NOVEL NEXT Chapter 232
232nd Episode: The Gamer from the Corner
Since that day, time kept flowing.
Finally, the day of the Great Method had arrived.
On the morning of that day.
I got up from my spot and shook Sosumahu, who was sleeping with Wi Soryeon in the next room, awake.
“Hmm. Daddy······.”
Sosumahu tossed and turned. It seemed she had the persona of a small child at the moment.
I quickly burned the talisman I had prepared in advance with Threefold Meditation, turning it to ash.
Whoosh!
I poured the gray ash, still brimming with power, into a prepared bottle of water and stirred it. Then I opened the mouth of the dazed Sosumahu and poured in the talisman powder-infused water.
“Hmm, uuuuu······.”
After feeding her the talisman powder-infused water, Sosumahu started trembling. Her eyes sharpened with clarity.
“Hmm.”
She took a deep breath and sent me a mind message.
[So today is that day. A virtuous yet foreign energy is swirling within my body.]
[I just fed Sosumahu a mixture of talisman powder.]
[Good job. Daddy.]
Sosumahu replied to my thought.
Thanks to Cheonhyo-rang-gun’s golden needle treatment, the time Sosumahu remained in her right mind had gradually increased over the past half month, reaching more than two-thirds of the day now.
However, despite the weakening of the golden restriction, she hadn’t stopped calling me “Daddy.”
I remember asking her about it once, and she blushed while saying it couldn’t be helped because of the golden restriction.
I disagree, though.
[Everyone, wake up. It’s time to rise. The day of the final confrontation is here.]
The now clear-minded Sosumahu sent out a mind message to rouse the other girls who were still in dreamland.
Thus, we got up, hiding our serious demeanor and feigning nonchalance while eating the breakfast provided by the Mosan Sect.
[Now, I sense the enemy’s aura. They think they’ve hidden it, but they cannot escape the grasp of this Yeomwang.]
Just as we finished our breakfast, Jeoksawol spoke up.
At that moment, one of the Mosan Sect’s practitioners approached, wearing a uniform with the Eight Trigrams symbol on his chest.
“Sosumahu, the Sect Leader is looking for you.”
Swish.
The practitioner stated as he gazed at Sosumahu.
“Today is the day the Great Method will be executed, right? It would be lonely to go alone, so can I take our entire party with me?”
Sosumahu spoke the words she had promised yesterday. The practitioner nodded in agreement.
“Indeed, the Sect Leader has invited all party members to the location, so you need not worry.”
The practitioner spoke as if he had been waiting for this moment.
Well, since their goal was to deal with us all at once, they would have suggested it if we hadn’t said anything.
“Let us go to the Hall of Supreme Unity.”
We followed the practitioner to the Hall of Supreme Unity (태을전).
The Hall of Supreme Unity was a massive altar. It was usually used for rituals, but it was also used for the Great Method. A huge formation was set up in the Hall to gather the natural energies of the surroundings.
Eight Mosan Sect practitioners stood in the eight directions symbolic of the Eight Trigrams.
Inside, Cheonhyo-rang-gun and a middle-aged man with a mask stood.
“Let me introduce you. This is our sect’s head elder, Tak Wangpil.”
At Cheonhyo-rang-gun’s introduction, Tak Wangpil nodded.
For just a brief moment, our eyes met. I thought I recognized who he was.
‘It’s Gangsimajon.’
The dude in front of me was definitely Gangsimajon. No way this was just a clone.
And what kind of lame name is Tak Wangpil, anyway?
It can’t be his real name, right?
[That guy named Tak Wangpil is Gangsimajon. Hmph. Head Elder my foot. You can’t hide your trickery from me.]
I heard Sosumahu’s voice in my head.
“Elder Tak will be assisting with the implementation of the Great Method today.”
Cheonhyo-rang-gun stated solemnly.
“Elder, please lie down on the altar.”
“Understood.”
Following Cheonhyo-rang-gun’s instruction, Sosumahu obediently lay down on the altar.
And then the Great Method began.
The eight practitioners and Cheonhyo-rang-gun, along with Gangsimajon, began chanting the incantation.
Fssslt!
As the spells were cast, serene energy emerged from the pre-set formations. Each time the ten wizards recited their incantations, the power surged mightily.
Gooo000000o!
With an enormous rumble, overwhelming energy surged toward the sky. Along with that, the blue energy began to taint into blood red.
As the vital energy dissipated, the sinister energy revealed itself. Is this the perfect moment to panic? I acted startled and shouted.
“What kind of dense malicious energy is this! What in the world is going on? Stop the Great Method immediately!”
An overwhelming storm of energy surged through the Hall of Supreme Unity. A dreadful blood-red wave of evil swirled around. In that chaos, he appeared.
Tak Wangpil.
When he removed his mask, an all-too-familiar wrinkled face of a middle-aged man was revealed.
As expected, it was Gangsimajon.
Feigning shock, I exclaimed.
“Y-You are······!”
“Bwahahahaha! Have you finally realized who I am? That’s right! I am the great Gangsimajon, Tak Wangpil!”
Boom!
Gangsimajon slammed his staff to the ground. GoOoOoOoOo! The overwhelming malicious energy swirled violently.
“······So Tak Wangpil wasn’t just a pseudonym?”
I was taken aback by Gangsimajon’s proclamation.
So that lame name is actually his real name?
“Yes! Bwahahahaha! Now that you hear my full name, do you grasp the significance of your situation!! You have become fish in a barrel!!”
“Grasp what? Gangsimajon, the only thing I’ve grasped is that your face and name are just as tacky.”
“What?!”
