Chapter 87
Chapter 87
Dark Clouds
In his previous life, whenever Se-woon fell into demonic qi deviation while cultivating Reverse Heaven Energy, he wasn't taken to a physician—but to the Blood Demon.
The Blood Demon's decree was absolute: if anything unusual happened to the Demon Craftsman, he was to be delivered immediately.
Moreover, the only one who could stabilize the rampaging Reverse Heaven Energy was the Blood Demon himself, the master of all demons.
Se-woon writhed in agony, his meridians and qi vessels tearing and burning, as he gasped out a question to the Blood Demon.
"......What kind of... martial art... is this?"
After mastering Reverse Heaven Energy, Se-woon saw the Blood Demon as an even more terrifying monster.
Through eyes infused with Reverse Heaven Energy, he could see the horror sleeping within the Blood Demon—a chaos far beyond anything Se-woon himself had experienced.
Without a doubt, the Blood Demon was enduring pain magnitudes greater than what Se-woon was suffering now—perhaps hundreds of times worse.
Yet the Blood Demon showed no sign of discomfort, not even a flicker of expression.
"Servant. This is a martial art... and yet it is not."
The Blood Demon answered his question.
"It is a curse repeated since the dawn of the world... an indelible brand."
Back then, as now, Se-woon couldn't begin to grasp the meaning of those words.
The moment he recalled the Blood Demon's eerie gaze—
His vision suddenly blurred and fractured.
"GAAAH!"
His consciousness snapped back to reality.
Bai Yacha Heo So-chang was relentlessly unleashing his killing techniques upon him.
Unlike before, the man was frothing at the mouth like a rabid dog, veins bulging grotesquely across his skin—a side effect of swallowing the Blood Pill and detonating his last reserves of strength.
Normally, such a state would have tormented him as much as it did Dokma.
But—
'Enemy.'
Se-woon felt no fear.
His mind was eerily calm—no worry, no terror, no rage.
'Enemies... must die.'
That single thought consumed him entirely.
Whoosh.
The Reverse Heaven Energy, which had always raged uncontrollably—even against its own master—now moved perfectly in accordance with Se-woon's will.
Thud!
Slash!
He toyed with his opponent, thoroughly dominating him.
Every time his will infused the Reverse Heaven Energy, blood sprayed in all directions, chunks of flesh littering the ground.
His mind was filled with nothing but killing intent.
Crack!
Finally, he snapped his enemy's neck.
The last flicker of life faded from his grasp.
But—
It wasn't enough.
He needed more death. More malice.
[Kill. Kill them all.]
[Enemies. The entire world is your enemy.]
[Cleanse the world in blood.]
The voices in his head grew louder, craving slaughter. They were as sweet as the whispers of Mara beneath the Bodhi tree, tempting the Buddha.
Se-woon's consciousness dimmed further.
Then—
Crunch.
Footsteps.
Someone was approaching him.
[Enemy. Kill.]
Swoosh!
The golden threads of Heavenly Net, infused with Reverse Heaven Energy, pierced through the intruder.
Se-woon could vividly feel the blood dripping from their wounds—as if their body was now connected to the threads.
They would die in excruciating agony.
Crunch.
'......!!'
But the footsteps didn't stop.
Even after being attacked, not a shred of hostility emanated from them.
Only then did Se-woon's consciousness begin to return.
'Who...?'
His vision, once clouded like fog, slowly cleared.
The first thing he saw was a pair of unwavering, radiant eyes.
'Do... Ha-young.'
He recognized her instantly.
Thud.
Ha-young embraced him.
A warmth like spring sunlight instantly spread through his entire body.
In that warmth—one he never wanted to let go—
Memories from his past life, buried deep where he had hoped to forget them, resurfaced.
"......If only I had known you sooner......"
Ha-young, mortally wounded beyond salvation, was dying in his arms.
Se-woon had tried every method, every ounce of his strength, to save her—but nothing worked.
In despair, he wept.
Then—warmth touched his cheek.
"I... would have... protected you......"
With trembling, withered fingers—
Ha-young wiped away his tears.
And now—
That same warmth overlapped perfectly with the present.
"Ah."
The darkness in Se-woon's eyes vanished as if it had never existed.
Whoosh!
The golden threads impaling Ha-young retracted.
[No!!]
[Kill!! Kill them!]
The voices tormented him, but Se-woon resisted with all his might.
'Disappear.'
Flash!
Finally, the Reverse Heaven Energy's rampage subsided completely.
In the heavy silence that followed—
Reach.
Se-woon slowly extended his hand toward Ha-young.
'Your... tears...'
This time, he wanted to wipe them away.
But—
Tap.
His fingers never reached her.
A sudden wave of exhaustion overwhelmed him.
Every last ounce of strength left his body.
Thud.
Se-woon collapsed into Ha-young's arms.
Meanwhile.
Kaifeng.
Fortunately, the chaos had begun to subside.
The bloody rain still fell from the sky, but its intensity had lessened significantly—no longer a torrential downpour, but a light drizzle.
Amidst this, Jegal Hoon directed operations with a grim expression.
He barked orders to his subordinates.
