Blood Demon of the Past Life – Chapter 160

Chapter 160: S-rank Outbreak （4）

It was the moment of the Divine Revelation.

Every day, praying to God, Priest Oh Man-seok had countless times envisioned the moment he would burn himself to prove the worth of his current life. It would be agonizing. If an ordinary person who hadn’t even Awakened faced a great disaster, the pain of their limbs being torn apart might instantly shatter any resolve they had.

Yet, he didn’t stop praying.

His current life was so painful that the mere hope for an afterlife allowed him to exist as “Priest Oh Man-seok.”

And now.

Oh Man-seok felt as if his thoughts had come to a halt.

Why, in this place where no human should exist, was that person alone blocking the monsters?

“…Kang San?”

His breath hitched.

Beyond the transparently erected wall.

Kang San was engaged in battle against an uncountable number of pouring monsters.

The sight of him not retreating, even as he was entangled with the monsters as if being swept away by a black wave, made his eyes tremble. It was different from the plan. The fact that Kang San, who was expected to flee, was here, and that someone else was stealing the spotlight that the Sun God Church should be receiving. The believers also showed confused reactions.

“There’s someone else besides us.”

“Isn’t that person Kang San?”

“Are we supposed to be blocking this?”

“Damn it.”

Confusion arose.

Their minds, once filled with madness, rapidly regained their sanity as if doused with cold water.

This shouldn’t be happening.

Oh Man-seok hurriedly turned around and spoke.

“Everyone. The moment of the Divine Revelation has arrived. On the thorny path we must walk, countless unexpected variables will arise, just like now. The moment when monsters tear at our flesh will be more painful than we imagined, and surely, waves of regret will try to break our faith. We cannot let that happen. We must not crumble. Until the very moment our lives are extinguished, we must believe in His teachings and believe that we have done the right thing. Only then can we truly prove our faith. Believe. Follow me. By doing so, we will surely be guaranteed an afterlife.”

“We believe.”

“We believe.”

He ignited the fading faith.

He turned.

When he made his decision, he had to enter the blazing inferno of disaster.

“I will lead the way.”

He moved.

Without hesitation, he stepped into the hell that Kang San was experiencing.

However.

Thud━

“!?”

His head hit something.

He had clearly tried to move forward, but the transparently erected wall wouldn’t allow Priest Oh Man-seok to pass.

“What is this.”

Thump, thump.

He hurriedly knocked on the wall.

At first, thinking that only the immediate front was blocked, he knocked here and there, checking for a way to pass. But no matter how much he knocked, there was no path. Only then did the believers, who grasped the situation, cling to the wall, but no matter how hard they struck, the wall wouldn’t budge.

This wasn’t part of the plan.

In this situation where they couldn’t even choose to sacrifice themselves, Priest Oh Man-seok shouted desperately.

“Kang San! Open the path! We will prove our will, so open this path!”

“Open the path!”

“Open the path, you son of a bitch!”

They all shouted together.

They cried out as if their throats would burst, but no matter how much they screamed, Kang San beyond the wall didn’t react at all.

Couldn’t he hear?

Was he choosing not to listen?

They didn’t know the reason.

What was certain was.

“…Ah.”

Priest Oh Man-seok and the believers could only blankly watch Kang San fight.

✦✦✦✦✦✦

“Blood Demon Sword Technique, Third Style: Explosive Kill.”

Kwaang!

Kwarurururururung.

A powerful explosion erupted.

Even though he swept away a wave of undead, the black tide that immediately filled the gap didn’t allow him a moment to breathe. He had already slain so many that he couldn’t even count. In less than 10 minutes, he had slaughtered hundreds of undead, but all Kang San could see was still a black world.

『You have met the special conditions of Mindset.』

『The Mindset of Tenacity increases stats by 100%.』

Just a moment ago.

