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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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“You cannot enter!”
“You dare insult me! Do you not know who I am?!”
A commotion was unfolding at the front gate of the villa. Security guards in suits were blocking a short, thin old man. At first glance, it might have looked like strong men were harassing an elderly person.
“Do you truly…”
That is, if they didn’t know the old man’s identity.
“You must wish to die.”
“Third Elder!”
The old man’s identity was Han Do-baek, the Third Elder of the Blood Cult. His nickname within the cult was Cold-Blooded Blade. At some point, a chillingly blue aura had enveloped the large sword held in each of Han Do-baek’s hands.
“I must see for myself.”
“Did the Left Guardian permit this! The Left Guardian said that if anyone…”
The guard, or rather, a warrior of the Dark Blood Unit, one of the Left Guardian’s direct subordinate units, didn’t back down as he spoke.
“No matter if it’s the Third Elder, we were told absolutely not to yield.”
Despite the warrior’s words, Han Do-baek swung his sword.
Kwaaaang!
Cold-Blooded Blade Technique, Han Do-baek’s pride and joy; everything froze along its trajectory.
“This is my final mercy. What sin did you, mere disciples, commit? If you step aside now, I will spare your lives.”
“Third Elder… I apologize.”
“Yes. That is the proper attitude of a Blood Cult member.”
Flash!
Han Do-baek’s eyes gleamed with killing intent.
“Die.”
It was the moment right before Han Do-baek’s sword swung once more. The greatsword, aimed precisely at the warriors of the Dark Blood Unit, traced its trajectory. It seemed as though it would shatter not only the warriors who stood without hesitation but even the main gate itself.
Shudder.
For a moment, it stopped and trembled.
“Third Elder!”
Kang Eun-ha’s neck was poised in front of the greatsword’s blade.
“Lady. What is the meaning of this?”
“What is your meaning, Third Elder! Did the Left Guardian permit this?!”
“…Ugh!”
Even if it was Han Do-baek, the Third Elder, Kang Eun-ha was someone he couldn’t easily disregard.
She wasn’t comparable to the Blood Demon, but the Holy Maiden was an important figure within the Blood Cult.
She was positioned above the elders, but below the Blood Demon.
“Lady. Do you not know what the Left Guardian is doing?!”
Han Do-baek finally lowered his greatsword and shouted.
“He is throwing himself into a pit of fire!”
“Third Elder.”
“He is dividing the Blood Cult, which has finally gathered and is about to rise after crouching for so long!”
“Third Elder!”
“I cannot leave him to die like this.”
“Who said anyone is dying?!”
Han Do-baek, the Third Elder. He and the Blood Cult’s Left Guardian shared a special bond. Their connection from the Eun Era went without saying, and their relationship had deepened after they came to Earth and worked together after Earth and Eun intertwined. Therefore, Kang Hancheol went to find Han Do-baek.
“I must see with my own eyes.”
What kind of being this true Blood Demon was.
“I must see if this Blood Demon Divine Art truly exists!”
Whether he was truly a being worthy of causing such a commotion.
“Then you should have come with the Left Guardian!”
Kang Eun-ha’s words were correct. However, Han Do-baek came here secretly, without Kang Hangcheol’s knowledge.
“What Elder Han Do-baek is attempting is treason!”
“Indeed, you are perceptive.”
Han Do-baek couldn’t help but admit it. The reason he came to this place where the new Blood Demon was, without Kang Hangcheol’s knowledge, wasn’t simply to confirm if he was the true Blood Demon. If he met him and found him unsatisfactory…
‘Kill him.’
He intended to kill him right here. Even if it meant crossing a point of no return with Kang Hangcheol. Even if Kang Hangcheol killed him for it.
“That is the duty I can fulfill for my dear friend.”
He thought it was better than Kang Hangcheol and the Holy Maiden throwing themselves into a pit of fire.
The current Blood Demon was the inheritor of the Blood Demon Art, which hadn’t appeared for generations. Moreover, he ascended over a decade ago, consolidated the Blood Cult, and was expected to complete the Extreme state of the Blood Demon Art, the Blood Demon God.
