Blood Demon of the Past Life – Chapter 136

Chapter 136: Nightmare （1）

Right now, in this situation.

Saito Shusuke was shocked.

Kang San’s appearance wasn’t normal.

He had countless cuts and wounds all over his body, and dark circles had formed under his eyes, showing how long it had been since he had rested comfortably. Yet, he said he would stay alone. Kang San’s decision to take responsibility until the end, saying that he had the ability to solve the problem, was not something that just ‘anyone’ could accept.

Suddenly,

He felt ashamed.

Saito Shusuke overcame the pain of the past and became an S-rank Hunter, which could be considered the peak.

Now in his mid-40s,

He wasn’t as righteous as he used to be.

He vaguely remembered having a grand cause of dealing with evil people when he first held the spear, but as time passed, his firm will faded. That was reality. There was a limit to what an individual could handle, and as he compromised with various interests, the sharp tip of his spear became dull.

And he hadn’t accepted this mission for the sake of justice either.

‘…Why am I even here?’

Shimizu Hiroshi.

He received a call from a political heavyweight.

He promised political support in return for fulfilling his request, and Saito Shusuke judged that having such a strong backer wouldn’t be bad. Even S-rank Hunters were human after all. To survive as a strong person in a society where human relationships were intricately intertwined, relationships with people like Shimizu Hiroshi, who were just ordinary people, were also very important. From the beginning, the safety of the survivors wasn’t important. He thought it was enough to rescue Kang San and satisfy Shimizu Hiroshi, rather than worrying about those who might be beyond the Red Zone, whose numbers he didn’t even know.

That’s how he stepped into the Red Zone.

Even if the mystery of this place was quite dangerous, the benefits he would gain from this were enough to take the risk.

‘This person is real. Unlike me.’

Kang San’s actions.

There was no benefit at all.

As a foreigner, there was no political gain to be had, and no one would compensate him for rescuing people. It could only be described as immense goodwill. He accepted sacrifice as a matter of course and even saved his own spirit, which was struggling in a nightmare. A strange echo resonated in his heart. Wasn’t the person the 9-year-old Saito Shusuke wanted to become, the very Kang San standing before him?

He felt a lump in his throat.

Swallowing his trembling voice, Saito Shusuke said,

“I will remember the hero’s sacrifice.”

“Huh?”

“This Saito Shusuke will witness Kang San-nim’s decision and sacrifice with my own two eyes. Please survive. Please survive and show everyone that justice in this world is not dead.”

“…Huh?”

Kang San blinked.

It seemed like there was some misunderstanding, but he was too tired to explain it all.

“Ah, yes.”

At the sight of Kang San smiling awkwardly, Saito Shusuke’s eyes were filled with determination.

✦✦✦✦✦✦

Whoosh━

A light flashed.

The people praying in the Kitakyushu Plaza looked with eager eyes at the signal indicating teleportation.

“…Please.”

Kang San.

They prayed for his return.

But the person who appeared from beyond the dimension was a face they hadn’t expected at all.

Swish.

“Gasp.”

“Saito Shusuke?”

“Didn’t they say the Spear Ghost was dead?”

Spear Ghost was Saito Shusuke’s nickname.

According to Nakamura Genji’s testimony, he was known to have been killed by the evil spirit, but he suddenly appeared in front of people with a perfectly healthy face. People flocked to him all at once. Among them, Nakamura Genji showed a rather fierce expression.

“Could you explain what happened?”

Rescue team.

They self-destructed.

In particular, when Saito Shusuke went berserk, countless people died by his spear.

No matter how much they knew he was affected by the evil spirit, they couldn’t welcome Saito Shusuke’s appearance.

Saito Shusuke said,

“…First of all, I would like to apologize to everyone. As the leader of the rescue team, I should have carried out my mission, but I ended up being attacked by the evil spirit and attacking people. I will definitely take responsibility for this. And to explain the background of my return, Kang San-nim saved me. He came to me, who was struggling in a nightmare, and saved me so that I could return as my original self.”

“Kang San-nim himself? Is he still safe?”

“Yes. If it wasn’t for him, I would have remained a madman. Actually, I tried to persuade Kang San-nim to come back with me, but he accepted the sacred mission of dealing with the evil spirit in the Red Zone and returning. I’m sorry. His will was so strong that I couldn’t persuade him.”

The atmosphere changed subtly.

Salvation, sacred mission.

Saito Shusuke showed a different attitude from before in dealing with Kang San.

In the end,

It was back to square one.

Kang San still remained in the Red Zone, continuing the sacrifice that everyone worried about.

“But what are you all doing here?”

“That’s…”

He heard the explanation.

That they were praying through Eileen’s skill.

Saito Shusuke’s eyes lit up.

“I’ll join you.”

He moved.

He knelt right next to Eileen and clasped his hands together with a truly sincere expression.

“Kang San-nim. Please come back safely. I, and all of us, will earnestly pray for the hero’s return.”

His tightly clasped hands.

Seeing his sincere appearance, other people also resumed their prayers one by one.

✦✦✦✦✦✦

After sending off Saito Shusuke,

Kang San immediately moved.

The situation was better than before.

He recovered his stamina with the supplies he received from Saito Shusuke, and the prayer buff effect continued.

『The Power of Prayer blesses you.』

『Stats increase by 50%.』

‘…What’s going on?’

