Chapter 312 – Blood Demon (6)

“Huh? Uh…?”

A stupid sound flowed out of me involuntarily.

Hong Yeon-hwa collapsed in front of me.

To save me.

Ururung-

“Huhahaha! Finally, it’s in my hands!”

Perhaps he had prepared something, the Samduyukbi collapsed as soon as it swallowed Hong Yeon-hwa.

And the Blood Demon laughed.

When I saw that sight, something hot surged up.

“This…!”

I lifted the sword that I had been holding down. The flow of my inner strength, which had stopped, went wild, forcing energy into my whole body.

The clear flesh became a strong energy and began to shine dimly on the sword.

As I was about to rush towards the Blood Demon.

“Jin Ga-ga!”

I felt a solid weight in my right arm, which was holding the sword.

When I turned around for a moment, Pungsososo had come running and grabbed me as if to hold me back.

“Let go.”

“I can’t!”

“Let go! We have to bring Yeon-hwa right now!”

“I agree, but not now!”

Pungsososo pulled me desperately, shouting.

“Can’t you see that this place is collapsing?! If we can save Hong Unni before it collapses, and if there’s a way to survive in the rubble, I’ll help! But it’s not now!”

“But…”

“Or are you going to die with me here?!”

“……!”

I looked at Pungsososo in surprise at her words.

Her eyes were so swollen that she would burst into tears at any moment. But her lips were stubbornly sealed.

Her will not to give up, no matter what happened, was clearly conveyed.

I took my eyes off Pungsososo for a moment and looked up at the ceiling.

Ururung!

Even at this moment, the ground shook as if an earthquake had occurred, and rocks fell from the ceiling, heralding the collapse of the entire cave.

The Blood Demon, who was laughing like crazy in the center, and the Blood Sea, which was raging around him, were the only things that seemed unscathed.

After looking at that sight for a moment, I dropped Pungsososo, who was holding onto my arm tightly, and asked.

“Where do we go? Is there a way? Even if we try to leave now, it seems too late.”

“Oh, yes! Yeoryeong and Myeongwoljin-in are preparing a protective spell! Of course, it won’t be enough, but…”

“It’s okay if there are other people, right? Hold on tight.”

This time, I lifted Pungsososo into my arms and jumped towards where the others were gathered.

It would be faster this way.

Thud.

Was it because it had accomplished its goal of swallowing Hong Yeon-hwa? Or was there another reason?

The group of Togwi, who had been fighting, froze in their tracks.

They’re just getting in the way.

We broke through all the obstacles and arrived where the others were gathered.

“Sanggong! You’re here!”

“Yes. How’s the situation?”

“Yeor-yeong and Myeongwoljin-in are preparing well. Now all that’s left is…”

“Us, right?”

“Yes.”

Samamang seemed to be keeping an eye on this side for some reason. If we had seen him from afar, we might not have noticed him.

“It’s okay. Yeon-hwa is still alive.”

“Are you sure?”

“I saw it with my own eyes, so I’m sure.”

If I had planned to kill her here, I would have confirmed it when Hong Yeon-hwa passed out.

But the Blood Demon just swallowed her, covered in blood, without trying to kill her.

…I don’t know how long he’ll keep her alive.

I want to go save her right now, but I can’t.

I can’t die alone, and I can’t commit suicide with other women.

So for now, we have to escape together safely.

With that in mind, I drew my sword towards the collapsing ceiling.

Ururung!

The collapse was accelerating. Until a moment ago, I felt like I could avoid the big chunks, but now it seems like the ceiling is collapsing as it is.

The only fortunate thing is that Samayeoryeong and Myeongwoljin-in’s protective spell is much stronger than expected.

The hemispherical transparent barrier easily blocked the heavy soil.

But it couldn’t handle everything, so I and others had to break down big rocks several times.

After crushing the falling rocks and barely breaking through the pile of earth pressing down on the barrier, we finally escaped outside.

“What is that…?”

A giant dragon was floating in the sky.

***

Actually, the first thing we saw when we escaped from underground was a huge pit.

A strange landscape as if Mount Taesan had been uprooted in its entirety.

But compared to what was floating above it, the disappearance of Mount Taesan was nothing.

A long body like a snake, covered in scales. A pointed horn was attached to its head, and it was spewing overwhelming force until it reached the ground.

It was undoubtedly a dragon, although it looked slightly different from the one we imagined.

Although the size that shattered the perspective was certainly unique… After all, dragons are supposed to be huge.

The discomfort comes from things other than its size.

First, the scales. It’s true that the scales resembling those of fish or reptiles cover its entire body.

