SWNOVELXO Chapter 177
Woooshhhhhhhh!
The magic in the tomb chamber swirled chaotically. A pale girl with white skin, silver hair, and red eyes—a visage reminiscent of an albino—became the center of that swirling magic.
Despite her innocent expression, a chilling aura filled the chamber.
I narrowed my eyes. I pieced together fragmented information in my mind like a puzzle.
The name of this cave is Heavenly Horse Mound.
It is, quite literally, the tomb of the Heavenly Demon. There was no doubt about it. If it weren’t the tomb of a being like the Heavenly Demon, there would be no reason to embed pricey Night Pearls in the ceiling, install complex mechanisms, or use the Mysterious Blood Network as a guardian.
The colorful murals drawn on the tomb walls also confirmed it was indeed the Heavenly Demon’s tomb.
So, that smiling girl rising from the stone coffin is probably the Heavenly Demon herself.
‘Which generation of the Heavenly Demon is she? No, is she alive?’
The problem is that this is a tomb.
And in a tomb, there should be at least some burial items—yet there were none.
Additionally, the poison arrows earlier had been brand new. Someone was definitely managing this tomb. It’s not like we’re in ancient Egypt, where they had a culture of managing tombs.
An organization has been doing something abnormal according to the standards of this medieval isekai martial world. There has to be a purpose behind it.
‘Were they making a Gangsi?’
In fact, the original purpose of Gangsi was not sorcery. The original intent was to transport the deceased back home by resurrecting their bodies, preparing them, and allowing the zombie to walk back to their hometown.
Originally, it was a magic created for benevolent purposes; however, as always, due to the boundless imagination of humans, it has been twisted into the current undead Gangsi technique.
Like the necromancer magic in fantasy isekai, the stronger the body used as the foundation, the stronger the Gangsi could be raised.
If you turned an ordinary corpse into a Gangsi, it would merely become a Ghoul-level Gangsi, but if you used a peak master’s corpse, you could create a Death Knight-level Gangsi.
The strongest possible Gangsi that can theoretically be created is the Heavenly Demon Gangsi, using a corpse of an absolute master beyond the Stage of Transcendence.
‘Heavenly Demon Gangsi…’
Yes.
This mysterious group must have procured the dead body of a former Heavenly Demon from who knows when and placed it inside the Heavenly Horse Mound.
They had probably built this tomb in the Demon Realm because it is a special land where demonic energy gathers.
Creating a site of this scale in such an isolated place like the Demon Realm would have required a tremendous amount of time and money.
‘The Heavenly Demon didn’t make this.’
From what I could see, it wasn’t made by the Heavenly Demon. I couldn’t imagine that someone so unconcerned about all this would have directly created and maintained such a tomb.
The only remaining possibility is…
‘It’s definitely the Blood Sect.’
The internal forces within the Demon Sect collaborated with the Blood Sect to secretly create this.
I was quite certain of this possibility. The Gangsi technique was also the Blood Sect’s specialty. The Heavenly Demon likely either did not know or allowed it to happen.
If so, which generation Heavenly Demon is this girl?
The former Heavenly Demon was male and was beheaded by the current Heavenly Demon.
The previous-to-previous Heavenly Demon was male as well, known for instigating the Divine Demon War, who was personally killed by Sinseung in the Blood War of Mt. Odae.
And the previous-to-previous-to-previous Heavenly Demon…
was a woman. She was from the Hyunwol Mage Palace, known to only accept women among the Seven Magics, and she was a supreme master recognized for her Supreme Absorption Technique, Regulation Preservation, and the top Yin Cold Energy Circulation Method—known before becoming the Heavenly Demon as the Sosu Demon Queen.
“Daddy…”
Swish.
The smiling girl climbed out of the stone coffin and grabbed the end of my sleeve. I grasped her hand back. If she really is the Sosu Demon Queen and the previous-to-previous-to-previous Heavenly Demon, I would be able to confirm by just holding her hand.
Her hand felt unbelievably cold. The gentle touch of her translucent, white skin with a subtle aura of Yin Cold Energy.
No doubt about it. It was the hand that cultivated the Sosu Demon Art. That means…
‘Is she the Sosu Demon Queen?’
The girl before me is indeed the Sosu Demon Queen, the previous-to-previous-to-previous Heavenly Demon.
At 102 years old, she is likely the same age as Sinseung. I immediately grabbed her wrist and checked her pulse.
‘She has a pulse.’
The pulse of the girl, believed to be the Sosu Demon Queen, was still beating. However, it was extraordinarily slow—only one-third of a normal person’s speed. An indication of severely slowed metabolism, closer to a corpse than a human. This was abnormal.
