Possessing Nothing

Even before, Lee Sungmin thought Yang Il-Chun’s words contrasted with his thoughts.

He often said that he was too lazy to rule over the Sama Order he founded.

His master was probably speaking the truth, considering his character. However, he did not outright neglect it. During his many years of absence, he controlled the Sama Order through his clones, planting loyal thoughts in the elders. He had also sent Lee Sungmin as the successor before returning to weed out the traitors.

Lee Sungmin still did not know the feelings that Yang Il-Chun, who was now dead- no, transcended from this world, had for the Sama Order.

But it was clear that the Sama Order was once the home to the greatest and strongest human to have lived. It was once the home to the Demonic Emperor Yang Il-Chun; it was where he ruled and led his followers.

Even if Lee Sungmin used his authority as the successor of the Lord of the Sama Order to disband the clan, many people thought that the Blood Alliance was built upon the Sama Order.

There were even rumors of the Blood Demon being a secret disciple of the Demonic Emperor Yang Il-Chun. It was understandable why some thought so; the Blood Demon was an expert without background information. And seeing the followers of the Sama Order being led by such a figure, the public created rumors about the Blood Demon’s origins.

Lee Sungmin hated it.

It was as Heoju said; he wasn’t slightly pissed off. He was insanely mad. He was infuriated by what the public said, not knowing what happened.

The Blood Demon was not the disciple of Yang Il-Chun. He was not the one that succeeded the Sama Order.

So he put on his mask.

“Uh….”

Two castle guards stared at Lee Sungmin, who was walking towards them.

Lee Sungmin, who had covered his face with a hideous Dokkebbi mask, ignored them.

He had come here to murder and wage war. He needed to kill the Blood Demon quickly while Geniella was occupied in the north.

[Did you decide?]

‘There is no other choice. If the power of the Blood Demon returns to Geniella after I kill him, then I have no choice but to prevent it from returning.’

[Predation…]

Lee Sungmin’s internal energy covered the two guards, and the light faded away from their eyes. He walked past the bodies and said, “I will get going first.”

He kicked the ground and shot forward, turning into a bolt of purple lightning instantly.

The Black Dragon, who stared at the lightning, shook his head.

“If he was going to do that, why did he bring us?”

After saying that, he followed the purple lightning almost as fast as the lightning. Yana followed suit.

Lee Sungmin arrived at the center of the city without any obstructions and ran straight to where the Blood Demon was.

He had thought of smashing the gates but was afraid of the Blood Demon running away.

____

“The Spear Ghost is coming.”

The Blood demon hadn’t escaped.

He tied his black hair back and wore a red robe with dragons embroidered on all sides. He stood up in a relaxed position with his hands behind his back. He stood at the center of a grand pavilion.

He sensed an enormous presence coming towards him, but he didn’t escape. He was not afraid.

He opened his red eyes into a slit, looking at something that did not exist in the pavilion.

“I might, no. I definitely will die.”

Even when talking about his death, his voice was calm. The thing that he was looking at was Geniella.

His tone wasn’t respectful, even to the Lord that stood above all Vampires. He was probably amused at the future that Geniella created but would rather die than live in it. Just counting the age, the Blood Demon was older than Geniella.

“Aren’t you worried about me?”

He asked with a faint smirk. Geniella, who looked at the Blood Demon, had a large smile on her face.

“You are the one who wishes for death.”

The Blood Demon nodded. It was true. He had lived for hundreds of years. Even before being turned into a Vampire, he had lived a fulfilling life. Now that he had lived for so long, he was tired.

“There still is a chance you can live,” Geniella whispered. “You might not die.”

“Maybe so.”

He had said that, but he could feel death glaring down at him. If it was the night with a full moon, he might have had a chance, but it was early morning. It was coming.

“Do you have any last thing to tell me?”

“It might not be the last.”

“No, it definitely will be.”

“Then…thanks for everything you have done. I hope you will return to me later.”

“Hmm, I don’t think it will be that easy,” the Blood Demon cackled.

Geniella’s smile slightly wavered.

It had been so long since she felt this way. Was this grief? Or regret?

She had lost that emotion a long time ago… but it seemed that it raised its head to bid her second bloodline goodbye.

“Thank you.”

“You always gave me tasks that I didn’t like. However, your last wish was fun.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

KWWAAANNGG!

A spear qi covered in purple lightning struck the roof of the pavilion, and the broken pieces floated in the air.

Under the shattered roof stood the Blood Demon, who lowered his hands back to his side.

Since it was the last, he had hoped to be called ‘father’… it seemed that she was too old to call him that.

The Blood Demon thought back to when he first met Geniella. In the middle of a pile of corpses was the young Geniella, holding Gemini’s hand… was that 700 years ago?

