Chapter: 870
The forest has turned into a chaotic mess.
Everything is ruined within a one-mile radius.
The trees that had been standing guard around the area are now all toppled and broken, and the rocks that had been keeping watch over the forest here and there have all been shattered.
And amid that chaos…
“Cough…!”
Ilcheonggeom clutched his chest and blood began to flow.
“Coolook…!!”
The ground, swept by violence, is soaked with blood.
As if to prove that his condition was dire, Ilcheonggeom’s face crumpled even further.
His body was a complete wreck.
His already poor condition had deteriorated even more. He couldn’t lift his left arm properly, and his breathing was a tangled mess.
If he lost even a little concentration, his energy would falter. His body felt that broken down.
But even in such a dire situation, Ilcheonggeom couldn’t afford to fall.
Because the battle wasn’t over yet.
“Heeheeheehe…!!!”
“…!!”
A sound of laughter echoed. As soon as he heard it, Ilcheonggeom sprang into action.
Boom—!!!
A storm erupted where Ilcheonggeom had just been standing.
The spear violently stirred the ground once, creating a whirlwind of wind and a gaping hole.
What tremendous pressure!
He bit his lip and leapt forward. He barely managed to dodge it.
Whoosh! Dust and sand clouded his vision. Ilcheonggeom focused his energy into his eyes.
At that moment, a flash of light pierced through the dust.
Ki-ki-kik—!!
“Ugh!”
He parried the spear with his sword. The light diverged at an angle and shot upwards.
Being suspended in the air caused his body to sway from the impact.
Though he managed to fend off an attack, it wasn’t the end.
“Whoop!”
The spear swung like a whip. It struck the edge of his sword once more.
“Ugh!”
Just like that, Ilcheonggeom’s body crashed down to the ground.
Boom—!!
His body, poorly defended, hit the ground.
Ilcheonggeom’s body recoiled as he spat out blood.
Pain surged through him. Yet, there was no time to bear it.
“Heeheeheehe—!!”
“Ugh…”
The attacks were relentless. Did that cursed creature never tire? It was bewildering.
‘My attacks definitely landed…!’
It wasn’t an entirely one-sided battle. He’d struck back too. He had scored cuts on her chest, and there had been several other wounding strikes as well.
‘What on earth…?’
How could she keep charging in without hesitation? She truly was a beast.
“Hahahahahahahaha—!!”
Crash—! Bam bam—!!
With a bright smile, she continued to swing her spear.
The energy entwined around her did not relent, and despite being injured, her speed remained unchanged from the start.
“Damn it…!”
Ilcheonggeom gritted his teeth and gripped his sword tightly.
The clash of energies echoed explosively.
Boom—!!
“Heeheeheehe—!!”
The shock was immense, yet the woman showed no sign of faltering and kept pressing forward.
With every block and dodge, a darker shadow spread across Ilcheonggeom’s expression.
The battle was starting to weigh him down.
At the outset, it had seemed likely he could win.
No matter how much he felt unwell, he had never imagined he would be overwhelmed by such a young girl.
Yet…
‘What the hell is this girl…?!’
Thoughts surged as he twisted his head to evade the spear.
Her approach was completely different.
It was an assault devoid of any form or logic.
‘How can it be this chaotic?’
There was no strategy at all. Just an onslaught of unanticipated actions.
And then…
‘Does she not care about her own injuries?’
She lunged forward without concern, even knowing she might get seriously hurt in return.
Thanks to that reckless abandon, she had managed to inflict some damage.
‘…She never tires out.’
The girl seemed tireless, as though she didn’t even feel pain.
Could it be that the attacks he thought had succeeded were actually failures?
‘No.’
“Heeheehee!!!”
Seeing the girl charge toward him with a grin, Ilcheonggeom shook his head fiercely.
You could tell just by glancing at her chest—there were stains of blood on her white outfit.
The amount was substantial.
If you counted the blood she had lost, it might even outnumber his bleeding.
‘And yet, she keeps pushing forward like this?’
With that level of blood loss, the pain should have been considerable. How could this even be happening?
He was utterly lost.
“Dammit…!”
Ilcheonggeom let out a fierce blaze in his eyes as he swung his sword. A thick aura coated the blade.
The blue light flashed like the ocean at night.
