Blood Demon of the Past Life – Chapter 179

Chapter 179: The Secret of the Past Life Revealed （2）

Lee Han-seong’s expression hardened.

He looked back and forth between Kang San and Kim Chun-sik, showing a calmer reaction than expected.

“Unexpected. That you appeared here so quickly, and that a mere soldier has held out until now.”

Kang San’s response.

He had fully anticipated it.

Since he had directly warned him of the president’s orders, he knew that Lee Han-seong would be fully prepared in some way. However, he had judged that it didn’t matter. The person Lee Han-seong had initially targeted was Kim Chun-sik. No matter how famous he was as a special forces soldier, he was nothing compared to himself. He was confident that he could finish off Kim Chun-sik in an instant before whatever Kang San had prepared could be attempted.

Lee Han-seong’s gaze turned towards Kang San.

“Just one question. How did you know I was wearing a mask?”

It was an unexpected question.

Whenever he met Kang San, Lee Han-seong felt as if he was completely exposed, and he wanted to uncover the secret that Kang San held.

In truth, the answer was simple.

Kang San had sincerely accepted the existence of White Knight Lee Han-seong, but from the moment he experienced the memories of his past life, everything he had directly experienced crumbled. Lee Han-seong himself had made no mistakes. There had been some slightly unsettling points, but even so, he couldn’t be labeled as a villain.

Kang San spoke.

“It was just a minor suspicion. The hand that pressed down on my shoulder when I blocked the Dark Lord’s attack, your actions during the Dilemma incident. And the Werewolf Lord incident. Once I started to suspect, even our first meeting didn’t make sense. If you think about it, there was no reason for you, the most important figure in Guardian, to step up to deal with a mere A-rank monster. But if you think about the reason why you had to do that, it might have been the president’s order, or maybe you were greedy for attention in a high-profile incident.”

“You’re saying it was just a simple suspicion.”

“Yes.”

Pfft, he burst out laughing.

Lee Han-seong’s eyes turned cold.

“That’s a damn shame. I thought I was perfect all this time.”

Swish.

He drew his sword.

A seething presence warned that something was about to happen.

“The president told me to hinder Guardian Guild but not to touch you. Public opinion is currently praising you and criticizing the government, so a sudden death would leave behind troublesome controversy. So I was planning to destroy the guild, slowly kill your presence, and then on a day when people’s interest in you had waned even a little, I would make it look like an accidental death. But now I have no choice.”

This place.

From now on, it was not a realm of orders.

Personal judgment had led to an extreme conclusion.

“I have no choice but to kill both of you and bury the secret forever.”

✦✦✦✦✦✦

Remarks made by Lee Han-seong.

As soon as he recognized it, Lee Han-seong’s figure vanished from the spot.

Pot━

“Huh!?”

His opponent was Kim Chun-sik.

He intended to deal with the easiest opponent first, but Kang San had entered the same S-rank realm as Lee Han-seong.

Therefore.

Kwaang━!

He reacted to the attack by a hair’s breadth.

He was blocking Kim Chun-sik, who had a bewildered expression, and Lee Han-seong continued his attack without a hint of surprise. Kkwa-kwa-kwa-kwaang! The exploding attacks were all blocked by Kang San’s line. Kim Chun-sik also quickly grasped the situation and, under Kang San’s protection, began to scatter small daggers attached to his waist.

“Throwing.”

Pa-pa-pa-pa-pak━!

Lee Han-seong raised his shield.

He didn’t block it with his arm.

Since he had figured out that Kim Chun-sik was using poison, there was no need to deliberately subject himself to poisoning, even with the Sacred Body skill. However, the fact that he reacted to Kim Chun-sik’s attack. Even in that split second, Kang San dug into Lee Han-seong’s space.

“Blood Demon Sword Technique, Second Style: Pursuit Kill.”

Hwi-ri-ri-rik.

The sword bent.

As Lee Han-seong tried to block, the curving sword grazed his side shallowly.

Suh-guhk━

Status effect: Bleeding applied.

Although Kang San and Kim Chun-sik didn’t exchange words, Kim Chun-sik stepped back, scattering a bunch of hidden weapons.

“Torrential Rain.”

Pa-ba-ba-bak━

Attacks poured in from all directions.

