C188
Choi Han managed to acquire an Aura (아우라). Another energy that was not aura (오러), mana, or Inner Energy. The person who felt this more than anyone else was the Blood Demon. (Note: Yes, although both can be translated as aura, they are different)
"How, no, how...!"
When she saw the Black Dragon leap towards the enormous blue energy alongside Choi Han, she laughed. She thought that the Black Dragon, resembling the White Dragon it had devoured before, would also be caught and devoured by the blue energy.
'My energy is made with the strength of tens of thousands of lives.'
Pure creatures who died unjustly were like swamps. They were absorbed and created an existence like me. All because they lamented and felt unjust about their own deaths.
"People enveloped in this energy can never escape."
One person cannot overcome tens of thousands. It was like truth itself.
"Why...?"
But why was that truth now crumbling? The Blood Demon couldn't believe the scene unfolding before her eyes. What seemed like a fleeting moment for others was a series of scenes slowly etching one by one in the eyes of the Blood Demon.
Kwaaaah!
Choi Han, approaching with the Black Dragon, seemed insignificant in front of the enormous blue energy, like a dot against the existence that was like a deluge. However, that black dot pierced through the deluge. At first slowly, but increasingly faster.
"How is this possible...?"
The Blood Demon saw it in her eyes. Pure vitality. Beings who, angered by their unjust deaths, absorbed the life of other creatures like a swamp. Initially, they attacked Choi Han. But now they were retreating. No, fleeing.
Though they seemed enormous, in the end, they were small pieces of life. They couldn't overcome Choi Han.
"How is that possible...!"
The words that came out of the Blood Demon's mouth sounded like a scream. Her anger gleamed in her eyes. That small black dot. More precisely, the black energy surrounding the Black Dragon and Choi Han. That, undoubtedly, was Choi Han's.
Dragon.
Though insignificant compared to the energy of Dragons, and it was unassuming and ugly. Yet, it definitely had similarities.
"Nonsense!"
The expression that used to be calm twisted like a demon. She reached out towards Choi Han, who was rapidly approaching after traversing the Tsunami. From her arm, blue blood continued to flow.
The Blood Demon bore the resentment and karma of tens of thousands of lives by absorbing their life energies. At some point, her blood changed from red to blue, like tears shed by the souls of tens of thousands.
Kwaaaah!
After parting the Tsunami, Choi Han revealed himself and approached the Blood Demon. Sharp and polished blue energy flowed into his two arms and suddenly took the form of a sword. Although the Blood Demon's eyes were shedding blue tears, she paid no attention.
Thump, thump.
Her heart, her body, seemed to beat violently. Tens of thousands of life energies. Containing them in a single body was by no means an easy task. However, it was something she had to do. It was the only way to overcome Dragons.
She shouted, looking at Choi Han, "How can you mimic the aura of Dragons?"
The first time she went to Apitoyu and bowed to the Dragon Lord. Although she was the head of a Hunter Family, the Blood Demon had to kneel before the Dragon Lord. And it was not of her own will.
Dragon Fear.
She couldn't overcome the energy that the Dragon Lord of Apitoyu was emitting, so the Blood Demon had to bow her head humiliatingly. To overcome that shame, the Blood Demon thought a lot and trained tirelessly. If she became stronger, couldn't she overcome the energy of Dragons? However, after that, she had to kneel before the Dragon Lord several times.
At that moment, the Blood Demon realized.
'Unfortunately, humans will never be able to overcome Dragons.'
But she was human. So, what could she do? It was then, observing the Jiangshis forming, that she had a revelation. If she couldn't do it as a human, could she defeat a Dragon with hundreds of humans? With that thought, she absorbed the vitality of those people. By accumulating the purest energy in her body, could she eventually become similar to the aura of a Dragon? And that choice turned out to be correct.
When she absorbed the vitality of ten thousand people, she emitted a blue aura. When she absorbed tens of thousands more, her hair turned white, and although she constantly heard the cries of the unjustly murdered, she emitted an even stronger energy. And when she absorbed tens of thousands more, her blood changed to blue.
That should be enough to be equal to the Dragon Lord, she thought.
'But then, why?'
Why?
"How is it possible that you gained that power?"
The Black Dragon approaching her. The man behind him. He created what she could not obtain despite honing her Martial Arts and striving to the fullest, and that she could only achieve after carrying the heavy burden of lives filled with resentment.
It was at this moment that anger and pain accumulated.
"Why do you have something that belongs to Dragons?"
