The hand of Imugi moved faster, and he tried to subdue the opponent who was going berserk.
“Kuaak!”
Lee Suk screamed. His movements were unreasonably quick, and while they were clearly not up to par, it suddenly felt like his body was better than those of regular warriors.
This was the power of demonic energy.
The innate energy was called lifespan. Fear of demonic arts came from the fact that they used one’s lifespan and that a person would sacrifice that for power.
“What do we do…”
Yong Jin was also trying to subdue them, but he was being chased.
They managed to get out of danger with their treasured weapons, but the problem was the opponents of theirs. He was worried about what to do with an opponent he was not allowed to kill or hurt.
“We need to kill them! Come on!”
Imugi and Yong Jin were in danger, so Songhwa shouted that and used one of his abilities.
As soon as Songhwa ended the chant, the effect appeared at once.
The movement of the two crazy demons which had been running rampant had stopped.
“This cannot be done. Captain I am sorry but…”
Imugi made the decision right then, and after condensing the energy within his sword, he went for the opponent.
Swish
The sword pierced the chest of Lee Suk at once.
His body which had been grumbling slowly fell back, and soon his eyes showed their whites.
“Leader… thank you.”
It was their last will.
But that was not the reason for the hardened expression or the voice. It was because Seol-Hwi was supporting his head with his arms.
“I am sorry, Lee Suk, rest in peace.”
Seol-Hwi lowered his eyelids and closed them. Maybe because he had a calm expression, the captain instead looked more desperate to Imugi.
“KUAAK!”
Yuam moved from Songhwa.
He looked around again and then rushed for Seol-Hwi who was close by.
“Captain!”
“Dodge!”
“Captain!”
Seeing the rapidly approaching crazy demon, Imugi, Yong Jin, and Songhwa shouted in turn.
Seol-Hwi reacted a little late as this wasn’t a situation where they were just enemies. He stared at the bizarre way the face of Yuam had changed to and did not even move when he began to get too close.
But the results were rather unexpected.
Kwaak!
Right before the attack reached him, Seol-Hwi’s body vanished like an illusion. And almost at the same time, he appeared right behind Yuam and grabbed his head.
“I am sorry.”
And with that, came the sound of his skull being crushed and blood splashing everywhere.
The moment he smashed the skull of the opponent, his entire body was stained in blood.
“Ah….”
“Oh…”
Imugi and Yong Jin who were watching the scene let out dumbfounded sounds. It was completely unexpected to see their own captain kill the former subordinate.
“But please understand, I couldn’t let you be played around by the ones called System.”
The reason Seol-Hwi used his hand was because he couldn’t let the system play around or take away the will of his subordinate.
A person’s death was not something to be manipulated by someone else. What was the existence of that person then?
So he chose to kill him in one hit. It was not for the end of a character in a game but for the end of Yuam.
“Euk!”
“Everybody back off!”
Just in time, the people on the other side of the sewer shouted.
Shh! Swish!
A bunch of sword energy came rushing up, but the sword energy did not hit anything and fell down. Then came the sound of water splashing.
A black cat was in front.
And Hyang Gae was there too. Lastly, it was a woman he had never seen before and 12 masked men following her.
“I guess you were really talented? I think I know why the Supreme Pavilion Lord and his followers died.”
The eyes of the men focused on the woman.
She was a beauty.
But it was not a simple feeling of beauty but a sensual and captivating one, a beauty not commonly found in the Demonic Sect.
And yet, there were parts of her which said she belonged here.
“A woman who accompanies Hyang Gae…”
Seo Ryeong continued at the words of Yorim,
“Si Ah-young. The head of the Jade Girl House which leads around 200 women. The cat over there seems to be some regular black cat but it can track an enemy up to a thousand miles if it wants to.”
“So you are saying us running wasn’t worth it?”
Imugi asked.
“Right. So we have no other option but to fight.”
In fact, his subordinates were already ready for death when they saw Hyang Gae, the man of the First Disciple. This only helped them from not losing their morale.
Tuk
Hyang Gae came up. And he asked while looking at Seol-Hwi,
“Are you their leader?”
“Yes.”
“At first I thought about catching you alive but… you worthless things ran wild and so I will guide you all along the path of death.”
“…”
Despite the intimidation, Seol-Hwi felt nothing. Only one thing stayed in his mind.
SYSTEM.
How can he go against this guy when that thing was making it hard to even survive here in the first place.
“Yorim.”
Seol-Hwi called the members to come to his side.
“Yes, Captain.”
“If I start running out of control you should be sure to run from here without looking back.”
“Captain. Say it now…”
“I will not take no for an answer. Do you understand?”
At those words Yorim put on a confused expression for a moment. And after a moment of silence he lowered his head.
“I will lead the crew well.”
Seol-Hwi experienced the death of Ju Myung and felt that he had to make a decision right here. If this situation was a thing the system had intended, then what can he do now?
He did not have the ability to do anything right now. He had never beaten someone as skilled as Hyang Gae on his own.
It will be difficult to deal with Hyang Gae and guide his subordinates.
“Why are you not speaking? Are you afraid?”
When Seol-Hwi did not answer, Hyang Gae asked again.
Si Ah-young next to him smiled as she said,
“Looks like he has come to realize… the unfathomable gap that exists between us.”
“You…”
Seol-Hwi’s expression softened at her words and he asked,
“You are the one who controlled the demonic energy?”
