Chapter 268

Chapter 268

Above the battlefield.

“You’re not joining the fight below.”

At the Blood Cult Leader speaking to him while calmly looking down at the ground, Nakcheon looked at the Blood Cult Leader at an angle. The Blood Cult Leader’s figure radiating aura from his entire body.

“Childeayo Nakcheon. I didn’t think you would intervene in such a battle. You don’t kill humans, do you?”

-I have no intention of killing humans.

“You have no intention of killing? Does that mean indirect assistance is possible?”

-I’m not bound by such restrictions.

Nakcheon had a restriction that prevented him from killing humans.

Some seemed to think so, but in reality, Nakcheon wasn’t unable to kill humans. There was no one who placed such restrictions on Nakcheon, and even if such sorcerous restrictions existed, Nakcheon wasn’t weak enough to be obediently bound by them.

-I do as I wish. There was someone I wanted to help, so I helped. That’s all.

“You wanted to help that side over us…… Is that what you mean?”

-It’s not different.

Just because he doesn’t kill doesn’t mean he likes all humans.

Watching Nakcheon speak with that meaning, the Blood Cult Leader let out a hollow laugh and drew up his energy.

“Nakcheon, the yokai who tears yokai to death…….”

“If I leave you be, you’ll probably try to intervene below, won’t you? Isn’t that right?”

-Didn’t you say with your own mouth that I don’t kill humans?

“To tilt the current battle situation, do you need to kill humans? Even if you just tear to death all the yokai down there, the battle situation would greatly tilt. You have the power to do that.”

Great Yokai from the Three Great Demon Realms?

To Nakcheon, especially to Nakcheon among the Childeayo, such things were so insufficient they could be called lowly creatures. Even with so many yokai gathered, if Nakcheon was just given time, he could tear them all to death without difficulty.

“I must stop you.”

-Do you have the power to stop me?

“Abundantly so.”

Chwareureureuk!

The Blood Cult Leader, who let out a hollow laugh, deployed sorcery. Blood energy spreading in a complex net-like form resembling blood vessels.

The blood vessels thicken.

-You’re pulling cheap tricks.

“I have to do it this way because otherwise I cannot stop you.”

Watching the blood gradually forming into a sphere, Nakcheon frowned. That was because what the sorcery’s origin was showed extremely clearly.

“Do you know? Nakcheon. This was originally a protective guardian sorcery.”

“Those inside this sorcery receive absolute protection until the caster dies. Do you understand what that means? Until the caster dies, the sorcery cannot be broken.”

One couldn’t leave until breaking the sorcery. But if one forcibly broke the sorcery, the Blood Cult Leader would die.

At this serious situation producing such a dilemma, Nakcheon frowned. It was absurd talk.

-Didn’t you hear what I just said? I can kill you.

“You would think so.”

-I have no restriction preventing me from killing humans. I simply didn’t kill because I didn’t want to kill.

“You think so. Because your memories have dulled. But is that really true? Emotions are restrictions stronger than sorcery. While sorcery can somehow be broken through with superhuman will, emotions break that will itself.”

-There’s no reason I cannot kill humans.

“No, you cannot kill.”

What on earth was he talking about?

In the first place, he had already cut down Blood Cult followers when attacked at Oyeon. Though he didn’t cut them fatally, it meant there was no great hesitation in attacking.

-Something like this.

Nakcheon, who frowned while looking at the Blood Cult Leader making declarations, drew his black sword to dismantle the sorcery. And at that moment, a voice falling softly.

“Because that was your promise with your daughter. Isn’t that right?”

The Blood Cult Leader smiles.

“The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult is a cult that reveres the Heavenly Demon. But there has never been a Heavenly Demon in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. Not even once.”

“Why is that?”

His heart constricts. As if hearing facts he shouldn’t know, the heart that had never even beaten slowly churns.

“It’s simple. Because the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was created to honor a person called the Heavenly Demon.”

“Because it was a religion established by your daughter to honor you, who became a yokai through extreme fear and hatred.”

The lock on his memories opens. Fragments of the past surface, traveling back through thousands of years. Perhaps even more than ten thousand years. And.

“Fallen one. Born as human, you became humanity’s heaven, then ultimately fell into the abyss. Didn’t you promise your daughter, the Divine Maiden?”

The moment the Blood Cult Leader’s smile deepened.

“To protect ‘humans’ not livestock.”

Nakcheon dropped his sword.

And a star rose in the empty sky.

As if, black night had arrived.

-Crisis. Confrontation ongoing.

Gonryunseon’s communication reached the advance party without difficulty.

The moment Gonryunseon learned the main force was attacked, he reported the facts through voice transmission talisman. That enemies had positioned themselves in front of Oyeon, and that yokai had also joined forces.

Having received the communication, there was one action to take—proceed according to the original plan.

So the search party immediately tore the teleportation talisman and succeeded in positioning themselves behind the enemy right after the battle began.

Though they couldn’t intervene in that state.

“Hmm…….”

Under the sky turned black as the sun disappeared.

“Tremendous.”

At Sado Alliance Leader’s figure whistling while hiding his presence, Ilryun’s gaze turned toward the Sado Alliance Leader with a displeased look. Ilryun’s mouth immediately opened.

“How is the Sado Alliance’s leader so frivolous in his actions? When even staying hidden would barely be enough.”

“Would it reach all the way there anyway? There’s no need to deliberately advertise that I’ve aged as much as Bulgoe.”

“You lack respect for your elders.”

“What respect between us?”

