Episode 180

Back then, Ha Cheong-yeon had made some mysterious wager with the Blood Demon and, after bidding them farewell, Gu Yu-eumma and Ji Gi-eum sent their subordinates to escort Na Seo-yu and Sak Mu-heun deep into the forest, where they finally released the blood seals binding them.

One of the subordinates had said this:

“The Supreme Lord has decreed that no Blood Cultists will dare attack you. But as warned earlier, you must return quickly. The mindless demons won’t heed the Supreme Lord’s orders. And whatever you do, don’t even think about coming back. If you want the sacrifice the Sword Saint’s daughter made for you not to be in vain.”

Then, like a ghost, he vanished.

After that, Sak Mu-heun and Na Seo-yu began moving toward the Biryong Corps’ territory.

At least, that’s how it was for about an hour’s distance.

But after roughly an hour, Sak Mu-heun suddenly stopped and said to Na Seo-yu,

“Na Seo, from here on, you must return alone.”

His face was set with a resolute determination. Na Seo-yu, sensing his resolve, tried to dissuade him.

“Brother Sak, please don’t do this. I want to save Cheong-yeon too, but if you’re with the Blood Demon, it’s impossible. So it’s better to go back and join the others…”

But Sak Mu-heun’s decision was unwavering.

“I swore on my late master’s life to protect Cheong-yeon. Even if I die, I cannot turn back now. Please understand.”

“Brother Sak…”

As they spoke, suddenly someone burst out laughing from the forest.

“Heh heh heh! What a sorry situation! You say you can’t turn back? Then let Elder Dudang here lend you a hand!”

The figure who appeared was a small, shabby-looking one-armed man—none other than Dudang, standing right before Na Seo-yu.

Startled, Sak Mu-heun and Na Seo-yu drew their swords and pointed them at him.

But the moment Na Seo-yu met his eyes, a dizzying wave swept over her.

Only then did she remember—Dudang of the Black Blood Demon was the Blood Cult’s foremost master of the Soul Binding Technique.

Her memory ended there.

But judging by Dudang’s expression, the story was far from over.

Swallowing hard, Na Seo-yu asked him,

“Don’t tell me you used the Soul Binding Technique on us…?”

Dudang laughed brightly, clearly thrilled.

“Ha ha ha! Sharp as ever! Didn’t I say? You came back on your own two feet.”

“Th-That can’t be…”

Na Seo-yu’s voice faltered in despair, but Dudang grinned slyly and continued.

“And if I were you, I’d be more interested in what’s coming next. Like what’s going to happen to you from now on.”

With trembling voice, Na Seo-yu asked,

“What… will you do to us?”

Dudang clenched his fist, eyes blazing.

“We will make you perfect beings—peak warriors with demon bodies. We call such beings Blood Demons.”

“Blood Demons?”

“Yes, Blood Demons. Until now, all demons were mere test subjects for creating Blood Demons. It was a long experiment—over ten years of research. But finally, we succeeded in creating the perfect demon!”

Fear gripped Na Seo-yu.

No matter how ‘perfect’ they claimed, it meant turning them into demons.

The thought of attacking her comrades as a demon was unbearable.

Dudang stared at her pale, terrified face and said,

“After hundreds, even thousands of failures, we found that young peak warriors are the best candidates for Blood Demons. Yes, warriors like you and that one there. Ha ha ha! How could I let you slip away? Heh heh heh! Ha ha ha ha!”

Watching Dudang’s manic laughter, Na Seo-yu sank into despair.

Consumed by terror, she screamed,

“No! Please! Somebody save me!”

But it was useless.

No matter how loudly she cried, no one came. Dudang just laughed on, indifferent.

After a moment, Dudang stopped laughing and spoke with a look of delight.

“Now, let’s prepare so we can start as soon as that corpse returns. Hey, you there, I know you’ve come to your senses. I’ll release your blood seal—go ahead and chat so you don’t get bored.”

