Chapter 287 : Fortunate Across Two Lives (2)
Chapter 287: Fortunate Across Two Lives (2)
‘How could something like this even happen……!’
What appeared in Do Hayeong’s eyes was the back of a man who had turned a Blood-Red River into clear water and split the river cleanly into two.
Her heart pounded violently.
Even as Hayeong stood aghast at Sewoon’s overwhelming power, she felt a swelling, indescribable emotion at the miracle he had created.
“Th-this… can something like this truly be accomplished by a human being……?”
“This can only be called a Martial God…….”
The martial artists of the Murim Alliance beside her murmured in voices filled solely with reverence.
Crushed by Sewoon’s overwhelming presence, they could only stare upward in a daze.
But Do Hayeong was different from them.
She was feeling something entirely different.
‘How much pain and sacrifice has he endured alone again…….’
Just how many harsh trials must he have endured alone to obtain that power?
Unlike the others, Hayeong alone was able to see the sacrifice and effort behind Sewoon’s strength.
Because she knew the entire trajectory of the life he had lived until now, she could only imagine what suffering he must have endured to reach that inhuman realm of power.
Ever since forming a bond with Sewoon, she had watched over him without cease.
Even when he became the leader of the unorthodox sects, a being known as the Dark Heaven Evil Sovereign, she believed in him without a shred of doubt.
Because wherever his sword pointed, justice was always present, and wherever his hand reached, salvation always followed.
She knew better than anyone how lonely and arduous the path he walked truly was.
He had wagered everything he possessed and devoted his very life to saving this chaotic world.
And among the Orthodox Path, such people were called by a single name.
Hero.
‘Sewoon…!’
But she could not remain lost in sentiment for long.
Because she had to lead the people across the path Sewoon had opened with all his strength.
“Everyone, gather your strength! If we fail to overcome them, countless innocent civilians will be sacrificed!”
“Yes!!”
Do Hayeong’s resolute voice resounded across the battlefield.
She led the sword formation of the Mount Emei Sect, holding back the demonic practitioners of the Blood Cult.
At her side, her master, Geum Hwa Satae, stood silently protecting her.
Swaaaah!
Chwaaah!
The Thin Sword Flux she alone produced was as beautiful as silken threads, yet the momentum carried at its tip was as sharp as a blade.
As she unleashed the Burning Blood Sword Technique, countless demonic practitioners of the Blood Cult fell, becoming cold corpses.
Watching her sword dance unfold like a celestial maiden descending from the heavens, the martial artists of the Allied Forces thought the same thing.
The way her Thin Sword Flux scattered with each sword strike resembled, strikingly so, the threads Sewoon had woven as he unleashed pure white sword radiance from afar.
Even as she cut down her enemies, Hayeong’s gaze remained fixed on Sewoon’s back.
What was reflected in her eyes was not merely the figure of a martial artist.
It was like a single lotus blooming amid despair and suffering.
As she looked at Sewoon, she realized—without meaning to—the sincere feelings she had long hidden deep within her heart.
‘I…… I…… you…….’
Her lips trembled faintly. Only then did she finally become aware of her feelings for Sewoon.
A desperate longing to share even pain together.
She no longer hesitated.
At this moment, she wished to give everything she had to stand by his side and protect him.
“Get a hold of yourself, Right Protector!”
Jo Yangpung’s shout, close to a scream, pierced the ears of Blood Wheel Asura.
Jo Yangpung was bleeding heavily after losing one arm, but what was more dire was Blood Wheel Asura’s condition.
Confronted with the overwhelming gap between himself and Sewoon, he had lost his reason and was thrashing about like a madman.
‘You useless bastard……!!’
Jo Yangpung ground his teeth.
In this state, he instinctively knew that Blood Wheel Asura would not survive Sewoon’s next strike.
And after that, the next one to die would be himself.
“Snap out of it!!”
Smack!
Jo Yangpung slapped Blood Wheel Asura across the face.
Under normal circumstances, he would never have dared to do such a thing, but at death’s door, there was nothing he would not do.
“You dare—!!”
“Damn it!! Even if you die, take that bastard down with you!! If you lose your senses now, you’ll never fulfill the Master’s will!”
“!!”
Only then did clarity return to Blood Wheel Asura’s eyes.
At Jo Yangpung’s words, he clenched his teeth hard.
He could not deny that Jo Yangpung was right.
At this rate, they would all die, and the grand plan would be completely ruined.
As Blood Wheel Asura looked at Sewoon raising his sword toward him, a horrifying killing intent began to overflow from his eyes.
‘Fine. Even if I die here… as long as I can kill that bastard who stands in the Master’s way…!’
Blood Wheel Asura made his decision.
He would pour out all his remaining strength and perish together with Sewoon.
Kwarurur!
Kwagagaga!
The demonic qi erupting from his body flared even more violently.
A martial artist who abandoned his own life could unleash power beyond his limits.
With his remaining hand, he pressed the blood acupoints on his shoulder to stop the bleeding.
Srring!
Then, wringing out his last reserves of strength, he grasped the blood-red wheel.
Jo Yangpung also lit up with fierce resolve, pouring everything he had left into his sword.
[Right Protector, there is a way to deal with that bastard.]
[……!]
[He is not fighting alone right now. So……!]
Madness filled their eyes.
Having devised a method to confront Sewoon through telepathic transmission—
Pabat!
They kicked off the ground simultaneously and charged straight at him.
Their joint assault was not merely a combination of brute force.
The pitch-black demonic qi erupting from Jo Yangpung’s sword twisted space itself, while Blood Wheel Asura’s Blood Wheel surged fiercely in its wake.
Their attack sealed off all of Sewoon’s escape routes, driving him into a terrifying trap.
“Try blocking it if you can!!”
