When the Black Moon Rises - Chapter 193
Chapter 193
“You monstrous creature… Why were you even born…? I should have killed you before you could even cry… I should have strangled you the moment you were born…”
“Get away from me! You disgust me! Don’t touch me!”
“You’re my son now. Call me Mother.”
“You can do it. You can have that power.”
“See him? Let’s start with him. See these blue veins? Grab him and snap his neck, right here. Then drink all his blood. That’s how you gain spiritual power.”
“You have to become a Divine Beast. No matter what. Understand?”
A word he had been about to utter was swallowed back.
The pain from his unhealed wound was unbearable.
The Corrupt Dragon, his eyes closed, writhed in agony.
He tried to regenerate his destroyed eye, but it was no use.
‘If I had just a little more time… a few more years… I could have become a Divine Beast…’
After enduring all these years…!
He was so close, just a few more years, why now?! Why?!
He had erected the barrier to accelerate the process, to gather more power, but his anchor was too far away.
So, the backlash, which the anchor couldn’t fully absorb, was affecting him as well.
An excruciating pain, as if his scales were being ripped off, shot through him, and he gasped for breath.
He had forcibly transformed his body, which wasn’t meant to become a Divine Beast, into the form of a dragon.
But reverse scales and Orbs, sacred objects of Divine Beasts, couldn’t be created artificially.
He didn’t need reverse scales, but he needed an Orb.
Ever since becoming a dragon, he had been suffering excruciating pain, like his limbs being torn apart, whenever he consumed the spiritual power of others.
Only an Orb could absorb the pain.
So, he had tricked the woman he hated most, offering her eternal life in exchange for becoming his anchor.
If she tried to drag him into this hell, she would have to suffer the same fate.
And that woman, who had readily accepted, desperate to escape her fate, was now begging for death.
Since a dragon and its anchor were connected by an unbreakable bond, he had always been able to locate her, no matter where she went.
But now, she was gone, as if she had ascended to the heavens.
No, he knew exactly where she was, precisely because she was completely gone from his reach. She was within a Divine Beast’s barrier, outside the Ju Clan’s territory.
‘I should have just crippled her and locked her up from the start…’
If only he could find more anchors, more sacrifices to share the curse…’
But those with strong enough spiritual power were rare.
He had only managed to find seven in all these years.
Just then, another wave of agonizing pain washed over him. “—Ugh!”
He writhed in agony.
But he wouldn't lower the barrier, not yet.
He had to defeat that bitch before she fully absorbed the power of the Red Dragon’s Spirit Orb.
So, despite the pain, he gritted his teeth and continued to drain the surrounding life force with the barrier.
It was then.
—!
The pain was receding.
And he could sense his anchor’s presence again.
She was getting closer.
A cruel smile, a low growl, escaped his lips. “You have to become a Divine Beast. No matter what. Understand?”
—Yes, I’ll become one. No matter what.
Yes, it was too late for regrets. What was the point of lamenting her sudden appearance?
A sharp pain shot through his empty eye socket.
He wouldn't suffer alone.
‘That’s not happening. No way.’
He wouldn’t let her become a great Divine Beast while he suffered.
He would make her suffer even more, drag her down into his hell.
He would make her scream, make her regret crossing his path.
He would make her, Ju Sehwa, suffer.
A cruel laugh, a guttural chuckle, escaped his lips, his one good eye gleaming menacingly.
A dark, sinister aura surged around him, fueled by his rage.
The setting sun painted the sky in hues of red and orange, like the flower garden of White Stone Pavilion.
Sehwa, sitting on a hill overlooking the warriors’ camp, her arms wrapped around her knees, watched the sunset.
She had chosen this spot because it offered a clear view of the camp while being hidden among the thick trees.
A strong arm wrapped around her, before a low, gentle voice spoke. “What are you doing here?”
He had been riding for days without rest.
And he had even set up her tent at the dusty riverside himself, yet his clothes were immaculate.
She marveled at how he always smelled so good.
“Weren’t you writing a letter to the Chancellor? Are you done?”
“Yes, I finished it.”
“And rearranging the warriors’ positions?”
“Yes, I’m done with that too.”
“…I feel useless, just sitting here doing nothing while you’re working so hard.”
