Captain's Battle (1)

Jang Il had been a farmer. Up until the moment his younger sister was raped by a renowned genius from the orthodox sects and took her own life in shame.

Having spent his life hoeing the fields, Jang Il discarded his hoe after burying his sister in the earth. He joined the Heavenly Demon Cult and took up the sword instead. All for the sake of vengeance.

In the end, however, Jang Il failed to achieve his revenge.

"What a pity. If only you'd come to the cult a little sooner..."

He had considerable talent with the sword, but he was far too old to begin cultivating internal energy arts. In contrast, his foe had been raised on all sorts of elixirs since childhood as a genius of the orthodox sects. A full ten years had passed—enough time for mountains and rivers to change. Jang Il had grown unrecognizably strong in that span... but his enemy had grown far stronger still.

Back when he was an ignorant fool, he might have clung to the naive hope that more effort would close the gap. But after ten years of learning demonic arts, Jang Il knew better than anyone that the difference between them wasn't something a move or two could bridge.

So he gave up on revenge. Or at least, he tried to.

But was it the whims of heaven? One day, on a sudden impulse, he visited his hometown—and there he encountered the man.

The man didn't even remember Jang Il. But the moment he saw him, he tried to kill him.

"H-Help me! Please!"

It was a case of catching a murderer red-handed. The bastard hadn't kicked his old habits; he was in the midst of assaulting a rural housewife, and by sheer coincidence, Jang Il had witnessed the whole thing.

It wasn't revenge—Jang Il fought for his life and lost. And just as the blade was about to pierce his throat, the call of the Tower of Heaven came.

Fear of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the unfamiliar surroundings lasted only a moment. Jang Il felt a massive surge of euphoria.

This place had no need for the internal energy cultivation that had been his sole obstacle. Though he was weakened now, with enough AP, he could grow far stronger than before.

Sensing new hope, Jang Il ascended the tower. But after dying countless times to barely break through the 5th floor and contracting with the sole manager who bid on him, he didn't have much WP. He couldn't even buy a proper authority.

To soothe his weary body and mind, Jang Il came to the 6th Floor Plaza. Here, there was no need to risk his life in battle. He could face others and talk.

The thought of resting briefly before climbing higher gradually faded, and the days he spent lingering in the plaza increased one by one.

"Everyone, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠run!"

"Uwaaaaaah!"

Then, a mutation struck the plaza. One man reduced it to ruins.

At that moment, Jang Il thought his choice to not climb higher had been wise. If he had gone up, he'd have had to fight monsters like that.

Of course, that was a thought he could hold only before being reduced to a slave by a coerced contract.

If only he hadn't given up and kept pushing upward, at least he wouldn't have ended up like this...

Regret always came too late.

As punishment, it seemed he'd have to live like this forever. Jang Il slowly began to resign himself.

And then the storm arrived. A storm fierce enough to shatter and sweep away all that was false and corrupt.

"...Trash."

Blood calamity bloomed from that man's hand. But it was different from the monster from three months ago.

"Those who must die, die. Those who must live, live."

The chilling red energy distinguished the damned from the spared. Jang Il couldn't pinpoint the exact criterion. But he was among the saved.

"Stay inside here."

Even as word came of elites swarming in, he stepped out alone to face the enemy. Jang Il watched the entire process from within the building, etching it into his eyes.

As he bled, the blood of the impure flowed like rivers. And that blood became nourishment for Yun-seok.

Even Jang Il, who had seen all sorts of demons while harboring enmity toward the Heavenly Demon Cult, felt chills at the sight. The techniques he used resembled those of the "Blood Demon," one of the absolute masters of the current martial world.

But fundamentally, they differed. If the Blood Demon was a blood-maddened killer, Yun-seok was a judge stained in blood to devour such fiends.

"Scum like you are better off not existing in this world."

"...Just for that reason?"

Only then did Jang Il understand what a true demon was.

Until that point, he'd been skeptical of the Heavenly Demon Cult. He'd joined out of hatred for the orthodox sects, but he knew this place was just as rotten.

But a true demon wasn't evil. It was simply a being that could destroy without hesitation when something needed destroying. Just like this man.

"Even scum like you fear heaven?"

Suddenly, he recalled the Heavenly Demon, legend of the martial world and savior of the cult.

Heavenly Demon. A being who could destroy all from a perch overlooking creation. A true demon who had reached the heavens.

True to her title, she existed above the skies. Mortals on earth could not behold ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her. Since her seclusion thirty years ago, the orthodox sects—wrapped in hypocrisy and evil—had run rampant, but she had not emerged into the mundane world.

