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Editors: Ytho, LaidBackGuy
December came without notice.
In this time, Crazy Heavenly Demon passed the blood ring technique down to Lee Sungmin, but it wasn’t as simple as merely handing the manual over. They sparred repeatedly every day in order for Lee Sungmin to master the techniques.
“You… ”
Crazy Heavenly Demon sat down and looked at Lee Sungmin, who was resting and mulled over his words. Crazy Heavenly Demon hesitated for a moment and then said with a deep sigh.
“You are not very used to practicing new things.”
“You can just say it. I am stupid.”
Lee Sungmin grumbled. The Heavenly Demon Blood Rings technique created through Crazy Heavenly Demon’s enlightenment was comparable to that of Nine Heavenly Spears. It wasn’t easy to learn.
Fortunately, thanks to Lee Sungmin’s high level of martial arts, he quickly grew familiar with the Crazy Heavenly Demon’s Blood Rings. But the problem was elsewhere. Even if he was familiar with the Blood Rings, it meant nothing if Lee Sungmin could not apply it during a fight.
“I wish you hadn’t been a Spear-wielder!”
Crazy Heavenly Demon sighed. He only fought with the Blood Rings martial art without relying on anything else. But Lee Sungmin was different. His inner martial arts used Inner Force, while his main battle technique was the Nine Heavenly Spears technique, and Shadowless was his main movement technique. He had mastered the three martial arts during the time spent in his subconscious. Lee Sungmin had a lot of experience with those three martial arts. That’s why he knew how to harmoniously use so many martial arts and could deal with his body being unable to follow by improvising.
But the Blood Rings were different. Internal martial arts were martial arts that only worked with Inner Force. The Blood Rings technique would not interfere or clash with the Nine Heavenly Spears technique or Shadowless either. If he was able to master it, he could add the strength of the Blood Rings to the moves of Nine Heavenly Spears technique.
However, Lee Sungmin’s innate talent did not make it easy. It was as difficult as using two, three, or four martial arts at the same time. If he added his support magic into the mix, the amount of inner force he would need to expend and the moves he would have to focus on would increase exponentially. Fights wouldn’t always necessarily turn out the way you’d expect them to either. No matter whether it was improvisation or concentration, it would take an extreme amount of effort to coordinate all those techniques simultaneously.
“You’re not stupid.”
Crazy Heavenly Demon murmured with a sullen face. He sat with his arms folded and stared at Lee Sungmin.
“You’re just slower than others at getting used to it.”
“Doesn’t that just mean I’m dumb?”
“No, it’s not that. If you hadn’t mastered anything, you wouldn’t be having as much trouble as you are now. But you’ve already mastered your current techniques. You’re already on the verge of Transcendence with your other martial arts. So now that you are adding another technique to it, you will need time to adjust.”
It was nothing new. Lee Sungmin knew his problems well. However, Lee Sungmin was able to adapt to the blood ring techniques thanks to Crazy Heavenly Demon and Heoju guiding him intensively. If Crazy Heavenly Demon instructed Lee Sungmin’s technique from the outside, Heoju gave him advice from within.
[It would be easier if you just used my powers.]
‘Those comfortable powers are too questionable.’
If he used Heoju’s powers, he would very likely turn into a yokai, and if he became a yokai, he would no longer be a human. In fact, that was what Lee Sungmin feared. How would he change when he becomes a yokai? To become non-human meant giving up his humanity and becoming unable to think or act humanely.
Lee Sungmin could not forget the appearance of Ghost Blade after he had become a vampire. Even though he was human, he drank blood. Although vampires and yokai were different, Lee Sungmin did not exactly know what yokai were.
When he took up Heoju’s offer and used his powers to turn into a yokai.
What would he look like at that time? How would he think? If he changed, what would happen to the version of ‘him’ that existed before it? Would there still be a ‘Sungmin’ who remembered Baek Sogo and Wijihoyeon?
Heoju also did not urge Lee Sungmin too strongly. He knew what Lee Sungmin was feeling. The choice was his to make. What he would decide to pursue, what he would gain, and what he would lose would only be the results of the choices he makes.
“So boring.”
Rubia grumbled while watching Lee Sungmin and Crazy Heavenly Demon. It was nice to have a break from their tiring homeless life and restless journey. It was only for a day or two, but she was already itching to stay at the inn for over a month at least.
‘When will master get here?’
Rubia sipped warm milk as she thought. Even when she first set off from the Sleeping Forest, she thought that since she met Lee Sungmin, she would soon get to meet her master, Envirus. However, it had already been a year without any sign of Envirus coming back.
‘Have I really been abandoned? No, of course not. It’s simply that the time is not right yet.’
With such anxieties bubbling up within her, Rubia was feeling strange. The journey with Lee Sungmin was quite enjoyable. Encountering several exciting situations that she had never experienced while following Envirus was thrilling for Rubia.
‘I feel like something is about to happen again.’
Rubia thought, feeling a little excited.
But as the end of December arrived, things did not happen as Rubia expected.
That didn’t mean that Travia was peaceful. There was something going on both over and under the surface of the city.
The Black Mages parties continued. It was unknown what they were pursuing, but there was always a man at the centre of the party. The man with a mask covering half of his face didn’t say much, but there were always people around him.
“A greedy human.”
Today’s party was special. Among the many mages gathered in Travia, only the select were taking part in it. However, that wasn’t what made it special. What was special was the participation of the Vampire Queen.
Geniella sat on the spacious sofa on the second floor of the private room overlooking the hall. The vampires belonging to her were all sitting around her. At the door, Kim Jonghyun raised his hand and took off the mask covering half of his face.
“What do you mean greedy? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You are also shameless, huh?”
