Chapter 50

Chapter 50: There Is No Justice More Expensive Than a Human Life (4)

"Heh heh!"

A sinister laugh escaped Eun Ha-seong's lips.

Vitality pulsed through his entire body. It felt as though an active volcano had erupted within him.

He had writhed through the night in excruciating agony.

The power contained in the spirit pill left by the Blood Demon was truly immense—it had radically reconstructed his physical form.

Muscles and bones had been forcibly rearranged against his will. His body had been transformed into the optimal vessel for wielding the Blood Demon's martial arts.

In exchange, Eun Ha-seong had experienced hell. His muscles had been torn apart dozens of times before regenerating, and the process of his bones shifting had subjected him to a sensation of being burned alive throughout the night.

But in return, he had obtained a reconstructed body and tremendous internal energy. By any measure, it was an enormously profitable exchange.

"Splendid!"

A satisfied smile spread across his sweat-drenched face.

He was two *cheon* taller than before, and his shoulders had broadened. His muscles were more solid yet more supple.

Eun Ha-seong picked up the saber resting to one side.

It was the Scarlet Star—another legacy the Blood Demon had left behind.

*Hummm!*

The divine blade Scarlet Star sang in his hand. A resonance far louder and more powerful than before filled the room.

"Now you finally acknowledge me as your true master."

The Scarlet Star had emitted a sound before, but it had felt somewhat reluctant. Now, as though acknowledging Eun Ha-seong as its true master, it let out a mighty cry.

The power emanating from the Scarlet Star was also incomparable to before. A force befitting its reputation as a divine blade.

*At this level…*

Eun Ha-seong was intoxicated by the tremendous power he felt from both his body and the saber.

He felt as though he could shatter mountains and topple the sky. That was how intensely the fierce energy dominated his entire being.

His body itched.

He wanted to satisfy this craving as quickly as possible. Otherwise, he felt he might explode.

As it happened, Eun Ha-seong knew of a place nearby where he could do so.

Eun Ha-seong left his quarters. His confidant approached him.

"Master, are you alright?"

"Never better."

He began to walk. His confidant hurried to follow.

"Where are you going?"

"The Blood Demon's Tomb."

"Why there?"

"I have received such a fine gift from the Blood Demon. The least I can do is offer a sacrifice in his honor."

A chilling smile curved Eun Ha-seong's lips.

Before long, the entrance to a massive underground cavern appeared—the place he called the Blood Demon's Tomb.

Wind blew from the gaping maw, like the jaws of a great beast. Eun Ha-seong inhaled the damp, foul scent carried on the breeze.

"Hmm! Wonderful. A good feeling indeed."

Eun Ha-seong stepped into the Blood Demon's Tomb.

He had come here hundreds of times before. His steps were sure.

"Master."

The guards watching the Blood Demon's Tomb bowed their heads in unison to greet him. Beyond them, countless laborers were gathered.

They were uniformly gaunt and reeking of filth. They had once journeyed toward the Western Regions with grand dreams, but now their dreams were shattered and their minds deeply scarred—virtually no spark of life remained in their eyes.

Eun Ha-seong walked toward them. Sensing something ominous, their faces drained of color.

At that moment, someone stumbled out from among the crowd.

An old man in torn black night-travel garb—none other than Heuk-no, Shim Ok's bodyguard. He had been captured and held in the Blood Demon's Tomb.

His face caked in blood, he raised his voice.

"How can you commit such an unspeakable act? Do you not fear heaven, Master Eun?"

"Heaven? Are there still fools who believe in such things?"

"The Blood Forest Assassination Bureau will move. Do not regret it when that time comes."

"We shall see who ends up regretting it."

Eun Ha-seong smiled. His confident smile filled Heuk-no with an indescribable unease.

"In the past, the Blood Forest Assassination Bureau would have given me pause. But now that I have obtained the Blood Demon's legacy, no one can stand in my way. Not even the Blood Forest Assassination Bureau."

"So you have truly found the Blood Demon's legacy?"

Eun Ha-seong answered by drawing the Scarlet Star.

*Hummm!*

The sound of the Scarlet Star spread eerily through the Blood Demon's Tomb. The aura of Eun Ha-seong, gripping the Scarlet Star, multiplied several times over.

At the sight, Heuk-no finally squeezed his eyes shut.