Kang San had previously told him to attack without considering his presence if a situation arose where the two of them would cooperate. Because he would dodge it himself. Because he had the ability to do so. It was a situation that could frighten most people, but Kim Chun-sik threw hidden weapons at the intertwined two beings without hesitation.

Intertwined killing intent.

Kang San didn’t even look back.

Letting go of the killing intent shooting from behind, he pushed Lee Han-seong as it was.

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

Kwaang━!

Kwa-ru-ru-ru-ru-ru-rung.

It was a tremendous battle.

Korea’s strongest.

Against White Knight Lee Han-seong, Kang San and Kim Chun-sik created a picture as if they were pushing forward with only the two of them.

Lee Han-seong’s expression crumpled.

He, who had been blocking the onslaught of attacks, momentarily exploded with power.

“Flash Split Cloud Sword.”

Flash━

Kwaang!

Kwa-ru-ru-ru-ru-ru-rung.

One flash.

The ultimate fast sword split the space.

It was an attack that even Kang San found difficult to react to.

As he instinctively raised his shield against the surging killing intent, he was pushed back with a powerful shock.

It didn’t stop there.

“Shadowless Step.”

His presence blurred.

He quickly dug into the space and pushed Kang San, and as Kang San tried to react, his presence disappeared and he suddenly attacked Kim Chun-sik. Kang San instinctively knew. The power that Lee Han-seong was currently using stemmed from his ‘past life,’ just like himself and Kim Chun-sik. Moyongcheon’s martial arts were manifested through Lee Han-seong.

It was different from usual.

It was a different form of skill from the skill that advocated for the White Knight, but he no longer tried to hide himself.

“I’ll kill you first.”

Flash.

He split the space.

A split second.

“Trial’s Shield.”

Kwaang━

He drew aggro.

Because he suddenly blocked the attack, Kang San was thrown back and vomited blood.

“Cough━.”

It was powerful.

Lee Han-seong had been hiding his power.

While living as White Knight Lee Han-seong, he never revealed his full power, preparing for any situation. It was because of his cautiousness. He judged that fully revealing his power would always make it difficult to respond to malice that wanted to kill him. His thoughts became firm after encountering the President. On the day he dealt with the forces the President commanded, Lee Han-seong realized that he had to hide himself even more.

So that they couldn’t gauge him.

So that the opponent’s hasty assumptions would allow him a path to survival when a problem arose.

“It’s been a while. Since I’ve revealed my full power.”

Kang San and Kim Chun-sik.

He would definitely kill both of them.

That’s why he revealed it.

At the sight of the two rushing in with their clumsy joint attack, Lee Han-seong used a power that even the President didn’t know about.

“I promise. You will definitely die here.”

Thump, thump.

He took a step.

His presence swelled.

Kang San roughly wiped the blood from his mouth.

He never thought that there would be no difficulty in dealing with Lee Han-seong from the beginning.

Glance.

‘……Even though Kim Chun-sik is strong, at this level, he’s only a hindrance.’

The initial synergy was brief.

In the end, Kim Chun-sik’s existence, which was only A-rank, became a hindrance as Lee Han-seong targeted him. It was a problem he had to deal with. But he couldn’t leave Kim Chun-sik to die.

‘I’ll give it my all too.’

6-star skill.

Metamorphosis.

He was about to use it.

But at that moment.

Pas-sus-sus-sus.

Some image overlapped with the opponent’s appearance.

It was a familiar sight.

The appearance of a being using the Moyong Family’s swordsmanship, approaching like that.

A moment from his past life.

A new world unfolded in Kang San’s retina.

✦✦✦✦✦✦

Until just now, Lee Han-seong had been in front of him.

He closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, Seo Mun-ho saw the martial artists of the righteous Murim faction rushing towards him.

“Die, you devil━!”

Flash.

A sword aimed for his neck.

It was a fairly fast and powerful sword technique, but Seo Mun-ho deflected it with a slight turn of his head and then instantly decapitated his opponent. Blood sprayed into the air. As he saw the martial artists of the righteous Murim faction rushing in to fill the space behind him, Kang San’s mind pieced together what the current situation was.

His last memory.

He had gone to find the Hebei Peng family.

For revenge.

To wipe the smile off his face, he had willingly stepped into a space teeming with righteous faction members.

Clang!

Clang, clang, clang, clang!

