Chapter 82: What Lies Hidden in the Demonic Mist (1)

“The essence stones we extracted from the Sirens. Just give this address to the harvesters.”

“You’re not sending them through Hwiryong?”

“No.”

“Understood.”

Captain Kim Yongsu tucked away the slip of paper with the address.

I gazed contentedly at the fishing boat, which was swaying dangerously under the weight of nearly a hundred Siren corpses piled high like a mountain.

This was the result of thoroughly scouring Daehwa Island and mopping up every last Siren hiding in ambush.

“The essence stones harvested from there should be worth at least 4,000 coins.”

Combined with the coins I acquired from selling the Void Thread…

Manager Mi’s message, complete with emoji, flooded my inbox.

Well, it wasn’t anything particularly impressive to call a “club.”

Parsley Market did offer some potions and materials cheaper than on Earth.

But most A-Rank items, advanced skill books, and crafting materials unavailable on Earth cost more than 10,000 coins—completely out of reach.

Just recently, I was still struggling to afford even a 100-coin recharge.

From that perspective, I certainly had something to be proud of.

That’s when it happened.

“Ah, what’s this? This is the first time I’ve ever seen you come all this way.”

Suddenly, Captain Kim Yongsu appeared behind us, speaking in a booming voice.

Yoo Se-rin, who had been exhausted from mana depletion, now stood upright, her eyes wide with surprise.

Turning around with a puzzled expression, I saw…

”…”

An elderly man was watching us.

His attire was much simpler than before, and he wasn’t leaning on his cane.

Yet recognizing him was easy.

“Nine Heavens Bone King.”

Tap.

With a light movement, Go Geonho stepped onto the fishing boat and slowly turned his head.

His gray eyes swept over Captain Kim Yongsu, Yoo Se-rin, and me.

Finally, they scanned the pile of Siren corpses stacked behind me.

“Did you reach this point by hunting so many spawning Sirens?”

He finally spoke, his eyes betraying a strangely complex emotion.

Captain Kim Yongsu, adjusting his cap, answered in my place.

“Well, you can see for yourself, can’t you? This wasn’t just any ordinary hunt.”

His tone suggested a close familiarity with Go Geonho.

“Hmm.”

“Ah, really? We went on a Siren hunting tour around Daehwa Island, combing every nook and cranny.”

“Even if you’re familiar with the sea routes here, you couldn’t possibly know their habitats that well.”

“Right, right. Even if I know the sea paths like the back of my hand, I can’t know more than the creatures that live underwater.”

“But how did you hunt so many Sirens? Even our radar couldn’t detect them when we were near Daehwa Island.”

“That one did it all,” Captain Kim Yongsu said, nodding toward me.

“He must have some kind of divine gift. He finds the hidden lairs of those Siren bastards like a ghost. Of course, I and this young one here had our share of hardships trying to keep up with his rhythm.”

”…”

“Isn’t that right? If my steering hadn’t been up to the task, you would have suffered quite a bit too.”

I nodded vigorously in agreement.

Without Captain Kim Yongsu’s exceptional steering skills, it would have been impossible to annihilate the Sirens in just half a day.

“So, did you hunt down all the Sirens on Daehwa Island?”

“I eliminated all the ones I could see. But since some might be hiding deep in the sea, I can’t say for certain that we eradicated them all.”

“They’re finished. Sirens can’t dive as deep as you might think,” Go Geonho added meaningfully. ”…Except for one.”

Suddenly:

A flashing warning window appeared, and a red dot materialized on the map displayed in the status window.

After that, there was no need to check the navigation system.

Kwaahhh!

In the distant sea fog, something was surging through the water toward them.

She opened her mouth immediately.

“Hunter Serine, 100 meters northeast.”

“Ah, yes!”

Yoo Se-rin stretched out her hand, white frost forming between her fingers.

Kwa-dudud

Kwa-dudud

The creature was also half-human, half-fish, but its appearance differed slightly.

The portion of its body protruding from the water was easily three meters tall.

Its face, resembling that of an ichthyosaur, was bloated and swollen, with the nape of its neck spread wide.

Its unnaturally muscular upper body was covered in a membrane-like substance, giving it an unpleasant, slick sheen.

There was only one monster of this size and type.

“The Siren King, huh?”

Right. Sirens are social creatures, so naturally, they have a leader.

What I hadn’t anticipated, however, was that not only had the crown icon indicating a boss not appeared on the Parsley Navigation, but there had been no mention of the Siren King in any of the Daehwa Island reports.

“Huh, what… what is that? That… that monster was living here?”

Thud!

The overwhelming pressure of an A-Rank monster, the lowest level of danger.

Captain Kim Yongsu collapsed to the ground in terror.

Yoo Se-rin, already gasping for breath from Mana Overload, turned even paler.

This was a bit troublesome.

As long as the monster possessed the passive skill to reflect elemental spells, we couldn’t recklessly cast Fireballs.

Yoo Se-rin’s freezing skills were also ineffective.

We couldn’t even limit its movement and use the Soaring Dragon Divine Fist.

”-------!”

The Siren King roared again, enveloped in azure mana, and began charging toward us.

It was still some distance away, but at this rate, it would crash into the pier and fishing boat within 30 seconds.

For now, it seemed best to retreat into the island and devise a plan.

Just then…

“It was quite convenient, but what a pity.”

A bitter voice drifted to my side.

Nine Heavens Bone King.

