Blood Demon of the Past Life – Chapter 80

Chapter 80: Fragments of Memory （1）

The man raised his head.

Backlit by the warm sunlight pouring from the sky, he saw men flying towards him, their faces contorted with murderous intent.

“Die!”

“For the Hyung-nim’s revenge!”

He didn’t recognize their faces.

But he knew all too well why they were so enraged.

Cheongmyeong Sword Namgung Baek.

Immediately after killing him and his daughter, he had been pursued for the past few weeks by the Pursuit Squad dispatched by the Namgung Family. No matter how much he shook them off, they somehow found his trail and chased him relentlessly. Countless battles had ensued, and the man’s body was already at its limit. His parched lips and the encroaching dizziness made him want to give up everything, but he kept his eyes wide open, not missing a single movement of his enemies.

Pas━

He didn’t dodge.

He dug into the space intertwined with killing intent and swung his sword as if erupting.

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

Papapaphat.

“Kuagh!”

“Aagh!”

Limbs were torn apart.

Wading through the scattering drops of blood, the man slaughtered every enemy he encountered. The Blood Demon Art was a martial art that grew stronger as it consumed blood. The shadows under his eyes deepened, and his face became as gaunt as a skeleton, but conversely, his martial arts prowess was growing ever stronger. The enemies who had underestimated his limits met the same fate, their limbs flying off before they could even land a few decent blows.

Thud.

“You, you bastard. The Family will definitely avenge me….”

Puck━!

It was the same this time as well.

He blew off the head of the last remaining enemy.

The man staggered.

He was at his limit.

Fighting without even a single sip of water, he thought he might not survive. The Namgung Family’s pursuit was not over yet. Moreover, because they had put a bounty on his head, everyone he encountered, even if they weren’t part of the Pursuit Squad, changed their expressions and drew their swords at him.

He looked up at the sky.

The warm sunlight was unbearably bright, and he felt dizzy as if the world was spinning.

“…I won’t die like this. Never.”

He had…

A reason to survive.

He moved his body with difficulty.

Blood dripped with each step, and he had no choice but to find a hiding place.

He desperately needed rest.

Even for a short while.

To regain his strength to fight again, he hid himself in a sunken area of ground and roughly concealed his body with bushes.

He closed his eyes.

Hoping that when he opened them again, it would be in the afterlife.

✦✦✦✦✦✦

Rustle.

Flicker.

The man’s eyes snapped open.

His keen senses were awakened by the sound of someone stepping on the grass.

‘Is it the Pursuit Squad?’

No.

The scattered sounds were definitely not those of a martial artist, and there was no intention of concealing their movements. Rather, they were hurried. The man held his breath while remaining hidden. He had closed his eyes for quite some time, as the sun had set, and although not fully recovered, his body had regained some strength.

Crack.

He chewed on a medicinal herb.

It was a temporary measure to recover his energy, and he watched the direction of the approaching sound with sharp eyes.

Whoosh.

Thud!

“Aagh!”

It was a boy’s scream.

The boy, who had tripped over a tree root, quickly turned around and shouted.

“W-why are you doing this! What did we do wrong to deserve this!”

“Hehehe, why are we doing this? Don’t you know the whole story?”

Beyond the darkness…

Unidentified figures appeared.

Among them, the one who seemed to be the leader, wearing a mask, approached with a sword gleaming in the moonlight.

“In this world, you see, there are realities that you just have to accept, even if they are unreasonable and incomprehensible, simply because you are weak. You should have known your place. Because your family spoke out without knowing their place, many people were inconvenienced, weren’t they?”

The boy trembled.

The opponent’s words…

They didn’t hide their identity.

Speaking so casually, revealing words that could lead to guessing their identity, was no different from declaring their intention to kill him right there. At the tender age of 13, it was a situation the boy couldn’t handle. Faced with the imminent loss of his life, the boy didn’t beg for it but swallowed his tears and didn’t avert his gaze.

“Yes, go ahead! Kill me. My father was killed by wicked people like you for speaking the truth, but the world will remember our will. The truth about the tragedy that befell our family will be revealed, and at least people will know that we didn’t die in vain. My name is Baek Hyun. Born as the eldest son of the Baek Family, I will at least not show the weakness of begging for my life from villains.”

He closed his eyes tightly.

Contrary to his words…

His voice trembled as he spoke, and he had to clench his teeth to hide his whimpers.

It was a last-ditch effort.

He was terrified and afraid, but since he couldn’t choose between life and death, he wanted to uphold at least the will he held in his heart.

“Audacious brat. I can’t let you live.”

Swish.

He heard the sound of approaching footsteps.

He would die.

There was no way to escape alive.

But then…

“Who are you!”

“Reveal your identity!”

At the commotion, the boy who had identified himself as Baek Hyun slowly opened his eyes.

And he saw.

A man with dried blood all over his body and an expression devoid of emotion, blocking the assassins’ path.

✦✦✦✦✦✦

Why?

He didn’t know why he stepped forward.

When he came to his senses, he was blocking the assassins, and the man asked in a calm voice.

“Convince me.”

“What?”

“Explain to me why you must kill this child.”

The assassins exchanged glances.

After a moment of bewilderment and exchanging glances, they suddenly kicked off the ground.

“What reason!”

“Die!”

They were assassins.

They revealed their intention to kill.

As expected.

Those who tried to kill the boy had revealed that they themselves were not righteous.

