When the Black Moon Rises - Chapter 209
Chapter 209
The hawk flew as fast as it could, its spiritual power blazing.
Choi Deokmun, riding with his entourage towards the sounds of battle, glanced up at the streak of light across the sky.
“Screech—!!!”
An immense power, radiating from the hawk’s wings, blazed like a scorching sun.
The hawk, enveloped in a five-colored aura, transformed into a beam of light, soaring over the broken border, over the walls of the outpost where the gate to the Human Realm was located. It flew through the shimmering gate, towards its designated destination, its speed unwavering.
“Kee-ik—!”
The hawk's cry echoed through the mountains and valleys of the Human Realm.
“If you want a chance to take revenge on those who ruined your country, I’ll give it to you. A chance to make sure they can never do this again, a chance to make them forget about the Human Realm. What do you say? Will you do it?”
He hadn't been told how the signal would be sent, or how he would recognize it.
“I will. I swear, upon my life.”
King Ik-gwon’s eyes widened as he saw the five-colored light in the sky.
He recognized it immediately. ‘That’s the signal!’
“Now! Throw them in!”
At his command, those waiting by the Lake of Blood pushed the carts they had brought towards the lake. The carts, laden with their cargo, rolled into the massive pool of blood, their contents sinking beneath the surface.
It was Sehwa’s second request.
Sizzle!
The crimson liquid in the lake bubbled and steamed as the bodies dissolved within it.
King Ik-gwon shouted, “There’s no time to lose! Hurry! Throw all the carts in!”
Under his command, cart after cart was pushed into the lake.
Deep beneath the surface, the Corrupt Dragon’s scales, absorbing the poison from the corpses, shimmered with a dark, sinister aura.
…Huu…
…Haaaa…!
It felt as if his eyes were being gouged out, his organs ripped from his body.
The Corrupt Dragon roared in agony, his body writhing like the First Consort had done earlier, the earth cracking and crumbling around him, his massive form convulsing, black blood and foam dripping from his mouth.
—Wh… Why?!
He had withdrawn all his power, he had done everything he could to lessen the backlash of the curse.
But the pain, the agonizing feeling of being torn apart, only intensified.
What had gone wrong?
A faint, almost imperceptible, stream of negative energy continued to flow into him, not enough to empower him, but enough to amplify the curse.
As if anticipating his question, Sehwa’s eyes curved into a smile as she looked down at him.
“Does it hurt?”
The Corrupt Dragon coughed up black blood.
—…What… did you do…?
“You should have cleaned up after yourself. Leaving the Lake of Blood, the remains of your discarded bodies… how careless.”
Her voice, clear and bright, rang through the air.
“So I decided to put them to good use. To make you suffer.”
—Y-You… you…!!
And that wasn't all.
He had been trying to accelerate his regeneration by drawing on his spiritual power, but it hadn’t been working. Something was inside his body, something he had consumed along with the Spirit Orbs and artifacts, blocking his spiritual power, ready to explode if he used too much.
“Are they not here yet? It’s about time.”
Sehwa tilted her head slightly, her gaze mocking.
“When I attended the Mystic Ruler’s inauguration ceremony, he offered me a wedding gift. I didn’t receive it then, but I was curious, so I had it brought to me later, and it turned out to be a rather dangerous artifact, one that explodes when exposed to a large amount of mixed spiritual power. I didn’t need it, so I unsealed it and left it near my quarters, hoping someone would accidentally trigger it. And what do you know? It seems to have ended up among the Spirit Orbs and artifacts you consumed.”
—…!!
“Well, it was your Mystic Ruler who fed it to you, so it’s not my fault, is it?”
It was unbelievable, but she wasn’t lying. Her gaze, clear and bright, her smile mocking, it wasn't a bluff, she was waiting for the results of her actions.
—…How… how could such a cruel creature exist…?
And that wasn’t the end.
“And I’ve been thinking…”
Sehwa tapped her arm thoughtfully.
“…I theorized that my spiritual power somehow fixes things in place, so I tested it on the First Consort, with the results you’re now witnessing.”
—…Results…?
“Why are you pretending not to know? The First Consort has been within your reach all along. With so many mystics around, you could have easily transferred her soul into another vessel and taken her away, instead of leaving her in my hands.”
—…
“But you couldn’t, could you? Despite all your screaming and struggling, you couldn’t even take her away.”
Sehwa’s lips curved into a smile.
“Everything is fixed in place, even you, who have been touched by my power. So, what about you? What has been fixed?”
—…!
“You must have something fixed in place as well, right?”
At her words, the Corrupt Dragon’s body stiffened.
Yes, that five-colored spiritual power…
He had been so focused on the power flowing into him that he had forgotten about its true nature.
The little girl might not fully understand how it worked, but he did.
Everyone who had been touched by that power had something fixed in place, something related to their true nature. For those who switched bodies, it was their souls.
And he…
—…
His mouth fell open slightly, black smoke, reeking of the curse, escaping his lips.
He desperately tried to transfer the First Consort’s soul into another vessel, just like he had tried to do with his own.
But it was no use.
He tried again, and again.
…It was impossible.
He wanted to bite his tongue off, to tear his own body apart.
The curse… it had been fixed to his body.