It was a manifestation of his heartfelt energy.
“Ugh!”
He poured all his strength into two cutting slices through the air, sending out a cross-shaped wave of energy.
Surely that should be enough for her to avoid. He had overextended himself thinking to create an opening.
“Heeheehee…! Hahaha—!!”
To his dismay, the woman laughed even louder and wrapped her body in a protective aura of energy.
‘No way…?!’
Upon seeing her enveloped in powerful energy, a sense of trepidation washed over Ilcheonggeom.
Boom—!!
“That crazy—!!”
She barreled straight through the wave of energy, tossing it aside and charging at him.
“Haha—!!”
“This lunatic…!”
In an instant, the distance closed. Ilcheonggeom swung his sword, but the moment of surprise left an opening.
The spear, lacking strength, ricocheted away and embedded itself directly into his stomach.
Thud—!!
“Ugh…!”
He fell to his knees, the embedded spear pinning him down. It was quickly yanked out.
“Ugh… Huh…”
Pain crashed in. His consciousness blurred instantly.
“Heehee… Hehehe.”
Laughter echoed around him.
Beyond the scant lift of his head, he could see something hurtling toward him. A spear. It was coming aimed right for his forehead.
Death.
Death was on the doorstep.
‘Ah.’
Is this what death feels like? The fate of one who has cast away righteousness and embraced the dark?
What a pitiful demise in such a trivial place.
‘No.’
I don’t want to die. I still have things to accomplish.
Even if I must perish, I cannot afford to meet such a trifling end.
‘…Please.’
Please, I want to live. Just as that thought crystallized in Ilcheonggeom’s mind…
“That’s as far as you go.”
Just before the spear could reach Ilcheonggeom’s forehead, someone intervened with a voice.
Thud—!
“Graaah!”
A kick landed squarely in the woman’s belly.
The attack halted, sending her flying back to land on the ground.
“Guh….”
She groaned in apparent pain.
She didn’t flinch at his assault, yet that simple strike sent her reeling.
Ilcheonggeom gaped in bewilderment.
“You lost?”
A voice laced with laughter rang out towards him.
It was Gu Yangcheon.
“That was a thoroughly pitiful defeat, too. Like a total fool.”
“…”
“You were so cocky. But now, you look just pathetic.”
“Y-You….”
When Ilcheonggeom fixated a resentful look on Gu Yangcheon, the latter’s grin broadened.
“Why? Did you think you would’ve emerged victorious if you were in peak condition? Sure, that likely would’ve been the case.”
Gu Yangcheon didn’t deny it. It was indeed true.
If Ilcheonggeom had been at his prime, he likely would have bested Bong-soon. There was no doubt about it; even this crazed girl must have limits she couldn’t surpass.
However…
“But it was your decision to engage in combat; now this is the outcome. Isn’t that right?”
“…Ugh… Huh…”
The sound of laughter felt particularly cutting.
The mockery and scorn mingled painfully with the current situation.
“Ugh… Ah… That hurts! Why did you hit me?”
Bong-soon, who’d rolled far away, managed to rise and started to protest. She appeared quite irate.
“You said it was okay to kill me! Why are you interfering!”
“Hah….”
Gu Yangcheon sighed deeply and swung his arm.
Bang—!
“Graaah!”
A hard slap to the head left her bleeding again. As that happened, she stumbled, as if her legs had given way.
Seeing this, Gu Yangcheon grasped her arm and somewhat forcefully steadied her stance.
“If you’d pushed any harder, you would’ve died too. You understand? Knowing what shape you’re in right now, you should be holding back a bit.”
“Guhhh… . It… feels good.”
“…Damn it.”
After hearing that, Gu Yangcheon felt the urge to puke and let go of the woman.
A look of revulsion clouded his expression.
“Oh dear….”
Afterward, Gu Yangcheon brushed his hands off as if he’d touched something gross and addressed the woman.
“I told you not to fight just because you can’t feel pain. Why can’t you seem to grasp that?”
Cannot feel pain? Upon hearing that, Ilcheonggeom finally began to grasp the situation.
So that was it? That’s why she had charged him without hesitation, even with her injuries?
‘But why does that guy hurt her so much?’
But why did he feel she was in so much pain when faced with Gu Yangcheon?