‘Even if the one here is the true Blood Demon…’
He wouldn’t be able to withstand the current Blood Demon, nor the power of the Blood Cult rallied around him. In the end, the new Blood Demon, along with Kang Hangcheol and Kang Eun-ha who supported him, would all be charged with treason. Therefore…
“Step aside. No matter how much of a lady you are, I cannot hold back any longer. If I cannot pass, you and the Left Guardian are as good as dead.”
“Third Elder…”
A strange standoff. It was the moment when the Third Elder raised his greatsword once more to end the standoff.
Kwaaaang!
“Third Elder, no, Han Do-baek! What is the meaning of this?!”
Kang Hangcheol, having heard the news of Han Do-baek’s actions, arrived immediately.
Kang Eun-ha, Han Do-baek, and Kang Hangcheol.
The three were in a standoff.
“…”
Kang Hangcheol bit his lip.
‘I expected this.’
He had anticipated it when he told Han Do-baek about the new Blood Demon. However, he hadn’t imagined he would act so urgently and radically.
“Why were you so hasty?”
If only he had waited, just a little longer. Kang Hangcheol felt resentment towards his old friend for that.
“…I received intel that Hwasan is moving.”
“…!”
“The Society must be making its move.”
Kang Hangcheol closed his mouth as if he had known.
“They must have found a lead. What would happen if you shook the Cult by bringing forth a new Blood Demon in this situation?”
The Society had caught a scent. They would likely attempt to eradicate the demonic cults. And if Kang Hangcheol caused a commotion…
“You will be the first to be abandoned, thrown to the enemy as bait.”
The current situation was dire. And in such a situation, this unprecedented event of a new Blood Demon’s appearance occurred.
“I believe there is a possibility that he is a spy.”
It was a thought that Kang Eun-ha had also entertained.
“How dare you-! Are you saying I failed to recognize the Blood Demon Divine Art?!”
“That’s not what I’m saying. You know, don’t you? That the Heavenly Demon Cult has been researching the Blood Demon Divine Art for a long time. The vermin of the righteous sects may not know, but the Heavenly Demon Cult has every possibility of attaining the Blood Demon Divine Art.”
“You-!”
A roar like a lion’s burst from Kang Hangcheol’s mouth, and the very earth seemed to overturn.
“Blasphemy!”
“Even if he is the true Blood Demon, nothing changes!”
Han Do-baek did not back down.
“There are two Blood Demons who have learned the Blood Demon Divine Art! It is enough for one to disappear! At this time, rather than causing division within the Blood Cult…”
Sssssss.
A chilling aura began to envelop the great sword Han Do-baek held once more.
“It is right to kill him and be done with it.”
“Han Do-baek. You’ve finally crossed a line you shouldn’t have.”
“For the sake of my friend and my lady, my life is but a straw to be cast aside.”
Whoosh!
Infernal flames began to rise from Kang Hangcheol’s fists.
It wouldn’t have been strange if they clashed right then and there.
Yet, the reason they remained motionless was that they knew whoever moved first would signal the true end.
However, this meaningless standoff had to come to an end.
“I will sever your limbs and beg forgiveness from the Blood Demon.”
In the end, it was Kang Hangcheol who moved first.
And the victor was also predetermined.
Even if Han Do-baek was a Supreme Demon, he hadn’t reached the mid-stages.
On the other hand, Kang Han-chul’s realm was the peak of the Supreme Demon; the difference was like a vast river that could never be bridged.
“Kill me then.”
A fight between friends.
A fight where they had to harm each other to save each other.
“Why bother severing limbs?”
Their fight was abruptly interrupted by a voice.
“I, I greet the Blood Demon!”
Kang Hangcheol prostrated himself, the infernal flames receding from his fists.
And Han Do-baek…
Trickle.
He broke out in a cold sweat without realizing it.
‘I didn’t even… sense his presence.’
Lee Rowoon stood behind him.
He hadn’t even sensed his presence until he was standing right there.
“Han Do-baek! What are you doing! Quickly address the Blood Demon!”
Kang Hangcheol, still prostrated, shouted, but Han Do-baek could only stare at Lee Rowoon while sweating profusely.
Even though he was right before his eyes, his presence felt faint.
