—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Lee Rowoon was sitting on the sofa in a comfortable position, and on the floor
“Heh heh.”
“Ahem.”
“…….”
Han Do-baek and Kang Hancheol, along with Kang Eun-ha, were sitting with their knees neatly bent.
It wasn’t that Lee Rowoon had intentionally made them sit there.
‘How could we be in the same position as the Blood Demon?’
They had desired and begged to sit like that.
“Ahem.”
Kang Hancheol quietly raised his head and looked at the Blood Demon, Lee Rowoon’s, face.
He had felt it during the series of incidents that occurred at the front gate earlier, but seeing it now made it even clearer.
‘He has grown.’
Barely a little over a week had passed.
Lee Rowoon had grown again.
When they had first met, Lee Rowoon was somewhat readable, but now, even when right before their eyes, they couldn’t properly grasp Lee Rowoon.
“Perhaps…”
Kang Hancheol said, as if gathering courage.
“Has the Blood Demon reached the realm of (Talma)?” (a term referred to breaking free societal beauty standards).
Talma, beyond Geukma (which was a term for an extreme hater) in the righteous path, it meant the realm of Hyeongyeong (when everything was going right for a person).
In terms of players, it was a word that referred to the realm of high rankers who had surpassed level 200.
“Not yet.”
Lee Rowoon said.
“The reason you cannot read me is because of the power of my divine art, not because I have reached the next realm.”
It was a fact without a single lie.
The power of the Blood Demon Divine Art, especially the power of the True Blood, was extraordinary.
It was a stage where one completely controlled the blood flowing in their body, and at the same time, one could completely control the internal energy mixed in the blood.
That was why, unlike other martial artists who could only achieve it at the Hyeongyeong or Talma level, Lee Rowoon had already achieved the Banbakgwijin(Reaching the Truth through refutation and contradiction).
“However, considering the Blood Demon’s rapid progress, it is judged that you will soon reach the Talma realm.”
“Hmm.”
Lee Rowoon was not very interested in Talma or anything beyond that.
He was someone who had already reached the end in the past.
What he was doing now was merely repeating what he had done in the past.
Only the speed was incomparable to the past.
In the past, he had strived for almost thirty years, risking his life, and had reached his current level thanks to a combination of great luck and opportunities.
But now, in less than a month, he had caught up to that level.
As time passed, he would naturally grow stronger.
‘To a place that no one else can reach.’
So, there was no need to rush.
“However…”
This time, it was Han Do-baek.
“The current Blood Demon has already reached the realm of Talma.
Furthermore, The second Elder, who can be considered the closest aide of the current Blood Demon, is also in the realm of Talma.”
Han Do-baek decided to bet everything on the new vessel, Lee Rowoon.
However, it wasn’t a choice made because it guaranteed victory.
“In the Blood cult, there are a total of six elders, and there is the Right Guardian and Left Guardian. Among them…”
Here, were the Left Guardian, Third Elder, and the Priestess.
“There will be no more people who will side with the new Blood Demon.”
Han Do-baek had clearly seen the dense Blood Demon energy that Lee Rowoon possessed.
A Blood Demon energy that was comparable to the current Blood Demon, it was probably nothing less than a sign of the Blood Demon Divine Art that Lee Rowoon had spoken of.
“You cannot subjugate them with Blood Demon energy alone. Even if it is said that the true Blood Demon Divine Art exists…”
“They wouldn’t want to lose the vested interests they gained by pledging allegiance to the current Blood Demon.”
Although the Blood Cult was a religion, its color had faded over a long time.
The laws were still absolute matters that had to be followed, but weren’t there special situations that weren’t even included in the laws happening now?
Two Blood Demons.
The elders wouldn’t cause unnecessary strife and lose the vested interests they held.
Han Do-baek’s acknowledgment of Lee Rowoon as the Blood Demon was largely influenced by Kang Hancheol and Kang Eun-ha, not just because of legitimacy.
“Are there even any vested interests left in the Blood Cult?”
