Chapter 125: Duo. Digested Demonic Energy
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 125: Duo. Digested Demonic Energy
Like a ghost flickering through space or a manifesting clone, the Heavenly Demon left an afterimage sitting on the railing. In that same instant, his hand thrust toward Seo-un’s back—but Seo-un vanished.
Swoosh!
With a sharp sound that sliced through the air, the Heavenly Demon’s hand tore through the space where Seo-un had just been.
Simultaneously, the Heavenly Demon looked up. The massive nose of an airliner was plummeting toward him, eclipsing the sky as it grew larger by the second.
He raised a palm toward the plane. A massive magic circle expanded around his hand, and a pitch-black void erupted with a flash of blue light. The aircraft was sucked into the abyss as if being swallowed whole.
Rumble! BOOM! CRASH!
Shortly after, flames erupted in the distance. A thunderous explosion shook the surroundings as the plane, swallowed by the hole, reappeared in a completely different location.
“...”
Regardless of the massive explosion rocking the city, the Heavenly Demon silently stared at his fingertips. A single, thick bead of blood stained the very tip of one finger.
As he gazed at his hand with a hint of regret, his Nascent Soul—having seemingly recovered from its paralysis—merged back into him. He stroked his Middle Dantian, where the Nascent Soul had settled, and his lips curled into a twisted smirk.
“What an interesting fellow.”
He had never imagined there would be someone capable of absorbing a portion of his Nascent Soul. The energy of the soul, which felt slightly diminished, was instantly replenished through his Baihui acupoint.
“Found you!”
Thump!
The Heavenly Demon’s brow furrowed, his lingering thoughts of the brief encounter with Seo-un interrupted. The man who appeared before him made the entire building shudder. He wore only leather armor that left most of his upper body exposed, flaunting a massive, mountain-like physique.
With long black hair tied in a braid and wielding an axe so large it looked like a massive blade on a short handle, the brown-skinned man stared at the Heavenly Demon with a grin. One might have mistaken the look in his eyes for friendship, as if he were greeting an old comrade—if it weren't for the murderous intent radiating from both of them.
“You never get tired of coming back, do you, Batar?”
When they first met, Batar had been like an outlander from another world, despised even by the knights and mages who came from the same place. A man with nothing but raw strength and reckless momentum, he was the only one in the first game who hadn't been intimidated, swinging his axe at the Heavenly Demon.
That was why the Heavenly Demon remembered his name. His courage had been commendable. And every time they crossed paths in a game, the man would charge at him, completely oblivious to the situation.
Even though the difference in power was clear, the Heavenly Demon had simply dismissed him as a fool—a very persistent, very stupid fool. Eventually, he stopped seeing the man. He assumed Batar had either dropped out or that their ranks had diverged so much they would never meet again.
But then, at some point, they began to cross paths once more.
As if he had figured out the Heavenly Demon’s tendencies, that brute started appearing whenever the Heavenly Demon played a single-player game. It became annoying when the once-stupid brute climbed his way up in this world, acquiring decent enough abilities to actually put up a fight.
No matter how painfully the Heavenly Demon killed him, no matter how overwhelming the gap in power he demonstrated, the man would just smile and promise a "next time." It seemed the concept of 'giving up' simply didn't exist in that thick skull.
Eventually, the Heavenly Demon decided to just avoid the man, who used every Player Rights Revival Ticket he earned just to hunt him down. Having killed him over and over, a strange sense of familiarity had developed, and the Heavenly Demon found himself not wanting to clash with him anymore.
Yet, the man always sought him out. And he always said the same thing.
“We of the Sisul tribe do not choose our opponents based on their strength.”
“I believe I’ve heard that at least a hundred times now.”
Whoosh!
A fierce aura swirled around Batar as he flashed a murderous grin. In an instant, Batar blurred, lunging forward.
CRAAACK!
The section of the rooftop where the two collided exploded and crumbled with a deafening roar.
*
“Ugh!”
[Ding! The Cloak of Stealth cannot fully conceal the wearer’s energy.]
Along with the notification, a dark, oil-like energy rose from Seo-un’s shoulder.
