Possessing Nothing

Lee Sungmin ignored the pouting from Gemini and checked Baek Sogo’s pulse. It was shallow, but it wasn’t as life threatening as it first seemed. It was a resilient pulse.

Feeling it, Lee Sungmin felt a little relieved. At least, she wasn’t doing terribly like he thought she might be. Even if it was an illusion earlier, she was at least safe and not in any immediate danger from the poison.

“You’re not making this any fun.”

Gemini grumbled once again. Lee Sungmin turned his head and looked at Gemini. This was a situation that Gemini intended to create. A mansion filled with the smell of death and poison, with Baek Sogo sleeping in a comfortable bed. She tried to deceive him.

Baek Sogo’s appearance in the illusion was much weaker than in reality. The whole thing was Gemini’s production. Due to the scheme, Lee Sungmin was led around by the nose in the conversation Gemini was wanting to have.

“What are you after?”

Lee Sungmin was able to see through it and flipped the board; he was no longer completely at a disadvantage. He had only been able to see through it because he felt that something was amiss when he saw Baek Sogo on the bed in the illusion earlier.

No, the source of his uneasiness from earlier was not Baek Sogo.

‘Was it from the space itself? No, it’s not that either.’Lee Sungmin stared at Gemini.

“I told you to talk to me.”Gemini pouted once more, this time her face turning a bit frustrated.

The source of the uneasiness was Gemini, herself. There was still clearly something amiss but Lee Sungmin had to probe for more.

“What did you try to do to me?”

Lee Sungmin asked curtly, staring at Gemini. The space around him just felt off. The smell of death, Baek Sogo that was lying down in chains earlier. Gemini shrugged her shoulders.

“I’ve misled you. That’s the kind of person I am. I hinted at it quite strongly earlier.… Yana and the Red Sage, who are familiar with these kinds of illusions, were forbidden from entering. But even with them not here, how did you find out?”

Lee Sungmin didn’t know the exact reason, but he had a strong feeling it was because he had turned completely into a monster in body. Oslo had said his body would no longer be like a human’s and it was clear to him that it was not just enhanced strength or regeneration that came with his changed body.

[What?]

Heoju suddenly blurted out to Lee Sungmin in their shared thread of consciousness.

[That’s strange…. The eyes of that girl caused the illusion… I’m sure of it now, but she is a pure-blood vampire. Didn’t she say that she was Geniella’s first blood? How is it that a descendant would have the magic eyes that only a pure-blood can have?](T/N : So the term is incredibly difficult for me as I haven’t come across this before and my friend Jihun is currently on a flight in Taiwon for his football club and he is my TLC for quality but the term for this is 마안을. This is in reference to her eyes. It seems that Gemini has a transcendental eye like how Geniella has one that can see the future and only pure-blooded vampires can have this power. The thing is that I’m unsure what the most accurate term would be for this in English, so I’m reaching out to y’all to see if you can help me haha.)

Lee Sungmin decided to ask Gemini, using it as a question to gain leverage. Gemini grinned at the question.

“That’s why I asked you to talk to me as me. Not as a representative of the Queen or Predator.”

Gemini was definitely hiding something. No, it would be more correct to say that she was still hiding her intentions. Her illusion had been seen through, but Lee Sungmin was still unsure what her goal in all of this was.

Lee Sungmin was sure of this because when Lee Sungmin destroyed the illusion and walked up to Baek Sogo a moment ago, Gemini didn’t even bother to stop him. It was if she wanted him to find out.

It was so different from the usual response. Heoju even said that she had a magical eye like Geniella, that only pure-blood vampires had. Why would she reveal a power like that in front of Lee Sungmin?

“I’m not like a basic blood descendant of the Queen.”

There was nowhere to sit and Gemini grumbled as she wanted to sit so she stretched out her hands and fingers.

“I… mutated into a vampire on the same day as the Queen. It was hundreds of years ago, but although I was a pure-blood, the Queen bit me later on and turned me into her descendant.”

Gemini was also a pure-blooded vampire, as was Geniella. And since Geniella forced Gemini to be her descendant through subduing her with the contagion, despite Gemini being a pure-blood, she couldn’t escape the power of submission from the contagion.

That’s why Gemini had the magical eyes that only pure-blooded vampires could have.

“A true descendant that was turned into a vampire by a pure-blood can never rebel against the patriarch of the bloodline. But I’m different. I didn’t become a vampire by the Queen’s power and I was already one before encountering her.”

“……What do you want from me?”

“I’m hoping to do some things I haven’t been able to do for a while. I don’t mean to force you to make a choice or anything. What I’m trying to do is tell you a story.”

First, Gemini raised her finger and pointed to Baek Sogo.

“A year ago, The Queen captured the Silent Flare, Baek Sogo, who was running away from Juwon after being poisoned. When she saw Baek Sogo alive, she realized something and her power briefly came back and the Queen realized that you were still alive.”

