Chapter 320: Fragments of Truth (2)

“You were the incarnation of Ahriman in the prophecy.”

‘The incarnation of Ahriman?’

The moment Mok Gyeong-un heard those words from him, he recalled the passage from Persian that the leader of Shadow Clan Master, Hwan Ya-seon, had along with the scripture.

It clearly stated:

“Beware, for the incarnation of Ahriman shall appear in this world… Are you referring to that now?”

“You?”

Lee Gwang’s eyes widened at Mok Gyeong-un’s words.

How does this bastard know about that prophecy?

Only a tiny minority within the organization were aware of it, and as far as he knew, only those at the level of Bishop or above in the Fire Faith Order, including Holy Fire Priestess, were privy to this information.

But this bastard wasn’t from Fire Faith Order.

what the .... is going on?

“Where did you hear that from, you bastard?”

In response to his question, Mok Gyeong-un scoffed and said:

“You seem to be misunderstanding something.”

“What?”

“Only I get to ask the questions here.”

-Swish!

With those words, Mok Gyeong-un clenched his left fist and made a pulling motion.

Instantly, the flesh on Lee Gwang’s left thigh began tearing as if it would be ripped off at any moment.

“Kueeuk.”

-Crunch!

Lee Gwang gritted his teeth, trying to endure it.

However, even after experiencing the agony of having both arms torn off, this pain was still unbearable.

-Rip rip rip!

“Aaaaaaargh!”

A scream bordering on a howl erupted from Lee Gwang’s mouth.

His left leg had finally been ripped off.

All that remained of him was his right leg, torso, and head.

Lee Gwang, whose body was no longer fit for living, groaned in agony, drool mixed with blood dripping down his chin.

Lifting his chin, Mok Gyeong-un said:

“Shall we continue our conversation? Why did you call me the incarnation of Ahriman? I thought that was a prophecy and directive of Fire Faith Order.”

“Kuuuh…”

“Your answer is late. Then, to give you more motivation…”

“…The sacred flame… shall be tainted by black evil… Beware the incarnation of Ahriman who will appear in this world.”

“Taint the sacred flame with black evil?”

Mok Gyeong-un tilted his head in confusion.

The prophecy was different from what he had seen.

No, to be more precise, the passage he had seen only contained the latter part.

Finding this strange, Mok Gyeong-un asked:

“Who did you hear those words from just now?”

At that question, Lee Gwang strained to turn his eyes and looked at someone.

That someone was Holy Fire Priestess, who lay face down on the ground, unconscious and unmoving.

Seeing this, Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes narrowed.

As expected, the Holy Fire Priestess was somehow connected to this organization.

Although they were currently on hostile terms, they may have had a friendly relationship in the past.

“Haa… haa…”

Despite his lifeforce surpassing that of a human due to demonic power, Lee Gwang’s condition was not good, likely because a significant portion of the energy in his dantian had been dispersed and he had suffered severe blood loss.

His complexion had turned a pale purple, and he looked as if he could die at any moment.

Mok Gyeong-un placed his hand near the dantian on the abdomen he had pierced.

-Ssssss!

“Hurkk!”

Lee Gwang’s half-closed eyes snapped wide open.

Thanks to the energy flowing in through Mok Gyeong-un’s hand, he had regained consciousness.

‘What in the world?’

Lee Gwang was baffled.

The energy that had entered through Mok Gyeong-un’s hand was not internal energy, but resembled the energy that had flowed from the black sword that had almost become one with him.

This energy was demonic power.

Mok Gyeong-un had injected a tiny portion of the unrefined demonic power he had received from the Golden Nine-Tailed Fox.

‘shit.’

Lee Gwang inwardly cursed.

If he had been left alone a bit longer, he might have naturally died, but thanks to the bastard injecting energy into him, the bleeding had stopped and he had regained consciousness.

‘Even if I want to die, I can’t.’

It was truly ironic.

Who would have thought there would come a moment when the desire to die would surpass the will to live?

Seeing him lamenting his return to consciousness, Mok Gyeong-un said:

“It seems you’re in a condition to live now. Then, let’s continue our conversation. What is this incarnation of Ahriman? And why do you think it’s me?”

“…Because if not you, then who else could be the incarnation of Ahriman?”

“An interesting notion.”

“Hah!”

Lee Gwang scoffed incredulously at Mok Gyeong-un’s words.

What he was talking about wasn’t simply a matter of limits or willpower.

Even if one had a different constitution from others or possessed innate martial talent, these were things difficult for a human to achieve.

This bastard completely surpassed human standards.

There was a reason that person referred to him as a being beyond human.

“You… You don’t realize how dangerous you are.”

“Dangerous…”

-Grip!

Mok Gyeong-un tightly clutched Lee Gwang’s chin.

Then, in a low voice, he said:

“None of that matters. What’s important is who you killed.”

“You bastard…”

“I heard that leaving a mark is a warning to the organization, so why did you kill him? It seems Ghost Blade only warned my grandfather and left, so why did you go against that and kill him?”

-Tremble! Tremble!

With each word uttered, the murderous intent squeezing down made Lee Gwang feel as if his heart would burst.

How could mere killing intent exude such overwhelming pressure and even make him feel threatened?

If it were ordinary people and not him, they might have died from the killing intent alone, unable to endure it.