Suddenly, a bright red substance began to flow from his wrist.

It wasn’t mana.

It was human blood.

Blood Magic.

A power that conjures mysteries not through mana, but through the caster’s own blood.

The blood, spurting as if from a punctured wound, coalesced into a writhing crimson mass in Go Geonho’s palm.

Then, as he thrust his hand forward—

Shiiiiing!

With a whistling sound, dozens of thin, thread-like strands shot out from the blood mass in his hand.

Immediately after—

”----?!”

The Siren King, which had been charging through the water with unstoppable force, came to an abrupt halt.

More accurately, it could no longer move.

Swishhhhh!

The massive creature’s entire body suddenly levitated in mid-air, completely entangled by the thin blood threads that had erupted from Go Geonho’s blood mass.

”-------!”

The Siren King roared violently, thrashing about in an attempt to break free from the spiderweb-like Blood Threads entangling him.

But the more he struggled, the more the web of Go Geonho’s blood burrowed into his skin, tightening its grip.

”------!”

A agonized scream echoed through the air.

It didn’t last long.

Go Geonho calmly made another gesture.

Pfft!

Dozens of new Blood Threads split off from the webbing constricting the Siren King, piercing his skin and burrowing deeper.

Simultaneously, blood vessels erupted across the Siren King’s body, so visible they could be seen from a distance.

Chaaaaaah!

A bright blue fluid erupted from every wound.

It was over.

The monster, unable to even scream, hissing and spewing blood, quickly went limp.

At the same moment, the crown-shaped icon on the Parsley Navigation disappeared.

Splash!

The carcass of the defeated monster plunged into the water.

Whoosh!

“Whoa!”

The resulting shockwave sent a massive wave crashing against the fishing boat, making it rock violently.

Of course, even after the surface calmed, the creature never reappeared.

“This can’t be. An A-Rank monster defeated so easily…” Yoo Se-rin’s dazed voice broke the silence.

”…”

I was just as bewildered.

The Siren King, a creature so formidable that even several A-Rank hunters working together would struggle to handle it, had been defeated with a single Blood Magic spell.

This is incredible.

I watched Go Geonho scatter the Blood Orbs in his hand, swallowing hard.

Blood Magic skills possess a unique attribute absent from other magic systems: Magic Penetration.

Even so, to hunt such a demonic beast so effortlessly…

Well, I mean… He’s more impressive than I thought. Especially for someone still using the old Status Window.

Manager Mi was right. This feat wasn’t just due to the unique properties of Blood Magic. It was also because the Nine Heavens Bone King possessed demonic blood infused with mana, allowing him to wield it with such mastery.

Had a novice Blood Mage attempted such a grand-scale spell, they would have drained all the blood from their veins and perished before even beginning.

If only I could learn from him…

If I could receive a skill book or item to awaken my demonic blood and gain even a fragment of his expertise in handling it…

Achieving the Synchronization Rate Quest should be sufficient.

“For a while, this sea area will be unusually safe now that we’ve hunted down the Siren King.”

Go Geonho, who had been silently observing the temporarily quiet coastline, began gathering his mana. He spoke with a somewhat gloomy expression.

However, when Captain Kim Yongsu regained his composure, dusted himself off, and stood up, Go Geonho said:

“Let’s go now. I’ll guide you out of here.”

“The unparalleled Nine Heavens Bone King personally escorted us and even guided us to his residence? This is as unlikely as the sun rising from the west.”

“I’ll assign guards to accompany you.”

“Ah, no need! The Sirens have been completely eradicated anyway, and our radar is back online.”

“Still, it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

“Enough already. I’ve been dreading going back with those skull fragments for ages. I couldn’t even tell if I was in the sea off Incheon or crossing the river to the underworld. You two should hurry and get off too!”

Captain Kim Yongsu, who had stubbornly refused earlier, now gestured for Go Geonho and Yoo Se-rin to disembark.

Before leaving, I bowed and said, “Thank you for everything, Captain.”

“Heh heh, right. These troublesome brats have given me no end of stress. It’s a relief to see them gone.”

Captain Kim Yongsu chuckled, patting my shoulder roughly with his calloused hand.

With our farewells exchanged, his fishing boat rumbled away into the mist.

The Nine Heavens Bone King turned toward us. “Well, you’ve come a long way. Thank you for your efforts.”

“Ah, um, that is…”

Yoo Se-rin was the first to speak.

“By any chance, are you the one who defeated the Behemoth at the Seoul Gate thirty years ago…?”

“I am indeed the one who defeated the Behemoth in Seoul, stopped the Giant Wave in Nanjing, and cleared the Drake Dungeon that was eroding the heart of New York. The very ‘trash hero’ you were thinking of.”

“Ah.”

Yoo Se-rin’s mouth hung open, frozen in shock. She seemed utterly astonished. Come to think of it, she didn’t even know why I had come to Daehwa Island, nor that this was the residence of the Nine Heavens Bone King.

After a moment of dazed silence, Yoo Se-rin hastily bowed her head.

“I’m so sorry. I never imagined I would encounter the Nine Heavens Bone King here. And to witness you using Blood Magic… it’s truly an honor.”

“An honor, is it?”

“No, not at all! I’ve always held you in the highest regard!”

The creases beneath Go Geonho’s eyes deepened. Before anyone could read the fleeting expression that crossed his face, he turned with a smile.

“Then I’ll be going.”