"Spread the word again! The blue artifacts are decoys meant to sow confusion! The real ritual artifacts glow purple—if you find any suspicious locations, fire a signal flare immediately!"
"Yes, sir!"
Whoosh!
As soon as Jegal Hoon finished speaking, his subordinates scattered throughout the streets.
Civilians suffering under the rain were swiftly evacuated indoors to minimize casualties.
The Martial Alliance focused entirely on dismantling the ritual artifacts—three of the four had already been destroyed.
Each subordinate carried identical fragments emitting the same light.
Jegal Hoon, patrolling the marketplace under the rain, was no exception.
These were the hundred detection treasures Se-woon had forged through Divine Artifact Creation.
Outwardly, they resembled mere broken shards of iron—but their latent power was extraordinary.
Their sharp edges acted like compass needles, guiding them toward the ritual artifacts.
They even distinguished between the decoys scattered by the enemy and the true ritual cores by color.
'Without these treasures...'
The thought alone was horrifying.
Even with the full cooperation of the Martial Alliance and government forces, they would have been grasping at straws.
Countless civilians would have suffered in the wasted time.
As Jegal Hoon engraved his gratitude for Se-woon into his bones—
Boom!
"!!"
A signal flare marked the discovery of the fourth and final ritual artifact.
Jegal Hoon rushed to the location.
"Chief Strategist, here!"
No guidance was needed—the iron shard floated midair before a shop, glowing vivid purple.
Jegal Hoon swiftly entered.
The exterior disguised itself as an ordinary fabric store, but—
Hum!
Crash!
Inside, eerie sorcery tools and blood-drawn arrays filled the space.
At the heart of it all, a talisman pulsed with sinister energy, waves of malice pouring forth.
'This is the core. The power radiating from this artifact surpasses the other three combined...!'
Jegal Hoon's expression darkened further.
Whoosh!
He realized the talisman's energy was growing stronger by the second.
'This is dangerous!'
The artifact was on the verge of exploding.
Though they had dismantled the others to suppress the curse's expansion—
If this final artifact detonated, the curse would grow powerful enough to engulf all of Kaifeng's sky.
'I must stop it—even if it costs my life!'
No time to hesitate.
Jegal Hoon issued orders to his subordinate.
"Evacuate all civilians nearby to a safe distance! And have all Martial Alliance warriors retreat as well!"
"Chief Strategist, surely you don't mean to face this alone—!"
"There's no time! Are you disobeying orders?!"
"......Understood."
Though the subordinate protested desperately, Jegal Hoon's resolve was unshakable.
Once the evacuation was complete, Jegal Hoon approached the pulsating talisman.
Clang!
He drew his sword.
Pointing the blade at the floating talisman—
There were two ways to dismantle a ritual artifact.
The first was deciphering the curse's formula and dismantling it step by step—safe but time-consuming.
The second was simple: shatter it with overwhelming force.
The fastest solution—but the backlash could be fatal.
Casualties had already occurred during previous dismantlings.
And now—the stakes were even higher.
Jegal Hoon closed his eyes, focusing his spirit.
Whoosh!
An extraordinary aura surged from his body.
Jegal Hoon, the Martial Alliance's Chief Strategist—
Hum!
—was also a swordmaster who had reached the pinnacle of his art.
A resonant hum filled the air as tangible sword energy coalesced around his blade.
Flash!
In an instant, he unleashed his ultimate technique—
Great Heavenly Star Sword Art
Supreme Technique: Martial Radiance
The perfected sword energy, embodying the essence of the Jegal Clan's secret arts, slashed toward the talisman.
Boom!
Crash!
A shockwave obliterated everything around it.
But—
Crackle!
Crash!
The talisman remained unscathed—mocking him as it absorbed all the force.
'Guh—!'
The backlash threatened his life.
Jegal Hoon strained to endure, blood trickling from his lips.
The power was beyond imagination.
'Who could have cast such sorcery...?!'
The malice hidden within the curse now sought to consume him.
His meridians and qi vessels screamed in agony, on the verge of bursting.
He was at his limit.
Then—
Flash!
A radiant white light descended upon him.
Blindingly brilliant, it enveloped Jegal Hoon and surged forward.
Slice!
A vertical stroke, as if painted by a brush, cut through the air.
No sound of steel, no shockwave—
Crack!
The talisman split in half, spewing darkness.
And even that darkness—
Flash!
Burn!
—was annihilated by the Sword Emperor, Yoo Jin-hak, who had arrived.
"Alliance Leader."
"......You've done well, Chief Strategist."
Yoo Jin-hak supported Jegal Hoon as they stepped outside.
The bloody rain had ceased—as if it had never existed.
The curse had truly been lifted.
But......
"......."
"......."
No cheers erupted.
No sighs of relief.
Only endless cries of pain and grief echoed through the streets.
Despite their efforts to minimize casualties, they hadn't been able to prevent all suffering.
Families had endured horrific agony—some had even lost loved ones to the blood rain.
Yoo Jin-hak shut his eyes tightly.
'......What is happening to the martial world?'
Though the rain had stopped, the dark clouds remained.
The Four Sichuan Overlords.