The sight of her asking him to adopt them was too cute, so he did just that, and 10 years later, he turned into a Vampire.

“So chaotic.”

The Blood Demon raised his gaze to Lee Sungmin, who was floating in the sky. The Blood Demon, who looked to be in his 40’s, smiled brightly and gestured toward Lee Sungmin.

“I don’t have any plans to escape or tricks to fool you. It seems like you came here to kill me… if you have the power to, then you will succeed.”

This… might be…

Lee Sungmin’s face, which was hidden by the mask, twitched. He could not see how strong the Blood Demon was.

When someone looked at another that was higher than them, it was hard to gauge how high they were, but when someone looked at another that was lower than them, they could see countless things…

Lee Sungmin couldn’t clearly tell how strong the Blood Demon was. However, it seemed that the Blood Demon was higher than Lee Sungmin in terms of martial law.

And he had to kill the Blood Demon right here, right now. It would be difficult to withstand the combined power of the Blood Demon and Geniella later on if he let him live.

[You cannot kill him.]

Heoju advised.

[Do not forget. If you kill him, his powers will return to Geniella. If that happens, she will become a monster that no one is capable of killing.

He had to eat him.

“What is Heoju telling you?”

[This bastard. You dare put this old man’s name in your filthy mouth?]

As the Blood Demon laughed, Lee Sungmin grasped the spear in both hands and took a stance.

The Blood Demon clicked his tongue as he looked at Lee Sungmin.

“Why are you in such a hurry? Didn’t I tell you that I have no plans to run away or trick you? You plan to kill me as a martial artist, and I plan to defend myself as a martial artist. I also want to chat a bit before fighting.”

“Why aren’t you running away? Do you think I am not threatening enough?”

“No, that isn’t it,” the Blood Demon shook his head. His actions had a certain sense of calm to them… Lee Sungmin didn’t understand why he was so calm. “You are very dangerous, especially because you have the body of a monster but the mind of… anyways, I’m just saying that your mind doesn’t match your body.”

“Why is that dangerous?”

“It means you have room to grow.”

The Blood Demon chuckled.

“If you didn’t have room to grow between your body and mind, you wouldn’t even be a threat. Even if there was an incredible miracle, it would be near impossible to grow past that wall. You know how hard it is to break through to a higher level. However, that isn’t the case for you. Since your body is far higher than your martial arts, it can help you grow well,” the Blood Demon commented. “It wasn’t the case for me…

“My growth stagnated hundreds of years ago. I have not slacked off in my training, but I cannot grow any further. If I was a human, it might have been different. Huhu, it is pointless to wonder now.”

“You left the north and came here to create the Blood Alliance. What was the reason?”

“To create chaos. Back then, Geniella wanted me to create the Blood Alliance to wage war. Waging war creates chaos, which confuses the public. By using that, Geniella wanted to destroy the world. She couldn’t see the future clearly then, so she used me to try and change fate. It didn’t work out that well…” the Blood Demon shrugged. “She basically threw me away.”

“She used a Vampire of your caliber like that?”

“It was because of who I was that she used me like that. She thought someone like me could change fate. Well, it didn’t work out in the end.”

“So, she just left you here?”

“Left me… no, that was what I wished for,” the Blood Demon muttered while stepping back. He removed the robe covering his body and said, “I tell you this as a martial artist; I wish to die fighting a stronger individual.”

Lee Sungmin stared at the Blood Demon silently.

The Blood Demon stretched slightly. “It has been a while since I fought like this.”

“…You…what’s your name.”

“Ju HuiBaek. You probably haven’t heard of me. My name was famous 700 years ago. Back then, there was no Lord of the Sama Order, no Martial God, and no Sword Saint. Everyone that lived then died… No matter how strong your martial level is, it is difficult to live for 700 years unless you choose to be something like a Vampire like me.”

“Why did you become a Vampire?”

“It is a unique story. Should I say that it was the choice of a parent who couldn’t say no to their child?”

Parent…child…? Lee Sungmin, who didn’t understand what the Blood Demon was talking about, tilted his head.

“Well, let’s get started, shall we?” the Blood Demon dusted his hands and finished stretching.

KWWAAAAANGGG!

From below came the sound of an explosion. It seemed that Yana and the Black Dragon had arrived.

“Isn’t this funny? The disciple of the Demonic Emperor wearing the mask punishing the fake? This would be a good story for those who spend too much time listening to rumors and whatnot. Well, that will only happen if you defeat me and leave with a cool expression…”

Lee Sungmin raised his spear slightly.

“My martial arts is called the Art of the Heaven Destroying Asura. You better be careful.”

The Blood Demon spread his arms out.

“This art was once called the pinnacle of the Martial World under Heaven and Earth.”

Incredible energy shot out from the Blood Demon and covered the surrounding area.