When the Black Moon Rises - Chapter 181
Chapter 181
Her gaze turned towards the source of the voice.
Someone was looking at her, their eyes clear and bright, despite their scorched body.
His white robe was tattered and burned.
His dark hair, swirling around him, was covered in dust, but…
“Sehwa.”
His voice, as gentle as ever, called out to her.
His eyes, violet in the firelight, were warm and unwavering.
“......”
Her fiery rampage ceased.
He reached out to her through the flames.
His voice, soft and soothing, called her name again. “Come here.”
“......”
“Come to me. Please?”
He didn't use his spiritual power, even though he was so close to the flames.
He knew it would interfere with his voice reaching her.
He could have easily shielded himself from the heat with his power.
There was no need for him, a Divine Beast, to be burned and scorched like that.
—…Baek…
How could she have forgotten him?
Him, whom she must never forget.
—…Baek Giha.
Her clouded mind cleared, her black pupils, now distinct within her golden eyes, narrowed.
And then, she remembered.
Why she was here.
What she had to do, and who she had to save.
She reached out.
Baek Giha didn’t flinch or retreat as her fiery claws reached for him.
Instead, he ran towards her and embraced the giant dragon’s paw.
Sizzle!
As his clothes burned, the red form filling the sky above the residence began to shrink.
Her long, black hair swayed in the air as she transformed back into a human and fell into his arms.
“......”
His trembling ceased as he held her close.
He held her tight, reassuring himself that she was safe in his arms.
She embraced him in return.
“What is this? Why didn’t you use your spiritual power…?”
His body was covered in burns where the flames had touched him.
Her face crumpled with guilt, and she quickly summoned her blue spiritual power to heal his wounds and restore his burned clothes.
She would have done so if he hadn’t been holding her so tightly.
“Were you… worried… that I killed too many… that I would kill them all…?”
Did she seem too cruel?
She felt no remorse for taking revenge.
She wouldn’t forgive those who had brutally murdered her loved ones.
But she had been ashamed to show him that side of herself.
‘What if he’s disgusted by me…’
But his words were completely different from what she had expected. “I thought I lost you.”
“…?”
“I was… worried… that I might lose you.”
She didn’t understand.
She was the one bringing the disaster.
No one could easily harm her, now that she was the original Red Dragon, so what did he mean?
‘Is he just saying he was worried?’
But his words were sincere.
He had repeatedly checked that her spiritual power and her aura were unchanged before finally letting out a sigh of relief.
“......”
Just as he had thought when they were discussing the Mystic Ruler’s fate in that small room after rescuing Madam Cheon…
A Divine Beast was capable of much more than they realized.
They could defy the natural order with their immense power.
But they couldn’t use that power recklessly.
The more they used their power to disrupt harmony, the more their divine bodies would be corrupted.
He himself was still suffering every night from having killed so many during the ten-year war.
And she possessed a power unlike anything he had ever seen.
So the backlash she would face would be unimaginable.
‘If only I could tell her that I would take care of everything…’
She might not need his help anymore, now that she was stronger than him, but…
He still wanted to protect her, to shield her from harm.
He wanted to bear the burden of losing his divinity, he wanted to give her everything she desired.
“…I’m sorry for making you worry…”
How could he express his feelings, his desire for her not to feel burdened by his concern?
They gazed at each other for a moment.
It was then.
Rumble…
The earth shook violently.
Tall buildings crumbled and collapsed.
Crash! Bang!
“Aaargh!”
“Kyaaa!”
Those who had been weakened by Sehwa’s attack screamed and ran.
The ground beneath them cracked, swallowing them whole.
A horrific stench, emanating from the fissures, filled the air.
“!!”
The sickening smell, like rotting corpses, made them hold their breaths.
And from the cracked earth, something dark and massive slowly emerged.
“What… What is that…?”
It was like a black river flowing through the air, rising and writhing, a dark red liquid, like putrid blood, dripping from its body. How could such a massive creature have been hidden beneath the earth?
Its colossal form, too large to be fully seen, continued to rise.
The Mystic Ruler, watching from his hiding place, smirked.
‘So even that Corrupt Dragon couldn’t hide forever. He has to earn his keep!’
Even if Ju Sehwa had consumed the Red Dragon’s Spirit Orb, it was a one-time power.
And she would need time to control such immense power.
So, she wouldn’t be able to face the Corrupt Dragon alone.
‘And that Baek Clan bastard is also weakened…’
Even if they joined forces against the Corrupt Dragon, neither of them would be able to guarantee victory.
‘I have to take their Spirit Orbs when they collapse!’
And who knew, he might even be able to take over Baek Giha’s body.
‘If I can do that!’
Despite the pain in his side, a triumphant smile touched his lips.
He wouldn’t need this Mystic Ruler’s successor body if he could take over a Divine Beast’s.
Just then…
Twang!!
A thunderous roar echoed through the stench-filled air, and three arrows, enveloped in a five-colored aura, flew through the air.
Whoosh!
Two of them struck the Corrupt Dragon's black scales, but the third…
Thud!
…pierced its eye.
“......!!”
—Screeech—!!!
An earsplitting scream echoed through the air, and everyone, clutching their ears in agony, collapsed to the ground.
Kwaaang! Bang!
“Uwaaagh!!”
The Corrupt Dragon, still half-submerged in the earth, thrashed about, causing the ground to crack and swallow those nearby.
‘That bitch, Ju Sehwa!’
The Mystic Ruler, enraged, turned towards where the arrows had come from.
But there was no one there.
“?!!”
Baek Giha and Sehwa were gone, only a bow, rigged to fire automatically, lay discarded on the altar.
…They had escaped?
“That bitch!!!”
Just as the Mystic Ruler, his face contorted with rage, was looking around for them…
“Huu… Kuh…”
A giant, red eye, dripping with burning blood, turned towards them.
The blood from the Corrupt Dragon’s burst eye filled the air with a sickening stench.
After a long time… after more than a thousand years… the Corrupt Dragon, having revealed its true form, searched for its attacker, its dark aura rippling through the red moonlight.
“…A-Ah…”
Frozen in terror, they could only stare at the massive, black Corrupt Dragon, its colossal red eye slowly approaching them.
‘No way…’
Only the Mystic Ruler, accustomed to the Corrupt Dragon's aura, instinctively stepped back.
And then…
“Uwaaagh!”
Countless warriors disappeared into the Corrupt Dragon’s gaping maw.
The Mystic Ruler, clutching his side, turned and ran without looking back.
“M-Mystic Ruler!”
Someone grabbed his robe.
“P-Please, help us! That monster…”
“Let go of me!!!”
He shook them off and continued running.
Screams echoed behind him.
Another hell had begun.
Comments
Post a Comment