“No answer, I see. I don’t mind if you keep your mouth shut all day. The longer you stay silent, the more time I have to torment you – a day, no, a month, even a year.”

A chilling smile lifted the corners of his mouth as he spoke.

Seeing Mok Gyeong-un’s face, Lee Gwang couldn’t bear it anymore.

This bastard’s malice seemed like he would really do it.

His resolve weakening, Lee Gwang pleaded:

“Please… Please just kill me.”

“You want to die?”

“Please…”

“Begging now? You’re really tugging at my heartstrings.”

“…”

Damn this guy.

Contrary to his words, the murderous intent hadn’t lessened one bit.

While emitting such intense killing intent, he was still trying to torment him further, making Lee Gwang sick of it.

“Do you want to die a little more comfortably? Then tell me everything. Give me a convincing reason why I should kill you quickly.”

‘Aaaah.’

It would have been better if he had a mental restriction implanted in his head like the others.

Even the deputy leaders of the Second Realm mostly had mental restrictions.

But thanks to the merits of his predecessors, he was the only one without such a restriction, so he couldn’t even induce his own death.

As he hesitated, Mok Gyeong-un whispered:

“It seems you can still endure it. Then perhaps it wouldn’t be bad to experience how it feels to have your internal organs sliced one by one.”

-Swish!

Mok Gyeong-un gently unleashed his aura through the hand embedded in Lee Gwang’s abdomen.

-Sssssht!

“Kurkk.”

As the sharp energy spread to his internal organs, Lee Gwang’s expression contorted in agony.

It was a completely different sensation from having his guts grabbed.

“Kuaaack.”

It felt as if hundreds of shattered blades were slicing and stabbing each and every organ, so painful that he vomited and tears streamed down his face.

“What a nice look. Since you’re enduring well, let’s take it further.”

Mok Gyeong-un tried to intensify his aura.

Lee Gwang’s eyes shook like a madman.

He had tried to stubbornly endure it out of loyalty to that person, but his resolve crumbled.

Lee Gwang hastily cried out:

“It wasn’t really me who killed Mun-no!”

‘!?’

At that outburst, Mok Gyeong-un, who was about to increase the intensity of his aura, paused and looked at Lee Gwang’s face.

Lee Gwang’s eyes, glistening with tears of blood from the pain, showed no wavering.

Mok Gyeong-un made an expression of incomprehension.

“What are you saying now? Clearly, you…”

“I merely contributed to Mun-no’s demise.”

“…Merely contributed?”

In response to Mok Gyeong-un’s question, Lee Gwang began to speak, his eyes lost in reminiscence.

***

[What? What do you mean by that?]

[Exactly as I said. If the First Realm Ghost Blade returns empty-handed after encountering Medicine Immortal Hae Yeong, you, Lee Gwang, shall discreetly take over the mission.]

[Why is that?]

[Ghost Blade prioritizes his agreement with the Heaven and Earth Society Leader over that person‘s orders.]

[If that’s the case, rather than Ghost Blade…]

[No. Ghost Blade will carry out the mission.]

[Then, the Heaven and Earth Society Leader… No, my apologies.]

Lee Gwang shook his head resolutely.

The Heaven and Earth Society Leader was not someone he could do anything about.

Even that person was merely observing without action.

Rather than indulging in pointless pride, he should simply follow the given orders and protect the Heaven and Earth Society Leader’s safety.

***

‘Smoke?’

Sensing something off about the smoke rising from the middle of the mountain, Lee Gwang hurriedly headed in that direction.

He had been waiting and watching from afar for Ghost Blade to completely withdraw.

-Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

He spotted Ghost Blade urgently heading somewhere using his internal skills.

It seemed more like he was chasing something rather than fleeing.

‘What’s going on?’

Though puzzled, this was his chance either way.

Had Ghost Blade managed to find out something or capture him?

Or had he acted as they feared?

Upon arriving, Lee Gwang discovered a burning house and an old man barely standing in a vegetable garden not far away, swaying unsteadily.

It was none other than Medicine Immortal Hae Yeong, Mun-no.

‘As feared.’

As expected, Ghost Blade had neither captured nor killed Mun-no.

What was he scheming?

As he pondered this, Lee Gwang furrowed his brow.

‘Hmm?’

Judging by the traces of multiple confrontations around Mun-no, he had assumed Ghost Blade had fought him, but something was odd.

If he had faced off against Ghost Blade, a master of the sword, there should have been sword marks left behind, but there were no such traces—only remnants of palm techniques and poison arts.

Finding this strange, Lee Gwang approached Mun-no, who was barely keeping himself upright.

Mun-no seemed to be in a terrible state, likely due to severe injuries.

[Guardian Jang. No, Mun-no.]

[…Lee Gwang?]

Spotting him, Mun-no couldn’t hide his surprise.

It seemed he hadn’t anticipated a follow-up team being sent in addition to Ghost Blade.

Lee Gwang drew closer and spoke:

[I thought you had fought Ghost Blade, but looking around, it seems you fought someone else. Is that so?]

There were no sword marks anywhere, no matter how he looked at it.

If not Ghost Blade, then who had Mun-no fought here?

As he puzzled over this, Mun-no uttered incomprehensible words:

[If you don’t want to be infected with the Formless Poison, it’s best not to come close.]

‘Formless Poison?’