With that, Dudang vanished from the room in an instant.

Even after he left, Na Seo-yu shouted desperately,

“Help! Is anyone there?! Please, someone help us!”

Then, suddenly, she heard Sak Mu-heun’s voice.

“It’s no use, Na Seo.”

“Brother Sak!”

As Dudang had said, it seemed Sak Mu-heun had already regained his senses.

In a grim tone, he said,

“This place is clearly the Blood Cult’s den. No one will come even if you scream. And as Dudang warned earlier…”

At that moment, voices came from outside.

“Heh heh heh! That’s a woman’s voice! A woman screaming!”

“Ha ha ha! Fresh female screams—I can’t stand it!”

“But the woman inside was brought by the Demon Lord, right?”

“So what? The Demon Lord just went down to the warehouse! What harm is there in touching a woman who’s just going to be used as material anyway?”

“Heh heh heh, right?”

Those voices came from just outside the door.

Realizing the consequences of her screams, Na Seo-yu froze and fell silent.

Dudang’s words about the place being full of beasts were no lie.

But even if she kept quiet now, no miracle would make them leave.

“Heh heh heh! There she is!”

“Oh wow! Pretty! A beautiful woman!”

“Ha ha ha! How long has it been since I’ve seen a woman?”

“Finally, today we’ll settle months of frustration!”

“Me first! Me first!”

A group of demon warriors scrambled to enter the room, all targeting Na Seo-yu.

Her mind went blank.

“No, no…”

A memory flashed through Na Seo-yu’s mind—when she first arrived at the front lines, she was almost kidnapped by demon warriors.

Back then, Seol Poong had saved her.

But Seol Poong wasn’t here now.

He couldn’t have come this far.

Five demon warriors entered her limited field of vision.

Surrounding her, their eyes gleamed with the same look—greedy, beastly hunger.

Na Seo-yu screamed desperately,

“No! Go away! Help me!”

But her pleas only excited them more.

The demon warriors laughed joyfully.

“Hee hee hee, I love the sound of screams!”

“Thrilling! So good!”

“Ha ha ha! It’s good now, but just wait till it gets better!”

Beside her, Sak Mu-heun shouted desperately for her sake.

“Stop! You demon scum! We are people brought here by Dudang of the Black Blood Demon! Do you think Dudang will spare you if you do this?!”

But the demon warriors just laughed.

“Ha ha ha! What a worrywart! The Demon Lord doesn’t meddle in these little things!”

“Right! Unless it’s Elder Shima!”

“But Elder Shima left the Demon King’s Castle a while ago!”

“Ha ha ha! Then there’s nothing to hold us back!”

“A feast!”

They drooled as they closed in on Na Seo-yu.

Her fate now hung by a thread.

Tears streaming, she screamed,

“No! Seol Poong! Save me! Seol Poong!”

But Seol Poong did not appear.

Instead, another voice rang out.

“What do you think you’re doing there?”

A young woman’s voice.

Startled, the demon warriors froze and turned toward the voice.

The angry voice demanded,

“I asked what you’re doing! Are you trying to do the same bad things to me as last time?”

The demon warriors looked sheepish and hurriedly made excuses.

“N-No, we were just checking something.”

“Y-Yeah! And we’re not trying to do anything to you! These are our enemies!”

“Right! Why are you interfering if you’re not involved?”

But the woman answered firmly,

“My father said they would be my friends. So you’re trying to hurt my friends.”

“N-No! That’s for later. Right now, it’s not—”

Before they could finish, the woman suddenly moved beside Na Seo-yu and said,

“You tried to hurt my friend, so if I kill you, my father will praise me, right?”

Na Seo-yu was stunned by the sight of the woman who had suddenly appeared.

Because she was completely naked.

A beautiful woman, completely naked without a stitch of clothing, stood boldly before the demon tamers, radiating an intense, almost fierce energy as if she felt no shame at all.

