Episode 355: Return to the Demon Sect
A foe defeated in a single move.
Heomuguk loved this phrase.
Usually, when it was used, he was the one delivering the move, and the one falling was always his opponent.
But today, the tables had turned.
Swoosh!
As the cold blade withdrew from his stomach, blood gushed from his mouth like a fountain.
The internal energy he was using to suppress the pain faltered, causing the blood to surge up.
“Puh! Ugh…!”
Heomuguk staggered, dropping to one knee.
He couldn’t believe it.
The day had come when he would kneel before someone!
Even though he hadn’t won every battle, he was confident he could defeat the leader of the righteous sects if they appeared before him.
Especially now, after using the Thunder Devouring Art to absorb the energy of countless foes.
Yet…
‘Why is this happening…?’
He looked up at Sabigang, unable to even wipe the blood from his lips.
A victorious smile played on Sabigang’s lips.
No, it wasn’t a victor’s smile.
It was the devilish grin of someone mocking a defeated foe.
“Does it hurt?”
”……!”
“It hurts me too. That I didn’t kill you sooner.”
“You… damn… bastard…!”
Heomuguk quickly pressed his pressure points to stop the bleeding, trembling with rage.
Sabigang approached slowly.
“Don’t struggle to live. Accept death peacefully. I won’t hold you accountable for sins you haven’t yet committed.”
“What nonsense…!”
Thud!
“Ugh!”
Heomuguk was sent flying by a punch, rolling across the ground.
“Perhaps it’s best to incinerate the trash.”
Sabigang raised his left hand.
As fire began to gather in his palm,
“Stop!”
A sharp voice cut through the air, halting Sabigang.
He turned to see Seoraehyang rushing towards him with swift steps.
Finally reaching Sabigang’s side, Seoraehyang caught her breath and spoke.
“Please… can you give me a moment?”
She looked at Sabigang with a desperate expression.
“I’ve already refused.”
Sabigang replied coldly.
But Seoraehyang wasn’t backing down this time.
After all, he was someone she had once harbored feelings for.
She couldn’t let it end so meaninglessly.
“Please, just let him breathe a little longer.”
“He’s not worth it.”
“This is my last request to you. Please.”
Seoraehyang pleaded once more, her voice earnest.
Eventually, Sabigang sighed lightly and turned away.
“As you wish.”
“Thank you. I won’t forget your kindness.”
Seoraehyang bowed and turned back to where Heomuguk lay.
Heomuguk, with a deep wound in his chest, seemed barely able to stand.
Step by step…
She approached him slowly.
The man she once couldn’t even dare to look up to.
The man who always made her heart race was now barely clinging to life, breathing in the cold air.
His breath, visible in the frigid air, seemed pitiful.
“Hongmyo…”
Heomuguk looked at Seoraehyang with half-closed eyes.
Hearing the nickname from his lips, Seoraehyang felt her heart might burst.
Before coming here, she had wondered how she would feel upon seeing him.
Angry, perhaps. Or maybe sad.
For abandoning her.
For the betrayal of being used by someone she loved.
But the emotion that surged in her heart at this moment was something she hadn’t anticipated.
‘He’s… dying.’
More than anything, that fact pained her deeply.
She had been abandoned by the person she loved most!
She had been used mercilessly by him!
Yet seeing him dying was unbearably heartbreaking.
Tears rolled down her cheeks without her realizing it.
Heomuguk, struggling to breathe, gave a faint smile.
“Hongmyo… do you pity me…?”
“Shh. Don’t speak.”
Seoraehyang replied, her voice choked with tears.
But Heomuguk didn’t heed her words.
“My vision… is blurring…”
With each exhale, white mist puffed from Heomuguk’s mouth.
Seoraehyang moved closer to him.
She never imagined a moment would come when she would look down at him like this.
She screamed inside her heart.
Why are you lying here?
This isn’t where you belong.
Get up…
Get up and take me away somewhere…
But none of those words escaped her lips.
Instead, more tears flowed.
Suddenly, a cold sensation touched her fingertips.
Snow was falling.
On the blood-soaked plains of Seohwa.
“Is it… snowing?”
Heomuguk asked in a faint voice.
Seoraehyang nodded.
Though he couldn’t see, Heomuguk continued as if he had heard her answer.
“When I first saw you… it was snowing like this.”
Seoraehyang bit her lip hard.