Thud!
He slammed against the outer wall of the subway tunnel, the impact echoing lowly through the station.
“Gaaah...”
The severed tendons in his waist had been mostly healed by a recovery scroll, but Seo-un writhed in agony, unable to bear the sensation of his veins being set ablaze. He gripped his left arm with his right hand, and a sickening sound erupted from the limb.
Crack!
His condition was so unstable that he briefly considered tearing the arm off just to stop the pain.
‘It wasn't... Immortal Qi!’
Seo-un gritted his teeth, continuing his struggle to suppress the Demonic Energy raging inside his body. He blamed himself for the fatal mistake of not realizing that the essence of the Heavenly Demon's Nascent Soul would be composed of Demonic Energy.
‘After reading all those martial arts novels...’
It was his own fault for not being more cautious after hearing the name 'Heavenly Demon.'
‘Transcendence of demons, my ass! They said all paths lead to the same source!’
Believing the lie about the 'State of Demon Transcendence' was his biggest blunder. Immortal Qi and Demonic Energy were like oil and water—utterly incompatible.
The only silver lining was that he could still control his Immortal Qi, which had been threatening to go wild in response to the Demonic Energy. If the Demonic Energy alone was this painful, he knew it would be 'Game Over'—and 'Life Over' in reality—if his Immortal Qi started rampaging as well.
Forcing his twisted body into a lotus position, Seo-un attempted to calm the raging Demonic Energy. For some reason, the Demonic Energy was only circulating through the left side of his body. He tried to soothe it gently and then tried to suppress it by force using his internal power, but nothing worked.
As his Qi channels began to rupture from the rampaging Demonic Energy, his Immortal Qi finally began to stir.
‘Damn it! I’m really going to die at this rate...’
If he was going to die anyway, he might as well try to drive out this cursed energy. He began to rouse his Immortal Qi with his will.
‘To hell with this Demonic Energy! To hell with the Heavenly Demon!’
And so, the two energies began to clash and rage within the small human body.
Boom! Bang! Crash!
The sound of exploding shells echoed in his ears, and his body jerked and jolted with every phantom impact. He had started this fight with a 'do or die' attitude, but for some reason, the pain that had been torturing him began to subside, replaced by a strange sense of euphoria.
‘Am I going crazy?’
They say you lose your mind if your Baihui is damaged; he wondered if the clash of the two energies had driven him insane.
After fighting for what felt like an eternity, the two energies began to narrow their battlefield toward his Middle Dantian. Refusing to mix like oil and water, yet continuing their struggle, the two energies eventually settled within the Middle Dantian, forming a pattern like a Taiji symbol.
“Impressive.”
At the sound of Nam Sa-gwang’s voice, Seo-un opened his eyes, and his body dropped to the ground.
Thud!
As if he had been levitating, Seo-un hit the floor the moment he regained consciousness. He stood up, dusting off his backside.
“When did you get here?”
“Three days ago.”
Seo-un’s eyes widened. He stared at Nam Sa-gwang with a look of disbelief.
“When I arrived, you were already floating in the air, looking like a Taoist about to undergo Ascension. What on earth happened? What kind of fortuitous encounter did you find...?”
He felt as though he had just finished a life-or-death struggle that lasted thirty minutes to an hour at most. He couldn't believe days had passed.
“More importantly, how long has it been since I met the Heavenly Demon?”
“A week. Have you seriously been in that state for a week?”
Nam Sa-gwang’s gaze deepened as he watched Seo-un nod like someone who had lost his soul.
“You seem more stable, yet you don't look much different than before... I’m dying to know what happened.”
Seeing Nam Sa-gwang’s persistence, Seo-un began to explain how he had absorbed the Heavenly Demon’s Nascent Soul.
“At first, I thought I could absorb it all. But the Heavenly Demon reacted faster than expected. And unlike the Nascent Souls I’ve absorbed before, the resistance was fierce. Most of all, the Immortal Qi in my Middle Dantian blocked me from absorbing more than a certain amount.”
