Chapter 681
For a moment, a thought crossed my mind.
If the Black Hand Demon Fist hadn’t been there. If I had dodged the Finger Wind.
If only, at that very moment our palms met, the pain hadn’t shot up from the shoulder pierced by the Finger Wind.
If I had known that the martial art my opponent mastered was the Yin Cold Energy.
If, if only that had been the case…
Who would be the one left standing right now?
But I wasn’t given the time to find an answer to that question.
Crash!
The frozen flames died down, and the Yin Cold Energy that had swallowed even the fire swelled as if to burst.
Beyond the Unprecedented Power that shook the space, a hand shrouded in pure white light touched my chest.
Thud.
In that moment, only one thought filled my mind.
Cold.
Kwwaaaaang!
A storm of cold energy raged in all directions.
What struck me, who was at its center, was a fierce wind that battered my entire body, the surrounding scenery flashing by, and the tremendous repulsive force transmitted through my back.
Kwaddeudeuk!
Trees. Rocks. Grass. And on top of that, any unknown creatures unlucky enough to be caught in the blast.
It didn’t matter if they were dead or alive.
Everything that met my body as it was flung backward like a misfired cannonball was completely bent, broken, and burst apart. It was both a misfortune and a blessing that a thick stone wall stood in the middle of that path, a path my will had no control over.
Kwaang! Deudeudeuk!
An excruciating pain I could feel even in my dazed state.
The scenery that had been flashing past my vision every moment finally stopped, but the same was true for me, who had been thrown dozens of yards and was now embedded deep within the stone wall.
‘God…dammit.’
The voice I managed to squeeze out with all my might couldn’t escape my lips.
The world was reddish and blurry, and a constant ringing echoed in my ears.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Still, for tinnitus, it’s a bit unique.
“…Shit.”
I lifted my head with a hollow mutter.
Not the usual clear bell sound, but a warning tone signifying danger, accompanied by over a dozen hologram windows floating in the air.
‘I really got done in. Badly.’
A bitter smile escaped me unknowingly.
Pain surged relentlessly from the aftermath of all sorts of injuries.
My hands and feet, trembling from the chill of the Yin Cold Energy that had infiltrated my body, made a mockery of my state of being Unaffected by Heat and Cold.
‘I have to get up. I have to fight again…’
Contrary to my wishes, my body, with its screws loosened, wouldn’t easily obey.
I was cold and tired.
It felt like if I closed my eyes right now, I could get a good night’s sleep for the first time in a while.
Yes. Without any dreams or anyone to wake me, if I just slept until my back ached, everything would be better.
By the time I woke up, the pain assaulting my entire body and this goddamn disobedient body would be fine, and as I fidgeted under a warm microfiber blanket looking at my smartphone, I would hear my mom’s voice through the crack in the door.
– Jin Taekyung, Jin Hayeon, the food’s ready, so come out quickly.
Then I would sluggishly get up and head to the kitchen, and contrary to her words, I would set the spoons and side dishes on the empty dining table, preparing the meal.
While smelling the savory scent of doenjang-jjigae wafting from over my mom’s turned back.
‘Ah, this is nice.’
Thoughts that brought peace to my mind just by recalling them.
Contrary to the corners of my mouth, which were rising on their own, my eyelids kept drooping downward.
Ssk.
Something rough and damp brushed across my face.
The first thing that entered my vision as I slowly opened my eyes were sharp teeth and clear, pale blue eyes.
– Kiiing.
As soon as our eyes met, a faint laugh escaped me at the sight of Baekho whining like a puppy.
“…Is that you?”
– Geu, geueu.
Although I couldn’t understand it, I could feel it well enough. What meaning was held in that cry. What words it wanted to convey.
“Hoo.”
Pain came with each breath.
It felt like waking up from a long dream. The thoughts that had crossed my mind were long, but the moment that had passed was short.
Crushed stone dust fell onto my body, which was embedded deep in the stone wall of indeterminable thickness.
Only a few seconds had passed since I took the blow. There was still time.
Tuk.
I placed my hand, which was trembling from the cold, on the ground and muttered.
“Stop crying. I’m not dead yet.”
A reply to the beast, and at the same time, a word to myself.
That’s right. I wasn’t dead yet, and even if the embers had cooled for a moment, they could flare up again, time and time again.
Just like right now.
Hwaaaak.
The energy drawn up from my lower dantian heated hundreds of blood points as it spread throughout my limbs and body.
A fiery pain assaulted me as I temporarily sealed my ravaged insides, and something surged up my throat.
Cough.
Dark red blood flowed over my lips, but I paid it no mind. That was dead blood. In other words, Dead Blood.
And as soon as it, which had been eating away at my body and obstructing the flow of my energy, hit the ground, it was coated in a layer of white frost.
Paseuseuk.
Yin Cold Energy. And an extreme Yin Cold Energy, the likes of which I had never seen before.
In the past, during the Shaolin Bloodbath, even Eumgoe, one of the Twin Yin-Yang Fiends who had led the warriors of Dark Heaven in a raid on the Shaolin Temple grounds, hadn’t been this powerful.
“…Right, so that’s how it is.”
Muttering softly, I rose to my feet without hesitation.
Tududuk, with the sudden movement, leaves and stone dust that had clung to my body fell off, and a stinging pain arose.
But contrary to that, my insides were filled with a newly spread warmth. My hands, which had been trembling from the cold, and my blurry vision had both cleared.
