Chapter 420

Pyo Wol’s gaze turned to the left.

The Ghost King was embedded in the roots of a massive, broken tree.

A large hole was pierced through the Ghost King’s chest, from which dark red blood poured out. As if his regenerative ability, which could heal most wounds in an instant, was insufficient, the blood continued to flow.

Gyeong Musaeng had suppressed his regeneration with mystic arts.

However, Gyeong Musaeng’s condition was no better.

Pyo Wol turned his head to the right. Gyeong Musaeng’s wretched state came into view.

The sight of Gyeong Musaeng, his limbs bent at bizarre angles and embedded in a rock, was truly horrific.

His abdomen was torn open as if by an animal’s claws, his intestines spilling out. No matter how great an Expert of mystic arts he was, it was impossible to survive such a wound.

“Keuk!”

Gyeong Musaeng struggled to get up somehow. But it was impossible to move with such an injury.

“I… I’m going to die… here? Unbelievable. There’s still so much to do. This is all your fault. If only you hadn’t killed the Horned Dragon…”

Gyeong Musaeng’s gaze turned to Pyo Wol.

He glared at Pyo Wol with eyes full of curses.

He believed that if Pyo Wol hadn’t intervened, and if the Horned Dragon had been fine, he would have won the fight.

“I should have killed you when we first met…”

Pyo Wol approached Gyeong Musaeng. At that, Gyeong Musaeng thrashed even more.

Stretching his neck out, trying to bite Pyo Wol, Gyeong Musaeng looked no different from a demon.

Pyo Wol kept a slight distance from him and knelt on one knee.

At that moment, Ghost Fang peeked its head out from Pyo Wol’s robes.

Seeing the horn sprouting from its head, a light of greed flickered in Gyeong Musaeng’s eyes.

“That thing absorbed the Horned Dragon’s Inner Core. Give it to me.”

He tried to extend his broken arm toward Ghost Fang. But his arm, with its ruptured bones and muscles, wouldn’t move as he wished.

“Damn it! I said give it to me. It’s a Mystical Creature, so if I eat it, I can heal my wounds.”

Gyeong Musaeng’s screaming visage was reminiscent of a demon.

His red eyes were fixed on Ghost Fang.

He believed that if he could just eat Ghost Fang, his wounds would heal in an instant.

To Gyeong Musaeng, that was what a Mystical Creature was.

Something to be used and sacrificed for himself at any time.

Dying like this was too unfair.

He hadn’t painstakingly learned mystic arts just to die so futilely.

Pyo Wol opened his mouth.

“Ghost Fang is not an object.”

“What’s so special about a mere snake? Ah, I see. You’re planning to eat it yourself. Aren’t you? That’s why you won’t give it to me, right?”

“I would rather die than eat a friend.”

“Friend? How can a mere snake be a friend?”

“There’s no law that says you can only be friends with humans.”

“Heh heh! Nonsense… you son of a bitch!”

“You’re the son of a bitch. You toyed with human souls as you pleased.”

“What’s the big deal? That’s how humans evolve. By touching this and that, by challenging things… Even if you fail, you have to challenge things like that to evolve.”

Gyeong Musaeng’s already red eyes became completely bloodshot.

He glared at Pyo Wol with eyes full of madness.

“You’d be wise to save me. If I die, the Heavenly Martial Fortress will hunt you down.”

“Is the Heavenly Martial Fortress the Metamorphosis Realm of the Divine Demon Association?”

“Heh heh! You figured that much out?”

“Gyeong Chuwol left it in his records.”

“That’s right. The Heavenly Martial Fortress is the new form of the Divine Demon Association.”

Gyeong Musaeng answered readily.

He realized there was no point in denying it now.

If Pyo Wol had seen Gyeong Chuwol’s records, he would know the whole truth.

Pyo Wol said.

“What I’m curious about is the Nine Dragons Assassination Guild. Is the Nine Dragons Assassination Guild also related to the Heavenly Martial Fortress?”

“Heh heh! You mean those nine-headed snake bastards?”

“So you did know.”

“I found out by chance. They stick their noses into anything that involves money.”

“The Nine Dragons Assassination Guild, is it related to the Heavenly Martial Fortress?”

“Heh heh! The Heavenly Martial Fortress? It’s more related to the Divine Demon Association.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“Think what you will. Heh heh!”