Nam Sa-gwang’s jaw dropped. He never imagined Seo-un would pull such a bold stunt after sending him away first.
“Luckily, I was teleported near here, so I took shelter as quickly as possible, but...”
As Seo-un described the subsequent struggle with the Demonic Energy, Nam Sa-gwang’s expression grew serious.
“So you achieved a middle path, and the Immortal and Demonic energies have reached a balance in your Middle Dantian?”
“Well, if I had to draw a conclusion, yes.”
“What about your stats?”
“Ah!”
At Nam Sa-gwang’s reminder, Seo-un hurried to check his status.
His Immortal Qi had transformed into Immortal Demonic Energy, and the value had exactly doubled.
“It changed to Immortal Demonic Energy. The value doubled, too.”
“Try circulating the Chukseon Art.”
At Nam Sa-gwang’s suggestion, Seo-un sat back down in a lotus position. After sitting there for a long while, Seo-un opened his eyes and shook his head.
“It’s not working.”
“That’s strange.”
“Well, it’s not all bad. I managed to double my insufficient energy.”
“It’s never a good thing for a martial artist to not fully understand what’s happening inside their own body.”
Seo-un nodded at Nam Sa-gwang’s words, but he didn't look particularly worried.
“Everything started with me being dragged along by this world’s system. My self-awareness is bound to be slow. I’ll catch up eventually. But how far away were you that it took three days to get here?”
Nam Sa-gwang narrowed his eyes and recounted the events of the past three days.
“The Four Sages of Gang-ro?”
“Technically, they’re about twenty years my senior. How was I supposed to know those old fogies were still alive? And that they’d be wandering around a dangerous place like this?”
“So you ran into them?”
“Even I can’t handle four monsters like that at once. Just looking at them gave me the chills. I wouldn't have survived without the Cloak of Stealth.”
Seo-un’s face hardened. The great Nam Sa-gwang wasn't the type of man to openly express fear.
“On top of that, I ran into that persistent mage again. I had a hell of a time. This time he showed up with some knight, and he was no pushover.”
“A knight?”
“He was on a completely different level from the ones we’ve fought before. In the end, all I could do was run.”
Seo-un’s expression grew grim as he heard news of one powerful enemy after another.
“The Heavenly Demon is enough of a handful, but now monsters are pouring out of the woodwork.”
“They’re likely showing themselves now that we’re in the survival phase.”
“At least it’s a relief we secured the buff monster. The real game starts now.”
“Indeed. Cutting the power to the entire map with that plane was a brilliant move, even looking back on it now. It’s the reason I was able to make it back alive.”
[Ding! Heavenly Demon - Senrurk (Killed by Aura.) 53/150]
At the notification, Seo-un spoke up.
“Come to think of it, this guy must have been here too.”
Upon seeing the notice that the Madman Senrurk had died, Seo-un activated the map and narrowed his eyes.
“The signal is coming from the Bupyeong and Ganseok areas.”
As Seo-un noted the shrinking force field, Nam Sa-gwang added his own observation.
“After today, this place will be outside the magnetic field. We have to hurry.”
“Right. But before that, I should call them while we’re still within range.”
“What...? Ah! You can do that from this distance?”
“I set things up the last time I went. It should be possible.”
The two moved along the subway line toward Bupyeong Station, beginning the final stage of the game. Bupyeong Station was larger than most other subway stations. Inside the station, which was connected to an underground shopping mall, bright lights were on in various places despite the destruction of the power grid.
“The backup power didn't go out.”
Nam Sa-gwang shook his head as he looked at the sprawling underground mall.
“Why do the people of your world love tunnels so much? Building a whole world like this underground instead of on the surface.”
“It’s complicated to explain. Let’s just say... like you said, we have a natural affinity for tunnels.”
Seo-un glanced at the stalls lined up around them and shook his head.
“It’s already been farmed.”
“A mall this size would have been looted long ago,” Nam Sa-gwang replied, looking at the seemingly endless underground corridors.
As they looked toward the dark areas where the power was out to decide on a destination, Hamit gave a warning.