“So?”

“The Queen captured Baek Sogo. She wanted you to fall into despair, and she thought she could control you if she captured Baek Sogo and used her as a source of leverage against you.”

It was all as Geniella intended then. In fact, Lee Sungmin was only here because of Baek Sogo.

If Baek Sogo had not been here, Lee Sungmin would have never come to Geniella’s mansion on his own accord.

No matter how strong Lee Sungmin was with the body of a complete monster, Geniella was something that was on a completely different level.

“But even still, the Queen lost her vision of the future that she wanted to create.”

Gemini shook her head with sarcasm etched across her face.

“It gave the Queen quite a lot of agony. Although she was used to making others helpless in their own despair, the Queen was not used to ever falling into despair when it came to herself. It made her despair that the plans she had seen, hoped for, and intended to be fulfilled for hundreds of years completely vanished into thin air.”

That’s why Geniella didn’t leave her seclusion.

“The direct descendants were flustered from her decision to go into seclusion. For them, the Queen was an absolute being. Actually, all Black Stars are like that. It was a similar reaction when Arbeth, Volander and even Henemy died. The leaderless monsters, Death Knights and Liches all came under Geniella’s umbrella. Juwon, the king of the Lycanthrope Tribe, was like the Queen’s right hand and foot from the very start.”

Gemini giggled as she revealed the information. Her attitude the entire time contained a derisive tone while she spoke about Geniella for some reason and Lee Sungmin definitely picked up on it.

“After hundreds of years of building our forces as an organization, Predator began to move in earnest 10 years ago. The leader of the Blood Alliance is also part of Geniella’s direct descendant line. A long time ago, the Queen made sure to build her connections in the world of Murim, bidding for the right time. All the direct descendants had been hiding in the dark until 10 years ago. Do you know what that means?”

It made sense based on what Lee Sungmin had seen when he was first unsealed. It also made sense how an organization was so quickly established after the Sama Order fell for the unorthodox martial artists. If Predator was backing it, there was no reason that the Blood Alliance would be a flimsy or weak organization.

“Predator had begun to work in earnest under the Queen’s supervision. Originally, the Blood Alliance led by Geniella’s second direct descendant was intended to break down the Murim Alliance and completely take control of Murim. But… …When the Queen lost her vision of the future and went silent, everything in Predator stopped like a machine. In fact, at this point in time, the Blood Alliance should have destroyed the Murim Alliance a long time ago.”

Lee Sungmin had suspicions about the Blood Alliance being backed by Predator, but he did not expect the leader of the Blood Alliance to actually be one of Geniella’s direct descendants.

…But it wasn’t just any of her direct descendants. It was the second one. That meant they had to be formidable.

“Is that the story you were trying to tell me?”

“There were many things that I wanted to tell you… but yes, that was the story I wanted to tell you.”

Gemini took a few steps back.

“But it’s okay since I took up enough time….”

WVOOOOOOOOOOOM!

A huge tremor shook the space violently at the end of Gemini’s words. Lee Sungmin hurriedly went and supported Baek Sogo’s body. Gemini smiled and clapped her hands in excitement like a child.

“Because I told you, didn’t I? I don’t want to fight you.”

Gemini tried to sound as sincere as possible.

“I have nothing to gain from fighting with you. It would only just make things dangerous. Oh, you can take Silent Flare with you. We only needed her here to lure you out. Now that you’re here, you can take her if you’d like.”Gemini snickered as if it never mattered in the first place.

The darkness of the space started to disappear as a crimson, red light spread through the scattering darkness of the pit. As the red light started to blind everyone, a sinister aura filled with power started to surge within the entire area.

BA-BOOM!

It was Yana and Scarlett who penetrated through the darkness from within the red light. Yana spread her nine tails out widely and struck out with each tail towards Gemini.

Gemini laughed and screamed in excitement as if she found this all too entertaining. But right before the first of Yana’s nine tails was about to hit her….

“You’re late.”

Gemini whined.

It was two vampires who blocked Yana’s tail. They reached out their pale hands and held onto Yana’s tail firmly, blocking the attack in place.

“Chen, Kunn… since you two are here, that means, the Queen has left her seclusion right?”One of the vampires nodded his head. Chen and Kunn. The two were twins, brothers who became vampires hundreds of years ago after they were infected with Geniella’s contagion. They were the third and fourth direct descendants, respectively.

“Lee Sungmin.”

Yana looked at Lee Sungmin behind Gemini and spoke, Her voice was full of vigilance.

The situation was clearly not good right now. Lee Sungmin stood beside Yana with Baek Sogo, fainted, but still alive. However, despite things not looking good on the outside, Gemini, Kunn and Chen did not show any hostility towards them.

Gemini had said why just before Yana and Scarlett had arrived.

