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Not Lost in the Darkness (2)

I still had some breathing room.

The creature had split into two, but it wasn’t enough to kill me.

However, dealing with them now required more energy. I had to dodge twice as much.

I faced them with minimal movement.

The problem was that even my economical movements were being learned by them.

“So, these things get stronger over time, huh?”

“Smart, aren’t they?”

The blood merchant grinned triumphantly at my words. She was literally watching the fight from across the river.

“Wouldn’t it be smart to get rid of this thing?”

“Sorry, but that’s impossible.”

The reason such a technique, which absorbs someone’s abilities in an instant, can’t be seen from the outside is because it’s only possible in the world of sorcery.

In other words, trying to eliminate them is pointless.

I needed to find a way to break this sorcery.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

I was facing them again with swordsmanship. I didn’t want to teach them advanced techniques. I didn’t even use the deadly sword technique. I dealt with them using only the most basic and crude swordsmanship.

Their faces and bodies reflected me, and I felt as if I was fighting myself.

Perhaps the person who created this sorcery intended that. If it was just for visual effect, wouldn’t it have been better to make them bright red?

Anyway, while dealing with the two, I kept thinking about how to break this sorcery.

I considered crossing over again. The problem wasn’t just their splitting, but the blood merchant’s movements.

Just before my sword pierced her, she moved across the river in an instant.

I don’t think that’s possible in reality.

In conclusion, she too is part of the sorcery, just like them. Instead of trying to kill her, I need to find a way to destroy this world.

But first, there was something I wanted to test.

I planned to take down one of the two in the most brute-force way possible. It was a method I should have used when there was only one, but I had to try it now.

I stopped dodging and focused on one of the creatures attacking me.

Bang! Bang! Boom! Bang!

I started hitting it with much more power than I had shown before.

Yet, its limbs and head didn’t fall off.

I pinned it down and punched its face.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Its face caved in with each punch.

Another one charged at me from behind. I kicked it away and returned to pummeling the original one.

Bang! Boom! Bang!

Its head was completely flattened.

It stopped moving.

Yeah, just stay down.

I looked across the river at the blood merchant.

She was smiling.

Damn it! This method was wrong!

Sure enough, the creature rose again, its flattened face inflating as if air was being pumped into it.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

A barrage of punches came flying at me, as if it was trying to repay what it had just suffered. The other one joined in the frenzied attack.

I threw a dagger as I fled to the edge of the river.

Swish!

The target wasn’t the creatures chasing me, but the blood merchant across the river.

She easily dodged the attack. I couldn’t project my energy externally, so at this distance, I couldn’t muster enough power to kill her.

“What are you doing?”

She asked with a mocking smile.

“Don’t laugh too hard. You’ll have plenty more to laugh about soon.”

She chuckled at my response, but a flicker of fear crossed her face. Was she still getting a bad feeling from my calm demeanor in this situation?

Regardless, I had to do something.

Before Song Hwarin learned about formations, I too had learned from Galsaryang. In the process, I learned how the highest-level formations are created and how to find their weaknesses.

The solution is often in the most unexpected place.

In the next moment, my gaze turned to a certain spot.

The blood flowing between her and me.

As my eyes focused on the river of blood, the blood merchant smiled leisurely.

“There’s a lot waiting to kill you.”

“So. I’m going to take a look.”

Without hesitation, I dove in.

Splash.

I went as deep as I could. The two creatures that had been attacking me followed.

From the outside, it didn’t seem deep, but it was deeper than I thought. I kept diving. The two creatures followed at a terrifying speed.

Even a master has a limit to how long they can hold their breath. Moreover, it wasn’t just water, but blood.

Still, I stubbornly held my breath. I was sure there was something at the bottom that would break the sorcery.

But there was nothing at the bottom. I swam around, searching, but found nothing.

I resurfaced, evading the creatures.

While I was gasping for air, the creatures that emerged with me didn’t even pant.

I had less than half my energy left. I had already used a significant amount before entering this sorcery. Blood dripped from the ends of my hair.

What on earth is the solution?

Not long ago, I told Song Hwarin that every sorcery has a way to break it. That she should find it calmly. And here I was, unable to find it myself?

The creatures approached. At this rate, my energy would be drained, and I’d fall to those two.

The blood merchant was laughing from across the river.

“Not easy, is it?”

“Not easy.”

Alright, stay calm. Let’s think from the beginning.

The solution will be in a place I never thought of, in something I absolutely don’t want to do.

Is there anything worse than diving into that river of blood?

In the next moment, a thought struck me like lightning.

There is!

Something so dreadful I didn’t even want to consider it.

When I made a face of realization, the blood merchant flinched.

“What is it?”

“It’s something you’ll like.”

Her expression hardened even more at my words.

As soon as I finished speaking, I leaped.

I swung my sword at her as I crossed the river.

As before, she vanished.

The two mimicking me followed across the river. Each split into one more, making four. What was terrible as two had become four.

The blood merchant spoke from behind.

“What are you up to?”

I turned to her and said.

“It’s just beginning.”

I leaped across the river again, charging at her.

The four followed, becoming eight. Of course, she escaped across the river again as if teleporting.

But the eight couldn’t attack me. I didn’t face them and instead went straight for the blood merchant again.

“You lunatic! What are you doing?”

“I’m seeing how many of those damn things can multiply. Why? Isn’t it good for you if there are more trying to kill me?”

I was trying to shake the sorcery.