Perhaps because he was facing death, the Poison Qi had drained from Gyeong Musaeng’s voice. Maybe that was why he was answering so readily.

It was then.

Sssrrrk!

The sound of something being dragged could be heard.

Pyo Wol turned his head to look and saw the Ghost King crawling toward Gyeong Musaeng.

The sight of the Ghost King, with a gaping hole in his chest, approaching with great difficulty was utterly ghastly.

Gyeong Musaeng laughed at the sight of him.

“Kehehe! Truly… impressive. A masterpiece. If only you had moved according to my will, none of this would have happened.”

“I… am human.”

“Human? You’re something that has transcended humanity.”

“No, I am human. A human who breathes just like you, with free will.”

“Have your memories returned?”

A look of bewilderment appeared on Gyeong Musaeng’s face.

The Ghost King was never one to say such things.

“Heh… heh!”

The Ghost King let out a strange laugh and lay down next to Gyeong Musaeng.

They were two men who had fought their entire lives. Naturally, their animosity toward each other was immense. But at this moment, no trace of hatred could be found on their faces.

Perhaps it was because they felt their own lives coming to an end.

The Ghost King opened his mouth.

“My name is Guk Sa-hwan.”

“Guk Sa-hwan?”

“Guk Sa-hwan, the Sun Moon True Demon. One of the Ten Blood Demons of the Divine Demon Association and a trusted subordinate of Lord Gogeomwol. That is who I am.”

The voice that flowed from the Ghost King’s mouth was that of a different person.

He stared at the sky with unfocused eyes, as if tracing a distant memory.

Gyeong Musaeng was shocked.

“You were a member of the Ten Blood Demons?”

“That’s right. And I died. At the hands of the Radiant Martial Gate’s Sect Leader, Lee Gwak…”

Even now, the memory of that time was vivid.

The chilling sensation of Lee Gwak’s blade piercing his heart.

“But I wasn’t completely dead. The Sun Moon Demonic Art protected my heart, allowing me to maintain a single thread of breath. I fell into a kind of deep suspended animation. A subordinate of mine brought me to the grounds of the Divine Demon Association. To bury me right there on the grounds. He must have thought he was showing his utmost loyalty.”

After burying Guk Sa-hwan, the subordinate left in tears, and so Guk Sa-hwan spent long years in a state of suspended animation.

Even though the Sun Moon Demonic Art had protected his heart, it was impossible to fully recover, and he eventually fell into a deep comatose state. The one who discovered Guk Sa-hwan in that state was none other than Gyeong Musaeng.

Thus, Guk Sa-hwan was turned into the Ghost King by Gyeong Musaeng.

Having forgotten almost all of his past memories.

Gyeong Musaeng smiled emptily.

“Heh heh! To think the Ghost King I created with my own hands was a member of the Ten Blood Demons. This is truly a jest of the heavens.”

The Ten Blood Demons were loyal retainers not only to the Divine Demon Association but also to the Heavenly Martial Fortress.

Though only a few knew this fact.

‘Is it only natural that I receive this punishment for trying to turn such a loyal retainer into the Ghost King and control him as I pleased?’

Gyeong Musaeng slowly closed his eyes.

He was so dumbfounded that no words came out.

The Ghost King turned away from Gyeong Musaeng and looked at Pyo Wol.

“Pyo Wol! Thank you. For keeping your promise.”

“Are you okay?”

“What? You mean dying?”

“Yes!”

“I died a long time ago. The me of now is nothing but a ghost.”

“So you’re really dying?”

“That’s right. Since the heaven-defying mystic art has been broken, I must return to nothingness. But I am the only one who will die.”

“What do you mean?”

“The owner of this body, the poor fellow, he’s crying every day.”

“Wasn’t he annihilated?”

“He surrendered control of the body to me and was sealed away. I only now realize he was crying every day, deep within this body.”

“Is that true?”

“There’s no reason for me to lie, is there?”

The Ghost King turned his head again to look at Gyeong Musaeng.

“You and I, we both lived in delusion. It would have been more peaceful if I had died back then. To wander for so long as a ghost like this.”

If there was such a thing as the gaze of one who has attained enlightenment in an instant, it would be like the Ghost King’s gaze right now.

