In the city of Germane, where tens of thousands of citizens were slaughtered 10 years ago mercilessly, A number of Transcedent Warriors had run wild. The Ghost Spear had gone mad, the half-devil Kim Jonghyun was crazed, and one of the Black Stars of Predator, Volander, had run his legion amok.
This was a city that went through such a terrible thing, but it had already been 10 years since it had happened.
Germane, the center of the tragedy, was a dreary and ruined city because of such a tragedy.
It used to be a big and populous city in the South, but it was nothing but a rotting den of corpses and housed exorbitant amounts of poisonous death energy.
Everyone was wary of entering such a city.
Furthermore, the fact that a new and suspicious group like the Blood Alliance was showing interest and activity in such a city was making the group of young orthodox martial artists nervous.
They knew too little about their surroundings. They came to Germane with the limited information already known about the activity of the Dark Wizards, but even after they arrived and tried to scout for more information, it was nigh impossible to gather any unless they ventured in deeper.
After the Ghost Spear had gone utterly insane and started to eat everything in sight, Germane had become poisoned with the thick energy of death and remnants of fear.
Not even weeds would grow in Germane as it was a city completely devoid of any and all life.
This was not an exception to the monsters either. Even if the remnants of fear and death energy could allow a monster to grow stronger, the concentration in Germane made all of those monsters die eventually because it was so thick.
Now that it had been ten years since then, some of the stronger monsters had been able to venture out into the depths of the city, but for humans, it was still impossible unless they had their own methods.
As the concentration of death energy and fear-based mana lowered, more and more visitors trickled in. That was likely to be the reasoning for the Dark Wizards entering as well.
But because of that, nobody was around the entrance, the ones who had a purpose in Germane were inside the city limits, making information gathering difficult since nobody would just stand around.
“AHHHHHH!”
The sudden scream was just the beginning.
“Blood Alliance…The Blood Alliance is with… these guys?
Murong Chae’s eyes shook with shock as he gripped the pommel of his sword tightly.
The enemies, who were moving quickly in front of the group from the 5 Great Families were leaving afterimages dyed in a red light. Their speed was so great that not even Murong Chae who had reached the Pinnacle of the Peak Realm, could not keep up with all of them at once.
The enemies had very distinct features. Pale skin, Red eyes…. It wasn’t a human.
“Vampires? Why the hell are Vampires here…?!”
Murong Chae grated his teeth as he immediately realized the situation was dire. The Blood Alliance wasn’t just working with Dark Wizards. They were working with Vampires! Murong Chae swung his sword desperately in between the moving afterimages of the Vampires.
However, the vampires skillfully parried or avoided Murong Chae’s sword strikes and even counterattacked him through the gaps in his swordsmanship.
Murong Chae quickly flinched and tucked a gasp in as he dodged their advances.
However… Although Vampires looked similar to humans, they had drastically better physiques, abilities, and senses.
But if it were just as simple as that, Murong Chae still would not be struggling as he was. If the Vampires he were facing were only like other monsters that just relied on their physical ability, he would be doing okay. But these Vampires had incredible martial ability and battle sense.
It wasn’t just these Vampires that had made Murong Chae fall into a pinch though.
“WRAAAAAAAA!”
There were dozens of figures on top of the Vampires that served to be an incredibly fearsome set of opponents.
Werewolves of the Lycanthrope Tribe and Dark Wizards were amongst their ranks.
There wasn’t even a proper fight once the other two forces joined in against the group from the 5 Great Families.
The group didn’t know what to do until the monsters offered them an offer they could not refuse.“Surrender. If you surrender we won’t kill you, but we will treat you as our prisoner.”After struggling futilely for so long and after their exhaustion levels reached their boiling point, the martial artists gave up their resistance.
And as a result of their surrender, some time had passed…* * *
“What are the numbers of casualties?”
“There are 23 deaths, 12 serious injuries, and the rest are minor injuries that we don’t have to worry about.”
It was a certain martial artist from the Blood Alliance who made the report. In the world of Murim, amongst the famous Unorthdox Martial Artists, the man who was making the report was rather well-known as his name was Yeong-Do.
Thanks to his infamy as a powerful Unorthodox Martial Artist, the Blood Alliance couldn’t help but covet his skills.
Yet such a well-known and infamous person amongst the Unorthodox Martial Artists, was bowing deeply with an attitude of subservience while giving a report like an underling would. Upon hearing the report, the vampire in charge nodded their head and approached the Dark Wizards.
“Will it be possible?”
“I don’t think I can give you a definite answer…… It’s a very esoteric thing to inscribe here. It’s not magic, it’s a seal carved through magic.”
The Vampire looked displeased when the Dark Wizard spoke meekly in a cold sweat. The Vampire did not like the Dark Wizards who only sat in the back and shot spells safely from afar.
“Try as hard as you can.”