However, the scales were not tightly packed, but rather sparsely scattered, and sometimes there were pieces of tattered leather or bones exposed underneath.

What about the horn?

It resembled the horn of a devil more than that of a deer… no, a cow? Rather than divine, it exuded a threatening atmosphere.

In addition, there was a head that looked vaguely like a human face at first glance, and a foul stench that could be smelled from here.

Rather than a proper dragon, it felt like a giant Togwi made in the shape of a dragon, or as if a dragon’s corpse had been pulled out.

“What is that…? Jinrang, what is that…?”

Samayeoryeong, who had just noticed the dragon, asked in a dismayed voice.

“I don’t know. But one thing’s for sure, that’s a Blood Demon.”

“….Yeah, it looks like it.”

There’s also the fact that there’s no one else but a Blood Demon who could cause something like this, but the biggest reason is that the dragon’s head resembles the face of a Blood Demon.

It’s not quite an Inmyeongryong, but it feels like it.

“Wait, isn’t it recovering?”

“Recovering?”

I looked closely at the creature at Samayeoryeong’s words.

It looked like a tattered corpse. But as Samayeoryeong said, it was slowly recovering.

Flesh filled the exposed bones, then covered with skin. Scales grew on top of that, and finally, the color began to return.

The speed was slow, but it was steadily gaining vitality.

Suddenly, I remembered the last sight I saw before the group collapsed.

“Myeongwoljin-in! Yeon-hwa is still alive! She passed out, but she’s still inside! Maybe…”

“Perhaps Sohyeop’s idea is correct.”

Myeongwoljin-in frowned slightly and spoke without taking his eyes off the dragon.

“Not a sacrifice, but an ascension… the Heavenly Demon who swallowed Yeonghwa… Yeokcheon…”

Mooera muttered, then finally looked at me.

“The Blood Demon tried to swallow the Heavenly Demon whole. However, the Heavenly Demon resisted, resulting in this incomplete form.”

“Then the fact that the dragon is recovering means…”

“It means it’s digesting. Perhaps when the Heavenly Demon is completely exhausted after some time…”

“Yeon-hwa dies and that monster becomes even stronger… On the other hand, it also means that Yeon-hwa is safe until then.”

I spoke, and Mao’s face twisted into a fierce expression as he asked Myeongwoljin-in.

“What can we do? No matter how difficult the method is, it’s okay. Even if it requires our lives. Please share your wisdom.”

Ma-noe bowed his head and made the request, and the other leaders of the other religions, including the Black Sword Grand Duke, also bowed their heads.

But Myeongwoljin-in lowered his head with a full expression of frustration and apology.

“I really don’t know. If we have time, we may be able to find its weakness. Just like how there is a weakness in a real dragon, there must be something in that creature. However, the Heavenly Demon will be completely digested by the time I find out.”

“….”

Myeongwoljin-in sighed deeply as he looked at the leaders who were silently bowing their heads. But he didn’t say anything else.

Maybe he really can’t think of a way. But…

“…There is a way.”

“What is it?”

As soon as I finished speaking, Ma-noe and the other leaders turned their heads towards me with raised swords, pointing directly at the Blood Demon’s head.

“We have to cut it.”

“What?”

As the raised sword slipped down vertically, he said firmly.

“If that thing is going to get stronger by melting Yeon-hwa, now is the weakest time. So we have to cut it now. And we can take Yeon-hwa out from inside.”

“….”

A moment of silence. Myeongwoljin-in was the first to break it.

“Now…Sohyeop, are you saying you’ll cut that thing?”

“Yes.”

“Using your body as a mountain, using the dragon’s veins as your veins, and cutting that thing that holds the decaying blood with your body?”

“Is there any other way?”

“….”

“Then we have no choice.”

My firm answer made Myeongwoljin-in close his mouth like a honeyed mute.

He understands.

You might want to ask what the hell this is all about.

You might want to argue that the sword can’t reach that far in the first place.

But this is not a matter of whether it can be done or not.

It has to be done.

I tried not to reveal it as much as possible, but did he read something from my pupils?

Myeongwoljin-in opened his mouth with an even more determined expression.

“With the flying potion that Bindo knows, we can’t go up there.”

“It’s okay.”

“Also, I don’t know exactly where the Heavenly Demon is.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“If a really dangerous situation arises, Bindo will run away with the people here. If that’s not possible, he’ll go back to his original world alone.”

“You’ve thought it through well. The living must live.”

Myeongwoljin-in hesitated for a moment at the prompt response, then asked slowly.

“…How can Bindo help?”

“Simple.”

Yes. There is always a way.

“First, give me all the remaining medicine.”

If there isn’t any, we’ll make it.

“And please prepare some good talismans for the body.”