Chapter – 16
Could he be a butcher?
If he were a butcher who handled slaughter, it wouldn’t be strange for the smell of blood to cling to his body.
But once she noticed it, she became certain as the scent of blood grew clearer.
This isn’t the smell of animal blood.
It was the foul odor that only came from the blood of countless humans mixed together.
Every time the middle-aged man spoke, that smell followed his breath.
“Come to our house.”
“He seems like a good man, little sister.”
Maybe she was the only one who noticed. Paeng-i blinked his handsome eyes blankly and whispered to her.
Hmm… well…
Even if something happened tonight, it probably wouldn’t be small. Still, the man hadn’t done anything to them yet.
They had to eat first anyway, so she didn’t bother confronting him. Following the man along with Paeng-i, they reached a small house in less than five minutes.
“Wife, it seems these two young people want to stay the night. Please prepare something.”
“Oh my.”
The wife came out of the kitchen after hearing her husband and made a fuss when she saw them.
“You must have had a hard time climbing the mountain. Come in and rest! I’ll prepare plenty so you can eat your fill.”
“Much appreciated!”
“Thank you.”
Judging by the smell of cooking rice, they really intended to feed them properly.
After bowing slightly, she looked around the house. Calling it “looking around” was generous—it was so small there was hardly anything to see.
Doesn’t look like there are any hidden spaces.
Even after spreading her sword energy to scan the surroundings, nothing suspicious appeared.
Yeah. No secret rooms.
There was no problem with the house.
Except that the entire village is a nest of blood demons.
The problem was the people.
How was it that, besides them, there wasn’t a single normal human?
“Rest for a bit.”
“Sounds good!”
Click.
As soon as the man left and closed the door, she grabbed Paeng-i’s sleeve to warn him—
“Ugh. I’m going to lie down for a bit.”
“I should get some sleep too!”
—she didn’t get the chance.
Really?
Blood demons were people… well, not people, but living beings.
They were giving them food and a place to sleep. Drawing a sword first while shouting You evil creatures! felt a bit much.
If they attack first, then we kill them.
She was a pacifist.
Didn’t matter who the opponent was.
* * *
The meal was simple but delicious.
Thanks to the kindness of the generous couple (trait: not human), they ate their fill and were given a room where they spread bedding and lay down. Hugging his large blade, Paeng-i spoke lazily.
“Sleep well, Dori.”
“Mm. You too, brother.”
But once she lay under the blanket, she found herself wide awake.
Being in the middle of a blood demon nest reminded her of the early days after her possession.
Ah… back then I had a whole army of blood ghouls and blood demons under me.
They were an elite force she had created by turning kidnapped humans into blood ghouls and feeding them human hearts.
Of course, that was all when it was still just a game.
It was like harassing NPC villagers while doing build crafting and burning down towns. Bullying other players was bad manners, but attacking NPCs wasn’t really evil, right?
Scratching her head, she hugged her sword tightly and closed her eyes. Paeng-i was already asleep, faint snoring sounds escaping him.
And then—
“Are they asleep?”
“They are.”
Voices murmured outside.
“They’re pure martial artists.”
“We can’t win while they’re awake.”
“We gave them the drug.”
“We must call that person. So they can claim the pure martial artist.”
The murmuring grew louder.
When she spread her sword energy outside, it wasn’t just the couple. The entire village seemed to have gathered.
Total number: 101.
As expected.
She had anticipated this, but things wouldn’t end quietly now. Gripping her sword, she jumped up and kicked Paeng-i hard in the back.
“Wake up, Paeng-i!”
“Gah!”
No need to wait. Wearing her blue wave-patterned robe, she kicked the door open and leapt upward.
Below her—
Countless blood demons.
“What?!”
“They’re awake!”
“Catch them before that person arrives!”
Under the full moon, their eyes, human-like during the day, now glowed blood red as they prepared for battle.
“Who do you think you are?”
Grin.
With a smile curling her lips, she stepped on the head of a male blood demon.
“Krrrk!”
BOOM!
