Ch. 24
Jeong-min sat cross-legged on the bare dirt floor, raising his right index finger and focusing every ounce of his concentration on its tip.
Not sure if this will work, but let's give it a shot.
Heavenly Demon Divine Art, 3rd Stage—Black True Thread.
This was an art not written in the 3rd Stage's Secret Manual. Something Jeong-min had conceived on his own.
He had named it Black True Thread himself.
The basic principle is the same as the Demon Bullet.
If the Demon Bullet was a 2nd Stage art that condensed Demonic Energy into a single concentrated mass, then Black True Thread was an art that drew that same Demonic Energy out into a fine thread.
Though the principle was the same, the application was far more difficult. Just as it is easy to gather tangled thread into a ball but difficult to draw it out into one long strand.
That was why Jeong-min had to anchor his focus with absolute firmness.
"Hey. What are you doing right now."
No Gang-sak, still lying face-down on the ground, attempted to speak, but Jeong-min simply raised his index finger in a gesture for silence.
Fssst—
Having finally drawn the Black True Thread from his fingertip and unfurled it like a blooming flower, Jeong-min broke into a sweat as he began stitching the wound sites closed with the thread.
Phew.
If his concentration slipped even for a moment, the Black True Thread would dissipate back into the air—he had to handle it with the utmost care.
There were nearly 10 points on his body that had been pierced. Jeong-min stitched each one shut with delicate precision using the Black True Thread. The pain that came with every stitch was an afterthought.
Only after closing every last wound did Jeong-min exhale.
"Huaah."
This Demonic Energy—it's got quite a few uses.
Jeong-min had possessed no Internal Energy in his previous life. And perhaps because of that, he was able to wield Demonic Energy in ways that were far more unrestrained.
"Hold on. Don't tell me you just drew a thread out of Demonic Energy just now?"
"Yeah."
"That's… incredible. Is that an art the Heavenly Demon Cult originally had?"
No? I don't think so. This is something I created from scratch.
Rather than answering, Jeong-min was already thinking about how many uses Black True Thread might have.
It could be used to mend wounds, certainly, but more than that—
Tightly—
"Wha—what are you doing?"
"Tying."
It could be used to bind people as well.
Once drawn outside the body, Black True Thread no longer scattered even without sustained concentration.
Being a thread forged from Demonic Energy, it would not break under ordinary circumstances either.
Jeong-min bound No Gang-sak's arms behind his back, then propped him upright against a tree.
"What nonsense are you about to pull by tying me up?"
"Hmm, nothing much. Torture."
"Wha—what?"
"Why so flustered. A bit of torture is nothing."
What kind of nonsense is that? The way he talks, it's like he's been on the receiving end of torture before. From a kid this young.
Setting aside No Gang-sak's bewildered expression, Jeong-min loosened his body.
Thanks to having stitched his wounds shut with Black True Thread, his body felt considerably lighter.
"Now, I'm about to break your legs—"
"What?!"
"Hear me out to the end."
Even after hearing him out to the end, No Gang-sak found the sentence impossible to comprehend.
"I'm going to break them, but don't let them break."
"What…?"
Crack!
Right. In truth, Jeong-min had no need for No Gang-sak's understanding.
Jeong-min grabbed No Gang-sak's right leg and wrenched it hard in the opposite direction from how it was meant to bend.
Naturally, No Gang-sak's leg twisted in a ghastly manner.
"K-kuaaaagh!!"
For all his spine-chilling screams, No Gang-sak could not move.
Not only was he bound tightly by the Black True Thread, but having spent every last bit of his strength in the fierce battle against Jeong-min moments ago, he had no Internal Energy left in his body.
"I said don't let it break. You never listen."
"Y-you madman!"
"Alright, now I'm going to break the left leg, so don't let it break."
Crack!
Next came the right arm.
Crack! Crack!
Then the left arm.
Crunch!
"Kgh-kghk. Kgh."
Only once all 4 limbs had been twisted into grotesque angles did No Gang-sak begin to drool from his mouth. He didn't seem to have any intention of stopping it.
Those two eyes, drained of all color, were staring at Jeong-min as if looking at a monster.
"How can the Blood Wolves be eliminated? Are you willing to answer?"
"Kgh. Khh."
"You look like you're in a lot of pain, so I suppose I can wait a little."
No Gang-sak thought to himself. This one would never show mercy. If he stayed silent without answering, the next thing would be snapping every joint of every finger. While Jeong-min thought to himself. Right, he does seem to have some kind of story behind him.
