Proofreader: Gort
*****
Lee Sungmin fell into deep thought. As the group knew where the Queen was, there was an opportunity to do something . He knew that he had to fight the Queen, and he wanted to increase his chance of winning by at least a little bit.
Nero and the Blood Demon.
Between the two, Lee Sungmin’s heart leaned towards the Blood Demon more. The distance between Cheped and Pemud Volcano wasn’t that far was the most significant factor in his choice.
Honestly speaking, taking down Nero wasn’t that hard. Even if he, as the successor to Juwon, had immense power, he wasn’t a match for Lee Sungmin. On top of that, Lee Sungmin wasn’t alone now. He had Yana the Gumiho, Baek Sogo, the Spear King, Jehu, and the Red Sage Scarlett.
That wasn’t all; Teresa, a saint of the Church, could utilize holy power to undo curses and heal wounds, making her powers fatal to the undead.
“Will you help me?”
Lee Sungmin asked Lloyd. Even in the past, Lloyd had been on Lee Sungmin’s side. Lloyd was sacrificing his lifespan to the Weiss without hesitation to get valuable information for Lee Sungmin.
“You are asking a pointless question.”
Lloyd smirked.
“I also wish to prevent the Apocalypse. Also… if you think about it, the “current” Apocalypse is due to my master and Abel-nim, who killed my master. As their disciple, I wish to take on responsibility.”
Another mighty force was added to his team. As the Golden Tower Master as well as the owner of the Weiss, Lloyd was one of the wizards that were at the top. Lee Sungmin thought briefly and spoke.
“Do you know the location of the leader of the Lycanthropes, Juwon?”
“The Weiss can only look at things that are “happening. It looks at many events happening worldwide and records the most important events. The descents of the Spirit Kings and their falls are recorded so we can see them, but Juwon isn’t on the Weiss.”
“Does that mean he isn’t doing anything as of now?”
“There aren’t any rumors of Juwon making a move; of course, the Weiss doesn’t only record rumors but also looks at the more secretive things. However… there is no record of Juwon in the Weiss.”
Lee Sungmin was slightly disappointed. If he knew where Juwon was, he wouldn’t have to decide between Nero and the Blood Demon; he would go kill Juwon. However, his location was unknown.
[Do you know what it means to kill the Blood Demon?]
Heoju spoke, seeing that Lee Sungmin was having a hard time choosing.
[He is one of the bloodlines of Geniella. If you kill him, his power will return to Geniella.]
‘Is that so…’
[Vampires gain power that way. However, there is another method we can try.]
Heoju spoke, smirking.
[There is an easy method that can also make you stronger. Predation.]
‘Predation?’
[It is as it is written. You can eat that thing known as the Blood Demon.]
It was a passing thought, but it made Lee Sungmin’s face harden.
[If you kill it, its powers will return to Geniella, making her stronger. However, the story changes if you eat it. You have the mind of a human but the body of a monster. With that, Predation will be easy; you also have the Black Heart.]
It wasn’t like Lee Sungmin didn’t know what Heoju was talking about. Instead, he understood too well. He had experienced it once before.
[It is different from back then. Your body fully turned into a monster, so there is no need to worry about turning into a yokai or losing your humanity. If you feel uncomfortable drinking blood and chewing on flesh, can’t you ask Oslo?]
‘That’s true… but just thinking of eating a Vampire feels weird.’
[Don’t worry. You won’t turn into a Vampire because you eat one. Instead, you eating a vampire can bring significant benefits. Do you know what that is?]
‘What is it?’
[You can never turn into a Vampire.]
Heoju laughed.
[The only type of creature that turns into a Vampire after being corrupted by it is a human. Monsters can’t turn into Vampires after being bitten by one or eating one.]
That was one of the dangerous things about fighting a Vampire as a human. Even if you were stronger, a slight moment of carelessness could turn you into a Vampire.
‘I cannot bring Baek Sogo (사저) and Scarlett with me.’
It was best not to worry so he could fight without holding back.
Baek Sogo and Scarlett walked up to him.
“Are you fine with it?”
Scarlett asked, furrowing her eyebrows.
“I don’t want to turn into a Vampire, so I don’t want to go. Is that fine with you?”
“You don’t know how many Vampires are in the Blood Alliance. Isn’t it a bit too dangerous? Aren’t you being a bit too reckless?”
“I don’t think I’m being reckless at all.”
Lee Sungmin shook his head. He knew that the majority of the high-ranking Vampires were with Geniella.
Nero was in Cheped, but the fact that Juwon’s location was unknown worried Lee Sungmin slightly. The best-case scenario would be that Juwon was with the Blood Alliance.
If he could kill both Juwon and the Blood Demon, he would be able to cut down a big chunk of Geniella’s force.
“The Black Dragon and Yana will be going with me. I am not that weak as well.”
“I saw you beat up that Spirit King. Of course, I don’t think you are weak.”
Scarlett muttered.
“I…I wish to help.”
Baek Sogo opened her mouth.
“What if there’s the one in ten thousand… ten thousand chance where you are put in a life-threatening situation?”
“If it gets dangerous, I will escape.”
Lee Sungmin said shamelessly.
“Please, trust me.”
Baek Sogo stared at Lee Sungmin with bitter eyes but did not say anything. She nodded slowly and looked away.
—
Lee Sungmin summoned the Pegasus to return to the Forest of the Fairies. He planned to stay in the forest for one day and hit the Blood Alliance tomorrow. It was partially because of the Pegasus’s limit but mainly because the sun was setting.
“Don’t we have to split up?”
There were 6 individuals in the group. Rubia had gone into Lee Sungmin as a ball of light, but there still were 5 left. The Pegasus was big, but it could not fit that many. Scarlett spoke up after a brief pause.
