She remembered a time when she lived a simple life, cherished by the adults in a small, quiet village. But she also remembered the moment when those same people suddenly turned on her and her younger sibling, hurling insults and fists in their direction.
His question brought forth memories she wanted to forget but could never completely shake, leaving her mood sour.
“I do not wish to answer.”
Her sharp reply served as an indirect answer.
“Were you persecuted?”
“…….”
The Shadow Clan was special. Not only were they born with innate abilities, but their physical strength far exceeded that of ordinary people.
Just as an awl kept in a pocket eventually pierces through, no matter how much they tried to live as normal people, their extraordinary nature would surface even in trivial situations, singling them out from the ordinary.
And like a nail that sticks out and gets hammered, the exceptional abilities they possessed eventually instilled fear in others. This led to the beginning of discrimination.
Like the other clan in the fantasy world, they too faced persecution here that was no less severe, and in their desire for vengeance, they pledged allegiance to the Demonic Cult who was branded as the enemies of humanity.
“Are you satisfied with your life in the Demonic Cult?”
Unconsciously, she bit her lip.
Her younger brother was born to a father from the Shadow Clan and an ordinary mother. Unlike her, who was born between two clan members, her mixed-blood brother possessed physical abilities that surpassed even those of the clan but was forever bound to the shadows.
The longer he was immersed in the shadows, the more he began to lose not only his emotions but also his ability to speak. Watching this happen had been agonizing for her. She begged for her brother to be excluded from their missions, but her pleas were denied.
For the revival of the clan, his sacrifice was inevitable, is what they said. It was the other clan members who stood in her way.
At that moment, she realized it. The elders of the clan who had welcomed them after they fled from their persecuted village, as well as the Demonic Cult, merely saw them as convenient tools to be used.
Her younger brother had now become little more than a puppet. He obediently followed commands, went wherever he was told, and came back when called. The only time he showed any trace of emotion was when she gave him food or patted his head.
Even that won’t last much longer…
Her brother was currently hiding in the shadow realm and diligently fulfilling his role as a guard.
Even the faint emotions he had left would soon vanish entirely if things continued this way.
The thought disgusted her. She had even considered escaping with him, but she lacked the courage. She didn’t believe she could evade both the demonic cult and the clan’s pursuit, nor could she imagine blending in and living among ordinary people.
“You look like you have plenty of complaints.”
When she realized that her emotions were showing on her face, she quickly composed herself. In an instant, her expression returned to one of cold indifference as she glared at Baek Woo Jin.
“My debt to you for saving my brother is now repaid. I won’t answer any more of your questions.”
Without hesitation, she turned away. But as she walked decisively toward the stone wall, Baek Woo Jin’s words froze her in her tracks.
“If you’re staying because you have nowhere else to go, why not come to me?”
She stopped in her tracks, turning back to look at him in disbelief.
With his internal energy sealed and heavy metal weights bound to his arms and legs, where in the world did he get such confidence to say something like that?
Having successfully captured her attention, Baek Woo Jin continued.
“I’ll treat you well.”
What?
***
The day of action was drawing near.
After consuming medicinal pills with each meal for the past few days, the movements of the growing demonic energy had become increasingly unsettling.
“Please eat.”
As usual, she brought his meal. Baek Woo Jin asked her hoarsely with his eyes sunken and weary.
“Is this breakfast or dinner?”
She tried to ignore him, but his hollow, lifeless gaze, like that of someone nearing their end, caught her attention.
“…It’s morning.”
When she responded in a barely audible voice, Baek Woo Jin nodded weakly and chewed his food before swallowing.
There was no doubt that the rice was cooked to perfection, each grain fluffy and distinct, but the moment it touched his tongue, it felt like he was chewing sand.
He managed a few bites, then reached for the pills placed on the corner of the table. Taking them in one swift gulp with a mouthful of water, he swallowed hard.
“Hoo.”
The energy that should have flowed smoothly down his throat and spread seamlessly throughout his body began to act differently today.
The faint traces of demonic energy that had seeped in from outside acted as a catalyst, awakening the dormant energy within him. Slowly but surely, the energy began to stir.
“Urgh…!”
His stomach churned with nausea.
Like a beast stretching after a long slumber, the energy within him started moving, reshaping the vessel it inhabited to suit its nature.
Baek Woo Jin didn’t sit idly by.
To escape this place, the first problem he had to resolve was unsealing the internal energy locked within his core.
There were only two ways to break the seal.
Either he could obtain the antidote, or he could drive out the energy of the Nobleman’s Pill that was suppressing his core with the aid of an external force.
There was no way for him to get the antidote, which was only in Jin Mi Yeon’s possession, nor could he expect any help from outside while he was trapped alone in enemy territory.
If only I’d managed to persuade her a little more.
He had tried to win over the shadow clan woman, the only one who spoke to him, but he had failed.
When he pressed further, she left coldly, telling him to stop spewing nonsense.
In the end, there was only one option left for him: to use the demonic energy that had gradually accumulated within his own body.
Baek Woo Jin had used demonic energy before, even in the fantasy world he had once transmigrated to. When a huge bomb of demonic energy threatened to detonate in the heart of a great city, he had absorbed the entire force into his own body and fought a grueling battle.
Their natures are very similar.
The fantasy world and the martial arts world.
Because both worlds were ultimately creations of “NovelGod”, the demonic energy in both shared very similar properties and tendencies.
It was for this reason that Baek Woo Jin dared to take such a gamble.
After all, wasn’t this the same volatile energy that had been subdued once before, as a result of Jin Mi Yeon’s experiments?
Thanks to that, preventing the demonic energy from freely rampaging was relatively easy.
Just as the shadow clan was uniquely free to act in the shadow realm, the only beings truly capable of freely manipulating demonic energy were the demons.
