novelraw Chapter 222 : Ice White Demon Lord Seori (1)
Chapter 222 : Ice White Demon Lord Seori (1)
Chapter 222: Ice White Demon Lord Seori (1)
Before the elders could even swallow a scream, the skull of the Sura Twin Monster burst apart, and chunks of flesh splattered all the way up to the ceiling.
Only a moment ago, the seat where the Sura Twin Monster had been sitting was now littered with blood and bone fragments, and lastly, a severed tongue rolling about like that of a mangy dog.
“……!”
“…….”
No one could speak.
No one could even raise their head.
Without a single word of rebuke—through just one glance and a single utterance—one person vanished.
Cold sweat streamed down the brows of the elders who were trembling as they held their breath.
Yo Uirim’s hand was clenched tightly around her knee, already spasming, while Jisal Sosu bit down on his lower lip until it bled.
Yet even in this situation, the Blood Demon’s expression did not change in the slightest.
“Those whose faith wavers shall find only death.”
Though his voice was low, it spread throughout the hall like a resounding echo.
Tremble.
Everyone except the Sword Demon and the Blood Wheel Asura shook like aspen leaves.
“Blood Cult Eternal Prosperity!!”
“E-Eternal prosperity!!”
“Blood Cult Eternal Prosperity!!”
As if waiting for this moment, Gwangrang shouted at the top of his lungs, and the other elders hurriedly followed.
The desperate chant continued without end.
Their appearance—straining with all their might simply to avoid ending up like the Sura Twin Monster—was grotesque to behold.
‘Tsk, tsk. Worm-like bastards.’
Sword Demon Jo Yangpung twisted the corner of his lips as he looked down at those prostrated before him.
He felt not the slightest pity for the Sura Twin Monster who had been reduced to scraps of flesh.
He thought only that the creature had paid a fitting price.
To doubt the Blood Demon, who was the demonic sky and the rightful master of this world.
What greater folly could there be?
Fanatical faith filled his eyes.
Swish.
At some point, without anyone noticing him move—
The Blood Demon was already standing before the prostrated Gwangrang.
“Gu Gwiguang.”
“Y-Yes? Y-Yes! Did you call for me?!”
Gwangrang Blood Blade Gu Gwiguang slammed himself flat against the floor as he answered.
The Blood Demon had merely spoken his name.
Yet cold sweat poured down Gu Gwiguang’s spine.
“Do you believe in me?”
“I believe!! I stake both my soul and my spirit on my faith!!”
He shouted his answer without the slightest hesitation.
The Blood Demon, who had been watching him with emotionless eyes, spoke quietly.
“It is not a lie.”
“……!!!”
At words that felt as though they had rummaged through his very insides, Gwangrang Blood Blade felt as if he were about to lose his mind.
Before he could regain his composure, the Blood Demon continued in a tone whose meaning he could not yet grasp.
“Those who keep their faith shall receive a reward.”
The Blood Demon slowly raised his hand.
Saaaah!
From the open palm of his hand, black currents of Qi began to form.
Like blood seeping from a wound, demonic Qi flowed from the Blood Demon’s hand, condensing into a small pellet glowing with a blood-red hue.
Amid the chaotic demonic Qi swirling overhead like a typhoon, Gwangrang Blood Blade unconsciously lifted his head.
“Ah… ahh.”
His eyes became clouded.
Stimulated by the supreme divine power that stirred the very origin of a demonic practitioner, Gwangrang Blood Blade let out an unbidden cry.
“Swallow it. This is a ‘seed.’”
The Blood Demon slowly extended his hand.
Gwangrang Blood Blade’s eyes shook as if an earthquake had struck.
But his hesitation did not last long.
If he did not eat it, he would die anyway.
Realizing by instinct that there was only one possible choice, Gwangrang Blood Blade stretched out his trembling hand.
Gulp.
He swallowed the mysterious Qi Pellet into his mouth.
And then—
KWAANG—!
RUMBLE!
“Kgh… KRRRAAAAGH—!!”