She thought he had forgotten.
But he remembered.
Suddenly, the resentment she had buried surged up.
“Why… why did you…!”
”…I’m sorry.”
“Don’t say that…! You shouldn’t say things like that!”
Finally, Seoraehyang collapsed on the spot.
She reached out, feeling for Heomuguk’s face, and held it.
Heomuguk spoke with a blank expression.
“Please… forgive me.”
“I hate you. I hate you so much it tears my heart apart. I resent you. I don’t want to let you die like this. I resent you.”
Seoraehyang cried out, her face wet with tears.
Heomuguk was rapidly losing his life force.
After sobbing for a long time, Seoraehyang held Heomuguk’s cheeks and whispered.
“Goodbye…”
She pressed her lips to his.
And then it happened.
“Ugh…!”
Seoraehyang’s eyes flew open.
A powerful surge of energy coursed through her, almost knocking her unconscious.
“Ah…!”
As she screamed and tried to pull away, Heomuguk grabbed her quickly.
The veins on his hand bulged.
“Hongmyo, if you truly love me, sacrifice yourself!”
Just as he was about to absorb her energy,
Swish!
Thud!
“Ugh!”
A flash of light pierced Heomuguk’s throat.
As he attempted to use the Thunder Devouring Art, Heomuguk collapsed, dead.
Seoraehyang, barely escaping danger, staggered to her feet.
She survived only because Heomuguk was already gravely injured, and the energy of the Suradae Pill lay dormant within her.
Abandoned by the one she loved until the end, Seoraehyang was overwhelmed by an indescribable sense of loss as she looked down at Heomuguk’s cold, lifeless body.
Tears fell amidst the swirling snowflakes.
Sabigang approached her slowly.
The weapon that had ended Heomuguk’s life returned to Sabigang’s hand with a swift motion.
Sabigang, sheathing the weapon, asked Seoraehyang in an indifferent voice.
“Do you still think he was worth it?”
Seoraehyang bit her lip in silence.
Turning slowly, she replied in a faint voice.
“You wouldn’t understand. Loving someone isn’t about worth.”
Sabigang watched her retreating figure, then shrugged.
“Is that so? Not about worth…”
His gaze shifted to Heomuguk’s fallen body.
At that moment, a voice called out to him, and he turned.
A woman was running towards him through the falling snow.
Her cheeks flushed from the cold, the woman was none other than Maeseollan.
Her appearance, approaching through the white snow, was like that of a celestial maiden descending from the heavens.
“Are you alright? Are you hurt?”
“Perhaps… she was right.”
“What do you mean?”
“That it’s not about worth.”
“What are you talking about? …Wait, oh my! That’s the Blood Demon Lord Heomu…! Ugh…!”
In an instant, Maeseollan found herself pulled into Sabigang’s embrace, leading to a long, deep kiss.
Momentarily startled, Maeseollan soon relaxed, surrendering herself to Sabigang.
Well, what did it matter?
The war was over now.
After a long while, Sabigang looked at Maeseollan and spoke.
“I missed you, Seollan.”
“In this situation, such a greeting. Don’t you think it’s a bit strange?”
“What does it matter? It’s how I feel.”
“You’re incorrigible. But…”
Maeseollan gazed at Sabigang and replied.
“Thank you for surviving.”
The next moment, she covered his lips with hers.
And so, the two continued their long kiss amidst the snow-covered hill, filled with the scent of blood.
**
A cliff far from the plains of Seohwa.
A young girl stood there, upright.
She was the one the Demon Sect leader called ‘Jonya.’
Standing amidst the falling snow for a long time, the girl spoke in a calm voice.
“It seems the author knows our Demon Realm well.”
Then, once again, the girl spoke.
“What do you mean by that…?”
“It seems the author has been to the Demon Realm. There are too many things that can’t be explained otherwise.”
“Is that possible?”
“Who knows. Even I didn’t foresee this.”
The girl was having a conversation with herself.
She asked herself again.
“If we had deployed more monsters, couldn’t we have eliminated the target as well?”
“No. We can’t reveal all our cards just yet, especially with the target still around. We’re not fully prepared. But soon, everything will be in place.”
“Understood.”
“There’s no need to rush. Haste makes waste. We need to build our strategy step by step. First, we need a thorough investigation of the target.”
“I’ll look into it.”
The girl murmured respectfully, as if responding to her own thoughts.