“Blood Heaven Advancing Cross!”
Blood Wheel Asura let out a madness-filled roar.
His Blood Wheel spun and flew toward Sewoon’s neck like a living ferocious beast.
Sswaeeaek!
Kwagagaga!
At the same time, Jo Yangpung’s sword also appeared behind Sewoon’s back like a flash of light.
It was the familiar Spatial Flash Kill.
Jo Yangpung manipulated space and launched an attack from a position where Sewoon could not react in time.
However, Sewoon lightly evaded Jo Yangpung’s sword strike.
“……!!”
“Kuhahaha!!”
But at that moment, Sewoon was flustered for the first time.
It was because he realized that the opponent’s sword had not actually been aimed at him.
Kwaaaang!
Peopeopeong!
“Uaaagh!”
“Kuheok, keok!”
The sword strike that Sewoon had dodged changed its trajectory and poured down like a torrential rain upon the martial artists of the Allied Forces.
Sewoon’s eyes trembled as if an earthquake had struck.
“Where are you looking away to!!”
“!!”
Not missing that instant, Blood Wheel Asura also charged in fiercely.
Sreung!
The Blood Wheel rushing toward Sewoon’s body carried enough momentum to split him in two.
Sewoon deliberately did not evade and faced it head-on.
However—
“Kihihit!! Thank you!!”
Peopeopeong!
With a tremendous explosive boom, Blood Wheel Asura’s Blood Wheel was knocked away and shattered into pieces.
The Blood Wheel he used had been composed of countless fragments from the start.
The moment it collided with Sewoon’s sword, it had immediately broken apart into shards.
In the end, the fragments of the Blood Wheel scattered in all directions once more, engulfing the martial artists of the Allied Forces.
“Kkeuaaaagh!!”
“Kkeuk!”
Screams erupted once again.
The martial artists of the Allied Forces collapsed to the ground yet again.
However, it was not only the martial artists of the Allied Forces who were being reduced to blood and flesh, dyeing the battlefield crimson.
“V-Vice Cult Leader……!”
“Kuheok, keok!!”
Because the range had been so wide, even the demonic practitioners of the Blood Cult were swept up and killed.
But Jo Yangpung and Blood Wheel Asura did not care.
For them, the only objective was to kill Sewoon.
Sewoon’s sword wavered.
Blood Wheel Asura and Jo Yangpung did not miss that fleeting tremor.
“It ends now!!”
“Die!!”
The attacks of the two surged toward Sewoon simultaneously.
Blood Wheel Asura’s Blood Wheel flew toward Sewoon’s head, while Jo Yangpung’s sword aimed for Sewoon’s heart.
They were convinced of their victory.
Kwaaang!
Sewoon’s sword collided with Blood Wheel Asura’s Blood Wheel and the Sword Demon’s Demonic Sword.
Pitch-black Demonic Qi and pure white Sword Radiance tangled together, giving rise to a storm.
Kurururung!
Amid the massive tremor that made it impossible to properly steady one’s body—
Seogeok!
“……!”
Jo Yangpung’s sword brushed past Sewoon’s side.
Jureuk.
For the first time, a wound was carved into Sewoon’s flesh.
Red blood soaked his white robes.
The martial artists of the Allied Forces who witnessed that scene let out stifled sounds.
“A, ah…”
“No!”
The moment they saw it, they understood.
Sewoon could have avoided all the attacks, but he had been unable to fully unleash his power in order to protect them, and thus had been wounded.
Realizing everything, the martial artists of the Allied Forces, without any prompting, began shouting at Sewoon at the top of their lungs.
“We’re fine!!”
“Fight with all your heart!”
“We’ll protect ourselves!!”
The cries of the Allied Forces, close to desperate screams, pierced Sewoon’s ears.
Watching Sewoon’s sacrifice, they shed tears and showed a resolute determination to stake their own lives to protect his back just the same.
Their cries shook Sewoon’s inner self.
‘Ah…!’
Sewoon’s chest swelled.
He was not alone.
Behind him were comrades who believed in him and were fighting at the risk of their lives.
Their trust became a new source of strength for Sewoon.
Sewoon closed his eyes and focused on his inner self.
Ssaaaaa!
Wuuung!
‘W-What?!’
‘This madman……!!’
The pure white light erupting from Sewoon’s body began to devour the pitch-black Demonic Qi.
……There was an even higher power?
Blood Wheel Asura denied reality and unleashed a ferocious barrage of attacks, but—
Paseseuk!
Paseseuk!
Each time they touched Sewoon’s sword, that destructive power dispersed and was neutralized like steam, like mist.
Sewoon was not blocking Blood Wheel Asura’s attacks with brute force.
He was reading the flow of all power and altering that flow according to his own will.
Wuuuung!
Along with that, the space that had been dyed red was purified by his power and began to take on a golden hue.
Each time his sword was swung, the crimson space transformed into pure white light.
‘Is this the power of the Orthodox Path?! N-No. How could the essence of the Demonic Path possibly…?!’
Fear settled into Jo Yangpung’s eyes.
Sewoon’s power contained an unknown force that even his master had never possessed.
It was an unidentified energy formed by the union of the power of the White Path and the power of the Black Path.
Astonishment also filled Blood Wheel Asura’s eyes.
Sewoon’s power embraced both Demonic Qi and Orthodox Qi at the same time.
It was a bizarre harmony, as if the Sword Emperor and the Heavenly Demon had been merged into a single person.
That power embraced everything and annihilated everything.
Only then did Blood Wheel Asura realize it.
That Sewoon’s martial attainment had reached the extreme of the Life and Death Realm.
“I’ll end this now.”
Sewoon’s voice shook the battlefield.
His sword began to dance.
The light emitted by Pure Yang—
It was blazing fiercely, like the sun in the heavens.