If he had been targeting him, he would have become a corpse without a doubt.
‘How…’
It defied common sense.
A Supreme Demon.
How many people in the world could deceive his senses, honed as a Supreme Demon, right in front of him?
“Han Do-baek!”
And what about those eyes?
The pale reddish hair, the half-closed crimson eyes.
‘It’s the Blood Demon.’
He had no choice but to acknowledge it.
“You… the new Blood Demon…”
If he knew nothing, he would have dismissed it as a mere physical characteristic, but if it was said that he was the new Blood Demon, then that appearance was clear evidence of the Blood Demon Divine Art.
“Now that you’ve recognized me, shouldn’t you greet me?”
“I, I greet… the Blood Demon.”
Although he felt no particular aura, Han Do-baek bowed his head under a strange pressure.
“And Left Guardian, hey, don’t bother prostrating yourself like that.”
“B-But…”
“Ha. Am I the Blood Demon, or are you? Making a grandfather and granddaughter sound the same.”
“I apologize.”
“I just let you do it at first to establish things. I don’t like that kind of useless formality.”
“I-I’ll keep that in mind.”
Lee Rowoon curled the corners of his mouth, looking satisfied.
Still, Kang Hangcheol, with his extensive experience, didn’t engage in a lengthy retort like Kang Eun-ha.
“Oh, and don’t take it the wrong way if I speak informally. I’m probably the oldest here.”
“Is that…?”
“……?”
“Over a hundred? So don’t take it the wrong way if I speak informally.”
Han Do-baek couldn’t make sense of it.
Unless he was a fool, he wouldn’t think that he came here with good intentions.
Moreover, he couldn’t have missed the conversation he just had with Kang Hangcheol and Kang Eun-ha.
Despite that…
‘This attitude…’
Did he think of him as nothing, or was there another meaning?
“And you said the Blood Cult was going to ruin? Why needlessly sever the limbs of your followers? Are they my followers, or yours?”
“That’s…”
“So.”
Lee Rowoon’s eyes turned towards Han Do-baek.
“You came here to kill me?”
“……!”
“To spare me if I meet your approval, and kill me if I don’t measure up?”
Lee Ro-woon smiled with half-closed eyes.
But Han Do-baek felt a chill as if his entire blood was freezing.
He could be certain.
‘I’m going to die.’
If Lee Rowoon even slightly willed it, he would die.
“Haa…”
Expelling the chill that seeped deep into his bones, Han Do-baek spoke.
“That is correct, Blood Demon.”
“Hooh.”
“The current Blood Cult already serves a Blood Demon. The existence of a new Blood Demon will cause great division within the Blood Cult, which has only just been unified and stabilized.”
“You’ve got spirit.”
Lee Rowoon curled the corners of his mouth and took a step.
Tap.
He approached Han Do-baek.
Their faces were a fist’s distance apart.
The taller Lee Rowoon looked down at the shorter Han Do-baek.
Lee Rowoon’s eyes took on a deeper crimson hue.
“And?”
“…….”
“So? Do I meet your approval?”
He did.
Someone like this… he now understood why Kang Hangcheoll acted with such conviction.
But even so…!
“Proof…, I need proof.”
“Proof.”
Lee Rowoon took another step back.
His index finger extended at some point.
A drop of blood began to form on it.
That drop of blood…
Fwoosh!
It transformed into a sharp needle and stopped before Han Do-baek’s eyes.
Trickle.
Another drop of sweat trickled down Han Do-baek’s face.
“I greet the true Blood Demon!”
He prostrated himself and shouted.
It was a completely different greeting from before.
He, too, was an Elder of the Blood Cult.
So, he couldn’t misidentify or be mistaken.
That thin needle, the Blood Demon Qi he felt brimming within it!
“This lowly Han Do-baek! I dare to apologize for the sin of doubting the Blood Demon! I offer my right arm as atonement!”
Having shouted so, Han Do-baek raised his great sword without hesitation and was about to bring it down on his right arm.
Clang!
The blood needle he had seen earlier struck the flat of the great sword and deflected it.
“I told you not to do that, didn’t I? You’re awfully disobedient.”
Lee Rowoon was crouching down, looking at Han Do-baek.
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