Chapter 64: So-yu
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 64: So-yu
"It... hurts!"
Namgung So-yeon, having rolled back several times, scrambled to her feet.
The Heavenly Demon nodded, seemingly impressed by her faster-than-expected recovery, and took a step forward.
"A mere straight punch shouldn't hurt this much."
With a sharp whoosh, the Heavenly Demon vanished, reappearing directly behind Namgung So-yeon.
Sensing the presence at her back, So-yeon spun around and looked up, only to have the Heavenly Demon’s fist collide squarely with her face.
"Gah!"
Like a frog struck by a jagged stone, she was slammed into the dirt, her limbs splayed out.
It wasn't a duel between martial artists; it was a one-sided beatdown, as messy and brutal as a back-alley brawl.
"Get up."
The Heavenly Demon grabbed a handful of So-yeon’s reddish hair and slammed the back of her head down.
So-yeon tumbled across the dirt like a ball, rolling all the way to where the Spirit Demon and In-ho were standing.
"Young Master... Kang..."
With glazed eyes, So-yeon looked at In-ho and piteously reached out, calling his name.
"Young Master Kang? Aaaaaagh!"
The Heavenly Demon, who had leaped to her side in an instant, drove her index finger into So-yeon’s right eye.
Sizzle!
Black flames flared up for a moment from the eye socket.
"Who gave you permission to lay eyes on anyone else?"
Speaking in a voice devoid of emotion, she looked like a grim reaper from the underworld.
"Aaaaaagh...!"
The sensation of her eye burning. The agony, accompanied by a foul stench, sent So-yeon rolling across the ground, clutching her face.
The guttural scream of a wounded beast echoed across the battlefield.
So-yeon staggered to her feet, one hand covering the hollowed-out socket.
"Grrrrr."
A low growl escaped her. Crouching low, she bared her nails.
Crimson internal energy gathered, forming the lethal claws of a predator.
Ready to pounce at any second, So-yeon’s remaining eye locked onto the Heavenly Demon.
Despite the murderous aura, the Heavenly Demon merely scoffed.
"Ho... are you coming? Fine, then. Come."
"Kuaaaaaagh!"
A red bullet shot forward in a straight line, tracing a rapid trajectory toward the Heavenly Demon.
The Heavenly Demon shifted her right leg back slightly, placed her right hand on her waist, and thrust her left hand forward.
The moment their hands met, the Heavenly Demon rotated her palm clockwise.
Catching the full momentum of the linear charge, she spun So-yeon through the air. Then, she raised the right foot she had kept back high into the sky.
"This has become more entertaining than before, but now—die."
The Heavenly Demon’s heel plummeted toward So-yeon’s nose.
Boom!
A cloud of dust erupted as if a small explosion had occurred.
The resulting shockwave swept toward the Spirit Demon and In-ho, but the Spirit Demon stepped in front of In-ho to shield him from the debris.
As the stinging dust cleared from their eyes and throats, three figures were revealed within.
"I wondered when you’d show yourself. You finally came out, Alliance Leader."
Standing over Namgung So-yeon, someone had blocked the Heavenly Demon’s foot.
It was the current leader of the Murim Alliance, Dokgo-nam.
The Heavenly Demon used his arm as a stepping stone to leap back and create distance.
She brushed the dust off her clothes and addressed the Alliance Leader.
"To show yourself only now... did you finally see a chance of winning? If so, I think you’ve underestimated me far too much."
"......"
"I can hear your brain whirring from here. Well, considering you took the seat of Alliance Leader despite being pathetically weak, I suppose you must be clever."
When he remained silent, the Heavenly Demon’s sneer deepened.
She gestured with her chin toward So-yeon behind him.
"To think you actually succeeded in creating a Blood Demon."
"It was an unfortunate accident."
"Liar."
The Heavenly Demon let out a short laugh.
"You might deceive the heavens, but you cannot deceive me. Do you think I don't know what's rotting inside those black hearts of yours?"
A gust of wind generated by the Heavenly Demon’s fist grazed the Alliance Leader’s ear.
"Dokgo-nam, Leader of the Murim Alliance."
Slowly, the Heavenly Demon began to exert her pressure, dominating the space.
"Do you think I’m unaware of your experiments to artificially create Blood Demons by combining elixirs and internal cores after the Sichuan Blood Calamity?"
"......"
"You must have exploited that child’s desperation. You probably offered her the Alliance’s special elixirs and cores, promising to make her strong. Hmph."
She was smiling, but her eyes were fixed piercingly on the Alliance Leader.
"And when the conflict between those elixirs and cores turned her into a Blood Demon... how did you manipulate her then?"
"Do not slander me with your silver tongue, Heavenly Demon."
With every step the Heavenly Demon took, the Alliance Leader retreated a step.
The smile vanished from the Heavenly Demon’s face, replaced by a cold mask.
"Cut the bullshit, Alliance Leader."
Black flames began to consume the battlefield. The fire spread thick and wide.
"You have a secret prison where you lock up those who rebel against the Alliance, don't you?"
"!!!"
"You must have lied to that child, telling her the people there were 'sinners.' You told her it was fine to use Qi Absorption on them to grow stronger because they were villains anyway. That she didn't have to kill innocent people."
"But tell me, were there actually any sinners among them?"
"...Those who disturb the order established by the Murim Alliance are enemies of justice—"
"I’m asking if the 'justice' you established is actually justice at all!"
As the Heavenly Demon reached out to grab the Alliance Leader by the collar, he hurriedly scooped up Namgung So-yeon and leaped backward.
The Heavenly Demon sighed at the pathetic sight.
"Then how righteous are you, Heavenly Demon?!" Dokgo-nam shouted, his voice thick with indignation.
At his protest, the Heavenly Demon stopped her approach. It was a signal for him to continue.
"Were you not the successor of the Flame Wheel Art, one of the three great inherited martial arts that sustain the Righteous Path? But look at you now! Drunk on power, you murdered your master and threw the world into chaos!!"
The veins in Dokgo-nam’s neck bulged as he paused to catch his breath. Then, he spat out each syllable with pure hatred.
"Namgung So-yu. You traitor to the Namgung family."