This curse, this ever-growing, all-consuming curse that was rotting his massive body, turning him into a puddle of blood and pus…
…it was now permanently bound to him.
He couldn’t even heal himself with his spiritual power. If he did, the artifact Ju Sehwa had planted within him would explode, taking all the other artifacts and Spirit Orbs he had consumed with it.
He was trapped.
—Ha…
Was this even possible?
After living for so long, for millennia, long enough to see countless generations of that little girl live and die, he was so close to becoming a Divine Beast, just a few years away, and now… he was cornered, defeated by a child?!
—…You… wretched creature…!
That vile, wicked girl!
He would have preferred a swift death, his neck snapped by her dragon form, his life extinguished by her power, so he could at least accept his fate. But she, cruel and cunning, wouldn't even grant him that mercy. She wanted him to suffer, to endure the consequences of his actions, to face his sins.
Was this what it felt like to go insane?
He felt dizzy, trapped in an endless nightmare, unable to escape. He had always survived, against all odds, he had manipulated even the Ju Clan’s Mystic Ruler, yet…
He felt helpless, his limbs numb, his heart torn apart by a mixture of pain and despair.
—If you kill me—!
He roared, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Sehwa,
—my miasma will engulf the entire Mystic Realm! And only you can purify it!!
A dark, sinister aura, a mixture of miasma and laughter, billowed from his mouth.
—You said you could do it, that you would survive, but can you? Can you maintain your sense of self amidst that purifying power?
Sehwa’s gaze, cold and indifferent, met his.
Seeing her silence, he hurriedly continued, his voice a desperate plea,
—You have so many who care about you, so many you care about. You don’t have to sacrifice yourself, not alone! You love that half-breed, don’t you? That Baek Clan bastard? Can you leave him behind?
His body trembled from the curse, but his voice was soft, almost gentle, like a parent coaxing a child.
—You don’t have to, do you? You don’t have to be forgotten, not alone. So please, let me go.
He didn't care if he sounded pathetic, if he had to grovel. As long as he could escape this hell, he would do anything.
‘There has to be a way… I can’t die like this… There has to be a solution somewhere… So this humiliation, this shame, it means nothing…’
—You know, now that you’re a Divine Beast, the laws of nature are strict. Even if I’m like this, if you kill me, you won’t be able to escape the taint of my miasma.
If he could just survive, he would eventually find a way to kill her, and then he would be the victor.
—So why don’t you just step aside? If you let me go, I’ll disappear. I’ll go into hiding and sleep until the miasma is purified, even if it takes millennia. I won’t bother you again.
His voice was low and raspy, laced with a desperate plea.
—Then you can continue to live happily with those you care about. So please… let me go…
“Is that your last will and testament?”
Sehwa interrupted him, her voice cold and dismissive.
“I’ve wasted enough time on you.”
—!!!
She raised the branch, like a sword.
And then, countless beams of light, like the rays of dawn breaking through the darkness, erupted from the branch, forming a dazzling array of arrows.
“I won’t let you taint the future,” she said, her hand outstretched, her voice filled with a chilling resolve.
“No matter what.”
And with that, the arrows rained down.
KWA-BOOM!!!
—Ju Sehwa—!!!!!!
The Corrupt Dragon’s body, unable to use its spiritual power, unable to defend against the curse, was torn apart by the barrage of arrows, his screams echoing through the air.
—If you kill me now—!
He clung to that single threat, his body dissolving, his scales shattering under the relentless assault.
—you won’t escape unscathed either! You’ll never be with your loved ones again!!!
But despite his cries, amidst the blinding light, Sehwa moved.
Whoosh!
Her red robe billowed around her as she leaped through the air, a streak of crimson amidst the rain of arrows, the five-colored aura on the branch in her hand flaring up, transforming into a massive blade of light.
It pierced through the Corrupt Dragon's scales.
“Just die already. You’re so persistent.”
—You… wicked bitch—!!!
He couldn’t endure it any longer.
Was this the end? Was this really it?
Was this his grave?
After all this time, was this how he would die?
—You’re going to kill me?! You know you’ll suffer too!
Black blood and pus, reeking of decay, spurted from his wounds.
But his threats, his curses, were useless. There was no escape. If she was determined to kill him, there was nothing he could do.
…So this was truly the end…
His teeth shattered as he gritted them.
His life, his long, arduous life, was ending here, like this.
But…
His eyes, blazing with a murderous rage, narrowed.
—If I have to die…
He brought his remaining claw to his mouth.
Rip, tear.
He began to tear his own tongue out, seemingly oblivious to the pain, the black blood spraying across the ground, his gaze, still sharp and bright, fixed on Sehwa.
—I won’t let you kill me.
Rip!
As his tongue was torn out, a fountain of black blood spurted from his mouth, tears of blood streaming from his eyes, his pupils clouding over.
And then, he cut his own throat.
Slash!
His massive neck, like a severed rope, snapped, the cut also shattering the reverse scale he had hidden beneath his scales.
His eyes, still open, still glaring at Sehwa, rolled back as his head fell to the ground with a thud.
Thump!
His headless body convulsed.
KABOOM!!!!!
As Sehwa hurriedly erected a barrier around the warriors, the Corrupt Dragon’s body exploded, a wave of black miasma, reeking of decay, engulfing everything.
Comments
Post a Comment