“Verily, even the smallest of vested interests, the wicked human heart does not wish to lose,”
Neither Kang Hancheol nor Kang Eun-ha objected to Han Do-baek’s words.
They too knew it.
That there was no longer any force that would join their side.
“There is only one way,”
Kang Eun-ha said, her eyes sparkling.
“The Blood Demon’s achievements are faster than we thought. We must quickly reach the realm of Talma, so that we can make the Blood Demon confront the current Blood Demon.”
It seemed plausible.
“If the Blood Demon defeats the current Blood Demon, then even the elders would have no choice but to accept the new Blood Demon, according to the laws.”
It was the right theory, the most reasonable method in the current situation where nothing was wrong.
However, there were a few problems.
“We don’t know how long it will take to reach Talma.”
“That…!”
“Even if you complete True Blood, you might not reach Talma. Well, you might reach it soon, I don’t know.”
What he was currently completing was not a finished product, but a part.
The very fact that one could come close to Talma with just one part was already a great thing.
“And Left Guardian, speak. Is the Priestess’s plan feasible?”
At Lee Rowoon’s words, which seemed to know everything, Kang Han-cheol lowered his head and said,
“It was a fatal mistake by the Cult. Thinking there was a high chance of conversion, due to the Fourth Elder’s nature, we contacted him….”
The elder Kang Hancheol contacted not just Han Do-baek.
He had also contacted the Fourth Elder, who didn’t have a good relationship with the current Blood Demon and had great ambition, and leaked the story of the new Blood Demon.
“However, the Fourth Elder had completely become a person of the current Blood Demon. A while ago, the current Blood Demon accepted the marriage proposal with the Fourth Elder’s child,”
Han Do-baek said.
The reason why Left Guardian Kang Hancheol was late to realize what had happened at the main Cult was because he had been focusing all his energy on the Earth’s affairs.
That was why Han Do-baek thought that trouble would soon occur, and he came here to try to get rid of Les Rowoon.
“If that’s the case….”
Kang Eun-ha’s face turned pale.
There was no way.
In the end, whether it worked or not, they had no choice but to face it head-on, risking death.
“There is a way.”
Lee Rowoon said, curling up the corners of his mouth.
“The current Blood Demon. Let’s catch him.”
“Pardon?”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
One day, a huge change occurred on Earth.
A shimmering, blue dimensional gate appeared.
But at the same time, something else appeared as well.
‘Dungeons.’
Dungeons were different from gates.
Instead of a shimmering dimensional gate, they often took the form of a building or a door.
For example, a form like a tower.
Or, for example, a form like a huge wooden door.
It was said that in rare cases, they appeared in the form of a window or a closet.
If you pass through a gate, you fall into an unknown land where monsters exist.
If you pass through a dungeon?
‘There is another world.’
That was the invasion of worlds.
Gate break was when gates that had been neglected for a long time reached a saturation point of magic, causing them to burst.
The result was the release of monsters existing within the gate.
But dungeons were different from that.
‘From the moment a dungeon appears, entry and exit from the inside and outside are free.’
There was one important thing to note here.
‘That it comes from the inside.’
It was true that at first, they didn’t even know the existence of dungeons.
Unlike gates, which emitted magic as soon as they appeared and could be easily felt, dungeons appeared naturally, blending in with everyday buildings.
The world became aware of the existence of dungeons at the moment when civilization was about to be devastated by the gate breaks that occurred everywhere.
‘Transcendent beings.’
Martial artists, who were only seen in martial arts novels, appeared in groups and defeated monsters.
Knights and mages, who were only seen in fantasy novels, appeared and subjugated monsters.
Also, at the same time, mythical demons, different from the monsters, appeared and fought against the martial artists and knights.
‘Invasion of worlds.’
Without even knowing, the humans of Earth were mixed with worlds they had only considered imaginary.
Humanity was saved by them.
Later, transcendent beings called players did appear among the humans of Earth, but they were no match for the inhabitants of the invaded worlds who had existed for countless years and fought against unknown beings.