He blocked all the attacks pouring in from all directions.

Whenever he blocked an attack, he would inevitably cut off the opponent’s head, and before he could even retrieve his sword, he sensed the killing intent rushing in. His blood boiled. Following the signals instinctively given by the Blood Demon Art, he dodged and blocked, and Seo Mun-ho relentlessly slaughtered his opponents one by one. Beyond his vision, which was obscured by the crowd, he saw Moyeongcheon watching with a leisurely expression.

Lee Han-seong’s past life.

Seo Mun-ho’s nemesis.

Kang San’s thoughts hadn’t extended to Seo Mun-ho yet.

The world Kang San was seeing was an event that had already happened, and the situation unfolded naturally.

Flash.

Thud━

Dozens of martial artists.

He had slaughtered them all.

As Kang San, covered in blood, raised his head, he saw even more martial artists steadily arriving.

It was pathetic.

The clan leaders, who had just been brandishing their swords as if they would fight him directly, were now pushing their subordinates forward, using their numbers to overwhelm him. They watched the situation from afar, as if they were spectators across a river. At first, Moyeongcheon had been about to step forward immediately, but their words had held him back.

“Is there really a need for the Alliance Leader to step forward?”

“Why not give your subordinates a chance? If it’s the Blood Demon, their blood must be boiling right now.”

“It’s an undue honor for the Alliance Leader to even cross swords with such a scoundrel.”

It was laughable.

The so-called Alliance Leader.

The so-called righteous faction.

Even though they had enough power to save their subordinates, they chose to stand by and watch instead of leading the charge.

Is this what the righteous faction is always like?

Or has the Murim world itself rotted away?

I don’t know.

Seo Mun-ho had stepped into the Murim world by accepting the Blood Demon Art, but he hadn’t experienced the ways of the Murim at all. It didn’t matter anyway. Those who expected Seo Mun-ho to waver someday didn’t know the truth about him. The Blood Demon Art becomes stronger the more people it slaughters. The more the sword drinks blood, the stronger it becomes.

“Fine. I’ll slaughter you all until you decide to step forward.”

He didn’t look beyond.

Not at Peng Mujeong, nor at Moyeongcheon.

He slaughtered the ones in front of him.

The martial artists who charged in confidently let out horrific screams whenever they faced Seo Mun-ho.

“Kyaagh!”

“Aagh!”

One person.

Two, three, ten.

They died quickly.

Corpses piled up, and blood flowed like a river.

A mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

In that hellish space, Seo Mun-ho gave up on being human.

The stronger the Blood Demon Art’s energy became, the more he lost his reason, to the point where he couldn’t even tell if he was cutting down humans or chunks of meat. Even amidst all that, only one goal remained clear. Peng Mujeong and Moyeongcheon. He would risk his life to kill those bastards who had burned down his village and killed his wife.

Soaked in blood.

Thud.

“Ugh, uaagh!”

A martial artist collapsed to the ground.

His will had broken.

Even though he knew that Seo Mun-ho was the only enemy here, he was overwhelmed by his intense presence.

Seo Mun-ho quickly approached him.

At the moment he was about to swing his sword, which was not just stained but soaked in blood.

“Flash Split Cloud Sword.”

Kwaang!

Kwarrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Someone suddenly intervened.

It was Moyeongcheon.

As Seo Mun-ho was pushed back, Moyeongcheon said with a disgusted expression.

“I can’t just stand by and watch any longer. The way you’re rampaging like a mad horse is truly unsightly.”

He caught his breath.

His sunken eyes focused on Moyeongcheon.

It was the moment he had been waiting for.

If he could cut down Moyeongcheon here and then kill Peng Mujeong as well, Seo Mun-ho would die with no regrets today.

Moyeongcheon sneered.

A voice transmission, inaudible to others, pierced Seo Mun-ho’s ears.

『Truly remarkable. How could a nobody like you become so strong? A thirst for revenge? Whatever it is, Peng Mujeong must be feeling like he’s been struck by lightning. That he failed to kill someone like you back then.』

Their eyes met.

It seemed he found this situation quite amusing.

『I’ll make you a promise. If you manage to defeat me, I’ll tell you a secret hidden within the tragedy you experienced, a secret you don’t even know about.』

Secret.

At the unexpected word, Seo Mun-ho’s eyebrows twitched.