It seemed that all of this was a bait. Lee Sungmin came to this mansion under the guise of retrieving Baek Sogo, but Gemini had used this all for a different agenda. She needed Lee Sungmin to come here but for a different reason than saving Baek Sogo.

“The Queen…. She’s coming.”

Yana retracted her tails from their attacking positions, away from Chen and Kunn. Chen and Kunn, seeing Yana back down, immediately got on one knee and lowered their heads. Gemini looked up and smiled brightly.

Biting her lower lip, Yana looked up with a tense expression. Scarlett clenched her jaw, gritting her teeth, and slipped her gloves on tightly.

Lee Sungmin looked down at Baek Sogo who was giving out a shallow breath and checked to see if her body was harmed at all. Luckily it didn’t seem like it was from the recent impact.

Lee Sungmin looked at the sky. Within the darkness above them, the night seemed to shift and move like there were several bats above their faces.

A being wrapped in a red cloak slowly descended, revealing the most eerie and intense aura present. The Queen of Vampires who came down with her long red hair, opened her ruby eyes and looked at the crowd before her.

“Gemini, you really are mischievous.”

“Everything is for you, Queen. Hehehehe….!”

When talking to the Queen, Gemini blatantly sneered in sarcasm when addressing Geniella. Such a way of speaking naturally confused Yana and Scarlett who were just getting their first impressions of Gemini.

The impression they felt was that Gemini was going against the Queen’s orders at that moment. She was a pure-blooded vampire and became a blood descendant after being bitten by the Queen long ago. The laughter of the Queen erupted out after hearing Gemini talk.

Even now, Gemini was smiling in this situation. But did that really mean Gemini was going against the Queen? Or was this all a friendly banter amongst vampires? 

“You understand why I’m doing this, right? You haven’t made any moves for almost an entire year.”

Geniella smirked at the remark. At the worship of Chen and Kunn, Geniella softly landed on the ground.

She looked around and saw Yana and Scarlett. Behind them, Geniella spotted Lee Sungmin who was holding Baek Sogo.

“It’s been a while.”

Geniella spoke with a smile as she directed the words at him, completely ignoring the other two.

Lee Sungmin didn’t feel any sense of welcome in her voice.

“Was the purpose of me coming here just to get you to move?”

Lee Sungmin stared at Geniella and asked. At the question, Geniella just smirked and shrugged her shoulders as if she had no clue what was going on.

“I didn’t order it. Gemini… …My lovely first daughter is very different from my other descendants. She acts very selfishly and can be quite mean at times to her poor mother.”

“The Queen likes me when I do that though.”

Gemini giggled.

“I heard you were secluded in your mansion, struck with despair.”

“Despair? Oh, that’s a misunderstanding. I didn’t feel anything like despair. It is true that I was very flustered at first…. But there’s nothing I could really do about it, was there? The future that I wanted to produce had no more possibilities of becoming true and my sight was lost. But that doesn’t mean I had to despair over that.”

‘What should I do?’

Lee Sungmin’s thoughts raced. Yana and Scarlett were here with him. Baek Sogo, who was poisoned, was in no position to fight and could definitely not take any injuries in this fight or she would likely die.

“In the past year, I thought a lot. But there was one thing I thought I must check when I saw you next. Did you become the Predator of Massacre?”

“I would have… if it were 10 years ago.”

“It’s weird… It’s truly weird. I’ve met you many times these past few decades. Each time I saw you, you showed me a variety of new things. I used to see an endless amount of potential, and then at times I couldn’t even discern your very existence. It’s the same now as well. I don’t know what you are anymore.”

Geniella tilted her head as she spoke.

“You had the potential to become the Predator of Massacre one of the times that I had seen you, but when you woke up from the seal, you haven’t become the image I thought I had seen. But yet everyone had heard you had gone on a rampage in Germane. But in front of me, you seem sane. So can you tell me? Are you the one I have been waiting for?”

“I told you. I am not the same as I was ten years ago.”

Lee Sungmin answered without hiding anything. At the reply, Geniella’s lips curled upwards

“One year ago, I was in a lot of confusion. If you’re the Predator of Massacre I wanted so desperately to materialize, then what were the things I had seen in my visions in the first place? I lost the ability to see the future and I was left confused and frustrated. But through all of that…. I finally came to a single conclusion.”

Geniella raised her hand as she smiled.

“You’re not the Predator of Massacre I was hoping for.”

A deep and primordial power started to tremble inside of Geniella’s hand.

Lee Sungmin had a hunch.

For the first time, he felt that Geniella was trying to kill him. He had several encounters with Geniella, and he had been threatened several times by her, but there was always a bit of playfulness within her actions to an extent.

But that was not the case right now. At that moment, it was clear as day.Geniella was going to earnestly try and kill Lee Sungmin.

[What do you want to do?]

Heoju asked as he realized the situation as well.

“I’ll have to try.”

Lee Sungmin held the spear tightly and grit his teeth.