In the end, the Earth had no choice but to accept the interference of new worlds.
‘Eun governs the Asian region.’
‘Einheart governs the Western region.’
Dividing the Earth, they exerted their influence.
The inhabitants of the invaded worlds said that it was merely to protect the humans of Earth and for mutual benefit, but there was no fool who didn’t know the truth.
‘Domination.’
The Earth had become a form that was no different from their colony.
“Blood Demon, you were originally a player, right?”
At Kang Eun-ha’s words, Lee Rowoon nodded.
“Have you ever been to Eun?”
Lee Rowoon pondered for a moment and then nodded.
“Once.”
Just once, he had set foot in Eun.
“It must have been difficult for an Earth resident to step into the world of Eun, may I ask where it was?”
But Lee Rowoon walked on without answering.
As he had said, Lee Rowoon had set foot in the world of Eun once.
But as a price for that, his comrades had betrayed him, and he had become a slave of the Hwasan Guild with the stigma of being a comrade killer.
Kang Eun-ha changed the subject when she noticed Lee Rowoon’s somewhat subdued mood.
“Currently, the main activities of the Blood Cult are concentrated in South Korea.”
It was perhaps natural that numerous forces of Eun had taken root in Asia, but it was also strange that huge forces had taken root in this small country.
Hwasan Guild, one of the three major guilds in South Korea, had also taken root in South Korea, and the backings of the other two guilds were also the forces of Eun.
Not the vast China, nor an island in Southeast Asia.
Not even the Eurasian continent, where the
confrontation between Eun and Einheart was the most severe.
There was no other explanation for the reason why the huge forces of Eun had taken root in this small country, South Korea.
‘Because the door opened here.’
Even if it was nothing short of a disaster for South Korea, there was no choice.
“The Blood cult’s main base….”
Kang Eun-ha said, stopping in place.
Already, Kang Hangcheol, Han Do-baek, and the Dark Blood Unit members and Black Sword Unit members were standing there, fully prepared.
“It is because the entrance to Blood King Castle opened here in Namyangju.”
Not only the three major forces of South Korea, but also the Blood Cult.
This land called South Korea seemed to have earned the nickname ‘Fire Peninsula’ for a reason.
Namyangju, more precisely, a corner of the Bukhan River bank.
The center of the river, which could only be entered after passing through a specially made structure and stepping through several arrays.
There.
Guung.
A plain-looking iron door was located there.
“When the door opened, we first swallowed the Kangha Group and bought this area. There, we hid this place by borrowing the power of the Blood Cult’s proud formation, the Jeoljin (the absolute truth), and even the powers of items and magic.”
That was the reason why the Blood Cult has been able to avoid being detected until now.
There were more complicated things involved, and there was the Blood Cult’s efforts to hide this place, but Kang Eun-ha didn’t explain them in detail.
“I can say with certainty,”
She said, facing Lee Rowoon with a somewhat serious face.
“The Blood Demon is the only Earth resident who has arrived here.”
“You must have recruited Earth residents, right?”
“What they are allowed to do is for the Blood Cult of Earth, not for the Blood Cult of Eun.”
Psh.
Lee Rowoon smiled at that.
That was probably what the residents of Eun thought of the residents of Earth.
Savages who couldn’t even create a dantian.
Idiots who couldn’t understand the deep subtleties of martial arts and martial studies.
Barbarians who could only become stronger by killing one thing after another.
Kang Eun-ha took the lead, and Kang Hangcheol and Han Do-baek stood beside her.
Red mist emanated from Kang Eun-ha’s body as she grabbed the iron door.
Her eyes changed intensely.
‘That’s the key.’
Moreover, the large blade that Kang Eun-ha always wore began to resonate with the iron door.
Koo-oong!
A huge rumble, hard to describe as just a mere iron door, occurred.
Screeeak-!
A thick, crimson light began to pour out from the opening door.
“Welcome. Blood Demon.”
To Blood King Castle, the main base of the Blood Cult, which was considered to be outside of the world even in Eun.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