Even though his stats had increased by a whopping 100%, Kang San felt overwhelmed just dealing with undead, not even the Dark Lord. Anxiety bloomed throughout his body. When he became aware of the ‘S-rank Outbreak’ a year ago, he thought it was a trial pushing him into the abyss of death. But as a year passed and he grew stronger, a glimmer of hope emerged.

Perhaps.

Could he survive?

If he, who had survived against the S-rank evil spirit, made thorough preparations, wouldn’t there be even a 1% chance?

It was a delusion.

It was arrogance.

Kang San had missed the most crucial fact.

‘When the great disaster truly began to overflow, even though South Korea was fully prepared and fought back, the news reported the death of S-rank White Knight Lee Han-seong. I should have known then. This disaster was never something I could handle.’

National-level power.

Even when an entire nation stepped up, the fact that Lee Han-seong couldn’t escape death meant that the Dark Lord’s power was immense.

He felt suffocated.

The main body, the Dark Lord, hadn’t even appeared yet, but the situation where he felt like he would be swept away by the black wave weakened his will. Should he just give up? If he turned back and ran, wouldn’t Luca Bellino, who had promised to withdraw the twenty-eighth trial, offer a new solution? He didn’t know. While two thoughts clashed fiercely in his mind, Kang San’s body didn’t stop fighting the undead.

Hook.

Kwaduk, kwaduk.

He dodged the attack.

Taking advantage of the opening created by the surging killing intent, he slashed down the undead right in front of him.

Flash.

Thwack!

‘It’s already too late.’

There was no path to survival.

The Barrier of Light perfectly isolated the inside from the outside.

Only he, the caster, could withdraw the barrier, but he knew all too well that there wasn’t a utopia he desired in the place he would escape to. Then he couldn’t stop resisting until the very end. Even if it was 1%. No, even 0.1%. If struggling until the end was the only way to survive, he would do so. As much as he aimed to save people, Kang San’s desire for survival burned fiercely.

Whoosh.

Kwaang━!

He was pushed back.

Kang San couldn’t help but stumble back from the simultaneous attacks of the undead.

That’s when it happened.

“Kang San!”

“Kang San! Open the path!”

Right behind him.

He heard muffled voices.

They were faint and small, but the thought that they were human voices made him block the undead and glance back.

Only then could he see.

People gathered beyond the Barrier of Light.

Seeing Priest Oh Man-seok at the forefront of them, he let out a brief, involuntary chuckle.

‘You’ve come here after all.’

People who were trying to burn themselves.

People who had offered their lives even though they knew it was a dead end.

If it weren’t for the Barrier of Light, as many Dark Lord’s minions as there were people would have been created.

He didn’t know if their god had spoken the truth.

But Kang San couldn’t allow their sacrifice.

Aside from his promise to Oh Min-yeong, thousands of undead would be created if they died.

Kang San shouted.

His voice was broken by his ragged breaths, but it was clear.

“…I can’t hold on much longer. So take the people and evacuate.”

Why was it?

The moment he briefly turned back, he felt like he had made eye contact with Oh Man-seok.

“Before I fall.”

✦✦✦✦✦✦

Kang San’s voice.

Oh Man-seok clearly heard it.

He said to evacuate.

The intention to block the monsters himself and for them to flee without looking back was clearly conveyed beyond the wall.

‘Why?’

He felt confused.

Oh Man-seok had thought Kang San was a manufactured hero.

Like Jeong Mun-cheol’s broadcast, he was a person who received secret support from Japan, called himself a hero, and hid some ulterior motive. Otherwise, he couldn’t explain Kang San’s actions. The fact that he suddenly came down to Pohang, where he had no connections, and even visited the Sun God Church to criticize them constantly, convinced him that there was some hidden intention he couldn’t predict.

So he ignored him.

He drew a line.

Because when the moment of the great disaster came, guys like Kang San would be the first to run away.

But what was this spectacle before his eyes?

He had burned himself.

Unlike himself, who was so afraid, Kang San was blocking the undead alone, even as they were tearing at him.

