When the Black Moon Rises - Chapter 200
Chapter 200
“Such… such things…”
The old Ju Clan elder’s hand trembled as he held the documents.
Cheonryeong, who had been standing quietly in a corner of Ju Sanghyun’s room, shifted his gaze, his eyes, which had been downcast, now sharp and focused.
All the Ju Clan elders were gathered in Ju Sanghyun’s room.
“Is this… is this all true?! Is this the truth?!”
One of the elders, who had just arrived and read the documents, shouted.
Cheonryeong nodded calmly.
“Yes. You can see the Mystic Ruler’s seal at the bottom. It cannot be forged.”
“This is madness! Madness!”
The elder threw the papers he was holding onto the ground. “How could the Young Lord treat his own clan, his own blood, so cruelly?!”
The papers scattered across the floor.
The other elders, who had already read the documents, exchanged grim looks.
Cheonryeong bowed his head slightly, a chilling malice hidden in his eyes.
The documents were the ones he had brought.
The kidnapping and murder of the Six Clans’ children, the countless deaths of clanless mystics, even the children and relatives of Ju Clan elders, all sacrificed to fuel the Young Lord’s insatiable hunger for spiritual power…
All the atrocities committed by the Ju Clan, all documented as having been carried out at the Young Lord's request and with the Mystic Ruler’s approval.
‘…Young Lord…’
Despite the unbelievable contents of the documents, the elders couldn’t deny their authenticity. As Cheonryeong had said, the Mystic Ruler’s seal was at the bottom of each page. A seal that couldn't be forged or replicated, a seal that could only be created by the power vested in the Mystic Ruler.
It was the same seal his master, trapped in his dying, discarded body, had stamped onto those papers.
‘Mystic Ruler, let’s see what my master did with that body you discarded,’
Cheonryeong glared at the documents, his gaze filled with hatred and rage.
‘Let’s see how he destroys you, with your own power!’
“Stamp these blank papers with your seal, while you’re still in that body.”
It had been after Ju Kyunghyun's condition had improved enough for him to speak and move that Sehwa had made the request.
Papers with the Mystic Ruler's seal.
She hadn’t explained why, and neither Ju Kyunghyun nor Cheonryeong had asked, but they had obeyed.
They had decided to return to the Ju Clan to bring the Mystic Ruler to justice, but they didn’t know what would happen.
Ju Kyunghyun couldn’t be fully healed.
His condition could deteriorate at any moment, so it was best to be prepared.
Only Cheonryeong had been curious about why Sehwa had looked at him when she made the request, but now he understood. She had anticipated that things wouldn’t go according to plan, that his master might even die. So she had given him those blank papers with the Mystic Ruler’s seal, a way to get revenge.
‘…’
Cheonryeong clenched his fists, remembering his master’s tragic death.
He didn’t want to tarnish the Young Lord's name like this.
But his master had told him to use his tarnished name if anything happened, to protect the Ju Clan’s honor.
He had failed to protect his master’s life, so he had to at least fulfill his last wish.
Just then…
“Elder! Elder!”
Someone rushed into the room.
“What is it?!”
“An urgent message from the Mystic Ruler’s residence! The Mystic Ruler has summoned all the warriors and is heading towards the border!”
“What?!”
The elders jumped to their feet.
The servant hurriedly added, “And a large number of carriages, loaded with chests, are following him! They’re carrying artifacts and Spirit Orbs!”
“We have to stop him!” Cheonryeong shouted. “It seems his plan with the Corrupt Dragon has failed, so he’s running away! He’ll absorb those artifacts and Spirit Orbs somewhere!”
Ju Sanghyun also stood up. “Send word to the other elders! Mobilize all our warriors and pursue him! Tell them to meet us at the border!”
“Yes!”
“Ju Sehwa is already the Lady of the House of the Six Clans, so they must know about this! We have to make sure everyone knows that we’re doing everything we can to resolve this!”
Ju Sanghyun’s face was pale as he gritted his teeth. “Don’t spare a single warrior! Everyone who can ride, to the border! Now! Understand?!”
“Yes!!”
Ju Sanghyun and the other elders rushed out, leading their warriors towards the border.
Other elders, having received the message, joined them with their own warrior units, their numbers swelling as they rode through the night.
Sehwa unleashed her power without reservation.
With each twirl of her beautiful robe, bolts of blue lightning, like the blades of judgment, rained down on the earth, creating thunderous booms.
‘Is this… what it means to be a Divine Beast?’
Power surged through her.
She flicked her wrist, and dozens of fiery projectiles rained down like a storm.
Kaboom!
Now that she was wielding the Red Dragon’s power freely, her vision was different.
