the priority now.
'Why here—and why now?'
The Sichuan Blood Incident had happened in Sichuan, and the ritual had been unleashed after the Blood Cult's existence was exposed to the world.
Yet now, the timeline had shifted drastically, and the location had changed entirely.
Why?
Why had the Blood Demon made a different choice this time?
Unconsciously, Se-woon clenched his fists so hard his nails drew blood.
But no matter how much he racked his brain, he couldn't fathom the Blood Demon's reasoning.
'Dammit!'
He cursed himself.
He had grown arrogant, thinking his rapid progress would be enough.
He had foolishly assumed the Blood Demon would follow the same timeline as before.
Disgust filled him at his own complacency.
To kill a monster, you must become a monster yourself.
Poisonous resolve burned in Se-woon's eyes.
'I have to fix this...!'
'So this is it!'
Yoo Jin-hak instantly understood.
This horrific blood rain was the calamity the enemy had planned.
Gritting his teeth, he swiftly took command.
"Chief Strategist, send word to the authorities immediately! Coordinate with them to evacuate civilians as widely as possible!"
"Understood!"
"Elder Peng, distribute all the antidote wine in storage to rescue teams! Supply the authorities as well—handle this personally!"
"At once!"
"And Daoist Master Myeong-il—"
"Alliance Leader!"
Se-woon suddenly cut in.
Their eyes met in midair, and without hesitation, Se-woon spoke.
"Grind Xianjiao grass and apply it to the wounded! It can neutralize the rain's toxicity to some extent!"
"—!"
"But this is only a temporary measure! Protecting civilians must come first! The more lives lost, the stronger this ritual becomes!"
"...Daoist Master Myeong-il, relay this information to the medical team immediately."
"Understood!"
As Daoist Master Myeong-il departed, suspicion filled the eyes of everyone present—
Naturally, directed at Se-woon.
The elders wondered if he, like Hwangbo Geon, was a traitor.
A heavy silence settled over the hall.
Then Yoo Jin-hak spoke slowly.
"You knew this was a ritual from the start. You even knew how to treat it. Explain yourself."
The Sichuan Tyrant's gaze bore into him.