In an instant, Gwangrang’s spine bent like a drawn bow.
The savage energy contained within the Qi Pellet lashed out through every corner of his body like falling lightning.
Bulging red veins rose across his skin, and unknown energies tore through his flesh, creating grotesque distortions.
Soon his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed on the spot, convulsing violently.
“H-Hiiik!!”
“Ugh!”
At the horrific spectacle of Gwangrang vomiting blood endlessly as if the floor itself would drown, the remaining elders trembled in fear.
Yet, for some reason, the Sword Demon and the Blood Wheel Asura watched with strange light in their eyes.
And then—
Wooooong!
SHAAAH—!
“GRAAAAH!!”
His cries of pain were brief, as a sudden new change overtook Gwangrang.
The body that had been torn apart and grotesquely twisted rapidly reassembled into its original form.
The overflowing, berserk energy settled down.
It was as though the seed bestowed by the Blood Demon had fully taken root within his body.
The elders who had been prostrating themselves all snapped their heads up, staring blankly at the sight.
“T-That’s impossible…?!”
“Extreme Demon…?!”
“Manifestation Realm!!”
The elders collectively sucked in a breath.
They could not help it.
The boundary of martial mastery that could never be crossed no matter how many decades one trained.
A heavenly realm reached by only a tiny handful even among demonic practitioners.
‘He broke through… the wall of Extreme Demon!!’
Gwangrang had crossed the wall of the Manifestation Realm with absurd ease.
And that was not even the end.
The unknown demonic Qi boiling within his body was continuing to multiply without limit.
“Master…!!”
Gwangrang knelt on the ground, his head bowed low.
From his blood-soaked face, tears of gratitude streamed down.
His voice trembled, a mixture of rapture and fear.
At that moment, the Blood Wheel Asura—who had been watching the scene—raised his voice.
“What are you all doing!! Prostrate yourselves before the grace bestowed by the Demon God!!”
That was right.
The reason the Blood Wheel Asura and the Sword Demon had attained martial might incomparable to before was precisely because, like Gwangrang, they had accepted the Blood Demon’s grace.
The elders instantly grasped how the situation had unfolded.
“We believe—!!”
“O sole Demon God of heaven and earth!! We believe as well!!”
“Blood Cult Eternal Prosperity!!!”
“Bestow your grace upon us as well!!”
The elders’ eyes had completely changed as they screamed until their throats were raw.
As demonic practitioners who sought nothing but greater power, thick greed clung to their voices.
Yet amid this uproar, there was one man alone who was lost in entirely different thoughts.
‘…That power? That can’t be possible?? No—how…?’
Gui Yeongja pressed his forehead to the floor, trying to hide the turmoil written plainly across his face.
Sweat streamed down his back, and his pupils quivered uncontrollably.
Though his mouth shouted the same praises as the other elders, he could not conceal his shock.
‘…This aura. There’s no mistake. This is clearly… that bastard’s power from back then…!’
Within his mind, the face of someone utterly unrelated to this place flashed by.
And yet, he could not understand it.
He was gazing upon the power of a supreme god—
So why did the power of that vile enemy come to mind?
‘Tang Sewoon—!’
The moment Gui Yeongja witnessed the Blood Demon’s true power, the evil specter of the Sichuan Tang Clan surfaced in his thoughts.
The unknown force he had secretly perceived while watching that man burn down and annihilate the Qingcheng Sect.
That very aura was now manifesting from his own master.
Thump—thump!
Gui Yeongja’s heart pounded wildly.
Part of him wanted to immediately reveal the truth to the Blood Demon.
That the Blood-Thread Tyrant had stolen his master’s power.
That he wished to wash clean the horrific stigma now layered upon his name.
But—
‘No.’
In the end, he pressed his lips tightly shut.
He swallowed the truth deep within himself.
It was not for any other reason.
‘Not yet. I can’t be certain. If I speak rashly here… and if this turns out to be my mistake, the master may discard me completely….’
That Tang Sewoon possessed something extraordinary was certain.
But there was not a single piece of irrefutable evidence.