“So you can’t convince me.”

Pas.

He deflected the attack.

They were slow.

Compared to the Namgung Family’s Pursuit Squad, their speed was so slow it was almost laughable, and he blew off the assassin’s head before they could react. Bright red blood splattered into the air. The assassins who followed, witnessing the scene, instinctively knew something was wrong.

“Be careful…Keugh!”

“Kuagh!”

A massacre unfolded.

The man slaughtered the assassins.

He tore apart everyone he encountered, and nearly ten people instantly turned into corpses, littering the ground.

“Who the hell are you…”

One of the assassins…

In his fading consciousness, he looked up at the man.

They couldn’t understand.

Who was this man, and what was his intention in intervening in this matter?

Crack.

The man grabbed the assassin’s hair.

As the assassin groaned, the man grinned at him.

“I told you to convince me properly.”

Crack.

He slit the assassin’s throat.

He brutally severed the neck bone, separating the head and body of the man who had been alive just moments ago. The man casually tossed the head aside. As the boy’s gaze followed the rolling head, the man sat on the headless corpse and beckoned with a nonchalant expression.

It was a gesture to come closer.

Baek Hyun was terrified.

But he had seen the fate of those who didn’t obey, so he walked towards the man, trembling.

The man met his gaze.

And asked.

“Now explain. Did I do the right thing by killing them, or not?”

✦✦✦✦✦✦

It was an absurd situation.

But he had to answer.

Baek Hyun wasn’t a foolish child, not knowing what would happen if he didn’t answer.

“…They are villains who tried to destroy my family. My family is a relatively prestigious noble family in Hubei, and recently, we discovered that a place called Geumho Merchant Guild was threatening and exploiting people with usury. So we gathered like-minded scholars and raised our voices. We said that if they continued such atrocities, everyone would stop trading with the Geumho Merchant Guild. And recently, we contacted the Wudang Sect to find a practical way to stop them.”

The trembling in his voice gradually subsided.

As he spoke, his anger towards the ‘Geumho Merchant Guild’ that attacked his family consumed him more than his fear of the situation.

“And today…we were suddenly attacked by unknown assailants. I barely managed to escape, but my father and the rest of my family were slaughtered by them. You asked me why they should be killed? They tried to exterminate the Baek Family. We just raised our voices for what we believed was right, and they drew their swords and carved us up. If such villains don’t die, who should die? I don’t know who you are, but I believe you did what had to be done.”

He didn’t avert his gaze.

Even if this man killed him…

As the last survivor of the Baek Family, he had to speak of the horrors the Baek Family had to endure for the sake of justice.

The man stared intently at Baek Hyun.

And then he grinned.

“Shall I avenge you?”

“Huh?”

He was bewildered.

Revenge?

It was an answer he hadn’t expected at all.

“If you say you want revenge, I’ll go to the Geumho Merchant Guild right now and slaughter them all in the same way. I’ll make sure not a single survivor remains, carving them up one by one so that being alive is agonizing.”

Baek Hyun didn’t know.

What situation the man was in.

The Namgung Family’s Pursuit Squad was hot on his heels, and the man was at his limit from the continuous battles. Helping someone else in this situation? Moreover, destroying an entire family? It was absurd. If he got caught up in this unnecessarily, the man would be unable to escape and lose his life.

Nevertheless…

His blood boiled.

His heart was moved.

That was enough to make a decision.

Baek Hyun’s eyes wavered at the pungent smell of blood.

His father had said.

Live uprightly under the heavens.

Even as he died, he had said.

We lived like human beings.

But Baek Hyun was different.

“Yes, kill them. Please kill them all, those bastards who slaughtered my family, without leaving even a single ant alive.”

His voice, filled with rage, no longer followed his father’s will.

✦✦✦✦✦✦

He moved his steps.

He descended from the mountain and finally arrived at the village.

Seeing the walls surrounding the vast land in the distance, Baek Hyun pointed towards it with bloodshot eyes.

“That’s the place. That’s where the Geumho Merchant Guild’s household members live.”

“I see.”

He didn’t look back.

He walked ahead alone.

Baek Hyun, unable to follow him, asked in a hurried voice.

“Are you planning to face them all alone?”

“……….”

“You’re truly crazy. I thought you weren’t normal from the start, but why are you risking your life for someone else’s business?”

He walked away.

The man didn’t stop or slow down his pace.

Baek Hyun had mixed feelings.

Whatever the man’s identity, he hoped he would succeed in his revenge, but he felt uneasy about the fact that a stranger was risking his life for the Baek family’s affairs. However, he couldn’t bring himself to stop him. They were the ones who killed his family. Someone was willing to take revenge for him, and even a saint would have to push a stranger’s back at a time like this.

He moved his lips.

Then he shouted.

“What is your name? At least tell me your name before you go.”

Suddenly, he stopped.

The man’s name.

There was a time when such a thing existed.

It was meaningless now.

“Who is it?”

“Identify yourself.”

At the main gate.

The guards showed a fierce attitude.

The man, with a warm smile, drew his sword.

Srrrng!

“My name is…”

It wasn’t meant for the guards.

He spoke to a boy watching from behind.

“Blood Demon.”

Flash!

Thud!

“Kyaaak!”

He cut down the guards.

With a single blow, the guards blocking his way collapsed, spewing blood.

He passed them.

And then, with all his might, he opened the Geumho Merchant Guild’s gate.

Creak-

Thump!