The Path of Blood (3)
How can one see into their own heart just by closing their eyes?
How can one become aware of something they’ve never consciously acknowledged, simply by shutting their eyes?
Cheon So-seon pondered this. And indeed, it was true.
She closed her eyes, trying to focus, hoping to sense something—anything—but there was nothing.
All she felt was her own emotions, amplified.
She was furious.
How had she come this far? Absorbing the blood of countless people, enduring everything to reach this point.
Could she really have been indifferent to killing?
But she had endured, thinking it was fate. The first time was hard, but with each subsequent kill, the guilt of slaughter faded.
She had taken hundreds, thousands of lives.
“Unfair.”
The anger surged within her, too intense to contain.
“Where did it all go wrong?”
Then, like a lie, a scene emerged in her mind.
There was something in the darkness.
“Is it this?”
A faint, human-like figure appeared.
“Is it you? Are you the one hiding inside me? Is it you?”
She slowly approached the figure in the darkness.
It lifted its head towards her.
Cheon So-seon was startled.
The girl crying tears was her younger self.
“Now that I think about it, where is this?”
Beside the child was a broken mirror.
It was the day she first transformed into a woman, a memory still vivid with shock and fear.
What lay within her heart was not the Blood God.
It was her younger self, trembling with fear.
In the next moment, Cheon So-seon opened her eyes wide.
It felt like she had just awoken from a dream.
“There’s nothing.”
She added weakly.
“Inside me… there’s only me.”
I watched her quietly.
I could tell she wasn’t lying. If, at the brink of death, she found nothing within her heart, then truly, there was nothing there.
I looked down at her and spoke.
“If it’s not inside you, then it must be outside.”
“What?”
I reached out and grasped the red droplets of blood flowing from her body. It felt soft yet filled my hand.
“Ugh!”
I began to tear it away from her. The blood armor resisted, clinging to her like skin.
“Ughhh.”
Cheon So-seon screamed in pain.
But I didn’t stop.
“If it’s not inside you, then this is all that’s left.”
Riiip.
I exerted all my strength to tear it away. I wasn’t even sure if it was meant to come off her body.
Riiiiiip.
The blood armor peeled away from Cheon So-seon’s body.
“Aaaaah!”
She screamed in agony, as if her flesh was being torn apart.
The detached entity tried to wrap around me like a living creature.
But it couldn’t penetrate me. My body was protected by a powerful aura.
I grabbed another part of the blood armor and tore it off.
Riiip.
“Aaaaah!”
Cheon So-seon’s screams continued, and the pieces began to merge into one.
When I had torn away more than half of the blood armor, the rest detached on its own and joined the first piece.
As they all came together, they began to form a shape.
Initially, I was skeptical when I started tearing it away.
But her life force was fading, while the blood armor around her was so vivid that I momentarily doubted.
Yet, the other half of the god I sought was indeed this blood armor. Or rather, it had concealed its identity in the form of armor.
The reason it could withstand the relentless attacks was because it was on the verge of becoming the Blood God.
I thought the pain would cease once the armor was fully removed, but Cheon So-seon only felt greater agony, screaming even louder.
“Aaaaah!”
I guessed that the armor had absorbed all the attacks during our fight, and now that it was gone, all the accumulated pain was flooding back to her.
This alone revealed the selfish nature of the entity merging before me.
Cheon So-seon was merely a vessel for its descent.
I had told her earlier that perhaps fate had not brought her and me together.
That answer was correct.
“Aaaaah!”
She looked at me. Her eyes met mine, filled with pain and despair. Considering her deeds, she didn’t deserve an easy end, but she too had been swept away by fate, landing where she didn’t want to be.
May you live a different life in your next one.
Swoosh!
Thud!
A swift blade pierced her heart.
Only then did her face relax, and she closed her eyes.
Her body fell to the ground.
All that remained was the now unified red energy.
Whoosh.
The red energy expanded, transforming into the Blood God depicted in paintings and statues. It was massive, exuding an overwhelming aura. It seemed as if it could drench the world in blood.
I looked up at it calmly.
“The form you’ve taken doesn’t exist. It’s just an image conjured by human imagination. If you had truly become the Blood God, you wouldn’t look like that.”
I sensed its confusion. I knew. This entity lacked intelligence. It was an incomplete state driven solely by instinct.
“You are not needed in this world.”
It growled like a beast and charged at me.
I could clearly feel its emotions.
Confusion, resentment, anger, the instinctual desire to drench the world in blood, and the fear created by humans themselves.
Without hesitation, I struck.
Slice.
Splat.
The charging entity split in two as it passed by me, standing still. I didn’t need to look back to know I had cut it properly.
Sssss.
The split entity began to dissipate. Red droplets scattered into the air.
Drip, drip, drip, drip, drip, drip, drip.
They burst like water droplets.
The red energy that had beautifully adorned the sky vanished into the blue. The entity that sought to become the Blood God disappeared beyond fate.