She showed no sign of discomfort under his sword techniques, yet she appeared to be in agony after getting hit by him.
While this thought lingered, Gu Yangcheon advanced toward Ilcheonggeom, leaving behind the woman who was smiling as if she were in paradise.
Coolook.
At that point, Ilcheonggeom struggled to cling to his fading consciousness.
If things continued as they were, his energy would soon deplete. If that happened, he would truly die.
At that moment…
Woosh—!!
Gu Yangcheon suddenly captured Ilcheonggeom and transferred energy into him. The energy flowing into his body began to staunch the bleeding.
His respiration gradually calmed and the pain lessened just a tad.
Finally, Ilcheonggeom was able to find his breath again.
“Huk… Huh… Huh…”
Ilcheonggeom looked up at Gu Yangcheon, his eyes trembling as he felt his condition improve.
“Uh… wh—why…?”
Why was he saving him? Just as he was about to ask…
“You can’t die like this.”
Gu Yangcheon met his gaze and spoke.
“It would be a shame to die this way. You’ve accomplished so much, so you can’t just go out like this, so lightly.”
“…!”
Hearing that sent chills trickling down Ilcheonggeom’s spine.
The emotions mingled in his words made it feel like his breath, which had just eased, started to choke him again.
“You need to crawl just a bit further and then die. That’s why I saved you.”
He was sincere.
Ilcheonggeom could assure himself those words were genuine. Furthermore, he felt a looming dread that if things went on like this, he might suffer an even worse fate than the death he had just narrowly avoided.
Fear began to creep in.
“This… this….”
Crack—!
“Ugh!”
Ilcheonggeom clutched his throat.
Gu Yangcheon prevented him from biting his tongue.
“No. You made a promise, didn’t you? If you won, you wouldn’t die. But now that you lost, I get to do whatever I want with you.”
“Ugh… Ugh…! Who… who is it?”
“Oh, you’re still sticking to that??”
“False accusation… that’s what it is!”
“What ridiculous nonsense! We’ve got all the proof right here!”
At Gu Yangcheon’s words, Ilcheonggeom shouted, feeling wronged.
“…At the very least, I am not connected to the Demonic Cult… That’s…!”
“Ah, that one?”
Everything else is correct except for the Demonic Cult?
That too was true. He was no intimate of the Demonic Cult—of that, Gu Yangcheon was certain. If he had been tied to it, Gu Yangcheon would know.
Of course…
“There was none, not until just now.”
Up until that last moment.
“However.”
Gu Yangcheon spoke and drew something from his robes.
Upon seeing it, Ilcheonggeom felt his heartbeat quicken. It was a mask he recognized from somewhere. On the surface, it appeared quite ordinary, but Ilcheonggeom could not forget that mask.
The instant Gu Yangcheon donned the slightly cracked white mask…
Crunch—!!
Gu Yangcheon’s physical form began to change.
He grew taller and broader, markedly changing in size. He wasn’t little to begin with, but he had rapidly transformed into a figure nearly eight feet tall. It seemed his hair had inexplicably lengthened as well.
He appeared to be an entirely different person. In disbelief, Ilcheonggeom was left speechless in this absurd situation.
“…Y-You… how could…?”
It was a sight he could not possibly forget.
This was the one responsible for turning Hanam into wasteland, currently regarded as the sworn enemy of the Murim.
“Thousand Demon.”
When Ilcheonggeom uttered that name upon seeing Gu Yangcheon…
[Things will be different from now on.]
The entity known as Thousand Demon responded.
His voice had also transformed, not just his body.
The grip on his neck tightened.
Feeling this, Ilcheonggeom muttered.
“Oh, my… heavenly….”
If there were truly a god, he wished to be granted just one more opportunity.
He had to let the Alliance know of this truth, no matter what.
He uttered this while desperately wishing it to be true.
Haha.
At Ilcheonggeom’s pleading, Gu Yangcheon barely repressed a smile that threatened to return.
[There’s no such thing as a god.]
Whooooosh—!! Energy surged from his fingertips.
[If such beings existed from the outset…]
It was inconceivable they would allow fellows like you and me to continue living.
As he swallowed those thoughts, the encroaching demonic energy began to envelop Ilcheonggeom.
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