‘…God. Is this also a trial?’

His mind became entangled in complex thoughts.

It would have been simple if it weren’t for the Barrier of Light, but he hadn’t thought about how to act in a situation like this. Could they accept ‘sacrifice’ or not? That was the point of contention for him and the believers. He had never thought that they could achieve anything beyond death.

He stared blankly.

It was sacred.

The struggle of a single human to protect the citizens of Pohang was a world that ordinary people like himself couldn’t dare approach.

‘God said to sacrifice ourselves to prove the worth of the Sun God Church. But is that truly what meaningless death means? If we are not afraid of death and save people, wouldn’t that be true worth?’

The time he had condemned Kang San.

Regret washed over him.

Kang San was sincere.

Then, instead of just watching like this, he had to make Kang San’s noble sacrifice meaningful.

‘God will understand my will.’

He turned his head.

He looked at the believers.

“Let’s go back.”

“What are you talking about!?”

“Are you going to abandon God?”

“No. God’s will is embedded in every moment we experience. Kang San, whom we have ignored, is blocking the evil horde. What does this mean? He was not the villain we thought he was, but God’s agent. To inherit that noble will, we must evacuate the people so that the hero’s sacrifice is not in vain. Let’s go back. If the barrier is breached and the monsters come over, even if our limbs are torn apart, let’s evacuate even one more Pohang citizen. That is the mission we must bear.”

Everyone had complex expressions.

They must be confused as well.

Due to the discrepancy between reality and what they had imagined, the believers who were looking at each other finally raised their voices.

“We understand.”

“We will follow you, Priest.”

They made their decision.

Oh Man-seok looked at Kang San.

‘…Hero. Please be safe.’

He turned and walked away.

They quickly descended the mountain and headed towards the village where the people would be.

However, they witnessed a sight different from what they had expected.

The people were already moving in an orderly fashion, supporting and carrying the elderly who had difficulty moving, and evacuating. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind. Just a few days ago, Mayor Park Mun-do had accepted Kang San’s request and conducted something called a ‘crisis response drill.’ After hearing that, thinking that he couldn’t stand by any longer, Priest Oh Man-seok had personally visited Mayor Park Mun-do to sever their ties.

Goosebumps rose on his skin.

He turned his head sharply and looked in the direction where Kang San was.

‘What kind of fight have you been fighting all this time?’

The moment of disaster.

He wondered if he was never meant to be the protagonist of this day.

✦✦✦✦✦✦

At that moment.

Kim Min-yeong was overwhelmed by the flood of information.

『D-rank Link occurred in Haengdang-dong, Seongdong-gu!』

『C-rank Link occurred in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu!』

『D-rank Link occurred in Sinwol-dong, Yangcheon-gu!』

Throughout Seoul.

Situations were occurring simultaneously.

That wasn’t the only problem.

『According to current information from Pohang, there are predictions that the mana surge of the Outbreak might be ‘A-rank’ or higher. If that turns out to be true, South Korea might face a disaster unlike any seen before.』

It was chillingly grim information.

The reports related to Pohang were still under embargo.

It could incite chaos in Seoul, and releasing unknown information before the rank was confirmed could lead to a tremendous catastrophe. Rank confirmation was the priority for now. The South Korean government also announced that they would partially resolve the situation in Seoul and organize support troops.

“…If it’s S-rank. No, even if it’s A-rank, the government’s response seems too slow.”

She bit her nails.

The reality of the embargo and her journalistic duty clashed fiercely.

That’s when it happened.

“Senior! Look at the information that just came up!”

“Why?”

“Hurry!”

She checked the screen.

Two pieces of information appeared in succession.

『Currently, it is estimated that an unidentified individual is blocking the Outbreak alone in the Gokumsan area where it occurred.』

Following that.

『The identity of that individual has been confirmed as Kang San, the Hero of Kitakyushu.』

The name Kang San.

Kim Min-yeong’s eyes widened as if they would tear.