Chapter 60: Crazy Bitch VS Three Demons-1
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 60: Crazy Bitch VS Three Demons-1
"The Spirit Demon is certainly having her fun."
Watching from a distance as the Spirit Demon devastated the enemy lines with her uncanny movements, the Heavenly Demon spoke with an air of satisfaction.
Aida had been pouring herself into training for this very day. It was only natural for her to move like a colt released from its tether. The Heavenly Demon felt a sense of pride, akin to watching a grown child finally strike out on their own.
"I don't particularly feel like moving yet. Why don't you all join me and enjoy the show?"
She spoke without even turning around.
Before anyone realized it, ten elderly men and women were standing behind her.
Their presence was formidable; the aura of killing intent they radiated was so potent that even the Heavenly Demon furrowed her brows slightly.
"Wretch! Today is the day you answer for your sins!"
An old man with hair as white as frost shouted, gripping his spear tightly.
"It has been a while. You vermin who style yourselves the Ten Great Experts Under Heaven."
The Heavenly Demon took a sip of the warm wine she had produced from nowhere. As she turned her head, the group instinctively took a step back.
"However..."
Her emotionless eyes swept over their faces one by one. She spoke as if she genuinely couldn't understand.
"Answer for my sins? Me?"
"You truly are a person without a shred of conscience."
A middle-aged woman condemned her in a shrill voice.
"Heavenly Demon, surely you don't think you are innocent? The countless crimes you've committed, and now this war you've started!"
"No, that's not what I meant..."
Interrupting her, the Heavenly Demon asked with a look of genuine bewilderment.
"You lot are going to judge me? How?"
Even facing ten of the greatest martial artists of the era, the Ten Great Experts Under Heaven, the Heavenly Demon wore an expression of utter disdain.
"You... arrogant brat!!"
A martial artist, somewhat younger than the others, leaped into the air and brought his sword down.
Clack.
The descending blade stopped instantly. Caught between her index and middle fingers, the sword couldn't budge an inch.
"Grrrgh!"
"Use every last bit of strength you have. Ah... did I kill your mother, by any chance?"
With a smirk, the Heavenly Demon struck his solar plexus with her palm. He vomited blood and was sent flying into the distance.
He probably wasn't dead. However, he wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.
"Sigh... fine. If you insist on disturbing my rest, I'll play along with your little game."
She placed her right hand behind her waist and took a relaxed stance.
Showing the back of her left hand to her opponents, she beckoned with her fingers. It was a gesture telling them to come at her.
"Come. This should provide some decent entertainment."
Provoked by the much younger Heavenly Demon, the Ten Great Experts charged.
Finding gaps in the relentless storm of lethal weapons with supernatural precision, the Heavenly Demon evaded them all with just a few shifts of her feet.
"What kind of... footwork is this!"
"This doesn't deserve a grand name like 'footwork.' I am simply moving my feet."
When someone cried out in shock at her ghostly movements, the Heavenly Demon retorted.
Once again, her palm slammed into a solar plexus.
"Gah!!"
Another one was sent flying.
"Was your plan to eliminate me quickly and then support your main camp?"
She snatched a spear shaft and snapped it in half, a predatory smile playing on her lips.
As her opponent faltered, their inner thoughts laid bare, she continued.
"Don't you realize your plan was flawed from the start? Even the Alliance Leader couldn't do anything to me. And yet you thought you could win?"
"Shut your mouth!"
From behind the spearman, someone leaped up and showered her with hidden weapons. The Heavenly Demon pulled the half-broken spear shaft toward her, using the man as a human shield.
"Urgh!"
As the poison-coated hidden weapons buried themselves in his ally's back, a gasp erupted from the other side.
"Your plan was based on a false premise. You made two mistakes."
The Heavenly Demon snatched the spear shaft away and thrust the jagged, broken end straight into her opponent.
"First, you overestimated your own skills."
"Great Hero Moyong!"
As the martial artist whose heart was pierced by the splintered wood died instantly, a scream echoed from somewhere.
The Heavenly Demon kicked off the ground, dashing forward like a fired arrow.
A muscular giant blocked her path, but she surged upward like a bull goring with its horns, driving her palm into his chin.
Thud.
His face was crushed along with his jawbone. The giant collapsed instantly, hitting the ground with a heavy thud.
"Now... that leaves seven..."
She fell silent as she began to pick out those still capable of fighting among the wounded.
BOOM!!!!
