Possessing Nothing

The Blood Demon stopped moving. He looked around at the surrounding space covered in violet mist.

Was…this even a martial art?

He had never seen such a martial art before; he hurriedly turned his body around. Just a moment ago, he was floating above the main building of Blood Alliance.

‘Where am I?’

When he saw the speartip covered in purple, the space around him had shaken, and the surrounding area had turned like this. The Blood Demon slowly waved his arms around him. He did not feel anything wrong with his movements.

He couldn’t hear anything.

He couldn’t hear the fighting that was going on beneath him, under all the mist. He opened his mouth to speak. He definitely made noise, but he couldn’t hear it.

‘Martial art…? No, this feels more like magic… sorcery?’

Sorcery was created to do impossible things using the power of monsters. Some examples included Geniella’s demon eyes and Juwon’s poison.

The Blood Demon felt that this mist was similar to sorcery, and he was almost correct.

Originally, the 8th form of the Nine Heavenly Spear Techniques: Violet World was not a martial art that behaved like this. If it was such a martial art from the beginning, Wijihoyeon wouldn’t have taught it to Lee Sungmin as it was too complex.

It was supposed to near sight and blind the enemy’s eyes and create illusions. However, through the hands of Yang Il-Chun, it transformed drastically. Back then, Lee Sungmin had not integrated into the body of a monster, but he still had the powers of one.

Yang Il-Chun, who did not fail to notice that, recreated Violet World to fit Lee Sungmin better.

__

Lee Sungmin looked at the Blood Demon, who was deep inside the fog. It had been more than 10 years since he used this art.

Back then, his mind couldn’t handle using Violet World, and his body couldn’t resist the power of the yokai and his own martial arts.

It wasn’t like that anymore.

His mind was working faster than ever.

His body didn’t feel heavy.

His heart was pulsing slightly faster than usual.

His senses were incredibly sharp.

His vision was clear.

Now, he felt at home surrounded by the fog. It was evident that his body had fully transformed into a monster.

Lee Sungmin did not realize it, but Violet World was a form of space erosion. It used Lee Sungmin’s internal energy to erode the space around him to create the fog.

[Hoh, this feels good.]

In this space, where the essence of yokai filled the air, Heoju felt as if he was at home. Lee Sungmin also felt a sense of calm and enjoyment.

The Blood Demon raised his hands.

KIIII!

A blood-red aura covered his hands, forming claws. He used the Art of the Heaven-Destroying Asura in hopes of ripping the domain apart.

Lee Sungmin moved.

There was no sound.

_____

There were a few rules in this realm; outsiders couldn’t break inside, which meant that those trapped had to escape on their own and with their own power.

Lee Sungmin used his internal energy to create this domain. He had no plans to let go of his victim that easily.

_____

Shhhhiiiiiiikkkk!

The Blood Demon turned his body. A spear had suddenly shot through the smoke. It grazed past his chest, turning his barrier of internal energy to dust.

If he was a bit slower, the spear would have pierced his heart. The spear wasn’t just randomly thrown. There was considerable power contained in the speartip.

The Blood Demon reached out, trying to grab the spear shaft. As soon as his fingertips touched the spear, it turned into smoke and collapsed.

The Blood Demon’s expression hardened. Sensing something, he used more internal energy to create a thicker barrier around himself.

Kakaakkakakakak!

Through the fog, dozens of daggers shot toward the Blood Demon, covering his body. The knives bounced off of his skin, turning back into the fog.

That wasn’t the end. The fog shuddered, and purple lightning flashed.

“Hmm…”

The Blood Demon couldn’t hear anything, but he sighed nevertheless.

“What an unfair martial art.”

As five lightning strikes struck him, he forcefully laughed and spun around.

Pababababak!

The blood-red aura surrounding his body shot out. The lightning collapsed. It fluttered past the Blood Demon, turning into harmless pieces of internal energy that dissipated after a couple of seconds. However, that turned into hundreds of sharp needles.

The Blood Demon gritted his teeth, unable to believe what he saw. All the martial arts performed in this domain felt unreal but were real. It felt ethereal. He was surprised that such a martial art existed.

Was it the powers of a yokai? The Blood Demon clicked his tongue.

He spread his hands out toward the oncoming attack. Was this an illusion as well? He wasn’t sure but swung his hands just in case.

Kwaaduuk!

The Blood Demon’s aura rotated, creating a strong wind that struck the needles. They were real.

The Blood Demon’s legs trembled from the weight that pushed on his hands. He gritted his teeth, utilizing the powers that he had gained throughout his 700 years.

KOOOOONNNNGGGG!

A red light flashed, and a gigantic figure arose behind the Blood Demon, turning into a blood-red Asura. The Art of the Heaven-Destroying Asura was utilized in full. The Blood Demon and the Asura opened their mouths and roared, punching forward with his left hand.

KWAAAAANNNGGGG!

The needles vaporized, and the roars shook the heavens. Hidden in the purple fog, Lee Sungmin grasped his spear tightly. He had to move.

The Blood Demon stared at Lee Sungmin with eyes covered in blood and ran forward.

Looking at the Blood Demon, Lee Sungmin slowly raised his spear. Everything was like a mirage, rippling and shuddering.