But I have no reason to indulge it.
Sort out whatever grievances you have amongst yourselves.
All I have to do is eliminate every last one of the Blood Wolves.
"H-hazel fruit and… wh-white-cap mushroom mixed in a ratio of 3 to 1…."
Jeong-min quickly gathered the ingredients No Gang-sak named from the surrounding area. They were all things found in the Ten Thousand Mountain Range to begin with.
He combined them into pill form and scattered them throughout the area, and the Blood Wolves that picked up and ate those pills began to fall asleep one by one.
"Are they dead?"
No Gang-sak shook his head at Jeong-min's question, apparently too drained to speak.
Then, when Jeong-min turned to look at him, he flinched and explained in a hurry.
"Th-they're only asleep. It's not a poison pill."
"I asked you to tell me a method to eliminate them all."
"That it will. It's just—I told you that first because putting all the Blood Wolves to sleep would be the proper sequence."
No Gang-sak was now plainly afraid of Jeong-min.
Of someone so much younger than himself.
This one's insane. Are all those from the Heavenly Demon Cult like this?
The pain had now begun to ease somewhat for No Gang-sak. More precisely, numbness had set into the broken parts of his limbs—but that was beside the point.
Bloodshot tears gathered in his eyes.
"I'm sorry. I only wanted to protect Ga-ryeong, that child."
Not looking to hear his story.
And yet Jeong-min stood with his arms folded for a moment. Just to see how his words ended.
"You've probably guessed, but the Vessel of God's lover is me. I am the Red Dragon."
"That much is obvious."
"Gyeong Ga-ryeong, that child… must not leave this mountain. If the seal of the Ten Thousand Mountain Range is lifted, she will surely go to kill the Azure Sky Shattering Spindle."
Azure Sky Shattering Spindle. None other than the one responsible for robbing Gyeong Ga-ryeong of her eyes.
No Gang-sak continued.
"She cannot win. The Azure Sky Shattering Spindle's ability far exceeds Ga-ryeong's."
"That it would."
"So there was no other choice… Even knowing that child is terrified of wolves, I confined her."
"In Mangyuan Prefecture."
"Yes. Here in Mangyuan Prefecture."
"Foolish."
Jeong-min tilted his head and replied.
"Whether she goes to kill the Azure Sky Shattering Spindle or not—that is a choice Gyeong Ga-ryeong makes. Even as her lover, it is not your place to decide, is it?"
"I know. But if Ga-ryeong, that child, were to die—what would become of me? I know it is a selfish feeling on the part of the one left behind… Still, I had no other choice."
Come to think of it, the Cult Leader said something like that too.
When Jeong-min had pestered him about wanting to learn the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, Heavenly Demon Hyeok Je-un had pressed Jeong-min to please think of those who would be left behind.
Of course, Jeong-min had gone and done as he pleased regardless.
So this is what a lover means.
A lover.
That word was not entirely unfamiliar to Jeong-min.
Crooked-Nose Taoist had not placed the Seal on Jeong-min's former self from the very beginning.
For the first few years after being made into a blade for the Orthodox Faction, my mind was still clear.
And back then, there had clearly been someone for Jeong-min as well—
That's enough.
I should not have listened to the end.
This was not the time to be swept away by idle thoughts.
Jeong-min shook his head to dispel the lingering reflections and grabbed No Gang-sak's leg again.
"You keep going on and on. So? The method for eliminating the Blood Wolves?"
"Once all the Blood Wolves have fallen asleep, their leader—the Molten Blood Wolf—will awaken. Kill or subdue the Molten Blood Wolf, and you should be able to put all the Blood Wolves to rest."
What a troublesome sorcery this is.
Well, if No Gang-sak was Gyeong Ga-ryeong's lover, then he too would have without doubt mastered the sorcery of the Blood Cult.
The Blood Cult—those who fashion corpses into Reanimated Corpses and drain the blood of Wooden Puppets to absorb their Internal Energy. Having a sorcery to command wolves would be nothing strange.
Well, if we're talking about things being eerie, the Heavenly Demon Cult wasn't all that different—but that was beside the point.
No Gang-sak struggled to lift his now-broken arm, and from within his robe produced something which he held out to Jeong-min.
It was a rosary, each bead crafted from green jade wood.
"Take this with you. You will need this to put the Molten Blood Wolf to rest."
.
.
.
Jeong-min carried No Gang-sak on his back as they moved.
"I-I'm sorry about this."
