SWNOVELXO Chapter 185
185th Chapter: My Beloved Gaga
It was the seventh night.
For the past seven days, Wi Soryeon had received care from Lee Cheol-soo.
Until the enormous Mysterious Blood Network’s corpse was reduced to bones, Lee Cheol-soo took great care of her.
‘Ugh?!’
Wi Soryeon’s face turned red as she recalled the past week.
Every night.
The moments spent performing Pressure Point Massage for her internal injuries came to mind.
She wasn’t unaware that the combination of Energy Manipulation and Pressure Point Massage was effective for internal injuries. But no matter how justifiable it was, entrusting her body to an outsider every day was an embarrassing matter, even if she had a legitimate reason.
Her heart raced.
Her face flushed. The sensation of his hands touching her bare skin was still vivid.
During the Pressure Point Massage, even the girl who called herself her daughter, Baek Rijiak, didn’t intervene.
‘I can’t interrupt Mom and Dad’s fun time!’
Saying that, of course.
Her statement was, frankly, not wrong. Over the past week, Wi Soryeon had enjoyed herself.
When she was suddenly tied to Lee Cheol-soo as a couple because of Baek Rijiak, she was initially flustered. However, as time passed, she grew more at ease. Rather, she found it pleasant.
The mysterious girl who claimed to be her daughter, Baek Rijiak, was an intelligent child. She neither threw tantrums nor fussed. Instead, she seemed to work hard to connect Lee Cheol-soo and herself.
‘If I really got married, could I build a family like this…’
Could she really settle down?
She thought of herself as a woman who was not womanly. Thus, marriage seemed irrelevant to her. Yet, the past week had been happy. She truly hoped such a future would come.
Lee Cheol-soo felt the same way.
Wi Soryeon knew. He had swiftly found her amidst the Magic Mist, and with his ability to wield Anti-Demon Magic Power, Lee Cheol-soo could easily win the Ceremony of Martial Arts to the Heavenly Horse.
She felt she was unworthy of his care.
The reason she reached out to manage Lee Cheol-soo’s Condition of Deterioration Due to Reversing Heaven was because she hadn’t fulfilled her responsibility to care for Baek Rijiak.
Yet Lee Cheol-soo didn’t abandon her. On the contrary, he claimed responsibility. He said winning was of no concern.
The competition decided who the best Post-Stimulation Indicator was. The honor brought by winning this competition among the Orthodox Faction’s Post-Stimulation Indicators was something any martial artist would covet, including the hypocrites of the Orthodox Faction.
Especially since Lee Cheol-soo had already won the Yongbong Society tournament and earned the title of the best Post-Stimulation Indicator of the Orthodox Faction.
He had a duty to represent the Orthodox Faction in securing victory. Lee Cheol-soo had forsaken that duty.
All because of her.
Thump.
Just recalling that day made Wi Soryeon’s heart race uncontrollably.
Her face flushed again. Now, Baek Rijiak and Lee Cheol-soo felt genuinely like family. Today was no different. Wi Soryeon’s eyes, picking at the last remnants of the Mysterious Blood Network, met with Lee Cheol-soo’s.
Just as Wi Soryeon’s face reddened, Lee Cheol-soo’s expression hardened.
*
Having reached the Stage of Transcendence, the range of my perception had grown vastly compared to the peak state. I could sit by the lake and perceive beyond the horizon.
At that moment, my perception rang an alarm.
An overwhelming presence was approaching.
Someone was coming, exuding a terrifying aura that was beyond comparison with mine.
The Demon Realm, where the Ceremony of Martial Arts to the Heavenly Horse was held, was strictly sealed. There can be no external interference. It had to be a battle strictly among the Post-Stimulation Indicators.
However, that rule was shattered. Someone had invaded.
My skin tingled. Goosebumps rose.
Heavenly Horse Mound was originally a place where magic congregated, thick with magic all year round.
But the energy that just sent a jolt through my skin was similar to magic, yet felt different from the magic of Heavenly Horse Mound.
‘It’s the Blood Sect.’
I recognized the identity of that presence. It was the Blood Sect. They were finally moving to retrieve the Heavenly Demon Zombie.
“Eek?!”
The moment I realized this.
Sosumahu rolled her eyes back and trembled all over, fainting.
“Rijiak!”
I quickly infused my energy into the charm given by Sinseung, breaking it. Crackle. The charm shattered into dust, scattering into the air as a light vortex emerged outside the cave.
“Wi Soryeon.”
I turned my gaze toward the lake and unsheathed my sword.
“Take Rijiak and exit this cave. Get as far away from here as possible.”
“Th-That’s, Brother. What in the world….”
Wi Soryeon hesitated, panicking. Even in such a scenario, the hostile presence was rapidly approaching.
Now, the hostile energy of the Blood Sect’s master was gradually filling this space. Wi Soryeon’s expression changed.
She must have figured it out by now.
[Hurry! It’s an order! They are targeting Rijiak. I will hold them off here…].
[…I understand.]
As I sent a mental message, Wi Soryeon agreed.
I felt her take off with Sosumahu, quickly performing light techniques as their presence vanished.
My focus remained locked on the lake.
Bubbles bubbled.
The entire lake erupted in a boil. Steam shot up with the bubbles. It felt like water boiling in an electric kettle.
They were coming.
‘I need to buy time.’
I shattered the charm Sinseung had given me. If I did, Jeoksawol would surely come here. If she was the top of the evildoers, there’s no way we’d lose unless the Blood Demon directly came.
