Chapter 2534 – 2534. Savior Of The Academy

Blood Lightning.

Red lightning, fueled by the life force within my blood, erupted in all directions.

Everything touched by the red lightning shattered, creating shockwaves. Thanks to my Strength stat, the life force in my blood was so excessive that the Blood Lightning even carried physical force.

Having self-destructed using all the blood in my body, I couldn’t control the Blood Lightning. Nor did I intend to. One thing was certain: everyone here was going to die.

『Karma: Goodness increases by 1.』
『Karma: Goodness increases by 1.』
『Karma: Goodness decreases by 1.』
『Karma: Goodness increases by 2.』
『Karma: Goodness decreases by 1.』

Even with my body shattered by the self-destruction, the notifications on the status window were visible.

The rise and fall of Karma. It was expected. No matter how much of a bunch of bastards the Guirak Clan was, there would be those who had no choice but to cooperate with them. But the increases outnumbered the decreases.

『Karma: Goodness 1,074』

In the end, my Karma increased by over 200. Considering there were over 5,000 Guirak Clan members here, it might seem a bit low.

‘But Karma doesn’t necessarily increase just because you kill bad guys.’

It was almost 15 seconds. Before my death resistance ended, I used Full Recovery.

[Full Recovery is used.]

I was reconstructed, naked. The thick dust around me obscured my face.

‘Machina. Come.’

Machina was summoned, and a steel suit formed on my body. Finally, I became Red Light.

[Ugh, seriously! I’m so disoriented!]

‘Hmm. My face was exposed for a moment, but… with this level of destruction, even psychometry won’t be able to find me.’

There were levels to psychometry. Eunbi Jung was obviously at the highest level, and there was no one with skill comparable to or greater than hers.

‘The Reverse Demon… is she dead?’

Thunder Heaven Style Electromagnetic Wave.

Due to the lingering effects of the Blood Lightning, the electromagnetic wave didn’t activate properly.

‘It doesn’t matter. Heavenly Eye.’

[Heavenly Eye is opened.]

The Reverse Demon was alive. She was staggering on the ground. Her right arm was broken. And she looked extremely exhausted.

‘She’s on the verge of death. Still, to survive my self-destruction attack, she must be one of the Four Great Gatekeepers of the Guirak Clan.’

I walked leisurely towards the Reverse Demon.

The Reverse Demon’s hidden card? She must have already used it. That’s why she was the only one alive now.

On the other hand, I was in perfect full condition thanks to Full Recovery. I asked the Reverse Demon in Chinese.

“I’m curious how you survived. Tell me before you die, old hag.”

The Reverse Demon, who had been staggering, stopped. She slowly turned around. Her expression was one of pure shock.

I hadn’t exactly hidden my presence, but the fact that she hadn’t sensed me meant she was truly on the verge of death.

“Y-you…! Do you know what you’ve done?!”

Her voice was rough. It sounded like she was forcing it out.

“I crushed the head of the Guirak Clan.”

“…After the death of the Demon Mother, this one became the head of the Guirak Clan and its suppressor. Do you know why the Guirak Clan hasn’t surfaced until now? It’s all because this one has been holding them back! For our China, and for the world! But now you have released that suppressor! Congratulations! The world will be plunged into chaos because of you! A world war! A world war will break out!”

“Looks like I stirred up a hornet’s nest called the Guirak Clan.”

“That’s right! You stirred up the nest…! …Could it be, did you do it on purpose?”

“I wanted to kill the Guirak Clan, but I couldn’t find the location of the Clan Lord and the Four Great Gatekeepers. So, I had to make them reveal themselves. I don’t care what happens to China. World war? Don’t exaggerate. I know the Guirak Clan isn’t that powerful.”

The Reverse Demon muttered something in front of me. I knew it was a magical or sorcerous language.

‘I don’t have Heavenly Heart or Full Recovery… but it doesn’t seem dangerous.’

I was curious what an old woman on the verge of death could do. Spatial teleportation? If she could do that, she would have used it to escape long ago.

The Reverse Demon finished her incantation.

A sticky, pitch-black aura surged towards me from the Reverse Demon’s body. It was the aura of plague.

Crack.

I burned away the plague aura with lightning.

The Reverse Demon stared at me with wide, shocked eyes.

“Was that your last struggle? It was nothing.”

“…You were prepared for everything. Yes. This one was going to use the last of her strength to curse you with a plague. That way, this one could die laughing at you. But it failed. Now, I will curse the Clan Lord and the remaining Great Gatekeepers. They will tear you apart.”

“We’ll see who gets torn apart.”

“……What are you?”

“I am Red Light. Don’t you want to tell me how you survived? If not, I’ll kill you right now.”

“…This one was able to survive by sacrificing my guardian spirit, Shen. It was also Shen who noticed your attack and warned me.”