Gangsimajon’s face twitched at my remark. Just as he was about to retort.
Jeoksawol frowned. She waved her hand, causing a red aura to bloom around her shoulder, coiling into a sphere.
A highly compressed, dense form of energy.
It was Ganghwan.
Jeoksawol’s Ganghwan, with its red tail, shot toward Gangsimajon.
Kaboom!
Jeoksawol’s Ganghwan struck the translucent spirit energy surrounding Gangsimajon, causing sparks and a deafening explosion, yet Gangsimajon’s protective spirit energy remained intact.
Gangsimajon chuckled.
“Ha ha ha! Yeomwang, it suits you well. When I first met you, you were a pathetic sight. Just an old man with a youthful face······.”
“Shut up!”
Before Gangsimajon could finish, Jeoksawol hurled a few more Ganghwans. Yet, even with Jeoksawol’s attacks, Gangsimajon’s protective energy could not be breached.
The mischievous glint in Gangsimajon’s eyes intensified. The protective energy surrounding him shone brighter.
“It’s useless, Jeoksawol. I am currently under the protection of the Supreme One, and your trivial attacks cannot injure me.”
Gangsimajon stretched out his arms like a cult leader and shouted.
“Lee Cheol-soo and Yeomwang, along with the rest of the riffraff, have all been caught in the web spun by the Supreme One.”
As soon as he finished speaking, an eerie chorus erupted from Cheonhyo-rang-gun and the practitioners.
[■■■■■■■─!!!]
It was a bizarre song composed of sounds that no human language nor vocal cords could produce.
The eerie chorus seemed to sap my mental strength, sending energy soaring into the skies.
A dreadful wave of ominous malicious energy swept around. The ancient trees that once flourished around the Mosan Sect transformed instantly into lifeless husks.
It wasn’t just the trees.
All the plants died instantly. The life force of everything in the area got devoured.
Ka-Kwa-kwak!
With a deafening roar, the roof of the Hall of Supreme Unity shattered. A pillar of blood-red energy surged toward the heavens. The sky, which should have been bright blue in the daytime, darkened into a deep crimson. Ominous red clouds gathered, blocking the sun. Even in the middle of the day, the world darkened as if it were night, awash in a sinister energy.
‘This is insane.’
The Demon had yet to take over.
Moreover, the Demon being summoned through this Great Method was not the main body.
It was a clone.
There was no way it could exert its full power.
But for a mere clone to show such ominous signs…
That wasn’t all.
My senses honed from the Stage of Transcendence were ringing alarm bells.
Every hair on my body stood on end, and I shivered as if struck by a chill.
Danger.
My body instinctively sensed the life-threatening peril and warned me.
[■■■■■!!]
Blood flowed from the eyes, nose, and mouth of Cheonhyo-rang-gun and the eight practitioners. Their physical forms crumbled, merging into the blood-red pillar.
Then, Gangsimajon joyfully shouted with a fervent zeal akin to a mad cultist.
“Aaaah, my Supreme One! With a joyful heart, I receive your divine possession!!”
Drip.
As Gangsimajon’s eyeballs burst, blood streamed down. Blinded, he laughed like a lunatic. Drip drip. Blood poured from his mouth and nostrils.
The protective energy surrounding him, no, the protective energy of spirit, began to fade, as Gangsimajon Tak Wangpil’s form turned into a handful of blood, absorbed into the pillar of light.
Ugh!
Just then, the blood-red pillar surged toward Sosumahu.
Blue energy erupted from her, repelling the sinister energy trying to engulf her.
Goo000000o!
A talisman sent by Hwang Sang shattered the final piece of the Great Method. But the Great Method, already well underway, did not halt. Jeoksawol continued hurling her Ganghwans, but the blood-red pillar did not dissipate.
The malice, no, the spirit energy manifested as a blood-red whirlwind.
In the center of the whirlwind, a shadow began to take form.
The combined physical heart of one Hyeongyeong’s Mastery practitioner, one transcendent master, and eight pinnacle masters began to form the Demon Body capable of absorbing the power of the Demon.
Even that combined Demon Body could not properly materialize the power of the Demon on the surface.
As the whirlwind solidified, the Demon Body fully assumed a human form.
With long black hair cascading down to his waist, a muscular but nude handsome man emerged from the chaos with glowing red eyes.
It was the Demon.
The Demon manifested in this realm within the condensed flesh and blood of his followers.
His red eyes focused on me.
Tap.
The Demon raised his right hand. As he did, the whirlwind of malicious energy soaring into the sky was absorbed into his body.
His bare feet, once suspended in air, gently touched the ground.
The Demon savored the air like a character dropped into the past, reminiscent of a terminator.
I sent a signal as I observed the Demon Body. Sosumahu lying on the altar sat up, and Wi Soryeon quickly fled to a safe area far away, following the hidden signals I relayed to Dongchang’s secret residence. With Geumhu and me, we formed a formidable alliance just as the view turned intimidating.
The Demon opened his eyes.
His crimson gaze landed on me.
He licked his red-stained lips like a flamboyant figure, as if wearing lipstick, and spoke.
“Scoundrel Lee Cheol-soo. Seeing you in person confirms it. You are not Yujinhwi but the one who possesses the Honwon Geomje. You carry the power of reversed heaven, don’t you?”
Excuse me?
What the hell did this bum from the corner just say?
I faced the Demon and responded.
“Hey, you cornered loser. Who are you calling a ‘scoundrel’? I’m not a monster; I’m a Sword Dragon, you know?”
A true man, Lee Cheol-soo.
Even against a master from the Boundary of Life and Death, I say my piece.
That’s what it means to be a real grown man, an alpha male.