Chapter 50. Specter (3)
"Demonic Explosion Pills? Why would assassins have those...?"
Since the discovery of Innate Energy, countless attempts have been made to harness its power.
One of the most common results of such attempts was the latent energy explosion technique, frequently seen in the unorthodox martial world.
It grants a temporary surge in internal energy and physical ability, but the side effects are severe—at best, the user collapses from exhaustion; at worst, their meridians become twisted beyond recovery, making it impossible to use martial arts ever again.
And yet, people still sought to master these techniques.
Why?
Because they granted power beyond one's natural reach, if only for a moment.
Even when I created the Raging Wave Death-Stealing Art, I had studied several latent energy explosion techniques.
Through them, I had grasped the foundation of explosive internal energy control.
But ultimately, what I created was a mere imitation—an art that mimicked the burst of Innate Energy, but did not actually consume it.
If it had, the consequences wouldn't have been exhaustion or the loss of martial arts—it would have been instant death.
After all, people only sought these desperate techniques to survive.
What would be the point if it cost them their lives?
The Madness of the Demonic Cult
But the Demonic Cult was different.
Their warriors lacked proper martial arts, forcing them to cultivate demonic techniques riddled with side effects.
To them, Innate Energy wasn't something to be carefully preserved—it was a means to an end.
The Heavenly Demon aside, the true terror of the cult didn't lie in their martial prowess.
It lay in their burning thirst for vengeance.
It was only natural, then, that they would dedicate themselves to researching ways to gain overwhelming power, even at the cost of their lives.
And so, through such research, the Demonic Explosion Pill was born—one of the Demonic Cult's most closely guarded secrets.
At its core, it functioned similarly to latent energy explosion techniques.
But its efficiency far surpassed them.
Why?
Because unlike other warriors, the users of this pill did not seek to survive.
They sought to drag their enemies down with them—no matter the cost.
This pill didn't just ignite Innate Energy.
It deliberately induced inner deviation, allowing the user to weaponize the backlash.
The user would suffer excruciating agony and face certain death…
But until the pill's effects wore off, they would be unstoppable.
Why Do They Have This?
And now—
Before me, the two remaining Specters had just swallowed Demonic Explosion Pills.
This shouldn't be possible.
The pill was incredibly difficult to manufacture and even harder to obtain outside the Demonic Cult.
Yet, for some reason, these assassins possessed them.
Their auras swelled madly as their bodies began decaying—their skin blackening, their eyes burning with the crimson glow of inner deviation.
Their once-subtle killing intent now ran wild, slashing at the surroundings like an unrestrained beast.
Even Ghost Shadow Thief, usually unshaken, looked startled as he turned to me.
"Did you just say... Demonic Explosion Pills? You recognize the pills they swallowed?"
"They're a secret of the Demonic Cult. You mentioned that Sal Valley's assassins were working for them… but their connection may run deeper than we thought."
"Hah… Just when I thought this mess was over, it takes another turn."
Ghost Shadow Thief sighed heavily, his expression weary.
But despite his fatigue, I could sense a grim resolve in his clenched jaw.
So, I shook my head and spoke in a flat tone.
"Don't do it."
"...What do you think this old man is planning?"
"I don't know. But people prepared to die tend to wear the same expression you're wearing right now."
"Hah. The things young ones notice these days."
Ghost Shadow Thief let out a hollow chuckle and settled into his stance.
He merely bent his knees slightly and let his arms hang loosely at his sides—yet his presence nearly vanished.
Even though I could see him, it felt like looking at a boulder lying at the bottom of a valley, not a person.
Ironically, his movements were far more assassin-like than those of the Specters.
I couldn't help but admire his skill.
A Deal With the Thief
"Come to think of it, you said you were building a tomb, didn't you?"
"That's right. Though it seems this place might end up being my grave instead."
"If you make it out alive, would you mind giving me a few martial arts manuals from your collection?"
"Huh? If I survive, sure. Anything but my own techniques."
"Your movement techniques are indeed impressive, but what I've learned isn't bad either. So… it's a deal?"
"Fine. You'll even get a map of the tomb itself, as a bonus."
"That'd only be useful after you're dead, wouldn't it? Anyway, since we've settled that—please go handle the other side."
"Hmm?"
I gestured toward Tang Sowol and the Blood Venom Unit's vice-captain.
