Chapter 91: Demonic Blood (2)

Grrrgh!

Silver Fang thrashed wildly, the hand blade buried deep in his neck. His blood vessels and muscle tissue had long since been shattered; he should have been dead. Yet his upper body continued to convulse violently.

The situation had reached a point where medical considerations were utterly irrelevant. So, I acted swiftly and without restraint.

I injected Mana-infused blood into his body. I felt it seeping out of my wrist with a soft, slithering sensation.

“Lord of the Nine Heavens,” Go Geonho said, approaching me. “I’ll focus on Blood Magic from now on. Please just keep Silver Fang pinned down.”

“Understood,” he replied.

Though he must have been brimming with questions, Go Geonho simply nodded without pressing me for answers.

Crack!

Dozens of bony tendrils erupted from the ground, ensnaring Silver Fang.

With the demonic beast’s upper body completely restrained, I calmly closed my eyes. I focused all my senses on the area near my wrist where the tendrils had pierced its flesh.

This was just the beginning.

This ‘Shaping’ spell consisted of only two components: a single, thin stream of blood that would move according to my will, and a special property allowing it to transform into a bomb with the explosive power of C4.

I visualized a slender blood vessel beneath my eyelids, then opened my eyes. The ‘Calculator’ finalized the specifications of the Blood Magic shaping.

My bloodstream possessed the explosive deformation capabilities of Composition Explosive C-4, the standard explosive compound on Earth.

Immediately, a Status Window appeared before me:

It seemed the ‘Calculator’ was deeply involved in casting Blood Magic.

A loading screen composed solely of ”…” obscured my vision.

Just as anxiety began to creep in,

This wasn’t the result I had hoped for.

After all, ‘Control’ was the most crucial aspect of shaping this Blood Magic.

Was there really no other way?

As if on cue, another Status Window popped up:

Mana can replenish demonic blood?

Honestly, I was stunned. Go Geonho had never mentioned this possibility. As far as I knew, Blood Magic and ordinary Mana had virtually no connection.

If that’s the case…

Another “special Skill” must be involved.

There was no reason to hesitate. I immediately began shaping the Blood Magic.

”!”

The sudden depletion of over 400 Mana left me feeling drained. A large amount of blood flowed from my wrist.

My head spun, my lips trembled uncontrollably, and my vision darkened as if a heavy curtain were being drawn across it.

Then, after a moment…

The Blood Magic formation was complete.

My vision cleared, and the dizziness faded.

Immediately, I could sense it.

A single strand of demonic blood had transformed into a vein-like thread, lodging itself within the creature’s body.

“Krrrk!”

Silver Fang’s upper body convulsed violently, as if it had sensed the foreign power infiltrating its body.

But it didn’t matter.

There was no disturbance beyond the barrier of bones.

Which meant that the Heavenly Blood Tree hadn’t noticed the single strand of toxin burrowing into its extremities.

There was only one command left to issue:

Retrace your path.

Up the Heavenly Blood Tree’s finer roots.

Through the capillaries connecting to its extremities.

To its source.

To the very heart of the Heavenly Blood Tree.

Heavenly Blood Tree.

Azazel, the blood mage who had assimilated with a mythical entity, widened his single eye and scanned the battlefield.

“Where are those bastards?”

The two humans who had driven him to the brink of destruction had vanished without a trace.

The grand mansion, now a muddy swamp, was occupied by Go Geonho’s undead and the demonic beasts Azazel had “rooted” from Daehwa Island. Yoo Se-rin, enveloped in frost-colored Mana, stood at the front lines, assisting the undead.

“Hmm?”

Azazel’s roving eye suddenly fixed on a point: the eastern side of the mansion. There stood a dome-like structure made entirely of bone.

“Hmph, out of strength and hiding in there like rats?” Azazel scoffed, muttering to himself. Even Go Geonho would be helpless against demonic beasts empowered by a mythical entity. The other young human was no different. Azazel had briefly seized Taejun’s body to confirm his abilities.

He knew this body possessed immense potential.

Even so, it lacked the power to oppose the Heavenly Blood Tree.

From the outset, the Heavenly Blood Tree was a being without equal across all dimensions—a living catastrophe in the truest sense. Not even the most legendary swords, forged over countless eons, nor the Flame Blade, said to incinerate even gods, could fell this colossal tree.