Geniella laughed. Kim Jonghyun looked at the man sitting next to her. Aside from Geniella, the man with vivid red eyes was giving off the strongest aura in that room. He was gulping down the liquor without any rest.
At one point, that man had the title of Bloody Heavenly Demon. That was back when he was still human. The left arm, which had been cut off in the fight against Minor Heavenly Demon, was now intact.
“I’ve seen so many mages, but no human was as special as you.”
Geniella murmured.
“You are a black mage, but you are not subordinate to the devil. It is not uncommon for a Demon King to die out. But in such a case, the black mage that mortgaged their soul would face the same fate as the Demon King they are attached to.”
“There were several coincidences that came together.”
Kim Jonghyun replied with a smile. Originally, he made a contract with the Demon King Caladra to become a mage and would have had been extinguished along with the extinction of Caladra. However, when Kim Jonghyun was summoned to Eria, he was able to escape the fate of extinction like Caladra.
“You have become a mutant.”
Geniella murmured. He was both a human but a non-human at the same time. That was enough to call him a mutant.
“So what do you want? You’ve arranged a meeting like this, so there must be something you want.”
“Let me join Predator.”
Kim Jonghyun said with a smile. It sounded more like an order rather than a request. Kim Jonghyun’s attitude made Geniella laugh.
“You are not even a Lich, and yet you want to enter a non-human group?”
“There’s no need for me to become a Lich. Do you feel like I’m not good enough?”
“Ahaha!”
Geniella laughed and shook her head.
“I’m not rejecting you. If I wanted to refuse, I wouldn’t have wanted to talk. You want to join Predator? Sure. I’ll accept you as a member. But what do you want to achieve?”
Geniella’s eyes narrowed as she smiled happily. She looked keenly into Kim Jonghyun’s eyes as if she could see his innermost thoughts.
“What do you think Predator is?”
“It’s a group of non-human monsters that rejected their humanity.”
“That’s right. We aren’t human. We are monsters that reject humans and eat them. If you want to join Predator, you need to be a monster by definition.”
“Are you asking me to consume human flesh?”
“That’s not necessarily what I’m saying. What will you do to prove your monster status?”
The question was like a test. Kim Jonghyun felt that his fate would be determined by the answer he gave to it. Geniella was an unrivalled monster even in this wide world. The vampire queen, who had lived for many years, had magical powers and exceptional vitality. No matter how Kim Jonghyun dealt with the powers of the Demon King, being a mutant, there was no way he would be able to compete with terrible.
“Are you satisfied with your drink?”
Kim Jonghyun opened his mouth.
“The blood of a pure blood, newborn babies, pregnant women, and so on. I am not a vampire, but I have prepared various things to suit the taste of one.”
“Ahaha! Do you think this kind of tribute proves that you are a monster?”
“Of course not.”
Kim Jonghyun said and looked down. He saw many warlocks and witches enjoying the party. The beautiful virgins and youths were standing around, entertaining them. They were the slaves who were brokered and purchased through Erebrisa.
“I will give them all to you as an offering.”
“That’s rather trivial.”
Geniella smiled and shook her head.
“I can get such a tribute like that whenever I want. But… Hu-hu! I’ll take it. It’s not enough to prove your status as a monster, but enough to prove your insanity.”
Geniella said and raised her hand. The space split apart, and she pulled out a necklace with the pattern of a dark black five-point star on it.
“This is a black star that proves you are a member of Predator. Here.”
Kim Jonghyun received the black star with his hands open. The five-point inverted star was the symbol of the devil’s worship and the five monsters at the peak of Predator. Alongside the Vampire Queen Geniella, there was the King of Lycanthropes, the King of Death Knights, the King of Lichs, and the King of Yokai. Warlock Kim Jonghyun would be the subordinate of the Lich King.
“Then let’s enjoy the offering, shall we?”
Geniella slowly got up. Then the other vampires sitting next to her also got up. The warlocks, witches, and other attendants of the party were celebrating, completely ignorant of the massacre and feast about to happen soon.
[Queen.]
A voice rang out in Geniella’s mind as she went down the hall. It was a member of her clan.
[The human of interest is about to leave Travia.]
“Aha.”
The content of the reports she received was always different. Geniella grinned with narrowed eyes. She glanced at Baek Museon that was following her.
‘Go to Freskan right now, and tell him to sit down quietly and not pull any kind of nonsense. Tell him that if he disobeys, he will immediately perish without even going through Arbeth.’
Arbeth was the king of Lichs. He held one of the thrones of the black star along with Geniella. Normally, the Vampire Queen, Geniella, could not be involved in the disappearance of a lich. However, since Arbeth had decided to overlook it, she could do as she pleased. In fact, Arbeth would not care even if Geniella completely destroyed Freskan.
“The child who defeated you is about to leave Travia.”
Geniella said to Baek Museon. His shoulders trembled at her words.
“Keep this in mind. You are forbidden to kill him. You may do as you wish to him as long as he doesn’t die.”
“… Yes, my Queen.”
Baek Museon replied, a hint of a fire burning in his red eyes. If he were still human, he wouldn’t have listened to Geniella. However, the current Baek Museon was not human. For the past two months since becoming a vampire, he could not move. It was because of Geniella’s orders.
Baek Museon didn’t even feel dissatisfied with Geniella’s order not to kill Lee Sungmin. All the feelings he had for Geniella were washed away once he became a vampire. Nevertheless, a hint of killing intent and hatred directed toward Lee Sungmin still remained. Baek Museon turned around while bowing his head.
“Despair has to be shared.”
Geniella muttered in a joyful voice.
“Just like he pushed you into the pit, you must push him into it too.”
Geniella burst into laughter as she recalled Lee Sungmin.
*****
(t/n: sorry for the delay! Some strange situations came up. Here are your 3 weekly chaps. Enjoy~ )
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