Along with a deafening roar, a massive shockwave rippled out from the enemy's main camp.
"......."
The Heavenly Demon knit her brows. Along with a powerful aura, she felt something ominous, sticky, and loathsome.
"What is that?"
Did they have a hidden trump card?
However, the expressions on the experts gasping for breath in front of her were identical to her own.
'Is there someone with such an ominous energy within the Murim Alliance?'
The strength of the aura was similar to or slightly stronger than the Alliance Leader's.
But it was different from the refined energy the Leader possessed.
This ferocious, untamed energy felt like facing a wild beast.
'This doesn't seem like something the Three Demons can handle...'
For the first time, a seed of worry sprouted within the always composed heart of the Heavenly Demon.
*
After that forced meal and kiss, Namgung So-yeon did not give Kang In-ho normal food until they returned to Anhui.
Claiming she was reviving the memories of his past life that he had forgotten, she constantly brought him human blood.
If there were no people around, she would regretfully bring the blood of wild animals instead.
— If you keep drinking this, your memories will return, Young Master Kang.
She spoke softly, but In-ho clearly saw the indescribable madness lurking in her eyes as she stared at him.
Yet, In-ho could not get used to the act.
The blood of a living creature, violating his throat with its viscous flow, was still disgusting and horrifying.
Suppressing his urge to gag, he drank the blood, only to repeatedly throw it back up.
Whenever he collapsed from hunger, Namgung So-yeon would pour more blood down his throat.
Vomiting for the umpteenth time, In-ho wept.
— If only I could just die...
He had thought about ending his own life, but there were too many practical constraints to carry it out.
It was impossible during the day or night because Namgung So-yeon was always stuck to his side.
The only time he was left alone was when she left to scavenge for food.
Recently, the time she spent away had increased, but even though In-ho thought about escaping every time, he couldn't bring himself to do it.
The torture he would face if he were caught after running away.
The fact that he had no idea where to run.
These two reasons always held his feet in place.
Today, too, Namgung So-yeon headed somewhere under the pretext of preparing a meal.
In-ho watched the spot where she had staggered away and disappeared.
*
"Ugh...."
Namgung So-yeon, who had headed off to find food, was groaning as she sprawled on the ground.
She clawed violently at her own arms.
The surging Qi Absorption Impulse.
A hunger that wouldn't subside no matter how much she devoured.
She knew the cause.
The cause was Kang In-ho.
She wanted to drink his blood. She wanted to absorb all of his primordial energy.
The taste of his blood she had sampled once was a heavenly flavor incomparable to anything else.
Since then, no amount of Qi absorption could satisfy her.
"Ah... if I could just have one drop..."
She licked her lips with genuine longing.
She was gradually losing her self-control.
When she walked with him, when she tried to sleep while breathing in his scent, the hunger tortured her.
His pale neck looked so delicious.
She wanted to sink her teeth into it and greedily devour the blood as it dripped down.
"No... I have to endure."
She lost consciousness several times a day.
When she came to, In-ho would be beneath her, staring up with eyes full of terror.
"So-yeon... get a grip."
Only now did she realize.
How terrifying an existence a Blood Demon was, and how dangerous the Qi Absorption Impulse truly was.
She had believed she could control herself, but she realized now that it was nothing but arrogance.
"Aaaargh..."
She continued to tear at her own body to keep from losing her mind, but the hunger only grew stronger.
"I can't... I have to protect Young Master Kang."
She was the one who had become a Blood Demon to protect In-ho.
But as time passed, she was the one hurting him.
To somehow hold onto her fading sanity, she wounded her body until tears fell.
"....Huh?"
Just then, a very delicious scent wafted from afar.
Sniff... sniff...
It wasn't as sweet as In-ho’s, but the sheer volume of the scent was on a different level.
The eyes of the Thunder Sword, which had regained a sliver of life, grew clouded once more. She licked her lips and broke into a wide grin.
"Haha... food... food."
She retraced her steps and snatched the arm of the resting In-ho.
"Young Master, we have to go! There's food over there. Lots and lots of it!!!"
Wiping away her drool, she ran while dangling In-ho beside her.
Sprinting at an impossible speed, Namgung So-yeon threw herself off a cliff.
Soaring through the air, she located the source of the thick scent of blood and landed directly on it. The impact created a massive crater at the landing site.
As the dust cloud obscuring her vision cleared, Namgung So-yeon saw very familiar faces staring at her in total shock.
"Thunder Sword. It’s been a long time."