Not too far away from Travia, the carriage that Lee Sungmin and company were traveling on, came to a stop.
Sima Ryunju, who stopped the carriage’s advance, came outside briefly and looked at the snowy plains beyond the horizon.
Ye-Hwa glanced at Sima Ryunju with a tense expression as Scarlett, who was writing her book up until that point, sighed at the sight of the specific snowy plain in front of them.
“Why exactly are we bothering with this?”
“Don’t come out.”
Lee Sungmin took off his mask and held the spear tightly within his grip.
A few years ago, when he first came North along with Rubis at the time, Lee Sungmin had come to this very plain that was in front of him right now.
It was before he had even entered Travia back then, and before he had met with Byuk Won-Pae, the Crazy Heavenly Demon.
This snowy plain in front of them was home to a very dangerous being : Juwon, the Mad King of the Lycanthrope Tribe and one of the Five Black Stars within Predator.
Yes, it was home to the werewolf himself, Juwon, who before Lee Sungmin’s time, had committed mass slaughters and massacres on human villages.
Before nearing the territory, Lee Sungmin had told them about his first encounter with Juwon here. Knowing this, Jehu bit his lower lip as he heard the story.
Lee Sungmin was worried. How could he not be? He had even suggested to the others that it might be a good idea to turn around and go down a different route; even if it meant taking longer, it was still safer.
Yet, his pleas fell on deaf ears.
Sima Ryunju, his master, deemed it unnecessary to go around such a place and rather ordered the carriage to go directly to the location of Juwon’s territory.
….and now, they were stopped in the snow, looking from inside the carriage as Sima Ryunju walked directly outside.
-Don’t come out.
Lee Sungmin recalled what Sima Ryunju had just said to them. The tone of voice was not one that contained arrogance or contempt, but rather one of pure interest.
It was the same tone that Sima Ryunju had used when he and Lee Sungmin were in Cron, facing the hundred-man formation of the Heavenly Fist Sect; famed as the strongest hundred-man formation in the entire Murim Alliance.
Come to think of it, Sima Ryunju’s pattern of behavior was largely influenced by his ‘interest’.
Interest, of course, would not be the only factor that drove Sima Ryunju to act this way. There was also the reasoning of what he did to the Murim Alliance, and establishing discipline into Lee Sungmin by displaying their gap of strength clearly and properly.
However, ever since he and Lee Sungmin heard Abel talk about the end of the world, Lee Sungmin started to notice just how much Sima Ryunju had started to act out of ‘interest’.
It was likely to be caused by the progressive nature of Denir’s trial that ate at one’s mind and brewed boredom.
He was not stimulated easily, so he asked for Lee Sungmin’s troubles to stir his interest once more. It was purely out of unadulterated fun for him. He couldn’t get much fun out of the things he did anymore since he had reached the apex of human limits.
That was essentially this whole trip to the North for Sima Ryunju. It was purely out of ‘interest’.
To meet with Jehu and humiliate him in front of his disciple. To interrogate the Draconic Human into giving up information on Beyond the Heavens. And to meet the Vampire Queen, Geniella, to ask about her future that she saw. All of this was just amusing for Sima Ryunju.
Doubts about the ‘end’ didn’t hold much weight for Sima Ryunju.
It was because what Abel had told them was not a lie. It was inevitable that there was going to be an ending and a lot of people would die. Because of that mentality, Sima Ryunju had given up on lingering attachments and preservation of desires.
Yes, Sima Ryunju agreed with that ideology.
However, there was an exception to that for him. Oslo and Lee Sungmin. His benefactor and his only disciple. Because he did not care much about the world other than these two, he found interest in what they did. Like for example, how Lee Sungmin wanted to stop the end.
Such a desire of its own made Sima Ryunju move, and here he was at Juwon’s territory. The only reason they were here as a group, was because Sima Ryunju was once again, ‘interested’.
He also wanted to go alone and not have the help of Jehu or Lee Sungmin against Juwon. It was his fun to have and nobody else’s.
“In the Northern Forest near Edor.”
Jehu murmured. He clutched the left side of his chest, which had not healed yet.
“I suddenly got into a fight with Juwon, who had been chasing after me. I may have fired several ‘Breaths’ beforehand, and been physically exhausted from my skirmish with Kang Seok, but even so… I’m not sure I would ever be able to confront Juwon in a healthy state.”
Hearing that, Lee Sungmin had no choice but to feel a bit guilty.
Juwon had longed to fight against a real Dragon, claiming that it was the long cherished desire of his tribe. Now that all of the Dragons that were once in Eria, had moved to another dimension, the only thing in the world that could help Juwon fulfill his tribe’s long cherished dream of being the strongest race, would be Jehu, the half-dragon and half-human.
But the sole reason that Jehu was located by Juwon in the Northern Forest, was because of Lee Sungmin.
And…. as a result of their fight and from Jehu being in a terrible state prior to facing Juwon, he took a blow that was incurable.