Prayer buff.

He couldn’t understand.

There was no way for him to know that Eileen had a prayer skill, and that countless people in Kitakyushu Plaza were praying for his safe return. He was just grateful for the sudden ability bestowed upon him. He didn’t know how this situation had come about, but the 50% blessing was truly a tremendous ability.

A few days later.

Kang San moved diligently.

With the one-week time limit, he didn’t think he could reach the location of the evil spirit in just a day or two.

And he met survivors several times on the way, but this time he didn’t receive any special rewards for rescuing them. It was presumed that the ‘Twenty-Fifth Trial’ was effectively the last trial in the Red Zone. Fortunately for Kang San, he had spare teleport scrolls, so he distributed them to the survivors except for the one he would use at the end.

That’s how on the 5th day,

He finally reached his destination.

The place indicated on the map was an entrance leading underground, and Kang San discovered a peculiar phenomenon there.

“…Fog?”

Beyond the passage,

Fog was creeping up.

It was a hypothesis, but he wondered if the fog that had engulfed the entire Red Zone might have originated from here. He took several deep breaths. The moment he entered the unknown space and faced the S-rank evil spirit, he would be forced to make a choice at the crossroads of life and death.

‘Can I defeat that monster?’

He honestly didn’t know.

It was an S-rank, after all.

Considering the clash with Saito Shusuke, it would be right to judge that it was absolutely impossible based on objective strength.

But this was a special case.

The evil spirit hadn’t shown any ‘physical strength’ so far, and there was a high probability that its bizarre ability to break down an S-rank was limited to the mental world. And in the realm of the mind, Kang San wasn’t simply a being that could be classified as B-rank. Not only had he endured countless unknown trials since childhood, but since accepting the trials, he had often been driven into a corner mentally. The fact that he had overcome it every time had created the potential to even erase the nightmares the evil spirit had attempted.

Of course, this was also a hypothesis.

If it was actually a physically strong monster, Kang San wouldn’t be able to return alive against an S-rank monster.

But,

‘I have no choice.’

He took a deep breath.

He had to handle it.

No matter what kind of monster existed beyond, there was no way to avoid it since it was given as a trial.

‘Let’s go.’

He moved.

Beyond the underground,

Into the pitch-black darkness.

✦✦✦✦✦✦

Thump, thump.

The sound of his footsteps echoed loudly.

The quiet and desolate space made even the sound of water droplets falling from the ceiling feel like his heart was pounding.

How long had he walked?

The underground was shorter than he thought.

When he reached a dead end, Kang San discovered something.

‘This is…’

A corpse.

Something that was once a living person was leaning against the underground wall.

It was a bizarre sight.

The faded clothes proved that a long time had passed, but the body of the corpse still showed an uncorrupted flesh color. And there were traces of being brutally bitten here and there. The exposed skin had various sharp and blunt teeth marks, and both legs were completely torn off, revealing the kneecaps.

The most grotesque part of it was,

Beyond the sunken eyes, the bloodshot eyes were looking directly at Kang San.

It wasn’t a corpse.

It was something still alive.

『You’ve finally arrived.』

Inside his head,

The familiar turbid voice penetrated.

His mouth didn’t move an inch, but the clear voice continued to speak.

『Countless humans have encroached on my domain, but not a single one has ever overcome the nightmare. But you’re different. Nightmares exist in your abyss like everyday life, so you accepted the nightmares I inflicted without any difficulty. Interesting. That you, a human, have finally reached this place.』

Clack, clack, clack.

The corners of his mouth moved.

He smiled.

The evil spirit looked at Kang San.

『I’ve been waiting for a being like you.』

Rumble, rumble.

The space shook.

Kang San didn’t run away.

He felt that he shouldn’t show his back.

『I, we will not give up like this. We can never give up our . So accept it.』

He opened his eyes wide.

The space became distorted.

Intense longing, intense vengeful spirit.

『Your nightmare.』

Crack.

It swallowed Kang San whole.

✦✦✦✦✦✦

Chirp, chirp, chirp.

He heard the refreshing sound of birds singing.

He looked up and saw the warm sunlight, and the occasional breeze brushed coolly against his skin. He didn’t remember who he was, what his name was. In this situation, where he was presumably collecting firewood, he stopped resting and shouldered the A-frame carrier where the firewood was tied.

“Heave-ho.”

He moved.

He saw the village not far away.

The village, surrounded by a crude wooden fence, was a small village with no more than 30 houses.

At that moment, children were playing outside the fence, and one of the dark-skinned children was delighted.

“Daddy━!”

“Oh my, my little one.”

Hug.

He hugged the running child tightly.

The child, whose gender was difficult to distinguish because of living in the mountains, rubbed their face against his as if they were so happy. He suddenly wondered if his rough beard wasn’t hurting them. He carried the child like that with the A-frame carrier on his back, entered the village familiarly, and unloaded the firewood at the communal warehouse.

And when he came out,

Someone else called him.

“Munho, I think Grandma Baek was calling you over there?”

It was a middle-aged man.

At his words, he realized.

My name is Munho.

Seo Munho.

His mind, which had been hazy like fog, instantly pushed away the fog as memories of himself flooded in.

This wasn’t Kang San’s dream.

It was called Seo Munho.

It was the Blood Demon’s nightmare, hidden deep within the abyss.