But this was the mist-filled Demon Realm. There was a good chance it would take time for Jeoksawol to receive the signal.
So, I had to buy time.
Against this terrifying presence of the Blood Sect’s master.
Just as I was thinking that.
Whooooosh!
Like a massive geyser in Yellowstone National Park, a white jet of water shot upward toward the ceiling.
Beyond the water pillar, a pair of red blood glows and a black silhouette emerged.
It was a master of the Blood Sect.
The energy that was distinctly different from magic, the resonant power of the abyss colored the white water pillar red.
Tonk.
As the Blood Sect’s master snapped his fingers, the red energy radiating from his body instantly overran the surroundings, evaporating all the clear water of the lake.
‘This madman…’
To evaporate all that water?
It was obvious he was a peak master, surpassing even the Stage of Transcendence.
“Kukukuku…”
The Blood Sect’s master revealed himself, displaying overwhelming performance. He wore a typical martial arts elder grin, but his face was pale as a corpse, even bluish.
Clad in tattered black martial clothes, he gracefully descended from the air towards the now dry crater where the lake used to be, his gaze fixated on me.
“…Lee Cheol-soo… It was you…”
The man’s gaze narrowed. Though his face resembled one in their thirties, age held no meaning for a peak master.
The blood glow in his eyes was vivid.
“Do you know me?”
I asked cautiously. The Blood Sect’s master chuckled.
“Of course, I do. A rising master of the Orthodox Faction creating waves in the current martial world. The legendary siphoner of women who changes them nightly. The man who fought nude in the Yongbong Society finals. Anyone tied to the martial world would know the monster Lee Cheol-soo, don’t you think?”
His words dripped with a grimy sense of humor, like a couch-bound loser spinning ludicrous tales.
“A monster, you say?”
I frowned, giving him a chance to correct his “mistake”.
His laughter continued.
“Of course. Monster Lee Cheol-soo. Unless it’s you, who else could that be?”
“I’m not a monster. I don’t know what kind of blogs you read, but it seems you’re misinformed. I’m the first in the Orthodox Faction recognized by the Martial Alliance—a Sword Dragon, Lee Cheol-soo. The rumors of me being a siphoner are also unfounded. I seek healthy interactions with the ladies, not to make them weep with sorrow. Because I am a proud Post-Stimulation Indicator of the Orthodox Faction!”
Hah!
You think I want to be called Daddy by a 108-year-old girl? Who’s the real pervert here?
The Blood Sect’s master burst into laughter at my explanation.
“Ha ha ha! As expected, you’re a bold one. You’re the first to dare speak like this to an old fellow like me. Heheh, as a reward for your audacity, I’ll tell you my name. Consider it an honor to engrave it in your mind.”
The Blood Sect master looked at me, stretching out his skeletal hand. His unusually long red nails stood out.
A very familiar, well-trained hand shape.
‘This bastard…’
I narrowed my eyes slightly.
I recognized the shape of this hand very well.
‘Could he have cultivated the Nail Technique?’
Yes.
The claws of a man among men, the Nail Technique’s sharp traits were evident on the master’s hands.
For a man not even a eunuch to cultivate the Sword Technique but rather go for the Nail Technique, my opinion of the Blood Demon and the Blood Sect as a den of depravity only solidified.
“I am Gangsimajon. Part of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Blood Sect.”
Gangsimajon.
With that name revealed, the perverted master of the Nail Technique chuckled.
His teeth, failing badly, would need extensive dental work if he ever visited the dentist.
Revealing a mouthful of decayed teeth, he said to me, “And revealing my name means I intend to kill you today!”
The moment Gangsimajon finished speaking.
His red claws tore through the air.
*
Yeon Sowol, walking with Yujinhwi, who was neither her brother nor a man, suddenly halted.
In the distance, a shimmering light appeared, circling only around her.
‘…’
Memories before her journey to the Demon Sect resurfaced. I wondered how Sinseung found out she intended to follow him to the Demon Sect, as he had sent her a message.
He had instructed her to carry a charm-shaped artifact to Lee Cheol-soo, asking her to help him using her true form if a signal came.
Now that signal was right in front of her.
Jeoksawol’s blood ran cold. Her expression stiffened.
Her hand trembled.
‘Is Gaga in danger?’
In an emergency, calling for help translated to danger. Right now, Gaga was in jeopardy. That’s why she was being summoned.
She had to move.
If Gaga vanished or suffered any ill fate…
That horrifying future was something Jeoksawol couldn’t bear.
After 62 years, meeting her first love for the first time. She couldn’t let it slip away. Not even a hair could be harmed.
So she had to protect him. She had to save him.
Only she could save Gaga here.
Not the arrogant So Cheonma, not the cross-dressing sister Yujinhwi, but only she.
Jeoksawol unleashed her light skills and launched herself into the mist.
“Yeon, my sister!”
Voices of Yujinhwi rang from behind, but Jeoksawol disregarded them. At the Stage of Transcendence, Yujinhwi could not catch up to her swift light techniques.
Jeoksawol released the Reverse Transformation Technique and Bone-Wasting Technique. Her face shifted from Yeon Sowol back to the Most Beautiful in the World, Jeoksawol.
As her shrunk stature and chest returned to their original state from the Release of Bone-Wasting Technique, the attire tailored for Yeon Sowol transformed, frantically clinging to her voluptuous chest and shapely backside, turning embarrassingly revealing.
But Jeoksawol didn’t care.
She focused entirely on the shimmering light ahead, gritting her teeth.
‘Gaga, my beloved Gaga. I’ll protect you. Just wait a little longer…’