“Juwon is very strong.”
Jehu lifted his trembling hand off the left side of his chest, where his wound still was.
He gazed at Lee Sungmin. Over the months of his journey here, Lee Sungmin had remained wary of Jehu, but he had not shown any obvious behavior and it was the same now.
“But your teacher is stronger.”
Jehu declared confidently as he was certain of both Juwon and Sima Ryunju’s strengths.
“I know.”
Even if the opponent was Juwon, neither Lee Sungmin, nor Jehu, thought Sima Ryunju could possibly lose. However……… He just felt that this pattern of selfish motives that Sima Ryunju, his master, was acting upon, were incredibly self-destructive.
[Are you worried?]
‘A little bit.’
Heoju giggled at Lee Sungmin’s answer.
[But you’re still worried about your master, aren’t you?]]
‘I’m only still a human, of course I’m worried.’
[You won’t have to worry. Juwon has become stronger over hundreds of years, but this old man can assure you that he is not as strong as your master.]
‘Still, there’s no need to seek out fights when there’s no need or reason to.’
[Then why don’t you stop him?]
‘Do you think he’d really stop if I just asked?’
Heoju continued to laugh at Lee Sungmin’s sarcastic remark.
Wuuuuuooooong.
At first, it was the carriage. Then it was the ground that followed after as the ground started to shake slightly.
Lee Sungmin grabbed his spear without even realizing it. It wasn’t just Lee Sungmin who felt the slight tremors.
Both Jehu and Scarlett felt it as they reacted in their own ways.
Scarlett covered her book cover over her face in fright, and Jehu looked out the window with a surprised look on his face. Lee Sungmin had already felt this odd sensation many times.
But of the three, Scarlett had not felt this before. Jehu and Lee Sungmin’s expressions hardened, while Scarlett turned deathly pale.
Even if one was at the Realm of Transcendence like Jehu or Lee Sungmin, it was impossible not to feel the overwhelming bloodlust surrounding them. For Scarlett, even if she was a great wizard, this was too much for her to possibly handle.
[Hold on].
Heoju spoke urgently.
[I don’t know what is going on right now, but Geniella isn’t hiding her presence at all. Any human being with a weak mind compared to her will break and collapse their sanity.]
Scarlett’s body began to tremble. She didn’t even understand why she was shaking.
Just raising her trembling hands to embrace her own shoulders was difficult. She started to hyperventilate and her head was pounding as if a centipede were crawling inside of it.
Lee Sungmin immediately reached out and grabbed Scarlett’s wrist. Scarlett’s eyes, which had been shaking and letting her vision blur, regained their focus when she felt his touch.
“……Ugh!”
Scarlett pressed down on her temples with a moan at her throbbing headache. While panting desperately, she gazed at Lee Sungmin’s eyes who were remaining calm.
Soon, she pushed Lee Sungmin’s hand away, which was gently wrapped around her wrist, with a look of embarrassment.
“……thank you. I-I just had a hard time responding to it at first.”
Scarlett replied as she moved her hands in a pattern to cast an auxiliary magic to clear her mind. After clearing it successfully, she quickly reinforced it with a mental barrier, just in case.
Jehu looked out the window with a nervous look on his face.
“This is…… a true… monster.”
Realizing just how dangerous the situation was starting to develop, Jehu gulped down his saliva reluctantly, evaluating the presence of not Juwon, but Geniella, who was openly flaunting her presence.
Geniella’s ominous and dreadful bloodlust that was being emitted was different from Sima Ryunju’s.
If you look at the sheer pressure itself, which was affecting one’s body and spirit, it was stronger than the pressure.. Or rather more relentless than the one that Sima Ryunju emitted.
Lee Sungmin had met Geniella face-to-face several times before, but this was the first time Geniella was showing such a strong and imminent bloodlust.
Lee Sungmin raised his internal energy quickly. There was a rumbling sound; like thunder was going off inside his dantian, as the internal energy surged through his circuit like fresh oil. The internal energy immediately uplifted the effects of Geniella’s pressure in a mere second.
“I said…’don’t come out.’”Lee Sungmin opened the door to the carriage as he was worried about his master, Sima Ryunju.
“What?”
Samaryeonju was standing atop the driver seat, next to Ye-Hwa as she was shaking the reins.
Lee Sungmin understood now why the carriage was rattling.
Under this kind of pressure, where even normal Transcendents would have a tough time alleviating the pressure, horses would never be able to hold out.
They were strong horses. Horses that had gone through many travels over the countless years, faithfully fulfilling their duties. Yet, such brilliant horses died and dropped like flies in front of nothing but Geniella’s mere presence.
In fact, Ye-Hwa was barely holding out thanks to Sima Ryunju infusing his internal energy into her body as a sort of barrier.
Sima Ryunju slowly took off his mask.
Sima Ryunju shook his head while lifting up Ye-Hwa with his internal energy back into the carriage while letting Lee Sungmin out of it.