"The Blood Demon left a spirit pill for his successor. I consumed the spirit pill he left behind. Thanks to it, I have obtained this power."

Eun Ha-seong walked toward the captives. They stared at him with terrified eyes, but there was nowhere to flee.

Eun Ha-seong fixed his gaze on one of them.

"S-spare me…"

*Thunk!*

In that instant, Eun Ha-seong drove the Scarlet Star into his chest.

"Ugh!"

The man stared at Eun Ha-seong in disbelief. But all he could see was Eun Ha-seong's deep smile.

*Gurgle!*

In that instant, the man's chest lurched violently. No—more precisely, the Scarlet Star embedded in his chest was convulsing.

The man's complexion paled rapidly. All color drained from his body, turning him as white as ice.

"Wh-what?"

Heuk-no's eyes went wide.

The man was paling because the Scarlet Star was glowing an even deeper red. Now that he looked, not a single drop of blood had flowed from the wound where the Scarlet Star pierced the man's chest.

The Scarlet Star was clearly absorbing the man's blood.

"A a demonic blade…"

"It is a legacy left by the Blood Demon. It has the effect of amplifying internal energy by absorbing the blood of others."

"Insane!"

"The Blood Demon was a genius. To have created such a demonic art and demonic weapon…"

Eun Ha-seong's smile deepened.

No one had taught him. After consuming the spirit pill left by the Blood Demon, he had simply come to understand. Like an infant learning to walk on its own, like a young bird instinctively flapping its wings.

When Eun Ha-seong withdrew the Scarlet Star, the man collapsed lifelessly. Drained of all blood, his corpse was shriveled and dry.

"S-spare me!"

"I do not wish to die!"

Those who witnessed the scene panicked and tried to flee in every direction. But there was nowhere to escape.

*Thunk!*

"Kuhuk!"

Another became a sacrifice to the Scarlet Star.

Drained of every drop of blood, the man withered like a dried husk and crumpled to the ground.

"Urgh!"

Heuk-no could not bear to watch and turned his head away.

*Such madness…*

In the public eye, Eun Ha-seong was the great hero who had quelled the Blood Storm's chaos. Who could have known he was capable of such cruelty?

In the blink of an eye, over a dozen people had become sacrifices to the Scarlet Star. They writhed in agony until their last breath.

"Heh heh!"

Conversely, Eun Ha-seong's smile only deepened.

His eyes blazed with killing intent, and his reason was gradually clouding. But Eun Ha-seong, consumed by madness, did not notice this at all.

Heuk-no screamed at the top of his lungs:

"Stop this madness! Do you intend to kill everyone in here?"

"Why? Is there any reason I should spare them?"

"They are human beings too."

"And so?"

"Please show mercy."

"Heh heh! I have been lenient with you until now, and all you do is overstep your bounds. No one can tell me what to do."

Eun Ha-seong approached, his bloodshot eyes gleaming with madness. The Scarlet Star in his hand was pointed at Heuk-no. Heuk-no sensed his end had come.

*Young Mistress…*

He closed his eyes tightly and awaited his end, resolving that even in death, he would not show an ugly face.

Eun Ha-seong was about to drive the Scarlet Star into Heuk-no when…

*Thoom!*

A low sound suddenly came from the distance.

Most people inside the Blood Demon's Tomb did not even perceive it, and those who did dismissed it as an unremarkable sound—one could hear such things anywhere.

But Eun Ha-seong was different.

*Thoom!*

Again, the sound came from the distance, carried on the wind. In that instant, Eun Ha-seong's expression contorted.

What was mere noise to others had completely unsettled his spirit.

*Something is coming.*

Something powerful enough to shake the spirit of one who had inherited the Blood Demon's internal energy.

Eun Ha-seong spoke to his subordinates.

"Something is happening outside. Go and find out what."

"Yes, sir!"

The subordinates answered and rushed out.

At the sudden commotion, Heuk-no quietly opened his eyes. He saw Eun Ha-seong's back, turned away.

From Eun Ha-seong's rigid posture alone, Heuk-no could sense that he was on guard.

*What on earth has happened?*

Others might not notice, but Heuk-no could perceive Eun Ha-seong's unease.

At that moment…

*BOOM!*

Even Heuk-no's ears caught the faint sound. Then it rang out once more. Closer this time.