Gui Yeongja knew this well.
He had been given only one chance.
If he failed to prove his true ‘worth’ this time…
‘…I’ll end up like that.’
Lowering his head, his eyes caught sight of the chunks of flesh from the Sura Twin Monster rolling nearby.
At that sight, Gui Yeongja quietly began to formulate the optimal plan to break this deadlock—without anyone noticing.
‘I’ll find undeniable proof! I’ll report it to the Demon God and reclaim my rightful position!!’
Just as Gui Yeongja was sinking deeper into his private deliberation—
The Blood Demon slowly swept his gaze across the surroundings, amid the near-screams of adoration directed toward him.
Eyes inhabited only by emptiness indifferently passed over everything around him.
[ I shall behead the tiger and make the plum blossoms fall. ]
As the Blood Demon moved his lips, the declaration he uttered carved itself clearly into the elders’ minds.
[ The long wait shall end, and this shall be the first step toward forging the Blood Heaven. ]
The moment his final words ended—
“All Demons Bow in Submission!!”
“Blood Cult Eternal Prosperity!!”
“Eternal Blood Demon Lord!!!”
The roars of the demonic practitioners erupted as if they would shake heaven and earth.
The Blood Demon gazed down upon all that fervor without a shred of interest, then returned to his seat.
Silently. Calmly.
Yet that silence itself—
Was the harbinger announcing the beginning of a calamity that would drench the world in blood.
---
The fingertips of Sewoon, as he examined the pulse, rested against Peng So-hye’s wrist.
Beneath her skin—cold as ice—her pulse throbbed weakly.
‘…Her breathing is far too shallow, and her pulse is completely chaotic. This is dangerous.’
Sewoon immediately moved everyone from the Jecheon Unit who had collapsed before his eyes into the infirmary.
He then began treatment without delay. Their condition, after barely returning from the battlefield of Shanxi, was far too critical.
“This level of contamination… It’s worse than being struck by a heavenly-grade curse or sorcery.”
“Yes. The internal injuries are severe, but more than that… all three have been engulfed by terrifying Inner Demons. That’s the most dangerous part.”
Sewoon was not the only one striving for their recovery.
“Kgh… kghh…”
“Sopyeong, even if it’s hard, you have to swallow the decoction.”
At Sewoon’s side, Tang Serin was forcing the medicinal brew into Jang Sopyeong’s mouth.
“Even if it hurts, please endure it just a little longer.”
Do Hayeong, her expression calm, precisely inserted long needles into Peng Daeho’s acupoints.
As the two women worked up beads of sweat—
Sewoon’s gaze secretly drifted to the ring fingers of the Jecheon Unit members.
Three pitch-black rings were visible.
Having lost all the radiance he had once imbued into them, they were now stained by darkness.
That alone told him exactly what they had faced.
‘The battlefield of Shanxi. They must have seen him there.’
The Blood Demon.
There was only one demonic Qi capable of corrupting divine artifacts he had bestowed to such an extent.
Sewoon felt a dull ache in his chest.
‘…Foolish idiots. I told you never to approach him—just assess the situation and run….’
Yet even as he thought this, he knew they would never have obeyed.
They were the most trustworthy chivalrous warriors of the Orthodox Path—personally assembled by his own hand.
“…But who exactly is this woman?”
After finishing the acupuncture on Peng Daeho, Do Hayeong asked Sewoon.
The gazes of Sewoon and Hayeong turned toward a single woman.
A mysterious young woman lying alone, separated from the three members of the Jecheon Unit.
Her breathing was faint, and her body temperature was barely perceptible. Yet subtly—undeniably—she was alive.
Sewoon let out a quiet breath and placed his fingertips lightly against her forehead.
-Don’t you look forward to it? The sight of everything in the world freezing over and fading into nothing.
She looked nothing like the woman he had seen before his regression.
‘Seori.’
The smile filled with killing intent, the bizarre curiosity—
Neither was present.
Instead, there was only the fragile, wounded expression of a stranger he had never met.