She could see the Corrupt Dragon's every move, as if time had slowed down, as if she could do anything.
‘So that’s why… you were so desperate to absorb life force with that barrier… You sensed my power, a power even I wasn’t fully aware of…’
—Ju Sehwa—!!
The Corrupt Dragon, his one remaining eye blazing with rage, roared as a bolt of lightning struck him, a name, a scream of fury, escaping his lips, followed by a wave of black miasma.
—!!
KABOOM—!!!!!
But even the powerful blast of spiritual energy from the Black Dragon’s mouth was effortlessly deflected by a flick of her wrist.
The Corrupt Dragon, his dark aura swelling and exploding, unleashed a barrage of attacks, black projectiles raining down on them like hailstones.
Bang! Bang!
“!!!”
Baek Jeseong and the other warriors, startled, raised their swords, deflecting the projectiles.
Sizzle!
The miasma that wasn’t deflected corroded the earth, creating a noxious stench that made their heads spin and their lungs burn.
Just then, a pillar of white light erupted from beneath Sehwa’s feet.
Rumble! Thump!
A whirlwind of pure, refined Baek Clan spiritual power, absorbing the blue lightning and the deflected miasma, shot towards the Corrupt Dragon.
—!!
The Corrupt Dragon dodged the first attack, but not the second or the third.
KABOOM!!!!!!!
BOOM!!!!!!!
—!!!
Before his scream could fade, a fourth explosion rocked his body.
KABOOM—!!!!
Whoosh!
Her crimson robe billowed around her like a blooming flower, but her cold, crimson eyes showed that she was anything but delicate.
The blue lightning and the white whirlwind swirled around her, different spiritual powers obeying her command.
The Six Clans’ warriors were speechless.
This unbelievable being, wielding all forms of spiritual power with such ease, was pushing back against the fallen god.
The sight was breathtaking.
Baek Jeseong and the other warriors, their mouths dry, trembled at the sheer power she displayed.
It was then.
—You might be able to kill me, but do you think that’s the end?
The Corrupt Dragon’s bloodshot eyes, filled with pain, turned towards her.
—What will you do after you kill me? Do you realize that their lives are also tied to mine? And even if they survive, what about the poison filling the air?
His body was burning, yet he laughed, a mocking, distorted sound.
—You think you can purify it? Do you even understand the price of your newfound power, your double-edged sword?
His laughter sounded like a scream.
—I told you, the more you use it, the more you’ll lose yourself. No one will remember you, and you won’t remember them, an empty shell, neither dead nor alive!
‘What?’
Baek Giha’s hand, gripping his sword, trembled at the Corrupt Dragon’s words. He looked at Sehwa. Her face, beneath her flowing black hair, was calm, her eyes, fixed on the Corrupt Dragon, showed no sign of wavering.
‘…!’
Baek Giha’s face paled.
‘…It’s true, she knew!’
The warriors also looked at Sehwa, their faces ashen, even though they didn’t fully understand what the Corrupt Dragon had said.
‘What does he mean? Is her power… self-destructive? And she’s using it for us, knowing that?’
The Corrupt Dragon, seeing Sehwa’s silence, laughed again, blood dripping from his mouth, melting the earth, spreading a foul stench.
—Even if you succeed, you’ll be used and discarded, a mere tool! Everyone will be happy, while you’ll be forgotten, alone, lost! Can you bear that? Can you endure it?!
A heavy silence fell over the battlefield.
Every eye was on Sehwa, a bright red flower amidst the chaos.
The warriors, Baek Jeseong, even Baek Giha…
They all watched her, their breaths held, as her lips parted.
And then, she asked, “Why should I endure it?”
—…What?
“I just have to survive. I just have to be remembered.”
Die?
Be forgotten?
Did she accept that fate?
She remembered the dazzling waterfall of spiritual power, yet her eyes didn’t waver, her gaze steady.
‘No, I’ll never accept that.’
She gritted her teeth.
Of course, it was a possibility.
There might be unforeseen consequences, unknown variables, just like what had happened to the Corrupt Dragon.
But should she hesitate because of an unknown future? Should she hold back against the Corrupt Dragon because of a ‘what if’?
‘Don’t make me laugh.’
She was already defying the decrees of the Divine Beasts, the ingrained commands.
If that waterfall of spiritual power tried to erase her, so be it.
She chuckled softly, twirling the branch in her hand.
“This is between Divine Beasts, so…”
A red aura, like fire, blazed around the branch, which she now held horizontally.
“…please mind your own business.”
She pointed the branch, now shaped like a sword, at the Corrupt Dragon and sneered, “You’re not a Divine Beast, Corrupt Dragon.”
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