The Blood Demon took a step forward. Before the sword containing the Black Dragon and the sword made of blue energy clashed, the Blood Demon, shedding blue tears, locked eyes with Choi Han. Through the dark energy, Choi Han's calm, black eyes reflected in the eyes of the Blood Demon, whose expression was twisted like a demon.
Choi Han's voice resonated in her.
"This is not something from Dragons."
The Blood Demon could see Choi Han's face. It was calm. He had no slightest concern about losing. He spoke calmly, as if stating the truth.
"This is my life, the path I've walked, and my being."
A self-assured response, incomparable to anything else, only self-confidence. Choi Han had no reason to mimic the Dragons' Aura or to create energy similar to someone else's. He simply embraced the life he had created and planned to live that way in the future.
Choi Han extended the sword.
There was no need to create a complicated sword form or make grand movements. The blue of the sword that the Blood Demon was deploying. It also contained countless lives, and the blade of that sword couldn't stop Choi Han.
Forest of Darkness. Turbulent times of the past. None of them, like the many enemies in the past, could defeat Choi Han.
Those small lives. Small and pitiful, those small lives couldn't stop Choi Han.
He moved the sword in the same way he cut through the Tsunami and crossed the thick swamp.
The blue energies that existed as individual entities created small openings.
The Blood Demon thought her blue energy was fleeing, but it wasn't. It was an energy permeated with sorrow and pity, an energy that regarded him as pitiful. Choi Han's emotions reflected in that energy because his energy was simply himself. It was natural for his emotions to be reflected in it. The blue energies reacted to the emotions in the dark energy.
Though they were small, with all their might, they created small holes.
As if creating a small space between entangled shackles.
Choi Han placed the sword in that opening. And widened it more.
Crack.
Something broke. Choi Han thought they were shackles. When those shackles broke, the blue energies gave Choi Han a bit more freedom.
Like following hope in the darkness, Choi Han moved the sword along the path created by the blue energies.
Chawk~
The blue sword filled with cracks.
"!"
Surprise reflected on the twisted face of the Blood Demon, resembling a monster. It was natural. Compared to her power, Choi Han's dark energy was still insignificant. Nevertheless, the dark energy left traces on the blue sword.
A crack opened.
Uuuuuung-
And through that crack, the mouth of the Black Dragon (Yong) opened. The Black Yong, which took the form of a violent but clearer Dragon than before, moved.
Baaaaaam---
A louder roar than ever resonated. Amidst it, faint sounds were heard.
Craaack~
A crack formed. Choi Han could see several cracks forming in the blue energy in an instant. As if the shackles that had held them bound so far had disappeared.
Crack!
And finally, that energy became free. The energies containing the lives of tens of thousands branched off in various directions. Some towards the sky, others towards the surroundings, some towards...
Towards the shackles that held them captive.
The blue energies clung around the Black Dragon. And finally, the Dragon tore through the enemy.
"Coff!"
Choi Han's sword pierced the abdomen of the Blood Demon.
"Haa, haa-"
The Blood Demon lowered her head. She looked at the sword embedded in her abdomen and the blue blood flowing through it. But before that, what caught her attention were the blue energies drifting away from her.
Craack~
When the feeble black energies broke the shackles, the life energies filled with unjustly bound souls were freed from the prison that contained them.
Craaack--
And the skin of the Blood Demon began to crack. Like dry soil, cracks spread all over her body.
"Aigoo~"
She sighed in despair. There was no other way to express it.
"Why..."
Why did it happen like this?
Then, a calm but cold voice echoed.
"The weakest life forces wouldn't have been able to overcome the shackles binding each life. In that way, you would have bound hundreds of thousands of lives, chaining each and every one of them. And that combined force might be stronger."
It was Choi Han.
He no longer attacked the Blood Demon.
"But that accumulated force isn't yours. In the end, yours is just the shackles themselves. But for me, those shackles weren't as strong."
Craaack~
As the life energy that the Blood Demon had filled and bound with shackles began to escape, the situation became increasingly uncontrollable. The body of the Blood Demon was crumbling.
"Kugh."
A spurt of blue blood came out of the Blood Demon's mouth. Her whole body trembled. The life energies engraved in her blood and body, which were tens of thousands, finally had the chance to break free, jumping as if they were celebrating.
Every time she took away and absorbed a life, she didn't realize, but now, with tens of thousands rushing towards her at once, it was challenging for the Blood Demon to resist. No, it was impossible to resist.