Even with his extraordinary sensitivity to energy, it was impossible for Baek Woo Jin to control demonic energy perfectly. However, even though he could not achieve perfection, it was still possible to use it to a certain extent.
I just need to clear the way.
The strategy was to restrict the paths the demonic energy could take, guiding it to flow in the desired direction.
Naturally, Baek Woo Jin directed the magi toward the area around his core, where the suppressing energy of the Nobleman’s Pill was tangled.
Demonic energy existed solely to destroy anything it touched and to stain it with its own essence. Even the Nobleman’s Pill was no more than an obstacle in the face of its relentless advance.
As soon as the demonic energy reached his core, it surged toward the sticky, adhesive-like energy of the Nobleman’s Pill clinging to it.
Boom!
“Keuheup…!”
The crude, reckless demonic energy not only struck the Nobleman’s Pill’s energy but also crashed directly into Baek Woo Jin’s core. He forced himself to swallow the blood rising in his throat.
Though the violent attack brought intense pain, the rewards for enduring it were well worth the suffering.
Whatever the Nobleman’s Pill’s energy was made of, its sticky, unyielding nature eventually gave way under the relentless onslaught of the unruly demonic energy.
Bang!
In its natural state, energy flowed like a river from high to low. It never stopped; it was always flowing.
When the energy of the Nobleman’s Pill that had violently disrupted this natural flow was finally broken, the energy trapped in his core burst forth in an instant; it was brimming with accumulated intensity.
It worked…!
The energy accumulated through the Drinking Wine cultivation technique, though faint, carried traces of heavenly energy. And this heavenly energy exhibited remarkable strength against demonic energy.
The demonic energy which had been joyfully thrashing about while pummeling an easy target, melted away instantly without any resistance when it was hit by the sudden wave of heavenly energy.
“Whoa.”
As the impurities that had built up in various parts of his body due to stagnant inner energy were rapidly dissolved, Baek Woo Jin felt an overwhelming sense of refreshment that left his mind tingling.
He struggled to control the wild energy surging within him, gathered it back into his dantian, stood up, and thrust his hand into the shadow on the ground in front of him.
“Urgh!”
When his hand emerged from the shadow, it was gripping the neck of an unfamiliar man.
“You bastard, even if you’re on watch duty, isn’t it a basic courtesy to back off when a person is doing something as embarrassing as relieving themselves?”
“Gugh…!”
The man’s face contorted with grievance, and he desperately beat at the hand gripping his neck.
“What? Are you saying it was harder for you to endure the smell?”
Could that interpretation even be accurate?
“Fine, then have your fill of it, you bastard!”
Baek Woo Jin dragged the man toward a chamber pot in the corner of the room and dunked his head into it.
The man’s body shuddered violently for a moment before going limp. He appeared to have lost consciousness.
Finally shaking off the surveillance that had clung to him for twelve hours straight, Baek Woo Jin turned with a spring in his step to head outside. But then, he paused.
“Ah.”
Turning back, he drew the sword strapped to the waist of the unconscious man, who now lay face-down in the filth.
“There, that’s more like it.”
With a sword in one hand and a gourd in the other, Baek Woo Jin felt a sense of balance. He couldn’t do without either of them.
He took a few sips of the liquor in the gourd. The liquor that he had fiercely defended with great determination. As it flowed through him, the Drinking Wine cultivation technique naturally resumed its flow.
At the same time, the energy flowing within his body grew a degree more intense.
“Ah.”
The progress of the Drinking Wine Cultivation Technique had stagnated for a while, but when it reached a new level of mastery, the quality of Baek Woo Jin’s internal energy improved greatly.
Previously, it would have taken at least ten units of inner energy to form sword energy, but now, it seemed possible to condense sword energy with just seven.
“This place is a treasure trove.”
Baek Woo Jin stepped out of the cave through the stone wall and pushed his foot into the shadow that lingered under the lantern hanging nearby, instantly neutralizing the presence hidden inside.
“Gahh!”
A scream echoed from the shadow.
Inside the cave, shadows provided excellent hiding spots, and members of the Shadow Clan had concealed themselves in each one.
As they witnessed Baek Woo Jin thrust his foot into the shadow, the hidden figures began emerging one by one.
The man at the forefront of the group who looked to be in his forties was the first to speak.
“…Remarkable. It’s clear you’re not of our clan’s bloodline.”
The expressions of the Shadow Clan members betrayed their astonishment. The ability they considered a privilege exclusive to themselves was being used by someone who was clearly an outsider.
“If a human works hard enough, there’s nothing they can’t do.”
Of course, he had to endure a few sacrifices along the way.
“Scatter.”
The moment the words left his mouth, the Shadow Clan members who had been standing in formation behind him dispersed in all directions.
Hidden weapons rushed toward Baek Woo Jin from all directions. However, since he had already spread his energy perception far and wide and secured control over the area, none of the weapons reached him.
Baek Woo Jin began to dance. Within his graceful movements, there was an ominous aura. It was a sword dance imbued with killing intent.
The sword energy that emanated from his sword began cutting through everything it touched.
Hidden weapons fell, daggers swung silently as they approached, and even the experimental creatures that filled the cave were caught in the devastation.
“Damn it!”
The man realized it too late.
“Protect the laboratory!”
It became clear that Baek Woo Jin’s true purpose was not them but to utterly destroy the laboratory itself.
The members of the clan who had positioned themselves in Baek Woo Jin’s main path took deep breaths with nervous expressions. At that moment, instead of the acrid stench that stung their noses and numbed their senses, a fragrant smell wafted into their nostrils.
“What… What is this smell?”
Just smelling it eased their tension, leaving their bodies languid and their minds pleasantly light.
Squelch.
“Argh!”
It was the smell of death.
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