But they couldn’t say anything bitter. It was because only the Dark Wizards that were present would be the only ones able to undo the seal placed in Germane. None of the monsters present had the capabilities to undo it. That was why cooperation was a must.
“Sealing?”
Murong Chae and all the prisoners from the 5 Great Families of the Orthodox Factions were subdued and unable to move. None of them were properly able to channel their internal energy because their meridians were blocked.
However, it did not mean that they could not hear what was being said.‘Seal…? What seal?’Murong Chae couldn’t understand what was going on from just those words though.
Most of them had surrendered when they said they would be allowed to live; albeit as prisoners.
Some resisted to the end, but strangely enough, the Vampires and Werewolves of the Lycanthrope Tribe did not try to kill them despite the ones fiercely resisting planning on fighting to the death. They subdued the rogue martial artists with force, but avoided trying to kill them as much as possible.
‘Why didn’t they kill us? And a prisoner…… I don’t understand how that would benefit them.’
While Murong Chae felt incredibly doubtful that their situation was a good one, Tang Ah-Hui moved closer towards Murong Chae and bowed her head with a look of resignation.
Tang Ah-Hui was feeling incredibly despondent to her situation. She had just been thinking before embarking on this mission for her family about finding a suitable marriage partner from another big family and settling down for good.
But now she was stuck in a situation on her very last mission where nothing was going as planned.
“Hey!”
The wounded Hwang Myeong-un shouted. He was soaked with blood and sweat because he fought until the end without surrendering.
He raised his bloodshot eyes and glared at the Vampire nearby.
“What the hell are you doing here? Why did you bring us here?”
The place where the orthodox martial artists were being held captive, was in the very area of Germane where the death energy was the most concentrated. Zhuge Aryong, who was confined to the side of Hwang Myeong-un and crouched with his head beneath his shoulders, glancing at the surroundings.
On one side of the enemy camp were the Lycanthrope tribesmen sitting down and drinking, the group of martial artists from the Blood Alliance were busy moving around with the Dark Wizards as their robes fluttered in the cold air, and the vampires were watching the captives.
“What are you going to do about it anyways?”
A cold-looking female vampire replied to Hwang Myeong-un snarkily.
“Did you really think we would treat you like some esteemed guests just because we took you in with the title of a prisoner?”
“What?!”
Tang Ah-Hui shouted out as she had an ominous feeling at the female Vampire’s laugh mixed with malice.
She looked back at the vampire with wide eyes.
“You said we would be treated well as prisoners if we surrendered!”
“You’re pretending to be such an innocent person. You know that’s not how this world works.”
The Vampire continued to laugh cynically at Tang Ah-Hui’s foolishness.
“You’re all going to die anyway. If you need some kind of reason to understand better, just think of it as some rotten luck.”
“WHAT….?!”
Tang Ah-Hui began to cry at the words. Tears started to well up in her eyes as she started to realize the severity of the situation and that she might just really die.
Murong Chae tried to twist his body out of the ropes that bound him and grated his teeth. He did not learn martial arts and train hard, only to die pitifully like this.
However, it was almost impossible to release the tightly bound ropes, as he couldn’t circulate any of his internal energy due to his blocked meridians that also limited his blood flow, letting his average human strength become completely insignificant.
“……before I die…… Let me ask you something.”
Zhuge Aryong’s mouth opened. He looked at the Vampire who was laughing at the group hysterically.
“Isn’t it unfair to die without even knowing what is going on here? Why didn’t you just killus earlier and just tied us up instead?”
“You are sacrifices.”
There was no need for the group from the Blood Alliance to try and hide their intentions. It was only because they were lazy and didn’t want to kill the annoying orthodox martial artists because it would be a hassle to deal with later on.
“More specifically, you will be the sacrifices needed in order to unseal this land.”
“The seal… the seal. You keep talking about some seal but what the hell is sealed here?”
“Rebecca.”
When the male vampire, who was talking to the Dark Wizard earlier, called Rebecca, she turned her head and stopped answering Zhuge Aryong’s questions.
“I’m ready.”
“They say so earlier.”
Rebecca nodded her head to the male Vampire and giggled as she looked at Zhuge Aryong’s helpless situation.
“Kekekeke little boy… one again, it’ll be easier if you just think of it as some bad stroke of luck.”
Rebecca went back to the group of vampires, leaving the captives with the teasing words.
“WAHHHHH!”
Hwang Myeong-Un shouted and tried to rush toward Rebecca’s back, but Rebecca kicked him with a light kick and forced him to roll on the ground pitifully.
‘A seal… A seal…….’
He would surely die soon. But Zhuge Aryong was more curious about what was sealed in this land rather than the fear of his own death.
The Dark Wizards slowly approached. As they raised their hands, a magic circle carved on the floor popped up and started to glow in a purple light.
Amongst the Wizards approaching the area where the prisoners were being kept, one rose up slightly into the air- seemingly as their leader.