‘She must have been in a state of suspended animation and has just awakened?’
The previous-to-previous Heavenly Demon had killed the Sosu Demon Queen and ascended to the position of Heavenly Demon. That was common knowledge. But what if the Sosu Demon Queen had not actually died?
Most Gangsi are undead, but there’s also a magic that uses various drugs on a living person to create what are essentially zombies, akin to the Haitian Vodou tradition. The zombies created this way, known as living Gangsi, possess some degree of autonomous decision-making, making them more challenging to deal with than regular zombies.
The previous-to-previous Heavenly Demon was a servant of the Blood Sect. Therefore, after subduing the absolute master Sosu Demon Queen without killing her, they must have forced her into a state of suspended animation and sealed her within this stone coffin.
To create the Heavenly Demon Gangsi.
‘Could it be that in my previous life, this Heavenly Demon Gangsi had been completed?’
During the internal conflict of the Demon Sect, Baek Cheon-hwa had rallied the three of Omma to initiate a rebellion. But thinking back, it seemed strange. Regardless of the damage to the Heavenly Demon’s authority, the Heavenly Demon was an absolute master of the Hyunkyung. Even with the Blood Sect’s support, they wouldn’t have been able to reverse such an overwhelming gap in strength.
However, if it were the Heavenly Demon Gangsi, everything would change. If a Heavenly Demon Gangsi made from the Sosu Demon Queen’s body had been deployed in the Demon Sect’s internal conflict, it would explain why Baek Cheon-hwa could incite a rebellion, as well as why the Demon Sect sustained heavy internal damage, effectively becoming stagnant.
But unlike my previous life, I had awakened the Sosu Demon Queen before the Heavenly Demon Gangsi was completed.
The cause had to be the Dharma Wheel Holy King Technique, imbued with anti-demon magic power, striking her coffin. It was clear that the suspended animation had been disrupted by the stimulation of the anti-demon magic power.
So, in conclusion, this girl before me is the ultimate weapon of the Blood Sect.
And I inadvertently shattered the Blood Sect’s grand scheme.
“Daddy, your eyes look weird.”
The Sosu Demon Queen tilted her head while gazing at me.
The reason she called me “daddy” must be due to the Gold Restriction set by the sorcerer. There’s no way someone as formidable as the previous-to-previous-to-previous Heavenly Demon could just disregard that.
I can’t exactly say, “I’m not your father,” here.
I had no choice but to play along.
“What do you mean, my eyes look weird?”
“Where’s Mommy?”
Clutch.
As the Sosu Demon Queen held tightly to my hand and stepped out of the stone coffin, she spoke.
But why is she looking for her mother?
At that moment, when I was stunned by her words—
“Ah, Mommy! Mommy!!”
The Sosu Demon Queen released my hand and dashed off somewhere. When I turned my head, I saw her rushing toward Heuksaryong and jumping into her arms.
The sudden call of “Mommy” caught the Heuksaryong off guard.
[Oh, oh brother. What the heck is going on? Mom?!]
The voice of Wi Soryeon echoed in my ears. I rubbed my forehead.
[Don’t ask me. I don’t know the details either.]
Despite being barely out of my teenage years, I suddenly found myself taking on a joyless responsibility.
Honestly, if I had experienced Cloud and Rain Pleasure, it wouldn’t feel so unjust. But having a child before even experiencing it?
What kind of nonsense is this?
Still, just in case, while the Sosu Demon Queen’s attention was focused on Wi Soryeon, I began looking around the tomb chamber.
I was hoping to find even a fragment of a lucky event, but unsurprisingly, there was nothing.
There were no hidden spaces or anything.
What a wasted effort.
As I turned around, I saw the Heuksaryong gently stroking the Sosu Demon Queen, who was nestled in her arms.
When I walked over to the Heuksaryong, the Sosu Demon Queen slipped out of her embrace.
“Mommy, Daddy’s here!”
The Sosu Demon Queen clasped the Heuksaryong’s hand, pointing at me. Hearing that, the Heuksaryong’s face flushed bright red.
“Oh, calling my brother ‘Daddy’! What the—what does that even mean?!”
“Huh? Mommy, aren’t you getting along with Daddy? Are you fighting?”
The Sosu Demon Queen asked innocently.
I rubbed my forehead. A couple’s quarrel? What on earth? What kind of Gold Restriction did those Blood Sect bastards put on the Sosu Demon Queen?
What’s the Blood Demon thinking? Is he just a straightforward pervert?