“Please, just kill me! Why was I born with this face?! Is it my fault that I was dragged to the Ju Clan residence and raped?! Is it my fault that I had to bear his child?! Why do I have to suffer for his sins?!”
“He became the Corrupt Dragon, and I’m forced to be his anchor, just because I share his blood! Why?! Why do I have to endure this?!”
She hated herself for hesitating, for even considering giving some of her spiritual power to the First Consort, knowing it could end up in the Corrupt Dragon's hands, just because she had been moved by her pleas.
She had killed countless Ju Clan warriors, how could she feel sympathy for the First Consort, a key figure in the enemy camp?
What if her misplaced compassion put her loved ones in danger? Could she bear the guilt?
But despite her resolve, she couldn’t shake off her hesitation.
Perhaps…
‘Perhaps… I saw myself in her desperate pleas…’
She had remembered herself, trapped in that hidden chamber, begging for the pain to stop, for someone to release her.
As she sat there, lost in thought, she felt a strong arm around her.
‘I shouldn’t let him see me like this.’
She quickly composed herself, forcing a smile as she leaned against his shoulder. It was at that moment.
“It’s alright. Even if you do nothing.”
A calm, low voice whispered in her ear.
“Alright? What do you mean? That it’s okay for me to waste time like this?”
“No, that you don’t have to torture the First Consort. You don’t have to push her to her limit.”
“......”
She turned to look at him.
His beautiful face was soft, his eyes warm as he smiled at her. “What? Did I sound too cruel?”
“Not at all,”
he pulled her closer, his arms tightening around her.
“I want you to do whatever you want.”
“......”
“If you want to keep the First Consort by the barrier, you can. But if you’re hesitating, there’s a reason. Don’t blame yourself, or push yourself to do something you don’t want to do.”
“…But what if someone gets hurt because of my indecision? What if my decision puts someone I care about in danger?”
“That won’t happen.”
“Why?”
He rested his chin on her shoulder and whispered, “We’ll protect those who matter most to us. We won’t let anything happen to them.”
“......”
“So it’s alright. We can do this. We’ll protect them, and we’ll make everything right, and a few things you want to do along the way won’t make a difference.”
“......”
“So you don’t have to blame yourself, or push yourself. Just follow your heart.”
Sehwa, who had been silent, chuckled softly. “Whenever I talk to you, all my worries seem to disappear.”
“So you like me?”
Her face relaxed at his words, and she smiled brightly, playfully pushing against his chest with her head. “If you’re done with work, then go and eat. Even you get tired.”
“Yes, I should. But there’s something else I need to look into, so I’ll eat later.”
“What is it? Is there a problem?”
His arms tightened around her, his touch gentle, as if afraid of breaking her.
“Ju Sehwa.”
His voice was a low murmur against her ear.
“Yes?”
“Sehwa.”
“What is it?”
She smiled and leaned her head against his shoulder, and it was at that moment.
“Show me your Orb.”
“!”
“I want to see it. Now. Can you show me?”
“…Why are you suddenly asking for that?”
“Just… I was thinking about Orbs earlier, and I wanted to see yours.”
“......”
“Show me.”
“I left it at home.”
“Where?”
“At White Stone Pavilion.”
“You’re lying.”
“Why would I lie about something like that? There’s nothing I wouldn’t show you.”
“Then whose Orb were you talking about earlier? When you were with that woman?”
“Earlier? The Orb?”
“…Even a minor deviation tainted my Orb…”
‘Ah!’
So that was why he had paused earlier.
Why had she said that so carelessly? She had decided not to show him her Orb after seeing the shadows swirling within it.
She tried to come up with an excuse, but he saw through her hesitation.
“Show me.”
“But…”
“You can’t show it to me?”
“It’s not that… I really did leave it at White Stone Pavilion. It’s just a plain white bead, you’ve seen it before.”
She swallowed, wondering what to say, how to get out of this, when…
“Huh…?”
“Are you really not going to show it to me?”
“N-No, it's not that, it’s… what is that?”
“What?”
They were sitting on a hill, overlooking the Corrupt Dragon’s barrier in the distance.
And a dark fog was spreading from the barrier, growing larger.
They stood up simultaneously.
And then…
“!!”
…the black fog, as if having sensed them, shot towards them like an arrow.
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