Enough to recognize the two figures slowly approaching.
Sabak.
Footsteps slowly crossed the Poison-Blooded Land, which had turned from a swamp to a desert, and from a desert to a frosted land.
A few steps behind, the Black Hand Demon Fist wore a triumphant expression, but my gaze was fixed on only one person.
‘Damned old man.’
And just as I was staring at the old man who was leisurely walking as if admiring a landscape he had created, and I was raising White Flame at an angle, it happened.
“Unexpected. I was certain you wouldn’t be able to move after that.”
The old man suddenly spoke.
No, by now, I too knew his title. In fact, it might be more accurate to say I had remembered it.
“That’s for an old man like you, Great Snow Demon.”
“Youth is a fine thing. But why do you not know? That in a situation like this, it will only become more painful.”
The Great Snow Demon, who had answered without a hint of wavering, just as he had until now, continued.
“The fight is already over. If you surrender obediently now, I will spare your life. This is my first and last offer.”
“Sunbae! What are you talking about!”
Naturally, those weren’t my words. The Great Snow Demon shook his head at the protest of the Black Hand Demon Fist, whose face had contorted.
“This is a direct order from the Demon Empress herself. She said that although he would become a great source of trouble in the future if we let him live, we should capture him alive if possible. And the tide of victory is already on our side.”
“Even so…!”
“Shut your mouth.”
“…”
“I am not unaware of your feelings, but this is a matter of Heaven’s Will. If you question it any further, I will not forgive you.”
A frosty demeanor and tone. No matter how half-mad the Black Hand Demon Fist was, protesting any further would be insane.
“This son of a bitch…”
The Great Snow Demon lightly ignored the mutter that escaped through the man’s clenched teeth and extended a hand to me.
“Continuing a fight where the outcome is obvious is a foolish act. It would be better to surrender and plan for the future. If you do, both the Blazing Flame Sect and the Taewon Jin Clan can preserve their lineage.”
I, who had been staring blankly at the Great Snow Demon, answered.
Not with words, but with action.
Shwiing.
A sharp sound of something cutting through the air echoed.
The Great Snow Demon, who had moved exactly half a step to evade the Spear Defense, spoke calmly.
“I believe I made it clear. That it was my first and last offer.”
“So?”
“I thought you were quite clever, but in the end, you choose the foolish path. Have you not felt that the tide of victory has already turned?”
“The tide of victory, you say.”
Muttering softly, I continued.
“Honestly, I want to live too, but I’m not the type to surrender or run away just because it’s tilted a little. Unlike someone I know.”
The Great Snow Demon, who flinched for a moment, nodded slightly as if he had realized something.
“You know me.”
“I’ve heard of a title like Baekseolgi, or Great Snow Demon.”
“It’s not a title a young child like you could easily hear… Jeok Cheon-gang, the Fire King. Did your master tell you?”
“Then who the hell do you think told me, the Heavenly Demon?”
Shrugging, I continued.
“He said that if I ever met a bastard who uses Yin Cold Energy and Twin Wheels, that he would be the Great Snow Demon or his successor. He also said it was a shame he couldn’t kill you with his own hands, since you disappeared without a trace after killing the former sect leader of the Zhongnan Sect.”
“I, too, find that part regrettable. If I had met your master during the Great War of Justice and Evil, I could have killed the Fire King and made my name known throughout the world.”
“At best, you would have been called Ice God instead of Great Snow Demon. You son of a bitch.” (T/N: “빙신” literally means “Ice God,” but it’s also a deliberate pun on the slang “병신,” meaning “idiot/moron.” The author is using the title as an insult.)
For the first time, there was a reaction. Seeing the Great Snow Demon’s brow furrow, albeit slightly, I let out a smirk.
“Looks like you have some pride after all. No, seeing as you ran away back then, maybe you don’t have any at all.”
“I was merely planning for the future. I am not foolish enough to risk my life in a situation where the odds are overwhelmingly against me.”
In fact, even based on the information I had, the Great Snow Demon’s judgment at the time was cold and appropriate.
He had thrown the command structure into chaos by killing the former sect leader of the Zhongnan Sect, and in that gap, he had escaped Mount Daeseol and vanished without a trace.
But…
“So what.”
“What did you say?”
“In the end, you just ran away because you were scared. Because you didn’t want to die. Because you were afraid of dying. That’s why you didn’t show yourself for so long.”
“…You bastard.”
“You can’t really blame me. I don’t want to die either. But when you’ve lived to be that old, you should be honest sometimes, even about the parts you don’t want to admit. Don’t you think?”
A deep furrow was carved into the Great Snow Demon’s brow. At the same time, a powerful Yin Cold Energy rose and pressed down on the surroundings.
“I’ve heard enough. Your last words. I will pass them on when I meet your master in the future.”
Last words, huh.
‘Maybe so.’
I took a deep breath. My opponent was not some common riffraff you could find anywhere.
Moreover, facing two supreme masters while injured was no different from a suicide mission.
Death? Of course, it’s scary.
Ever since I became a hunter, I had always feared death, and it was the same after coming to the Murim.
But… now that I had taken a step toward accepting the word ‘death’ in my heart, it was different from usual.
‘I can do anything. Anything at all.’
A fight not to survive, but to kill.
Therefore, in this very moment, I could charge forward without sparing my own life.
Swaeeeaek!