But this man was different.

"Those who wish to stay may stay. Those who wish to leave may go."

He had descended to earth, shed blood, and judged them. He granted freedom to the oppressed.

Jang Il wanted to become like him. But he knew he never could.

Thus.

"I await the day we meet again."

He resolved to follow. He would gladly become a follower.

If, by chasing after him, he could one day contribute even a little to the great cause, it would make his life far more worthwhile.

"Blood Demon!"

Not the Heavenly Demon in the heavens.

But the true Blood Demon who shed blood without hesitation to purify the earth.

* * *

Even after judging a hundred to evolve, the Sun Sword was already on the verge of its next evolution. Seeing the number with his own eyes left Yun-seok speechless.

A total of 493. Excluding the Giant Hydra, that was the count of people Yun-seok had killed in the plaza today.

No—among the judged, some hadn't borne the mark, so the true number was even higher.

Was it because he'd stopped operating the Blood Demon Qi? The weight of that number now pressed down on his shoulders.

"......"

There was no guilt. He still believed they deserved death.

Yet it felt as if thick chains constricted his heart.

It was simply too vast a number to bear.

Thus, rather than half-hearted regret, he chose conviction.

No, I did nothing wrong.

They were harmful to the world. Left alone, they would have endlessly created innocent victims.

But separately, he felt the urgent need to address the side effects of Blood Demon Divine Art.

If I'd been in my right mind, I wouldn't have fought like that.

He'd simply crushed them with overwhelming force. The plaza battle had been utterly inefficient.

If Yun-seok had been rational, he never would have thrown himself into the midst of two hundred foes.

Can't Mana Reinforcement solve it?

The first counter he considered for the Blood Demon Qi side effects was mana reinforcement. But if it had worked properly, things wouldn't have escalated this far.

Even after hitting E-rank and selecting the "Mental Barrier" trait—resisting all mental interference arts—the side effects persisted.

No, maybe it kept things from getting worse because of that...

Mana reinforcement was based on mana. If your mana exceeded the opponent's, its efficiency skyrocketed. Against equal mana, resistance was about 50% felt.

Thus, it couldn't be a perfect solution. Raising mana would only strengthen the Blood Demon Qi accordingly.

As he pondered solutions, Yun-seok's thoughts turned to one of Elle's authorities. The description was vague, but perhaps this could completely eliminate the Blood Demon Divine Art side effects.

The problem? He didn't have 900,000 WP right now, and reaching Elle required getting to the 10th floor.

Until then, all I can do is try to stay sane...

Reluctantly checking the shop yielded nothing useful. In the end, Yun-seok shelved the side-effect issue.

There was no immediate answer.

If something like this existed, she could've at least mentioned it...

It was Blood Demon Divine Art, born from synthesis as Elle advised, and its side effects. Just a pang of regret, not resentment.

This much was a price he'd gladly pay; the art was that powerful. Without it, he couldn't have faced hundreds alone.

By that logic, contracting with Elle felt like immense fortune.

Using it myself, I see how broken her authorities are. Is everyone like this?

They didn't directly boost power. But Elle's authorities had incredible versatility.

Synthesizing Blood Demon Divine Art went without saying; Shaman's Law was the same.

Absolute premises within range. Mana cost scaled with influence, but its utility was unmatched.

Handling any situation—that's the biggest advantage.

Challengers had counters. For Yun-seok, who healed via Blood Demon Qi, wound-aggravation effects from "Moonlight Sword" gear or skills were deadly.

But duel opponents weren't chosen, and preparing counters for every possibility was impossible with AP limits.

Yet Shaman's Law covered it all alone. Against an ice mage, ban ice magic outright. Against high durability, debuff it in the domain.

At mana cost, of course.

"Hoo..."

Next time he saw Elle, he'd thank her. With that final thought, Yun-seok ended his musing.

He opened the challenger info window and reread Predation's description.

Despite massacring hundreds, Predation hadn't triggered. The "on duel victory" condition seemed limited to Duel Trial matches.

He hadn't judged them to steal abilities, but it was a shame. Absorbing all their skills would have made him absurdly strong.

In the end, to grow stronger, I have to climb higher.

Yun-seok checked the timer. As Elle said, it still read zero.

From the 6th floor, no wait times. Climbing onward was up to the challenger's will.

Obviously, Yun-seok had no intention of stopping.

Thus, he tapped the newly added [Duel] under [Achievements] on his tablet.

Time to head up.