All the turbid Qi had vanished, leaving only clear and pure Qi.

Just then, Gyeong Musaeng suddenly burst into a wild laugh, looking up at the sky.

“Khahaha! How futile. So futile! For what reason did I even learn mystic arts?”

Suddenly, his voice cut off.

His breath had stopped.

The Ghost King closed his eyes.

“Hoo! I suppose it’s time for me to go too.”

At that moment, the gaping hole in the Ghost King’s chest began to slowly heal.

“Is he burning his own soul to heal his wounds?”

It was something only the Ghost King could do.

Because he held another soul within his body, he could willingly burn his own soul.

“Now I can rest. Finally…”

A faint smile appeared on the Ghost King’s lips.

With those last words, the Ghost King moved no more.

Pyo Wol silently looked down at Gyeong Musaeng and the Ghost King. Yong Seol Lan approached his side.

“I never knew they had such a story. It seems there really is such a thing as destiny. To think they would meet their end in the same place.”

Pyo Wol nodded silently.

Gyeong Musaeng and the Ghost King.

The two who had chased and been chased their entire lives had finally met their end in the same place.

Fwoosh!

Suddenly, flames erupted from Gyeong Musaeng’s corpse.

The flames soon engulfed his entire body.

Even in death, he did not wish to leave his body behind. He thought that others might tamper with his corpse, just as he had done. So he had cast a mystic art on his own body to have it incinerate the moment his breath stopped.

It was an end befitting Gyeong Musaeng.

Pyo Wol lifted the Ghost King into his arms before the fire could spread.

Gyeong Musaeng’s corpse was instantly reduced to a handful of ash, scattering in the wind.

＊＊＊

Even after Gyeong Musaeng’s death, Pyo Wol did not leave the ruins.

He and Yong Seol Lan found a cave, laid the Ghost King’s body inside, and cared for him.

The body’s wounds had healed perfectly, but for some reason, he did not regain consciousness.

He wanted to move him to a bustling city, but he couldn’t risk handling him carelessly, not knowing what might happen if he was shocked.

Yong Seol Lan cared for the Ghost King with utmost devotion.

Pyo Wol went out to hunt.

Fortunately, the Wulin was rich with various animals and poisonous creatures.

While Pyo Wol hunted beasts, Ghost Fang ate poisonous creatures.

Each time it ate a poisonous creature, Ghost Fang’s horn grew noticeably larger.

“Let’s go, Ghost Fang!”

Pyo Wol called for Ghost Fang in the middle of the forest.

At his feet lay a rather large wild boar.

It was a creature Pyo Wol had hunted and caught.

It was quite large and meaty, so it seemed they could live for at least five days without worrying about food.

A moment later, Ghost Fang appeared in response to Pyo Wol’s call.

Ghost Fang climbed up Pyo Wol’s leg.

It seemed to have eaten another poisonous creature, as its horn looked a little bigger.

Pyo Wol stroked Ghost Fang for a while before putting it in his robes. Then he hoisted the boar onto his shoulder and headed for the cave.

The forest was so dense that one couldn’t see an inch ahead. The undergrowth was so thick that an ordinary person would quickly lose their sense of direction and get lost. But Pyo Wol walked straight ahead without ever getting lost.

He had lived here for a long time and had perfectly memorized the terrain.

A short while later, he arrived in front of the cave.

Yong Seol Lan was outside the cave, waiting for him.

“That’s a pretty big one.”

“We won’t have to worry about food for a while.”

“I think so too. Put it down. I’ll butcher it.”

“Mm!”

Thud!

Pyo Wol dropped the boar on the ground with his reply.

Yong Seol Lan took out a small knife from her robes and approached the boar.

When Pyo Wol brought back a hunt, it was her role to prepare and cook it.

She was used to it by now and could butcher a boar of this size in an instant.

It was just as Yong Seol Lan brought the flying dagger to the boar’s neck.

Rustle!

Suddenly, a presence was felt from inside the cave.

Pyo Wol and Yong Seol Lan stopped what they were doing and looked at the cave.

At that moment, a boy of about fifteen or sixteen staggered out of the cave.

It was the Ghost King.

He leaned his hand on the cave entrance and looked at Pyo Wol.

“Do Yeon-san?”

“Sob*!”

The Ghost King, no, Do Yeon-san, burst into tears.