For the leader amongst the Wizards, he didn’t seem to particularly care about taking the lives of the prisoners too much. Even if they failed now, it was only a couple dozen lives, they could always try again with more sacrifices.
Although it would be desirable to see it work on the first try, there was no reason to be despondent if it didn’t work the first time.
“Will it work?”
Rebecca looked at the Vampire standing next to her and asked.
The name of the Vampire she directed the question was called Lao Shen.
Lao Shen was the fifth direct descendant of Geniella. Among the vampires Queen’s blood descendants, he was the fifth-highest-ranking and most powerful vampire.
“I don’t know.”
Lao Shen grinned and muttered in reply.
Just as Dark Wizards were unsure if it would work, so was he. But somehow, they would have to unseal this land.
That was what Geniella, the Queen of all Vampires had ordered.
“There’s nothing we can do if we fail. It’s hard work, but we have to prepare more sacrifices next time if it doesn’t work this time.”
“There’s no proof that human souls are even a valid ingredient in order to remove the seal”
“Then shall we look for the person who created this seal in the first place?”
Lao Shen replied in an irritated voice. Rebecca shrugged her shoulders.
“…if it’s Queen’s future…….”
“Stop. …The Queen’s power to read the future has lost its power. It is impossible to find the person who created the seal because the timeline with the Queen’s power to read the future is finally caught up.”
Rebecca asked no more questions at the sharp words of Lao Shen. Success or failure, they would find out anyway in just a bit of time.
The Dark Wizards began to cast spells. A magic circle in the air shone, and the bodies of the fallen prisoners started to tremble. The seal engraved on the land itself was impossible to strike with physical force.
Therefore, the solution to break the seal offered by the Dark Wizards of the Blood Alliance was to shake the seal by using human souls as an alternative method.
At first the seal, little by little, started to shake. The first effects started to show once the light of life started to disappear from the prisoners who were suffering from grievous injuries.
Although invisible to everyone’s eyes, the souls of the prisoners, who left the bodies after their life force was extinguished, flew to the seal engraved into the land and were absorbed.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump, thump.
Thump, thump, thump, thump…….
The sounds of the souls barraging the seal was like someone knocking loudly on an invisible door in the air.
It was an eerie sound.
It was an intrusive and irritating sound that gave everyone present the chills.* * *
The sound of waking up was not refreshing at all. Lee Sungmin’s head was throbbing and his body felt incredibly heavy. It was like he was being woken up early instead of being able to sleep in early.
Would it have been more refreshing to wake up to the singing of the morning birds and the morning sun shining down through the window, and not an unpleasant banging knocking noise? Lee Sungmin had those thoughts.
Even if it wasn’t the chirping and sunshine of the morning birds that woke him up. To stop the repeated knocks, he would have to open his eyes if he wanted the annoying noises to stop.
Lee Sungmin was still feeling incredibly groggy. It was as if his entire body and mind was stuck inside of a muddy and sticky swamp with no strength whatsoever. Even still, if he wanted that annoying knocking to stop, he had to wake up.
“Kid.”
Thump. Thump. Amidst the annoying knocking noise, there was a familiar voice mixed in with the noise.
“Did you just wake up?”
“Oh.”
Lee Sungmin’s eyes finally opened and he saw a familiar scene. It was the scene just before he had fallen into his slumber.
Heoju was sitting in the middle of Lee Sungmin’s white mental world of his consciousness. Before he lost consciousness, what he saw was Heoju sitting with his arms crossed around his knees, waiting solemnly. It was the scene he had last seen right before his body and mind had finally collapsed and fallen victim to the Predator of Massacre.
Only this time, it was no longer a cracked and broken world of white. It was clean- completely pure and healed.
“I thought I would have woken up sooner, you must have waited a long time.”
Heoju lifted himself up.
“Your broken mental world recovered little by little while you were asleep. It turned out like you said.”
“Did you wait for me through all of that?”
“Honestly, I wanted to give up and leave but I was determined to stay since I saw the cracks start to repair themselves.”
Heoju grumbled but had a slight smirk at the corner of his lips he tried to hide as he continued to speak.
“To be honest, I was worried if the Predator of Massacre would be revived as well once you woke back up.”
However, there was no sign of the Predator of Massacre. It was as if he was a parasitic leech that just attached itself to Lee Sungmin’s mental world when he revived. But since Lee Sungmin’s mental world had effectively been destroyed and recreated from scratch, the Predator of Massacre could do nothing since it was already erased when the world was destroyed.
“How long are you going to sit down like an idiot? Aren’t you awake now? Do you need me to smack you around a couple of times?”
Heoju grumbled and Lee Sungmin grinned at the words he dearly missed hearing as he shook his head and rose himself up.
“No, it’s okay.”
Lee Sungmin was awake.
“Let’s go.”
And got himself up. It was time to wake up in the real world once more.