The Blood Demon knelt on one knee. Choi Han pulled out his sword, and more blood spilled. He looked at her with an undisturbed gaze.
The gleam in the eyes of the Blood Demon was gradually fading. Her face was already completely cracked, and through those cracks, the blue energy flowed.
"In the end..."
She opened her mouth.
"Are you saying that my roots weren't that strong after all?"
"Yes. No matter how much you borrowed from others, in the end, you are the center."
Choi Han felt that the energy inside the Blood Demon's body was about to explode. Soon, it would all end for her. At the same time, a massive explosion would occur. The energies she had contained even in the tiniest crevice would now be released.
Choi Han stepped back.
"Haah. Haah."
Every time the Blood Demon exhaled, the blue energy flowed. And it also emanated from the cracks in her cracked skin.
"Keke, kekek!"
Suddenly, the Blood Demon let out a laugh. She raised her head. Her gaze was completely empty. But Choi Han didn't feel the slightest remorse. The power she possessed was gained by ruthlessly taking the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, and this is what happened as a result.
"You..."
Suddenly, there was a glint of light in the Blood Demon's eyes. Choi Han tightened his hand holding the sword. But...
Tak~
Her left arm suddenly detached from her cracked body. More blue energy gushed out. The end of the Blood Demon was inevitable.
When Choi Han acknowledged it, the Blood Demon asked him while looking at him.
"Is your next target Apitoyu?"
She was asking if after the Black Blood Family and Blue Blood, would it be Purple Blood?
"......"
Choi Han didn't answer. He had no words to say to an enemy.
"Kekeke."
The Blood Demon's right arm also detached. Seeing this, she laughed and looked at Choi Han.
"Even the damn Dragons will probably suffer when they encounter you, someone who resembles the Lord Dragon. Keke."
The weak voice of her laughter had an extra power.
"Let me tell you a nice story."
Her body was crumbling. However, Choi Han couldn't look away from the sharp gleam in the Blood Demon's eyes. It seemed as if she was leaving some last words before dying.
With helplessness and resentment, and at the same time, with fading rage towards herself, the Blood Demon said:
"The Dragons..."
The moment Choi Han's eyebrow lifted slightly...
"The Dragons can't become Gods."
Dragons can't become Gods. With those words, a blue explosion erupted.
Baaaaam!
The Blood Demon's body was caught in the massive explosion. But even as she disappeared, she didn't stop talking.
Choi Han, who was watching, was dumbfounded.
"The dragons are the most insignificant beings."
What?
There was no one who could answer Choi Han's questions.
Shwaaa--
The blue energy shot up into the sky. The sight was quite beautiful. But underneath that...
Shwaaa--
In the place where the blue energy had sprouted, nothing remained. Only the two arms of the Blood Demon, which had been severed and had bled at some point, were there.
The Blood Demon had disappeared.
Choi Han stared at this, and his eyes widened.
"!"
He quickly looked back.
Urrrr--
A sound came from very far away. No, it wasn't that far. Quite close.
The sky was roaring.
Shwaaa--
And the wind became violent.
Before he realized it, the sky by the sea had turned as black as a wolf's mouth.
"What is this-"
Choi Han turned his head unintentionally. His gaze sought Cale.
------------------------
"Damn it!"
Cursing while pouring harsh words, Cale was quickly approaching the collapsed Heavenward. His gaze was directed at the sky where Heavenward used to be.
Heavenward, tenth floor.
The hexagonal Magic Formation engraved on the floor and ceiling. Now, it was emitting purple light and disappearing into the air. Cale couldn't help but utter harsh words upon seeing that Magic Formation.
"Raon, flight magic!"
His body soared into the void.
The Magic Formation was engraved with different patterns on the floor and ceiling.
It was in a state where Cale had precisely recorded the strange patterns of that Magic Formation.
Although symbolic, the Magic Formation clearly represented the shape of the land, mountains, and the sea.
And the patterns engraved on the ceiling represented the sky, rain, and clouds.
Now, everything was inverted.
In other words, the sky and the earth had flipped.
Urrrrng-
As the sound of the thundering sky grew louder, Cale felt a cold sweat breaking out on his back.
This is going to be a big problem.
He had to stop it somehow.
At that moment, a bewildered voice echoed in his mind.
-Umm. Cale, it looks like we need to calm the sea, right?
It was the voice of the Sky Eating Water.
But strangely, that voice sounded both bewildered and excited.
"Damn it!"
Upon hearing that, Cale couldn't help but curse.
-