"You didn't ask me to break them. And I'll say it again—if what you've pointed me to isn't what I'm looking for, I'm taking your head."
No Gang-sak said nothing to that.
According to No Gang-sak, after the Blood Wolves fell asleep, the Molten Blood Wolf would reveal itself—and the location would be—
A shrine.
Moving a good while in the direction No Gang-sak indicated, Jeong-min found something resembling an altar erected in that spot.
He placed the green jade wood beads he had received earlier onto it.
Then—
Boom!
The entire Ten Thousand Mountain Range shook with a tremendous tremor.
Wondering what sort of roar that was, Jeong-min flung No Gang-sak off his back and onto the ground.
"Kgh. Could you not have set me down with a little care?"
"Need to loosen up."
Jeong-min coiled his Demonic Energy throughout his body.
The Demonic Energy swirling inside him spread through his entire body along his veins.
Then, a short while later—
—Grrrr……
A low, rumbling growl was heard.
A voice like the Blood Wolves and yet unlike them. A growl deeper and more somber.
Almost like that of a tiger.
"So you've come."
—Grrrr……
Step— Step—
A wolf with a build at least twice the size of the Blood Wolves—the Molten Blood Wolf—emerged from within the forest in the distance.
It was almost absurd how the ground sank with each step it planted.
Jeong-min drew the Heavenly Ascent Sword, infused with Demonic Energy Hardening. The ringing sound of shring— echoed sharply through the mountain.
Demon Accumulation.
Accumulating Demonic Energy's Internal Energy within the body.
Demon Bullet.
In the left hand, a Demon Bullet is formed and set spinning.
No Gang-sak gulped and stared at Jeong-min.
"Remember this. You must either sever its windpipe or subdue it. One of the 2."
"I know already. At the end of the day it's just a wolf."
—Grrrr.
The Molten Blood Wolf reacted to Jeong-min's provocation.
"Stop imitating a tiger and come at me."
Leap!
The Molten Blood Wolf lunged at Jeong-min. Its body length was nearly 12 feet, enough to cast Jeong-min entirely in shadow.
Jeong-min loaded the supreme art of the Nameless Sword Art onto the tip of his blade.
Nameless Sword Art, 1st Form—Rake.
Slash!
He had expected it to yelp and fall back with a single cut, but even after being struck the Molten Blood Wolf pressed forward without hesitation.
And it clamped its sharp fangs down on Jeong-min's sword-gripping right hand.
Crunch!
Blood splattered as No Gang-sak cried out urgently.
"Watch out! Parts bitten by the Molten Blood Wolf rot faster!"
That's the sort of thing you should have mentioned from the start. So that's why it's called the Molten Blood Wolf.
Jeong-min clicked his tongue and attempted to kick the Molten Blood Wolf away.
Thud!
But the Molten Blood Wolf's fangs showed no sign of releasing, so Jeong-min was forced to improvise.
Heavenly Demon Divine Art, 1st Stage—Demon Palm Piercer!
He channeled the Demon Palm Piercer through his sole and struck.
Thwack!
Only then did the Molten Blood Wolf tumble away with a wrenching sound—but several sharp fangs remained embedded in Jeong-min's right forearm.
The right arm gave off a white smoke as it seared with a burning pain, as though poison had been poured over it.
"No other choice."
Jeong-min traced a line with his foot. The Heavenly Demon Divine Art, 3rd Stage—Shadow Stabilization Formation.
Using it twice in a single day—my body won't hold together, but now isn't the time to be weighing that.
—Grrrr!
The Molten Blood Wolf charged in without the slightest hesitation.
Thinking there was truly no other way, Jeong-min loaded the 3rd Form of the Nameless Sword Art onto his blade.
Nameless Sword Art, 3rd Form—Lantern Flame.
All killing intent converges on the tip of the blade.
Nameless Sword Art, 3rd Form—Lantern Flame, is a single strike aimed at the vital point of the opponent.
By cutting the area where blood flows most heavily, the blood erupts upward—
Thud!
Slash!
—Grrrr!!
—and it looks just like a lantern flame.
The Molten Blood Wolf, scattering blood across the sky as it was flung aside, collapsed and continued to bleed profusely.
Sever its windpipe, or subdue it.
But the Molten Blood Wolf had no intention of being subdued.
Should he finish severing the windpipe here and end it. Just as Jeong-min was thinking that and raising the Heavenly Ascent Sword—it was that very moment.
"Red Dragon!!"
From somewhere behind where Jeong-min was standing, a strangely familiar voice rang out.