The Reverse Demon, one of the Four Great Gatekeepers, used a guardian spirit? This was different from the original story. In the original story, the Four Great Gatekeepers didn’t directly handle guardian spirits because they couldn’t be perfectly controlled.

‘It’s different from the original story. I must have influenced it without realizing it.’

I couldn’t undo what had already happened.

‘Still, it’s good that I got some information.’

“…Spare this one. Even if you don’t know what kind of grudge the Guirak Clan holds… this one knows a lot of information about the Guirak Clan. After the Demon Mother died, it wasn’t the Clan Lord who actually ran the Guirak Clan, but this one. Aren’t you interested in the Guirak Clan’s information?”

My answer was already decided. I couldn’t trust the Reverse Demon. And it was something I could do without her.

“Is an old hag like you pathetically begging for your life? Just die.”

I clenched my fist and raised it.

“Heeeeeek!”

The Reverse Demon stumbled backward and fell. I didn’t care and swung my fist, smashing the Reverse Demon’s head.

『Karma: Goodness increases by 20.』

The Karma I gained from killing the Reverse Demon was sickeningly sweet.

• • •

After killing the Reverse Demon, I quietly assessed the situation.

Korea was economically shaken due to Red Light’s rampage. However, it quickly regained its footing. The death of an important figure in society didn’t paralyze the social system itself. Rather, someone else took their place.

Unlike the shaky economy, public order improved. The crime rate decreased because Red Light killed villains without mercy. Of course, Red Light was still a criminal who engaged in vigilante justice. However, Red Light’s popularity was better than that of most heroes.

‘I’ll ignore the minor villains in Korea. The heroes need to work too.’

Korea was almost completely settled. What I was focusing on now was China.

For a few days after the Reverse Demon’s death, things were quiet.

But problems began to erupt all over China. It wasn’t outright terrorism. The Reverse Demon was dead, but the entire Guirak Clan hadn’t collapsed. Under the management of the Guirak Clan Lord, the Guirak Clan was maintaining a minimum of order.

‘The problem is that it’s erupting in places the Guirak Clan Lord can’t control.’

For example, small drug deals. Small crimes grew, areas expanded, and conflicts turned into fights.

Because the Guirak Clan had so many people, factions naturally formed. The Reverse Demon coordinated the factions in place of the Demon Mother. The Guirak Clan Lord didn’t have the same talent as the Demon Mother or the Reverse Demon. As a result, problems arose as the factions within the Guirak Clan clashed.

‘I flew through the skies of China as Red Light. If the Guirak Clan isn’t completely stupid, they’ll know that Red Light killed the Reverse Demon.’

The Guirak Clan would retaliate against Red Light.

As a criminal organization, they had to retaliate after being attacked. Otherwise, their underlings, and even external enemies, would look down on them. Having experience managing a group, I knew this well.

I flew through the skies of Hamgyeong Province every night. I acted regularly, and a few heroes did get involved, but I ignored them. My real target wasn’t the heroes, but the Guirak Clan.

‘Come. Your enemy is right here.’

It was snowing heavily in the skies of Hamgyeong Province. In fact, it was snowing all over the Korean Peninsula. Christmas Eve, when the third legion commander would descend, was less than a week away.

As I flew through the sky, I stopped when I saw the snowy field. A figure was descending from the snowy field connected to China.

It was a man wearing only a martial arts uniform despite the cold weather. His hair was tied back tightly, and he had a messy beard. His hygiene wasn’t great, but his eyes emitted a red glow, making him look like a ghost rather than a living person.

He wore two swords and two sabers on each side of his waist, and a very large zanbato on his back.

He was the Slaying Demon, Li Tao.

He walked barefoot on the snow. But no footprints were left. He had reached the level of walking without leaving a trace. It meant he could control his body and mana freely.

He looked at me and said.

“Are you Red Light?”

A ghostly voice. I activated my Spirit Eye as I looked at him.

A guardian spirit was visible behind the Slaying Demon. A ghost with four arms. In its four hands, it held sharp, ominous blades.

“So you’re the Slaying Demon of the Guirak Clan. Did you come for revenge for the Reverse Demon?”

“I don’t care about that old hag’s death. The Clan Lord ordered me to bring you his head. You, draw your sword.”

“Why a sword all of a sudden?”

“The Sword Demon is saying it. You are a high-level swordsman. Swordsmen have met, so… isn’t it natural to kill each other with swords?”

I looked at the Slaying Demon.

He was fiddling with the hilt of the sword at his waist, exuding killing intent. Unlike that intense killing intent, the reason he wasn’t attacking immediately was because he really wanted to fight me with swords.

“You’re an interesting one. Fine. I’ll play along.”

I summoned the Fire Lotus Flying Daggers from my inventory.