Chapter 94
Chapter 94
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: Blood and Blade Premiere
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Blue flames and black flames collided, raging to devour each other.
Yeol and Hyeon-hwa fought by burning everything they had.
A blade grazed past flesh, blood spraying.
The razor-close battle dragged on, gradually leaving both fighters battered and broken.
Brutally, yet gorgeously.
The more their wounds multiplied, the fiercer their movements became, stirring a primal thrill in anyone who watched that splendor and savagery.
"Wow..."
Someone at the premiere murmured in awe.
In the final clash of the final battle, Yeol emerged victorious.
Crunch-!
Yeol pierced Hyeon-hwa's heart and twisted the blade.
With a gruesome sound, the heart was crushed and set ablaze.
"Cough...!"
Hyeon-hwa let out a dying scream, a smile curling on her lips even then.
It was a smile brimming with utter satisfaction.
It might have been incomprehensible otherwise, but thanks to the narrative Hyeon-hwa had woven, everyone understood why she smiled that way.
She had wanted to end her life in an intense battle worthy of her death.
It was a fitting end for someone who had killed countless people, piling corpses into mountains.
Even giving Yeol a purpose and waiting for her arrival... it had all been to meet such a grand demise.
The victorious Yeol wasn't in great shape either.
She had burned Hyeon-hwa's heart, expending every last drop of her own power in the process.
Black flames were the power to burn life itself.
In the end, she collapsed before Hyeon-hwa's body, her own heart aflame as she withered away.
"...I did it."
Yeol reached toward the sky.
Countless possibilities flashed before her eyes.
A normal life, falling in love and living with someone.
Or learning swordsmanship and protecting others.
Or a life of killing, but one crowned with glory, like now.
But Yeol let them all pass with a smile.
If she had forgotten revenge and lived on, could she have been happy?
Yeol asked herself. The answer, as always, was no.
She had never once regretted her path as a vengeful soul.
She was simply satisfied that she had accomplished it.
Some say the end of revenge is bittersweet.
How could it be? Nothing could feel more refreshing and sweet than this.
"Now... I can rest..."
Her life had been stained by vengeance.
From childhood to adulthood, Yeol had never once let her guard down.
But now, she could rest.
Yeol closed her eyes.
The scene shifted, revealing a being far away watching Hyeon-hwa and Yeol.
A massive dragon, Hyeon.
Hyeon smiled bittersweetly, yet relieved.
"Are you satisfied with the path you walked? Do you have no regrets even as you fade?"
She continued.
"If so, then you walked the right path. Rest now in peace."
Hyeon waved her hand, stirring a faint breeze.
The barely-there wind carried a single flower petal to Yeol.
As the flower Hyeon sent settled on Yeol's corpse, the movie faded to black.
* * *
As the credits rolled, the premiere audience rose in a standing ovation, filled with admiration.
The plot was predictable, yet utterly unpredictable because of it.
It lacked every element typical of crowd-pleasing Korean blockbusters.
No melodrama, no romance... just a pure revenge tale.
And yet, with its captivating villain and protagonist.
Especially Tae-hoon's performance—it was beyond what any rookie could deliver, earning rave reviews from the crowd.
Of course, Tae-hoon sitting next to me covered his face every time someone praised him.
He seemed surprisingly shy about this kind of attention.
"Ooh..."
Seo-ah and Han-gyeol, having watched the whole film, let out gasps of awe. And yeah... I felt the same.
My cameo scene came out great, but the ones with Tae-hoon and Soo-hyun were on another level.
Even though the focus stayed solely on those two, that made the story unfold cleanly without any clutter.
Above all, I loved the ending.
It suited the characters Hyeon-hwa and Yeol perfectly.
The foreshadowing of Yeol's death had been there since she met Hyeon, and a vague "happily ever after" ending would have felt off.
Hyeon-hwa's fitting demise was spot-on too.
A compelling villain we hadn't seen in ages?
No convoluted redemption arc—just a true villain's end. That was refreshing.
These days, villains always had some tragic backstory making their evil inevitable... it was getting cliché.
Anyway, this had all the buzz potential to draw crowds.
I wasn't a film expert, so mise-en-scène and such flew over my head, but the immersion in every scene was top-notch.
...And the realism in scenes that should've been CG filler was a huge plus.
Good call tweaking them with magic firsthand. Watching it on the big screen really changes the feel.
The ever-shifting seasons, my true dragon form, the roaring black flames, and more.
Most of all, it was surreal seeing myself pull off that acting.
Tae-hoon probably felt the same; he stared at the screen with flushed cheeks.
"Wow, seriously... I filmed that?"
He muttered.
* * *
After the premiere, reviews started popping up on forums and communities.
The reception was overwhelmingly positive.
[Director An Jin-ho hits a homer this time?]
Can't spoil, but it looks insanely good.
The debuting villain's acting is no joke lol.
Even acting opposite Joo Soo-hyun, she's stealing the spotlight.
-Really?
-Yeah, everyone at the screening said so. Even Soo-hyun herself apparently felt out-acted in the finale.
[Han Tae-hwa<< She'll have ticket-selling power in no time if she grows a bit more]
Blood and Blade is probably hitting 10 million viewers easy.
Turns out she's a real mutant lol. Oni-type, and her specialties are actual fire and swordplay.
Mutant actors are rare, and her face is stunning... she'll be one to watch.
Plus lololol
Her bestie is the Director.
They've been tight since before she mutated.
-No way?
-That's why the cameo makes sense;;
-The Director could quit her job and act full-time lol. Nailed it without a single awkward moment.
-Damn... when's the release? Hyped af.
-Release date soon lol. Saw her face and signed up for the premiere—best decision.
Reactions were great across communities, and Tae-hoon was the biggest talking point.
My cameo got mentions too, but the leads' impact dominated.
No full spoilers thanks to embargoes, but word spread about my appearance and the stellar acting.
All in all, post-release hype was building nicely.
Bet it'll be even more fun once behind-the-scenes drops.
Excited to hear reactions when they learn those "CG" parts were real.
I'll probably get dragged into interviews left and right after release.
So before that... time to meet the World Tree.
I had a feeling she was waiting for me.
Plus, it'd been ages since I'd seen Sia.
* * *
Ever since the Second Mutation began, California had become a true mutant haven.
Word spread of mutant-friendly policies and a land free from discrimination, drawing mutants from around the world.
Thus.
Paradise's administrator, Sia...
"...I'm... gonna die."
Was gloriously overworked.
Even with her high elf's overwhelming mental fortitude and stamina, her workload was murderous.
Sure, the governor had assembled a team of capable aides, but she still signed off on everything...
Since the Second Mutation and the World Tree's global mutation beam, she hadn't had a single day off.
If not for being a high elf, she'd have keeled over from exhaustion long ago.
And to her, one day, news arrived from Korea.
"...Huh? Oh, it's unnie Seo-hyun?"
Word that I'd visit soon.
The moment she got the message, an inexplicable anxiety hit Sia.
...The kind that screamed her workload was about to explode.
But she shook her head.
Even if Seo-hyun came, it wouldn't add that much work.
Probably just checking in on Paradise after so long.
No, it might even lighten her load.
Troublemaking mutants were on the rise lately... Seo-hyun could handle them no problem.
They say comfort brings out true colors—early settlers caused no issues, but now that they were settled, incidents were spiking.
She was suppressing them as best she could, but racial tensions inevitably flared between incompatible types... right when she worried about blowups, Seo-hyun was coming.
This was something to welcome.
And yet, it was clearly welcomeable...
Why this anxiety?
Sia felt an unknown intuition poking at her.