They were struggling against a rampaging Specter who had also swallowed a Demonic Explosion Pill.
"Could you help them first? I'll take care of these two."
"Will you be alright?"
"You saw my skills earlier, didn't you?"
Ghost Shadow Thief hesitated for a moment before nodding.
"Fine. Hold out for a little while—I'll be back soon."
And with that, he glided away, his movement technique so smooth it was as if he were sliding across the ground.
At the same moment, the two Specters, unable to fully control their sudden surge of power, stumbled briefly—then simultaneously launched themselves forward.
BOOM!
The impact of their footfalls was far too loud for assassins. The sheer force of their movements left craters in the ground, and their intensified killing intent burned as they closed in on me.
Their speed was unmatched compared to before.
I quickly stepped forward, raising my sword to intercept them.
"Not so fast."
As if they had been waiting for this moment, one of them swung down diagonally with a willow-leaf saber, while the other thrust forward with a straight sword in a deadly, linear strike.
Their blades aimed directly for my throat and heart.
In that instant, I understood.
They had never intended to target Ghost Shadow Thief.
Their real target had been me from the beginning.
They must have determined that as long as I was standing, they could never take him down.
I clenched my teeth and lunged forward.
Before their weapons could fully unleash their power, before their momentum reached its peak, I struck upward from below.
My well-forged crimson Sword Qi clashed against the murky gray energy of the willow-leaf saber.
KA-BOOM!
The force within both weapons was so immense that the impact didn't even sound like clashing steel—instead, it exploded like a thunderous detonation.
A half-beat later, the backlash rippled through my blade, traveling up my arm in a violent shockwave.
It was obvious—I couldn't match them in raw power anymore.
Not after they had taken the Demonic Explosion Pills.
Not in strength, and not in Sword Qi potency.
So instead of resisting, I let the force carry me away.
My body flew backward, spinning slightly in midair.
Because of this sudden shift in angle, the straight sword that had been aiming for my heart only managed to graze my side instead.
"Tch!"
A chunk of flesh was torn from my side, but that was still far better than having my heart pierced.
Still airborne, I swiftly applied acupressure to stop the bleeding.
And the moment my feet touched the ground—
I kicked off instantly, my bent knees snapping straight as I launched forward once more.
A Different Approach
I narrowed my focus, concentrating my killing intent into a single point.
The Specters were leaking energy uncontrollably, their bodies unable to contain the overwhelming power they had absorbed.
They were also in the midst of inner deviation, meaning they couldn't control their killing intent either.
Up until now, I had sensed their killing intent to predict their attacks.
But now, that method was useless.
I couldn't read scattered, wild energy anymore.
So instead—I changed tactics.
Instead of outwardly releasing my own killing aura, I pulled it inward, condensing it.
All beings were born with Mind, Energy, and Body—the mastery of which determined their martial prowess.
And killing intent was the most primitive form of intent, capable of suppressing others or even dealing internal damage just through sheer pressure.
By fusing my killing aura into my internal energy, my Raging Wave Death-Stealing Art had gained a lethal edge that set it apart from other techniques.
The thicker the killing aura, the deadlier the technique.
Of course, the side effects were just as severe.
A Glimpse of Hell
A burnt, metallic scent mixed with the stench of blood filled the air.
My eyes remained locked onto the Specters as they prepared their next attack—
But what I saw was something else entirely.
A palace consumed by crimson flames.
Corpses covering the ground, their blood flowing like rivers.
A hellish landscape, seeping into my very soul.
The day I lost Seol Lihyang.
The day I lost Seo Mun-Hwarin.
The day I lost everything except the sword in my grasp.
Back then, Tang Sowol had given me advice when I struggled before the wall of Flowering Stage.
"A martial artist must shape their own inner world."
But my inner world had never been an ideal.
It had become my personal hell.
I killed to survive.
I killed because I wanted to.
I killed out of rage.
I killed for revenge.
I killed because there was nothing left but killing.
I had long forgotten why I even wielded a sword.
All that remained was murderous intent.
And in that hell, my swordsmanship was perfected.
"Huu."
A breath, barely more than a sigh.
The red-stained vision in my mind faded away—
And all that remained were the two Specters, their bloodshot eyes locked onto me.
The Counterattack
The straight sword sliced toward my neck.
I raised my blade.
The Sword Qi enveloping my weapon had grown sharper—its crimson glow surging like flames.