Of course, the price for his attempt was steep: he had sacrificed all the Mana and Vitality he had accumulated over thirty years, and his soul was forever severed from returning to a human body.

But none of that matters.

Azazel murmured, his voice dripping with bitter hatred.

I will take root in the Heavenly Blood Tree and build my empire upon this land.

Just as he was about to turn his single eye away,

Creeeak!

An unsettling sound, like wood warping under immense pressure, echoed through the air—a grotesque cracking noise emanating from the tree’s base.

”…What’s happening?”

An inexplicable sense of unease washed over him.

It was as if his limbs were spasming uncontrollably against his will.

In reality, the branches and roots of the Heavenly Blood Tree were slowly twisting in bizarre directions.

“What’s going on? What’s happening?”

Azazel, originally human, had only recently assimilated into the Heavenly Blood Tree. He couldn’t comprehend the significance of this anomaly.

“A curse? No, that’s impossible.”

No magic could harm the Heavenly Blood Tree, whether through physical strikes against its exterior or corruption from within. Magic composed solely of Mana would simply be absorbed as nutrients, aiding the tree’s growth.

Yes, as long as it was purely Mana-based magic.

”…Could it be?”

In that instant, the Heavenly Blood Tree’s widened eyes fixed on the bone dome—more precisely, on the single root connecting to it.

Crack!

The twisting was most severe in that particular root.

Past the slender rootlets, along the slightly thicker roots, near the base of the trunk, and then back upward.

Onward.

“No, that can’t be,” Azazel muttered, his voice trembling.

Kugugugung!

As if mirroring his turmoil, the Heavenly Blood Tree vibrated violently, showering down its slender branches.

“Did they inject demonic blood? Through the roots at the extremities?”

How?

Go Geonho, having severed his contract with the Heavenly Blood Book, could no longer wield Blood Magic.

If that were the case, the one currently using Blood Magic must be another young human.

Which made even less sense.

Even Azazel, who had grasped the essence of Blood Magic, had taken a week to master it.

To become so proficient in Blood Magic in less than a day?

Impossible, even for a Status Window holder of Version 2.0.

Unless… unless some truly “special Skill” existed.

Now that he thought about it, when he had checked the creature’s Status Window, he had noticed a Skill he couldn’t identify at all, even with his extensive knowledge.

He remembered it because its name was rather absurd: “Remarkable Growth.”

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The incantation was cut short.

The distortion had already bypassed the base of the Heavenly Blood Tree and was creeping upward.

Now, even Azazel, who had merged with the tree, could sense the anomaly.

An alien sensation.

It felt like a tiny insect swimming erratically through his veins.

This confirmed it.

Ah, no…

If he had realized sooner, he could have severed the roots infused with demonic blood.

But it was too late now.

Only one option remained.

Kill it! Kill the master of this demonic blood—!

Azazel’s shout bordered on a scream.

The demonic beasts connected to the Heavenly Blood Tree surged toward the bone dome in unison.

“Grrr?!”

But the demonic beasts, including Silver Fang, collapsed before they could even reach the dome.

The Undead Legion was already a formidable force.

”…”

Yoo Se-rin stood silently before the dome, as if guarding it.

Frost-colored crystals extended from her hands, freezing the ground and hindering the demonic beasts’ movements.

That damned bitch…!

Krrrrrrumble!

A colossal creature over 200 meters tall thrashed violently, its movements like a primal scream.

Swish!

The branches of the Heavenly Blood Tree stretched out, transforming into hundreds of serpent-like appendages that surged toward the mansion.

Thud!

“Yelp?!”

Demonic beasts connected to the tree’s roots were impaled by the onrushing branches and tossed aside like rag dolls.

But Azazel had no time to worry about any of this.

He struggled desperately, clinging to the sole goal of eradicating the source of the demonic blood.

And then, suddenly…

Crackle!

This time, a colossal ice wall rose to block the wooden snakes.

Yoo Se-rin had squeezed every last drop of mana from her body to create this barrier.

But against the overwhelming power of the Heavenly Blood Tree…

CRASH!

The massive barrier barely managed to impede its advance for a few seconds before shattering into countless fragments under the onslaught of hundreds of the tree’s tendrils.

“Cough!”