Shocked by the Blood Demon’s secret preferences I didn’t wish to know about, I glanced at the Sosu Demon Queen and said, “No, we didn’t fight. We’re getting along.”
I forced a smile and pulled the Heuksaryong closer, interlocking my arms with hers.
“Ugh?!”
The Heuksaryong’s ears turned red. She stammered.
[For now, just go along with this.]
I transmitted my voice to the Heuksaryong. She awkwardly smiled.
“Y-Yes, what my brother says is correct. W-We did not fight!”
Stuttering through her words, the Heuksaryong’s performance drew laughter from the Sosu Demon Queen.
“Wow! Mommy and Daddy are getting along! What a relief!”
As I watched the innocent smile of the Sosu Demon Queen, Wi Soryeon’s voice rang in my ear.
[What are you planning to do now, brother?]
[We need to get out of here first.]
There was nothing left to eat, so we needed to exit the tomb chamber. Of course, I couldn’t forget to make a Mysterious Blood Network snake stew along the way.
Thinking about the Mysterious Blood Network made my mouth water already.
Hehehe. I can’t wait to taste how invigorating the snake stew made from this legendary material would be!
*
In the pitch-black tomb chamber.
At the center, a pond bubbled with blood.
“Resurrection of the Blood Demon! Reign of the Blood Sect! Long live! Long live! Long live! We bow before the Blood Demon!”
In front of the pond, an old man resembling a dry tree, as frail as a gust of wind could blow him away, performed the prostration.
The old man, with piercing red eyes suffused with a sinister aura, was known as Gangsimajon.
Instead of the immobilized Blood Demon, he was the one acting on the ground, part of the four sub-leaders of the Blood Sect known as the Four Heavenly Kings; an absolute master of the Hyunkyung realm.
Bubble, bubble, bubble.
At the call of Gangsimajon, bubbles rose from the blood-red pond. Along with them, the sinister aura materialized into crimson wisps, rising and filling the tomb chamber like a mirage.
Fizzfizzfizzfizzfizz!
With a splash of blood, a handsome man emerged from the pond in a nude state. Sinister red light emanated from his eyes.
The supreme being of the Blood Sect—an absolute master who had repeated reincarnations for over a thousand years in the Boundary of Life and Death.
The Blood Demon.
The Blood Demon’s gaze turned towards Gangsimajon.
“The heavenly principles are in chaos. I can no longer see the future…”
The Blood Demon spoke in a low voice.
Having reached the Boundary of Life and Death, the Blood Demon could read the heavenly principles and foresee the future. Yet, not long ago, the accuracy of the predictions began to decline, and now he could see nothing but darkness.
For the first time in over a thousand years, the absence of future projections was unprecedented. The Blood Demon felt extremely uncomfortable.
“Gangsimajon, the reason you called me… is it indeed due to the loss of the Heavenly Demon Gangsi?”
The Blood Demon’s crimson gaze pierced Gangsimajon. The entire tomb chamber filled with red demonic energy. Gangsimajon trembled.
The Heavenly Demon Gangsi.
The ultimate Gangsi manufacturing plan, which had been attempted over fifty years after securing the former Heavenly Demon Sosu Demon Queen.
Had this plan been completed, it would have linked the secret ultimate weapon of the Blood Sect to the Heavenly Demon Gangsi.
But now, that connection had been severed.
Someone had stolen the Heavenly Demon Gangsi.
This was an unthinkable occurrence. Following the plan to seize Lady Gu’s orthodox faction, yet again, the grand scheme of the Blood Sect had gone awry.
“Y-Yes, my Lord! Everything is my fault, so punish me however you see fit…”
Trembling and bowing, Gangsimajon spoke to the Blood Demon.
“I shall not punish you. For now, handle it on your own.”
The Blood Demon was merciful and generous. He had a strong sense of patience. A talent like Gangsimajon, having reached the Hyunkyung level, was hard to come by, even for the Blood Sect.
It would be too regrettable to dispose of him over a single failure. Thus, he deserved a chance.
“And if you fail to rectify it… Then execute the backup plan.”
The Blood Demon’s eyes glowed with ominous energy.
“…Yes!”
In response to the Lord’s command, Gangsimajon prostrated again.
Seeing that, the Blood Demon narrowed his eyes and closed them.
He had given orders. The backup plan was also prepared. Perfect.
But why did this sense of unease persist?
Was it due to the unseen future?
The Blood Demon pondered such questions as he submerged himself back into the bubbling blood of the pond made from the mixture of elixirs and the blood of the young maidens.
Bubble, bubble.
The boiling blood pond enveloped the Blood Demon’s naked body.