Its color had deepened, darkening to a blood-soaked red.
The moment my blade struck the side of the straight sword—
CRACK!
My blood-colored Sword Qi devoured the gray energy coating the blade, burning through it as it advanced.
Just as it was about to completely sever the straight sword—
A willow-leaf saber came swinging for my waist, forcing me to retreat.
"Tch."
Clicking my tongue, I stepped back—
And in that instant, the Specter wielding the straight sword flinched.
It was the same one who had initially tried to escape toward Ghost Shadow Thief.
Did he hesitate?
Did he feel fear?
An assassin of Sal Valley, renowned for erasing all emotion, especially fear… yet at this moment, he visibly hesitated after meeting my gaze.
Perhaps it was the inner deviation stirring his emotions.
If so—
Then this was an opportunity.
I unleashed the full weight of my killing intent.
I didn't sharpen it.
I didn't focus it.
I simply let it spill out, unchecked.
A monstrous, suffocating aura of death flooded the surroundings.
The Specters trembled.
I smirked.
"What's wrong? Didn't you throw away your lives just to kill me?"
"Monster… Who's the real Specter here?"
One of them muttered under his breath.
I swung my sword at him.
He barely managed to raise his straight sword in defense.
The willow-leaf saber came slashing down, aiming to cleave through my shoulder.
But… its speed was noticeably slower than before.
Still faster than before the Demonic Explosion Pill, but now at a level I could handle.
That was enough.
Even if I couldn't read their killing intent anymore, I still had my eyes.
The angle of their feet, the twist of their waist, the position of their shoulders, their line of sight—
I had spent my life analyzing martial arts, breaking them down to their fundamentals.
And now, I dissected their every movement, anticipating their strikes before they could fully form.
It wasn't perfect, but it was good enough to use right now.
Clashing Blades
CLANG! CRACK! KAANG!
Three blades clashed in rapid succession.
Each time, the Specters' gray Sword Qi shattered like brittle sparks.
This wasn't about winning every exchange.
It was about dominating the crucial moment of impact.
I stepped in close before their arms could fully extend, forcing our blades into a direct clash.
I let our Sword Qi grind against each other, chipping away at theirs—
And the instant it threatened to become a contest of raw strength, I withdrew.
I couldn't block or dodge every attack.
Their blades left wounds on me.
But none were deep enough to sever muscle or bone.
I was soaked in blood, but I never relented.
I kept attacking—never retreating, never yielding.
But there was one problem—
My internal energy was draining too fast.
"Kh…! What the hell…?!"
"That damn venomous bitch!"
The Specters, who had been moving relentlessly, suddenly slowed down.
It wasn't because my internal energy was running out.
It wasn't because the effects of the Demonic Explosion Pill had worn off.
The real reason was above them.
A Soul-Chasing Flying Butterfly flitted overhead, its wings moving with a slow, deliberate rhythm.
A legendary hidden weapon, wielded only by the direct bloodline of the Sichuan Tang Clan.
Unlike conventional throwing weapons, which followed predictable straight or curved trajectories, these butterflies moved erratically, making them almost impossible to predict.
With each delicate flap of its wings, a faint purple mist scattered into the air.
And that venomous powder had already settled onto the Specters' heads.
Of course, I had been exposed too—
But under my tongue rested the Poison-Resistance Pill given to me by Tang Sowol.
The Specters, however, had no such protection.
They faltered.
Which meant the fight was already over.
The Killing Blow
SLASH!
The Specter wielding the willow-leaf saber lost his arm at the elbow, then collapsed as my blade severed half his throat.
The Specter wielding the straight sword tried to block—
But his weapon shattered in the attempt.
Fragments of his own Sword Qi-infused blade lodged into his eyes.
Blinded and stunned, he was helpless.
A final stroke of my sword finished him.
The battle had ended in an instant.
I looked up, dazed, as a wave of exhaustion and satisfaction washed over me.
Above me, the Soul-Chasing Flying Butterflies still hovered, circling persistently.
Like snowflakes drifting from the sky, the venomous powder continued to settle on me.
A numbness began spreading through my limbs.
From a distance, Tang Sowol was watching—her eyes filled with worry, on the verge of tears.
And then I realized—
"Ah."
The killing intent I had drawn forth in battle—
It was still overflowing, saturating the air like a suffocating mist.
From the outside, it must have looked like I had completely succumbed to inner deviation.