Exhausted, Yoo Se-rin collapsed to the ground, limp and drained.

Driven by their own will, the tree’s tendrils surged forward once more, tearing through the battlefield toward the source of the demonic blood.

Fifty meters… Forty meters… Thirty meters…

As the tips of the Heavenly Blood Tree’s tendrils drew closer to the bone-domed structure, a triumphant gleam returned to its single, wide-open eye.

It wasn’t too late.

There was still time to reverse everything.

Just as the Heavenly Blood Tree’s branches were about to pierce and shatter the bone dome,

Crack.

The dome crumbled on its own.

What luck, Taejun thought.

Amidst the swirling fragments of bone, a man stood smiling.

Until their eyes met.

And just as a branch, sharpened like a deadly spear, was about to pierce Taejun’s skull,

Thump!

A sickening sensation, as if his heart had been ripped from his chest and was still throbbing.

Simultaneously, the snake-like branches froze mid-strike.

Ah, no…

The Blood Mage instinctively understood.

“A little late,” Taejun said with a smile.

KWA-BOOM!

An explosion erupted from the core of the Heavenly Blood Tree, drenching the Demonic Mist that shrouded Daehwa Island in an even deeper shade.

“Whew, that was close,” I muttered, staring at the Heavenly Blood Tree’s branch, which had stopped just inches from my face. I let out a sigh of relief.

The Blood Magic I had conjured moved slower than I anticipated, and controlling it relentlessly drained my demonic blood. The calculator’s consumption readings were barely within acceptable limits.

As a result, my entire body was ice-cold, and my vision was half-obscured, as if a curtain had been drawn across it.

[ Alert: Blood Orb and plasma levels critically low. Mana reserves severely depleted. Immediate rest recommended. ] - [ My Body Information ]

The frantic notifications from my Status Window were just icing on the cake.

But regardless, the demonic blood bomb had traveled along the fine rootlets to the Heavenly Blood Tree’s core.

The result?

Whoosh!

In the distance, the heart-destroyed Heavenly Blood Tree writhed and collapsed, engulfed in flames.

“Krrgh…”

Thud!

The monsters surrounding the mansion collapsed like puppets with severed strings. The demonic grasp of the Heavenly Blood Tree, which had blanketed Daehwa Island, had vanished.

As the area began to clear, Go Geonho placed a hand on my shoulder. “Hunter Taejun, are you alright?”

He gazed up at the crumbling Heavenly Blood Tree and muttered softly, “You actually did it. I can’t even begin to fathom how.”

“Yes, somehow I managed,” I replied.

Some monsters remained, but now freed from the Heavenly Blood Tree’s influence, they posed no significant threat.

Calming my breath, I said, “Could you handle the rest of the cleanup?”

“I was planning to anyway. Take Miss Serin inside the mansion to rest.”

I checked on Yoo Se-rin, who was lying unconscious nearby.

“Understood. Then…”

That’s when it happened.

“Not yet.”

A chilling voice, carried on a sinister gust of wind, drifted into the mansion.

“It’s not over yet.”

Suddenly, a colossal shadow loomed over the grand estate.

The hooded figure of the Grim Reaper.

“Azazel…”

Oh, just go already.

This guy is unbelievably persistent, clinging to the bitter end.

But the problem was, this wasn’t just a pathetic display of stubbornness.

Crackle!

At the heart of his pitch-black Mana-infused form, a crimson sphere of unstable magic power spun wildly, teetering on the verge of exploding.

“I will chain you all and drag you through the Nine Heavens!”

A mutual suicide attack.

The last desperate act of a Blood Mage whose life’s ambition had been shattered.

“That’s…!”

Go Geonho’s eyes widened in horror.

I clicked my tongue in exasperation.

This just got complicated.

That sphere of magic power must be something Azazel created by burning away all his Vitality and Mana.

If that thing explodes, it’ll unleash a destructive force far exceeding an S-Class Skill, devastating everything in its vicinity.

Go Geonho and Yoo Se-rin wouldn’t stand a chance.

Even my own life could be in danger.

“Come, join me in the Nine Heavens.”

Kugugugugu!

The crimson sphere of magic power, pulsing wildly in the enemy’s grasp, began to spin violently.

”…?”

The bedside chat window, silent for so long, suddenly vibrated.