Snorting and deflecting Ilryun’s words, the Sado Alliance Leader took a step toward me and casually asked a question. The Sado Alliance Leader staring directly at me, seemingly not understanding why they weren’t charging in immediately.

“When are you planning to enter? Uicheon Gate Lord.”

“Not yet.”

“Fortunately there’s a variable, so our side is gaining slightly more advantage, but we don’t know how the situation might reverse. It seems better to join in quickly.”

“That’s not wrong, but we cannot move just to immediately reduce casualties.”

“Why not?”

“Because they had grasped our plan to some degree.”

Gahyang was destroyed by thunderbolts. Without even leaving traces.

That was behavior too excessive to be merely erasing traces that they had left. Setting aside that thunderbolts weren’t easy to obtain, destroying the formation axes and completely destroying the circuits required precise calculations.

“We might come to reinstall the formation axes. The enemy judged so and destroyed Gahyang. That ultimately means they read our actions, doesn’t it?”

“Well, that’s true. Then does that mean they’ve prepared some response by reading this action too?”

“Yes.”

“That’s a headache.”

At the Sado Alliance Leader’s accurate understanding, I nodded slightly in affirmation, and the Sado Alliance Leader scratched his head and sighed.

“While it’s true our side has the advantage, it seems the stalemate will be maintained for quite a while, and that yokai above is blocked by the Blood Cult Leader for some reason I don’t know…….”

“If we could just intervene in this situation, we’d gain great benefits.”

“We would.”

“How long are you planning to stay like this? We can’t stay like this endlessly, can we?”

“You make a valid point. The standard for movement is clear.”

“What is it?”

“When Ilnachar’s battle ends.”

While confirming Ilnachar entangled in battle with Songbyeok Jinin, Dokgo Cheon, and even the Sword Sovereign, I continued.

“Though Ilnachar’s martial prowess and sorcery are said to be bizarre and outstanding, even that has some limits. At best he’s at the tail end of the Sipcheon, that level, and in reality he’s probably even lower.”

“He seems so. But?”

“The one who devised this operation is Ilnachar. Because he’s continued to take direct command.”

It’s true that Ilnachar is having difficulty blocking those three’s combined attack.

However, no anxiety showed on Ilnachar’s face. He might simply be the type whose emotions don’t show easily on his face, but Ilnachar maintained his composure throughout. Even though the war situation wasn’t very good.

‘We have to assume they’re holding something that can reverse this situation.’

If Ilnachar dies?

Then we can judge this situation itself as Ilnachar’s bluff and intervene. Since Ilnachar, the operation’s architect, won’t do self-sacrificial things like a true Blood Cult follower, if Ilnachar died, it would mean the plan had gone greatly awry.

However, if Ilnachar brings something out in a crisis without dying.

“That’s precisely when we should intervene.”

“……You see quite far ahead.”

“You flatter me.”

Taking Taeak’s muttering lightly, I surveyed the battlefield. The battlefield’s situation entering my view comprehensively since we were far away.

‘The Blood Cult Leader is bound by that unknowable yokai.’

‘Father and Hyeolgyeom’s battle won’t be easily decided.’

‘Ambi seems to have his hands full just blocking Bulgoe.’

Eungryong, who betrayed the Blood Cult, was scattering divine energy here and there to restrain the yokai. The search party members led by Jeokhajinin were also cutting down yokai one by one.

We can win at this rate.

Thinking so, I slowly looked at Ilnachar.

I read Ilnachar’s expression.

-Not taking the bait?

Ilnachar’s expression as he smiled.

“……Prepare for battle!”

“Hm?”

“Quickly!”

Blood-colored red energy suddenly enveloping all of Oyeon.

The moment I sought an escape route after confirming the spreading red energy, seven formation axes rose from the ground as if it was already too late to respond. And immediately after, the Blood Cult followers’ bodies began glowing.

“Wh-what is this……!”

They melt.

Before even grasping what phenomenon was happening to their bodies, tongues, teeth, mouths, and faces melted away. Fear spreading everywhere. Screams surging up throats without being refined into language.

“Sacrifice Great Ritual…… Damn it.”

Sacrifice Great Ritual. Killing people and concentrating their energy and souls into one person.

Who? Who are they concentrating power into?

As I clenched my fist and surveyed the situation while thousands of Blood Cult followers melted away in unison. Because no matter how many thousands melted, there’s a limit to the total amount of power one person can accept.

‘Not Ilnachar.’

‘The Blood Cult Leader?’

‘No. The Blood Cult Leader is also impossible.’

Power refined by melting thousands, even if low-level martial artists.

No human flesh could dare handle that power. In this place, the only ones with any possibility would be Ilryun or Taeak, who are Transcenders, and Bulgoe, whose physical durability is exceptionally outstanding.

However, all three are in our camp. There’s no reason to concentrate it on them. Then what remains.

‘Yokai.’

Eupro? Or Cheongseol?

While looking at the yokai engaged in fierce battle far away and drawing my sword. To thrust the sword into that most vulnerable moment when they accept the power.

Time passes. A bead of sweat forming on my eyelid falls downward, about to obscure my vision, but touches my cornea. Despite the stinging sensation, I don’t close my eyes.

‘I must handle it quickly.’

One who handles power so immense it cannot be resisted won’t be able to adapt quickly.

We need to target that gap to have a possibility. Thinking so, I gripped my sword tightly.

-Finally.

At the voice I heard, I raised my gaze to the sky.

-It’s time for me to step forward.

Heukya slowly walking out through torn space.

Possibility never existed in the first place.