The Blood Demon was running, but the gap between the two did not decrease. It seemed that fighting here put too many penalties on the opponent.

‘What an annoying martial art. However…’

It won’t work against Geniella.

The Blood Demon was confident that it wouldn’t. If it was this kind of martial art, it definitely would not. Just that fact was an incredible piece of information.

That was why he had to know more. He had to figure out what other secrets the Spear Ghost had.

The Blood Demon roared; the sound traveled past the space between them and made Lee Sungmin shudder.

___

The Blood Demon was not a pure Vampire.

700 years ago, he was a human, and more importantly, he was a martial artist. Now, no one knew who he was, but back then, there was no one that did not know who the Ghastly Blood Asura [鬼血修羅] Ju Hui Baek was.

He had climbed up to become the greatest martial artist of his time in an era where no one was acknowledged as the greatest.

He was not interested in political or social power. He did not care about being the strongest martial artist.

He traveled the world, not settling down in one place.

Back then, Ju Hui Baek thought that their meeting was coincidental. Now, he knew that it was all due to Geniella’s plan.

The girl that could see the future with the power of her Demon Eyes stood in the pile of corpses, blocking his path. She held Gemini’s hand and asked him to take them in as daughters, knowing that Ju Hui Baek would not refuse.

It didn’t matter.

He had taken them in because he was curious and amused. He lived alone for the majority of his life, but it was fun living with them.

He had traveled alone but enjoyed adventuring with others. Even in places he had been to before, he felt new emotions when he was with the children.

He knew that they were monsters; more specifically, Vampires.

However, he did not treat them like monsters.

He protected them from danger every night, helping them find food.

He was happy. Yes, and that was all that mattered.

When Geniella asked him to turn into a Vampire, he laughed softly. Seeing her smile, full of confidence, he could not refuse.

And today, he would die. It would be the end of a long 700 years.

He did not want to die in vain. He had not seen the end of martial arts. However, his death would be in the way he wanted, in the way his daughter wanted.

First, he had to break this domain. The space between the two wasn’t decreasing at all, yet the attacks did not cease.

His hands moved slowly, and the red aura around his body thickened.

He swung.

Violet World shuddered even more. The Blood Demon had figured out what kind of martial art created this mist.

The Blood Demon knew that this wouldn’t be dangerous to Geniella, so he did not need to see more of it.

[He’s trying to rip it apart.]

The yokai powers that created the mist shook. Lee Sungmin’s attacks that were created from the mist couldn’t pierce the Blood Demon.

It meant that he still had a considerable amount of internal energy.

Lee Sungmin’s spear moved once more. Purple electricity shot everywhere.

“Ten Thousand Thunder.”

PAAAAHHHHZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!

The yokai powers that created the domain all turned into lightning. The Blood Demon looked at the lightning storm; he knew he couldn’t dodge it.

So, the only thing he could do was endure it. The internal energy surrounding the Blood Demon formed into an Asura, covering him entirely. 2 pairs of arms shot out from his back.

The Blood Demon danced; everywhere he went, the lightning disappeared. In between the lightning, the Blood Demon did not yield. Lee Sungmin was attacking, but the barrier that protected the Blood Demon stood strong.

It was impossible to kill the Blood Demon, who had lived for hundreds of years, with just a simple trick.

Lee Sungmin moved his spear. Bolts of lightning flew behind the speartip, following its trajectory.

Soul Predation First Technique*: Thunderbolt aimed at the Blood Demon’s gaps and struck.

In an instant, the 4 arms on his back moved simultaneously.

The arms, created with pure energy, grabbed the empty space.

The space that couldn’t be grabbed was grabbed; the arms moved, and everything flipped.

Cracks and rifts began to form in the mist. It was impossible to keep the Blood Demon contained.

Lee Sungmin felt a small yearning for something in the corner of his heart.

The Blood Demon punched out with his six arms.

An intangible feeling covered Lee Sungmin.

Lee Sungmin gathered the scattered energy and performed another art. A small hole appeared in front of the Blood Demon.

Inside the hole, electricity flew wildly, trying to burst out. Lee Sungmin pierced it, and a lightning storm covered the Blood Demon.

The Blood Demon smiled. It had been a while since he fought like this.

The domain made of purple fog had dissipated already. The world returned to normal, and energy scattered everywhere.

Lee Sungmin waved his spear, gathering the energy. Once again, he created lightning strikes. For this strike, however, he put everything he had into it.

BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!

It sounded as if the heavens were collapsing. The Blood Demon felt something. Maybe… if it was this…

The Blood Demon thought of the smiling Geniella.

‘Please…’ When she asked with a cute smile, the Blood Demon couldn’t tell her no.

‘I wish she called me ‘father’ once….’

It had been hundreds of years since they met, and yet…

The Blood Demon escaped his thoughts and raised both his hands. Behind him, the Asura’s shadow grew and became swollen.

‘For that child and for me.’

That was why he couldn’t avoid it.

The spear moved, and thunderclouds formed in the skies. Inside, lightning containing immense power was formed.

Lee Sungmin shot his spear forward with everything he had. A lightning strike flashed.

“Destruction.”

The world exploded.