“Long time no see.”
Sima Ryunju spoke in an annoyed tone.
“Oh, did I cause some kind of misunderstanding?”
The raging snowstorm suddenly stopped. Through the faint and light snowflakes calmly falling to the ground, a bright red eye shone.
Geniella was so close that it was hard to believe that she had been there this entire time and only just now, let her presence be known.
Whenever she walked towards them slowly, Lee Sungmin’s heart started to palpitate.
He knew that she was a monster of immeasurable strength, but he didn’t think that the gap would be this wide.
Just as Sima Ryunju was at the very apex of Transcendence as a human being, so was Geniella.
Her power was not something that should even be compared to in terms of looking at the other 4 Black Stars in Predator. She was a true ‘Predator’ in her own right.
“Misunderstanding?”
Sima Ryunju had first met Geniella one-hundred years ago.
It was right before he had entered the Forest of Fairies.
At that time, the meeting with Geniella was a coincidence, and the two of them had merely passed each other like it was a coincidence and nothing important in the first place.
That was the extent of their relationship with each other.
Sima Ryunju smiled satisfactorily at the power she was displaying.
Geniella’s eyes moved past the figure of Sima Ryunju.
For a moment, she paused abruptly. Looking at Lee Sungmin standing next to SIma Ryunju, she had no choice but to become incredibly flustered as she spoke.
“Why are you here?”
She had no choice but to ask since it was something off.
In the visions she had seen that showed her the route she needed to take in order to achieve the future she wanted, she had seen visions of herself meeting with Sima Ryunju here in the snowy plains of the North.
However… in those visions, there was not a single one with Lee Sungmin present, standing next to Sima Ryunju. It had immediately taken her by surprise. Obviously, when she had looked into the future, the closer to the time she peeked into it, the more accurate the vision was. Yet… only a few hours had passed and yet already something was incredibly amiss.
Why was Lee Sungmin here, who didn’t exist in any of the visions she had?
“What are you talking about?”
Lee Sungmin asked without dropping his guard in the slightest. Geniella immediately opened her eyes wide instead of talking.
Inside of her bright red eyes, mana swirled violently. Her eyes, which had been granted three different otherworldly powers, used the power of truth. The eyes that could pierce through anything opened wide as she stared right at Lee Sungmin’s figure.
Twice.
Geniella had twice used her magical eyes to look at Lee Sungmin prior to this.
The first time she had met him, she was able to see through his existence clearly like a thin sheet of glass. The second time, she had still been able to see through his existence relatively fine.
But now?
‘I can’t see……?’
A thick and murky fog was surrounding Lee Sungmin’s existence so that Geniella’s eyes could not even take a glance at his true existence. Geniella’s bewilderment only furthered.
Why couldn’t she see anything?!
“How messy.”
Sima Ryunju’s voice echoed through the plains, not giving Geniella the luxury of looking any further into Lee Sungmin’s mystery. He was looking around seemingly without any purpose to why he was looking away.
There was nobody but Geniella in the snowy plain. At least that’s what everyone else thought. There were vampires hiding amidst the shadows of the snow. Vampires were some of the best in the world when it came to stealth, but nothing could evade the senses of Sima Ryunju.
“Did you intend to fight me with your entire headquarters?”
“Hahaha!”
Geniella laughed in a shrill voice that boomed across the plain. Lee Sungmin covered his ears with her high-pitched laugh.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
The echo resonated throughout the entire plain, bouncing off the sounds as it made Lee Sungmin turn queasy.
On the shaking plates of the earth, Sima Ryunju remained completely unfazed.
“Ha-Ahahaha! Not fight?…. AHAHAHAH!”
Geniella laughed mockingly, seemingly not understanding what the hell Sima Ryunju was even saying.
“Is it too much? I apologize in advance then, but the opponent is someone worthy of such respect, so I’m sure you’ll understand.”
Sime Ryunju glanced at Geniella who was laughing, disinterestedly. Seeing this, Geniella’s laughter stopped and her eyes turned cold.
“I know why you’re here.”
“He says that you can see the future….”
Geniella’s eyes suddenly flashed violently at the words that Sima Ryunju muttered to himself.
“Who the hell- Hey! Who told you that?!”
“This old man found out by himself.”
“Lies.”
Geniella uttered coldly at Sima Ryunju’s sarcastic remark.
“Well…… it doesn’t matter.”
Geniella turned away, saying so.
“I’ll show you to my mansion. Now that I’ve come all the way here to meet you, I think I’ve treated you properly enough. Let’s go then…….”Geniella beckoned to Sima Ryunju to follow her, as per what she was expecting him to do as she saw in the visions. But then…
“I have a question.”
Sima Ryunju opened his mouth.
“How did you know that this old man was coming here?”
“I saw the future.”
“Really?”
Sima Ryunju smirked.
“Then have you seen this future?”
Right as the words left Sima Ryunju’s mouth….
Geniella’s severed head fell to the floor with a thud.