*BOOM! BOOM!*

The intervals between the sounds grew shorter. And louder.

*What is it?*

Something was coming here.

Beneath Heuk-no's wrinkled brow, his eyes trembled.

"What… what is that?"

"What is happening outside?"

The warriors of Seocheon Mountain Villa murmured among themselves. An inexplicable anxiety clouded their faces.

Several of them, unable to endure the suspense, were about to approach the cave entrance when…

*CRASH!*

Suddenly, with a thunderous sound, something flew into the cave.

"Yikes!"

The warriors scrambled aside. The object that had flown in from outside struck the cavern wall before falling to the ground.

"Wh-what is this?"

The warriors stared at the object tumbling across the ground in horror.

Though its form was unrecognizable, crushed beyond recognition, it was unmistakably one of their comrades who had gone outside to investigate.

A silence descended upon the Blood Demon's Tomb.

Sensing an ominous premonition, everyone held their breath. The laborers, the warriors of Seocheon Mountain Villa—all of them.

Only Eun Ha-seong wore a displeased expression, staring at the cave entrance.

Just as Eun Ha-seong was about to issue another command to his subordinates…

*Scrape! Thud! Scrape! Thud!*

A sound utterly unlike anything heard before echoed through the Blood Demon's Tomb.

Something was striking the ground, then dragging across it.

It was the kind of sound one would normally pay no attention to, but in this moment, their hearts were pounding wildly.

The ominous noise that stimulated the human heart grew ever louder. Bouncing off the walls, the sound amplified ominously, and the tension reached its peak.

*Gulp!*

Someone swallowed dryly. In that instant, from beyond the cave entrance, a figure emerged.

A man drenched from head to toe in crimson. The robe that had once been black was now stained with blood, gleaming a visceral red.

A thick scent of blood wafted from his entire body.

The mere smell of the blood emanating from the man was enough to make one's head spin.

The man continued to drag his feet as he entered the cave completely.

Heuk-no was the first to recognize him.

The man they had encountered at the inn before ascending to Seocheon Mountain Villa.

"Dam Ho?"

It was Dam Ho.

Intense heat radiated from Dam Ho's entire body. The blood coating him evaporated in the heat, and wisps of steam rose like a mirage.

Silence descended. Overwhelmed by Dam Ho's intense presence, no one could even breathe freely.

Dam Ho's gaze swept through the Blood Demon's Tomb.

People who had been kidnapped and forced into long-term labor, the warriors of Seocheon Mountain Villa surrounding them, and Heuk-no—bound and kneeling.

Finally, his gaze settled on the corpses of those who had been drained of blood by the Scarlet Star, now shriveled like dried husks.

Though he had only glanced once, Dam Ho understood what had transpired within.

"Who are you?"

Eun Ha-seong's voice suddenly sounded in Dam Ho's ears.

*Scrape!*

Dam Ho's gaze at last turned to Eun Ha-seong.

Eyes reddened by madness and eyes sunk into unfathomable darkness met in midair.

In that instant, Eun Ha-seong's eyelids trembled.

What he saw in Dam Ho's eyes was an abyss of darkness as bottomless as the depths of hell.

Eun Ha-seong had never imagined that a person with such eyes could exist. He had met countless people in his life, but none had possessed eyes like Dam Ho's.

*Hummm!*

From the instant Dam Ho had revealed himself, the Scarlet Star had been emitting an uncontrollable, frenzied blade song.

Dam Ho stared at Eun Ha-seong without a word. Eun Ha-seong tried to meet his gaze in return, but the utter emptiness in Dam Ho's eyes forced him to look away.

Though he hated to admit it, he had been overwhelmed by Dam Ho's gaze.

A hoarse, rough voice escaped Dam Ho's lips.

"You are the master of Seocheon Mountain Villa?"

"And who are you? Identify yourself."

In that instant, the dense darkness in Dam Ho's eyes churned.

"At last, we meet."

The moment he heard those words, Eun Ha-seong felt the blood in his veins turn to ice.

A line of dread pierced him from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet, as though struck by lightning.

In that instant, Dam Ho moved.

Without a single word of exchange, Dam Ho charged without preamble. Eun Ha-seong reacted, raising the Scarlet Star to shield himself.

"You madman!"