Startled, the demon tamers quickly scrambled to the opposite side of the room.

They shamelessly ogled her bare body, drooling as they exchanged whispered opinions among themselves.

“W-what do we do? Should we just leave?”

“No, that’s not right. Why don’t two or three of us subdue her, and the rest enjoy the show?”

“Are you crazy? If we touch her, Elder Phantom Demon will really get furious. Don’t you get that?”

“Exactly. Besides, she doesn’t respond to pressure points or even spiritual energy. How are we supposed to control her?”

“Damn it. So, are you saying we have to back off just like this?”

While they argued nervously, the woman suddenly began to emit a brilliant white spiritual energy from her hands.

Whoosh!

It was a dazzling pure white aura, as radiant as her naked form.

Seeing this, the demon tamers panicked and shouted hurriedly.

“W-wait! We’re leaving! We’re leaving!”

“Yeah! We’re out of here!”

“We won’t do anything, just stop!”

“We’re going! Right now!”

In an instant, they all hurriedly circled around her and rushed out of the room.

Their movements were like a violent storm.

Na Seo-yu couldn’t help but be shocked.

He realized these demon tamers were on a completely different level—masters far beyond his own skill.

They must be supreme experts.

After the demon tamers had all left, the naked woman smiled gently and relaxed the spiritual energy flowing from her hands.

Then, turning to Na Seo-yu, she greeted him brightly.

“Hello! Nice to meet you! I heard you’re about to make a new friend, so I came right away because I was so happy. Thanks to me, you were able to avoid something bad.”

A new friend?

What does she mean?

Na Seo-yu was puzzled by her words but decided to express his gratitude first.

“Thank you. Because of you, I was able to avoid something terrible. I’m really grateful.”

She smiled warmly in response.

“Oh, it’s nothing. They tried to do the same to me before. That’s when I tore two of them apart. Now there are five left, but they’re still acting like that. Don’t worry too much. Once you become my friend, you’ll be able to tear them apart just as easily.”

Then, suddenly frowning with curiosity, she glanced toward Sak Mu-heun and asked,

“Hm? But why is that friend keeping his eyes tightly shut? Did he hurt his eyes or something?”

Sak Mu-heun jumped in surprise and stammered,

“N-no, it’s not that. It’s just that… you see, sir, you’re… unclothed.”

Apparently, Sak Mu-heun had closed his eyes after being shocked by her nakedness.

Na Seo-yu could tell that Sak Mu-heun had been so startled by her bare form that he shut his eyes.

It was understandable.

But the naked woman tilted her head in confusion and asked,

“Clothes? Why clothes? My father said my body is so beautiful. Don’t you think so? Are you closing your eyes because you think I’m ugly?”

Her question made Sak Mu-heun even more flustered.

“N-no, that’s not what I meant! I mean… well…”

He struggled to find the right words and fell silent.

Watching this, Na Seo-yu was once again certain she was no ordinary person.

No matter how free-spirited the women of the Blood Sect were, this was unusual.

She seemed to lack even the most basic common sense.

Na Seo-yu suddenly asked her,

“You said earlier that we would become your friends. What exactly does that mean?”

She smiled brightly and answered,

“Oh, you’re curious? It means you’ll become Blood Demons.”

“…Blood Demons?”

Na Seo-yu recalled hearing about Blood Demons from Dudang earlier.

They were said to be supreme masters with demonic bodies.

His voice trembling, Na Seo-yu asked her,

“Th-then, what about you?”

She answered with an innocent smile,

“Yeah, I’m a Blood Demon. The very first one. I’m also the tool that serves the Supreme One to create the Blood Sect’s dominion.”

Na Seo-yu couldn’t find any words to respond.

So that meant he and Sak Mu-heun would become like her.

Someone who walks around completely naked without shame, and casually calls herself a tool for building the Blood Sect’s empire.

Despair began to fill the hearts of Na Seo-yu and Sak Mu-heun.