“…Uh?”
“Lee Suk, Yuam, and Ju Myung. These are the people who were alive until now. And then someone released the demonic energy and pushed them into becoming crazy demons. Am I wrong?”
Then it had to be her.
She, not Seol-Hwi, was the one who killed his subordinates, and as the thought reached his mind, his eyes changed.
“So what?”
Si Ah-young smiled. It meant that she alone caused this to happen.
“Well. It just happened, so.”
Tuk.
Seol-Hwi began to point out the blood.
Hyang Gae’s brow narrowed as he watched it.
“You, did you…”
“Right. It is Demon Blood.”
It was a technique that caused the demonic energy to run wild in the body. In a way, it was like a crazy demon. Instead of being able to gain power several times what they currently had, it instead brought one close to death.
Seol-Hwi decided to go all in.
He decided to completely make this well planned game insane with his actions.
One could not beat someone smart with superior intellect alone. The only thing that could oppose rational and calculating beings was madness, not reason.
This was the only way he could rebel against the system.
Tsss
And it worked right then.
When the demonic energy he had put to sleep with Taiji energy got out of control, it began to run wild as he intended.
“Now!”
Seol-Hwi could feel it die down and hurriedly shouted to his subordinates.
Hearing this, Yorim relayed it to the other members and quickly leaped. And as Seol-Hwi said, they ran without looking back.
“Kuaaak!”
It took an instant for the amplified demonic energy to lose reason.
His reaction had calmed down for a moment, and his eyes turned green.
“So exhausting. Falling in love with the self…”
“Tch.”
Hyang Gae glanced to a side at Si Ah-young’s words.
And three masked men chased Seol-Hwi’s men while five moved for Seol-Hwi.
Pik
The approaching masked men immediately moved with their swords at the ready.
Flutter
At that moment, Seol-Hwi’s body turned into an illusion. And the purpose of his footwork changed as he continued to leave illusions.
“…!”
Seol-Hwi appeared behind the three masked men who were chasing after his subordinates.
As soon as they noticed Seol-Hwi, they tried to fight back, but it was too late. Dozens of sword energies moved for them.
Tuk! Tuk!
The three masked people had lost their lives and collapsed.
In the meantime, two more masked people rushed at Seol-Hwi, and this time, they swung their swords first. It was quite a difference compared to the first time.
But—
“…!”
“…!”
Seol-Hwi appeared right between the two.
Thud!
The heads of the two masked men were captured at the same time and…
Puak!
Without the fingertips of Seol-Hwi even touching the men, their skulls shattered.
“Stop! You people step back!”
Hyang Gae stepped ahead as if he could not watch this anymore, and he looked around at the actions as he observed it a little.
He had not yet grasped the skills of the opponent who had the skills to reach the level of Supreme Demon and had footwork that was already on the level of Supreme Demon.
Moreover, it was unknown what this man was aiming at, and his martial arts seemed unusual.
Srng!
“Hah!”
Hyang Gae took out his sword and immediately moved. Seol-Hwi, who was now like a crazy demon, easily avoided it, but it didn’t matter.
Wheik!
When he swung the sword again for the second time, it felt different.
Jjjkkk!
It was a lightning strike.
It was an attack in which the air held the power of lightning, one on a different level from what Seol-Hwi used.
This was the land attribute of the Four Peak Demonic Martial Arts. It was a lightning attack used to take people down.
“Kuk!”
This time even Seol-Hwi could not escape. He stood there as his body was electrocuted.
“It is done.”
Hyang Gae swung his sword and pierced the body of Seol-Hwi.
Tuk
Seol-Hwi knelt due to the attack, but his eyes were still alive.
Look at him.
Despite his heart being pierced, the demonic energy within did not die down. And the injury was not reduced.
It was the time when Hyang Gae was infusing energy into the sword again with the intention of cutting his throat.
Shhhh!
Sword energy all came from different directions. And it was like he hurriedly wrapped the energy around for defense.
“Save the captain!”
“Move!”
The man’s subordinates screamed. Apparently it seemed like for them, their captain needed to be rescued.
“I will end this.”
Si Ah-young stepped out.
“As simply as I can.”
Hyang Gae answered.
Considering her usual personality, it was strange for her to let people run wild.
Shh!
Purple light rose at her fingers. One of the highest levels of demonic arts in the sect came out.
Nothing could be seen
Not even a sign of a struggle.
After Seol-Hwi came to his senses, he opened his eyes.
“…”
A disaster—
He saw his subordinate’s corpses abandoned like trash.
And—
“Have something to say before you die?”
Hyang Hae asked him with his sword in front of his eyes.
“Haa…”
It was a strange feeling.
He surely told them to run, so why did they come back here?
Was it the will of his men to come back and save him? Or the will of Theirs?
Was the system trying to harass him until the very end?
“Things to say before I die… of course.”
Seol-Hwi raised his head. And he spoke looking at Hyang Gae.
“System. I promise that nothing will go your way.”
“…”
“It is a futile thing to do… it won’t happen anymore. I will take everything from you.”
Hyang Gae titled his head like he could not figure it out and then nodded.
Slash
Seol-Hwi’s throat was sliced by the sword and this appeared.
<Eight lives remain.>
One his own and the eight obtained from killing Wang Mo-ryeok.
Except for one of them, it was an announcement which said he had eight lives left to live.