“Why don’t you hug someone? Or give them a piggyback ride.”
“What?”
While the group talked, Yana silently walked forward. Her nine tails surrounded her, and after a flash of golden light, she turned into a fox; she was covered in golden fur, small enough to fit into someone’s pocket.
“…Yana-nim…?”
[If I do this, can we make it in one trip?]
Yana tilted her head upwards and asked. Her mouth didn’t open, but everyone heard her voice.
Scarlett looked at Yana and gulped. Baek Sogo, who was usually calm and collected, shuddered as she stared at Yana.
“…So cute…”
[Do not touch me.]
Yana’s cold voice rang out. She jumped onto Lee Sungmin’s shoulder.
Lee Sungmin, who was worried that she would fall, grabbed her soft body and hugged her. She twisted slightly, making herself more comfortable in Lee Sungmin’s arms. Her golden eyes stared at him.
He thought about ruffling her fur but decided against it to avoid Yana’s wrath.
—
“You have a lot of friends, huh.”
The Spear King, who was sitting cross-legged, meditating, commented with a dazed face.
At this, Lee Sungmin smiled slightly. Honestly, he didn’t have that many friends or connections; he had lived too busily, too fast, to create long-lasting relationships. However, the friends that he had were all incredibly accomplished figures. Yana was a Gumiho that led all the monsters. Scarlett and Lloyd were archmages that shone at the top of all magicians, while Baek Sogo, the Spear King, and the Black Dragon were Transcendents that stood on the pinnacle in the world of Martial Arts. Even Teresa, who didn’t have much fighting power, was a prodigy in terms of holy power.
They fit together perfectly.
It was because everyone’s skills worked harmoniously that made Lee Sungmin worried. From the beginning, Lee Sungmin had almost always been alone. Heoju was there, but he could only support Lee Sungmin mentally. Now, he was surrounded by experts that were on a similar level as him.
To prevent the Apocalypse.
Lee Sungmin had many farewells with most that he met.
The Crazy Heavenly Demon.
Abel.
The Lord of the Sama Order; his master
Those that helped and traveled with Lee Sungmin were dead, but that didn’t drag him into despair; instead, it gave him the power and conviction to keep moving.
That was why he was worried. What if this was fate playing around? What if, from the beginning, they were never meant to prevent the Apocalypse?
…What if…what if, after struggling meaninglessly, they all died?
‘I will escape my destiny that fate has given me.’
However, what about the fate of this world? As long as Lee Sungmin was trapped in the gigantic cloud of fate that covered Eria, he won’t be able to truly escape his fate.
Lee Sungmin rubbed his hardened cheeks, trying to get rid of his doubts. While staying at the Forest of the Fairies, he thought about what to do next.
The Spirit Queen had yet to descend to the Sleeping Forest. The connection between Rubia and the Spirit Queen had been severed due to her becoming a familiar, but since Lloyd had joined them, the Weiss could figure out when the Spirit Queen descended. When the Spirit Queen descends, the group could use the Weiss to figure that out and travel to the Sleeping Forest to stop her.
The problem was the two Spirit Kings that had yet to descend: Water and Earth. The Spirit King of Wind had been reverse summoned by Lee Sungmin, while the Spirit King of Fire was eaten by Aine. However, the Spirit Kings of Water and Earth had not shown any signs of descending.
“The Spirit Kings get stronger the longer they stay in Eria. As soon as they descend in one of the designated spots, every spirit with that affinity starts to travel to those spots,” Rubia commented.
The longer they stayed in one place, the more disadvantageous the situation got. Lee Sungmin had easily reverse-summoned the Spirit King of Wind, but that did not mean that the Spirit King was weak. His winds were strong enough to blow away hundreds of Peak Martial artists and overwhelm some Transcendents.
And they get stronger the longer they stay in this world.
Lee Sungmin wished he had multiple bodies.
The Spear King opened his mouth. “We have a lot of people here. Why don’t we split up?”
“…What?”
“If you were going to struggle alone, why did you bring us together? Aren’t we here to do things that you can’t, the things you can’t do alone?” The Spear King cracked his neck and complained.
“You are going to the Blood Alliance with the Black Dragon and Yana. Then, I shall go to one of the Spirit Kings. Fighting earth should be easier than fighting water, so I will fight the Spirit King of Earth.” The Spear King chuckled.
“I will go with you.”
“Hey kid, how old are you to call me ‘you’?”
When Lloyd said he would go with the Spear King with a serious expression, the Spear King shot back with an annoyed expression. Lloyd turned his head with a bewildered expression.
“…Eh?”
“Kid, I’m slightly over 200. Are you older than me? Huh?”
“…I will call you hyung-nim.”
Unlike his appearance, the Spear King seemed to have a childish side.
“Then I’ll go to the Spirit King of Water with Baek Sogo. If we can’t defeat it, we can escape, so don’t worry,” Scarlett, chewing on a jerky, said in between bites.
Lee Sungmin was surprised and slightly embarrassed. It hadn’t been long since he got rid of his doubts that this was all a trick of fate, but now everyone was trying to go down dangerous paths.
“The old man is right,” Baek Sogo started to talk.
“You don’t need to do everything yourself. We agreed to help prevent the Apocalypse, so we want to help in any way we can.”
“But…it’s dangero-”
“You are also going down a dangerous path, aren’t you? As you said earlier, trust m- no, trust us,” Baek Sogo said with a small smile.
Looking at her eyes which shone with sincerity, Lee Sungmin could do nothing but nod.
“I understand. Please, do your best.”
“Why are you making the mood so sad? Try to be happier. After all, aren’t we going on a fun trip?” The Spear King yawned.
*****
TL Notes: It seems like our boi is learning to trust others now. Thanks for reading!