I stood in the sky, looking up at the higher heavens.
“Are you there?”
I hoped for an old man’s answer, but none came.
It seemed to say, now that everything is over, live your life.
I had fought with gods, but only after the battle did I realize it wasn’t a fight against them.
This was just an ordinary person’s battle.
A battle of change and choice.
The effort to change had brought me here, and throughout the battle, I made many choices.
Choices were always confusing, but there was one way to minimize mistakes.
To follow the standards of life I had set.
To protect and cherish those around me, to respect those below me, as my father always said.
Of course, nothing is certain. Today’s choices and changes could meet my life in a different form tomorrow.
But I won’t regret it. Even if I do, I’ll accept it as part of my life. This is the conclusion of a man who lived seventy years, entered the body of a twenty-year-old, and dreamed of change.
Looking up at the sky, I spoke loudly.
“Thank you. I’ll live this one life to the fullest.”
Whoosh.
After finishing my words, I soared through the sky in a circle as a gesture of thanks, then descended to the ground.
When I landed, I finally felt that all the battles were truly over.
Standing in the center of the training ground, I saw someone approaching from afar, crossing the field towards me.
Step by step, as if wanting to remember this moment forever, Song Hwa-rin walked towards me.
Just seeing her brought a smile to my face. I resisted the urge to run and embrace her.
When she reached me, she paused, looking into my eyes, then bowed deeply.
“On behalf of the martial world, thank you. Thank you for saving us.”
“Yes.”
“Yes?”
Her expression seemed to ask if that was all I had to say, and I scratched my head awkwardly.
“I don’t have anything else to say.”
I was caught off guard by her sudden gratitude.
“You should have said something more impressive.”
She mimicked my voice clumsily.
“Have you ever seen evil triumph over good? The stars shine brighter when the night is darkest.”
“Oh my! Do I really speak so embarrassingly?”
“Yes.”
“You little… mimicking me poorly and then blaming me!”
“Hahaha.”
She laughed joyfully. Just seeing her happy smile made me happy too.
“Aren’t you hungry?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s go. Everyone’s waiting.”
I took her outstretched hand, and we walked side by side.
“By the way, the Heavenly Demon has left.”
“I see.”
Her response seemed as if she had expected it, and she turned to me with a question.
“Aren’t you sad?”
How could I not be? Sometimes I wished he was still with me.
I had anticipated his departure. Still, he could have at least shared a drink before leaving.
“Of course I’m sad. But those who leave, leave.”
“Do you know where he went?”
“Wherever he went.”
“Hahaha.”
In the distance, the reasons I had fought for all this time waved at me with bright smiles.
I took confident steps toward them.
Peace had returned to the martial world.
Everyone mourned those who had sacrificed their lives in the recent events.
Galsaryang informed the martial world about the attempted resurrection of the Dark God and the Blood God. Naturally, he also spread the tale of my exploits in defeating them.
I protested, but Galsaryang insisted it was necessary.
“A leader’s authority isn’t built just by being kind to the people.”
“I didn’t do it to establish authority.”
“I understand. But having authority will ultimately empower and help them. That authority will become the order of the martial world and a fearsome deterrent to evildoers, protecting everyone.”
In the end, I allowed the truth to be revealed.
“Our leader saved the martial world!”
“He stopped the resurrection of the Dark God and the Blood God and saved us!”
“Long live the leader!”
“If our leader commands, I’d give all ten of my lives.”
“I’d give a hundred!”
“You fools! You’d just be a burden!”
“Hahaha.”
Everyone was joyful and relieved. The martial world was in a festive mood. With the tension and tragedy finally lifted, they were eager to embrace happiness once more.
The martial artists showed me a level of support that bordered on reverence.
“And then, after I died, they started criticizing me.”
At my joke, Baekpyo laughed so hard he clutched his stomach.
Six months passed since that day.
The Martial Alliance had fully stabilized. It stood as strong and disciplined as it had during the era of the Heavenly Alliance, with loyalty running high.
Realizing the time had come, I summoned three people.
Gathered in the leader’s hall were Galsaryang, Gwangdu, and Baekpyo.
“I’ll be leaving the alliance for a while.”
None of them seemed surprised, as if they had anticipated this moment.
“I’ll accompany you,” Gwangdu offered, but I shook my head.
“I’ll go alone.”
As expected, Gwangdu stepped back without protest.
“Understood.”
For the past six months, I had diligently managed the affairs of the Martial Alliance for this very moment.
Telling them to take care of the alliance in my absence was unnecessary. They were so dedicated that I was more worried about them overworking.
“Please, take it easy! Work while having some fun.”
At dawn, I left the alliance.
I soared through the sky, cutting through the wind. There was someone I longed to see. Even surrounded by good people, there was always an empty space in my heart.
“Leaving like an arrogant Heavenly Demon, without even a farewell drink?”