When many attack one person, there’s a limit. Since I couldn’t unleash sword energy here, the maximum number that could attack together was about seven or eight.

If the solution to this sorcery was to eliminate them all, it was a method I should never choose.

But if they were entities I couldn’t kill anyway, one or fifty or a thousand made no difference to me.

I crossed the river like a madman. The number of those following me exceeded a hundred and quickly surpassed two hundred.

“Stop it, you madman!”

The blood merchant shouted urgently.

Meanwhile, the number kept increasing.

I couldn’t be sure if this choice was right or wrong. But seeing the blood merchant’s panic, I knew I was on the right track. The scene was utter chaos.

They lunged at me, getting tangled and falling over each other. Some fell into the water and were swept away.

Splash!

For the first time, blood splattered from the blood merchant’s body.

She was a step too slow in dodging. I realized that as the number of duplicates increased, it was becoming a burden on her or the world of sorcery.

I instinctively knew that this sorcery was reaching its limit.

When the number of creatures exceeded a thousand!

Swoosh!

Thud!

My sword pierced her chest.

“Damn it!”

In that moment of looking into her despairing eyes, I knew. This was the way to break the sorcery.

With a thud, the world changed.

We were back facing each other in the original formation. The sorcery had broken, returning us to the real world.

The wound on her chest from my sword was gone, but blood trickled from her mouth. She had suffered severe internal injuries as the sorcery was broken.

“Just as you said, they’re all gone.”

“Didn’t I tell you? They’re smart.”

“If they haven’t gone far, they’ll all die anyway.”

“Of course, they went far. Even if they’re nearby, you’re forgetting something.”

“What is it?”

“We’re inside a formation.”

Even if there’s an explosion, it will happen within the formation. Since it was a top-level formation, it wasn’t easy to break it with physical force from the inside.

Of course, since it wasn’t a completed formation, there was a high chance it could be destroyed, but it would still block some of the explosion.

“Then what about you? Because of this formation, you’ll be hit even harder.”

“Probably.”

Sensing her end, she spat venomous words.

“You’re just a pawn. You’re being used by them. Love? Affection? Loyalty? Filial piety? Those are just traps to ensnare gullible fools like you.”

In contrast, I remained calm.

“Do you think I’m the only one making sacrifices here?”

“Isn’t that the case?”

“You wouldn’t know what sacrifice truly means, having never experienced it yourself. It’s not just about dying in someone else’s place.”

“What do you mean?”

“While dying for someone is indeed noble, a greater sacrifice is not giving up and doing your best until the very end. I’m still trying.”

She looked at me silently, and I added one last thing.

“Sacrifice isn’t just for others. Ultimately, it’s for yourself.”

I couldn’t tell how much she understood, but it didn’t matter. As I said at the start of this battle, we weren’t here to understand each other.

The Suramyeongwang Sword rose into the air.

“Farewell!”

I poured all my remaining energy into this one final strike.

Flash!

The sword flew towards her.

She spoke one last time.

“You too.”

Thud!

Her heart was pierced.

As she died, the deadly technique, Blood Explosion, was triggered.

Boom!

The explosion was massive, engulfing everything within the formation.

[No!]

The last thing I heard was the Heavenly Demon’s cry.

Unable to withstand the shock, my body was torn apart, shattered into pieces.

Once again, I faced death.

Moments later, I found myself standing in the manor’s courtyard.

Before me lay the body of the Blood Merchant, her chest pierced.

And I was alive.

The Heavenly Demon asked in a shocked tone.

[How is this possible?]

[Well, I’m a good person, so I got a second chance.]

[Stop joking!]

[Do you remember where we were standing earlier?]

[What? What are you talking about?]

[The moment we left the illusion, I recreated this place with the Celestial Illusion Technique.]

I had mastered the Celestial Illusion Technique to its peak.

And I tried something new. I pulled the Blood Merchant into the illusion. It worked.

If you die within the Celestial Illusion, it breaks, and you don’t truly die. That’s why I could fight the Heavenly Demon freely.

My death was within the illusion, so when it shattered, I was thrown back into reality.

But she truly died. She wasn’t someone who had mastered the illusion; she was just someone I temporarily brought inside.

[Unbelievable! You planned to drag her into the illusion and die together?]

[Brilliant, right?]

[You’re insane! And you say that with pride.]

After a moment, the Heavenly Demon admitted.

[You’re a genius.]

[Laughs. Thanks to you for teaching me the Celestial Illusion Technique.]

[It’s not because of me. It’s because of your skill.]

[True enough.]

[Yes, boasting suits you.]

In the distance, I saw people running towards me.

“Doryeoniiiiim!”

Leading the charge like a bull was Gwangdu, followed by my father, Song Woo-kyung, Baek Pyo, Gal Sa-ryang, Seo Joong, Gwan Hwi, and the dazzlingly beautiful Song Hwa-rin.

[Are you happy?]

[Very.]

[Do they even know how hard you fought?]

[They don’t need to. I didn’t fight for recognition. And besides…]

[Besides?]

[You know, don’t you? That’s enough.]

[You crazy fool! What do I know!]

Gwangdu leaped into my arms.

“Doryeoniiiiim! I’m so glad you’re safe.”

“You idiot! There’s an order to these things, and you’re not first!”

“I’m number one! No matter what anyone says, I’m number one!”

“Hahaha.”

The Blood Merchant once told me I was a sacrificial lamb.

Fine, even if all this was a sacrifice, what does it matter? Being with them makes me this happy.