Using the stomp as a pivot, she spun into a roundhouse kick.
Two more demons in her trajectory staggered. One had its head blown off, its body still moving with claws raised.
But before it could even advance, it was split in half again. The wielder of the Tiger Blade opened his swollen eyelids and shouted:
“Little sister! What kind of disaster is this in the middle of the night?!”
“If you understand the situation, then kill them!”
“…Oh!”
After that, it was a one-sided massacre.
Naturally.
The blood demons in this village were unimpressive from the start. At best, a few strong ones had reached the peak level and gained sword energy in their bodies.
If she were still only at peak level, this wouldn’t have been easy.
But thanks to Joo Sohee’s teachings, she had already crossed the wall.
Early transcendent stage. Against blood demons with far lower intelligence than humans, they weren’t even suitable as training partners.
“Haaap!”
With Paeng-i’s shout, the last blood demon split into blood and demon.
Watching from the rooftop, she let out a soft whistle.
“Wow~ Brother, should we run now?”
“Hm?”
Shing. Click.
After cleaning the blood from his blade, Paeng-i looked up at her in confusion.
“Why run? The whole village being blood demons was unexpected, but shouldn’t we stay the night and report this to a nearby Murim branch tomorrow?”
“If it were that simple.”
She pointed at the peak-level blood demons she had killed.
“I didn’t expect blood demons to reach peak level. I thought they’d only be first-rate warriors. If that’s the case, reporting comes later. We need to leave first.”
“?”
Paeng-i blinked, still confused.
Why doesn’t he get it?
“Don’t you understand? I don’t know which faction this village belongs to, but if someone can create peak-level blood demons, what level do you think that demonic master is?”
“!”
Now he understood.
Yes.
The blood demons themselves weren’t the problem.
The problem was the master of this village.
To create blood demons, you first make blood ghouls, then grow them through countless refinements and training.
Just being able to control them meant the person was likely at the same level as her—transcendent beyond peak.
But these weren’t even blood corpses, just low-tier fiends. Yet they reached peak?
To make a peak blood demon required either the heart of a transcendent martial artist or the essence of multiple peak warriors.
And there were several like that.
So just how strong was the master? And what about their higher fiends?
Honestly, she had been tense even while fighting.
Thinking this might turn into a disaster.
Hop.
Jumping down from the roof, she grabbed Paeng-i’s arm.
“Leaving comes first. Then we should go straight to Mother.”
She had a bad feeling.
If it was related to the Blood Cult, that would actually be better. But judging from the blood demons’ condition, there was a strong chance it involved the Demonic Cult.
“Daughter. Where are you going?”
…A chill ran down her spine.
This is insane. Terrifying.
It felt like the Heavenly Demon himself might appear and turn her into a specimen.
She had run away secretly. If caught, she might actually die.
Not metaphorically.
Even if she was a beloved daughter, that kind of person could still kill her.
This isn’t something I can handle.
Only someone of the same realm could face a Mystic Realm master. Otherwise, you’d need a whole group of Flower Realm experts.
She was neither.
She either had to run like hell or run to Joo Sohee and beg Mom please save me.
This was—
“Daughter. Where are you going?”
Right.
She was trying not to hear that voice.
…Not hear it?
“What—ghk…!”
Paeng-i suddenly collapsed, making a choking sound.
As someone only at early peak level, he couldn’t withstand the crushing pressure in the air.
She herself might have fainted instantly if she hadn’t recently crossed into the transcendent realm. Cold sweat streamed down her body under the killing intent.
Step.
Footsteps shook the ground.
The arrogance of someone who had never needed to hide their presence.
Her knees trembled. She forced out a breath and clutched her chest as she sank down.
Then a cold hand descended onto her head.
Long, insect-like fingers slowly traced down her hair, past her ear, to her cheek.
“It’s been a long time.”
A chillingly beautiful voice pierced her ears.
The woman lifted her chin, forcing their eyes to meet. Crimson irises shimmered with eerie energy.
“I came to find you myself… since you stayed away for far too long.”
