Chapter 273
Chapter 273
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Purpose
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That day.
The day I followed the other vampires in raiding Island Province and encountered Yuseong.
While I was restrained and subdued by the woman who was his master, I had the chance to watch how Yuseong lived for about a day.
'...He's doing well.'
Compared to back then, when he shattered my dantian and ruined my life just to make sure I couldn't forget him, he was living so peacefully now.
Who would look at him and think that child had gone through such pain in the past?
...Seeing him not recognize me, it's likely he's lost his memories.
But then, what was it I wanted?
Did I really want to destroy Yuseong's life like that and have him wallow in pain forever, tumbling among women?
"..."
I pondered that for a full day.
By the time night had fallen, a woman came to see me.
She had a look that stood out from the people of the Central Plains, resembling the vampires in appearance.
Unlike them, who mostly had black hair and red eyes, she had striking silver hair and gray eyes.
"...Call me whatever."
"...A deal?"
What she said next was impossible to ignore.
'...Not easy to say.'
Vampires and people from that world all had names that were a pain to pronounce.
They felt the same way about ours, arbitrarily changing my name too.
"...What do you mean?"
...Break the shell?
It wasn't entirely unfamiliar.
"You mean Yuseong's dantian...?"
"W-Wait a minute. I don't understand. What does that mean? Yuseong came from another world?"
My head spun from the sudden barrage of strange terms.
If I understood correctly, Yuseong came from another world...
"...Is this why Yuseong doesn't remember me?"
It's confusing.
Just knowing Yuseong came from another world was bewildering enough, and now breaking the shell by shattering his dantian...
"Th-Then, where's the real Yuseong? What happened to the one I knew?"
"...No longer in this world?"
What's the difference from saying he's dead?
"..."
My head was a mess.
I thought he'd simply lost his memories, but there were complicated circumstances I couldn't grasp, and now Yuseong was Yuseong but not Yuseong.
My mind refused to process it amid the confusion.
-Flinch!
Her words snapped me to attention.
"...You can do that?"
"......What do you want?"
I didn't know who this woman was.
But one instinctual feeling stood out...
An abnormal obsession toward Yuseong.
The same madness that would sacrifice everything for Yuseong gleamed deep in her eyes.
"...Why should I think I'd go along with that?"
"..."
The more we talked, the clearer it became.
This woman was like me.
"...What?"
"..."
To break the shell, she secretly infused power into me,
and in that process, this abnormal feeling I have for Yuseong emerged?
"...Fine. What do I need to do?"
"You said I could see Yuseong again."
'...Interesting.'
My eyes were ice-cold as I watched her smile brightly, pleased with my acceptance.
-Slash!
"Kuh!"
I discarded the sword that grazed Master's robes and swung my empty hand—another sword appeared in my grasp from nowhere.
And that was just the start.
-Clang!
Swords wrapped in red energy moved on their own like spirit swords, lunging at Master's back. But the sword I'd just discarded flew back into action, batting them away.
"Hoo... Looks like you've picked up some strange tricks in the meantime."
"There sure are a lot of strange swords in the world."
Dozens of swords were scattered around me like that.
Each with different shapes, colors, and decorations—unique types unseen in the Central Plains.
"You taught me not to rely on weapons, but it'd be foolish not to use ones this special."
"...True enough."
There were truly bizarre swords among them.
Some trailed flames along their swing path, others created craters when slammed into the ground.
'Another sword.'
-Clang!
Ice Knight's Snowflake Sword
Releases immense cold in the swung direction.
-Kwah-duk!
"Kuh!"
Every time I drew a new sword, its usage flooded into my mind in real time.
It was the strange power that woman gave me, saying, "Pull out any weapon and keep the obstacles away."
"Why are you still holding back? This isn't your full power, Master!"
"...I just don't want to waste energy on you."
"Ha!"
How much time had passed since I died?
Even after all those years, Master hadn't surpassed the realm she was at before my death.
"What makes a disciple so important? You told me that to reach the Tao, one mustn't be bound by worldly attachments!"
"..."
"Yet you're the one most bound by attachments! No matter that he's your disciple—what gives you the right to let a sin committed by another trap you in heart demons for over a decade, keeping you from ascending?"
"...Soyeon."
"What gives you the right to sacrifice everything for me...?"
-Shing
Cursed Inverted Cross Sword
Inflicts ceaseless bleeding on hit.
"That child might forgive me because he's kind. But I can't forgive."
Myself. And Master, sacrificing for my sake.
"He was always too trusting back then. That's why he was betrayed."
"...I don't know what you want anymore."
"...Cut away your heart demon."
If you truly love that child.
If you truly want to save him.
"Cut away your heart demon and move forward."
"..."
Master was plenty strong,
but endlessly weak before me.
No matter how sternly she scolded, worry always filled her eyes,
and even after declaring she'd abandon her lingering attachments, hesitation lingered in her sword.
"...You can't stop him like this."
Master's enlightenment had already reached the pinnacle possible in her current realm.
Even before my death, she was pushing those limits—so her stagnation now was surely due to the heart demon blocking her path.
While my consciousness sank, as that woman's power etched into my soul,
I saw it.
A monster wearing human skin, devouring all life and divinity of a world.
Even with vampire power and these bizarre swords making me incomparably stronger, I couldn't imagine landing a scratch on it.
But Master was different.
If she could overcome her heart demon and break through that wall...
-Shaaa...
"Ah..."
My vision drowned in plum blossoms.
Master's ultimate technique, which I'd always begged from afar just to glimpse.
The thick plum scent, like returning to our Mount Hua days, pierced my nose,
and my consciousness slowly sank into the waves of blossoms.
'Even if...'
These filthy feelings that only hurt Yuseong,
they're still my feelings.
The emotions that made me fall for him at first sight, approach under the pretext of teaching martial arts,
and sparked all this disaster from a mere misunderstanding, making a mockery of my so-called patience.
From someone else?
'Don't make me laugh.'
Don't steal my feelings. My precious feelings for Yuseong.
No matter how wrong. They're still mine.
Precious because they involve Yuseong.
If I can't have them...
Then you, who resembles me, can't have them either.