—There is a Mana Explosion spell set nearby. Alarm Magic is also scattered everywhere.—
Seo-un stopped dead in his tracks.
“What is it?”
“It looks like someone set a trap and is waiting for us.”
Ignoring the Alarm Magic, they leaped out of the station, only for a massive blade aura to rain down upon them.
Clang!
Nam Sa-gwang, who was in the lead, deflected the descending blade aura with his hand aura and looked up.
Thud!
A red-haired man jumped down from a building next to the station. He smirked as he stared directly into the eyes of Nam Sa-gwang, who had his hand aura ready.
“You’re not bad.”
“You’re decent yourself.”
Seo-un looked around repeatedly, noting that the man was clearly a much higher-level expert than himself.
“Why? Did I look like one of those low-lifes who only travel in packs like you?”
At the word 'low-life,' a vein popped on Nam Sa-gwang’s forehead.
“I suppose holding the Blue Dragon Saber has made you blind to who you’re talking to.”
The man raised the saber in his hand, his eyes gleaming.
“So you recognize it. Then you must know who I am.”
“Who cares? You’re just some brat from a later generation. But I do remember the story of Jin Chu, the Lord of the Namgeom Clan, who acted as arrogantly as you without knowing his place—until he lost his right arm to me.”
The man’s face contorted in rage.
“Liar! You speak nothing but nonsense!”
Jin Chu was a master from his grandfather’s generation. There was no way he could have lost an arm to a young man like this. The red-haired man charged at Nam Sa-gwang, swinging his saber, which shimmered with blue aura.
Clang! Clang! Clash!
As their auras collided, shockwaves rippled in all directions, shattering the windows of nearby cars and buildings. Seo-un couldn't dare to intervene between the two martial artists. The red-haired man was clearly holding his own against Nam Sa-gwang; he was a powerhouse who couldn't be easily dismissed.
However, that didn't mean there was no way to help. Seo-un lightly brushed his hair back, pulling out a few strands.
Clang! Screeech!
Nam Sa-gwang’s lips curled into a smirk as he locked blades and engaged in a contest of strength. In that instant, he leaped backward, and three copies of Nam Sa-gwang stepped between the two, lining up in a row.
“Hmph! Petty tricks!”
The red-haired man wasn't fazed by the clones. He stomped the ground and lunged forward. However, his brow furrowed when the clones suddenly multiplied into dozens.
Clang!
Yet, he somehow managed to block the real Nam Sa-gwang’s attack.
“Hmph! Did you think I’d miss the fact that your footwork is different?!”
Seo-un’s lips twitched in a smirk, impressed that the man had noticed the difference between the Muryeong Phantom Step of the clones and Nam Sa-gwang’s actual footwork.
‘You have good eyes, but your intuition is lacking.’
Nam Sa-gwang was thinking the same thing.
Thrust!
Ignoring the phantom attacks like other players would, the man suddenly felt Seo-un’s Blood Bone Claw—disguised as Nam Sa-gwang—pierce his side. Seo-un had intended to rip out his internal organs, but the man’s defensive aura was so strong that he could only sink his fingers in.
Immediately after the successful strike, Seo-un used Blink to retreat. A split second later, the man’s saber sliced through the air where Seo-un had just been standing. It was a hair-raising moment; a second later, and his head would have been rolling on the ground.
“Tch.”
The man clicked his tongue and kicked off the ground, soaring into the air. He tore a scroll and vanished from the scene.
“For a guy who looks like a brute, his judgment is quick.”
Seo-un looked disappointed at Nam Sa-gwang’s remark.
“I could have definitely killed him. His defensive aura was stronger than I expected.”
“He’s well-versed in external arts. It’s hard to kill him in one blow with that clumsy aura of yours.”
Seo-un had nothing to say to the 'clumsy aura' comment. Compared to the auras of the two masters he had just witnessed, his own aura—which barely flickered around his fingertips like a candle flame—was indeed clumsy. He had improved since the beginning, but he was still far from being proficient in aura techniques.
“The remaining fifty players are all going to be this tough.”
With those words, the two figures vanished, as if sinking into the shadows.